1 . One year ago, I worked at a traditional Chinese medicine store. Business was not bad. Every day we mixed medicinal herbs（中药）for patients, so the store was always full of a strong herbal smell. After I had worked there for a time, a boy of 13 or 14 started coming and sitting on the stairs outside the store for a while every day. It seemed strange to me. “Do you like the herbal smell? ” I asked him one day. “I grew up with this kind of smell, ” he said. He told me that his mother took herbal medicine for years, so he could mix herbs for his mother when he was very young. He mixed the herbs with deep love, hoping his mother would get better as soon as possible.
“Is your mother well now? ” I asked.
He shook his head, “My mother passed away three years ago. ” Looking up into the sky, he went on, “When I first passed by here and smelled the herbs, I thought of my mother. It is comforting to remember those days when she was alive. So I come here every day to sit for a moment. When I sit around this smell, I feel as if my mother is still alive and is waiting for her medicine in her room. ”
Judge the following statements True (T) or False(F).
1. The writer mixed medicinal herbs at a traditional Chinese medicine store every day one year ago, but the business was not good.
2. The boy came and sat on the stairs outside the store every day because he missed his mother very much.
3. The boy grew up with the smell of the herbs because he liked to play with herbs.
4. The boy’s mother passed away when he was 13 or 14 years old.
5. A good title for the story might be Herbal Love.
Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
| A．A Small and Quiet Town |
| B．Strange Happening in My Town |
| C．Animals in Our Neighborhood |
3 . Jed couldn’t keep the tears running down his face. His friend, Rob, wanted to help, but the more he talked about it, the worse Jed felt. “I know how terrible you must feel,” Rob said, “Everyone on the team thought the coach would choose you. He must be crazy to let Tom swim the breaststroke(蛙泳)!”
When the coach told him about the date and place of the state swimming meeting for boys of 15 and under, Jed was sure he would be swimming the breaststroke. He even told his family that the team couldn’t win the event without him. When the coach chose Tom Timons, the new boy from Springfield, to swim the breaststroke, Jed could hardly believe it. Coach Robertson told Jed he could swim on the relay team, but that offered little consolation. “I may leave the team,” he told Rob. “I’d rather not swim at all than be on the relay team.” “I don’t know whether you should do that or not,” Rob said. “We need you on the relay team. Of course, if you say you won’t swim at all, the coach may change his mind and let you swim the breaststroke.” Jed left Rob and headed towards home. He knew it would be embarrassing to have to tell his family and his friends that someone else would take his place. He wondered if he should make up a story and tell his mom and dad that he asked the coach to put the new boy in. Jed didn’t know what to do.
1. We can know from the passage that __________.| A．Rob failed to help Jed |
| B．Jed didn’t want to swim the breaststroke at all. |
| C．Tom would swim on the relay team |
| D．the coach chose both Jed and Tom for the breaststroke |
| A．Something that makes you feel sad | B．Something that makes you feel better |
| C．Another chance to swim the breaststroke | D．Another chance to be on the relay team |
| A．Too Good to Swim | B．Terrible to Be Out | C．The Coach and Jed | D．The Relay Team |
| A．the coach didn’t like him | B．he was not good enough to swim |
| C．he wanted Tom to swim instead of him | D．his friend Rob wanted to swim |
Sun bears(马来熊) are the smallest of the world’s eight bear species(物种). They have a black coat and a white or golden colour on their bodies. Their homes are in the tropical forests(热带雨林) of Southeast Asia. They live in trees and eat both plants and animals. They can grow to be 1.4 meters in height and 65 kilograms in weight. They usually live alone and are happy to spend most of their time by themselves.
Scientists studied sun bears in the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. They found that although sun bears mostly live alone, they have developed a surprising social skill. They can copy(模仿) other sun bears’ facial expressions(面部表情) as a form of communication. They can even copy exact muscular(肌肉的) movements that other sun bears make—such as making a face.
The ability to copy facial expressions is found in humans, gorillas(大猩猩), some monkeys and some other animals. But until now, only humans and gorillas have the ability to exactly copy facial expressions. However, scientists found that sun bears can copy facial expressions as well as humans and gorillas. This surprised them because sun bears are alone and they have no close relationship with human beings.
