1 . Laura walked towards the man. “It is terribly cold,” she said.

“Colder than ever,” the man said. “Now tell me what you want.” He stared at Laura for a few seconds and then grinned, “Maybe you’d like to come inside and warm up.”

“No. No, I don’t want to come in.” She took a deep breath. “I just wanted to know if you’re interested in selling your dog.”

“That worthless mutt?” The man pointed to a dog in the yard and laughed for a few seconds, then suddenly stopped. “I was just joking about the worthless part. He’s a pretty good dog. Yeah. I might be interested.”

“Well, he’s the kind of dog I’m looking for. And it doesn’t seem like you’re too fond of him. I mean he’s tied up outside. I don’t see any food or water.”

“You just wait a minute. I take good care of that dog. The guy I got him from said he was a trained guard dog. The trouble is, the stupid thing doesn’t even bark when strangers come around. But then I guess that wouldn’t matter to you. You’re probably just looking for a pet, huh?”

“Yeah. Well, here’s your chance to get rid of him. I’ll give you twenty dollars.”

“You expect me to sell a purebred guard dog for twenty dollars?” the man snorted (哼着鼻子说). “Fifty dollars. That’s my price. You bring me fifty dollars, honey, and you got yourself a dog.” He smiled. “Sure you don’t want to come in?”

Laura shook her head. “I’ll be back with the money.” Breakfast forgotten, she searched for and found a cash machine four blocks away. I can’t afford this, she thought as she punched the numbers into the machine. The dog will need a vet, and where am I going to get the money for that? Her fears wore off as she pictured the dog, curled up, not outside on the cold, hard ground, but in front of a glowing fireplace. Blue ceramic bowls filled with food and water sat in the corner of the kitchen, and she saw him, head held high, matching her stride on their daily walk.

With the money in her purse, she hurried back to the man’s house.

1. Laura started a conversation with the man because she ________.

A．needed shelter from the cold

B．wanted to see if she could buy his dog

C．hoped to find out where she could buy a pet

D．wasn’t pleased with how he treated his dog

2. What can we learn about the man from the passage?

A．He considered the dog pretty.

B．He was good at training guard dogs.

C．He had been trying to get rid of the dog.

D．He had bought the dog to protect his home.

3. How come Laura’s worry about money faded?

A．She realized that the dog would be living a much better life with her.

B．It occurred to her that she actually had enough money in her bank account.

C．She was confident that she would soon land a decent job and earn enough money.

D．She was excited about having a guard dog beside her when she wanted to take a walk.

4. Judging from the passage, we can know that Laura is ________.

A．a homeless girl	B．a social worker
C．a rather poor lady	D．an experienced pet owner

2 . Directions: After reading the passage below, foll in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form. For the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
THE EAGLE
This is the kind of story you need when it seems like the world is out of control

Freedom and Jeff

Freedom and I have been together 10 years this summer. She came in as a baby in 2011 with two     1     (break) wings, thin and dirty. We made the decision to give her a chance at life, so I took her to the vet's office. From then on, I was always around her. We had her in a huge dog carrier with the top off, and it was loaded up with shredded newspaper for her to lay in. I used to sit and talk to her, urging her to live, to fight and she would lay there looking at me with those big brown eyes. We also had to tube feed her for weeks. This went on for 4-6 weeks, and by then she still couldn't stand. It got to the point     2     the decision was made to euthanize (安乐死) her if she couldn't stand in a week.

She was going to be put down that Friday, and I was supposed to come in on that Thursday afternoon. I didn't want to go to the center that Thursday,     3     I couldn't bear the thought of her being euthanized, but I went anyway and when I walked in everyone was grinning from ear to ear. I went immediately back to her cage; and there she was, standing on her own, a big beautiful eagle. She was ready to live. I was just about in tears by then. That was a very good day. We knew she could never fly, so the director asked me to glove train her.

In the spring of 2013, I was diagnosed     4     non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (淋巴瘤). I had stage 3, which is not good, so I wound up doing eight months of chemo (化疗). Lost the hair- the whole bit. I missed a lot of work.     5     I felt good enough, I would go to Sarvey and take Freedom out for walks. Freedom would also come to me in my dreams and help me fight the cancer. This happened time and time again.

Fast forward to November 2013, I went in for my last checkup. I was told that if the cancer was not all gone after eight rounds of chemo, then my last option was     6     stem cell transplant. I went in Monday, and 1 was told that all the cancer was gone. Amazing!

