Most 7-year-old kids just do their homework and play with their friends, but Jose Adolfo Quisocola from Peru, aged 13,
Quisocola saved up his pocket money
The waste is sold to local recycling companies, and they keep their promise
“At the beginning, my teachers thought I was crazy or that a child could not run this type of project,” Quisocola told DOGOnews. “
Quisocola’s project has since enlarged. By 2013, the bank had over 200 members. Later, it got support from local people and set up
Sad as her passing away was, what happened to Mazy was even more worrying. Because aunt Suzy had no children, there wasn’t anyone who seemed to care for her beloved cat friend. I would have taken her in a short time, but my apartment doesn’t allow pets. First, we talked with her neighbors. Mr. Jenkins, who was alone and lived across the street, wasn’t interested. Joe and Sally who lived next door had a small child with serious skin allergies(过敏症). My aunt’s best friend Molly who had lived just down the road was unable to take care of herself as she had serious health problems.
Second, we thought about our family members. My brother Bobby and his wife Jill were eliminated at once as they aren’t cat people. My cousin in California was a bit interested, but we weren’t sure about the trip as Mazy was nearly as old as my aunt (in cat years!). Finally, we came to the local humane society to see whether they would be able to help her find a new home. The problem was that most people and families only welcomed a smart little cat into their home, not a dull old one.
In the end, we had to put Mazy to sleep. I had spoken with the vet and realized it was possible for the best. It was so hard to lose aunt Suzy and then have nowhere for Mazy to live. A few months went by and I had gone to my aunt’s house to clear out some of her belongings. I happened to see her mailman. Jerry and we started to talk about my aunt when he asked about Mazy. I told him that we had to put Mazy to sleep because we couldn’t find a home for her. Jerry got really quiet. “I promised Suzy that if anything ever happened to her, I’d take care of Mazy”, he said sadly. “Suzy always said she’d told her lawyer the arrangement.”
Hearing this, my heart sank to my feet and I almost cried. The saddest part, I realized, was this all could have been avoided. I guess we were just so busy in those final months that we didn’t think about it. We could have called my aunt’s lawyer to take care of it in less than 10 minutes. I’ll never forgive myself for not thinking of it sooner. And I’ll never forgive myself for losing Mazy.
1. To care for her aunt’s cat the writer first thought of ________.
| A．her aunt’s neighbors |
| B．her own neighbors |
| C．her own relatives |
| D．her family members |
| A．Think over for a while. |
| B．Remove or get rid of. |
| C．Call somebody for something. |
| D．Give somebody a surprise. |
| A．Her cousin had skin allergies. |
| B．Her cousin disliked animals. |
| C．Her cousin lived too far away. |
| D．Her cousin was in poor health. |
| A．the writer let the cat take medicine to sleep |
| B．most families there didn’t want to raise a cat |
| C．the cat was killed without pain |
| D．the writer’s aunt was very forgetful |
| A．try her best to care for her aunt’s cat |
| B．ask her aunt who would take care of the cat |
| C．talk with her aunt’s mailman months earlier |
| D．manage to find out her aunt’s arrangement for Mazy |
Many animals recognize their food because they see it.
4 . Despite what so many people would love to believe, NASA hasn’t discovered any evidence of past or present intelligent life on Mars. So, when the Curiosity rover (好奇号探测器) found something suspicious on the Red Planet’s surface, they were not only surprised but also a little bit worried.
The thin fragment was suspicious enough to guarantee its own name, with NASA’s Curiosity rover team calling it the “Pettegrove Point Foreign Object Debris,” named for the location where it was discovered. With no idea what it was or where it came from, the rover’s handlers began to worry that it might actually be a piece of the rover itself, suggesting some unseen damage or other issue with the robot. Thankfully, those concerns seem to have been unfounded.
In a new update from NASA the object has now been identified as a natural piece of rock rather than a piece of any man-made craft or vehicle. The team analyzed the bizarre object with a tool called the ChemCam RMI. The instrument uses a laser (激光器) to sniff out the makeup of anything it’s pointed at, and the results for this particular piece of debris revealed that it’s actually just a very thin piece of rock.