Although they live alone in the wild, the sun bears in the study often played gently with each other. Sometimes they played with faster actions such as hitting and biting. Scientists are still not sure what messages the sun bears were sending to one another.
1. According to the passage, where do sun bears usually live?| A．In caves. | B．In trees. | C．By the river. | D．On the ice. |
| A．they like to live alone in the wild and only eat animals |
| B．they can copy other sun bears’ facial expressions for communication |
| C．they can copy exact muscular movements of other sun bears |
| D．they have no close relationship with human beings |
| A．A warm home on the earth |
| B．A brave animal in the forest |
| C．A new friend of human beings |
| D．A surprising social skill of sun bears |
A man works in a restaurant in America. He isn’t a waiter. He plays the piano for customers there. And he plays it very well, so many people come to listen to his music.
One night, a customer says to the man, “I don’t want to listen to the music. I want you to sing a song.”
“Sorry, I can’t sing,” answers the man.
The customer is very ________ and tells the boss of the restaurant about it. Then the boss tells the man angrily, “If you want to work here, you must sing a song!”
The man has to sing. This is his first time to sing in public, but the customers find many people come to listen to him. After some years, people in the world know him and like his songs. He is the great black singer—Nat King Cole.
1. Nat King Cole works as ________ in a restaurant.| A．a waiter | B．a boss | C．a customer | D．a piano player |
| A．the food in it is very delicious | B．they like to eat there |
| C．he plays the piano very well | D．he is very kind and friendly |
| A．tired | B．angry | C．happy | D．shy |
| A．the boss likes Nat King Cole very much |
| B．the customer hears Nat King Cole sing on that day |
| C．the customer leaves the restaurant very angrily |
| D．Nat King Cole can’t work in the restaurant after that day |
| A．Work hard | B．Never give up |
| C．Make the best choice | D．Always try something new |
6 . Skateboarding makes me feel free, like I’m flying. When I’m in the air, it feels like I can do anything. I started skating when I was two or three, same with surfing. My dad built a mini-ramp in our backyard. He would skate every day after surfing. I would steal his board and play with it.
If I saw my dad doing a cool trick, I’d think “I want to try that.” I’d look it upon Youku and try to learn it. Now I just learn from my friends. It’s nice to skate with your friends because you can teach each other things. I never really thought, “I’m going to get so good at this.” I just got better and better and it happened naturally when I was seven. I’m 12 now.
It’s a great feeling, getting a new trick especially if it’s taken a long time to learn. You try it a thousand times and then one day, you finally land it. That’s the feeling I want. It’s what makes me keep trying new things. When I was eight, I became the first female skater to land a frontside 540.
Sometimes doing a trick can be scary. But I feel like that falling is just part of skateboarding. I like inspiring other girls to do what they want to do. I don’t want girls to think that boys can do things that they can’t. I want girls to think, “I can do it, because I’m a girl. If I can do it, so can they.”
| Word Bank mini-ram 小型坡道 frontside 540滑板外转540度 trick 技巧 |
根据材料内容选择最佳答案。
1. How does skateboarding make the author feel?
| A．She is frightened. | B．She has the feeling of freedom. |
| C．She feels nervous. | D．Her mind is focused. |
| A．She asked her father for help. |
| B．She learned the tricks from her friends. |
| C．She watched videos on the Internet. |
| D．She practiced her tricks while surfing. |
| A．Help from friends. | B．Father’s support. |
| C．Skills from a training course. | D．The feeling of success. |
| A．Talented and quiet. | B．Outgoing and talkative. |
| C．Brave and strong-minded. | D．Caring and warm -hearted. |
| A．Sky high. | B．Doing a trick is scary. |
| C．A professional skater. | D．How to be brave. |
7 . Aren’t mobile phone, e-mail and voice mail supposed to help us communicate more easily? Sadly, that’s not always the case. Take the other day for example: when I was walking through the park with my friend, suddenly his mobile phone rang and he answered it—leaving me alone and cutting our conversation dead! In fact, the park was filled with people talking on their mobile phones. They were passing other people without even looking at them, or stopping to walk their dogs. Clearly, people can use mobile phones everywhere, but they ignore the people around.
