1 . While it's not impossible for birds to fly in the rain, they usually choose not to. You may see birds fly for a few seconds in poor weather, but most of them prefer to stay put on rainy days.
Why does rain make it harder for birds to fly? You might imagine that moving through the air while being pelted by raindrops would be pretty unpleasant. However, it's not the rain itself that makes flying difficult. Instead, birds are influenced by the drop in the air pressure that comes with most rainstorms. When pressure drops, the air is less thick, which makes it harder for birds to fly. Moving through the sky in areas of low air pressure takes a lot of energy.
Most birds need to eat several times a day—rain or no rain. Luckily, most birds' feathers（羽毛）are highly waterproof（防水的）, protecting the skin beneath. Many birds can also make oil that they can spread over their feathers to further protect themselves from the rain. Most birds don't like rain. In fact, in a 2010 study, a team of researchers studied birds living in a Costa Rican rainforest. They found that the birds had higher levels of stress hormone（应激激素）on rainy days. That may not surprise you. After all, many animals feel stressed out during storms. Pet owners often find that rain and thunder make their animals nervous. Some animals are so strongly influenced by nature that they almost seem to forecast the future.
No one really knows how many birds die during a storm or series of storms. But the number is certainly higher than usual. They fly into trees or windows; they get lost over the ocean or a large lake; their food sources are made more difficult to get but, at the same time, they need more food to get warm. However, if rain continues for some time, birds will have to challenge the storm.
1. What makes it harder for birds to fly in the rain?| A．The wet air. | B．Food shortage. |
| C．Raindrops. | D．The low air pressure. |
| A．Cleaned. | B．Hit. |
| C．Frightened. | D．Protected. |
| A．Why birds can fly in the rain |
| B．How birds are influenced by rain. |
| C．How birds survive long rainy days. |
| D．Why birds' feathers are waterproof. |
| A．Birds will develop the ability to fly in the rain |
| B．Birds fly only when necessary on rainy days. |
| C．Birds have nowhere to hide in rainstorms. |
| D．Birds need less food on rainy days. |
2 . A sleepover (过夜) program, which is designed to make kids believe that their favorite toys enjoy reading, can help encourage children to pick up more books, a new study suggests.
Toys sleepover programs are designed to get children interested in books. Children take their toys to a library for the night. At this point, workers and volunteers take photos of the toys which explore the library and read books. The next day, the children collect their toys and the photos of what the toys did during the night. They are given the books their toys chose to read.
It was found that before the sleepover the children did not spend time looking at the books in their play area at preschool. Immediately after the sleepover, the number of children who read to the toys was higher than the number who did not, but after three days the effect decreased gradually.
The researchers also tested a method for sustaining the effect. They reminded the children of the sleepover a month later, by hiding the toys and showing them the photos again the next day. This simple method brought an increase in the number of children reading to their toys.
The study proves for the first time that children who take part in sleepover programs read picture books to their toys more. “We wanted to know if there really was an effect, and if so, how long it lasts. Surprisingly, not only did the children show interest in the books, but they also began to read to their toys. This means that a new behavior pattern appeared that the children hadn’t had before. We did not expect anything like this,” said one of the researchers.
Reading is important for the development of children’s language skills and imagination. When parents read to their children, it is a passive way of reading for the child. However, when children read to their toys, it is a more active, self-directed way of reading, helping them develop into more active readers, researchers said.
1. What is the purpose of the sleepover program?| A．To develop children’s language skills. |
| B．To help children to sleep well. |
| C．To encourage children to read more. |
| D．To guide children to form a good sleeping habit. |
| A．Go around the library with their toys. |
| B．Sleep with their toys. |
| C．Read together with their toys. |
| D．Take their toys to the library. |
| A．keeping | B．testing | C．surveying | D．showing |
| A．Children showed no interest in the books. |
| B．The effect of the sleepover program could last long. |
| C．Children began to read to their toys on their own. |
| D．Whether the sleepover program had an effect remained unknown. |
3 . When homework and tests keep you up late at night, you may plan to make up for your lost sleep during the weekends. But is it useful?
