How could we tell time if there were no watches or clocks anywhere in the world?
The sun is probably the world’s first “clock”, except in the far north, where the Eskimos live. There, it’s dark most of the winter, and light most of the summer. But in most of the world, people have used the sun as a clock. Even today, if you don’t have a clock, you can still know that when the sun shines, it’s day and when it’s dark, it’s night. The sun can also tell you if it’s morning, noon, or afternoon.
People who live near the sea can tell time from the tides. In the daytime, for about six hours, the water rises higher and higher on the beach. And then it goes down and down for about six hours. The same thing happens again at night. There are two high tides and two low tides every 24 hours.
Seamen on the ship learn how to tell time by looking at the moon and the stars. The whole sky is their clock.
In some places in the world the wind comes up at about the same time every day or changes direction or stops blowing. In these places the wind can be the clock.
A sand clock is an even better clock. If you had fine dry sand in a glass shaped like the one in the picture, you would have what is called an hourglass. The sand in the hourglass goes from the top part to the bottom in exactly one hour. When the hourglass is turned over, the sand will take another hour to go back again.
1. From the passage we can know there are ________ ways to tell time besides the clock and watch.| A．3 | B．4 | C．5 | D．6 |
| A．they know very little about the sun |
| B．the sun there never goes down in winter |
| C．it’s too cold for them to go out to watch the sun |
| D．it has long dark winters and long light summers |
| A．News | B．Science | C．Advertisement | D．Sports |
| A．Different Ways to Tell Time |
| B．Useful Machines to Tell Time |
| C．The History of the Clock |
| D．The Development of the Clock |
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The kiwi(几维鸟)is a kind of bird. It is a very strange bird because it can not fly. The kiwi is very famous, just like the koalas in Australia.
A kiwi likes to have a lot of trees around it. It sleeps in them during the day because the sunlight hurts its eyes. It can smell things with its nose. It is the only bird in the world that can smell things. The kiwi’s eggs are very big. There are only a few kiwis in New Zealand now.
The kiwis live only in New Zealand. If you want to see the kiwi, please go to the Kiwi House and National Bird Park in Otorohanga, New Zealand.
| The Kiwi House and National Bird Park in Otorohanga, New Zealand. | |
| Opening hours | The park is open every day of the year except Christmas. From 9: 00 am to 4: 30 pm (June, July & August: 9: 00 am to 4: 00 pm) |
| How to find the Kiwi House | To see a map of Otorohanga. Or you can call us at 873-7391. We’ll tell you the way to the Kiwi House. |
1. Which one is TRUE about the kiwi?
| A．The kiwi is a kind of chicken. |
| B．A kiwi likes to sleep in the trees during the day. |
| C．The kiwi lives in Australia and New Zealand. |
| D．The kiwi can’t smell things just like other birds. |
| A．9 hours. | B．8 hours. | C．7.5 hours. | D．7 hours. |
| A．$19 | B．S30 | C．$34 | D．$35 |
| A．doesn’t need to buy a ticket for her |
| B．must buy a ticket for her |
| C．must pay $19 |
| D．can go to see the Kiwi at 4: 20 pm in June |
| A．The park is open all the year. |
| B．There are a lot of kiwis in New Zealand. |
| C．Children under 5 years old can’t go into the park. |
| D．A map of Otorohanga can help visitors find the Kiwi House. |
【推荐2】Taking care of children is a difficult but happy experience. Parents can play an important role in children’s growth and future. How about animals? Do animal moms and dads care for their babies?
Emperor parents put in a lot of work when raising their babies. After laying eggs, moms will leave to look for food. Then, dads will watch eggs for at least nine weeks. When the moms come back, they will hatch (孵化) the eggs and it’s time for the dads to go out for food. Finally, both parents will go out to hunt (觅食) while the baby penguins stay at home. When the babies grow up to five months old, they need to take care of themselves. |
Elephant moms are pregnant (怀孕的) for a very long time—22 months—and give birth to big babies. The weight of an elephant baby is around 200 pounds! Baby elephants can’t see well at first, so they depend on their mothers very much and stay close to them for the first few months. For the next two years, the moms will care for their babies and teach them how to look for food, collect water and protect themselves—but they continue to be dependent on their mothers for years. |
Polar bear moms give birth to babies in a special way. They will prepare a den (洞穴), a snow cave in the ground, to give birth and care for their babies. These dens provide a warm and protected environment for them. The babies are tiny and blind at first and when they grow up bigger, the moms will teach them important life skills such as searching for food and surviving (存活) in the wild. |
