1 . How does an ecosystem (生态系统) work? What makes the populations of different species the way they are? Why are there so many flies and so few wolves? To find an answer, scientists have built mathematical models of food webs, noting who eats whom and how much each one eats.

With such models, scientists have found out some key principles operating in food webs. Most food webs, for instance, consist of many weak links rather than a few strong ones. When a predator (掠食动物) always eats huge numbers of a single prey (猎物), the two species are strongly linked; when a predator lives on various species, they are weakly linked. Food webs may be dominated by many weak links because that arrangement is more stable over the long term. If a predator can eat several species, it can survive the extinction (灭绝) of one of them. And if a predator can move on to another species that is easier to find when a prey species becomes rare, the switch allows the original prey to recover. The weak links may thus keep species from driving one another to extinction.

Mathematical models have also revealed that food webs may be unstable, where small changes of top predators can lead to big effects throughout entire ecosystems. In the 1960s, scientists proposed that predators at the top of a food web had a surprising amount of control over the size of populations of other species—including species they did not directly attack.

And unplanned human activities have proved the idea of top-down control by top predators to be true. In the ocean, we fished for top predators such as cod on an industrial scale, while on land, we killed off large predators such as wolves. These actions have greatly affected the ecological balance.

Scientists have built an early-warning system based on mathematical models. Ideally, the system would tell us when to adapt human activities that are pushing an ecosystem toward a breakdown or would even allow us to pull an ecosystem back from the borderline. Prevention is key, which scientists says because once ecosystems pass their tipping point (临界点), it is remarkably difficult for them to return.

1. What have scientists discovered with the help of mathematical models of food webs?

A．The living habits of species in food webs.

B．The rules governing food webs of the ecosystems.

C．The approaches to studying the species in the ecosystems.

D．The differences between weak and strong links in food webs.

2. A strong link is found between two species when a predator ______.

A．has a wide food choice	B．can easily find new prey
C．sticks to one prey species	D．can quickly move to another place

3. What will happen if the populations of top predators in a food web greatly decline?

A．The prey species they directly attack will die out.

B．The species they indirectly attack will turn into top predators.

C．The living environment of other species will remain unchanged.

D．The populations of other species will experience unexpected changes.

4. How does an early-warning system help us maintain the ecological balance?

A．By getting illegal practices under control.

B．By stopping us from killing large predators.

C．By bringing the broken-down ecosystems back to normal.

D．By signaling the urgent need for taking preventive action.

2 . Holidays

Holiday News Vacancies(空位) now and in the school holidays at a country hotel in Devon. This comfortable, friendly home-from-home lies near the beautiful quiet countryside, but just a drive away from the sea. The food is simple but good. Children and pets are welcome. Reduced prices for low season.

The Snowdonia Centre The Snowdonia Centre for young mountain climbers has a mountain climbing lesson. The beginners’ costs are ￡57 for a week, including food and rooms. Equipment is included except walking shoes, which can be hired at a low cost. You must be in good health and prepared to go through a period of body exercises. This could be the beginning of a lifetime of mountain climbing adventure.

The World Sea Trip of a Lifetime Our World Sea Trip of 2008 will be unlike any holiday you have ever been on before. Instead of one hotel after another, with all its packing and unpacking, waiting and traveling, you just go to bed in one country and wake up in another. On board the ship, you will be well taken care of. Every meal will be first-class and every cabin like your home. During the trip, you can rest on deck(甲板), enjoy yourself in the games rooms and in the evening dance to our musical team and watch our wonderful play. You will visit all the places most people only dream about — from Acapulco and Hawaii to Tokoy and Hong Kong. For a few thousand pounds, all you’ve ever hoped for can be yours.

1. What can you do if you like to go on holidays with pets?

A．Choose the holiday in Devon.	B．Go to the Snowdonia Centre.
C．Join the World Sea Trip of 2008.	D．Visit Acapulco and Hawaii.

2. In what way is the Snowdonia Centre different from the other two holidays?

A．It provides chances of family gatherings.	B．It provides customers with good food.
C．It offers a sports lesson.	D．It offers comfortable rooms.

3. What is special about the World Sea Trip of 2008?

A．You can have free meals on deck every day.

B．You can sleep on a ship and tour many places.

C．You will have chances to watch and act in a play.

D．You have to do your own packing and unpacking.

