1 . Half a year ago, Lacey Scott was shopping for supplies at a local pet store in Kansas City, Missouri. When she was in that location, a bored face of a little goldfish attracted her attention, and she didn’t stop staring at it the entire time she was there.

Lying at the bottom of a dark fish tank, the sad fish didn’t appear to have much of a wish to survive. Lacey learned from a store clerk that the fish was ten years old and had spent a long time in that depressing tank.

“I couldn’t take my mind off him. I couldn’t bear the thought of a fish who had wasted so much of its life and would end up dying in a pet store,” Lacey said.

Lacey approached the store owner and asked if she could take the small fish home with her.

What no one realized was that the small fish’s best days were still to come: all it needed was a second chance.

Lacey returned home and built a pond out of various materials for the fish she named “Monstro”. She changed his water every day to keep it clean and fresh, and fed him with only the fish food. Monstro, on the other hand, did not appear to be enjoying his new living environment, not even moving to have his meal.

Despite this, Lacey did not give up on him and continued to provide him with specialized care. “I found him swimming for small amounts of time after a month,” Lacey said. “And it was at that point that I realized things began to change.”

Monstro’s body began to change as well. The gray scales (鱼鳞) that made him seem unwell began to change colors. His small body began to shine, showing that his condition had improved greatly.

Lacey put Monstro into a much larger tank once he had fully recovered, where he continues to live in the greatest possible way.

1. Why did the goldfish at the pet store catch Lacey Scott’s attention?

A．He was a rare type of goldfish.

B．He looked sad and was tired of life.

C．He looked energetic, colorful and lovely.

D．He was so old that he could hardly move.

2. How was the fish when he just arrived at Lacey’s home?

A．He tried to jump out of the pond.

B．He adapted to his new life very quickly.

C．He seemed not to be fond of his new home.

D．He appeared to be dead and floated on the surface.

3. When did Lacey start to find Monstro’s change?

A．The fish began to swim in the pond.

B．The fish started to eat a lot of food.

C．The fish’s scales began to change colors.

D．The fish came to the surface to breathe.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．A goldfish bought by a woman recovers from his injury.

B．A woman builds a new pond for an active goldfish.

C．A kind woman saves a goldfish from being killed.

D．A goldfish adopted by a woman starts a new life.

2 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Tomatoes: The Real Magical Fruit

“Fresh tomato plants! Straight out of the ground! 50 cents each!” I shouted in the school hall. In my hands, I carried a shoebox with little tomato plants. Their homes were plastic bottles, without the top half. Most people ignored my product, but some handed me 50 cents and picked out a 2-week-old baby tomato plant.

About a month before this, I started gardening. I pulled up grass in my little garden for several days in a row. Satisfied with my work, I continued to the second step — begging my dad to take me to the supermarket. He agreed!

When my dad turned off the engine and opened the door, I practically skipped inside the supermarket. We headed straight for the garden center. I picked up planters, seeds and dirt. My dad helped and showed me the best dirt and tomato plant types to get. We got to the register, and my dad, knowing what would happen, helped me pay.

As soon as I got home, I began to plant them in my garden. The following days witnessed my visits to the garden and my parents were amazed by my devotion to my new-found love.

Then was the part where I met my problem — I planted too many tomato seeds. I realized this all too late, about 10 days later when they all started sprouting (发芽) up and I counted 45 tomato plants. A few days went by and then I ended up with 85 tomato plants.

I did what all high schoolers would do when they messed up — I asked people around. I even got a notebook to write down their suggestions. Sadly, I got the same answer from most people, “Just let them die.” WHAT?! Let my beautiful plants die? They had so much potential! They could make 20 — 30 tomatoes per plant! We were talking about the possibility of around 2,550 tomatoes!

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

So, I decided to solve it in my way.

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The result was better than I had thought.

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3 . Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, started erupting late Sunday in the U.S. island state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The volcano last erupted 38 years ago. But it is not expected to put people in danger.

At this point, melted(熔化的) rock, called lava, is predicted not to come near populated areas, but officials warned people to be ready to move away. The path of lava flows can change quickly.

Island officials warned people to stay away from the areas where lava is coming out because it can shoot 30 to 60 meters in the air. The gas coming from the eruption is also harmful. At the moment, however, the state said air quality on the island is good.

The eruption is a new experience for many people on the island. There are more than twice as many people living there compared to the last time Mauna Loa erupted. State officials are most concerned about an area about 50 kilometers to the south of the volcano where about 5,000 people live.

