1 . One of our biggest fears nowadays is that our kids might some day get lost in a “sea of technology” rather than experiencing the natural world. Fear-producing TV and computer games are leading to a serious disconnect between kids and the great outdoors, which will change the wild places of the world, its creatures and human health for the worse, unless adults get working on child’s play.
Each of us has a place in nature we go sometimes, even if it was torn down. We cannot be the last generation to have that place. At this rate, kids who miss the sense of wonder outdoors will not grow up to be protectors of natural landscapes. “If the decline in parks use continues across North America, who will defend parks against encroachment (蚕食)?” asks Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods.
Without having a nature experience, kids can turn out just fine, but they are missing out a huge enrichment of their lives. That applies to everything from their physical health and mental health, to stress levels, creativity and cognitive (认知的) skills. Experts predict modern kids will have poorer health than their parents—and they say a lack of outside play is surely part of it; research suggests that kids do better academically in schools with a nature component and that play in nature fosters (培养) leadership by the smartest, not by the toughest. Even a tiny outdoor experience can create wonder in a child. The three-year-old turning over his first rock realizes he is not alone in the world. A clump of trees on the roadside can be the whole universe in his eyes. We really need to value that more.
Kids are not to blame. They are over-protected and frightened. It is dangerous out there from time to time, but repetitive stress from computers is replacing breaking an arm as a childhood rite   (仪式) of passage.
Everyone from developers, to schools and outdoorsy citizens, should help regain for our kids some of the freedom and joy of exploring, taking friendship in fields and woods that cement (增强) love, respect and need for landscape. As parents, we should devote some of our energies to taking our kids into nature. This could yet be our greatest cause.
1. The main idea of Paragraph 2 is that _________.

A．kids are missing the sense of wonder outdoors

B．parks are in danger of being gradually encroached

C．Richard Louv is the author of Last Child in the Woods

D．children are expected to develop into protectors of nature

2. According to the passage, children without experiencing nature will _________.

A．keep a high sense of wonder

B．be over-protected by their parents

C．be less healthy both physically and mentally

D．change wild places and creatures for the better

3. According to the author, children’s breaking an arm is _________.

A．the fault on the part of their parents

B．the natural experience in their growing up

C．the result of their own carelessness in play

D．the effect of their repetitive stress from computers

4. In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to _________.

A．blame children for getting lost in computer games

B．encourage children to protect parks from encroachment

C．show his concern about children’s lack of experience in nature

D．inspire children to keep the sense of wonder about things around

2 . Wilderness
“In wilderness(荒野) is the preservation of the world.” This is a famous saying from a writer regarded as one of the fathers of environmentalism. The frequency with which it is borrowed mirrors a heated debate on environmental protection: whether to place wilderness at the heart of what is to be preserved.
As John Sauven of Greenpeace UK points out, there is a strong appeal in images of the wild, the untouched; more than anything else, they speak of the nature that many people value most dearly. The urge to leave the subject of such images untouched is strong, and the danger exploitation(开发) brings to such landscapes(景观) is real. Some of these wildernesses also perform functions that humans need—the rainforests, for example, store carbon in vast quantities. To Mr.Sauven, these ”ecosystem services” far outweigh the gains from exploitation.
Lee Lane, a visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute, takes the opposing view. He acknowledges that wildernesses do provide useful services, such as water conservation. But that is not, he argues, a reason to avoid all human presence, or indeed commercial and industrial exploitation. There are ever more people on the Earth, and they reasonably and rightfully want to have better lives, rather than merely struggle for survival. While the ways of using resources have improved, there is still a growing need for raw materials, and some wildernesses contain them in abundance. If they can be tapped without reducing the services those wildernesses provide, the argument goes, there is no further reason not to do so. Being untouched is not, in itself, a characteristic worth valuing above all others.
I look forwards to seeing these views taken further, and to their being challenged by the other participants. One challenge that suggests itself to me is that both cases need to take on the question of spiritual value a little more directly. And there is a practical question as to whether wildernesses can be exploited without harm.
This is a topic that calls for not only free expression of feelings, but also the guidance of reason. What position wilderness should enjoy in the preservation of the world obviously deserves much more serious thinking.
1. John Sauven holds that_____.

