1 . “Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell.”
This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown person who lived in Rome in AD(公元) 53 wrote it.
We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives. But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives?
Picture this. You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a QQ message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. How happy do you feel?
Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave up feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps because they live simpler lives.
One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons Benjamin, 10 and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave(微波炉), computer or mobile phones.
The grandmother, Lyn, said, “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes.” The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a “trendy(赶时髦的), beer-drinking granny”, to one who cooked things.
根据短文内容，选择正确答案。
1. The writer uses the quote(引号) at the beginning of the story to ________.
| A．tell us a truth about our lives |
| B．tell us what life was like long time ago |
| C．point out what causes such a thing to happen |
| D．point out some problems we will meet in the life |
| A．have speeded up our lives | B．have improved the quality of our lives |
| C．may make people feel very happy | D．may bring people some trouble |
| A．they loved to live simple lives |
| B．they wanted to know how people lived without modern inventions |
| C．they were troubled by modern inventions |
| D．living in a different time would be a lot of fun for them |
| A．People who live far away from noisy cities often seem to be happier. |
| B．An unknown Roman was sure that the quality of life would get better. |
| C．The family had some changes when they lived in a 1940s house. |
| D．With the improvement of our lives, we often feel stressed and tired. |
| A．problems with technology |
| B．improvements of our lives with technology |
| C．changes happening to technology |
| D．the importance of technology |
2 . We spoke to three students from around the world about different national holidays. There are different customs（习俗）for each festival.
Tan Xiaodong, 15, Hong Kong, China
“It’ll soon be Chinese New Year. Before it, we’ll clean the house and decorate it for good luck. Every shop is going to close for a few days and go out a lot to celebrate in the streets. We might go and see the lion and dragon dances in the city center. I love this festival.”
Wendy, 16, Sydney, Australia
Australia Day is on 26th January and it’s an important holiday here. We always have a Monday off, so we celebrate for three days. My parents and I go to the countryside for a picnic and friends always come over. Many people go to beach parties or street parties and there is lots of music and dancing. What fun!”
Amy, 14, New York, USA
The first Thanksgiving Day was hundreds of years ago when Europeans who came to America thanked God for his help. It’s still a very important day for families to be together. This year we’re going to visit my grandparents and we’ll eat a delicious meal of turkey. Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November every year.”
1. How many festivals are mentioned in the passage?| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
| A．do a lot of shopping | B．see lion and dragon dances |
| C．decorate the house for good luck | D．eat turkeys |
| A．have a meal in the countryside | B．go to a swimming pool . |
| C．have a party at school | D．clean the house and dance |
| A．A country. | B．A festival. | C．A bird. | D．A kind of drink. |
| A．different festivals have different customs |
| B．many people go out for a picnic with friends before Chinese New Year |
| C．the first Thanksgiving Day was born a hundred years ago |
| D．Australia Day is an important day for family members to get together |
3 . Do you want to know what our life will be like in the future? Let’s have a look. You may get a surprise. You will go to the kitchen when you are hungry. You will give orders to the kitchen robot. The robot will cook the food for you in a few minutes. Then it will bring it to you.
In the kitchen you will find a special food machine. The food machine will tell you what your body needs. It will help you eat healthily. The food machine will be connected with (连接) the kitchen robot. The robot can get messages from the food machine. After having a meal, you can go to your home office. You will work at home and you don’t need to go out to work any more.
You will have a special information screen. You can get any information on the screen. When you receive a message from a friend in America, your information screen will be turned on automatically (自动地). Your friend’s face appears on the screen. Then you can talk to your friend easily.
