1 . Banff National Park is home to an amazing wildlife population. But the busy Trans Canada Highway that cuts through the park is a hazard to the lovely animals. To address the problem, Banff first put-up wildlife fencing on either side of the highway to discourage animals from entering the busy road. Then, since 1996, they’ve opened six wildlife overpasses and 38 underpasses to help the animals cross the highway in safety. I was fortunate to visit Banff’s Red Earth Overpass with Trevor Kinley, the project manager with Parks Canada. He told me that so far, they have documented 10, 000 safe animal crossings on this overpass alone. “ Some animals have learned how to use the crossings much more quickly than others. Black bears are the fastest learners, followed by deer. Wolves and lions take the longest to work out how to use them, ” Kinley said, laughing. “ But those animals that are slower to adapt are usually more capable and determined at figuring out the safest way to cross those overpasses and underpasses. ”

There is some criticism (批评) that channeling so much wildlife into a few bridges and tunnels is like making a trap for the animals, offering big animals an easy meal on either side. “ But research has shown that this is not the case, ” Kinley assured me. “ There are no more killings around the crossings than there are anywhere else in the park. ”

Walking over the Trans Canada and then walking underneath through one of the tunnels, I was amazed to see the fresh tracks of black bears, wolves, deer and many kinds of smaller animals. Somehow, all these animal footprints made me so happy, knowing that all this wildlife was passing safely under and over the longest road in Canada.

Hopefully, the success of the wildlife crossings in Banff will continue to inspire similar solutions around the world, where human pressure on wildlife continues to grow.

1. Which of the following best explains “ hazard ” underlined in paragraph 1?

A．Shelter.

B．Message.

C．Answer.

D．Danger.

2. What does Trevor Kinley say about those wolves and lions?

A．They are stupid animals.	B．They are cautious learners.
C．They are very dangerous.	D．They are good at adapting.

3. What are the critics worried about?

A．There are too many bridges and tunnels.	B．Many animals will not use the crossings.
C．More killings might happen at the crossings.	D．Illegal hunting might be encouraged in the park.

4. How does the author feel at the end of the visit?

A．Concerned.

B．Disappointed.

C．Shocked.

D．Delighted.

2 . Scientists have discovered how plants manage to live alongside each other in places that are dark and shady. Plants in the deep darkness of a thick forest, where natural supplies are not very great in amount, won’t attempt to top their neighbors in growth as those in moderate (中度的) shade do. In deep shade conditions, it would be a waste of energy and harmful to survival because green shoots would never be able to top their larger neighbors in growth.

So how do plants prevent such growth in deep shade conditions? The secret lies in the clocks insides them, say scientists from the John Ines Centre and the University of Bristol.

They have discovered that when plants notice deep shade, this changes the expression of genes parts of the circadian clock (昼夜节律时钟) — the inner daily timer found in plants and other things. These clock parts perform an additional role in preventing plants from lengthening and overtopping neighbors.

The work identifies a previously unknown role of the circadian clock in controlling plant development and the findings may have possible effects on both natural plant populations and crops. Professor Antony Dodd of the John Innes Centre said, “The biological clock of plants plays a big part in their development and fitness. This work casts new light on a new role of the circadian clock in adapting plants to competition with other plants in their environments.” “It also gives us new insights into how plants adapt to very deep shade, where resources are very limited,” said Professor Kerry Franklin at the University of Bristol.

This work provides evidence for the firmness of the circadian clock in stressful environments, and information that may be useful in developing new generations of crops in a challenging climate.

1. What do plants normally do in moderate shade?

A．Struggle to preserve energy.	B．Compete for limited resources.
C．Try to outgrow their neighbors.	D．Depend on each other to survive.

2. How does the circadian clock affect plants?

A．By changing their gene expression.	B．By making them realize light change.
C．By helping them adapt to the darkness.	D．By controlling their growth in deep shade.

