1 . If you go to the UK, you’re sure to see some small red “boxes” on the streets. They are postboxes. They are an important part of Britain.
King Charles I started the British Royal Mail service in 1635. Then in 1840, Royal Mail brought out the first stamp, the Penny Black. But people still had to go to the post office to send a letter or wait for a bellman to collect it.
Anthony Trollope, who worked in a British post office, had an idea. While traveling for work in Europe, he saw roadside postboxes in France and Belgium. He thought similar boxes would be good in Britain. In 1852, the first postboxes were made, but they were only used on the Channel Islands.
The next year, postboxes started to appear all over Britain. At first, they were green and of different shapes and sizes. But there were problems. People couldn’t always see them and even walked into them. So in 1874, Royal Mail made them all red. By 1879, the postboxes all became the way they look now—red, tall, and with a round hat-like shape at the top to keep out the rain.
Over the years, the General Post Office has kept making the boxes. Every box has the royal cypher (徽章) on it. It shows who the king or queen was when the box was made.
1. Where did Anthony Trollope see roadside postboxes first? (不超过5个词)2. What did the postboxes look like at first? (不超过10个词)
3. Why does every box have the royal cypher on it? (不超过15个词)
Usually, people want to “look cool” in their photos. But how can you look cool? What do you think of being cool is? For many people, looking cool is to show they’re different from others. Is it true?
Caleb Warren, a professor (教授) from America, says a lot of people do think so. So models (模特儿) don’t usually smile (微笑) in shows. Some actors and singers also think that way. Singer Kanye West says he doesn’t smile in photos because he thinks it helps him look cool.
But a new study by Warren tells us something different. The study finds a nice smile will help you look cool in a photo. In the study, Warren uses some stars’ photos and ask people to look at them. There are two photos of each star-one smiling and the other not. Which one is better? He finds most people like the smiling ones more. The smile shows you are happy and it can make others feel happy too.
So, can you learn something from Warren’s study? Yes! You should smile if you want to look cool in your photos. Have a try, please!
1. Who is Caleb Warren? (不超过5个词)2. What does Warren ask people to do in his study? (不超过10个词)
3. What do we learn from Warren’s study? (不超过15个词)
Do you keep a cat as your pet? What do you think of black cats? Do you think they are unluckier than cats of other colors? In Western countries, many people think so. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), did a research on cat colors and people’s understandings of cat personalities.
The research found that people do judge (判断) cat personalities by color. Scientists did a survey on the Internet. There were 49 statements matching five cat colorings with 10 personalities. People think orange cats and cats with two colors are friendly, cats with three colors are not generous, and white cats are calm, lazy and shy. As for black cats, people think they don’t have special personalities.
But why do so many people dislike keeping black cats as pets? People think black cats have less special personalities, which might be because of their bad fame. They think black cats may bring bad luck, especially at Halloween. Movies and television shows also make people believe that.
Although people have these ideas, UC Berkeley scientists give another reason: people don’t think black cats are pretty enough. After all, nothing can show black cats are unluckier than other cats. “You can’t judge a cat by its color, because it’s the personality of the cat, not the color, that will let you know if the cat is right for you,” Cathy Marden, a scientist said.
1. In Western countries, what do most people think of black cats? (不超过12个词)2. Where did the scientists do the survey about cat personalities? (不超过5个词)
3. What is the result of UC Berkeley scientists’ research about black cats? (不超过 10个词)
4 . Sometimes, all you want to do is just eat some snacks. This can happen any time: a short while after you eat a meal or even when you are not hungry at all. Do you know why? We eat food for energy. After our bodies turn the food into energy, our blood sugar (血糖) begins to drop. Then, we feel hungry and want to eat. But this is not always the case, other things may also make us want to eat more.
When you are tired
If people don’t get enough sleep, they might feel like eating, according to researchers from Columbia University in the US. These people eat almost 300 more calories a day than those who get enough sleep. That’s maybe because when we are awake, we need more energy.
Eating on the go
When you hold a piece of bread on your way to school, or have your lunch in a hurry, you may eat more. That’s because you are eating too fast. Usually, it takes our brain about 20 minutes to find out that we are full. When you eat fast, your brain doesn’t have enough time to tell you that you’re full. You might eat more than usual, Daily Mail reported.
1. How many other things may also make us want to eat more? (不超过5个单词)2. Who will eat almost 300 more calories a day? (不超过10个单词)
3. Why you may eat more when you hold a piece of bread on your way to school? (不超过10个单词)
It can be very dangerous if there is a flood (洪水). It can happen with no notice and can usually wash trees and cars away, even break buildings. What should you do when the flood comes? Please read carefully the following information.
Stay away from rivers and bridges, because floods can cause rivers to move quickly and bridges to fall down.
Listen to emergency broadcasts (急救广播) for further information. If it asks you to move somewhere else, do so.
If you are staying inside a car, get out when the water begins to flood the car itself. Then move to the top of it.
If you have to stay in a building at the time of a flood, move to the highest floor. Only move to the roof (屋顶) if necessary. Once there, ask for help and let others know where you are (such as drawing SOS on the roof).
Don’t touch power lines (电线), because they are broken during strong storms and floods. A fallen power line can cause water near to become dangerous. If someone touches it, he will die.