3 . 阅读下面材料，在空格处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

It was my first day in Hangzhou, the Chinese city famous for its natural beauty and history and I didn't have much time to spare. I wanted to see     1     much of the city as possible in the two days     2     I was to return to Guangzhou. My first task was to decide where to go and     3     to get there. I took out my guide book in which there was a lot of information about the city's well-known tourist     4    (attract) and started to read. At that moment an attractive young lady     5     noticed my book, came up to me and introduced     6    (her). She said her name was Miss Bai. She kindly offered to show me     7     the city. I was delighted and was about to accept her proposal when she suggested we first     8    (go) to the West Lake and walk along the Broken Bridge. I quite liked the idea of visiting the West Lake but wasn't so sure about crossing the Broken Bridge.    9     it was broken, did she expect me to jump across？And I couldn't swim, so if I fell in then I would drown. That was definitely not an attractive idea so I politely declined her invitation,     10    (close) my book and walked away.

4 . The best way to cure sadness is not shopping, according to a recent study. The so-called shopping method has become common practice these days, but that can put your wallet under a lot of pressure. So if you are sad and feel like shopping, don’t!
According to the recent study, sadness leads to self-focus (自我为中心的) thinking. In other words, sad people are willing to spend more money on the same thing than calm people.
"It is the result of sadness and self-focus, and it turns out that sadness leads to an increase in self-focus," said Cynthia Cruder. "What we think is that sad and self-focused people are feeling pretty bad about themselves, and one way to deal with this is buying material goods."
In a perfect situation, when you know you are sad, you should avoid(避免) making decisions and spending money. Sounds simple? Sadly, it is not. Most people don’t even know they’re sad, the study shows, and they are not aware that their feelings influence their decisions.
What to do? The study showed that those who watched a tragedy(悲剧) were more likely to spend three times more money for a simple bottle of water than those who watched a comedy. The solution: well, for starters, don’t go shopping! If you can’t help it, it is probably better to see a doctor.
1. When you can’t help shopping after feeling sad, you’d better _______.

A．talk to your friends

B．go to the store directly

C．go to bed and rest

D．go to hospital and get checked out by a doctor

2. We can learn from the passage that________.

A．sad and self-focused people are poor

B．sad people make important decisions easily

C．tragedies may make people buy more expensive goods

D．sad people are less confident than calm people

3. What would be the best title for this passage?

A．The Loss of Money Caused by Sadness

B．Shopping is Not the Best Way to Cure Sadness

C．A Study About How to Stay in a Good Mood

D．How to Make Decisions When You Are Sad

5 . 短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（/\），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第十一处起）不计分。
        The other day after work, I was walking down the street while I saw a boy riding a nice unicycle, one of those bicycle with only one wheel. Dressing in all pink from head to toe, he was singing a song which was sounded like a kid’s song. I thought he must be total crazy. Just then, a lady dropped 20-dollar bill on the ground, but he didn’t realize it and started to walk away. The guy in pink picked out the money and gave it back to her. After that, he rode on but soon disappeared before the lady could thank him. How a strange and good guy!

6 . You may not pay much attention to your daily elevator ride. Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it. But Lee Gray, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, US, has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport. He is known as the “Elevator Guy”.

“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette (礼仪) is sort of odd,” Gray told the BBC. “They are socially very interesting but often very awkward places.”

We walk in and usually turn around to face the door. If someone else comes in, we may have to move. And here, according to Gray, lift users unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements. He told the BBC what he had observed.

He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift, you can do whatever you want – it’s your own little box.

If there are two of you, you go into different corners, standing diagonally (对角线地) across from each other to create distance.

When a third person enters, you will unconsciously form a triangle. And when there is a fourth person it becomes a square, with someone in every corner. A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.

New entrants(新进入者) to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act decisively. Once in, for most people the rule is simple – look down, or look at your phone.

Why are we so awkward in lifts?

“You don’t have enough space,” Professor Babette Renneberg, a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin, told the BBC. “Usually when we meet other people we have about an arm’s length of distance between us. And that’s not possible in most elevators.”

In such a small, enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be construed (理解) as threatening or odd. “The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact,” she said.

