1 . After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves.

Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around.

The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations — major food sources (来源) for the wolf — grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation (植被), which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the park’s red foxes, and completely drove away the park’s beavers.

As early as 1966, biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems. Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets.

The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolvers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone. Today, the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone. Elk, deer, and coyote populations are down, while beavers and red foxes have made a comeback. The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well.

1. What is the text mainly about?

A．Wildlife research in the United States.

B．Plant diversity in the Yellowstone area.

C．The conflict between farmers and gray wolves.

D．The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone Park.

2. What did the disappearance of gray wolves bring about?

A．Damage to local ecology.

B．Preservation of vegetation.

C．A decline in the park’s income.

D．An increase in the variety of animals.

3. What is the author’s attitude towards the Yellowstone wolf project?

A．Doubtful.

B．Uncaring.

C．Positive.

D．Disapproving.

3 . How is the weather this weekend according to the weatherman?

A．Warm.

B．Cool.

C．Cold.

4 . We have all heard of giant pandas, and know that they are endangered. When one bears babies, it makes national ________ news, and the pictures of the panda babies are ________ circulated. But it now seems that the giant panda is not________ of itself.

The lovely animals have ________ a classic test of self-awareness. They cannot ________ themselves in the mirror. Researchers use the mirror recognition test to ________ whether children or animals have a ________ of self-awareness.

In the test, an animal is presented ________ a mirror. Researchers then watch to see ________ it notices a mark on its face,which is only ________ in the mirror. If the animal notices the mark, it often ________ it. Human children often pass the test when they are only two years old.

Many other animals have passed the mirror test, including monkeys, Asian elephants and even pigeons. But when researchers tested pandas, ________ of them did the same thing as those animals did. ________, each panda behaved as if its ________ in the mirror were another panda altogether. They acted as if they were ________ by what they saw in the mirror, scratching their feet and walking _________

The ________ of this research will help design better areas for animals in captivity(圈养) . For example, one-directional glass sometimes used in the areas may ________ pandas to feel stressed when they see their own images in the ________. That’s because they might believe it to be another panda, ________ themselves.

1.

A．paper

B．cover

C．headline

D．page

2.

A．widely

B．popularly

C．especially

D．completely

3.

A．shy

B．fond

C．conscious

D．confident

4.

A．failed

B．ignored

C．faced

D．refused

5.

A．observe

B．discover

C．recognize

D．understand

6.

A．believe in

B．find out

C．pick out

D．take in

7.

A．sense

B．question

C．opinion

D．thought

8.

A．for

B．with

C．in

D．before

9.

A．how

B．when

C．why

D．whether

10.

A．touchable

B．seeable

C．sensible

D．possible

11.

A．dismisses

B．admits

C．feels

D．moves

12.

A．all

B．most

C．one

D．none

13.

A．Thus

B．However

C．Instead

D．Still

14.

A．reaction

B．reflection

C．operation

D．imagination

15.

A．trapped

B．amazed

C．threatened

D．teased

16.

A．backwards

B．alone

C．forwards

D．along

17.

A．failure

B．outcome

C．success

D．review

18.

A．cause

B．prepare

C．accelerate

D．urge

19.

A．eyes

B．cages

C．zoo

D．glass

20.

A．other than

B．regardless of

C．because of

D．rather than

5 . Our fascination with Mars has never stopped. However, in the early days of space exploration, visits were restricted to “fly-bys”, such as those by Mariner Space Probes, by means of which craft would simply pass the planet, taking pictures and collecting data as they went. The Viking “orbiters” were next, and later craft in the Viking series, known as “Landers”, began to study the surface, equipped with instruments which continued to collect data about the environment until they stopped working.

The more recent “Rovers” move around the planet’s surface as they gather information. Current proposals include missions to study geographic features, climate, and soil components, in order to determine, among other things, whether the planet can ever have supported carbon-based life forms. Scientists now believe that at some stage the planet cooled dramatically, resulting in the near-loss of its atmosphere and, thanks to the wearing away of some surface features mineral deposits and other factors, it is also believed that liquid water once flowed here.

One of the most famous craft is “Phoenix”, which landed in November 2008. Its mission was to obtain samples from beneath the surface by digging into the arctic ice while its camera provided geological data and other equipment scanned the atmosphere, measuring temperature and pressure in an attempt to discover whether the chemicals necessary for life might exist beneath the surface. The craft was expected to send back data for three months, but managed to hold out for further two. An especially important part of the project was the need to keep absolute cleanliness of the equipment in order to ensure that any organic material collected was not contaminated by microbes(微生物).

In the future manned landings may probably come true-and though it may seem an extremely difficult undertaking, plans have already been discussed for the “terraforming(行星地球化)”of the planet, giving it an atmosphere, oceans and other elements similar to earth, with, the possibility of human settlement.

1. According to the text, what is “fly-by”?

A．A type of UFO.	B．A photograph of a planet.
C．A planet of the solar system.	D．A way of collecting information.

2. Which of the following is evidence of liquid water on Mars?

A．There is ice on it.

B．It once had some mineral deposits.

C．It once had carbon-based life forms.

D．There are some damaged areas on its surface.

3. What does the underlined word “contaminated” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Polluted.

B．Protected.

C．Controlled.

D．Reduced.

4. How does the author feel about human beings going Mars?

A．It will happen very soon.

B．It may be hard, but it’s possible.

C．It will be full of uncertainties, but it’s worth the efforts.

D．It relies on different countries working together.

6 . 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。

The polar bear is found in the Arctic Circle and some big land masses as far south as Newfoundland. While they are rare north of 88°, there is evidence     1     they range all the way across the Arctic, and as far south as James Bay in Canada. It is difficult to figure out a global population of polar bears as much of the range has been     2    (poor) studied; however, biologists calculate that there are about 20,000-25,000 polar bears worldwide.

