(2013·高考北京卷，B)Two dolphins race around in a big pool in the Ocean Park.The smaller dolphin，Grace，shows off a few of her tricks，turning around and waving hello to the crowd.The most amazing thing about her，however，is that she’s even swimming at all.She doesn’t have a tail.
Grace lost her tail as a baby when she got caught up in a fish trap.When the dolphin arrived at the Ocean Park in December 2005，she was fighting for her life.“Is she going to make it？”Her trainer，Abbey Stone，feared the worst.Grace did make it—but her tail didn’t.She ended up losing her flukes and the lower part of her peduncle.
Over the past six years，she has learned to swim without her tail.Dolphins swim by moving their flukes and peduncle up and down.Grace taught herself to move another way—like a fish! She pushed herself forward through the water by moving her peduncle from side to side.
The movements put harmful pressure on Grace’s backbone.So a company offered to create a manmade tail for her.The tail had to be strong enough to stay on Grace as she swam but soft enough that it wouldn’t hurt her.
The first time Grace wore the artificial tail，she soon shook it off and let it sink to the bottom of the pool.Now，she is still learning to use the tail.Some days she wears it for an hour at a time，others not at all.“The new tail isn’t necessary for her to feel comfortable，”says Stone，“but it helps to keep that range of motion (动作) and build muscles (肌肉)．”
Now，the dolphin is about to get an even happier ending.This month，Grace will star in Dolphin Tale，a film that focuses on her rescue and recovery.Her progress has inspired more than just a new movie.Many people travel from near and far to meet her.Seeing Grace swim with her manmade tail gives people so much courage.
1.When Grace first arrived at the Ocean Park，her trainer worried about her________.
A．physical build
B．potential ability
C．chance of survival
D．adaptation to the surroundings.
2.A manmade tail is created for Grace to________.
A．let her recover faster
B．make her comfortable
C．adjust her way of swimming
D．help her perform better tricks
3.The story of Grace inspires people to________.
A．stick to their dreams
B．treat animals friendly
C．treasure what they have
D．face difficulties bravely
(2013·高考新课标全国卷Ⅱ，B)In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music，dance and theatre in Edinburgh.The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.
It quickly attracted famous names such as Alec Guinness，Richard Burton，Dame Margot Fonteyn and Marlene Dietrich as well as the big symphony orchestras(交响乐团)．It became a fixed event every August and now attracts 400,000 people yearly.
At the same time，the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival.Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947，in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform，and they did so in a public house disused for years.
Soon，groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University，and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge，Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by littleknown writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.
Today the“Fringe”，once less recognized，has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre，music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts.And yet as early as 1959，with only 19 theatre groups performing，some said it was getting too big.
A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971，and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself.In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries.More than 1.25 million tickets were sold.
1.What was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at the beginning?
A．To bring Europe together again.
B．To honor heroes of World War Ⅱ.
C．To introduce young theatre groups.
D．To attract great artists from Europe.
2.Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to Edinburgh in 1947?
A．They owned a public house there.
B．They came to take up a challenge.
C．They thought they were also famous.
D．They wanted to take part in the festival.
3.Who joined the“Fringe”after it appeared?
A．Popular writers.
B．University students.
C．Artists from around the world.
D．Performers of music and dance.
4.We may learn from the text that Edinburgh Festival________.
A．has become a nonofficial event
B．has gone beyond an art festival
C．gives shows all year round
D．keeps growing rapidly
(2013·高考新课标全国卷Ⅰ，B)The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital.She is quiet but alert (警觉)．Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it.She stares at it carefully.A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another，this time with the spots differently spaced.As the cards change from one to the other，her gaze(凝视) starts to lose its focus—until a third，with three black spots，is presented.Her gaze returns：she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card.Can she tell that the number two is different from three，just 24 hours after coming into the world?
Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment，but with three spots shown before two，shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes.Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb，a key，an orange and so on)，changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves.Could it be the pattern that two things make，as opposed to three? No again.Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three，or three to two.The effect even crosses between senses.Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two；likewise (同样地) when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.
1.The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s________.
A．sense of hearing B．sense of sight
C．sense of touch D．sense of smell
2.Babies are sensitive to the change in________.
A．the size of cards B．the colour of pictures
C．the shape of patterns D．the number of objects
3.Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?
A．To reduce the difficulty of the experiment.
B．To see how babies recognize sounds.
C．To carry their experiment further.
D．To keep the babies’ interest.
4.Where does this text probably come from?
A．Science fiction.
B．Children’s literature.
C．An advertisement.
D．A science report.
One might expect that the evergrowing demands of the tourist trade would bring nothing but good for the countries that receive the holidaymakers.Indeed，a rosy picture is painted for the longterm future of the holiday industry.Every month sees the building of a new hotel somewhere.And every month another rockbound Pacific island is advertised as the ‘last paradise(天堂) on earth’．
However，the scale and speed of this growth seem set to destroy the very things tourists want to enjoy.In those countries where there was a rush to make quick money out of seaside holidays，overcrowded beaches and the concrete jungles of endless hotels have begun to lose their appeal.
Those countries with little experience of tourism can suffer most.In recent years，Nepal set out to attract foreign visitors to fund developments in health and education.Its forests，full of wildlife and rare flowers，were offered to tourists as one more untouched paradise.In fact，the nature all too soon felt the effects of thousands of holidaymakers traveling through the forest land.Ancient tracks became major routes for the walkers，with the consequent exploitation of precious trees and plants.
Not only can the environment of a country suffer from the sudden growth of tourism.The people as well rapidly feel its effects.Farmland makes way for hotels，roads and airports；the old way of life goes.The onetime farmer is now the servant of some multinational organization；he is no longer his own master.Once it was his back that bore the pain；now it is his smile that is exploited.No doubt he wonders whether he wasn’t happier in his village working his own land.
