1 . Imagine you are a citizen of Athens, enjoying a warm Mediterranean night in the Theater of Herodes Atticus. You are wearing jeans and a T-shirt, listening to a great concert.

Now rewind this picture 1,839 years. You are in the same seat, only you are watching classical Greek entertainment.

The city of Athens is a fun mix of the old and the new, the classic and the modern. Often a little shop is located next to the ruins of a temple, which is only a block from a large, air-conditioned hotel. The great city of 2,500 years ago is still visible today.

Ruins are the most obvious sign of ancient Athens, and the most famous of these is the Acropolis(卫城). The Acropolis is a large hill that was the center of life in Athens. On its slopes were temples, monuments, and theaters. From the top, you can see how the urban area of Athens stretches out in every direction.

On the top of the Acropolis is the Parthenon. This was once a huge temple to Athena, the city’s patron. It was first completed in 432 B.C., but has been damaged and destroyed several times. However, visitors can still see the “tricks” used in building the Parthenon. The columns along the outside lean inward, and are slightly fatter in the middle. The temple is also higher in the middle than on the sides. All these effects make the Parthenon look perfectly straight from a distance.

Only a block away from the Acropolis is the neighborhood of Plaka. The area, with its little shops and restaurants, is very popular with both tourists and locals, and is an important part of modern Athenian culture. Many great thinkers, writers, and political leaders lived in ancient Athens. The ruins of their homes and favorite spots are scattered throughout the busy port city. The hill where St. Paul addressed early Christian Athenians is located near the Acropolis. Great thinkers such as Perikles and Demosthenes spoke to the civil assemblies held at the Pnyx Hill. Today the Pnyx is an open-air theater for light and sound shows.

Tourism is very important to people who live in modern-day Athens. Thousands of people come every year to see these ruins and to tour the many museums that house artifacts from ancient times. This provides many jobs and brings money into Athens, which helps the city pay for improvements. Athenians take pride in the accomplishments of their ancestors, and people from all around the world come to admire them. By looking around the city today, we can imagine what life was like in ancient Athens.

1. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT about the city of Athens?

A．The culture of the city is a mixture of the old and modern.

B．Traces of the ancient city can still be found

C．Ruins and modern hotels co-exist in the city.

D．All the temples are not far away from air-conditioned hotels.

2. According to the context, “tricks” in Paragraph Five refer to ________.

A．naughty acts	B．confusing constructing skills
C．skillful constructing methods	D．constructing materials

3. The writer mentioned all the following benefits of tourism in Athens for Athenians EXCEPT ________.

A．offering job opportunities to Athenians

B．enriching Athenians by providing accommodation for tourists

C．enabling Athenians to improve the infrastructures

D．making Athenians proud of their ancestors

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Tourism in Athens	B．Athens: Then and Now
C．Historic Interests in Athens	D．The Magic of Ancient Athens

2 . The Ebro Delta, in Spain, famous as a battleground during the Spanish Civil War, is now the setting for a different contest, one that is making rice farmers fight against two enemies: the rice-eating giant apple snail, and rising sea levels. What happens here will have a bearing on the future of European rice production and the overall health of southern European wetlands.

Located on the Mediterranean, just two hours south of Barcelona, the Ebro Delta produces 120 million kilograms of rice a year, making it one of the continent’s most important rice-growing areas. As the sea creeps into these fresh-water marshes, however, rising salinity (盐度) is hurting rice production. At the same time, this sea-water also kills off the greedy giant apple snail, an introduced pest that feeds on young rice plants. The most promising strategy has become to play one enemy off against the other.

The battle is currently being waged on land, in greenhouses at the University of Barcelona. Scientists working under the banner “Project Neurice” are seeking varieties of rice that can withstand the increasing salinity without losing the absorbency that makes European rice ideal for traditional Spanish and Italian dishes.

“The project has two sides,” says Xavier Serrat, Neurice project manager and researcher at the University of Barcelona, “the short-term fight against the snail, and a mid- to long-term fight against climate change. But the snail has given the project greater urgency.”

Originally from South America, the snails were accidentally introduced into the Ebro Delta by Global Aquatic Technologies, a company that raised the snails for fresh-water aquariums (水族馆) but failed to prevent their escape. For now, the giant apple snail’s presence in Europe is limited to the Ebro Delta. But the snail continues its march to new territory, says Serrat. “The question is not whether it will reach other rice-growing areas of Europe, but when.”

