Britain’s seed bank, the only one in the world aiming to collect all of the planet’s wild plant species, has reached its goal of banking 10 percent by 2010.
The Millennium Seed Bank Project, run by Kew Gardens—one of the oldest botanical gardens—will officially deposit the 24,200th species on Thursday, a pink, wild banana from China.
More than 50 countries are now on board with Kew's giant task but vast places of the globe, including India and Brazil, still need to join in and donate seeds, director Paul Smith said.
The seed bank is one of the largest and most diverse in the world with more than 1.5 billion seeds. Its goal is to help protect the planet’s bio-diversity during a time of climate change.
The wild banana seed is under threat of extinction(滅絕) in southwest China from agricultural development. It is a vital food source for Asian elephants and important for growing bananas for human consumption.
Stored at minus-20 degrees centigrade, so they can last for thousands of years, the seeds await the day that scientists hope never comes—when the species no longer exist in the wild.
It is a race against time, Smith said, because in the last decade alone, 20 plants held in the bank have already been wiped out in the wild. He estimates that between a third and a quarter will become extinct this century.
"It is urgent and it is happening now. An area, the size of England, is cleared of primary vegetation（植被）every year." Smith said.
Because most of the world's food and medicines come from nature, protecting wild plant species is quite important, scientists say. There are already many other seed banks safeguarding food crops, which only account for 0.6 percent of plant diversity.
For Kew's next goal—to collect a quarter of wild varieties by 2020—the botanists need 10 million pounds a year, or a further 100 million pounds on top of the 40 million they have already been granted.
1.What’s the final purpose of the Britain’s seed bank?
A. To collect enough money for the project. B. To safeguard food crops.
C. To protect wild plants from extinction. D. To help scientists study wild plants.
2.The wild banana seed in China is in danger because of _______.
A. the expanding of farming work B. the climate change in this area
C. the large number of Asian elephants D. human’s large consumption
3. We can learn from the passage that _______.
A. the seeds in the bank can be used now and then all over the world
B. India and Brazil haven’t joined in the Seed Bank Project at present
C. there is only one seed bank in the world at present
D. the wild plants in places like India and China will never die out
4. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 7 refer to?
A. The extinction of plant species. B. The Millennium Seed Bank Project.
C. Britain’s seed bank. D. Kew Gardens’ next goal.
5.Which of the following information isn’t mentioned in the passage?
A. The global partnership of collecting wild plant species.
B. The temperature condition of the conservative wild plant species.
C. The government’s financial support for the seed bank project.
D. Scientists’ concern on the extinct wild plant species.
科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
When 47-year-old volunteer Susan Boyle stepped onto the stage of Britain’s Got Talent and announced she was unemployed, had never been married and “never been kissed, actually”, few in the audience would have wondered why. This Ms Boyle, looking unfashionable, from a village in Scotland, shocked the three judges and the audience with the song I dreamed a dream from the musical Les Miserables on a show of Britain’s Got Talent, one of the hottest reality shows in Britain.
She couldn’t hide the awkwardness when walking to the center of the stage in a housedress, and everyone — including the judges — seemed laughing at her when she said she wanted to be as successful as Elaine Paige. As soon as she began singing, however, everyone in the auditorium fell silent, then rose within seconds to applaud her incredible voice as the celebrity judges sat open-mouthed, and remained standing to the end.
After her performance, one of the judges Piers Morgan said, “Without doubt that was the biggest surprise I’ve had in three years of this show. When you stood there everyone was laughing at you. No one is laughing now. That was amazing.” Actress Amanda Holden followed, “I’m so thrilled because I know that we everybody were against you. I honestly think that we were all being very cynical (憤世嫉俗的) and I think that’s the biggest wake up call ever.”
Susan obviously won over the hearts of millions around the world with sensation spreading across the Atlantic. Hollywood actors Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore — who between them have nearly 1.5 million followers — speak highly of her. Kutcher posted a link to the video clip (片段). The Scottish talent made her live American debut via satellite connection on CBS’s The Early Show, doing an interview and singing live from her room. And she already accepted an invitation from talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
Now Boyle has become one of the world’s hottest celebrities. The video clip of her performance has been viewed more than 50 million times on Youtube, becoming a hit on the Internet.
We learn from the passage that Susan Boyle ______.
A. rose from a low social class
B. had an unhappy marriage
C. lived with a dog alone on a farm
D. won the championship in the Britain’s Got Talent show
At the beginning of the show, almost everybody ______.
A. looked forward to her wonderful performance
B. was attracted by her beautiful dress
C. looked down upon her
D. placed great hope on her
We can infer that ______ contributed most to her global popularity.
A. the judges B. the Internet C. the newspaper D. the advertisement
The 4th paragraph intends to tell us ______.
A. how Susan Boyle achieved her success
B. the comment made by American actor Ashton Kutcher
C. Susan Boyle’s influence in the USA
D. Oprah Winfrey’s invitation to Susan Boyle
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科目：高中英語 來源：山東省威海市2010屆高三第二次模擬考試英語試題 題型：閱讀理解
Britain's most popular lie has been disclosed, with one in four people admitting using “sorry I had no signal" when returning a missed mobile phone call, a survey found.
