1 . What if someone told you about a kind of grass as tall as the tallest trees? A grass as strong as steel? Would you believe that person? You should, for that grass is bamboo (竹子), which has more than 1,000 uses. It is not just a material for making useful products. Young bamboo is eaten, often mixed with other vegetables.
Bamboo grows in many parts of the world. In the USA it grows in many states like Virginia and Florida. Most bamboo, however, is found in wet and warm climates, especially in Asia and on the islands of the South Pacific Ocean.
In most Asian countries, bamboo is nearly as important as rice. This unusual material is used to not only build large buildings but also make water pipes, musical instruments and paper. There are over 1,000 kinds of bamboo. No wonder the lives of nearly half the people on earth would change greatly if there were no longer any bamboo.
1. According to the text, bamboo is actually a kind of .| A．grass | B．steel | C．tree | D．vegetable |
| A．Only in Asia. | B．Only in the USA. |
| C．In wet and warm climates. | D．All over the world. |
| A．Build large buildings. | B．Make water pipes. |
| C．Make musical instruments and paper. | D．All of the above. |
| A．Over 1,000. | B．Over 800. | C．Over 600. | D．Over 400. |
| 旅游资源 | 许多世界著名的风景名胜，如九寨沟（湖水清澈见底；色彩斑斓）和都江堰水利工程（2,000多年的历史；仍在发挥作用） |
| 相关信息 | 气候适宜；交通便利 |
2．信的开头和结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数；
3．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：都江堰水利工程Dujiangyan Irrigation Project
Dear Nick,
I’m glad to hear that you’re coming to Sichuan in October.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
3 . Cats communicate a variety of messages using cats’ body language. Examples include arching ( 弓起) their backs as a signal of fear or attack, and slowly blinking (眨) their eyes to signal relaxation. The open mouth without showing teeth suggests a feeling of playfulness. A cat which chooses to lie on its back shows happiness, trust and comfort. Cats show dissatisfaction by moving their ears back, equal to a human’s frown.
As is the case with dogs, a twitching (抽动) tail can mean a little anger while a tail held high suggests confidence. Cats will twitch their tails when hunting or angry, while a larger twitch suggests displeasure. They may also twitch their tails when playing. A tail held high is a sign of happiness, or can be used as a greeting towards humans or other cats (usually close relatives) while a half-raised tail shows less pleasure, and unhappiness is expressed with a tail held low.
Some signals, however, are often misunderstood. It is important to keep in mind that each cat may show its feelings with different body language. For instance, a cat rubbing its body along an arm or a leg of its owner is not only a way to attract attention and, perhaps, a way to ask for food; it is also a way of “marking” its owner as its own. Usually a cat with its tail held high and twitching shows excitement, but this is often mistaken for anger.
Many people fail or are too slow to understand the silent body language of cats. And they may have the false impression that cats are cold-hearted, unfaithful or not clever. To understand cats, people must observe a cat closely and learn what its body signals tell them.
1. Which cats’ body language shows that a cat is relaxed?| A．Holding its tail high. | B．Moving its ears back. |
| C．Lying on its stomach. | D．Blinking its eyes slowly. |
| A．A cat will twitch its tail when it feels sleepy. |
| B．A cat will twitch its tail when it is hunting. |
| C．A cat will twitch its tail when it feels angry. |
| D．A cat will twitch its tail when it is playing. |
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
| A．Every cat has its own special body language. |
| B．It is not easy to understand cats’ body language. |
| C．Many people often have wrong opinions on cats. |
| D．We should learn more about cats’ body language. |
4 . There has been a very serious decline in the numbers of shallow-water fish as a result of overfishing. People still want to eat fish, so the fishing industry must look at other sources, especially the deep waters of the Atlantic.
Conservation measures will have to be put in place if these deep-sea fish are to survive. Research on five such species shows that numbers have declined by between 87 percent and 98 percent.
The problem is emphasized by the fact that the decline in numbers happened in less than twenty years. Deep-sea fish take a long time to reproduce and normally live for many years.
