阅读下列短文，从所给的四个选项中，选出最佳答案

　The dodo was a large bird that you might not think was a bird at all, for the dodo could not fly ．It was a member of the chicken family．The bird was discovered by European sailors in 1570 on Mauritius（毛里求斯）Island．

　When the sailors talked about the strange bird that could not fly, you can imagine people found it hard to believe their story．The Europeans who settled on Mauritius Island and the pigs they brought with them found the birds very good to eat．So large number of dodoes were killed and by 1681 no living dodoes were found on the island．A few dodoes were brought to England in the 17th century, but for 200 years none have been seen alive．This is the reason for the phrase “as dead as a dodo”．Because they died out completely, the dodoes became very well-known．

(1)The writer tells us the dodo ________ ．

[　　]

A．existed between 1570 and 1681

B．has existed since 1507

C．doesn't exist now

D．may have existed

(2)What was so unusual about dodo as a bird?

[　　]

A．They looked like birds but couldn't fly．

B．They lived longer than other birds．

C．They were very good to eat．

D．They were all killed．

(3)Dodoes are no longer seen on Mauritius Island because they ________ ．

[　　]

A．were killed by pigs

B．were all taken to England

C．have been driven away by the settlers

D．have all been killed for food

(4)The phrase “as dead as a dodo”is sometimes used to describe something that ________．

[　　]

A．cannot protect itself from being eaten

B．cannot fly or move fast

C．no longer exists

D．is sure to die

(5)According to the second paragraph, whose story did people find it hard to believe?

[　　]

A．The Europeans'．　　　B．The dodoes'．

C．The settlers'．　　　　 D．The sailors'．

语篇理解

　　The dodo was a large bird that you might not think was a bird at all, for the dodo could not fly. It was a member of the chicken family. The bird was discovered by European sailors in 1507 on Mauritius(毛里求斯) Island.

　　When the sailors talked about the strange bird that could not fly, you can imagine people found it hard to believe their story. The Europeans who settled on Mauritius Island and the pigs they brought with them found the birds very good to eat. So large numbers of dodoes were killed and by 1681 no living dodoes were found on the island. A few dodoes were brought to England in the 17^th century, but for 200years none have been seen alive. This is the reason for the phrase “as dead as a dodo”. Because they died out completely, the dodoes became very well-known.

1．The writers tell us that the dodo ______.

[　　]

A．existed between 1507 and 1681

B．has existed since 1507

C．doesn't exist now

D．may have existed

2．What was so unusual about dodoes as a bird?

[　　]

A．They look like birds but couldn't fly.

B．They lived longer than other birds.

C．They were very good to eat.

D．They were all killed.

3．Dodoes are no longer seen on Mauritius Island because they ______.

[　　]

A．were jukked by pigs

B．were all taken to England

C．have been driven away by the settlers

D．have all been killed for food

4．The phrase “as dead as a dodo”is sometimes used to describe（描述）something that ______.

[　　]

A．cannot protect itself from being eaten

B．cannot fly or move fast

C．no longer exists

D．is sure to die

5．From the second paragraph, whose story did people find it hard to believe?

[　　]

A．The Europeans'.

B．The dodoes'.

C．The dcdoes'.

D．The sailors'.

第二节：完形填空(共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分)

    阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21—40各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。

     I will never forget the year I was about twelve years old. My mother told us that we would not be   21   Christmas gifts because there was not enough money. I felt sad and thought, "What would I say when the other kids asked what I'd   22   ?" Just when I started to   23  that there would not be a Christmas that year, three women  24   at our house with gifts for all of us. For me they brought a doll. I felt such a sense of  25   that I would no longer have to be embarrassed when I returned to school. I wasn't   26  . Somebody had thought   27   of me to bring me a gift.

     Years later, when I stood in the kitchen of my new house, thinking how I wanted to make my   28   Christmas there special and memorable, I   29   remembered the women's visit. I decided that I wanted to create that same feeling of   30   for as many children as I could possibly reach.

