What did people do to communicate in ancient times? Here are some very interesting answers to this question.
Alphorns (阿尔卑斯长号角) were once used to communicate in the mountains in Switzerland. They are very long and they are very heavy, too. So, alphorns are hard work to blow. Then why use them? Well, they make a loud sound which travels much further than the human voice. Herdsmen (牧民) used them to call cows in the distance (在远处) for milking. At sunset, alphorns were also used to send a message down to villagers that all was well. These days, they’re mostly used as musical instruments.
The people of La Gomera, an island in Europe, have their own special way of sending messages from mountain to mountain. They use a whistled (口哨的) language called el silbo. El silbo comes from their language Spanish. Whistling can be heard within five kilometers, so it can be used across much greater distances than shouting. El silbo can be used for all kinds of messages, including greetings and announcements. El silbo is used a lot less than it used to be, but primary school students in La Gomera have to learn it.
Did you know it’s also possible to send messages without making a noise? This is called visual (视觉的) communication, and it includes the use of flags and even smoke. Long ago, soldiers along the Great Wall of China used smoke as a warning. If they noticed the enemy from their signal (信号) tower, they lit a smoky fire. When soldiers in other towers saw the smoke signal, they lit fires, too. In this way, messages about the enemy’s arrival could travel as far as 800 kilometers in just a few hours.
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。1. Today alphorns are mostly used for ________.
| A．communicating in the mountains |
| B．calling cows for milking |
| C．playing a kind of music |
| A．it can send messages to animals |
| B．it can be heard at a great distance |
| C．it is a subject for young students |
| A．By whistling. | B．By listening. | C．By watching. |
A． | B． | C． |
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In 1997, 12-year-old American girl Caitlin and 14-year-old Zimbabwean Martin became pen friends through their schools. They didn’t know at that time how their handwritten letters would change their lives.
It all began as a school task. Everyone in Caitlin’s class should choose a pen friend from another country. All the other kids picked countries like France or Germany, but Caitlin chose Zimbabwe because the name sounded cool.
Martin lived with his family in one of Zimbabwe’s worst place where they shared one room with another family. And a bed was their only piece of furniture.
When Caitlin’s first letters arrived at Martin, they were simple and common. The two kids wrote about their favorite music and what they liked to do. But as Martin wrote more about his life and his letters were written on pieces of rubbish, Caitlin found how badly Martin lived. Without telling her parents, she began sending money with her letters—$20 at a time. While the money was not much to Caitlin, it meant more food for Martin’s family and helping him pay his school fees.
It lasted six years from their first exchange of letters to Martin’s arrival in the United States. With the help of the money from Caitlin’s parents later on, Martin finished his university and got his MBA from Duke University.
Today, Caitlin and Martin aren’t only best friends, but they also share their story in a book called I Will Always Write Back. They want to tell readers to do something kind for others as well as looking beyond their own lives, which might make their lives change a lot.
1. Where does Caitlin’s pen friend from?| A．America | B．France | C．Germany | D．Zimbabwe |
| A．CDs to enjoy his favourite music |
| B．more food for his family |
| C．getting his MBA from Duke University |
| D．finishing his university |
a. They shared their story in a book.
b. Caitlin’s first letters arrived at Martin.
c. Caitlin chose a pen friend from another country.
d. Martin got his MBA from Duke University.
| A．a-b-c-d | B．a-b-d-c | C．c-b-d-a | D．c-d-b-a |
| A．Martin lived a very hard life although he lived in the US. |
| B．Caitlin chose Zimbabwe because she knew a lot about the country. |
| C．Martin’s family could get more food with Caitlin’s money in the letters. |
| D．They kept writing to each other for five years before Martin arrived in the US. |
| A．why there is money in letters |
| B．how helpful the writing is |
| C．who finishes the special school task |
| D．what happens between two pen friends |
【推荐2】Math Week
“Next week is Math Week. I would like each one of you to do a project. It will be shown at the Math Week exhibition. You could do it on your own or in a group, ” Mrs. Lee, the math teacher said.