3. Why does the author write the text?

A．To share a new discovery about plants.	B．To introduce the role of the circadian clock.
C．To explain plants secret of living in forests.	D．To compare plants living in certain condition.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．How plants face a challenging climate

B．Why plants respond to different shade levels

C．Why the circadian clock is vital to plants' growth

D．How plants become good neighbors in times of stress

3 . When Byron Thanarayen and his wife Melissa returned to their home recently, their 13-year-old dog named Chucky was completely wet. The couple assumed the dog had splashed around in his water bowl and made a mess in the house. When no evidence could be found inside, they turned to their security footage (录像).

What they saw made the blood freeze in their veins. Chucky was walking near their backyard swimming pool when he stumbled (绊倒) and fell in. Since the dog is so tiny, he was unable to get a purchase on the slick sides of the pool.   Instead, he paddled around, searching in vain for a way out. After a few desperate moments, the couple's other dog appeared on the scene. Jessie is a 7-year-old dog who became noticeably upset when she saw her friend struggling to keep his head above the water. She began circling the pool's edge, following Chucky as if she was encouraging him not to give up.

For 34 minutes, Jessie worked to rescue her friend. She repeatedly tried to grab hold of the smaller dog with her mouth, but Chucky kept slipping out of her grasp. Finally, after several failed attempts, Jessie succeeded in grasping Chucky's neck and dragging him out of the pool.

When Byron and Melissa realized Jessie was a hero, they were unspeakably grateful for their sweet girl! “We still struggle to watch that video today, just thinking of what could have happened if Jessie was not there,” Byron said. “I'm really proud of her, considering she is the youngest.” The family now plans to install a pool cover to keep their pets safe. Thankfully, they have a wonderful life-dog on duty just in case anything ever goes wrong!

1. What was the couple's first thought finding their messy house?

A．Someone had broken in.

B．The dogs had been too naughty.

C．They had forgotten to clean the house.

D．Chucky had swum again in the swimming pool.

2. How did the couple feel when they found the evidence?

A．Shocked.	B．Scared.
C．Excited.	D．Annoyed.

3. What did Jessie do to help her friend?

A．She encouraged him to stay above the water.

B．She circled the pool's edge to find a way out.

C．She used her mouth to pull him out of the pool.

D．She ran out immediately to ask others for help.

4. Which words can describe Jessie?

A．Clever and inspiring.	B．Wise and energetic.
C．Naughty and lazy.	D．Brave and loving.

4 . I Still Look for Patches

Aren’t we lucky, when we had a childhood friend willing to be our everlasting, faithful companion(同伴)？I can still remember the day I met my special _________ .

One spring evening, my mother and I patiently waited for my father to come home. His_________ in the doorway made no clear impression on my mind. Suddenly, I heard a_________ “Yip”. “Did I hear something? Daddy, please tell me. What was that?”

As he_________ his pocket he answered, “Nothing. It was only my pocket.” The look on my face must have been a sign of_________.

“Amy!” Softly, daddy called.

I slowly turned around to look at daddy’s_________. There, crawled in his palm was a little dog. _________ several brown spots on her white fur, I named her, “Patches(斑点).”

Patches became a_________ and blame taker. If I was troubled, I could depend on her two ears to listen_________ to everything I had to say. If unfortunately I broke a glass, my trusting companion would willingly__________ responsibility. Her__________ devotion(奉献) only made it hard to separate from her.

When I was about 10, my family moved into a house which wasn’t__________ enough to contain a dog. Sadly, we had to__________ her. My auntie, owning a house with vast pieces of land, __________ her.

I can still remember her eyes__________ at me forlornly(可怜地) as she left. The__________ in her eyes will be with me forever.

I saw her once or twice before she__________. Until my dying day, I shall always expect to see her. I believe that, to this very day, she is still trying to find her way back to her true home. Because I have no__________ that she died, I continue to have faith. The picture is__________ in my mind: a thin white dog comes jumping up, __________ me in loving dog kisses.

1.

A．friend

B．dog

C．neighbor

D．relative

2.

