Polar bears are suffering in a 1. (warm) world than ever before.
Polar bears live in environments too cold for most animals. 2. much of the year, they live and hunt on the frozen Arctic sea ice. Nature has prepared 3. for the cold conditions. But nothing has prepared the bears for the danger that 4.(threat) the only home they know.
The polar bears’ world is melting. Studies show that the polar ice has reduced by 9.8% every 10 years 5.1978. Now about 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears live in the Arctic. Polar bears depend on the sea ice for their 6. (survive). “The sea ice is more than just this platform that the bears walk over,” says Andrew Derocher , 7. scientist who studies North American polar bear populations. “ 8. it, they can’t exist.”
Some melting and refreezing of the polar ice is natural. 9. in a warmer world, these cycles speed up, and bears have less time to hunt. Normally, they have three months in the spring when they gain more weight. The extra fat is used later, 10. the bears are not actively hunting.
“Stop that man!” Vernon shouted. “He has a bomb!” Everywhere, passengers were ____ their feet and screaming. Guerrero stopped with his ____ to the toilets. “___ away from me!” he shouted.
“Guerrero, listen to me!” Vernon ____ him over the heads of the others. There was a silence as Guerrero ____ back at him.
“We know who you are,” Vernon went on. “And we know ____ you' re trying to do. We know all about the insurance and the bomb. That ____ that the insurance is no ___. Do you understand? It's worth nothing. If you die you'll die for nothing and your family will get nothing. ___ than that, they'll be blamed and made to ____ . Think of that, Guerrero.”
Guerrero hesitated. Vernon kept talking and hoped that Guerrero would ___ him.
A man came out of one of the ____ behind Guerrero. At the ____ of the door opening, he ___.
“Get the guy with the case! He's got a bomb. ” Somebody shouted.
Guerrero ____ past the man and ran into the toilet. He had not really understood ____ that had happened in the last few minutes, but he understood that, ___ so many things in his life, his great plan had ___. His life had been a failure, and now his ____ would be a failure too.
As he pulled the string(导火索), he wondered ____whether the bomb would be another failure. In the last second of his life he learned that it was not.
1.A. running over B. jumping over C. running to D. jumping to
2.A. back B. body C. side D. face
3.A. Walk B. Take C. Stay D. Put
4.A. cried out B. called to C. shouted at D. spoke against
5.A. stared B. fought C. talked D. hit
6.A. that B. what C. how D. when
7.A. tells B. explains C. means D. expresses
8.A. harm B. good C. value D. profit
9.A. Sooner B. Better C. Rather D. Worse
10.A. suffer B. worry C. argue D. fight
11.A. hear B. listen to C. see D. look at
12.A. toilets B. kitchens C. seats D. passages
13.A. movement B. sight C. sign D. sound
14.A. hid B. fell C. turned D. rolled
15.A. pushed B. walked C. rushed D. hurried
16.A. everything B. anything C. nothing D. something
17.A. unless B. after C. like D. as
18.A. lost B. broken C. failed D. removed
19.A. power B. life C. plan D. death
20.A. proudly B. bitterly C. excitedly D. curiously
May the first is an important date in the college admission process in the United States．This is the last day for high school seniors to accept or reject offers of admission in the fall．But according to a recent report, there is a great change. Acceptance rates at the top colleges this year were lower than ever.1.
These days, college applicants are applying to more colleges because online and common applications make the process easier.2.On the other hand, deciding students for top colleges to accept can be difficult because it takes much time. Students may not like being put on waiting lists. Also, common colleges work more to get the students they accept to accept them. Some colleges hold visiting days that offer a chance to attend classes and stay overnight. Some universities send gifts.3.
For many families, the most important thing colleges can do is show them the money, especially this year; the weak economy makes parents nervous.4.The recent problems that spread from the housing market to credit markets have even affected student’s loans. So lately, top schools have to spare lots of money to increase their financial aid for students.
5.The Education Department expects the number of high school graduates to start to go down. This will happen as the last of the children of the baby boom generation finishes high school. The number is not expected to start rising again until 2015.
A．Besides, top colleges are facing changes in the population. |
B．What contributes to it? |
C．But a mistake can be costly if it happens. |
D．But top colleges ignore them. |
E. They have international students who know English.
F. It can mean several acceptances to choose from.
G. They cannot afford college as planned.
One in 20 people have been reprimanded (训斥) at work for sending an ill-advised email, according to a survey.
Inappropriate jokes, angry messages sent in the heat of the moment, and scathing email replies forwarded to the wrong people are among some of the email gaffes that have landed office workers in hot water with their employers or clients.
One in five of those questioned said they had sent an inappropriate email in the heat of the moment, while almost a third said they had accidentally hit “reply all” instead of “reply”.
More than one in 10 of the 2,000 people surveyed admitted they had mistakenly sent an email criticizing a colleague to the person they were insulting.
According to the research, carried out to mark the DVD release of Going Postal, the television adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s novel, men were more likely to make an email gaffe than women, with 28 per cent admitting to sending an ill-judged message, compared to 17 per cent of women.
There have been a number of well-documented email gaffes. Last year, a worker at Deloitte had to resign after emailing colleagues asking them to name the best-looking man in the office, while in 2000, nine members of the Financial Services Authority were suspended after forwarding copies of explicit emails.
1.Which takes up the highest percentage of the mistaken-sending?
A. Sending an unwise email.
B. Sending to a wrong person.
C. Sending an unsuitable email.
D. Sending to all instead of a particular one.
2.Compared with women, men, in dealing with emails, are .
A. more careless B. more conscious
C. more unreasonable D. more critical
3.The underlined word “well-documented” in the last paragraph probably means “ ”.
