Birthday parties and graduations are occasions when people celebrate with balloons, often releasing (释放) them into the sky happily. But what happens to those plastic balloons once they become flat? Where do they end up?
For years, many environmental groups have pushed for mass balloon releases to be inhibited, saying that balloon pieces and strings are dangerous to wildlife. “They can bring harm to wildlife simply because they are colorful and bright, so wildlife might think they are delicious food, and their bodies can get caught by the strings, thus making it difficult for them to swim or breathe.” Emma Tonge, communications and outreach specialist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told USA Today. Yet releases still happen.
Researchers in Australia analyzed the effects that soft plastics like balloons have on seabirds. They have discovered that soft plastics are more likely than hard plastics to cause barriers in seabirds’ gastrointestinal tracts (胃肠道). Of the birds examined, nearly one out of five died as a result of swallowing a balloon or balloon pieces.
“If seabirds eat plastics, their risk of death increases, and even a single piece can be deadly,” wrote lead study author Lauren Roman, PhD student at University of Tasmania. “The evidence is clear that if we want to stop seabirds from dying from plastic ingestion (吸入) we need to reduce or remove marine debris (海洋垃圾) from their environment, particularly balloons.”
Balloons Blow, a nonprofit organization, is devoted to educating people about the dangers released balloons can have on animals, people and the environment. The group points out that all released balloons return to the ground as litter. Animals like birds, whales and sea turtles can die after swallowing balloons.
1.Why does wildlife eat balloon pieces?
A.They mistake them for delicious food. B.They eat anything for lack of food.
C.They feel like eating bright things. D.They suck them just for pleasure.
2.What does the underlined word“inhibited”in paragraph 2 most probably mean?
A.objected B.adjusted C.banned D.governed
3.What can we infer from the researchers’analysis in paragraph 3?
A.Seabirds are forced to swallow balloons.
B.Balloons mainly determine seabirds’survival.
C.Soft plastics are worse than hard ones for seabirds.
D.Seabirds are more sensitive to hard plastics.
4.What is Lauren Roman’s idea on the released balloons?
A.They have bad effects on all the birds. B.They are harmless in small pieces.
C.They are major damage to people. D.They do great harm to seabirds.
5.What is the text mainly about?
A.What released balloons bring to the ocean.
B.Why people should stop releasing balloons.
C.When action will be taken to protect wildlife.
D.How released balloons can be finally reduced.
Nelda Billie has been waiting to turn on lights in her home for 15 years. ''We've been living off those oil lanterns,'' she says. ''Now we don't have to have flashlights everywhere. All the kids have a flashlight. When they get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, they have a flashlight to go to the outhouse. ''
Billie, her husband and their five kids live in a tiny, one-room cottage built with wood and mud, which is a traditional Navajo home. Their three sheep are on the green grass that carpets the rolling hills of Dilkon, Ariz., on the Navajo Nation, the largest Native American reservation in the US. They watch two men in a cherry picker hook the last power line to their home.
Billie says they've gone through too many electrical machines to count. ''My two boys, they have really bad allergies and they have asthma(哮喘), so sometimes they need the sprayer. '' Billie says. ''So we usually go to their grandma's house, travel in the middle of the night over there back and forth. ''
The Billies are not alone. About 10% of Navajos on the reservation live without electricity. And as much as 40% of them have to haul their water far away and use outhouses. A poll(民意调查) of Native Americans conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health found that more than a quarter of Native Americans have experienced problems with electricity, the Internet and with the safety of their drinking water.
Outside the Billies' home, the couple waits patiently for the workers to finish the job. Finally, after waiting for so long, the Billies watch the foreman turn on the meter behind their house and close the cover. Nelda then runs inside to open the switch. ''It's so exciting to finally have electricity here after so many years without it, '' Billie says. ''My kids are going to be so happy. They keep asking every day… They go, 'Mum, we're going to have light! We're going to finally have light! '''
Now the family will wait and pray for running water and the Internet.
1.Why did Billie's children have flashlights in the past?
A.They used them as toys.
B.They wanted to save electricity.
C.They needed them to light up late at night
D.They prepared these for going to grandma's house.
2.What can we learn from paragraph 2?
A.The Billies lead a green but poor life.
B.Electricity can bring about great changes.
C.The situation of Native Americans is serious.
D.There is an urgent need for electricity in Billie's house.
3.How does Billie often find electricity to treat her children's illness?
A.By walking a long way to a friend.
B.By producing electricity herself.
C.By inviting workers to her house.
D.By going to her mum's house.
4.What does the underlined sentence ''The Billies are not alone. ''imply in paragraph 4?
A.The Billies live far from cities but never feel lonely.
B.More Navajos suffer greatly from no electricity.
C.Only 10%of Navajos live without safe drinking water.
D.A quarter of Navajos have experienced problems with electricity.
5.What is the best title for the text?
A.The Disappearing Oil Lanterns B.Poor People's Bright Future
C.Electricity Bringing Hope D.Power Lines Construction
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整故事。
A friend of mine, named Jack, received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Jack came out of his office, a street urchin(顽童)was walking around the shining car. “Is this your car, sir?” he asked. Jack answered, “Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas.” The boy was surprised. “You mean your brother gave it to you and it did cost you nothing? Sir, I wish…”He hesitated(犹豫),Jack thought of course he knew what the boy wanted, but what the boy said surprised him greatly. “I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that.” Jack looked at the boy in surprise, and then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car?” “Oh yes, I’d love to ,”the boy answered.