Researchers found the average Briton tells on average four lies every day or almost 1500 every year. Almost one in six men admitted they were most likely to lie to their wife or girlfriend, on average at least twice a day. The most popular lie was saying you had no mobile phone signal, with one in four people admitting regularly using the little white lie. It usually came after they hit the “ignore" button when their mobile rang.
Three quarters of people think women are better liars. The research found 46 per cent of girls have been caught lying, compared to 58 of men.
The second most common fib（無關緊要的謊言） is “I haven't got any cash on me” when asked for money by tramps (流浪者), beggars and Big Issue sellers. “Nothing's wrong – I'm fine” came third followed by “You look lovely” and “Nice to see you”.
Modern technology turned out to have contributed to many lies with “I didn't get your text” in 18th, “Our server was down” in 20th and “My battery died” in 26th place.
Other lies to make the top ten included “I'll give you a ring”, “We're just good friends” and “We'll have to meet up soon”. “I'm on my way” and “No, your bum doesn't look big in that” completed the top ten.
Men tell the most fibs, coming out with five every day compared to women who lie just three times.
In many cases perhaps it is better to flatter with a fib than destroy someone with the truth, according to a spokesman for OnePoll, which carried out the research of 4,300 adults.
66. Whether the person being called has pushed the “ignore” button or ______, the calle
r at the other end hears the same tone.
A. really has no signal B. can’t get the text
C. has a battery failure D. answers the call
67. Most people think women are better liars because ______.
A. there’re more women liars B. fewer women liars are found out
C. women tell less harmful lies D. women are harder to convince
68. “Our server was down” is perhaps a lie told as an excuse for not ______.
A. inviting a friend to dinner B. responding to an e-mail
C. coming to a party on time D. cleaning one’s room
69. “You look lovely” and “I’m on my way” rank _____ on the popular-lie list.
A. 3rd and 8th B. 5th and 10th C. 4th and 9th D. 5th and 12th
70. The OnePoll spokesman seems to think it’s ______ for the British to lie so much.
A. puzzling B. disgusting C. impossible D. reasonable
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科目：高中英語 來源：2010屆河南省高三下學期第一次教學質量調研考試 題型：閱讀理解
Would you eat a ready meal from the fridge rather than cook? Have you been doing internet shopping rather than going to the stores? What can’t you be bothered to do?
A study into how lazy British people are has found more than half of aduhs are so idle（閑散的）they’d catch the lift rather than climb two flights of stairs.
Just over 2,000 people were quizzed by independent researchers at Nuffield Health, Britain’s largest health charity. The results were shocking.
About one in six people surveyed said if their remote control was broken, they would continue watching tile same channel rather than get up.
More than one third of those questioned said they would not run to catch a bus. Worryingly, of the 654 questioned people with children, 64% said they were often too tired to play with them.
This led the report to conclude that it’s no wonder that one in six children in the UK are classifted as obese（肥胖）before they start school.
Dr Sarah Dauncey, medical director of Nuffield Health, said: “People need to get fitter, not just for their own sake, but for the sake of their families, friends and obviously their pets too. If we don’t start to take control of this problem, a whole generation will become too unfit to perform even the simplest tasks.”
And Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow, was shamed as the laziest city in the UK, with 75% surveyed admitting they do not get enough exercise, followed closely by Birmingham and Southampton, both with 67%.
The results pose serious challenges for the National Health Service, where obesity-related illnesses such as heart disease and cancer have been on a steady increase for the past 40 years and are costing billions of pounds every year.
72. According to the researchers at Nuffield Health, about_______people who were surveyed would not run to catch a bus.
A. 10 B. 150 C. 330 D. 660
73. One in six children in the UK are classified as obese before they start school because ________.
A. they stay too long a time with their pets
B. they spend too much time watching TV
C. their parents don’t play with them much
D. they suffer from obesity-related illnesses
74. ________ is the second laziest city in the UK.
A. Scotland B. Glasgow C. Birmingham D. Nuffield
75. What’s the writer trying to tell us?
A. Parents have much to do with their children’s obesity-related illnesses.
B. British people are getting lazier, which can cause serious social problems.
C. The National Health Service has to face a lot of serious challenges every year.
D. A study into how lazy British people are has been carried out at Nuffield Health.
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科目：高中英語 來源：20102011江西吉安一中高二下學期第二次月考英語試題 題型：閱讀理解
A simple flower made headlines in the British press last week. How could that be?
British Prime Minister David Cameron and his ministers were attending a reception hosted by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. They insisted on wearing poppies(罌粟花) in their buttonholes.
What’s wrong with that?
According to the Global Times, Chinese officials apparently had asked the UK delegation not to wear poppies. The British said that poppies meant a great deal to them on that day and they would wear them all the same.
