阅读表达

　　American government has suggested a new plan to increase the study of foreign languages in schools．

　　Research has shown that childhood is a better time than manhood to learn foreign languages．However, ________ learn only English．Less than one third of American elementary schools teach foreign languages．Only 44 percent of American high school students take a foreign language．And 70 percent of them are learning Spanish．What’s more, the United States doesn’t have enough foreign teachers．

　　The plan calls for teaching more children foreign languages, as early as the age of four．Most of the new teaching would be in languages not widely taught now in American schools．These include Arabic, Chinese, Farsi(波斯语), Hindi(北印度语)and Russian．It also aims to increase foreign language instruction in colleges and graduate schools．The hope is to bring more foreign language speakers into government service．

　　Administration officials will ask for 114 million dollars in 2007 to start the program．The money would be used to help foreign-language students pay for their educations．The plan also calls for sending more American students to other countries to study．And it calls for bringing more foreign language teaching assistants to the United States．

　　In a word, to face the uncertain challenges in the future, America needs more officers, teachers, and students who can understand foreign languages．It will also improve the understanding and cultural exchange between America and other countries around the world．

1．What is the best title of the passage?(Please answer within 10 words．)

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2．Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?

It has been proved by research that it’s easier for children to learn foreign languages than adults do．

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3．Please fill in the blank in the second paragraph with the proper words or phrases to complete the sentence．(Please answer within 30 words．)

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4．Do you think it’s necessary for America to make the new plan?Why?(Please answer within 30 words．)

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5．Translate the underlined sentence in the last paragraph into Chinese．

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短文理解

　　The Chinese Antarctica expedition returned to Shanghai on March 20 following a month living on the ice．It was the first time Chinese scientists had visited the Amery Ice Shelf－the longest ice shelf in the world．

　　The team collected ice samples and data on temperatures, which are necessary for research on global warming．

　　So far, about 27 countries have visited Antarctica for scientific research．Although the living conditions are very hard, many scientists have to stay there for long periods of time．

　　So, how do they manage their lives on the ice?

　　Well, during the summer, the temperature in Antarctica reaches about －20 ℃．It falls to about －60℃ in winter．So, even if there are 24 hours of sunshine, scientists must keep wearing all the correct clothes _________．These clothes include jeans, running shoes, jackets, long underwear, boots and woolen socks．

　　Although highly technical clothing provides much protection against the extreme cold, scientists often need to go outside when there is an icy wind blowing and the temperature is －30℃．Natural protection such as facial hair can also help．

　　“That’s why many researchers wear a beard．It really does keep you warm．”says German explorer Raved Fuchs．

　　Usually, the polar researchers have good meals．Some even have feasts on holidays like Christmas and New Year’s Day．Vegetables are always welcomed and usually finished the quickest．

　　Life on the ice means living with other researchers in tight living spaces．Most people sleep in dormitory style rooms．More remote field camps use separate tents．So, at least some researchers don’t have to put up with annoying snores(鼾声)。

　　But what do they do for fun in their spare time? There are actually a lot of things they can do．They watch movies, read tons of books, listen to music, visit saunas, paint and ski．Some female researchers might even do some knitting．

　　It is important for a polar researcher to be in good physical condition．They can be required to climb to heights of more than 3, 000 meters．And the Antarctic atmosphere has less oxygen than that of any other continent．

1．Why is the expedition designed?(Please answer within 10 words．)

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2．Which sentence in this passage can be replaced by the following one?

Hard as the living condition, one must…

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3．Please fill in the blank in the passage with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence．(Please answer within 10 words．)

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4．What do you think of expedition?

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5．Translate the underlined sentence in the passage into Chinese?

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阅读表达

　　All plant cells(细胞)are capable of taking up water．Even dead ones do to a certain degree．Absorption(吸收)of water by dead cell walls makes wood become larger．In common land plants, the living cells of roots take up most of the water．Land plants without roots do exist, however．Those greenish yellow lichens(苔藓)you see on rocks in the high mountains have no roots．Half a billion years ago, when water plants started to enter the land, the first land plants did not have roots．

　　________．These flowering plants are “the higher plants” because they evolved(进化)recently and are thus considered higher on the evolutionary scale(进化度)．In the Peruvian desert, there grows one of these rootless higher plants, a bromeliad．It is a relative of the pineapple．Even if this plant had roots, they would be of no use, because where the plant grows, it never rains．The plant gets its water only from the dew(露水)it collects at night, when its leaves cool off．Such rootless plants, of course, can be moved with ease, but they will only grow when they are placed out in the open．If they are placed too near a house, the radiation from the heat of the house prevents the leaves from cooling and so prevents dew from forming, and the plant dies．In the southern United States and in Puerto Rico, one sees bromeliads growing high above the streets on the insulation(绝缘物)of electric wires．These plants get their water from rain, and the only soil they ever come in contact with is the dust that may blow on their leaves．

1．What’s the most suitable title?(Please answer within 10 words．)

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2．How does the “bromeliad” get the water?(Please answer within 10 words．)

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3．Please fill in the blank in the second paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence．(Please answer within 10 words．)

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4．Which sentence can be replaced by the following one?

The plant grows in a place where there isn’t any rain．

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5．Translate the underlined sentence in the third paragraph into Chinese．

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