阅读短文，根据短文内容，从短文后的五个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余选项。（共8分，每小题2分）
What is a spelling bee? 1 , but it is so popular in the Unite States. It is a game for children to spell English words.
The National Spelling Bee is the largest education contest(比赛) . It first began in 1925 in Washington.D. C. 2 . It is open to students in eighth grade or lower and not reaching their 15th birthday.
The contest is quite simple. When it's your turn, the teacher says a word and you have to spell it. 3 , you stay in the game. If you spell it wrong, you're out. What's not so easy are the words the teachers ask you to spell.
Usually, children need to spend a lot of time learning vocabulary. They must remember thousands of English words and spell every word correctly in the contest. Only winners in regional (地区的) contest can enter the national contest. It’s many children’s dream to win the regional contest and go to Washington, D. C. The final winners will be called the Spelling Bee. 4 . Do you also think they are great?
A. If you spell it right
B. Not too many Chinese students know it
C. It is held in late May or early June of each year
D. The children like the sports a lot
E. It means they have worked hard
It is easy for us to tell who our family members are, but do plants recognize(识别) their own family? Some do, scientists say, according to a report by Science News in early 2010.
Guillermo P. Murphy and Susan Dudley are two plant scientists from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. They did a few experiments with Jewelweeds, a kind of flower that grows in wet, shady spots. They found that the flowers seem to know their own flower family. In their experiments, Murphy and Dudley planted jewelweeds in pots with either siblings or strangers.
When jewelweeds were planted in pots with strangers, the plants started to grow more leaves than if they had been planted alone. This response(反应)suggests that plants are competing with strangers for sunlight, since a plant with more leaves can receive more light and make more food. Jewelweeds usually grow in the shade, where sunlight is not enough.
When jewelweed seedlings(幼苗)were planted with siblings, they grew a few more branches than they usually would if they were alone – but they did not start growing lots of extra leaves. This behavior suggests the plants are more likely to share resources, rather than compete.
According to the Science News report, Jewelweeds are not the first plants that plant scientists have studied for family recognition. In 2007, Dudley and her team studied the Great Lakes sea rocket, a plant that grows on the beach – where it may be hard to get fresh water. In that experiment, the scientists found that when sea rockets were planted with siblings, they tolerated each other. But when they were planted with strangers, the sea rockets reacted by working extra hard to grow lots of roots.
Dudley says this just because sea rockets, on the beach, get plenty of sun but struggle for water – so when they’re threatened, they compete for water. Jewelweeds have plenty of water but have to compete for sunshine, so they grow more leaves.
1. What does the underlined word siblings mean?
A．Flowers come from foreign countries.
B．Plants growing in different environments.
C．Flowers planted with lots of strangers.
D．Plants that are the same kind.
2. In the text, the writer mentioned the experiments of Jewelweeds to .
A．make a comparison B．introduce a topic
C．describe a pretty flower D．build a new theory
3. According to the passage, flowers planted alone will .
A．grow more leaves than those planted in groups
B．become taller than those with more branches
C．grow fewer leaves than those planted with strangers
D．become ill easily because they can’t get enough shade
4. What can be the best title for the passage?
A．New Discoveries about Plants
B．How Plants Compete with Each Other
C．Family Recognition among Plants
D．Jewelweeds and the Great Lakes Sea Rockets
Hotels can make a person’s stay away from home as restful as possible. Hotels provide warm beds to allow guests a peaceful night’s rest. Besides, some hotels offer guests special services such as newspapers to read in the morning, fresh coffee, and even breakfast. Hotel workers want their guests to feel warm and welcome when they stay in their hotel.
One hotel near the Arctic Circle, however, is different. This hotel gives its guests a cold welcome. The Ice Hotel, in Sweden, is all made of ice. The Ice Hotel might sound strange, but in some ways it is a special hotel. It has a front lobby where guests check into the hotel, plenty of rooms to sleep in, and even room service, which guests can use to have food delivered to their rooms. The Ice Hotel is different, though, because most of the items are made from ice.
It takes more than 30 tons of ice and snow to build the Ice Hotel. It melts(融化) in the summer and is rebuilt each winter. Different builders and artists create the Ice Hotel, so each winter this famous hotel has a new shape and design.
The effort of building the Ice Hotel is worth it, however. Walking into the Ice Hotel is like walking into a diamond. The walls reflect even the smallest bits of light. Ice pillars（柱子）support the roof. The floor below shines like glass. Almost every inch of this hotel sparkles inside. Visiting the Ice Hotel is truly an unusual experience.
Temperatures inside the Ice Hotel are usually below freezing. Guests wear warm jackets, hats, gloves, and thick boots. Even the owners of the Ice Hotel know that staying in a building with walls of ice four feet thick can be a bit cold. They have a solution though. The Ice Hotel has a sauna for its guests. A sauna is a room filled with steam, where guests can warm themselves. In a way, then, one could say that the Ice Hotel does give their guests a warm welcome after all.
1.Why must the Ice Hotel be rebuilt each year ?
A．Because the hotel melts during the summer.
B．Because guests suggest changes to the hotel.
C．Because the hotel is damaged by the sauna.