So what’s the significance of the poppy? It’s a flower which has different cultural and symbolic meanings for British and Chinese people.
From the Chinese point of view, the poppy is a symbol of China’s humiliation at the hands of European powers in the Opium Wars of the 19th century. Britain forced China to open the borders to trade —including in the opium —which was made from poppies grown in India.
Yet from the British viewpoint the poppy is a reminder of the killing during Word War I. Red poppies grew on the battlefields of Flanders in Belgium where many thousands of British soldiers died or were buried. Since then, Poppy Day (November 11) has become a time in the UK to wear poppies and remember the sacrifices of British soldiers and civilians in times of war.
So you can see that the poppy sets off strong feelings in the hearts of Chinese and British people for different reasons. And it makes sense for us to try to understand each other’s standpoint.
Of course cultural differences can also be interesting and funny. And what one nation thinks is an acceptable gift may be viewed differently by their guest from overseas. US President Barack Obama gave a gift of an iPod to Britain’s Queen —a dull person with no interest in music. Obama also presented Gordon Brown with a fine selection of American movies. But they were in US format and impossible to play on British DVD players.
Many countries have diplomats stationed overseas. Diplomats provide information and advice to their governments back home. However, sometimes it would seem that even diplomats can overlook the cultural significance of a small flower.
( ) 1.. British Prime Minister David Cameron probably attended a reception in Beijing on .
A. October 1 B. November 11 C. December 31 D. January 1
( ) 2.. The poppy reminds the Chinese of .
A. the shame caused by European countries in the 19th century
B. the British soldiers who were killed and buried during World War I
C. the Chinese soldiers killed during World War II
D. the suffering caused by Britain during World War I
( ) 3.. The diplomatic problem in Beijing is mainly caused by .
A. the translation mistake B. the language difference
C. the cultural difference D. the different lifestyle
( ) 4.. We can infer that .
A. Britain’s Queen is not interested in art
B. Gordon Brown was fond of American movies US President Barack Obama sent him
C. US President Barack Obama received a gift for music
D. Britain’s Queen may not like the iPod US President Barack Obama presented her
( ) 5.. What is the main idea of the 9th paragraph?
A. Cultural difference can also be interesting and funny.
B. Cultural differences can cause a big problem.
C. US President Barack Obama likes to present gifts to other leaders.
D. US leaders and British leaders get along well with each other.
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科目：高中英語 來源：20102011學年江蘇省高二下期末考試英語試題 題型：閱讀理解
The wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29 has focused the world’s camera lenses（鏡頭）on the UK.
In Britain, there is a constant debate about the relevance of the royal family to modern British society. However, Windsor (the family name of the British Royal Family) and Middleton have been seen to represent a more modern, forward-looking nation.
Nigel Baker, the British ambassador to Bolivia, believes that the royal wedding is “about modern Britain”. “The estimated 2 billion spectators across the world will see that Britain is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse nations in the world, home to 270 nationalities speaking 300 different languages, founded on tolerance and respect for difference,” wrote Baker on his blog.
According to Baker, the wedding could help viewers to see “why Britain is one of the most dynamic and creative countries in the world”: The television on which most people watched the event was invented by John Logie Baird, a Briton, and the World Wide Web that broadcast the event to millions more was invented by another Briton, Tim Berners-Lee.
The guests who attended the wedding ceremony gave more than a few clues as to the nature of modern Britain. David and Victoria Beckham represent Britain’s obsession（著迷）with football and celebrity.
Leaders from different religious backgrounds supported Baker’s comments on the multicultural nature of modern British society.
Before the wedding, David Elliott, arts director of the British Council China, agreed that the wedding would be a showcase for modern Britain: “I think, and hope, that it (modern British influence) would be values like openness, multiculturalism, creativity, sense of humor and the traditional British sense of fair play,” he said.
Furthermore, events such as the Olympics in London in 2012 may also increase people’s sense of Britishness.
According to a poll published in Daily Telegraph, more than a third of people in the UK admitted they felt “very British” when watching the Olympics.
1. What is the main point of the article?
A. To introduce Prince William’s wedding arrangements in detail.
B. To comment on the significance of the royal wedding.
C. To question the relevance of the royal family in modern British society.
D. To explain why the royal wedding is linked with the 2012 Olympics.
2. What can be concluded from the article?
A. Some say that the royal wedding is a reflection on modern Britain.
B. Some think the royal wedding only shows Britain’s multiculturalism and sense of fair play.
C. About 2 billion people across the world will see the wedding ceremony online.
D. Britons are obsessed with football due to the influence of David Beckham.
3.Why is the inventor of the World Wide Web mentioned?
A. To inform readers about some well-known British inventors.
B. To point to the importance of the World Wide Web for the wedding.
C. In support of the idea that Britain is a nation of creative and original people.
D. To encourage people to watch the wedding on the Internet.
4. According to the article, both the 2012 Olympics and the royal wedding .
A. have increased the British sense of national identity
B. have promoted traditional British values
C. represent a more modern Britain
D. have encouraged the interest of Britons in Football
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