Many years ago, I pulled a family out of a burning car somewhere in Wyoming. Last week I received a telephone call from a woman who could not stop crying as she told me that one of my stories had saved her son from committing suicide. In closing she called me a hero.
That got me thinking about what a hero is. Was I a hero because I pulled a family from a burning car? If so, how could I be a hero just because I wrote a story that saved someone’s life?
Today I looked up the word “hero” in the dictionary to see exactly what it meant. It read “a person who does something brave” and also “a person who is good and noble”.
That statement impressed me more than the part about being brave. So I thought about something very important. And I remembered what happened to me years ago.
After my marriage of twenty years ended, I was in such a condition. I was within hours trying to get up enough courage to end the pain and misery. When I returned home, someone had sent me a card in the mail which told me how much they would appreciate me as a friend. That wonderful card probably saved my life. That person, without even knowing it, saved a life and became a hero.
The many stories I kept writing in the following years saved the life of a teenage boy. In turn that makes the person who sent me the card a double hero. I suppose that is why I fight so hard to help the children now living in orphanages (孤儿院). Most children come out of these institutions with a very hard and bitter attitude against the world. The gifts we send them let them know that they have not been forgotten. Hopefully, most of them will never hurt anyone because of the kindness shown to them by those of us who cared. If it works, we will also become "heroes".
【小题1】The main idea of the passage is _______________.

A．why the writer should be a hero	B．that everyone is a hero
C．whether the writer is a hero	D．what a hero exactly is

【小题2】Why did the woman call the writer a hero at the end of the call?

A．Because he asked her son not to kill himself.

B．Because he saved a family from a burning car.

C．Because his story saved her son’s life.

D．Because he was cute and kind to everybody.

【小题3】What does the underlined word “it” in the last sentence of Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．The fact that the sender helped the writer.

B．The action of sending the card.

C．The wonderful card the writer received.

D．The fact that the sender was a friend of the writer.

【小题4】According to the writer, who can be considered as a hero?

A．A person who is brave.

B．A person who helps someone in trouble.

C．A person who can hold a door for others.

D．A person who writes wonderful stories.

Once many years ago, I pulled a family out of a burning car somewhere in Wyoming. Last week I received a telephone call from a woman who could not stop crying as she told me that one of my stories had saved her son from committing suicide. In closing she called me a hero.
That got me thinking about what a hero is. Was I a hero because I pulled a family from a burning car? If so, how could I be a hero just because I wrote a story that saved someone’s life?
Today I looked up the word “hero” in the dictionary to see exactly what it meant. It read “a person who does something brave” and also “a person who is good and noble”.
That statement impressed me more than the part about being brave. So I thought about something very important. And I remembered what happened to me years ago.
After my marriage of twenty years ended, I was in such a condition. I was within hours trying to get up enough courage to end the pain and misery. When I returned home, someone had sent me a card in the mail which told me how much they would appreciate me as a friend. That wonderful card probably saved my life. That person, without even knowing it, saved a life and became a hero.
The many stories I kept writing in the following years saved the life of a teenage boy. In turn that makes the person who sent me the card a double hero. I suppose that is why I fight so hard to help the children now living in orphanages (孤儿院). Most children come out of these institutions with a very hard and bitter attitude against the world. The gifts we send them let them know that they have not been forgotten. Hopefully, most of them will never hurt anyone because of the kindness shown to them by those of us who cared. If it works, we will also become "heroes".
【小题1】The main idea of the passage is _______________.

A．why the writer should be a hero

B．whether the writer is a hero

C．what a hero exactly is

D．that everyone is a hero

【小题2】Why did the woman call the writer a hero at the end of the call?

A．Because he was cute and kind to everybody

B．Because he saved a family from a burning car.

C．Because he asked her son not to kill himself.

D．Because his story saved her son’s life.

【小题3】What does the underlined word “it” in the last sentence of Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．The wonderful card the writer received.

B．The action of sending the card.

C．The fact that the sender helped the writer.

D．The fact that the sender was a friend of the writer.

【小题4】According to the writer, who can be considered as a hero?

A．A person who helps someone in trouble.

B．A person who writes wonderful stories.

C．A person who can hold a door for others.

D．A person who is brave.

An Earthship is a home that is built of materials such as old tires and aluminum cans. It is the idea of a man named Michael Reynolds. Many Earthships are more or less self-sufficient because they provide their own heat, air and water. They often have gardens watered and fed by wastewater. They are comfortable and ecologically friendly.

 The main materials used in building Earthship is tires. Tires are plentiful and can’t be recycled like paper, plastic and metal. While building supplies for most houses can be very expensive, old used tires are free. First, the tires are packed tightly with dirt. Each full tire weighs as much as 400 pounds. The tires are then loaded like bricks. The walls are extremely strong. They also help keep a leveled temperature in the house (between 60 and 70 degrees) without heating and cooling systems.

The walls inside the Earthship are made of aluminum cans that are held together by cement. Then they are coated with adobe (专坯) or stucco (灰墁).

The roofs of Earthship are sloped so that rain and snow run into large tanks. These tanks hold all the water for the house, and pumps push the water through the pipes. Sometimes, water flows in certain areas of the house as waterfalls! Water that has been used is pumped out into the gardens where owners grow much of their own food.

In most of these houses, the southern side has huge windows that take in winter sunlight as a source of heat. Summer sun does not come in through the south windows, so it doesn’t get too hot in the summer. The house also has solar panels(太阳板) that gather energy for lights and hot water and cooking. The Earthship have all the comforts of a regular house without the high cost of electric bills!

