Zoos have been around for centuries — and they’ve changed a lot over the years. In the Middle Ages, wealthy people kept animals in their gardens. Public animal parks appeared in European cities in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The Philadelphia Zoo, the first in the United States, opened in 1874.

         Until a few decades (十年) ago, most zoos were organized by creatures — monkeys in one area, cats in another, birds somewhere else, just like museum collections. In recent years, zoos have instead begun grouping animals that would normally interact (互相作用) in the wild. Moreover, instead of closing animals behind bars, designers are creating landscapes like the environments in which these creatures would naturally be found. Nearby signs provide information about the animals and their habitats in parts of the world where they normally live.

         The Denver Zoo’s new Predator Ridge exhibit, for example, aims to teach visitors about Africa. Eight acres of land provide homes for 14 animal species, including lions, porcupines, cranes, and wild dogs. Plants from the region grow alongside African-like landform. Ten-foot-tall mounds (土墩) give lions a place from which to survey their surroundings, just as they would do in the wild.

         Landscape design makes visitors to the Denver Zoo’s Predator Ridge exhibit feel like they’re really in Africa.

         Animals in Predator Ridge can’t actually be mixed with one another, for safety reasons. But hidden deep channels and other smart features allow visitors to see all the animals at once. Different species can see each other too.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Protection of zoo animals.

B. Changes of zoos over the time.

C. The safety problem of zoos.

D. The living habits of zoo animals.

2.In the Denver Zoo ten-foot-tall mounds are built to _____.

A. protect the safety of visitors

B. separate lions from other animals

C. create a natural environment for lions

D. offer visitors a better view of lions

3.The underlined part “the region” in Paragraph 3 probably refers to _____.

A. Africa                         B. the Predator Ridge exhibit  

C. the Denver Zoo                D. the ten-foot-tall mounds

4.We can learn from the passage that _____.

A. the earliest zoos were probably rich people’s gardens

B. the Philadelphia Zoo is the first zoo in the world

C. the new Predator Ridge exhibit is held in Africa

D. more animals will be kept in zoos in the future

It was the summer of 1936．The Olympic Games were being held in Berlin．I had trained, sweated and disciplined myself for 6 years on the running broad jump．A year before, as a college student at the Ohio State, I'd set the world's record of 26 feet 8 1/4 inches．Nearly everyone expected me to win．
I was in for a surprise．When the time came for the broad-jump trials(选拔赛), I was shocked to see a tall boy hitting the pit （坑） at almost 26 feet on his practice leaps．He turned out to be a German named Luz Long．He had easily qualified for the finals on his first attempt．
A nervous athlete is an athlete who will make mistakes．I fouled （犯规）twice on my qualifying jumps．Walking a few yards from the pit, I kicked at the dirt disgustedly．Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder．I turned to look into the friendly blue eyes of Luz Long．"Hi, I'm Luz Long．I don't think we've met．" "Glad to meet you," I said．Then, trying to hide my nervousness, I added, "How are you?" "I'm fine．Something must be eating you．You should be able to qualify with your eyes closed．" He said．
He seemed to understand my nervousness, and took pains to reassure me．Finally, seeing that I had calmed down somewhat, he said, "What does it matter if you're not the first in the trials? Tomorrow is what counts．" All the tension left my body as the truth of what he said hit me．Confidently I qualified with almost a foot to spare．
Luz broke his own record and pushed me on to a peak performance．The instant I landed from my final jump—the one which set the Olympic record of 26 feet 5 1/16 inches—he was at my side, congratulating me．
【小题1】The author said "I was in for a surprise" because he _____．

A study involving 8,500 teenagers from all social backgrounds found that most of them are ignorant when it comes to money. The findings, the first in a series of reports from NatWest that has started a five-year research project into teenagers and money, arc particularly worrying as this generation of young people is likely to be burdened with greater debts man any before.
University tuition fees (学费) are currently capped at £3,000 annually, but this will be reviewed next year and the Government is under enormous pressure to raise the ceiling.
In the research, the teenagers were presented with die terms of four different loans but 76 per cent failed to identify the cheapest. The young people also predicted that they would be earning on average £ 31.000 by the age of 25, although the average salary for those aged 22 to 29 is just £ 17,815. The teenagers expected to be in debt when they finished university or training, although half said that they assumed the debts would be less than £ 10.000. Average debts for graduates are £ 12，363.
Stephen Moir, head of community investment at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group which owns NatWest, said. "The more exposed young people are to financial issues, and the younger they become aware of them, the more likely they arc to become responsible, forward-planning adults who manage their finances confidently and effectively."
Ministers are deeply concerned about the financial pressures on teenagers and young people because of student loans and rising housing costs. They have just introduced new lessons in how to manage debts. Nikki Fairweathcr. aged 15. from St Helens, said that she had benefited from lessons on personal finance, but admitted that she still had a lot to learn about money.
1. Which of the following can be found from the five-year research project?
A. Students understand personal finances differently.
B. University tuition fees in England have been rising.
C. Teenagers tend to overestimate their future earnings.
D. The students' payback ability has become a major issue.
2. The phrase "to raise the ceiling" in paragraph 2 probably means "______".
A. to raise the student loans      B. to improve the school facilities
C. to increase the upper limit of the tuition     D. to lift the school building roofs
3. According to Stephen Moir, students_______.
A. are too young 10 be exposed 10 financial issues
B. should learn 10 manage their finances well
C- should maintain a positive attitude when facing loans
D. benefit a lot from lessons on personal finance
4. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Many British teenagers do not know money matters well
B. Teenagers in Britain are heavily burdened with debts.
C. Financial planning is a required course at college.
D. Young people should become responsible adults.

Hundreds of people lined up at Grand Central Terminal yesterday, but they
weren’t there to catch a train. They came to New York City’s famous railroad station to trade in old dollar bills for the new George Washington Presidential苊1 coin.
The gold-colored coin is the first in a new series by the U.S. Mint（造币厂）that honors former U.S. Presidents. The Mint will issue(发行) four Presidential苊1 coins a year through 2016. Like the popular 50 State Quarters program, which issues coins in the order in which each state joined the Union, Presidential苊1 coins will come out in the order in which each President served. The George Washington coin is the first to be released. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison coins will come out later this year.
The Presidential 苊1 coins will be the same size and color as the Sacagawea Golden Dollar. However, there is an important difference. For the first time since the 1930s, there is an inscription（题字）on the edge of each coin. Each coin will show a different President on its face, or head side. It will also show the President’s name, the order in which he served and his years in office. The other side of the coin will show the Statue of Liberty and the inscriptions “United States of America” and “苊 1”.
There will be one Presidential苊1 coin for each President, except Grover Cleveland. He will have two! Cleveland is the only U.S. President to have served two nonconsecutive（不连续的）terms.
The last President scheduled to get a coin is Gerald Ford because a President must have been dead for two years before he can be on a coin.
【小题1】 Why did people line up at the railway station?

--- Tom is so joyful that he smiles at everyone.  

--- So ___ you if you get the first in the exam.

            A. do    B. are         C. would  D. will