So the first thing I did was     7     (get) up to Sarvey and take the big girl out for a walk. It was misty and cold. I went to her flight, and we went out front to the top of the hill. I hadn’t said a word to Freedom, but somehow she knew. She looked at me and wrapped both her wings around me to where I could feel them     8     (press) in on my back, and she touched my nose with her mouth and     9     (stare) into my eyes, and we just stood there like that for I didn't know how long. That was a magic moment. We     10     (be) soulmates since she came in. This is a very special bird.

3 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. profitably	B. fallen	C. sell	D. dangerous	AB. dump	AC. efficiently
AD. plastic	BC. endless	BD. civilization	CD. throwaway	ABC. stylish

The value of upcycling

Recycling is a well-known idea that refers to reusing waste materials in any way possible. But what about “upcycling”? It’s a new word, even though it’s something that has been going on since human     1     began. It means reusing waste materials so that they have greater value. Throughout history, people have always done creative things with “trash”. For example, they’ve used straw and dead leaves to make roofs, skin from dead animals to make leather goods, and wood from     2     trees to make boats. So why is there a new word for it now?

One answer to this question is that we reuse fewer and fewer things, and so have become a (n) “    3    ” society. This has raised huge questions about waste: Where can we     4     it all? Will it pollute the environment? Could it be     5     to our health? The evidence is everywhere—even in the Pacific Ocean, where billions of bits of broken     6     float near the surface. Fish eat them, and then we eat the fish.

So upcyclers have adopted this new word to focus people’s attention on how waste cannot simply be reused, but be reused     7    . In fact, upcyclers don’t like the idea of waste and prefer to call it an “asset”, something of value. Nowadays, there are lots of organizations that     8     products with upcycled material. Some artists and designers have upcycled things like denim from old jeans to make rugs, and wood from old houses to make furniture. Others have even used candy wrappers to make handbags! Sometimes they’ll add a(n)     9     element to their products, such as a beautiful mosaic (马赛克) made with broken dishes. With a (n)     10     supply of “assets”, it seems that upcycling has a great future.

4 . The lives of sea turtles begin on a beach when hatchlings crawl up out of their sandy nests and try to get to the sea as fast as they can. Those that aren’t eaten by killers on their way to the water swim out into the ocean until they find somewhere they can hide, eat and grow.

Ten to fifty years later, depending on the species, the sea turtles mate in shallow waters. Then the females return to the same beach where they were born to lay their eggs, and the cycle begins again.

SAVE ENDANGERED SEA TURTLES! Here’s how YOU can make a difference! 1. Only buy ethically harvested seafood. Seafood Watch. org's app will help you choose seafood providers who don't harm sea turtles. 2. Use reusable bags and water containers.Reduce your use of plastics and refuse to use plastic bags, disposable straws and water bottles. 3. Volunteer for beach clean-up activities. Help make our coastlines safer for sea turtles by removing harmful garbage like plastic bags and disposable straws. 4. Clear the beach of obstacles at night. Remove chairs and sandcastles and turn off any lights so sea turtles can more easily travel between their nests and the water.

Turtles that successfully avoid the numerous threats to their existence can live up to 100 years. But predators, fishing nets and garbage are major problems, and only one out of every 1,000 hatchlings will reach adulthood. There are seven sea turtle species, and six of them are either threatened, endangered or critically endangered. Many organizations around the world are working hard to ensure that sea turtles will not disappear from our oceans.

1. After leaving their nests, how long will it be before the sea turtles are old enough to reproduce?

A．Ten to fifty months, depending on environmental factors

B．Six months, if they can survive that long in the open ocean

C．One to five weeks, depending on how much they find to eat

D．One to five decades, depending on the kind of sea turtle

2. Which danger to sea turtles is mentioned in the article but not addressed in the poster?

A．Water pollution that harms sea turtles

B．Fishing industry practices that harm sea turtles

C．Other animals that eat sea turtles

D．Turtle overpopulation that makes food short

3. According to the poster, why is it important to keep the beach clear at night?

A．It gives the turtles a clear path from their nests to the ocean.

B．Tourists won’t trip on anything in the dark when they’re looking for turtles.

C．Waste on the beach ruins the view at night.

D．It makes it more difficult for killers to hunt the turtles.