第二部分　阅读理解 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
A
Residents along Australia’s east coast awoke in the morning to an orange sky as winds swept millions of tons of red dust from the country’s inland and dumped it on Sydney．
Tanya Ferguson，living in Sydney，saw that the room was completely orange．She thought there was a bush fire．But when she went outside，the entire city was covered in a film of orange dust．
“It was like being in the outback(澳大利亚内陆)，but it was right here in the city，”she said On that day，a big dust storm swept through Sydney．It covered the city in orange dust for about eight hours，making landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge invisible．
The storm affected the transportation system．Flights were delayed．Roads were busy as drivers struggled in the difficult conditions．Children and the elderly were told to stay indoors until the dust had cleared．Later strong winds blew it out to the sea and up the coast．
No one was hurt in the storm，though health officials answered hundreds of calls from
people with breathing difficulties．Emergency services responded to hundreds of calls about
tree branches brought down by strong winds．
Dust storms are common in the Australian outback，where the land is arid(贫瘠的)．But the storms rarely reach the coastal regions．
Officials said it was the worst dust storm of the past 70 years．Air pollution levels were
15，500 micrograms of pollutants per cubic meter．
“On a clear day the pollutants are around 10—20 micrograms per cubic meter，”said Chris
Eiser of the NSW department of the environment．
Experts said that dry conditions in the outback and strong winds caused the sandstorm．
“Ten very dry years over inland southern Australia and very strong winds have combined to produce the storm，”said Nigel Tapper，an environmental scientist at Monash University， Australia．
56．The article is about            ．
A．the causes of the major dust storm in Australian cities
B．different reactions to a dust storm in Australia
C．the damage caused by the big dust storm in Australia
D．the worst dust storm in Australia in the past 70 years
57．Which of the following is TRUE?
A．The dust storm didn’t blow up to the coastal regions of Australia．
B．The level of air pollution was very high due to the dust storm．
C．People called the emergency service because they had got lost．
D．Children stayed indoors for the schooling had been cancelled．
58．From the passage we can see that              ．
A．Tanya Ferguson lives in the Australian outback at the moment
B．a bush fire may have brought the orange dust along the coast
C．this terrible sandstorm lasted about 24 hours after it hit the city
D．Sydney’s landmarks were out of sight when the storm happened
59．The tone of the article is               ．
A．worried              B．sympathetic                C．objective         D．Angry

第二部分　阅读理解 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)

A

   Residents along Australia’s east coast awoke in the morning to an orange sky as winds swept millions of tons of red dust from the country’s inland and dumped it on Sydney．

    Tanya Ferguson，living in Sydney，saw that the room was completely orange．She thought there was a bush fire．But when she went outside，the entire city was covered in a film of orange dust．

  “It was like being in the outback(澳大利亚内陆)，but it was right here in the city，”she said On that day，a big dust storm swept through Sydney．It covered the city in orange dust for about eight hours，making landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge invisible．

    The storm affected the transportation system．Flights were delayed．Roads were busy as drivers struggled in the difficult conditions．Children and the elderly were told to stay indoors until the dust had cleared．Later strong winds blew it out to the sea and up the coast．

      No one was hurt in the storm，though health officials answered hundreds of calls from

people with breathing difficulties．Emergency services responded to hundreds of calls about

tree branches brought down by strong winds．

    Dust storms are common in the Australian outback，where the land is arid(贫瘠的)．But the storms rarely reach the coastal regions．

Officials said it was the worst dust storm of the past 70 years．Air pollution levels were

15，500 micrograms of pollutants per cubic meter．

  “On a clear day the pollutants are around 10—20 micrograms per cubic meter，”said Chris

Eiser of the NSW department of the environment．

    Experts said that dry conditions in the outback and strong winds caused the sandstorm．

    “Ten very dry years over inland southern Australia and very strong winds have combined to produce the storm，”said Nigel Tapper，an environmental scientist at Monash University， Australia．

56．The article is about             ．

      A．the causes of the major dust storm in Australian cities

      B．different reactions to a dust storm in Australia

      C．the damage caused by the big dust storm in Australia

      D．the worst dust storm in Australia in the past 70 years

57．Which of the following is TRUE?

