The huge Florida wetland known as the Everglades is a slow-moving river 80 kilometres wide but only a few centimeters deep. People call the Everglades a “river of grass” because sawgrass covers most of it. Sawgrass is not really grass. It is a plant that has leaves edged with tiny sharp teeth that can easily cut through clothes—and skin!

Travel in the Everglades is difficult. You cannot walk through shallow water because the sawgrass will cut you. The water is too shallow for regular boats. So, we use an airboat. An airboat is a flat, open boat. Like an airplane, it has a big propeller to move it. The propeller is fixed on the rear of the boat. It makes a tremendous noise, but it does the job. The boat skims along the water’s surface. Although we can still get lost in an airboat, at least we are above the alligators(短吻鳄).

While hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the Everglades, the most famous is surely the alligator. Once endangered, alligators are now protected within Everglades National Park. Visitors are likely to see them both on land and in water.

For a long time, dangers have threatened the Everglades. Around 1900, some people felt this precious wetland should be drained (排干). They said it was just a big swamp and not good for anything. In the 1920s, there was a land boom in Florida. People wanted to build homes everywhere, including in the Everglades. They built canals, levees (防洪堤), and other water systems that stopped the rivers flowing into the Everglades. Factories were built near rivers that flowed into the wetland. These factories dumped poisonous waste that damaged the Everglades ecosystem.

People are now working to preserve the Everglades National Park for the future. Right now, one big problem is the paperbark tree. This tree is an invader from Australia.

Paperbark trees soak up a lot of water. In the early 1900s, people brought them to Florida because they thought they would help drain the Everglades. However, the invaders adapted too well. Paperbark trees have taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of the Everglades and killed other trees. Scientists are cutting down these invaders or spraying them with herbicides (除草剂) to kill them.

1.Which helps to explain why it is difficult to travel in Everglades?

A．Airboats may make a very big noise.

B．You may get lost when passing through.

C．Paperbark trees soak up too much water there.

D．Many different kinds of animals are to be protected.

2.Why do people use airboats instead of normal boats?

A．They have big propellers to move them faster than alligators.

B．The propeller makes loud noise so as to scare alligators.

C．Their flat bottom can skim along the water surface.

D．They can watch alligators without hurting them.

3.The following measures were taken to drain the Everglades except that people______.

A．built canals and levees to stop the rivers flowing into Everglades

B．built factories near rivers that flowed into the wetland

C．brought Paperbark to soak up water in Everglades

D．are cutting down these Paperbark trees

4.The underlined word "invader" probably means something______.

A．that moves in from another place

B．that enters and takes control

C．that has been brought in

D．that is in danger

That “Monday morning feeling” could be a crushing pain in the chest which leaves you sweating and gasping for breath. Recent research from Germany and Italy shows that heart attacks are more common on Monday mornings and doctors blame the stress of returning to work after the weekend break.

The risk of having a heart attack on any given day should be one in seven, but a six-year study helped by researchers at the Free University of Berlin of more than 2,600 Germans showed that the average person had a 20 per cent higher chance of having a heart attack on a Monday than on any other day.

Working Germans are particularly not protected against attack, with a 33 per cent higher risk at the beginning of the working week. Non-workers, by comparison, appear to be no more at risk on a Monday than any other day.

A study of 11,000 Italians proved 8 am on a Monday morning as the most stressful time for the heart, and both studies showed that Sunday is the least stressful day, with fewer heart attacks in both countries.

The findings could lead to a better understanding of what is the immediate cause of heart attacks, according to Dr Stefan Willich of the Free University. “We know a lot about long-term risk factors such as smoking and cholesterol（胆固醇）but we don’t know what actually causes heart attacks, so we can’t give clear advice on how to prevent them,” he said.

Monday mornings have a double helping of stress for the working body as it makes a rapid change from sleep to activity, and from the relaxing weekend to the pressures of work.

“When people get up, their blood pressure and heart rate go up and there are hormonal（内分泌）changes in their bodies,” Willich explained. “All these things can have an unfavourable effect in the blood system and increase the risk of a clot（血凝块）in the arteries（动脉）which will cause a heart attack.”

“When people return to work after a weekend off, the pace of their life changes. They have a higher workload, more stress, more anger and more physical activity,” said Willich.

