For photographers lacking training, experience and even the ability to click a shutter button, they produce remarkable pictures．Under the sea, deep in the woods and high in the sky, furry, feathery and leathery-skinned creatures are opening up vistas（远景）by taking cameras where no human can go．

This is the world of animal-borne imagine celebrated last month at a conference sponsored(supported) by the National Geographic Society for the 20th anniversary of its Crittercam, the device that started it all．

Since its debut（首次公开露面）in 1987 on the back of a turtle, the Crittercam and similar devices developed by others have grown smaller and more powerful．

“It’s more than just a camera now,” said Greg Marshall, the marine biologist and now filmmaker who invented the Crittercam．“We are now including more instruments to gather more data while at the same time reducing everything in size．”

The idea of attaching video cameras to animals came to Mr．Marshall in 1986 on a dive off Belize when a shark apporached him．When the animal quickly turned away, he noticed a shark with a sucker fish on its belly．He came up with the idea that putting a camera in place of the sucker fish would allow people to witness the shark’s behavior without disturbing it．

Crittercams have been attached to sharks, sea lions and other marine animals, and, more recently, to land animals．

Birds are a new addition, Mr．Marshall said．Dr．Christian Rutz of Oxford recently reported on tiny cameras called feathercams that monitor the crows in the South Pacific．It has discovered that crows are smarter than anyone knew they not only use twigs（嫩枝）and grass stems as tools to root out food, but they also save their favorite tools to use again．

Tracey L．Rogers, director of the Australian Marine Mammal Research Center in Sydney, said crittercam was a powerful tool in her work with leopard seals（豹斑海豹）in Antarctica．“In studying animals,” Dr．Rogers said at the meeting, “you want to see how our animal models align（与……一致）with reality．With a camera, you actually see what they do．You don’t have to guess．”

1.What’s the text mainly about?

A．The advantages of crittercam．

B．The development of Crittercams in the past 20 years．

C．How crittercam was invented．

D．How crittercam works．

2. What inspired Marshall to invent crittercam?

A．The sight of sucker fish clinging to a shark on a dive．

B．The thought of how to photograph animals better．

C．Noticing a shark eating a sucker fish on a dive．

D．Seeing a shark with a camera on its belly on a dive．

3. According to Dr．Rogers, crittercam ____．

A．can clear up all your doubts about animals

B．is the most powerful tool in studying animals

C．enabled her to observe the crows in the South Pacific closely

D．helped a lot with her research on leopard seals in Antarctica

4. All of the following are improvements of crittercams EXCEPT that ____．

A．the size is becoming smaller

B．more instruments are involved to gather more data

C．they allow researchers to see where and how animals live

D．they are able to be applied to smaller animals such as birds

 

 

 

阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。

首先，请阅读下面有关购车的五条建议：

5 steps to getting the best price in buying a new car.

Ideally, a dealership should help you find the right vehicle at a fair price. But some dealers place more emphasis on their profit margins than on satisfying their customers.

Read the following situations and match the advice with them.

56. Many dealerships prey on the unprepared. Going into a showroom “cold”--without having gathered key facts and preliminary(初步的) pricing figures--gives the salesperson too much control over the buying process.

57. The dealer invoice price is commonly available on Web sites and in pricing guides. But the invoice price isn't necessarily what the dealer paid. There are often behind-the-scenes bonuses（幕后红利）, such as dealer incentives and holdbacks, that give the dealer more profit margin.

58. Salespeople like to mix financing, leasing, and trade-in negotiations together, often asking you to negotiate around a monthly payment figure. This tactic（策略） gives the dealer more latitude to offer you a favorable figure in one area while inflating figures in another.

59. The salesperson may try to sign you up for a higher rate than you could get elsewhere.

60. Dealers often try to sell you extras such as rust proofing, fabric protection, and paint protectant, or push etching your Vehicle Identification Number on windows to deter thieves.

请结合以上情形，与下面的建议进行匹配。

When buying a car, keep your interests front and center--and avoid common pitfalls（缺陷） that can cost you extra money--by following these tips:

A. Don't assume that the sticker price（标价） is the purchase price（买价）.

To get the lowest price, go in with a starting price that's based not on the sticker price but on how much the dealer paid for the vehicle.

