1 . The Chinese ping feng (folding screen) is an ancient invention and traditional Chinese furniture (家具) . Its earliest common use dates from (追溯) the Han Dynasty. The term ping feng means protection from wind. showing its purpose at the very beginning.
As time passes, it has been made into different sizes with colorful paintings. On screens usually appears a dragon. It’s a symbol of light, growth and life-giving water. It also stands for nobility (尊贵) and power. The peacock, a beautiful bird, can be seen on screens, too. It’s a symbol of everlasting (永恒的) life. Beautiful flowers, which mean wealth and good luck, are also chosen as a popular design of the ping feng. All the designs carry people’s beautiful wishes.
Behind the ping feng lies an interesting story. In the past the unmarried daughter of a rich family was not supposed to see or be seen by men except her father, brothers or very close male cousins. When an admirer (追求者) paid a visit, however, she might take a secret look at him from a screen behind which she would be completely hidden. Her father would discuss poems with the young man and ask him to create one. If the daughter and her father were satisfied with the young man’s poem and his look, she might agree to take him as a husband.
Today the ping feng is back in fashion for its beauty and its practical (实际的) use as furniture. Acting as a moving wall or divider, it can be the perfect match for modern sofas and walls, which adds style to them. The ping feng is more than beautiful furniture.
1. What was the ping feng used for at the very beginning?| A．Protecting people from wind. | B．Dividing a room. | C．Making a room beautiful. | D．Hiding a person. |
| A．The dragon. | B．The peacock. | C．The water. | D．The flowers. |
| A．By telling a story. | B．By giving examples. | C．By comparing differences. | D．By explaining the result. |
| A．The ping feng has been popular all the time. |
| B．The paintings on the screens have the same size. |
| C．An unmarried daughter was too shy to see an admirer. |
| D．You can move the ping feng to match your other furniture. |
The ocean is beautiful and important, but in many areas of the ocean the water is dirty and the animals and plants are in danger. That’s why Sylvia Earle, an ocean scientist, started Mission Blue in 2009. Many scientists and volunteers have joined the Mission Blue (蓝色任务).
Mission Blue divided the parts of the ocean that are in danger into many small areas and calls them “hope spots”. There are rules to keep “hope spots” clean and healthy. For example, in some areas people can’t fish or even use boats.
Mission Blue teaches people about “hope spots” and looks for ways to help the waters. Scientists often go into the ocean to study and get information about plants and animals. These scientists often take beautiful pictures underwater. Then they shared pictures with others. By doing this, they hope people will become interested in protecting the ocean.
Mission Blue does important work on land, too. Its members teach people about the ocean in many ways. Some members write books about special places in the ocean. Others talk about Mission Blue’s goals at special events.
At an event in Japan, the members of Mission Blue offered a beach part to a group of kids. The kids enjoyed snacks and games and played in the water. They also learn about the ocean and spend time cleaning up the beach. At this event, kids helped the ocean and had fun at the same time.
Mission Blue believes people of all ages can work together and help save earth’s wonderful waters
1. What do you know about Mission Blue from Paragraph One?①When it started. ②Who started it? ③Why it started? ④how many members it has?
| A．①②③ | B．①②④ | C．①③④ | D．②③④ |
| A．Teaching people to fish. |
| B．Dividing the ocean into smaller areas. |
| C．Getting information about plants and animals |
| D．Sharing beautiful pictures of the underwater world |
| A．Educational, but boring. | B．Boring and meaningless. |
| C．interesting but meaningless | D．Educational and interesting |
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
Laws (法律) are the rules of society, like when you play games you need rules to tell you how to play. In our everyday life, there are laws that act like rules to tell you what to do and not to do. Every country has its own set of laws and some are special to that country. Of course, laws are more powerful than game rules. If you break the law, you may be fined or go to prison.
Laws are very important because they bring order to society. For example, drivers must stop when the traffic light turns red and go when it is green. If people go and stop freely, driving will be dangerous. That’s when the Road Traffic Safety Law is used. There is also Criminal Law (刑法). It punishes people’s bad behaviors such as stealing or killing someone. Usually, a country has many laws to guide us in life. Among them, the constitution (宪法) is the most important.
