Monarch butterflies (黑脈金斑蝶) are a common summer sight in the northern United States and Canada.
These large orange and black insects (昆蟲) brighten parks and gardens as they fly lightly among the flowers.
What makes monarchs particularly interesting is that they migrate (遷飛)-all the way to California or Mexico
and back. They are thought to be the only insect that does this.
     Every year in the late summer monarchs begin their journey to the south. Those heading for Mexico go first
for the Louisiana-Mississippi area, then fly across the Gulf of Mexico into Texas. Once in Mexico, they settle
themselves in one of about fifteen places in a mountain forest filled with fir trees. Each place provides a winter
home for millions of monarchs. The butterflies are so many that they often cover entire trees. When spring
comes, they begin their long journey north.
     The question is often asked whether every butterfly makes the round-trip journey every year. And the answer
is no. The average monarch lives about nine months. So one flying north might lay eggs in Louisiana and then
die. The eggs of that generation may be found in Kentucky; the eggs of the next generation may end up in
Wisconsin or Michigan. The last generation of the season, about the fourth, will make their way back to Mexico
and restart the journey.
     Scientists learn about monarchs' migration by catching and making marks on the insects. By recatching a
monarch with such a mark and noticing where it came from, the next scientist can get to know things like the
butterfly's age and its routing (路線).

1. One of the places where monarchs spend the winter is _____.

A. the Gulf of Mexico
B. an area in Mississippi
C. a forest in Mexico
D. a plain in Texas

2. The routing of monarchs' migration can be learned _____.

A. by collecting their eggs in the mountains
B. by examining the marks made on them
C. by comparing their different ages
D. by counting the dead ones in the forests

3. What is the subject discussed in the passage?

A. Life and death of monarchs.
B. Scientists' interest in monarchs.
C. Winter home of monarchs.
D. Migration of monarchs.

     Where is that noise coming from? Not sure? Try living with your eyes closed for a few years.
     Blind people are better at locating sounds than people who can see, a new study says, without the benefits
of vision the ears seem to work much better.
     Previous studies have shown that blind people are better than others at reaching out and touching the
sources of sounds that are close by. Researchers from the University of Montreal wanted to see if blind people
were also better at locating sounds that are far away.
     Twenty-three blind people participated in the study. All had been sightless for at least 20 years. Fourteen of
them had lost their vision before age 11; the rest went blind after age 16. The experiment also included 10 people
who could see but were wearing blind-folds.
     In one task, volunteers had to pick the direction of a sound coming from about 3 metres away. When the
sound was in front of them or slightly off center in front, both groups performed equally well.
     When sounds came from the side or the back, however, the blind group performed much better than the
blindfolded group. The participants who had been blind since childhood did slightly better than those who lost
their sight later.
     Recognizing the locations of distant sounds can be a matter of life-or-death for blind people, say the
researchers. Crossing the street, for instance, is much harder when you can't see the cars coming.
     Still, the researchers were surprised by how well the blind participants did, especially those who went blind
after age 16. In another experiment, the scientists also found that parts of the brain that normally deal with
visual information became active in locating sound in the people who were blind by age 11. These brain parts
didn't show sound-location activity in the other group of blind people or in the sighted people. The scientists
now want to learn more about the working of brains of "late-onset" blind people.

1. The recent study shows blind people are better at telling ____. 

A. the sources of loud sounds
B. the locations of distant sounds
C. the direction of sharp sounds
D. the distance of a sound in front of them

2. Which would be a proper title for the passage?

A. A Research on Blind People
B. Where is That Noise Coming from?
C. Hearing Better in the Dark
D. What If Living without Your Eyes?

3. If people were asked to tell the direction of a sound from the side, who would perform best?

A. Those who are blind.
B. Those who have gone blind since children.
C. Those who went blind at age 16.
D. Those who are blindfolded.

4. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Whether to be able to locate the sounds can be of vital importance for the blind.
B. All the volunteers in the experiment are sightless.
C. All the participants did equally well when picking sounds from whatever direction.
D. The later people become blind, the better they can perform in telling the direction of sounds.

