On a cold winter day, two men walked along a valley. Finally, they stopped at a grave（坟墓）, which was covered with thick  1  . The gravestone looked very  2  . The older man said to the young man,“This is your mother’s grave…”The young man  3  in the snow.

This   4 took place 20 years ago. At that time the most intense 5  had occurred here. Among the soldiers was Wilson. The strong  6  had made the forces retreat（撤退）. Wilson had headed forward in the snow with the troops in front of him. 7  , he heard a baby’s cry, which came from a hole in the snow. Wilson dug into the snow, and was immediately  8  by what he had seen.

In a mother’s arms, the baby was crying aloud. What was even more shocking was that the mother was naked. It turned out that they were  9   in this valley by the heavy snow. In order to  10  her baby, the mother had wrapped all her 11   around the child while holding him tightly in her arms. Though the mother had been 12  , the baby in her arms had survived. Wilson was deeply moved by such an unexpected  13  . He buried the mother and held the   14   baby to pursue（追赶）the   15  .

After the war, he took this child to the United States to   16  . When the child grew up, Wilson told him what   17   that year and took him to the valley to   18   his mother.

Kneeling at the grave, the young man burst into tears. After a while, the young man started to clean the snow on the grave. After cleaning the snow around, he undressed himself, 19    the grave, threw himself on the grave and spoke out the words from his heart,“Mom, how   20   you were for so many years!”

1.A. leaves             B. snow                   C. dust           D. grass

2.A. simple            B. clean                      C. beautiful             D. big

3.A. gave up          B. stood up                C. knelt down   D. broke down

4.A. party     B. strike                  C. accident            D. story

5.A. speech           B. whisper                C. fighting     D. argument

6.A. competition        B. enemy                C. disease     D. storm

7.A. Fortunately         B. Frequently                     C. Immediately  D. Suddenly

8.A. shocked         B. puzzled                 C. frightened              D. annoyed

9.A. wounded       B. trapped                C. killed         D. frozen

10.A. feed             B. teach                  C. save                 D. hide

11.A. clothes         B. blankets               C. packages           D. handkerchiefs

12.A. sick          B. dead              C. hungry       D. lost

13.A. mark             B. condition              C. voice         D. scene

14.A. growing   B. crying          C. running      D. singing

15.A. troops          B. mother                   C. path            D. goal

16.A. show him in      B. call him in                C. bring him up  D. pick him up

17.A. happened         B. appeared                C. started           D. formed

18.A. depend on       B. attend to                 C. care about          D. look for

19.A. moved         B. decorated                 C. covered     D. dug

20.A. tired             B. fearful          C. lonely             D. cold

  Some of the planet’s most precious animals and plants are disappearing, according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN). The group, based in Switzerland, works with governments and experts to protect threatened species. On September 12, the IUCN released its Red List, a list of species at greatest risk of extinction.

    The list includes 41,415 animals and plants. The IUCN says that habitat destruction, hunting and other causes threaten one in four mammals, one in eight birds and one in three amphibians(两栖动物).

    Who is to blame?

    Scientists believe that 99 percent of threatened species are at risk because of human activity. “We are losing animals and plants at a high rate,” says Julia Marton-LefEevre, director general of the IUCN. “We need to change our behavior.” Warmer oceans and over-fishing are changing sea life. This year for the first time corals(珊瑚) made their appearance on the list. The gharial, a crocodile living in India and Nepal, has lost almost 60 percent of its population in the last 10 years. It is a victim（受害者）of habitat destruction.

    Still, the news is not all bad. Thanks to efforts made to protect it, the Mauritius echo parakeet, a bird once endangered, has seen an increase in its population. “This shows that protection methods can work,” says Marton-LefEevre. “That’s the message we want to send to young people.”

    In China the new reserve（保护区）itself is part of green efforts that have seen more than 2,400 nature reserves of various kinds being set up, covering more than 15 percent of the nation's land area, official figures showed.

"The country's natural resources(资源) have benefited from conservation," said Lei Guangchun, director of the nature reserve department of Beijing Forestry University. "It is a big increase nowadays compared with other countries." Lei said.

The total areas of China’s natural reserves have covered 1.38 million km2, which accounts for 15.4% of China’s area, higher than both the world average（平均水平） of 11% and the rate in most developed countries.

    Li Zhong, an official in charge of the nature reserves office with the State Forestry Administration, thought it was important to increase investment（投资） in such reserves at all levels.

1.What do we know about the IUCN?