A．many people value nature too much

B．exploitation of wildernesses is harmful

C．wildernesses provide humans with necessities

D．the urge to develop the ecosystem services is strong

2. What is the main idea of Para. 3?

A．The exploitation is necessary for the poor people.

B．Wildernesses cannot guarantee better use of raw materials.

C．Useful services of wildernesses are not the reason for no exploitation.

D．All the characteristics concerning the exploitation should be treated equally.

3. What is the author’s attitude towards this debate?

A．Objective.

B．Disapproving.

C．Sceptical.

D．Optimistic.

4. Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
CP: Central Point P: Point Sp: Sub-point(次要点) : Conclusion

A．

B．

C．

D．

3 . The young woman entered the pool where an injured dolphin(海豚) was swimming. Despite her fear, she felt strong wearing her new leg.
In her second grade, Maja _______ her cousin, Jasmina. After Jasmina’s death, Maja swore she would honor the little girl by _______ with a dolphin, an animal that both girls _______ . “Jasmina never got the chance to do it.” says Maja, now 32, “so I _______ that someday I’d do it for her.”
In high school, Maja was _______about sports. She even planned to become an athlete. _______ , in 1993, during the civil war in her home country, a bomb _______ her left leg.
After two years’ _______in the U.S., Maja received her first artificial (人造的) leg. But _______it didn’t fit well, walking for Maja was painful. ________ she managed to graduate from a local high school. Then after receiving a ________from Saint Francis University, she got a job at an insurance firm and ________ started her own company.
To relax, Maja ________ often watch the dolphins play at an aquarium (水族馆) near her home. A young dolphin, Winter, who had lost its tail, caught her ________ . One day, Maja happened to see trainers ________ Winter with a high-tech tail. When they were done, Winter swam freely in the water. Maja was ________ . She managed to find the inventors of Winter’s tail. Within ten days, she had a new leg which freed her of the ________ that had troubled her for almost 16 years.
Now, Maja was ready to keep her ________ . She went to the aquarium. Lowered herself into the pool and held out a hand to Winter, who approached ________ , then swum away. After a few minutes, the dolphin let Maja ________ its back. Finally, they began to swim around together.1.

A．lost

B．visited

C．rescued

D．left

2.

A．talking

B．living

C．swimming

D．surfing

3.

A．adored

B．adopted

C．possessed

D．premised

4.

A．pretended

B．decided

C．perfected

D．agreed

5.

A．positive

B．enthusiastic

C．particular

D．curious

6.

A．Undoubtedly

B．Surprisingly

C．Strangely

D．Unfortunately

7.

A．took away

B．took over

C．cut down

D．cut out

8.

A．study

B．operation

C．treatment

D．experiment

9.

A．until

B．because

C．although

D．if

10.

A．Otherwise

B．Therefore

C．Besides

D．However

11.

A．scholarships

B．degree

C．prize

D．notice

12.

A．gradually

B．actually

C．eventually

D．naturally

13.

A．might

B．should

C．could

D．would

14.

A．eye

B．leg

C．nose

D．hand

15.

A．celebrating

B．guiding

C．marking

D．fitting

16.

A．inspired

B．puzzled

C．shocked

D．amused

17.

A．worry

B．sadness

C．pain

D．fear

18.

A．appointment

B．promise

C．record

D．habit

19.

A．blindly

B．angrily

C．gratefully

D．cautiously

20.

