A volcanic eruption in Iceland has sent ash across northern Europe Airlines have stopped or changed the flights across the Atlantic Ocean, leaving hundreds of passengers stuck in airports.
Grimsvom is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Europe. What makes Grimsvom different is that it lies under a huge glacier(冰川) of ice up to 12 maters thick. The hot volcano heats up the ice above it, which then forms a layer(層)of water between the glacier and the volcano This layer of water puts pressure on the volcano, keeping it stable, As the water flows out from under the glacier, the pressure lifts. The lava(巖漿) from the volcano then comes up to the surface. This is exactly what happened today.
Now, airlines have to make changes to their flights so as not to fly through the clouds of volcanic ash. according to KLM, one of Europe’s biggest airlines, airplanes cannot go under the cloud or over it. Going through the cloud can result in ash getting stuck in the airplane’s engines, causing damage to the plane.
The eruption has also caused problems for animals in Iceland. The volcano left ash and sharp. Glass-like rocks all over the countryside. Farmers are keeping their animals inside to stop them from eating ash—covered grass to the sharp object.
【小題1】What makes Grimsvom different from other volcanoes?

A．It is below ice.

B．It lies under the sea

C．It is the largest volcano

D．It is lava affects the airlines

【小題2】What keeps Grimsvom still?

A．The slow flow of water.

B．The low water temperature.

C．The thick glacier.

D．The water pressure.

【小題3】Which of the following is the result of the volcanic eruption?

A．People stop traveling in Europe.

B．Airlines suffer from the loss of planes.

C．It becomes dangerous for animals to eat outside.

D．Farmers have lost many of their animals.

【小題4】This text is most probably taken from________.

A．a(chǎn) research paper

B．a(chǎn) newspaper report

C．a(chǎn) class presentation

D．a(chǎn) geography textbook

Before the early 1960’s people interested in the differing roles of the left and right hemispheres(半球) of the brain depended almost entirely on facts drawn from animal research, form studies of patients with one-sided brain damage. But it was possible to find out which brain hemisphere was most involved in speech and other functions in normal people by having them listen to two different words coming to the two ears at the same time. This became known as the “dichotic listening” procedure. When several word pairs are given in a row, people are unable to report them all, and most right-handers prefer to report, and report more correctly, words given to their right ears. This seems to be related to the fact that signals from the right ear, although sent to both hemispheres, are better sent to the left hemisphere which controls speech. People who have speech represented(回憶) in the right hemisphere, a very unusual occurrence even in left-handed people, more correctly report what their left ears hear.
In contrast to the right-ear advantage for speech, there is generally a left-ear advantage for another type of auditory(聽覺的) signal: music. When right-handed people listen to melodic patterns they report them better from the left ear.
【小題1】Which of the following would be the most proper title for the passage?

A．An Introduction to Speech Damage in Patients with Brain Damage.

B．An Investigation into the Role of the Brain’s Hemispheres.

C．An Analysis of Left and Right-handed People.

D．An Examination of “Dichotic Listening”.

【小題2】The “dichotic listening” procedure could best be described as hearing _______.

A．two different words in the same ear twice

B．the same word twice in the same ear

C．two different words in different ears

D．two different words twice in two ears

【小題3】according to the passage, right-handed people normally _______.

A．have better hearing in their both ears

B．have little difficulty in reporting words given to their right ears

C．a(chǎn)re unable to report word pairs given to their left ears

D．correctly report word pairs given in a row

【小題4】according to the passage, music is best appreciated when heard by _______.

A．the left ear of right-handers

B．people with a left-ear advantage

C．left-handers in their right ears

D．right-handed people who understand melodic patterns

Australians have been warned they face a life or death decision over their water —— drink recycled sewage(污水) or die.
With the drought(干旱) continuing, the country is set to be forced to use purified waste water for drinking, even if there is great opposition to the measure
Queensland has become the first state to introduce the policy after a warning from its premier.
“I think in the end, because of the drought, all of Australia is going to end up drinking recycled purified water,” said former Premier Peter Beattie. “These are difficult decisions, but you either drink water or you die. There’s no choice. It's liquid gold; it a matter of life and death.”   
Beattie said Australia's second largest state would become the first to use recycled water for drinking．
Water is recycled in Britain and parts of northern Europe along with the US and Israel．
But Australians have never liked the idea．
To try to change the way Australians think, John Howard  and  Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull have Supported Queensland’s move.
“I am very strongly for recycling and Mr Beattie is right and I agree with him completely,” Howard said．
“Australian cities, all now facing water shortages because of the worst drought on record, must start to use recycled water,” added Turnbull. “All of our big cities have to widen the range of water sources to include sources which are not dependent on rainfall.”
【小題1】What is the passage mainly about?

