Since the first Earth Day in 1970,American have gotten a lot “greenter” toward the environment . “We didn’t know at that time there even was an environment,let alone that there was a problem with it,”says Bruce Anderson,president of Earth Day USA.

But what began as nothing important in public affairs has grown into a social movement .Business people,political leaders, university professors,and especially millions of grass-roots Americans are taking part in the movement. “The understanding has increased many ,many times,”says Gaylord Nelson,the fromer govermor from Wisconsin,who thought up the first According to US government reports , emissions (排放)from cars and trucks have dropped from 10.3 million tons a year to 5.5 tons .The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9 .Although serious problems still remain and need to be dealt with , the world is a safer and healthier place .A kind of “Green thinking ” has become part of practices .

Great improvement has been achieved .In 1988 there were only 600 recycling programs ,; today in 1995 there are about 6,600 .Advanced lights ,motors , and building designs have helped save a lot of energy and therefore prevented pollution .

Twenty –five years ago , there were hardly any education programs for environment .Today , it’s hard to find a public school , university , or law school that does not have such a kind of program .” Until we do that , nothing else will change! ” say Bruce Anderson .

1.According to Anderson , before 1970, Americans had little idea about ___

A. the social movement

B. recycling techniques

C. environmental problems

D. the importance of Earth Day

2.Where does the support for environmental protection mainly come from?

A. The grass –roots level

B. The business circle

C. Government officials

D. University professors

3.What have Americans achieved in environmental protection ?

A. They have cut car emissions to the lowest

B. They have settled their environmental problems

C. They have lowered their CO levels in forty cities.

D. They have reduced pollution through effective measures .

4.What is especially important for environmental protection according to the last paragraph ?

A. Education

B. Planning

C. Green living

D. CO reduction

One of the latest trend（趨勢） in American Childcare is Chinese au pairs. Au Pair in Stamford, for example, has got increasing numbers of request for Chinese au pairs from aero to around 4,000 since 2004. And that’s true all across the country.

“I thought it would be useful for him to learn Chinese at an early age” Joseph Stocke, the managing director of s company, says of his 2-year old son. “I would at least like to give him the chance to use the language in the future,” After only six months of being cared by 25-year-old woman from China, the boy can already understand basic Chinese daily expressions, his dad says.

Li Drake, a Chinese native raising two children in Minnesota with an American husband, had another reason for looking for an au pair from China. She didn’t want her children to miss out on their roots.” Because I am Chinese, my husband and I wanted the children to keep exposed to(接觸) the language and culture.” she says.

“Staying with a native speaker is better for children than simply sitting in a classroom,” says Suzanne Flynn, a professor in language education of Children.”But parents must understand that just one year with au pair is unlikely to produce wonders. Complete mastery demands continued learning until the age of 10 or 12.”

The popularity if au pairs from china has been strengthened by the increasing numbers of American parents who want their children who want their children to learn Chinese. It is expected that American demand for au pairs will continue to rise in the next few years.

1.What does that term” au pair” in the text mean?

A. A mother raising her children on her own

B. A child learning a foreign language at home

C. A professor in language education of children

D. A young foreign woman taking care of children.

2.Li Drake has her children study Chinese because she wants them ______.

A. to live in China some day

B. to speak the language at home

C. to catch up wit other children

D. to learn about the Chinese culture

3.What can we infer from the text?

A. Learning Chinese is becoming popular In America,

B. Educated woman do better in looking after children

C. Chinese au pairs need to improve their English Skills.

D. Children can learn a foreign language well in six months.

Metrorall (地鐵)

Each passenger needs a farecard to enter and go out .Up to two children under age five may travel

Free with a paying customer .

Farecard machines are in every station .Bring small bills because there are no change machines in the stations and farecard machines only provide up to $5 in change.

Get one ticket of unlimited Metrorall rides with a One Day Pass .Buy it from a farecard machine in Metro stations .Use it after 9:30 a,m. until closing on weekdays , and all day on weekends and holidays .