Over the next year and a half investigators will test the various strains of salt tolerant rice they’ve bred. In 2018, farmers will plant the varieties with the most promise in the Ebro Delta and Europe’s other two main rice-growing regions along the Po in Italy, and France’s Rhone. A season in the field will help determine which, if any, of the varieties are ready for commercialization.

As an EU-funded effort, the search for salt-tolerant varieties of rice is taking place in all three countries. Each team is crossbreeding a local European short-grain rice with a long-grain Asian variety that carries the salt resistant gene. The scientists are breeding successive generations to arrive at varieties that incorporate salt tolerance but retain about 97 percent of the European rice genome (基因组).

1. Why does the author mention the Spanish Civil War at the beginning of the passage?

A．It has great impact on the lives of Spanish rice farmers.

B．It is of great significance in the records of Spanish history.

C．Rice farmers there are engaged in another kind of battle of similar importance.

D．Rice farmers there are experiencing the hardships of wartime.

2. What may be the most effective strategy for rice farmers to employ in fighting their enemies?

A．Striking the weaker enemy first.	B．Killing two birds with one stone.
C．Eliminating the enemy one by one.	D．Using one evil to fight against the other.

3. What does Neurice project manager say about the giant apple snail?

A．It can survive only on southern European wetlands.

B．It will invade other rice-growing regions of Europe.

C．It multiplies at a speed beyond human imagination.

D．It was introduced into the rice fields on purpose.

4. What is the ultimate goal of the EU-funded program?

A．Cultivating ideal salt-resistant rice varieties.

B．Increasing the absorbency of the Spanish rice.

C．Introducing Spanish rice to the rest of Europe.

D．Popularizing the rice crossbreeding technology.

3 . 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.
Mako sharks get new protections

At the global wildlife trade meeting in Geneva, countries have decided to protect the endangered mako shark from trade. GENEVA made the proposal       1     more protections should be taken for both shortfin and longfin mako sharks and was adopted today after a 102-40 vote at the global wildlife trade summit. The vote still needs to be finalized at the full meeting at the end, when all appendix (附录) change proposals passed in committee are officially adopted.

The proposal, debated at this year’s CITES Conference, lists mako sharks under Appendix II, meaning that they can’t be traded     2     it can be shown that fishing wouldn’t threaten their chances for survival. Conservationists say this was the world’s last chance to prevent mako shark populations from collapsing.

    3     (list) mako sharks on CITES Appendix II is great news for shark conservation. More than 50 of the 183 CITES members signed on as supporters of the proposal brought forth by Mexico. Nonetheless, conservationists feared that opposition from a few countries with fairly large mako fishing industries—primarily the United States, Canada, and Japan—    4     tip the scale. Japan opposed the measure during the debates, and the United States announced afterward it     5     (vote) no.

In the past, the U.S. and others have supported listing other shark species under CITES, but not so in this case,     6     commercial interests. For a lot of these countries, they were happy to list shark species when it was ones they weren’t so heavily involved in fishing. Suddenly, when they’re being asked to be responsible, rather than asking other people to be responsible, they’re     7     (little) keen to take it on board.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which determines the conservation status of species claims that both species of mako sharks to be endangered, saying an       8     (estimate) 50 to 79 percent population decline over three generations, or about 75 years. They       9     (target) for their fins (鳍), used in shark fin soup—a dish in Asian countries, that’s often served at weddings as a sign of respect for guests. Their meat is more edible compared to     10     of other sharks, which is often acidic and is usually sold as a byproduct of the fin trade for “pennies on the dollar”.

4 . 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。

Any bird that crossed his path would be eaten by Rex, a German shepherd. Rex    1    (rescue) from his previous shelter, where he was going to be put down after a biting incident. Last year, he    2    (eventual) arrived at Puriton Horse and Animal Rescue.

Geraldine was a goose abandoned by owners who could no longer put up     3     her. She wasn’t exactly the picture of     4    (warm), either, when she arrived at the same shelter three months ago. The dog and the goose were individually given labels like cruel and dangerous. Neither seemed particularly harmonious with humans or even members of their own species.

But when the two     5    (annoy) creatures were offered a chance to hang out together, something magical happened. They chased each other when first     6    (introduce), but Geraldine stood up for herself and that was that. They just fell in love with each other.

