Besides containing attractive flowers, trees and other plants that beautify the community, ecofriendly rain gardens are healthy for the environment and the people living and working nearby.
A rain garden is not very different from a traditional garden. It is just a far more ecofriendly garden. Usually it is built lower than the ground. Rain gardens make smart use of rain and storm water by temporarily holding water from rain and storms and letting it soak(浸入)slowly into the ground before it runs into streams or enters the public drinking water supply.
Thus, a rain garden keeps the water, allowing it to be used as needed by plants in the rain garden, rather than flowing immediately into nearby streams and going unused. The water will soak slowly into the ground within a day or two. This creates an advantage that the rain garden does not allow mosquitoes to breed. This is a simple, attractive, and ecofriendly “green” way to treat storm water.
What’s more, planting a rain garden helps reduce pollution and improve the environment. Without using expensive machinery and chemicals, rain gardens remove harmful chemicals in the rainwater and cut down on the amount of pollution reaching streams and rivers by up to 30%.
Native plants are recommended for rain gardens because they are more used to the local climate, soil, and water conditions. They may attract local wildlife such as native birds. Water your rain garden immediately after planting and once a week, unless you have had at least an inch of rain during the week. Once native plants establish the necessary root system, they will require little care.
Often, local governments and private businesses develop large rain gardens in their yards and in public parks as a way to improve the environment and solve flooding problems. However, you don’t need to be a professionally environmental engineer to create a rain garden. As long as you’re ecoconscious homeowners, you can help the environment by building smaller rain gardens in your yards.
1.Which of the following is NOT true for the function of rain gardens?
A. They are good for living conditions.
B. They increase pollution.
C. They can beautify the community.
D. They improve the environment.
2.Which of the following is the ecofriendly function of rain gardens discussed in Paragraph 4 ?
A. They can help reduce the pollution problem.
B. They can keep the rain and storm water.
C. They can be healthy for the people around.
D. They can make the environment more beautiful.
3.One of the main reasons why native plants are recommended is that .
A. they cost less and are much easier to get
B. they may attract local wildlife to come
C. they require little care from the local gardener
D. they are more used to the local growing conditions
4.What do we know about rain gardens?
A. They need little water after all the plants are planted.
B. They may attract local birds and change the local climate.
C. They usually need at least an inch of rainwater a week.
D. They may reduce the water pollution problem by 70%.
A sure way to destroy your chances of learning how to write skillfully is to believe that writing is a “natural gift” rather than a learned skill. People with such an attitude think that they are the only ones for whom writing is unbearably difficult. They feel that everyone else finds writing easy or at least tolerable. Such people often say, “I’m not any good at writing” or “English was not one of my good subjects.” They imply that they simply do not have a talent for writing while others do. The result of this attitude is that these people try to avoid writing, and when they do write, they don’t try their best. Their writing fails chiefly because they believe that they don’t have the “natural talent” needed to write. Unless their attitude changes, they probably will not learn how to write effectively.
A realistic attitude about writing must build on the idea that writing is a skill. It is a skill like driving, typing, or cooking; and, like any skill, it can be learned. If you have the determination to learn, you will develop your writing skills by practicing extensively.
Many people find it difficult to do the active thinking that clear writing demands. It is frustrating to discover how much of a challenge it is to transfer thoughts and feelings from one’s head onto a sheet of paper. But writing is not an automatic process: We will not get something for nothing — and we should not expect to. For almost everyone, skillful writing comes from hard work — from determination and sweat. The good news is that the skill of writing can be mastered, and if you are ready to work, you will learn what you need to know.
1.Why do some people think writing is difficult?
A. They have no time to practice writing.
B. They believe few people can write well.
C. They have no good teachers to help them.
D. They don’t think writing can be learned.
2.It can be inferred from Para. 1 that ______.
A. “natural gift” is the determining factor in one’s success
B. diligence can result in success
C. a person without “natural gift” is sure to fail in writing
D. attitude determines what one will be
3.What is the topic of the passage?
