From a plane we can see the fields, cities, mountains or seas below. If we go into space, we see more and more of the earth. People and man-made satellites have been sent out into space to look at the earth carefully and people have learnt more about the earth in the last few years.
The sea looks very beautiful when the sun is shining on it. But it can be very terrible when there is a strong wind.
The sea is very big. It nearly covers three quarters of the earth. The sea is also very deep in some places. There is one place and at that place the sea is about 11 kilometers deep. The highest mountain in the world is about 9 kilometers high. If that mountain was put into the sea at that place, there would be still 2 kilometers of water above it!
In most parts of the sea, there are many kinds of fishes and plants. Some live near the top of the sea. Others live deep down. There are also a lot of small living things, and lots of fishes live by eating them.
The sea can be very cold. When people go down, the sea becomes colder and colder. Only some men can go down into the deep sea. But, in 1970, five women scientists (科學(xué)家) lived in the deep sea for fourteen days.
【小題1】This passage is_________.

A．a(chǎn) short story	B．for science reading
C．a(chǎn) piece of news	D．a(chǎn) report

【小題2】The sea covers about _______of the earth.
A One third         B. One fourth
C. Two quarters    D. Three fourths
【小題3】 Which of the following is NOT true?

A．The sea is usually beautiful when the sun is shining.

B．The sea is always very terrible when the wind blows hard.

C．The highest mountain is in the deepest place of the sea.

D．The deeper the people go into the sea, the colder they will feel.

【小題4】 The last sentence “But, in 1970, five women scientists lived in the deep sea for fourteen days.” means that________.

A．women wanted to live in the deep sea for a long time

B．women could go deeper into the sea than men

C．women liked living in the deep sea better than men

D．women could do the same work as men

There are many wetlands(濕地) in China and some of them have become the world’s important wetlands. The Chinese Yellow Sea Wetlands are among them. They are in Yancheng，Jiangsu Province. They are home of many different kinds of birds and animals. The world’s largest Milu Deer Nature Reserve(自然保護(hù)區(qū)) is in them. More than 700 milu deer live freely there.
The temperature in the wetlands is usually neither too high nor too low. There is a lot of rain and sunshine，too. They are really good places for wildlife. Offering food and home for some special kinds of animals and birds is not the only reason why we need to protect wetlands.
Wetlands are important because they also prevent flood. But some people want to change the wetlands to make more space for farms and buildings. This means there will be less and less space for wildlife.
Luckily, more and more people are beginning to realize the important of wetlands and wildlife. Every year, on February 2nd many activities are held to tell people more about wetlands around the world.
【小題1】 Which animal is mentioned in the passage?
   
A                  B                   C                 D
【小題2】Usually the weather in the wetlands is ____.

A．hot

B．mild

C．cold

D．dry

【小題3】The reasons for protecting wetlands are the following except that ______

A．they are home of wildlife

B．they can prevent flood

C．they offer food to the wildlife

D．they will be good farmland

【小題4】 What can be the best title for the passage?

A．China’s wetlands –the Biggest One in the World

B．Wetlands --- Home of Wildlife and Human Beings

C．Special Animals --- Found in Yellow Sea Wetlands

D．Wetlands --- the Last Valuable Land on the Earth

A grave of a man dating back to around 2300 BC was found by archaeologists in England On May 3, 2002. Buried with him were the tools of a hunter or warrior. There was a bone pin that may have been from a piece of clothing such as a leather coat. He carried a copper knife on his breast. The most amazing find was two gold earrings. That would have made him a man of distinction. Only a few centimeters from his head were two pots made of clay, tools and materials to make arrows, a bow and a dozen arrows for hunting and a second, smaller copper knife. Next to them lay a cushion stone, upon which the man could work metal.
His grave is the richest of any found from that period, because this man was buried with two gold earrings which are the oldest gold ever found in Britain (dated to 2470 BC). Besides, he was buried three miles from Stonehenge. Archaeologists tend to believe he was a member of a powerful class who might have organized the construction of Stonehenge.
Stonehenge was begun around 3000 BC. In about 2300 BC the huge stone circles were built. The biggest stone weighed approximately 20 tons. But the smaller blue stones, still weighing 4 tons on average, came from west Wales. It is not yet known how these were conveyed over a distance of 380 km. It is also a mystery how early man was able to construct Stonehenge without the use of modern construction machines and lorries.
He is an example of people who brought culture and new techniques from the European mainland to Britain. In terms of technical development people were going from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age and then to the Iron Age.
【小題1】Which are not included in the things that are found in the grave of a man?

A．Tools, a bone pin, a bow and a cushion stone

B．A copper knife and two gold earrings.

C．Two pots, arrows and materials to make arrows.

