Special Bridges Help Animals Cross the Road

-- Reported by Sheila Carrick

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.

Most people know this joke. But recently, some people have been much more concerned with how the grizzly bear and mountain lion can cross the road.

Millions of animals die each year on U.S. roads, the Federal Highway Administration reports. In fact, only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the U.S. today. The main reason? Roadkill.

"Ecopassages" may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars. They are paths both over and under roads. "These ecopassages can be extremely useful, so that wildlife can avoid human conflicts," said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Conservation Society.

But do animals actually use the ecopassages? The answer is yes. Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an ecopassage that went under a highway. This showed that the lion used the passage.

Builders of some ecopassages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them. Animals seem to be catching on. Animals as different as salamanders and grizzly bears are using the bridges and underpasses.

The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around. You might see an animal overpass!

The writer uses the example of “ocelots” to show that_________.

A．wild animals have become more dangerous

B．the driving conditions have improved greatly

C．the measure for protecting wildlife fails to work

D．an increasing number of animals are killed in road accidents

From the news story, we know an ecopassage is_________.

A．an underground path for cars        B．a fence built for the safety of the area

C．a bridge for animals to get over a river D．a pass for animals to cross the road

When the writer says that animals seem “to be catching on”, he means_________.

A．animals begin to realize the dangers on the road

B．animals begin to learn to use ecopassages     

C．animals are crossing the road in groups

D．animals are increasing in number

The writer asks visitors and drivers to look around when traveling because_________.

A．wild animals may attack cars B．wild animals may jam the road

C．they may see wild animals in the park    D．they may see wild animals on ecopassages

Homeownership has let us down. For generations, Americans believed that owning a home was undoubtedly good. Our political leaders hammered home the point. Franklin Roosevelt held that a country of homeowners was “unconquerable.” Homeownership could even save babies, save children, save families and save America. A house with a lawn and a fence wasn’t just a nice place to live in or a risk-free investment; it was a way to shape a nation. No wonder leaders of all political types wanted to spend more than $100 billion a year on subsidies（补助）and tax breaks to encourage people to buy.
But the dark side of homeownership is now all too apparent: Indeed, easy lending stimulated（刺激）by the cult of homeownership may have triggered（引起）the financial crisis. Housing remains a drag on the economy. Existing-home sales in April dropped 27% from the previous month, worsening fears of a double-dip. And all that is just the obvious tale of a housing bubble and what happened when it popped. The real story is deeper and darker still.
For the better part of a century, politics, industry and culture lined up to create a fetish of the idea of buying a house. Homeownership has done plenty of good over the decades; it has provided stability to tens of millions of families. Yet by idealizing the act of buying a home, we have ignored the downsides. In the bubble years, lending standards slipped dramatically, allowing many Americans to put far too much of their income into paying for their housing. And we ignored longer-term phenomena too. Homeownership contributed to the hollowing out of cities and kept renters out of the best neighborhoods. It fed America’s overuse of energy and oil. It made it more difficult for those who had lost a job to find another. Perhaps worst of all, it helped us become casually self-deceiving: By telling ourselves that homeownership was a pathway to wealth and stable communities and better test scores, we avoided dealing with these frightening issues head-on.
Now, as the U.S. recovers from the biggest housing bust（破产）since the Great Depression, it is time to rethink how realistic our expectations of homeownership are—and how much money we want to spend chasing them. Many argue that homeownership should not be a goal pursued at all costs.
【小题1】Political leaders wanted to spend money encouraging people to buy houses because______.

     On May 27, 1995, our life was suddenly changed. It happened a few minutes past three,  36   my husband, Chris, fell from his horse as it  37  over a fence. Chris was paralyzed (瘫痪) from the chest down,   38   to breathe normally. As he was thrown from his horse, we entered into a life of  39   with lots of unexpected challenges( 挑战). We went from the "haves" to the “have-nots". Or so we thought.

        40   what we discovered later were all the gifts that came out of   41  difficulties. We came to learn that something  42   could happen in a disaster . All over the world people  43   Chris so much that letters and postcards poured in every day. By the end of the third week in a  44  center in Virginia, about 35,000 pieces of  45   had been received and sorted.

     As   46  , we opened letter after letter. They gave us   47   and became a source of strength for us. We used them to  48   ourselves. I would go to the pile of letters marked with "Funny" if we needed a  49  , or to the "Disabled" box to find advice from people in wheelchairs or  50  in bed living happily and  51  .

    These letters, we realized, had to be shared. And so   52   we offer one of them to you.

Dear Chris,

      My husband and I were so sorry to hear of your  53   accident last week. No doubt your family and your friends are giving you the strength to face this   54   challenge. People everywhere are also giving you best wishes every day and we are among those who are keeping you   55  .