The damage done by overfishing goes beyond the sea environment. Millions of people make a living in the fishing industry.
| A．Billions of people rely on fish for protein. |
| B．Many people now choose not to eat deep-sea fish. |
| C．Unfortunately, their reproduction rate is very low. |
| D．This puts them in the category of “critically endangered”. |
| E．None of these facts has been taken into account by the fishing industry. |
| F．Overfishing is a major cause of decline in populations of ocean wildlife. |
| G．This has resulted in a sharp decline in the numbers of many of the species caught. |
5 . A nickname is a shortened form of a person’s name. A nickname can also be a descriptive name for a person, place or thing. Many American cities have nicknames. These can help establish an identity, spread pride among citizens and build unity. Nicknames can also be funny.
Los Angeles, California is the second largest city in population, after New York City. Los Angeles has several nicknames. One is simply the city’s initials, L.A. It is also called the City of Angels because Los Angeles means “the angels” in Spanish.
Los Angeles often has warm, sunny weather. So another nickname is City of Flowers and Sunshine. New York is called The Big Apple. So Los Angeles is sometimes called The Big Orange because of the fruit that grows in that city’s warm climate.
The American motion picture and television industries are based in Los Angeles. So it is not surprising that it is called The Entertainment Capital of the World. Many films are made in the area of Los Angeles called Hollywood. Millions of people visit the area. No trip to Los Angeles is complete without seeing the word “Hollywood” spelled out in huge letters on a hillside.
Many movie stars live in Los Angeles. The city is sometimes called Tinseltown. This nickname comes from the shiny, bright and often unreal nature of Hollywood and the movie industry.
Another nickname for Los Angeles is La-La Land, using the first letters of Los and Angeles. This means a place that is fun and not serious, and maybe even out of touch with reality.
The city of Los Angeles is part of Los Angeles County. There are many smaller cities in the county. Beverly Hills, with its rich people, is one of them. So is Pasadena, with its Rose Parade each New Year’s Day. So are the coastal cities of Santa Monica and Malibu, where people like to ride surfboards on the Pacific Ocean waves.
A good place for watching unusual-looking people is Venice, an area on the west side of Los Angeles. A system of waterways designed after the Italian city of Venice has been built there.
Many people love Los Angeles for its warm sunny weather, beautiful mountains and beaches, and movie stars. That includes Randy Newman, who sings about his hometown.
1. Which of the following is not the nickname of L.A.?| A．The City of Angels | B．City of Flowers and Sunshine |
| C．The Big Orange | D．The Entertainment Capital of American |
| A．Weather | B．Politics | C．People | D．Industry |
| A．To introduce the characteristics of an area near L.A. |
| B．To compare the Italian city of Venice with L.A. |
| C．To introduce its system of waterways. |
| D．To give a place for watching unusual-looking people. |
| A．Director | B．Musician | C．Writer | D．Sportsman |
6 . What to Do During a Flood Warning?
Floods are among the most frequent and costly natural disasters in terms of human hardship and economic loss. Here are some tips to keep you stay safe during a flood warning:
Follow the instructions and advice of local authorities.
If you live in a flood-prone area or think you are at risk, evacuate immediately. Move to a safe area early before access is cut off by flood water. Save yourself, not your valuable things.
If outdoors, climb to high ground and stay there. Move away from dangerous flood water. If you come upon a flowing stream, stop, turn around and go another way. Never try to walk or swim through such swift water. Most flood deaths are caused by people attempting to pass through water.
When driving, if your vehicle becomes surrounded by water or the engine stalls, do not attempt to cross flowing streams.
| A．Warn residents against flooding. |
| B．Look out for the alarms of flooding. |
| C．They are the most informed about affected areas. |
| D．Evacuation is much safer before flood water becomes deeper. |
| E．Abandon your vehicle immediately and climb to higher ground. |
| F．When moving, your safety is more important than any other thing. |
| G．If it is moving swiftly, even water six inches deep can sweep you off your feet. |
7 . According to the Solar Energy Industry Association, the number of solar panels installed(安装)has grown rapidly in the past decade, and it has to grow even faster to meet climate goals. But all of that growth will take up a lot of space, and though more and more people accept the concept of solar energy, few like large solar panels to be installed near them.