     Andy Steele lives just a few blocks from the campus of Black Hills State University in Spearfish,
S.D., so commuting (經(jīng)常往返) to class isn't the problem. But he doesn't like lectures much, isn't a
morning person, and wants time during the day to restore motorcycles.
     So Steele, a full-time senior business major, has been taking as many classes as he can from the
South Dakota State system's online offerings. He gets better grades and learns more, he says, and
insists he isn't missing out on the college experience.
     "I still know a lot of people from my first two years living on campus, and I still meet a lot of people,"
he says. But now, he sets his own schedule.
     At least 2.3 million people took some kind of online courses, according to a recent survey by The
Sloan Consortium, an online education group, and two-thirds of colleges offering "face-to-face" courses
also offer online ones. But what were once two different types of classes are looking more and more
alike and often falling into the same pool of students.
     At some schools, online courses originally intended for non-traditional students living far from campus
have proved surprisingly popular with on-campus students. A recent study found 42 percent of the
students enrolled (登記) in its distance education courses were located on campus at the university that
was hosting the online courses.
     Numbers vary depending on the policies of particular colleges, but other schools also have students
mixing and matching online and "face-to-face" credits. Motives range from lifestyle to adapting a job
schedule to getting into high-demand courses.
     Washington State had about 325 on-campus undergraduates taking one or more distance courses last
year. As many as 9,000 students took both distance and in-person classes at Arizona State last year.
     "Business is really about providing choices to their customers, and that's really what we want to do,"
said Sheila Aaker, extended services coordinator (協(xié)調(diào)人) at Black Hills State.
     Many schools, such as Washington State and Arizona State, let departments and academic units
decide who can take an online course. They say students with legitimate academic needs-a conflict with
another class, a course they need to graduate that is full-often get permission, though they still must take
some key classes in person.

1. What is the purpose of the passage?

A. To introduce Steele to us, who prefers online courses.
B. To tell us about the development of campus courses.
C. To show the differences between campus courses and online courses.
D. To show more on-campus students are taking online courses.

2. We can learn from the passage that Andy Steele _______. 

A. lives far from the campus
B. knows none of his classmates
C. wants to have his own lifestyle
D. doesn't get good marks

3. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. The undergraduates attend the online courses for different purposes.
B. It is expected that distance education is popular with on-campus students.
C. About 325 on-campus undergraduates took online courses in Washington last year.
D. Different colleges have different policies about online courses.

4. From what Sheila Aaker said in the passage, we can tell _______.

A. business is the most popular major in universities
B. colleges should provide more majors for students
C. where the similarity between business and colleges lies
D. why colleges offer online courses to on-campus students

     Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all,
you probably sing or whistle when you are happy.
     Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However,
they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to
stay out of their territory.
     Do you know what a "territory" is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims as its
own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome.
Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger
should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten
him away.
     If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same
thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting season. So he is screaming all the
time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird's song, and it is usually
enough to keep an outsider away.
     Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the
territory of theirs.
     You can see that birds have a language all their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and
setting up territories.

1. According to the passage, most of the time birds' singing is actually        .

A. an expression of happiness
B. a way of warning
C. an expression of anger
D. a way of greeting

2. What is a bird's "territory"?

A. A place where families of other species are not accepted.
B. A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice.
C. An area for which birds fight against each other.
D. An area which a bird considers to be its own.

3. Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?

A. Because they want to invite more friends.
B. Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away.
C. Because they want to find outsiders around.
D. Because their singing helps get rid of their fears.

4. How does the writer explain birds' singing?   

A. By comparing birds with human beings.
B. By reporting experiment results.
C. By describing birds' daily life.        
D. By telling a bird's story.

     Scientists have devised a way to determine roughly where a person has lived using a strand of hair, a
technique that could help track the movements of criminal suspects or unidentified murder victims.
     The method relies on measuring how chemical variations in drinking water show up in people's hair.
     "You're what you eat and drink, and that's recorded in your hair," said Thure Cerling, a geologist at
the University of Utah.
     While U.S diet is relatively identical, water supplies vary. The differences result from weather patterns. The chemical composition of rainfall changes slightly as rain clouds move.
     Most hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water are stable, but traces of both elements are also present as
heavier isotopes (同位素). The heaviest rain falls first. As a result, storms that form over the Pacific
deliver heavier water to California than to Utah.
     Similar patterns exist throughout the U.S. By measuring the proportion of heavier hydrogen and
oxygen isotopes along a strand of hair, scientists can construct a geographic timeline. Each inch of hair
corresponds to about two months.
     Cerling's team collected tap water samples from 600 cities and constructed a map of the regional
differences. They checked the accuracy of the map by testing 200 hair samples collected from 65 barber
shops. They were able to accurately place the hair samples in broad regions roughly corresponding to
the movement of rain systems.
     "It's not good for pinpointing (精確定位)," Cerling said. "It's good for eliminating many possibilities."
     Todd Park, a local detective, said the method has helped him learn more about an unidentified woman whose skeleton was found near Great Salt Lake.
     The woman was 5 feet tall. Police recovered 26 bones, a T-shirt and several strands of hair.
     When Park heard about the research, he gave the hair samples to the researchers.
     Chemical testing showed that over the two years before her death, she moved about every two
months.
     She stayed in the Northwest, although the test could not be more specific than somewhere between
eastern Oregon and western Wyoming.
     "It's still a substantial area," Park said "But it narrows it way down for me."