The constitution lists people’s basic rights and duties (义务). For example, China’s Constitution (宪法) protects peoples privacy. This means that nobody can look at your letters without your permission (允许). It also says that when you reach the age of 18, you will have the right to vote (投票) and stand for election (选举). Since the constitution is so important to our everyday life, it must be taken seriously. In China, the National People’s Congress (NPC), which is made up of a group of people who are elected by Chinese citizens is the highest authority (行政管理机构). It has the power to make and change the constitution and other laws.
1. What may he be done if a person break the law?2. Why are laws very important?
3. What are listed in our country constitution?
4. What do you think of the laws as a middle school student in your life? Why?
4 . Many people know that rubbish is a big problem on planet Earth. What many people don’t know is that junk (垃圾) has become a problem in outer space too.
According to BBC News, there are more than 22,000 pieces of space junk floating around the earth.And these are just the things that we can see from the surface of the earth by telescopes (望远镜). There are also millions of smaller pieces of junk that we can’t see.
Objects (物体), like bits of old space rockets or satellites, move around the planet at very high speeds. They are so fast that even a very small piece can break important satellites or become a danger to astronauts. If the tiniest piece of junk crashed into a spaceship, it could damage the spaceship.
To make things worse, when two objects in space crash, they break into many smaller pieces. For, example, when a U.S. satellite hit an old Russian rocket in 2009, it broke into more than 2,000 pieces , increasing the amount of space junk.
To reduce additional space junk, countries have agreed that all new space tools can only stay in space for 25 years at most. Each tool must be built to fall safely into the earth’s atmosphere (大气层) after that time. In the upper parts of the atmosphere, it will burn up.
Many scientists are also suggesting different ways to clean up space junk. In England scientists are testing a metal net that can be fired into space junk. The net catches the junk and then pulls it into the earth’s atmosphere to burn up. The Germans are building robots that can collect pieces of space junk and bring them back to Earth to be safely destroyed.
“The problem is becoming more challenging because we’re sending more objects into space to help people use their mobile phones and computers,” says Marco Castronuovo, an Italian space researcher.
“The time to act is now. The longer we leave the problem, the bigger it will become,” he says.
1. What does the underlined word “these” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Telescopes. | B．Satellites. | C．Pieces of space junk. | D．BBC News reports. |
| A．It burns up after it reenters the atmosphere. |
| B．It often stops the view of telescopes on Earth. |
| C．It could force (迫使) new space tools to travel at slower speeds |
| D．It may crash into other space tools causing damage or death. |
| A．the tools can be reused later | B．the tools don’t become space junk |
| C．the earth’s atmosphere can stay clean | D．the effects of space flight can be studied |
| A．Catch it with nets. | B．Use robots to collect it. |
| C．Burn it ‘in the earth’s atmosphere. | D．Send it further away from the earth. |
5 . Different countries have different ideas about how to be polite. In Britain, table manners are important. Good table manners in England are as follows:
★How to sit
You should sit up straight in your chair. When you eat, don’t pick up the bowl and bring it to you. This is called very bad manners.
★Noises at the table
It is never a good idea to make a noise at the table.
★Using your fingers
Usually we don’t pick food up with our fingers when we are eating main dishes, but there are some foods such as pizza, sandwiches, chips (or fries) and fruit, we can eat them with fingers.
★Your mouth
It is not polite to talk with your mouth full of food, or to eat with your mouth open. And if possible, do not make any noises.
★How much to eat
It is polite to eat the food clearly that you have been offered, so a clear plate is a good plate. It shows that you enjoy the food. If you can’t finish everything and need to leave a little, that’s OK. You could saysomething like “That was very nice. ..Thank you.”
1. It is ________ to make a noise when you are eating.| A．polite | B．rude | C．funny | D．relaxing |
| A．Leaving much food | B．Asking for more food |
| C．Bringing the bowl to you | D．Eating up everything on the plate |
| A．eat chips with your fingers | B．sit up straight on the table |
| C．talk with your mouth full of food | D．eat with your mouth open |
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
Recently, the nickname (昵称) “southern spuds (马铃薯)” has been popular across the country, thanks to Harbin, the capital of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province which is creating a frenzy (掀起热潮) on social networking sites in China.
