Due to climate change, Arctic ice is breaking up earlier in the spring, and its
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Due to climate change, Arctic ice is breaking up earlier in the spring, and its area is decreasing. This is creating problems for polar bears that make their homes off northern Alaska and in Hudson Bay.
Polar bears off Alaska normally hunt and raise their young on ice sheets that float on the ocean. But as the ice has melted, the polar bears have been forced to spend more time on land. There, they have begun to frequent beaches, feeding on the remains of whales caught by native hunters. For polar bears, this food is less nutritious than seals that they normally catch on ice sheets. The shrinking（减少） ice has also forced more polar bears into the ocean. In the past, they only had to swim short distances between ice sheets. But as the ice has shrunk, polar bears have been forced to swim longer and longer distances in the open ocean. This poses a severe danger during rough weather, and an increasing number of drowned polar bears have been observed.
In Hudson Bay, the ice breaks up three weeks earlier in the spring now than it did 20 years ago. Polar bears on Hudson Bay fast（绝食） during the summer, waiting for ice to form in the fall to hunt. Every year, the summer gets longer, and the bears get skinnier. Over the past 25 years, the average weight of the female bears has dropped 68 kg. This loss affects their ability to reproduce, and already the number of births has dropped 15 percent. Unless the bears can learn to survive these climate changes, these giants of the ice may one day disappear.
小题1:What is Arctic ice doing earlier each year?| A．It’s freezing. | B．It’s hardening. | | C．It’s melting. | D．It’s expanding. |
小题2:What is true of polar bears that are spending more time on land in Alaska?| A．Their young are dying. | | B．Their diet is changing. | | C．Their health is improving. | | D．Their families are growing. |
小题3:What do polar bears in Hudson Bay do during the summer?| A．They claim territory(地域). | B．They protect mates. | | C．They hunt animals. | D．They stop feeding |
小题4:In which publication would you most likely find this passage?| A．Medical News | B．Society Today | C．Wildlife Journal | D．Design Magazine |
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答案
小题1:C
小题2:B
小题3:D
小题4:C |
解析
文章介绍了冰融化以后，北极熊得生活受到了很大的影响。
小题1:细节题。根据文章第一段可知冰在不停地融化。
小题2:推理题。根据文章第2段3,4行There, they have begun to frequent beaches, feeding on the remains of whales caught by native hunters.可知B正确。
小题3:细节题。根据第3段2,3行Polar bears on Hudson Bay fast（绝食） during the summer, waiting for ice to form in the fall to hunt.
小题4:推理题。根据文章内容可知是关于野生动物的情况介绍。 |
举一反三
Knowing the best way to study will help you to be a better student．By using your time properly，you can do your homework more quickly．Learning to stuady is not difficult．
The first thing to remember is that you must be willing to learn．It doesn’t mean that you must always like the subject．It does mean，however，that you must be willing to do whatever is necessary to learn．Try to understand why it is important and how it will help you now and later to do and learn other things．Knowing mathematics facts will be useful in your whole life．Knowing how to spell makes any kind of writing easier．Sometimes a subject that you think is going to be uninteresting will be exciting when you begin to work at it and understand it more clearly．Learning things can be fun if you are willing to work with them．
Here’s some advice for you：have a certain time each day and a quiet place with good lighting for study，so that you can concentrate(集中)on your study without interruptions(中断，打断)；have everything ready before you sit down to study—a dictionary，paper，a pen and books；be sure you understand what you should learn before you start；read carefully and pay special attention to the most important things；when memorizing(记忆), first find out the main parts and then recite(背诵)the whole thing；check your homework after you finish it：never forget the importance of review and preview．
小题1:The main idea of the text is ．| A．to prove that learning is not difficult | | B．to make the readers be interested in study | | C．to tell the importance of self-teaching | | D．to tell the students how to study well |
小题2:The first thing to remember in studying is that ．| A．you must like the subject | | B．you must follow the teacher | | C．you must enioy learning | | D．you must study hard |
小题3:What does the underlined word“preview”mean?| A．To go over． | | B．To review again． | | C．To view in advance． | | D．To discuss． |
小题4:Which of the following is NOT the advice given in the text?| A．To put a pen，paper and books beside you before study． | | B．To study at any possible time and place． | | C．To review and preview． | | D．To pay attention to the most important things。 |
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“If you talk to the plants, they will grow faster and the effect is even better if you’re a woman.” Researchers at Royal Horticultural Society carried out an experient to find that the voice of a woman gardener makes plants grow faster.
The experiment lasted a month and by the end of the study scientists managed to discover that tomato plants grew up two inches taller when women gardeners talked to them instead of male.