Thankfully，the tourist industry is waking up to the responsibilities it has towards those countries that receive its customers.The protection of wildlife and the creation of national parks go hand in hand with tourist development and in fact obtain financial support from tourist companies.At the same time，tourists are being encouraged to respect not only the countryside they visit but also its people.
The way tourism is handled in the next ten years will decide its fate and that of the countries we all want to visit.Their needs and problems are more important than those of the tourist companies.Increased understanding in planning worldwide tourism can preserve the market for these companies.If not，in a few years’ time the very things that attract tourists now may well have been destroyed.
1.What does the author indicate in the last sentence of Paragraph 1?
A．The Pacific island is a paradise.
B．The Pacific island is worth visiting.
C．The advertisement is not convincing.
D．The advertisement is not impressive.
2.The example of Nepal is used to suggest________.
A．its natural resources are untouched
B．its forests are exploited for farmland
C．it develops well in health and education
D．it suffers from the heavy flow of tourists
3.What can we learn about the farmers from Paragraph 4?
A．They are happy to work their own lands.
B．They have to please the tourists for a living.
C．They have to struggle for their independence.
D．They are proud of working in multinational organizations.
4.Which of the following determines the future of tourism ?
A．The number of tourists.
B．The improvement of services.
C．The promotion of new products.
D．The management of tourism.
5.The author’s attitude towards the development of the tourist industry is________.
A．optimistic B．doubtful
C．objective D．negative
Home to me means a sense of familiarity and nostalgia(怀旧)．It’s fun to come home.It looks the same.It smells the same.You’ll realize what’s changed is you.Home is where we can remember pain，love，and some other experiences：We parted here；My parents met here；I won three championships here.
If I close my eyes，I can still have a clear picture in mind of my first home.I walk in the door and see a brown sofa surrounding a low glasstop wooden table.To the right of the living room is my first bedroom.It’s empty，but it’s where my earliest memories are.
There is the dining room table where I celebrated birthdays，and where I cried on Halloween－when I didn’t want to wear the skirt my mother made for me.I always liked standing on that table because it made me feel tall and strong.If I sit at this table，I can see my favorite room in the house，my parents’ room.It is simple：a brown wooden dresser lines the right side of the wall next to a television and a couple of photos of my grandparents on each side.Their bed is my safe zone.I can jump on it anytime－waking up my parents if I am scared or if I have an important announcement that cannot wait until the morning.
I’m lucky because I know my first home still exists.It exists in my mind and heart，on a physical property(住宅) on West 64th street on the western edge of Los Angeles.It is proof I lived，I grew，and I learned.
Sometimes when I feel lost，I lie down and shut my eyes，and I go home.I know it’s where I’ll find my family，my dogs，and my belongings.I purposely leave the window open at night because I know I’ll be blamed by Mom.But I don’t mind，because I want to hear her say my name，which reminds me I’m home.
1.Why does the author call her parents’ bed her “safe zone”(Paragraph 3)?
A．It is her favorite place to play.
B．Her needs can be satisfied there.
C．Her grandparents’ photos are lined on each side.
D．Her parents always play together with her there.
2.What can be learned from the passage?
A．The old furniture is still in the author’s first bedroom.
B．The author can still visit her first physical home in Los Angeles.
C．The author’s favorite room in her first home is the dining room.
D．Many people of the author’s age can still find their first physical homes.
3.Sometimes when she feels lost，the author will________.
A．open the window at night
B．lie down in bed to have a dream
C．try to bring back a sense of home
D．go to Los Angeles to visit her mom
4.What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?
A．To express how much she is attached to her home.
B．To declare how much she loves her first house.
C．To describe the state of her family.
D．To look back on her childhood.
“People are ruder today because they are rushed and more ‘time poor’ than ever before，”says Patsy Rowe，“ Manners_have_fallen_off_the_radar(雷达)．”Due to our strong attraction to electronic equipment it is a wonder more people don’t wake up each morning and greet the singing birds with a complaint(抱怨)about the noise.Here are some examples of rudeness.
Some people prefer to do almost everything over the internet.To them，dealing with an actual human is like an evolutionary step backward.It feels very slow because humans don’t work at 4G speeds.When you have dinner with friends，you will often notice someone paying more attention to his mobile phone.We have programmed ourselves to think that every new message brings lifechanging news，so taking calls and checking our texts are more important than talking to the people we are with.What is worse，some people even tend to send anonymous(匿名的) rude messages by email.
However，rudeness is never acceptable.Don’t assume it is OK to be rude if the person you’re in touch with won’t recognize you.If you have something awful to say，have the courage to face the person and say it，write a letter or email and sign it，or forget it.Upsetting people with unsigned messages is cruel and disgusting.
We shouldn’t blame technology for our shortcomings.Technology is here to help us，but we should not allow it to take over our lives.An important step ia acknowledging our shortcomings.People spend a lot of time pointing out bad manners but it would be even more helpful if we’d publicly acknowledge good manners when we see them.
1.What can be inferred from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1?
A．People can tell good from bad behavior.
B．Radar is able to observe human behavior.
C．People care little about their behavior.
D．Radar can be used to predict human behavior.
2.Some people are less willing to deal with humans because________.
A．they are becoming less patient
B．they are growing too independent
C．they have to handle many important messages
D．they have to follow an evolutionary step backward.
3.The author thinks sending unsigned awful messages is________.
A．ridiculous B．disgusting
C．acceptable D．reasonable
4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A．We should applaud good behavior.
B．Technology can never be blamed.
C．We should keep pointing out mistakes.
D．Technology will take over our lives one day.