A．Australians face the choice of life and death．

B．Continuing drought forces Australians to drink recycled sewage．

C．Mr Beattie is worried about his people’s health．

D．We should avoid drinking recycled water to keep healthy．

【小題2】According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．The drought is the worst one in the droughts recorded in Australian history．

B．Australia’s largest state has become the first state to introduce the policy．

C．No other countries but Australia decides to drink recycled water．

D．Nobody disagrees to the idea of drinking recycled purified water．

【小題3】It can be inferred from what Peter Beattie said that_________.

A．he gives orders to drink purified waste water.

B．if the decision is made, people won't survive the drought

C．it is painful for him to see his people drink recycled sewage

D．it's up to you to make a life or death decision

About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way. Women are luckier; only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter. Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman!
There are different forms of color blindness. In some cases a man may not be able to see deep red. He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shadows of green. Sometimes a person cannot tell the difference between blue and green. In rare cases an unlucky man may see everything in shades of green － a strange world indeed.
Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain. In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones”. These help us to see in a bright light and to tell difference between colors. There are also millions of “rods”, but these are used for seeing when it is near dark. They show us shape but no color.
Some insects have favorite colors. Mosquitoes prefer blue to yellow. A red light will not attract insects, but a blue lamp will. In a similar way human beings also have favorite colors. Yet we are lucky. With the aid of the cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day, and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night. One day we may even learn more about the invisible colors around us.
【小題1】The passage is mainly about _____________.

A．color and its surprising effects.

B．women being luckier than men

C．danger caused by color blindness

D．color blindness

【小題2】According to the passage, with the help of the “cones”, we can_______________.

A．tell different shapes	B．see in a weak light
C．kill mosquitoes	D．tell orange from yellow

【小題3】Why do some people say it is safer to be driven by women?

A．Women are more careful.

B．There are fewer color-blind women

C．Women are fonder of driving than men.

D．Women are weaker but quicker in thinking.

【小題4】Which of the statements about the color- blind is true?

A．Not all of them have the same problem in recognizing color.

B．None of them can see deep red.

C．None of them can tell the difference between blue and green.

D．All of them see everything in shades of green.

【小題5】We can attract and kill mosquitoes by using a _____________.

A．red light	B．yellow light
C．blue light	D．green light

When many people see birds cleaning their feathers, they attribute it to vanity on the part of the bird. But, in reality, what they are doing is maintaining their wings, the instruments that they depend on for safe flight. If a bird’s wings are not in perfect condition, the bird either won’t be able to fly or won’t be able to control its flight. That is why after a long flight and even throughout the day, you will see them cleaning their feathers.
Most birds, if they get a chance, will take a bath at least once a day. They do this to get rid of the dust that has accumulated in their feathers throughout their flight s during the day. In dry or desert areas, birds will not always be able to find water in which to bath, but they still need to clean their feathers. What many birds will do is to take dust baths. They will roll around in dust until it covers their feathers. They will stand up, shaking the dust out, and then clean their feathers with their beaks (鳥嘴) as usual.
Baths are important for another reason. During the course of the day and night, many parasites (寄生蟲) are attracted to birds. Bugs, mites, fleas and so on will try to reach birds and suck from their blood. Daily baths help to keep the parasites to a minimum.
Some birds, especially those that spend a lot of time in or around water, have skin glands (皮膚腺) that produce oil. After bathing, these birds will squeeze the glands to spread the oil over their wings to keep them free of water.
If you are a bird lover and have bird houses in your yard, it can be good to go to the extra step, providing a bird bath. Once the birds in your neighborhood discover it, you will be surprised at how popular it becomes as they periodically stop by to take their daily bath.
【小題1】What’s the passage mainly about?

A．How birds clean themselves.	B．What birds enjoy doing.
C．Why baths matter so much to birds.	D．What bird lovers should do.

【小題2】What does the underlined part in Para 1 probably mean?

A．Most people think it good for birds to clean their feathers.

B．Most people show much interest in how birds clean themselves.

C．Most people believe that birds’ keeping themselves clean is necessary.

D．Most people think birds’ cleaning their feathers of no practical significance.

【小題3】According to Para 3, birds’ feather cleaning _____.

A．helps keep them healthy	B．keeps them free of any parasite
C．makes them more attractive	D．helps them relax enough

【小題4】In the last paragraph, the author further reminds us that _____ .