In a time when we are running out of energy resources, pollution is bad, and waste is piling up, Earthships are the best places to live in. For people who truly care about the environment, Earthship provides a great alternative to traditional houses. You won’t be giving up any comforts, and the styles are attractive. We all hope that more and more people will build Earthships and take a huge step toward helping the environment and saving our planet.

1．What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Earthships are a good way to live and protect the environment.

       B．Tanks hold water collected from rain and snow.

C．It’s important to grow your own food in a vegetable garden.

       D．People who live in Earthships usually live in the desert.

2．What does the underlined word “They” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

       A．Earthships          B．Tires                 C．Bricks               D．Walls

3．Which of the following sentences states an opinion rather than a fact?

       A．Earthships are made out of tires and cans 

       B．Tanks collect water for use in Earthships

       C．Earthships can help save our planet  

       D．Tires can’t be recycled but bottles and paper can

4．Which evidence best supports the idea that Earthships are environmentally friendly?

       A．They were invented by Michael Reynolds.

       B．Water that has been used is pumped out into the garden.

       C．Summer sun does not come in through the south windows.

       D．This kind of house is becoming a reality.

5．Which statement is an example of propaganda（宣传）？

       A．The house also has solar panels that gather energy for lights and hot water.

       B．Earthships provide a great advantage over traditional houses.

       C．The walls are then coated with adobe or stucco.

       D．The construction of houses made of recycled materials has been growing.

阅读下面的短文，并根据短文后的要求答题。（请注意问题后的字数要求）

［1］Many facts suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the doctors．I feel there are a number of reasons for this．

［2］ Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded （包围） by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods, such as fried chicken and ice cream, at low prices. This has turned out a whole generation of grown-ups who seldom cook a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children would buy less take-away food．

［3］There is another argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight． I agree with this, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops． If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout their lives．

［4］There is a third reason for this situation．Children these days　 _______________．They do not walk to school．When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer games． Not only is this an unhealthy pastime（消遣）, it also gives them time to eat more unhealthy food．What they need is to go outside and play active games or sports．

［5］The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits．

1.What is the passage mainly about?(no more than 10 words)

___________________________________________________________________　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

2.What advice did the author give overweight children?(no more than 10 words)

___________________________________________________________________

3.Fill in the blank in the passage with proper words or phrases.(no more than 10 words)

___________________________________________________________________　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

4.In your opinion, which measure is the most effective one that can prevent children from being overweight ? Why? (no more than 30 words)

___________________________________________________________________　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

5.What does the underlined word “them” ( Paragraph 5) probably refer to? (no more than 3 words)

___________________________________________________________________

What would you think if someone suggested knocking down St Paul’s Cathedral to widen the road? Or pulling down Big Ben to make way for a car park? It would be ridiculous, right? But when it comes to devastation (毁灭) of the natural world, we aren’t so easily shocked. But we should be…or we’ll be in a lot of trouble.
Nature is shrinking by the day. Ancient forests are destroyed. Wetlands are becoming dry. Woodland is disappearing, and all in the name of progress. This is bad in itself, but it’s devastating for biodiversity.
Biodiversity refers to the variety of plants, animals and other living things that are all interconnected. The ecological services provided by biodiversity are vital to everyday life. The air we breathe is a product of photosynthesis (光合作用) by green plants. Insects, worms and bacteria break down waste and make soils rich. And tiny organisms clean the water in rivers and sea. In fact, all life on the earth exists thanks to the benefits of biodiversity. More than 90 percent of the calories consumed by people worldwide are produced from 80 plant species. And 30 percent of medicines are developed from plants and animals. Maintaining a wide diversity of species in each ecosystem is necessary to preserve all living things.
The loss of biodiversity could be devastating. “It is wrong to think that biodiversity can be reduced indefinitely without threatening humans,” said Harvard University biologist Edward O. Wilson, known as the “father of biodiversity”. He warned, “We are about to reach a critical point beyond which biodiversity loss will become irreversible (不可挽回的).”
But what can we do? The present problem is that the concept of biodiversity is so vague (含糊的). People might care about giant pandas, but it is much harder to excite them about the fate of tiny sea creatures which are being boiled to death in the cooling systems of power stations along coastlines. The Guardian newspaper is trying to help. It has launched the Biodiversity 100 campaign to try to convince governments around the world to take action to deal with the widespread concerns about biodiversity. This includes persuading the UK government to create a series of marine reserves to reserve the decrease in the sea-life caused by industrial fishing, stopping fishing sharks by the Japanese fishermen and banning the killing of dingoes (wild dogs) in Australia, among many other things.
There is a lot to do. And we’d better act quickly if we don’t want to end up with a planet that can’t sustain life!
【小题1】The writer thinks it ________ to pull down Big Ben to make way for a car park.

A．unreasonable

B．necessary

C．difficult

D．reasonable

【小题2】The underlined sentence “Nature is shrinking by the day.” means that ________.

A．nature is badly polluted by humans

B．species are becoming fewer and fewer day by day

C．rainforests are being cut down every day

D．nature is full of mysteries

【小题3】Edward O. Wilson thinks that ________.

A．it doesn’t matter to reduce biodiversity

B．people have done enough to preserve biodiversity

C．the situation of biodiversity is very serious

D．biodiversity loss has become irreversible

【小题4】When it comes to biodiversity, the present problem is that ________.

A．people might not clearly know what is biodiversity and what should be protected

B．people are not aware that giant pandas are endangered

C．people don’t realize that biodiversity is vital to everyday life

D．people hunt sea creatures for food

【小题5】What does the underlined word “It” in paragraph 5 refer to?

A．The UK government.	B．The concept of biodiversity.
C．The action to deal with the problem.	D．The Guardian newspaper.