Hours of service

Open 5am Mon-Fri 7a.m Sat-Sun

Open midnight Sun-Thur.

Last train times vary .

Train times Posted in stations

Metrobus

When paying with exact charge , the fare is $1.35.When paying with a SmarTrip?card , the fare is

1.25.

Fares

Senior citizens 65 and older and disabled customers may ride for half the regular fare .On Metrorail and Metrobus , use a senior/disabled farecard or Smar/Trip ? card .For more information about buying senior .disabled farecard , SmarTrip?cards and passes , please visit MetroOpensDoors .com or call 202-637-7000and 202-637-8000.

Senior citizens and disabled customers can get free guide on how to use proper Metrobus and Metrorall services by calling 202-962-1100.

Travel tips (提示)

. Avoid riding during weekday rush periods –before 9:30 a.m. and between 4and 6p.m.

. If you lose something on a bus or train or in a station, please call Lost &Found at 202-962-1195,

1.What should you know about farecard machines?

A. They start selling tickets at 9:30 a.m.

B. They are connected to change machines .

C. They offer special service to the elderly .

D. They make change for no more than $5.

2.At what time does Metroarll stop service on Saturday ?

A. At midnight .

B. At 3 a.m.

C. At 5 a.m.

D. At 7a.m.

3.What is good about a SmarTrip?card ?

A. It is convenient for old people .

B. It saves money for its users

C It can be bought at any train

D. It is sold on the Internet

4.Which number should you call if you lose something on the Metro?

A.202-962-1195

B.202-962-1100

C.202-637-7000

D.202-637-8000

Which boy hasn’t dreamed of being a cool secret agent (特工)? The wonderful fighting abilities and the world-saving adventures are much more colourful than most people’s everyday lives. Well, Cody Banks is just like any other boy，except that he is not just dreaming. He has a big secret his friends never know about. He was trained to be a spy (間諜）by a special CIA programme，which was made to look like a summer camp. He learned high-speed driving，hand-to-hand fighting and the use of high-tech tools.

After proving he could become a young hero by saving a baby from a runaway car，Banks gets his first real task. He must make friends with a popular girl at school，Natalie Connors. Then，he must spy on her father，a scientist who has developed a dangerous technology (技術).Banks must stop a group of bad people from forcing Natalie’s father into using the technology to endanger the world.

The CIA may have taught him first-class self-defence moves，but they didn’t show him how to talk to girls. Banks has zero ability when it comes to dealing with girls. How can he get around his problem and get an invitation to the girl’s upcoming birthday party? Will he finally become Natalie’s boyfriend and find out whatever he can about her father’s work?

Agent Cody Banks has everything that young people are interested in: big explosions, breath-taking performances and funny girl-dating experiences. It was listed No.2 in the American box office last week.

“This story is interesting and fun for the whole family to enjoy，and especially cool for young boys，” said Paul Perkins, a film reviewer in the US.

1.What is Banks’ first real task?

A. To test a high-tech tool. B.To save a baby from a car.

C. To study a new technology. D. To watch a scientist secretly.

2.Banks wanted to go to Natalie’s birthday party to______ .

A. meet her fatherB. know more people

C. make friends with her D. steal some information

3.What is considered as a great danger in the text?

A. The technology developed by Natalie’s father.

B.An explosion set off by some bad people.

C. The CIA’s training of boys for its tasks.

D. Secret agents’ spying on scientists.

4.What is the purpose of the text?

A. Making known the work of the CIA. B.Telling the story about a cool boy.

C. Showing the dark side of science. D.Introducing a new film.

此題要求改正所給短文中的錯誤。對標有題號的每一行作出判斷：如無錯誤，在該行右邊橫線上畫一個勾（V);如有錯誤（每行 只有一個錯誤），則按下列情況改正：

此行多一個詞：把多余的詞用斜線（\ )劃掉，在該行右邊橫線上寫出該詞，并也用斜線劃掉。

此行缺一個詞：在缺詞處加一個漏字符號（A )，在該行右邊橫線上寫出該加的詞。

此行錯一個詞：在錯的詞下劃一橫線，在該行右邊橫線上寫出改正后的詞。.

