1 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill 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 of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Wayward Penguin(企鹅)Released South of New Zealand

He needed a little push before speeding backward down a slide. Once in the water, he held his head up for one last look. And then he was gone. The wayward emperor penguin       1     (know) as “Happy Feet” was back home in Antarctic waters after a temporary stay in New Zealand.

Happy Feet was released into the ocean south of New Zealand on Sunday, more than two months after he came ashore on a beach nearly 2,000 miles from home and became an instant celebrity.     2     (speak) from a satellite phone, Wellington Zoo veterinarian Lisa Argilla said Happy Feet’s release went remarkably smoothly. Argilla said crew members from the boat carried the penguin inside his box to the rear part of the ship for his final send-off.

    3     when they opened the door of the box, the penguin showed no interest in leaving.

“I needed to give him a little tap on his back,” Argilla said.

The penguin slipped down the slide on his stomach, bottom first, she said. He resurfaced about 6 feet from the boat,     4     (take) a look up at the people aboard, and then disappeared beneath the surface.

“I was really happy to see him go,” Argilla said. “The best part of my job is when you get to release animals back into the wild       5     they are supposed to be.”

The 3-foot-tall bird was found on June 20 on Peka Peka Beach, about 40 miles northwest of New Zealand’s capital, Wellington. It has been 44 years     6     an emperor penguin was last spotted in the wild in New Zealand.

At first, conservation authorities said they would wait and let nature take its course with the penguin. But it soon became clear the bird’s condition was growing     7     (bad), as he swallowed sand and, likely mistaking it for snow.

    8     the world watching, authorities finally took action, moving the penguin to the Wellington Zoo four days after he was discovered. It was at the zoo     9     the bird was given a home in a room filled with a bed of ice so he wouldn’t overheat.

Now that Happy Feet     10     (nurse) back to health, his chances are as good as they are for any other penguin in the wild.

“He swam away, not caring about us anymore,” Argilla said.

She paused.

“And that is a good thing,” she said.

2 .

A．Take his skateboard to the repair shop.	B．Leave his skateboard outside.
C．Clean the garage after the rain stops.	D．Check if the garage is dry.

3 . 阅读理解。
Is there link between humans and climate change or not? This question was first studied in the early 1900s. Since then, many scientists have thought that our actions do make a difference. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol explained our role in the Earth’s changing atmosphere and set international limits for gas emissions(排放) from 2008 to 2012. Some countries have decided to continue these reductions until 2020. More recently, the Paris Agreement, stuck by nearly 200 countries, also aims to limit global warming. But just now how much warmer it will get depends on how deeply countries cut carbon emissions.

1. It can be concluded from paragraph 1 that _______.

A．the problem of global warming will have been quite solved by 2020

B．gas emissions have been effectively reduced in developed countries

C．the Paris Agreements is more influential than the Kyoto Protocol

D．humans have made continuous efforts to slow down global warming

2. If nations could only keep the initial promises of the Paris Agreement, what would happen by the year 2100?

A．The human population would increase by one third.

B．Little over 50% of all species would still exist.

C．Nations would not need to tighten their emissions targets.

D．The Agreement’s minimum goal would not be reached.

3. If those island nations not far above sea level are to survive, the maximum temperature rise, since the start of the industrial age, should be_______.

A．0.8℃	B．1.5℃
C．2℃	D．3.5℃

4 . The Zebra Finch: An Owner’s Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet
The zebra finch, a native of Australia, is a popular domestic pet in the United States. The bird has many attributes (特性) which allow it to be kept at home, though there are also a few negative aspects. The attributes are nest-building, breeding and a lively attitude. The potential negatives are over-breeding and the wildness of the birds.
One of the main attributes of zebra finches is their ability to breed. ________________________ Once you have two birds, male and female, you will soon have six, as they breed quite easily and have strong babies, usually four at a time. An added attribute is their ability to build their own nests. You can place branch in their place along with some kind of structure, and they will create a nest on their own. It’s very pleasant to see the ways males and females divide some labors and share others, and the babies grow up quickly. Overall, zebra finches are energetic birds, and they can make every place where they live delightful lives.
On the negative side, they will breed and in-breed. Often, in-breeding does little harm and does not cause genetic defects (缺陷), as happens more often in other species. However, no one can tolerate just any population level. One has to either remove their nests altogether, which basically removes their personal living place, or check for eggs regularly once a week (the gestation period is 13 days, so even a one-week neglect can lead to births). Eggs can be replaced with false plastic eggs, and this prevents females from laying too many. If they do lay too many, they will die from mineral loss. Since these birds do not tame well, removing eggs can be an unpleasant process of repeatedly invading their personal space.
Overall, it is unfortunate that zebra finches are inexpensive birds due to their high level of breeding. They require considerable care to live happy lives. The best care-takers are true avian fanciers — people who have appropriate space for the nests and enough time to allow them to nest-build and breed without over-breeding.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Zebra finches over-breed by nature and its consequent ill effects.

