Liverpool city council (市政廳) want to clear the city of fat pigeons (鴿子). They say that people are feeding the birds, which makes them fat. The pigeons get bigger because they normally eat seeds (種子) and insects (昆蟲) for their main food, not high-fat junk food they are eating in the city centre.
The council want people to know that everyone who feeds the pigeons makes the streets crowded (擁擠)with these birds. They hope to encourage the birds to move away from the city centre and into parks and open spaces.
Ten robotic birds have been brought into the city centre to scare the pigeons away and visitors are asked not to give the pigeons any food. The mechanical birds—known as ‘robops’—will sit on the roofs of buildings. They can be moved around to different places. They look like a peregrine falcon, which is a bird that kills pigeons. They even make noises and flap their wings to scare the pigeons. They hope that the pigeons will go away before the city becomes the European Capital of Culture in two years.
【小題1】Liverpool city council want to clear the city of fat pigeons because ______.

A．the pigeons are eating junk food

B．the pigeons might get killed

C．the pigeons make the city center crowded

D．the pigeons sit on the roofs of buildings

【小題2】What do we know about a peregrine falcon?

A．It scares the robotic birds.	B．It is an enemy of the pigeons.
C．It looks like a pigeon.	D．It likes the food people give it.

【小題3】Which of the following is probably true according to passage?

A．The robots will fly around the city center like real birds.

B．Pigeons get fat because they eat seeds and insects.

C．Liverpool is the European Capital of Culture.

D．The pigeons like the food that people give them.

Scientists would like to place a huge mirror in space above the earth. It might be sixty miles wide. It would be used to catch the rays (光線) of the sun. It would direct the sun’s rays upon the earth as a child might do to make sunlight dance on the wall with a hand mirror.
Why do they want to do this? The sun’s rays could be helpful in many ways. They could light up cities by night. The warm rays could stop frosts (霜凍) which might come at night and hurt fruit crops. They could melt (融化) dangerous icebergs in the ocean. Perhaps they could change cloud movements and bring rain where it is needed.
【小題1】The huge mirror would ______.

A．stand 60 miles in height (高度)	B．be 60 miles from side to side
C．cover 60 miles of the earth	D．be 60 miles above the earth

【小題2】The mirror would be used to ______.

A．reflect (反射) sunlight	B．a(chǎn)bsorb (吸收) sunlight
C．see what the earth looks like	D．see how clouds move

【小題3】The strong light from the mirror could possibly ______.

A．hurt fruit crops	B．set fire to cities
C．bring longer daytime	D．shine through walls

【小題4】The huge mirror is ______.

A．something in a story	B．a(chǎn)lready made
C．just an idea	D．to be made soon

You might think that “global warming” means nothing more than a rise in the world’s temperature But rising sea levels caused by it have resulted in the first evacuation（撤離）of an island nation—the citizens of Tuvalu will have to leave their homeland.
During the 20th century , sea level rose 8—12 inches. As a result ,Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding of salt water which has polluted the country’s drinking water.
Paani Laupepa , a Tuvaluan government official ,reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusually high number of fierce storms in the past ten years .Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms.
Laupepa expressed dissatisfaction with the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement calling for industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions（導(dǎo)致溫室效應(yīng)的氣體排放）,which are a main cause of global warming . “By refusing to sign the agreement ,the US has effectively taken away the freedom of future generations of Tuvaluans to live where their forefathers have lived for thousands of years,” Laupepa told the BBC.
Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand to allow the gradual move of its people to both countries .
Tuvalu is not the only country that is vulnerable （易受影響的）to rising sea levels .Maumoon Gayoon ,president of the Maldives ,told the United Nations that global warming has made his country of 311,000 an “endangered nation”.
【小題1】The text is mainly about           .

A．rapid changes in earth’s temperature

B．bad effects of global warming

C．moving of a country to a new place

D．reasons for lowland flooding

【小題2】According to scientists ,the direct cause of more and fiercer storms is           .