Sarah Darwin was the one making the plants registered the best growth. Her voice was the most “inspiring” for plants than those of nine other gardeners when reading a passage from The Origin of Species. The great-great-granddaughter of the famous botanist(植物学家) Charles Darwin found that her plant grew about two inches taller than the plant of the best male gardener.
Colin Crosbie, Garden Superintendent at RHS, said that the finding cannot yet be explained. He assumes that women have a greater range of pitch（音高） and tone（音调） which might have a certain effect on the sound waves that reach the plant. “Sound waves are an environmental effect just like rain or light ,”said Mr Grosbie.
The study began in April at RHS Garden Wisley in Survey. Scientists started with open auditions(听力) for the people who were asked to record passages from John Wyndham"s The Day of the Triffids, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer"s Night Dream and Darwin"s The Origin of Species.
Afterwards researchers selected a number of different voices and played them to 10 tomato plants during a period of a month. Each plant had headphones（耳机） connected to it. Through the headphones the sound waves could hit the plants. It was discovered that plants that “listened” to female voices on average grew taller by an inch in comparison to plants that heard male voices.
Miss Darwin said, “I think it is an honor to have a voice that can make tomatoes grow, and especially fitting because for a number of years I have been studying wild tomatoes from the Galapagos Island at the Natural History Museum in London.”
小题1:What does the passage talk about?| A．Plants enjoy men’s voices than women’s. | | B．A botanical experiment in a museum. | | C．Voice’s influence on plant growing. | | D．Strange phenomenon（现象） at Royal Horticultural Society. |
小题2:What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 4 mean?| A．Plants need sound as well as rain and light. | | B．Sound is basic for the plant to grow. | | C．Sound has a good effect as rain or light does. | | D．Plants can’t live without sound, rain or light. |
小题3:Sarah Darwin is most likely a (an)_____.| A．botanist | B．gardener | C．astronomer | D．environmentalist |
小题4:What can we learn from the passage?| A．The experiment ended in May. | | B．Scientist can explain the findings clearly. | | C．Plants enjoy listening to the passages from masterpieces. | | D．The findings are of great importance to human beings. |
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Kuss Middle School serves students in Fall River, Mass. , a former mill town that has struggled economically for decades. Students at Kuss have struggled, too, usually falling short of making the academic progress required under the No Child Left Behind law.
Then, last year, the school experimented with extending the school day. Teachers got paid at a higher hourly rate.
Students weren"t thrilled at first with leaving school at 4:15 p.m. instead of at 2:20 p.m. But the added hours gave them more time for physical education and let them select special interest classes. By the end of the year, student scores had risen by enough to enable Kuss to make the progress required under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
The only surprise is that more districts haven"t lengthened school schedules set decades ago to accommodate (适应) a farm economy rather the information economy of today.
School days
The USA ranks 36th of 40 industrialized nations in average weekly instructional time.
Selected countries:
1) Thailand--30.5 hours 2) Korea--30.3 hours 7) China--26.5 hours
14) France--24.6 hours 15 ) UK--24.6 hours
16) Mexico--24.2 hours 23 ) Japan--23.8 hours
26)Canada--23.6 hours 36)USA--22.2 hours 40)Brazil--19 hours
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New research suggests the time is ready for a change:
Matched against 39 other developed countries, the United States is near the bottom in the rankings of average weekly instructional time in school. Measured over 12 years, students in the top-scoring countries spend the equivalent of a full extra year in school.
US students perform poorly on math and science tests compared to their international peers, according to a US Education Department comparison released earlier this month. In math, American 15-year-old scored near the bottom among the study"s 30 developed countries.
Most countries that boost the number of minutes spent on math instruction find pay offs in improved math scores, according to a study released this month by the Brookings Institution. Small in creases in the school day are more effective than a longer school year, the report concluded.
The most encouraging news about the benefits of extending the school day comes from Massachusetts, where an experiment with 10 schools, including Kuss, appears to be working. Those 10 schools lengthened their instructional days by 25% and boosted their state scores in math, English and science at all grades.
Perhaps the concept won"t work everywhere. Certainly, it won"t instantly be popular. But it"s obvious that a problem exists or that adding class time seems to help.
