The huge Florida wetland known as the Everglades is a slow-moving river 80 kilometres wide but only a few centimeters deep. People call the Everglades a “river of grass” because sawgrass covers most of it. Sawgrass is not really grass. It is a plant that has leaves edged with tiny sharp teeth that can easily cut through clothes—and skin!
Travel in the Everglades is difficult. You cannot walk through shallow water because the sawgrass will cut you. The water is too shallow for regular boats. So, we use an airboat. An airboat is a flat, open boat. Like an airplane, it has a big propeller to move it. The propeller is fixed on the rear of the boat. It makes a tremendous noise, but it does the job. The boat skims along the water’s surface. Although we can still get lost in an airboat, at least we are above the alligators(短吻鳄).
While hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the Everglades, the most famous is surely the alligator. Once endangered, alligators are now protected within Everglades National Park. Visitors are likely to see them both on land and in water.
For a long time, dangers have threatened the Everglades. Around 1900, some people felt this precious wetland should be drained (排干). They said it was just a big swamp and not good for anything. In the 1920s, there was a land boom in Florida. People wanted to build homes everywhere, including in the Everglades. They built canals, levees (防洪堤) , and other water systems that stopped the rivers flowing into the Everglades. Factories were built near rivers that flowed into the wetland. These factories dumped poisonous waste that damaged the Everglades ecosystem.
People are now working to preserve the Everglades National Park for the future. Right now, one big problem is the paperbark tree. This tree is an invader from Australia.
Paperbark trees soak up a lot of water. In the early 1900s, people brought them to Florida because they thought they would help drain the Everglades. However, the invaders adapted too well. Paperbark trees have taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of the Everglades and killed other trees. Scientists are cutting down these invaders or spraying them with herbicides (除草剂) to kill them.
1.Which helps to explain why it is difficult to travel in Everglades?
A. Airboats may make a very big noise.
B. You may get lost when passing through.
C. Paperbark trees soak up too much water there.
D. Many different kinds of animals are to be protected.
2.Why do people use airboats instead of normal boats?
A. They have big propellers to move them faster than alligators.
B. The propeller makes loud noise so as to scare alligators.
C. Their flat bottom can skim along the water surface.
D. They can watch alligators without hurting them.
3.The following measures were taken to drain the Everglades except that people______.
A. built canals and levees to stop the rivers flowing into Everglades
B. built factories near rivers that flowed into the wetland
C. brought Paperbark to soak up water in Everglades
D. are cutting down these Paperbark trees
4.The underlined word "invader" probably means something______.
A. that moves in from another place B. that enters and takes control
C. that has been brought in D. that is in danger
That “Monday morning feeling” could be a crushing pain in the chest which leaves you sweating and gasping for breath. Recent research from Germany and Italy shows that heart attacks are more common on Monday mornings and doctors blame the stress of returning to work after the weekend break.
The risk of having a heart attack on any given day should be one in seven, but a six-year study helped by researchers at the Free University of Berlin of more than 2,600 Germans showed that the average person had a 20 per cent higher chance of having a heart attack on a Monday than on any other day.
Working Germans are particularly not protected against attack, with a 33 per cent higher risk at the beginning of the working week. Non-workers, by comparison, appear to be no more at risk on a Monday than any other day.
A study of 11,000 Italians proved 8 am on a Monday morning as the most stressful time for the heart, and both studies showed that Sunday is the least stressful day, with fewer heart attacks in both countries.
The findings could lead to a better understanding of what is the immediate cause of heart attacks, according to Dr Stefan Willich of the Free University. “We know a lot about long-term risk factors such as smoking and cholesterol（胆固醇）but we don’t know what actually causes heart attacks, so we can’t give clear advice on how to prevent them,” he said.
Monday mornings have a double helping of stress for the working body as it makes a rapid change from sleep to activity, and from the relaxing weekend to the pressures of work.
“When people get up, their blood pressure and heart rate go up and there are hormonal（内分泌）changes in their bodies,” Willich explained. “All these things can have an unfavourable effect in the blood system and increase the risk of a clot（血凝块）in the arteries（动脉）which will cause a heart attack.”
“When people return to work after a weekend off, the pace of their life changes. They have a higher workload, more stress, more anger and more physical activity,” said Willich.
1.Monday morning feeling, as this passage shows, .
A. is not so serious as people thought
B. is harmful to working people in developed countries.
C. is the first killer in Germany and Italy.
D. is created by researchers in Germany and Italy
2.To protect people from suffering from heart attack, doctors have paid much attention to . A. people’s working time B. people’s living place
C. people’s diet and lifestyle D. people’s nationalities
3.It can be learned from this passage that heart attack has nothing to do with .
A. blood pressure B. heart rate C. hormonal changes D. blood group
4.If the researchers give us some advice to avoid Monday morning feeling, what might it be?
A. Stop working on Monday B. Create a pleasant working environment
C. Get up late on Monday morning D. Go to work with a doctor
When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously , did not give her good service , pretended not to understand her , or even acted as if they did not hear her .
My mother has realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she . I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker (股票经纪人).I said in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs. Tan..”
And my mother was standing beside me, whispering loudly, “Why he don’t send me cheek already two week lone.”
And then, in perfect English I said : “I’m getting rather concerned .You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.”
Then she talked more loudly. “What he want? I come to New York tell him front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t tolerate any more excuse. If I don’t receive the check immediately , I am going to have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”
The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English.
When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, and full of observation and wisdom. It was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.
1.From Paragorph 2, we know that the author was .
A. good at pretending B. rude to the stockbroker
C. unwilling to phone for her mother D. ready to help her mother
2.After the author made the phone call, .
