In-line skating（滚轴溜冰）is a fun sport that everyone can enjoy. Follow these safety tips to keep skating safe and fun.

Step 1: Gear up!

Even before you put on your skates, put on all your safety gear（护具）.

Step 2: Buckle up!

Strap（绑紧）on your skates. Make sure they fit well and are snugly（紧贴）around your ankles. This helps your ankles stay strong and straight.

Step 3: Fall down!

You probably do not usually try to fall. But it is good to practice falling on skates. Fall forward onto your knee pads. Put out your hands and let your wrist guards hit the ground. See? Are you surprised that it doesn’t hurt?

Practice falling until it is easy to fall forward and get up again. If you are not afraid to fall, you will try new things. Knowing how to fall will help you be a better skater and find your balance. When you can stay balanced, you won’t fall as much.

Step 4: Stop!

Make sure you can stop on your skates. The quickest and safest is probably the brake stop. The brake is usually on the back of the right skate.

The brake stop:

Roll forward with your skates pointing the same way. Let your right skate roll a little forward. Bend your knees as if you are sitting down. Then press your right heel down hard. This will make your brake pad drag on the ground until you stop.

The T stop:

Roll forward with your skates pointing the same way. Then turn your right foot out so the toes are pointing to your right. Drag your right skate. Let the wheels drag on the ground until you come to a stop.

Another way to stop is to run or jump onto the grass.

Step 5: Roll around!

Find a flat, smooth place to practice. Do not skate in streets. Parks and playgrounds are good places to practice. Look for “No skating” signs to make sure you can skate there.

1.According to the article, which of these steps are most important for a new skater?

A. Learn to fall and stop safely.          

B. Find a class and skate fast.

C. Relax and have fun.                

D. Buy expensive gear and skates.

2.In the step right after “Buckle up!” you should practice how to _____________.

A. skate fast           B. brake            C. fall safely          D. put on gear

3.To begin a brake stop, you should let your right skate roll forward, bend your knees, and _________.

A. turn your foot                      

B. press your right heel down

C. put your wrists out in front            

D. tighten your skates

4.How is the passage organized?

A. It tells stories about skating.        

B. It gives descriptions of skates.

C. It uses a question-and-answer form.    

D. It gives step-by-step instructions.

The huge Florida wetland known as the Everglades is a slow-moving river 80 kilometres wide but only a few centimeters deep. People call the Everglades a “river of grass” because sawgrass covers most of it. Sawgrass is not really grass. It is a plant that has leaves edged with tiny sharp teeth that can easily cut through clothes—and skin!

Travel in the Everglades is difficult. You cannot walk through shallow water because the sawgrass will cut you. The water is too shallow for regular boats. So, we use an airboat. An airboat is a flat, open boat. Like an airplane, it has a big propeller to move it. The propeller is fixed on the rear of the boat. It makes a tremendous noise, but it does the job. The boat skims along the water’s surface. Although we can still get lost in an airboat, at least we are above the alligators(短吻鳄).

While hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the Everglades, the most famous is surely the alligator. Once endangered, alligators are now protected within Everglades National Park. Visitors are likely to see them both on land and in water.

For a long time, dangers have threatened the Everglades. Around 1900, some people felt this precious wetland should be drained (排干). They said it was just a big swamp and not good for anything. In the 1920s, there was a land boom in Florida. People wanted to build homes everywhere, including in the Everglades. They built canals, levees (防洪堤), and other water systems that stopped the rivers flowing into the Everglades. Factories were built near rivers that flowed into the wetland. These factories dumped poisonous waste that damaged the Everglades ecosystem.

?People are now working to preserve the Everglades National Park for the future. Right now, one big problem is the paperbark tree. This tree is an invader from Australia.

Paperbark trees soak up a lot of water. In the early 1900s, people brought them to Florida because they thought they would help drain the Everglades. However, the invaders adapted too well. Paperbark trees have taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of the Everglades and killed other trees. Scientists are cutting down these invaders or spraying them with herbicides (除草剂) to kill them.

1.Which helps to explain why it is difficult to travel in Everglades?

A．Airboats may make a very big noise.

B．You may get lost when passing through.

C．Paperbark trees soak up too much water there.

D．Many different kinds of animals are to be protected.

2.Why do people use airboats instead of normal boats?

A．They have big propellers to move them faster than alligators.

B．The propeller makes loud noise so as to scare alligators.

C．Their flat bottom can skim along the water surface.

D．They can watch alligators without hurting them.

3.The following measures were taken to drain the Everglades except that people______.

A．built canals and levees to stop the rivers flowing into Everglades

B．built factories near rivers that flowed into the wetland

C．brought Paperbark to soak up water in Everglades

D．are cutting down these Paperbark trees?

4.The underlined word "invader" probably means something______.

