1 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. force       B. ideal   C. blossoms   D. importing   E. floating F. cultivation   G. dried   H. floated     I. unlikely     J. consume   K. absorb

Visitors to the New Orleans Cotton Exposition of 1884 saw a new tropical plant that had been brought from Venezuela. The new plant    1    on the surface of a pond or stream, supported by an air-filled bladder in the stalk of each leaf. Each plant bore clusters of very beautiful orchid-like    2    .

Some exposition visitors obtained cuttings of the plant to take home with them because they wanted the beautiful, pale-violet flowers    3    on their garden pools. They got what they wanted. and more, for the water hyacinth(水葫芦)escaped from    4    and soon became a troublesome weed. Today, it chokes many streams and rivers in the southern United States, from Florida west to Texas.

Water hyacinths grow very quickly, covering the surface of a stream from bank to bank. One plant can produce 1,000 more plants in less than two months. The plants often form a tangled mass so thick that a boat can't     5    a way through it.

In the United States, a great deal of money has been spent on projects designed to control water hyacinths. Poisons will kill the plants and dredges can scoop them out of the water, but they soon reappear. Some scientists have suggested establishing the manatee, or sea cow, in the affected regions. The manatee is a large aquatic mammal that can    6    up to 100 pounds of vegetation a day, and it will eat water hyacinths.

But since the manatees are endangered, it is    7    that they will provide a permanent solution. Therefore, scientists are trying to discover uses for the water hyacinth. Some researchers are experimenting with using    8    water hyacinths as livestock feed. Others are experimenting with using these plants in water purification systems because water hyacinths can    9    many chemicals, including industrial wastes.

Today, people try to be more careful about    10    alien plants than they were in 1884. Even so, no way has yet been found to control this beautiful plant and other plant pests, such as milfoil, which clog so many waterways.

2 . Scientists from Austria, Finland and Hungary are using laser scanners to study the day-night rhythm of trees. As it turns out, trees go to sleep too.

Most living organisms adapt their behavior to the rhythm of day and night. Plants are no exception: flowers open in the morning, some tree leaves close during the night. Researchers have been studying the day and night cycle in plants for a long time: Linnaeus observed that flowers in a dark cellar continued to open and close, and Darwin recorded the overnight movement of plant leaves and stalks and called it ''sleep. '' But even to this day, such studies have only been done with small plants grown in pots, and nobody knew whether trees sleep as well. Now, a team of researchers from Austria, Finland and Hungary measured the sleep movement of fully grown trees using a time series of laser scanning point clouds consisting, of millions of points each.

''Our results show that the whole tree droops(下垂)during night which can be seen as position change in leaves and branches, '' says Eetu Puttonen(Finnish Geospatial Research Institute), ''The changes are not too large,only up to 10 cm for trees with a height of about 5 meters,but they were systematic and well within the accuracy of our instruments. ''

To rule out effects of weather and location, the experiment was done twice with two different trees. The first tree was surveyed in Finland and the other in Austria. The leaves and branches were shown to droop gradually,with the lowest position reached a couple of hours before sunrise. In the morning, the trees returned to their original position within a few hours. It is not yet clear whether they were “woken up” by the sun or by their own internal rhythm.

Andras Zlinszky(Centre for Ecological Research,Hungarian Academy of Sciences) explains ''Plant movement is always closely connected with the water balance of individual cells, which is affected by the availability of light through photosynthesis(光合作用). But changes in the shape of the plant are difficult to document even for small herbs as classical photography uses visible light that interferes with the sleep movement. '' With a laser scanner, plant disturbance is minimal. The scanners use infrared light(红外线),which is reflected by the leaves. Individual points on a plant are only illuminated for fractions of a second. With this laser scanning technique, a full-sized tree can be automatically mapped within minutes with sub-centimeter resolution(分辨率).

''We believe that laser scanning point clouds will allow us to develop a deeper understanding of plant sleep patterns and to extend our measurement scope from individual plants to larger areas, like orchards or forest plots, '' says Norbert Pfeifer(TU Wien).

''The next step will be collecting tree point clouds repeatedly and comparing the results to water use measurements during day and night, '' says Eetu Puttonen. ''This will give us a better understanding of the trees' daily tree water use and their influence on the local or regional climate. ''

1. What is the new discovery made by a team of researchers from Austria, Finland and Hungary?

A．Living organisms adapt their behavior to the rhythm of night.

B．Flowers in a dark cellar continued to open and close.

C．Plants grown in pots sleep at night.

D．Fully grown trees droop their branches at night.

2. Which is NOT the reason why researchers used laser scanners to conduct their experiments?

A．They can document changes in the shape of branches and leaves.

B．They can connect plant movement with the water balance of cells.

C．They can use infrared light which is reflected by the leaves.

D．They can make trees automatically mapped with sub-centimeter resolution.

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Visible light interferes with the sleep movement of plants.

B．Classical photography allows us to develop a deeper understanding of plant sleep patterns.

C．Researchers compared the results of forest plots to water use measurements.

D．It is clear that trees are woken up by their own internal rhythm.

3 . Questions are based on the following passage.
1.