A study published in the journal Current Biology shows that the habit of sleeping in on weekends doesn’t fix the damage that has been done by a lack of sleep during the week. Even worse, it may damage your health.
In the study, which was conducted over 10 days, 36 healthy young men and women with different sleep requirements were divided into three groups. The first group were asked to sleep nine hours a night and the second group five hours a night. The members of the third group slept for five hours on weekdays but rested as long as they wanted on the weekend.
The researchers found that people who lacked sleep ate more snacks and gained weight quickly. However, this wasn’t the case for the first group.
That could be partially due to the shifting of the biological clock and changes to certain body hormones, especially hunger hormones. In order to catch up on their sleep during weekends, people in the third group would eat later as a habit. So their biological clocks shifted, which also changed the production of hunger hormones.
“The hormone leptin(瘦素) decreases appetite(胃口), while the hormone ghrelin(饿素) increases appetite,” explained US researcher Vsevolod Polotsky. “Sleep shortage causes leptin to drop and ghrelin to rise, so you’re hungry and eat more.”
And even if they tried to sleep for as long as they wanted to during weekends, according to researchers, it was still not enough because they found it difficult to fall asleep.
Moreover, short and insufficient sleep schedules will lead to an inability to change blood sugar and increase the risk of metabolic(新陈代谢) disease in the long term.
1. Which of the following is true about the study?| A．Participants were divided into two groups. |
| B．Researchers studied 36 children and adults. |
| C．It lasted for more than two weeks. |
| D．Each group follow different sleep requirements. |
| A．increasing | B．lacking | C．changing | D．shortening |
| A．They need to create more energy. |
| B．There is less leptin in their bodies. |
| C．They have a lower blood sugar. |
| D．Their bodies produce less hormones. |
| A．Appetite Affects our Sleep Quality |
| B．Sleeping in Causes Weight Loss |
| C．Catching up on Sleep Harms Our Body |
| D．Men and Women Sleep Differently |
4 . As a boy growing up in India, I had longed to travel abroad. I used to listen to the stories my father would tell me about his stay in Canada and tours to Europe in the 1990s, with great interest. My big moment finally came in the summer of 2010 when I was able to accompany my parents to Europe. We planned to travel to Belgium, Netherlands and Germany.
I had heard several great things about Lufthansa till then but now I finally got to experience them first hand, during the flight to Frankfurt. We flew business class and even today I can remember the excellent service by the Lufthansa crew. The flight was really smooth and thoroughly enjoyable, even for someone like me, who is otherwise scared of flying.
After spending almost two weeks in Europe, we took the Lufthansa airport express from Dusseldorf to Frankfurt airport, for our return flight. What a journey that was! All along the Rhine(莱茵河)，it was simply an unforgettable experience. I was in a sombre mood on the flight back to Mumbai as it marked the end of a wonderful vacation, but the Lufthansa crew members were able to change it into a most enjoyable experience yet again, with the quality of their service.
Being the first airline to take me overseas, Lufthansa will always hold a special place in my heart. Even today, I continue to enjoy flights on Lufthansa and simply cannot dream of choosing any other airline.
1. Which country does the author live in now?| A．Belgium. | B．Germany. | C．India. | D．Canada. |
| A．Happy. | B．Sad. |
| C．Angry. | D．Enjoyable. |
| A．He likes Lufthansa very much. |
| B．He has achieved much success in life. |
| C．He hopes his father will travel with him. |
| D．He has a hard time when flying just like his father. |
5 . According to a new study, putting preschooler(学龄前儿童) in bed by 8 p.m. could reduce their chances of becoming overweight or obese later in life by half. Preschoolers are children around the age of 4 or 5.
The World Health Organization says obesity can lead to serious long-term health problems like diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Researchers from the Ohio State University’s College of Public Health have found that young children who go to bed after 9 p.m. are twice as likely to be obese later in life. The researchers wrote their findings in The Journal of Pediatrics.