A．greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized nations

B．higher surface water temperatures of the sea

C．continuous global warming

D．rising sea levels

【小題3】Laupepa was not satisfied with the United States because it did not        .

A．a(chǎn)gree to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions

B．sign an agreement with Tuvalu

C．a(chǎn)llow Tuvaluans to move to the US

D．believe the problems facing Tuvalu were real

【小題4】The country whose situation is similar to that of Tuvalu is          .

A．Australia

B．New Zealand

C．the Maldives

D．the United States

The African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth, is of great importance to African ecosystem (生態(tài)系統(tǒng)). Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a big plant­eater, it largely shapes the forest­and­savanna (稀樹(shù)草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.
It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and underbushes, and pulls branches of big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant­eaters.
Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant­eaters to move around and for small plant­eaters to get their food as well.
What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.
【小題1】What is the passage mainly about?

A．Disappearance of African elephants.

B．Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants.

C．The effect of African elephants' search for food.

D．The eating habit of African elephants.

【小題2】What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?

A．Fixing the time.	B．Worsening the state.
C．Improving the quality.	D．Deciding the conditions.

【小題3】What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?

A．They result from the destruction of rain forests.

B．They provide food mainly for African elephants.

C．They are home to many endangered animals.

D．They are attractive to plant­eating animals of different kinds.

【小題4】According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．The African elephant is the largest animal on earth.

B．African elephants have 300 pounds of plants every day, including small trees and under bushes.

C．The African elephant is in a way the builder of the environment like other land animals.

D．If the African elephant disappears, the whole ecosystem won't be affected.

【小題5】The passage is developed mainly by ________.

A．showing the effect and then explaining the causes

B．pointing out similarities and differences

C．describing the changes in space order

D．giving examples

If you are afraid of the dark，it’s not a big deal．It’s perfectly normal to feel afraid After all，animals do too. “Fear matters，”says Karen Warkentin，an ecologist．“It’s a good thing，” she adds, “because fear makes you do things that keep you alive.”
Like kids，many animals experience fear and they respond to the feeling in variety of ways．A frightened turtle pulls its head and legs inside its shell．A  small fish will swim away when a big，hungry fish approaches．
Some animals respond to fear in ways you might not expect．The first example is that the fear of being eaten can scare some frogs right out of their eggs. Warkentin made the surprising discovery while studying red—eyed tree frogs in Costa Rica.
In this species，female frogs attach jellylike clumps（果凍一樣的塊狀物）of their eggs to the undersides of leaves．The leaves hang on branches that dangle（懸掛）over ponds．After they hatch from the eggs，the tadpoles（蝌蚪）then fall into the water，where they eventually grow into adult frogs.
Tree frog eggs usually grow for 6 days before hatching．If they sense that a hungry snake is about to attack，however，they can hatch up to 2 days ahead of schedule. As the snakes are unable to swim，by falling into the water early，the tadpoles can escape.
If hatching early helps protect red—eyed tree frogs from snakes，you might wonder why their eggs don’t always hatch sooner．It turns out that hatching early brings its own danger．Once tadpoles land in the water，hungry fish and other animals like to eat them too．Staying in their eggs for a full 6 days，then，allows frog embryos（胚胎）to grow big and strong．This extra growth improves their chances of surviving in the water．
【小題1】It can be inferred from the passage that fears      .

A．help animals grow bigger and stronger

B．a(chǎn)re less common among young animals

C．help animals move a lot to fit the environment

D．a(chǎn)re more or less important in order for animals to survive

【小題2】We are told in the passage that tree frogs        .

A．face danger both inside their eggs and in the water

B．will grow fast if they fall into the water later

C．a(chǎn)re surprisingly clever when inside their eggs

D．stay in their eggs longer if they are frightened

【小題3】Why do the tadpoles hatch up to 2 days ahead of the schedule？Because

A．They like falling into the water early

B．They want to grow into adult frog

C． They sense a hungry snake is about to attack

D．Frog embryos can grow strong

【小題4】What is the best title of the passage ？

A．What is Fear	B．Why do we feel afraid
C．You feel afraid，animals do too	D．Fear is a good thing

【小題5】What do you think would be discussed in the following paragraph?