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, “Sir, would you mind driving in front of my house?”
Jack smiled a little. He thought he knew what the boy wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car. But Jack was wrong again. “Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked.
注意：1.所续写的短文词数应为150左右；
2.应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3.续写部分分为二段，每段的开头语已经为你写好；
4续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1
He got out and ran up to the steps. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2
Jack got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
根据所给的首字母或中文提示写出适当单词，每空一词。
1.There are two main types of advertisements−−c__________advertisements and public service advertisements.
2.The _________(当代的)Olympics were first held in 1896, in Athens.
3.Both the headsets and the gloves are __________(连接) to a computer network in the studio.
4.Every packet of cigarettes contains harmful c_________that can result in lung cancer and heart disease.
5.By the 10th century, Old English had become the o___________ language of England.
6.An advertisement uses words and pictures to p____________ people to buy a product.
7.This is why we have chosen anti-smoking as the subject of our ad ______________(运动；活动).
8.They took him to court for ______________ (使堕落；使腐败)the young people of Athens.
9.RealCine provides fantastic technology for ________(城市的；城镇的) planning.
10.Many famous a_________, including Xu Haifeng, Liu Xiang and Sang Lan, have made great contributions to Olympics.
Starting high school is a great experience for any teenager. Whether you are coming from a middle school ( grades six through eight) or a junior high school (grades seven through nine) , there are many things about high school that are different from your old school environment. 1.
You will face being in a new school, making new friends in an unfamiliar class and getting to know new teachers.These new teachers will usually have higher academic (学术的)level than your middle school teachers. 2. In return, they expect you to work hard and develop your skills. On top of all this, peer pressure（压力）to drink and smoke often increases in high school. 3.
Although there is a lot of pressure, it is nothing you cannot deal with. If you are feeling pressure to do something that you feel is wrong, talk to a friend, parent or counselor to find a solution. 4.
If you are not succeeding academically, find someone to help you. If you feel lonely, try to join a school club or group to make new friends.
5. With time，you will come to be thankful for everything about your experience. On the point of starting your high school, are you ready?
A.You will experience many changes.
B.They want to help you get into college.
C.High school may seem discouraging(令人沮丧的)at first.
D.You can make friends at senior high school easily.
E.They are there to help you get into this great new time in your life.
F.High school is difficult for those who are not prepared well at first.
G.Besides, the pressure could also come from grades, loneliness and so on.
Tess still stood hesitating like a swimmer about to make his dive, hardly knowing whether to return or move forward, when a figure came out from the dark door of the tent.It was a tall young man, smoking.
He had an almost black face, though red and smooth. His moustache was black with curled points, though he could not be more than twenty-three or-four. There was an unusual force in his face, and in his daring rolling eyes.
“Well, my beauty, what can I do for you?” said he, coming forward. And seeing that she was quite at a loss: “Never mind me, I am Mr. D’ Urberville. Have you come to see me or my mother?”
This differed greatly from what Tess had expected. She had dreamed of an aged and dignified face. She tried to keep calm and answered—“I came to see your mother, sir.”
“I am afraid you cannot see her—she is ill in bed,” replied the representative of the house; for this was Mr. Alec, the only son of the noble family. “What is the business you wish to see her about?”
“It isn’t business—it is—I can hardly say what!”
“Pleasure?”
“Oh no. Why, sir, if I tell you, it will seem…”
Tess’s sense of a certain ridicule was now so strong that, despite her general discomfort at being here, her rosy lips curved (弯曲) towards a smile, much to the attraction of the young man.
“It is so foolish,” she stammered(结结巴巴地说); “I fear I can’t tell you!”
“Never mind; I like foolish things. Try again, my dear, “ said he kindly.
“Mother asked me to come.” Tess continued; “and, indeed, I was in the mind to do so myself. But I did not think it would be like this. I came, sir, to tell you that we are of the same family as you.”
“Ho! Poor relations?”
“Yes.”
“Stokes？”
“No; d’Urbervilles.”
“Ay, ay; I mean d’Urbervilles.”
“Our names are worn away to Durbeyfield; but we have several proofs that we are d’Urbervilles. The local scholars hold the view that we are, and…and we have an old seal and a silver spoon marked with the same castle as yours. So mother said we ought to make ourselves known to you, as we’ve lost our horse by a bad accident; we can hardly make a living.”
“Very kind of your mother, I’m sure.” Alec looked at Tess as he spoke, in a way that made her uneasy.” And so, my pretty girl, you’ve come on a friendly visit to us, as relations?”
“I Suppose I have,” looking less confident and uncomfortable again.
“Well— there’s no harm in it. Where do you live? What are you?”
——Tess of the d’Urbervilles By Thomas Hardy
1.How does Tess feel in the whole course of the meeting with Alec？
A.Excited and hopeful B.Nervous and uncomfortable
C.Surprised but comfortable D.Pleased but embarrassed
2.In the eyes of Tess, Alec is ________.
A.forceful and daring B.unfriendly and talkative
C.a gentle and reliable man D.older than she had expected
3.Why does Tess pay the visit to the D’Urbervilles？
A.To see Alec himself. B.To see Alec’s mother.
C.To confirm that they are of the same family. D.To make known their relationship and seek help.
4.Alec appears quite friendly to Tess mainly because ________.
A.Tess is his distant relation B.Tess looks polite to him
C.Tess is a pretty girl D.Tess looks ridiculous
