At the beginning of the 20th century there were more than a million lions worldwide. Today there are less than 30,000 in the wild. The remaining lions are increasingly threatened by habitat loss, hunting and activities to protect farms and cattle.

For generations, Masai tribesmen on the large African plains in southeastern Kenya have hunted lions — to protect their farms and cattle. Today they celebrate the lions’ life.

Noah is an elder in the Masai community. “We have decided as a community of the Masai to lay down our spears, and there will be no more killing of lions in our community.” He is part of a group of Masai visiting the United States promoting (推广) the Predator Compensation Program.

Conservation International’s Frank Hawkins explains, “The Masai have been living with wildlife for many generations and it has been a conflicting ( 有冲突的) relationship in many ways. They compete with the animals for food as lions eat their cattle. We’re trying to find ways in which the wildlife will become something useful to them.” They had the Predator Compensation Fund founded in 2003. After much discussion, a group of Masai farmers agreed to protect lions. In turn, if lions or other predators kill their cattle, the Masai owner will be paid market value for the dead animals from the fund.

One man said that in the past, when a lion killed cattle, they killed it immediately. And now, after the start of the program, the Masai see the lion population growing. Since 2003, only four lions have been killed here.

1.What is the aim of the Predator Compensation Program?

A．To protect people in the wild.              B．To protect Masai’s farms.

C．To protect lions only.                     D．To protect the wildlife.

2.According to the passage, why haven’t Masai tribesmen killed many lions since 2003?

A．Because lions don’t eat their cattle any more.

B．Because they will be fined if they kill lions there.

C．Because the fund will pay for dead animals killed by lions

D．Because there are less than 30,000 lions in the wild now.

3.What do you think of the Masai ?

A．Wise.            B．Mean.            C．Generous.         D．Stupid.

 

Oprah Winfrey, the queen of American daytime talk TV, is considered one of the most powerful women in the world．Now, after 25 years’ hosting The Oprah Winfrey Show, the star has announced she is calling it quits．
According to the Los Angeles Times, the move “signals the beginning of the decline for the daytime talk show．” More women are working full-time jobs, and people are turning to cable (有线电视) and pre-recorded shows for their entertainment．
It may be that Oprah isn’t quitting so much as moving on．She has created the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), and will most likely move her show to the network．If audiences around the world need Oprah, they well know where to look．
Oprah Winfrey was born to a single teenage mother in a small town in rural Mississippi, US．As a child, she lived with poverty and abuse．But she got a job at a local radio station, where her honesty, emotional style won her many fans．She quickly rose through the ranks of radio and television before launching her own production company and starting her own show．
Oprah’s talk show was not the first of its kind, but it quickly became the best and most popular．It made talk shows popular, and others jumped in to start similar shows．But while other talk shows turned ugly, featuring guests who argued and attacked each other with chairs, Oprah rose above the mess．
“Part of her power lies in the fact that her life story resonates (产生共鸣) with her audience, as a kind of version of the American dream,” writes Kevin Connolly, a reporter with the BBC．
She became a star because of the way she opened up about her problems to her audience．She shared her own struggles with relationships and weight．She focused on self-help．Connolly believes “something in her honesty and her sometimes painfully emotional directness struck home with a certain type of American”．
【小题1】Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．The stop of Oprah’s show reflects the decrease of audience．

B．Oprah hosted her show for about 25 years．

C．American talk show was pioneered by Oprah．

D．Oprah used to be a radio presenter．

【小题2】What does the underlined sentence mean?

A．Oprah could deal with the guests fighting very well．

B．Oprah’s show stood out with her unique style．

C．Oprah turned a deaf ear to other people’s quarrel．

D．Oprah’s fame rose because lots of people watch her show．

【小题3】From Kevin Connolly, we know people like Oprah’s show for all the reasons EXCEPT ________．

A．Oprah always shares people’s life stories in her show

B．the audiences are touched by Oprah’s honesty and frankness

C．Oprah’s life story reflects the truth of American dream

D．some audiences are inspired by Oprah’s show

【小题4】According to the text, Oprah ________．

A．always volunteers to help those who need help

B．has practiced presentational skills since she was young

C．believes that one should rely on himself to solve problems

D．calls on women to work full-time jobs

On the evening of June 21, 1992, a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes entered the beautiful hall of the Bell Tower Hotel in Xi’an with his bicycle. The hotel workers received him and telephoned the manager, for they had never seen a bicycle in the hotel ball before though they lived in “the kingdom of bicycles.”
Robert Friedlander, an American, arrived in Xi’an on his bicycle trip across Asia which started last December in New Delhi, India.
When he was 11, he read the book Ma-rco Polo and made up his mind to visit the Silk Road. Now, after 44 years , he was on the Silk Road in Xi’an and his early dreams were coming true.
Robert Friedlander’s next destinations (目的地) were Lanzhou, Dunhuang, Urumqi, etc. He will complete his trip in Pakistan.
【小题1】The best headline(标题) for this newspaper article would be________.

A．The Kingdom of Bicycles	B．A Beautiful Hotel in Xi’an
C．Marco Polo and the Silk Road	D．An American Achieving His Aims

【小题2】The hotel workers told the manager about Friedlander coming to the hotel because

A．he asked to see the manager

B．he entered the hall with a bike

C．the manager had to know about all foreign guests

D．the manager knew about his trip and was expecting him

【小题3】Friedlander is visiting the three countries in the following order,       .