1. What is the scientists' new discovery?  

A. One's hair growth has to do with the amount of water they drink.
B. A person's hair may reveal where they have lived.
C. Hair analysis accurately identifies criminal suspects..
D. The chemical composition of hair varies from person to person.

2.What does the author mean by "You're what you eat and drink" (Line 1, Para.3)?

A. Food and drink affect one's personality development.
B. Food and drink preferences vary with individuals.
C. Food and drink leave traces in one's body tissues.
D. Food and drink are essential to one's existence.

3.What is said about the rainfall in America's West?  

A. There is much more rainfall in California than in Utah.
B. The water it delivers becomes lighter when it moves inland.
C. Its chemical composition is less stable than in other areas.
D. It gathers more light isotopes as it moves eastward.

4.What is the practical value of Cerling's research?

A. It helps analyze the quality of water in different regions.
B. It helps the police determine where a crime is committed.
C. It helps the police narrow down possibilities in detective work.
D. It helps identify the drinking habits of the person under investigation.

     If there is one thing I'm sure about,it is that a hundred years later we will still be reading newspapers.
It is not that newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of their news from television or
radio. Many buy a paper only on Saturdays or Sundays. But for most people,reading a newspaper has
become a habit passed down from generation to generation.
     The nature(特征) of what is news may change. What basically makes news is what affects our
lives-the big political stories,the coverage(報道) of the wars,earthquakes and other disasters,will
continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research,though,the research
happening in areas that may directly affect our lives,like genetic(基因) engineering. In the future,I think
there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do-as we develop a better
understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.
     It's quite possible that in the next century,newspapers will be transmitted (傳輸)electronically from
the Fleet Street and printed out in our own home. In fact,I'm pretty sure how it will happen in the future.
You will probably be able to choose from a menu and make up your own newspaper by picking out the
things you want to read-say,sports,international news,ect.
     I think people have got it wrong when they talk about competition between the different media. They
actually feed-off(依靠) each other. Some people once foresaw(預(yù)見) that television would kill off
newspapers,but that hasn't happened. What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures flashed
up on a screen or sounds lost in the air. And as for the Internet,it's never really pleasant to read something
just on a screen.

1. What is the best title for the passage?

A. The Best Way to Get News        
B. The Changes of Media
C. Make Your Own Newspaper        
D. The Future of Newspaper

2. In the writer's opinion,in the future________.

A. more big political affairs,wars and disasters will make news
B. newspapers will not be printed in publishing houses any longer
C. newspapers will cover more scientific research
D. more and more people will read newspapers

3. What will probably be on in the newspaper made by yourself?

A. Sports and international news.      
B. A menu of important news.
C. The most important news.          
D. What you are interested in.

      It seems that school children all over the world complain about their school food. Cherie Blair, the
wife of previous Prime Minister Tony Blair, said that she would prepare a packed lunch for her son if
school dinners do not improve. So what do students of your age eat for lunch at school?
     Japan
     High schools have canteens (食堂), which serve everything from noodles to rice, but no hamburger
and chips. Other children bring food from home such as cold rice balls, meat or fish, pickles (泡菜) and
vegetables. Students take home a menu for the coming month containing notes on nutrition (營養(yǎng)) value.
Twice a year parents are invited to have a taste of the food. The class with the fewest leftovers (剩飯) at
the end of the month receives a prize.
     Untied States
     A typical menu from a US school is made up of a hamburger with fried potatoes or roast chicken,
lettuce and pickles, fruit and cookies. School lunches must also provide at least one-third of the daily
dietary allowances (定量) of protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calories.
     Australia
     Meat pies, sausage rolls and hotdogs are all traditional dishes in Australian school shops. But as the
nation pays more attention to children's health, healthier foods have started to find their way onto school
menus. Many schools have used a "traffic light system". The sale of red-labelled foods, including cakes,
chocolate and soft drinks, is served only twice a week. Healthier green-labelled foods such as sushi (壽司), sandwiches, corn and watermelon, however, are available every day. In some schools, students
have a choice of up to 89 foods to choose from, including popcorn and rice.
     South Africa
     Most of South Africa's schools do not serve meals at all. Classes end at 1:30 pm and students get
their own lunches. Many students bring food from home, usually sandwiches.
     Fast food and fried food sell the best among students, which has led to a rise in obesity among
children. But as more people began to realize the fact that being too fat may cause different diseases,
some schools in towns have led the way towards better nutrition. Now students at these schools are
provided with lunches of porridge with vegetables, such as cabbages, onions, beans, carrots and
tomatoes.

