The snow cap of Mount Kilimanjaro, famous in literature and beloved by tourists, initially formed some 11,000 years ago, but will be gone in two decades, according to researchers who say the ice fields on Africa’s highest mountain shrank by 80 percent in the past century.

Lonnie G. Thompson,one professor from Ohio State University, said measurements using modern navigation satellites show that the oldest ice layers on the famous mountain were deposited during an extremely wet period starting about 11,700 years ago.The mountain appears in literature, most notably Ernest Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and some ancient beliefs in Africa hold the mountain to be a sacred place.

But a temperature rise in recent years is destroying the 150-foot-high blocks of ice that gave Kilimanjaro its unique white cap.“The ice will be gone by about 2030,” said Thompson. The disappearing ice already has reduced the amount of water in some Tanzanian rivers and the government fears that when Kilimanjaro is bald of snow the tourists will stop coming.

“Kilimanjaro is the number one foreign currency earner for the government of Tanzania,” said Thompson. “It has its own international airport and some 20,000 tourists every year. The question is how many will come if there are no ice fields on the mountain.”

Africa was not alone in the global drought. Thompson said other records show that civilizations during this period collapsed in India, the Middle East and South America.

Researchers put markers on the ice field blocks in 1962 and Thompson said measurements using satellites show the summit of the ice has been lowered by about 56 feet in 40 years. The margin of the ice also has moved back more than six feet in the past two years, much smaller than before.

“That’s more than two meter’s worth of ice lost from a wall 164 feet (50 meters) high,” said Thompson. “That’s an enormous amount of ice.”

1.The snow cap of Mount Kilimanjaro ________.

A. will disappear in two centuries

B.first developed some 11,000 years ago

C. resulted in a temperature rise in recent years

D. has decreased to 80 percent over the past century

2.According to Thompson, the disappearing of the snow may mainly influence________.

A. the local water supply

B. the local tourism

C. the weather in the surrounding areas

D. the government foreign currency exchange

3.The underlined word “margin”inParagraph6 means__________.

A. center B. Top C. edge D. back

4.The writer’s tone in this article is___________.

A. concerned B. casual

C. doubtful D. angry

5.Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?

A.Risks of Visiting Mount Kilimanjaro

B. ASacred Place— Kilimanjaro

C. Africa’s Highest Mountain

D. Kilimanjaro Snow Cap May Melt Soon

How many times a day do you check your email? When you wake up? Before bed? A dozen times in between? The technology that was supposed to simplify our lives has become the vital time-suck: the average teen spends more than seven hours a day using technological devices, plus an additional hour just text-messaging friends.

The advantage of technological devices is connectedness: email lets us respond on the go, and we are in touch with more people during more hours of the day than at any other time in history. But is it possible we’re more lonely than ever, too? That’s what MIT professor Sherry Turkle observes in her new book, Alone Together, a fascinating portrait of our changing relationship with technology. Turkle details the ways technology has redefined our comprehension of closeness and loneliness—and warns us of the danger of accepting such virtual(虚拟的) relationships in place of lasting emotional connections.

For Turkle, the biggest worry is the effect all these shallow connections have on our development. Is technology offering us the lives we want to live? “We’re texting people at a distance,” says Turkle, “We’re using lifeless objects to convince ourselves that even when we’re alone, we feel together. And then when we’re with each other, we put ourselves in situations where we are alone—constantly on our mobile devices. It’s what I call a perfect storm of confusion about what’s important in our human connections.”

What can’t be denied is that technology, whatever its faults, makes life a whole lot easier. It allows us to communicate with more people in less time and makes conversation simple. But it can also be seductive(具有诱惑性的), providing more stimulation than our natural lives. There are usually some unhealthy videos online which remove teenagers’ attention from their schoolwork. Besides, some online activities make people addicted, which occupied their daily life and affected their ability to form real-world relationships.“Technology can be more immediately satisfying than the labor of building an intimate relationship,” said one highschool student, “Every time I text, I start to have some happy feelings.”

But are any of those feelings equal to the kind we feel when engaged in real, face-to-face communication? Online, you can neglect others’ feelings. In a text message, you can avoid eye contact. A number of studies have found that this generation of teens is less sympathetic than ever. That doesn’t spell disaster, says Turkle—but，

1.From the first paragraph we can infer that_________.

A. email checking helps people wake up early

B. technological device production has been simplified

C. using technological devices costs teens much time

D. people communicate mainly by text-messaging now

2.Turkle’s new book mainly discussed________.

A. ways to draw a fascinating portrait

B. how technology influences human relationships

C. the dangers of accepting emotional connections

D. the advantages of technology

3.What worries Turkle most is that more and more people are_________.