A reasonable price to start negotiations is either 4 to 8 percent over what the dealer paid or the CR Wholesale Price, depending on the demand for the model.

B. Do your homework.

Thoroughly research your choices. Read a variety of reviews. Check the reliability, safety, fuel economy, and pricing of any models you're considering. And don't wait until the day you plan to buy to test drive the vehicles. If you have a trade-in, know its approximate worth. That will depend on the vehicle's age, condition, mileage, and equipment, as well as where you trade it in.

C. Negotiate one thing at one time.

Make clear that you want the lowest possible mark-up over your starting price. Add that you intend to visit other dealerships selling the same vehicle and will buy from the dealer with the best price.

Only after you've settled on the price should you discuss financing, leasing, or a trade-in, as necessary. Negotiate each item individually. Remember, you're in charge and can leave at any time. Heading for the door can sometimes jump-start a slow-moving negotiation or bring a lower offer.

D. Don't pay for extras you don't need.

Don't accept those unnecessary services and fees. If the items are on the bill of sale, put a line through them. Vehicle bodies are already coated to protect against rust. And CR reliability surveys show that rust is not a major problem with modern cars. You can treat upholstery and apply paint protectant yourself with good off-the-shelf products. You can also do your own VIN etching with a kit that costs about $25.

E. Other costs.

In addition to the vehicle price, you need to consider other costs, including:  Sales tax ; Registration fees ; Insurance premiums

Taxes and registration fees can increase your out-of-pocket cost by as much as 10 percent or more, and driving a car that’s worth more than your current one will cost more to insure. Be sure to check with your insurance agent or get insurance quotes online so you understand what you’re getting into.

F. Arrange financing in advance.

Compare interest rates at several banks, credit unions, and loan organizations before checking the dealer's rates. If pre-approved for a loan, you can keep financial arrangements out of the negotiations. Automakers may offer attractive financing terms, but make sure you qualify for them.

 

 

Learning to drive is important to the independence of teenagers, but it is also a great responsibility．Although having a law that keeps 16-year-old drivers from having more than one teenager in the car with them at first seems unfair, there are convincing reasons for this requirement．

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that teens are four times more likely than older drivers to be involved in an automobile accident．It also reports that 16-and 17-year-old drivers are twice as likely to have an accident if they have two teenage friends in the car and four times as likely to have one if they have three or more teenage friends in the car with them．Fatal （ 致命的） crashes of 16-year-old drivers involve the highest percentage of speeding, driver error, and number of passengers．This information is enough to cause any reasonable person to wonder about the wisdom of allowing new teen drivers to take a carload of friends anywhere, even if the law permits it．

A study at the National Institutes of Health indicates that the part of the human brain that controls judgment and evaluates the consequences of our actions might not be fully formed until the age of 25．Until this study, researchers had placed the age at 18．If this is true, it could explain the reckless （鲁莽的） behavior of many teens, behavior that often extends into their twenties．It also could be a strong reason for being cautious about the driving circumstances of young people．

This is not the only study that indicates such caution is necessary．One study at Temple University in Philadelphia examines the results of peer（同龄人） pressure in risky driving situations．The study, which uses a driving game, has an individual guide a car through a course, both alone and in the presence of friends．Three different age groups participated in the study: 13-16, 18-22, and 24 and older．Members of the oldest group showed caution whether driving alone or with friends present, but the two younger groups took more chances when they were with their friends．Furthermore, because these drivers were accustomed to the noise and distraction of many passengers, they were unable to see their own mistakes．Once again, this is a good indication that a law restricting the number of teenagers in the car with a young driver is a good idea．

1.What does the author mainly tell us in Paragraph 2?

A．Many deaths have occurred because of inexperience and overconfidence．

B．It' s reasonable to severely limit the passenger number of teen drivers．

C．New teen drivers have to ask permission before driving with friends．

D．There are many causes behind the teens' driving accidents．

2.From the two studies, the author probably suggests that ______．

A．different age groups have different peer pressure

B．teenagers often give wrong judgments above passengers' noise

C．underdeveloped brain makes teens ignore their mistakes

D．driving circumstances are bound up with（与…密切相关） the risk of accidents

3.We can infer that the law restriction can probably ______．

A．protect teens on the highway

B．raise teens' sense of responsibility

C．reduce the number of fatal crashes

D．force teens to drive with caution

4.With which statement would the author most likely disagree?

