A victim of climate change

         A polar bear's dead body found on the Arctic island of Svalbard, the northernmost part of Norway, has shocked experts who say climate change may be to blame for the death. The starved polar bear in Norway was said to be in good bones by the time a group of explorers came across its body in July．

The bear is thought to have been heading north in a desperate search for sea ice that would allow it to hunt for seals．"From his lying position in death, the bear appears to simply have starved to health in April when the Norwegian Polar Institute examined and labeled it． However, the animal was reduced to skin and bones and died where he dropped," polar bear expert Dr. Ian Stirling, a professor at the University of Alberta said, "He had external suggestion of any remaining fat, having been reduced to little more than skin and bone．"

Stirling believes the bear starved to death as a result of a lack of sea ice which the animals use as a platform for hunting seals． That may also explain why the 16-year-old male bear was found about 155 miles north of where it was seen in April．

Arctic sea ice reached a record low in 2012, according to a report released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that pointed to continued signs of climate change．

The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently classifies polar bears as vulnerable on its Red List of Threatened Species．

1.How did Stirling know the reason for the death of the polar bear?

A．By the food he ate．                         B．By doing further experiments．

C．By observing other polar bears．              D．By his lying position in death．

2.The underlined word "vulnerable" probably means _____．

A．easily hurt                        B．difficult to hunt

C．dangerous                        D．amazing

3.What is the author's attitude to the incident?

A．Favorable．           B．Uncaring．         

C．Doubtful．             D．Concerned．

4.Where does this text probably come from?

A．A novel．                       B． A guidebook．      

C．A news report．                  D．An advertisement．

She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart．She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful brown haired, freckle-faced image of innocence．Outside, it was pouring so heavily．

We all stood there just inside the door of the Wal-Mart．We waited, some patiently, others annoyed because nature messed up their hurried day．I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world．

Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance （昏昏欲睡） we were all caught in．"Mom, let's run through the rain," she said．

"No, honey．We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied．

This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain．"

" We'll get wet totally if we do," Mom said．

"No, we won't, Mom．That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tore at her Mom's arm．

"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?"

"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!"

The entire crowd stopped dead silent．I dare say you couldn't hear anything but the rain．We all stood silently. No one came or left in. the next few minutes,Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say．

Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly．Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's lifetime when innocent trust can be developed so that it will bloom into faith．"Honey, you are absolutely right．Let's run through the rain．If get wet, well maybe we just need washing," Mom said．Then off they ran.

We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they rushed past the cars and they held their shopping bags over their heads just in case．They got soaked．But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars．And yes, I did．I ran．I got wet．I needed washing．

You may lose your material possessions, your money and even your health, but no one can ever take away your precious memories．So don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories．

1.Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined word "affirmation"?

A．happiness         B．approval          C．disagreement      D．love

2.What do we know about the mother in the story?

A．Her husband was cured of his cancer．

B．She was strong-willed and considerate．

C．She was in despair and pretended to forget what she said．

D．Her daughter completely understood the situation her family was in．

3.Which of the following may the author agree with?

A．The mother should not tell her child about the family misfortune．

B．Parents should act more bravely than their children．

C．Parents should grasp every opportunity to influence their children to grow well．

D．Children should learn to show gratitude and understanding to their parents．

4.The best title for the passage might be _____．

A．Run Through the Rain                    B．Be a Determined Mother

C．Wait in the Rain                         D．Have a Wonderful Experience

【小题1】Days and nights z___________ by and everything changed before my eyes.
【小题2】 After a hard day of work, the man arrived home and his face looked tired and w________. 
【小题3】 Firefighters could use RealCine to train safely, without the risk of getting i_________.
【小题4】In defeat, the Kangaroos found something more ____________（珍贵的）than victory.
【小题5】It was said that he had been __________（允许）into Nanjing University.
【小题6】Single women were allowed to take part in their own c___________ at a separate festival.
【小题7】I have been invited to your school to talk to you about the s____________ of the Olympic games.
【小题8】 When the woman could not completed her long distance phone call, she called one of the _____________（操作人员）for help.
【小题9】 The woman ___________（起诉）of stealing in a grocery proved innocent at last. 
【小题10】 He became captain of the Brazilian football team and scored the w_________ goal.

It is not unusual for people to speak two or three languages; they’re known as bilinguals or trilinguals. Speakers of more than three languages are known as polyglots. And when we refer to people who speak many languages, perhaps a dozen or more, we use the term hyper-polyglot.