A．strike

B．cover

C．touch

D．wipe

4 . Every day we experienec one of the wonders of the world around us without even realizing it It is not the amszing complexity of television. Nor the impressive tcchnology of transport The universal wonder we share and
Experience is our ability to make noises with our mouths, and so transmit ideas and thoughts to each other’s minds. This ability comes so naturally that tend to forget what a miracle（奇迹）it is.
Obviously, the ability to talk is something that marks humans off from animals. Of course, some animals have powers just as amazing. Birds can fly thousands of miles by observing positions of the stars in the sky in relation to the time of day and year. In Nature’s went show, humans are a species of animal that have deve pod their own special act. If we reduce it to basie ferms, it’s a ability for communicating information to ther by varying sounds we make as we breathe out.
Not the to don’t have other powers of communication. Our facia. expressions convey our emotions, such as anger, or jout or disappointment. The way we hold our beads can indicate to others whether we are happy or sad. This is so-called “body language”. Bristling(直立的)fur is an unmistakable warning of attack among many animals. Similarly, the bowed bead or drooping tail shows a readiness to take second place in any animal gathering.
Such a means of communication is a basic mechanism that animals, including human beings, instinctively acquire and display. Is the ability to speak just another sort of instinct? If so, how did human beings acquire this amazing skill? Biologists can readily indicate that particular area of our brain where speech mechanisms function, but this doesn’t tell us how that part of our bodies originated in our biological history.
1. According to the passage, the wonder we take for granted is_________.

A．our ability to use language

B．the miracle of technology

C．the amazing power of nature

D．our ability to make noises with mouth

2. What feature of “body language”mentioned in the passage is common to both humans and animals?

A．Lifting beads when sad.

B．Keeping long faces when angry.

C．Bristling hair when ready to attack.

D．Bowing heads when willing to obey.

3. What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?

A．Body language is unique to humans.

B．Animals express emotions just as humans do.

C．Humans have other powers of communication.

D．Humans are no different from animals to some degree.

4. This pastge is mainly about________________.

A．the development of body language

B．the special role humans play in nature

C．the power to convey information to others

D．the difference between humans and animals in language use

5 . 阅读表达（共5小题）
阅读下面短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
When Dan Shaw gets up from the sofa in his home, Cuddles is never far away. When he wants to go outside, he doesn’t take Cuddles out for walk—Cuddles takes him for a walk. Cuddles is clearly no ordinary family pet. It is a two-foot-high miniature horse and serves as the guiding eyes of Shaw, who is blind.
When Shaw lost his sight, his wife suggested he apply for a guide dog. Shaw, an animal lover, said he couldn’t bear to part with a dog (which usually lives about eight to ten years) and get used to a new one, perhaps several times in his life.
Then Shaw heard of a program about the tiny guide horses. He learned that the horse possess many qualities that make them an excellent choice for guiding people. They are clean friendly, smart and have great memories. They can be trained to remain calm in noisy and crowded places. Best of all, they live for 25-25years, which would enable Shaw to have the same guide companion for most or all of his life.
Shaw immediately applied to be and was accepted as the first person to receive a guide horse. The instant he met Cuddles, he knew he was making the right choice. Then he began his training.
Through training ,Shaw and Cuddles learned to find way on busy streets, step over curbs（便道沿儿）and find elevator buttons. Cuddles even demonstrated（显示）its ability to step in front of Shaw and block him, to prevent him from walking into a dangerous situation. The little horse also expertly led Shaw through busy shopping malls. They got along without any difficulties. Now Shaw is confident that Cuddles will change his life for the better.
1. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “miniature” in Paragraph 1?(No more than 2 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. Why didn’t Shaw want to choose a dog as his guide? (No more than 15 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
3. What does Paragraph 3 mainly tell us? (No more than 10 words)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. How does Shaw feel about his future life with the help of Cuddles? (No more than 10 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
5. In your opinion, what is the ideal relationship between man and animals? (No more than 20 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________

