英語閱讀測驗
(A)
文章本
Questions 1-5
The Discovery of Farming:
An Idea That Changed the World
If you had to name the single most important thing that has happened in the last ten years, it might be pretty hard to do.
But if you were asked to name the most important thing that happened
between10,000 B.C. and 8,000 B.C., it would be easy. The answer is the discovery of farming.
Today the idea of farming seems simple. You put some seeds in the ground, and soon plants you can eat begin to grow. Or you raise some cows, pigs, or chickens that will provide other kinds of food you need. Simple.
But for thousands of years farming was unknown.
No one knows for sure how farming first began. Like many great discoveries, it probably happened by accident. Someone may have dropped some seeds of wild wheat on the ground one fall. The next spring that person may have found a crop growing in the spot where he or she dropped the seeds.
No matter how it came about, we do know that sometime between 10,000 B.C.
and 8,000 B.C. people began to grow crops and raise animals.
Early farmers used sticks with sharp ends to break up the ground for planting.
These digging sticks led to the hoe(鋤頭). The first hoe was probably a forked stick.
Farmers would pull this forked stick toward them to stir up the ground. And this hoe led to the plow.
As farmers learned more about growing crops, they also learned more about raising animals. At first they caught and tamed only small animals: birds, squirrels, and chickens. Before long they learned to tame larger ones. They also discovered that the larger animals could help them do the work.
Questions 6-11
Crash Coogan by Jerry Spinelli
April 20
I hardly ate breakfast. I didn’t pay attention in class. I kept thinking of the race-off today, and the Relays Friday.
The four-by-one-hundred-meter relay means four runners each run a hundred meters. Each runner passes the baton to the next runner. The baton looks like a foot-long pipe, but it’s light, it’s made of aluminum.
Since I’m the fastest, I’ll probably run the anchor leg. The anchor gets the baton last. The anchor crosses the finish line. The anchor is your chance to win. The anchor gets the glory.
All day long I pictured Friday’s race: Huber leads off, he hands the baton to Noles halfway through the first turn, Noles tears down the backstretch, hands to Caruso. I crouch. I look back past my shoulder. They’re all coming, eight sprinters sprinting. I pick out Caruso. He’s leaning into the final turn, he’s fifteen meters from me . . . ten meters . . . I take off, I drag my left hand behind me, palm open, fingers spread (Hit it! Hit it! Now!). I feel the baton smack into my left hand, I curl my fingers around it, I switch it to my right hand and take off down the chalk-striped brick-colored lane. I’m dead last, ten meters behind everybody. It’s hopeless. By the time I hit the straightaway I’m passing the next-to-last runner, then the next, and the next. Forty thousand people leap to their feet. Eighty thousand eyes slide from the leader to the kid who’s coming out of nowhere. “Who is he?” they ask, and the answer comes, “It’s Coogan! Crash Coogan of Springfield!(美國 春田)” I pass another, and now there are only three ahead of me, but there’s not enough time. “He can’t do it!”
they scream, and now there are two ahead of me and the red ribbon across the finish line seems close enough to be a blindfold and they’re hanging from the railing and stomping on the scoreboard and there’s only one ahead of me now and the human hurricane is chasing me around the track, blowing at my back, and I’m on the leader’s shoulder and for an instant the world freezes because we’re dead even–seeing us sideways we look like one–and I remember the coach saying in a close race the one who leans will win, so now with one last gasp I throw my arms back and my chest forward and the red ribbon breaks like a butterfly across my shirt. I slow down, I stop.
I stand on the brick-colored track. I heave the baton into the air high as the
pennants(錦旗) wave over the stadium, and the hurricane finally catches me and I close my eyes and let it wash over me: “COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGAN!”
Questions 12-20
What’s a “Musher”?
It doesn’t matter whether the person is a lawyer, a dentist, a fisherman or a teacher. It doesn’t matter if they’re from Russia, Canada, France or the United States.
Any one of these people can be a musher. What’s a musher? It’s a hardworking, dedicated competitor who is the only human among a team of dogs.
The Iditarod(美國 艾迪塔羅德) race is the “super bowl” of dogsled racing, and there are some very tough rules as to who can compete. In order for a team to register for the race, the driver has had to finish at least two approved races that total at least 500 miles. So while some teams might have the title of “rookie,” they have a lot of experience in racing dogsleds.
Training
Months before the actual race, mushers start training themselves and their dogs.
In July, they hook up their dogs to All-Terrain Vehicles(全地形車) and take them on short runs, up to five miles long. By mid-October, the dogs are up to runs of 10 to 15 miles.
