Zhalong is a nature reserve in Heilongjiang in north-east China. It is one of the world’s most important wetlands. The reserve covers an area of 210,000 hectares. The area provides food and shelter for wildlife. It is an ideal home for different kinds of plants, fish and birds.

Many birds live comfortably in Zhalong Nature Reserve all year round, while some only stay there for a short time. There are many fish in the wetlands, and the birds can easily catch them for food. Zhalong has long been called “the home of the crane”. There are 15 crane species (物种) in the world. 8 of them are in China and there are 6 species in Zhalong area. It is an important living area for the rare red-crowned cranes. There are not many red-crowned cranes in the world. Every spring and summer, red-crowned cranes lay and hatch (孵化) their eggs in Zhalong.

Some people want to change the wetlands to make more space for farms and buildings. This means there will be less and less space for wildlife. More and more birds are in danger because they do not have enough living space. Many of them died. The Chinese government wants to protect these endangered birds, and they can be safe in Zhalong.

Every year, a lot of tourists go to Zhalong to watch birds. This year, members of our Bird-watching Club are going to study the different kinds of birds in Zhalong and the changes in their numbers. The study begins next month.

We _______ once a year. We are now inviting secondary school students to help. We need more people to help us count and do something to help the birds.

Many people do not understand the importance of the wetlands. We hope this information will help them understand and make them actively take action to protect wildlife.

1. What does the underlined word “ideal” mean?

   A. Perfect.          B. Dangerous.       C. Crowded.     D. Expensive.

2. What can we learn from the second paragraph?

   A. All birds stay in Zhalong Nature Reserve all year round.

   B. There are eight species of red-crowned cranes in Zhalong.

   C. The number of the world’s red-crowned cranes is small.

   D. Every winter red-crowned cranes hatch eggs in Zhalong.

3.Which of the following can we choose for the blank (空白) in the fifth paragraph?

   A. go birdwatching   B. do a bird count  C. go bird-hunting  D. hold a bird show

4.The purpose of the article is to _______.

   A. attract more visitors to pay a visit to Zhalong Nature Reserve

   B. ask people to take action to protect wetlands and wildlife

   C. prevent people from watching birds in Zhalong Nature Reserve

   D. make people around the world know the Birdwatchting Club

 

University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world and it’s one of the top universities in the world. There is no clear date when the university started, but teaching began at Oxford in some forms in 1096 and developed quickly from 1167.

There are 39 independent（独立的）colleges at Oxford, attracting students and learned men from across the world. There are over 100 libraries for the students and learned men to use. At University of Oxford, they also provide a number of money for the best students. Of course, if you want to study here, first you have to reach a certain level of English language.

College life at Oxford is very exciting but busy. The groups of college provide a friendly and welcoming home for students while the colleges are strict with students about their studies. Many Chinese students are studying here. The number of Chinese students at the university has grown quickly over the past 10 years.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。

1.How many libraries are there at Oxford?

A. Only 100             B. less than 100             C. More than 100

2.University of Oxford will provide a number of money for _______students.

A. most                 B. top                      C. foreign

3.If you want to study at Oxford, you first have to__________.

A. be independent       B. pass an English test         C. move to England

4.The number of Chinese students studying at the university is __________.

A. larger and larger                   

B. smaller and smaller     

C. just the same as ten years ago

5.What’s the best title for the passage?

A. The College Life                

B. The University of Oxford  

C. The Chinese Students at Oxford  

 

 

Dear Alice,

    I just received your letter. And I was very surprised to know that you decided to drop out of school and wanted to be a model （模特）.

    Being a model for a living is not easy. In fact, a famous person like me has a lot of problems that you couldn't see. I can't eat what I like, even though I'm very hungry. Keeping thin makes me look more beautiful on the stage because no one would like to see a heavy model.

    Besides, I have to wear a heavy coat in the hot sun, in a swimming suit in the cold air. And practicing walking nicely every day is tiring for me.

    You might say I made much money from modeling. Bus my dear niece （侄女）, you have to know that money is, nothing, knowledge is everything. School is important and everyone should go to school for a certain period of time. The longer they stay at school, the better they will be. Very often, I hope I can give up my job and continue my studies at school. But it is very difficult for me to go back to school again. I am too old to go back to school now.

    You are a pretty young girl with a bright future. You only have one year to finish your studies in high school. A year is really short. Please do consider my words carefully before you decide. Of course, there is only one thing I care about, and that is your happiness.

    Love,

    Emma

1.What was Emma surprised about?

    A．Alice wanted to keep thin.

    B．Alice decided not to do modeling.

    C．Alice ate too much and became a heavy girl.

    D．Alice decided not to finish her studies at school.

2.Emma can't go back to school again, because ________

    A．she is tired of being a student

    B．she wants to make more money from modeling

    C．she is so old that she has missed the best time in school

    D．she has done a good job and makes a lot of money as a model

3.How long does Alice still have to study in high school?

