The roadrunner lives in the desert of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico．It is a bird，but it can only fly about as much as a chicken can．People gave it its name because they usually see it running across a road，but，of course，it spends more time among the plants of the desert than it does on roads．

The roadrunner is quite a large，bird--about 45 cm long and 25 high．People laugh when it runs because it looks so funny．It takes long steps and can run 30 kilometers an hour．

It eats many different kinds ~f food．Although it eats plants once in a while，it is mostly a meat eater．Most of its diet is insects，but it also catches birds，mice and other small animals．It is so brave that it even dare catch snakes and black spiders．

In the spring，a male roadrunner begins looking for a female as a mate．When he finds one，he gives her presents--a snake to eat or a branch to use in building a nest．Then they build their nest，the female lays eggs，and they raise their young．

In cold winter the roadrunner has an unusual way of keeping warm．In the early morning，the roadrunner stands with its back to the sun．It holds out its wings and lifts the feathers on its upper back．There is a small dark round area on the skin tinder these feathers and it collects heat from the sun and warms its body．Unlike most birds，it doesn't need to use a lot of energy to keep warm．

Some people in Mexican villages use roadrunner meat as medicine．They believe that because roadrunners can eat poisonous animals and not die，their meat should be good for human sickness．

               

1．The roadrunner gets its name because ________．

A．it is too large for a bird

B．it runs in the desert looking for snakes

C．it can hardly fly，yet it can run fast

D．it spends more time on roads than in the desert

2．When a male roadrunner looks for a female，it usually gives her ________．

A．wings               B．nests                      C．feathers          D．gifts

3．Some people in Mexican villages ________．

A．kill roadrunners to use their meat for sickness

B．learn to keep warm the way roadrunners do

C．stay away from poisonous roadrunners

D．become very friendly with roadrunners

4．From the passage we know that ________．

A．roadrunners eat all kinds of food，mostly plants

B．roadrunners fit into the environment very well

C．roadrunners live in the desert all over the world

D．roadrunners use a lot of energy keeping warm in winter

　 Sunday evening，October 30，1938，was peaceful in New York City．Some people were returning home from trip to the countryside，and others were sitting down to dinner．In those days，televisions were not very common．Most people listened to the radio for news and entertainment．

　 At eight o’clock there was a concert of dance music，but suddenly，the program was interrupted(中断)with a notice：a large spaceship had landed on a field and an army of aliens was moving towards New York City and then the radio went silent．

　 People panicked．Some drove out of the city as quickly as possible，but soon the roads were

jammed with Cars．Some people put wet towels(毛巾)around their faces because they thought there was a gas attack．In New Jersey，some farmers went out with guns．Although it was dark，they found a large cylinder(圆柱体)standing in a field，and thinking it was the alien spaceship，they shot at it many times．

　 Many people were so frightened that they didn’t hear the next announcement on the radio：“Ladies and gentlemen．you are listening to a radio play called The War of the Worlds．”

　 A message was sent to police stations that there was no real alien attack，and the police officers soon restored(恢复)calm to New York City．

　 Many people were very angry that they had been fooled by the play，and complained to the radio station．But what about the spaceship that the farmers found in the filed? The next morning，they found that they had damaged a large water tank 1

(　 )52．What can we know from the text?

　 A．The radio station had gone too far in fooling the people．

　 B．In fact．there was no real alien attack in New York City that night．

　 C．The farmers were brave in fighting against the aliens．

　 D．People at that time were often fooled by radio stations．

(　 )53．What does the underlined sentence“People panicked．”in the third paragraph possibly mean?

　 A．People ran away．　　　　　　　 B．People had a feeling of great fear．

　 C．People showed great interest．　　 D．People were quite mistaken．

(　 )54．As a matter of fact，people had listened to__________when they panicked．

　 A．a news report　　　　　　　　　　 B．a love story

　 C．a part of a play　　　　　　　　　　 D．an announcement

(　 )55．The main purpose of writing this text is____________．

　 A．to tell us a funny story

　 B．to report a piece of news

　 C．to blame the radio station for their misdoing

D．to advise people not to listen to the radio

　　A snake is a strange animal. It walks on its ribs (肋骨) and it smell with its tongue.

　　Since its teeth are sharp like needles and not good for chewing (咀嚼), it swallows its food whole. The snake's jaw (颚) can stretch (拉伸) a great deal. Its body, too, can stretch to several times its normal size. So even a small snake can easily swallow a mouse whole, and a snake just an inch across can gulp (吞) down a young bird three inches across. Such a large meal might last the snake for months. In fact, some snakes have been known to go without eating for as long as two years.

(1)The writer thinks snakes have a strange way of___________.

[　　]

A．smelling	B．sleeping
C．chewing	D．both A and C

(2)Compared with its meal, the snake is often much__________.

[ ]

A．shorter

B．larger

C．thinner

D．slower

(3)The story says that a snake's food may include whole_____.

[　　]

A．animals	B．birds
C．plants	D．both A and B

(4)A snake can swallow a bird________ inches across.

[　　]

A．2

B．3

C．4

D．5

(5)As a result of its eating habits, the snake ________.

[　　]

A．walks on its ribs

B．can go for months without food

C．needs a lot of water

D．eats only once a year