Thousands of dead red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky in an Arkansas town on New Year’s Eve after massive injuries, tests by Arkansas officials concluded on Monday. Some 5,000 birds mysteriously fell from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas after dark on New Year’s Eve. “The birds suffered from acute physical injuries leading to internal hemorrhage（大量出血） and death. There was no sign of infectious disease,” the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said in a statement. The birds were otherwise healthy, it said.
One theory is that birds were frightened by New Year's fireworks and flew into buildings or other objects. “Loud noises were reported shortly before the birds began to fall from the sky,” the statement said, adding that blackbirds have poor night vision and seldom fly at night.
Another theory was that severe weather such as lightning accounted for the loud noises but this was discounted because the violent weather had already left the area. “We’re leaning more toward a stress event," said Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesman Keith Stephens.
The commission also is trying to determine what caused the deaths of up to 100,000 fish over a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River near a dam in Ozark, 125 miles west of Beebe. The fish were discovered on December 30. Stephens said the commission expected results on the fish tests in probably a month. Since almost all the fish were one species -- bottom-feeding drum, Stephens said, the test was very important. Stephens also said: “The events do not appear related.” Both that section of the river and the air at the site of the bird deaths were tested for toxins(毒素). Beebe is a town of about 4,500 people located 30 miles northeast of the state capital.
1.What is NOT the probable reason why the dead red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky?
A. Internal hemorrhage B. Fireworks
C. Lightning weather D. Murder
2.In the third paragraph, the underlined word discounted probably mean________.
A. not to reduce cost B. not to believe
C. to make up a part D. to explain mystery
3.According to Stephens, we can infer the probable cause of the dead fish is _________.[来
A. cold weather B. poor management
C. disease D. lack of food
4.The passage is mainly developed by __________.
A. analyzing causes B. making comparisons
C. examining differences D. following the time order
Perhaps a parent’s most important contribution toward raising a trustful child is to develop a relationship founded on trust. A child of any age will feel proud and grown-up if parents frequently show their trust. In court a defendant(被告) is innocent until proved guilty. But in the family, a teenager “defendant” is too often assumed guilty.
Even when the child is caught in a complete lie, this should not be the end of trust. A parent can tell a child that a single lie is forgivable. Yet it should be clear that if lies continue, the child, like the boy who cried wolf, will suffer loss of trust.
When my wife and I discovered that our son Tom, then 13, had lied about throwing a party while we were away, we grounded him for a month. We also told Tom that we could no longer trust him, and we could not allow him to stay alone overnight again. This loss of freedom was an important lesson; he learned how hard it is to live with people when they don’t trust him. As a result, now more than three years later we can again trust Tom to stay alone overnight.
Parents must always remember there is no easy answer to this universal problem of lying. We can set a good example, allow for privacy, monitor friendship, develop trust and punish wrong doing, but still we discover our child has lied to us. Finally that’s why there is a need for trust on both sides of a parent-child relationship. Lying destroys closeness and friendship. For that reason, parents should always try to give a child the feeling that they can be trusted with the truth. Parents may start with a child’s trust, but as the child grows older, parents must earn it.
1.When the writer and his wife discovered that their son had lied, they _________.
A. took all his freedom from him
B. decided never to trust him again
C. forbade him to stay alone overnight
D. arranged him to stay at home.
2.We can infer from the passage that very often ________.
A. parents don’t trust their child as they should
B. defendants are usually proved not guilty in court
C. parents have too much trust in their child
D. some children are founded guilty in court
3.According to the passage, the writer believes that _____________.
A. parents shouldn’t punish their children even if they lie
B. it is not easy to deal with the problem of lying as parents
C. there are effective ways to prevent children from lying
D. children will stop telling lies as they grow up
Some weird, wild and wonderful stories coloured the news in 2010:
★A Copenhagen bus company has put "love seats" on 103 of its vehicles for people looking for a partner. "Even love at first sight is possible on the bus," said a spokesman for the British owned Arriva company to explain the two seats on each bus that are covered in red cloth and a "love seat" sign.
★Shoppers at an international luxury fair in Verona, Italy, found a cell-phone-equipped golden coffin among the items on display. The phones will help "the dead" contact relatives if they have been buried alive by mistake.
★A man in New York came up with a disarming way to set off his latest bank heist , approaching the clerk’s window with a large bunch of flowers and handing over a hold-up note saying “give me the money!”
★ An Englishman who lost all his legs and arms in an electrical accident successfully swam across the Channel, a challenge he had been preparing for two years. The whole cost is 400 dollars.
★A set of artificial teeth made for Britain's war-time prime minister Winston Churchill known as "the teeth that saved the world" sold for nearly 18,000 pounds (21,500 euros, 24,000 dollars) at auction.
★A British woman caused an Internet hate campaign after she was caught on camera dumping a cat in a rubbish bin. She was fined 250 pounds (400 dollars, 280 euros) after pleading guilty.
★The BBC apologized completely and without any doubts after a radio presenter jokingly announced that Queen Elizabeth II had died.
★Two Australian men needed surgery after shooting each other in the bottoms during a drinking session to see if it would hurt were charged 400 dollars separately.
