Tony Burke, Australia’s environment minister, says he won’t decide until next year whether the koala should be protected as an endangered species. He was expected to make his decision by the end of October. But that decision has been put off. Burke said he needed more time to go over the latest information about the koala’s population.
In September, an Australian Senate committee reported that there was no question the koala’s population is on the decrease. “But they may not yet be eligible (符合条件) for listing as a threatened species,” said Senator Doug Cameron. “To have such a significant Australian icon(偶像) included on the threatened species list would be a national shame.”
The koala is found only in the eucalyptus (桉树) forests of Australia. And its population is reported to have fallen sharply for many reasons, including the cutting down of forests to make way for human beings’ development, their own illness, climate change and killings by other animals such as wild dogs. And every year many koalas are hit by cars as they are trying to cross the busy roads.
Putting off the decision on protection for the koala “is really bad news,” said Debbie Pointing, the president of the Koala Action Group. “We’ve worked tirelessly for many years to gather data on the populations,” Pointing said. “That data should be enough to make a decision.”
However, Burke pointed out that the Australian government had spent at least $6.3 million on koala conservation efforts since 1996. senators listed efforts that are already underway in Queensland – the construction of special koala bridges as well as fences along roads, to keep the animals out of harm’s way.
Some people say that is not enough. “What we’re doing at the moment is likely to drive this species to extinction,” Queensland University zoologist Bill Ellis said.
“Koalas are an iconic Australian animal,” Burke told Australians. “They hold a special place in the hearts of Australians.”
But it is a fact that if more isn’t done to protect the koala, they might soon hold a place only in Australians’ memories.
【小题1】Tony Burke put off announcing the koala as an endangered species because        .

The earth is a special planet in the solar system. The explosion of the earth produced carbon, nitrogen, vapor and other gases,    【小题1】   (make) the earth’s atmosphere. What is even more important is _【小题2】  as the earth cooled, water which is fundamental to the  【小题3】  （develop） of life appeared and stayed on the surface. The continued presence of water allowed the earth to dissolve     【小题4】  (harm) gases into the oceans and this produced a chain reaction which made it possible for life to develop.
Many millions of years later, the _【小题5】  （arrive） of small plants encouraged the development of early shellfish    【小题6】   all sorts of fish. Then, with the first green plants appearing on land, land animals appeared and dinosaurs developed and existed on the earth for millions of years. Then Dinosaurs’ sudden disappearance made the rise of mammals possible on the earth. They were different from all life forms   【小题7】   ever existed in the past because they produced young from within their bodies. Finally, some small clever animals with hands and legs ___【小题8】___(appear) and spread all over the earth. Thus they, in their turn, have become    【小题9】   most important animals. However, they are putting too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. So for millions of years to come,    【小题10】   life will continue on the earth will depend on whether the present problem can be solved.

Tens of thousands of Chinese have joined a debate (辩论) on whether students should be separated into science（理科） and liberal arts（文科）classes in high school, a practice that allows them to stay competitive in college entrance exam by choosing preferred subjects. The debate came after the Ministry of Education began to ask for opinions from the public on Friday on whether it was necessary and possible to stop the dividing system, which has been accepted for decades.

In a survey started by www. qq. com, more than 260 000 people cast their votes, with 54 percent of those voted for the abolishment (废除)and 40 percent against.

A netizen from Chengdu said: “Sciences can activate the mind, while arts could strengthen their learning ability.”

But some people disagreed with him. A netizen nicknamed “gentle scholar” said the students would have more burden if they have more subjects to study. “You don’t even know how difficult the courses are. I suggest a survey among students.”

“Abolish the current system of division? We have to study nine subjects? Finally we will study everything and have learnt little,” wrote another netizen.

Li Yanling, an education expert in Beijing, called on education authorities to consider students’ school burden.

Chinese students are required to choose either arts or science subjects after ten years’ education, which include six years in primary school, three years in junior high school and one year in senior high school.

Besides the Chinese language, mathematics and English, which are must for everyone, science students are required to take physics, biology and chemistry, while arts students study politics, history and geography. Zxxk

1.Choosing preferred subjects can help students __________.