B．Only people who love birds can take care of Zebra finches.

C．Domestic zebra finches require a lot of care to live happy lives.

D．Zebra finches never become completely tame.

2. By saying “They are the rabbits of the domestic bird world”, the writer means that both   rabbits and Zebra finches ______.

A．have good ability to breed	B．are difficult to be raised
C．live delightful lives	D．share responsibilities

3. In paragraph 3, the word “gestation” probably means ______.

A．the period when eggs remain fresh

B．the time when finches build up their nest and lay eggs

C．the time required for the parents to create a nest

D．the time required for baby birds to develop and to be born

4. According to the passage, attributes of domestic zebra finches include ______.

A．their rareness and easiness to be tamed

B．their nest-building, sharing of responsibilities and delightful personalities

C．their in-breeding, which does not cause as much genetic harm as in other species

D．the fact that they are from Australia and have difficulty in adapting themselves

5 . Welcome to Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world and the Official Residence of the Queen of Britain. Over a period of nearly 1,000 years it has been     1    continuously, and altered and redecorated by monarchs(君主) one after the other. Some were great builders, strengthening the Castle against     2     and rebellion; others, living in more peaceful times, created a grand Royal residence. William the Conqueror chose the site, high above the river Thames and on the edge of a Saxon hunting ground. It was a day’s march from the Tower of London and intended to guard the western     3    to the capital. The outer walls of today’s structure are in the same position as those of the    4    castle built by William the Conqueror in the 1070s. The Queen uses the Castle both as a private home, where she usually spends the weekend, and as a Royal residence at which she undertakes certain formal duties. Windsor Castle is    5    used by the Queen to host State Visits from overseas monarchs and presidents. Every year the Queen takes up official residence in Windsor Castle for a month over Easter (March-April).

The Castle is huge, so people tend to head for the most    6    bits -- the State Apartments, St. George’s Chapel, the Gallery and the delightful Queen Mary’s Dolls House. Works of art, antique furniture, curiosities and impressive architecture reflect the tastes of many different royal generations. The State Apartments are    7    decorated formal rooms still used for state and official functions.

The magnificent and beautiful St. George’s Chapel was started in 1475 by Edward IV and was completed 50 years later by Henry VIII. It    8    among the finest examples of late medieval architecture in the UK.

The Drawings Gallery    9    the exhibition “The Queen: 60 Photographs for 60 Years”. The exhibition presents portraits of the Queen    10    in brief moments on both official occasions and at relaxed family gatherings.

6 .

A．Selling cucumbers.	B．Picking tomatoes.
C．Cooking a meal.	D．Planting vegetables.

7 .

Whenever human populations have lived in forest areas, they have always cut down trees which they used for a number of purposes, for housing and ships and served as a source of heating fuel and timber. Growth of cities often meant expansion into forest areas, while even more trees were removed to provide space for agriculture. With the growing demand for paper, vast quantities of trees have also been cut down for paper production. These factors, along with many others, have been contributing to a dangerous phenomenon known as deforestation.

In the last 5,000 years, humans have reduced forest from roughly 50 percent of the earth’s land surface to less than 20 percent. Most of this original, or old growth, forest cover is concentrated in three large areas: the Canadian and Alaskan boreal forest, the boreal forest of Russia, and the tropical forest of the northwestern Amazon Basin and the Guyana Shield. These areas comprise almost 70 percent of the world’s remaining original forest cover. In most places, the rate of deforestation is increasing, with the alarming result of 16 million hectares disappearing worldwide every year.

Loss of forest does not just mean the decline of natural resources. There are several other factors that make deforestation seriously harmful to both the human and natural worlds. One of them is changes in the global climate. For example, forest clearance is releasing substantial volumes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere as vegetation is burnt or decays. It has been suggested that this is a significant factor in global warming. Moreover, about 10 percent of the world’s tree species are in danger of extinction as a result of deforestation. Deforestation also threatens biological diversity through the destruction of wildlife habitats, which endangers a number of animal species and leads to their potential disappearance. Species are particularly easy to extinction in tropical rainforests because many species have few individuals per unit area, which makes reproduction more difficult. Finally, since forests play an important role in storing water and stabilizing soil, deforestation and the resulting change in land use cause soil erosion(腐蚀) and other forms of land degradation.

1. The passage discusses all of the following EXCEPT the ________.

A．causes of deforestation	B．consequences of deforestation
C．management of deforestation	D．rate of deforestation

2. The word “diversity” in the last paragraph probably means “________”.

A．variety	B．expansion
C．development	D．advantage

3. Why does the author mention fuel and timber in Paragraph 1?

A．To explain the rate of deforestation.

B．To compare them with housing and ships.

C．To show the dangers of deforestation.

D．To illustrate the causes of deforestation.

4. Which of the following sentences summarizes Paragraph 3 best?

A．Deforestation threatens biological diversity.

B．Deforestation has many harmful consequences.

C．Deforestation causes changes in global climate.

D．Deforestation should be stopped.