Harbin has been actively meeting tourists from southern China, and these visitors are warmly called “nanfang xiaotudou” or “southern spuds”. The nickname comes from a perception (感知; 认识). Many northern Chinese think the people from the South look shorter when they are dressed in thick jackets and hats. This nickname may create a sense of warmth and friendliness for southern tourists.
However, the use of this nickname “southern spuds” has led to heated discussion. Locals think that the nickname shows warmth and good will. Besides, other interesting nicknames like “potato princess” are also getting popularity.
Many people agree the humor behind such nicknames, but some netizens (网民) have been unhappy to being called “southern spuds”. They feel their height is being made fun of.
Despite (尽管) the warmth and friendliness showed by the people from the Northeast, it is important to accept that different people have different ideas in some parts of China. In such an age where anyone can be a visitor or host, being kind and warm is necessary because all like friendliness and dislike discrimination (歧视).
1. Who are called “southern spuds”?2. What do locals think of the nickname “southern spuds”?
3. Do all netizens like the nickname “southern spuds”?
4. Do you have a nickname? What do you think of nicknames?
7 . ①Have you ever thought about what’s more important, looking fashionable or feeling comfortable? You might have noticed many people choosing style over comfort and some even go to extremes (极端) to follow fashion. But we should remember: being fashionable isn’t everything. It’s more important to be healthy.
②Some people believe that they need to be a certain size to look beautiful. So, they start extreme diets (日常饮食) that are not good for their health. They might not eat meals or eat too little, which can make them feel sick. Is it a healthy way to live?
③Also, many girls wear shoes with very high heels. They might think high heels make them look taller. But these shoes can actually hurt their feet and make it hard to walk comfortably, and it can increase risks of falls. Some even wear tight (紧的) clothes that influence blood circulation (循环) making it hard to breathe. Should we put fashion over comfort and physical health?
④Besides, some boys and girls spend a lot of time and money changing their hair color. The material they use is usually harmful to their health. To make their hair straight or curly, they also use tools that are hot enough to burn their hair. But using these tools too often or at very high temperatures can make the hair dry or even burnt. Is it really worth it to risk our health, spending so much time and money?
⑤So, let’s rethink what’s really important. Is it fashion or is it our well-being? Clothes or hairstyles don’t tell us anything about a person’s character. Instead of spending a lot of time choosing clothes, we could use that time to do fun things with friends. And instead of following extreme diets, let’s eat properly and exercise regularly. Remember, your worth is not decided by your appearance, but by who you are as a person.
1. Some people go on extreme diets to ________.| A．save money | B．save time | C．look beautiful | D．look different from others |
| A．To ask for help from readers. | B．To tell how to spend time and money. |
| C．To lead readers to think about the topic. | D．To describe the latest fashion. |
| A．Health. | B．Growth. | C．Warmth. | D．Wealth. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
8 . It’s normal for the human mind to wander (走神). So many things may fill your mind and pull your thoughts in different direction. This isn’t always bad. Sometimes a wandering mind can lead to a new creation. However, wandering thoughts can also stop you from getting things done, keep you up at night, or hurt your health. Don’t worry. Here is my advice about avoiding them.
Doing exercise and activities
Slow down and let your mind focus (专注) on your breathing. By controlling your breathing, you can bring your mind to work together with your body. Once you lose interest in what you’re doing, you can take a break from it. Go for a walk, do some exercise, take a shower or even lie down and think about nothing. These activities help a lot.
Focusing on tasks you’re doing
Do one task at a time. It won’t slow you down. Instead, it keep your mind focused and you’ll be able to get more done quickly. While doing tasks, don’t look around once in while. If there’s something keeping your mind wandering, allow yourself a specific (特定的) time to worry, think or plan. When the time is up, focus on your next task.
Controlling worrying thoughts
Writing down or sharing your worries helps to get them out of your head. When there’s a big task, it’s understandable to put it off. But by facing it bravely and trying to solve it, you can get away from your worrying thoughts. If it doesn’t work after you’ve tried everything, accept that there are always things you can’t change.