A. causing preventable problems
B. being copied without exception
C. having been frequently recorded
D. existing unexpectedly in people’s daily life
4.What may be the best title for the text?
A. Think before you send
B. Reduce email mistakes
C. Be aware of the result of a survey
D. Make good use of modern technology
The death of languages is not a new phenomenon. Languages usually have a relatively short life span as well as a very high death rate. Only a few, including Egyptian, Chinese, Greek, Latin, have lasted more than 2,000 years.
What is new, however, is the speed at which they are dying out. Europe’s colonial conquests caused a sharp decline in linguistic diversity, eliminating at least 15 percent of all languages spoken at the time. Over the last 300 years, Europe has lost a dozen, and Australia has only 20 left of the 250 spoken at the end of the 18th century.
The rise of nation-states has also been decisive in selecting and consolidating national languages and sidelining others. By making great efforts to establish an official language in education, the media and the civil service, national governments have deliberately tried to eliminate minority languages.
This process of linguistic standardization has been boosted by industrialization and scientific progress, which have imposed new methods of communication that are swift, straightforward and practical. Language diversity came to be seen as an obstacle to trade and the spread of knowledge. Monolingualism became an ideal.
More recently, the internationalization of financial markets, the spread of information by electronic media and other aspects of globalization have intensified the threat to “small” languages. A language not on the Internet is a language that “no longer exists” in the modern world. It is out of the game.
The serious effects of the death of languages are evident. First of all, it is possible that if we all ended up speaking the same language, our brains would lose some of their natural capacity for linguistic inventiveness. We would never be able to figure out the origins of human language or resolve the mystery of “the first language”. As each language dies, a chapter of human history closes.
Multilingualism is the most accurate reflection of multiculturalism. The destruction of the first will inevitably lead to the loss of the second. Imposing a language without any links to a people’s culture and way of life stifles the expression of their collective genius. A language is not only used for the main instrument of human communication. It also expresses the world vision of those who speak it, their ways of using knowledge. To safeguard languages is an urgent matter.
1.Which of the following does not contribute to the death of languages?
A. Colonial conquests of Europe
B. The boom of human population
C. Advances in science and industrialization
D. The rise of nation-states
2.The underlined word “ stifles” in the last paragraph probably means “_____”.
A. boosts B. fuels C. imposes D. kills
3.The serious effects of the death of languages include all except that_______.
A. People would fail to understand how languages originated
B. Language diversity would become an obstacle to globalization
C. Monolingualism would lead to the loss of multiculturalism
D. Human brains would become less creative linguistically
4.What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?
A. To explain the reasons why languages are dying out.
B. To warn people of the negative aspects of globalization.
C. To call people’s attention to the urgency of language preservation.
D. To argue how important it is for people to speak more languages.
The Come-back Coffeehouse
The sign in the window read "Carl's Coffee Shoppe," spelled the old-fashioned way. Hallie shook her head and wondered how many times she had suggested an alternative. She entered the shop and saw only one person.
"I could help with the books, Dad"，Hallie offered, "There's not much you could do." Her father signed. "How about if you clean the counters instead?" His statement made her feel like a little girl instead of a senior in high school. Hallie sprayed some cleanser and ran a cloth over the worn countertops, After she had washed a few of the old eggshell-colored cups, she began her homework. At closing time， Hallie's parents sat beside her. "You know the shop has not been profitable lately," Mr. Rhodes began. "We need to decide if it is even worth keeping it open." "We're going to visit Uncle Harold over spring vacation." Mrs, Rhodes continued. "He can look over the books and tell us what our options are. You and Aunt Tess will run the shop for the week."
By spring vacation Hallie was ready for an adventure. Hllie's parents gave some instructions, and said good-bye. Hallie stared absently out the window at the passersby: young people on their way to work, and kids on their school vacation. They were not the same people that her grandpa Carl had served. Suddenly Hallie had an idea. She confided in Aunt Tess, who approved. The two eagerly set to work.
At the end of the week, Hallie was coming out from the kitchen when she saw her parents standing in the shop, confused. She smiled as her parents staredat the teens around the counter and the young families seated at the tables.
"Welcome back!" Hallie swept her arms to present the restaurant'scheerful new decoration. Bright, attractive coverings spread over the tables, and modern posters hung on the walls, while, colorful mismatched dishes contributed to the pleasant atmosphere."
I brought board games from home," Hallie added excitedly, "and the bookstore down the street donated the posters. When we talked to our friends about what we were doing, they were happy to give us some dishes." Hallieheld her breath as she waited for her parents' reaction.
"Everyone certainly seems to like the changes," noted Mrs. Rhodes.
"Speaking of changes," Mr. Rhodes said, "I see our name has changed, too."
"Do you mind? I changed our name to 'Come-Back Coffeehouse' to make the shop sound welcoming, as in 'Please come back again'..."
A smile spread across her father's face. “The new name is fitting.” Thanks to you, this place certainly has made a comeback!"
1.What can we infer from the first two paragraphs?
A. Hallie trusted Aunt Tess very much.
B. Hallie took charge of the books for her parents.
C. Hallie's parents didn't take her opinions seriously.
D. Hallie's parents didn't count on the shop for a living.
2.What do we learn about "Carl's Coffee Shoppe"?
A. It is behind the times.
B. It has regular customers.
C. It is located on a quiet street.
D. It follows family traditions well.
3.What did Hallie do after her parents left?
A. She advertised for the shop.
B. She made the shop more attractive.
C. She invited her friends to the shop.
D. She turned the shop into an activity center.
4.What kind of girl in Hallie?
A. Smart and helpful. B. Modest and out-going.
C. Optimistic and generous. D. Faithful and hardworking.
