A Powerful Team

 

This is a story of two friends — one is blind, the other has no arms. Although the two are “disabled”, they are a powerful team together. They have changed part of their village in North China’s Hebei Province into a rich, green forest.

 

Their story began in 2000. Haixia was blind in his right eye. Wenqi lost his arms in an accident. Neither could find a job, so they decided to team up. They rented(租) some poor land and began to plant trees.

 

Haixia and Wenqi never imagined that they would create an environmental paradise(天堂). Their forest now has over 10,000 trees, hundreds of birds and many other wild animals. It also saves the village from river flooding(洪水泛滥) during the rainy season.

 

When the friends work together, they focus on their strengths not their disabilities. Their day begins at 7 a.m. Haixia carries Wenqi across the river to get to their work place. Since they cannot afford to buy young trees to plant, the two use branches（树枝）from trees. Haixia climbs to the tree-top and picks up the perfect branch. He then digs a hole and plants it carefully. Finally Wenqi waters the tree.

 

The two men don’t make much money but they are proud of themselves and they still work hard. As Wenqi says, “We stand on our own feet, so the fruits of our work taste sweeter.”

 

Neither Haixia nor Wenqi cares about money. As a team, they already have everything they need --- a perfect pair of eyes, two strong hands, and the best friendship in the world!

 

 

 

1. Haixia and Wenqi decided to team up because ______.

 

A. Haixia wanted to help Wenqi

 

B. neither could find a job

 

C. they had the same interest

 

D. Wenqi asked Haixia to do that

 

 

 

2. During the rainy season, Haixia and Wenqi’s forest ______.

 

A. makes the villagers become richer

 

B. increases the number of the tourists

 

C. saves the village from river flooding

 

D. provides more farmland for the village

 

 

 

3. In paragraph 5, when Wenqi says “We stand on our own feet, so the fruits of our work taste sweeter”, he means that “ ______”.

 

A. they hope to make the forest even better

 

B. the fruits from their trees are very sweet

 

C. they are proud to depend on their own

 

D. they are able to do any difficult work

 

 

Discover Sharks

 

Sharks have lived in the oceans for over 450 million years, long before dinosaurs appeared. There are now about 360 kinds of sharks, whose size, behavior, and other characteristics differ widely.

 

Every year, people catch and kill over 100 million sharks. They hunt sharks for sport, food, medicine and their skin. Experts say the international market for some kinds of sharks has increased because many parts of a shark are valuable. Collectors pay thousands of dollars for the jaws of a shark. Shark liver oil is a popular source of Vitamin A. The skin of a shark can be used like leather. In Asia, people enjoy a kind of soup made from shark fins.

 

It takes most kinds of sharks10 to 15 years to begin reproducing (繁殖)and most sharks reproduce only every two years. And they give birth to fewer than ten young sharks. For this reason, over-fishing of sharks is the special danger to the future of the animal.

 

Influenced by movies and popular novels, most people see sharks as people-eating monsters. This is far from the truth. Every year, a few types of shark injure about 100 people worldwide and kill about 25. Most attacks are by great white sharks, which often feed on sea mammals, just like sea lions，sea dogs and dolphins. They sometimes mistake human swimmers for their food, especially if they are wearing black wet suits.

 

If you are a typical ocean-goer, your chances of being killed by a shark are about 1 in 100 million. You are more likely to be killed by a pig than a shark and thousands of times more likely to get killed when you drive a car.

 

 According to the studies, most sharks can live 20 to 30 years. Although sharks cannot live as long as human beings, they have the similar aging process. Sharks help save human lives. They are helping us learn how to fight cancer and other diseases. Their highly effective immune(免疫的) system allows wounds to get better and their blood is being studied in connection with AIDS research.

 

Sharks are needed in the world’s ocean ecosystems(生态系统). Although they don’t need us, we need them. We are much more dangerous to sharks than they are to us. For every shark that bites a person, we kill one million sharks.

 

 

 

4. The second paragraph is mainly about ______.

 

A. why people kill sharks

 

B. who makes sharks in danger

 

C. what causes people fear sharks

 

D. how sharks produce their babies

 

 

 

5. The word ‘‘aging process’’ in Paragraph 6 probably means “ ______”.

 

A. sharks have their own family

 

B. sharks live from baby to the old

 

C. sharks have their own language

 

D. sharks raise their children all the time

 

 

 

6.What can we learn from the passage?

