It's hardly surprising that weather is a favorite topic for so many people around the world—it affects where we choose to live, what we wear, our moods, and perhaps even our national characteristics.Studies have shown that changeable weather can make it difficult to concentrate, cloudy skies slow down reaction, and hot，dry winds make many people bad­tempered.
If you live in a place like Britain, where the weather seems to change daily if not hourly，you could be forgiven for thinking that the weather is random.In fact the weather is controlled by systems which move around areas of the globe.In the UK the weather depends on depressions (低壓氣流), often called lows，and anticyclones(反氣旋)，also known as highs.These systems start in the Atlantic Ocean, and make their way across the British Isles from the west to the east.Highs bring sunny weather, while lows bring rain and wind.In modern times, human activities seem to be altering weather patterns.Gases produced by heavy industry change the temperature of the earth's surface，and affect cloud formation.Some researchers say that factories in Europe and North America may have been one of the causes of the droughts in Africa in the 1980s.
The human race has always tried to guess the weather，especially in areas of the world where there are frequent changes.Traditional rhymes point to early attempts to identify weather patterns; popular poems include：
Red sky at night, shepherd's delight；red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning.
Flies will swarm before a storm.
Rain before 7，clear by 11.
While folk wisdom can provide a guide to help forecast weather, today's methods of prediction increasingly rely on  technology.Satellites, balloons，ships, aircrafts and weather centers with sensitive monitoring equipment, send data to computers.The data is then processed, and the weather is predicted.However，even this system cannot predict weather for longer than about a week.
小題1:When weather keeps changing，________.

A．people become bad­tempered

B．people's reaction slows down

C．people find it hard to focus on their work

D．people find it easy to focus on their work

小題2:The weather in Britain is________.

A．random	B．moist
C．depressing	D．satisfying

小題3:According to a traditional rhyme, if there is a red sky at night, the next day will be________.

A．windy	B．rainy
C．fine	D．snowy

小題4:Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Anticyclones often bring rain and wind.

B．Weather forecasting has been done for a long time.

C．Weather could never be predicted.

D．Modern methods of weather prediction are developed from folk wisdom.

小題5:What is mainly talked about in the second paragraph?

A．Changes in weather.

B．Weather in Britain.

C．African droughts.

D．Research on weather.

Mulch is a protective cover of material that is spread on top of soil.It is usually made out of organic material, like crop waste.Farmers may keep the remains of maize or other crops on top of the soil.This creates mulch on the soil surface.The plant remains help protect the soil against wind and water damage.Mulching is one of the best things people can do for their plants.It also helps keep the soil from getting dry, and reduces the need for watering plants.It also limits temperature changes in the soil.And it stops unwanted plants, or weeds，from growing.
Organic mulch improves the condition of soil.As the mulch breaks down, it provides material which keeps the soil from getting hard.This improves the growth of roots and increases the movement of water through the soil.It also improves the ability of the soil to hold water. Organic mulch contains nutrients for plants.It also provides a good environment for earthworms and other helpful organisms in the soil.
It is easy to find organic mulch materials.Cut­up leaves and small pieces of tree bark can be used.Grass cuttings are also a good mulch for plants. Mulch from newspapers works well in controlling weeds.
The best time to add mulch depends on your goal.Mulch provides a thick barrier between the soil and the air.This helps to reduce temperature changes in the soil. As a result，mulched soil will be cooler than other soil in the summer.In winter, the mulched soil may not freeze as deeply as other soil.The best time is after the ground has frozen, but before the coldest weather arrives.Spreading mulch before the ground has frozen may attract small animals searching for a warm place to spend the winter.Delaying the spreading should prevent this problem.The animals will probably find another place to live.
小題1:The author tells us the following EXCEPT________.

A．what mulch is and its benefits

B．the best time to add mulch

C．what can be mulched on the soil surface

D．the bad effects of mulch

小題2:The following can be used as organic materials to make mulch EXCEPT________.

A．tree barks	B．cut­up leaves
C．grass cuttings	D．plastic

小題3:Which of the following is the benefit of mulch?

