单词拼写（共20小题；每小题0.5分，满分10分， 注意：后5个为短语拼写）

76. adj.尴尬的     a________________              77. v.嘲弄，戏弄      t ________________

78. n. 功能，作用f________________              79. v. 道歉                 a ________________

80. adv. 确定地，当然    d _______________        81. v.  积累，集聚    a ________________

82. adj. 微小的，细微的  t _______________     83. v. 使沮丧              d ________________

84. n. 解除，减轻，欣慰 r _______________        85. n. 感情，情绪     e ________________

86. adj. 有益的，有用的  b ______________                87. adj. 难以置信的  i ________________

88. v. 陪伴     a ______________                89. prep. 不管，尽管 d ________________

90. n. 勇气，胆量            c ______________

91. 对… 有吸引力，呼吁 ______________

92. 对…惭愧，羞耻       _________________ 

93. 享有… 的福气 ____________________

94. 凭借，利用________________

 95. 与… 形成对照 ____________________

Some spiders hunt on the ground, others build webs to trap their food, but the grass water spider catches its prey by running along the surface of the water.

This special water spider lives on the grassy banks of streams where mosquitoes, damsel flies and other insects come to feed and breed.

Although it is one of the largest spiders in New Zealand, it has an unusual ability. It doesn’t disturb the water as it waits for its meal, and there is barely a ripple(波纹) when it skims(掠过) across the surface at lightning speed to catch its prey.

Grass water spiders deal swiftly with larger insects like damsel flies by pulling their heads under the water and holding them there until they drown.

After a meal, the grass water spider spends up to half an hour grooming(修饰) itself. It wipes its eight eyes, brushes its antennae(触角), and takes special care to clean the hairs on its body.

It is the hairs that trap tiny bubbles(泡沫) of air so that the spider can run down a blade(叶片) of grass and stay underwater for up to an hour when it is frightened. The hairs also keep the spider dry, even underwater.

It is only when the female spider is caring for the young that she does not hunt on the water. After mating, she produces a large egg sac(囊), which she carries around for five weeks. Once the eggs start to hatch, she attaches the sac to some blades of grass or a thistle. She then tears the sac open and releases the tiny spiders into the nursery web.

How does the grass water spider kill its prey?

A. in a web     B. by drowning      C. by poisoning     D. with its antennae

the writer describes the special spider as “special” because _______.

A. it walks on water                    B. it has eight eyes　　

C. of its hairy appearance             D. of the way it produces its young

The passage tells us that the spider ______.

A. feeds grass and thistles to its young.　　　　

B. lives on blades of grass under the water

C. lives in the grass on the banks of streams　　

D. eats a meal once every five weeks

The purpose of the passage is to _______.

A. convince readers that spiders are dangerous　　

B. indicate that the grass water spider is endangered

C. list all of the spiders that can be found in New Zealand

D. describe the characteristics of the grass water spider

CALCUTTA, India Mar 24, 2006 (AP) — One of the world’s oldest creatures, a giant tortoise believed to have been about 250 years old, has died in the Calcutta zoo where it spent more than half its long life.

Addwaita, which means “the one and only” in the local Bengali language, was one of four Aldabra tortoises brought to India by British sailors in the 18th century. Zoo officials say he was a gift for Lord Robert Clive of the East India Company, who was instrumental in establishing British colonial^① rule in India, before he returned to England in 1767. Long after the other three tortoises died, Addwaita continued to thrive^②, living in Clive’s garden before being moved to the zoo in 1875.

“According to records in the zoo, the age of the giant tortoise, Addwaita, who died on Wednesday, would be about 250 years,” said zoo director Subir Chowdhury. That would have made him much older than the world’s oldest documented^③ living animal: Harriet, a 176-year-old Galapagos tortoise who lives at the Australia Zoo north of Brisbane, according to the zoo’s Web site. She was taken from the island of Isla Santa Cruz by Charles Darwin in the 19th century.

Aldabra tortoises come from the Aldabra atoll^④ in the Seychelle islands in the Indian Ocean, and often live to more than 100 years of age. Males can weigh up to 550 pounds. Addwaita, the zoo’s biggest attraction, had been unwell for the last few days, said local Forest Minister Jogesh Burman.

“We were keeping a watch on him. When the zoo keepers went to his enclosure on Wednesday they found him dead,” Burman said.

Notes:

colonial  adj. 殖民的

thrive  v. 茁壮成长

documented  adj. 备有证明文件的

atoll  n. 环礁

Choose the best answers according to the above:

According to the passage, Addwaita ________.

      A. was sent to India as a gift by British government

      B. was sent to India by British sailors in 1767

      C. lived together with three other Aldabra tortoises in India

      D. belonged to Lord Robert Clive for some time

By now, the oldest animal in the world is about at ________.

      A. 176 years old      B. 100 years old       C. 250 years old      D. 200 years old

In the last few days before Addwaita died, he ________.