As soon as there is snow on the ground, the dogs are hooked up to sleds, which are much easier for them to pull. The length of the runs has increased to 30 or 40 miles by now. By Christmas, a run of 50 miles is normal!
In January, the first races are held. These races can be anywhere from 200 to 500 miles in length. Most mushers enter a couple of these just for practice–but they
wouldn’t complain if they got the prize money!
Team Dogs
Each team that is entered in the Iditarod can only have 16 dogs. They are hooked up in pairs and the team is longer than a semitruck(半掛式卡車) when measured from the lead dog to the end of the sled! That’s more than 80 feet long!
The musher will have several lead dogs in his pack. They are usually smarter and better at following commands than the other dogs. It doesn’t matter which dog is the leader, because the pack will follow whatever dog is in the lead position. Mushers rotate the leader depending on what the trail conditions are. Some dogs are better on long, flat runs, while others excel in hilly terrain.
Equipment
Other than the dogs, a musher’s sled is a very important piece of equipment.
Sleds usually weigh between 30 and 40 pounds and are either made of wood or plastic. The special plastic bottoms on the runners are made so that they can be easily replaced when they wear out.
The musher stands on the rear part of the runners and holds on to the handlebar. If the musher doesn’t wrap a cord around his or her waist, and falls off the sled, the dogs could go on alone. That’s the one thing a musher never wants to happen!
Each musher has to have certain equipment with him or her when they start the race. A heavy sleeping bag is a must. Each musher must also have an ax, snowshoes, an arctic parka(毛皮大衣), food for themselves, dog food and two sets of booties for each dog’s feet. The booties protect the dogs from various snow related injuries. They must also carry an alcohol stove and a pot to melt snow.
With temperatures ranging from 60 degrees below zero to 40 degrees above zero Fahrenheit, most mushers take warm clothes for themselves as well as medicine for the dogs. They also pack spare lines and snaps, sewing kits and tools. Plenty of drinking water is a must since dehydration(脫水) can be a problem in the dry, cold climate of Alaska. In recent years, many of the mushers have taken cameras, radios or compact disc players to help with the boredom along the long stretches of the trail.
Each musher has one thing in mind at the start of the Iditarod: To finish the race.
It would be great to win, but just finishing makes them all winners.
英語閱讀測驗
(B)
文章本
Questions 1-5
Peter Possum’s Playful Trick by Margaret Chaplin Campbell
Peter Possum* opened one eye. The sun was setting. “Time to get up,” said Peter Possum. He opened both eyes and gazed about. Everything looked upside down. That was because Peter Possum sometimes hung upside down. He would wrap his long tail around a tree branch and let his head hang down.
Peter Possum pulled himself up to the branch and unwrapped his tail. He was right side up again. Now everything looked just right.
He climbed down the tree trunk. “I’m hungry,” he said. “What do I want today?
Not eggs. Not insects. I feel in the mood for some garbage.”
Off he started toward the Laceys’ garbage can. Mrs. Lacey was a good cook. Her table scraps were delicious. “Watch out for Old Dog Tiger,” Peter told himself.
“Watch out for Peter Possum,” Old Dog Tiger was saying to himself. “Protect the garbage can from Peter Possum.”
Old Dog Tiger hid behind the garbage can and waited as Peter Possum came hurrying along as fast as he could. “I’m in the mood for a ham sandwich,” said Peter Possum.
Old Dog Tiger watched and waited. “I’m in the mood for a possum sandwich,”
thought Old Dog Tiger.
Rattle, rattle. Peter Possum started pushing the lid from the can. Old Dog Tiger leaped out. “Snarl! Ruff! Growl!”
“Oh! Oh!” yelled Peter Possum. “What can I do? Old Dog Tiger is too close. I cannot run. I cannot hide. I cannot even climb.”
PLOP! Peter Possum flopped over on the ground. He lay very still. He did not move when Old Dog Tiger sniffed him. He did not open his eyes. He did not make a single sound.
“Look what I’ve done,” said Old Dog Tiger. “I scared that possum to death. I’ll get my master. He will be proud of me.” Off he ran.
Peter Possum opened his eyes. Old Dog Tiger was gone. Peter Possum laughed.
“I fooled him with my playful trick,” he said. “I pretended to be dead. That’s called ‘playing possum.’ I am very good at it.”
Away he trotted, safe and sound and very much alive.
*possum: same as opossum(負鼠)
Questions 6-12
Invite Ants to Lunch by Sue Smith-Heavenrich
Ants may be tiny–but they’re serious eaters! Try these neat experiments to find out what ants in your backyard like to eat.