A．Protecting the soil against wind and water damage.

B．Keeping the soil wet and reducing the need for watering plants.

C．Reducing temperature changes in the soil and stopping unwanted weeds growing.

D．All of the above.

小題4:The main idea of Paragraph 2 is that organic mulch can________.

A．improve the condition of soil

B．improve the ability of the soil to hold water

C．provide a good environment for earthworms

D．improve the growth of roots and increase the movement of water through the

soil
小題5:From the last paragraph, we know ________.

A．the best time to add mulch is in spring and summer

B．the best time to add mulch is after the coldest weather arrives

C．the best time to add mulch depends on weather

D．choosing the best time to add mulch can avoid attracting small animals

Two­thirds of the world's major rivers have now been disrupted with more than 50,000 dams in an attempt to  store water and provide power.In the US，there are more than 85,000 dams，disrupting large and small rivers，and in most cases transforming natural flow.The most famous of these，the Hoover Dam，constructed in the 1930s，is mainly responsible for the fact that the Colorado River no longer reaches the ocean.
Dams，besides all their attractive benefits，also have negative impacts.Creating a reservoir means a large area must be flooded.Communities may lose their land，houses and culturally important sites.
Environmentally，the new reservoir can be a paradise for wildlife，especially birds；however，it can cause greenhouse gas emissions and poison the water.Also，the dramatic rise and fall of water levels during dam releases is too extreme for plants and animals to cope with，resulting in dead zones around the shores of reservoirs.Fish that lay their eggs in the shallows，for example，may find a few hours later that those sites are high and dry.
Downstream(在下游方向)of a dam，the flow may be reduced so that farmers cannot irrigate their fields.Many rivers run through national borders，which may cause conflict over precious water.Disputes have been continuing between India and Pakistan，and Turkey，Syria and Iraq，for example.
Dams don't just block the flow of water.They also prevent fish migrations，and dams are a barrier to sediment(沉淀物)flows.Instead of rushing downriver，sediments get backed up against the dam wall，which causes the reservoir level to increase over time.However，sediments which are rich in nutrients have become a problem.The fertility of the entire system can be influenced，with soils lost during seasonal rains not being replaced.
Perhaps the biggest problem can be seen in deltas，which are sinking into the oceans.Groundwater is being extracted to feed the city，causing the city to sink，and sediments washed away by the ocean are no longer being replaced.The result is that sea level rises in cities from Shanghai to Alexandria.
小題1:The Hoover Dam is mentioned in the passage in order to show________.

A．dams play an important role in our life

B．dams have impacted the flow of the rivers

C．dams make people lose their land and houses

D．dams have many benefits as well as side effects

小題2:What effects does creating a reservoir have on people's life?
a．People will see fewer birds on the sides of the rivers.
b．Farmers will have less water to irrigate their fields.
c．Visitors can't visit some cultural relics any more.
d．More conflicts and wars over water will break out.
e．More kinds of fish will become extinct in future.

A．a(chǎn)，c	B．c，e
C．b，e	D．b，c

小題3:With many dams built across the rivers，fish ________.

A．will find more places to lay their eggs

B．will face a dangerous habitat

C．will be fed on more sediments rich in nutrients

D．will find it easier to deal with the rise of water

小題4:How can dams influence large cities like Shanghai?

A．Their entire system will be influenced.

B．The rainy season will last longer.

C．They will lie below sea level in future.

D．Rich soils will be washed away.

小題5:What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．Environmental loss of dams.

B．Cultural loss of dams.

C．Economic gain of dams.

D．Environmental benefits of dams.

Eyesight problems are common among all ages and if they are left untreated, they can cause serious headaches or other problems. The good news is that most eyesight problems can easily be sorted out by wearing glasses.
Regular eye tests are important for everyone. Children and teenagers, under the age of 16 and up to the age of 19 for those full-time education, have the right to have eye tests for free in Britain. As the eye test is free, there’s no excuse for not having a regular eye test. Doctors suggest that it’s better to have an eye test about once a year.
Wearing glasses isn’t always regarded as all that cool and teens who suddenly need to wear glasses may find it difficult to accept. If they’ve grown up wearing glasses, then they may be more used to it. However, if your eyes are in poor health, not wearing glasses can put even more pressure on your eyes and could make them even worse.
Thankfully, the days of little choice of glasses frames (框架) for teenagers are gone and there’s now a wide selection of frames. If a teen does need to wear glasses, then it’s good to let him or her choose the type, as he or she will be able to choose something he or she feels comfortable. Don’t forget to be guided by the experts on glasses too.
小題1: According to the text, teens in the UK ______.

