The Batsquatch is described as a great winged bat. It’s reported that it lives in the shadows(阴暗处) of Mt. Saint Helens. It has purple skin, red eyes and the character is quite similar to the bat’s. Since reports tell it likes eating small animals like chickens, goats and pigs, some believe that it is actually a flying primate(灵长目动物). But researchers say that it is more closely related to the fruit bat of northern America.
Fear still fills the hearts of men, women and children of Washington. In May of 1980 during the eruption of Mount Saint Helens, the Batsquatch showed itself in the shadows of clouds from the eruption. In 1994, a local mountaineer was able to take pictures of the Batspuatch making the rumor(谣言) seem real. During this event some farm animals seemed to disappear though luckily no humans were reported missing at the time. The local mountaineer told about his meeting with the Batsquatch. When he suddenly heard a loud deep voice from the shadows, the mountaineer was knocked down. He tried to look for the creature(生物) that had made the sound. He saw a great creature with purple wings in the sky. It looked like it was about 30 feet tall.
The mountaineer kept this story a secret in fear of being laughed at by others but when new stories came in about the Batsquatch he shared his story.
The reality of the Batsquatch can no longer be ignored. It is only a creature that is trying to live. Respect! This is how we should take news such as this. Respect for a living creature instead of fear.
1.The rumor about the batsquatch makes people of Washington full of______
A.joy B. surprise
C. fear D. anger
2. Why did people believe the rumor of the Batsquatch was real?
A. Because it was reported in the newspaper
B. Because it was seen by many local people
C. Because someone once caught one
D. Because someone took its picture
3.When the Batsquatch appeared, the mountaineer_______.
A. heard nothing strange
B. shouted at it to frighten it away
C. was lying on the ground, relaxing
D. found it was a 30-foot-tall creature that could fly
4. The mountaineer didn’t tell others his story because he________.
A. was afraid of being laughed at
B. was too frightened to tell others
C. couldn’t believe what he saw
D. didn’t want to make fun of others
5. The purpose of the last paragraph is to tell readers_______.
A. the Batsquatch is being endangered
B. the Batsquatch is a dangerous creature
C. respect should be given to the Batsquatch
D. the news about the Batsquatch is real
Below is a selection from a popular science book.
If blood is red, why are veins（静脉）blue?
Actually, veins are not blue at all. They are more of a clear, yellowish colour. Although blood looks red when it’s outside the body, when it’s sitting in a vein near the surface of the skin, it’s more of a dark reddish purple colour. At the right depth, these blood-filled veins reflect less red light than the surrounding skin, making them look blue by comparison.
Which works harder, your heart or your brain?
That kind of depends on whether you’re busy thinking or busy exercising. Your heart works up to three times harder during exercise, and shifts enough blood over a lifetime to fill a supertanker. But, in the long run, your brain probably tips it, because even when you’re sitting still your brain is using twice as much as your heart, and it takes four to five times as much blood to feed it.
Why do teeth fall out, and why don’t they grow back in grown-up?
Baby (or “milk”) teeth do not last long; they fall out to make room for bigger, stronger adult teeth later on. Adult teeth fall out when they become damaged, decayed and infected by bacteria. Once this second set of teeth has grown in, you’re done. When they’re gone, they’re gone. This is because nature figures you’re set for life, and what controls regrowth of your teeth switches off.
Do old people shrink as they age?
Yes and no. Many people do get shorter as they age. But, when they do, it isn’t because they’re shrinking all over. They simply lose height as their spine(脊柱)becomes shorter and more curved due to disuse and the effects of gravity（重力）. Many (but not all) men and women do lose height as they get older. Men lose an average of 3—4 cm in height as they age, while women may lose 5 cm or more. If you live to be 200 years old, would you keep shrinking till you were, like 60 cm tall, like a little boy again? No, because old people don’t really shrink! It is not that they are growing backwards—their legs, arms and backbones getting shorter. When they do get shorter, it’s because the spine has shortened a little. Or, more often, become more bent and curved.
Why does spinning make you dizzy(眩晕的)?
Because your brain gets confused between what you’re seeing and what you’re feeling. The brain senses that you’re spinning using special gravity-and-motion-sensing organs in your inner ear, which work together with your eyes to keep your vision and balance stable. But, when you suddenly stop spinning the system goes out control, and your brain thinks you’re moving while you’re not!
Where do feelings and emotions come from?
Mostly from an ancient part of the brain called the limbic system. All mammals have this brain area—from mice to dogs, cats, and humans. So all mammals feel basic emotions like fear, pain and pleasure. But since human feelings also involve other, newer bits of the brain, we feel more complex emotions than any other animals on the planet.
If exercise wears you out, how can it be good for you?
Because our bodies adapt to everything we do to them. And as far as your body is concerned, it’s “use it, or lose it”! It’s not that exercise makes you healthy; it’s more that a lack of exercise leaves your body weak and easily affected by disease.
1.What is the colour of blood in a vein near the surface of the skin?
A. Blue B. Dark reddish purple
C. Red D. Light yellow
2.Why do some old people look a little shrunken as they age?
