1 . Population data for European mountain birds have been for the first time combined in a recent study, with worrying results: the abundances of mountain-specialist birds has declined by as much as 10% in the 2000s.

Ecological communities in mountain areas include species not found in any other habitats. These species are also very susceptible to climate change, as global warming is reducing their liveable habitats. In principle, species may relocate further up the mountains, but closer to the top their habitat inevitably shrinks.

According to the new article, the abundance of European mountain birds has in fact declined in line with climate change projections.

The recently released study examined the population trends of 44 bird species in the 2000s in the mountain and fell regions of Fennoscandia, Great Britain, the Alps and the Iberian Peninsula. A decline was seen in 14 of the observed species, while eight of them saw significant increase.

“On average, population decline among the species studied was 7% over the 13-year research period, making the situation of mountain birds distinctly worse compared to, for example, European forest birds, whose numbers did not change during the same period,” explains Aleksi Lehikoinen, an Academy of Finland research fellow at the Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus (part of the University of Helsinki), who headed the study.

The situation is the direst for species that only inhabit mountain regions and are unable to live in other European environments. For these species, known as mountain specialists, the numbers dwindled by as much as 10% during the monitoring period.

1. What can we get from the passage about European mountain birds?

A．They are newly found species.

B．They can be found at any place of the world.

C．The number of the birds has decreased greatly.

D．The number of the birds has increased greatly.

2. Why did the liveable habitats of the species reduce?

A．Air pollutions.

B．Global warming.

C．Human activities.

D．Competition with other species.

3. Which one is TRUE according to a recently released study?

A．All 44 bird species decreased.

B．Only 8 of the species declined.

C．14 of the observed species declined.

D．There was no change in the number of the bird species.

4. What does the word “direst” mean in the last paragraph?

A．Serious.	B．Useful.
C．Suitable.	D．Waterless.

2 . Like people，plants experience stress.And also，like people，the response to that stress can determine success.

Bad environmental conditions，such as drought，flood，heat and other stresses，affect yields(产量) more than crop pests and diseases.”We are trying to find a way to equip plants with the ability to tolerate environmental stress and maintain high yields”，said Stephen Howell，a professor of genetics and cell biology.

Plant cells produce proteins(蛋白质) and ship them to different parts of the cell.Under normal conditions，these proteins are folded into their normal，healthy structures as they are produced.When a plant is under stress，its cells produce poorly folded or unfolded proteins.Then a built-in system senses this and sets off an alarm in the cell said Howell.

In response to the alarm，another protein (IRE1) starts working and creates a different process which activates(激活)the stress response genes whose products bring about defensive measures that help the plant survive.

“As it turns out，responses that are activated under stressful conditions actually inhibit the growth of plants，”said Howell.”This allows them to preserve their energy to survive the stressful conditions.”

“For plants in the wild，this response is a help for survival”，he said.In production of agricultural crops，however，this response reduces yields.

“You don’t want crop plants to stop growing，Howell said.”You want them to continue to grow and produce more even though they are under stress.”

“With the new understanding of this stress response，the next step may be to silence the alarm system”，said Howell.”What may be important is to disable some of these stress responses.That may make the plant more productive under stressful conditions.

1. According to the text，an alarm in the plant cell is caused by _____.

A．the folded proteins	B．the changed proteins
C．the defensive measures	D．the stress response genes

2. The energy preserved in the plants under stressful conditions _____.

A．helps the plants to survive

B．helps to maintain high yields

C．keeps the plants growing

D．helps to produce proteins

3. The underlined word “inhibit” in Paragraph 5 can be replaced by “_____”.

A．prevent

B．start

C．continue

D．promote

4. How does Howell intend to make crop plants maintain high yields under stressful conditions？

A．By making crop plants keep more energy.

B．By making crop plants stop growing.

C．By making the alarm system stop working.

D．By making the alarm system respond quickly.

3 . How to Grow Organic Tomatoes in a Container

Anyone who has seen tomatoes growing in a garden knows that they tend to be huge plants.     1     So the first thing to do when considering growing tomatoes in a pot is to find a suitable variety.

After you find the perfect plant, it is time to plant it. In general, plastic or fiberglass pots are best for growing tomatoes. They don’t dry out quickly. While tomatoes love heat, they don’t like being dry.     2     Besides, tomatoes need to grow in a reasonably large pot. A pot must be 8 inches deep. That’ s the absolute minimum. A 12- or 16-inch pot is even better.