1. How long will the Emperor dads at least watch the eggs?
| A．five months | B．nine weeks | C．nine months | D．five weeks |
| A．to look for food | B．to protect themselves | C．to collect water | D．to hatch eggs |
| A．Emperor moms and dads work hard to take care of their babies. |
| B．Baby elephants can’t hear well, so they need to be close to their moms. |
| C．When baby elephants grow up, they won’t depend on their moms any more. |
| D．Polar bear moms give birth to babies on the ground in the wild. |
| A．A travel guide. | B．A storybook. |
| C．An animal magazine. | D．A science fiction. |
| A．The importance of love | B．Protect your babies |
| C．How great moms are | D．Parenting in the animal world |
【推荐3】It’s hard to refuse a delicious banana. They taste good and you don’t have to wash them before eating them. However, British scientists say that the fruit may disappear by 2050.
One reason for this is climate (气候) change. Scientists at the University of Exeter collected numbers from 27 countries and areas that produce 86 percent of the world’s bananas. They found that climate change has improved growing conditions in 21 countries of these countries. In the past 60 years, the average yield (平均产量) has reached 1.37 tons of bananas per hectare (每公顷).
However, if temperatures keep rising, this advantage will disappear. Ten of the countries, including India, the world’s biggest producer of bananas, will produce fewer bananas. By 2050, the fruit may die out.
Shouldn’t bananas grow more easily if it’s hotter outside? In fact, the perfect temperature for growing bananas is between 24 and 32℃. If the temperature gets too high, they will stop growing.
Diseases are another danger to bananas. Unlike other plants, all banana plants have the same genotype (基因型). In other words, if a disease is able to kill one plant, it could kill them all.
1. What is the reason why bananas may disappear by 2050?| A．Climate change. | B．Produce less. | C．Same genotype. | D．Low temperature. |
| A．18℃. | B．23℃. | C．28℃. | D．33℃. |
| A．Scientists collected numbers from the whole world. |
| B．Temperature dropping improved growing conditions. |
| C．Banana production has increased in the past 60 years. |
| D．Banana production will reduce in the coming years. |
| A．Every plant has different genotypes. |
| B．We can not eat bananas any more. |
| C．China is the biggest producer of bananas. |
| D．Ways from scientists to keep bananas alive. |
【推荐1】Here are some kinds of forms of Chinese art. Have you ever heard of them before? How much do you know about them?
| Chinese calligraphy is a traditional form of writing characters from the Chinese language through the use of ink (墨) and a brush. The ancient Chinese thought of calligraphy as an important form of art. To produce Chinese characters, one needs a brush, paper, inkstick and inkstone (砚台). These are called the “Four Treasures of the Study”. It’s necessary to learn these tools in order to learn calligraphy. Now, people can find calligraphy on the walls of offices, shops, hotels, and houses everywhere. |
| Poetry is an important part of art, Chinese poems written a thousand years ago still read fresh and modern, this is because the language has changed so little. Poetry has remained a popular form in China for centuries and Chinese people will often know several poems by heart. There are some major kinds of ancient poem styles called Shi, Ci, Ge, Qu and Fu. Li Bai, Du Fu and Su Shi are considered as the best among ancient poets. During the Tang Dynasty, poetry became so important that writing poetry was part of the examinations to work for the government. |
| Chinese opera, also known as xiqu, is considered as one of the three oldest dramatic (戏曲的) art forms in the world. There are five main types of Chinese opera: Beijing, Henan, Huangmei, Yue, and Cantonese Opera. Wise ancient people put music, art and culture together and made them become a nice performance. During the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong set up an opera school called Pear Garden and soon Chinese opera became popular among common people. |
1. If you wanted to work for the government, you had to learn to write poetry during __________.
| A．the Tang Dynasty | B．the Song Dynasty |
| C．the Yuan Dynasty | D．the Qing Dynasty |
| A．Poetry. | B．Opera. | C．Calligraphy. | D．Painting. |
| A．A story book. | B．A sports website. |
| C．A government poster. | D．A culture magazine. |
【推荐2】If you go to Hong Kong by air, you will arrive at Kai Tak Airport. Because there was not enough land, it was built into the sea. It is in the part of Hong Kong called Kowloon. Kowloon is one of the biggest areas in Hong Kong.