注意：原行沒有錯的不要改。

All of us need friendship. The understanding between two friends mean both of them have similarideas and trusting each other. Otherwise, it is impossible for him to help each other and to make their friendship to last long. As an old saying goes， “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” So really friendship should able to stand all sorts of tests. And it is wise to have as many good friends that we can. The more friends we have，the more we can learn for one another, but the more pleasure we can share together.

一家英語報社向中學生征文，主題是“十年后的我”，請根據(jù)下列要點和你的暢想完成短文。

1.家庭：

2．工作：

3.業(yè)余生活。

注意：1.詞數(shù)100左右：

2.可以適當增加細節(jié)，以使行文連貫：

3.開頭語已為你寫好。

The Cambridge Science Festival Curiosity Challenge

Dare to Take the Curiosity Challenge!

The Cambridge Science Festival (CSF) is pleased to inform you of the sixth annual Curiosity Challenge. The challenge invites, even dares school students between the ages of 5 and 14 to create artwork or a piece of writing that shows their curiosity and how it inspires them to explore their world.

Students are being dared to draw a picture, write an article, take a photo or write a poem that shows what they are curious about. To enter the challenge, all artwork or pieces of writing should be sent to the Cambridge Science Festival, MIT Museum, 265 Mass Avenue. Cambridge 02139 by Friday, February 8th.

Students who enter the Curiosity Challenge and are selected as winners will be honored at a special ceremony during the CSF on Sunday, April 21st. Guest speaker will also present prizes to the students. Winning entries will be published in a book. Student entries will be exhibit and prizes will be given. Families of those who take part will be included in the celebration and brunch will be served.

Between March 10th and March 15th, each winner will be given the specifics of the closing ceremony and the Curiosity Challenge celebration. The program guidelines and other related information are available at: http://cambridgesciencefestival.org.

1.Who can take in the Curiosity Challenge?

A. School students.

B. Cambridge locals.

C. CSF winners.

D. MIT artists.

2.When will the prize-giving ceremony be held?

A. On February 8th.

B. On March 10th

C. On March 15th..

D. On April 21st.

3.What type of writing is this text?

A. An exhibition guide.

B. An art show review.

C. An announcement.

D. An official report.

Passenger pigeons（旅鴿）once flew over much of the United States in unbelievable numbers. Written accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries described flocks（群）so large that they darkened the sky for hours.

It was calculated that when its population reach its highest point, there were more than 3 billion passenger pigeons – a number equal to 24 to 40 percent of the total bird population in the United States, making it perhaps the most abundant birds in the world. Even as late as 1870 when their numbers had already become smaller, a flock believed to be 1 mile wide and 320 miles (about 515 kilometers) long was seen near Cincinnati.

Sadly, the abundance of passenger pigeons may have been their undoing. Where the birds were abundant, people believed there was an ever-lasting supply and killed them by the thousands. Commercial hunters attracted them to small clearings with grain, waited until pigeons had settled to feed, then threw large nets over them, taking hundreds at a time. The birds were shipped to large cities and sold in restaurants.

By the closing decades of the 19th century, the hardwood forests where passenger pigeons nested had been damaged by Americans’ need for wood, which scattered（驅散）the flocks and forced the birds to go farther north, where cold temperatures and spring storms contributed to their decline. Soon the great flocks were gone, never to be seen again.

In 1897, the state of Michigan passed a law prohibiting the killing of passenger pigeons, but by then, no sizable flocks had been seen in the state for 10 years. The last confirmed wild pigeon in the United States was shot by a boy in Pike County, Ohio, in 1900. For a time, a few birds survived under human care. The last of them, known affectionately as Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoological Garden in September 1, 1914.

1.In the 18th and early 19th centuries, passenger pigeons _______.

A. were the biggest bird in the world

B. lived mainly in the south of America

C. did great harm to the natural environment

D. Were the largest population in the US

2.The underlined word “undoing” probably refers to the pigeons’ _______.

