A 500 kg．three-meter-tall ape(猿)lived alongside humans for more than a million years，according to a new study．

    Fortunately for early humans，the huge primate’s(灵长类动物)diet consisted mainly of bamboo．

  Scientists have known about Gigantopithecus(巨猿)since some of its teeth were discovered on sale in a Hong Kong pharmacy about 80 years ago．The idea of a giant ape aroused the interest of scientists around the world，but It remained unclear when this beast became extinct．

    Now Jack Rink，a geochronologist(地质年代学家)at McMaster University in Canada，has used a high-precision absolute-dating method to determine that this ape－the largest primate ever―roamed Southeast Asia for nearly a million years before the species died out 100，000 years ago．By this time，humans had existed for a million years．

    “Gigantopithecus is a primate that co-existed with humans at a time when humans were undergoing a major evolutionary change，”said Rink．

      Some of Gigantopithecus fossils(化石)were found in Guangxi．It is the region where some believe the modem human race originated．according to Rink．Scientists have been able to piece together a description of Gigantopithecus using just a handful of teeth and a set of jawbones．

    “The size of these specimens―the crown of the molar，for instance，measures about an inch (2．54 cm)across―helped us understand the extraordinary size of the primate，”Rink said．

    Scientists can only guess at what killed off a beast this size．Some scientists believe that a diet of bamboo combined with increasing competition from more nimble humans eventually led to its extinction．

    While most scientists agree that Gigantopithecus died out long ago，some people―Big-foot(大足怪)and Yeti(喜马拉雅雪人)enthusiasts in particular－believe that this ape is the source of tales of giant，hairy beasts living in the woods．

    Even though mainstream scientists dismiss these claims，it isn’t impossible．The coelacanth a type of fish thought to have died out millions of years ago-was discovered swimming off the coast of Africa in 193&

53．We can gain some information about Gigantopithecus EXCEPT      ．

A．their diet                                                  B．their appearances        

C．their habitats                                             D．their language(s)

54．What’s the best title for the passage?

    A．The Death of the Largest Primate                 B．The Huge Ape Appears Again

    C．The New Findings of Giant Apes                 D．A Yeti．500 kg＆3-Meter-Tall

55．What can we learn from the third & the fourth paragraphs of the passage?

    A．Great apes lived along with ancient men．

    B．Jack Rink is the greatest geochronologist．

    C．The largest apes once lived in Southeast Asia for nearly 1 00，000 years．

    D．The largest apes had existed as long as human beings．

56．Which of the following description about the huge apes is right?

    A．They died from the bad habitats．            

    B．They died out long time ago．

  C．They died of hunger．                               

    D．These giant hairy beasts，living in the frost，are legends．

阅读理解

　　It is ten o'clock at night and you are outside. You can see many stars in the sky. Each star is another sun. The sky is big, and it hag many suns.

　　Our sun is near to us. It warms us and gives us light in daytime. The stars are not near. We can see their light only at night, and they do not warm us.

　　The stars are not all the same. Many stars are quite like our sun. They are the same size, and they have the same colour, yellow. Other stars are bigger or smaller. A “giant(巨人)” star is very, very big. A “dwarf(侏儒)”is a small star—smaller than the sun.

　　Stars have different colours, too. They can be blue, orange, yellow, white or red. There are giants and dwarfs in all these colours. All stars are, of course, very hot. The hottest stars are the blue ones. White stars come next, they are less hot. Then yellow and orange stars are less hot again. Red stars are the least hot, and they are also the oldest stars.

　　Light moves very quickly across the sky, eighteen million (18,000,000)kilometers in a minute. Our nearest star is a red dwarf. Its name is Proxima Centauri ( proxima ＝ nearest), and it gives a weak, red light. We can just see this light. It left Proxima Centauri 4.25 years ago, and now tonight, it is reaching cur eyes. Think about it! In one minute, 18,000,000 kilometres. So, in 4.25 years—well, how many kilometers? You can find the answer yourself.

　　I will just say this: Proxima Centauri is a long way from us.

1．According to the temperatures on stars, the right order from the lowest temperature to the highest is ________.

[　　]

A．red→yellow→white→blue

B．orange→red→blue→white

C．blue→white→yellow→red

D．white→blue→orange→red

2．All the following am right except ________.

[　　]

A．a “dwarf” is smaller than the sun

B．there are dwarfs in different colours

C．a “dwarf” is a small star

D．dwarfs are the least hot

3．How far away is the star Proxima Centauri from us?

[　　]

A．40,208,400,000,000 kilometres.

B．9,460,800,000,000 kilometres.

C．679,140,000,000 kilometres .

D．279,225,000,000 kilometres .

4．When we say “The star Procyon is ‘ten light years’ away.”, we mean ________.

[　　]

A．we can reach the star in ten years

B．we first saw the star ten years ago

C．the light left Procyon ten years ago

D．Procyon has been that far away for ten years

It might have been a really bad stressful day, feeling trapped inside by the cold and snow which surrounded us. My husband was the first to shift his consciousness. He dressed accordingly and announced that he was going outside to build a giant snowman.
At first he stood alone, piling massive amounts of snow. Soon after a neighbor joined in my husband’s quest to embrace the opportunity the winter presented. Maintaining less than desirable attitudes, we reluctantly put on our snow gear(用具) and headed outside. It wasn’t long before we were smiling and enjoying the abundance of snow that Mother Nature had provided. Others came to our yard one by one to give a hand in the making of our giant snowman.
In the end we all stood back and marveled at what we had created. He was eleven feet high, twenty-five feet around at the base and decorated with many household items supplied by various families. There he stood, our glorious, gigantic (巨人般的) snowman.
People drove by and smiled. Some even stopped to enjoy his existence. The spirit that went into creating him seemed to catch on and we all enjoyed it while the cold temperatures allowed.
With the passing of time, the spring made its way back into our yard and the snowman changed form considerably. In a final effort to save what we created for just a little bit longer somebody stopped by and changed the snowman’s remains to look like a rabbit.
As I prepared for the start of another week, I decided to check my email before going to bed. I found a curious message that contained the subject line: enjoy the snowman. I decided to read the message even though I did not recognize who sent it. The words it contained melted my heart.
The email said: … your neighbor looks on in disbelief! I am sure you people are enjoying the sounds and smells, along with sights of spring. The energy displayed in Mr. Snowman or Ms, is filled with vigor and joyous energy. You and your family keep it up, as this is what the world needs now. Love sweet love. More power to you and your loved ones, keep sharing with the world around.
Perhaps it was more than snowman we built that day. I’d like to agree that it was. The message seems clear. Our circumstances will turn out to be what we make of them. The possibilities are endless and the choice is ours.
60. How did the author plan to spend that cold day at first?
A. By having a busy day.      B. By staying at home. C. By building a snowman.   D. By visiting neighbors.
61. The reason for her husband to make a snowman was that ________.
A. he had to please his neighbors                       B. he was better at it than others
C. he wanted to cheer himself up                       D. he must get the last chance before spring
62. From the passage we can know that the snowman_______.
A. was built only by the author’s family            B. was surprisingly big in size
C. made people more forgiving                   D. made building snowman popular