run faster than any other animal on the planet．

Five cheetah cubs were born in the summer of 2005 at the National Zoo in Washington, D．C．Their mother, Zazi, was 4 years old．When the cubs were 10 weeks old, they weighed 9 pounds and were about the size of house cats．They were the second cheetah litter（一窝） to be born at the zoo in seven months and the second litter to be born in the zoo's 116－year history．

“They're pretty quick," Lauren Afdahl, an animal keeper at the zoo, told Senior Edition．"Whenever they see something moving, they take off an run．

And, boy, cheetahs do like to run! They can reach speeds as high as 60 miles per hour．The cubs reach their top speed when they are about a year old．

The National Zoo's first litt8r of cheetah cubs was born in November 2004． When almost a year old, those cubs weighed more than 30 pounds． Zazi's cubs stay with her for at least a year． When they are fully grown, the cats may be sent to other zoos．

Cheetahs are endangered animals．About 100 years ago, the wild cats roamed an area from North Africa to India．Today, cheetahs inhabit only the countries south of the Sahara desert．Just 12,000 to 15,000 now live in the wild．

31．

A． doubtful and afraid B． caring and admiring

C． uncaring ． D． complaining

32．

A． disappointed B．soft

C． descriptive and matter－of－fact D．angry and unfriedly

33．

A．Cheetahs are interesting animals

B．Wben the cubs were 10 weeks old, they weighed 9 pounds

C．Female cheetahs can give birth only once a year

D．Cheetahs like to run

34．．

A．afraid of cheetahs ． B．working at a zoo

C．a trained animal doctor D．in favor of protecting cheetahs

B

The hit movie Finding Nemo follows a clownfish from the Great Barrier Reef． In real life, clownfish are among the thousands of colorful sea creatures that call the Great Barrier Reef home．Stretching l,250 miles along Australia' s northeastern． coast, the Great Barrier Reef is the longest coral reef in the world．

A coral reef is a living underwater structure． But these days, the Great Barrier Reef has found itself in trouble．Overfishing, pollution, and high temperatures are harming its health． That's why

the government in Australia is trying to help rescue the reef．

Underwater Garden

While coral may look like a plant, it is actually made up of tiny sea animal．Those sea animals are called coral polyps．

As polyps die, they leave hard．shells behind． Other polyps grow on top of the shells．Over thousands of years, they form a coral reef in warm water that is not very deep．

In many ways, the Great Barrier Reef resembles an underwater garden． Coral can be hard or soft．It forms in different colors and in strange shapes．Some coral looks like hardened brains． Other coral looks like fans and lettuces．

The reef supplies