1. What is the second paragraph about?| A．It’s about healthy food. |
| B．It’s about the kitchen robot. |
| C．It’s about a nice kitchen. |
| D．It’s about a robot which can do homework. |
| A．the kitchen robot |
| B．the food machine |
| C．the information screen |
| D．the computer |
| A．丢失 | B．复制 | C．接收 | D．保存 |
| A．on the wall | B．on the screen |
| C．on the Internet | D．on TV |
| A．Our life in the future |
| B．A food machine |
| C．A special information screen |
| D．A kitchen robot |
4 . The aim (目的) of students who come to school is to study. But studying requires (需要) a right way, or you will waste either the time or the money. The followings are the ways of studying.
The best time for reading is morning, because in the morning, the air is fresh and the mind is clear. For that reason, we can get good results.
In studying we must have patience (耐心). If we do not know a text well, we must read it again. We shouldn’t read the next one until we have understood the first one.
When we are studying, we must put our hearts into the book, or we can get nothing from the book while we are reading.
We must always ask “whys”. If it is not well understood, write it down and ask our teachers, parents or friends. In any possible way, we must know it completely and what we’ve learned can be used well and made better.
Though there are many ways of studying, yet the above mentioned (提到的) will be quite enough if we can keep them in mind and do so.
1. The passage tells us ________.| A．the importance of reading |
| B．to read in the morning |
| C．to pay attention to the ways of studying |
| D．to have patience in studying |
| A．three | B．four | C．five | D．six |
| A．it’s easy to remember what we have learned |
| B．the air is fresh and the mind is clear |
| C．it’s difficult to get good results |
| D．both A and C |
| A．easy to understand it well |
| B．better to get something from it |
| C．impossible for us to get something from it |
| D．possible to learn something from it |
| A．understand the book well |
| B．write down the questions |
| C．do with the new words |
| D．get some questions to ask our teachers |
5 . As you enjoy the great beauty of Big Bend National Park, safety comes first. By giving careful thought to your actions, you can have a safe, exciting, and happy time in it.
Driving
•Be careful with the speed limit in the park, and look out for monkeys and rabbits along roads, especially at night.
•Stop on the side of the roads when you want to take pictures- do not stop on roadways.
•Take more than enough water, food and sleeping bags. If your car breaks down, stay with it. It is much easier for others to find a car on a road than a person walking through the forest.
Fire
•Wood fires and ground fires are not allowed in the park.
•Pay more attention when smoking.
Wildlife
•Never feed wildlife.
•Watch your children closely.
•If you meet a tiger or a lion, back away. If you think it may attack you, wave your arms, throw stones, and shout but never run.
•Poisonous snakes are active. during warmer months. Carefully check your shoes before putting them on and your sleeping bags before using them. Carry a flashlight at night. Keep away from bushes.
1. From the passage we can know that ________ in Big Bend National Park.| A．lions won’t attack tourists |
| B．there is danger for tourists |
| C．snakes are active during winter |
| D．you can’t find monkeys or rabbits |
| A．stay with it waiting for help |
| B．make a fire with wood |
| C．walk through the forest |
| D．go and find someone to fix it |
| A．Run away quickly. |
| B．Let children play with them. |
| C．Throw stones at it. |
| D．Use a flashlight to scare it away. |
| A．drive as fast as you can |
| B．take sleeping bags with you |
| C．give food to wild animals |
| D．walk around in bushes in summer |
| A．How to protect yourself against wildlife. |
| B．The great beauty of Big Bend National Park. |
| C．Big Bend National Park's safety instructions. |
| D．Things to do while driving in Big Bend National Park. |
6 . When you want to invite friends to a party, you’d better send them invitations. This is a good way to show your respect. Here are some ways of inviting friends to your party.
Mailed Invitation
The most traditional (传统的) way to invite your friends is to mail invitations. You need to write down all the information about the party, such as the party time, place, clothes to wear, things to bring, phone number and so on.
Online Invitation
You can also invite friends to a party through the Internet. You can buy some online invitations, put pictures and videos in the online invitations and then e-mail them to your friends.
Phone Call
If you want to save more time, you can just make a phone call. In this way, you can tell them more about your party. And you can hear if they are interested in the party.
