A team of farmers, university researchers and environmentalists is busy at work in the wetlands of eastern England. They are digging into the area’s wheat fields, looking for wet earth that could hide lost ponds underneath. It takes the group of diggers just a few hours to revive (使复活) one dying pond. It’s near Hindolveston, a thousand-year-old village close to the North Sea.
“As soon as the buried ponds get water and light, they just spring to life,” says Nick Anema, a farmer in nearby Dereham. He’s brought seven ponds on his farm back to life. “Frogs and all the insects like dragonflies can be seen here again,” he said.
But the battle for the wetlands is a struggle. While efforts to stop losses are continuing, wetlands around the world are still being filled in and covered up. Over the past three centuries, almost 90% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared. The loss rate has increased since the 1970s, with wetlands now disappearing three times faster than, the world’s forests.
Some 5,000 wetland-dependent animal species could die out because of such losses. Wetland loss can also affect human beings. Wetlands act as natural storage areas for water. Losing those areas could lead to more severe flooding in many parts of the world. And the act of removing water from wetlands can release huge amounts of carbon dioxide, a major contributor to climate change.
Human-made wetlands, however, aren’t decreasing in number. Rice fields, water reservoirs and agricultural stock ponds have all increased since the 1970s. Yet scientists are concerned about this phenomenon. “People brag (自夸) about the fact that there’s been no net loss (净损失) of wetlands. But what they’ve done is destroy natural wetlands and create artificial ones,” says Stuart Pimm, a Duke University professor. “It makes it look like you’re doing no harm when the reality is very different.”
1.What’s the team’s work in eastern England intended for?
A.Digging wet earth for research. B.Researching into an old village.
C.Bringing dying ponds back to life. D.Finding wetlands created by people.
2.What does paragraph 4 mainly talk about?
A.Various functions of wetlands. B.Serious consequences of wetland loss.
C.Wetlands’ key role in climate change. D.Wetlands’ importance to living things.
3.Which of the following reflects Stuart Purim’s opinion?
A.Artificial wetlands can’t replace natural ones.
B.Creating artificial wetlands upsets the balance of nature.
C.Keeping the total number of various kinds of wetlands is important.
D.It’s important to balance the numbers of natural wetlands and artificial ones.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.Seeking for More Wetlands B.Saving the World’s Wetlands
C.Causes of Wetlands’ Disappearance D.Natural Wetlands vs. Artificial Wetlands
Rebecca Munkombwe, an 11-year-old girl from Zimbabwe, is regarded as a hero for saving a 9-year-old friend from the jaws of a crocodile by jumping or、the crocodile and gouging (挖) its eyes out.
According to Zimbabwean media, Rebecca and her friends had just got back from a swim in a stream near their home village when they heard the screams corning from the water. She was shocked to see her 9-year-old friend Latoya Muwani being dragged into the water by a crocodile. While all the other children were running scared, Rebecca ran toward the water, jumped on top of the crocodile and started beating it with her bare fists. However, that didn’t seem to bother the crocodile at all, so she then used her fingers to gouge its eyes out until it loosened its grasp of Latoya. Once she was free, Rebecca swam with her to the bank.
Surprisingly, the 11-year-old heroine managed to save her young friend without suffering any wounds, while Latoya was lucky to escape with just mild wounds that were later treated at a regional hospital. Latoya’s parents praised Rebecca’s courage and thanked her for saving their daughter’s life. “I was at work when I learnt that my daughter had been attacked by a crocodile while swimming. For a moment I thought of the worst before I learnt that she’d survived after being saved by Rebecca,” Latoya’s father, Fortune Muwani, said. “I don’t know how she managed to do that, but I’m grateful to her.”
Local authorities confirmed the crocodile attack, adding that the number of such incidents was increasing. Apparently, the lack of easily accessible water sources (水源) is forcing women and children to use unprotected sources like this crocodile-infested (遍布鳄鱼的) stream.
1.What made Rebecca Munkombwe a hero?
A.Her catching a crocodile hare-handed.
B.Her rescuing a drowning friend in time.
C.Her helping a friend out of deadly danger.
D.Her making friends with a wild crocodile.
2.Which of the following words can best describe Rebecca?
A.Brave and smart. B.Calm and careful.
C.Honest and considerate. D.Courageous and patient.
3.What message do Fortune Muwani’s words convey?
A.He knew every detail about the rescuing process.
