Science seems to be getting closer to answering a very old mystery. Homing pigeons can be 　36　 hundreds of miles from their homes. When they are let to go to 　37　 again, they find their way home. Because of this special ability to 　38　,pigeons have been used 　 39　 messengers for hundreds of years.

Today people even breed homing pigeons for 　40　 at a sport. The birds are shipped to some chosen 　41　 a few hundred miles away. Then all of them are let to go together. The winner is the bird that gets home 　42　.A good race can make it home from 500 miles away 　43　 a single day.

　 The mystery of the homing pigeons is how they 　 44　 directions and how they find home. The first part seems to be pretty well 　 45　,and we know of two ways that pigeons tell directions. First, they use the sun. Experiments show that homing pigeons can tell 　46　 by the sun. What happens when the 　47　 is darkly overcoat by clouds and no one can 　48　 where the sun is? Then the pigeons still find their way home.

　Naturally, people have wondered whether pigeons might have a built-in compass　 49　 that would tell them about the direction of the 　　 50 　 magnetic(磁的)field. Many different kinds of experiments were 　 51　 　.Here’s what the scientists decided 　 52　 they had made experiments many times. When pigeons can see the sun, they use it as their 　 　53　 　 means of direction-finding. When they can’t see the sun, they use some 　54　 way to sense direction from the earth’s magnetic field.

　 But how do pigeons know 　55　 direction is toward home? What do they use that we would call a map? These are other questions to be answered.

36. A. carried B. taken　　　　 　　　　　　 C. shipped　　　　 　　　　 D. brought

37. A. escape B. get　　　　　 　　　 C. fly　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. run

38. A. find home B. sense directions　 C. send messages　　　 D. make friends

39. A.by B. as　　　　　　　　　　 C. for　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　 D. to

40.A.performing B. directing　　　　　 C. showing　　　 　　　　 D. racing

41.A.place B. port　　　　　　　　 C. city　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. country

42.A.fast B. quickly　　　　　　 C. safely　　　　 　　　　　　　　　 D. first

43.A.on B. at　　　　　　　　　　 C. in　　　　　　 　　　　　　　 D. over

44.A.tell B. recognize　　　　　　　　 C. realize　　　 　　　　　　 D. know

45.A.explained B. answered　　 　　 C. shown　　　　　　　　　　 D. understood

46.A.courses B. roads　　　　　　　 C. directions　　 　　　　　 D. ways

47.A.sun B. heaven　　　　　　　　　　 C. land　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. sky

48.A.see B. find　　　　　　　　　 C. notice　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. observe

49.A.anything B. something　 　　 C. someone　　　　　　　　 D. anyone

50.A.earth’s B. sun’s　　　　　　　　 C. planet’s　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. destination’s

51.A.carried B. done　　　　　　　　 C. taken　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. had

52.A.before B. when　　　　　　　　　　　 C. while　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. after

53.A.important B. major　　　　　　　 C. main　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. most

54.A.quick B. strange　　　　　　 C. special　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D.easy

55.A.what B. where　　　　　　　　　　 C. how　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. which

We all, at one time or another, have pretended to be a rock star, singing and dancing along to our favorite song. Most of us have done this in the privacy of our own room when we were kids and as adults, in the privacy of our homes. Me? I love to do that when I drive! I turn on the radio, find a song that I can sing along too and pretty soon my arms are in the air and I am moving along to the rhythm. Most of the time, I do this on my way to work.

　　Yes, that is true. I will be in my nice work clothes, jamming while driving or stopped at a traffic light. I get weird looks from some people and others laugh. Personally, I love to get lost in the rhythm of a song which leads me to share with you the importance of being silly!

　　The definition for the word silly, according to the dictionary is: stupid, foolish and nonsensical. I know many people do not want to look foolish. So they walk around all serious, which in all honesty, is foolish!

　　No one is perfect, I repeat: no one is perfect. I don’t care how educated, how thin, how beautiful, how simple, how frugal, how rich, and so on… No one is perfect! So why pretend to be something you are not?

Life is so short… You never know when this beautiful journey will be over, so why waste a single second on being so full of rigidity(呆板)? Here is a quote by Souza, that I think says it all and is a great recipe for life:

　　"Dance as though no one is watching you,

　　Love as though you have never been hurt before,

　　Sing as though no one can hear you,

　　Live as though heaven is on earth."

　　When we were kids, we had no idea of what limitations were and we had no care in the world so we could do things without worrying about how we appeared to others. However, as we grew up, we lost that childlike innocence.

　　So don’t lose the child that still lives within you. The next time you feel down, go turn on your favorite song, and sing and dance along like there is no tomorrow. Or watch something that makes you laugh. Laughter is the best medicine to whatever ails you and nothing is better than laughing so hard that your tummy hurts. Trust me, you will feel a whole lot better, and who doesn’t want to feel good?

