The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and lives in Antarctica. The male and female are similar in size, reaching 122 cm in height and weighing anywhere from 22 to 45 kg. The back and head are black, contrasting sharply with the pale-yellow breast and bright-yellow ears. Like all penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and their wings stiffen and flatten into flippers(鳍状肢) for a marine habitat.
Its diet consists primarily of fish, but can also include animals with hard shells. In hunting, the species can remain underwater up to 18 minutes, diving to a depth of 535 m. Its unusually structured hemoglobin(血红蛋白)allows it to function at low oxygen levels.
The emperor penguin is perhaps best known for the journeys adults make each year in order to mate and to feed their babies. The only penguin species that breeds(繁殖) during the Antarctic winter, it goes on a long journey of 50-120 km over the ice to breeding areas which may include thousands of individuals. The female lays a single egg, which is incubated(孵化)by the male while the female returns to the sea to feed; parents take turns searching for food at sea and caring for their chick. They both care for the chick until it is able to enter the water to find food on its own. During the process of incubation, the male can lose up to 1/3 to 1/2 of his body weight. One of the coolest things about the male is that if the chick comes out its egg before the female returns, the male can actually produce a special liquid to feed the chick. He can only do this for a short time. If the female doesn’t return, he must leave the chick to go on with his own life. The emperor penguin can typically live for 20 years in the wild, although observations suggest that some individual may live to 50 years of age.
【小题1】We can learn from paragraph 1 that ____.

A．the emperor penguin is the world’s largest kind of penguin

B．the emperor penguin has pale-yellow ears

C．the male and female emperor penguins are of different sizes

D．the emperor penguin lives in the most northern area on the Earth

【小题2】The emperor penguin can stay underwater for a long time mainly because of its ____.

A．strong wings

B．streamlined body

C．structured hemoglobin

D．special diet

【小题3】The emperor penguin differs from other penguin species in that ____.

A．it gives birth in the Antarctic winter	B．it feeds mainly on fish
C．the male won’t search for food on his own	D．it can only live for a short time

【小题4】According to the passage, ____.

A．the egg of the emperor penguin is mainly incubated by the female

B．many emperor penguins will stay together to breed

C．the male emperor penguin will give up his own life to feed the chick

D．the female emperor penguin will leave the chick forever once it lays an egg

Anderson was born in the slums(贫民区) of Odense, Denmark, on April 2,1805. His early life was not easy. His father was a shoemaker and his mother worked as a washerwoman. He received little early education. As a child he was very emotional and was laughed at for being feminine(女性化)and tall.

In l8l6 his father died and Andersen was forced to go out to work. first in a tailor’s shop and then at a tobacco factory. At the age of l4 Anderson moved to Copenhagen to start a career as a singer and actor. He struggled for three years until he had to leave the theatre when his voice broke in l822.

Anderson went to a grammar school after he left the theatre. Having done well he was admitted to Copenhagen University in 1828.

He began to publish his fairy tales in 1835. They came out in small volumes(量) until his death. Nowadays, children all around the world are familiar with his fairy tales such as “The Little Mermaid ”(《美人鱼》)，“The Princess and the Pea” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. The colourful characters from the stories made us laugh and cry throughout our childhood. Although Anderson lived a hard life, he tried to make people laugh in all his stories. He wrote because he didn’t want children to have a sad childhood as he did. “Being born in a duck yard does not matter, if only you are hatched(孵化) from a swan’s egg,” he once said．

The work brought Anderson world fame, but he remained a lonely man. He loved three women in his life but none of them loved him back and he never married. His friends were the people that paid for his work and not people he was particularly close to. “Just living is not enough…One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower,’’ he said.

Anderson died on August 4, l 875.

Anderson

91._______	Identity	Events	Time	97. ________	99. ______
Anderson	92. _______	working	after 1816	make a living	poor
	singer	perform	95. ________	be a singer	hard
93. _______	study	in 1828	98._______	well
writer	94. ______	96. ________	make children happy	100. ________

 

February has long been a month of romance. With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines.
On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine’s Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest(牧师) in the third century Rome. When the emperor (皇帝) decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn’t allow marriage.
But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death. While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today. Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint (圣徒), as well as becoming one of history’s most romantic characters.
Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is also popular among Chinese young people. Some students are planning to make Valentine’s cards for parents, teachers and friends. Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped cakes. The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St. Valentine.
【小题1】Why did the emperor in Rome not allow marriage in his country?