 

A. People find dinosaurs have lived long before sharks.

 

B. One hundred people are killed by sharks every year.

 

C. Sharks are helping people fight diseases like cancer.

 

D. Sharks give birth young babies every 10 to 15 years.

 

 

Bottled water has become the choice for people who are healthy and thirsty. Bottled water is all over the world. But some say the planet's health and people's health may be suffering from it.

 

The idea that bottled water is safer for humans may not be true. The Natural Resources Defense Council of America said, “There is no promise that because water comes out of a bottle, it is cleaner or safer than water from the tap.” Another New York City-based action group added that some bottled water is “really just tap water in a bottle—sometimes cleaner, sometimes not.”

 

It is not tested that bottled water is better than tap water. Nick Reeves from the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management said, “The high mineral content(矿物质含量) of some bottled water makes them not good for feeding babies and young children.” Also, most bottled water doesn't have fluoride(氟化物), which can make teeth stronger. Kids are drinking more bottled water and less fluoridated tap water, and some say that's behind the recent rise in bad teeth.

 

Storing is another problem. Placed near heat, the plastic bottles can produce bad chemicals into the water. Store bottled water appropriately. Bottled water, like many foods and drinks, should be stored in the appropriate way to keep the quality and safety of the product. Keep bottled water out of the light and heat. 

 

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used worldwide to bottle water each year. The plastic can take between 400 and 1,000 years to break down.

 

For energy use, plastic bottles are also not cheap. One report said that if water and drink bottlers had used 10 percent recycled materials in their plastic bottles, they would have saved about 72 million gallons of gas.

 

So, if you are worried about the effect of bottled water on the earth, you can take the following four steps:

 

Step 1. Drink from your tap. Unless your government warns against this, it should be fine.

 

Step 2. Get a container(容器). Carry your tap water in a steel or a lined drinking container, and clean it between uses.

 

Step 3. Keep it cool. Don't drink from a bottle that has been sitting in the sun, don't store it near chemicals, and don't reuse plastic bottles.

 

Step 4. Choose glass containers over plastic if possible. When finished, recycle!

 

 

 

7. What can we learn about bottled water from the passage?

 

A. Plastic bottles are not expensive to make.

 

B. It is tested that bottled water have high fluoride.

 

C. Bottled water may cause the rise in bad teeth.

 

D. The plastic can be broken down in less than 400 years.

 

 

 

8. According to the passage, the writer probably agrees that ______.

 

A. bottled water is safer and cleaner than tap water for humans

 

B. plastic bottles can produce bad chemicals into the water in cool places

 

C. babies and young children need bottled water with high mineral content

 

D. gas can be saved if water and drink bottlers had used recycled plastic bottles

 

 

 

9. The writer mentions the four steps to show that ______.

 

A. we can do something to reduce the bad effect of bottled water

 

B. we can improve the bottled water by storing it in right places

 

C. the government is against people to drink tap water in recent years

 

D. scientists can invent some new materials to produce bottled water

 

 

10. What is the best title of the passage?

 

A. Bottled water and tap water.

 

B. Be careful to drink bottled water.

 

C. The disadvantages of bottled water.

 

D. How to drink bottled water safely.

 

 

【分析】

 

这篇短文介绍的是两个残疾人—一个盲，一个没有双臂，他们把河北省北部的村庄变成了一片富饶的绿色森林。从2000年起，他们已经植树10,000多棵，有效的改善了当地的环境，防止了洪水泛滥。

 

【1题详解】

 

细节理解题。根据短文第二段中Haixia was blind in his right eye. Wenqi lost his arms in an accident. Neither could find a job, so they decided to team up.可知，海霞是盲的，文琪没有胳膊，他们都找不到工作，所以决定合作，一起植树。由此可知应选B。

 

【2题详解】

 

细节理解题。根据短文第三段中It also saves the village from river flooding(洪水泛滥) during the rainy season.可知，海霞和文琪种植了10,000多棵树，防止了在雨季的时候他们的村庄洪水泛滥。由此可知应选C。

 

【3题详解】

 

推理判断题。根据短文最后两段的The two men don’t make much money but they are proud of themselves and they still work hard. Neither Haixia nor Wenqi cares about money. As a team, they already have everything they need --- a perfect pair of eyes, two strong hands, and the best friendship in the world!文意可知，虽然他们是残疾人，但是他们靠自己的能力植树，改善了当地的环境，他们为自己感到自豪。故C选项符合文意。

 

 

