2 . 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.

Nearly one billion animals died in the Australian bushfires. That number would have been even     1    (large) if it had not been for wombats(袋熊). When the fires started, their underground homes     2    (become) places of shelter for many other lives.

Wombats are small, furry mammals native to Australia. There are three wombat species. Northern and southern wombats have furry noses,     3     common wombats have bare skin on noses. You shouldn’t let the     4    (appear) of wombats fool you, though. Despite their size, they are     5    (unbelievable) fast. They can run at the speed of an Olympic runner, but only for a minute and a half or so.     6     is interesting is their cube-shaped poop(粪便). They often pile up their poop     7     a way to mark their areas. Scientists believe the square shape     8    (form) to stop the poop from rolling away.

Now there are only about 500 northern wombats     9    (survive) in the wild. The species is considered to be critically endangered. Luckily, conservationists are attempting     10    (help). In the 1980s, just 35 northern wombats were left alive — so things are improving!

3 . Elephant Transit Home

In both Africa and Asia elephants are being threatened by changes in their natural habitats (栖息地). People are moving into the elephants’ habitats and endangering their survival. In the country of Sri Lanka, there is one place where elephants are not only protected but also respected. It is called the Elephant Transit Home (ETH).

Set up in 1995, the ETH aims to protect and nurture baby elephants that are found injured or living without their mothers in the wild. Every year about 30 baby elephants in Sri Lanka need help. As many as possible are brought to the ETH. There they are given food, shelter, and medical care. Most importantly, they are given the chance to be with other elephants and become part of a herd (象群).

A day at the ETH begins early in the morning when the baby elephants are given their first feeding of milk. During the day, each baby will drink an average of 13 gallons of milk. Older elephants are fed mostly coconut leaves and other native plants. Then the elephants are allowed to walk around, eating the grass and forming a herd. The cost of caring for the baby elephants is high. The ETH spends about $125,000 each year on powdered milk for the baby elephants.

At the ETH, workers try to reduce human connection with the elephants. They also try to increase bonds (联系) between the elephants. It usually takes three years for a baby elephant to be set free into its natural habitat. The elephants are sent back to the wild together with other orphans with whom they have bonded. This program helps them return to the wild as members of a herd that will communicate with each other and take care of each other.

The ETH is considered one of the best animal protection sites in the world. Not only are the elephants cared for, they are treated with respect. Most importantly, they go back to live in the wild, where they belong.

1. What does the underlined word “nurture” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Set free.

B．Relate to.

C．Focus on.

D．Care for.

2. What do we know about the ETH?

A．It changes elephants’ habitats for the better.

B．It receives about $125,000 each year.

C．It helps to keep baby elephants safe.

D．It protects 30 elephants every year.

3. Why do the workers reduce human connection with the elephants?

A．To study them better in a natural environment.

B．To help them make it in the wild as a herd.

C．To provide them with more living space.

D．To train them to stay away from hunters.

4. What’s the purpose of the passage?

A．To introduce an animal protection site.

B．To show the ways of wildlife protection.

C．To explain the threat baby elephants face.

D．To persuade the readers to protect elephants.

4 . Urban Wildlife

Cities are diverse ecosystems. In addition to visitors, a large number of species share our urban areas. As our cities spread, we need to think about what it is like for other species to have human neighbors.

Cities are built for humans.     1     For example, most city parks are kept neat and tidy so that humans will find them beautiful. But when we cut grass or plants, we destroy natural habitats, which leads to the imbalance of ecology.  

    2     When a bridge in Austin, Texas was repaired, engineers added small gaps running the length of its bottom. This made a good home for bats, and soon the bridge was home to thousands of bats.     3     Now, they have come to value their winged neighbors. The bats become an attraction, and they eat lots of bugs every night.  

There are also structures built with the aim of bringing wildlife into the city. The Olympic Forest Park in Beijing is a good example. The park used native plants, and created open and natural spaces for wildlife. The result is a zone in Beijing with over 160 species of birds. In many ways, the park is the opposite of a zoo.     4    

If we learn to share our space, we can become better neighbors of the wildlife around us.     5     Our own future will be endangered too.

A．They are built to protect birds.

B．Our actions sometimes help other species.

C．If we do not, more species will become extinct.

D．They do not always provide suitable habitats for wildlife.

E．Instead of being kept in cages, wildlife can move more freely.

F．At first, people were afraid of the bats and tried to get rid of them.

G．They would sit on it and their droppings would fall into the water.

5 . An earthquake can strike without warning. But many injuries and deaths from this kind of natural disaster can be prevented if people follow these safety tips.

