1 . A butcher was really surprised when he saw a dog coming inside the shop. He went over to the dog and noticed it had a _______ in its mouth. He took the note, which _______ “Can I have twelve sausages and a leg of lamb, please. The dog has ______ in his mouth.” _______, there was really a ten-dollar note there. So he took the money and put the sausages and lamb in a bag, placing it in the dog’s mouth. The butcher was so ______. He decided to follow the dog.

He followed the dog to a bus stop. The dog stopped and started looking at the ______. The dog checked out the time, and then sat on one of the benches _______ . Along came a bus. The dog went around to the front, looked at the number and ________. The butcher, by now, ________, followed it onto the bus.

The bus traveled through the town and out into the suburb. _______ it got off with the_______ still in its mouth. Several minutes later, the dog turned into a house. It walked up the path, and dropped the bag on the _______. Then it walked back down the path, quickly _______ for the door, and ______ itself against the door. But there’s no answer at the house, so the dog had to wait at the door.

After a while, there finally was a _______ to the situation. A big guy opened the door, and started kicking the dog and ______ him. The butcher ran up, and said “Why do you shout at the dog? It is really a _______.” The guy responded, “You call this clever? This is the second time this week that this _______ dog’s forgotten its _______.” On the way back home, the butcher thought to himself, “Greed may ________ have limits for the dog owner.”

1.

A．tip

B．note

C．parcel

D．list

2.

A．knew

B．wrote

C．read

D．felt

3.

A．money

B．coins

C．bones

D．gold

4.

A．Unexpectedly

B．Undoubtedly

C．Disappointingly

D．Surprisingly

5.

A．curious

B．dangerous

C．ashamed

D．frightened

6.

A．number

B．timetable

C．post

D．bus

7.

A．patiently

B．anxiously

C．restlessly

D．painfully

8.

A．flew off

B．got off

C．came on

D．climbed on

9.

A．open-minded

B．open-ended

C．open-mouthed

D．open-hearted

10.

A．Finally

B．Firstly

C．Secondly

D．Thirdly

11.

A．sausage

B．bone

C．ticket

D．bag

12.

A．balcony

B．step

C．ceiling

D．wall

13.

A．paid

B．applied

C．dashed

D．asked

14.

A．enjoyed

B．amused

C．taught

D．threw

15.

A．starting point

B．turning point

C．bottom line

D．front line

16.

A．comforting

B．praising

C．scolding

D．admiring

17.

A．servant

B．genius

C．master

D．butcher

18.

A．stupid

B．clever

C．unforgettable

D．thoughtful

19.

A．mission

B．aim

C．key

D．route

20.

A．still

B．even

C．ever

D．never

2 . Help Hermit Crabs

Hermit crabs are nature’s recyclers. They eat waste and help keep oceans and shores clean. Unlike other crabs, the hermit crab has a thin outer shell over its soft tail. This makes the hermit crab easy prey for hungry predators. Hermit crabs stay safe by living in old seashells. A hermit crab is picky; it tries on many shells until it finds one that fits just right. In recent years, however, many hermit crabs have had trouble finding their perfect homes. What is the problems There are not enough shells to go around!

One reason for the seashell shortage is that ocean water is not as clean as it once was. This has caused chemical changes to sea water. Some sea animals, like snails, are affected by these changes. Now there are fewer snails making shells. People visiting the beach often take shells home as souvenirs. This is another problem. Other people even take shells for their own pet hermit crabs! They do not realize that hermit crabs in the wild need those shells too.

Now people are working to solve this hermit crab housing shortage. They are teaching beach-Boers to leave seashells where they belong — at the seashore! Some people even make fake seashells that they hope the hermit crabs will like. For example, a group called Project Shelter invited people who visited their website to create different designs for hermit crab shells.

These designers had a lot to consider. What kind of material should be used to build a seashells. The material must be light enough for the hermit crab to carry, but strong enough to protect the crab from predators. The man-made shells could not contain glue or any other substance that might harm a hermit crab. Another challenge with building a hermit crab home was the opening to the shell. Too big would mean the crab would not feel safe. Too small would be uncomfortable, and the crab would not want to move in.

The Project Shelter shells are placed in the wild for hermit crabs to find. Lucky hermit crabs can move into these new dream homes.

1. Where can hermit crabs stay safe?

A．In different old seashells.	B．Behind the waste they’ll eat.
C．In their own thin outer shells.	D．Under the stones at the seashore.

2. According to the passage, what should be put in the webs?

A．The methods to recycle the wastes.	B．The ways to help the hermit crabs.
C．The materials of seashells.	D．The designs of websites.

3. What does the underlined word “fake” in Para. 3 mean?

A．man-made

B．perfect

C．hard

D．comfortable

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．The Project Shelter Group.	B．The shortage of the seashell.
C．New homes for hermit crabs.	D．The recyclers of the nature.

3 . He knew his colors and shapes, he learned more than 100 English words, and with his own brand of one-liners he established (确立) himself in TV shows, scientific reports, and news articles as perhaps the world’s most famous talking bird.

But last week, Alex, an African parrot, died, obviously of natural causes, said Dr Irene Pepperberg, an expert at Brandeis University and Harvard who studied and worked with the parrot for most of its life and published reports of his progress in scientific journals. The parrot was 31.

Scientists have long debated whether any other species can develop the ability to learn human language. Alex’s language ability was, in some ways, more surprising than the efforts of those animals that have been taught, like Koko, the gorilla (猩猩) trained by Penny Patterson at the Gorilla Foundation in Woodside, or Washoe, another gorilla studied by R. Allen and Beatrice Gardner at the University of Nevada in the 1960s and 1970s.

When Dr Pepperberg, who was then a doctoral student in chemistry at Harvard, found Alex was good at remembering words in a pet store in 1977 and bought it, scientists had little expectation that birds could learn to communicate with humans. Most of the research had been done on pigeons, and was not promising.

But by using novel methods of teaching, Dr Pepperberg taught Alex to learn about 150 words, which he could put into categories. He could count small numbers and tell colors and shapes. “The work changed the way we think of bird brains,” said Diana Reiss, a psychologist at Hunter College who works with dolphins and elephants. “We used to look down upon those birds, but now we look at those brains — at least Alex’s — with some awe.”

1. Alex is very famous because ________.

A．it died of a strange disease

B．it lived longer than any other parrot

C．it hosted many famous TV shows

D．it has a special talent in learning human language

2. What was the direct reason why Dr Pepperberg bought Alex?

A．He found it was good at remembering words.

B．He liked its colors and shapes.

C．He wanted to do research on birds.

D．Diana Reiss asked him to do that.

3. What does the underlined word “novel” mean in the last paragraph?

A．Special.	B．New.
C．Great.	D．Unique.

4. According to the last paragraph, we can learn that ________.

A．people used to think dolphins were the cleverest

B．Alex’s ability of learning human language has changed some researchers’ ideas about birds

C．elephants are better at learning human language

D．birds’ great ability in learning human language has already been noticed before

5. What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Who are cleverer, birds or gorillas?

B．A famous talking bird died

C．Have you ever talked with a bird?

D．The keeper of a famous bird