Solar developers want to put up panels as quickly and cheaply as possible, so they haven’t given much thought to what they put under them. Often, they’ll end up filling the area with small stones and using chemicals to control weeds. The result is that many communities, especially in farming regions, see solar farms as destroyers of the soil.
“Solar projects need to be good neighbors,” says Jordan Macknick, the head of the Innovative Site Preparation and Impact Reductions on the Environment(InSPIRE)project. “They need to be protectors of the land and contribute to the agricultural economy.” InSPIRE is investigating practical approaches to “low-impact” solar development, which focuses on establishing and operating solar farms in a way that is kinder to the land. One of the easiest low-impact solar strategies is providing habitat for pollinators(传粉昆虫).
Habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change have caused dramatic declines in pollinator populations over the past couple of decades, which has damaged the U.S. agricultural economy. Over 28 states have passed laws related to pollinator habitat protection and pesticide use. Conservation organizations put out pollinator-friendliness guidelines for home gardens, businesses, schools, cities—and now there are guidelines for solar farms.
Over the past few years, many solar farm developers have transformed the space under their solar panels into a shelter for various kinds of pollinators, resulting in soil improvement and carbon reduction. “These pollinator-friendly solar farms can have a valuable impact on everything that’s going on in the landscape,” says Macknick.
1. What do solar developers often ignore?| A．The decline in the demand for solar energy. |
| B．The negative impact of installing solar panels. |
| C．The rising labor cost of building solar farms. |
| D．The most recent advances in solar technology. |
| A．Improve the productivity of local farms. |
| B．Invent new methods for controlling weeds. |
| C．Make solar projects environmentally friendly. |
| D．Promote the use of solar energy in rural areas. |
| A．To conserve pollinators. | B．To restrict solar development. |
| C．To diversify the economy. | D．To ensure the supply of energy. |
| A．Pollinators: To Leave or to Stay | B．Solar Energy: Hope for the Future |
| C．InSPIRE: A Leader in Agriculture | D．Solar Farms: A New Development |
8 . Natural disasters take many different forms and can happen without warning. Earthquakes, floods, vol-canoes, droughts, typhoons, and hurricanes are all natural disasters.
The earthquake of 26 December 2004 resulted in one of the worst natural disasters in living memory. It was a massive underwater quake and occurred in the Indian Ocean. This caused a huge tsunami (海啸) to cross the Indian Ocean. It destroyed coastlines and communities and brought death and destruction to many people. The survivors needed fresh water, food and shelter as well as medical help. People from all over the world gave money to help the people survive.
The surface of the Earth has not always looked as it does today; it is moving continuously (although very slowly) and has done so for billions of years. This is one cause of earthquakes, when one section of the Earth crashes with another. Scientists can predict where this might happen and the area between plates is called a fault line. However, earthquakes do not always happen on fault lines, which is why they are so dangerous and unpredictable.
All the disasters are very dangerous and continue to kill thousands of people each year,but they are nowhere near the most dangerous disaster to ever happen on earth. One type of event in the earth’s history has regularly killed millions of beings: asteroid (小行星) impacts (撞击). About once every million years the Earth is hit by a piece of rock and ice from space large enough to cause massive destruction (including earthquakes, volcanoes and ice ages) and sometimes to kill entire species. Sixty-five million years ago more than half the earth’s species were killed by such a disaster,including all the dinosaurs (恐龙). Disasters on the Earth may seem dangerous, but the biggest threat to humans is likely to come from space.
1. What did the world do when the tsunami occurred in the Indian Ocean?| A．They gave away money to the beggars. |
| B．They sponsored to help the people survive. |
| C．They donated their art works to the survivors. |
| D．They helped rebuild the coastlines and communities. |
| A．The possible time. |
| B．The possible climate. |
| C．The possible place. |
| D．The possible frequence. |
| A．What do earthquakes destroy? |
| B．Why do earthquakes happen? |
| C．How can we prevent earthquakes? |
| D．Which is the most dangerous natural disaster? |
| A．Space. |
| B．Earth. |
| C．Humans. |
| D．Wild animals. |
9 . The black cloud rising every day at sunset in the Chihuahuan Desert went largely ignored for thousands of years. Native Americans noticed it, but did not track its source. Cowboys thought the cloud was smoke pouring from the earth, and avoided it.