If you’re inside a building, stay there! One of the most dangerous things to do in an earthquake is to try to leave a building.     1     Drop down onto the ground. Get under an object that is not easily damaged. Hold on to it until the shaking stops. You can also get to a corner formed by two walls with your arms over your head. If you’re in bed when the quake hits, stay there and protect your head with a pillow.

    2     Don’t take shelter under trees, streetlights, telegraph poles or tall buildings. If you are driving stop as quickly as possible and stay away from overpasses, buildings, bridges or anything else that might fall or collapse over you.     3    

If you are trapped in the ruins, cover your mouth with a handkerchief or a piece of clothing. Use your cellphone to call for help if possible. Don’t shout.     4     Tap on a pipe or the wall so rescuers can find you.

Be prepared for aftershocks    5     However, sometimes they even happen months later. Therefore, if you are not in a safe position after the first shock, you should move quickly but carefully to a safer place.

A．Don’t move about or kick up dost.

B．If you’re outside, go to an open space.

C．Shouting can cause you to breathe in dust.

D．Don’t park your car under a tree or any tall object.

E．Take a good hold of your cellphone in the building.

F．They can happen in the first hours after the earthquake.

G．Most injuries happen when people inside buildings try to get out.

6 . In a county of Britain, a pair of pig farmers has managed to feed one million bees by turning over half of their land to wildflowers. Four years ago, brothers Mark and Paul Hayward decided to fill 81 acres of their farm land with wildflowers. This week, a study found they were feeding one million bees at any time.

“This was our target when we started, to, grow enough flowers to feed a million bees on a single day.” Mark said. “We are acutely aware that bees are under threat from modern farming methods and that East England is one of the worst places where bees are seriously suffering from lack of wildflower diversity,” he continued.

“Every third bite of food you eat can come from bees and we wanted to create an operation on our farm that did not push nature out but rather hugged it-as a central part of our ecology system and our food cycle,” he said.

The farm uses all kinds of seeds which can produce many different wild plants and of course, the bees can get food from different wildflowers.

“We are taking a very small role in helping society restore a balance and this starts with plant diversity to encourage insects, bees, small mammals(哺乳动物), and birds,” said Paul. “At the end of the day, we see ourselves as caretakers of this land. Between us we have six children and we owe it to them to farm sustainability(持续性)and set an example for the generations to come,” added Paul.

According to the Bee Conservation Trust, many types of bees have seen their populations decline by 70%, and two species have become extinct in the last century.

Gill Perkins, CEO of the Bee Conservation Trust said, “Thanks to Mark and Paul, at least here, a million bees can keep living, which is of great significance for ourselves now and future.”

1. What can we know about the brothers from the first two paragraphs?

A．They have about 160 acres of land.

B．They grow wild flowers for pigs.

C．They are not good at growing wild flowers.

D．They have to support 1, 000, 000 bees in their land.

2. Why are bees under threat in East England?

A．There is a shortage of water for bees.

B．Bees are not used to the modern society.

C．There are too many animals eating bees.

D．Bees can not find different wild flowers.

3. What is Gill Perkins’ attitude to the action?

A．Opposed.	B．Doubtful.
C．Supportive.	D．Disappointed.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．The Bees are in Danger Now

B．Two Brothers Feed a Million Bees

C．Only one Million Bees are Surviving in East England

D．Two Brothers Love Wild Flowers in East England

7 . 假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(/\)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。

I really like animals. When I grow up, I’ll work with animals. Though I don’t know exact what I can do for the animals yet, but I can at least follow my brother. He is a excellent vet. He looks after frightened snakes. He says that snakes are easy to deal as they don’t have any legs. My father, a scientist, works to save rare bird, some of that are really clever and can even say some words. My mother trains dolphins every workday. They practise in the pool. She hears the dolphins talk and sang. That sounds really cool! There are so many animal jobs to choosing from, but which one is right for them? I’ll have to wait and see!

8 . When I was six, Dad brought home a dog one day, who was called "Brownie". My brothers and I all loved Brownie and did different things with her. One of us would walk her, another would feed her, then there were baths, playing catch and many other games. Brownie, in return, loved each and every one of us. One thing that most touched my heart was that she would go to whoever was sick and just be with them. We always felt better when she was around.

One day, as I was getting her food, she chewed up (咬破) one of my Dad's shoes, which had to be thrown away in the end. I knew Dad would be mad and I had to let her know what she did was wrong. When I looked at her and said, “Bad girl,” she looked down at the ground and then went and hid. I saw a tear in her eyes.

Brownie turned out to be more than just our family pet. She went everywhere with us. People would stop and ask if they could pet her. Of course she'd let anyone pet her. She was just the most lovable dog. There were many times when we'd be out walking and a small child would come over and pull on her hair. She never barked (吠) or tried to get away. Funny thing is that she would smile. This frightened people because they thought she was showing her teeth. Far from the truth, she loved everyone.