In-person (亲自的) Invitation
An in-person invitation can let you talk to your friends about the party and know their interests. But when you talk to the friends, you may forget some important information. So you’d better prepare an invitation for them, too.
1. The underlined word “respect” in the passage means “________” in Chinese.| A．祝福 | B．尊重 | C．感激 | D．高傲 |
| A．send e-mails |
| B．mail invitations |
| C．make phone calls |
| D．write letters on the Internet |
| A．how to mail invitations to friends |
| B．how to hold a party for friends |
| C．how to write party information |
| D．how to send online invitations |
| A．buying online invitations |
| B．knowing friends’ interests |
| C．inviting friends by phone calls |
| D．talking with friends before a party |
| A．How to hold parties |
| B．How to make friends |
| C．The important information |
| D．Some ways to invite friends |
7 . Nobody likes to do chores, especially kids. How can you make your kids get into a good habit of doing their chores? Try making chores fun for them.
Play some music. Music makes everything seem like a party, doesn’t it? Play your kids’ favorite music and let them dance around while they are doing their chores.
Make it a treasure hunt (寻宝). It’s a good way when you would like them to clean the house. Let them know that you hide (隐藏) a $5 bill someplace. If they find it, they can keep it.
Change often. If your kids keep doing the same chores for months, they may feel bored. Teaching them a new task (任务) is fun for both you and the kids. They will feel more grown up when they get a new task.
Do it together. It’s never fun to be the only one working and watching everyone else relaxing.
If everyone takes part in doing chores, you will finish them faster and have more fun.
1. The article is for ________.| A．schools | B．teachers | C．parents | D．kids |
| A．three | B．four | C．five | D．six |
| A．play their favorite music | B．hide something for them to find |
| C．give them a new task | D．do it together with them |
| A．tired | B．fun | C．interested | D．bored |
| A．Doing chores is good for kids | B．Help kids set a good habit |
| C．Make chores fun for kids | D．Everyone should do chores |
8 . There's much to see under the sea, but you need to remember that light behaves differently in water than in air. The objects appear closer to you than they exactly are. You might find yourself reaching out to touch something and completely missing it.
Objects underwater will appear larger than they would on the surface, too. Be careful not to tell any stories about the big fish that got away. That fish might not be so big after all! It's just because sometimes things can seem to be as much as about 33 percent bigger in water!
What's more, in deeper water, colors just don't seem as bright. In fact, it looks as if some colors are missing. Remember the color of an object results from the wavelengths (波长) of light that are reflected(反射) from its surface. And light is taken in as it moves down through the water.
Swimmers wear wet suits to keep warm underwater. Let's take a bright red, yellow, and blue wet suit as an example. These colors are hard to miss on the surface of water. Watch carefully the changes in color as you descend in the water. The red part now looks almost black because the red light wavelengths, the longest among these three colors, are missing. As you go down deeper, the same thing will happen to the yellow part and in the end to the blue part. Even at a place of about 6 to 9 meters underwater, you will look terrible, like a ghost(鬼怪)! And you have to wait for your return to the surface to enjoy the bright colors again.
1. You miss the object under water when you want to touch it because ______.| A．your eyesight is quite poor | B．you are not quick enough |
| C．it is not as close as it seems | D．it disappears very quickly |
| A．the size | B．the color | C．the position | D．the weight |
| A．上升 | B．增加 | C．屏息 | D．下潜 |
| A．A four-meter-long fish looks three meters long underwater. |
| B．The wavelengths of red light are longer than those of blue light. |
| C．Much water will be taken in by the swimmer deep in the wave. |
| D．You will see a ghost if you go as deep as 6 to 9 meters into the sea. |
| A．The standard of color underwater | B．The direction of light underwater |
| C．The brightness of color underwater | D．The behavior of light underwater |
9 . As usual, Amber was hurrying to catch the yellow school bus. Luckily the traffic lights turned green as she was to cross the road, so she made it. When the bus passed the golden arches (拱形门) of McDonald’s, they reminded her of a hamburger. She hadn’t had breakfast that morning because the fruit salad on the blue dish didn’t look delicious at all. However, Amber remembered that she was still on a diet. So now she was really in a black mood.