Ants love a picnic. And just like you, they have favorite foods. For example, harvester ants from the southwestern United States collect seeds. Carpenter ants like to eat insects and juicy fruits. Leafcutter ants munch on fungus(菌類) salads that they grow in underground gardens.
Want to find out what the ants in your neighborhood like to eat? Place small amounts of different foods on the edge of an upside-down plate. You can use peanut butter, honey, mashed banana, grated apple or cheese, and seeds (such as barley, sunflower seeds without shells, or sesame seeds).
Put this feeding station where there are lots of ants. Wait three minutes and count the number of ants feeding on each food. Count how many there are every three minutes. (You can keep track of the info by writing it down in a notebook.)
What happens if two different kinds of ants come to your picnic? Watch and find out! (Most likely you’ll get just one kind though.)
Fussy Eaters?
Ants don’t always take the first food they find. Instead, they may investigate, touching many pieces of food with their antennae. What does this bit taste like?
Exactly how big is it? Those are the kinds of things the ants are checking out. When they finally choose a food, the ants carry it back to their nest.
Do your ants prefer big seeds or smaller ones? Sweet crumbs or less sweet ones?
Here’s a test: Give ants a choice between full-strength honey and a honey-water mixture (add one teaspoon of honey to five teaspoons of water). Offer a few drops of each choice side-by-side at a feeding station. Then every three minutes count the number of ants you see near each site.
How Far Will They Go?
Want to see how far ants travel when they go out to collect food?
First find an ant nest. You can do that by following some ants when they carry food home. Now you know how far the ants traveled to get to your food station. Next, move the food station about one foot (30 cm) farther from the nest. Do the ants find it?
If so, move the station again. Keep moving the station until the ants no longer show up.
Spreading The News
Once ants find a food they like, they work quickly to collect it. Usually they try to get their nestmates to help. How long does it take an ant to tell others that there’s food nearby? To find out, offer their favorite food at a feeding station. After the first ant finds the food, begin counting the ants at the food source every minute. Also, watch their behavior. When the first ant heads home, what does it do when it gets near one of its nestmates? Does it feed the other ant a bit of food? Or do the two touch their
antennae together? Is the ant with the food dragging its back end on the ground? It may be leaving a trail of smelly chemicals that leads to the food.
Can you think of any other cool “ant-picnic” experiments to try? How about offering a second picnic in a different place? Do the ants there act differently? Whew–
enough questions! Go on outside and start asking some yourself!
Questions 13-19
That Goo You Chew by Linda Schneider
GUM! Lots of people love it. But hardly anybody knows where it comes from.
Like, who first discovered it? Could it have been . . . animals?
The Original Gummy Bears?
North American Indians showed European settlers how to chew gum. But how did the Indians find out about it? Maybe from watching bears.
Bears sometimes scrape away the bark of spruce trees with their strong claws.
Then they may pucker up(弄得皺皺的), tugging at the sticky goo that oozes out and stuffing it into their mouths. No one knows if that gave the Indians the idea to try it.
But somehow or another, they got stuck on gum too.
Tropical Gum Tree
The Mayan Indians found gum growing in the jungles of Central America–inside sapodilla trees(赤鐵科長青樹). The tree has a stretchy sap(汁液), called chicle.
The Mayans began chewing clumps of the hardened sap. Chewing on chicle made their mouths water. So it was a juicy treat for dry throats. The Mayans called the chewy chicle cha–the sound it made when chomped.
The Name Game
The first time you could buy chewing gum made in the United States was in 1848. It was called State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum. Black Jack was the first flavored gum. It tasted like licorice. The first candy-coated gum was called Chiclets (made with chicle, of course). Blibber-Blubber was the first bubble gum made, but was never sold because it was too sticky. Dubble Bubble came next and was a big hit.
What a Stretch
What makes gum so . . . well, gummy? It’s the sticky, stretchy stuff in it, called latex (LAY-tex). The latex holds everything together, even when it’s pounded or pulled.
Bubble gum is stronger and stretchier than regular chewing gum. So when you blow your hot air into bubble gum, it expands–just as a balloon does.
Why Chew?
Since people–and even some animals–have found gummy stuff yummy for so long, there must be something to it. But what?
For one thing, chewing seems to be relaxing. So if you’re the nervous type,
maybe a stick of gum will help you feel calmer. It may also help some people cut back on bad habits, such as smoking or eating too much. And chewing helps others stay alert when they’re feeling tired.
Mostly, gum is neither especially bad nor especially good for you. For example, it may help freshen breath and clean teeth. But it doesn’t beat a good, old-fashioned brushing and flossing. And it sure doesn’t do any good on the bottom of someone’s shoe. So always be sure to get rid of it right!