A．we should love birds as much as possible

B．birds enjoy cleaning themselves by bathing

C．we can be good bird lovers by bathing birds

D．birds like to come close to the people in a yard

We each have a unique genetic (基因的，遺傳的) make-up. Every cell of your body has the same set of about 100,000 separate genes made of DNA. These are the instructions for producing a person. Genes decide everything from the colour of your skin to the way your brain works. You have one of several billion combinations of DNA which come from the random mixing of your parents’ genes. Except for identical twins (同卵雙胞胎), no one has the same combination as another person. You are unique! You are unique in another way too: in the way you are raised and all the experiences you have from before birth to adult life. These experiences influence you, your behaviour and attitudes, and the choices you make.
But are genes or life experiences more important in shaping your appearance and personality? Scientists are studying twins to find out. One set of twins occurs every 70 births---some are identical and others are non-identical twins. Identical twins are special because they share exactly the same genes and often the same environment. Non-identical twins are more like ordinary brothers and sisters.
Some identical twins have been adopted and brought up in different homes. With identical genes but a different home environment, scientists can study twins to see how much a particular feature depends on the genes we inherit. For example, we know that eye problems, like short-sightedness, are mostly genetic. But resistance to pain is largely dependent on experiences. Genes also influence our eating habits. Identical twins brought up apart often like to eat at the same time of day and feel full after eating the same amount. Non-identical twins in similar circumstances have more varied eating habits. Identical twins are also more likely to follow the same patterns for marriage and divorce than non-identical twins.
Scientists are trying to identify the different genes that influence our behaviour. Some people are thrill-seekers and get into risk-taking and adventurous activities. They take up extreme sports like bungee jumping and possibly take drugs. Scientists have discovered a gene which affects this.
We could ask, “Are our lives determined by our genes or our upbringing?” Scientists are learning more all the time, but it is certainly true that both are important in making us who we are.
【小題1】What is the main idea of the first paragraph?

A．We cannot easily change our physical appearance.

B．How we turn out depends on our parents’ genes.

C．Everyone has a physical double somewhere in the world.

D．Both our genes and our experiences make us who we are.

【小題2】Why are scientists studying twins?

A．To find out how many twins are born every year.

B．To discover what shapes us as individuals.

C．To compare differences between twins.

D．To study brother-and-sister relationships.

【小題3】According to the passage, __________.

A．one in 70 twins are genetically identical

B．non-identical twins are usually not of the same sex

C．twins separated at birth behave exactly the same

D．identical twins are genetically the same

【小題4】Which of the following is most affected by experience according the passage?

A．Eating habits.

B．Eye-sight.

C．Pain resistance.

D．Marriage patterns.

【小題5】What does the underlined “this” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Our love of sport.	B．Our attitude to risk-taking.
C．Our skill at bungee jumping.	D．Our ability to take drugs.

Light travels at a speed which is about a million times faster than the speed of  sound. You can get some idea of this difference by watching the start of a race. If    you stand some distance away from the starter, you can see smoke from his gun      before the sound reaches your ears.
This great speed of light produces some strange facts. Sunlight takes about 8 minutes to reach us. If you look at the light of the moon tonight, remember that the light   rays left the moon 1.3 seconds before they reached you. The nearest star is so far  away that the light that you can see from it tonight started to travel towards you    four years ago at a speed of nearly 2 million km. per minute. In some cases, the    light from one of tonight’s stars had started on its journey to you before you were born.
Thus, if we want to be honest, we can’t say, “The stars are shining tonight.” We   have to say instead, “The stars look pretty. They were shining four years ago, but    their light has only just reached the earth.”
【小題1】 Light speed is ______ sound speed

A．a(chǎn)s fast as	B．a(chǎn) million times slower than
C．a(chǎn)bout millions of times faster than	D．a(chǎn)bout a million times faster than

【小題2】If you stand 200 meters away from a man who is firing a gun to start a race, you will find out that ______.

A．you can hear the sound before you see the smoke

B．the sound does not travel as fast as light

C．the sound will reach you before the man fires

D．sound travels about a million times faster than light

【小題3】Sunlight obviously (明顯地) ______ than the light of the moon

A．has to travel a greater distance	B．moves less quickly
C．travels much more quickly	D．is less powerful(有力的)

【小題4】The scientific way of saying "The stars are shining tonight" should be ______.