1. According to Gray, when people enter an elevator, they usually _____.

A．try to keep a distance from other people

B．look around or examine their phone

C．make eye contact with those in the elevator

D．turn around and greet one another

2. Which of the following describes how people usually stand when there are at least two people in an elevator?

A．	B．
C．	D．

3. The underlined phrase“size up”in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to _____.

A．ignore	B．make the best of
C．put up with	D．judge

4. According to the article, people feel awkward in lifts because of _____.

A．someone’s odd behaviors

B．their unfamiliarity with one another

C．the lack of space

D．their eye contact with one another

7 . Ellen Parker was worried about her health. She could not walk very quickly and it was difficult for her to climb stairs. She was soon out of breath. “I suppose I had better go to the doctor,” she thought. She went to the doctor and told him her problem.

“I’m not at all surprised, ”he said. “It’s clear what your problem is.”

He examined her and then gave her some advice.

“If you don’t do what I say, Mrs. Parker,” he said, “you will have a heart attack. It could kill you.” Ellen was very worried as she left the doctor’s. She knew that she had to take his advice but that it would not be easy and it would take time.

The next day she went shopping. The first shop she went into was a butcher’s shop （肉铺）.

“I’d like ten pounds of steak （牛排）, please,” she said.

“Certainly, madam,” the butcher replied and went into the cold room and found a large piece of steak. He brought the huge piece of meat back into the shop and placed it on the scale （天平）.

“That’s just under ten pounds,” he said.

“That’s big enough,” Mrs. Parker said.

The butcher worked out the price. “At ＄4. 99 a pound. That will be ＄49.50, please. Would you like me to cut it up into smaller pieces for you?”

“Oh, I don’t want to buy the meat,” Mrs. Parker said.

“If you don’t want to buy it,” the butcher replied angrily, “why did you ask me to get it for you?”

“My doctor told me that I am overweight and have to lose ten pounds. I wanted to see what ten pounds of flesh looked like.”

1. The reason why Ellen Parker visited the doctor is that________.

A．she had had a heart attack.

B．she had a problem with her health.

C．she was unhappy about her weight.

D．she could not sleep well.

2. Parker asked for ten pounds of steak because ________.

A．she wanted to buy some for dinner.

B．she wanted to lose weight.

C．her doctor had told her to eat steak.

D．she wanted to see what ten pounds of meat looked like.

3. What was Ellen Parker’s real problem？

A．She ate too much steak.	B．She weighed too much.
C．The doctor did not know.	D．She could not walk very quickly.

4. What did the doctor think might happen to Ellen？

A．She might put on more weight.	B．She might stop eating too much.
C．She might have a heart attack.	D．She might go to another doctor.

8 . In the fourth grade, I discovered my one true love — acting. It is not only fun, but it ______ teamwork and empathy, things I think the world should have more of.

However, I never expected that acting would also teach me to ______!

In the first semester of my freshman year of high school, my school ______ the play Frankenstein. It’s about a scientist named Victor Frankenstein who creates a monster, and ______ the monster destroys the scientist’s life.

I got the lead female ______ of Frankenstein’s girlfriend, Elizabeth. I had been in plays before, so I was very ______ to the rehearsal (排练) process of memorizing lines and then ______ a character with help from the director. But this play was different from ______ one I had ever done before, because Frankenstein and Elizabeth had to kiss in the play a lot. The boy who ______ Frankenstein was very cute, I must say. There was a(n) ______ in which our characters shared “15 kisses”. ______, the director removed it. But there were still some kissing scenes.

Would we __ to kiss, or would we actually kiss? Our director __ having us kiss for real, and for the first few times, it was very ______. My lips barely touched the boy’s. Many of the other actors and actresses laughed at us.

__, one thing about stage kissing that you have to understand is that you are not being yourself. That goes for any ______. After that experience, I feel like I can ______ any role. It was a big event in my ______ toward becoming a better actress. I feel more ______ being onstage and showing my character’s personality to the ______. And that is important for getting the message of a play across.

1.

A．learns

B．teaches

C．directs

D．explains

2.

A．kiss

B．hug

C．bow

D．pray

3.

A．prepared for

B．carded out

C．put on

D．took up

4.

A．when

B．where

C．whether

D．how

5.

A．star

B．role

C．maid

D．keeper

6.

A．used

B．addicted

C．related

D．devoted

7.

A．imagining

B．convincing

C．developing

D．revising

8.

A．each

B．no

C．some

D．any

9.

A．played

B．served

C．created

D．replaced

10.

A．space

B．part

C．area

D．interval

11.

A．Eventually

B．Surprisingly

C．Fortunately

D．Regrettably

12.

A．intend

B．mean

C．try

D．pretend

13.

A．applied to

B．ended up

C．objected to

D．gave up

14.

