1 . It’s no use ________ without taking action.

A．complain

B．complaining

C．being complained

D．to be complained

2 . The little boy is dirty all over because he ________ (play) in the mud all the morning. （所给词的适当形式填空）

3 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Lower Oxygen Levels Threaten Marine Life

Oxygen in the oceans is being lost at an alarming rate, with “dead zones” expanding rapidly and hundreds more areas showing oxygen dangerously exhausted, putting sharks, tuna, marlin and other large fish species at particular risk. Dead zones, where oxygen is effectively absent, have quadrupled(翻两番) in extent in the last half-century, and there are also at least 700 areas where oxygen is at dangerously low levels, up from 45 when research was undertaken in the 1960s.

The reasons behind this environmental collapse are multiple. Among all, pollutants generated by the industrial world have been the most destructive force to cause the unbalance, including a rising tide of plastic waste, as well as other pollutants. Seas are about 26% more acidic than in pre-industrial times because of absorbing the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, with damaging impacts on shellfish in particular.

Low oxygen levels are also associated with global heating, because the warmer water holds less oxygen and the heating causes stratification(分层), so there is less of the vital mixing of oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor layers. Oceans are expected to lose about 3-4% of their oxygen by the end of this century, but the impact will be much greater in the levels closest to the surface, where many species are concentrated, and in the mid to high latitudes.

Another major cause for lower oxygen is intensive farming. When excess artificial fertilizer from crops, or wastes from the meat industry, runs off the land and into rivers and seas, it feeds algae(藻类) which bloom and then cause oxygen consumption as they die and decay.

The problem of dead zones has been known about for decades, but little has been done to tackle it. Now is high time to take actions and help the oceans function better.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . Direction: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A.increasing 　　　　B.defend　　　　 C.partially 　　　　D.depriving E.sharpened　　 　　 F.breaks 　　　 　G.endured 　　　　H.granting I.issues 　　　　　　J.activate 　　　　K.roughly

Flood-hit Venice’s shrinking population faces mounting problems

Venetians(威尼斯人) are fed up with what they see as inadequate responses to the city’s mounting problems: record-breaking flooding, environmental and safety threats from cruise ship traffic and the burden on services from over-tourism.

They feel largely left to their own devices, with ever-fewer Venetians living in the historic part of the city to    1    its interests and keep it from becoming mainly a tourist land.

The historic flooding this week---marked by three floods over 1.5 meters (nearly 5 feet) and the highest in 53 years at 1.87 meters(6 feet, 1 inch)---has    2    calls to create an administration that recognizes the uniqueness of Venice, for both its concentration of treasures and its    3    vulnerability.

Flood damage has been    4    estimated at hundreds of millions of Euros (dollars), but the true range will only become clear with time. The frustration goes far beyond the failure to complete and    5    78 underwater barriers that were designed to prevent just the kind of damage that Venice has    6    this week. With the system not yet completed or even    7    tested after 16 years of work and 5 billion Euros ($5.5 billion) invested, many are suspicious it will even work.

At the public level, proposals for better administering the city including    8    some level of autonomy(自制) to Venice, already enjoyed by some Italian regions like Trentino-Alto-Adige with its German-speaking minority, or offering tax    9    to encourage Venice’s repopulation.

Just 53,000 people live in the historic part of the city that tourists know as Venice, down by a third from a generation ago and dropping by about 1,000 people a year. That means fewer people watching the neighborhood, monitoring for public maintenance    10    or neighbors in need. Many leave because of the increased expense or the daily difficulties in living in a city of canals, which can make even a simple errand a hard journey.

5 . A sensational new scientific discovery in the ocean near Australia may explain the most massive extinction of living things in Earth’s history. For years, scholars have been frustrated in trying to analyze why 90 to 95 percent of sea life and 75 percent of and life vanished about 250 million years ago. The extinctions were so enormous that they are called The Great Dying. To date, some authorities on ancient life thought that a volcanic eruption or a sudden change in the environment affected all life on Earth. Other specialists have doubted these theories, maintaining that it was not plausible that a solo volcano could bring about such chaos. From the outset, critics believed these claims were exaggerated.

By contrast, there is wide acceptance of the idea that a meteor (流星)which hit Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula 65 million years ago was the primary cause of the dinosaurs’ extinction. Nevertheless, until now they had no evidence of an intense meteor impact 185 mill on years earlier. Now they do.