A．have few eyesight problems

B．can design their own glasses

C．change their glasses very often

D．can check their eyes without paying

小題2:How often do doctors suggest teens to have an eye test?

A．Once a month.	B．Once every six months.
C．Once a year.	D．Twice a year.

小題3:It can be learned from the text that teens ______.

A．find it difficult to buy comfortable glasses

B．prefer to wear cool glasses at an early age

C．a(chǎn)re advised to wear glasses if their eyesight is poor

D．think they are much cooler when wearing glasses

小題4:In the past, teens who wanted to buy glasses ______.

A．were unable to find the right glasses

B．only had a few styles to choose from

C．could not find an expert to ask for advice

D．were worried about the quality of glasses

Bad teeth may be painful and it’s getting worse without treatment. They can even ruin your life. Illness of the teeth can find its way into the blood system. This can increase the chances of a heart disease or other illnesses.
Experts say good care for teeth should start at birth. Mothers’ milk is the best food for the healthy development of teeth.
But dentists say a baby’s mouth and early teeth should be cleaned after each feeding. Use a cloth with a little warm water. Do the same if a baby is fed with a bottle. Experts say if you decide to put your baby to sleep with a bottle, give him only water.
When baby’s teeth begin to appear, you can clean them with a wet toothbrush. Dentists say it is important to find soft toothbrushes made especially for babies and to use them very gently. Young children often eat toothpaste (牙膏) when they brush, so they should be carefully watched when they brush their teeth.
Parents often ask what effect thumb sucking (咬手指) might have on their baby’s teeth. Experts generally agree that this is fine early in life. Most children stop sucking their thumbs by the age of four. If it continues, parents should talk to their children’s dentist or doctor.
Dentists say children should have their first dental visit by the time they are one year old. They say babies should be examined when their first teeth appear usually at around six months.
小題1:Why should people pay attention to teeth problems?

A．They can cause other illnesses.

B．They will bring bad luck.

C．They will bring the family much trouble.

D．They usually last a long time.

小題2: According to the writer, baby’s teeth should be protected from the day ______.

A．he begins to speak	B．he has his first tooth
C．he was born	D．he is fed with bottle milk

小題3:The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 5 refers to “_____”.

A．toothache

B．parents’ trouble

C．thumb sucking

D．experts’ advice

The weather predictions for Asia in 2050 read like a story from a doomsday movie.
Many experts and green groups fear they will come true unless there is a united global effort to hold back greenhouse gas outpouring. In the decades to come, Asia---home to more than half the world’s 63 billion people-will change from one climate extreme to another, with tired farmers battling droughts, floods, disease, food shortages and rising sea levels.
“It’s not a pretty picture,” said Steve Sawyer, climate policy adviser with Greenpeace in Amsterdam. Global warming and changes of weather patterns are already occurring and there is more than enough carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to drive climate change for decades to come.
Already, changes are being felt in Asia but worse is likely to come, Sawyer and top climate bodies say, and could lead to mass migration and widespread human disasters. According to predictions, icebergs will melt faster, some Pacific and Indian Ocean islands will have to evacuate(疏散) or build sea defenses, storms will become more intense and insect and water-borne diseases will move into new areas as the world warms.
All this comes with rising populations and demand for food, water and other resources. Experts say environmental worsening such as deforestation and pollution will probably enlarge the results of climate change.
In what could be a sign of the future, Japan was hit by a record of 10 typhoons and tropical storms this year, while two-thirds of Bangladesh, parts of Nepal and large areas of northeastern India were flooded, affecting 50 million people, destroying livelihoods and making tens of thousands ill.
The year before, a winter cold struck and a summer heat wave killed more than 2,000 people in India.
小題1:This passage is mainly about       .

