Christmas bird – watching is popular in the U.S.A. When the holiday season comes, some Americans are likely to watch and count birds in the sky with great interest every day. This activity began in the early part of the last century. It has a one-hundred-year history. At that time, there was a so-called “holiday hunting” custom. In order to celebrate the holiday, the hunters went out to kill birds and beasts. By 1900, there were 27 bird lovers who decided to count birds instead of killing birds. Since then, Christmas bird-watching was held every year. It has been continued to the present.

There were 42000 people who took part in the bird-watching last Christmas, from December 16 the year before to January 3 next year. They were in the United States and Canada, central America, south America and the Caribbean, watching and counting birds in the sky. The whole viewing area was divided into 1600 points. Each birdwatcher was responsible for 25 meters, and was required to write down the types and quantities of birds within 24 hours.

A birdwatcher described what he had watched vividly in his diary—“ When I looked up, I saw a beautiful ‘landscape’ in the sky: Red-crowned cranes(丹顶鹤) were driving up in cunning wedges that split the air. They were so neatly arranged, coordinating their movements. I was excited and breathtaking. Interestingly, the “human” shape(人字行) always maintains 110° ” .

“Why do red-crowned cranes choose to use ‘human’ shape when flying in formation?” He continued, “In my opinion, there are four reasons: first, the ‘human’ shape can make red-crowned cranes use increasing air which is produced by each other’s wings when they are swinging in the sky. It can increase the glide time and save physical ability. Second, the ‘human’ shape will enhance communication among the birds. The orders and the relevant information issued by the lead bird can be conveyed to each member in this migratory group unimpeded, accurately, rapidly and conveniently. Third, such a formation will help to find the birds left behind because of feeling run down as fast as possible, so that the young, the weak, the sick birds can get everyone’s help and encouragement. Finally, the ‘human’ shape shows not only beauty but also unity. It can give enemies a deterrent.They will be terrified and did not dare to attack the birds.The migration security of the birds will be ensured.”  

Environmental experts admired and evaluated Christmas bird-watching highly. They pointed out that it made perfect sense. On the one hand it could enhance the human awareness of environmental protection. On the other hand it could provide first-hand information on birds.

49．When did Christmas bird – watching begin?

         A．Sometime during Christmas holiday.         B．At the beginning of 20th century.

         C．In the early 19 th century.          D．Since there was Christmas Day

50．What do bird – watchers do when they are bird – watching?

         A．They kill birds and beasts.          B．They watch birds and beasts.

         C．They watch and count birds.     D．They look at the sky and write diaries.

51．The following are all reasons for red – crowned cranes flying in “human” shape except      .

         A．they can help each other and ensure their safety

         B．they can communicate with each other in order to reduce tiredness.

         C．they can make use of the air produced by each other’s wings.

         D．they can look stronger in case they come across enemies

52．This passage consists of five paragraphs. Please arrange the five main ideas of the paragraphs in order of their appearance in the passage.

    a. How the bird – watchers divided their watching task and what was done.

         b. How Christmas bird – watching came into being.

         c. Christmas bird – watching is of great importance environmentally and scientifically.

         d. A Christmas bird – watcher watched and was amazed by red – crowned cranes.

         e. Red – crowned cranes fly in “human” formation for quite good reasons.

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

   “BANG”the door caused a reverberation．“Never set foot in this house again!”shouted father．With tears weiling(涌出)up in my eyes，I rushed out of the hofase and ran along the street．

    A young father who held a child in his arlzis walked past rile．I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space：happy and harmonious(和谐)

    But now I don’t know whether it is because I have grown up or because Dad is getting old．We are just like two people coming from two different worlds．It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened．

    1 wandered the street，without a destination in my n'nnd．My heart was frozen oil this hot summer night．As I walked on there were fewer and fewer people m the streets，until I had only streets to keep me company When I finally reached the high rise apartment block in which I livegt，I saw that the light was still on．

     I thought to myself，“Is father waiting for rile．or is he still angry with me?”