   A. A union for listing animals and plants on the earth

   B. A group of volunteers who are interested in wildlife

   C. An organization concerning the protection of rare species' survival

   D. A government made up officials, scientists and experts

2.What can be concluded from the passage?         

A. All the protection methods can’t work.   　   

B. The IUCN does most of the protection.

C. The efforts China makes has paid off.　  

D. Enough is done in wildlife protection.

3. Which of the following is not the cause of the disappearance of the animals?

   A. Bad weather     B. Over-hunting    C. Warmer oceans    D. Habitat destruction

4.Which of the sentence is NOT true?

       A. China has been paying great attention to protecting the natural resources.

       B. China has set up a lot of natural reserves.

       C. The natural reserves in China cover more than 15 percent of the nation's land area.

       D. The rate of China's natural reserves is lower than the average of the world.

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. Green said, “Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would ___1__.”

Blue interrupted, “You only think about the __2__, but consider the sky and the sea. __3__ the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. Without my peace, you would all be __4__.”

Yellow chuckled (笑道), “You are all so serious. I bring laughter, fun, and __5__ into the world.”

Orange started next to blow her trumpet, “I am the color of health and strength. I may be __6__, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. When I fill the sky __7__, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another __8__ to any of you.”

Red could stand it __9__ and he shouted out, “I am the ruler of all of you. I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to __10__ truth. I am also the color of passion and of love.”

Then came Purple and Indigo (深蓝) …

The colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own __11__. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder. Rain started to pour down __12__. The colors crouched (蜷缩) down __13__, drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor (叫嚷), rain began to speak, “You foolish colors, fighting __14__ yourselves, each trying to dominate __15__. Don’t you know that you were each made for a special purpose, __16__? Join hands with __17__ and come to me.”

Doing as they were told, the colors __18__ and joined hands. They formed a colorful rainbow. From then on, whenever a good rain ___19__ the world, a rainbow appears in the sky. They remember to __20__ one another.

1. A. stay                     B. leave                    C. go out                     D. die

2. A. earth                   B. moon                          C. star                         D. sun

3. A. That is                 B. I am                        C. It is                         D. This is

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

5. A. warmth                      B. sadness                   C. depression              D. anxiety

6. A. usual                   B. normal                     C. common              D. scarce

7. A. at midnight           B. at noon or at night     C. at sunrise or sunset   D. during the day

8. A. gift                      B. honor                      C. thought                   D. respect

9. A. for more              B. any more                 C. very much                   D. no longer

10. A. turn to                      B. fight for                   C. struggle with            D. bend over

11. A. superiority          B. disadvantages           C. inferiority                D. weakness

12. A. gently                B. quietly                     C. violently                  D. peacefully

13. A. with care           B. in fear                     C. by chance               D. on purpose

14. A. among                   B. by                           C. for                          D. against

15. A. others                B. themselves               C. the other                  D. the rest

16. A. equal and simple  B. ordinary and similar   C. more or less          D. unique and different

17. A. each other          B. me                          C. one another              D. them

18. A. combined           B. separated                 C. united                      D. divided

19. A. cleans                B. washes                    C. brightens                 D. dampens

20. A. appreciate          B. quarrel with             C. ignore                     D. praise

The early morning fire damaged the historic Gallad House today. It destroyed the third floor of the building so fire fighters saved the first and the second floors. There were only a few elderly people live in the building at the time and they carried out to safety. The Gallad House was built in 1718 and was used for a hotel for over 150 years. George Washington stayed in here in 12. The Gallad family owned the building for the elderly. Several fire department were called to the scene. When Fire Chief Andrew Bond asked when the fire started, he answered that perhaps a burning cigarette caused it. Chief Bond had promised to further examine the cause.

BUS SERVICE
New York City — Brennan, New Jersey
(Trip time: 30 minutes each way )
Timetable
●Buses leave the Railway Station, New York 7:00 a.m. and every half-hour thereafter(此后) until 11:30 p.m.
(7 days a week).
●Buses leave Brennan Station 20 minutes before and after every hour from 6:20 a.m. to 10:40 p.m.
(7 days a week ).
●Evening rush hours(5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.) buses leave the Railway Station, New York every 15 minutes (Monday — Friday).
●Holidays: buses leave every hour on the hour time, each direction.
All tickets must be bought at Window 12, the Railway Station, New York, or at the Brennan Station Window before boarding buses.
【小题1】What time does a bus leave New York for Brennan every Thursday?