The lead author of the study is Sarah Anderson. She is a professor of epidemiology(流行病学). Anderson says that, for parents, the results of the study support the importance of creating a bedtime routine.
She says that having a usual bedtime routine is something “families can do to lower their children’s risk” of becoming overweight.
Researchers used data from 977 children for the study. These children are part of a larger project called the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. The project follows healthy babies born in 1991 in 10 cities in US.
When these children turned 15 years old, the researchers looked at their rates of obesity. Of those with the earliest bedtimes, only one out of 10 was obese. Of those who went to bed between 8 and 9 p.m., 16 percent became obese. And out of those with the latest bedtimes, 23 percent became obese.
The World Health Organization reported in 2014 that the number of overweight babies and young children worldwide had increased from 31 million in 1990 to 44 million in 2012. If that trend continues, the WHO warns, there will be 70 million obese children in the world by 2025.
1. According to the passage, the risk of obesity ______.| A．can be cut by half if children go to bed by 9 p.m. |
| B．can lead to low blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease |
| C．is the highest at the age of 4 or 5 |
| D．is higher for those children who sleep late at night |
| A．heavy | B．light | C．fat | D．slim |
| A．The research is organized by the World Health Organization. |
| B．The result shows that children sleeping before 8 p.m. have the lowest rate of obesity. |
| C．The findings are based on the data provided by The Journal of Pediatrics. |
| D．The research is funded(提供资金) by the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. |
| A．Objective(客观) | B．Disappointed | C．Positive | D．Satisfied |
6 . Here are a few good ideas for Easter party games for kids, teens, and adults, which are sure to be a hit.
Kids are the age group that is the easiest to please. They love getting into the spirit of Easter.
Eyeball Relay Race: The children should be divided into teams. The first child of each team should be given a spoon along with a ping-pong ball painted to look like an eyeball. They have to carry the eyeball on the spoon to the end of a course and return, and hand it to the next child. The team that is done first wins.
Guess the Scarecrow’s （稻草人的） Nose: A sheet with a scarecrow painted on it will have to be made ahead of time. Cut out the nose part of the scarecrow. The children should be divided into two teams. Each child from the team outside puts his or her nose through the hole in the sheet, while the children inside the room try and guess whose nose it is.
Ghostly Waiter: The children are divided into teams. The first child of each team has to balance a balloon on a paper plate. Each child has to walk as fast as he or she can up and down a set course. The team that finishes first is the winner.
Easter Freeze Monster （怪物）: All the players should be in Easter costumes. The player who becomes the Freeze Monster must run after the others; trying to touch them. Every time he or she touches a player, that player has to stand still until somebody unfreezes them. To unfreeze a frozen player, somebody must come close to the frozen player and guess out aloud who he or she is. If they don’t guess right in three tries, they have to go away and try unfreezing somebody else. The player who is the Freeze Monster can freeze the player trying to unfreeze somebody.
1. The underlined word “hit” in the first paragraph means ______.| A．a thing that is popular | B．an act of beating something |
| C．an idea of pleasing others | D．a game played in a party |
| A．paint a table tennis ball quickly |
| B．run with a ball on the spoon quickly |
| C．give the spoon to the next child |
| D．hold the spoon and eyeball firmly |
| A．Eyeball Relay Race | B．Ghostly Waiter |
| C．Guess the Scarecrow’s Nose | D．Easter Freeze Monster |
| A．Eyeball Relay Race and Guess the Scarecrow’s Nose. |
| B．Ghostly Waiter and Eyeball Relay Race. |
| C．Guess the Scarecrow’s Nose and Easter Freeze Monster. |
| D．Easter Freeze Monster and Ghostly Waiter. |
7 . All Ric O Barry wants is to stop the dolphin-killing, so he is headed to this seaside Japanese town, Taiji. The American activist, who is the star of a new award-winning documentary that portrays the dolphin-killing here, got an unwelcome reception when he showed up here this week for the start of the annual hunt.
His movie, The Cove (海豚湾 ), directed by National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos, was released in the United States a month ago but has not yet to come out in Japan.
