Construction workers in Southern California have made a wild discovery. They were digging at a building site in San Timoteo Canyon (峽谷) when they unearthed hundreds of ancient animal fossils. Researchers say the bones hold important clues about the history of the region.

Nearly 1, 500 fossils were recovered from the dusty canyon. The remains are about 1.4 million years old. They include the bones of a new species of deer, several small rodents (嚙齒目動(dòng)物) and more. A giant cat fossil was also found. Scientists believe the animal was an ancestor of the saber- toothed tiger. Signs of plant life were uncovered as well.

“This is a huge find,” says Rick Greenwood, a scientist studying the site. “I don’t think most people had any idea that those types of animals were wandering around here more than a million years ago.”

San Timoteo Canyon is located about 85 miles from Los Angeles. The area of the canyon where the fossils were found was once part of a green river valley. Today, the region is dry and plant life is rare.

Most of the fossils are well preserved. Experts say a muddy lake bed may have trapped thirty animals that wandered over for a drink. The mud helped to protect the animal fossils.

The remains are a million years older than those discovered at the famous La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. Scientists studying the bones will be able to learn more about how the animals adapted to changes in the environment.

“We have a confused view of what this time period was like, ” says another scientist. “A discovery like this could really be an important contribution.”

About 35 different animal species are represented in the fossil collection. Scientists began removing bones from the site last fall. The project was completed this summer. Starting next year, the fossils will be on display at the Western Science Center in the nearby city of Hemet, California.

1.

What does the passage mainly focus on?

2.

From what Rick says, we know ________. (原創(chuàng))

3.

Compared to the discovery at the La Brea Tar Pits, the canyon-involved fossils _______.

4.

What do we know about the fossils from the passage?

語(yǔ)音知識(shí)（共5小題，每小題1分，滿分5分）

occur       A. operate       B. movie         C. motto       D. handsome

rude        A. dull          B. nuclear        C. include      D. drug

wisdom     A. insect         B. surely         C. besides      D. ancestor

southern    A. breathe        B. method        C. thrill        D. faith

surface     A. Saturday       B. fur            C. survive      D. surprising

Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer． But there is one question that has millions of correct answers． That question is “What’s your name?” Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct．

Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?

People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents． Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used． Some parents choose the name of a well-known person． A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones．

Some people give their children names that mean good things． Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”．

The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names． A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near a brook （小溪）; someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road． The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest．

Other early surnames came from people’s occupations． The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals． In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village． Some other occupational names are: Carter—a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter—a person who made pots and pans．

The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village． The Carpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture．

Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities． When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with gray hair probably became John Gray． Or the John who was very tall could call himself John Tallman． John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer．

Some family names were made by adding something to the father’s name． English-speaking people added –s or –son． The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family’s ancestor was Robert． Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O． Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the O’Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell．

1.Which of the following aspects do the surnames in the passage NOT cover?

2.According to the passage, the ancestors of the Potter family most probably _______．

3.Suppose an English couple whose ancestors lived near a leafy forest wanted their new-born son to become a world leader, the baby might be named ________．

Modern inventions have speeded up people’s loves amazingly. Motor-cars cover a hundred miles in little more than an hour, aircraft cross the world inside a day, while computers operate at lightning speed. Indeed, this love of speed seems never-ending. Every year motor-cars are produced which go even faster and each new computer boasts (吹噓) of saving precious seconds in handling tasks.

All this saves time, but at a price. When we lose or gain half a day in speeding across the world in an airplane, our bodies tell us so.  We get the uncomfortable feeling known as jet-lag; our bodies feel that they have been left behind on another time zone. Again, spending too long at computers results in painful wrists and fingers. Mobile phones also have their dangers, according to some scientists; too much use may transmit harmful radiation into our brains, a consequence we do not like to think about.

However, what do we do with the time we have saved? Certainly not relax, or so it seems. We are so accustomed to constant activity that we find it difficult to sit and do nothing or even just one thing at a time. Perhaps the days are long gone when we might listen quietly to a story on the radio, letting imagination take us into another world.

There was a time when some people’s lives were devoted simply to the cultivation of the land or the care of cattle. No multi-tasking there; their lives went on at a much gentler pace, and in a familiar pattern. There is much that we might envy about a way of life like this. Yet before we do so, we must think of the hard tasks our ancestor faced: they farmed with bare hands, often lived close to hunger, and had to fashion tools from wood and stone. Modern machinery has freed people from that primitive existence.

1.The new products become more and more time-saving because         .

A. our love of speed seems never-ending            B. time is limited.

C. the prices are increasingly high.                 D. the manufactures boast a lot.

2. What does “the days” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A. Imaginary life                              B. Simple life in the past.

C. Times of inventions                          D. Time for constant activity.

3. What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. The present and past times.                   B. Machinery and human beings.

C. Modern technology and its influence.           D. Imaginations and inventions.        

第一節(jié)　語(yǔ)音知識(shí)（每小題1分）

從A、B、C、D四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，找出其劃線部分與所給單詞的劃線部分讀音相同的選項(xiàng)。

⒈ chemical      A. peach          B. check          C. teacher        D. stomach

⒉ spoonful      A. fool            B. look           C. foot            D. blood

⒊ similar        A. part            B. grammar     C. argument    D. scary

⒋ ancestor       A. invitation    B. bacon         C. balance       D. quality

⒌ function      A. unit            B. conflict       C. outline        D. franc