6 . B
Domestic (驯养的) horses now pull ploughs, race in the Kentucky Derby, and carry police. But early horses weren’t tame (驯服的) enough to perform these kinds of tasks. Scientists think the first interactions humans had with horses were far different from those today.
Thousands of years ago, people killed the wild horses that lived around them for food. Over time, people began to catch the animals and raise them. This was the first step in domestication.
As people began to tame and ride horses, they chose to keep those animals that had more desirable characteristics. For example, people may have chosen to keep horses that had a gentle personality so they could be ridden more easily. People who used horses to pull heavy loads would have chosen to keep stronger animals. Characteristics like strength are partly controlled by the animals’ genes. So as the domesticated horses reproduced, they passed the characteristics on to their young. Each new generation of houses would show more of these chosen characteristics.
Modern day horse breeds come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. This variety didn’t exist in the horse population before domestication. The Shetland horse is one of the smallest breeds—typically reaching only one meter tall. With short, strong legs, the animals were bred to pull coal out of mine shafts (矿井) with low ceilings. Huge horses like the Clydesdale came on the scene around 1700. People bred these heavy, tall horses to pull large vehicles used for carrying heavy loads.
The domestication of horses has had great effects on societies. For example, horse were important tools in the advancement of modern agriculture. Using them to pull ploughs and carry heavy loads allowed people to farm more efficiently. Before they were able to ride horses, humans had to cross land on foot. Riding horses allowed people to travel far greater distance in much less time. That encouraged populations living in different areas to interact with one another. The new from of rapid transportation helped cultures spread around the world.
1. Before domestication horses were ______.

A．caught for sports	B．hunted for food
C．made to pull ploughs	D．used to carry people

2. The author uses the Shetland horse as an example to show ______.

A．it is smaller than the Clydesdale horse	B．horse used to have gentle personalities
C．some horses have better shaped than others	D．horses were of less variety before domestication

3. Horses contributed to the spread of culture by ______.

A．carrying heavy loads	B．changing farming methods
C．serving as a means of transport	D．advancing agriculture in different areas

4. The passage is mainly about _______.

A．why humans domesticated horses	B．how humans and horses needed each other
C．why horses came in different shapes and sizes	D．how human societies and horses influenced each other

7 . One moment it was quiet and calm in the forest, the next, the air was charged with tension. The elephant had heard the distant alarm calls of animals and her mood suddenly changed. I urged the elephant deeper into the forest. We sounded like a forest fire-crackling, snapping, trailblazing. But through all the noise came a sharp warning cry. The elephant stopped and we heard it again — the tell-tale call of a spotted deer.

I looked quickly around the shadows of the forest. Rays of sunlight shone through tree branches, beneath which the patchwork (交错) of green plants and shadows-within-shadows would make tiger stripes (条纹) look more attractive. Apart from an occasional noise from the elephant’s stomach, the forest was silent.

Gradually, the tension slipped from our bodies. The elephant seized a nearby branch and put it into her mouth. I reached forward and gently moved my hand over the elephant’s neck; there was a soft part, free of wrinkles and hairs, behind her ear.

This was my fourth time to sense the aura of the forest in Corbett, although I saw no tigers in the end. Located at the foot of the Himalayan mountains, Corbett is home to about 135 Bengal tigers, but the forest seemed to be guarding their whereabouts(出没处), a silent reminder of their secrecy and rarity. Still, I was happy enough touching the elephant behind the ear. If I had so desperately wanted to see a tiger, I could have gone to a zoo. After all, spotting tigers merely confirms their beauty; tracking them can make you aware of something more.

1. Which of the following was a clear signal of alarm?

A．The elephant stopped.

B．A spotted deer called.

C．The elephant seized a branch.

D．The forest was silent for a while.

2. The author begins his account of the tour in the forest mainly by ____________.

A．describing various sounds

B．comparing different animals

C．listing different activities

D．introducing various plants

3. What does the underlined part ＂to sense the aura＂ most probably mean?

A．To see the diversity.