A．the stars have been shining all the time

B．the stars seen tonight will shine four years later

C．the stars were shining long ago but seen tonight

D．the starlight seen today could be seen four years ago

In a world with limited land, water and other natural resources(資源), the harm from the traditional business model is on the rise. Actually, the past decade has seen more and more forests disappearing and the globe becoming increasingly warm. People now realize that this unhealthy situation must be changed, and that we must be able to develop in sustainable(可持續(xù)的)ways. That means growth with low carbon or development of sustainable products. In other words, we should keep the healthy while using its supply of natural resources.
Today, sustainable development is a popular trend in many countries. According to a recent study, the global market for low-carbon energy will become three times bigger over the next decade. China, for example, has set its mind on leading that market, hoping to seize chances in the new round of the global energy resolution. It is now trying hard to made full use of wind and solar energy, and is spending a huge amount of money making electric cars and high-speed trains. In addition, we are also seeing great growth in the global markets for sustainable products such as palm oil(棕櫚油), which is produced without cutting down valuable rainforest. In recent years the markets for sustainable products have grown more than 50%.
Governments can fully develop the potential of these new markets. First, they can set high  targets for reducing carbon emissions(排放) and targets for saving and reusing energy. Besides, stronger arrangement of public resources like forests can also help to speed up the development. Finally, governments can avoid the huge public expenses that are taking us in the wrong direction, and redirecting some of those expenses can accelerate the change from the traditional model to a sustainable one.
The major challenge of this century is to find ways to meet the needs of a growing population within the limits of this single planet. That is no small task, but it offers a large of new chances for sustainable product industries.
【小題1】The traditional business model is harmful because of all the following EXCEPT that____.

A．it makes the world warmer

B．it consumes natural resources

C．it brings severe damage to future

D．it makes growth hard to continue

【小題2】What can we infer from Paragraph2?

A．China lacks wind and solar energy

B．China is the leader of the low-carbon market

C．High-speed trains are a low-carbon development

D．Palm oil is made at the cost of valuable forests

【小題3】To fully develop the low-carbon markets, governments can______.

A．cut public expenses	B．forbid carbon emission
C．develop public resources	D．encourage energy conservation

【小題4】We can learn from the last paragraph that business have many chances to _______.

A．develop sustainable products	B．explore new natural resources
C．make full use of natural resources	D．deal with the major challenge

【小題5】What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To introduce a new business model	B．To compare two business models
C．To predict a change of the global markets	D．To advocate sustainable development

Of all the things we eat and drink, water is the most important. Not all people realize this, but it is quite true. The human body can live without food for a long time, but two or three days without water usually result in death.
Many people do not understand how much water the human body needs, but many people do not drink enough, especially in the hot weather. Most people drink when they are thirsty but often need more water after exercises.
65 to 70 percent of the human body is water. Water is important in several different ways. Most people need five to seven liters（升） of water every day, but we needn’t drink this amount(量) because a lot comes from the food we have. If we don’t have enough water, however, we will feel tired and many become ill. Do you know what the best drink is? Yes, you are right. Cool water!
【小題1】When do we need more water?________

A．In cold weather or after exercises.

B．In hot weather or after exercises.

C．Before breakfast, lunch and supper.

D．When we feel tired or become ill.

【小題2】How much water are there in the human body?_________

A．About three fourths of the human body is water.

B．Nearly a half of the human body is water.

C．Less than a half of the human body is water.

D．Almost one fourth of the human body is water.

【小題3】Must most people drink five liters（升）of water every day?_______

A．Yes, because water is the most important

B．No, because what we eat contains（包含）water

C．Yes, because we can’t live without water

D．No, because we are not thirsty

【小題4】Which of the following is not right?_________

A．Cool water is the best drink.

B．Few people understand how much water the human body needs.

C．All the people don’t realize water is the most important.

D．When we feel tired or become ill, we never need any water.

Save the Animals
Animals are natural resources(資源) that people have wasted all through our history.
Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers(羽毛), for food, for sport, and simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the earth forever. Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger.
Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more.
Animals are more than just beautiful or interesting. They are more than just a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance (平衡) of nature. Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems.
For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks(鷹), the farmers’ stores of corn and grain were destroyed by rats and mice. Why? Because hawks eat rats and mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the rats and mice multiplied(繁殖) quickly.
Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger.
Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid(禁止) the killing of any animal or plant on the danger list. Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing.
【小題1】Animals are important to us mainly because __________.

A．they give us a source of food

B．they are beautiful and lovely

C．they keep the balance of nature

D．they give us a lot of pleasure

【小題2】What has happened to the animals on the earth?

A．About 170 kinds of animals have disappeared forever.

B．Thousands of kinds of animals are gone forever.

C．A few kinds of animals have died out.

D．All kinds of animals are in danger.

【小題3】Why do people kill animals?

A．They kill animals for something they need.

B．They kill animals to raise some money.

C．Animals destroy their natural resources.

D．Animals create many problems.

【小題4】What can we conclude from the fact that quite a few countries have passed laws protecting animals in danger?

A．Animals in danger will be kept away from people.

B．Animals in danger will not be killed any more.

C．The number of some animals in danger will increase.

D．Every person will know the importance of protecting wild animals.