1 . As a child, visiting the zoo was more a punishment than a treat. I didn’t find the chimps’ tea parties funny, nor does the bird show entertaining. Feeding time for seals was less painful, but their performances still seemed like they belonged more in a circus.
And I hated circuses(马戏团), especially the animal acts-men teasing lions, girls balancing on elephants and monkeys playing football. I knew that every trick a circus animal did was unnatural, achieved through strict training and quite possibly cruelty.
Happily, during my lifetime public attitudes and the law have changed. Circuses using wild animals have now almost disappeared, and zoos have definitely improved.
When my children were young, I occasionally took them to our local zoo. The elephants were in tiny cages and the gorillas looked bored as they sat peeling bananas and staring at teasing visitors. Each cage had a sign which listed the animal’s name and where it came from. But, back then, there was little information included about the environmental challenges they faced.
As a result, environmentalists and animal lovers often oppose(反对) zoos. “Animals belong in the wild” is a common and understandable complaint. But what do the animals themselves prefer?
Generally speaking, zoo animals have a longer life. But you may protest they are not free. What? Free to be hunted and killed, free to die of hunger or thirst? Maybe sitting in a cage eating bananas isn’t so bad.
Not that such conditions are acceptable in modern zoos, due to the work of BIAZA, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums. These days every zoo requires BIAZA’s approval to operate, and the association sets the standards, observes conditions in zoos and develops animal-research programmes, both in the UK and abroad. BIAZA also organizes the animal exchanges between zoos all over the world.
Consequently, today, most zoo animals are born and raised in zoos, live in large, comfortable enclosures and are cared for by well-trained, knowledgeable and caring zoo employees. Of course, it’s no substitute for living in the wild but unfortunately this isn’t always possible. Meanwhile, why not visit your local zoo and decide for yourself?
1. The passage is mainly about ________.| A．how zoos have improved |
| B．whether a zoo should be closed down |
| C．a new environmental organization |
| D．the difference between zoos and circuses |
| A．had much shorter lives than those in the wild |
| B．were not treated well by their trainers |
| C．should have been placed in zoos |
| D．were not as intelligent as those in zoos |
| A．Organizing animal study projects and training zoo workers. |
| B．Checking zoo conditions and arranging animal exchanges. |
| C．Designing zoos and approving zoo operations. |
| D．Caring for ill animals and setting zoo standards. |
| A．Zoo animals should be freed into the wild. |
| B．Zoos are more popular now than in the past. |
| C．Zoo animals are more restricted than in the past. |
| D．Zoos now provide caring living conditions for animals. |
2 . Most people want to be happy, but few know how to find happiness, Money and success alone do not bring lasting happiness. Aristotle, a Greek thinker, said, “Happiness depends on ourselves.” In other words, we make our own happiness. Here are a few suggestions to help you be happier.
The first secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. Too often, we spend so much time thinking about the future that we fail to enjoy the present. For example, getting into college or getting a good job. You should enjoy life’s simple pleasures, such as reading a good book, listening to your favorite music, or spending time with close friends. People who have several close friends often live happier and healthier lives.
Another secret to living a happy life is to be active, and have hobbies where you forget your problems and time. Many people experience this, such as swimming, dancing, or playing a sport. You can forget about your problems, and only think about the activity, such as swimming, dancing, or playing a sport.
Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. Studies show that people feel good when they spend their time helping others. If you want to feel happier, do good things for someone. You can help a friend with his or her studies, go shopping to buy food for an elderly person, or simply help out around the house by washing the dishes.
1. The best title of the passage is ________.| A．Money Makes You Happy | B．The Secrets of Happiness |
| C．Ideas for Helping Other People to Be Happy | D．Good Friends Make You Happy |
| A．the more friends you have, the happier you will be |
| B．we shouldn’t think about our future |
| C．happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life |
| D．some people fail to live a happy life |
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
| A．everyone knows how to live a happier life |
| B．it’s wrong to spend time on work |
| C．hobbies take up too much time |
| D．doing good things for someone can make you happier |
| A．Reading a good book. | B．Traveling to a foreign country. |
| C．Playing a sport. | D．Spending time with close friends. |
The Snohomish people have lived in Washington State for a long time. They were known for hunting elks. The elsk gave them meat for food. They made clothing from elk skin. They made tools, weapons, and art from elk antlers. The elks were very important to the Snohomish. Elks even became part of a constellation(星座). The tale below tells how that happened. It explains what the Snohomish saw overhead in the night sky.
The Snohomish say the God went from east to west and gave people languages to let the people speak. The God stopped when he reached the land of the Snohomish. There he left his leftover languages! There were too many languages! No one could understand anyone. The people were unhappy.