A. had been sent to hospital for treatment         

B. had been playing with travelers

C. had been found not better than before          

D. had stayed in his enclosure for days

What would be the best title for the passage?

A. An Old Aldabra Tortoise Died in India    

B. A Remarkable Life: Tortoise Dies at 250

C. A Special Kind of Tortoise — Addwaita   

D. The Oldest Animal Aldabra Tortoise Died

In the past ten years, America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) has grown increasingly dependent on the rest of the world to supply players.

    When Michael Jordan and Larry Bird won gold in Barcelona in 1992, the Americans were praised for teaching the world how to play basketball. This season, however, 20 percent of NBA rosters^① will be filled by non-Americans. NBA commissioner David Stem happily embraces the trend. On a visit to Paris in October, Stern outlined his vision for the future, which is likely to see Europe hosting NBA games by 2010.

    The NBA is now planning to take China by storm.

    “Our experience in China has been that it is going to be explosive in its growth,” said Stern. The strategy^② in China is television. “We’ve made 14 deals in China with local and national networks on cable and satellite.” The success of Chinese centre Yao Ming has paved the way for the NBA marketing blitz in China. The NBA, which is broadcasted in more than 200 countries in 42 languages, will put that to the test in October 2004 when the Houston Rockets play two pre-season games against the Sacramento Kings in Beijing and Shanghai. The NBA knows that it needs a global market to compensate for tough times on home soil.

“It doesn’t matter where the players come from, all the NBA teams now know that they have to scout^③ internationally,” said Terry Lyons, the NBA’s vice-president of international public relations. “It has increased the level of competition here.” As Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentine Emanuel Ginobili showed in winning championship rings with the San Antonio Spurs last season, many people can earn the respect of their American peers. Others, such as the Houston Rockets’ Chinese centre Yao Ming — number one draft pick in 2002 — and the Detroit Pistons’ 18-year-old Serb Darko Milicic — number two overall in this year’s draft — are icons^④in-waiting. It is the ultimate^⑤ revolution — the rest of the world teaching the US how to play basketball.

Notes:

roster  n. 花名册

strategy  n. 战略，策略

scout  vt. 寻找，觅得

icon  n. 偶像

ultimate  adj. 最后的，根本的

Choose the best answers according to the above:

According to the report,       ___.

A. Michael Jordan is still playing a very important role in NBA

B. the part played by the foreign players in NBA will be great

C. Yao Ming is to play two pre-season games in NBA

D. European countries will host the 2004 NBA games

The underlined phrase “take China by storm” has the meaning of       ___.

A. NBA intends to make China its “marketing center”

B. NBA is planning to set up some training centers in China

C. there’ll be a big storm when NBA comes to China to play against the Sacramento Kings

D. the NBA’s live basket games will be broadcasted on all the TVs in China

. What seems to be the biggest change that is happening to NBA?

A. NBA is expecting more foreign players to join the league.

B. China’s rapid development in sports affects NBA.

C. Yao Ming has taken the place of Michael Jordan.

D. The NBA will stop teaching the world how to play basketball.

When the writer talked of “home soil”, he was referring to        __.

A. farms in the States             B. native Americans 

C. the NBA training center         D. the USA

Which of the following can be used as the best title for the passage?

A. The Non-American Basketball Players    B. NBA Is Coming to China

C. The Foreign Ties That Bind the NBA      D. NBA Is Making Big Progress

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，选项中有两项为多余选项。

E

    It’s not that hard to be a better writer. Seriously, it’s especially true if you’re starting as a non-writer who’s just trying to be competent for day-to-day tasks.

    1．Have a Structure．   1    Your body should consist of paragraphs that are grouped according, to topic, each one dealing with a single element of your subject．

    2．  2   When you say a car runs "fast" , don't leave it at that．Show me how fast it is by ; detailing the vehicle' s top speed and acceleration, along with listing other cars it leaves in the dust．Do the same with every other significant modifier（修饰语） you use．

    3．Don't pad words．  3   Most of the time, this ends up turning what' s essentially nice; writing into unreadable nonsense．You' 11 see this with heavy use of unnecessary adjectives and adverbs, along with useless phrases that can easily be cut off without losing meaning．

    4．Choose good words．Sometimes, the way your text reads comes down to word choice．Don't say " converse" when you can say " speak" ; don' t write " adjudicate" when you say "decide"．  4 

    5．Use a writing software．Notice that we didn't give any advice on grammar．That's because using a quality proofreading software can help you on that end．  5 

    A．Try not to use adjectives and adverbs without providing an explanation．

    B．Don't let anything keep you from it!

    C．Many inexperienced writers tend to pad words to meet word count goals．

    D．Regardless of what you do, your writing should have an introduction and a conclusion．

    E．Basically, put your words to good use and find words that will make the experience easier for your readers．

    F．Some ideas can be quite correct．

    G．Sure, a few mistakes might slip in now and then, but a good tool will take care of most of them．