Why is it that the more connected we get, the more disconnected I feel? New communication technology seems to keep away from each other. With e-mail over the Internet, we can communicate without seeing or talking to one another. With WeChat or QQ, you can have conversations without even meeting that person. Even some food stores are using self-scanners so that you can check yourself out. As the contact between human beings becomes automated, my feeling of being disconnected gets stronger. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against machines. I also own a mobile phone, a QQ, a WeChat and an e-mail account. Giving them up isn’t a good idea, as they are useful to have around. It’s just that when they keep us away from human contact, I begin to feel sad. Moreover, I find myself answering e-mail instead of talking to people. The technology that was made to help keep us in contact with each other is, in fact, making me feel more lonely.
What is to be done? Well, try to use less technology: no e-mailing people who live nearby, and no letting QQ and WeChat catch you all the time.
1. The purpose of the example in Paragraph 1 is to show that ________.| A．mobile phones bring a lot of convenience to people |
| B．mobile phones result in ignoring the others around |
| C．people communicate more easily with mobile phones |
| D．people are good at using mobile phones in their daily life |
| A．lonely | B．satisfied | C．stupid | D．interested |
| A．technology keeps people busier than before |
| B．technology is always useful to have around |
| C．the writer is going to give up the mobile phone |
| D．the writer would like to contact people face to face |
| A．Technology and Human Life | B．The Importance of Technology |
| C．Technology and Human Contact | D．The Development of Technology |
In many countries, tattoos are in fashion （时尚）. On TV you can often see a famous actor or musician with a tattoo on his arm or foot. Many sports players have them, too. In the US, tattoos are very popular. Forty percent of Americans aged between 26 and 40 have a tattoo, and 60 percent of customers in US tattoo parlors are women. These people are often professional people like doctor, teachers and lawyers.
However, tattoos are not modern. In fact, they are very old in human history. For example, archaeologists* found a human in ice from 5,000 years ago. He had 57 tattoos on his back, ankles, legs, knees and feet. Tattoos were used for many different reasons. In ancient Egypt, people got tattoos because they were “beautiful”. But in ancient Rome, tattoos were negative and put on criminals* and prisoners. In India, tattoos were religious *.
In the 16th and 17th century, European sailors arrived on the islands of Polynesia. They saw tattoos for the first time. The people on the islands had tattoos on their shoulders, chests, backs and legs. Often the tattoos were of animals or natural features like a river or a mountain. The European sailors liked them and made their own tattoos, so the idea traveled to Europe. Tattoos in Polynesia are still important today. They show information about a person’s history, their island or their job.
So is there a connection between traditional tattoos and fashionable tattoos? And can you call tattoos a fashion? Chris Rainier is an expert in tattoos and his book Ancient Marks has photos of tattoos from all over the world. He thinks people in modern societies often have tattoos because they are a connection to the traditional world. But tattoos aren’t a fashion like clothes or a haircut because you can’t put them on and take them off again like a jacket or a hat. They are permanent* and for life.
1. When were tattoos brought to Europe?| A．5,000 years ago. | B．60 years ago. |
| C．Until recently. | D．In the 16th and 17th century. |
| A．school. | B．stores. | C．factories. | D．theaters. |
| A．Tattoos are religious in modern societies. | B．Tattoos connect tradition with fashion. |
| C．Tattoos are a fashion among famous people. | D．Tattoos show information about a person’s hobby. |
| A．Tattoos’ History. | B．Tattoos in Polynesia. |
| C．Tattoos on a Human in Ice. | D．Tattoos in Fashion and for Life. |
9 . I always think my daughter Kendall is the best—that’s just what parents do. When she was only three, she sang for the people, like a little angel.
When Kendall was five, we noticed that she sometimes had a tic. When the problem got worse, we took her from doctor to doctor. During the treatment, Kendall continued to sing. Surprisingly, her tics disappeared when she sang.
When Kendall was sixteen, we thought she would be cured soon. However, a terrible thing happened.