B．To enjoy the scenery.

C．To feel the atmosphere.

D．To experience the freedom.

4. How does the author feel after several visits to Corbett?

A．Seeing a Bengal tiger is quite thrilling.

B．It is very time-consuming to travel in Corbett.

C．It is really worthwhile to study the animals in Corbett.

D．The process of finding Bengal tigers is most appealing.

8 . Last summer, two nineteenth-century cottages were rescued from remote farm fields in Montana, to be moved to an Art Deco building in San Francisco. The houses were made of wood. These cottages once housed early settlers as they worked the dry Montana soil; now they hold Twitter engineers.
The cottages could be an example of the industry’ s odd love affair with “low technology,” a concept associated with the natural world, and with old-school craftsmanship (手艺) that exists long before the Internet era. Low technology is not virtual (虚拟的) —so, to take advantage of it, Internet companies have had to get creative. The rescued wood cottages, fitted by hand in the late eighteen-hundreds, are an obvious example, but Twitter’s designs lie on the extreme end. Other companies are using a broader interpretation (阐释) of low technology that focuses on nature.
Amazon is building three glass spheres filled with trees, so that employees can “work and socialize in a more natural, park-like setting.” At Google’s office, an entire floor is carpeted in glass. Facebook’s second Menlo Park campus will have a rooftop park with a walking trail.
Olle Lundberg, the founder of Lundberg Design, has worked with many tech companies over the years. “We have lost the connection to the maker in our lives, and our tech engineers are the ones who feel impoverished (贫乏的), because they’re surrounded by the digital world,” he says. “They’re looking for a way to regain their individual identity, and we’ve found that introducing real crafts is one way to do that.”
This craft based theory is rooted in history, William Morris, the English artist and writer, turned back to pre-industrial arts in the eighteen-sixties, just after the Industrial Revolution. The Arts and Crafts movement defined itself against machines. “Without creative human occupation, people became disconnected from life,” Morris said.
Research has shown that natural environments can restore(恢复) our mental capacities. In Japan, patients are encouraged to “forest-bathe,” taking walks through woods to lower their blood pressure.
These health benefits apply to the workplace as well. Rachel Kaplvin, a professor of environmental psychology, has spent years researching the restorative effects of natural environment. Her research found that workers with access to nature at the office—even simple views of trees and flowers—felt their jobs were less stressful and more satisfying. If low-tech offices can potentially nourish the brains and improve the mental health of employees then, fine, bring on the cottages.
1. The writer mentions the two nineteenth-century cottages to show that ________.

A．Twitter is having a hard time

B．old cottages are in need of protection

C．early settlers once suffered from a dry climate in Montana

D．Internet companies have rediscovered the benefits of low technology

2. Low technology is regarded as something that _______.

A．is related to nature	B．is out of date today
C．consumes too much energy	D．exists in the virtual world

3. The main idea of Paragraph 5 is that human beings ________.

A．have destroyed many pre-industrial arts

B．have a tradition of valuing arts and crafts

C．can become intelligent by learning history

D．can regain their individual identity by using machines

4. The writer’s attitude to “low technology” can best be described as ________.

A．positive

B．defensive

C．cautious

D．doubtful

5. What might be the best title for the passage?

A．Past Glories, Future Dreams

B．The Virtual World, the Real Challenge

C．High-tech Companies, Low-tech Offices

D．The More Craftsmanship, the Less Creativity

9 . The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place. Now it is an ecological disaster area. Nauru’s heartbreaking story could have one good consequence — other countries might learn from its mistakes.
For thousands of years, Polynesian people lived the remote island of Nauru, far from western civilization. The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798. He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship. He called the island Pleasant Island.
However, because it was very remote, Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first. The whaling ships and other traders began to visit, bringing guns and alcohol. These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island. A ten-year civil war started, which reduced the population from 1,400 to 900.
Nauru’s real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining company discovered phosphate(磷酸盐)on the island. In fact, it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate, which a very important fertilizer for farming. The company began mining the phosphate.
A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground; it is a strip mine. When a company strip-mines, it removes the top layer of soil. Then it takes away the material it wants. Strip mining totally destroys the land. Gradually, the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon.
In 1968, Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world. Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate.
Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars. In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses. Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem — their phosphate was running out. Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing. By 2000, Nauru was financially ruined. Experts say that it would take approximately $433,600,000 and more than 20 years to repair the island. This will probably never happen.
1. What might be the author's purpose in writing the text?