小题1:What is the main idea of the above passage?| A．Experiments with extended school hours produce academic gains. | | B．Kuss Middle School sets a good example for US education. | | C．Academic progress has achieved under the No Child Left Behind law. | | D．Information age calls for more instructional lime at all schools. |
小题2:A longer school day is suggested for the following reasons except that _________.| A．students from many developed countries spend more time at school | | B．American students do a bad job at science subjects | | C．teachers are paid at a higher rate with time added | | D．a longer school day works better than a longer school year |
小题3:Which statement is true of Kuss Middle School?| A．Kuss Middle School lies in where a farm economy is changing to an information one. | | B．Kuss Middle school has joined the federal "No Child Left Behind" progrann | | C．Neither teachers nor students are happy with the longer school day. | | D．Adding class time functions at Kuss Middle School. |
小题4:The writer has expressed ____________.| A．a positive attitude towards adding school time | | B．a negative attitude towards adding school time | | C．a changing attitude towards adding school time | | D．a right attitude towards adding school time |
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Most British parents give their teenagers pocket money．Teenagers get between￡7 and￡20 a week．They spend it on fast food，designed clothes，the cinema，concert，magazines and mobile phones．
1)Lazy parents?
37％of parents pay teenagers to clean the living room，66％of parents pay teenagers to take the rubbish out．
2)Lazy teens?
51％of teenagers don’t make their beds before they leave home．
Only 1 3％of teenagers wash the car for money．
Some parents even pay their teenagers to do their homework．
3)Equality?Not Yet!
Boys get more money than girls for most odd jobs．
For washing the dishes，boys get about￡4 and girls get about￡1．
4)And if you need some more money?
Teens get an extra￡250 a year out of their parents on top of pocket money!
About 50％of teens get gifts or money from their grandparents．
Go to Mum if you need extra money! She gives more than Dad．
5)Where you live makes a difference!
Parents in Scotland and the North of England give more pocket money．
6)Spending
51％of teenagers spend their money on clothes．
39％of teenagers buy cosmetics(装饰品)，jewellery and toiletries(洗漱用品)．
Less than 30％of teenagers save any money．
7)Earnings
Here are some children who tell us about their pocket money：
Emma：I get￡30 a month．I have to take the rubbish out and tidy my room．
James：I get￡10 a week．But I have to clean the car，hoover(用真空洗尘器清洗)the house and load and unload the dishwasher．I usually save the money．
Lain：I get￡7．50 a week．I have to be“good”but I don’t have to do any jobs for the money．
Richard；I get￡5 a week．But our neighbors go away a lot and they give me￡25 a week for looking after their cats．
小题1:This passage is mainly about ．| A．teenagers everywhere get pocket money | | B．how to spend pocket money | | C．some bits about pocket money in Britain | | D．how to get pocket money |
小题2:According to the passage，which statement is true?| A．Parents are lazy so they let children do housework． | | B．Teens are too lazy to do housework unless they are given pocket money． | | C．The pocket money boys and girls get is not equal． | | D．It is not right for children to ask for pocket money． |
小题3:We can infer from the passage that ．| A．boys earn more money at home than girls | | B．girls earn more money at home than boys | | C．only rich parents give children pocket money | | D．most children spend their pocket money |
小题4:Who most probably gets the most money for a whole year according to the passage?| A．Emma | B．J ames | C．Lain | D．Richard |
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Today, traditional opinions about men still exist. A man has to be strong, brave, sports loving and manly. Anything less would not be considered manly. Sports such as football, basketball and boxing all tend (往往是) to be men’s sports. However, the dance of ballet is considered feminine because it requires nice movements. This tradition is shown in the movie, Billy Elliot.
Billy Elliot is a movie that protests against this traditional view of men. Billy Elliot is an eleven-year-old boy that has a natural talent for ballet dancing, but his father will not allow it. Billy’s father wants him to take up boxing and become stronger, but Billy goes against his father’s wishes and takes up ballet dancing. This difference of opinion makes Billy sad. What’s more, his friends also laugh at him.
After saving enough money, his father sends Billy to a weekly boxing course; however, Billy doesn’t enjoy boxing because he always loses in matches and is often hurt. His ballet teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson thinks that men or women should not be judged by the activities they like to do, so she tells Billy’s father that although he wants his son to make a good living, he should let his son do what he loves to do because he has a talent for it. When his father finally realizes the truth, Billy is surprised. In the end, with the help of his father, brother and all the people around him, Billy goes to the Royal Ballet Academy in London and becomes a very successful ballet dancer.
小题1:The underlined word “feminine” in the first paragraph most probably means ______| A．of men | B．of children | C．of women | D．of students |
小题2:Why is Billy laughed at by other children?| A．He always loses in boxing matches. | B．He isn’t strong. | | C．He looks like a girl. | D．He loves ballet. |
小题3:What do we know about Billy?| A．His teacher encourages him to take up ballet dancing. | | B．He does well in ballet dancing and boxing. | | C．He does what his father wants him to do. | | D．He has never taken up any men’s sports. |
小题4:From Billy’s story, we can see that _______.| A．children should accept their parents’ opinions | | B．we should try to fight against traditional opinions | | C．men and women play different sports | | D．parents should let their children do what they are interested in |
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