A．China, Pakistan, and India	B．Pakistan, China, and India
C．India, China, and Pakistan	D．China, India, and Pakistan

Napoleon Bonaparte died on May 5, 1821, on the island of St. Helena off the coast of Africa. He was 51 years old at the time. When doctors examined Napoleon’s body, they said that the former emperor of France had died from cancer of the stomach. That was the cause of death recorded in the official report. However, other doctors disagreed. One doctor who was present during the examination of the body said that Napoleon died of hepatitis. Other historians and medical experts have suggested that Napoleon died of syphilis, tuberculosis, or perhaps malaria. Now, after careful research, a British chemist thinks that Napoleon might have been poisoned -- not by a person, but by his wallpaper.

    Napoleon was sent to the island of St. Helena in 1815 after he lost the battle of Waterloo. He was a prisoner on the island. Although he had servants to attend to him, he had to live in one small building. St. Helena is a very wet island, so the walls of the building were always covered with mold. Napoleon became ill from spending too much time inside his house. Almost constantly he had a fever, chills, and felt sick to his stomach. He often felt pain in his shoulders and in his side. His skin turned yellow. He got frequent headaches, and he would become dizzy and vomit(吐). None of the medicine that the doctors gave Napoleon seemed to help. They were not sure what was the matter. Finally, Napoleon was too weak to leave the house. One night, while he was sleeping, he went into a coma and died.

Many doctors who later reviewed the reports of Napoleon’s illness found that the symptoms(症状) did not show a man who suffered from stomach cancer. It seemed obvious that Napoleon had died from some other cause. In 1961, a Swedish doctor examined some of Napoleon’s hair and found a high level of arsenic, a chemical poison. Was Napoleon murdered? It is doubtful. Arsenic was used in many types of medicine during Napoleon’s time, so he might have taken the arsenic as a cure for his illness. Then, in 1982, Dr. David Jones from England began to look into the mystery and suggested that Napoleon might have breathed in arsenic which was in the air of his house. In the 1700s and 1800s, arsenic was used to make a kind of green paint used on cloth and wallpaper. If the paint was used on a wet wall, the arsenic would go into the air. A person in the room might breathe that air. After studying the wallpaper in the room where Napoleon died, Dr. Jones found high levels of arsenic in the green paint on the walls.

Why did Napoleon live on St. Helena?

    A. He owned the island.         B. He was a prisoner there.

    C. His family lived there.        D. He liked the island.

The official report said that Napoleon died of____________.

   A. cancer     B. a coma     C.  mold       D. poison

Napoleon suffered from the following symptoms except __________.

   A. chills      B. fever      C  dizziness     D. bleeding

According to Dr. Jones, how did the arsenic probably get into Napoleon’s body?

   A. He drank it..   B. He touched it.   C. He breathed it in.    D. He ate it

The passage says that                      .

    A. a British doctor thinks he has found the cause of Napoleon’s death

    B. many doctors have tried to guess the cause of Napoleon's death

    C. Napoleon could have died from poison

D. all of the above

  Just at that time, a telegram arrived from his brother. Mr. Jameson opened it quickly. It said, “Come home at once. Your wife is ill and in a critical condition. West End Hospital.”Mr. Jameson began to think. Since the work at the mine was going well, he decided to go home at once. He just told himself again and again that he couldn’t lose his wife, or his life would be meaningless.

  At about 6 the next morning, he and one of his assistants reached Lamesa, where they were going to Chicago at 6:30. There was still half an hour left before the train started, so Mr. Jameson decided to telephone to Chicago to ask about his wife. And after that, if still enough time was left he could see a doctor and have the piece of coal or the piece of metal removed out of his eye. His eye and his whole head ached now.

  After he sent his assistant to the railway station to buy tickets for the train, he went to make the phone call. When the operator put through his call, he sat down and waited. His eye felt like a piece of hot iron. And he was worried about his sick wife. The phone rang. Soon Mr. Jameson talked with the hospital in Chicago. A voice said, “Yes, sir! Your wife is here. She is much better. There is no danger now. You don’t have to return. ”

  Everything was all right. His wife was going to live. He would not lose his wife. Quite excited, Mr. Jameson began to cry like a little child and could not stop. Big tears rolled out of his eyes and down his cheeks. Soon his eye felt better. He touched his eye and felt something in the corner of his eye. That was a small piece of coal. His tears had washed it out of his eye!

What happened to Mr. Jameson before setting off?

   A. He was hurt and couldn’t walk.

   B. His eye was suffering from a certain disease.  

   C. A small piece of coal stuck him in the eye.

   D. A piece of metal got into his eye.

The writer doesn’t mention but we can infer that Mr. Jameson probably _____.

   A. worked in a factory in Chicago

   B. worked as a mining engineer in a company

   C. was worried about his work on the way to Chicago

   D. sold coal in a faraway village

How was the coal removed out of Mr. Jameson’s eye?

   A. It was taken out by a doctor.  

   B. A good rest helped it out.

   C. He rubbed his eyes slightly.

   D. It was washed out by his tears.

How can we describe the feeling of Mr. Jameson?

A. Worried ---relaxed                 B. Excited ---dull  

C. Anger---calm.                     D. Depressed ---nervous.