The secret of carrier pigeons' unbelievable ability to find their way home has been discovered by 
scientists: the feathered navigators follow the roads just like we do.
     Scientists now believe the phrase "as the crow (烏鴉) flies" no longer means the shortest most 
direct route between two points. They say it is likely that crows and other day birds also choose 
AA-suggested routes, even though it makes their journeys longer.
     Scientists at Oxford University  spent 10 years studying homing pigeons using global positioning 
satellite (GPS) and got a surprising result. The birds often don't use the sun to decide their directions. 
     Instead they fly along motorways, turn at crossing and even go around roundabouts (繞道) , adding 
miles to their journeys. 
     "It really has knocked our research team sideways to find that after a decade-long international 
study, pigeons appear to ignore their inbuilt directional instincts (本能) and follow the road system," 
said Prof Tim Guilford, reader in animal behavior at Oxford University's Department of Zoology.
    Guilford said pigeons use their own navigational system (導(dǎo)航系統(tǒng)) when doing long distance trips 
or when a bird does a journey for the first time.
      "But once homing pigeons have flown a journey more than once, they can fly home on a habitual 
route, much as we do when we are driving or walking home from work," said Guilford.
      "In short, it looks like it is mentally easier for a bird to fly down a road. They are just making their 
journey as simpl e as possible."

1.What would be the best title of the passage?

A. Birds Follow Roads as We do.   
B. Why Pigeons Can Fly long Distance?
C. How Pigeons Find Their Ways Home?    
D. Why Crows Fly the Shortest Distance?

2.What does the words "the feathered navigators" refer to?

A. The pigeons.  
B. The crows.  
C. Day birds.   
D. Animals that can fly.

3.Scientists used to think that homing pigeons often find their directions _______.

A. by global positioning satellite          
B. by the sun
C. by the road system                  
D. by following other birds

4.Why do homing pigeons tend to follow the road system during the journey?

A. Because they don't have their inbuilt directional instincts now.
B. Because their own navigational system doesn't work.   
C. Because it is too hard to use their own navigational system.
D. Because it is easier to make journey simple by following road system.

1. What is mainly discussed in the text?            

A. Children's reading difficulties.      
B. Advantages of raising dogs.      
C. Service in a public library.      
D. A special reading program.

2. Specialists use dogs to listen to children reading because they think _         .   

A. dogs are young children's best friends      
B. children can play with dogs while reading      
C. dogs can provide encouragement for shy children      
D. children and dogs understand each other

3. By saying " The Salt Lake City Public Library is sold on the idea" , the writer means the library       .   

A. uses dogs to attract children      
B. accepts the idea put forward by ITA      
C. has opened a children's department      
D. has decided to train some dogs

4. A "pawgraphed" book is most probably _       .      

A. a book used in Saturday classes      
B. a book written by the children      
C. a prize for the children      
D. a gift from parents

      American teens are setting an example for their parents through their volunteer work, according to
the Harris Interactive poll conducted in the United States between Jan.29 and Feb.2 among 2,003 adults.
The random national telephone survey released this week by the Federal Waybased charity World Vision
found that more teens volunteer to support a charitable (慈善的) cause-56 percent-than have a parttime
job-39 percent.
      Parents and guardians said 82 percent of the teens in their lives do something to support charitable
causes, including volunteering, recruiting others to a cause, wearing a Tshirt or donating money.Fortysix
percent of the adults surveyed said they volunteered their time and they also inspired their children to
volunteer.
Sara Johnson, a teacher who advises students at a private school in a Chicago suburb, says she's seen a
rise of teen involvement in social causes since President Barack Obama was elected in November.
      The Harris Interactive survey found a quarter of teens have become more involved in charitable
causes or organizations as a result of the economic downturn, but the economy has also led to cuts in
allowances, and has teens work more hours at a paying job.
      Alynn Woodson, director of volunteer engagement at Habitat for Humanity International, said she
has noticed a new enthusiasm among teen volunteers for the organization.
      Habitat for Humanity International celebrates the 20th anniversary of its alternative spring break
program this year and is expecting more than 12,000 young people to help build homes for lowincome
people around the nation.