Scenes in the film, some of which were shot secretly, show fishermen banging on metal poles stuck in the water to create a wall of sound that scares the dolphins — which have supersensitive sonar (声呐系统) — and sends them fleeing into a cove.
There, the fishermen sometimes pick a few to be sold for aquarium shows, for as much as $150, 000. They kill the others, spearing the animals repeatedly until the water turns red. The meat from one dolphin is worth about 50, 000 yen, and is sold at supermarkets across Japan.
Greenpeace and other groups have tried to stop the hunt for years. Activists hope The Cove will bring the issue to more people internationally—and eventually in Japan.
Already, the Australian town of Broome dropped its 28-year sister-city relationship with Taiji last month, partly because of the movie.
“Some regions have a tradition of eating dolphin meat,” said fisheries official Toshinori Uoya. “Dolphin-killing may be negative for our international image, but it is not something orders can stop.”
The town government in Taiji — which has made whales and dolphins its trademark — refused to comment about The Cove, or the growing international criticism against dolphin-killing.
Many in Taiji take the dolphin hunt for granted as part of everyday life. They are defensive about The Cove, seeing themselves as powerless victims of overseas pressure to end a simple and honest way of making a living.
1. Ric O Barry made The Cove because he wanted to________ .| A．support Greenpeace's efforts | B．win an international award |
| C．stop the dolphin-killing | D．make Taiji well-known in the world |
| A．the cruel and bloody dolphin-killing |
| B．the beautiful Japanese seaside town Taiji |
| C．the sale of dolphin meat around the world |
| D．the advanced techniques to catch dolphins |
| A．Japanese officials decided to ban dolphin-killing. |
| B．Taiji broke up with its western sister-city Broome. |
| C．The town government in Taiji kept silent on criticism. |
| D．Most Japanese people were against eating dolphin meat. |
| A．Feeling guilty for killing dolphins. |
| B．Making the determination to change. |
| C．Attacking those against dolphin-killing. |
| D．Protecting themselves against criticism. |
| A．The Cove has not influenced Japan's international image. |
| B．Many people in Japan have seen The Cove in the cinema. |
| C．Taiji's dolphin-killing industry has been seriously damaged. |
| D．The Cove has brought international attention to dolphin-killing. |
8 . I just had a snowstorm that piled up eight inches of snow. It truly was a winter wonderland, and there was white beauty everywhere. Since I didn't have anything to do that day, I really enjoyed it.
But then the second snowstorm arrived that night, piling additional inches of snow on top of the snow banks that were already there. And then on the evening news, the weather cast gave us a notice that still another snowstorm was headed our way. Then I felt despondent. I had things to do and places to go. After days of being snowbound, I felt like I was under house arrest. I was stuck.
A place stuck isn't a fun place to be, whether it's from a snowstorm or from life circumstances such as a bad relationship, bills that seem to tower over our heads, or situations where we see no way out. All of us will feel stuck at one time or another, but it's how we respond that makes the difference.
I had a friend named Hannah. She was stuck in the heartbreaking world of infertility (不孕). She longed for a child more than anything. Instead of accepting defeat, she acted sincerely. Think about Nelson Mandela in a dark prison. It was a seemingly hopeless place, but instead of becoming depressed or bitter, he kept fighting for freedom. Yes, he kept fighting to get the success.
Circumstances cannot define us, but our reactions do. Each of those men and women learned important lessons in their "stuck" situations, and we can as well.
1. What does the underlined word" despondent" in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Unhappy. | B．Unusual. | C．Ambitious. | D．Energetic. |
| A．Summarize the previous paragraphs. |
| B．Provide some advice for the readers. |
| C．Introduce some background information. |
| D．Form a connecting link of the context. |
| A．To introduce two great celebrities. |
| B．To introduce the way to be famous. |
| C．To show their different circumstances. |
| D．To show how to respond to difficult situations. |
| A．Don't be defeated by failure |
| B．Don't be trapped by snow |
| C．Enjoy the white beauty |
| D．Keep calm in the winter |
9 . I will not go on about the causes of sunburn because you probably already know. If you get sunburn, you may be feeling a bit embarrassed about it. Once you have sunburn, the damage is done. So try the following ways to ease the discomfort.