A. Why writing is important.
B. Whether writing is a born gift.
C. Benefits of essay writing.
D. How to improve writing skills.
假定你是李华，下面四幅图画描绘了发生在你上学路上的一件事情，请根据图画内容用
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。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（n），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：在错的词下画一横线，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。
Dear Mandy，
Pm not doing well in my lessons at school，especial in maths. My dad says I must try hard because he wants me go to university. He thinks I'm lazy，but it's not true. I work really hard， often study late into the night！I've tried to talk to my mother，but she always said I have to work as hard like my brother does. My brother doesn't study very hard，and he always gets excellent
grades. It's not fair！
The only thing I like it is art. My teacher says rm the best student she's had for year. When I told my dad，all he said was，“You mustn't waste your time in art. You must focus your mind on your lessons！”Pm feeling quite puzzling what to do now．Would you please help me out?
Thanks a lot！
Yours sincerely，
Lisa
阅读下面材料，在空白处填人适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式，并将答案填写在答题卡相应的位置上。
Two weeks before Christmas，two little girls were walking down the street1.t hey saw old Harry，who was on his knees pulling weeds from around a tree. He wore a pair of worn gloves．His fingers were sticking out 2.the ends，blue from the cold. They stopped to talk to him.
Harry told them he 3.（get) the yard in shape as a Christmas gift for his mother，who had died several years before.“My mother was all I had. She loved her yard and trees，so I do this for her every Christmas."
His -words touched the girls and soon they 4.（join) him，pulling weeds. When they finished，Harry pressed a coin into each of their hands.“I wish I could pay you more，but that's all rve got right now，”he said.
The girls had often passed his house，and they remembered that it had always been 5. poor condition. No decorations to add cheeriness were anywhere in sight.
As they walked on，the coin in one little girl's hand seemed to burn a hole of 6.（guilty）．The next day she called her friends7.they agreed to put their coins in a jar marked“Harry's Christmas Gift"．Then they began to seek out small jobs to earn more．Every coin they earned went into the jar.
Finally，they had enough 8.（buy）new gloves. Christmas Eve found them on Harry's
doorstep singing carols. They presented him with the gloves. With9.（tremble）hands，he held the gloves to his face and wept. No doubt he once again felt10.love of others as the girls reached out to him.
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A,B,C和D)中，选出可以填人空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I used to abandon myself to despair. Last year my mother from stroke（中风）and had an operation on her brain. I felt my whole world turn upside down and I had no what I could do to help her to relieve her . Tears welled up in my eyes whenever I was alone.
Last month I precious watch，which was an 18-year-old birthday gift from my father. I could not fall asleep for a couple of nights because I felt about the loss. There have been many like these in my life. I could never figure out how to deal with such tough things I read“If You Have a Lemon，Make a Lemonade" by American writer Dale Carnegie.“When the wise man is handed a lemon，he says，‘What 48 can I get from this? How can I my situation? How can I turn this lemon into a lemonade？’”he wrote.
I suddenly that life is full of ups and downs，so I need to stay all the time. Now when I think of my past，I wish I could have handled things ．When my mother was fighting for ，I should have held her hands in mine，telling her things would get better instead of and crying.
Several weeks ago，I took part in a campus singing competition. I didn't a prize. If I had not this article，I would definitely have felt again. But instead，I smiled after the competition. I was happy that at least I had got some stage ．Life is not just a bed of roses. There are thorns（刺）as well，but these thorns help us become and strong. When life us a lemon, let's try to make a lemonade.
1.A. resulted B. suffered C. survived D. escaped
2.A. hope B. wonder C. idea D. doubt
3.A. pain B. anxiety C. fear D. pressure
4.A. received B. sold C. fixed D. lost
5.A. unbelievable B. shameful C. angry D. terrible
6.A. diseases B. memories C. incidents D. difficulties
7.A. when B. until C. though D. since
8.A. lesson B. lemonade C. decision D. challenge
9.A. control B. accept C. improve D. avoid
10.A. realized B. thought C. discovered D. predicted
11.A. healthy B. independent C. serious D. positive
12.A. exactly B. differently C. easily D. practically
13.A. recovery B. life C. freedom D. happiness
14.A. shouting B．hiding C. quarreling D. regretting
15.A. expect B. miss C. win D. refuse
16.A. figured out B．written down C. found out D. come across
17.A. embarrassed B. discouraged C．excited D. concerned
18.A. performance B．experience C．progress D. effect
19.A. brave B. calm C. great D. clever
20.A. shows B. makes C. gives D. sends