D．some chicken and grains.

【小題2】 The man buried in the grave might be ______ at that time.

A．A poor man	B．a(chǎn) kind-hearted man
C．a(chǎn) rich man	D．a(chǎn)n ordinary man

【小題3】 Why is the man buried in the grave called the "king of Stonehenge" ?

A．He was buried three miles from Stonehenge.

B．He had the oldest gold ever found in Britain.

C．He might be a member of a powerful class who might have organized the construction of Stonehenge.

D．All of the above.

【小題4】 We can infer that _______ .

A．how Stonehenge was built

B．the King of Stonehenge was from France

C．Stonehenge was built through several ages

D．Stonehenge was built because of war

Why is pink or purple a color for girls and blue or brown for boys?
The answer depends largely on cultural values as well as personal experiences. To the Egyptians, green was a color that represented the hope and joy of spring, while for Muslims, it means heaven. Red is a symbol (象征) of good luck in many cultures. In China, children are given money in a red envelope to bring good fortune in the New Year. For many nations, blue is a symbol of protection and religious beliefs. Greek people often wear a blue necklace hoping to protect themselves against evils (災(zāi)禍).
People’s choice of colors is also influenced by their bodies’ reactions (反應(yīng)) toward them. Green is said to be the most restful color. It has the ability to reduce pain and relax people both mentally and physically. People who work in green environment have been found to have fewer stomach aches.
Red can cause a person’s blood pressure to rise and increase people’s appetites (食欲). Many decorators will include different shades of red in the restaurant. Similarly, many commercial websites will have a red “Buy Now” button because red is a color that easily catches a person’s eye.
Blue is another calming color. Unlike red, blue can cause people to lose appetite. So if you want to eat less, some suggest that eating from blue plates can help.
The next time you are deciding on what to wear or what color to decorate your room, think about the color carefully.
【小題1】 Muslims regard green as a symbol of heaven mainly because of their______.

A．cultural values	B．commercial purposes
C．personal experiences	D．physical reactions to the color

【小題2】 Why will many commercial websites have a red “Buy Now” button?

A．To relax people physically.

B．To increase people’s appetites.

C．To encourage people to make a purchase.

D．To cause a person’s blood pressure to rise.

【小題3】 What color might help lose weight according to the text?

A．Red.

B．Green.

C．Blue.

D．Purple.

【小題4】 Which of the following would be the most proper title for the text?

A．Colors and Human Beings

B．The Cultural Meaning of Color

C．The Meaning and Function of Color

D．Colors and Personal Experiences

Wildlife faces threats(威脅)from habitat destruction, pollution, and other human actions. Although protecting wildlife may seem too hard at times, even small actions in your own neighborhood can help protect many different animals. Here are some tips on how to protect wildlife through small actions.
1．Create wildlife friendly areas in your backyard.
When trying to make your garden more beautiful, you can choose plants that can provide food and shelter to native wildlife. This will also help cut down on pollution. And bird or bat houses to your yard or garden to attract and shelter these species.
2．Avoid harming the natural ecosystem(生態(tài)系統(tǒng))in your area.
Some plants from other places can kill or harm native plants that provide food and shelter for wildlife.
3．Have a greener lifestyle.
By using less water and fewer fuels, you will be helping to protect the wildlife around you. Take buses or the subway when you can, turn off electric devices when you're not using them, take shorter showers, and keep your room temperature at or below 68 degrees during the winter.
4．Buy products that are wildlife friendly.
Don't buy products that are made from endangered animals. Keep in mind that some endangered animals are killed by traps, catches or hunters who are after other wildlife within the same habitat.
5．Donate money or time to organizations that protect wildlife and their habitats.
You can give money to organizations or groups that protect wildlife species in your neighborhood.
【小題1】 We infer that the purpose of this passage is to________.

A．tell us why protecting wildlife is extremely important now

B．suggest that we protect wildlife through actions

C．explain why protecting wildlife is not as hard as people think

D．give us some tips on how to protect wildlife through small actions

【小題2】 Which of the following threats to wildlife is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．Animal diseases.

B．Loss of habitat.

C．Pollution.

D．Hunters.

【小題3】 In which section of a newspaper would you most probably read this passage?