A．what kind of weather we like best

B．the weather predictions for Asia in the future and the reasons

C．how to improve our environment

D．that the world will not be suitable for us to live in

小題2:In the future the Asian farmers will have to face the following except       .

A．food shortages

B．droughts

C．wars

D．floods

小題3:The underlined word “doomsday” may give us the feeling of        .

A．happiness

B．sadness

C．peace

D．excitement

Chinese scientists have found a new way to use cells found in human urine （尿液）that could aid in the treatment of a range of nerve disorders.That is a new technique for reprogramming cells in human urine into nerve progenitor cells  that can grow into multi-functional nerve and brain cells.
The technique is expected to be used in the study and treatment of nerve disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other nerve disorders.
Pei Duanqing, a professor at Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, said his research team has combined an episomal system to deliver reprogramming factors with a chemically defined culture medium to reprogram kidney epithelial(腎表皮) cells in urine into NPCs.
These NPCs, normally only found in the human brain, were later proven to be transgene-free and self-renewing, he said.
"These nerve and brain cells can survive for up to one month when transplanted into the brain of a newborn rat," said Pei. "My team is working hard to understand why our experimental condition allowed the urine cells to become NPCs, because we want to improve the technique and make it more efficient".
Scientists have long searched to treat and study neural disorders by obtaining and transplanting neural stem cells. However, the previous method of getting and using cells from either fetal (胎兒)or adult human tissue remains challenging due to ethical concerns and immune system rejections, he said.
Pei hopes the discovery will be used to generate NPCs from patients with nerve disorders such as Parkinson's disease. "These NPCs from patients may help us discover new drugs for these diseases."
"It is a remarkable advance in the stem cell field. The results and methods obtained from this study will be of great value and significance to the field, " said Fred Gage,a professor with the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
小題1:What is the passage mainly about?

A．NPCs are beneficial in treating human diseases.

B．Chinese scientists succeeded in making NPCs from human urine.

C．Chinese scientists have found cures for all diseases.

D．A new technique was used to study the use of human urine

小題2:Pei and his tean try their best to work hard in order to      .

A．make more contributions to medical study

B．discover another new technique

C．make the technique more perfect

D．treat more patients suffering from bad diseases

小題3:What is the challenge of making NPCs in the previous method?

A．The ethical comcerns and immune system refusal

B．The difificulties in getting cells from human.

C．The under-developed techniques in medical science.

D．The lack of financial support from the government.

小題4:From the last paragraph we can infer      .

A．the new technique will be developed in science

B．the results and methods will be applied to treating cancers

C．the study will give a major push to the stem cell field

D．the mew technique will bring great profis

Popeye the Sailor first became a popular cartoon in the 1930s. the sailor in that cartoon ate lots of spinach to make him strong. People watched him, and they began to buy and eat a lot more spinach. Popeye helped sell 33 percent more spinach than before! Spinach became a necessary part of many people’s diets. Even some children who hated the taste began to eat the vegetable.
Many people thought that the iron in spinach made Popeye strong, but this is not true. Spinach does not have any more iron than any other green vegetable.
People only thought spinach had a lot of iron because the people who studied the food made a mistake. In the 1890s, a group of people studied what was inside vegetables. This group said that spinach had ten times more iron than it did. The group wrote the number wrong, and everyone accepted it.
Today, we know that the little iron in spinach cannot make a difference in how strong a person is. However, spinach does have something else which the body needs—folic acid.
It is interesting to point out that folic acid can help make a person strong. Maybe it was really the folic acid that made Popeye strong all along.
小題1:A good title for this reading passage is______.

A．Popeye the Sailor

B．The Truth About Spinach

C．A Mistake with Numbers

D．Folic Acid Makes You Strong

小題2:Why did many people eat spinach after they saw Popeye the Sailor?

A．People liked folic acid.

B．They thought Popeye was funny.

C．Spinach had a lot of iron.

D．They thought spinach made them strong.