    In fact，it was nothing．Perhaps，Dad was throwing some of his old stamps．Perhaps he thought they were useless．I never had th,e courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps．

    All the lights were off except father’S

    Dad was always 1ike this．Maybe he didn’t know bow to express himself．After shouting at me，he never showed any mercy or regret After an argument he will creep(蹑手蹑脚)up in my sleep and then tuck rile underneath the covers

    This was how he always was．Fie has been a leader for So long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature．

    The fight was still oil With the key in hand，1 was as nervous as 1 had ever been．At last，I decided to open the door．As soon as I opened the door tears ran down my cheeks．I suddenly realized that the iron door that l had imagined between us did not exist at all Love－it is second to none．

The underlined word“reverberation”refers to    ．

    A．an earthquake    B．a heavy Mow  ．

    C．a shake D．a sound forced back

When seeing a young father with a child in his arras．the writer might have

  the following feelings EXCEPT             

   A．She／He admired them very much

   B．She／He wished that the relation between him／her and his／her father could

    also be so harmonious

  C．She／He felt that happiness had been far away from him／her

   D．She／He felt disappointed with his／her father

Why do you think the father often shouts at his child?

    A．The father is getting older and older．

    B．The child had already grown up．

    C．They never agree with each other．

    D．The father has got used to doing that．

What conclusion can you draw after reading the text?

    A．The father treats his child in an unfair wav．

    B．The father is actually kind to his child

    C．The father is neither kind nor cruel to his child

    D．The father is always finding fault with his child．

第四部分：任务型阅读（每小题1分，满分10分）

    请认真阅读下列短文，并根据短文的内容要点完成文章后的表格。注意：补全填空应符合语法和搭配要求，每空只填一个单词。请将答案写在答题纸上的相应位置。

To tweet, or not to tweet?

A guide to the social networking/ microblogging service Tewitter

SINCE its creation in 2006, Twitter, the social networking service, has taken cyber space by storm. At first glance it might seem like Facebook, but Twitter is in a league of its own, connecting people with fast-paced updates. It has become a place for activities, celebrities, businesses and everyday people to let others know about videos, opinions, interesting news, advertisements-and, yes what they are eating for lunch.

Twitter: n. a free social networking service that connects users through fast-paced status updates.

Twitter-er: n. one who uses Twitter.

Tweet: n. short updates or messages, of 140 characters or less, wh ich are posted on your profile and sent to your followers.

Retweet (RT): n. unofficial Twitter feature that indicates a re-posting of a tweet from another user. Often uses the text RT@username (of the original source) before the post.

Follower: n. one who receives another user’s updates on his or her Twitter profile.

Direct message: n. a private message sent from one Twitter-er to another.

The phenomenon includes a host of new vocabulary terms and concepts that every self-respecting Twitter-er should know. Here’s a quick course on Twitter.

       So you’ve finally been swept up by the techno-tide and gotten a Twitter account. But what to write? Who knew 140 characters could be so overwhelming?

Darren Rowse of the TwiTip blog(www.twitip.com) recommends a two- step tweeting process: figure out what your follows want, and then give it to them. Some combination of cool links, conversation- starting quotes or questions , retweets and photos works well, Rowse writes.

Keep in mind that Twitter doesn’t directly offer photo hosting. You will need to use a third-party site like TwitPic (www.twitip.com) to upload your photos. Other sites, like TwitVid (tweetdeck.com/beta) can be used to post videos.

If you th ink the Twitter Web Site too complicated, try a Twiiter client—Tweetdeck(tweetdeck. Com/beta) and the Mac-only Tweetie(www. stebits. com)are popular, and both also are available as iPhone apps(应用程序).

Even without an iphone, you can update you Twitter on the go. After adding your phone number to your Twitter account, you can text updates to 40404(check Twitter’s Web site for numbers to use outside the United States)

But no matter how you tweet, remember that people can see what you post, and Twitter might not be the best place to complain about your boss, even if you make your Twitter private, your followers may not share your sense of discretion.

       Twitter is crowded with celebrith accounts. The famous , who once avoided the media in their private lives, are posting everything on Twitter for all the cyber world to see, gathering followers in the millions. Who’s leading the celebrity pack? TwitterCounter(www.twittercounter.com), a site that tracks the most popular Twitter users, lists Ashton Kuntcher and former fashion model, as the nost popular Twitter-er with, as of our publication date, 2,691,112 followers.

Title: To tweet, or not to tweet?

After the Summer Olympics are over ,when all the athletcs and viewers have gone home and the television audience has swiched off , another group of athletcs and fans will arrive at the host city , and another compctition will begin.These are the Parnlympics,the games for athlctcs with a disability .But in Beijing in 2008 ,for the first time,one of the greatest parulympians will not be taking part.