A．Environment	B．Teaching
C．Business	D．Geography

The goal of earthquake prediction is to give early enough warning. The U.S. Geological Survey conducts and supports research on the likelihood of future earthquakes. Scientists estimate earthquake probabilities in two ways: by studying the history of large earthquakes in a special area and the rate at which strain（拉力）accumulates（積累）in the rock.
Scientists study the past frequency of large earthquakes in order to determine the future likelihood of similar large shocks. For example scientists researched the large earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay region during the 75 years between 1836 and 1911. For the next 68 years, no earthquakes of magnitude (震級) 6 or large occurred in the region. Beginning with a magnitude 6 shock in 1979, the earthquakes in the region increased dramatically; between 1979 and 1989, there were four magnitude 6 or greater earthquakes, including a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. So scientists estimated that the probability of a magnitude 6.8 or larger earthquake occurring during the next 30 years in the region is about 67 percent.
Another way to predict earthquakes is to study how fast strain accumulates. When plate movements build the strain in rocks to a critical level, like pulling a rubber band too tight, the rocks will suddenly break and slip to a new position. Scientists measure how much strain accumulates along a fault (斷層) each year, how much time has passed since the last earthquake, and how much strain was released in the last earthquake. This information is used to calculate the time required for the accumulating strain to build to the level that results in an earthquake. This simple model is so complicated that such detailed information about faults is rare. In the United States, only the San Andreas Fault System has adequate records for using this prediction method.
Scientific understanding of earthquakes is of vital importance to the Nation. As the population increases, expanding urban development and construction encroach (侵蝕) upon areas susceptible(易受影響的) to earthquakes. With a greater understanding of the causes and effects of earthquakes, we may be able to reduce damage and loss of life from this destruction.
【小題1】What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．What an earthquake is like.

B．How to predict earthquakes.

C．Where earthquakes often happen.

D．When a fault is formed.

【小題2】That scientists study the history of large earthquakes in certain areas is to ultimately_________.

A．do research on the past frequency of large earthquakes

B．estimate the magnitude of similar earthquakes

C．forecast the possibilities of similar earthquakes

D．judge the specific location of future earthquakes

【小題3】Which is TRUE according to the passage?

A．There were four magnitude 6 earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay region between1979 and1989.

B．The accumulating strain of the fault to a certain level results in the earthquake.

C．About 68 years after 1911, no earthquakes occurred in the San Francisco Bay region.

D．The fast increasing population on the earth is the main cause of the earthquake.

【小題4】What is the critical factor of forming a fault?

A．The material of rocks.

B．The existing time span of the rocks.

C．The plate movements around the rocks.

D．The amount of strain released in the last earthquake.

【小題5】According to the passage, we can know that the San Andreas Fault System____.

A．has a greater understanding of the causes and effects of earthquakes

B．stores much more information about the history of large earthquakes

C．offers the potential for doing research on the faults where strain accumulates

D．illustrates specifically how rocks along a fault are formed

Sharks have lived in the oceans for over 450 million years, long before dinosaurs appeared. There are now about 360 species of sharks, whose size, behavior, and other characteristics differ widely.
Every year, we catch and kill over 100 million sharks, mostly for food and for their fins. Dried shark fins are used to make shark fin soup, which sells for as much as $50 a bowl in fine Hong Kong restaurants. Other sharks are killed for sport and out of fear. Sharks are vulnerable(易受傷的) to overfishing because it takes most species 10 to 15 years to begin reproducing and they produce only a few offspring（后代）.
Influenced by movies and popular novels, most people see sharks as people-eating monsters. This is far from the truth. Every year, a few types of shark injure about 100 people worldwide and kill about 25. Most attacks are by great white sharks, which often feed on sea lions and other marine（海洋的） mammals. They sometimes mistake human swimmers for their normal prey, especially if they are wearing black wet suits.
If you are a typical ocean-goer, your chances of being killed by an unprovoked（非受挑釁而發(fā)生的）attack by a shark are about 1 in 100 million. You are more likely to be killed by a pig than a shark and thousands of times more likely to get killed when you drive a car.
Sharks help save human lives. In addition to providing people with food, they are helping us learn how to fight cancer, bacteria, and viruses. Sharks are very healthy and have aging processes similar to ours. Their highly effective immune system allows wounds to heal quickly without becoming infected, and their blood is being studied in connection with AIDS research.
Sharks are among the few animals in the world that almost never get cancer and eye cataracts（白內(nèi)障）. Understanding why can help us improve human health. Chemicals taken from shark cartilage（軟骨）have killed cancerous tumors in laboratory animals, research that someday could help prolong your life.
Sharks are needed in the world’s ocean ecosystems. Although they don’t need us, we need them. We are much more dangerous to sharks than they are to us. For every shark that bites a person, we kill one million sharks.
【小題1】Which of the following is NOT a reason why people kill sharks?

A．People kill sharks for food.

B．People kill sharks for sport.

C．People kill sharks out of fear.

D．People kill sharks because they often attack swimmers.

【小題2】According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．There are many different species of sharks, but only a few of them are dangerous to humans.

B．Sharks never get ill.

C．Sharks are a valuable resource for human.

D．Sharks play an important role in the ocean ecosystem.