A. they forgave the stockbroker B. they went to New York immediately
C .they failed to get the check D. they spoke to their boss at once
3.What does the author think of her mother’s English now?
A. It confuses her. B. It embarrasses her.
C .It helps her tolerate rude people. D. It helps her understand the world.
4.We can inter from the passage that Chinese English .
A. is clear and natural to non-native speakers
B. is vivid and direct to non-native speakers
C. may bring inconvenience in America
D. has a very bad reputation in America
Charles Blackman: Alice in Wonderland
An Exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria （NGV）, Australia
10 June—12 August 2009
Venue（地点） The Ian Potter Centre
Admission Free entry
Charles Blackman is famous for his beautiful painting of dreams. In 1956, he heard for the first time Lewis Carroll’s extraordinary tale of Alice in Wonderland — the story of a Victorian girl who falls down a rabbit hole, meets a lot of funny characters and experience all kinds of things .At that time, Blackman’s wife was suffering form progressive blindness. The story of Alice moving through the strange situations, often disheartened by various events, was similar to his wife’s experiences. It also reflected so much of his own life. All this contributed to the completion of the Alice in Wonderland paintings.
Illustrator Workshop
Go straight to the experts for an introductory course in book illustration. The course includes an introduction to the process of illustration and its techniques, workshop exercise and group projects.
Dates Sunday 17 June &Sunday 5Aug.10am—1pm
Venue Gas Works Arts Park
Wonderful World
Celebrate the exhibition and Children’s Book Week with special activities just for the day, including a special visit from Alice and the White Rabbit.
Date Sunday 24 June, 11am—4pm
Venue Exhibition Space, Level 3
Topsy- Turvy
Visit the exhibition or discover wonderful curiosities in artworks in the NGV Collection and make a magic world in a box. Alice and the White Rabbit will be with you. Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland will be screened.
Dates Sunday 8,15,22,29 July ,and Tuesday 24—Friday 27 July ,12noon—3pm
Venue Theatre, NGV Australia
Drawing Workshop
Distortions of scale (比例失真) can make artworks strange but interesting.Find out how Charles Blackman distorted scale in his paintings to create a curious world, then experiment with scale in your own drawings. More information upon booking.
Date Friday 27 July, 10:30am—3pm
Venue Foyer, Level 3
1.Charles Blackman’s paintings come from _______.
A. his admiration for Lewis Carroll B. his dream of becoming a famous artist
C. his wish to express his own feelings D. his eagerness to cure his wife’s illness
2.Which two activities can you participate in on the same day?
A. Illustrator Workshop and Wonderful World
B. Illustrator Workshop and Drawing Workshop.
C. Wonderful World and Topsy –Turvy.
D. Topsy-Turvy and Drawing Workshop.
3.To understand the Alice in Wonderland paintings, you should go to _______.
A. Exhibition Space. Level 3 B. Gas Works Arts Park
C. Theatre, NGV Australia D. Foyer, Level 3
4.Activities concerning children’s books are to be held _______.
A. on June 24, 2009 B. on July15, 2009
C. on July 27, 2009 D. on August 5, 2009
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When I was in the 8th grade in Ohio, a girl named Helen in my class had a terrible accident. As she was 1to the bus in order not to miss it, she slipped on the ice and fell under the back wheels of the bus. She 2the accident but was paralyzed from the waist down. I went to see her, in my 13-year-old 3thinking that she wouldn’t live 4from then on.
Over the years, I 5and didn’t think much about Helen after that. Three years ago, in Florida, my oldest son was hit by a car while riding his bike, 6a terrible brain injury. While I was looking after my son, a lady who said she was the hospital’s social worker called. It was a (an) 7trying (难受的) day. I burst into tears for no reason and rang 8.
A short time 1ater, a beautiful woman, in a wheelchair, 9into my son’s room with a box of 10. After 16 years, I still 11Helen. She smiled, handed me the tissues and hugged me. I told her who I was, and after we both went through the shock of that, she began to tell me about 12since we last saw each other. She married, had children and got her degree so that she 13the path for those people who were less 14than her. She told me that if there was anything she could give me, it would be 15.
Looking at this wonderful, giving person, I felt 16. But I also felt the first hope I had since learning that my son was 17. From this person that I thought would have no 18of life, I learned that where there is life, there is hope. My son miraculously (神奇的) 19and we moved north, but I owe Helen 20that I can never repay.
1.A. walking B. riding C. running D. driving
2.A. lived B. survived C. existed D. escaped
3.A. mind B. brain C. head D. thought
4.A. equally B. calmly C. quietly D. normally
5.A. studied B. moved C. worked D. 1ived
6.A. suffering B. causing C. bearing D. catching
7.A. normally B. particularly C. necessarily D. eventually
8.A. up B. off C. back D. down
9.A. ran B. walked C. rolled D. moved
10.A. tissues B. presents C. pills D. candies
11.A. realized B. knew C. recognized D. reminded
12.A. her life B. her son C. her family D. her work
13.A. clear B. smooth C. clean D. open
14.A. rich B. healthy C. strong D. fortunate
15.A. money B. hope C. pity D. medicine
16.A. small B. pitiful C. weak D. shameless
17.A. admitted B. beaten C. hurt D. hospitalized
18.A. use B. value C. meaning D. quality
19.A. treated B. worsened C. relieved D. recovered
20.A. some money B. some tissues C. a debt D. a hope
Stressful environments lead to unhealthy behaviors such as poor eating habits, which _________ increase the risk of heart disease.
A. by chance B. in return C. in turn D. in a row