A．To seek help for Nauru's problems.

B．To give a warning to other countries.

C．To show the importance of money.

D．To tell a heartbreaking story of a war.

2. What was Nauru like before the Europeans came?

A．Rich and powerful.	B．Modern and open.
C．Peaceful and attractive.	D．Greedy and aggressive.

3. The ecological disaster in Nauru resulted from _______.

A．soil pollution	B．phosphate overmining
C．farming activity	D．whale hunting

4. Which of the following was a cause of Nauru's financial problem?

A．Its leaders misused the money.

B．It spent too much repairing the island.

C．Its phosphate mining cost much money.

D．It lost millions of dollars in the civil war.

5. What can we learn about Nauru from the last paragraph?

A．The ecological damage is difficult to repair.

B．The leaders will take the experts'words seriously.

C．The island was abandoned by the Nauruans.

D．The phosphate mines were destroyed.

10 . Three years ago, five parrots were set free in a wild place of Arizona, thousands of miles from the Channel Islands in Jersey where they had been looked after by zookeepers. No evolutionary strategies informed them how to behave in this new landscape of mountainous pine forest unoccupied by their kind for 50 years. To the researchers’ surprise, they failed to make contact with a group of wild parrots imported from Mexico and set free at the same time. Within 24 hours the reintroducing ended in failure, and the poor birds were back in cages, on their way to the safety of the Arizona reintroduction programme.
Ever since then, the programme has enjoyed great success, mainly because the birds now being set free are Mexican birds illegally caught in the wild, confiscated （没收） on arrival north of the border, and raised by their parents in the safety of the programme. The experience shows how little we know about the behaviour and psychology （心理） of parrots, as Peter Bennett, a bird researcher, points out: “Reintroducing species of high intelligence like parrots is a lot more difficult. People like parrots, always treating them as nothing more than pets or valuable ‘collectables’.”
Now that many species of parrot are in immediate danger of dying out, biologists are working together to study the natural history and the behaviour of this family of birds. Last year was an important turning point: conservationists founded the World Parrot Trust, based at Hayle in Cornwall, to support research into both wild and caged birds.
Research on parrots is vital for two reasons. First, as the Arizona programme showed, when reintroducing parrots to the wild, we need to be aware of what the birds must know if they are to survive in their natural home. We also need to learn more about the needs of parrots kept as pets, particularly as the Trust’s campaign does not attempt to discourage the practice, but rather urges people who buy parrots as pets to choose birds raised by humans.
1. What do we know about the area where the five parrots were reintroduced?

A．Its landscape is new to parrots of their kind.

B．It used to be home to parrots of their kind.

C．It is close to where they had been kept.

D．Pine trees were planted to attract birds.

2. The reintroducing experience three years ago shows that man-raised parrots

A．can find their way back home in Jersey

B．are unable to recognize their parents

C．are unable to adapt to the wild

D．can produce a new species

3. Why are researches on parrots important according to the passage?

A．The Trust shows great concern for the programme.

B．We need to know more about how to preserve parrots.

C．Many people are interested in collecting parrots.

D．Parrots’ intelligence may some day benefit people.

4. According to the passage, people are advised ______.

A．to treat wild and caged parrots equally

B．to set up comfortable homes for parrots

C．not to keep wild parrots as pets

D．not to let more parrots go to the wild