D．Because more rooms are needed at the hotel.
2. From paragraph2 we can infer that ______.
A．the Ice Hotel has temperatures below freezing but is warm inside
B．guests of the Ice Hotel check in at the front lobby
C．the Ice Hotel is like other hotels except that it is made of ice
D．guests of the Ice Hotel may order food that is delivered to their rooms
3.What is the purpose of the writer writing the article?
A．To describe the temperature inside a hotel.
B．To give information about an uncommon hotel.
C．To compare different kinds of hotels.
D．To encourage people to visit hotels.
Fat and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. “Football, tennis, cricket — anything with a round ball, I was useless,” he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the one always made fun of in school gym classes in Devonshire, England.
It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him. At first he went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to ride the bike along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set up his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed and strength. At the age of 18, he ran his first marathon.
The following year he met John Ridgway and started to work as a teacher at Ridgway’s school of adventure（冒险）in Scotland, where he learnt about Ridgway’s cold—waterexploits. Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures; he decided that this would be his future.
In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders started his first long—distance expedition (探险) towards the North Pole. It took unbelievable energy. He suffered frostbite, ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his sled up and over the rocky mountains.
Saunders has become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the North Pole by himself than any other British man. His old playmates would not believe the change.
1. According to Paragraph 2, what changed Saunders?
A．A friend’s words. B．A mountain bike.
C．His 18th birthday gift. D．His first marathon.
2. What did Saunders do in 2001?
A．He decided to build up his body.
B．He met John Ridgway in Scotland.
C．He worked as a teacher at school.
D．He took an adventure to the North Pole.
3. What does the story mainly tell us about Saunders?
A．He is a success in sports.
B．He is the youngest British skier.
C．He is Ridgway’s best student.
D．He is a good teacher at school.
Field
Trip Day
On Friday, May 6, our class will take a field trip to North Park Zoo. The zoo has lions, elephants, and other interesting animals. Many of the animals we have been studying will be there for us to closely examine.
Our class will be divided into six teams. Each team will have five students and one leader. The leaders are listed in the table.
What You Need to Know
On the day of the trip, the students will be divided into teams. One student from each team will receive a camera. The camera person will take pictures of the team, the animals, and other fun sights at the zoo.
All students should wear blue shirts. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes because we will be walking all day. Please bring a bag lunch and a drink. We will have a picnic at the park inside the zoo. Bring a healthy snack, such as a piece of fruit and a drink, for later in the day.
Feeding the Animals
The ONLY animals that students are allowed to feed are those in the Children's Zoo. Special food can be bought at the zoo for 25 cents and given to these animals. Do not feed your lunch to them. The food may make the animals sick.
1. The class will take a field trip to North Park Zoo on ______.
A．Sunday B．Saturday C． Friday D．Thursday
2. Miss Abel will be the leader for Team ______.
A．1 B．2 C．3 D．4
3. All students should wear ______.
A．red shirts B．blue sweaters
C．blue shirts D．red hats
完形填空（共12分，每小题1分）
阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。
Haircuts from the Heart
Even though Rebecca didn't enjoy having long hair, still, month after month for two and a half years, Rebecca let her hair grow until it nearly reached her waist. At the right time, 1 would donate（捐献）her beautiful hair to a group in Palm Springs, Florida called Locks of Love.
Locks of Love is a special 2 called a charity(慈善机构). The members of this group work to help others in need. 3 the healthy cut hair that Rebecca sends them, they will have a wig(假发) made for a child who needs it. Children who need wigs are those who 4 all their hair because of illness or as a side effect from certain medicines they have to 5 . Rebecca's hair will be used to help replace the 6 that another child has lost. It will also replace some of the bad feelings that child may have from not having hair.
The day finally came to cut her long hair. Rebecca had chosen a beauty 7 in her city that gave to the Locks of Love program. The hairstylist who worked there took the time to make sure Rebecca's hair was cut and packaged properly .
First the hairstylist made sure that Rebecca's hair was clean, dry, and not damaged by chemicals. The hairstylist also made sure that the cut hair would be at least ten inches long. Then he cut Rebecca's hair. Rebecca had 8 to have her cut hair bundled into a ponytail（绑成马尾辫）. She took great 9 in placing the cut ponytail into a plastic bag and then an envelope to be mailed to Locks of Love. Finally as her reward, Rebecca's 10 hair was styled.
Now with short hair, Rebecca made another important decision. She decided to let it grow long again. 11 she will give it to Locks of Love. Judging from last time, she 12 it will take about three years. Even though Rebecca no longer has long hair, she certainly has a big heart.
1. A．it B．she C．he D．you
2. A．organization B．invitation
C．discussion D．conversation
3. A．Keeping B．Buying C．Using D．Holding
4. A．cut B．mail C．style D．lose
5. A．take B．meet C．drink D．show
6. A．medicine B．time C．chance D．hair
7. A．shop B．bank C．office D．school
8. A．forgotten B．prepared C．chosen D．accepted
9. A．care B．pride C．interest D．effort
10. A．long B．clean C．short D．dry
11. A．Again B．Never C．Perhaps D．Clearly
12. A．expected B．realized C．reminded D．p redicted
