From the jagged (锯齿状的) peaks of the Himalayas to the powerful Yangtze River that flows into the Pacific, China’s vast terrain (地带) and varied climate make it the sixth most biologically diverse nation on the planet.

Since 1998, The Nature Conservancy has been working in China’s northwest Yunnan Province to protect some of the amazing natural and cultural diversity unique to this country for its future generations. In cooperation with Chinese local and state government agencies, the Conservancy established the Yunnan Great Rivers Project, which protects an area about the size of West Virginia.

Did you know?

●China contains 10% of the world’s total species.

●At least 15% of China’s mammal species and 8% of its bird species are found nowhere else on Earth.

●Nearly 15,000 plant species are native to Yunnan Province.

●Yunnan is home to 75% of Tibetan medicinal herbs and 30 endangered species.

What is the Nature Conservancy trying to do?

Education for Sustainability (可持续性)

The Nature Conservancy recognizes that environmental education is an important element of working closely with local communities to achieve sustainable conservation results. In response, the Conservancy launched a new program called Education for Sustainability which tests means of teaching and learning that combine conservation goals, social justice, and appropriate development and participation in a vision and mission for personal and social change.

Promoting Green Tourism

Tourism is both an environmental threat and an economic opportunity, with the potential to provide extremely needed income to northwest Yunnan. The Conservancy is working with local communities, government agencies, and tourism ,enterprises(企业) to develop strategies for “green” tourism which will limit the footprint of mass tourism while generating income for local people. In addition to combining tourism development and management at our five action sites, we assisted with regional marketing efforts to promote eco-tourism opportunities.

21．Among the most biologically diverse nations on the planet, China ranks _______.

22．Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the text?

A.The Nature Conservancy has been working in China’s.

B.The Nature Conservancy cooperated agencies in the Yunnan Great Rivers Project.

C.Nearly 10% of the world’s plant species are native to Yunnan Province.

D.For the moment the Nature Conservancy is devoting itself to education for sustainability as well as eco-tourism.

23．To develop strategies for eco-tourism, the Nature Conservancy is working with the following EXCEPT _________.

24．Which of the following best shows the author’s attitude towards tourism?

A.We should greatly promote tourism as it has no disadvantages.

B.Tourism is extremely helpful to people in Yunnan.

C.Tourism does no good to our environment.

D.Tourism is an opportunity for the economy as well as threat to the environment.

The new high-speed railway line between Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur self-governing region, and Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province, has cut train travel time by half to less than 12 hours.

The dramatic improvement will benefit many families planning reunions for Spring Festival.

"For the first time, I feel home is not that far away after all," said Liang Shaofu as he boarded a high-speed train in Urumqi with six members of his family.

The 35-year-old left Lanzhou to set up a dry fruit business in Xinjiang eight years ago, and he has now settled in Urumqi.

The 1,776-km line, which passes through Qinghai province and is the country's first high-speed railway to be built in a high-altitude region, came into service on Dec 26.

"We normally drive home for Spring Festival to avoid the difficulties of buying seven train tickets for the whole family during the peak season," Liang said. "Driving can be very tiring and dangerous sometimes, so one year we even decided not to go back to Lanzhou simply to avoid the trip.

More than 600,000 passengers traveled on the line during its first month, and the Urumqi Railway Bureau said the introduction of high-speed services will ease transport pressure during the Spring Festival peak season.

The existing usual railway line could no longer support Xinjiang's development. All passenger trains will gradually shift to the new link, leaving the old one to be used for goods. As a result, Xinjiang's annual goods ability could reach 200 million metric tons from the current 70 million.

The line passes through areas that experience high winds, and it also crosses parts of the deserted Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the bone-dry sands of the Gobi Desert.

The project could help China to promote its high-speed railway technology abroad, said Ma Xizhang, director of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway project's management department in Xinjiang.

25．How long did it take to go from Urumqi to Lanzhou by the usual train before?

26．What’s the main advantage of the new high-speed railway?

A.It takes more time to go to Urumqi to Lanzhou.

B.It will be more convenient for people all over the country to Xinjiang.

C.All the people in Lanzhou can return home on festivals.

D.It helps to improve Xinjiang’s development.

27．From the passage we can learn _______.

A.Xinjiang’s annual goods ability can increase nearly four times

B.the new railway technology may help more railway lines to be built abroad

C.the high-speed railway lines can’t be built across the bone-dry sands

D.the old railway lines can only carry goods now

28．Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A.The new high-speed railway line is good for all people to go home.

B.The new high-speed railway line benefits businessmen to carry goods.

C.Taking the new train is safer than driving home from Urumqi to Lanzhou.

D.Businessmen seldom went home for Spring Festival before.

I am sure we’ve all come across inspiring quotes that made us nod in agreement or made us think, “Wow, that’s good quote”. But we end up going back to procrastinating (拖延) on whatever it was we were procrastinating on. So are these inspirational quotes even worth reading? Well, that depends.