NASA describes the inspection: The planning day began with an interesting result from the previous plan’s ChemCam RMI analysis of a target that was referred to as “Pettegrove Point Foreign Object Debris” (PPFOD), and speculated to be a piece of spacecraft debris. In fact it was found to be a very thin flake of rock, so we can all rest easy tonight—Curiosity has not begun to shed its skin!
How this particularly thin sliver of rock got to where it is—and why it seems to be a different colour than the surrounding sand and debris —remains unexplained, but at least the rover isn’t falling apart.
1. What attitude does NASA hold towards the newly found thin fragment?| A．Positive. | B．Surprised. | C．Interested. | D．Amazed but worried. |
| A．Its finder. | B．Its location. | C．Its researcher. | D．Its shape. |
| A．Strange. | B．Changeable. | C．Normal. | D．Common. |
| A．How this particularly thin sliver of rock got to where it is. |
| B．Why it seems to be a different colour than the surrounding sand and debris. |
| C．Whether the rover is falling apart. |
| D．None of them. |
Hello, boys and girls! Today, I am going to talk with what you should do when a fire alarm go off. If you hear the alarm, stand in line at the door and wait your teacher to lead you outside. Stay close to your teacher and classmate. Don't panic or get out of line, and trying to remain quiet and calmly. Soon the firefighters will come and put out a fire. If it's a false alarm and there is no fire, your teacher will lead us back to the classroom. If you notice that when someone is missing and hurt, tell your teacher immediately.
6 . The Mississippi is a romantic river whose relationship with man goes back beyond its discovery by the Spaniards in the 16th century. Indians used the river as a highway and as a source of food, and it was they who gave it its name —''misi'', meaning ''great'' and ''sipi'' meaning ''water''.
When the length of its great tributary (支流), the Missouri, is added to it, the Mississippi becomes the third longest river in the world. From the source of the Missouri to the tip of the delta (三角洲), it is 2,480 miles long. Its head waters have been compared to a healthy, thick-branched tree, healthy because its main branches, or tributaries, are navigable for most of their length.
The Indians paddled up and down the river in their canoes. The first streamer was launched in 1810. It had a single great paddle-wheel at the stern, and was known as a ''paddle-wheeler.'' Throughout the 19th century these unique ships were queens of the Mississippi. They have become part of American history and American literature. The noted writer, Mark Twain, immortalized (使不朽) the river in his greatest novel, Huckleberry Finn, and Oscar Hammerstein immortalized it in his song, Old Man River, which was made popular all over the world by the great black American singer and actor, Paul Robeson.
1. The Mississippi was discovered by the .| A．Americans | B．Indians |
| C．Spaniards | D．Queens of the Mississippi |
| A．the Mississippi | B．the Missouri |
| C．the tributary | D．the delta |
| A．branch | B．river | C．paddle | D．tree |
| A．the 16th century | B．the 19th century |
| C．the 17th century | D．the 15th century |
7 . Shane Gero, a scientist at Aarhus University in Denmark, spent 6 years studying sperm whales (抹香鲸), which communicate through very loud clicks. He found that sperm whales in the Caribbean Sea had different clicks from those in the Pacific Ocean. He even “translated” the clicks from a group of Caribbean sperm whales, believing them to say, “I’m from the Caribbean, are you?”, reported National Geographic. As well as being used for communication, the clicks also allow whales to develop a relationship with one another, according to Gero.
Apart from sperm whales, other animals like wolves and apes also have different regional accents. Researchers analyzed the howls of different species of wolves. They found that red wolves, Arctic wolves and other wolves have howls that vary in pitch (音调). In other words, they have their own dialects.
According to Darcy Kelley from Columbia University, most animals learn their accents naturally. For example, macaques (猕猴) start speaking their dialect as soon as they are born. Scientists placed some macaques in a new environment where their playmates all spoke a different dialect. But the macaques still spoke their own dialect. Their environment had no influence on their communication, according to the Washington Post.