A．absence

B．appearance

C．performance

D．confidence

3.

A．clear

B．loud

C．small

D．weak

4.

A．looked up

B．found out

C．reached into

D．took away

5.

A．excitement

B．sadness

C．disappointment

D．pleasure

6.

A．leg

B．hand

C．foot

D．face

7.

A．Because of

B．Instead of

C．In spite of

D．In case of

8.

A．trouble maker

B．baby sitter

C．risker taker

D．good listener

9.

A．wisely

B．carefully

C．positively

D．unwillingly

10.

A．avoid

B．allow

C．take

D．face

11.

A．faithful

B．powerful

C．fearful

D．wonderful

12.

A．cool

B．clean

C．large

D．bright

13.

A．make use of

B．take care of

C．look out of

D．get rid of

14.

A．caught

B．adopted

C．bought

D．refused

15.

A．seeing

B．staring

C．watching

D．smiling

16.

A．joy

B．anger

C．pain

D．strength

17.

A．disappeared

B．ran

C．returned

D．fell

18.

A．doubt

B．idea

C．problem

D．proof

19.

A．unclear

B．colorful

C．creative

D．vivid

20.

A．watering

B．hugging

C．bathing

D．following

5 . Benefits of Reading to a Dog

Here are five great reasons why your kid should read to a dog.

Dogs create a stress-free environment

It's hard to be really stressed(焦虑) around a cozy, friendly dog. Classrooms can be tense for kids who aren't great readers or presenters.     1    

Your kid won't even know she's building her vocabulary

    2    Without even knowing it, she'll be building her vocabulary, becoming more interested in books and improving her oral skills. Kids may also become more active to read aloud in other settings, as they get better at reading out loud to a dog.

A confidence-booster(增幅器)

Dogs are nonjudgmental. Kids will feel less self-conscious about reading aloud to them rather than, say, a judgmental human being.    3     .Thus they will be less afraid to read aloud in class.

Dogs like what your kid likes

Wanna talk about video games? Woof! Mermaids? Woof! A favourite cartoon? Woof! Dogs are interested in whatever your kid is interested in.

    4     They're not going to roll their eyes when your kid reads the Pokemon Go manual to them for the hundredth time. In fact, they'll just woof for more.

Petting a dog reduces stress and can even improve movement skills

Just grooming(梳毛)can help to improve a child's movement skills.

    5    Petting or hugging a dog also provides valuable breaks in reading, which gives children a chance to process what they've just read.

A．It's also been proven to reduce anxiety

B．They'll listen for hours and never get bored

C．Reading to a dog makes the whole situation less stressful

D．Keeping a dog as a pet also improve a child's confidence

E．As kids read to a dog, they feel as if they're in a formal environment.

F．Kids who read out loud to dogs become more confident in their reading skills

G．Reading to a friendly dog is a great way for your child to practice her pronunciation

6 . Many orb weaver spiders have yellowish stripes or spots on their undersides for a good reason. That color yellow attracts bees and flies into a spider’s web, a new study suggests.

Orb weaver spiders get their name because they spin and sit on circular webs. But these spiders and their bright colors seem contradictory. Why would a spider look so noticeable? In the new study, researchers examined if yellow coloration on a species of golden orb weaver spiders (Nephila pilipes) attracts their flying insect prey. Found across Asia, this spider sits on its web day and night with its underside facing open space. The team found more than 250 female N. pilipes in the wild. They removed each female and either left its web empty or replaced it with a cardboard spider. These cardboard models had paper stripes of yellow, blue or black color stuck to them.

After almost 1,800 hours of video recording the webs, the team found that during the daytime, the yellow-striped model that looked like a real N. pilipes attracted more than twice as many insects, including bees and flies as any other fake spider or empty web. What's more, the yellow color worked just as well at night attracting moths, the scientists reported.

The team then searched online zoological databases for associations between yellow markings and prey attraction in orb weaver spiders. Surveying dozens of distantly related species showed that yellow stripes or spots were more likely to have evolved in orb weaver spiders that sit on their webs in open, bright spaces, where visual baits may be more effective.

