It's very early in the morning and I'm sitting outside. It's also very cold and dark. With me is Jim Nightingale, and he is the reason I'm up so early. He passes me a hot cup of coffee. "Not long to wait now," he says. I hope he's right.

    After a few minutes there is a very weak light in the east, and then I hear a bird singing. It sings very loud and very clear. "That's the robin(知更鸟)," says Jim. A few more birds start singing with the robin and Jim knows the names of them too. Half an hour later, there are more and more birds singing, and it's very loud! Suddenly, all around us the air is full of the sound of birdsong. This is the dawn chorus(晨鸣), and it's beautiful.

    "Wow, this is amazing!" I tell Jim, who is smiling. "Is there a dawn chorus every morning?"

    "Birds can sing any time of the year but the best time is the end of winter and during the spring. This is when the birds sing most."

    "Really? So, why do they sing?" I ask.

    "Well, there are two reasons," explains Jim. "Most of the songbirds who sing are males. They want to find a female(雌性)so they sing to show how strong they are. The females listen and choose the best singer! The birds also sing to tell other males to go away. They need their own area; they don't like sharing with another male."

    I listen to the birds; the songs seem too much to me. "Do the birds sing a special song in the morning?"

"That's a good question," replied Jim. "The successful birds have many kinds of calls and songs. Sometimes they copy the songs of other birds. This makes it sound like there are many birds in that place already and other males stay away. Also the female likes songs with different notes. Some birds, for example the European wren, have songs that contain over 700 different notes per minute!"

So, how does Jim know so much about birds? Well, he works as a volunteer for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. He is trying to help the birds live in the modern world. "More and more of the birds' habitat disappears every year. The sparrow, for example, was a very common bird in the UK, now it's in danger."

    By now the sun is up and the birds are quiet. It's light so they can start looking for food, they need a big breakfast after all that singing.

1.Why does the writer get up early in the morning?

A. To visit her friend.               B. To drink hot coffee.  

C. To see different birds.                  D. To hear birds sing.

2.A bird sings early in the morning mainly_______.

A. to call a female's attention          B. to fight with other males

C. to find a place to live in      D. to start looking for food

3. According to the text, which of the following statements is true?

A. At first the writer is happy to be up so early in the morning.

B. Male birds have their own ways of fooling other birds.

C. It's easier for the birds to find food early in the morning.

D. Jim has a job with the Royal Society for the Proteciton of Birds.

4.The text is mainly about_______.

A. the robin's songs                          B. the birds' habitat    

C. why birds sing                                D. how to protect birds

There once was a master who went to India. In those times, we didn't have airplanes or many kinds of transportation that we do now. So the master went to India     . And when he got there, he saw a lot of fruit. In India they have plenty of fruit to sell, but much of it is     because they can't grow much       the water situation. So he saw one basket, a big basket of some very red, long fruit. And it was the cheapest in the shop, not expensive at all.

So he     and asked, "How much per kilo?" And the shopkeeper said, "Two rupees."(印度货币) Two rupees in India is     ; it's like dirt (尘土). So he bought a whole kilogram of the fruit and started eating it. But after he ate some of it: Oh, my God! His     __ watered, his mouth watered and burned, his eyes were burning, his head was burning and his face became     . As he coughed terribly , he       up and down, saying, "Ah! Ah! Ah!"

But he still continued to eat the fruit! Some people who were looking at him shook their heads and said, "You're crazy, man. Those are chilies（辣椒）! You can't eat so many; they're not good for you! People use them      a condiment（作料）, but only a little bit to put into food for taste. You can't just eat them by the handful like that; they're not      !" So the silly master said, "No, I can't stop! I paid money for them,      now I'll eat them. It's my     !"

   And you think that master was silly, right? Similarly, we sometimes do a lot of things like that. we still continue just because we've     money, time, effort and love into it. Just like the man who ate the chilies and felt so bad but couldn't stop because he didn't want to waste the money he'd paid.

So      you've lost something, let it go and move on. That's better than continuing to      .

1.A. by air                   B. on foot                    C .by taxi                               D .by car

2.A .delicious      B .cheap                    C .expensive         D .fresh

3.A .because of              B .with the help of         C .in need of                    D .as a result

4.A .got up                  B .went up                  C .turned up                  D .looked up

5.A .something     B .nothing           C .everything                  D .anything

6.A .eyes          B .ears              C .mouth            D .nose

7.A .sad            B .ugly            C .red                          D .cold

8.A .searched        B .climbed                C .jogged                      D .jumped

9.A .as             B .for                       C .to                           D .with

10.A .medicine       B .vegetables             C .fruit                         D .food

11.A. instead         B .and                   C .but                         D .also

12.A .money         B .food             C .fruit              D .drink

13.A. joined         B .spent                  C .paid                         D .put

14.A. as if           B .ever since         C .even if                          D .so that

15.A. fight           B .fail                    C .try                       D .lose