Title: | |
Doing exercise and activities | (1) You can (2) Once you lose interest in what you’re doing some activities help a lot, such as going for a walk, |
| (1) Do one task at a time. (2) Don’t look around from time to time while doing tasks. | |
Controlling worrying thoughts | (1) You can get them out of your head by (2) Try to accept that there are always things you can’t change after you’ve tried everything. |
9 . It’s hard to believe that a beautiful silk dress comes from thousands of small insects! Silk is made by insects called silkworms (蚕). It takes about 5,500 silkworms to make 1 kilogram of silk. The process was discovered by the Chinese about 5,000 years ago.
How is silk made? The process starts with the eggs of a certain kind of insect. The eggs are collected an kept warm. After a few days, the silkworms come out of the eggs. They are fed with leaves from mulberry (桑树) trees every 30 minutes, all night and all day. The room is kept warm, and the silkworms must not be influenced by loud noises or bad smells. After a month, they start to make a cocoon (茧). After four days, the cocoon is ready.
The cocoons are heated. Then the cocoons are put into water to make the silk loose (松散的). The silk from three or four cocoons is put together and made into a thread (线). One cocoon can make a thread that is 1 kilometer long.
Finally, the silk threads are made into cloth, and the cloth is used for things like dresses and scarves. Today, silk is produced in many countries, including India and Thailand, but more than 80 percent of the world’s silk comes from China. Every year, enough silk thread is produced, which can go from the earth to the sun 300 times. People love clothes made of silk because they are very beautiful. Also, they are comfortable to wear—silk feels cool in warm weather and warm in cool weather.
1. ________ discovered the way of making silk.| A．Japanese | B．Chinese | C．Silkworms | D．Insects |
| A．dry and noisy | B．noisy and dirty | C．warm and quiet | D．dirty and warm |
① Silkworms start to make cocoons.
② Threads are made from the cocoons.
③ Cocoons are heated and put into water.
④ Feed the silkworms with mulberry leaves.
⑤ Collect the eggs of a certain kind of insect.
| A．⑤④①③② | B．⑤④①②③ | C．④①③②⑤ | D．④①②③⑤ |
| A．beautiful and cool | B．cool and warm |
| C．beautiful and warm | D．beautiful and comfortable |
| A．Why is silk so popular? | B．Why is silk so expensive? |
| C．How is silk made? | D．Where can people buy silk clothes? |
10 . The British Museum is one of the biggest museums in the world. Inside, you feel smaller than usual. There are many things to see.
The story of the British Museum dates back three hundred years or so to one unusual man, Sir Hans Sloane, a doctor of King George II. The doctor collected books, drawings, clothes, money, animals, and flowers from all over the world. The doctor wanted everything to stay together before he died, so that people could come and have a look. The British Museum began. King George II gave away his library, and the museum started to grow.
The British Museum opened in 1759, six years after Sir Hans Sloane died. At first, the museum was only open three days a week and only ten people could enter in an hour. There wasn’t much time to see things. Visitors had to run through the rooms.
By about 1800, things began to get better. Wonderful statues, three thousand years old, arrived from Egypt. King George IV sold all his books to the museum secretly. A hundred years ago not only old books but also new ones arrived at the museum, and more people came to read them. Since then many famous men have written and studied there. And the library is growing faster and faster. There are four kilometers of new shelves every year and there are about six million visitors each year.
1. When you go inside the British Museum, you feel smaller than usual because ________.| A．the museum is empty | B．the museum is very big |
| C．there are too many things in it | D．you are too small |
| A．1753 | B．1759 | C．1765 | D．1800 |
| A．Because he was the first king to support the British Museum. |
| B．Because he gave away all his books to the British Museum. |
| C．Because he sold all his books to the British Museum. |
| D．Because he made the British Museum famous in the world. |
| A．At first the museum was only open three days a week. |
| B．There weren’t many people visiting the museum every day at first. |
| C．There are about six million visitors every year to the museum now. |
| D．The second paragraph is about why King George II loved the British Museum. |
| A．the things in the museum | B．the history of the British Museum |
| C．some famous museums in the world | D．British kings and their museums |