1. Why should we stay away from rivers and bridges when the flood comes? (不超过15个词)2. What should you do first if you are in a building at the time of a flood? (不超过10个词)
3. When might power lines become broken? (不超过10个词)
Volunteering is a great way to bring positive change to people, communities and society in general. The word “volunteering” started being used in the 18th century when people were willingly joining the military (军事) service. Today, the word is not so much connected with the military service, but with community service.
Official (正式的) organized volunteering appeared in the 19th century and became more popular in the 20th century. And the biggest development in volunteering was brought by the Internet. Organizations can reach people more easily online. Helpful platforms were raised, and more volunteer became interested when they found out about different opportunities.
What are the benefits of volunteering? We can learn a lot from volunteering. It connects us to others. It is a great way to meet new people with common interests. It also helps us make new friends, and improve our social skills.
Volunteering brings fun in our life. It is a fun and easy way to explore our interests and passions. Many people volunteer in order to make time for hobbies outside of work. For example, if a person has a desk job and long to spend time outdoors, he might consider volunteering to help plant a community garden, walk dogs for an animal shelter, or help out at a children’s camp.
Volunteering can also be helpful for our careers (职业). If we are considering a new career, volunteering can help us got experience in other areas and meet people in the field. Also, many volunteer opportunities provide training, or can help us build upon skills we already have. Volunteering doesn’t just feel good, it’s good for us.
1. When did official organized volunteering appear? (不超过5个词)2. If you are considering a new career how can volunteering work help you? (不超过15个词)
3. What does this passage mainly talk about? (不超过10个词)
7 . Summer and Winter
Everyone knows that summer is hot and winter is cold. But why is this? It is because the Earth doesn’t stand straight. Instead, the Earth leans (倾斜) to one side as it moves around the Sun. When it is summer, our part of the Earth leans toward the Sun. The sunlight hits us directly. This heats (加热) the Earth, so the weather is hot in summer. When it is winter, our part leans away from the Sun. The sunlight is more spread out, so it becomes weaker. That makes winter cold. It is cold because we get less heat from the Sun in winter. Then what would happen if the Earth stood up straight? We wouldn’t have any seasons!
Summer | ◇Our part of the Earth leans toward the ◇The sunlight hits the Earth directly. ◇The weather is hot in summer |
Winter | ◇Our part of the Earth leans ◇The sunlight is more spread out. ◇We get |
8 . Do you know some animals can talk? Yes, dolphins (海豚) can talk. They talk with sound (声音). Dolphins travel in a group (群). We call a group of fish “school”. In the special school, dolphins travel in the water. Dolphins are mammals (哺乳动物), not fish, but they swim under the water.
Dolphins talk in the school. They talk when they are happy or sad. They say “welcome” when a dolphin comes back to the school. They talk when they play. Some people catch dolphins for the Ocean (海洋) Parks. And people go to watch the dolphin show. But dolphins don’t like to be away from their school. In the Ocean Parks, they feel unhappy.
Dolphins and people are good friends. There are many stories about them. They often help people. Sometimes they save people. We hope dolphins can live in their school.
1. Can dolphins talk? （不超过5个词回答）2. How do dolphins in the Ocean (海洋) Parks feel? （不超过5个词回答）
3. Do dolphins often help people? （不超过5个词回答）
Puberty(青春期) is a stage(阶段) of life when young people leave childhood and head into adulthood. It is a difficult time for young people because it changes both their bodies and minds. A young person may begin puberty at 8, while another may not start puberty until 14 or 15. Usually, girls start puberty before boys do. For both girls and boys, it is usually complete by the age of 18.
During these years, the body develops in many ways. Feeling will also change quickly. Young boys at this stage are interested in having fun and being accepted by others. They need to think before they act and make up their minds for themselves.
Parents, schools and communities can do a lot to care for and help young people. It is their responsibility to make sure that young people grow into healthy adults.
1. Why is it difficult for young people to go through puberty?(不超过10个词)2. When does puberty come to an end?(不超过5词)
3. Who can do a lot to care for and help young people?
10 . The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Winter Solstice (冬至) is the 22nd solar term. It usually falls on December 21st, 22nd or 23rd. On that day, the sunlight hits directly on Tropic of Capricorn (南回归线). In the northern part of the earth, people will experience the shortest daytime and the longest night of the year, From then on, the days become （A） and the nights become shorter. The Winter Solstice also marks the arrival of the coldest season in the year. In the southern part of the earth, （B） it occurs in June.
As early as Zhou Dynasty, people worshipped (祭拜) the ancestors on the day of Winter Solstice. On this day, both officials and common people would have a rest.
During Winter Solstice in nor them part of China, dumplings are the most traditional food to the festival. There is a saying that goes “Have dumplings on the day of Winter Solstice and noodles on the day of Summer Solstice”. In southern part of China, people eat tang yuan, a kind of sweet small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour to celebrate Winter Solstice.
（C）Winter has come, can spring be far behind?
1. 选择：下面哪一幅图是文章所指节气(图中阴影部分为黑夜)?A． | B． | C． |
3. （B）it指代的是：
4. 从文中找出与eating dumplings is the tradition of the festival意思相同或相近的句子。
5. 将（C）处划线句子Winter has come, can spring be far behind?译成汉语。
6. 用英语回答问题。
The Winter Solstice is mark of the coldest season in the year, then when is the mark of the hottest season?