“In most species, communication appears to have a genetic basis,” Kelley explained in the Washington Post. “However, among a small number of species, animals can learn from others and develop their own accents.”
Fruit flies are a good example. According to Science Daily, they send messages through their wing movements. Scientists found that fruit flies can only communicate efficiently with others of the same species. However, they can learn new dialects by spending time around other species.
“A proper accent is vital to mating and warning the coming of enemies, which is the basis of survival,” Kelley told the Washington Post. A species can’t risk changing their own dialect and learning a new one.
1. What does the author want to show by talking about the sperm whales at the beginning?| A．Animals have different dialects. |
| B．Sperm whales live in different oceans. |
| C．Animals can speak different local languages. |
| D．Whales communicate through clicking noises. |
| A．Wolves are wild animals using language. |
| B．Wolves live in different areas of the world. |
| C．There are different kinds of wolves in the world. |
| D．Wolves of different kinds howl at different pitches. |
| A．Have a better chance of survival. |
| B．Fight with other species for food. |
| C．Communicate with other species better. |
| D．Pass on information to the next generation. |
| A．Dialects Matter to Animals |
| B．Wild Animals Have Own Dialects |
| C．Animals Develop Accents to Survive |
| D．Animal Accents Vary with Environment |
8 . Global warming always reminds us of rising sea levels and extreme weather, but it may actually bring other less obvious, long-term changes. How might they influence our lives in the future? Let’s take a look.
Making food less nutritious
The more serious global warming is, the more greenhouse gases the atmosphere contains. According to Science Advances, foods are found to contain low levels of key nutrition when they’re exposed to high levels of greenhouse gases. “If we do nothing, there is potential for negative impacts on human health,” US health researcher Kristie Ebi told the Washington Post.
Ending racial differences
With rising temperatures, more lands in the world will turn into deserts. Many people will be forced to leave their homelands and live elsewhere. In turn, this could mean that the appearance of people could become more similar. “In just 125 years, there may be far fewer people with really dark skin or pale skin,” US biologist Scott Solomon told the Daily Mail. “More and more people will have olive and brown-colored complexions (肤色).” More importantly, this could mean racism may become a thing of the past.
Making insects hungrier
Human beings or other mammals can keep a stable body temperature, while insects usually adapt their body temperature based on the environment. According to Science Daily, insects will become hungrier and need more food in warmer surroundings. That’s because a higher body temperature can increase insects’ metabolism (新陈代谢). “In addition, warmer temperatures will increase the reproductive rates of insects,” Curtis Deutsch, a professor at Washington University in the US, told Science Daily.
Helping scientists find historic sites
Due to global warming, the UK experienced an extremely hot and dry summer last year. As a result, many grassy areas in the country turned yellow or even dried out completely. Because of this, many unusual and interesting patterns hidden in some of these areas were exposed. After studying some of these patterns, scientists found Neolithic (新石器时代的) monuments and a Roman farm, which are believed to date back to around 5,000 years ago.
1. What is this passage mainly about?| A．The harmful effects of global warming. |
| B．The possible causes of global warming. |
| C．Some ways to slow down global warming. |
| D．The influences of global warming on our lives. |
| A．Brown. | B．Pale. | C．White. | D．Dark. |
| A．An ancient farm with patterns. |
| B．Unusual patterns in some areas. |
| C．New landscapes with monuments. |
| D．Grassy areas with different colors. |
9 . Space is a dangerous place, not only because of meteors(流星), but also because of rays from the sun and other stars. The atmosphere again acts as our protective blanket on the earth. Light gets through, and this is necessary for plants to make the food which we eat. Heat, too, makes our environment suitable to live. Various kinds of rays come through the air from outer space, but enormous quantities of radiation from the sun are screened off. As soon as men leave the atmosphere they are exposed to this radiation but their spacesuits or the walls of their spacecraft, if they are inside, do prevent a lot of radiation damage.