Yours Sincerely,

Nancy Reagan

36. A.since            B. before             C.  when                    D. while

37. A. walked               B. climbed            C. pulled             D. jumped

38. A. able                    B. unable              C. suitable           D. unsuitable

39. A. disability            B. possession         C. convenience      D. experience

40. A. So                      B. For                  C. Or                          D. Yet

41. A. sharing         B. separating       C. fearing                    D. exploiting

42. A. terrible               B. similar            C. wonderful        D. practical

43. A. wrote for            B. cared for           C. hoped for        D. sent for

44. A. medical              B. postal               C. experimental     D. mental

45.A. news              B. paper                    C. equipment         D. mail

46. A. patients               B. a family          C. nurses              D. a group

47. A. effect            B. effort                    C. comfort           D. explanation

48. A. encourage           B. express             C. control            D. treat

49. A. cry                 B. laugh                   C. chat                D. sigh

50. A. much           B. never              C. even                 D. seldom

51.A. bitterly           B. fairly                    C. weakly            D. successfully

52. A. here                   B. there               C. therefore          D. forward

53. A. driving               B. flying                      C. running           D. riding

54. A. technical             B. different          C. difficult                   D. valuable

55. A. nearby                B. close               C. busy                D. alive

Once upon a time there were two brothers who lived near each other. One day, they had a ___36___ because of some small things. And neither was willing to ___37___ each other.

One morning, there was a knock at door of the elder brother. He  38 _ it and found a man standing beside the door. “I’m a carpenter(木匠). I’m  39__ a few days’ work. Perhaps you would have a few small jobs I could help with.”  

“Yes,” said the elder brother. “I do have a job for you. ___40___ at that farm across the small river. It is my younger brother’s. We had a quarrel, so I won’t like to see his place or his __41___ any more. I want you to build me a 8-foot ___42___.” 

The man said, “I think I understand the situation. Don’t worry. I’ll be able to do a job that makes you __43__.” So the elder brother was very glad and left for the town nearby.

In the evening, the carpenter had just ___44___ his job when the elder brother returned. But he was __45___ to find, instead of a fence, before him, stood a __46____, which went from one side of the river ___47__ the other! On the other __48____ of bridge, was his younger brother.

“Do you know the name of the bridge?” The carpenter asked.

“No,” the elder brother was __49___. 

“OK, I can tell you. Its name is understanding and __50___,” the carpenter smiled.

Suddenly they began to understand ___51___. Surely, between two brothers there should be a bridge rather than a _52____. Standing on the bridge, they _53___ each other’s hands with ____54__ in their eyes. 

“Could you stay another few days? I’ve a lot of other work for you,” said the elder brother. “I’d love to ___55___ on,” the carpenter said. “But I have many more bridges to build.”

1.                A．meeting        B．question        C．decision  D．quarrel

2.                A．forgive         B．like            C．speak    D．believe

3.                A．got            B．opened         C．shut D．left

4.                A．looking for      B．looking at       C．looking on D．looking up

5.                A．See            B．Watch          C．Observe  D．Look

6.                A．house          B．face           C．farm D．eyes

7.                A．wall           B．fence          C．road D．bridge

8.                A．excited         B．pleased         C．moved   D．surprised

9.                A．begun          B．done           C．finished  D．continued

10.               A．surprised       B．happy          C．anxious   D．sad

11.               A．house          B．bridge         C．fence D．river

12.               A．to             B．between        C．across D．till

13.               A．end           B．side           C．field  D．stage

14.               A．disappointed    B．puzzled         C．amazed   D．worried

15.               A．love           B．hate           C．joy   D．anger

16.               A．everything      B．nothing         C．anything   D．something

17.               A．river           B．fence          C．farm  D．wall

18.               A．brought        B．took           C．held  D．clapped

19.               A．smiles          B．tears           C．anger D．sadness

20.               A．leave          B．get            C．stay  D．work

 On May 27, 1995, our life was suddenly changed. It happened a few minutes past three.  36   my husband, Chris, fell from his horse as it   37   over a fence. Chris was paralyzed（瘫痪）from the chest down,   38   to breathe normally. As he was thrown from his horse, we entered into a life of   39   with lots of unexpected challenges（挑战）. We went from the “haves” to the “have-nots”. Or so we thought. 40   what we discovered later were all the gifts that came out of   41   difficulties. We came to learn that something   42   could happen in a disaster. All over the world people   43   Chris so much that letters and postcards poured in every day. By the end of the third week in a   44   center in Virginia, about 35, 000 pieces of   45   had been received and sorted.

As   46  , we opened letter after letter. They gave us   47   and became a source of strength for us. We used them to   48   ourselves. I would go to the pile of letters marked with “Funny” if we needed a   49  , or to the “Disabled” box to find advice from people in wheelchairs or   50   in bed living happily and   51  .

These letters, we realized, had to be shared. And so   52   we offer one of them to you.

Dear Chris,

My husband and I were so sorry to hear of your   53   accident last week. No doubt your family and your friends are giving you the strength to face this   54   challenge. People everywhere are also giving you best wishes every day and we are among those who are keeping you   55  .

                                                      Yours sincerely

                                                      Nancy Reagan