After school, Manu sat in the classroom along with Kevin who was not as good as Manu at math.
Kevin said, “Manu, shall we work on the math project together?”
Manu said, “Sorry, but I prefer to do it on my own.”
The next day, all the students submitted （提交）their topics for the math exhibition. Almost all of them worked in a group except Manu. Kevin’s team decided to do Snakes and Ladders, Junaid’s team decided to do a crossword puzzle, and Manu decided to do a magic game, and of course, he did it all alone.
Manu completed the project and was happy with the result. The night before the exhibition, he again checked the project to see if it was working fine. Alas! All the lights that were supposed to shine did not seem to light up at all. Manu was worried and even cried out because he didn’t know how to fix it. In the end, he had no choice but to take it to school.
At the same time, Kevin’s team were working on their project at Kevin’s house. If one member got stuck somewhere, the others helped out. It was a sight of real team work.
Finally, it was time for the Math Week exhibition. All the teams placed their projects on the table with pride except Manu. Students enjoyed Snakes and Ladders. Manu was embarrassed （尴尬的）to present his non-working magic game. Mrs. Lee looked at him and said, “There’s still time. Maybe you can get someone to help you with it. ”
Kevin offered to help. Luckily, he fixed it just in time for the show.
Manu’s eyes were shining with excitement and he said to himself “It’s certainly great to have a teammate.”
1. Which project did Manu make for Math Week?| A．Snakes and Ladders. | B．A magic game. |
| C．A crossword puzzle. | D．A poster. |
| A．Kevin offered to work with Manu. |
| B．Mrs. Lee advised Manu to get help. |
| C．Manu was refused by Junaid’s team. |
| D．Manu’s project failed to work properly. |
| A．realized the importance of team effort |
| B．found math the most interesting subject |
| C．regretted designing such a difficult project |
| D．understood making friends helps one go far |
【推荐3】Being outgoing is good for your life. Those people who are more outgoing like to meet lots of people and have more fun in life. In fact, being outgoing is not so hard as you think. Even shy people can be outgoing.
You can start to become outgoing with your best friends or a group of friends. But the real challenge (挑战) comes when you meet strangers (陌生人) or new friends. Smile more and usually they will reply to your smile. In this way, you may have some talks.
Start a talk. Just a simple “Hello.” or “How is it going?” is a good start. If you want to make interesting talks, you can read news in newspapers and prepare your views (看法) or surf the Internet for new information and then keep that in mind.
The easiest way to become more outgoing is to go out. This is also the most important step. Go to a park, beach, club, party or any other place that you think can be fun, and you may make new friends there.
1. People who are _________ like to meet lots of people and have more fun in life.| A．good at sports | B．more outgoing |
| C．more serious | D．talented in music |
| A．your parents | B．your best friends | C．your teachers | D．your brothers |
| A．How old are you? | B．What’s your name? |
| C．How is it going? | D．Are you healthy? |
| A．Shy people can’t be outgoing. |
| B．Being outgoing is good for your life. |
| C．Reading news in newspapers can help you make interesting talks. |
| D．You can make new friends in a party. |
【推荐1】You don’t need to get in a time-traveling machine to see how technology will change our lives, such as the way we shop. Several new technologies that are to change your buying habits already appear. Let’s see what’s in store for your future shopping.
Try it on, virtually(虚拟地). Want to shop online for a new pair of glasses? You don’t need to guess which pair looks best on you — use the eBay Fashion iPhone app to try a pair of glasses you’re checking out on a picture of your face. But what if you want to buy something bigger? Thanks to Microsoft Kinect’s action tracking(跟踪) camera, you can cover clothes on your screen body. You can even choose the background of your virtual fitting room to improve your shopping experience.
Get a perfect, custom fit. Everyone’s body is shaped differently. To get a perfect fit, you sometimes have to get your clothes changed. But by using 3D scanning(扫描) technology, all the clothes you buy will fit your body perfectly. Some companies scan your body by using High-tech to get the real sizes, so they can make special clothes just for you.