      A．The dust storm didn’t blow up to the coastal regions of Australia．

      B．The level of air pollution was very high due to the dust storm．

      C．People called the emergency service because they had got lost．

      D．Children stayed indoors for the schooling had been cancelled．

58．From the passage we can see that               ．

      A．Tanya Ferguson lives in the Australian outback at the moment

      B．a bush fire may have brought the orange dust along the coast

      C．this terrible sandstorm lasted about 24 hours after it hit the city

      D．Sydney’s landmarks were out of sight when the storm happened

59．The tone of the article is                ．

      A．worried               B．sympathetic                 C．objective        D．Angry

Her name may be 501, but she’s more than just a number. The lovely sea otter(水獭) is the star of Otter 501, a new film from Sea Studios Foundation.

Otter 501 was just a few days old when she lost her parents in June 2010. Washed onto a beach along California’s Big Sur coast, the pup(幼崽) could have died. Instead, she got a second chance at life after being taken to an aquarium(水族馆). There she learned from an adoptive otter mom how to be an otter. In the film, it’s Katie Pofahl who finds the troubled pup on the shore. Through the young volunteer’s eyes, we follow 501’s journey from the day of her rescue to her release into the wild in Elkhorn Slough. But while the fluffy star’s story has a happy ending, the film reminds us of the threats that remain against California’s sea otters.

Mark Shelley is the executive director of Sea Studios and producer of Otter 501. He hopes the movie will encourage more young people to get involved in protecting the otter’s ocean habitat. Time For Kids (TFK) spoke with Shelley and Pofahl about sharing the otter’s tale.

TFK:      How much of the film is fact, and how much is fiction?

Shelley:   The story of 501 and the explanation of the natural history of the sea otter are fact. But we needed a good storyteller to tell the story. That’s where Katie Pofahl’s character came in. Katie’s story in the film is partly fictionalized. She is a trained biologist from the Midwest who moved out here, like her character, so all that is true. She wasn’t really a volunteer at the aquarium, but she did go through the training for the film.

Pofahl:    I was one of the last people to get involved in the project. Mark and Sea Studios put out a casting call for a marine biologist. I responded with a little video, and the team liked it. So, I was brought on to help tell 501’s story.

TFK:       What did you learn about otters during filming that you didn’t know before?

Pofahl:    I’m a zoologist, and I love studying animals. I came onto this project thinking that I knew almost everything there was to know about otters. But I learned some things. Otters keep busy because they live in such cold waters. Unlike other marine mammals, they do not have blubber(鲸油，鲸脂) to keep warm. So, they are constantly moving and eating. And they are a keystone(基本的) species, which means they help to structure the environment they live in. There are endless things to learn. That’s what I love about this job.

TFK:       What do you hope people will take away from the film?

Pofahl:    We have an amazing opportunity to help people become aware of how they impact the world. People will watch the movie to see this lovely otter, but it can also be an entry point into conservation. We want to show people that these animals are amazing and that they are at risk and that they are worth protecting. We also want to show people, especially young women, anyone can get involved in science. It’s been an amazing experience for me.

59. We can conclude from the text that sea otters ________.

A. prefer to live in warm ocean waters

B. stay quiet most of the time and don’t eat much

C. are a dangerous species faced with extinction（灭绝）

D. are a key element in the marine life environment

60. Which of the following statements about the film Otter 501 is TRUE according to the text?

A. The film is about the tragic story of an otter that lost its parents.

B. The character of Katie Pofahl is based completely on a real life person.

C. The director of the film is worried about the trouble faced by California’s sea otters.

D. The movie was shot to raise awareness about the natural history of otters.

61. Which of the following is the right order of events?

a. Otter 501 got an adoptive otter mom at the aquarium.

b. Otter 501 was rescued at the Big Sur coast.

c. Otter 501 lost its parents.

d. Katie Pofahl got involved in the project of Otter 501.

e. Otter 501 was released into the wild in Elkhorn Slough.