    A．One year.                                            B．Two years.

    C．Three years.                                         D．The longer, the better.

4.Emma only cares about________

    A．Alice's beauty                                           B．Alice's happiness

C．Alice's age                                       D．Alice's swimming suit

5.From the letter we know that __________

    A．Emma is a famous model

    B．Emma likes being a model for a living

    C．Alice will go on her studies in high school

D．Emma can eat what she likes when she is very hungry

 

Take a look at teenagers around, dressed in baggy-pants (宽松裤), drinking soft drinks such as coke, reading Japanese cartoons. Whether you are in Beijing, Wuhan or Hong Kong, you will get the same impression. But should we copy others or should we maintain (保留) our differences?

It sounds convenient that people around the world speak the same language, dress in the same style, eat the same food and play the same games. If the world was like this, you won’t feel strange in any corner of world. But just imagine living in such a strange world. How dull and colorless it would be!

Different kinds of food that people can taste, the colorful and fashionable clothes that we dress in and different languages we speak are all part of the different cultures that our ancestors left us. These differences represent their creativity (创造力) and talent. And we all enjoy different cultures in our daily lives. When you travel to other places, you want to see different things. When you talk to foreigners you expect to listen to interesting stories. These differences in culture are what make life colorful.

But the whole world is shrinking into a small village as globalization (全球化) takes effect and many different cultures are disappearing. In most big cities around the world people wear the same clothes. Fast food stores are everywhere. Hollywood movies are kicking traditional performing arts out of our lives. The colors of our life are disappearing.

There is joke that even the panda and zebra want to live a colorful life. So let’s take action to protect our colorful culture before it becomes as simple as black and white.

It’s not difficult. Learning some folk songs, trying on a traditional clothing and even eating local food instead of going to KFC can help. And we’re sure you will enjoy it.

1.The passage is written to _______.

A．explain cultural differences               B．convince readers to maintain cultural differences

C．predict the future of globalization           D．show some cultural phenomena(现象)

2.The author thinks that cultural differences _______.

A．make the world colorful                  B．make communication difficult

C．only exist in food and clothing              D．will never fade away

3.The author starts the argument by ________.

A．mentioning certain cultural phenomena

B．mentioning his view at the very beginning

C．mentioning the opposite view at the very beginning

D．giving examples of cultural differences

4.The underlined word “shrink” probably means “_______”.

A．expand           B．disappear         C．become smaller     D．grow in number

5.The author talks of all the following cultural phenomena except _______.

A．food             B．clothing           C．language          D．architecture

 

New York is one of the last large American cities to have some of its policemen on horseback. The New York police have 170 horses working in certain parts of the city. The horses are expensive to feed, but it is even more expensive to look after them. Because the horses must walk on the streets, they need special horseshoes. In fact , they need more than 8,000 of them each year. Every police horse in New York gets new shoes every month. Keeping these shoes in good repair is the job of six blacksmiths. There are only about thirty-five of these blacksmiths in the whole United States.
The cost of shoing a horse is between twenty dollars and thirty-five dollars, and it takes a good blacksmith two or three hours to do the job.
A blacksmith’s job is not an easy one. He must be able to shape a shoe from a piece of metal and then fit it to the horse’s foot. The blacksmith must bend over all the time when he is fitting the shoe and must hold the weight of the horse’s leg while he works. Clearly, a blacksmith must be very storng. But even more important, he must be able to deal with horses---for before the blacksmith can begin his work, he has to get the horse to lift its leg.
One of the blacksmiths in New York is James Corbin. He came to the country from Ireland in 1948. He not only makes horseshoes for the police but also works for a group of horse owners near the city. Corbin became interested in blacksmithing because his father did it, and,as the puts it, “It’s a good way to make a living.”
【小题1】According to the reading passage, a blacksmith must be likely a______ man.

A．clever

B．rich

C．strong

D．lucky

【小题2】James Corbin became a blacksmith because he__________.

A．was interested in horses	B．was needed by the policemen
C．drew a picture of the horseshoe	D．had a make a living

【小题3】In the reading passage “to shape a shoe” is to__________.

A．fit it on the horse’s foot

B．use it for two or three hours

C．make the from of a horseshoe from a piece of metal

D．draw a picture of the shoe

【小题4】The best title for the passage is “__________”.

A．Policemen on Horseback	B．Blacksmiths and Horseshoeing
C．James Corbin, a Blacksmith	D．Horseshoeing is a Good Way to Make a Living

【小题5】Which of the following is true?

A．Only a few large American cities have some policemen on horseback.

B．New York is the only city in America to have some policemen on horseback.

C．Policemen on horseback enjoy travelling around the United States.

D．Policemen on horseback are less expensive than those in cars.