High- tech shopping carts(推车) and checkout counters(收银台). High-tech shopping carts could be common in malls and supermarkets in the future. Microsoft Kinect-enabled carts are under test. The cart can follow you along the aisles(通道), controlled only by your movement and your voice.
In the United States, several supermarkets use a certain set called “Scan It” that gives buyers the freedom to scan products on their own while they shop. If we don’t want to wait in line before the checkout counters, we can use Toshiba’s new object Recognition(识别) Scanner. The machine identifies a product as soon as it’s placed in front of a camera just by its shape and color, even if it has no bar code(条形码).
1. According to Paragraph 2, the eBay Fashion iPhone app can ________.| A．only make pictures of our faces | B．help us sell more clothes online |
| C．create us a virtual dressing room | D．choose suitable glasses for us |
| A．Object Recognition Scanner | B．The eBay Fashion iPhone app |
| C．3D scanning technology | D．Microsoft Kinect-enabled carts |
| A．the customers voice | B．its shape and color |
| C．the customer’s movement | D．the bar code on it |
| A．看成 | B．解释 | C．参与 | D．识别 |
| A．a new time-traveling machine | B．the influence of new technology |
| C．some inventions to change habits | D．the ways for future shopping |
These days a video from the Beijing Wildlife Zoo goes viral (走红). What is so interesting about this video? It shows a dog playing with lions and tigers four to five times its size! Is the dog in danger? Of course not.
A zookeeper said that they raised the dog together with the lions and tigers when they were very young. They were a strange but loving family. If you think this is too amazing, just remember that people have made friends with animals for a long time.
There are some other stories of cross-species friends. At an animal centre, a cat named Marina and a pig named Laura became friends after they came to the centre.
| A．Some people keep animals like eats and dogs as pets. |
| B．All the activities take time and energy. |
| C．In fact, the dog and the big animals are friends. |
| D．Both of them lived a hard life in the past. |
| E．Why can different species be friends? |
【推荐3】I still remember that summer in 2018. It was a World Cup summer—a time when my friends and I got together around the television, cheering on our favorite soccer team. Every night, we were shouting, and jumping up and down. We are the type of fans who get really into the games. We even make a New Year wish to fly to Qatar this year. We dream to watch 2022 World Cup live.
Why are we so crazy? Maybe it’s the game’s camaraderie: the feeling that the team on the field is our team; their win is our victory, and their loss is our failure. Or maybe it’s the game’s international quality. In countries like France, England, Spain, and Brazil, major teams have players from many different nations, and these teams now have fans all over the world.
But I think the main reason may be this: It’s a simple game. Anyone can play it. “You don’t need to be rich to play soccer,” says historian Peter Alegi. “You just need an open space and something like a ball, a bottle, or even some bags tied together.” Even in some war areas, you can see children and adults play on the street, often with handmade balls. That’s why soccer becomes the most loved sport.
In human history, people have played some kinds of the kicking game. What the world now calls football—or soccer in the United States—began as far back as 2500 B.C. with the Chinese game of cuju. However, the sport we know today first appeared in Britain. In the 1840s, England’s Football Association made a set of rules, and the modern game was born. Today, more than 200 million players all over the world take part in the game, truly making soccer the world’s sport.
Surprisingly, many of the game’s best players come from poor families in African nations, including Senegal, Ivory Coast and Ghana. Through their hard work, these best players achieve success and find their value. “Soccer is the love of everyone here,” says Abubakari, a teacher who works in Tamale, Ghana. “It gives people hope and makes us strong.”
1. The modern soccer game was born in ________.| A．China | B．America | C．Africa | D．Britain |
| A．共情 | B．亲情 | C．悲情 | D．同情 |
| A．the rules are easy for people to understand |
| B．people can play it almost anywhere with almost anything |
| C．people need much talent to play it |
| D．there are only a few different kinds of the game |
| A．the history of soccer | B．the popularity of soccer |
| C．different soccer teams | D．best soccer players |
Do you like playing tennis? It’s OK if you can’t play tennis. Mr. Qing can teach you. Come and join the tennis club!
