1 . Mandara seemed to know something big was about to happen. So she let out a yell, caught hold of her 2-year-old daughter Kibibi and climbed up into a tree. She lives at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
And on Tuesday, August 23rd, witnesses say, she seemed to sense the big earthquake that shook much of the East Coast before any humans knew what was going on. And she’s not the only one. In the moments before the quake, an orangutan (猩猩) let out a loud call and then climbed to the top of her shelter.
“It’s very different from their normal call,” said Brandie Smith, the zookeeper. “The lemurs (monkey-like animals of Madagascar) will sound an alarm call if they see or hear something highly unusual.”
But you can’t see or hear an earthquake 15 minutes before it happens, can you? Maybe you can — if you’re an animal. “Animals can hear above and below our range of hearing,” said Brandie Smith. “That’s part of their special abilities. They’re more sensitive to the environment, which is how they survive.”
Primates(灵长类）weren’t the only animals that seemed to sense the quake before it happened. One of the elephants made a warning sound. And a huge lizard (蜥蜴) ran quickly for cover. The flamingoes (a kind of bird) gathered before the quake and stayed together until the shaking stopped.
So what kind of vibrations（震动）were the animals picking up in the moments before the quake? Scientist Susan Hough says earthquakes produce two types of waves — a weak “P” wave and then a much stronger “S” wave. The “P” stands for “primary”. And the “S” stands for “secondary”. She thinks the “P” wave might be what set the animals off.
Not all the animals behaved unusually before the quake. For example, Smith says the zoo’s giant pandas didn’t jump up until the shaking actually began. But many of the other animals seemed to know something was coming before it happened. “I’m not surprised at all,” Smith said.
1. Why did Mandara act strangely one day?| A．Because it heard an orangutan let out a loud call. |
| B．Because its daughter Kibibi was injured. |
| C．Because it sensed something unusual would happen. |
| D．Because an earthquake had happened. |
| A．many animals’ hearing is sharp |
| B．earthquakes produce two types of waves |
| C．primates usually gather together before a quake |
| D．humans can develop the ability to sense a quake |
| A．vibration | B．quake |
| C．shelter | D．range |
| A．How animals survive a quake. |
| B．How animals differ from humans. |
| C．How animals protect their young in a quake |
| D．How animals behave before a quake. |
Charles Darwin was an English
Darwin was born on February 12, 1809, in Shropshire, England. In 1831, Darwin boarded a ship
Darwin first presented his theory of evolution by natural selection (选择) in 1858 to explain how animals adapted to their environment to survive. The idea of evolution
3 . Snowy was a beautiful little horse. Since she was born she has wanted to be a show jumping horse. Every day she would
Snowy was very
“I did it!” she shouted happily. Soon Snowy developed good
Again, Snowy was
Over the past few weeks, something had
So never be afraid of
| A．ask | B．warn | C．invite | D．advise |
| A．sing | B．dance | C．jump | D．run |
| A．old | B．fat | C．clever | D．careful |
| A．embarrassed | B．bored | C．sad | D．excited |
| A．deep | B．high | C．long | D．far |
| A．wait | B．leave | C．stay | D．catch |
| A．see | B．stop | C．start | D．arrive |
| A．speed | B．power | C．wealth | D．courage |
| A．managed | B．expected | C．agreed | D．happened |
| A．habits | B．skills | C．senses | D．ideas |
| A．Suddenly | B．Immediately | C．However | D．Besides |
| A．although | B．unless | C．until | D．if |
| A．Remember | B．Try | C．Carry | D．Study |
| A．nervous | B．happy | C．sad | D．serious |
| A．missed | B．liked | C．entered | D．needed |
| A．appeared | B．changed | C．begun | D．continued |
| A．dangerous | B．important | C．perfect | D．terrible |
| A．pride | B．anger | C．patience | D．kindness |
| A．early | B．young | C．small | D．smart |
| A．failures | B．worries | C．uncertainties | D．difficulties |
Robert Owens felt
The 27-year-old man had spent days
Out of desperation, Owens went to the bank on Saturday and applied
“Our bank account is empty-we can’t afford
“The fact
1. What was the woman doing when she saw the dolphins?
| A．Swimming. | B．Diving. | C．Sailing. |
| A．The weather was bad. | B．She felt quite tired. | C．She got frightened. |
| A．Hiking in the rainforest. |
| B．Exploring the old caves. |
| C．Climbing the mountains. |
| A．He ran into a bicycle. | B．He ran into a tree. | C．He drove too slowly. |
7 . The Bridge Home
By Padma Venkatraman
Runaway sisters Viji and Rukku arrive in the Indian city of Chennai, and it isn’t what they expected. The girls must depend on each other to survive until they meet two homeless boys, Muthi and Arul. As a team, they search around the city for food and shelter while making the most of a terrible situation.
Otherwood
By Pete Hautman
Best friends Stuey and Elly Rose share a birthday and a love of the woods near their homes. When playing in their favorite place deep in the woods, Stuey tells Elly Rose a story—a secret he has learned about his great-grandfather and hers. Something unexpected happens, and Stuey must work out how to repair the damage that was caused long ago.
Where the Watermelons Grow
By Cindy Baldwin
Della’s mama has been sick before. She has an illness that cause her to hear voices that aren’t there. But this summer, her mama seems worse. With daddy working hard to save the family farm from bad weather, Della believe that she needs to fix what’s wrong with mama.