A. escape B. ruin C. liberation D. evolution

3.What was the main reason for people to kill passenger pigeons?

A. To seek pleasure. B. To save other birds.

C. To make money. D. To protect crops.

4.What can we infer about the law passed in Michigan?

A. It was ignored by the public. B. It was declared too late.

C. It was unfair. D. It was strict.

A typical lion tamer (馴獸師) in people’s mind is an entertainer holding a whip (鞭子)and a chair .The whip get all of the attention , but it’s mostly for show .In reality , it’s the chair that does the important work .When a lion tamer holds a chair in front of the lion’s face , the lion tries to focus on all four legs of the chair at the same time .With its focus divided , the lion becomes confused and is unsure about what to do next .When faced with so many options , the lion chooses to freeze and wait instead of attacking the man holding the chair.

How often do you find yourself in the same position as the lion ? How often do you have something you want to achiever (e,g. lose weight , start a business , travel more ) –only to end up confused by all of the options in front of you and never make progress ?

This upsets me to no end because while all the experts are busy debating about which option is best , the people who want to improve their lives are left confused by all of the conflicting information .The end result is that we feel like we can’t focus or that we’re focused on the wrong things , and so we take less action , make less progress , and stay the same when we could be improving .

It doesn’t have to be that way .Anytime you find the world waving a chair in your face , remember this :All you need to do is focus on one thing .You just need to get started .Starting before you feel ready is one of the habits of successful people .If you have somewhere you want to go , something you want to accomplish , someone you want to become ….take immediate action .If you’re clear about where you want to go , the rest of the world will either help you get there or get out the way .

1.Why does the lion tamer use a chair?

A. To trick the lion.

B. To show off his skill .

C. To get ready for a fight.

D. To entertain the audience.

2.In what sense are people similar to a lion facing a chair?

A. They feel puzzled over choices.

B. They hold on to the wrong things.

C. They find it hard to make changes.

D. They have to do something for show.

3.What is the author’s attitude towards the experts mentioned in paragraph 3?

A. Tolerant

B. Doubtful

C. Respectful

D. Supportive

4. When the world is “waving a chair in your face”, you’re advised to_____.

A. wait for a better chance

B. break your old habits

C. make a quick decision

D. ask for clear guidance

As more and more people speak the global languages of English, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic, other languages are rapidly disappearing. In fact, half of the 6,000-7,000 languages spoken around the world today will likely die out by the next century, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

In an effort to prevent language loss, scholars from a number of organizations- UNESCO and National Geographic among them –have for many years been documenting dying languages and the cultures they reflect.

Mark Turin, a scientist at the Macmillan Center, Yale University, who specializes in the languages and oral traditions of the Himalayas, is following in that tradition. His recently published book, A Grammar of Thangmi with an Ethnolinguistic Introduction to the Speakers and Their Culture, grows out of his experience living, looking and raising a family in a village in Nepal.

Documenting the Tangmi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayans reaches of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. But he is not content to simply record these voices before they disappear without record.

At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials- including photographs, films, tap recordings, and field notes- which had remained unstudied and were badly in need of care and protection.

Now, through the two organizations that he has founded-the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project- Turin has started a campaign to make such documents, found in libraries and stores around the world, available not just to scholars but to the youngers.

Generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected.Thanks to digital technology and the widely available Internet. Turin notes,the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.

1.Many scholars are making efforts to _____.

A. promote global languages

B. rescue the disappearing languages

C. search for language communities

D. set up languages research organizations.

2.What does “that tradition” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A. Having first records of the languages

B. Writing books on language searching

C. Telling stories about language users

D. Linking with the native speakers

3.What is Turin’s book based on?

A. The cultural statics in India.

B. The documents available at Yale.

C. His language research in Britain.

D. His personal experience in Nepal.

4.Which of the following best describe Turin’s Work?

A. Write sell and donate.

B. Record,repeat and reward.

C. Collect,protect and reconnect.

D. Design, experiment and report.