“I’ve been doing rescue work since 1997 and seen all     7    (kind) of strange animal behavior, but I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Sheila Brislin,     8    is the founder of the shelter. “It’s so amusing to see them because they love each other to bits. They are very affectionate. She just    9     (run) around alongside him all day long and whenever we take him for     10    walk in the woods she has to come, too.”

5 . Life in the Clear

Transparent animals let light pass through their bodies the same way light passes through a window. These animals typically live between the surface of the ocean and a depth of about 3,300 feet---as far as most light can reach. Most of them are extremely delicate and can be damaged by a simple touch. Sonke Johnsen, a scientist in biology, says, “These animals live through their life alone. They never touch anything unless they’re eating it, or unless something is eating them.”

And they are as clear as glass. How does an animal become see-through? It s trickier than you might think.

The objects around you are visible because they interact with light. Light typically travels in a straight line. But some materials slow and scatter (散射) light, bouncing it away from its original path. Others absorb light, stopping it dead in its tracks. Both scattering and absorption make an object look different from other objects around it, so you can see it easily.

But a transparent object doesn’t absorb or scatter light, at least not very much. Light can pass through it without bending or stopping. That means a transparent object doesn’t look very different from the surrounding air or water. You don’t see it you see the things behind it.

To become transparent, an animal needs to keep its body from absorbing or scattering light. Living materials can stop light because they contain pigments (色素) that absorb specific colors of light. But a transparent animal doesn’t have pigments, so its tissues won’t absorb light. According to Johnsen, avoiding absorption is actually easy. The real challenge is preventing light from scattering.

Animals are built of many different materials---skin, fat, and more---and light moves through each at a different speed. Every time light moves into a material with a new speed, it bends and scatters. Transparent animals use different tricks to fight scattering. Some animals are simply very small or extremely flat. Without much tissue to scatter light, it is easier to be see-through. Others build a large, clear mass of non-living jelly-like (果冻状的) material and spread themselves over it.

Larger transparent animals have the biggest challenge, because they have to make all the different tissues in their bodies slow down light exactly as much as water does. They need to look uniform. But how they’re doing it is still unknown. One thing is clear: for these larger animals, staying transparent is an active process. When they die, they turn a non-transparent milky white.

1. According to Paragraph 1,transparent animals       .

A．stay in groups	B．can be easily damaged
C．appear only in deep ocean	D．are beautiful creatures

2. The underlined word “dead” in Paragraph 3 means       .

A．silently	B．gradually
C．regularly	D．completely

3. One way for an animal to become transparent is to       .

A．change the direction of light travel	B．gather materials to scatter light
C．avoid the absorption of light	D．grow bigger to stop light

4. The last paragraph tells us that larger transparent animals       .

A．move more slowly in deep water

B．stay see-through even after death

C．produce more tissues for their survival

D．take effective action to reduce light spreading

6 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。1.

A．Being a rare fish, the vaquita is at the edge of extinction.

B．Generally, a vaquita’s life expectation is over two decades.

C．Genetic modification could be the only way to save vaquitas.

D．Vaquitas were first discovered by Spanish in 1958.

2.

A．It banned the fishermen from using fixed nets in the Gulf of California.

B．It banned the fishermen from fishing vaquitas.

C．Its police force worked with Sea Shepherd to feed vaquitas.

D．It inspected local fishermen to stop illegal fishing.

3.

A．He founded the Natural Resources Defense Council.

B．It was great to tell vaquitas good stories.

C．All work would be meaningless without continuous efforts.

D．The parties should record their actions with cameras.

8 . You don't have to be a gardener,a farmer, or a vegetarian to appreciate how much we all depend on plants. Plants _______ us with food, shelter, clothing,medicine, and even the air we breathe! Here are just some of the ways that people rely on plants, _______ those native to the United States.

CLEAN AIR AND WATER: Plants are the basis of healthy ecosystems that _______ many functions, including purifying air and water. Green plants harness energy from sunlight through the _______ of photosynthesis (光合作用). With every breath we take, we depend on the oxygen that is given off as a by-product of that reaction. Plants also _______the water cycle. More than 90% of the water that is taken in through a plant's roots is eventually _______ back to the atmosphere in a process called transpiration.

