Equipped only with a pair of binoculars (双筒望远镜) and ready to spend long hours waiting in all weathersfor a precious glance of a rare bullfinch (红腹灰雀), Britain’s birdwatchers had long been supposed to be lovers of a minority sport. But new figures show bird-watching is fast becoming a popular pastime, with almost three million of us absorbed in our fluttering (飞来飞去) feathered friends.
Devoted birdwatchers, those prepared to travel thousands of miles for sighting of a rare Siberian bird, are fast being joined by a new breed (类型) of follower whose interest is satiated by watching a few finches (雀科鸣鸟) on a Sunday walk or putting up a bird-box in the back garden.
“Almost three million UK birdwatchers is certainly possible if you include everyone with only a casual interest,” Stephen Moss said in his newly published book——A bird in the Bush: a Social History of Birdwatching——which records the pursuit from the rich Victorian Englishman’s love of shooting rare birds to the less offensive observational tendencies of birdwatchers today.
Television wildlife programmes have helped to fuel the new trend. Last summer, BBC 2’s Britain Goes Wild was a surprise success. It pulled in three million views and led to bird-houses selling out across the UK as 45,000 people promised to put up a box.
Birdwatchers networking system first came to the attention of the nation in 1989, when a birdwatcher caught sight of the first Vermivora chrysoptera— a golden-winged songbirdfrom North America-to be seen in Britain. He put a message out on the network service Birdline, and the next day 3,000 birdwatchers proved the full pull of a truly rare bird as they visited the Tesco car park in Kent., where it had settled. Today, birdwatchers can log on to www.birdline.co.uk or have news of the latest sightingtexted to their phones.
“Multimillion-pound spending on binoculars, bird food and boxes point to the increasing numbers of birdwatchers.” Said David Croack, the editor of Bird Watching magazine “The number of people involved is so big that they have great potential to influence government decisions affecting the environment.”
1.The word “satiated” in paragraph 2 can best be replaced by “ ”.
A. affected B. shared
C. satisfied D. narrowed
2.What happened after the message offing a Vermivora Chrysoptera was put on the network?
A. Birdwatchers helped the rare bird settle in Kent.
B. Large numbers of birdwatchers went to view the bird.
C. Many birdwatchers logged on to the website for details.
D. Birdwatchers showed their determination to protect the rare bird.
3.Which of the following CANNOT he true according to the passage?
A. Television wildlife programmes started the popular pastime of bird watching.
B. The network service has contributed to the rapid development of bird watching.
C. Birdwatching in Britain was long considered a sport with a small group of followers.
D. The current situation of birdwatching may promote the protection of the environment.
Photos that you might have found down the back of your sofa are now big business!
In 2005, the American artist Richard Prince’s photograph of a photograph, Untitled (Cowboy), was sold for $ 1,248,000.
Prince is certainly not the only contemporary artist to have worked with so-called “found photographs” — a loose term given to everything from discarded (丢弃的) prints discovered in a junk shop to old advertisements or amateur photographs from a stranger’s family album. The German artist Joachim Schmid, who believes “basically everything is worth looking at”, has gathered discarded photographs, postcards and newspaper images since 1982. In his on-going project, Archiv, he groups photographs of family life according to themes: people with dogs; teams; new cars; dinner with the family; and so on.
Like Schmid, the editors of several self-published art magazines also champion (捍卫，维护) found photographs. One of them, called simply Found, was born one snowy night in Chicago, when Davy Rothbard returned to his car to find under his wiper (雨刷) an angry note intended for someone else: “Why’s your car HERE at HER place?” The note became the starting point for Rothbard’s addictive publication, which features found photographs sent in by readers, such as poster discovered in our drawer.
The whole found-photograph phenomenon has raised some questions. Perhaps one of the most difficult is; can these images really be considered as art? And if so, whose art? Yet found photographs produced by artists, such as Richard Prince, may raise endless possibilities. What was the cowboy in Orince’s Untitled doing? Was he riding his horse hurriedly to meet someone? Or how did Prince create this photograph? It’s anyone’s guess. In addition, as we imagine the back-story to the people in the found photographs artists, like Schmid, have collated (整理), we also turn toward our own photographic albums. Why is memory so important to us? Why do we all seek to freeze in time the faces of our children, our parents, our lovers, and ourselves? Will they mean anything to anyone after we’ve gone?
In the absence of established facts, the vast collections of found photographs give our minds an opportunity to wander freely. That, above all, is why they are so fascinating.
1.The first paragraph of the passage is used to .
A. remind readers of found photographs
B. advise reader to start a new kind of business
C. ask readers to find photographs behind sofa
D. show readers the value of found photographs
2.The underlined word “them” in Para 4 refers to .
A. the readers B. the editors
C. the found photographs D. the self-published magazines
3.By asking a series of questions in Para 5, the author mainly intends to indicate that .