Radiation is the greatest known danger to explorers in space. The unit of radiation is called “rem”. Scientists have reason to think that a man can put up with far more radiation than 0.1 rem without being damaged; the figure of 60 rems has been agreed on. The trouble is that it is extremely difficult to be sure about radiation damage a person may feel perfectly well, but the cells of his or her sex organs may be damaged, and this will not be discovered until the birth of deformed(畸形的) children or even grandchildren. Missions of the Apollo flights have had to cross belts of high radiation and, during the outward and return journeys, the Apollo crew accumulated a large amount of rems. So far, no dangerous amounts of radiation have been reported, but the Apollo missions have been quite short. We simply do not know yet how men are going to get on when they spend weeks and months outside the protection of the atmosphere, working in a space laboratory. Drugs might help to decrease the damage done by radiation, but no really effective ones have been found so far.
1. According to the first paragraph, the atmosphere is necessary to man because of the following reason EXCEPT________| A．protecting him against the harmful rays from space | B．providing sufficient light for plant growth |
| C．suppling the heat necessary for human survival | D．screening off the falling meteors |
| A．exposure to even tiny amounts of radiation is fatal |
| B．the effect of exposure to radiation is slow in coming |
| C．radiation is avoidable in space exploration |
| D．astronauts in spacesuits needn’t worry about radiation damage |
| A．is insignificant | B．is enormous | C．seems overestimated | D．remains unknown |
| A．the Apollo mission was very successful |
| B．the protection from space radiation is no easy job |
| C．astronauts may possibly have deformed children or grandchildren |
| D．radiation is not a threat to well-protected space explorers |
| A．Space is dangerous only because of meteors. |
| B．Explorers in space have to avoid the damage from radiation |
| C．We have got effective ways to treat illnesses caused by radiation. |
| D．The atmosphere doesn’t screen off radiation |
10 . The animal kingdom is full of beautiful and attractive creatures, and it is inviting to purchase exotic animals and call them pets. But undomesticated(未驯化的) pets may affect the health and safety of both the animals and the people who keep them.
The umbrella cockatoo, for instance, is a type of parrot, which can live up to seventy years. It is often purchased as an exotic pet. It requires a very large living place and a great deal of attention. When its specific needs are unmet, the bird commonly bites itself or becomes aggressive. Similarly, the ball python one of the most popular pet snakes, requires special conditions to survive. Like the umbrella cockatoo, the snake's long lifespan—up to forty years—presents serious practical challenges to any owner, no matter how devoted.
Exotic pet owners are most likely identified as animal lovers who purchased their animals in order to feel a deep connection to the natural world. However, the mere ownership of such an animal means it's probable that the person participated in the illegal trade. This trade—the capture and sale of wild animals——is often cruel to species. Countless animals suffer and die each year.
The problems continue when exotic pets are sold to non-professional owners. When they find they cannot care for them, owners take their exotic pets into the wild and abandon them, as proved by the case of Burmese pythons in Florida. This non-native species multiplied quickly seriously threatening the Florida ecosystem. Also , exotic pets pose a danger to their owners: some emerging infectious diseases, which thousands of people per year are stricken with, and especially occurred in children.
Wild animals are undoubtedly attracting, but they should be admired in their own natural environments. Penning animals as exotic pets harms their quality of life. Pet ownership of any kind is a serious responsibility, and that's why animal lovers should choose domesticated animals that will Boom under the care of humans.
1. What can we infer about exotic pets in paragraph 2?| A．They can live longest in the animal kingdom. |
| B．They need professional care from the owner. |
| C．They require special training from their owner. |
| D．They can’t have a satisfying life under human care. |
| A．To get high income. |
| B．To build a bond with nature, |
| C．To help prevent illegal pet trades. |
| D．To make exotic pets' life comfortable. |
| A．Improving the native ecosystem. |
| B．Increasing the number of rare species. |
| C．Losing control of illegal wildlife trading. |
| D．Putting humans and exotic wildlife at risk. |
| A．Wild animals are more dangerous than ordinary pets. |
| B．It's inappropriate to keep undomesticated exotic pets. |
| C．Exotic pets should be kept in better conditions. |
| D．Rules of the exotic pet trade should be updated. |