A．Further explanations as to why tree frogs hatch ahead of schedule．

B．How the unborn frogs know when a snake is about to attack them．

C．Another example of animals that responds to fear in an unexpected way．

D．How tree frogs improve their chances of survival before falling into the water.

The forces that make Japan one of the world's most earthquake-prone（有地震傾向的） countries could become part of its long-term energy solution．
Water from deep below the ground at Japan's tens of thousands of hot springs could be used to produce electricity．
Although Japanese high-tech companies are leaders in geothermal（地?zé)岬模?technology and export it, its use is limited in the nation．
"Japan should no doubt make use of its resources of geothermal energy," said Yoshiyasu Takefuji, a leading researcher of thermal-electric power production．
The disastrous earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 caused a reaction against atomic power, which previously made up 30 percent of Japan's energy needs, and increased interest in alternative energies, which account for only 8 percent．
Artist Yoko Ono has called on Japan to explore its natural energy, following the example of Iceland which uses renewable energy for more than 80 percent of its needs．
For now, geothermal energy makes up less than 1 percent of the energy needs in Japan, which has for decades relied heavily on fossil fuels and atomic power．
The biggest problem to geothermal energy is the high initial cost of the exploration and constructing the factories．Another problem is that Japan's potentially best sites are already being developed for tourism or are located within national parks where construction is forbidden．
"We can't even dig 10cm inside national parks．" said Shigeto Yamada of Fuji Electric, adding that regulations protecting nature would need to be relaxed for geothermal energy to grow．
Researcher Hideaki Matsui said, "Producing electricity using hot springs is a decades-long project．We also have to think about what to do for now as energy supplies will decline in the short term．"
The Earth Policy Institute in Washington, US, believed Japan could produce 80,000 megawatts（兆瓦）and meet more than half its electricity needs with geothermal technology．
Japanese giants such as Toshiba are already global leaders in geothermal technology, with a 70 percent market share．In 2010, Fuji Electric built the world's largest geothermal factory in New Zealand．
【小題1】What would be the best title for the text?

A．Alternative energies in Japan

B．World's largest geothermal plant

C．Japan takes the lead in geothermal technology

D．Japan thinks of geothermal energy

【小題2】What percentage of Japan's energy needs is geothermal energy?

A．About 8%．

B．Below 1%．

C．Around 30%．

D．Over 80%．

【小題3】According to Shigeto Yamada, the growth of geothermal power in Japan needs ____．

A．a(chǎn) change of rules	B．financial support
C．local people's help	D．high technology

