The African elephant, which is the largest land animal remaining on earth, is of great importance to African ecosystem. Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the- forest-and-savanna (大草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.
It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and under-bushes, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.
Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.
What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly
changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Disappearance of African elephants.
B. The effect of African elephants' search for food.
C. Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants.
D. The eating habit of African elephants.
2.What does the underlined phrase "setting the terms" most probably mean?
A. Fixing the time. B. Deciding the conditions.
C. Improving the quality. D. Worsening the state.
3.What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?
A. They result from the destruction of rain forests.
B. They provide food mainly for African elephants.
C. They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds.
D. They are home to many endangered animals.
4.The passage is developed mainly by_____
A. giving examples
B. pointing out similarities and differences
C. describing the changes in space order
D. showing the effect and then explaining the causes
Eight-year-old Owen Howkins suffers from growth delays(迟缓) and poor eyesight. This means that Owen needs a wheelchair to get around. Not surprisingly, he felt people were staring (盯着看) at him, and that made him very uncomfortable, so he became lonely and even stopped going outside of his house. That, however, was all before Haatchi came into his life!
Haatchi had a very unlucky start to life too. Tied to a railway track when he was just five months old, the dog was hit by a train. The hit unjured his tail and a leg so badly that both had to be cut off. Taken to a rescue shelter(救助站), the dog would have probably been killed if his story posted on Facebook had not been seen by Owen’s dad Will. He fell in love with Haatchi and decided to keep him, thinking that they were helping him. It turns out that it was Haatchi who helped them. By always staying at young Owen’s side, he became the boy’s best friend. Slowly Owen liked to go outside. Wherever he goes, the dog follows and protects him. Owen now proudly walks around the neighborhood, showing off his dog and telling anyone willing to listen, Haatchi’s story.
Haatch’s positive influence on the young boy has not gone unnoticed. In October 2012, the International Fund of Animal Welfare presented him with a special award(奖). The amazing friendship between the two has also been shown in a touching short film called “A Boy and His Dog” by students from the filmmaking class at the University of Hertfordshire. It has won several awards and had almost 2 million views. British best-selling author Wendy Holden has also writtern about this touching friendship in a aheartwarming children’s book, which was released on February 13th and had made Owen and Haatchi better known!
1.Owen didn’t like go out of his house mainly because_______.
A. he couldn’t walk outside by himself
B. he felt very lonely without any friend
C. he was very unhappy with his disease
D. he disliked other people’s unfriendly stares.
2.The underlined word “they” in the second paragraph refers to “_____”.
A. Will’s family B. Facebook users
C. the rescue shelter workers D. the friends from the neighborhood
3.Since Haatchi came into his life, Owen ________.
A. has more friends
B. has more confidence
C. has been growing taller and taller
D. had become a best-selling author
4.What can we learn about “A Boy and His Dog” ?
A. It is very popular
B. It was filmed by Will
C. It was first shown on February 13th
D. It made Wendy Holden better known.
The clock struck eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff they call “books”.
I was going to have my examination the next day. "When can I go to bed?" I asked myself. I didn’t answer, in fact I dared not.
The clock struck twelve."Oh, dear!" I cried, "ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We pupils are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy ."
The clock struck one. I was quite desperate now. I forgot all I had learnd. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh, God, Please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep.
1.The underlined word “wretched” in Paragraph 3 probably means ________.
A. happy B. disappointed
C. unhappy D. hopeful
2.Reviewing his lessons that night didn’t help him because ________. .
A. it was too late at night
B. he was very tired
C. his eyelids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open
D. he hadn’t studied hard before the examination
3.What do you suppose probably happened to the author the next day?
A. He went to a church to pray again
B. He passed the exam all by luck
C. He failed in the exam
D. He was punished by his teacher
4.The best title for the passage would be ______.
A. The Night Before the Examination
B. Working far into the Night
C. A Slow Student
D. Going Over My Lessons
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
When I was a small child，my parents didn’t have many money and I had very few Christmas gifts. My cousin was ten and he had gone out singing Christmas songs and made quite a bit money. Without tell anyone he went to the shop and spent almost every penny of his money in a teddy bear. Then he was used the change to buy a little necklace with a glass charming (迷人的) heart on them. He came to my house and told my parents what he had bought these things for me as Christmas gift. Twenty-five years later the teddy bear has been thrown away, but I even have the little necklace in my jewelry box to remind me of my cousin kindness.
1.他靠教书为生。（by 短语）
_____________________________________________________________ .
2.无论他去哪儿，都随身带着妻子的照片。（wherever）
_________________________________________________________________.
3.昨天下午这个问题正在会上讨论。（用被动）
_________________________________________________________________ .
4.他们声称发现了一种治疗这种病的方法。（claim to do）
_________________________________________________________________ .
5.你本来可以做的更好些，可是你太粗心了。（could have done）
_________________________________________________________________ .
There’s no such thing as living alone. Never mind if you’re 1. only person in your house and have no dog, no cat, not even fish. You still have got several billion 2.(roommate) — and so do we all. Some of them are harmless, some are 3.(actual) helpful and some could even kill you. They are, of course, bacteria, fungi(菌类) and viruses, and like it or not, they’re on you, around you, and deeply inside you. The fact that bacteria life is everywhere is not 4.(surprise). It’s something you 5.(learn) from your childhood when your mother told you not to drink water from someone else’s glass. There are lots of bacteria 6. are living in your tea kettle. There are bacteria 7. (sleep) with you on your bed. Scientists are beginning 8. realize) the richness of the microbiome(微生物群系) — which is as complex as the ones 9. (find) in oceans, rainforests, deserts and woodlands. Your house has a microbiome and 10. do you.