【点睛】这篇短文介绍了河北北部一个村庄的两个残疾人，身残志坚，相互扶持，从2000年起，开始植树造林，把昔日的荒滩变成了茂密的森林。文章主题明确，叙事清晰，比较容易理解。做题时，先快速通读短文，了解大意；再看后面的题目，题型有细节理解题和推理判断题，细节题考查学生们对文章事实信息的理解，答案常可以直接在原文找到。做题时，可以根据题目所问，或利用关键词，锁定短文相关段落或语句作答。例如第2小题，根据题目中During the rainy season可定位到短文第三段中，根据It also saves the village from river flooding(洪水泛滥) during the rainy season.可知应选C。

 

【解析】

 

很多人对鲨鱼有错误的看法，认为他们是吃人的；还有很多的人为了不同目的大肆捕杀鲨鱼，导致鲨鱼的数量大大减少。其实鲨鱼对我们以及我们的生态系统是非常重要的。

 

【4题详解】

 

细节理解题。根据短文第二段的文意和开头Every year, people catch and kill over 100 million sharks. They hunt sharks for sport, food, medicine and their skin可知，这一段介绍的是每年人们捕杀超过10,000万鲨鱼，他们猎杀鲨鱼有不同的目的。故应选A。

 

【5题详解】

 

词义猜测题。根据这个短语所在的句子Although sharks cannot live as long as human beings, they have the similar aging process可知，这句话把鲨鱼与人类做了一个比较，它不像人类那样长寿，但有相似的…，其中age意为“年龄”，由此可推测，鲨鱼会像人类一样经历从小到老的这种过程。故应选B。

 

【6题详解】

 

细节理解题。根据短文第六段Sharks help save human lives. They are helping us learn how to fight cancer and other diseases可知，鲨鱼可以帮助救人类的生命，他们正帮助我们学习怎样抵抗癌症以及其他疾病。由此可知应选C。

 

 

【分析】

 

瓶装水是不是比自来水更干净、更安全？答案可能是否定的。短文中从瓶装水的矿物质含量、储存、对环境的影响等方面做出了解释。并对如何更好地饮用瓶装水提出了一些建议。

 

 

【7题详解】

 

细节理解题。根据短文第三段Also, most bottled water doesn't have fluoride(氟化物), which can make teeth stronger. Kids are drinking more bottled water and less fluoridated tap water, and some say that's behind the recent rise in bad teeth.可知，由于大多数瓶装水没有可以使牙齿强壮的氟化物，所以经常喝瓶装水的孩子的坏牙率上升。由此可知应选C。

 

 

【8题详解】

 

细节理解题。根据短文第七段One report said that if water and drink bottlers had used 10 percent recycled materials in their plastic bottles, they would have saved about 72 million gallons of gas.可知，有一份报告说，如果水和饮料瓶的制造商在他们的塑料瓶中使用10%的回收材料，那么他们将节省大约7,200万加仑的汽油。由此可知应选D。

 

 

【9题详解】

 

推理判断题。根据短文第八段中So, if you are worried about the effect of bottled water on the earth, you can take the following four steps可知，作者在提建议之前提到“如果你担心瓶装水对地球的影响，你可以遵循下面的步骤”，因此他提这些建议是为了让我们减少瓶装水对地球的坏的影响。故应选A。

 

 

【10题详解】

 

主旨大意题。短文第一段引出了文章所要谈论的话题，But之后的这句话But some say the planet's health and people's health may be suffering from it是点明文章中心的句子，下文对该话题进行展开叙述。故B选项“小心饮用瓶装水”最符合文章主旨，选B。

 

【点睛】这篇短文给我们介绍的是瓶装水可能会影响人们的健康，并对我们的环境有影响，所以在饮用瓶装水的时候应注意一些问题。文章主题明确，结构清晰，但篇幅较长，也有一些长的、句子结构复杂的句子，增加了理解的难度。后面的题目设置有细节理解题、推理判断题和主旨大意题。做题时，应先通读短文，了解大意；然后根据题目所问，锁定文章相关段落或语句，进行信息的分析和处理，结合选项选出正确答案。例如第2小题，从题干中我们并不能获得较准确的关键词帮助我们快速定位，此时可以依据选项，利用排除法解答。根据短文第七段One report said that if water and drink bottlers had used 10 percent recycled materials in their plastic bottles, they would have saved about 72 million gallons of gas.可知，有一份报告说，如果水和饮料瓶的制造商在他们的塑料瓶中使用10%的回收材料，那么他们将节省大约7,200万加仑的汽油。由此可知应选D。