1. What does the underlined word "obesity" in the last paragraph probably mean?

A. Nutrition
B. Addiction
C. Food shortage
D. Overweight.

2. We can infer from the passage that ______.

A. a typical menu from a US school consists of enough nutrition.
B. most of the students in South Africa eat their lunch at home.
C. many schools in Australia have traffic lights outside their school.
D. you can have whatever you like in school canteens in Japan.

3. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Schools should try to satisfy the needs of students.
B. Schools serve different foods from country to country.
C. Schools should supply the students with the best food.
D. School children all over the world dislike their school food.

4. The article is written for ______.

A. parents 
B. schoolmasters
C. nutritionists
D. students of your age

     Can people change their skin color without suffering like pop king Michael Jackson? Perhaps yes.
Scientists have found the gene that determines skin color.
    The gene comes in two versions, one of which is found in 99 per cent of Europeans.The other is found
in 93 t0 100 per cent of Africans, researchers at Pennsylvania State University report in the latest issue of Science.
     Scientists have changed the color of a dark - striped zebrafish (斑馬魚) to uniform gold by inserting a
version of the pigment (色素) gene into a young fish.As with humans, zebrafish skin color is deter-mined  
by pigment cells,which contain melanin (黑色素).The number,  size and darkness of melanin perpigment
cell determine skin color.
     It appears that, like the golden zebrafish, light - skinned Europeans also have a mutation (變異) in the
gene for melanin production.This results in less pigrnented skin.
     However, Keith Cheng, leader of the research team, points out that the mutation is different in hu-man
ancl zebrafish genes.
     Humans acquired dark skin in Africa about l.5 million years ago to protect bodies from ultra - violetrays of the sun. which can cause skin cancer.
     But when modem humans leave Africa to live in northem latitudes, they need more sunlight on their
skin to produce vitamin D. So the related gene changes, according to Cheng.
     Asians have the same version of the gene as Africans, so they probably acquired their light skin through the action of some other gene that affects skin color, said Cheng.
     The new discovery could lead to medical treatments for skin cancer.lt also could lead to research in-to ways to change skin color without damaging it like chemical treatment did on Michael Jackson.

1. Scientists have done an experiment on a dark -striped zebrafish in order to

A. fincl the different genes o humans'
B. prove the humans' skin color is determined by the pigment gene
C. find out the reason why the Africans' skin color is dark
D. fincl out the ways of changing people's skin color

2. It can be inferred from the passage that       .

A. nowadays people who want to change their skin color have to suffer 8 lot from the damage
     caused by the chemical treatment
B. Europeans and Africans have the same gene
C. the new discovery could help to find medical treatments for skin cancer
D. there are two kinds of genes

3.The passage mainly tells us that       .

A. scientists have found out that people's skin color is determined by the gene
B. the new discovery could lead to research into ways to change skin color safely
C. pop king Michael Jackson often changed his skin color as he liked
D. people can not change their skin color without any pain

4. The reason why Europeans are light - skinned is probably that       .

A. they are bom light - skinned people
B. light - skinned Europeans have mutation in the gene for melanin production
C. they have fewer activities outside
D. they pay much attention to protecting their skin

5. The writer's attitude towarcls the discovery is       .

A. neutral
B. negative
C. indifferent
D. positive

     Nuclear energy has always been controversial. But since the tsunami and nuclear disaster in
Fukushima (Japan) last year the issue is back in the headlines. And the world is divided- some countries
are planning more nuclear plants, while others have promised to shut theirs down.
     After Fukushima, Germany decided to switch off all its nuclear plants by 2022. Switzerland and Italy
are also phasing out nuclear power. But France and the United States remain staunch supporters of
atomic energy. In fact, almost 80% of France's electricity comes from nuclear power, the highest
percentage in the world. And in the US, the Obama administration said it "continues to support the
expansion of nuclear power, despite the crisis in Japan."
     Nuclear supporters claim nuclear power can help the environment. Unlike fossil fuels, nuclear power
doesn't create greenhouse gases. So, pro-nuclear countries argue that nuclear power allows them to
generate energy without contributing to climate change. Britain's chief scientific adviser (John Beddington)
supports this view. He recently said that the world doesn't have the luxury of ignoring nuclear energy.
     Nuclear power is also relatively cheap. Renewable energy sources such as solar, hydro and wind
power may be clean, but they're expensive; and right now, they require a lot of investment. This higher
cost of using "green energy" is usually passed onto the consumer. So, while many people may prefer their
energy to come from a renewable source, not so many are prepared to pay higher energy bills. This is of
particular concern while the world economy is in such bad shape.
     The main argument against nuclear energy is that it isn't safe. For a start, nuclear waste is very difficult
to dispose of, and remains toxic to humans for thousands of years. And even before Fukushima, there
were several high-profile nuclear disasters. The most famous is probably the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, in
the Ukraine. The radiation from the meltdown spread all over Europe, affecting thousands.
     The nuclear energy issue is very complex. And it doesn't look like it'll be resolved anytime soon. As a
Japanese commentator recently said, "it's been a bad year for the 'nuclear village', but I don't think they're down and out yet." The battle continues.