B.Latoya’s conditions were far better than expected.
C.Latoya’s being attacked by a crocodile sounded unbelievable.
D.He regretted not accompanying Latoya while she was swimming.
4.Why were crocodile attacks on the rise?
A.Because people have poor awareness of safety.
B.Because people enjoy getting close to animals in the wild.
C.Because people have little knowledge of accessible water sources.
D.Because people have to share limited water sources with wild animals.
The recent development in technology has led to better learning opportunities for students. Learning is an ongoing process, and students can have fun and learn many things on the go with these apps.
Exam Vocabulary Builder
Learning new English words is not difficult anymore when you have Exam Vocabulary Builder on your smartphone. Apart from learning new words with meaning, you can also find an example of using the word in a sentence. Moreover, you can test yourself in quiz mode comprised of challenging levels.
Quizlet
Quizlet is a simple app that allows you to learn anything, create your own study sets, and improve your class grades by studying with flashcards. It’ll give you a whole new experience on how you learn things in a fun way. Next time you have a problem with learning a new chapter or topic, try Quizlet and see how things work out.
Exam Countdown
If you’re feeling distracted (分心的) when the exams draw near, you might need Exam Countdown app. There might be a possibility that you forgot to submit your last assignment before the finals. The app acts like a scheduler where you can keep track of your assignments, exams, quizzes, and presentations.
MyScript Smart Note
Aren’t you quick enough to write notes in the classroom on your tablet’s QWERTY keyboard? No problem, because MyScript Smart Note is the perfect solution for you to easily take notes on your tablet. It allows you to edit your handwriting with special gestures. Moreover, you can also add pictures to the text, math equations, PDF files, or sound. It also comes with downloadable language packs.
1.What do Exam Vocabulary Builder and MyScript Smart Note have in common?
A.They both can be used for note taking.
B.They both can be used with hand gestures.
C.They both can be used to test language skills.
D.They both can he used for language learning.
2.Which is a good choice for better managing and organizing your routine study?
A.Quizlet. B.Exam Countdown.
C.MyScript Smart Note. D.Exam Vocabulary Builder.
3.What’s the text mainly intended to do?
A.Introduce some wonderful learning methods for students.
B.Provide some good learning opportunities for students.
C.Introduce some useful learning apps for students.
D.Promote some practical teaching apps for teachers.
假设你是李华，你的英国朋友Henry 打算寒假来南宁游玩，有两个公园可以选择：青秀山公园（Qingxiu Mountain Park）或五象湖公园（Wuxiang Lake Park）。他来信希望你推荐其中一个公园。请你回信，内容包括：
1. 你推荐的公园；
2. 你推荐的理由；
3. 你的祝愿。
注意：1. 词数100 左右；
2. 开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
提示词：historical relics 历史遗迹; Wuxiang New District五象新区
Dear Henry,
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改句子，请你修改你同桌写的以下句子。每个句子都有一处错误，错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(Λ)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：每处错误及其修改均仅限一词
1.His father is in the possession of this international company.
2.Between two classes are an interval(间隔), when the students can have a short break.
3.This was evident that ideas were changing in the 13th century.
4.She would rather you come tomorrow than today.
5.Frick had a preference to pre-twentieth century western paintings.
6.With the boy led the way, we found the house easily.
7.The basketball team is made of 12 members.
8.One of the reasons that I want to go to a local school is to save money.
9.If the rules of perspective have not been discovered, no one would have been able to paint such realistic pictures.
10.Consequent, this text will describe only a few of the main styles.
新概念英语原文填空（答案可能是一词或多词）
When he had killed the guard, the prisoner of war quickly dragged him into the 1.. Working 2. in the darkness, he soon changed into the dead man's clothes. Now, 3. in a blue uniform and with a rifle over his shoulder, the prisoner marched boldly up and down in front of the camp. He could hear shouting in the camp itself. Lights were blazing and men were running here and there: they had just discovered that a prisoner 4.. At that moment, a large black car with four officers inside 5., stopped at the camp gates. The officers got out and the prisoner stood to attention and saluted 6. they passed. When they had gone, the driver of the car came 7. him. The man obviously wanted to talk. He was rather 8. with grey hair and clear blue eyes. The prisoner felt sorry for him, but there was nothing else he could do. As the man came near, the prisoner knocked him to the ground with 9. sharp blow. Then, 10. into the car, he drove off as quickly as he could.
