1 . What do the following animals have in common? Pandas, rhinoceros, Mexican burrowing snakes, pink pigeons and small tooth sawfish.

They are all endangered animals! Animals become endangered for a variety of reasons. Sadly, humans are behind every one of them!

For centuries, humans have hunted elephants for their tusks, and killed tigers for their beautiful fur, caught fish for food. While we still have elephants, tigers, and fish in the wild, we cannot say the same about many others that have simply died out!

Year 1505 was a dreadful turning point in the natural history of the island of Mauritius — European sailors discovered this beautiful island in the Indian Ocean and brought dogs, pigs, monkeys with them. The arrival of humans and those introduced animal species were bad news for dodo birds. About 50 pounds and flightless, dodo birds did not have any natural enemies until then. They picked fruit fallen from trees and built their nests on the ground. Shortly after humans set foot on Mauritius, however, dodo birds realized that they were in big trouble — men killed them for their meat, and those introduced animal species destroyed their nests and ate their eggs. The effects of excessive hunting and foreign species drove dodo birds to first become much fewer and then die out. The last dodo bird was killed in 1681.

Humans and animals have always competed for land and other natural resources. We clear an area of a forest for farming. We cut down trees and use wood to build beautiful houses. We build reservoirs to make sure that we have enough water to use. At the same time that we are trying to make our life comfortable, we destroy the habitats of wild animals.

More than once we have seen on television that rescue workers are trying their best to save seabirds in spilled oil. More than once we have heard about how emissions of carbon dioxide (二氧化碳的排放) and other gases have raised the earth's temperature and caused global warming. Pollution has a serious and long lasting effect. If we choose to do nothing and continue to pollute our planet Earth, our next generations will have to face an Earth without birds singing and beasts roaring.

1. Which of the following are NOT endangered animals?

A．Pandas.

B．Rhinoceros.

C．Pink pigeons.

D．Dodo birds.

2. What does the underlined word “dreadful” (in Paragraph 4) mean?

A．Surprising.

B．Exciting.

C．Awful.

D．Quick.

3. Paragraph 5 mainly talks about _______.

A．how excessive hunting led to endangerment of animals

B．when foreign species entered the island of Mauritius

C．the human activities caused the loss of habitats of animals

D．pollution played a main role in the worsening of the environment

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．What makes the animals in danger	B．How to save the endangered animals
C．Pollution and animals	D．Don't hunt for animals

3 . Early spring can be a tough time in the Midwest. It can ________ both people and animals with its unexpected snowstorms.

Every spring, migratory(迁徙的) birds camp out in a large pond near my house on the way to their summer ________. This year, besides geese, scaups, a type of diving duck spent days hanging out ________ eats. Then a snowstorm hit, followed by a very ________ night.

The next morning, I was shocked to see that all birds had ________ overnight — except one lone female, who was diving ________ and dynamically in the circle of open water. Her movement and body heat had kept the ________ from coming close as I ________ her from my warm house.

However, as the temperature dropped, the open water got smaller, and her movements slowed. I watched with ________ as she eventually stopped moving, fearing that something might happen.

And then it happened: Two more ducks appeared, ________ next to her still body. More ducks came and the circle of water came alive with their splashing and diving. Slowly, the circle of water ________ in size. Within minutes, the lone female was revived by her friends’ presence.

This little duck wouldn’t have ________ another night without her friends. She, in turn, had kept that area of water ________, so her friends had a place to stop and ________ themselves. Sometimes, a tiny action — even our mere ________ — might brighten one’s day, and even save one’s life.

1.

A．scare

B．move

C．surprise

D．beat

2.

A．camp

B．vacations

C．courses

D．habitat

3.

A．regardless of

B．in search of

C．in addition to

D．as for

4.

A．dark

B．starry

C．peaceful

D．freezing

5.

A．gathered

B．disappeared

C．panicked

D．fainted

6.

A．energetically

B．patiently

C．calmly

D．cautiously

7.

A．ice

B．house

C．snowstorm

D．water

8.

A．tended

B．followed

C．watched

D．recorded

9.

A．relief

B．doubt

C．anxiety

D．pleasure

10.

A．rowing

B．landing

C．circling

D．feeding

11.

A．increased

B．decreased

C．transformed

D．formed

12.

A．spared

B．wasted

C．spent

D．lasted

13.

A．still

B．open

C．clean

D．steady

14.

A．motivate

B．remind

C．judge

D．refresh

15.

A．presence

B．appreciation

C．attitude

D．request