Another area is Hong Kong Island. You can get there by ship or through a tunnel under the sea. Much of Hong Kong is farmland and mountains.
The population of Hong Kong is over seven million. Chinese and English are spoken by many people there. Clothes, computers, radios and TVs are made in Hong Kong. You can buy all kinds of things there.
People from all over the world travel to Hong Kong every year. You can watch dog racing or motor racing. Some places are quiet and beautiful. When you are hot and tired, there are cool gardens to rest in. There are also a lot of buildings to live in. Hong Kong is also a good place for Chinese food. You can enjoy many kinds of cooking, such as fish and vegetables. There is certainly a lot to see and to do in Hong Kong.
1. The airport was built into the sea because ________.| A．it’s near the sea | B．there was not enough land | C．planes arrive safely | D．it’s good |
| A．on an island | B．the name of an airport | C．one of the biggest areas in Hong Kong | D．a big city under the sea |
| A．隧道 | B．大桥 | C．跑道 | D．农田 |
| A．The TV. | B．The computer. | C．The radio. | D．The watch. |
| A．dog racing is interesting | B．Chinese food is famous | C．Kowloon is famous | D．Hong Kong is a good place for travelling |
【推荐3】Completing chores promotes the development of many basic skills necessary for success in life. For younger children completing simple chores can improve coordination and motor skills (协调与行动技能). Completing chores also enhances a child’s ability to follow directions and helps develop planning and organization skills. Completing chores also helps children develop time management skills. Researchers found that children who did household chores also scored high on measures of academic success.
Doing chores also helps children develop a sense of responsibility. They not only engage in self-help skills which foster(培养) a sense of independence and a sense of shared responsibility. Successfully completing chores also promotes feelings of self-worth and belonging. When parents do everything, children may feel either dependent on others or may expect things to be done for them.
There is a reason we call chores, chores. Most people, including parents, don’t love doing them, but they need to be done anyway. It’s obvious that kids learning to take care of themselves and help around the house helps them to become more independent and ready for the freedom that will come when they get older. I think it is necessary to distinguish(区别) between self-help and maintaining the household. Some children consider picking up toys, making their bed, or even brushing their teeth as a chore.
The obsession with screen time by many children adds to the problem. They hate any activity that may rob(夺去) them of a few more minutes on their electronic devices. One rule of thumb(实用原则) should be that activities related to personal care, homework, and helping out the family or the family pet come first. When responsibilities are met and if there is time left, it can be used for recreational activities. The average kid in the U.S. receives an allowance (pocket money) of $800 per year. However, I believe that kids should do chores for the same reason parents do—because the chores need to be done, and not with the expectation of getting money. I suggest that an allowance ought to stand on its own, not as a payment but as a teaching tool. For example, allowances can teach kids about the value of saving, and how to plan to use money.
1. The first paragraph is mainly about ______.| A．the benefits of kids doing chores |
| B．the skills a kid should have |
| C．the measures of academic success |
| D．the ways to be successful in life |
| A．pocket money can be a tool to teach kids about money |
| B．obsession with screen time may drive kids to do chores |
| C．kids know how to tell self-help from maintaining the household |
| D．kids can do everything on their own with the help of their parents |
| A．doing chores is being responsible |
| B．kids should be away from screens |
| C．it’s good for kids to complete chores |
| D．kids who do chores are more independent |
It was sunny on Oct 30 last year. Zhang Siwen, 13, saw some special fruit at school. She picked one, but not for fun. She took notes (笔记) on the fruit. She carefully drew different parts of the fruit and wrote down some information. Several months later, her nature-related (与自然相关的) notes won second prize at a science competition.
Many students in Shanghai bring fruit, flowers and other plants (植物) together and write down notes with pictures and information. They learn more about nature by writing these notes. The information, such as when and where they got the plants, what the weather was like and how they felt at the time, is all in their notes.
For many students, taking these nature notes is a way to find out something new. Zhang is one of them. When she wrote new fruit notes, she first drew a picture of the fruit and learned about its length (长度) with a ruler. Then, she broke the fruit open. She touched, got the juice and smelled it to learn more. “If you open and squeeze (挤压) some fruits, you’ll find they are juicy,” she said.
Writing notes on nature can also make students become more creative. “When writing these notes, you can describe everything in your own way,” said Zhang Siwen.
1. What kind of competition did Zhang Siwen win?| A．Nature. | B．Science. | C．Art. |
①The weather and their feelings at the time.