“At a party, Kendall jumped on a friend for a piggyback ride. He bent lower than she expected, and she jumped higher than he expected. Kendall flew over his back and landed on the floor—on her neck. She was rushed to hospital, paralyzed from the neck down. She couldn’t move. But her biggest worry wasn’t whether she would walk again, but was whether she could try out for a show called American Idol.
As the days went on, feeling on her left side returned, but she was still paralyzed on the right. We weren’t sure how much of her movement would come back. A friend brought a microphone and put it on her bed. Every day, Kendall tried hard to pick it up. It was more important for her to pick up that microphone than a spoon or fork.
Sometimes she had to bite a toothbrush to take her mind off the pain. We all cried because of the pain we witnessed. But on the day, only three months after her accident, we cried full of joy when she sang, though she didn’t enter the Top 24 of American Idol.
When she was a little girl, she asked me why it was she that had tics. My heart hurt, but I told her, “Kendall, you have a pure heart, a fantastic voice, a strong mind. And you are a beautiful presence”.
| Word Bank tic面部抽搐 paralyzed 瘫痪 Idol偶像 microphone麦克风 witnessed 目击 presence存在 |
根据材料内容选择最佳答案。
1. When did they notice that Kendall sometimes had a tic?
| A．When she was three years old. | B．When she was five years old. |
| C．When Kendall was sixteen. | D．I don’t know. |
| A．She had a tic when she sang. | B．She sang for the people. |
| C．She was cured soon. | D．Her tics disappeared when she sang. |
a. She couldn’t move.
b. She was rushed to hospital.
c. Kendall jumped on a friend for a piggyback ride.
d. Kendall flew over his back and landed on the floor—on her neck.
e. She jumped higher than her friend expected and he bent lower than she expected.
| A．abcde | B．decba | C．cedba | D．edbca |
| A．Because Kendall loved singing. |
| B．Because Kendall didn’t like a spoon or fork. |
| C．Because Kendal’s friend brought the microphone for her. |
| D．Because that microphone was more beautiful for her than a spoon or fork. |
| A．An American Idol | B．A paralyzed girl | C．The girl who had a tic | D．A beautiful girl |
10 . Easter Island’s large and mysterious stone statues have made it world famous. These statues, which look like humans with huge stone cylinders balancing on their heads like hats, attract tourists coming from all over the world. The tourists come to see these works of ancient art carved by the early inhabitants of the island. They come to see the mystery that has baffled scientists for decades.
Easter Island is located in a remote part of the South Pacific Ocean about 2,300 miles west of Chile. The island covers just 45 square miles and its Polynesian name is Rapa Nui.
On Easter Sunday, 1722, a Dutch explorer named Jacob Roggeveen was the first European to see Easter Island. The original Polynesian inhabitants of the island arrived centuries earlier. Scientists believe they carved these statues to honor their ancestors.
The rock used for the making of the statues came from Rano Raraku, the extinct volcano that formed the island. The early Polynesians carved the statues within the holes of the volcano using only stone tools. Then they moved these huge statues to various destinations throughout the island. These 600 statues range in height from10-40 feet. Some of them weigh as much as 50 tons. How could the early Polynesians lift hundreds of heavy statues out of the volcano? How did they move them across the island to their various locations? All of these questions, as well as many others, remain unanswered.
The early islanders probably worshiped these eyeless giants until sometime around 1670. In 1680, a war broke out between two groups of islanders. The victors of the war and ancestors of the present inhabitants, broke down many of the statues. In most cases, they broke the necks of the statues.
Now 15 of the statues on Easter Island have been repaired to their original positions on their stone platforms. Even today, using modern tools and machinery, putting up such large statues and balancing cylinders on top of their head present a challenging task.
1. The underlined word “baffled” in the first paragraph means ________.| A．puzzled | B．encouraged | C．pleased | D．troubled |
| A．It is in the center of Chile. | B．It is located in the North Pacific Ocean. |
| C．It was named after a Dutch explorer. | D．Europeans landed there after Polynesians. |
| A．why people built the statues | B．where people made the statues |
| C．how people transported the statues | D．how many statues there are on the island |
| A．Early history of Easter Island | B．Art of carving in Easter Island |
| C．Mysterious statues in Easter Island | D．Easter Island, a must-visit destination |
