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.

1.Tony Burke put off announcing the koala as an endangered species because        .

A．he needed more time to examine latest information

B．he doubted whether koalas’ number is decreasing

C．he was thinking about ways to protect koalas

D．he had more important issues to deal with

2.What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The habitat of the koala.

B．Australia’s traffic problems.

C．The importance of koalas for Australians.

D．Reasons for the decrease of the koala population.

3.According to the text, Debbie Pointing thinks that        .

A．the construction of special koala bridges is of little use

B．the government should announce the koala as an endangered species

C．the government is to blame for the decreasing koala population

D．koala are becoming less important in Australians’ hearts

4.It can be learned from the text that Tony Burke        .

A．decided to construct more fences along roads

B．called on Australians to take care of the koala

C．thought the government has done much for koalas

D．was optimistic about the koalas’ future

5.What is the main idea of the text?

A．Australia puts off the decision on whether the koala is endangered.

B．Australia is taking special measures to protect koalas.

C．The population of koalas is reducing rapidly.

D．Australians are concerned about koalas.

 

Back in old times, people had little knowledge about the universe and nature. Things we now consider to be common sense were mysteries to our ancestors.

Over the years, major breakthroughs have been made in science and many phenomena have been explained. But still, there are always questions we can't yet answer, and The Guardian has listed some of them.

1. What makes us human?

Just looking at your DNA won't tell you - human DNA is 99 percent identical to that of the chimpanzee and, believe it or not, 50 percent identical to a banana's! A lot of the things we once thought were unique about us - language and tool use, recognizing ourselves in the mirror and so on – have since been seen in other animals. Perhaps it's our culture that makes the difference or maybe our ability to use fire. It's also possible that our capacity (能力) for co-operation and our trading skills are what make us unique.

2. Why do we dream?

Given the fact that we spend around a third of our lives sleeping, shouldn't we know everything about it? Unfortunately, scientists are still searching for a complete explanation of what happens when we sleep and why we dream.

Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud believed dreams were the expressions of wishes that we can't fulfill in our real lives. Others have wondered whether dreams are just random "noise" coming from a sleeping brain.

3. Could we someday live forever?

Apart from accidents, most people die because of diseases that can be treated and aging. And since many diseases, such as diabetes（糖尿病） and cancer, are diseases of aging, treating aging itself could be the key to extending our lives.

Our knowledge of what causes us to age - and what allows some animals to live longer than others - is expanding rapidly. And though we haven't quite worked out all the details, we've worked out some pieces of the puzzles such as DNA damage and metabolism (新陈代谢), which are all leading to the invention of drugs that can slow down the aging process.

If we're lucky enough to lengthen our lives, we might even get to see the day when all of these questions are answered.

1.The main point of the passage is ______.

A. to inform people of the knowledge about the universe and nature

B. to introduce major breakthroughs that have been made in science

C. to present some questions we can't yet answer

D. to explain what were once mysteries to our ancestors

2.Chimpanzees and bananas are mentioned as examples to prove that ______.

A. human beings are actually not different from other animals

B. animals have completely different DNA from that of plants

C. both animals and plants share the same amount of DNA

D. DNA alone is not good enough to make humans different

3.The underlined word "identical" is closest in meaning to ______.

A. mysterious          B. unique     C. advanced             D. same

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. What were mysteries to our ancestors are considered to be common sense now.

B. Now we know much more about dreams than our ancestors did in the past.

C. With the invention of new drugs people can possibly live even longer.

D. If all the diseases can be treated people can theoretically live forever.

 

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，并将该项填写在答题卡指定的位置。选项中有两项为多余选项。

  1  We’ve worked to make their streets and their schools safer, to give them something positive to do after school and before their parents get home. We’ve worked to teach our children that drugs are dangerous, illegal and wrong.

Today, I want to talk to you about the historic opportunity we now have to protect our nation’s children from an even more deadly threat.  2 Smoking kills more people every day than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, murders, drugs and fires combined. Nearly 90% of those smokers lit their first cigarette before they turned 18. consider this: 3,000 children start to smoke every day illegally, and 1,000 of them will die sooner because of it.   3  For more than five years we’ve worked to stop our children from smoking before they begin to try, starting a nationwide campaign to educate them about the dangers of smoking to reduce their access to tobacco products, and to restrict tobacco companies from advertising to young people.   4  That means if we act now, we have it in our power to stop three million children from smoking and save a million lives as a result. So this is an emergency that needs quick action of all of you.   5 .

A．Since I took office, I’ve done much to protect our children from harm.

B．This is a national tragedy（悲剧）that every American should help to prevent.

C．The quicker action we take, the fewer teen smokers there will be.

D．We have to educate them about the dangers of smoking.

E．It is smoking that is more terrible than drugs.

F．Compared with other diseases, drugs kill more people every day.

G．If we do these, we’ll cut teen smoking by almost half over the next five years.

 

We’ve worked out the plan and now we must put it into      .

A.fact       B.reality       C.practice      D.dead

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        .

A．he needed more time to examine latest information

B．he doubted whether koalas’ number is decreasing

C．he was thinking about ways to protect koalas

D．he had more important issues to deal with

【小题2】What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．The habitat of the koala.

B．Australia’s traffic problems.

C．The importance of koalas for Australians.

D．Reasons for the decrease of the koala population.

【小题3】According to the text, Debbie Pointing thinks that        .

A．the construction of special koala bridges is of little use

B．the government should announce the koala as an endangered species

C．the government is to blame for the decreasing koala population

D．koala are becoming less important in Australians’ hearts

【小题4】It can be learned from the text that Tony Burke        .

A．decided to construct more fences along roads

B．called on Australians to take care of the koala

C．thought the government has done much for koalas

D．was optimistic about the koalas’ future

【小题5】What is the main idea of the text?

A．Australia puts off the decision on whether the koala is endangered.

B．Australia is taking special measures to protect koalas.

C．The population of koalas is reducing rapidly.

D．Australians are concerned about koalas.