Modern methods     3     tracking polar bear populations have been employed only since the mid-1980s, and are expensive     4    (perform) consistently over a large area. In recent years some Inuit people in Nunavut     5    (report) increases in bear sightings around human settlements, leading to a     6    (believe) that populations are increasing. Scientists have responded by     7    (note) that hungry bears may be congregating(聚集) around human settlements, leading to the illusion(错觉) that populations are     8    (high) than they actually are. Of     9     nineteen recognized polar bear subpopulations, three are declining, six     10    (be) stable, one is increasing, and nine lack enough data.

7 . Now satellites are helping to forecast the weather. They are in space, and they can reach any part of the world. The satellites take pictures of the atmosphere, because this is where the weather forms. They send these pictures to the weather stations. So meteorologists（气象学者）can see the weather of any part of the world. From the pictures, the scientists can often say how the weather will change.

Today, nearly five hundred weather stations in sixty countries receive satellite pictures. When they receive new pictures, the meteorologists compare them with earlier ones. Perhaps they may find that the clouds have changed during the last few hours. This may mean that the weather on the ground may soon change, too. In their next weather forecast, the meteorologists can say this.

So the weather satellites are a great help to the meteorologists. Before satellites were invented, the scientists could forecast the weather for about 24 or 48 hours. Now they can make good forecasts for three or five days. Soon, perhaps, they may be able to forecast the weather for a week or more ahead.

1. Why do we use the weather satellites to take pictures of the atmosphere? Because __________.

A．the weather satellites can do it easily	B．clouds form there
C．the weather forms there	D．the pictures can forecast the weather

2. Meteorologists forecast the weather __________.

A．when they have received satellite pictures

B．after they have compared new satellite pictures with earlier ones

C．before they received satellite pictures

D．during they study satellite pictures

3. Maybe we’ll soon be able to forecast the weather for ___________.

A．one day	B．two days
C．five days	D．seven days or even longer

4. The main idea of this passage is that satellites are now used in _________.

A．taking pictures of the atmosphere

B．receiving pictures of the atmosphere

C．weather forecasting

D．doing other work in many ways

8 . An earthquake is a shaking of the ground    1    (cause) by the sudden breaking and shifting of large sections of Earth's rocky outer shell. Earthquakes are among the most    2    (power) events on earth, and their results can be terrifying. Rock movements during an earthquake can make rivers     3    (change) their course. Earthquakes can cause great damage and loss of    4    (live). Large earthquakes beneath the ocean can create a series     5    huge and destructive waves called tsunamis     6    flood coasts for many miles. Earthquakes almost never kill people     7    (direct). Instead, many deaths and injuries in earthquakes result from     8    (fall) objects and the collapse（倒塌）of buildings, bridges, and other structures. Fire caused from broken gas or power lines is another major danger during     9    quake. Spills（溢出）of     10    (harm) chemicals are also a concern during an earthquake.

9 . When a leafy plant is under attack, it doesn’t sit quietly. Back in 1983, two scientists, Jack Schultz and Ian Baldwin, reported that young maple trees getting bitten by insects send out a particular smell that neighboring plants can get. These chemicals come from the injured parts of the plant and seem to be an alarm. What the plants pump through the air is a mixture of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds, VOCs for short.

Scientists have found that all kinds of plants give out VOCs when being attacked. It’s a plant’s way of crying out. But is anyone listening? Apparently. Because we can watch the neighbours react.

Some plants pump out smelly chemicals to keep insects away. But others do double duty. They pump out perfumes designed to attract different insects who are natural enemies to the attackers. Once they arrive, the tables are turned. The attacker who was lunching now becomes lunch.

In study after study, it appears that these chemical conversations help the neighbors .The damage is usually more serious on the first plant, but the neighbors, relatively speaking, stay safer because they heard the alarm and knew what to do.

Does this mean that plants talk to each other? Scientists don’t know. Maybe the first plant just made a cry of pain or was sending a message to its own branches, and so, in effect, was talking to itself. Perhaps the neighbors just happened to “overhear” the cry. So information was exchanged, but it wasn’t a true, intentional back and forth. Charles Darwin, over 150 years ago, imagined a world far busier, noisier and more intimate (亲密的) than the world we can see and hear. Our senses are weak. There’s a whole lot going on.

1. What does a plant do when it is under attack?

A．It makes noises.	B．It gets help from other plants.
C．It stands quietly	D．It sends out certain chemicals.

2. What does the author mean by “the tables are turned” in paragraph 3?

A．The attackers get attacked.

B．The insects gather under the table.

C．The plants get ready to fight back.

D．The perfumes attract natural enemies.

3. Scientists find from their studies that plants can ________.

A．predict natural disasters

B．protect themselves against insects

C．talk to one another intentionally

D．help their neighbors when necessary

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．The world is changing faster than ever.

B．People have stronger senses than before

C．The world is more complex than it seems

D．People in Darwin’s time were imaginative.

10 . 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。

The giant panda     1     (love) by people throughout the world. Chinese scientists     2     (recent) had a chance to study a wild female panda with a newborn baby. She was a very     3    (care) mother. For 25days, she never left her baby, not even to find something     4     (eat)! She would not let any other pandas come near. She licked the baby constantly to keep it clean. Any smell might attract natural     5    (enemy) that would try to eat the little comforting panda. The mother held the baby in her front paws much the way a human does.     6     it cried, she rocked it back and forth and gave it little comforting pats. The mother continued to care for the young panda     7     more than two years. By that time, the panda no longer needed     8    (it) mother for food. However, it stayed with her and learned about the ways of the forest. Then, after two and a half years, the mother     9     (drive) the young panda away. It was time for her to have a new baby,     10     it was also time for the young panda to be independent.