Any good quality organic potting soil works for tomatoes. Don’t use soil dug directly from the garden.     3     Compost-based soil, whether purchased or mixed from your special recipe, is nice. When planting the tomato, put some soil in the bottom of the pot and set the plant in. After you have the plant set at the proper level, fill in around it with soil. The soil should go up to about an inch below the rim of the pot to allow room for watering.

    4     The best way to tell when to water is to stick your finger into the soil—if the first two inches are dry, it’s time to water.

The trickiest thing about growing tomatoes in a pot is that they are heavy feeders. Every time you water, you wash nutrients out of the soil. So fertilize （施肥） regularly. Once a month is good. But every other week, applying the fertilizer at half-strength is better.     5    

A．It is too heavy for container gardens.

B．That’s why clay pots are popular.

C．Instead, use whatever soil you can get.

D．And dry soil can reduce fruit production.

E．This provides constant nutrients for the tomato plants.

F．They require people’s much work to stay manageable.

G．Tomatoes don’t like being dry, so water them regularly.

4 . Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens are to start a war on gray-headed flying foxes. These super bats have invaded one of Australia’s most famous public spaces. Officials have said the animals are destroying trees and have to move on.

These unwanted guests at Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens look like tiny foxes with wings. Officials have estimated there are about 11,000 of them living in the picturesque harbor-side park. After inspecting damage to dozens of trees they now believe there are twice as many as previously thought. Branches have been breaking under the weight of these furry invaders and their droppings have been poisoning plants.

Help may well be at hand, however, in the shape of the ordinary garbage bin. The gardens’ director Dr. Tim Entwistle hopes the unpleasant sounds of crashing bin lids will agitate the flying foxes and force them to move on. “The way to disturb them is to use noises, so we’ve used the loud noises made by rubbish bins in the past. You can also use speakers as long as you move the noise around, and what we’ll do is have a series of noises, at the beginning and end of the day. What we’ve found in the past is that the flying foxes leave the gardens and go somewhere else,” said Tim.

The gray-headed flying fox is Australia’s largest bat. It flies around at night using its eyes and a powerful sense of smell to search for fruit and flowers. Officials at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney have said they’re optimistic the unwelcome colony can be uprooted. If and when the bats do move to other parts of the city they will of course then become someone else’s problem.

1. According to the passage, Why do people want to get rid of the flying foxes ?

A．Because the garden are important public places.

B．Because they are polluting the city.

C．Because many garbage bins have been damaged by them.

D．Because they’re threatening the survival of trees and other plants.

2. In order to get rid of the flying foxes, what are people doing?

A．They are shooting them.

B．They are using rubbish containers.

C．They are shaking the trees hard.

D．They are cutting some trees down.

3. Which of the following can replace the underlined “agitate” in Paragraph 3?

A．Excite	B．kill
C．disturb	D．discourage

4. What does the writer imply from the last paragraph?

A．The bats will still stay in the gardens.

B．Some area will have to deal with the bats.

C．The grey-headed flying fox often eat trees

D．The damage caused by the bats is serious

5 . There is an old saying----“The only good snake is a dead snake“   I disagree .I know some people like their smooth pets，but I hate them. I shake from head to foot even whenＩ see them on TV

One day I stepped over one in my front yard,, and I probably set a record for the fastest runner and the loudest screamer in my town. And I almost had a heart attack when I walked through my house that night after I saw the snake. For that my husband received a serious warning about leaving his belt on the floor. So you can imagine my response when I saw the news about the lost 8-foot long cobra of a zoo in the Orlando area where I had lived a few weeks ago and it still frightened me . After days of search, they gave up. Then a few days ago, I read about its return. A young lady went out to the car in her garage. There she heard hissing coming from under the car. She immediately called the officers at Animal Control. You guessed it. An 8--foot king cobra was hanging out under the car. It was frightening.

We might not have a king cobra hanging out around us, but maybe a snake is hiding around to see how it can damage us. We need to keep our guard up. I think if the young lady had kept her garage door shut, the king cobra might not have made it to the garage.

1. What almost caused the author to get a heart attack?

A．Seeing a snake on TV

B．Seeing her husband’s belt on the floor.

C．Stepping over a snake in her front yard.

D．Reading the news about the lost king cobra.

2. What happened to that 8--foot king cobra?

A．It was killed by the young lady.

B．It was sent back to the wild.

C．It ran away from the garage.

D．It was returned to the zoo.

3. In the last paragraph, the author mainly suggests that we_____.

A．kill all snakes.

B．watch out for snakes.

C．know where snakes are.

D．always keep our doors shut