【推荐1】The first people in Canada crossed the Bering Strait from Asia.In the north the Inuit lived by hunting seals，walruses (海象) and whales.They also hunted caribou (北美驯鹿)．On the west coast people hunted deer，bear and beaver (河狸)．They also fished.On the plains people lived by hunting buffalo.In the east people grew crops of beans，squash (南瓜)，maize (玉米) and sunflower seeds.

The first Europeans to reach Canada were the Vikings.In 986 a Viking called Bjarni Herjolfsson was blown off course by a storm and he spotted a new land.However he sailed away without landing.In 1001 a man named Leif Eriksson landed in the new land，which he named Vinland (it was part of Canada)．However Eriksson did not stay permanently.Later the Vikings did establish a colony (殖民地) in North America but they abandoned it because of conflict with the natives.

However，after the Vikings，Canada was forgotten until the end of the 15th century.In 1497 the English King Henry Ⅶ sent an Italian named John Cabot on an expedition across the Atlantic to Newfoundland.Cabot discovered rich fishing waters off the coast of Canada.

Then in 1534 and in 1535－1536 a Frenchman named Jacques Cartier (1491－1557) sailed on two expeditions to Canada.On 10 August 1535 (St Lawrence's Day) he sailed into the St Lawrence River，which he named after the saint.

However no permanent European settlements were made in Canada until the early 17th century.In 1603 a Frenchman named Samuel de Champlain (1567－1635) sailed up the St Lawrence River.In 1604 he founded Port Royal in Acadia (Nova Scotia)．In 1608 Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec.(The name Quebec is believed to be an Algonquin word meaning a narrow part of a river)．In 1642 the French founded Montreal.The new colony in Canada was called New France.By 1685 the population of New France was about 10，000.By 1740 it was 48，000.

1. In which part of Canada did people grow crops?

A．In the north.

B．In the east.

C．On the west coast.

D．On the plains.

2. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．Europeans set foot on Canada.	B．Europeans started expeditions.
C．Europeans fought against the natives.	D．Europeans began to make permanent settlements.

3. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The early history of Canada	B．The languages of Canada
C．Europeans started expeditions	D．The war between Europeans and Canadians

【推荐3】

A man walks into a doctor’s office. He has a cucumber up his nose, a carrot in his left ear and a banana in his right ear. “What's the matter with me?” he asks the doctor. The doctor replies, “You’re not eating properly.”

This is a popular joke among British school children. It shows Britain's famous dry and satirical way of seeing the funny side of life. People say this unique sense of humor is one of Britain's national characteristics.

The British sense of humor is different from other countries because it is often more negative. When it comes to making the British laugh, there is nothing that works better than a socially inappropriate joke. It reflects the culture where mocking is part of everyday life.

While most Britons don’t take these jokes too seriously, foreigners often don’t understand them. A recent survey found that most foreigners who visited Britain think the British are “unfriendly and have almost no sense of humor”.

Are the British just not as funny as they think they are? Leo McKinstry, a British journalist, thinks the British are funny. “Accusing the British of having no sense of humor is like telling Rolls-Royce that its cars are cheap and not good in quality,” he says.

1. What does the doctor actually mean by the remark “You’re not eating properly”?

A．What you have had is the cause of these problems.	B．You are not having the right food.
C．You don’t eat the way people usually do.	D．You eat with the wrong cutlery.

2. The word “dry” in Paragraph 2 means ________.

A．without water or liquid inside	B．special and popular among school children
C．dull and meaningless	D．funny and clever while seeming to be serious

3. Why do most visitors, who once visited Britain, think that the British are unfriendly?

A．Because the British always take things seriously.

B．Because the British have no sense of humor.

C．Because the British are cold and difficult to get along with.

D．Because the British have a different sense of humor.

4. Which of the following is NOT the characteristics of British humor?

A．dry and satirical	B．negative and mocking
C．encouraging and gentle	D．clever and witty

【推荐1】New England is the six northeastern states of the United States: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The six states were among the first colonies (殖民地) in America. The colonies were conquered by England, and this is why the area became known as New England. After the American Revolutionary War the colonies gradually became states.

Many things are similar in the six New England states. For example, there are many stone walls, fishing villages and forests in these states. The houses and buildings are similar, too. People cut down trees from the forests to make space for their farms and villages.

They then used wood from the trees and stones from the fields to build houses, schools, and churches. Even today, most of the houses in New England are made of wood.

There are big cities in New England, but there are also small cities and farms, especially in the northern part. There is much industry and business and New England is one of the most populous (人口稠密的) parts of the United States. It has many busy sea ports on its long coast. There are always many tourists who enjoy the beautiful lakes, beaches, and mountains and who visit the historical places.

1. Where is New England?

A．In northern Britain.	B．In northern America.
C．In eastern America.	D．In northeastern America.

2. Why are the six states called New England?

A．They are now ruled by England.	B．They were once colonies of England.
C．There were people from England.	D．The states were close to England.

3. What did the people use to build their houses?

A．Stones and steel.

B．Plastic and wood.

C．Stones and wood.

D．Stones and cement.