Cool it down by taking a bath or shower. Keep the water and room temperature warm, especially for children as they may easily feel cold. Some people like to add 1/2 cup of baking soda to the bath water. This may help reduce your pain. You could also place a wet and cool cloth on the burnt area for about 15 minutes. Do that several times a day.
Apply moisture(润肤膏). You can choose some cream that makes your skin not that dry. Apply aloe, either the plant form or gel. Aloe contains active things that help reduce pain. Over the next few days, the skin may peel脱皮) This is the body’s way of eliminating the dead skin, so keep using such cream to help make your skin comfortable. Leave any blisters(水泡)complete. This helps speed healing and avoid infection as burst blisters can easily get infected. You can cover blisters to protect them if needed and definitely do not wear clothing that will cause friction(摩擦) as this can “pop” the blisters. Damaging the blisters can, and probably will cause more pain with rubbing on soft skin and also cause infection.
Give pain relief if needed. The medicine aspirin is not recommended for children.
At this point, the person may not be comfortable, so do not make it worse by applying something that can prevent healing and increase or lock in the heat under the skin, therefore causing more burn damage.
See doctor if:
* it covers a large part of the body or is severe in nature.
* there is a high fever, chills, rash, nausea, and severe pain.
* feeling faint or dizzy, rapid pulse or quick breathing.
* extreme thirst, little or no urine output or sunken eyes.
1. Why do some people use baking soda after getting sunburn?| A．To help prevent disease. | B．To feel better in this way. |
| C．To avoid getting cold. | D．To reduce the burnt area. |
| A．Protecting. | B．Covering | C．Improving | D．Removing. |
| A．Avoiding breaking blisters. | B．Going to see doctor immediately. |
| C．Taking medicine to avoid infection. | D．Preventing the skin from developing blisters. |
| A．Things to help treat sunburn | B．The common causes of sunburn. |
| C．Ways to deal with sunburn. | D．Methods to deal with blisters properly. |
10 . It was late one evening. I can’t remember what it was about, but my Dad and I had a very big argument when my mother was away. We both said things we didn’t mean, and in the end I said, “I’m leaving.” And he said, “Good. The sooner, the better.”
I threw a few things in the suitcase and closed the door violently behind me, not knowing where I was going. After walking aimlessly for 20 minutes, I stopped at a local supermarket. Then my phone rang. It was my mom calling. She said, “Hey, Mary. Where are you? Dad is worried about you.”
“How can he worry about me? I’ve been away for nearly half an hour, but he didn’t call.” I said with annoyance. My anger returned and I remembered all the hateful things he’d shouted to me. “Listen, Mom. You can tell Dad that I’m fine. I’ll call you tomorrow.” I said and hung up.
I walked around the supermarket, trying to get my thoughts together. By the time I paid for my purchases, it had been much later than I used to be out alone. When I left the supermarket, a large piece of white paper was in front of me. On the piece of white paper were these words: “Please come home! I miss you and I’m worried about you!”
Then a car pulled up beside me. Hanging out of the window was my Dad. Besides him, smiling gently, sat my mom. And that’s when I started laughing. I laughed so hard that I cried. Despite(尽管) my best effort to run away from home, my father finally managed to track me down. I couldn’t leave now, not with him sitting there with caring eyes.
1. Why does Mary leave home ?| A．had to make her own living | B．had a bad performance at school |
| C．had an argument with her mother | D．had a big argument with her father |
| A．tried to calm down | B．forgave her father |
| C．became angrier than before | D．agreed to go home |
| A．goods Mary bought | B．actions Mary regretted (后悔) |
| C．telephone calls Mary made | D．lessons Mary learned |
| A．Mary still refused to go home. | B．Mary returned home happily. |
| C．Mary’s father became angry again. | D．Mary’s mother was angry with her father. |