1.Monday morning feeling, as this passage shows,         .

A．is not so serious as people thought

B．is harmful to working people in developed countries.

C．is the first killer in Germany and Italy.

D．is created by researchers in Germany and Italy

2.To protect people from suffering from heart attack, doctors have paid much attention to    . 

A．people’s working time

B．people’s living place

C．people’s diet and lifestyle

D．people’s nationalities

3.It can be learned from this passage that heart attack has nothing to do with     .

A．blood pressure                         B．heart rate

C．hormonal changes                       D．blood group

4.If the researchers give us some advice to avoid Monday morning feeling, what might it be?

A．Stop working on Monday

B．Create a pleasant working environment

C．Get up late on Monday morning

D．Go to work with a doctor

After the earthquake hit northeast Japan on March 11, 2011, many touching stories that I saw with my own eyes happened around me.

I had to walk home since all the   36  had stopped after the quake. On my way home I   37 an old Japanese lady at the bakery shop who was giving out free bread, which made my heart  38 . A middle-aged Japanese man was holding a sign that read, “Please use our   39 .” He was   40 his house for people to go to the restroom.

My friend wanted to  41 others. He stood in the cold with a sign “If you are okay with a motorcycle, I will   42  you to your house.” And then I saw him take one gentleman home, all the way to a faraway place!

Then the next day I drove to  43 my car with gas. There was a  44 of gas now and many gasoline stations were either closed or had very  45 lines. I got   46 , since I was behind 15 cars. Finally, when it was my   47 , the man smiled and said, “  48 this situation, we are only selling each person $ 30 worth of gas. Is that alright?” “Of course, I’m just glad that we are all able to   49 ,” I said. His smile gave me so much   50 .

I saw a man at the evacuation (疏散) center  51 when people brought food to him, It was the first time in three days that food has been brought to their center. However, after he wiped the tears, his next 52  surprised me. “I am very   53  that we are provided with food. But people in the city next to us haven’t   54  any food at all. Please go to that centre as well.” And when hearing that, I realized there is a bright future on the other side of this   55  .

1.                A．traffic          B．rescue         C．communication D．businesses

2.                A．missed         B．caught          C．noticed   D．heard

3.                A．hungry         B．soft            C．broken   D．warm

4.                A．toilet          B．hotel           C．hospital   D．house

5.                A．advertising      B．opening        C．repairing  D．decorating

6.                A．encourage      B．save           C．charge   D．help

7.                A．drive          B．follow          C．lead D．bring

8.                A．start           B．fill             C．check    D．wash

9.                A．plenty          B．lack            C．variety   D．kind

10.               A．direct          B．straight         C．long  D．short

11.               A．worried        B．lucky          C．excited    D．annoyed

12.               A．time           B．turn           C．duty  D．decision

13.               A．Apart from      B．Together with    C．Because of D．Instead of

14.               A．share          B．offer           C．tolerate   D．transform

15.               A．comfort        B．fun            C．trouble    D．entertainment

16.               A．waiting         B．grabbing        C．sleeping   D．crying

17.               A．promises       B．roles           C．actions    D．words

18.               A．upset          B．grateful        C．surprised  D．proud

19.               A．bought         B．supplied        C．prepared  D．received

20.               A．city            B．center         C．lesson D．disaster

The speed ______ Tom drives his car is too high.

A．in which          B．at which           C．at that            D．in what

With trees and grass_____ about 35％ of the urban area，the city of Hefei has taken on a new look.

A．covered          B．being covered      C．to be covered      D．covering

Process so far has been very good．______，we are sure that the project will be completed on time．

A．However          B．Otherwise         C．Therefore         D．Besides

 — When do we need to pay the balance?

— ____  September 30.

A．In               B．By               C．During            D．Within

______ and out of breath, we reached the top of the mountain and stopped _____ the beautiful scenery.

A．Tiring, to admire                        B．Being tired, admiring

C．Tired, to admire                        D．Tired, admiring

I greeted the teacher with “ hello”, and the teacher gave me a sweet smile ______.

A．by turns                              B．in return

C．in turn                                D．for turn

Do you know the trouble he had _____ the work?

A．on finishing                            B．to finish

C．having finishing                         D．finishing