1. The following statements about the teens' voluntary work are true EXCEPT________.

A. the economic downturn led teens to work less hours at paying jobs
B. the poll was done at the end of January and the early February
C. children do more voluntary work than their parents
D. more teens are involved in charitable causes or organizations

2. We can infer from the passage that________.

A. parents and guardians encourage their children to do voluntary work
B. volunteers all wear Tshirts while doing charity work
C. more teens are doing paying jobs as a result of the economic downturn
D. less teens were enthusiastic about voluntary work before Obama came into power

3. The author mentioned Habitat for Humanity International in order to prove________.

A. that homes for lowincome people will be built around the nation
B. Alynn Woodson is the director of volunteer engagement
C. more young people are doing volunteer work
D. it's 20 years since Habitat for Humanity International came into being

4. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A. More teens doing voluntary work
B. Teens setting examples for parents in charitable causes
C. Comments on teens' voluntary work
D. The 20th anniversary of Habitat for Humanity International

     Proper arrangement of classroom space is important to encouraging interaction. Most of us have noticed
how important physical setting is to efficiency and comfort in our work. College classroom space should be
designed to encourage the activity of critical thinking.
     We are in the twenty-first century now, but step into almost any college classroom and you step back in
time at least a hundred years. Desks are normally in straight rows, so students can clearly see the teacher but
not all their classmates. The message behind such an arrangement is obvious. Everything of importance comes
from the teacher.
     With a little imagination and effort, unless desks are fixed to the floor, the teacher can correct this situation
and create space that encourages interchange among students. In small or standard-sized classes, chairs,
desks, and tables can be arranged in a variety of ways. The primary goal should be for everyone to be able to
see everyone else. Large classes, particularly those held in lecture halls, unfortunately, allow much less
flexibility.
     Arrangement of the classroom should also make it easy to divide students into small groups for discussion
or problem-solving exercises. Small classes with movable desks and tables present no problem. Even in large
lecture halls, it is possible for students to turn around and form groups of four to six. Breaking a class into
small groups provides more opportunities for students to interact with each other, think out loud, and see how
other students' thinking processes operate all essential elements in developing new modes of critical thinking.
     In courses that regularly use a small group format, students might be asked to stay in the same small
groups throughout the course. A colleague of mine, John, allows students to move around during the first two
weeks, until they find a group they are comfortable with. John then asks them to stay in the same seat, with
the same group, from that time on. This not only creates a comfortable setting for interaction but helps him
learn students' names and faces.

1. The primary purpose of desk rearrangement is _____.

A. for the teacher to divide students into small groups
B. to make it possible for students to interact with each other
C. for the teacher to find out how students think
D. to give students more opportunities to practice speaking

2. Which of the following can best explain the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2?

A. There is not much change in educational idea over the past hundred years.
B. Critical thinking was encouraged even a century ago.
C. College classrooms often remind people of their college life.
D. A hundred years ago, desk arrangement in a classroom was quite different.

3. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. Students are allowed to change groups throughout the course in John's class
B. It's impossible for students to make up small groups in large lecture halls
C. A comfortable environment leads to higher working efficiency
D. New kinds of desks and chairs should be made

4. The author mentioned John in the last paragraph in order to _____.

A. create a comfortable setting for interaction
B. introduce an approach of learning students' names and faces easily
C. give an example that students stay in the same seat throughout the course
D. describe a good seat-arrangement mode in courses with small group format

     Scientists say they now have proof to support the old-fashioned advice that it's best to sleep on a problem.
They say sleep strengthens the memory and helps the brain organize the masses of information we receive
each day.
     The lead researcher Bob Stickgold at Harvard Medical School said, "Sleep helps us draw rules from our
experiences. It's like knowing the difference between dogs and cats even if it's hard to explain."
     The US research team studied how well students remembered connections between words and symbols,
reports New Scientist. They compared how the students performed if they had had a sleep between seeing
the words and having the test, and if they had not slept. They found that people were better able to remember
lists of related words after a night's sleep than after the same time spent awake during the day. They also
found it easier to remember themes that the words had in common. But they forgot around one in four more
themes if they had been awake.
     Prof. John Groeger, University of Surrey's Sleep Research Centre, said, "People have been trying for years
to find out what the purpose of sleep is, as we know that only certain parts of it have a restorative (促使康復(fù)
的) value."
     "We form and store huge numbers of experiences in the head every day, and sleep seems to be the way
the brain deals with them all."