    A. have more chance to look for jobs in future     

B. find a good job after graduation

C. have more advantages to enter a university     

D. show interest in daily life

2.Netizen nicknamed “gentle scholar” __________.

    A. is for the abolishment                B. is against the abolishment

C. doesn’t care the abolishment       D. prefers students to learn more

3.Which of the following statements is NOT true?           .

    A. The debate is on whether the students should choose science or liberal arts classes in high school Zxxk

B. More people on the Internet are for the abolishment

C. The students who are against the abolishment think abolishing the current system of division will heavy their burden.

D. Science students are required to take physics, biology and chemistry besides

Chinese, math and English.

4.What must a Chinese student learn in 2008?

    A. Chinese, math and English.            B. Physics, biology and chemistry.

C. Politics, history and geography.       D. Both B and C

　Many people believe the glare（炫目的光）from snow causes snowblindness. Yet, with dark glasses or not, they find themselves suffering from headaches and watering eyes, and even snowblindness ,when exposed to several hours of“snow light”.

　　The United States army has now determined that glare from snow does not cause snowblindness in troops in a snow-covered country. Rather, a man’s eyes frequently find nothing to focus on（聚集）in a broad space of snow-covered without-grass land. So his gaze continually moves and jumps back and forth over the entire landscape in search of something to look at. Finding something, hour after hour, the eyes never stop searching and the eyeballs become tired and the eye muscles ache. Nature makes up for this discomfort by producing more and more fluid（流体）which covers the eyeball. The fluid covers the eyeball in increasing quantity until it makes eyes difficult to see dearly, and the result is total, even though for a short time, snowblindness.

　　Experiments led the Army to a simple method of overcoming this problem. Scouts（侦察兵）ahead of the troops are trained to shake snow from evergreen bushes, creating a dotted line as they cross completely snow-covered landscape. Even the scouts themselves throw lightweight, dark-colored objects ahead on which they can focus too. The men following can then see something. Their gaze is arrested. Their eyes focus on a bush and having found something to see, stop searching the snow-blanketed landscape. By focusing their attention on one object at a time, the men can cross the snow without becoming hopelessly snowblind or lost. In this way the problem of crossing a continuous white land is overcome.

To prevent snowblindness caused by the strong light from snow, wearing glasses or not _____.

　　A. depends on whether the snow is white enough    　B. makes no difference

　　C. makes much difference        　　            D. depends on whether the snow is thick

When the eyes are tired, tears flow out ______.

　　A. to clear the vision                             B. to make the eyes stop searching

　　C. to make the vision unclear                      D. to produce more and more liquid

Snowblindness can be avoided ________.

　　A. by moving one’s gaze back and forth

　　B. by walking ahead and keeping looking around

　　C. by making up for the discomfort of one’s eyes

　　D. by providing the eyes with something to focus on

Tens of thousands of Chinese have joined a debate (辩论) on whether students should be separated into science（理科） and liberal arts（文科）classes in high school, a practice that allows them to stay competitive in college entrance exam by choosing preferred subjects. The debate came after the Ministry of Education began to ask for opinions from the public on Friday on whether it was necessary and possible to stop the dividing system, which has been accepted for decades.
In a survey started by www. qq. com, more than 260 000 people cast their votes, with 54 percent of those voted for the abolishment (废除)and 40 percent against.
A netizen from Chengdu said: “Sciences can activate the mind, while arts could strengthen their learning ability.”
But some people disagreed with him. A netizen nicknamed “gentle scholar” said the students would have more burden if they have more subjects to study. “You don’t even know how difficult the courses are. I suggest a survey among students.”
“Abolish the current system of division? We have to study nine subjects? Finally we will study everything and have learnt little,” wrote another netizen.
Li Yanling, an education expert in Beijing, called on education authorities to consider students’ school burden.
Chinese students are required to choose either arts or science subjects after ten years’ education, which include six years in primary school, three years in junior high school and one year in senior high school.
Besides the Chinese language, mathematics and English, which are must for everyone, science students are required to take physics, biology and chemistry, while arts students study politics, history and geography. Zxxk
【小题1】Choosing preferred subjects can help students __________.