A. memory of the past is very important to people
B. found photographs allow people to think freely
C. the back-story of found photographs is puzzling
D. the real value of found photographs is questionable
4.The author’s attitude towards found photographs can be described as .
A. critical B. doubtful
C. optimistic D. satisfied
When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly ad possible and head for safety. But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm. These people are willing to risk being killed by floods or 100-kilometer-an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up.
“Storm chasing” is becoming an increasingly popular hobby, especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July. A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to 1,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop.
Although anyone can do it , storm chasing is extremely dangerous. The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds. Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain. If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm-chasing vacations during the storm season.
Even then, storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement . “Storm chasing is 95% driving,” says Daniel Lynch, who spends most of his summer storm-chasing. “Sometimes you can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen, and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”
However, for storm chasers, it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm, it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life,” says Jasper Morley. “Every storm is an example of the power of nature, It is the greatest show on Earth.”
1.For storm chasing, the first thing storm chasers do is to .
A. head straight for the center of the storm
B. get into the car for safety
C. wait patiently for the storm to develop
D. collect information about a coming storm
2.Beginners of storm chasing are advised .
A. not to drive in a heavy rain
B. to do it in an organized way
C. not to get too close to a storm
D. to spend more time on it in summer
3.By saying “it is all worth it” in the last paragraph, the author means that .
A. storm chasing costs a lot of money
B. storm chasing is worth hours of waiting
C. efforts in storm chasing are well paid
D. a storm presents the greatest show on Earth
4.What can we learn from the text?
A. Sometimes storm chasers get nothing but disappointment
B. Many storm chasers get killed in the storms.
C. Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world.
D. Storm chasing is only fit for young people.
Below is a housing guide for students going to London.
University accommodation (住所) offices
Many university accommodation offices have their own list of registered landlords (房东). Others also provide information on accommodation agencies and other housing organizations. The advantage of using your university accommodation is that you can get support if you have a problem. The disadvantage is that they are unlikely to have enough registered landlords to houses all their students.
Property papers: Loot and Renting
Loot is an important source (来源) of information about private housing for co-renters. The offers are from private landlords, agencies and individuals looking for other co-renters. They also have a website: www.loot.com. The advantage of using Loot is that there are some excellent bargains. The disadvantage is that there is no quality control over the offers.
Renting is another useful paper. The offers in this paper are mainly from accommodation agencies. Their website is at www.renting.co.uk.
Accommodation agencies
The majority of rented accommodation in London is probably advertised through accommodation agencies. The advantage of using accommodation agencies is that you will have access to a large number of accommodations. A good agent will listen to your requirements and can save you time in looking for the right accommodation. The disadvantage is that they will make a range of charges to potential renters.
Noticeboards
Around the universities you will find a number of noticeboards where offers of accommodation will be posted. These will either be from landlords or from students. Some universities will also have online noticeboards where students can advertise to other students. Advertisements from students can be an excellent way to find accommodation. However, advertisements from landlords can be problematic.
Word of mouth
Some of the best housing in London is never advertised but is passed on from one group of students to another by word of mouth. It might be that you can find out about good offers from final year students. However, don’t suppose that just because you have found out about housing from a friends it is necessarily going to be better than that found through any other source.
Family
Faced with the very high rents charged in London, some students and their parents will consider buying as an alternative. In some cases this might be a good choice.
1.What is the advantage of using Loot?
A. It has more offers from accommodation agencies than Renting.
B. It gives you personal information about other co-renters.
C. Their website is designed mainly for students.
D. There are some good bargains.
2.A good agent can help you ________.
A. know more people
B. find cheap accommodation
C. get the right accommodation quickly
D. get free information about most accommodations
3.The information passed on by word of mouth is important because ________.
A. it is better than that found through any other source
B. it helps you find some of the best housing never advertised
C. the final year students always offer better information
D. the landlords have little valuable information
4.For students going to London for the first time, which of the following provides the most reliable information?
A. University accommodation offices. B. Loot and Renting.
C. Noticeboards. D. Family.
假如你是李华，你的美国笔友David想了解你高中第一学年的情况。请根据下列所提示的信息给他写一封回信。
1. 感叹时间过得快；
2. 学习上的得与失；
3. 学校生活：交友，课外活动等。
注意：
1. 100字左右；信的开头和结尾已给出，不计入总数。
2．可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear David,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
What about your school life？Would you like to share it with me? I’m looking forward to your reply.
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（∧），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：在错的词下划一横线，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 Mr. Johnson,
I’ve learned from a newspaper that some clerks are wanting in your company. I am eager to being one of them. So I am writing the letter. My name is zhang Hua. I was born in the Hebei Province and I am in good health. I’ve just graduated in the Computer Department of Wuhan University. I did very good in all subjects and I am especial good at computer studies and English. I can read science books in English and doing some writing in English as well. Beside, I know a few French. And in my spare time ,I enjoy playing basketball. As is said that your company is very famous and I’ll very glad if you let me work for it. My telephone number is 027-89276628．I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.