【推荐3】September usually marks the start of a new season. But what you call that season depends on where you are and whom you ask.

    1     However, cross the Atlantic and you’ll find that people use both “fall” and “autumn” interchangeably (交替地) when referring to this time of year. In the English language, the season has two widely accepted names.     2    

According to Dictionary.com, “fall” isn’t a modern nickname that followed the more traditional “autumn”. The two terms were actually first recorded within a few hundred years of each other.

Before either word appeared in the lexicon (词典), the seasons separating the cold and warm months didn’t have common names. The main thing people did during the pre-winter period was gathering and preserving crops.     3    

Then, in the 1600s, more and more people left rural farmland and moved into cities. Without farming, the term “harvest” became less useful to city residents.     4     They knew leaves fell from trees during that season. So people called the season “the fall of the leaf”, or “fall” for short. But by the end of the 1600s, autumn, from the French word “autompne” and the Latin “autumnus”, had been introduced in England and overtook “fall” as the standard term for the harvesting season.

At the same time, British colonists were making their first voyages to North America.     5     Today, using both words to describe the season is a unique American phenomenon.

A．Why does it have to be so confusing?

B．So it was called “harvest” in Old English.

C．Some words originated from other languages.

D．In the UK, people will tell you it’s “autumn”.

E．Plants or fruits were collected at harvest time.

F．They brought the words “fall” and “autumn” with them.

G．Some English speakers needed a different name for the season.

【推荐2】Can you be too beautiful? It is hardly a problem that most of us have to bother — as much as we might like to dream that it were the case.

Yet the blessings and curses of beauty have been a long-standing interest in psychology. Do those blessed with shiny faces and an attractive body live in a cloud of appreciation — or does it sometimes pay to be ordinary? At the most basic level, beauty might be thought to carry a kind of halo (光环) around it; we see that someone has one good quality, and by association, our deep mind may assume that they have other good ones too.

But if beauty pays in most circumstances, there are still situations where it can have opposite results. While attractive men may be considered better leaders, for instance, hidden sexist prejudices (偏见) can work against attractive women, making them less likely to be hired for high-level jobs that require power. And as you might expect, good-looking people of both sexes run into envy — one study found that if you are interviewed by someone of the same sex, they may be less likely to employ you if they judge that you are more attractive than they are.

More worryingly, being beautiful or handsome could harm your medical care. We tend to link good looks to health, meaning that illnesses are often taken less seriously when they affect the good-looking. When treating people for pain, for instance, doctors tend to take less care over the more attractive people.

To conclude, scientists point out that focusing too much on your appearance can itself be harmful if it creates stress and anxiety — even for those already blessed with good looks. “If you are crazy about attractiveness, it may affect your experience and interactions,” she says. It’s an outdated saying, but no amount of beauty can make up for a bad personality. As the writer Dorothy Parker put it so elegantly: “Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.”

1. From paragraph 1, we can learn that        .

A．some may be bothered by their unattractive appearance

B．most people are not afraid of being too beautiful

C．we might always dream about being bothered by others

D．being too beautiful can be a problem bothering everyone

2. Which is right according to the passage?

A．Doctors care more about beautiful patients.

B．Beautiful people tend to have a healthy body.

C．Attractive women and men have equal chance of leadership.

D．Focusing too much on your appearance can be harmful.

3. What’s the meaning of the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?

A．The more beautiful outside, the less beautiful inside.

B．Beauty can help make a better personality.

C．Beauty cannot make up for bad personalities.

D．Ugly people have more confidence in their personality.

4. What might be the best title for the passage?

A．What is Real Beauty?	B．The Bad Effects of Beauty
C．Benefits of Beauty	D．Beauty, a Blessing?

【推荐3】Food likes and dislikes vary from culture to culture. Canadians are generally considered to be conservative (保守的) in their food tastes, but actually, the ability to enjoy different kinds of foods is highly regarded in Canada. A Canadian family may eat Italian food one night, Chinese food the next, and then Greek or Japanese food. Eating in Canada will provide you a good chance to enjoy various foods and get in touch with different cultures. Canadians often invite people to dinner. It’s customary to arrive on time for a dinner party and to bring along a bottle of wine or a small gift, such as flowers or candy. Food is not brought unless especially asked for by the host. Some meals may include appetizers（开胃菜）, soup or salad before the main course. A typical main course includes meat or fish, potatoes or rice, or one or two vegetables. Dessert is usually served with coffee or tea at the end of the meal.

To show that you enjoy a meal, it is polite to praise the quality of the food. Be sure to accept a second helping if you like the food and are not full. But in some other countries, it is polite to refuse up to three times before accepting a second helping.

1. If you are invited to dinner by a Canadian family, you should.

A．bring a bottle of wine	B．arrive a little late
C．buy some dear gifts	D．bring along some food

2. Which of the following will follow the main course?

A．Potatoes.	B．Dessert.
C．Salad.	D．Soup.

3. A polite way to show that you enjoy the meal is to .

A．put on big smiles on your face

B．speak highly of the quality of the food

C．accept a second helping of your favorite food

D．refuse up to three times before you accept the food