American geologists have been examining rock samples from a deep sea crater (火山口)near the northwest coast of Australia. The samples were initially collected and preserved by petroleum technicians seeking oil. Now the geologists and their colleagues believe that the precise splits in the rock’s structure show a typical pattern for meteors. There is a clear distinction from volcanic patterns. In fact, a spokesperson went so far as to say that these rocks completely revise the way scientists perceive the mass extinctions from the ancient era. Academics say that the meteor’s crater s the size of Mount Qomolangma, the highest mountain on Earth! Literally, the meteor made a mark on Earth as it drowned in the sea. The Earth could not absorb such a harsh blow without sustaining global devastation. Things must have come to a standstill. Evidently, the blow was fatal for many forms of life.

Bear in mind that all this was long before mammals---including humans--emerged in Earth’s history. Still, we would be wise to pay attention to the damage a meteor can cause. Fortunately, meteor strikes on Earth are few and far between.

1. The word “plausible” (paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to “______”.

A．available	B．incredible
C．reasonable	D．ridiculous

2. Why didn’t the meteor affect human beings?

A．Because they were very resistant	B．Because there weren’t any then
C．Because they lived in isolated areas	D．Because they hid themselves in the caves

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Scholars agreed that a single volcano caused The Great Dying

B．75 percent of land life continued 250 million years ago

C．Volcanic rocks and meteors have different patterns

D．When the meteor hit land Mount Qomolangma sprang up.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Dinosaurs’ End	B．Crater on Qomolangma
C．Contradictory Claims	D．A Meteor’s Impact

6 . In the information age ___________you can search for any answer in seconds, the excuse “I don't know” only makes you look foolish, lazy and unworthy of success.

A．when

B．while

C．which

D．that

7 . The president and his wife are said___________ at an international school ball in Moscow in 1999.

A．to meet

B．having met

C．meeting

D．to have met

8 . A shopper rarely speaks to a shop assistant except ___________for help or information, but this is not the case in some countries.

A．to ask

B．asking

C．asked

D．to be asked:

9 . My uncle got well­prepared for the job interview.He couldn’t risk the good opportunity________．

A．to lose

B．losing

C．to be lost

D．being lost

10 . When we think about scientists and their great discoveries and inventions, we often think about strange men in white coats_______hours and days and years in their laboratories trying to solve a problem. However, if you believe the stories, there are times when a scientist makes a_______in a moment of inspiration, perhaps when he is no even_______the problem. Let's look at three famous scientists, Archimedes, Isaac Newton and James Watt, who, according to well-known stories, had moments of inspiration.

The story of Archimedes is perhaps the best known. According to the story, Archimedes was lying in his bath one day when he noticed water_______from the bath. He suddenly realized that there must be a_______between his body weight and the water overflowing from the bath. He was so_______that he jumped out of the bath and ran naked down the street shouting "Eureka"! In Greek, the language which Archimedes spoke, "Eureka" means "I have found it". Archimedes was right to be excited because he had discovered the principle of why some things float and others_______. This principle has now been_______in shipbuilding for centuries.

The story about Isaac Newton is well known too. According to this story, Newton was resting under an apple tree one day when an apple fell on his head. Newton realized that there must be a_______which had caused the apple to drop rather than stay________in the air. He also realized that this force must work even at the top of a very tall tree and thought that the force might even work in the skies and in space.________, Newton had discovered the law of gravity.

As for James Watt, it is said that he was boiling a kettle of water one day to make a cup of tea. When the water started to boil he noticed that the lid of the kettle began to move.________even the whole kettle was moving. This made him think about the idea of steam power. This discovery________the invention of steam engines, and then the steam train.

Why don't we all get these moments of inspiration? We have to remember that Archimedes, Newton and Watt were probably not thinking about these________for the first time. The bath, the apple and the kettle were the final ________in the thinking process. What is also remarkable about all three men is that they were able to see how the principles they had discovered could be used. Remember the saying, "Genius is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration".

1.

A．losing

B．spending

C．killing

D．wasting

2.

A．conclusion

B．presentation

C．discovery

D．choice

3.

A．concentrating on

B．figuring out

C．running into

D．getting around

4.

A．wandering

B．drowning

C．spreading

D．overflowing

5.

A．comparison

B．difference

C．theory

D．relationship

6.

A．shocked

B．curious

C．excited

D．humorous

7.

A．rise

B．sink

C．burst

D．swim

8.

A．applied

B．explained

C．adapted

D．guided

9.

A．force

B．role

C．gift

D．sense

10.

A．lifted

B．seated

C．suspended

D．surrounded

11.

A．By the way

B．At that moment

C．In no time

D．In other words

12.

A．Thoroughly

B．Eventually

C．Perfectly

D．Originally

13.

A．benefited from

B．decided on

C．led to

D．accounted for

14.

A．invitations

B．ideas

C．sources

D．occasions

15.

A．step

B．attempt

C．practice

D．platform