★ A Kuwaiti MP(议员) proposed state-aid for male citizens to take second wives, in a bid to reduce the large number of unmarried women in the oil-rich state.
1.What is special about the coffin in the second news?
A. It is golden B. It has a cell phone.
C. It is a luxury D. It has many items
2.What is the probable meaning of the underlined word heist in the third news?
A. robbery B. proposal C. begging D. raising money
3.Who has to spend 400 dollars to do the surgery?
A. A British woman who dumped a cat in a rubbish bin.
B. One who bought Winston Churchill’s artificial teeth.
C. An Australian man who shot in bottom to test the hurt.
D. An Englishman crossing the Channel without legs and arms.
4.From the last news we can infer that _________.
A. In Kuwait many men are eager to get married
B. A lot of rich single men lived in Kuwait
C. There are quantities of oil in Kuwait
D. There are many single women in Kuwait
Singing had always been an important part of Gloria Estefan’s life. “Since I was three years old, I sang. I sang everything,” Gloria said. “Cubans,” she added, “are a musical people”.
Gloria was born in Cuba in 1957. Her family left the country just before Fidel Castro came to power. In Miami, where the family settled, many people did not accept Cuban immigrants. In first grade, she spoke little English, but she worked hard to learn the language. Six months after she entered school, she won an award for reading in English!
When Gloria was ten, her father returned from the Vietnam War. Soon, the family realized he wasn’t well. They soon found out that he was badly ill. Her mother went back to teaching at school to support the family. Gloria cared for her father and her younger sister.
She still made the honor roll, and she still had her music, but Gloria was lonely. However, when the band leader Emilio Estefan came to speak at her high school, Gloria sang for him. He asked her to join his band. It was the beginning of the Miami Sound Machine.
Within a few months, the Miami Sound Machine was the top band in Miami. In 1978 Gloria and Emilio married.
At first, the Miami Sound Machine was known only in Miami. Then the band signed with CBS Records. Estefan and his band became stars.
Since then, the Miami Sound Machine has sold millions of records. Gloria has done more than just singing when Hurricane Andrew hit central Florida in 1992. She used only two weeks to organize an all-star concert that raised $2 million for the people who suffered in the hurricane. “We needed a party after that disaster,” she said.
Gloria said, “You have to stay true to the music you really love to do. There will always be people who will tell you, ‘that won’t work.’ You’ve got to be firm in spite of difficulties. Stick to it—that’s the main thing.”
1.Gloria’s father was ill .
A. when they settled down in Miami.
B. before they left their home country
C. after he returned from Vietnam War
D. as soon as she finished high school
2.According to the passage, probably Gloria did the following except .
A. organizing an all-star concert for Hurricane victims
B. winning an award for reading in English
C. teaching at school to support the family
D. taking care of her father and sister
3.The underlined word “disaster” in this passage refers to .
A. the concert B. the celebration C. the victims D. the hurricane
4.This passage mainly tells about Gloria Estefan’s .
A. life story B. happy marriage C. music style D. Cuban background
Life is filled with challenges. As we get older we 26 realize that those challenges are the very things that 27 us and make us who we are, it is the same with the challenges that come with 28 .
When we are faced with a challenge, we usually have two 29 : we can try to 30 it off, or we can decide that the thing presenting the challenge isn’t worth the 31 and call it quits. Although there are 32 times when calling it quits is the right thing to do, in most 33 all that is needed is commitment and 34 .
When we are devoted to 35 , it means that no matter how 36 or how uncomfortable something is, we will always choose to 37 it instead of running away from it. Communication is making a 38 for discussion and talking about how you feel instead of just saying what the other person did wrong. 39 you can say to a friend, “I got my feelings hurt.” 40 “You hurt my feelings,” you are going to be able to solve the problem much faster.
In dealing with many challenges that friendship will bring to you, try to see them for 41 they are: small hurdles（障碍） you need to jump or 42 on your way through life. Nothing is so big that it is impossible to get over, and hurt only 43 to make us stronger. It’s all part of growing up, it happens to everyone, and some day you will 44 on all of this and say, “ 45 as it was, it made me who I am today. And that is a good thing.”
1.A. seem to B. come to C. hope to D. try to
2.A. design B. promote C. direct D. shape
3.A. success B. pressure C. friendship D. difficulty
4.A. opportunities B. expectations C. choices D. aspects
5.A. beat B. show C. take D .fall
6.A. comment B. loss C. trouble D. expense
7.A. hardly B. certainly C. consequently D. exactly
8.A. issues B. cases C. events D. affairs
9.A. communication B. confidence C. courage D. consideration
10.A. everything B. anything C. something D. nothing
11.A. doubtful B. shameful C. harmful D. painful
12.A. keep B. control C. face D. catch
13.A. chance B. plan C. topic D. room
14.A. If B. As C. While D. Unless
15.A. other than B. rather than C. or rather D. or else
16.A. what B. who C. where D. which
17.A. pass by B. come across C. get through D. run over
18.A. serves B. means C. aims D. attempts
19.A. look into B. look for C. look out D. look back
20.A. Interesting B. Surprising C. Complicated D. Hard
— Has Tom finished writing his essay today?
— I have no idea. He ______ it this morning.
A. wrote B. has written C. was writing D. had written