A．Some teenagers have risky behavior while driving．

B．Certain laws treat teenagers and adults differently．

C．We still need more studies on teen driving．

D．Driving is important to a teenager' s sense of independence．

 

They leap from helicopters or speeding boats, bringing aid to swimmers who get into trouble off Italy’s popular beaches.

For these dog lifeguards, the doggie paddle （狗刨式游法）does just fine.

These “lifedogs” tow a buoy(救生衣) that victims can grab, or a raft they can sit on to be towed back to shore, and unlike their human counterparts(与对方地位相当的人), they can easily jump from helicopters and speeding boats to reach swimmers in trouble.

With millions flocking(人群) to Italy’s crowded beaches each summer, the Italian Coast Guard says it rescues about 3,000 people every year — and their dog helpers are credited with saving several lives.

It takes three years for the canines to reach expert rescue status, and currently 300 dogs are fully trained for duty, said Roberto Gasbarri, who co-ordinates the Italian School of Canine Lifeguards program at a centre outside of Rome in the seaside town of Civitavecchia.

“Dogs are useful in containing the physical fatigue（疲劳） of the lifeguard, to increase the speed at which casualties（遇难者） are retrieved（找到并衔回）, to increase the security of both the casualty and of the lifeguard,” Gasbarri said.

The Civitavecchia centre is one of a dozen around the country for the school founded more than 20 years ago in the northern province of Bergamo by Ferruccio Pilenga, whose first trainee was his own Newfoundland.

The school will train any breed（品种）, as long as they weigh at least 30 kilograms, but Labradors, Newfoundlands and golden retrievers are most commonly used because of their natural instinct for swimming. Each dog works in tandem with（同 ……合作） a human lifeguard, who also acts as the animal’s trainer.

Which of the following can act as the best title fo the passage?

  A. Dogs to the Rescue                B. Dogs Are Good at Doggie Paddle

  C. The Wonderful Performance of Dogs  D. Dogs: Our Loyal Friends

What advantage do these life-dogs have over human lifeguards in a rescue?

  A. Dog can swim very fast                      B. Dogs can finish rescue work with ease.

  C. Dogs can finish the great work free of charge.    D. Dogs can easily be trained

Which of the following is TRUE about the Civitavecchia center according to the text?

A. Any breed can be trained there.

  B. The ones who have the gift for swimming are welcomed.

  C. After a better training, the dogs can work alone.

  D. It is the only place for training dog lifeguards in the school.

What does the writer want to tell us in the 4^th paragraph?

  A. Without the dog lifeguards, 3,000 people would lose their lives every year.

  B. The buautiful beaches attract millions of people every year.

  C. Dog lifeguards play an important part in a rescue.

  D. Italy is a famous place of interest.

阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。

To give the things you don’t need

When I moved into my new house, there was already a washing machine in it. However, I had just bought a new one, so I wondered what to do with the machine that was already in my house. I remembered two girls who regularly knocked at my door for religious reasons.

They never had or kept anything they didn’t need. If one of them needed something, they would work for the amount of time it took to make the money and then return to their religious work. They had just moved into their own house so I decided to give them all the things I didn’t need in my house. Whatever they didn’t need, they could give to the charity store they helped support.

I asked them if they needed a washing machine and they looked at each other and smiled. It turned out that they had called on a complete stranger the week before, a shingle mother with a new –born baby to take care of. She had been washing clothes by hand. When hey got home they discussed the fact that the woman probably needed their washing machine more than they did so they gave it to her. And their good deed had come back to them as they would be able to have my washing machine.

【写作内容】

1．以约30个词概括上文的内容要点；

2．然后以约120个词就“To give the things you don’t need”的主题发表你的看法,内容包括：

说说文中提到的赠予方式的利与弊。

你赞同作者的这种赠予方式吗？请说明理由。

如果将来你也有机会参与这样的赠予活动，你愿意捐赠些什么、赠予给谁呢？

【写作要求】

1．在作文中可以使用自己亲身的经历或虚构的故事，也可以参照阅读材料的内容但不得直接引用原文中的句子；

2．作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称。