     So I   31   a plan and gathered forty people from my company to help. We gathered about 125 orphans (孤儿) at the Christmas party. For every child, we wrapped colorful packages filled with toys, clothes, and school supplies,   32   with a child's name. We wanted all of them to know they were.  33  . Before I called out their names and handed them their gifts, I   34   them that they couldn't open their presents   35   every child had come forward. Finally the   36   they had been waiting for came as I called out, "One, two, three. Open your presents!" As the children opened their packages, their faces beamed and their bright smiles   37   up the room. The   38   in the room was obvious, and   39   wasn't just about toys. It was a feeling — the feeling I knew   40   that Christmas so long ago when the women came to visit. I wasn't forgotten. Somebody thought of me. I matter.

21. A. sending          B. receiving          C. making            D. exchanging

22. A. found           B. prepared           C. got               D. expected

23. A. doubt           B. hope              C. suggest            D. accept

24. A. broke in         B. settled down        C. turned up          D. showed off

25. A. relief           B. loss               C. achievement        D. justice

26. A. blamed         B. loved              C. forgotten           D. affected

27. A. highly          B. little               C. poorly             D. enough

28. A. present         B. first                C.. recent            D. previous

29. A. hardly          B. instantly            C. regularly          D. occasionally

30. A. strength        B. independence         C. importance        D. safety

31. A. kept up with     B. caught up with       C. came up with       D. put up with

32. A. none           B. few                C. some              D. each

33. A. fine            B. special              C. helpful            D. normal

34. A. reminded       B. guaranteed           C. convinced          D. promised

35. A. after           B. until                C. when              D. since

36. A. chance         B. gift                 C. moment            D. reward

37. A. lit             B. took                C. burned             D. cheered

38. A. atmosphere      B. sympathy           C. calmness           D. joy

39. A. it              B. such               C. something          D. everybody

40. A. by             B. till                 C. for                D. from

Brazil has become one. of the developing world’s great successes at reducing population growth but more by accident than design. While countries such as India have made joint ef??forts to reduce birth rates, Brazil had better results without re??ally trying, says George Martine at Harvard.

Brazil’s population growth rate dropped from 2. 99% a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1. 93% a year between 198 land 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2. 7 chil??dren on average. Martine says this figure may have fallen still further since 1990, an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.

Martine puts it down to, among other things, soap operas (肥皂剧) and installment (分期付款) plans introduced in the 1970s. Both played an important, although indirect, role in low??ering the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world’s biggest produc??ers of soap operas. Globo, Brazil’s most popular television net??work, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at least one hour a night. Most soaps are based on wealthy characters living the high life in big cities.

Although they have never really tried to work in a mes??sage towards the problems of reproduction, they describe mid??dle and upper class values: not many children, women work??ing, says Martine. They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people conscious (有意识的) of other patterns of behaviour and other values, which were put into a very attrac??tive package.

Meanwhile, the installment plans tried to encourage the poor to become consumers. " This led to an enormous change in consumption (消费) patterns and consumption was incom??patible (不相容的) with unlimited reproduction," says Mar??tine.

9. According to the passage, Brazil has lowered its population growth ________.

A. by educating its citizens                B. by careful family planning

C. by developing TV programmes                     D. by chance

10. According to the passage, many Third World countries

A. haven’t given much attention to birth control

B. would soon join Brazil in controlling their birth rate

C. haven’t yet found an effective measure to control their population

D. haven’t realized the importance of TV plays in family planning

11. Soap operas have helped in lowering Brazil’s birth rate be??cause ________.

A. they keep people sitting long hours watching TV

B. they have gradually changed people’s way of life

C. people are drawn to their attractive package

D. they popularize birth control measures

12. What is Martine’s conclusion about Brazil’s population growth?

A. The increase in birth rate will increase consumption.

B. The desire for consumption helps to reduce birth rate.

C. Consumption goes with reproduction.

D. A country ‘s production is limited by its population growth.

I think they failed to accomplish the task, ______?

    A．do I        B．don't I    C．did they      D．didn't they