My family and I lived across the street from Southway Park since I was four years old. Then just last year the city put a chain link fence around the park and started bulldozing(用推土机推平)the trees and grass to make way for a new apartment complex. When I saw the fence and bulldozers, I asked myself，“Why don't they just leave it alone？”
Looking back, I think what sentenced the park to oblivion(被遗忘)was the drought(旱灾)we had about four years ago. Up until then, Southway Park was a nice green park with plenty of trees and a public swimming pool. My friends and I rollerskated on the sidewalks, climbed the trees, and swam in the pool all the years I was growing up. The park was almost like my own yard. Then the summer I was fifteen the drought came and things changed.
There had been almost no rain at all that year. The city stopped watering the park grass. Within a few weeks I found myself living across the street from a huge brown desert. Leaves fell off the park trees, and pretty soon the trees started dying, too. Next, the park swimming pool was closed. The city cut down on the work force that kept the park, and pretty soon it just got too ugly and dirty to enjoy anymore.
As the drought lasted into the fall, the park got worse every month. The rubbish piled up or blew across the brown grass. Soon the only people in the park were beggars and other people down on their luck. People said drugs were being sold or traded there now. The park had gotten scary, and my mother told us kids not to go there anymore.
The drought finally ended and things seemed to get back to normal, that is, everything but the park. It had gotten into such bad shape that the city just let it stay that way. Then about six months ago I heard that the city was going to“redevelop”certain wornout areas of the city. It turned out that the city had planned to get rid of the park, sell the land and let someone build rows of apartment buildings on it.
The chainlink fencing and the bulldozers did their work. Now we live across the street from six rows of apartment buildings. Each of them is three units high and stretches a block in each direction. The neighborhood has changed without the park. The streets I used to play in are jammed with cars now. Things will never be the same again. Sometimes_I_wonder,_though,_what_changes_another_drought_would_make_in_the_way_things_are_today.
1.How did the writer feel when he saw the fence and bulldozers?
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A．Scared. |
B．Confused. |
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C．upset. |
D．Curious. |
2.Why was the writer told not to go to the park by his mother?
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A．It was being rebuilt. |
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B．It was dangerous. |
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C．It became crowded. |
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D．It had turned into a desert. |
3.According to the writer, what eventually brought about the disappearance of the park?
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A．The drought. |
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B．The crime. |
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C．The beggars and the rubbish. |
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D．The decisions of the city. |
4.The last sentence of the passage implies that if another drought came，________.
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A．the situation would be much worse |
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B．people would have to desert their homes |
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C．the city would be fully prepared in advance |
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D．the city would have to redevelop the neighborhood |
This is a time of year when we think about giving and receiving presents. Can you find a little extra to give? On this page we suggest a few organizations you might like to help.
Littleton Children’s Home
We DON’T want your money, but children’s toys, books and clothes IN GOOD CONDITION would be very welcome.
Also, we are looking for friendly families who would take our children into their homes for a few hours or days as guests. You have so much ─will you share it?
Phone Sister Thomas on 55671
Children’s Hospice
We look after a small number of very sick children. This important work needs skill and love. We cannot continue without gifts or money to pay for more nursing staff. We also need storybooks and toys suitable for quiet games.
Please contact the Secretary, Little Children’s Hospice, Newby Road.
Street Food
In the winter weather, it’s no fun being homeless. It’s even worse if you’re hungry. We give hot food to at least fifty people every night. It’s hard work, but necessary. Can you come and help? If not, can you offer a little money? We use a very old kitchen, and we need some new saucepans(平底锅). Money for new ones would be most welcome indeed.
Contact Street Food, c/o Mary’s House, Elming Way. Littleton Phone 27713
Littleton Youth Club
Have you got an unwanted chair? ─a record-player?─a pot of paint ? Because we can use them!
We want to get to work on our meeting room!
Please phone 66231 and we’ll be happy to collect anything you can give us.
Thank you!
The Night Shelter
We offer a warm bed for the night to anyone who has nowhere to go. We rent the former Commercial Hotel on Green Street. Although it is not expensive, we never seem to have quite enough money. Can you let us have a few pounds? Any amount, however small, will be such a help.
Send it to us at 15, Green St, Littleton. Please make check payable to Night Shelter.
1. What kind of people are these organizations designed for?
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A．Homeless and sick children |
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B．Less fortunate members of our society |
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C．Hungry people who have no beds to sleep in |
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D．Friendly members of our society to help others |
2.If you like children and you could offer a happy family to a homeless child, you may contact _____.
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A．Street Food |
B．The Night Shelter |
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C．Littleton Children’s Home |
D．Children’s Hospice |
3. What can be concluded from the passage?
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A．There are too many social problems in this society. |
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B．People are very poor during the time of giving. |
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C．To offer help is just an excuse for these organizations to collect money. |
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D．There are many organizations trying to solve social problems. |
The green turtle is listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Under the U．S. Endangered Species Act of 1973, the green turtle was listed as threatened except for the breeding populations in Florida and on the Pacific coast of Mexico, where it is listed as endangered.
Green turtles continue to be caught for money by humans, and the destruction and loss of nesting and foraging(觅食)sites is a serious problem. Humans have already caused the decrease of large green turtle populations, including those that once nested in Bermuda and Cayman Islands. The situation of green turtle populations is difficult to determine because of our lack of knowledge about their life cycles. The number of nests in Florida appears to be increasing, but we don't know whether this is due to an increase in the number of nests or because we have started to monitor(监控)nesting beaches more closely.