Planet Earth Is Blue
By Nicole Panteleakos
Nova loves astronomy(天文学), an interest she shares with big sister Bridget. The space shuttle Challenger is days from launching(发射),and Bridget has promised to watch it on TV with Nova. But Bridget left their last foster (寄养的)home, and Nova is with a new family. Nova, who is autistic(患孤独症的)and doesn’t use words, hopes that Bridget—the only one who truly understands her—will find her way to Nova in time for liftoff.
1. What happens to Viji and Rukku?| A．They are homeless. |
| B．They are seriously ill. |
| C．They are lost in the woods. |
| D．They are separated from their friends. |
| A．The Bridge Home. |
| B．Otherwood. |
| C．Where the Watermelons Grow. |
| D．Planet Earth Is Blue. |
| A．Nova’s sister. | B．Nova’s teacher. |
| C．Nova’s classmate. | D．Nova’s neighbor. |
8 . "Everything happens for the best, "my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. "If you carry on, one day something good will happen. And you'll realize that it wouldn't have happened if not for that
Mother was
While there were no radios announcing jobs in Dixon, they had opened a store and wanted a local athlete to
I often wonder what
| A．first | B．latest | C．previous | D．last |
| A．happy | B．right | C．sad | D．wise |
| A．TV | B．radio | C．studio | D．sports |
| A．knocked | B．worked | C．decided | D．drew |
| A．turned down | B．turned up | C．turned over | D．turned off |
| A．stand | B．risk | C．avoid | D．refuse |
| A．well-behaved | B．skilled | C．inexperienced | D．well-known |
| A．local | B．small | C．famous | D．unknown |
| A．build | B．manage | C．handle | D．control |
| A．comforted | B．looked | C．sounded | D．welcomed |
| A．puzzle | B．surprise | C．disappointment | D．joy |
| A．lose | B．settle | C．hunt | D．reserve |
| A．turned over | B．boiled over | C．hit over | D．got over |
| A．sitting in | B．waiting for | C．standing in | D．leaving for |
| A．sports | B．games | C．basketball | D．football |
| A．microphone | B．radio | C．audience | D．judge |
| A．live | B．exciting | C．imaginary | D．real |
| A．broadcasting | B．showing | C．lecturing | D．managing |
| A．thought | B．reminded | C．recalled | D．collected |
| A．results | B．directions | C．measures | D．methods |
9 . I came to work in New York about three years ago. Not long after I came to the city I learnt a good lesson.
I'm good at making friends. Soon after I came to New York, I made some very good friends. Loving parties, I often invited my colleagues and friends over. We often had fun together till late night. But people in the building disliked it. I was considered as a black sheep in the building.
One night, when I was throwing a big party for some Chinese students in New York, a neighbor could no longer stand the noise and he called the police. The police came, and many of my neighbors came, too. It was an unhappy night.
However, some days later, I found something very unbelievable. My neighbor Sam threw a big birthday party in his apartment. They sang and danced till midnight. But nobody went to ask them to stop the party. Feeling confused (疑惑的), I went to Sam the next morning and asked him why he could throw a party for his friends while I couldn't. He didn't say anything. Instead, he took me to a notice board in the hall of the building. It said, “My dear neighbors, Sam living on the sixth floor will throw a party tonight. About twenty people will come. We’ll sing and dance. The party will be over around midnight. We may make some noise tonight. Please accept my apology.”
He apologized even before the party began. People felt respected in this way. And that was why nobody bothered them that night.
1. From Paragraph 2, what can we know about the author?| A．He didn't get along well with his neighbors. |
| B．He never had parties late into the night. |
| C．He didn't love parties at all. |
| D．He often invited his neighbors to his parties. |
| A．happy | B．worried |
| C．surprised | D．excited |
| A．By taking him to the neighbors. | B．By telling him an unbelievable story. |
| C．By giving reasons to him carefully. | D．By taking him to a notice board. |
| A．Americans treat foreign people differently |
| B．we should learn to respect others in a proper way |
| C．there is no reason to hold parties at late night |
| D．there is a secret to every success |
When I worked as a nurse, I was on day duty while my workmates were on night duty. On one shift, I sensed something just before going off duty at 11 am. I put down the tray(托盘） on the table and suddenly it fell off the table. At first I thought I had accidentally knocked it over, but then I felt the whole building shaking and heard patients were screaming.
I realized that an earthquake was happening. I quickly caught hold of a nearby patient, who was terribly frightened and pushed her under a bed. And then, I got under another bed myself. As soon as the earthquake stopped, I decided to try and get the patient safely outside. I carried her out and helped her down to the grassland, where several other people had gathered.
Afraid that my other workmates were in danger, I went back inside the building again. When I met Lucy ,our ward sister(护士长），I found her patient couldn't walk. We made a seat for the patient by linking our hands and arms, and carried her outside together. We went back through the building to check no one was left behind in our ward(病房）.
Just then, we saw that a man doctor was calling for volunteers to go down to other wards with him to help more people. So we went together. The doctor went ahead of us and found one of the nurses partially covered with rubble（碎石），luckily still alive. Suddenly, the aftershock (余震）struck and the doctor ordered us to leave. The brave doctor intended to stay alone and risk his own life to save the nurse.
注意：续写字数应为150词左右。
Paragraph 1: However, without any hesitation, we made up our minds to stay with the doctor and save the nurse together.
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Paragraph 2: Later in the afternoon, I had time to look around and saw some destroyed buildings.
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