The huge Florida wetland known as the Everglades is a slow-moving river 80 kilometres wide but only a few centimeters deep. People call the Everglades a “river of grass” because sawgrass covers most of it. Sawgrass is not really grass. It is a plant that has leaves edged with tiny sharp teeth that can easily cut through clothes—and skin!

Travel in the Everglades is difficult. You cannot walk through shallow water because the sawgrass will cut you. The water is too shallow for regular boats. So, we use an airboat. An airboat is a flat, open boat. Like an airplane, it has a big propeller to move it. The propeller is fixed on the rear of the boat. It makes a tremendous noise, but it does the job. The boat skims along the water’s surface. Although we can still get lost in an airboat, at least we are above the alligators(短吻鳄).

While hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the Everglades, the most famous is surely the alligator. Once endangered, alligators are now protected within Everglades National Park. Visitors are likely to see them both on land and in water.

For a long time, dangers have threatened the Everglades. Around 1900, some people felt this precious wetland should be drained (排干). They said it was just a big swamp and not good for anything. In the 1920s, there was a land boom in Florida. People wanted to build homes everywhere, including in the Everglades. They built canals, levees (防洪堤) , and other water systems that stopped the rivers flowing into the Everglades. Factories were built near rivers that flowed into the wetland. These factories dumped poisonous waste that damaged the Everglades ecosystem.

? People are now working to preserve the Everglades National Park for the future. Right now, one big problem is the paperbark tree. This tree is an invader from Australia.

Paperbark trees soak up a lot of water. In the early 1900s, people brought them to Florida because they thought they would help drain the Everglades. However, the invaders adapted too well. Paperbark trees have taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of the Everglades and killed other trees. Scientists are cutting down these invaders or spraying them with herbicides (除草剂) to kill them. ?

1.Which helps to explain why it is difficult to travel in Everglades?

2.Why do people use airboats instead of normal boats?

3.The following measures were taken to drain the Everglades except that people______. ?

4.The underlined word "invader" probably means something______. ?

The huge Florida wetland known as the Everglades is a slow-moving river 80 kilometres wide but only a few centimeters deep. People call the Everglades a “river of grass” because sawgrass covers most of it. Sawgrass is not really grass. It is a plant that has leaves edged with tiny sharp teeth that can easily cut through clothes—and skin!

Travel in the Everglades is difficult. You cannot walk through shallow water because the sawgrass will cut you. The water is too shallow for regular boats. So, we use an airboat. An airboat is a flat, open boat. Like an airplane, it has a big propeller to move it. The propeller is fixed on the rear of the boat. It makes a tremendous noise, but it does the job. The boat skims along the water’s surface. Although we can still get lost in an airboat, at least we are above the alligators(短吻鳄).

While hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the Everglades, the most famous is surely the alligator. Once endangered, alligators are now protected within Everglades National Park. Visitors are likely to see them both on land and in water.

For a long time, dangers have threatened the Everglades. Around 1900, some people felt this precious wetland should be drained (排干). They said it was just a big swamp and not good for anything. In the 1920s, there was a land boom in Florida. People wanted to build homes everywhere, including in the Everglades. They built canals, levees (防洪堤), and other water systems that stopped the rivers flowing into the Everglades. Factories were built near rivers that flowed into the wetland. These factories dumped poisonous waste that damaged the Everglades ecosystem.

?People are now working to preserve the Everglades National Park for the future. Right now, one big problem is the paperbark tree. This tree is an invader from Australia.

Paperbark trees soak up a lot of water. In the early 1900s, people brought them to Florida because they thought they would help drain the Everglades. However, the invaders adapted too well. Paperbark trees have taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of the Everglades and killed other trees. Scientists are cutting down these invaders or spraying them with herbicides (除草剂) to kill them.

1.Which helps to explain why it is difficult to travel in Everglades?

A．Airboats may make a very big noise.

B．You may get lost when passing through.

C．Paperbark trees soak up too much water there.

D．Many different kinds of animals are to be protected.

2.Why do people use airboats instead of normal boats?

A．They have big propellers to move them faster than alligators.

B．The propeller makes loud noise so as to scare alligators.

C．Their flat bottom can skim along the water surface.

D．They can watch alligators without hurting them.

3.The following measures were taken to drain the Everglades except that people______.

A．built canals and levees to stop the rivers flowing into Everglades

B．built factories near rivers that flowed into the wetland

C．brought Paperbark to soak up water in Everglades

D．are cutting down these Paperbark trees?

4.The underlined word "invader" probably means something______.

A．that moves in from another place

B．that enters and takes control

C．that has been brought in

D．that is in danger

Claude and Louris are “giraffes”.So are police officers Hankins and Pearson.These men and women don’t look like giraffes；they look like you and me.Then，why do people call them “giraffes”？

　 A giraffe，they say，is an animal that sticks its necks out，can see places far away and has a large heart.It lives a quiet life and moves about in an easy and beautiful way.In the same way，a “giraffe” can be a person who likes to “stick his or her neck out” for other people，always watches for future happenings，has a warm heart for people around，and at the same time lives a quiet and beautiful life himself or herself.

　 “The Giraffe Project” is a 10?year?old group which finds and honors “giraffes” in the US and in the world.The group wants to teach people to do something to build a better world.The group members believe that a person shouldn’t draw his or her head back；instead，they tell people to “stick their necks out” and help others.Claude and Louris，Hankins and Pearson are only a few of the nearly 1,000 “giraffes” that the group found and honored.

　 Claude and Louris were getting old and they left their work with some money that they saved for future use.One day，however，they saw a homeless man looking for a place to keep warm and they decided that they should “stick their necks out” and give him some help.Today，they lived in Friends’ House，where they invite twelve homeless people to stay every night.

　 Police officers Hankins and Pearson work in a large city.They see crimes every day and their work is sometimes dangerous.They work hard for their money.However，these two men put their savings together and even borrowed money to start an educational center to teach young people in a poor part of the city.Hankins and Pearson are certainly “giraffes”.

1.Which of the following is true?

　 A.Some of the people around us look like giraffes.

　 B.Giraffes are the most beautiful animal in the world.

　 C.“Giraffes” is a beautiful name for those who are ready to help other people.

　 D.A “giraffe” is someone who can stick his neck out and see the future.

2.“The Giraffe Project” is a group 　　　　.

　 A.of police officers　　　　　　　 B.which appeared ten years ago

　 C.of ten?year?old children　　　　 D.which takes care of children

3.People call Claude and Hankins “giraffes” because they 　　　　.

　 A.do what is needed for a good world

　 B.are not afraid of dangerous work

　 C.found a home for some homeless people

　 D.made money only for other people

4.What does “The Giraffe Project” do?

　 A.It tells people how to live a quiet life.

　 B.It helps the homeless and teaches the young people.

　 C.It tries to find 1,000 warm?hearted people in the US.

　 D.It shows people what their duty is for a better world.

5.The passage mainly tries to tell us 　　　　.

　 A.what giraffes are like

　 B.what the Giraffe Project is

　 C.why Claude，Louris，Hankins and Pearson are called “giraffes”

　 D.what we should do for a better world