He didn’t make _____ clear why he was late again.

   A. it    B. that    C. this    D. those

It is high time for us to take measures to protect these old traditions and customs before they_________.

       A. die out                     B. die away                  C. die off                            D. die down

Researchers who helped discover a new species of Mexican butterfly are offering to sell the naming rights to raise money to fund more research. Co-discoverer Andrew Warren is hoping to raise at least $50,000 by auctioning(拍賣) off the rights to name the 4-inch “owl eye” butterfly, which lives in Sonora, a Mexican state bordering Arizona.

“That would support at least two years of research for our team down in Mexico,” Warren said. “Money goes a long way down here in Mexico.”

According to the scientific tradition, discoverers of a new species have the say in naming it. In recent years, some discoverers have auctioned off their naming rights to raise money.

Warren said the amount being sought for the butterfly is not out of the question, noting that naming rights for a new monkey species brought in $650,000 two years ago. A group of 10 new fish species that went on the naming auction block at the same time earlier this year brought in a total of $2 million.

The butterfly discovered by Warren and researcher George Austin ranges as far north as Mexico.

The butterfly was actually in a collection, misidentified as an example of another new species, at the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the Florida Museum of National History in Gainesville, said Warren. They soon began the hard process of determining that it was indeed a “new” model of butterfly.

After checking photos and comparing it with other known species, they determined it was a separate species.

Where did the researchers discover the new species of butterflies?

   A. In Sonora.                        B. In Mexico state.       

   C. In a place in US.                D. Near the US-Mexico border.

Why will the researchers sell the naming rights of the butterfly?

To raise money for wildlife protection.

To raise money for more research.

To cause people’s attention to the new discovery.

To cover the cost of the research.

When the butterfly was first discovered, people thought ______.

it was a new species at once

it wasn’t a species of American butterfly

it belonged to the monarch branches

it belonged to a new species

We can infer from the passage that ______.

the new species of butterfly live both in the US and Mexico

it took the researchers a lot of efforts to determine the new species of butterfly

the researchers are not sure whether they can get the money they want from the auction

it is the first time that the new species of butterfly has been found

How long do you think ____ the car factory launches a new model?

A. will it be until   B. it will be before        C. will it be when          D. it will be that

I don’t think John saw me; he _____ into space.

A. just stared         B. was just staring         C. has just stared           D. had just stared

____ our natural resources is very necessary.

A. The most we make of                                   B. The most we make

C. The most which we make                       D. Most which we make of

While shopping, people sometimes can’t help ____ into buying something they don’t really want.

 A. to persuade  B. persuading C. being persuaded  D. be persuaded

                                                                                     My friend Michelle is blind, but you’d never know it. She makes such good use of her other 36, including her “sixth sense”, 37 she rarely gives the impression she’s missed anything.

Michelle looks after her children pretty much like the rest of us, 38 that she doesn’t push too hard on them, 39 really benefit a lot from her relaxed attitude. She knows when to clean the house, she moves around so fast that often the 40 don’t realize she’s blind.

I 41 this the first time after my six-year-old daughter, Kayla, went to play there. When Kayla came home, she was very 42 about her day. She told me they had baked cookies, played games and done art projects. But she was 43 excited about her finger-painting project.

“Mom, guess what?” said Kayla, all smiles. “I learned how to 44 colors today! Blue and red make purple, and yellow and blue make green! And Michelle 45 with us.”

To my great 46, my child had learnt about color from a blind friend!

Then Kayla continued, “Michelle told me my 47 showed joy, pride and a sense of accomplishment. She really 48 what I was doing!” Kayla said she had never felt how good finger paints felt 49 Michelle showed her how to paint without looking at her paper.

I realized Kayla didn’t know that Michelle was blind. It had just never 50 in conversation.

When I told her, she was 51 for a moment. At first, she didn’t believe me. “But Mommy, Michelle knew exactly what was in my picture!” Kayla 52. And I knew my child was 53 because Michelle had listened to Kayla describe her artwork. Michelle had also heard Kayla’s 54 in her work.

We were silent for a minute. Then Kayla said slowly, “You know, Mommy, Michelle really did ‘see’ my picture. She just used my 55. ” Indeed, she uses a special type of “vision” that all mothers have.

A. ways          B. means               C. methods        D. senses

A. which         B. when                C. that            D. as

A. and           B. except               C. even           D. but

A. who          B. that                  C. she            D. which

A. guests         B. family               C. children        D. friends

A. realized       B. heard                 C. recognized      D. witnessed

A. excited        B. sad                  C. satisfied        D. enjoyed

A. especially      B. not so               C. a little          D. not at all

A. paint          B. draw                C. create          D. mix

A. stayed         B. painted              C. talked          D. played

A. excitement     B. encouragement        C. delight         D. surprise

A. attitude        B. color                C. picture         D. paper

A. touched        B. distinguished         C. saw            D. understood

A. after           B. before              C. until            D. when

A. referred to      B. turned out           C. come up         D. talked about

A. curious        B. quiet                C. puzzled         D. worried

A. cried          B. insisted              C. complained      D. informed

A. right          B. wrong               C. worried         D. uncertain

A. shortcomings    B. difficulties          C. pride            D. description

A. paper          B. pens               C. hands            D. eyes

The first MP4 player was born years ago. Soon many music fans were wondering how fantastic it is! If you have been into technology enough, perhaps you may have a knowledge of the MP4. If not, you do need to know something before buying one, even if you are familiar with MP3. MP3 is the CD-like disc with greater capacity. How about MP4? This small digital product will really enrich the joy from listening to music. You can even feel the “touch” of music to your soul!

Now, some similar digital products advertised as “MP4 player” are simply MP3 players, which do not play video and MPEG format and also lack other particular functions. These products confuse some buyers, as they may think the “MP4” players simply mean they can do more than MP3.

What is MP4?

It is a multimedia container. It is not only used to store digital audio and digital video streams, especially those of MPEG, but can also be used to store other data such as subtitles and pictures. As a most modern container format, it allows streaming over the Internet.

With the help of a piece of MP4 video equipment, you can change various programs such as MPEG to MP4, ASX to MP4, AVI to MP4 and so on, which can be done very quickly and easily without any effect on the sound quality. By installing DVD-MP4 software, you can transfer particular music from a DVD to an MP4 video file. It really excites your listening music experience.

Then, there is MP4 advanced and you can set your own collection of all the programs—TV shows, games, and music. You can even see movies which are still running in cinema. What else digital product could you possibly ask for?

It is suggested here that you should ______ before buying an MP4 player.

   A. first be a music fan                   B. have a knowledge of MP4

   C. get familiar with MP3               D. buy a CD-like disc

From the passage, we can see that MP4 is ______ MP3.

   A. much bigger than                      B. just as advanced as

   C. not so particular as                    D. more functional than

Which function of MP4 is NOT directly mentioned in this passage?

Storing digital audio and video streams.

Recording some movies in cinema.

Playing TV shows, games and movies.

Transferring particular music from a DVD.

From the last sentence, it’s clear that the writer tries to tell us it is ______.

reasonable to buy other digital products

impossible to buy something else

a very wise choice to buy an MP4

an exciting experience to buy an MP3

I would appreciate ____ if you could give me a lift.

A. you                  B. that                          C. one                          D. it