FOOD:Plants provide the basis of most food webs on Earth. Even the _______ meat eaters, such as lions, need plants because the prey they _______ are plant eaters. The wild relatives of our own food plants are becoming increasingly important for breeding to make healthier and more productive crops. _______ the Texas wild rice, known from only one river in Texas, is being bred with northern wild rice to develop a new strain suitable for mild climates.

SHELTER: Plants provide not only food and oxygen, but also__ and shelter. The wood from trees is used in the construction of many of our homes. Plants also ___ habitats for many other animals. A single tree in the tropics can be ___ . to more than 1,000 different insect species alone.

ENERGY: Every time we _______ the lights in a room, we use plants that lived a long time ago. Over 350 million years ago, giant relatives of today's ferms (蕨类) _______ mud as they died and so were prevented from decaying. Over the years, they were compressed (压缩) to   _______ coal and other fossil fuels upon which most of the world now relies for energy.

1.

A．offer

B．afford

C．deliver

D．provide

2.

A．originally

B．particularly

C．typically

D．currently

3.

A．perform

B．admire

C．settle

D．transport

4.

A．material

B．process

C．challenge

D．behaviour

5.

A．belong to

B．refer to

C．play a role in

D．are on behalf of

6.

A．released

B．responded

C．recycled

D．captured

7.

A．unique

B．strictest

C．junior

D．senior

8.

A．select

B．consume

C．acquire

D．assume

9.

A．No doubt

B．From different perspective

C．In case

D．For example

10.

A．location

B．freedom

C．protection

D．convenience

11.

A．create

B．respect

C．reflect

D．arrange

12.

A．element

B．object

C．home

D．dump

13.

A．switch off

B．switch on

C．close

D．open

14.

A．were ashamed of

B．were proud of

C．were afraid of

D．were covered with

15.

A．indicate

B．burn

C．form

D．earn

10 . When discussing the causes of animal endangerment, it is important to understand that individual species are not the only factors involved in this difficult situation. Endangerment is a broad _________, one that involves the habitats and environments where species live and interact with one another. Although some measures are being taken to help specific cases of endangerment, the universal problem cannot be solved until humans _________ the natural environments where endangered species live. There are many reasons why a particular species may become endangered, but habitat destruction is on top.

Our planet is continually changing, causing habitats to be altered and modified. Natural changes tend to occur at a(n) _________ pace, usually causing only a slight _________ on individual species. However, when changes occur at a fast pace, there is little or no time for individual species to _________ and adjust to new situations. This can create disastrous results, and for this reason, rapid habitat loss is the primary cause of species endangerment. The strongest _________ in rapid habitat loss are human beings. Nearly every region of the earth has been affected by human activity, particularly during this past century. The loss of microbes in soils that _________ supported tropical forests, the extinction of fish and various aquatic species in polluted habitats, and changes in global climate brought about by the _________ of greenhouse gases are all results of human activity.

It can be difficult for an individual to _________ the effects that humans have had on specific species. It is also hard to identify or ____________ human effects on individual species and habitats, especially during a human lifetime. But it is quite ____________ that human activity has greatly contributed to species endangerment. ____________, although tropical forests may look as though they are thick and healthy; they are____________ highly susceptible (易受影响的) to destruction. This is because the soils in which they grow ____________ nutrients. It may take centuries to re-grow a forest that was cut down by humans or destroyed by fire, and many of the world’s severely threatened animals and plants live in these forests. If the current rate of forest ____________ continues, huge quantities of plant and animal species will disappear.

1.

A．remark

B．issue

C．project

D．experiment

2.

A．worsen

B．protect

C．seek

D．ignore

3.

A．extreme

B．favorable

C．gradual

D．rapid

4.

A．command

B．spirit

C．impact

D．expectation

5.

A．react

B．boost

C．express

D．announce

6.

A．sports

B．meanings

C．forces

D．crimes

7.

A．usually

B．formally

C．freely

D．formerly

8.

A．escape

B．goal

C．release

D．origin

9.

A．update

B．recognize

C．cover

D．remind

10.

A．predict

B．devote

C．struggle

D．transfer

11.

A．obvious

B．vital

C．contemporary

D．selfish

12.

A．In short

B．In a word

C．As a result

D．For example

13.

A．naturally

B．completely

C．fully

D．actually

14.

A．contain

B．lack

C．reduce

D．limit

15.

A．growth

B．loss

C．extension

D．planting