A. Because their spine become more bent.
B. Because they are more easily affected by gravity.
C. Because they keep growing backwards.
D. Because their spine is in active use.
3.Which of the following statements about our brain is true?
A. The brains of the other mammals are as complex as those of humans.
B. When our brain senses the spinning, we will feel dizzy.
C. In the long run, our brain probably works harder than our heart.
D. Our feelings and emotions come from the most developed area in our brain.
4.. In this article, we can know except _____.
A. it takes four to five times as much blood to feed our brain as to feed our heart.
B. when adult teeth are gone, they cannot grow back.
C. the reason why spinning make us dizzy.
D. how we can grow taller.
5. What is the main purpose of the selection?
A. To give advice on how to stay healthy.
B. To report the latest discoveries in medical science.
C. To challenge new findings in medical research.
D. To provide information about our body.
Believe it or not, going to school is not a legal(法定的) requirement in the United States. It
is a legal requirement that all kids be educated, though. When parents believe they can give their kids a better education--- or have other reasons for not wanting to send their kids to a local school --- they may choose home schooling.
However, if a kid hates school, home schooling is probably not the escape he is looking for. Home schooled students can learn just as much as they would in regular school if they and their parents work hard to cover all the subjects and experiences necessary. Parents who home school usually have higher levels of education than parents who do not. They already have the skills to educate themselves about teaching their kids.
Parents who home school have to be able to put the time and skill into not just teaching, but also researching lesson plans and resources(资源). So they have to know how to find the information necessary to teach their kids. State schools often provide home-schooling parents with a curriculum(课程), books and materials and places to meet. Some state schools will point parents to other resources for brushing up on forgotten subjects. Or parents may receive continuing education at local colleges or universities.
1.According to American law, _______________.
A. all kids shall go to school
B. all kids must receive education
C. home schooling parents shall receive continuing education
D. state schools must give support to home-schooling parents
2. According to the text, most home-schooling parents________________.
A. are short of money B. dislike schools
C. used to work as teachers D. are well-educated
3. Which of the following is NOT true about parents who home school?
A. They should have enough time.
B. They should have some skills in teaching.
C. They must receive special curriculums at the university.
D. They have to be able to know lesson plans and resources.
4. The underlined phrase “brushing up on” in the last paragraph can best be replaced by _____.
A. reviewing B. changing
C. choosing D. discussing
5. What can be inferred from the text?
A. Home schooled kids learn fewer.
B. Home schooled kids spend less time studying.
C. Being a home-schooling parent needs a lot of effort.
D. Home schooling will replaced school education.
Section C (8 marks)
There once was a farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair(集市) 1.___ it won a blue ribbon.
One year, a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned 2.______ interesting about how he grew it. 3.______ reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn(粮种) with his neighbors.
“How can you afford to do that when they are entering their corn in competition4.______
yours each year?” the reporter asked.
“Why sir,” said the farmer, “don’t you know? The wind picks up pollen(花粉) from the ripening corn and spreads 5._____ from field to field. If my neighbors grow bad corn, cross-pollination will gradually reduce the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.”
He is fully aware 6._____ the connectedness of life. His corn can’t improve 7.______ his neighbors’ corn also improves. 8.______ it is with our lives.
In 2002, when my father was transferred(调动)to the US to work there for seven months,
I had to attend school there, so I was upset. How would I, an eight-year-old girl from India, make
Friends in America?
On my first day at Anna Silver Public School, I Miss Alice McNally, my class teacher, who couldn’t get my name --- although she tried hard, she usually called me Diya or Diva instead of Divya. But she to speak to me in a way that was easy for me---slowly, words clearly---to get me used to the American . When discovering that I enjoyed , she took me to meet the art teacher. Miss McNally made sure that I was in perfect harmony with her class, and I had as much as any schoolgirl could have from school.
When my father was transferred back to India, I had to Anna Silver Public School. I was going to leave before a scheduled fishing trip, and I’d the class photo session(集会) too. Therefore, with a heavy heart, I left my school and the US. Back in Kerala, I received a
Surprise one day---a package in which Miss McNally and my twenty-four former classmates had written me a letter each, me about the fishing trip and interesting things that happened while taking the class photo. Miss McNally added, “Keep up with your drawing, since you love it so much.” Miss McNally not only made a little girl feel at home in a faraway country, but also taught me and the others, at an early age, the importance of being kind to others.
1.A. recognizedB. puzzled C. metD. hurt
2.A. right B. smart C. brief D. similar
3.A. took overB. took care C. took backD. took control
4.A. spelling B. shoutingC. saying D. writing
5.A. ceremony B. custom C. education D. accent
6.A. drawing B. musicC. advertisingD. sports
7.A. fun B. luck C. patience D. pride
8.A. disturb B. leave C. choose D. begin
9.A. support B. enjoyC. plan D. miss
10.A. lasting B. mild C. hopefulD. pleasant
11.A. advisingB. teachingC. telling D. asking
12.A. sweet B. shy C. brave D.beautiful
If we can convince young people _____, they might then urge their parents and other people ____ smoking, too.
A. not starting; to give up B. not to start; give up
C. not to start; must give up D. not starting; should give up