1. Which of the following may NOT be the advantage of nuclear energy over other energy sources? 

A. Nuclear energy doesn't produce any greenhouse gases.
B. Nuclear energy can help prevent the climate damage.
C. Nuclear energy is more environmental-friendly than other green energy sources.
D. Nuclear energy can save the consumers some money, compared to other renewable energies.

2. What does the underlined word "this" refer to in paragraph 4? 

A. The fact that many people prefer to use the green energy sources while unwilling to pay higher bill.
B. The cost of using renewable sources
C. The fact that the nuclear power is cheaper.
D. The investment of renewable energy sources

3. We can learn from the last paragraph that _______.

A. the Japanese commentator is positive about the future of nuclear energy
B. the nuclear energy issue will be soon settled
C. a battle will break out in the future
D. Japan is considering to build a nuclear village in the future

4. What is the author's purpose of writing the passage? 

A. To highlight the danger of using nuclear energy.
B. To introduce some serious nuclear disasters.
C. To show the argument between nuclear supporters and protesters.
D. To give some advice on how to use nuclear energy safely.

                                               Why texting harms your IQ
     The regular use of text messages and e-mails can lower the IQ more than twice as much as smoking
marijuana (大麻). That is the statement of researchers who have found that tapping away on a mobile
phone or computer keypad or checking for electronic messages temporarily knocks up to 10 points off
the user's IQ. This rate of decline in intelligence compares unfavorably with the four-point drop in IQ
associated with smoking marijuana, according to British researchers, who have described the
phenomenon of improved stupidity as "infomania". The research conducted by Hewlett Packard, the
technology company, has concluded that it is mainly a problem for adult workers, especially men.
     It is concluded that too much use of modern technology can damage a person's mind. It can cause a
constant distraction of "always on" technology when employees should be concentrating on what they are
paid to do. Infomania means that they lose concentration as their minds remain fixed in an almost
permanent state of readiness to react to technology instead of focusing on the task in hand. The report
also added that, in a long term, the brain will be considerably shaped by what we do to it and by the
experience of daily life. At a microcellular level, the complex networks of nerve cells that make up parts
of the brain actually change in response to certain experiences.  
     Too much use of modern technology can be damaging not only to a person's mind, but to their social
relationship. 1100 adults were interviewed during the research. More than 62 per cent of them admitted
that they were addicted to checking their e-mails and text messages so often that they scrutinized
work-related ones even when at home or on holiday. Half said that they always responded immediately
to an email and will even interrupt a meeting to do so. It is concluded that infomania is increasing stress
and anxiety and affecting one's characteristics. Nine out of ten thought that colleagues who answered
e-mails or messages during a face-to-face meeting were extremely rude.
     The effects on IQ were studied by Dr Glenn Wilson, a psychologist at University of London. "This is
a very real and widespread phenomenon," he said. "We have found that infomania will damage a
worker's performance by reducing their mental sharpness and changing their social life. Companies
should encourage a more balanced and appropriate way of working."

1. We can learn from the passage that "infomania" ______.

A. has a positive influence on one's IQ
B. results in the change of part of the brain
C. lies in the problem of lack of concentration
D. is caused by too much use of modern technology

2. The research mentioned in the passage is most probably about ______.

A. the important function of advanced technology
B. the damage to one's brain done by unhealthy habits
C. the relevance between IQ and use of modern technology
D. the relationship between intelligence and working effectiveness

3. The underlined word "scrutinized" probably means "______".

A. examined carefully  
B. copied patiently   
C. corrected quickly    
D. admitted freely

4. Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?

A.                                          B.                             C.                                D.
  
CP: Central Point   P: Point   Sp: Sub-point (次要點)   C: Conclusion