Oh, how they used to make fun of him, play tricks on him and laugh behind his back! He never laughed but smiled politely at everybody. Sometimes he would make silly mistakes on the blackboard, and then apologize as he erased it out. He always gave in to the girls’ demands of shortening his class. His correction was always careless and merciful , and the middle school girls relied on this fact to pass through the hardest of mathematics exam papers.
But she didn’t remember him for this.
Long shiny hair and soulful big eyes. A tall, slim frame. His daughter. They had been best friends and always hung about together. She recalled eagerly all the fun they had in middle school, wild and carefree...until his daughter went down with pneumonia(肺炎). She could never forget the suddenness and the meaninglessness of it, the feeling of emptiness.
After that, he looked even sadder. But, life went on.
Now, after almost 25 years, sitting beside him, with a dirty city bus aisle between them, she gathered her courage and said, “Mr. Rao? I’m an old student of yours. You taught me in middle school.”
He looked at her for a while. “I do not even seem to remember any student.” She knew he was lying. “I am sorry about your daughter.”
There was a pause in their conversation, and it was filled with all kinds of noises. Then he spoke, looking away. “I do not need any sympathy. In fact, all my new students think I never had any kids.” He had a smile, but his eyes were sad.
“Where do you work now?” she asked. “Future Generation High School.”
She swallowed, in excitement. The school where her daughter studied. “Do you happen to know Jaya Kumari?”
Something flashed across his face. Anyone else would consider the expression as recalling something. But she knew it was pain. Then his face was calm again.
“No.” His answer was short. “Well, she is my daughter.”
Her daughter was a topper, a gold medalist in the Math State Competitions. He was pretending. The bus stopped. She stood up and looked down at him. “I was your daughter’s best friend. You must surely remember me...”
“Excuse me,” he said, looking nervous. “I do not want this conversation. Someday, you’ll see that it is
easier to bury the past.” He said, and went back to his graph.
“Her loss was hard on me too,” she continued calmly. “I named my daughter after her.” 63. What does the underlined part mean?
A. His dream was to be a poet. B. He wasn’t equal to teaching math.
C. He didn’t look like a math teacher. D. He was silent and used to be a librarian.
64. According to the passage, when the woman was in middle school, Mr. Rao was probably ______ .
A. soft-hearted B. irresponsible C. indifferent D. strict 65. The woman remembered his math teacher probably because ________.
A. he was often made fun of by his students B. they both suffered the loss of loved ones C. he was handsome but always looked sad D. he taught well and was kind to girl students 66. The man refused to admit knowing the woman’s daughter because ________.
A. he never recovered from his daughter’s death. B. he hated discussing about his job after work. C. her daughter was not clever enough to stand out. D. the name of her daughter was not familiar to him.
D
While the presence of rats in homes may cause anxiety and annoyance, they rarely result in driving out the residents. But that is exactly what happened to the inhabitants of the 10-squaremile Hawadax Island off the coast of Alaska, almost 230 years ago. Now thanks to a five--year effort by scientists, the terribly silent “Rat Island” as it had been called for many years has been returned to its rightful owners ——birds!
Hawadax Island is part of a chain of volcanic islands in the Bering Sea called the Aleutian Islands. The rats that arrived there in 1780, when a Japanese ship carrying them broke down nearby, completely destroyed the native population because the environment of the island was not built to defend its animals from these predators. There isn't any tree on the Island, which meant that the birds were accustomed to building their nests low in the ground, giving the rodents easy access to both eggs and baby chicks. As years passed, the birds that had called the island home for thousands of years became endangered and eventually, disappeared
completely.
In 2007, the U．S. FWS (Fish and Wildlife Service) started a serious plan to rid the island of the rats and try bringing back the beautiful birds that had once called it home. Given that there were an estimated 10,000 rodents inhabiting “Rat Island” and the fact that they reproduce rapidly, it was not an easy task. But by 2009, the Island was officially declared rat free!
Then slowly but surely, the birds began to return. Unfortunately, some of the pioneers were unintentionally killed from the leavings of the raticide, a poison that had been used to wipe out the rodents. But now it seems things are becoming more stable and the Island is starting to increasingly look like its former self. Before the transformation, “Hawadax”, also known as “Rat Island”, was a silent and ghostly place with bird bones, snail remains and rocks covered in rat feces(粪便).
Today birds’ singing and flying in and out is a common sight. Tufted puffins and song sparrows, which had long disappeared, are gradually making their way back. Scientists have also been observing an increase in ground nesting and shorebirds. Though the Island is still not back to its full glory, the signs are encouraging and things can only get better, as time passes.
67. The underlined word “that” in Para.1 probably refers to ________. A. the presence of rats B. birds' being driven out C. birds' returning to the island D. residents' worrying about rats 68. Birds on Hawadax Island became an easy target because ________. A. this island was treeless B. they nested randomly
C. they reproduced too rapidly D. their chicks were extremely weak 68. From the passage, we can know the plan of US FWS ______. A. has helped the island fully recovered B. cost little but benefited greatly
C. involved poisoning the rats on a large scale D. accomplished its goal after exactly 24 months 70. Which would be the best title for the passage? A. FWS Help Get Rare Birds Back to Alaska Island B. Japanese Changed a Bird Paradise into Rat Island C. FWS Plan to Drive Rats Out Of Rat Island D. Alaska's Rat Island Returns to a Bird Paradise
第四部分：任务型阅读（共10小题，每小题1分，满分10分）
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填一个单词。请将答案写在答题卡上相应的横线上。
Green is not always referring to the color. In some cases, it is the term used for being environmentally friendly. If you’ve been looking to replace your furniture, consider going green because environmentally friendly furniture offers many benefits. Here are a few tips to get you started on your hunt for the perfect eco-friendly furniture.
First, environmentally friendly furniture isn’t harmful to your health. Also its manufacturing process doesn’t cause damage to the environment in any way. Besides, by purchasing eco-friendly products, you prevent deforestation and global warming to some extent in your own way. You do your part in protecting the environment. Environmentally friendly furniture is cost-effective as well.
The materials that are used in furniture are what make them green. Materials can be good for the
environment either because they are materials that are considered renewable resources or they are all natural. A lack of chemicals and toxins(毒素) in green furniture also means it is a better choice for the environment. It may be hard to imagine that a sofa or a table could actually be a green product but they really can be depending on what they’re made of.
There are a lot of renewable sources that manufacturers could use when building the furniture, so you should be keeping an eye out for them. Bamboo can be an excellent replacement for wood and can also replace plastics and metals in some furnishing. Cotton is a soft fabric that is safe for the environment and it can be replenished(补充) often. Hemp is also a renewable source that can be used for fabric and twine.
Recycled materials also can be made into green furniture. Metals can be recovered and remade into new things such as frames and foundations for sofas. Recycled plastic can also be made into furniture such as tables and chairs. Touching up old furniture instead of buying new items is a very cheap way to be green. Yard sales and second-hand stores sell furniture too and buying the used means new things won’t be made, so no more damage has to happen to the earth.
Therefore, when you want to hunt for the perfect environmentally friendly furniture, you should try to know the type of materials which are used in building the furniture.
Environmentally friendly furniture _____71_____ ●It is 72 to your health