They were unhappy for other things. People bumped their heads on the stars because the God had not made the sky high enough. The sky was not easy to get around(绕开) either.
The people planned to push up the sky. Since they spoke different languages, they decided to use ya-hoh as a signal to start pushing. People used tall trees to make poles. They pushed and poked(捅) at the sky with their poles when hearing ya-hoh. They pushed so hard that they lifted the sky!
While everyone else was pushing, three hunters were chasing four elks. These hunters had been away while the plan had been explained. Just when the pushing started, the four elks reached a place where the sky touched the earth. The elks raced into the sky. The hunters followed! The elks and the hunters wanted to return from the sky. It was too late! They were trapped in the sky. After a while they became stars. People call these seven stars the Big Dipper(北斗七星).
The stars in the sky seem to move when you look at them. People make constellations by drawing imaginary lines between stars and people have imagined stories about the stars. The Big Dipper is a set of stars. It has many names and stories. The Snohomish people call it the Elk Hunters.
The Tale of the Elk Hunters | |
| Passage outline | Supporting details |
| Elk’s importance | The elks |
Problems | •They couldn’t understand each other because the God left his leftover languages. •The sky was so low that people bumped their heads on the stars. •It was difficult to get around the sky. |
Actions | They by using ya-hoh as a signal to start. |
| Accidents | Three hunters followed four elks into the sky, and |
Results | •The Snohomish •Three hunters and four elks |
4 . When John was growing up, other kids felt sorry for him, as his parents always had him do some housework or do some part-time jobs. But when John reached adulthood, he was better off than his childhood friends. He had a better career, a better marriage and was healthier. Most of all, he was happier.
These are the findings of a 40-year study. Researchers followed the lives of 456 teenage boys from Boston. The study showed that those who worked when they were young enjoyed happier and more successful lives than those who did not. “Boys who worked in the home or community gained competence (能力) and came to feel they were useful members of society,” said George Vaillant, the psychologist (心理学家) who made the discovery. “And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them, too.”
Vaillant’s study followed these males all these years. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Vaillant, the researchers compared the men’s mental-health scores with their boyhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and the ability to deal with problems.
The link between what the men once did as young boys and how they turned out as adults was very sharp. Those who did the most boyhood activities were twice as likely to have warm relations with other people, five times as likely to be well paid and 16 times less likely to have been unemployed. The researchers also found that IQ and family social and economic class (社会和经济阶层) made no real difference in how the boys turned out.
Working-at any age-is important. Childhood activities help a child develop responsibility, independence, confidence and competence-the basis (基础) of emotional health. They also help him understand that people must work with others towards common goals. The most competent adults are those who know how to do this. Yet work isn’t everything. As Tolstory once said, “One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one’s work.”
1. Which of the following is TRUE about John?| A．He liked doing part-time jobs. | B．He enjoyed his career and marriage. |
| C．He received little love from his family. | D．He had few friends when he was a child. |
| A．Because he did part-time jobs after work. |
| B．Because he felt proud of himself when working. |
| C．Because his working experience in his childhood was of help. |
| D．Because he was happier than his friends when they were young. |
| A．By comparing different sets of scores. | B．By checking the men’s mental health. |
| C．By recording the boy’s effort in school. | D．By testing the men’s problem-solving ability. |
| A．IQ plays an important role in people’s development |
| B．social and economic class decides how our career goes |
| C．only working at a young age is important to our adult life |
| D．the ability of working with others towards goals is very important |
Looking for a sport that tests both your brains and your brawn (强壮的肌肉)? Look no further than chess boxing, which is exactly what its name sounds like. Players have to overcome at least one of two obstacles (障碍): they must win at a game of chess or win the boxing match. To win at chess, they must do one of two things: achieve a checkmate or cause the other player to run out of time when making his or her chess moves. To win at boxing, a player must knock out the other player or get a technical knockout.
Does this sound both crazy and exciting? It is. Chess boxing is all about being able to take punches while still keeping one’s wits. The matches start out with a round of chess, which lasts a total of four minutes. The opponents play speed chess, which is a style in which the players only get a set amount of time to make their moves. In chess boxing, the players get a total of 12 minutes each to make all of their chess moves. If they use up their time, they lose the chess boxing match.
After the first round of chess, the boxers get in the ring from a round of boxing which lasts three minutes. Assuming (如果) there is no knockout blow, at the end of the round the two contenders (竞争者) sit down and continue their game of chess. There are a total of six rounds of chess and five rounds of boxing, so the back and forth between the mental and physical aspects of the game make it one of the more interesting game and sport combinations.
