1 . Once there were many thousands of Gourma Desert (沙漠) elephants in Mali, a country in West Africa. Now, there are fewer than four hundred.
Why did the number of the elephants drop so quickly? On the one hand, the elephants’ main lake, their only water source (来源), dried up. On the other hand, the land which the elephants lived on was overused by humans.
To protect the elephants’ living environment, the Mali Elephant Project (MEP) was started in 2007. MEP met with local people and helped them make rules of using land and water. As a result, the situation became better and there was more food, forest and grassland.
However, from 2012 to 2016, poaching (偷猎) and illegal trade in the elephants increased rapidly. Eighty-three elephants were lost in 2015 alone, and another fifty-one elephant were killed in 2016. “If this situation goes on, all the Gourma elephants will be killed by 2020,” said a member of MEP.
Luckily, the voice of MEP was heard. More organizations (组织) have joined together to educate the local people that trading elephants is against the law. Elephant poaching has dropped to a very low level. The local people have learned to live peacefully with the elephants, one of the wildlife treasures in the world.
1. MEP was started to ________.| A．raise more elephants in Mali | B．stop the main lake from drying up |
| C．discover water source for elephants | D．protect the elephants’ living environment |
| A．公平的 | B．亏损的 | C．非法的 | D．合理的 |
| A．in 2012 | B．in 2015 | C．in 2016 | D．in 2020 |
| A．the number of organizations has dropped | B．there is much less elephant poaching now |
| C．the local people keep the elephants at home | D．the whole world live peacefully with elephants |
| A．the rules of using land and water | B．the education of the local people |
| C．the work of Mali Elephant Project | D．the situation of Gourma Desert elephants |
I am an Inuit boy named Kayla. Inuit are the people who live in cold Arctic (北极的) lands. In my language, Inuit means “the people”. Some people used to call my people Eskimos. We wish to be called Inuit.
I live with my mother, father and two brothers. We live at the most northern part of the world. It is made up of the Arctic Ocean and the land all around it. For months the sea is covered with thick ice. The land is covered with snow and ice most of the year, too.
Winter is long and very cold. It lasts from October to March. It is dark twenty-four hours a day. The sun does not come up to warm the water and land. When the north winds blow, it is even colder. There are days when the temperature is 50°F below zero. My family is prepared. We wear watertight (防水鞋). We put on many layers (层) of clothes. Outside we always wear a thick warm jacket that has fur inside. I’m not afraid of the cold winters. I guess I’m just used to them.
My family and I look forward to each summer. So much happens in a short time. The temperature usually stays around 50°F. During the summer the sun shines all day and night. This is why the Arctic is called the “land of the midnight sun”.
1. Kayla is a boy who lives in cold Arctic lands, the most northern part of the world.2. There are four people in Kayla’s family.
3. In Kayla’s hometown, winter lasts from October to March without sunshine.
4. Kayla is afraid of the cold winters when the temperature is 50°F below zero.
5. The passage mainly tells us something about Kayla’s family life.
3 . Sharing Wall
| Dear readers, Where do you usually read books? Please share your ideas. Thank you! | |
In a tree. Perhaps it seems a little strange. But for me, it's really a good place. You can listen to the singing of birds and the green leaves around make you peaceful. David | At home. East or west, home is the best. Home is the warmest place in the world. You can lie on the sofa or just sit on the floor. Quietly, you can enjoy reading books like talking with good friends. Anna |
In the reading club. After reading a good book, maybe you can't wait to share it with your friends. It's really amazing to talk about a good book. Everyone has his own ideas about the book. You can learn more by sharing a book. Peter | In a coffee shop. The taste of coffee smells so nice! On sunny days, you can enjoy the sunshine through the window. On rainy days, you can listen to the sound of rain. Also, you can watch different people pass by. They may walk into your book and become part of it. Linda |
1. You can most probably see the sharing wall __________.
| A．in the reading club | B．at home |
| C．in a coffee shop. | D．in a tree |
| A．Anna | B．Linda | C．David | D．Peter |
| A．listen to the singing of birds |
| B．enjoy the sunshine or the sound of rain |
| C．talk about good books after reading them |
| D．lie on the sofa or sit on the floor |
| A．Peter thinks he can learn more by sharing a good book. |
| B．Anna enjoys reading at home. |
| C．David thinks a library is the best place to read books. |
| D．Home is the warmest place in the world. |
| A．where to borrow books | B．how to share books |
| C．how to make friends | D．where to read books |
Every living thing needs to reproduce（繁殖）. Reproducing means creating more members of your group. In order for plants to reproduce, they have to spread their seeds（种子）to other areas. Plants have developed all kinds of ways to do this.
