Do you know why different animals or pests (昆虫) have their special colors? Colors in them seem to be used mainly to protect themselves.

　　Some birds like eating locusts (蝗虫), but birds cannot easily catch them. Why? It is because locusts change their colors together with the change of the colors of crops(庄稼). When crops are green, locusts look green. But as the harvest time comes, locusts change to the same brown color as crops have. Some other pests with different colors from plants are easily found and eaten by others. So they have to hide themselves for lives and appear only at night.

If you study the animal life, you’ll find the main use of coloring is to protect themselves. Bears, lions and other animals move quietly through forests. They cannot be easily seen by hunters (猎人). This is because they have the colors much like the trees.

Have you ever noticed an even stranger act? A kind of fish in the sea can send out a kind of very black liquid (液体)when it faces danger. While the liquid spreads over (散开), its enemies (敌人)cannot find it. And it immediately swims away. So it has lived up to now though it is not strong at all.

1.From the passage we learn that locusts________.

A. are small animals                  B. are easily found by birds

C. are dangerous to their enemies    D. change their colors to protect themselves

2. How can pests with different colors from plants keep out of danger?

A. They run away quickly.         

B. They have the colors much like their enemies.

C. They hide themselves by day and appear at night.      

D. They have to move quietly.

3.Bears and lions can keep safe because _________.

A. they have the colors much like the trees     B. they move quietly

C. they like brown and gray colors             D. they live in forests

4. Why can the kind of fish live up to now?

A. Because it is very and strong.     

B. Because the liquid it sends out can help it escape from its enemies.

C. Because the liquid it sends out can kill its enemies.

D. Because it swims faster than any other fish.

5. Which is the best title for this passage?

A. The Change of Colors for Animals and Pests　 　

B. Colors of Different Animals and Pests

C. The Main Use of Colors for Animals and Pests　　

D. Some Animals and Pests

The idea about the phoenix goes back to Ancient Egypt, where we find the phoenix described as a handsome, eagle-like bird, with part-golden, part-red plumage, that spent most of its life in the Arabian deserts. It was rarely seen and according to one version of the story, only appeared in Egypt once every five hundred years, when it flew to Heliopolis, “city of the sun”, and deliberately burnt itself to ashes by settling on the altar (祭坛) flame there! However, it seems it did not really die because from those same ashes a young, fully formed phoenix was born and flew away, apparently back to Arabia.
It is pretty obvious that no one has ever seen or will see a living phoenix. The interesting thing is that we can find certain clues which may explain one aspect of the Egyptians’ idea. It may sound unbelievable, but some birds are apparently quite charmed by flames and small fires, especially members of the crow family. One zoologist actually proved this by setting fire to some straw near to a tame（驯养的）rook, a large black bird like a crow. Far from becoming nervous and backing away, the bird deliberately stood over the flames, with raised and vibrating wings. It didn’t get burnt, but the image it presented by its strange behavior was almost exactly like that shown in illustrations of the mythical phoenix!
Why birds should occasionally behave in this strange way is not clear. One idea is that they carefully use the heat of the flames to relieve the annoyance caused by their feather mites (虱) which all birds have. Whatever the reason, it is quite possible that the Ancient Egyptians saw birds behaving in this way, from time to time, and used it as the basis of their phoenix myth, adding fanciful details which closely linked it to their worship of the sun and their belief in resurrection.
Nowadays, the phoenix is much less important to us than it was to the Egyptians. But the logo of modern fire insurance companies, which employ the phoenix as one of their symbols, refers that in one sense the idea of it remains.  
【小题1】 According to the passage, the phoenix _________ .