A．fierce

B．romantic

C．awkward

D．pitiful

15.

A．However

B．Therefore

C．Meanwhile

D．Otherwise

16.

A．behaving

B．acting

C．touching

D．moving

17.

A．change

B．design

C．handle

D．assess

18.

A．way

B．journey

C．tour

D．trip

19.

A．comfortable

B．practical

C．optimistic

D．hopeful

20.

A．readers

B．actresses

C．actors

D．audiences

9 . 阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填人空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Bobby Buns was a very amusing and lively waiter who had his own cafe. He was also very _______, because during a visit to a _______he discovered one of the young cows there was pretty _______ Instead of producing milk, this cow produced milk coffee.
_______ to become rich, Bobby took the cow straight to the city. When he arrived, his wife told him that he should first reorganize the cafe so they had a place to_______the cow. However, Bobby was so _______and impatient that he _______this advice, and took the cow straight to the _______
At first the result was quite_______ The cow was featured in the newspapers and on TV. Customers came from far to taste the delicious fresh milk coffee.
However, after the________, it turned out that having a cow in the middle of a cafe was not at all ________ Every day the cow broke twenty or thirty cups simply by wagging (摇摆) its tail. The cafe smelt terrible. The hay the cow ate got spread all over the place. The cow left so little room in the cafe that there would be fewer customers ________
________, the authorities came to do an inspection. They gave him such a heavy fine that Bobby almost had to ________the cafe. Bobby Buns realized that he had to be more patient and________ He should ________until everything was ready before________his fresh milk coffee.
________, Bobby was a lucky guy. When the cafe was being reorganized, he took the cow back to the village. There he discovered that one of the hens laid chocolate eggs. This time he knew he had to be patient, and wait until everything was ________ When everything was all ________, his cafe became the most famous and successful in the whole city.1.

A．sensitive

B．curious

C．careful

D．fortunate

2.

A．town

B．city

C．village

D．cottage

3.

A．special

B．healthy

C．heavy

D．clever

4.

A．Intending

B．Learning

C．Continuing

D．Failing

5.

A．hide

B．kill

C．sell

D．put

6.

A．confused

B．excited

C．ashamed

D．angry

7.

A．followed

B．ignored

C．considered

D．valued

8.

A．yard

B．home

C．garden

D．cafe

9.

A．impressive

B．horrible

C．upsetting

D．important

10.

A．anxiety

B．disappointment

C．excitement

D．shock

11.

A．strange

B．interesting

C．natural

D．proper

12.

A．joining in

B．cutting in

C．giving in

D．stepping in

13.

A．Unfortunately

B．Probably

C．Gradually

D．Generally

14.

A．forget

B．decorate

C．close

D．discover

15.

A．organized

B．eager

C．different

D．friendly

16.

A．relax

B．wait

C．predict

D．dream

17.

A．dropping

B．purchasing

C．inventing

D．serving

18.

A．Therefore

B．Otherwise

C．However

D．Instead

19.

A．prepared

B．tried

C．remembered

D．changed

20.

A．in need

B．in place

C．in turn

D．in peace

10 . Once there was a very poor villager. He found it difficult even to support his family.        1     He walked about in the streets, but he did not get a job. One day, he met a rich businessman, who gave him the job of cleaning the office. The villager began his work and he even started reading and writing in his spare time.

One day, the businessman saw that the villager was writing something. He said, “You can also read and write! Your handwriting is very good.”      2       The villager began to do this job as best as he could.

Later, the businessman learnt that the villager was good at accounting（记账）, and he made him his shop accountant（会计）. The other accountants were very jealous （嫉妒）of the villager’s abilities. They told the businessman that the villager had a small room where he hid the money stolen from him.          3    

One day, they had their chance. They saw the villager going into ‘that’ room.       4          When they came back and opened the door, there was nothing in that room except an ordinary box.

The villager was ordered to open the box with his own hands. And there was only a pair of dirty shoes and some old clothes.    5     At the same time, he was so angry with the jealous accountants that he fired them at once. The villager was made the only accountant for his office.

A．He came to a big city hoping to find a job.

B．They closed the door behind him and ran to the businessman.

C．So the businessman decided to give the villager a good lesson.

D．Seeing this, the businessman was moved by what he had seen.

E．So the villager was given the work of writing business letters for him.

F．The villager wished that some kind people might give him a good job.

G．But the businessman refused to believe them unless he had seen it with his own eyes.