A．Sharp.

B．Juicy.

C．Thick.

D．Green.

2.

A．In deserts of North Africa and South Africa.

B．In deserts of North America and South America.

C．In deserts of North Africa and South America.

D．In deserts of North America and South Africa.

3.

A．Storing water inside.	B．Absorbing sunlight.
C．Preventing animals from biting.	D．Drawing water from underground.

4.

A．By examining their thorns.

B．By measuring the length of their root.

C．By checking their taproots.

D．By looking at their flowers.

4 . No matter who you are or where you come from, one thing is certain: You are acquainted with the mosquito-although you probably wish you weren't. Mosquitoes are everywhere. They can be found all over the world, and they come in more than 2,500 species. Somewhere, at some time, you have surely met at least one.

No one loves the mosquito. But unfortunately the mosquito may decide that she loves you. She? Yes, she. Did you know that only the female mosquito bites? Well, it's true. And it's not because she's unfriendly; she needs blood to reproduce.

Do you know how the female mosquito decides whom to bite? She's quite selective, and she chooses her victims carefully. First, she uses sensors to find her victim. These sensors are located on her two antennae and her three pairs of legs. With these sensors, she tests your body moisture, body warmth, and chemical substances in your sweat. If she likes what she finds, she bites. But if you don't appeal to her, she'll reject you for someone more appetizing. The next time a mosquito bites you, just remember that you were chosen. You're special.

If the mosquito likes you, she settles onto your flesh very gently, and she breaks your skin with her proboscis tip. Proboscis tip? What's that? It's a kind of mouth and it sticks out just below the mosquito's eyes. It contains six sharp instruments called stylets. She stabs all six stylets into your skin at once, and if she hits a blood vessel, she'll get a full dinner in about a minute. All this usually takes place so quickly and quietly that you may not have suspected anything was happening.

All mosquitoes, male and female, pass through their early stages of development in or near water. In fact, mosquito eggs will not hatch without water-although the eggs can survive up to five years on dry land waiting for water. It is not surprising that heavy rains produce large numbers of mosquitoes.

But why? Why did nature bother to create mosquitoes? Just to annoy us? Probably that wasn't the main reason. Male mosquitoes live on the nectar of flowers, and some scientists believe that they pollinate the flowers as they fly from one to the other. Of course, mosquitoes have to reproduce, and unfortunately that's where you and I come in. Like it or not, mosquitoes are here to stay. Ouch! (Slap!) One just bit me!

1. The female mosquito bites human beings because_____.

A．she is hostile to humans

B．she needs blood to produce the young

C．she lacks certain chemical substances

D．she is forced to play such a role in nature

2. The female mosquito chooses her victims carefully depending on the following factors EXCEPT_____.

A．your blood type	B．your body moisture
C．your body temperature	D．your sweat

3. Mosquito bites take place _____.

A．after heavy rains	B．when it gets dark
C．quickly and quietly	D．during the mating season

4. According to “Ouch! (Slap!)”in the last paragraph, what might have happened?

A．A mosquito escaped before the writer could hit her.

B．A mosquito flew away, and the writer hit himself.

C．A mosquito hit the writer and flew away.

D．A mosquito bit the writer, and the writer tried to hit her.

6 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box.Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one more word than you need.

A. locals       B decrease       C. experienced       D.positive     E.popularity     F.efficiently G. focus       H. increase     I. respectful     J. protect        K.fiercely

Eco-tourism involves people travelling to beautiful but environmental sensitive place. Such trips are usually carried out with a(n)    1    guide. Over recent years, this type of travel has been steadily gaining    2    as more people search for new travel experiences.

It is obvious that eco-tourism is beneficial in many aspects. First, all the money spent by the tourists is used to    3    the important environmental spots they visit. Second,it helps visitors to better understand the environment, which is sure to    4    their knowledge of the world. Furthermore, this style of travel is also more    5    of the local culture.

Compared to normal tourists, eco-tourist use energy more    6    , save water and produce less rubbish by finding ways to recycle it. These behaviors have a(n)    7    and lasting effect on the local environment.

Two things are needed to make eco-tourism a success. First, it should be done in small groups. And second, because it requires great effort, both eco-tourists and    8    must be sincere in their devotion to improving the environment. Green travel provides local people with jobs in parks, hotels and shops. One great achievement of eco-tourism has been the    9    of ilegal hunting. Former hunters can now work as guides to help keep the animals safe in their natural surroundings. Peru is one country using eco-tourism to promote respect for the environment. It's able to take better care of its rainforests because of    10    on more sustainable travel. In addition to this, local people's living-standards have improved. Many others are now following Peru's example and using eco-tourism to preserve their environment for the future generations.

7 . Directions: Write an English composition in about 80-100 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.
近日，校园内流浪猫(homeless cats) 增多，学生会拟设立一个爱心猫舍(shelter)，供师生在此处喂养流浪猫。假设你叫王海，请你写一份邮件给学生会表达你的想法，内容包括：
1. 你是否赞同设立爱心猫舍；
2. 你的理由。
(注意：文中不得出现具体学校名称或人名)
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