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Most people think of birds as feathered animals that fly. Scientists,   36 , do not define (给…下定义) birds as animals that fly, because some birds do not. Of the 10,000 or so species of birds, 46 cannot   37 . Flight plays a key role in   38  for most birds. It allows them to find food over a   39  area and to get away from enemies. Ancestors of flightless birds may have   40   their ability to fly because they had no regular predators (捕食者) or did not need to fly to find food. Rather than fly, some of these birds developed other   41  to catch food and avoid enemies. Two examples of   42  birds are penguins and ostriches.
  43  birds that fly, penguins do not have wide wings or large feathers. In order to catch the fish they feed on, penguins use their powerful wings to swim   44 . And when they swim,  they look as if they are flying through the water. The   45  of penguins’ bodies makes it possible for them to dive deep underwater,  46  their thick feathers protect them from the cold.
Ostriches are known for their long legs, long necks, and large size. To   47  themselves, they stay in groups and use their excellent sight and hearing to   48  enemies. As soon as    49  approaches, they can run at a speed of more than 65 kilometers per hour to   50  . In addition to using their strong legs to run, they can kick powerfully. 
Not all flightless birds have been   51  in protecting themselves. Flightless birds on some islands had no enemies until people   52 . These birds were hunted and easily caught by people and the animals   53  by people. Human land development has   54  the habitats of some birds. A number of flightless birds   55  because they were unable to adapt to new conditions and new enemies.

If your mother wants to tell you something, she uses words. Birds can not talk as we do. But some birds can make sounds to warn their young of danger. They have their own ways to make the young birds do certain things.

The jackdaw is a kind of blackbirds that lives in Europe. Jackdaws live together in flocks(群). Young jackdaws do not know their enemies.When an older jackdaw see a dog, it makes a loud tattling(格格响的) sound. The young birds know this sound means an enemy is nearby.The sounds warn them to know their enemy.

If a young jackdaw is in a dangerous place, a jackdaw parent flies over him from behind. The parent bird flies low over the young bird’s back, the parents’ tail feathers move quickly from side to side. It is trying to say, “Follow me.”

At the same time,the parent calls out, “Key-aw, Key-aw.” The parent means, “Fly home with me.” The young bird then follows the older one home.

Young jackdaws do not have to learn what certain sounds mean. They know the meaning of these sounds from the time they hatch.

1.The jackdaw lives in ______.

  A. Europe       B. Australia                C. America                 D. Africa

2.When an old jackdaw sees a dog, it ______.

A. calls out “Follow me.”        B. makes a loud sound

C. flies away                  D. fights the dog

3.parent jackdaw can use their tail feathers to ______.

  A. ask their young to follow them       B. play a game with the young

  C. tell the meal time                  D. give a warning of a fire

4. The story tells much about ______

  A. the danger of jackdaws

  B. in which mother can talk to their children

  C. the way jackdaws warn their young of danger

  D. how the jackdaws are living

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

       What is a yawn（哈欠） and why do people yawn? A yawn is often associated with a person being tired．    People yawn for many reasons including stress, boredom, emotion and overwork．

      Have you noticed that yawning seems to be contagious （会传染的）? If one person yawns, this appears to cause another person to yawn．Researchers have found that 40-60% of people who see a picture of someone yawning will yawn themselves．

      Some people think that yawning is rude and suggests that you are bored or uninterested．Maybe a yawn is a signal to a group that it’s time to go to sleep, or if someone yawns when they're bored, it may be a sign to change the topic of conversation． Animals of all types yawn．If you have a dog or cat, you've probably seen your pet yawn several times．Even some birds yawn such as cockatiel parrots, Adelie penguins and Emperor penguins．

      Some of the scientific explanations of why we yawn claim it is caused by physical needs．One likely explana??tion is that the yawning reflex happens when our blood needs more oxygen．The deep breath helps supply the levels of oxygen in our blood． It is also thought that the same chemicals in our brain that affect our moods and emotions cause us to yawn．

       Superstitions about yawning have been around for hundreds of years and can date back to the ancient Greeks．A common superstition says that a person must cover his or her mouth when yawning so that the soul does not escape through the mouth．  Today most people do not believe these superstitions and know that a yawn is a physical reflex．

       A．Did you yawn while reading this article?

       B．Yawning is not limited to humans．

       C．It will make you lose interest in your work．

       D．But this is not always the cause for a yawn．

       E．Even reading the word YAWN can make people yawn．

       F．However, it doesn't mean that you need rest or relax??ation．

       G．Other people believe that yawning is a sign that danger is near．

       H．Another common theory is that a yawn helps regulate our body temperature．