To me, the ocean is our greatest wilderness. I love swimming in it , surfing its waves, watching it from shore and thinking about all the life living unseen under the surface.
When I take my little kids to check out tide pools, we’re overjoyed when we find a sea star or some shellfish. Lately, though, I've noticed a change in my favorite pools: there are more sea grasses and fewer animals with shells.
I can't help feeling these small changes portend something more troubling about our oceans. It matches what scientists are telling us: our oceans are being troubled by carbon dioxide that threatens corals, colorful fish, salmon, sea otters, even whales. Our oceans are facing a major change.
Every hour, a million tons of carbon dioxide from cars, factories and power plants rain down on the world’s oceans. Carbon pollution brings about a chemical reaction that turns sea water more acidic (酸的) and takes away things important for sea animals .
Some of us are already feeling the effects of this growing crisis（危机）. Shellfish farmers in the Pacific Northwest have reported a decrease in natural and farmed oysters(牡蛎). Just this week, a new studyproved the link between the huge reduction in the numbers of oysters and ocean acidification. As polar waters become more acidic, Alaskan fishermen are troubled by the future of smaller fish.
Without action, ocean acidification will have a disastrous influence on the food chain, affecting not only sea life but the people who depend on it for food and their living. Already, our oceans have become 30 percent more acidic since preindustrial times, and it gets worse every day. We can stop this frightening dream, but only if we act now.
That's why the Center for Biological Diversity has started a petition (请愿书) requesting President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a plan to deal with ocean acidification. Decisive action can save sea life as we know it.
Now it isn’t too late to save our oceans and sea life. With immediate action to reduce carbon dioxide release we can start taking important steps today to deal with this disastrous situation. Join me in our petition calling for a national plan to save our oceans.
1.The author’s recent visits to the tide pool brought her ___ .
A．happiness B．anger C．concern D．comfort
2.The underlined word “portend” in Paragraph 3 probably means ___ .
A．predict B．prevent C．replace D．reduce
3.What the author worries about most is ____ .
A．the harm of sea grasses
B．carbon pollution in the sea
C．that the petition may be turned down
D．how fishermen can make a living in the future
4.What is the main purpose of the text ?
A．To inform. B．To educate. C．To persuade . D．To instruct.
Two more cases of H7N9 bird flu virus have been detected in Zhejiang province, including a man who died last week, authorities said on Wednesday.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that a 38-year-old patient surnamed Hong from Hangzhou, the provincial capital, who died in hospital on March 27, had the virus.
Hong was infected on March 7 while working in neighboring Jiangsu province. He returned home on March 18, according to the Zhejiang health department.
The other patient, surnamed Yang, is a 67-year-old man. He developed a cough and fever on March 25 and was admitted to hospital on Tuesday.
None of the people who came into close contact with the patients have developed symptoms of the flu, the health department said.
On Sunday, two men in Shanghai died from H7N9. A woman in Anhui province and four men in Jiangsu province remain in criticalcondition, which makes a large number of people scared to death.
All patients had fevers and coughs in the early stages before developing pneumonia(肺炎) and breathing difficulties, China's health authorities said.
Experts say genetic analysis shows that the H7N9 virus can be treated with Tamiflu, an antiviral drug that may slow the spread of influenza（流感，家畜流行性感冒） in the body.
Wang Xianjun, head of the Shandong provincial center of disease control, said H7N9 is sensitive to neuraminidase-inhibiting medicine such as Tamiflu, Qilu Evening News reported on Wednesday.
There are no effective vaccines(疫苗) for H7N9 as yet, Wang said, but using Tamiflu may be effective in the early stages.
1.According to this passage, the most cases of H7N9 bird flu virus have been detected in ______.
A．Zhejiang province B．Anhui province
C．Shanghai D．Jiangsu province
2.From the whole passage we can learn that_______.
A．two men in Shanghai and a woman in Zhejiang province died from H7N9.
B．the H7N9 virus can be cured with an antiviral drug called Tamiflu.
C．all the patients infected with H7N9 had fevers and coughs in the early stages.
D．only one patient has died from H7N9 in Anhui.
3.The underlined word in the sentence “…four men in Jiangsu province remain in critical condition” may be close to ______ in meaning.
A．very serious and dangerous B．extremely important
C．quite healthy D．not serious or dangerous
4.The passage is mainly about _____.
