1 . In the sea there are many islands. In its warm waters there are some little ones. We call them “Coral Islands”.
A coral island is very nice to look at. It looks like a ring of land with tress, grass, and flowers on it. One part of the ring is open to the water. There is a little round lake inside the island.
If you look into this lake, you will see beautiful coral. You may think they are flowers.
If you look at a piece of coral, you will see many little holes in it. In each of these holes a very small sea animal has lived . These sea animals make the coral.
They began to build under the water. Year after year, the coral grew higher and higher.
At last it grew out of the water.
Then the sea brought to it small trees and something else. After some years, these things changed into earth. Sometimes the wind brought seeds to this earth. Sometimes birds flew over it and brought seeds to the island.
The little seeds grew. In a few years there were plants all over the island. In a few more years there were trees growing there.
So you see, these islands were built little by little. The workers were very small. Do they not teach us a lesson? Can you think what the lesson is?
1. In the sea ________.| A．there are coral islands in all places | B．there are some coral islands |
| C．the water is always warm | D．we can see many flowers |
| A．a round cake | B．trees, grass and flowers |
| C．a ring of land | D．a round lake |
| A．flowers | B．little corals |
| C．grass | D．sea animals |
| A．small workers can’t do big things |
| B．only big workers can do big things |
| C．small workers can do big things if they work hard and work a long time |
| D．all small things can do big things |
2 . Australia is the smallest continent in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is on the Southern Hemisphere of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is small. The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai.
Enough laws have been made to fight against pollution. The cities in Australia have little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish in the rivers. Plants grow very well.
Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flower exhibition. There we saw large numbers of wild flowers on show, most of which we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. Every year in spring Perth has a wild flower exhibition. After visiting Perth, we spent a day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves very much. When we heard bells ringing at the top of the hills, we looked up, but what we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to our car as quickly as we could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us along the path.
Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos. After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself among the white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere you can see sheep.
1. Which country is the writer most possibly from?| A．Japan | B．Canada |
| C．China | D．America |
| A．Australia is the smallest country in the world |
| B．Australia is the same size of Shanghai. |
| C．Australia is in the northern part of the earth. |
| D．The people in Australia are as many as those in Shanghai. |
| A．Australia has enough laws to fight against pollution. |
| B．Perth is the biggest city in Australia. |
| C．The wild flowers in Perth must be different from what the author sees in his/her country. |
| D．The author enjoyed his/her visit in the country. |
3 . Valencia is in the east part of Spain. It has a port on the sea, two miles away on the coast. It is the capital of a province that is also named Valencia.
The city is a market center for what is produced by the land around the city. Most of the city's money is made from farming. It is also a busy business city, with ships, railways, clothes and machine factories.
Valencia has an old part with white buildings, colored roofs and narrow streets. The modern part has long, wide streets and new buildings. Valencia is well known for its parks and gardens. It has many old churches and museums. The university in the center of the city was built in the 13th century.
The city of Valencia has been known since the 2nd century. In the 8th century it was the capital of Spain. There is also an important city in Venezuela named Valencia.
1. Valencia is the capital of _______.| A．Spain | B．Venezuela | C．Valencia | D．Uganda |
| A．farm products | B．parks and gardens |
| C．clothes and machines | D．ships and railways |
| A．shops | B．factories | C．white buildings | D．wide streets |
| A．Spain and Britain | B．Venezuela and Britain |
| C．Spain and Venezuela | D．Spain and Vietnam |
4 . When Columbus ‘sailed the ocean blue in 1492’ he wasn't looking for America, he was searching for a route from Spain to China; America just got in the way.
The Spanish were after the riches of Asia: silk, dates, spices. Until later adventurers discovered how to sail to the Far East, trade with China depended on the Silk Road. The trade between China and Europe brought huge wealth, so the Spanish had a strong desire to find a new way to the East. Eventually a way appeared; as sea traffic developed from the 17th Century onwards, the overland route diminished.
Now China is seeking to revive(复兴)the Silk Road and is preparing to invest 4 trillion pounds in new roads, rail links, oil pipelines and other basic facilities. It is hoped that goods can be shipped westwards by land far more quickly and economically than by sea.
But the plan is also to attract more tourists. Actually, China does pretty well for tourists already; it's the world's fourth most visited country. Two cities — Beijing and Shanghai—possess the tourism business, with significant interest in destinations such as Xi'an and Chengdu. While Beijing is modern, cities such as Lanzhou and Dunhuang have one foot planted firmly in old China.
Other places featured include Xi'an, the former capital of China, where you can come face to face with the Terracotta Army built to protect China's first emperor in the afterlife. From Lanzhou tour members take the train to Jiayuguan, China's western gateway and a key location on the Silk Road.
There is also a fourday coach journey along the original Silk Route through the Xinjiang region to Kashgar. Along the way, at Kurla, you can visit the ruins of the Iron Fortress.
1. What does the underlined word “diminished” in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．Discovered. | B．Disappeared. |
| C．Disturbed. | D．Displayed. |
| A．To rebuild the ruins of the Iron Fortress. |
| B．To construct new roads and other basic structures. |
| C．To make transportation westwards faster and cheaper. |
| D．To draw more inland tourists' attention to the western gateway. |
| A．It is nothing but a trade route. |
| B．It may destroy some cities' ancient style. |
| C．It attracts foreign investment of ￡4 trillion. |
| D．It promotes the tourism industry of China. |
| A．The charming of the Silk Road |
| B．The function of the Silk Road |
| C．The origin of the Silk Road |
| D．The future of the Silk Road |
地理位置：我国西南；面积：约21473平方公里；人口：619多万；
特色：气候宜人；交通便利；旅游、文化资源丰富，游客既可欣赏美景，又可品尝各种风味食品。
其他：乐意充当导游。
注意：
1.词数：100左右。开头为你写好，但不计入总词数；
2.内容可适当发挥，注意行文连贯。
Dear Tom,
Hi, I’m glad______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6 . Do you know Australia? Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth.
Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flowers’ exhibition. There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time.
After visiting Perth, we spent the day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill.
| A．The people of Australia are very hard-working. |
| B．Australia is the sixth largest country in the world. |
| C．Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos. |
| D．Australia is big, but its population is not large. |
| E．Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. |
| F．The sky is blue and the water is clean. |
| G．It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves. |
“Storm at Sea”, a short poem written around 700, is generally regarded as one of mankind’s earliest artistic representations of the Atlantic Ocean.
When the wind is from the west
All the waves that cannot rest
To the east must thunder on
Where the bright tree of the sun
Is rooted in the ocean’s breast.
As the poem suggests, the Atlantic Ocean is never dead and dull. It is an ocean that moves, impressively and endlessly. It makes all kinds of noise---it is forever thundering, boiling, crashing and whistling.
It is easy to imagine the Atlantic Ocean trying to draw breath----perhaps not so noticeably out in mid-ocean, but where it meets land, its waters bathing up and down a sandy beach. It imitates nearly perfectly the steady breathing of a living creature. It is filled with co-living existences, too: unimaginable quantities of creatures, little and large alike, mix within its depths in a kind of oceanic harmony, giving to the waters a feeling of heartbeat, a kind of sub-ocean vitality. And it has a psychology. It has personalities: sometimes peaceful and pleasant, on rare occasions rough and wild; always it is strong and striking.
1. Unlike real inland seas, the Atlantic Ocean is __________.
| A．always energetic | B．lacking in liveliness |
| C．shaped like a square | D．favored by ancient poets. |
| A．describing the movement of the waves |
| B．showing the strength of the storm |
| C．presenting the power of the ocean |
| D．proving the vastness of the sea |
| A．a beautiful and poetic place | B．a person of blood and flesh |
| C．a world of interest and wonder | D．a lovely animal |
8 . Deserts are found where there is little rainfall or where rain for a whole year falls in only a few weeks time. Then inches of rain may be enough for many plants to survive if the rain is spread throughout the year. If it falls within one or two months and the rest of the year is dry, those plants may die and a desert may form.
Sand begins as tiny pieces of rock that get smaller and smaller as wind and weather wear them down. Sand dunes (沙丘) are formed as winds move the sand across the desert. Bit by bit, the dunes grow over the years, always moving with the winds and changing the shape. Most of them are only a few feet tall, but they can grow to be several hundred feet high.
There is, however, much more to a desert than sand. In the deserts of the Southwestern United States, cliffs (悬崖) and deep valleys were formed from thick mud that once lay beneath a sea more than millions of years ago. Over the centuries, the water dried up. Wind, sand, rain, heat and cold all wore away at the remaining rocks. The faces of the desert mountains are always changing — very, very slowly — as these forces of nature continue to work on the rock.
Most deserts have a surprising variety of life. There are plants, animals and insects that have adapted to life in the desert. During the heat of the day, a visitor may see very few signs of living things, but as the air begins to cool in the evening, the desert comes to life. As the sun begins to rise again in the sky, the desert once again becomes quiet and lonely.
1. Many plants may survive in deserts when ________.| A．the rain is spread out in a year |
| B．the rain falls only in a few weeks |
| C．there is little rain in a year |
| D．it is dry all the year round |
| A．sand piles up gradually |
| B．there is plenty of rain in a year |
| C．the sea has dried up over the years |
| D．pieces of rock get smaller |
| A．too much sand |
| B．more sand than before |
| C．nothing except sand |
| D．something else besides sand |
| A．there is no rainfall throughout the year |
| B．life exists in rough conditions |
| C．all sand dunes are a few feet high |
| D．rocks are worn away only by wind and heat |
The island is mountainous and covered in trees. The water around the island is transparent like glass. When I first visited it, there was mist rising from the trees. The little harbor looked mysterious and remote: tall palm trees, a few shops and restaurants, no cars, motorcycles or bikes.
It is not by chance that the island has kept its natural beauty. Once, it was privately owned and the owners always wanted to keep it in its natural state. In 1963, Port Cros became a national park. The park directors made some rules to protect the island. They didn’t allow any new building projects. There is only one hotel and no camping is allowed. Visitors can’t use mountain bikes or smoke on the island. Sailing boats that visit the island mustn’t damage the bottom of the sea or pollute the water around it.
When we arrived, we started walking to the beach of Port-Man, which was the furthest beach from the port. It took us two hours and when we arrived, the beach was deserted. It seemed that we were the only people on the island. Time seemed to stop. It was so beautiful that we stayed there all day. I visited there again last summer. Nothing had changed. The island still looked magical and mysterious, still with few tourists. It must be wonderful to stay the night on the island, I thought. After all the visitors have gone, the island must be so quiet—a real paradise (天堂)!
1. The author got to know Port Cros at first due to _____.
| A．some tourist brochures |
| B．his wife’s introduction |
| C．his first visit there |
| D．some TV programs |
| A．Foreign visitors are not allowed to visit it. |
| B．Nothing has been built in the park there. |
| C．Only bikes can be used on the island. |
| D．Sailing boats mustn’t pollute the water. |
| A．it was very sunny |
| B．there were few visitors there |
| C．it took them a whole day to walk to Port-Man |
| D．the island was deserted and he stayed there for a whole night |