Quotes, books, articles, audio programs… all of these things are just tools and they’re only effective when you use them. I don’t know about you but most quotes I read don’t do anything for me. However, every now and then, I will come across one that will positively affect me in some way such as reminding me to be grateful, getting me to work out extra hard at the gym without being pressed by my wife, or never give up when things get tough.

From my experience, reading quotes is more effective when you’re actually trying to motivate yourself rather than just reading them for the sake of reading them. The second you feel the urge to take action, you’d better immediately get up off your chair and take action.

These quotes aren’t for everyone. If you have read tons of them and have never been motivated or had a positive change in the way you look at life or how you treat others, or these quotes don’t help you to insist on doing something when you feel like giving up on it, then it’s probably not worth your time reading more of them. If you have done something a bunch of times and it’s not giving you the results you want, don’t keep doing it. Try something else.

Now if you’ve found some value in reading these quotes in the past, continue to make them more effective by letting them guide your life.

I’ll end this text with one of my favorite quotes, which reminds me to constantly examine my habits. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”---- Aristotle

29．What attitude does the author have towards most quotes he has read?

30．What does the author’s wife expect him to do?

31．For whom will the quotes be effective according to the author?

A.Those who read them carefully.

B.Those who lack practical tools in life.

C.Those who have no one to turn to for help.

D.Those who take immediate action after reading them.

32．What is the purpose of the passage?

A.To persuade people not to waste time on quotes.

B.To explain how to make inspiring quotes effective.

C.To encourage people to read more inspiring quotes.

D.To give people advice on how to choose useful quote.

More than half of rich Americans have not shown their full wealth to their children, a new survey showed last Tuesday.

The survey, published by the Bank of America, studied the rich with $ 3 million or more in assets. It found that “surprisingly few of those surveyed have well-developed plans to preserve and pass on their assets to their children”.

The majority of the 457 people surveyed are self-made, first-generation rich. Fifty-two percent of parents have chosen not to tell their children just how wealthy they are, and 15 percent have given away nothing about the family wealth. One in their parents said they had never thought to do it.

They are worried that their children would become lazy, spend money freely, make bad decisions and even become a target for gold diggers.

Only 34 percent strongly agreed that their children would be able to handle any inheritance(遗产) they plan to leave them.

“There is an expectation about the wealthy parents that they have a responsibility to pass down their fortune to the next generation,” said Sallie Krawcheck, president of the Bank of America Globai Wealth and Investment Management. “Our research, however, uncovered changing views of what one generation owes the next.”

The trend is led by the world’s richest man Bill Gates, who promised in 2008 that he would leave his $58 billion fortune to the charity started by him and his wife, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation(基金会), and not to his children.

“We want to give it back to society in the way that it will have the most positive impact,” he said.

Of his plans for his children, Gates said: “I will give the kids some money but not a meaningful percentage… they will need to work but they will feel reasonably taken care of.”

33．We can learn from the passage that            .

A.rich parents may not know how to manage their inheritance

B.rich parents don’t equal rich kids, at least in the US

C.American children don’t get to inherit their parents’ wealth

D.poor children don’t expect themselves to be as rich as their parents

34．According to the survey, most rich Americans            .

A.think they owe their children nothing

B.think it best to give their money back to society

C.doubt their children’s ability to handle wealth

D.are confident of their children’s ability to handle wealth

35．From the last paragraph, we can see that Bill Gates wants to show            .

A.the trend of leaving no inheritance to children

B.the positive impact of charity on society

C.the way of giving back to society

D.the importance of independence for children

The revision period is, arguably, the most difficult part of any exam process. The exam itself–usually between one and three hours. 　36　However, the knowledge that it is the culmination of the entire process should provide some comfort. A well-structured revision plan can help you revise well. Below are my top tips for creating a well-structured and comprehensive revision plan, which will provide the best chance of success in the summer.

　37　

It ought to go without saying that planning your revision timetable must be done before anything else, to ensure there is enough time for comprehensive coverage of all subjects. With most exams starting at the end of June, the revision plan should be in place by the end of March at least.

Continual assessment

　38　In order to chart (跟踪记录) your development effectively, we recommend that our students attempt practice papers in each subject, marked according to the relevant mark scheme and curriculum.

Order your subjects strategically

　39　Ordering your subjects in an effective manner can help to do this. For example, scheduling English revision to appear early in your revision plan may provide useful when revising essay-based subjects such as History, Religious Studies and Politics later on.

Each subject is different

Depending on your learning style, you may find one easier than the other. More unusual exam types, such as performance exams, require their own unique attention. 　40　

A. Besides, your time allocation (分配) may be dependent on your own aptitude in that subject.

B. Make a detailed timetable

C. Pressure and nerves can undoubtedly make it an uncomfortable experience.

D. Revision is a process of improvement.

E. Plan early

F. Starting with a subject that appears early on in the exam schedule is a wise decision.

G. The best revision plans have an element of strategy to their creation.