A strong wind can be a dangerous thing — sometimes it is powerful enough to knock you off your feet. But to plants, the wind is a source of new life, carrying them or their spores (孢子) thousands of miles.

A NASA satellite called QuikSCAT has discovered highways of wind over the Earth's oceans. Scientists believe these invisible roads may explain why many nonflowering plants, such as mosses (苔) and lichens (地衣), grow where they do.

The satellite is able to send microwaves (微波) from space to the surface of the ocean. The pattern of signals that come back shows which way the winds are blowing.

Using this data, the scientists studied a group of islands in the southern hemisphere (半球), near Antarctica．Winds tend to blow anticlockwise (逆時(shí)針) in this region, but there are lots of local differences.

When the researchers compared these local patterns to botanical (植物學(xué)) data, they found that the wind had an important effect on where species of mosses, lichens, and other nonflowering plants grow.

For example, Bouvet Island and Heard Island, share 30 per cent of their moss species, 29 per cent of liverworts (葉苔), and 32 per cent of lichens — even though they are 4,430 kilometers apart. In contrast, Gough Island and Bouvet Island, separated by just 1,860 kilometers of sea, share only 16 per cent of mosses and 17 per cent of liverworts. They have no lichens in common.

Ferns (蕨類(lèi)植物) and flowering plants don't travel as well in the wind, so they don't show the same kinds of distribution (分布) patterns.

This story is about _____.

       A．the discovery of wind highways    B．how wind travels

       C．how wind affects different plants        D． one function of the wind

The underlined word "data" in the fourth paragraph means _____.

       A．signal     B．pattern      C．information      D． research

Which of the following is wrong?

       A．Bouvet Island, Heard Island and Gough Island are all in the southern hemisphere.

       B．Winds in the researched area blow anti-clockwise.

       C．The scientists shouldn't base this research on how winds affect where ferns grow.

       D． Without the discovery of QuikSCAT, the research wouldn't have made sense.

Which of the following diagrams shows the correct position of the islands?

When we visited my old family home, memory came ________ back.

 A. flooding   B. to flood

C. flood  D. flooded

It was very cold ____ they still went swimming.

A. although  B.but  C. however   D. though

---Good morning. Grand Hotel.

   ---Hello, I'd like to book a room for the nights of the 18th and 19th.

A. What can I do for you?  B. Just a minute, please.

C. What's the matter?     D. At your service.

--- We really enjoyed ourselves at the party. Thanks again, Mr and Mrs Johnson.

---____. Just drop in whenever you feel like it.

A. With pleasure    B. Our great honor  

C. Nice to meet you here  D. Nice having met you here

He ______. It's a shame my mobile phone was power-off.

A. ought to call me  B. could have called me 

C. may be calling me   D.might call me

The captain ordered the crew to throw ____ the side of the ship all heavy guns and even stores in order to raise the boat in the water.

A. on    B. through    C. across      D. over

--- He has to finish the experiment today. He must be in the lab,____?

---That s quite possible.

A. mustn't he  B. won't he  C. doesn't he   D. isn't he

--Will you two go to the show tomorrow?

---No. We're going to a lecture, or at least I'm planning ____.

A. it      B. to      C. that     D. so

Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family. Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, “Mom, I can’t peel potatoes. I have only one hand.”

Mom never looked up from sewing. “You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes,” she told me. “And don’t ever use that as an excuse for anything again!”

In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel rod to the next. When it was my turn, I shook my head. Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying.

That night I told Mom about it. She hugged me, and I saw her “we’ll see about that” look. The next afternoon, she took me back to school. At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars.

“Now, pull up with your right arm,” she advised. She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other elbow. Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every rung I reached. I’ll never forget the next time, crossing the rungs, I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open.

One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing. I could hear Mom come into my room. “Mom,” I said, weeping, “none of the boys would dance with me.”

For a long time, I didn’t hear anything. Then she said, “Oh, honey, someday you’ll be beating those boys off with a bat.” Her voice was faint and cracking. I peeked out from my covers to see tears running down her cheeks. Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf. She had never let me see her tears.

。Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom’s           attitude when she made the child to peel potatoes?

A. Cruel.             B. Serious.             C. Strict.    D. Cold.

. From the passage, we know monkey bars can help a child train ______.

A. the skill to throw and catch things

B. the speed of one’s hand movement

C. the strength and skill to hang and sway

D. the bodily skill to rotate round a bar

. What does the sentence “I saw her ‘we’ll see about that’ look” imply?

A. Mom believed every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it.

B. The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up.

C. Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher.

D. What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity.

. When the child looked down at the kids, they were standing with their mouths open    because ______.

A. they felt sorry for what they had done before

B. they were afraid the author might fall off and get hurt

C. they wanted to see what the author would do on the bars

D. they were astonished to find the author’s progress

. The most probable conclusion we can draw after reading the passage is ______.

A. the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep

B. the child’s experience reminded Mom of that of her own

C. Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph

D. in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child’s growth