Scientists don’t yet know why insects are attracted to yellow stripes on orb weaver spiders. Perhaps the prey mistake a spider for a yellow-flecked flower, a hypothesis (假说) supported by the fact that most prey attracted were pollinators (传粉者).

1. What made the scientists confused about orb weaver spiders?

A．Their name.

B．Their prey.

C．Their coloration.

D．Their webs.

2. How did the scientists do the study?

A．By finding wild male and female N. pilipes.

B．By filling each web with a cardboard spider.

C．By studying the stripes on female N. pilipes.

D．By using fake spiders or leaving the web empty.

3. What did the scientists most probably conclude after watching the videos?

A．Insects knew how to avoid an empty web.

B．The spiders’ stripes could attract insects.

C．Insects could be attracted to dark colors.

D．Yellow markings didn't function at night.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Yellow Stripes Work for the Spiders Hunting for Food

B．Yellow Stripes on Orb Weaver Spiders Have Evolved

C．Stripes and Spots can Easily Draw Much more Insects

D．Preys are Drawn to Spiders on Circular Webs Quickly

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。

Robert Owens felt     1     (defeat) and helpless on Sunday as he waited in Louisiana’s capital city for one of the most     2     (power) hurricanes ever to strike the US.

The 27-year-old man had spent days     3     (anxious) watching long lines of cars leaving for safer locations as Hurricane Ida     4     (approach). He had hoped that his wife and two children would be among them. But leaving would have required money for gas and a hotel room—something they didn’t have.

Out of desperation, Owens went to the bank on Saturday and applied     5     a payday loan. But he     6     (tell) he didn’t have enough credit history.

“Our bank account is empty-we can’t afford     7     (leave),” he said. “A lot of us here in my neighborhood have to stay and wait, not knowing how bad it’s going to get,” he said. “It’s     8     terrifying feeling to think my family is getting left behind.”

“The fact     9     we are not middle class or above just keeps coming back to bite us again and again, in so many different     10     (direction)and ways. A simple payday advance is just one of them,” he said. “It’s like we have to pay for being poor, even though we’re trying not to be poor.”

8 . 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。

There are many     1    (destroy) forces when it comes to nature,     2    have destroyed whole cities and killed many people. They’re really terrible, but they occur somewhat often.

While the world is a very beautiful place to live in, there will always be parts of the world     3     natural disasters happen more often than in other places. For some people out there, the world is cruel, but they have no choice but     4     (stay) where they are.

In 2004, there was a tsunami in the Indian Ocean. A tsunami is a large wave that towers hundreds of feet     5     the air, and covers whole areas when it comes     6    （crash）down on to dry land. This particular tsunami was caused by an earthquake that happened in the middle of the sea. This tsunami actually reached thirty meters in     7    （high）, and was one of the worst waves the world has ever seen. Over 200,000 people were hurt in the disaster.

In 2005, we also saw a hurricane happened in the United States. It destroyed millions of properties in the area. It also took the lives of nearly 2,000 American people. It was known that for ten days, the wind     8    （sweep）through the area, meaning the most powerful country in the world became helpless in their attempts to save the people who were affected by the hurricane.

Finally, in 2008 we saw yet another natural disaster. This cyclone Nargis had been one of the strongest to have ever occurred,     9     (cause) the death of nearly 150,000 people. All of these were terrible disasters that were     10    （avoid）.

9 . I'd shared my home with scorpions（非洲蝎子）in Africa before. But when we moved to Costa Rica which was an insect center, there were scorpions under the fridge, a stick insect and a tarantula（狼蛛）, the size of a dinner plate, wandering around the courtyard.

To begin with, I was scared to death, and got away from them as quickly as possible. But slowly things changed. With no TV, no radio and often staying at our house for days in this rainforest, I started to get used to these uninvited visitors. It was for a long time that I was gradually used to them. Then I kept an eye out for them and finally was delighted to see them no matter what they were.