You may have noticed that several colors were used in the above story so as to help describe Amber’s morning. In fact, colors influence your life more than you can ever imagine. Take language for example: You may describe a sick person as being “a bit green”. To describe a depressed (沮丧的) person, you say that the person is “feeling blue”. In short, colors do add interest to daily conversations.
Besides, colors can be used in many parts of your daily life. Have you ever thought about why many school buses and taxis are painted yellow, and stop signs red? Since yellow is the most eye-catching color, it can catch people’s attention, especially in heavy traffic. As for red, it is the color which usually shows warning; as a result, some traffic signs use this color. For the same reason, hot-water taps are usually marked red.
The colors of a dining environment possibly decide how much you eat. Most fast-food restaurants are often decorated in bright colors such as red, yellow, orange, and white for the purpose of increasing people’s appetites (胃口). This is because bright colors are natural colors found in many foods, and, therefore, able to raise people’s spirits. Blue, in comparison with bright colors, is said to lower people’s appetites because few foods are blue in nature. For those who are on a diet, blue dishes and bowls might help!
“Morning, Amber! What happened? You look a bit green,” said Violet, Amber’s best friend.
“Nothing... just feeling... blue,” said Amber.
“Hey! Come to my place tonight. Do you know what I just bought? A wii! It’s red-hot.”
Amber was tickled pink to have the chance to play with the wii and said, ”Sounds great!”
1. According to the passage, if you are on a diet,________ might help.| A．putting your food in a blue dish or bowl | B．turning on a yellow light during the meal |
| C．painting the walls of the dining room white | D．covering the dining table with an orange cloth |
| A．it tells other drivers to prepare to stop | B．it helps bus drivers stay in a good mood |
| C．it can easily catch other people’s attention | D．it is the color that most schoolchildren like |
| A．Amber looked ill when Violet saw her first. |
| B．Amber ate up all her fruit salad in the morning. |
| C．Amber refused to go to Violet’s house in the end. |
| D．Amber didn’t catch the school bus and was late for school. |
| A．Colors influence people’s daily lives. | B．Most fast-food restaurants are painted grey. |
| C．Different colors are used for different purposes. | D．Colors make daily conversations more interesting. |
| A．Amber was not fat at all. |
| B．Amber cheered up at Violet’s invitation at last. |
| C．Violet didn’t know how colors influenced our lives. |
| D．Arches of McDonald’s are painted gold only to make them beautiful. |
10 . We need to be responsible （有责任心的） for our environment.Being a frugal consumer（节俭的消费者）is one way to help. But, what exactly does that mean?
Use it up
You can use things up instead of wasting them. Press that last bit of toothpaste（牙膏）out. Use the last little piece of soap. Don't throw away any bits of the biscuit at the bottom of the box.
① ________
You do not always need to have new things. Suppose there are holes in your socks. Mend them and wear them longer. You don't have to have the latest telephone until the old one doesn't work anymore. Then you can get a new one. Think twice before replacing something that still works.
② ________
When something you want is not on hand, look for something else that you already have to take its place. Suppose you are preparing your lunch for tomorrow and want a butter sandwich. However, there is not any butter in your home. Have a cheese sandwich instead so that you can use all of the cheese. With a little thought, you can make something do,instead of buying something new.
Do without
Think about all those things that you would like to have. Do you really need them? How long will you really play with that new toy? Make a list of things that you want. Delete the things that you don't really need, so you can save a lot of resources（资源）．
1. When can you get a new telephone according to the passage?2. Please translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.
3. What should you do if you don't have butter for a sandwich at home?
4. 从下列 ABC 中选出能填入文中空白处的最佳段意。
A. Wear it out B. Stop pollution C. Make it do
①
5. Give a title to the passage.
