JOHANNESBURG—They say cats have nine lives．Now a Chinese toad(蟾蜍)has joined the club of clever survivors．
South Africans are shocked by a toad that got trapped in a ship from China to Cape Town, after jumping into a candlestick(烛台)that was made there．South African officials reportedly planned to put down the creature, fearing it would cause harm as an invasive species if it were let go in the wild.
But the toad got a last-minute pardon. Mango Airlines, a south African airline, transported the toad on Friday to Johannesburg to an animal center, after officials decided to find a way to let the toad live. The two-hour flight was comfortable compared to the trip from China, a long way of many weeks and thousands of kilometers across the Indian Ocean.
Airline spokesman Hein Kaiser said the toad got "first-class treatment", sitting in a plastic container together with Brett Glasby, an expert looking, after animals. There was even a ceremony, i
n which the toad's boarding pass was handed to Glasby.
"He was the star of the Show on the flight. He was the unusual passenger, I think every passenger stopped to have a look." Kaiser said.
On landing in Johannesburg, the toad was brought out of its container for a photo shoot. Observers said the brown toad seemed like a cool customer. It belongs to the Asian Toad species. It is believed to have survived the trip from China by hardening its skin to prevent it from drying out, and also by slowing its breathing and heart rate—-methods that help the species survive in times of drought(干旱).
"We've had snakes in imported wood and insects in fruit. We were called because the toad was right inside the candlestick, and we had to break it to get it out." Glasby, the expert, told The Star, a South African newspaper.
1.The underlined phrase "an invasive ~species" in second paragraph may refer to ________.
A. something which is not used to the local conditions
B. something which is probably harmful to the native creatures
C. something which has never appeared in local areas
D. something which is greatly good to the local people
2.The toad was able to arrive in South Africa alive ________.
A. because it slowed it
s breath on the way
B. because it used methods in times of drought
C. because it formed hard skin to protect itself
D. because many people looked after it carefully
3.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A. sometimes animals are transported by accident
B. no one has seen such a big toad in Africa
C. a candlestick is the best place for a toad
D. droughts make toads live longer
4.What is the best title of the text?
A. A journey-loving toad. B. An amazing China toad.
C. A toad that has nine lives D. A toad in a candlestick.
In recent years, little free libraries of all shapes and sizes have popped up. Often built by community members, they could be found on street corners and the sidewalks across the United States, hoping to share their book collections with their neighbors. Minneapolis, Minnesota, even hosted the first Little Free Library Festival, where book fans came together to promote literacy (读写能力)in their communities．
For the most part, little free libraries have more in common with book sharing shelves in hotels, local parks, coffee shops and other public spaces than the traditional public library. Based on the rule of "take a book, leave a book," these little libraries can take many forms from birdhouse-like wooden structures to redesigned newspaper selling machines, Robert Wirsing writes for the Bronx Times.
The little free library organization began when a citizen of Hudson, Wisconsin, named Todd Bol built a little one-room schoolhouse, filled it with books and placed it in his front yard to honor his mother who passed away in 2009. Together with a local educator named Rick Brooks, the two began placing little free libraries across Wisconsin and sharing the idea with people across the country.
"Something we are eager for in this information age is that connection between people," Bol tells Margret Aldrich for Book Riot. "I want to show how Little Free Library is about readers inspiring readers. It goes on and on."
While Little Free Libraries seem like a harmless means to promote literacy by sharing books with neighbors, a few of the roadside landing libraries have caused minor legal problems. officials in Los Angeles and Shreveport, Louisiana, have told some citizens that their homemade libraries broke city roles and that they would have to remove them to avoid being fined.
Still, little free libraries have been well accepted by their commnunities. For anyone interested in making their own at home, the organization has posted helpful tips and guides for building the little book lending boxes in their neighborhoods.
1.What can we know about the little free libraries in America?
A. They are state-owned.
B. They are popular nationally.
C. They are set up to sell books.
D. They help those with no books to read.
2.What is a common character of little free libraries?
A. They lie in many public places.
B. They share a large collection of books.
C. They compete with traditional public libraries.
D. They exist mainly in the form of wooden houses.
3.What is Todd Bol's primary aim of building, a library?