The simplest way is gravity（重力）. Many seeds are inside of fruit. When fruit gets too heavy, it falls from a tree to the ground. Sometimes animals will pick up the fruit and drop it in another area. That helps move the seed even farther away. Apples spread this way.
Other plants use wind to spread their seeds. Dandelions（蒲公英）are a good example of this. Dandelion seeds are so light that when wind blows, it carries dandelion seeds to new places. Maple（枫树）seeds also use wind. Their seeds are connected with long, thin leaves that look like wings. When the seed falls from the tree, its “wings” help it fly farther from the tree.
Some animals help plants spread their seeds. The animals eat the seeds. While the seed is in the animal’s body, it stays whole. When the seed leaves the animal, it’s in a new place.
Ants also help spread seeds. Some seeds have a special smell that appeals to ants. The ants bring the seeds back to their home, which of course is underground. They only eat part of the seed. They leave the rest of the seed underground. After that, the seed can start growing.
1. When fruit gets heavy enough, it will fall from a tree to the ground because of gravity.2. All plants can spread seeds by themselves.
3. Wind helps apple and dandelion seeds to fly farther to new places.
4. Some animals and ants eat seeds, and it is helpful for seeds to spread.
5. The passage is mainly about the relationship between animals and plants.
5 . Everyone has got two personalities (性格) —the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don’t show your secret personality when you’re awake because you can control your behavior, but when you’re asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. At night, of course, people frequently change their positions. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in (入睡).
If you go to sleep on your back, you’re a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by new ideas. You don’t like to displease people, so you never express your real feelings. You’re quite shy and you aren’t quite sure of yourself.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive person. You worry a lot and you’re always easily upset. You always stick to your own opinions, but you don’t raise your hopes too much. You usually live for today not for tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good time.
If you curl up (蜷缩) when sleeping, you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and so you’re often defensive. You’re shy and you don’t normally like meeting people. You prefer to be on your own. You’re easily hurt.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced personality. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You’re usually careful. You believe in yourself. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don’t often get sad. You always say what you think even if it makes other people rather angry.
1. You may find the passage in ________.| A．a science magazine | B．a guidebook |
| C．a sports newspaper | D．a storybook |
| A．In the daytime. | B．At the beginning of sleep. |
| C．At night. | D．During the deep sleep. |
| A．curled up | B．on her stomach |
| C．on her back | D．on her side |
| A．易怒的 | B．攻击性的 | C．外向的 | D．有戒心的 |
| A．Sleeping on your side is the best way of sleeping. |
| B．Changing positions will cause sleeping problems. |
| C．Sleeping positions show people’s secret personalities. |
| D．Enough sleep makes people look better and healthier. |
6 . Li Shijin, 30, didn’t expect to make a living(谋生)through his voice.
Li began to work as a company salesman in Liaoning Province in 2012. He tried to find a part-time job as a wedding host(婚礼主持人)to improve his confidence.
Around the Spring Festival in 2014, he started listening to audiobooks(音频书). After being a listener for two years, he decided to record himself reading books. Then, he posted his first audio book Youth Will Not Return on Qingting in 2016. It was broadcast(广播)and listened to about 20 million times.
A year later, after he had read three audiobooks, he was signed up(签约)as a voice performer by Qingting. But he was under great pressure when he was signed up by Qingting. “To improve my ability, I didn’t sleep for more than five hours a day during that year. I had better results the following year.”Also, in order to develop his performance, Li attended a training course at Communication University of China. So far, he has completed nearly 30 works on Qingting.
On the road to success, Li put a lot of effort. When talking about the secret to his success, he said, “Many people have good abilities and many work very hard, but they may fail. Early birds get worms. I believe they will get chances and succeed sooner or later if they hold on to their dreams and keep on trying.”
Judge the following sentences true (T) or false (F) according to the passage.
1. Li worked as a wedding host to make a living.
2. Li felt happy after being signed up by Qingting.
3. To improve his ability, Li slept less than five hours a day during that year.
4. Li was signed up as a voice performer by Qingting in 2016.
5. The passage tells us if we want to succeed, we should work hard and never give up.
7 . Life in the future will be different from life today. Between then and now many changes will happen. But what will the changes be?
The population is growing fast. There will be many people in the world and most of them will live longer than people live now.
Computers will be much smaller and more useful and there will be at least one in every home. And computer studies will be one of the important subjects in schools then. People will work fewer hours than they do now and they will have more free time for sports, watching TV and travel. Traveling will be much cheaper and easier. And many more people will go to other countries for holidays.
There will be changes in our food, too. More land will be used for building new towns and houses for all the people. Then there will be less room for cows and sheep, so meat will be more expensive. Maybe no one will eat it every day. Instead they will eat more fruit and vegetables. Maybe people will be healthier. Work in the future will be different, too. Robots will do dangerous and hard work. Because of this, many people will not have enough work to do. This will be a problem.