②The pictures and information of the plant.
③The time and the place they get the animal.
| A．①② | B．②③ | C．①②③ |
| A．The smells are terrible. | B．The fruits are juicy. | C．The fruits have hard shells. |
| A．Zhang Siwen, an excellent student in Shanghai |
| B．How to take nature-related notes |
| C．A special way to learn nature |
【推荐2】On the fourteenth day of the eighth month of 2021, it rained at the highest point of the Greenland ice sheet(格陵兰冰盖) . This is normally the coldest part of the ice sheet and there has never been rain before. It’s such a big weather change that people think it is because of the climate change.
The Greenland ice sheet is a layer(层) of ice about 2.3 kilometers thick on average. It covers a huge area-about 1,833,900 square kilometers. It’s one of the planet’s two biggest ice sheets. The other one is on Antarctica(南极洲) .
The Greenland ice sheet is normally a quite cold place. The ice sheet’s summit, or highest point, is normally even colder. It’s two miles above sea level and 500 miles (about 800 kilometers) away from the Arctic Circle(北极圈) . So it’s very peculiar for the temperature to be above freezing(冰点) at the summit.
Though scientists have been studying the summit closely for over 40 years, they have never seen rain there before. Still, that’s exactly what happened on August 14. The temperature rose to just above freezing at the summit, and it rained for several hours. The event was so surprising that the scientists didn’t even have the proper tools to measure how much rain fell.
Ted Scambos is a scientist studying glaciers(冰川) . He said, “It’s hard to imagine such a thing without the influence of global climate change.”
1. What happened to the highest point of the Greenland ice sheet according to Paragraph 1?| A．The rainfall there was decreasing. |
| B．The weather there was getting better and better. |
| C．It was no longer the coldest part of the ice sheet. |
| D．It rained there in August 2021. |
| A．The Greenland ice sheet is one of the planet’s two biggest ice sheets. |
| B．The temperature at the top of the Greenland ice sheet is hardly below zero. |
| C．The rain at the top of the Greenland ice sheet lasted several days. |
| D．Scientists have been studying the summit for many months. |
| A．Because they didn’t know where the tools were. |
| B．Because they didn’t think it would rain there. |
| C．Because they lost the tools. |
| D．Because they broke the tools in an accident. |
| A．Climate change around the world |
| B．The environment problems of Greenland |
| C．First known rain at top of the Greenland ice sheet |
| D．A study by scientists in Greenland |
【推荐3】Water is important for all living things on Earth. The water cycle (循环) is a natural process (过程) that takes water from the ground and the sky and brings it back to the earth again. It is a cycle that happens the whole year and is most active from March to June in China.
The water cycle always begins with water vapour (蒸汽). When it’s hot outside, you can see clouds forming in the sky. These clouds are made of water vapour that comes from the ground, plants and rivers. As water vapour rises into the sky, it cools down and becomes clouds. After that, clouds travel through the sky and fall back to Earth as rain or snow. Then, water runs through rivers and the sea and finally comes back to the earth again in different forms like rainwater or snow.
The water cycle plays an important role in protecting our Earth’s climate (气候). It provides us with water to drink and keeps our climate healthy. On top of that, it takes water from rivers and the sea and brings it to the areas that don’t have enough water. Without the cycle, we would face many problems. When there is too much water in one place, it becomes a flood (洪水). When water is badly in need, it becomes a drought (旱灾). Besides, water vapour can take heat from the sun and keep our planet cool.
The water cycle is a natural process that keeps our planet alive. It’s important for plants and animals to drink water and for our rivers to stay moving with water. Understanding the water cycle can help us enjoy the beauty of nature, know how our planet works and develop better methods to protect our Earth. And that is our duty.
根据语篇内容，选择最佳选项。1. Which season might have the most active water cycle in China?
| A．Spring. | B．Winter. | C．Autumn. |
① Water comes back to the ground. ② Rain or snow falls down.
③ Water vapour rises up. ④ Clouds are formed in the sky.
| A．③④②① | B．②③①④ | C．④③②① |
| A．Because it cleans the air and the ground. |
| B．Because it shows the beauty of nature. |
| C．Because it makes the climate pleasant. |
| A．Earth’s climate. | B．The water cycle. | C．Water vapour. |
| A．To call on people to understand water cycle. |
| B．To ask people to water all kinds of plants. |
| C．To give people ways to get close to nature. |