There is some concern about a weak area on the southwestern part of the mountain. If lava escapes from that area, it could threaten places where people live in just hours or days. The lava has never come up through that area during past eruptions.

The lava could flow toward the city of Hilo, which has about 45,000 people. That could take about a week. Scientists say they hope the lava flows like it did in 1984, when it moved slowly.

Hawaii mayor is Mitch Roth. He said the eruption “will be remarkable”, but he does not think it will cause problems for people visiting Hawaii. He said many people come to Hawaii to see volcanoes, but they have to travel a long way to a national park. Now, they can see an eruption much more easily. “You can just look out your window at night and you’ll be able to see Mauna Loa erupting,” he said.

1. Why did officials give people a warning?

A．The way lava flows is uncertain.	B．Air quality on the island isn’t good.
C．The lava can shoot 60 meters at least.	D．The lava will reach where people live.

2. Why do some people worry about the weak area?

A．It is near populated places.	B．No lava has come up through it.
C．Many people live there.	D．It can stop eruptions.

3. What does Mitch Roth agree with?

A．People had better leave Hawaii soon.

B．The eruption is a possible danger to visitors.

C．It is convenient to watch an eruption in Hawaii.

D．The eruption is a once-in-a-century natural wonder.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．People in Hawaii Are Ready to Escape

B．Volcanoes in Hawaii Always Attract Visitors

C．Damage of Volcano in Hawaii Is Not Clear

D．World’s Largest Active Volcano Erupts in Hawaii

4 . 假定你是李华，为响应世界自然基金会(WWF)关于保护濒危动物的号召，你和你的同学做了研究北极熊(polar bear)的课题。现在请你用英文写一封信向该组织汇报你们的研究成果。内容主要包括：
1.北极熊的生存现状（全球温度升高，冰面变小）
2.你的建议（至少两点）。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，使行文连贯；
3. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear WWF,

My classmates and I have been doing some research ca endangered animals.

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I hope you will support us in our fight to save polar bears.

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

5 . Earthquakes are a terrible natural disaster that will cause lots of danger and damage. In the last few years, we have seen some of the worst earthquakes in history.     1     However, we do get some signs from animals, including dogs!

Dogs have been known to warm their owners that dangerous weather was coming. We can take the ways our dog reacts (反应) in certain situations to give us a hand in predicting when something like an earthquake may be about to happen.

Although the signs of a dog sensing an earthquake aren’t very clear, dogs who sense earthquakes will show certain signs before the event actually happens.     2     You know your dog well, so it will not be too challenging to tell when there is something wrong. Some dogs will begin to run around in circles and pace up and down crazily. It may appear as if something has frightened them or as if they saw something that made them nervous.     3    .

On the other hand, dogs will instinctively look for shelter when they sense bad weather or they feel like they are in danger.     4    . Or if they are outside, they may go into their dog house. It is important to that just because your dog is showing all or some of these signs, it does not mean an earthquake or other natural disaster is about to strike.

    5    . But take their behaviors seriously and do what you feel is right depending on the situation.

A．Many dogs can tell smelly gas.

B．Your dog may run off or hide under a bed.

C．Using dogs to predict earthquakes is not new

D．If there is a coming earthquake, your dog will act strangely.

E．They will also often bark for what seems to be no right reason.

F．Earthquakes generally come with no warning and are hard to predict.

G．There may be other reasons dogs may act this way or appear afraid for seemingly no reason.

6 . The Banaue Rice Terraces (梯田) in Ifugao Province in the Philippines offer a great sight. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is also rich in history and features how human creativity can produce amazing outcomes. Through hard work, the Ifugao native managed to survive by flattening the mountain’s surface layer by layer and using them as farmlands. This practice of more than two thousand years has put together a well-known wonder.

There are several rice terraces in the Ifugao region but the Banaue Rice Terraces are the most popular tourist spot. The photos of this area are often used in printed materials like textbooks magazines and postcards. After getting a good look at the rice terraces, I was reminded of the first time that I saw their pictures in our textbook during my elementary days. I already found them amusing as a kid and seeing their beauty as an adult got me more amazed.

The tourism officer told us that we were lucky to catch them in their greenest form. If you plan to visit this tourist spot as well, you should take note that we got there last June 1. You can also take into consideration that the rice planting cycle is typically 3 to 6 months.

Unlike the other terraces, the local government created a platform that makes it easy for everyone to get a closer look at the rice terraces. The platform has four stone statues that they refer to as rice protectors.