In June of 1901, however, a teenage cowboy named Jim White happened to see the large, black cloud. He was curious and went to investigate. Instead of finding a volcano, as he had imagined, he discovered something equally amazing. It was a big mass of bats. Two days later, he returned with a lantern to explore further. It took him so long that his lantern went out. He managed to refill it with just enough oil to find his way back to the entrance.
The next time Jim White went to the cave, he brought a friend and supplies. They explored for three days and returned with descriptions that were so fantastic that few people believed them. The cowboys on nearby farms and the people in the tiny town of Carlsbad treated Jim’s stories as tall tales and nothing more.
After years of exploring the caves and finding no one to believe his stories, Jim White decided to create his own tourist attraction. He established trails (路线) along the paths he had found. One day in 1915, two men asked Jim for a tour. After seeing the caves, the men returned with a professional photographer named Ray V. Davis. Local doubts were finally put to rest by the photographs of the hidden beauty that Jim had discovered. All 13 locals of Carlsbad finally took a tour of the caves, which came to be known as Carlsbad Caverns.
In 1923, the government sent an official named Robert Holly to tour the caves. Later that year, the caves were stated a national monument (古迹), and in 1930 they became a national park. Jim White lived to see the Carlsbad Caverns become world-famous. Today, tourists can hike to and tour some of the 100 known caves in this huge natural wonder, thanks to the cowboy from New Mexico.
1. What do we know about the black cloud?| A．It was discovered in 1901. | B．It was noticed by accident. |
| C．It was actually a mass of bats. | D．It was smoke from the earth. |
| A．Jim’s friend. | B．A photographer. |
| C．Robert Holly. | D．13 locals of Carlsbad. |
| A．It made Jim White rich. | B．It was an easy process. |
| C．It happened before 1915. | D．It came true thanks to the photos. |
| A．A Brave Cowboy | B．A Hidden Wonder |
| C．A Worthwhile Invention | D．A Nationwide Contribution |
10 . The State of Colorado has four of the best parks out of the 58 national parks in the United States. The parks have some of the best scenery of all the national parks.
Black Canyon (峡谷) of Gunnison National Park
This park offers the most breathtaking views from up in the mountains into the canyons below. While exploring the canyons, you will find that the walls drop nearly straight down into the narrow valleys of the snake-like rivers below. Visitors are offered more than 100 camping sites, and a lot of bird species and many animals are native to the area.
Rocky Mountain National Park
It is the only national park in the north central region in the state of Colorado. Elevations in this park are anywhere from 8,000 feet to 14,259 feet at the top of Longs Peak. While traveling throughout this park you will notice two very different climates because of the difference the upper peaks of the Rocky Mountains make. You can enjoy 359 miles of hiking trails, a lot of places for camping, horse-back riding and beautiful scenery.
Mesa Verde National Park
This is probably the most interesting national park, offering a fascinating trip back in time to 600 AD up to 1300 AD．This park was declared a protected national park in 1906 because of the cliff dwellings(住所) that were found throughout the area, which were once home to American Indians. Many of these dwellings can be walked through, while you imagine what each room may have been used for so many years ago.
Great Sand Dunes (沙丘) National Park
The Great Sand Dunes National Park lies in south central Colorado, about 127 miles from Pueblo. This park has the tallest sand dunes in all of North America and has trails for hiking. The natural sandy beaches around the small rivers and lakes are good for swimmers.
1. What’s the most breathtaking thing in the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park?| A．The animals. | B．The walls. |
| C．The hiking trails. | D．The camping sites. |
| A．the Mesa Verde National Park |
| B．the Rocky Mountain National Park |
| C．the Great Sand Dunes National Park |
| D．the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park |
| A．Telling people some traveling information in Colorado. |
| B．Persuading people to visit Colorado when in America. |
| C．Introducing the best four parks in Colorado to people. |
| D．Showing people which park is the best of the four in Colorado. |