A．the medicine for H7N9
B．the spread of H7N9 and an antiviral drug
C．the number of patients who died from H7N9
D．people who came into close contact with the patients of H7N9
Dear Parents,
It is almost a week since school began. I hope that you and your child are settled and comfortable in the arrangement of the new school year. I would like to take this opportunity to give you news about the art project that the eighth grade students and I will be working on during this unit.
My name is Molly Atkinson and I am a new middle school teacher here at MSAE in Kauai. I feel that it is important for you to know that my approach to classroom management is inspired by Maharishi’s Principle of Ideal Teaching. I believe that it is the most positive method for guiding our students’ education. I also believe that by keeping the lessons interesting, the classroom will be a creative environment for the students to explore the artistic process. My experience with the class this week makes me believe that the students and I will have a fruitful and caring experience in our time together.
The students’ first project is a three-part work that begins with the creation of a collage (拼贴画). A pencil drawing of the collage will follow. The third part of the project will be a geometrical three-dimensional (几何三维的) drawing of the collage. The students have jumped right into the project with enthusiasm (热情) and focus. I can tell that we are going to have a very productive unit.
On October 30th, the students will have a showing of their work for you. I look forward to meeting all of you that day. If you would like to get hold of me before that time I will be here after school until 4:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays and can be available on other afternoons by appointment (预约). I may also be reached at my e-mail address: matkinson@kdsi.net. I am very happy to be here and look forward to working with the eighth grade students.
Sincerely,
Molly Atkinson
1.It can be learned that the letter was written _____.
A．after the school year ended
B．before the new school year started
C．in the middle of the school year
D．at the beginning of the new school year
2.The letter was most probably written by _____.
A．an art teacher
B．an eighth grader
C．a school gardener
D．a head teacher
3.In Paragraph 2, Atkinson mentions _____.
A．her long work experience
B．her close relationships with the students
C．the teaching method she applies
D．the training aim of the new term
4.The underlined words “that time” in the last paragraph refer to _____.
A．October 30th
B．4:30 on Mondays
C．4:30 on Wednesdays
D．other afternoons
At the age of seven, I went to see my grandma in Warwick and spent the summer with her. One day I went to a general store with a 34 full of what Grandma needed.
“Excuse me, I need to 35 these,” I said .
“So ? I’m not your 36 ! You should get yourself a basket and start filling,” Miss Bee, the owner of the store, said 37 without smiling. “If you’re 38 you’ll be home by sunset.” Sunset was five hours away. 39 , the store was a puzzle, and I wasn’t sure if I would make it.
I visited Miss Bee several times a week that 40 . One afternoon when I watched her adding 35 cents instead of 29 for a can of beans, I 41 her immediately. Though being caught overcharging , she didn’t seem 42 , and she just fixed the price.
All summer long I was always tricked by Miss Bee. No sooner had I memorized the soda’s location on the shelf than she rearranged the shelves and made me 43 it all over again. But by summer’s end the 44 trip that had once taken me an hour was done in 15 minutes.
The morning I was to return to Brooklyn, I stepped in to get a bottle of water.
“What did you 45 this summer?” she said.
“That you’re so mean!” I whispered.
To my 46 , Miss Bee laughed. “When you get older, you’ll be glad our paths crossed!”
Glad I met Miss Bee ? No!
Until one day my daughter came to me with homework 47 . “It’s too hard,” she said. “Could you finish it for me?”
“If I do it for you, how will you ever learn to do it yourself?” Suddenly, I was 48 at that general store where Miss Bee had really taught me something all those years ago.
1. A．bag B．bottle C．list D．can
2. A．buy B．read C．borrow D．sell
3. A．daughter B．servant C．master D．teacher
4. A．honestly B．quietly C．coldly D．quietly
5. A．busy B．stupid C．lucky D．popular
6. A．However B．Besides C．Therefore D．Also
7. A．year B．summer C．autumn D．term
8. A．supported B．attracted C．corrected D．remembered
9. A．excited B．unfriendly C．moved D．uncomfortable
10. A．hunt for B．step onto C．learn about D．care for
11. A．school B．shopping C．business D．sightseeing
12. A．eat B．earn C．forget D．learn
13. A．shame B．delight C．surprise D．regret
14. A．signs B．troubles C．scores D．rules
15. A．out B．ahead C．around D．back
--- Do you really think I can achieve my goal ?
--- Absolutely .___ you give up halfway .
A．If B．Unless C．Since D．because
In our childhood, we were often_____ by Grandma to pay attention to our table manners.
A．demanded B．reminded C．allowed D．hoped