It’s sad that the younger generation of Ifugaos are slowly abandoning the rice terraces. According to tour guide Alvin, the part of the rice terraces where people can see thick bushes and trees were former rice fields. But the children who inherited (继承) those decided to give up farming and work in big cities instead. I hope that a new farming method with modern equipment will encourage the Ifugaos to continue their rice terraces farming tradition to protect this cultural treasure.

1. What can be learned about the Banaue RiceTerraces?

A．They are most known for their history.

B．They were made to mainly draw tourists.

C．The locals created them with great wisdom and effort.

D．Many mountains and lakes were turned into farmlands.

2. Why does the author mention his childhood experience?

A．To show the Banaue Rice Terraces are really attractive.

B．To show Ifugao Province is heavily dependent on tourism.

C．To show the Banaue Rice Terraces are more suitable for kids to visit.

D．To show advertisements for the Banaue Rice Terraces spread rapidly.

3. What is Paragraph 3 intended to do?

A．Tell us some facts about rice planting.

B．Encourage more people to go to Ifugao.

C．Raise public awareness of local traditions.

D．Share the proper time to visit the Banaue Rice Terraces.

4. How does the author feel about the future of the Banaue Rice Terraces?

A．Worried.

B．Positive.

C．Confused.

D．Curious.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The terrifying flooding of Venice could and should have been avoided. It hasn’t been this bad since 1966, when the water reached 6 feet, 4 inches. Back then,     1     (frighten) Italians called for immediate action.     2    , once the water moved away, they didn’t take it as seriously as before and thought over the issue for almost 40 years. The massive MOSE flood     3     (protect) system that was finally approved in 2003 still hasn’t been completed.

“Meanwhile, Venice is disappearing beneath the water,” said Jacopo Giliberto. “Climate change and rising sea levels are     4     (blame). But so is the fact that we pumped water from an underground aquifer (蓄水层)     5     the 1930s to the 1980s,     6     (cause) the ground beneath us to fall with impressive speed. Proud Venice is     7     world treasure, an open-air art museum, so officials instead chose more expensive invisible dams that won’t disturb the view. So far, we     8     (spend) more than $ 6 billion on MOSE, which won’t be put into use until next year at the earliest.”

“The project is a disaster, and Italians just aren’t good at long-term planning,” said Maurizio Ferrera. “Look at our booming national debt,     9     now sits at $2.7 trillion, 138 percent of our GDP. If we are to save Venice, we’ll have to change our political culture.     10     is unclear whether we have the will.”

8 . He’s as big as a small golden dog and covered with scales (鳞片). He is the pangolin (穿山甲), an endangered animal.

According to the wildlife trade monitoring organization Traffic, about one million pangolins were killed from 2000 through 2013, mainly for their scales, which are used in medicine. Pangolins are sensitive creatures and picky eaters that only eat certain species of ants, a diet that’s very difficult to copy in the food chain.

“In the last decade, there’s been a huge growth trade in pangolins between continents, especially their scales,” says Dan Challender, chair of the pangolin specialist group. Previously, most pangolin killing happened within Asia, he says. This shift means that Asian pangolins are becoming difficult to find but that the value of the scales makes it worth the extra cost to take pangolins from Africa to Asia secretly.

All eight species of pangolins, four in Africa and four in Asia, are in danger of extinction due to the illegal trade. International trade in the four species of Asian pangolins has been banned since 2000. In the past few years, a ban on international commercial trade in all eight species has gone into effect. It was voted by 183 governments that are parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which is in charge of cross-border trade in wild animals and their parts.

Pangolins are eaten as bushmeat in western and central Africa and by some local groups in South and Southeast Asia. Their parts also are used in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa as traditional medicine. Typically dried, ground into powder, and put into pills, pangolin scales are used in a range of traditional medicines to help mothers who have given birth to babies to recover. But they are now endangered. Perhaps no pangolins can be seen when our next generation grow up.

1. What do you know about pangolins from Paragraph 2?

A．Their meat is very delicious.

B．Their scales are of great value.

C．They are smaller than young dogs.

D．They are on the top of the food chain.

2. Why are pangolins brought from Africa to Asia?

A．Pangolins are cheaper in Africa.

B．No laws protect pangolins in Africa.

C．People in Asia can really save pangolins.

D．Pangolins have sharply decreased in numbers in Asia.

3. What does the fourth paragraph mainly tell us?

A．Pangolins have many different species.

B．The bans on pangolin trade are ineffective.

C．People used to take advantage of pangolins in different ways.

D．Governments have tried to contribute to the protection of pangolins.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards pangolins’ future?

A．Positive.

B．Uncaring.

C．Concerned.

D．Confident.