Now many years have passed since Brownie died of old age. I still miss the days when she was with us.

1. What would Brownie do when someone was ill in the family?

A．Look at them sadly.	B．Stay with them.
C．Play games with them.	D．Touch them gently.

2. We can infer from Paragraph 2 that Brownie ________.

A．would eat anything when hungry	B．felt sorry for her mistake
C．loved playing hide-and-seek	D．disliked the author's dad

3. Some people got frightened by Brownie when she ________.

A．smiled	B．barked
C．rushed to them	D．tried to be funny

4. Which of the following best describes Brownie?

A．Shy

B．Polite

C．Brave

D．Caring

9 . Anyone who commutes(通勤)by car knows that traffic jams are an unavoidable part of life. But humans are not alone in facing potential backups.

Ants also commute—between their nest and sources of food. The survival of their habitats depends on doing this efficiently.

When humans commute, there’s a point at which cars become dense(稠密) enough to slow down the flow of traffic, causing jam. Researchers wanted to know if ants on the move could also get stuck. So they regulated traffic density by constructing bridges of various widths between a colony of Argentine ants and a source of food. Then they waited and watched, trying to find out at what point they are going to have a traffic jam.

But it appears that that never happened. They always managed to avoid traffic jam. The flow of ants did increase at the beginning as ants started to fill the bridge and then levelled off at high densities. But it never slowed down or stopped, even when the bridge was nearly filled with ants.

The researchers then took a closer look at how the behaviour of individual ants impacted traffic as a whole. And they found that when ants sense overcrowding, they adjust their speeds and avoid entering high-density areas, which prevents jams. These behaviors may be promoted by pheromones, chemicals that tell other ants where a trail is. The ants also manage to avoid colliding(碰撞) with each other at high densities, which could really slow them down.

Can ants help us solve our own traffic problems? Not likely. That’s because when it comes to getting from point A to point B as fast as possible, human drivers put their own goals first. Individual ants have to be more cooperative in order to feed the colony. But the research could be useful in improving traffic flow for self-driving cars, which can be designed to be less like selfish humans—and more like ants.

1. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Surviving.

B．Commuting.

C．Finding food.

D．Avoiding jams.

2. How did the researchers control the traffic density of the commuting ants?

A．Through closer observation.	B．By regulating their numbers.
C．By finding out the dense points.	D．By controlling the widths of their path.

3. How can ants avoid traffic jam according to the research?

A．They follow a special route.

B．They level off at high densities.

C．They never stop or slow down on the way.

D．They depend on their natural chemicals to adjust their speeds.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Traffic jams	B．Survival of an ant colony
C．Unavoidable? Not for ants!	D．Differences between human and ants

10 . Have you ever noticed that the stars sometimes appear brighter in December, January and February? There's a link between cold air and the night lights. "Part of it is that it tends to be drier in the winter," said Diane Tumshek, an astronomer at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Even though it's invisible, moisture can change the way light moves through the air. And in the summer, moisture can make stars appear more dull.

Air temperature is also what puts the twinkle twinkle in the little stars. "Even on very clear nights, some of the atmosphere is cooler, and some of the atmosphere is warmer,” said Tumshek, who also works with the Allegheny Observatory. And when the light from a star passes through those bubbles of varying temperatures, "it bends and shifts the light, so that we are seeing stars appear to dance or twinkle,” she said.

For star lovers in the United States, there's another factor that comes into play for bright winter stars, although this is a matter of coincidence. During Earth's journey around the sun, “there are just simply more bright stars visible from the Northern Hemisphere in the winter sky," Tumshek said. If you really want to see a shiny star, just try to find a burning ball of gas called Sirius near the horizon. At 8.6 light-years away, Sirius is relatively close to Earth and the brightest star visible in the night sky. It is also large — nearly twice as big as our sun and 20 times as bright. So this winter, when the world turns cold and it seems like we should be spending more time indoors, consider asking an adult to go exploring outside. With a warm coat and a clear sky, any night can be turned into a treasure hunt. All you have to do is look up.

1. What does the underlined word "dull" in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．not shiny

B．not exciting

C．not severe

D．not smart

2. How does air temperature influence the brightness of stars?

A．By changing the bubbles around them.	B．By putting the twinkle twinkle in them.
C．By varying the direction of the light from them.	D．By making the stars dance and twinkle in the sky.

3. What do we know about Sirius?

A．It can be found at any night.	B．It is 20 times as bright as the sun.
C．It is a burning and shiny ball.	D．It is closer to Earth than other stars,

4. What is the author's purpose in writing the text?

A．To advocate stargazing in winter,	B．To call on people to focus on stars.
C．To present new research results about stars.	D．To explain why stars are more visible in winter.