A．that moves in from another place

B．that enters and takes control

C．that has been brought in

D．that is in danger

Many cities in the world are benefiting from the night activities of a group of people who call themselves guerrilla (游击队) gardeners. Armed with trowels, spades and a van full of flowers and plants, guerrilla gardeners turn abandoned urban land into a blaze of color. In city centre locations where there was mud, weeds and empty plastic bottles, residents often wake up to find that the wasted area has been transformed overnight with brightly-colored bedding plants.
In most British cities, local governments and police turn a blind eye to the effort of the gardeners, whose activities are always carried out under cover of nightfall. And so far, there has been nothing but praise from the astonished and delighted local residents when they find their neighborhood transformed in such a striking fashion.
Not only do the guerrilla gardeners beautify neglected places, they also return regularly to water the plants and weed the flower beds. They also make sure that at least some of the plants they bring are evergreens, which means that the area doesn’t look depressing in the winter months.
The first guerrilla gardener in London was Richard Reynolds, whose day job is at an advertising agency. Mr. Reynolds, a graduate of Oxford University, began his efforts two years ago when he moved to a flat in a tower block in South London. From his balcony, he could see several empty concrete pots, placed by the local governments to contain plants but never used. He went out after midnight and filled the pots with plants, and then planted more flowers in the path leading to the entrance to the block.
He then set up a website to explain his plan and called upon more gardeners to join him. Cash donations flooded in and, more importantly, volunteers rushed to be part of the campaign. Within six months, there were five hundred people in London prepared to come out at very short notice to restore neglected parts of the urban landscape. There are now unofficial but carefully-organized groups in many cities in Britain and North America and there is also a website where would-be urban gardeners can find out the location of the next expedition.
【小题1】These guerrilla gardeners do their work ______.

He almost didn’t see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front her Mercedes and got out.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt.

He said, “I am here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.”

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened, had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were many people who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

1.This story most probably took place_______.

A. in a garage   B. on a highway    C. in a busy street    D. near a gas station

2.When the man approached the old lady, the first thing he did was to______.

A. ask what was wrong with her car       

B. get the old lady out of her car

C. change her tire as soon as possible     

D. make her know he wanted to help her

3.The underlined part in Paragraph 6 suggests that________.

A. the old lady had got ready to pay the man

B. the old lady was grateful to the man

C. the man had a lot of difficulty changing the tire

D. the man didn’t stop changing the tire

4.Which of the following words can best describe the man?

A. Warm-hearted and sensitive.  

B. Careful and serious.

C. Thoughtful and helpful.      

D. Generous and open-minded.

5.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______________.

A. the man was happy after helping the old lady

B. the man received a lot of money from the old lady

C. the man made the old lady feel cold and depressed 

D. the man felt extremely frustrated all the way home

第二节完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Elizabeth Clay decided to go home and spend the holiday with her parents . The next day she drove her old car home along the road .    21     she found she got a flat tire. The 22-year-old student    22     to stop her car by the side of the road in the winter night and opened the trunk . No     23   tire .
At this time , a car    24     . Paul and Diane told Clay to    25     them to a service station near their     26    . They arrived to see that it had no suitable tires to    27     with her car . “Follow us home,” said Paul .
The couple called around to find a tire , no   28      . They decided to let her use their own car . “Here ,” Paul said , handing Clay a    29     of keys , “Take our car . We    30     be using it over the holiday .”
Clay was    31      . “But I’m going all the way to South Carolina , and I’ll be gone for two weeks ,” she     32     them .
“We know,” Paul said . “We’ll be     33     when you get back . Here’s our number if you need to     34     us .”
Unable to believe her eyes , Clay watched as the     35     put her luggage into their car and then    36      her off . Two weeks later she     37     to find her old car cleaned inside and out with three new tires and the radio      38    .
“Thank you so much ,” she said . “How much do I     39     you ?” “Oh, no,” Paul said , “we don’t want any money . It’s  our     40     .” Clay realized that while it might have been their pleasure , it was now her duty to pass on their “do unto others” spirit .
21．A．Suddenly        B．Finally     C．Immediately    D．Fortunately
22．A．afforded     B．wanted     C．allowed        D．managed
23．A．spare          B．free       C．full           D．empty
24．A．passed        B．stopped    C．paused         D．started
25．A．help               B．push        C．take          D．follow
26．A．garage        B．house       C．shop            D．hotel
27．A．agree          B．match      C．go            D．deal
28．A．way         B．message   C．success         D．luck
29．A．set           B．number    C．pair          D．chain
30．A．can’t          B．shouldn’t        C．mustn’t        D．won’t
31．A．satisfied      B．worried    C．astonished       D．disturbed
32．A．persuaded       B．advised    C．reminded            D．promised
33．A．happy         B．here      C．away           D．busy
34．A．get in touch with           B．keep in touch with
C．be in touch with             D．put in touch with
35．A．repairmen       B．cleaners   C．friends         D．couple
36．A．sent         B．shook      C．watched       D．drove
37．A．shocked      B．happened        C．returned       D．came
38．A．loaded        B．fixed       C．tied          D．rebuilt
39．A．owe         B．lend     C．give          D．offer
40．A．wish           B．job      C．duty                D．pleasure