1. How long does each chess round last?| A．Three minutes. | B．Four minutes. | C．Six minutes. | D．Twelve minutes. |
| A．Chess boxing requires both thinking and fighting. |
| B．Each chess boxer gets twelve minutes total for making chess moves. |
| C．There can be up to five rounds of boxing in a chess boxing match. |
| D．There are five rounds of chess in a chess boxing match. |
| A．A match can be won without any boxing taking place. |
| B．The chess part is much more important than the boxing part. |
| C．Good chess player are unlikely to be good boxer. |
| D．The fighting in chess boxing is less violent than standard boxing. |
6 . Many of us have had this experience: we lie down in a bed other than our own, perhaps at a friend’s house or in a hotel room, and find it difficult to fall asleep.
Why does it happen?
A new study shows one reason is what the scientists call “first night effect”. They believe that one side of the brain acts as a “night watch” to warn us about possible dangers. It prevented us from getting to sleep on the first night in a new environment.
For the study, 35 young volunteers were told to sleep in a lab for several days as researchers watched their brain activities.
According to the researchers, on their first night, the left brains were more active than the right brains and people had a hard time sleeping. However, left-brain activity reduced as days went by, falling even to the point of complete calm. In this process, the volunteers got better and better sleep experience.
The findings suggest that the different rhythms of the sides of the brain influence our sleep. When the two sides work differently, the balance between them is broken. So, the brain can’t relax and is sensitive (敏感的) to anything strange around.
“At some level, the brain is continuing to work ,even though you don’t realize it,” US professor Jerome Siege told Smithsonian Magazine. “If something unusual happens, you can be alert (警惕的).”
More surprisingly, this is like the way some animals sleep. Whales, dolphins, and many birds can sleep with half of their brain while the other half stays awake, with one eye staying open.
The researchers think that it is the result of evolution (进化) and works to protect us in possibly dangerous environments.
If you have ever had first night effects, researchers advise you to bring your own pillow or sleep in a room similar to your bedroom next time you sleep away from home.
Topic | First night effect |
| People’s possible experience | Many people have difficulty getting to sleep on the first night in a new environment. |
| The findings of the study | First night effect forces us to stay As days go by, people’s sleep experience |
| The explanations to the findings | On the first night in a new environment, people’s right brain is between them. Our brains continue to work without being realized at night so that we can be sensitive to anything unusual. Some other animals sleep in the similar way, which is thought to be |
| Bring your own pillow or sleep in a similar room that looks like yours. |
Many animal lovers would like to do more to help animals, but aren’t sure where to start or feel like they just don’t have the time. The good news is that there are many simple things you can do to help protect animals.
Think twice before you decide
Try eating a vegetarian (素食的) diet. If you aren’t ready to make this change, there are still things you can do. You can’t buy animal products from companies known to use practices that go against the law such as using drugs (毒品) to increase milk production (生产) in cows.
Help get the word out
Getting the word out about the problems faced by animals can be as easy as putting up a notice on your car. Also, talk to your friends and family members about important things that are related to animals. Give some simple advice to a friend with a new pet about the serious pet over-population (人口) problem we’re facing. Turn to some books if you are not so clear about the advice you give to your friend.
Write a letter
If a company has practices or rules that are harmful to animals, write them a letter to let them know you are angry about them, and that you won’t buy their products until they make some changes. Write letters to state and local legislators (立法者) to let them know how important it is that they support legislation that protects animals.
Be more loving
If you’re thinking about adding a dog or a cat to your family, think about getting one from a homeless-animal house. You’d better not buy a pet. There are many wonderful animals just waiting for a home. By taking back an animal from there, you will be helping in the fight against pet over-population, as well as giving your money to those who are responsible for taking care of animals.
Take action to protect them by yourself
It may sound simple, but one of the best ways to help animals is to let your actions speak to the world. You should do the following things first by yourself. Treat all living creatures (生物) with respect (尊重). Care about your pets and look after them well. Never go to entertainment (娱乐) places that use animals to perform (表演). Support laws that protect animals. All of these things set an example for others to follow.
Title: Ways of
| Think of your decisions carefully | Don’t eat meat or animal products. Avoid buying animal products from companies that have illegal practices. |
| Get the word out | Put up an animal-protection notice on the car. Give your friends some simple advice on the pet over-population problem. Get |
| Write letters | Let those companies that are doing harm to animals know you are angry. Let legislators know the |
| Be more loving | Get a pet from a homeless-animal house Give your money to those who are responsible for taking care of animals. |
| Treat all living creatures with respect. Take good care of your pets. Do not visit places where animals perform. |
8 . Libraries give kids a quiet and safe place to read and learn. For over 100 years, libraries have played an important role in Americans’ education. But how are these book-filled buildings changing with the times? You may be surprised to find out.
