1 . Kariko worked in a few different research jobs before landing a junior position at the University of Pennsylvania. And for many years her career at the UPenn was fragile. She migrated from lab to lab, relying on one senior scientist after another to take her in. She never made more than $60,000 a year. She struggled to raise the funding essential for a scientific career and never had a stable position. Kariko said she endured being made fun of by university colleagues for her dogged pursuit. In 2013, she was kicked out from UPenn — forced to retire. She said in an interview that the university told her that she was unfit for her work. Yet the scientist’s commitment to her work did not falter. “When I was terminated (终止), I didn’t feel sorry for myself,” she said. “I have to focus all the energy on seeking out what’s next.”
What does the underlined word “falter” mean in paragraph 2?
| A．Weaken. | B．Quit. | C．Fail. | D．Insist. |
2 . Glover and her colleagues tested their hypothesis in the lab. In their experiment, they found that bees felt confused sometimes when the petals were very iridescent and that bees had no problem finding the flowers with more nectar when the petals were not very iridescent. The team shared its new findings in the March 21 Current Biology.
What does the underlined word “hypothesis” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．Discussion. | B．Method. |
| C．Assumption. | D．Invention |
3 . Instantly, we were busily preparing for the worst. The whole family had experienced such a storm before and everyone remembered the damage it had caused to stock and crops. There was very little we could do about the crops. But we needed to protect the animals in case the river flooded again. My older brother called his sheep-dog and began driving our small flock of sheep to higher ground above river. If the river flooded, they should be safe there.
The underlined word “stock” in the paragraph above refers to _______.| A．money owned by the family | B．goods for sale |
| C．supplies for family use | D．farm animals |
4 . One explanation for this strong statistical pattern is that traveling requires time and energy, and people have limited resources for it. At the core is the effort that people are willing to invest collectively to travel to certain locations, trying to optimize their days.
What does the underlined word “optimize” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．Slow down. | B．Keep a record of. |
| C．Think back on. | D．Make the most of. |
5 . Saltwater crocodiles are the largest reptile in the world and can eat large prey (猎物). They hide at the edge of the water, waiting for prey. Then, without warning, they lunge. They grab their prey in their powerful jaws and drag it under water. Saltwater crocodiles don’t often miss their target.
One day, David George found himself in a swamp. It was the home of saltwater crocodiles. David knew they were there because he could see their tracks.
David thought his only chance of survival was to climb a tree and tie himself to a branch. Two big saltwater crocodiles, however, waited under the tree. He would have to come down sometime!
What does the underlined word “swamp” mean?
| A．A flat area higher than the ground. |
| B．Land that an animal thinks of as its own. |
| C．Very wet, flooded ground. |
| D．A long body part around the mouth. |
6 . I still have a thousand questions as to why I struggled to act. Why did it take me many circles around the mall and an argument with myself? I once wavered between helping her and ignoring her. All I know for sure is that while walking toward that woman at the bus stop, a miracle happened.
What does the underlined word “wavered” in paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．Hesitated. | B．Disagreed. | C．Balanced. | D．Objected. |
7 . Forty-nine years ago, on April 22,1970, twenty million Americans took to the streets to voice their concern about the deteriorating environment. The movement led to Earth Day.
Unfortunately, our planet is in worse shape now than it was when Earth Day was first celebrated. The good news is that it’s still not too late to reverse (转变) climate change if we all do our part. This Earth Day, take the first step towards helping our planet by participating in one of these fun activities.
NASA is putting our planet up for adoption so you and your friend can claim a portion of the planet as your own. The space agency has divided the globe into 64,000 sections, each about 55 miles wide. All you have to do is type your name into NASA’s “Adopt the Planet” site to claim a certificate that will give you the location of your slice of paradise (天堂) complete with details of its environment. NASA hopes that this exercise will stimulate interest and care in our planet.
Search giant Google is also trying to engage the public with an updated Google Earth focused around Earth Day events. Through a new Voyager feature, users will be able to discover stories from around the world, learn about new places by reading “Knowledge Cards” and send postcards.
If you happen to be anywhere near the nation’s capital on April 22, join the millions that are expected to participate in the Earth Day March at the National Mall. The mission of the event that will feature guest speakers and musical performances is to mobilize (动员) citizens into taking action by promoting this year’s Earth Day theme: climate and environmental science literacy.
While participating in the above-mentioned activities is a great idea, it is just the beginning. All that is required are small lifestyle changes. Planting a tree or two, going meatless just one day a week, or switching your plastic water bottle for a reusable one will go a long way to help reverse the damage we have caused.
1. The underlined word “deteriorating” is the closest in meaning to ________.| A．cleaner | B．better |
| C．worse | D．colder |
| A．air quality | B．ancient history |
| C．local customs | D．tourist attractions |
| A．They can create “Knowledge Cards” online. |
| B．They can discover stories from around the world. |
| C．They can receive postcards coming from Google. |
| D．They can adopt a slice of paradise in the world. |
| A．dream big | B．fly high |
| C．go meatless | D．start small |