A. To remember his dead mother.
B. To help people form a habit of reading.
C. To set an example to other communities.
D. To share his knowledge, with other citizens.
4.What does Todd Bol think of the little free libraries?
A. They cause minor legal problems.
B. They should continue to exist.
C. They mean a lot to community members.
D. They should be supported by the government.
Imagine the tallest building in the United States. Fill that large building 44 times with rotten (腐烂的)fruits and vegetables．Now you know how much food Americans waste every year．
It is hard to believe, right? About 133 .billion pounds of food get .thrown away. That's one, third of all the food we produce. And a lot of it is thrown away for one simple reason: It's ugly.
The problem is that nature isn't perfect. Apples can get scarred(留下疤痕)by storms. Cucumbers grow in C shapes. Carrots change into unusual fork-like forms. Watermelons get too big to fit on a refrigerator shelf. These crazy-looking fruits and vegetables may .taste great. But most grocery stores refuse to sell them. Store owners say people judge food by how it looks. No one wants a tomato that looks like a two-headed monster. (怪物). But what if you could buy that tomato for half-price?
A new movement is trying to make people see the "beauty" in ugly food. Some stores are selling ugly produce. It tastes the same. And you pay less for it because the. food doesn't, look perfect.
Usually, the stores find a nicer word than "ugly'; A Canadian chain uses "naturally imperfect". In some US stores, it's "misfit produce". Whatever you call it, ugly food helps many .people. Farmers get paid for food they were going to have to throw away. Shoppers get cheaper fruits and vegetables. The ugly-food movement will also help some of the 44 million Americans who don't have enough to eat. Many groups give the ugly produce to hungry people.
So really, who cares if that carrot looks a little ... ugly?
1.We can know from the text that ________.
A. food is thrown mostly because it goes bad
B. food waste is a serious problem in America
C. the uglier the food is, the better it tastes
D. America produces more food than Americans can eat
2.What is the "beauty" in ugly food?
A. It tastes the same but costs much less.
B. It does much good to people.
C. It is useful to hungry people.
D. It tastes just as good as normal-looking produce.
3.The ugly-food movement is intended to ________.
A. call on people to help the poor
B. persuade grocery stores to sell ugly produce
C. prove the value 0fugty produce
D. advise people not to waste food
假定你是李华。你的美国笔友Tom对中国文化有浓厚的兴趣。恰好你校今年暑假将为外国学生举办一场汉语夏令营活动(Chinese Summer Camp)，请你给他发一封电子邮件，内容包括
1．时间和地点；
2．内容：学习日常汉语、了解中国历史和传统文化、参观博物馆等；
3．报名方式和截止时间
注意：
1．词数100左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3．开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Tom,
Here comes a piece of good news.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
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。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(八)，并在其下而写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下而写出修改后的词。
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ll处起)不计分。
Last Friday, we were having our class while our teacher Miss Li suddenly slipped and fall to the ground. All the students were concern about her. Helped by some students, I carried her on back to the clinic immediately. Her left leg was turned out to be broken and she had to stay in hospital for half a month. The following day, we paid a visit for her with flower and fruits. See her leg wrapped in bandages, all of us felt sorry for her, hoping she would recover soon. Unexpectedly, only five days late, Miss Li returned to the class on a wheelchair to give us lessons. We were deep moved, all rising to applaud her.
Recent months have seen a return of bike across China. With an increasing number of people choosing cycling instead of 1.(drive) to schools, to workplaces or to do sightseeing. The introduction of bike-sharing programs has brought the trend to a new level.
The bikes 2.(equip) with GPS and can be left anywhere in public for the next user. They’re popular among many Chinese people as they provide 3. effective solution in places 4. it’s difficult to change from one kind of transport to another. Bike-sharing is a 5.(green) method of transportation and 6.(provide) a more friendly experience
However, the programs have also led to problems such as 7.(legal) parking, deliberate (蓄意的) damaging and theft. To deal with these problems, the company came up with the idea of encouraging people
8.(return) the bikes to stations 9. rewarding free time for their next rides. Now, Chinese service operators are also trying to address these problems,too. For example, Mobike sets a 100-point credit score for each user, with 10.(point) taken in the case of bad behavior. Once a score drops below 80, bike rental is increased to 100 yuan per 30 minutes, up from 0.5-1 yuan.