Benjamin Franklin famously founded (创建) America’s first lending library in 1731. But the public library system (系统) got its biggest development in the American history in the late 1800s. Businessman Andrew Carnegie donated millions of dollars to help build free public libraries across the country. Between 1886 and 1919, Carnegie’s donations helped build 1,679 new libraries.
Carnegie believed that libraries could offer the chances to Americans, young and old. He knew that the more libraries there were, the more people would have opportunities to read and use books, speeches and news.
If you can easily find a public library in your community (社区), you’ll get more chances. After all, the United States has 9,225 public libraries. Today, libraries keep growing. Seven tenths of the libraries have free Internet. It provides much more information and opportunities (机会) to ask for jobs online.
Libraries are also teaching kids about the fun of reading. The new program Read! Build! Play! adds reading into playtime. As kids listen to a book that is being read aloud, they use Legos (乐高积木) to build images (图像) from the story happily. Today’s libraries are always looking for creative programs to bring people into the library.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “The doors of wisdom (智慧) are never shut.” As long as the doors of public libraries are open, what he said is most certainly correct!
1. The right order of the following statements is ________.①The public library system in America developed fast.
②The first lending library was founded.
③Libraries provide information and chances to ask for jobs online.
④Libraries try to bring people into the library by using creative programs.
| A．②①③④ | B．②③④① | C．③④①② | D．①②③④ |
| A．libraries have played an important role in Americans’ education |
| B．public libraries in the US should never close the doors |
| C．the writer doesn’t agree with Benjamin Franklin |
| D．libraries help people to open the doors of wisdom |
| A．To build more libraries. |
| B．To add reading into playtime. |
| C．To provide the libraries with free Internet. |
| D．To look for creative programs to bring people into the libraries. |
| A．the libraries in the world | B．libraries and opportunities |
| C．libraries teach kids to read and learn | D．the development of the American libraries |
9 . When you hear Westerners (西方人) say “ Drop in anytime” (随时来玩) or “Come and see me soon”, you should realize that it doesn’t mean you are welcome to come over to their house anytime. It’s wise to telephone before visiting someone.
Never accept an invitation unless you really plan to go. You may refuse by saying, “Thank you for inviting me, but I may not be able to come.” If you are unable to come after accepting the invitation, be sure to tell those who invite you in advance (提前) that you will not be there.
When you have accepted the invitation to a party or a dinner, it is polite to bring small gifts with you, such as bottles of drink, flowers and chocolate. Sometimes Westerners may take you out to dinner in a restaurant and it does not necessarily mean that he is going to pay the bill at the end of the meal. He might want you to “go Dutch”, which means each person pays his own bill.
1. The best title of this passage is ________.| A．Drop in anytime | B．Come and see me soon |
| C．Invitation in western countries | D．Westerners |
| A．you may refuse if you don’t plan to go |
| B．you have to accept the invitation even if you don’t want to go |
| C．you can’t accept the invitation |
| D．if you accept the invitation, you must go |
| A．去荷兰 | B．去Dutch这家餐厅 |
| C．实行 AA制 | D．请客 |
10 . TV was one of the greatest inventions in the 20th century. Nowadays, nearly every household has at least one TV set.
Television came into being(出现)based on the inventions and discoveries of many scientists. On April 7, 1927, the first public television programme was broadcast in the USA. The signals(信号) were received on a very small screen. It was only about the size of a business card. The pictures were reddish(微红色的) and not clear.
In the 1930s, bigger screens appeared with black-and-white pictures. However, a snowy picture was the best many TV viewers(观众) could hope for. Often, they could only get one station, and only when the weather conditions were good.
When World War Ⅱ(1939—1945) began, the development of TV stopped. There were a very small number of TV sets in the hands of the public. By 1945, there were fewer than 7,000 working TV sets in the USA. A TV set cost about half the price of a car at that time.
The time after World War Ⅱ is considered one of the golden periods of television. Families saved money during the war years, and wanted to buy a lot of things after the war. TV sets were soon put onto the ‘must-have’ list. 1950—1959 was an exciting period for television. Colour television and remote controls came out during this time. By 1955, the cost of TV sets came down a lot. Instead of being equal to half the price of a car, they were now just equal to the cost of a new set of tyres(轮胎). This marked the beginning of the booming age of TV.
1. Which is NOT true about the first public television programme?| A．It was broadcast in the UK. | B．It was broadcast in 1927. |
| C．The pictures were not clear. | D．It was shown on a small screen. |
| A．soon | B．slow | C．busy | D．fast |
| A．The birth of television. | B．The development of television. |
| C．How to invent television. | D．The price of television. |