Soon when a creature came to visit, I'd call the kids over, take photos and even pose with them. We'd try to work out what these creatures were doing, see where they were going and pick them up if they seemed safe. Not all the wildlife was traditionally frightening. We gently held panic-stricken hummingbirds that were trapped in the house and set them back in the wild. We listened out for the woodpeckers（啄木鸟）that decorated our garden. We practiced shouting like howling monkeys. Those feathered and furry creatures were easy to love, and we also grew to love the seemingly unlovable when traveling in Costa Rica.

Sweeping away the terror from this fresh new love, I started emailing photos of my new insect friends to human friends and family overseas. I was as proud as any new mother with my latest discoveries. Then when their replies came back saying “Disgusting!", “Ewww” or “Nasty”, I was saddened, and I could hardly remember that not so long ago I would also have been disgusted by the sight of a ten-inch cricket（蟋蟀）on my dining table.

Travel changes you in ways you never expect, and changes things you never want to change. You may not imagine you could find beauty in an insect, if you look closely at it there. You may not think you could love the unlovable. And if you take time to wonder and open your heart to the possibility, love can spread in anywhere.

1. What do we know about the author when she arrived in Costa Rica?

A．She missed TV and radio very much.	B．She quickly got used to the life there.
C．She enjoyed sharing her home with insects.	D．She was afraid of the insects at first.

2. Why was the author sad after getting the replies to her photos?

A．Because the insects looked really disgusting.

B．Because she was not so good at taking photos.

C．Because her love to insects was not understood.

D．Because she missed her friends and family overseas.

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．The insects are not poisonous as imagined.	B．Travel changes our views about the world.
C．Not all lives should be equally treated.	D．Travel helps us change nature as we like.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．How did I fall in love with insects?	B．Welcome to the insects centre!
C．Search for fun in Costa Rica!	D．How did I start my travel?

10 . The Earth is already 1.1 degrees Celsius hotter than it was 150 years ago. Though a half-degree Celsius difference in temperature increase might seem unimportant, the difference for life on Earth could be huge.

Off the coast of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef is known for being large enough to be seen from space. It’s the size of Germany—a biodiversity hot spot that was once thought to be too big to fail. But over the last few decades, marine（海洋的）biologists like Hoegh-Guldberg have watched its rapid decline.

Oceans are warming along with the atmosphere, since they absorb much of the excess heat from climate change. Repeated marine heat waves over the last five years have turned much of the Great Barrier Reef a terribly white color. When temperatures rise, corals（珊瑚）remove the microscopic algae（海藻）inside them, losing their food source in the process. Sometimes the corals can recover, but increasingly, they’re dying off.

“Something around 50% of the shallow water corals were killed literally over a couple of months, in some cases over a couple of weeks,” Hoegh-Guldberg says. “If you extend that out into the future, we’ll get to a point where the damage overwhelms the ability of corals to bounce back. ”

Marine heat waves have already doubled in number since 1980 and are expected to become more intense as temperatures rise. At 1.5 degrees Celsius, it’s likely that 70% to 90% of coral reefs will die off worldwide. At 2 degrees Celsius of warming, 99% are lost. “If we delay even a year or two more, we really are going down a pathway where there will be no return. We need to act and we need to act decisively, without question and solve this problem. ” Hoegh-Guldberg adds.

1. What do we know about the Great Barrier Reef?

A．It is supposed to never disappear.

B．It used to be indescribably massive.

C．It is too large to be seen from space.

D．It is growing over the last few decades.

2. What are the effects of rising temperatures?

A．Changes in the shape of coral.

B．Increasing risk of coral death.

C．Growing coral recovery capacity.

D．Abundant food sources of corals.

3. What does the underlined word “decisively” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．Decidedly.	B．Gradually.
C．Constantly.	D．Regularly.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The temperature affects the life.

B．Climate change causes warming oceans.

C．Coral reefs face almost complete die-off.

D．Extreme heat waves double greatly in number.