The most famous hyper-polyglot was Giuseppe Mezzofanti, a 19th century Italian cardinal, who was said to speak 72 languages. This claim sounds absurd. If you assume each language had 20,000 words, Mezzofanti would have to learn a word a minute, six hours a day, for eleven years—an impossible task. But Mezzofanti was tested by critics, and they were all impressed.

Did Mezzofanti have an extraordinary brain? Or are hyper-polyglots just ordinary people with ordinary brains who manage to do something extraordinary through hard work?

U.S. linguist Stephen Drashen believes that outstanding language learners just work harder at it and then they acquire unusually strong language ability. As an example, he mentions a Hungarian woman who worked as an interpreter during the 20th century. When she was 86, she could speak 16 languages and was still working on learning new languages. She said she learned them mostly on her own, reading fiction or working through dictionaries or textbooks.

Some researchers argue to the contrary. They believe that there is such a thing as a talent for learning languages. In the 1930s, a German scientist examined parts of the preserved brain of a hyper-polyglot named Emil Krebs, who could speak 60 languages fluently. The scientist found that the area of Krebs’s brain called Broca’s area, which is associated with language, looked different from the Broca’s area in the brains of men who speak only one language. However, we still don’t know if Krebs was born with a brain ready to learn dozens of languages or if his brain adapted to the demands he put on it.

Although it is still not clear whether the ability to learn many languages is in born, there’s no doubt that just about all of us can acquire skills in a second, third, or even fourth language by putting our mind to it.

1.What does the underlined sentence imply?

A. Mezzofanti could remember 360 words a day.

B. Mezzofanti had a special way to learn languages.

C. Mezzofanti’s achievement was ridiculous.

D. Mezzofanti language ability was astonishing.

2.The Hungarian woman became a hyper-polyglot mainly because of her __.

A. good memory       B. unique brain      C. hard work      D. learning methods

3.The German scientist’s findings showed that Krebs ___.

A. had an unusual brain

B. was born with great talent

C. had worked hard at languages

D. expected too much of himself

4.The author seems to agree that ___.

A. it is not hard to learn foreign languages

B. hard work plays a part in language learning

C. there is no such thing as a talent for languages

D. hyper-polyglots have an inborn talent for language

It is not unusual for people to speak two or three languages; they’re known as bilinguals or trilinguals. Speakers of more than three languages are known as polyglots. And when we refer to people who speak many languages, perhaps a dozen or more, we use the term hyper-polyglot.

The most famous hyper-polyglot was Giuseppe Mezzofanti, a 19^th century Italian cardinal, who was said to speak 72 languages. This claim sounds absurd. If you assume each language had 20,000 words, Mezzofanti would have to learn a word a minute, six hours a day, for eleven years—an impossible task. But Mezzofanti was tested by critics, and they were all impressed.

Did Mezzofanti have an extraordinary brain? Or are hyper-polyglots just ordinary people with ordinary brains who manage to do something extraordinary through hard work?

U.S. linguist Stephen Drashen believes that outstanding language learners just work harder at it and then they acquire unusually strong language ability. As an example, he mentions a Hungarian woman who worked as an interpreter during the 20^th century. When she was 86, she could speak 16 languages and was still working on learning new languages. She said she learned them mostly on her own, reading fiction or working through dictionaries or textbooks.

Some researchers argue to the contrary. They believe that there is such a thing as a talent for learning languages. In the 1930s, a German scientist examined parts of the preserved brain of a hyper-polyglot named Emil Krebs, who could speak 60 languages fluently. The scientist found that the area of Krebs’s brain called Broca’s area, which is associated with language, looked different from the Broca’s area in the brains of men who speak only one language. However, we still don’t know if Krebs was born with a brain ready to learn dozens of languages or if his brain adapted to the demands he put on it.

Although it is still not clear whether the ability to learn many languages is in born, there’s no doubt that just about all of us can acquire skills in a second, third, or even fourth language by putting our mind to it.

1.What does the underlined sentence imply?

A．Mezzofanti could remember 360 words a day.

B．Mezzofanti had a special way to learn languages.

C．Mezzofanti’s achievement was ridiculous.

D．Mezzofanti language ability was astonishing.

2.The Hungarian woman became a hyper-polyglot mainly because of her __.

A．good memory                          B．hard work

C．unique brain                           D．learning methods

3.The German scientist’s findings showed that Krebs ___.

A．had an unusual brain

B．was born with great talent

C．had worked hard at languages

D．expected too much of himself

4.The author seems to agree that ___.

A．it is not hard to learn foreign languages

B．hard work plays a part in language learning

C．there is no such thing as a talent for languages

D．hyper-polyglots have an inborn talent for language