A．Because there were few women in his country at that time.

B．Because he thought men without wives could be better soldiers.

C．Because there wasn’t enough food for so many people.

D．Because he wanted to control the birth rate.

【小题2】Valentine was put into prison because ______.

A．he killed one of the soldiers

B．he stole a lot of food

C．he didn’t obey the emperor’s order

D．he didn’t want to be a soldier

【小题3】 The last paragraph mainly tells us ______.

A．students in China send cards to their teachers

B．it is a good idea to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China

C．it is interesting to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China

D．Valentine’s Day is also popular in China now

【小题4】What is the author’s feelings toward Valentine?.

A．Honor and respect.	B．Love and joy.
C．Praise and disbelief.	D．Sorrow and humor.

【小题5】Which of the following can NOT be inferred from the passage?

A．Valentine’s Day is a Festival in honor of a person.

B．Valentine is a brave priest who died for what he believed in.

C．All the young people in the 3rd Century could not get married freely.

D．People at that time in Rome lived in a hard time under the control of the emperor.

February has long been a month of romance. With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines.

     On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals(花瓣)! This is what you see on Valentine’s Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest（神父） in the third century Rome. When the emperor (皇帝) decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn’t allow marriage.

     But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies（仪式） for young lovers in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death. While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today. Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint (圣徒), as well as becoming one of history’s most romantic characters.

     Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is also popular among Chinese young people. Some students are planning to make Valentine’s cards for parents, teachers and friends. Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped cakes. The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St. Valentine.

1... Why did the emperor in Rome not allow marriage in his country?

     A. Because there were few women in his country at that time.

     B. Because he thought men without wives could be better soldiers.

     C. Because there wasn’t enough food for so many people.

     D. Because he wanted to control the birth rate.

2... Valentine was put into prison because ______.

     A. he killed one of the soldiers 

     B. he stole a lot of food

     C. he didn’t obey the emperor’s order   

     D. he didn’t want to be a soldier

3.. The last paragraph mainly tells us ______.

     A. students in China send cards to their teachers

     B. it is a good idea to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China

     C. it is interesting to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China

     D. Valentine’s Day is also popular in China now

4..The best title for this passage should be ______.

     A. Valentine’s Day                          B. A Brave Priest  

     C. Valentine’s Day in China               D. A Romantic Man

 

The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was enlisted in the World Heritage by the UNESCO in 1987. Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands and mountains, stretching about 6,700 kilometers from east to west of China. With a history of more than 2,000 years, some parts of the Great Wall are now in ruins or even entirely disappeared. However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions around the world.

No one can tell for sure when the building of the Great Wall was started, but it is popularly believed that it originated as a military fortification(要塞) against intrusion by tribes on the borders during the earlier Zhou Dynasty. Late in the Spring and Autumn Period, some states extended the defence work to prevent the attacks from other states.

It was not until the Qin Dynasty that the separate walls were connected to form a defensive system by Emperor Qin Shi Huang. After the emperor unified the country in 214 BC, he ordered the construction of the wall. It took about ten years to finish and the wall stretched from Gansu Province to Jilin Province. The wall not only served as a defence in the north but also symbolized the power of the emperor.

Further construction also experienced several dynasties. The present Great Wall in Beijing is mainly remains from the Ming Dynasty. Today, the Great Wall has become a must-see for every visitor to China. Few can help saying “Wow” when they stand on top of a beacon tower and look at this giant dragon. It has become a national pride of Chinese people.

The underlined word “appealing” probably means “______”.

A. huge   B. attractive   C. ordinary    D. moving

In the Qin Dynasty, ______.

A. the construction of the Great Wall was finished in 204 BC

B. the emperor wanted to invade other minor states

C. the defensive system of the Great Wall was separated

D. the Great Wall began its way from Jilin Province

According to the passage, the Great Wall _______.

A. is from the west to the east

B. is as long as 6,700 miles

C. was built in several dynasties

D. was begun in the Qin Dynasties

The best title for the passage probably is _______.

A. History of the Great Wall

B. Culture of the Great Wall

C. Construction of the Great Wall

D. Projection of the Great Wall