1. The phrase "to sleep on a problem" in Paragraph l most likely means to "____".

A. pay full attention to a problem
B. wait until the next day for a decision
C. sleep to forget a problem
D. have difficulty in sleeping

2. In the study by the US research team, students were asked to ____.

A. put together words of similar meanings
B. remember words and their meanings
C. show their knowledge of words
D. make up lists of related words

3. Which of the following may be easier to remember?

A. Themes learned right before the test.
B. Rules from personal experiences.
C. Words learned before a good sleep.
D. Ideas stored together in the brain.

4. What may be the importance of the research?

A. It shows that sleep may help us manage information.
B. It helps find out the common themes of words.
C. It tells us that more sleep can improve health.
D. It proves the value of old-fashioned advice.

1. From the passage, we know that the author is most probably________.

A. a poet  
B. an educator
C. a novelist  
D. an engineer

2. We can infer from the second paragraph that students still________.

A. have enough time
B. can meet the president
C. can get something done well
D. should accept the teacher's suggestion

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. My students often make full use of their time to do all their homework.
B. I once tried to show myself to my professor by saying that I was wrong.
C. Many of us can get more time to improve the quality of the work.
D.  Improving  reading  and  writing  skills  will  benefit students a lot.

1. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Not an Acceptable Explanation
B. Don't Work Harder. Work Smarter
C. An Analysis of Our Work Habits
D. Read Better And Write Better

     A vertical farm is a concept farm which is planted on levels or floors.A sky scraper type
building can house a vertical farm.Since the garden is built upwards,rather than outwards,it
requires much less space than a conventional(傳統(tǒng)的) farm.
     The world is quickly running out of room for conventional farming.Vertical farms could be
a key to this situation.An 18story vertical farm could feed as many as 50,000 people,all in an
area which is the size of the average city block.Vertical farms in the city could cut down on
transportation costs as well.Think about the amount of fuel it takes to transport food from
farmland to city.The resources saved would be surprising. Besides saving travel time,food
would be delivered in fresher condition and with less damage.
     There is a growing concern about the use of pesticides in agriculture today.But the vertical
farm would be a greenhouse type environment, avoiding the need for a large number of
pesticides.Vertical farms can be built in a contained space,therefore they are an excellent
solution for living well in an environment far different from our own.Hydroponics(水耕法)
could be a big part of vertical gardening.This would reduce the amount of soil needed to grow
food.Of course,not all food does well with this type of planting,but there are many crops
that actually seem to do better.
     In some climates,a lack of sunlight creates a short growing season. The solar power option
may not work as well here.The addition of grow lights would make it possible to grow crops
in vertical gardens in these areas.In other words,we could grow crops in areas where we never
could before.
     Vertical farms may just be a concept for now,but they are a concept that will solve many
of our problems in the future.

1.According to the passage, a vertical farm________.

A．is mainly built outwards
B．is only an environmental friendly farm
C．is planted on levels upwards
D．is dependent on solar power

2.The second paragraph is mainly about________.

A．the meaning of a vertical farm
B．the future of a vertical farm
C．the cost of a vertical farm
D．the benefit of a vertical farm

3.Compared to the conventional farm, the vertical farm can________.

A．help to protect the limited gardens  
B．reduce the harmful effect of pesticides
C．depend far less on sunlight
D．greatly increase the use of soil

4.It can be learned from the passage that vertical farms________.

A．have been put into use
B．need less room than conventional farms
C．only use hydroponics to grow food
D．may increase the transportation costs

5.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Vertical farms for our future
B．Vertical farms and green skyscrapers
C．Ways to deal with future problems
D．Advantages of vertical farms