Sbc is a Britishby the name of Tanni Grey-Thompsun.Boyn with spina hifida (脊椎裂) which left her paralysed from the waint down,Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7.At first,she was not keen on sporn,apart from horse-riding,which gave her a sense of freedom.But in her teens,she started tsking sports more seriously.She tried swimming,basketball and tennis.Eventually she found athletics,and never looked back.

 Indeed ,Tanni’s  athletic career took off .In 1984,when she was 15,she pulled off a surpaise victort in the 100 metres at the Junior NationalWheelchair Games.

 In 1988 ,Tanni went to her first ParalympicGames in Scoul.She bronze in the 400 metres.Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelona.Paralympics.Tanni won gold in the 100,200,400 and 800 metres relay,setting two world records      in the proceas.In the same year she achicved the first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories.

  Tanni’s enduring success has been part motivation(动机)，part preparation.      “The training I do that enable me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员) enable me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I went to race …I am still competing at a very high level,but as I get oider things get harder and I went to retire before I fall apart. ”

 Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Gammes.

In spite of ups and downs,she never takes her fate lying down.In her splendid life ,she has won an amazing eleven gold medals,four silvers and one bronze in a series of Paralympics---a top lever athletic career covering two decades .She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times ,more than any other competitor ,and she has set over thirty woyld records.

What advice does she have for young athletes ? “Work hard at your studies ,and then train,train again.”

56.Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?

A.      Basketball .   B.Swimming .   C.Tennis.   D.Horse-riding

57.When did Tanni win her first Olympic gold medal?

A.In 1984.      B.In 1988.   C.In 1992.   D.In 2007.   

58.The underlined word “that’’in the 5 th paragrath refers to_______ .

A. fifty weeks＇training               B. being a good sprinter

C. training almost every day            D.part motivation and part preparation

59. What＇s the right order of the events relaterd to Tanny?

a.She works as a coach.                 b.She took up athletics .

c.She won four gold medals in Barcelons .  d.She competed in her first Paraiympic Games.

e.She achieved a victory in her first London Wheelchair Marathun.

A. b,d,c,e,a                           B. a,d,b,c,e  

C. a,d,c,e,b                           D. b,d,a,e,c

60. What can we learn form Tanni＇s success?

A. Union is strongth                     B.Never too late to learn

C. Well begun is half done                D. No pains , no gains

To tweet, or not to tweet?

A guide to the social networking/ microblogging service Tewitter

SINCE its creation in 2006, Twitter, the social networking service, has taken cyber space by storm. At first glance it might seem like Facebook, but Twitter is in a league of its own, connecting people with fast-paced updates. It has become a place for activities, celebrities, businesses and everyday people to let others know about videos, opinions, interesting news, advertisements-and, yes what they are eating for lunch.

The phenomenon includes a host of new vocabulary terms and concepts that every self-respecting Twitter-er should know. Here’s a quick course on Twitter.

       So you’ve finally been swept up by the techno-tide and gotten a Twitter account. But what to write? Who knew 140 characters could be so overwhelming?

Darren Rowse of the TwiTip blog(www.twitip.com) recommends a two- step tweeting process: figure out what your follows want, and then give it to them. Some combination of cool links, conversation- starting quotes or questions , retweets and photos works well, Rowse writes.

Keep in mind that Twitter doesn’t directly offer photo hosting. You will need to use a third-party site like TwitPic (www.twitip.com) to upload your photos. Other sites, like TwitVid (tweetdeck.com/beta) can be used to post videos.

If you th ink the Twitter Web Site too complicated, try a Twiiter client—Tweetdeck(tweetdeck. Com/beta) and the Mac-only Tweetie(www. stebits. com)are popular, and both also are available as iPhone apps(应用程序).

Even without an iphone, you can update you Twitter on the go. After adding your phone number to your Twitter account, you can text updates to 40404(check Twitter’s Web site for numbers to use outside the United States)

But no matter how you tweet, remember that people can see what you post, and Twitter might not be the best place to complain about your boss, even if you make your Twitter private, your followers may not share your sense of discretion.

       Twitter is crowded with celebrith accounts. The famous , who once avoided the media in their private lives, are posting everything on Twitter for all the cyber world to see, gathering followers in the millions. Who’s leading the celebrity pack? TwitterCounter(www.twittercounter.com), a site that tracks the most popular Twitter users, lists Ashton Kuntcher and former fashion model, as the nost popular Twitter-er with, as of our publication date, 2,691,112 followers.

Title: To tweet, or not to tweet?