Do you like acting? Do you like to work with other young people? Do you want to be in the school play? Come and join the acting club.
Can you dance? Do you like Latin (拉丁) dance or Chinese traditional (传统的) dance? Join the dance club and dance for the Christmas (圣诞节) show.
Do you like French food? Can you speak French? Do you want to learn French? Join the French club now.
根据上面内容判断正误，正确的写（T），错误的写（F）.
1. Mr. Qing can teach you French.
2. If you join the acting club, you can act in the school play.
3. Christmas Day is coming.
4. You can learn French in the French club.
5. There are three clubs in the school.
Most people agree that honesty is a good thing. But does Mother Nature agree? Animals can’t talk, but can they lie with their bodies and behavior? Animal experts may not call it lying, but they do agree that many animals behave dishonestly to fool other animals. Dishonesty often helps them survive (生存).
 | Many kinds of birds are very successful at fooling other animals. A bird called the plover sometimes pretends (假装) to be hurt in order to protect its young. When an enemy gets close to its nest, the plover pretends to have a broken wing. The enemy follows the “hurt” adult, leaving the baby birds safe. |
 | Another kind of bird, the scrub jay, buries (埋) its food so it always has something to eat. Scrub jays also steal food. They watch where others bury their food and steal it. But clever scrub jays seem to know when others are watching them. So they get back later, unbury the food, and bury it again somewhere else. |
 | Chimpanzees can also be sneaky. After a fight, the losing chimpanzee will give its hand to the other. When the winning chimpanzee puts out its hand, too, the chimpanzees are friendly again. But an animal expert once saw a losing chimpanzee take the winner’s hand and start fighting again. When chimpanzees find food, it’s natural for them to cry out. Then other chimpanzees come running. But some clever chimpanzees learn to cry very softly when they find food. That way, other chimpanzees don’t hear them, and they don’t need to share the food. |
| A．To show its friendliness. | B．To save its young. |
| C．To catch the enemy. | D．To find food easily |
| A．They bury the food deep. | B．They watch the food. |
| C．They bury the food twice. | D．They eat the food. |
| A．It will eat all the food it finds. |
| B．It will share the food with others. |
| C．It will fight again with the winner. |
| D．It will help others |
| A．Do animals lie? | B．Honesty or dishonesty? |
| C．How do animals protect lives? | D．How to get food? |
【推荐3】There are quite a few advantages of wearing school uniforms(校服). The idea may seem disagreeable at first, but thinking all the good results of wearing uniforms, you would be more likely to enjoy them.
Teachers love school uniforms because they provide a good learning environment for students. And they can pay their attention to study rather than style.
Buying school uniforms is easy and needs less thought. No matter what the school rules are, there are only basic pieces to the clothes that are necessary, and school uniforms can last a long time, so it won’t break the bank. Parents could also enjoy an easy morning, as it will take less time to choose a set of clothes for the school day.
Students wearing uniforms will feel easier about choosing what to wear. Some students may not like the lack of individuality (个性) with uniforms, but some school dress rules may offer them the chance to show their unique (独特的) styles. And uniforms today are also becoming more fashionable and can be found in many areas of pop culture. Superstars and fashion designers (设计师) are using uniforms as encouragement for new looks which also interest students.
1. Teachers think that wearing school uniforms ________.| A．is just a tradition | B．makes students feel uncomfortable |
| C．helps students pay attention to their study | D．makes students lose unique styles |
| A．a school uniform doesn’t cost a lot of money | B．students should wear uniforms every day |
| C．parents have to go to the bank many times | D．parents working in a bank can afford the uniform |
| A．will be designed by students | B．are not popular with superstars |
| C．are not accepted by parents | D．will be more fashionable in the future |
| A．bad | B．good | C．tiring | D．awful |
| A．How to deal with study in school. | B．How to dress. |
| C．The history of wearing school uniforms. | D．The advantages of wearing school uniforms. |