A. starting to accept emotional connections in place of virtual connections

B. convincing themselves by using fewer lifeless objects in connections

C. dropping the use of technological devices for connection with each other

D.being affected by the shallow connections through the mobile devices

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

A. Others’ feelings can be ignored in online communication.

B. No stimulation is provided in natural life connections.

C. People always send text messages to avoid eye contact.

D. It may be a disaster that teens are less sympathetic than ever.

5.What is the main purpose of the passage?

A. To instruct people how to do with emails.

B. To stress the importance of technology.

C. To promote a wider use of technological devices.

D. To lead us to consider what’s important in human connections.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

A consumercomplaint or customer complaint isan expression of dissatisfaction on a consumer’s behalf to a responsible party. It can also be described in a positive sense as a report from a consumer providing documentation about problems with a product or service.

So what are the common reasons for customer complaints? The most common complaints about retail(零售) storesfall into several aspects. First, they have to circle the filled parking lot endlessly, which is a waste of time and a test for their patience. They also can’t stand clutteredshelves, over-loaded racks, out-of-stock items and long check-out lines. Worst of all, sometimes some salespeople are rude, turning their mood into a bad one.

In fact, some modern business consultants urge businesses to view customer complaints as a gift but not a trouble.Some retailers, however,ignore complaints or deal with them dishonestly, which can cause a chain of events like bad reputation, leave theirbusiness with fewer and fewer customers. The resulting “snowball effect” can be disastrous to retailers.In the most severe cases, it can even cause companies to shut down.

Increasing competition is forcing companies to take more effective measures to satisfycustomers and better their customer service.During peak shopping hours, some moonlighting(业余兼职的) local police have been employed as parking attendants bysome retailers to solve the parking problems. Some hire flag wavers to direct customers to parking spaces that are empty. This guidance can avoid confrontation between those eyeing the same parking space.Retailers can relieve the headache by redesigning store layouts, pre-stocking sales items, hiring the cashiers with much experience, and having sales representatives on hand to answer questions.Most importantly, salespeople should be trained to deal with angry customerswith politeness.Try their best to resolve the problem if they can.

Quickly and properly solving customer complaints can help retailers smooth over issues and their business can grow and prosper.

My grandmother was a master gardener that could make anything bloom. Even me.

She spent most of her life living on a farm in the mountains of North Caroline, where she got married, raised four children, and watched the changing of the seasons. When I was 12 years old, my dad gave up working downtown and moved back to the farm to turn to gardening. I visited on weekends to keep them company.

Every time my farm chores were done, I was free to climb the mountain, singing songs and gathering flowers. Sometimes the plants scratched me. My grandmother would say: “Beauty has a price. I hope it was worth it.” I would say, “Yes, ma’am. It was.” Then I’d scratch some more. At dusk, we’d sort the flowers and make bouquets(花束): One for the living room, one for the kitchen, and three for the bedrooms.

Even then as a child, I knew that what I desired most from my grandmother was not her flowers but her time. She has been gone for decades, but sometimes when I reach down to pick a flower or pull a weed, I see her hand, not mine. I thought I’d grow up to be a gardener as well. I informed myself, someday, when my children had children，I would be a gardening grandma. Then the grandbabies started showing up, and I discovered I would much rather chase after them than go digging.

The truth is, I’m no gardener. I’m a picker, not a planter. I don’t need to plant a garden. My children are my flowers. They delight me and complete me with a beauty that is worth any price.

My grandmother and I differ in lots of ways, but from her, I do learn what a grandmother means. I also learn that I need attend to my grandbabies with time and water them with love. I hope that, one day, when they hold their first grandchild, they might see my hand.

1.Why did the author go to the farm on weekends?

(No more than 8 words) (2 marks)

____________________________________________________________________________

2.How did the author and her grandmother deal with the collected flowers?

(No more than 12 words) (3 marks)

____________________________________________________________________________

3.What did the author want most from her grandmother when she was a kid?

(No more than 4 words) (2 marks)

____________________________________________________________________________

4.What does the author learn from her grandmother?

(No more than 15 words) (3 marks)

____________________________________________________________________________

每个人都行走在自己的路上, 有着不同的经历和收获。请你以“On my way to…”为题写一篇英语作文，向学校英语报投稿，要求包括以下内容：

1. 叙述在路上你的经历；

2. 谈谈你的收获和感想。

注意：

1. 词数不少于120个。

2. 文中不能出现可能透露考生真实身份的任何信息。

The scientist does not study nature ________ it is useful to do so. He studies it because he takes pleasure in it.

A. until B. though C. because D. Unless

— Mom! Jack has broken a cup!

— Doesn’t matter. Accidents ________ happen.

A. should B. must C. will D. Shall

Home is ________ somebody notices when you are no longer there.

A. that B. when C. how D. where

— Could you please explain the assignment for Monday, Miss Smith?

— Certainly. Read the next chapter and come to class ________ to discuss what you’ve read.

A. preparing B. prepared

C. to prepare D. to be prepared

They eat only plant foods, and take care to ________ animal products from other areas of their lives.

A. contain B. maintain C. exclude D. Include