We all enjoy the beautiful show of colours as leaves change each autumn. But did you ever wonder how and why this happens?

Leaves are nature’s food factories. Plants take water from the ground through their roots and take carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) from the air. Plants use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into glucose (葡萄糖). Glucose is a kind of sugar, which plants use as food for energy and growing.

The way plants turn water and carbon dioxide into sugar is called photosynthesis that means “ putting together with light”. A chemical called chlorophyll helps photosynthesis. It gives plants their green colour. As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter, and trees “know” to begin getting ready for winter.

During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. Trees rest during this time and live on the food they store during the summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories.

As the green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves, we begin to see yellow and orange leaves. Small amounts of these colours have been in the leaves all along. We just can’t see them in the summer, because they are covered up by the green chlorophyll.

The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in autumn. In some trees, like maples (枫树), glucose is caught in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn turn this glucose into a red colour. The brown colour of trees like oaks (橡树) is made from waste left in the leaves.

It is the mixture of all these things that makes the beautiful colours we enjoy during autumn.

(　 ) 51. The word “chlorophyll” in the third paragraph means _______ in Chinese.

A. 叶绿素　　　　 B. 氧气　　　 C. 胡萝卜素　　 D. 蛋白质

(　 ) 52. The leaves of the trees in autumn turn yellow because of the short of _____.

A. water and carbon dioxide B. glucose and energy　

C. sunlight and water　　　　　　　　 D. sunlight and carbon dioxide

(　 ) 53. The way that _______________________ is called Photosynthesis .

A. plants change water and carbon dioxide into sugar

B. plants turn water and carbon dioxide into sugar with the help of sunlight

C. plants use glucose as food for energy and growing

D. chlorophyll is a great help

(　 ) 54. Which of the following is NOT true?

A.　 When autumn and winter come, the days get shorter and shorter.

B.　 During winter trees rest and live on the food they store during the summer.

C.　 During winter small amounts of yellow and orange colours are kept in the leaves all the time.

D.　 Trees begin to stop making food in summer.

(　 ) 55. This passage tells us __________________.

A.　　 all the plants can grow well with the strong sunlight

B.　　 there are all kinds of plants on the earth

C.　　 all the colours of the leaves aren’t made from chlorophyll

D.　　 maples and oaks have the same reason as other trees for the change of colours

A group of swans flew down to a beach where a crow was jumping around. The crow watched them with disdain.

“You have no flying skills at all!” he said to the swans. “All you can do is to move your wings. Can you turn over in the air? No, that’s beyond you. Let’s have a flying competition. I’ll show you what real flying is!”

One of the swans, a strong young male, took up the challenge. The crow flew up and began to show his skills. He flew in circles, performed other flying tricks, and then came down and looked proudly at the swan.

Now it was the swan’s turn. He flew up, and began flying over the sea. The crow flew after him, making all kinds of comments about his flying. They flew on and on till they couldn’t see the land and there was nothing but water on all sides. The crow was making fewer and fewer comments. He was now so exhausted that he found it hard to stay in the air, and had to struggle to keep himself from falling into the water.

The swan pretended not to notice, and said, “Why do you keep touching the water, brother? Is that another trick? “

“No,” said the crow. He knew he had lost the competition. “I’m in trouble because of my pride! If you don’t help me, I’ll lose my life...”

The swan took pity on him, and took him on his shoulders and flew back to the beach.

(   ) 46. The crow met the swan on a ___________

A. beach      B. field      C. lake    D. ground

(   ) 47. What’s the correct order of the following events?

a. The crow followed the swan and got into trouble.

b. The swan felt pity for the crow and saved it.

c. The crow had to ask the swan for help.

d. The swan accepted a challenge of performing flying tricks.

A. a, d, b, c    B. a, b, d, c    C. d, a, c, b      D. d, c, a, b

(   ) 48. What does the underlined word “took pity on” in the last paragraph mean?

A. 对…… 怜悯    B. 对……后悔   C. 对……蔑视   D. 对……失望

(   ) 49. The underlined sentence means ____________ .

A. The swan began to fly.        B. It is the turn for the swan to feel proud.

C. The crow began to fly.        D. It is the turn for the crow to feel proud.

(   ) 50. What do we learn from the passage?

A. Practice makes perfect.       B. The early bird catches the worm.

C. No pains, no gains.          D. Pride goes before a fall.

Miracles will happen if you don't give up trying. Even if you have  31  for one hundred times, you may succeed when you try for the 10lst time.

   When I was born, my doctor told my mother that there was something wrong with my 32  . They were too soft to be able to walk. Although the news was bad, my mother didn't become  33  . She didn't believe what the doctor said  34  started to look for other ways.

  My mother kept looking for other doctors for me, and finally she  35  . The doctor and his team in the hospital did   36  they could to help me. They also asked my parents to teach me to do some  37  to help me walk. One day when my mother came to pick me  38  . I crawled towards her. She was so surprised and happy that she couldn't believe  39   eyes. Crawling was not walking, but it was a good  40  . Day by day, I could walk by myself.

   When I grew up, my mother   41   told me these stories. She said that if I thought of what she said whenever I met   42  , I could do anything successfully. I have been working hard and I have turned out to be a very   43   person. I get best   44  in school and I am a good dancer and swimmer.   45   my mother's strong resolution, I live a happy life now. What the story tells us, as my mother always says, is: Never give up.

(   ) 31. A. achieved      B. failed              C. suggested      D. told

(   ) 32. A. legs          B. hands         C. arms            D. eyes

(   ) 33. A. patient              B. confident      C. frustrated        D. proud

(   ) 34. A. or                 B. and           C. if              D. because

(   ) 35. A. forgot           B. changed       C. succeeded     D. worked

(   ) 36. A. nothing          B. somewhere    C. anywhere       D. everything

(   ) 37. A. time            B. exercise      C. medicine         D. shopping

(   ) 38. A. away          B. from         C. into          D. up

(   ) 39. A. her             B. my               C. his                 D. its

(   ) 40. A. advice          B. end              C. chance             D. start

(   ) 41. A. hardly          B. never            C. always             D. nearly

(   ) 42. A. dreams         B. experiments   C. jobs            D. difficulties

(   ) 43. A. excellent       B. dangerous        C. busy               D. special

(   ) 44. A. presents       B. friends       C. books           D. grades

(   ) 45. A. According to   B. Instead of         C. Thanks to      D.Together with

-- Don’t you mind my smoking here?

--- ______. The children have gone out playing.

　　　 A. No, please not　　 B. No, go ahead, please

　　　 C. Yes, I do　　　　　 D. I’m sorry to hear that

---It’s raining! When did it start?　

---I don’t know exactly. In fact, it ____ all this afternoon.

A. lasts　　　 B. has lasted　　 C. lasted　　　　 D. will last

—It seems that Alice never wants to do anything except drawing pictures.　　　 　

—Right. That's what she likes to do ______.

A. more　　　 B. less　　　 C. most　　 　 D. least

 ______wonderful news report he wrote! All of us are proud of him.

A. What       B. What a         C. How        D. How a

—I’m very worried about tomorrow’s math test. I’m afraid I can’t pass this time.　　　　　 　

—______! I’m sure you’ll make it.　

A. No problem B. That’s right　 C. Cheer up D. Don’t mention it

--May I turn on the TV, Mum? I finish my homework.　

--_________.　

A. Yes, please.　　　　　　 B. No, you’d better not.

C. No, you needn’t.　　　　 D. Yes, you must.

—What should I do, doctor?

—___healthy, you should take more exercise.

　　 A. To keep　　 　 B. Keep　 　 C. Keeping　　 D. Kept