1. According to the passage, what does the writer usually do?

A．He pretends to be a rock star.	B．He dances in his own home.
C．He sings songs while going to work.	D．He gets jammed on his way to work.

2.What do other people think of the writer?

A．They think that the writer is strange.	B．They look down upon the writer.
C．They believe that the writer is lonely.	D．No one is interested in the writer.

3. What is the writer’s opinion about the people who look very serious?

A．They are honest.	B．They are silly.
C．They are perfect.	D．They are educated.

4. The writer quotes Souza to show that _______.

A．life is a beautiful journey	B．life is full of rigidity
C．life is like a great recipe	D．life is to be treasured

5.The underlined part “the child” in the last paragraph probably refers to _______.

A．the writer	B．any child
C．the feeling of being a child	D．the time of being a child

 

Were you born in the 1990s? Do you think you are different from older generations? As there has been considerable discussion about “the post­1990s” in newspapers and on the Internet recently, people including the group themselves, have begun to look at some things that help shape their culture. Do you find them true?
1. Jay Chou　He is not handsome. When he hums no one can understand him. But the 28­year­old Taiwan singer has stolen the hearts of many boys and girls who  were born in the 1990s. They are crazy about him. Huang Kaiqin, a 16­year­old Shanghai student, said，“I love him! I love everything from his lyrics to his melody(旋律), and to his attitude toward the life. ”
2. PSP　Its full name is Play­ Station Portable and it's a Sony product for game fans. Teens love it because PSP is better than the Game Boy in terms of pictures, controls and choices of games. With a PSP you can also play MP3 or MP4, watch movies and so on.
3. Naruto　Among all the popular cartoons and comic books, the Japanese manga series has been this generation's favorite read. Naruto, who was orphaned at birth, grows from being a naughty boy to a powerful ninja (日本武士). Naruto teaches readers that honor is very important and not to give up, even if something is hard to achieve.
4. iPods　MP3s are not in any way, shape or form. But the iPod is amazing because it is a complete library of music in your hand. Post­90s are always excited about the latest product.
5. Tuzki　Tuzki, the white and hairy baby rabbit, was not born until January this year. But Tuzki's popularity has been spreading quickly among post­90s who like QQ and MSN. Wang Lin, a college student, created the cool little rabbit.
6. Chat lingo　On the Internet, the chat lingo is cool and convenient. But one day, teachers notice a new generation of errors entering their students' essays.  Words such as “3Q”，“ORZ” and “b4” confuse adults but are part of teens' everyday lives.
【小题1】Which of the following is WRONG? 

A．The latest product among teens is iPod.

B．Naruto is a character in a popular cartoon.

C．Some adults don't understand their children's words.

D．Tuzki is a college student born in January.

【小题2】Why does the author write the passage? 

A．He wants to make teens born in the 1990s understand more.

B．He criticizes the teens born in the 1990s.

C．He doesn't understand the young at all.

D．He feels worried about the young.

【小题3】The best topic of this passage might be ________. 

A．the post­1990s	B．fashionable people
C．teens with electronic products	D．chatting generation

If women are mercilessly exploited year after year, they have only themselves to blame.  Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion, they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores. Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion. When you come to think of it, only a woman is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.

　 Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional creation of waste. Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn. Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way, waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have. Skirts are lengthened or shortened; neck－lines are lowered or raised, and soon.

No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society. Fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth, comfort and durability. They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort, as long as they look right. There can hardly be a man who hasn’t at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day, or delicately picking her way through deep snow in high－heeled shoes.

　 When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion, the conclusions to be drawn are obvious. Does the constantly changing fashion of women's clothes, one wonders, reflect basic qualities of instability? Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers. Do their unchanged styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability? That is for you to decide.

1.The writer would be less critical if fashion designers placed more stress on the of clothing

___ .

A．comfort

B．appearance

C．cost

D．suitability

2.According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE？

A．Fashion designs should not be encouraged since they are only welcomed by women.

B．The constant changes in women's clothing reflect their strength of character.

C．The fashion industry makes an important contribution to society.

D．New fashions in clothing are created for the commercial exploitation of women.

3.By saying “the conclusions to be drawn are obvious”, the writer means that _____.

A．women’s inconstancy in their choice of clothing is often laughed at

B．women are better able to put up with discomfort

C．men are also exploited greatly by fashion designers

D．men are more reasonable in the matter of fashion

 

— The young man is good at a lot of things but you can’t say he is ________ .

　　　　— I agree with you. Actually no one is.

　　A. wonderful　　　　　　　　　　 B. splendid

　　C. perfect　　　　　　　　　　　　D. complete