A. c-d-b-a-e                 B. b-c-a-e-d                  C. c-b-a-d-e                D. b-a-c-e-d

　　Long ago, dogs and horses were tamed to become man's helpers on land． Today some people believe that dolphins may become man's helpers in the sea．

　　Proof that a dolphin can be trained to assist man appeared in 1965． The U．S． Navy used the services of a seven-foot dolphin, Tuffy．

　　Tuffy worked with divers at the Navy's Man-in-the-Sea station off the coast of California． He acted as messenger to a ten-man team whose underwater home was Sealab II, 205 feet deep． Wearing a plastic harness, Tuffy carried letters in a waterproof tube． He also carried tools for the undersea workers． Tuffy learned to answer calls for help． Pretending to be lost, an aquanaut would sound a buzzer． Another aquanaut would fasten one end of a line to Tuffy's harness ．Tuffy would speed to the rescue．

　　More and more, it seems likely that old tales of dolphins' willingness to help man are closer to truth than to fiction．

1．The land animals dolphins are compared to are______．

A．oxen and horses　　 B．dogs and cats

C．dogs and horses　　 D．None of the above

2．The name of the trained dolphin was_______．

A． Toughy B． Tuffy C． Tufty D．None of the above

3．The services of the dolphin were used by the_______．

A．Government of California　　　　B． U．S． Army

C． U．S． Navy D． Scripps Institution of Oceanography

4．The article does not say that______．

A．the station was named Sealab II　　 B． the station's depth was 205 feet

C．ten men were in the underwater team D． the men spent fifteen days at the station

5．For all his chores, the dolphin______．

A．wore a plastic harness　　B．carried a waterproof tube

C．carried a line D．carried tools

6．The signal for the dolphin's rescue chore was a______．

A． shout B． bell　　 C． buzzer D． whistle

7．The purpose of the line the dolphin took was to______．

A．save the aquanaut from drowning　　 B．lead the aquanaut back to the others

C．help the aquanaut to guide the dolphin D．carry a light to the aquanaut

8．The author suggests that this modern example makes old tales about dolphins seem______．

A．more truth than fiction　　 B． more fiction than truth

C．half truth and half fiction　　D． entirely fiction

Jungle country is not friendly to man, but it is possible to survive there. You must have the right equipment and you must know a few important things about woodcraft. Then your chances of staying alive are very good.

No one should go into the jungle without the right equipment. You need light weight clothing, a good knife, and a compass. Fishhooks and a line, a rifle, matches in a waterproof container and a poncho are necessary too. So is a mosquito net to protect the head.

In the jungle you can get hopeless lost within five minutes after leaving a known landmark. That is why you should always carry a compass. In open country, during the day, you can tell which way o go by studying the sun. At night the stars are sure guides o direction. But in most places the jungle rooftop is so thick that it is impossible to see the sun or the stars. Again and again you must check your position by the compass.

Keep alert. Watch the ground in front of you carefully. Stop and listen now and again. Avoid haste, and rest often. In a place that is hot and humid, the person who sets a fast pace will soon become tired. A steady, even pace is wisest in the long run.  

If you lose your way, don’t panic. Try to desire how long it has been since you were sure of your position. Mark the spot where you are with blazes on a tree. Put them on four sides of the tree, so that you will be able to see them from any direction. Then you can begin retracing your steps, knowing that you can always find the spot from which you started. Except in an emergency, never try to travel through the jungle at night.

Whenever possible, it is wise to follow streams and rivers that are going in your general direction. This may cause you many extra miles of travel. But in the end it will save time and energy. Nothing is more exhausting than hacking a trail cross-through umbrella jungle.

If a river is broad and deep and has no rapids, rafting is the best means of travel. Bamboo grows along the banks of many jungle streams. Since it is hollow and extremely strong, it makes a perfect raft.

Surviving in the jungle is a science. The jungle people have become perfect in this science, and you can too. Learn as much as you can about what to expect in the jungle. Make sure you have the right equipment. Then no part of the jungle will be able to “live off” it for a long time.

The author probably advises against traveling at night because ________.

one tends to move too slowly at night

some animals will attack you

emergencies occur most frequently at night

it is more difficult to check your position

Following streams and rivers will help you to ________.

avoid animal’s attacks

save many extra miles of travel

avoid crossing unbroken stretches of jungle

have a constant source of drinking water  

The word “blazes” in Paragraph 5 means _________.

A. marks where bark (树皮) is removed          B. light-colored spots

C.bursts of flame                            D. sides of knife