小題3:A research group told people that spinach______.

A．made Popeye strong

B．was a green vegetable

C．had less iron than other green vegetables

D．had more iron than other green vegetables

小題4:The reading passage says that perhaps Popeye got his strength from______.

A．iron

B．spinach

C．folic acid

D．exercise

You have some great ideas. But they don’t come out because of what your friends say or because you think that only a few people can be creative geniuses(天才). And, you, of course, think that you couldn’t be one of them. But actually, this is not true at all.
Anyone who is a creative genius will tell you that creativity is very much like a muscle that needs to be developed. If you don’t learn how to develop creative thinking, this skill, just like a muscle, will become poor and useless. On the other hand, keep working at it, and this skill will soon be ready for action whenever you need it. So how do you develop your own personal style of creative thinking?
You should realize that your brain has a greater capacity (容量) and a higher speed than the world’s biggest and fastest computer. So it’s important to get as much information as you can every day. Read, watch and listen to everything around you —good and bad. The more you know, the more you’ll want to know, and the more your brain will be exercised.
Try something new every day and let your experiences show you more about the world and people around you. You need to step out of your comfort zone (舒適地帶) more and more each day.
Follow these suggestions, and begin thinking beyond your "limits" from today. You’ll soon have a life full of interesting and exciting adventures. Who knows, your idea might be the next great idea to change the world.
小題1:Most people can’t be creative geniuses because they _______.

A．don’t have great ideas

B．don’t want to develop their ideas

C．a(chǎn)re too shy to talk about their ideas

D．don’t believe they can be

小題2:The underlined word "it" in the second paragraph means ________.

A．creative thinking

B．the muscle

C．personal style

D．great capacity

小題3:What do we learn from the passage?

A．No computer can store as much information as human’s brain.

B．It is not necessary to remember everything around you.

C．Try something new, as long as you are comfortable with it.

D．It is harder to exercise the brain than the muscles

小題4:The passage is intended to tell readers _________.

A．how they can learn from creative geniuses

B．a(chǎn)bout ways to develop their creative thinking

C．a(chǎn)bout the importance of exercising the muscles

D．the reasons why they can’t be creative geniuses

Do you like seahorses? What do you know about them?
The seahorse is actually not a horse but a fish, and much smaller than any regular horse. In general, a seahorse is about an inch long. It is a beautiful fish that likes warm waters, swims upright (直立的), and looks a little like a chess piece.
Seahorses are an unusual kind of animal because the males (雄性) give birth to babies. Mating (交配) takes place in cooler waters on spring and summer nights with a full moon. The females (雌性) put their eggs into the bodies of the males, and the males give birth to baby seahorses.
The seahorse can use each eye separately, which allows it to search for food without moving the rest of its body. Seahorses situate themselves near deep, fast-running channels rich in plankton, a kind of life on which they feed. They can catch food from an inch and a half away. Seahorses can change from gray or black to yellow or purple within seconds to fit in with their surroundings, and in this way escape from most of their enemies.
One of the surprising facts about seahorses for most people is that they are vertebrates (脊椎動(dòng)物). They can turn and curl freely, and like to swim in pairs connected by their tails. Their tails are powerful, and they can use them to grasp the surrounding seaweed (海藻) to keep themselves from being swept away. So seahorses are usually found in warm water filled with seaweed.
Now that you know all these facts about seahorses, don’t you find them more interesting?  
小題1:We can learn from the passage that seahorses _______.

A．a(chǎn)re beautiful, and live on seaweed

B．a(chǎn)re as big as regular horses

C．live near deep channels

D．like to be alone

小題2:The third paragraph tells us that _______.

A．male seahorses lay eggs

B．seahorses mate in spring or autumn

C．male seahorses give birth to babies

D．seahorses mate in warmer waters at night

小題3:Which of the following protects seahorses from being eaten by their enemies?

A．Their fast speed of swimming.

B．Their ability to change colours.

C．Their unique eyes.

D．Their strong tails.

小題4:Which of the following can replace the underlined word "grasp"?

A．Eat.

B．Hold.

C．Make.

D．Handle.