The green turtle is the largest hardshelled sea turtle. Adults of this species commonly reach 100 cm in length and 150 kg in mass. The average size of a female nesting in Florida is 101.5 cm straight in length, with an average body mass of 136 kg.
Growth rates of green turtles have not been measured under natural conditions. Green turtles grow slowly.
In the southern Bahamas, green turtles grow from 30 to 75 cm in 17 years, and according to Bjorndal and Bolten, growth rates decrease with increasing length. Growth rates measured in green turtles from Florida and Puerto Rico fall within the range of growth rates measured in the southern Bahamas. Based on growth rate studies of wild green turtles, the researchers Balazs, Frazer and Ehrhart estimate the age of sexual maturity(成熟)can range anywhere from 20 to 50 years.
1.The main idea of the passage is to tell us________.
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A．something about an endangered animal |
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B．how green turtles got extinct |
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C．how heavy a green turtle is |
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D．how long a green turtle can live |
2.Which of the following is NOT a reason why green turtles are endangered?
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A．Humans catch them to get profit. |
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B．They lose their nests. |
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C．They have fewer places to find food. |
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D．People like to keep them as pets. |
3.According to the passage, the green turtle________.
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A．can reach 100 cm in length in 17 years |
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B．lives in the sea and grows very slowly |
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C．lives only in Florida and on the Pacific coast of Mexico |
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D．can grow from 30 to 75 cm in 17 years in southern Florida |
4.Why is it hard for us to know the number of green turtles?
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A．Because it is difficult for us to be close to them. |
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B．Because we have limited knowledge about them. |
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C．Because we haven't measured their growth rates. |
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D．Because they grow too slowly. |
When I was three years old, my parents discovered I was totally deaf. But instead of sending me to a school for the deaf, they decided to “mainstream” me. All of my peers and teachers world have normal hearing.
I was the only deaf child at Blue Creel Elementary School. From almost the first day there, the other kids made fun of me mainly because of my hearing aid and the way I talked. And I also had difficulty with most of my school work.
When the other kids made fun of me, I was sure that I was a bad person. I saw myself as a boy who wasn’t smart enough to keep up with the class.
Mrs. Jordan, my 5th grade teacher, changed all of that with a simple three-word phrase.
One morning, she asked the class a question. I read her lips from my front-row seat and immediately raised my hand because I was sure I had the right answer. But when she called on me, I was afraid. Here was an opportunity to impress the powerful teacher and show her I was worthy of her love. Maybe even impress my classmates a little. I didn’t want to blow it. despite my fears, I took a deep breath and answered Mrs. Jordan’s question.
I will never forget what happened next. Mrs. Jordan enthusiastically slammed （跺动）her right foot on the floor and turned her tight hand around in full circle until it pointed directly at me. With sparking eyes and a wide smile she cried, “THAT’S RIGHT STEPHEN!”
For the first time in my young life, I was a star. I sat a little taller in my chair.
From that day forward, my grades and speech improved greatly. My popularity among my peers increased. It was all because Mrs. Jordan believed in me and wasn’t afraid to express it. “THAT’S RIGHT STEPHEN!”
1.What does the underlined word “mainstream”(in Para 1) mean?
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A．Encourage a disabled child to live a normal life. |
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B．Include a disabled child in an ordinary class. |
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C．Treat a disabled child with respect. |
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D．Teach a disabled child at home. |
2.It can be inferred that when entering Blue Creek Elementary School, the writer .
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A．was not clever |
B．could not focus on his study |
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C．lacked confidence |
D．got along well with other kids |
3.When the writer answered Mrs. Jordan’s question, he .
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A．trembled with fear |
B．stayed calm |
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C．was nervous |
D．was excited |
4.From his experience, the writer may conclude that .
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A．the right words could change someone’s life |
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B．each of us has the courage to be great |
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C．all great heroes made mistakes |
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D．each day is a lucky day |
完形填空（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从1-20各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The trip to that city was eye-opening for everyone，and near its end，all the young people in our group began to reflect on what it had meant. We _1__the first night we had arrived. We had all gone into the markets of the city __2_the young people could experience its energy. But what we actually saw simply __3_ us all—the rundown houses，the children in rags，the people begging for money...Walking home，__4under a low bridge，we came across __5__families of homeless people seeking a bit of dry ground to sleep on __6_the night. We had to step over bodies as we found our way through the darkness.
The poverty(贫困) was __7_than anything my young companions had ever imagined. Back in the hotel，an air of sadness settled over the group. Many _8__ and cried. Spending time in this 9_ moves a person to care about humanity.
That evening，our group spent hours talking about what we had _10_.Gently，I encouraged everyone to talk about the difficult _11__ that day's discoveries had inspired. Sitting together __12_ a circle as everyone had a chance to speak，we all began to realize that __13__ of us was alone in our struggle to cope with our reactions.
Based on my __14__in poverty-stricken areas，I suggested that __15_ the emotions we had were painful，they could also be important in helping us to move forward. We all__16_ that we had seen things that should never be allowed to happen._17__，what could we do about it？Together，we began to brainstorm ways we could help to ease the __18__ we had seen. As I encouraged group members to focus on __19__ they could do，a sense of determination __20__ the previous sadness. Instead of despair，these young people began to feel a call to action.
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—Volunteering is becoming increasingly popular in China.
—Yeah, people are now ____that helping others is helping themselves.
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A．held |
B．known |
C．ashamed |
D．aware |