【小題3】It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A．movies have given people the wrong impression of sharks

B．most sharks are dangerous to humans

C．sharks will attack anyone who is wearing black

D．it is dangerous to swim in the ocean

【小題4】The underlined word “prolong” in the last but one paragraph means ______.

A．save

B．protect

C．lengthen

D．improve

【小題5】The best title for the passage would be _______.

A．Are Sharks Dangerous?	B．Sharks And Humans
C．Sharks: Humans’ Friends	D．Sharks Help Save Human Lives

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 plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(大草原) 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 under-bushes, and pulls branches off 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 plant-eaters.
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 plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters 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 does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?

A．Improving the quality.

B．Deciding the conditions.

C．Fixing the time.

D．Worsening the state.

【小題2】The passage is developed mainly by_________.

A．giving examples

B．showing the effect and then explaining the causes

C．pointing out similarities and differences

D．describing the changes in space order

【小題3】What is the passage mainly about?

A．Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants.

B．The eating habit of African elephants.

C．Disappearance of African elephants

D．The effect of African elephants’ search for food

【小題4】What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?

A．They are home to many endangered animals.

B．They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds.

C．They result from the destruction of rain forests.

D．They provide food mainly for African elephants.

Besides giving off gases and dusts into the air, humans produce waste that is poured on the environment. Often, this waste produced by major industries and people is harmful to both nature and human life.
One of the main causes of the large amount of dangerous waste is that people do not realize how large a problem it is. Because it can be simply removed and sent to a landfill(廢渣填埋場),the problem is often believed to end there. In addition, industries have often shown an unwillingness to find ways to deal with dangerous waste because of the related expenses. Many industries and governments build simple landfills to store waste, and often just pour waste chemicals into nearby bodies of water. Often, chemicals used for industrial production cause dangerous forms of waste.The amount of these chemicals has increased greatly in the past, but it is often difficult and expensive to get rid of these chemicals or to store them in a way safe to human life and the environment.
Every year, major health problems result from dangerous waste. Sadly, it is often only after someone has died or become seriously ill that governments will take measures to reduce levels of harmful waste.
Some governments have realized how serious the dangerous waste problem is and are now trying to settle this problem. They are also trying to limit the amount of waste industries are allowed to produce.
Not only governments but ordinary people as well must work together to solve the problem. They can choose not to buy those products which require the production of dangerous waste, and produce less harmful waste themselves. Many scientists think that waste production can be cut. The waste can be reduced by at least one third using existing technologies and methods.
【小題1】What would be the best title for the text?

A．Measures of Reducing Dangerous Waste

B．Danger of Harmful Waste to Mankind

C．Dangerous Waste and Water Pollution

D．Environmental Protection

【小題2】According to the text, people ________ .

A．do not produce harmful waste in their daily life

B．do not know where to place the dangerous waste

C．a(chǎn)re not clear about how serious the dangerouswaste problem is

D．a(chǎn)re not sure about where harmful waste ends

【小題3】What troubles industries most in dealing with the dangerous waste problem?

A．How to get government support.

B．How to increase their production.

C．How to store harmful waste.

D．How to cut down the related costs.

【小題4】 What can be inferred from the passage?

A．The polluting industries are not allowed to sell their products.

B．Present technologies have settled the harmful waste problem.

C．Everyone should obey the government rules for the problem.

D．To solve the problem requires the efforts of the whole society.

Why do men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the
reason could be that men’s hearts go into rapid decline when they reach middle age.
The latest study of the effects of ageing on the heart has found that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose their pumping power with age.
“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 18 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, David Goldspink of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
“Within the heart there are millions of cells that enable it to beat. Between the age of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men,” said Goldspink. “This is part of the ageing process.”
What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old one’s.
“This gender difference might just explain why women live longer than men,” said Goldspink. They studied more than 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 80, focusing on healthy persons to remove the confusing influence of disease. “The team has yet to find why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart,” said Goldspink.
The good news is that men can improve the health of their heart with regular exercise. Goldspink stressed that women also need regular exercise to prevent their leg muscles becoming smaller and weaker as they age.
【小題1】The text mainly talks about ________. 

A．men’s heart cells	B．women’s ageing process
C．the gender difference	D．hearts and long life

【小題2】According to the text, the UK scientists have known that ________. 

A．women have more cells than men when they are born

B．women can replace the cells that enable the heart to beat

C．the female heart loses few of the cells with age

D．women never lose their pumping power with age

【小題3】We can know from the passage that ________.

A．the reason why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart has been found out

B．scientists are on the way to finding out why the male heart loses more of the cells

C．the team has done something to prevent the male from suffering the greater loss

D．women over 70 could lose more heart cells than those at the age of 20