【小題4】Geothermal energy is considered as a long-term program by _____．

A．Yoshiyasu Takefuji	B．Hideaki Matsui
C．Shigeto Yamada	D．Yoko Ono

【小題5】It can be learned from the last two paragraphs that _____．

A．the world's biggest geothermal plant was built by America

B．Japan will not export its geothermal technology

C．the potential of Japan's geothermal energy is great

D．it is hard to find geothermal energy in Japan

There are records of fingerprints taken many centuries ago. The ancient Babylonians pressed the tips of their fingerprints into clay to record business trade. The Chinese used ink-on-paper finger impressions for business. However, fingerprinting wasn't used as a method for identifying criminals until the 19th century．
In 1858, Sir William Herschel was working as an official of the Hooghly district in Jungipoor, India．In order to reduce fraud（詐騙）, he had people living in the district record their fingerprints when signing business documents. A few years later, Scottish doctor Henry Faulds was working in Japan when he discovered fingerprints left by artists on ancient pieces of clay．This finding inspired him to begin investigating fingerprints．In 1880, Faulds wrote to his cousin, the famous naturalist Charles Darwin, and asked for help with developing a fingerprint classification system．Darwin refused, but sent the letter to his cousin, Sir Francis Gallon, who was an eugenicist (優(yōu)生學(xué)家). Gallon began collecting fingerprints and eventually gathered some 8, 000 different samples to analyze. In 1892, he published a book called "Fingerprints", in which he outlined a fingerprint classification system—the first existence．
Around the same time, Juan Vucetich, a police officer in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was developing his own version of a fingerprinting system．In 1892, Vucetich was called in to assist with the investigation of the two boys murdered in Necoche, a village near Buenos Aires. Their mother, Francisca Rojas, accused a neighbour named Velasquez. But when Vucetich compared the fingerprints found at the murder scene to those of both Velasquez and Rojas, they matched Rojas' exactly．She admitted her crime. This was the first time fingerprints had been used in a criminal investigation.Vucetich called his system comparative dactyloscopy（指紋鑒定法）. It's still used in many Spanish-speaking countries．
Sir Edward Henry, in charge of the Metropolitan Police of London, soon became interested in using fingerprints to catch criminals. In 1896, he added to Gallon's technique, creating his own classification system, the Henry Classification System. It is the primary method of fingerprint classification throughout most of the world．
【小題1】Herschel had people record their fingerprints so as to_____．

A．develop a fingerprinting system	B．prevent illegal business
C．put them on pieces of clay	D．collect and study fingerprints

【小題2】Who first came up with the idea of creating a fingerprint classification system?

A．Herschel．

B．Faulds．

C．Gallon．

D．Darwin．

【小題3】The underlined word "they" in Paragraph 3 probably refers to "_____"．

A．the fingerprints

B．the two boys

C．the crimes

D．the police officers

【小題4】We can learn from the text that _____．

A．Faulds collected many fingerprints while in Japan

B．Henry's classification system is based on Gallon's

C．Darwin showed great interest in studying fingerprints

D．Vucetich's fingerprinting system is still used all over the world

【小題5】What is the text mainly about?

A．Different uses of fingerprints．

B．The history of fingerprinting．

C．Countries that first used fingerprints．

D．The way to collect and analyze fingerprints．

We don’t plan to cry, but it just happens. In fact when we feel sad or angry, a good cry is almost impossible to resist. But if you didn’t know what crying was, you’d have to wonder why some strong feelings started water streaming from people’s eyes and why they seemed to feel better afterwards.
Now a US researcher had found there may be more in crying than we think. William H. Frey II, author of “Crying: The Mystery of Tears,” believes it may really be one of the body’s clever self-repair mechanisms. Crying may be a way of getting rid of the by-products of stress, he says.
He has found that tears contain some chemicals which can cause stress. One of these is the hormone prolactin (激素), which is set free when one is feeling stressed. Since women have more of this than men, that might explain why they usually cry more, he suggests.
Unsurprisingly, Dr Frey’s study seemed to prove that most people feel better after a good cry. And sex has nothing to do with it ––– the result was true for women and men. So, next time you feel like bursting into tears, go ahead. If Dr Frey is right, you’ll be doing yourself a favour.
【小題1】The best title of this passage would be ________.

A．Why Do We Cry	B．Crying and Tears.
C．Dr Frey and Crying.	D．Tears and Chemicals

【小題2】According to the author, we feel like crying because________.

A．crying is one of our habits

B．we can’t control it

C．crying is one of the body’s self-repair mechanisms

D．we can get the by-products of stress by crying

【小題3】According to the passage, men seem less likely to cry than women because_______.

A．their bodies contain less hormone prolactin

B．their tears contain more chemicals

C．they are not so full of feelings as women

D．the chemicals in their tears can’t cause stress

【小題4】The author advised us________.

A．to plan to cry very often

B．not to cry any more

C．to go outdoors without hesitation

D．to cry as we want to

【小題5】Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Good cries can make most people feel better

B．Only women can feel better after crying.

C．It is easy to understand that people feel better after a good cry.

D．Crying is sometimes impossible to resist.