根据短文内容判断正（A）误（B）。
1. In the future there will be fewer people.
2. Every family will have at least a computer in the future.
3. In the future people will have to work for more hours than now.
4. People may not eat meat as much as they do today.
5. This passage is about the imagination (想象) of people’s future lives.
8 . At the age of 18, Lee became the youngest pianist (钢琴家) to win first prize (奖) in the International Chopin Piano Competition (国际肖邦钢琴比赛). For this, he became famous (著名的) as the “Chinese Chopin”.
“Winning that prize meant (意味) a lot to me as a pianist,” said Lee.
Lee started to learn to play the piano when he was seven years old. Usually, children start to learn to play the piano at a much younger age. But because of his amazing talent (天赋), he was quickly able to make up for (弥补) the lost time.
Lee remembers clearly the first time he went to meet his piano teacher. “My teacher said, ‘You are too old to start now.’ I said, ‘I’m not old. I really want to play the piano.’ After he watched me play, he said, ‘You are good. I will teach you.’” Lee told the media (媒体).
When a reporter asked Lee, “What advice (建议) would you like to share with other young pianists?”
Lee answered, “Music is a great gift. You should love it with all your heart.”
Actually, it’s true for all of us that the only way to success (成功) is to love what we do.
根据短文内容判断正误，正确的写“(A)”，错误的写“(B)”。
1. Lee is a famous Chinese pianist.
2. Winning prizes means nothing to Lee.
3. Children usually begin to learn to play the piano at a much older age than Lee.
4. It took Lee 11 years to become the youngest pianist to win first prize in the International Chopin Piano Competition.
5. From the passage we know that if we want to get success, we should love what we do with our heart.
| Uncle Sam Do your children enjoy interesting stories, funny games and exciting dances? Uncle Sam will be read to teach children of all ages all these things at the City. Theatre on Saturday morning at 10:00. Free. |
| Walking Tour Forget your worries on Saturday morning. Take a beautiful walk and learn about local history. Meet at the front entrance of City Hall at 9:30. Wear comfortable shoes! |
| Movie Time Two films will be shown on Saturday afternoon at the Museum Theatre. See March of the Penguins at 1:30. Kung Fu Panda will be at 3:45. For further information, call 4987898. |
| International Picnic Are you tired of eating the same food every day? Come to Central Park on Saturday and enjoy food from all over the world. Delicious and not expensive. Noon to 5:00 p.m. |
| Take Me Out to the Ballgame It's October, and this Saturday night is your last chance to see the Redbirds this year. Get your tickets at the gate. It might be cold. Don't forget sweaters and jackets. |
| Do You Want to Hear The Zoo? The Zoo, a popular rock group from Australia, will give their first US concert this Saturday night at 8:00 at Rose Hall, City College. |
| A．City Hall | B．Central Park | C．the City Theatre |
| A．10:00 a.m. | B．9:30 a.m. | C．3:45 p.m. |
| A．Music group | B．US concert | C．Popular park |
| A．if you are 8 years old, you have to pay to learn exciting dances |
| B．you can learn local history on a walking tour on Sunday morning |
| C．The Redbirds' last match this year will be held outside |
| A．city news | B．weekend activities | C．music week |
They gave him very little to eat. The old man would have a sad look on his face as he looked at his son and daughter-in-law’s dinner table. One day the old man’s hand shook so terribly that he dropped his dish on the floor. The daughter-in-law became angry and shouted at the old man. And after that, his meals were served in a broken dish.
Not long afterwards, the family was sitting having their dinner while the four-year-old grandson was sitting on the floor carefully checking pieces of wood. The father asked, “What are you doing?” “I am making a small bowl.”
“Why are you making it?” The son answered. “So that I can fill it with your and mother’s food when I grow up.”
The old man’s son and daughter-in-law looked at one another and without saying a word started crying. The two quickly brought their old father to their dinner table. From that day on, the old man sat with the family when they had their meals. Even when the old man’s food fell here and there, the son and the daughter-in-law did not say anything.
1. The son and his wife made their father eat in the kitchen to ______.
| A．teach their son a good lesson | B．stay away from trouble |
| C．punish him for his shaking hand | D．give him peace and comfort |
| A．out of carelessness | B．to ask for a new one | C．against his own will | D．to draw his son's attention |
| A．follow his parents' example | B．eat the way his grandfather did |
| C．enjoy making things with his own hands | D．show his parents how clever he was |
| A．no longer drop his dishes | B．continue to eat in the kitchen |
| C．stop shaking his hands while eating | D．live a comfortable life in the family |
| A．The young should look after the old. | B．Family members should have meals together. |
| C．It's terribly wrong to serve meals in broken dishes. | D．Parents should set a good example for their children. |