Scientists are making new studies of color and its effects on our health. They have known for a long time that the color of a room or the color of the light in it can affect our feelings and emotions. Many prisons and hospitals have at least one room that is painted pink. Officials have found that light and color can produce physical changes in our bodies.
Professor Falfan worked with a group of 9 disabled children at school in Albert. Two of the children were blind. The other seven had normal sight. The scientists changed the color of the school room, then looked for changes in blood pressure, heart beat and breathing rate. The effects of color changes were the same for the blind children as for those with normal sight. Their blood pressure dropped from about 120 to 100. Similar changes were reported in heart-beat and the breathing. The children also were calmer and less excited. Then the colors of the room were returned to orange and white. Blood pressure, heart-beat and breathing rate went up and the children became excited again.
Professor Falfan said different colors produce different levels of light energy. He said the differences seem to affect chemicals in the brain that carry messages from nerve to nerve and from nerve to muscle.
【小題1】Light and color can affect________.

A．only one’s feelings and emotions

B．one’s energy

C．one’s mental changes

D．one’s heart-beat, brain activities, blood pressure, feelings and emotions

【小題2】The color of pink had a calming effect, that is to say, the color affects __________.

A．the chemicals in the brain	B．the eyes
C．the skin	D．the muscle

【小題3】According to the text, orange and white are colors which can make people ________.

A．calm

B．a(chǎn)ctive

C．sick

D．blind

【小題4】The colors in the school room mentioned in the passage were changed from _________.

A．orange to white	B．orange and white to dark blue
C．orange and white to pink or some other colors	D．gray to more colors

【小題5】After reading the passage we can conclude that ________.

A．blind people can be affected by colors, too

B．one’s heart will beat fast in a colorful room than in a white room

C．the chemicals in the brain change with feelings and emotions

D．if one’s blood pressure drops, his breathing will get slower and slower

If music makes you smarter and exercise helps you to think, surely exercising to music can turn you into an intelligent person.
A team of scientists from Ohio State University did experiments on 33 volunteers who were getting better from heart disease following operation. They found that people who exercised while listening to Italian musician Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” did much better on language ability tests than without music.
“Facts suggest that exercise improves the learning ability of people with heart disease,” said the psychologist Charles Emery, who led the study. “And listening to music is thought to enhance understanding. We just wanted to put the two results together,” he added.
The volunteers said they felt better emotionally and physically after working out with or without the music. But their improvement on the test doubled after listening to music during exercise. Scientists have proved that music can be good for health, education and well-being. It helps reduce stress, sadness and nervousness; encourages relaxation or sleep; wakes up the body and improves memory and thoughts.
In medical fields, music is used widely for patients who have had head hurts before and after operation. “The Four Seasons” was used because of its moderate tempo（舒緩的節(jié)拍）and positive results in earlier research. “Exercise seems to cause positive changes in the nervous system(神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)) and these changes may have a direct result on learning ability,” Emery said.
Scientists have been studying the results of music on understanding since the early 1950s. By 2000, psychologists were using Mozart’s music, especially his violin pieces, to help children with speech disorders. Mozart was chosen because his music is not overexciting and has clear structures. A study showed students who listened to Mozart went on to score higher marks in an intelligence test. With important exams drawing near, your parents will not probably allow you to listen to music. But perhaps now you have good reasons to argue with them.
【小題1】The underlined word enhance can be replaced by ______.

A．impress

B．improve

C．provide

D．produce

【小題2】The text mainly tells us that _____.

A．music and exercise lead to relaxation or sleep

B．33 volunteers work on music in medical fields

C．exercising to music makes people healthy and bright

D．scientists give suggestions on choosing music to exercise to

【小題3】It can be learned from the last paragraph that ______.

A．you are supposed to follow your parents’ words

B．students should not listen to music before exams

C．you have some good reasons to exercise to music

D．music might help you to get higher grades in tests

【小題4】Which of the following statements is true?

A．Exercise seems to cause negative changes without music.

B．Exercise reminds people with head hurts of what they’ve learned.

C．Scientists often use Mozart’s music, for it is not too exciting.

D．“The Four Seasons” is used to help children with speech disorders.