1 . 阅读短文，根据文章内容，完成下列表格。每空一词。

Did you know that years have their own colors? Pantone Color Institute is an organization that gives companies advice about color. And every year, it picks one that represents trends(趋势) in international culture.

This year, Pantone’s color is a bright shade of green that it calls “greenery”. Greenery makes people think of nature and growth. The color represents hope of changing one’s life for the better or care for the environment.

Red, orange and yellow are considered “warm” colors while blue, green and purple are “cool”. But greenery has elements(元素) of both; it’s green, but it also includes a lot of yellow. This makes it able to go well with many other colors.

Pantone’s researchers start choosing the color of the year about nine months before the year begins. They look for a color that is already being used more and more often. To decide the color of the year, they look beyond fashion and home decorating. They study art, movies and lots of other things. They pick one color they expect to stay popular and announce their choice in December for the following year.

You’re likely to see greenery a lot. When you do, let it encourage you to enjoy nature and start something new.

Title: Greenery, the Color of the     1
Who picked the color?	An organization     2     Pan-tone Color Institute.
What is the color like?	It includes both green and yellow, so it goes     3     with many other colors. It represents hope of changing for a better life or care for the environment.
4     is the color chosen?	Pantone’s researchers start choosing it early each year. They look for a color that is already getting more and more popular. They do a lot of research in different areas before they make the     5    .

2 . 阅读短文，根据文章内容，完成下列表格。每空一词。

People from different countries greet each other differently. Read this article to learn more about the greeting customs in different cultures, and make sure you greet people in the right way next time.

France

French people greet each other with a handshake, but close friends kiss each other on both cheeks(脸颊) when they meet. They do this when they first meet and before they leave each other.

South Korea

In South Korea, it is a sign of respect for people to bow when greeting each other. A bow is followed by a handshake. In shaking someone’s hand, it is polite to support the right forearm(前臂) with the left hand. However, South Korean women do not shake hands with western men; instead, they bow slightly(轻微地).

Brazil

Kissing on the cheek is a common way of greeting in Brazil. But in a formal situation, a handshake is often done to show respect. Men should shake hands before and after meeting, and once they have known each other well, a light hug is often given.

Ghana

In a social situation, it’s polite to greet everyone in the room in Ghana. A handshake is used in greeting, and the palm(手掌) must directly touch the palm of the other. It’s considered impolite to touch the back of the hand.

Greeting customs in different cultures
1	People greet each other with a handshake or by kissing each other on     2     cheeks if they are close friends.
South Korea	To show respect, Koreans greet people by     3     to each other first and then shaking hands. South Korean women do not shake hands with western men; instead, they bow slightly.
Brazil	The common way of greeting in Brazil is kissing on the cheek. In a formal situation, a handshake is often done to show     4    . Alight hug is often given once men have known each other well.
Ghana	A handshake is used in greeting in Ghana, but do remember not to touch the back of the     5    .

3 . DNA is the whole “map” of the human body. It is something that all humans have, and it tells the body what to do. DNA is the reason that we look like our parents, because we get some of their DNA to make our own.

People have been trying to understand the human body for a long time. In 1860, Mr. Mendel discovered why we look similar to other people in our family. It is because of small things called “genes” in our body. In 1953, two scientists, Watson and Crick, found out that those small parts are real messages. They are written in the DNA with a special language.

In 1961, another two scientists found the first “word” that they could understand in that language. It shows how DNA tells the cell （细胞） to build its parts. So far, scientists have found all the words in the DNA map, but we do not understand what they all do. By understanding what just one “word” means, we can help to save people from several illnesses. So the more we understand, the more doctors will be able to do.

Most people hope that this will help to make better medicine to help sick people. Other people worry that when we learn more “words” and find out more information, we will use it in the wrong way, just to make people more attractive, or stop sick people getting jobs.

根据短文内容，请用完整句子回答下列问题。
1. Why do we look like our parents?
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2. What did the two scientists find in 1961?
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3. How can we help sick people if we understand more “words” in the DNA map?
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4. What does the underlined word “They” refer to?
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5. What can we know from the last paragraph?
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4 . 根据短文内容完成表格，每空限填一词。

We all know that reading books builds a bridge between our life and the unknown world. In our country, people read books at any time. They enjoy reading books even when they’re on a break at the beach, or relaxing from a hike. Good reading habits lead you to a lifelong love of books. Here are some tips on how to develop good reading habits.

Choose the books which suit you. In most middle schools, teachers give students a reading list every few weeks. Most books are easy to read, like youth novels. The students themselves can also buy books which they’re interested in or the best-selling books.

Reading in short periods. 15 minutes after getting to school, 15 minutes while waiting for friends, 15 minutes before going to sleep. Then you can read books for about five hours every week in total.

Talk about your reading with your family or friends. This helps you have a better understanding.

How to     1     good reading habits
What to read	1. Read the books which     2     recommend(推荐). 2. Read the books that you’re interested in. 3. Read the books which can be the best-selling.
3     to read	1. Read after getting to school. 2. Read while waiting for friends. 3. Read before going to sleep. The     4     time for reading is about five hours every week.
Who to talk with	Talk about your reading with your family or friends. This helps you     5     better.

6 . Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254. When he was 17, he travelled along the Silk Road with his father, who wanted to do trade with the Chinese. Finally, they arrived in Beijing. They were guests at the Emperor’s Palace. Although Marco was young, he was very clever and could speak four languages. The Emperor was impressed by him and they became friends. The Emperor asked Marco to help him and sent him to do many important jobs all over the country.

Marco was amazed by how great China was. He was impressed by the Emperor’s Palace which he described as “The greatest palace that I’ve ever seen”. The walls were covered with gold and silver and the hall was so large.

Marco was also attracted by lots of strange things in China. Marco was surprised to see Chinese people using paper money in the markets. In Europe, people paid for goods with gold and silver. He could not understand how people paid for food and valuable things with paper! He was also puzzled by the black stones people used to burn to produce heat. The black stones were coal, but Marco had never seen coal before!

After he served the Emperor for 17 years, in 1291, Marco returned to Italy. He had a lot of money then. A writer wrote down all the stories that Marco told him in a book called The Description of the World, which became one of the best-selling books in Europe.

阅读短文，填表格，每空一词。

Marco Polo and China
Before     1     in China	He was born in Italy in 1254. At the age of 17, he travelled to China along the Silk Road with his father.
During his living in China	He made friends with the Chinese Emperor. He helped the Emperor do many     2     jobs around China. The beauty of China     3     him. He described the Summer Palace as the greatest palace that he had ever seen. Some things which he never saw before attracted him. Paper money was used in the markets. The Chinese used coal to produce heat.
After returning to Italy	He became very     4     . A book was     5     about his travelling experiences.

7 . Folk music is a kind of popular music．It comes from the people of any country．Folk singers sing songs from centuries ago， and they also write songs．They want to express their feelings about new things in the world today．
The word"folk" means " people "．Folk songs tell stories about people．For example，the songs tell about their jobs and work，their friends，and their lives． They also express ideas such as love and war．The words in the songs are an important part of the music．
In the United States and Europe，folk music became very popular during the 1960s．Fans listened to folk singers perform at concerts．The singer told stories，sang，and played the guitar Fans listened to the music and often sang along with the performer．Some of the folk singers during this time were the Kingston Trio； Peter，Paul and Mary； Pete Seeger，and the Weavers．
Later， people began to play this kind of music themselves at schools，at parties， and at home alone．Today fans can still hear folk music at concerts．They can also buy CDs and DVDs by new folk performers．They can listen to folk music on the Internet．
1. When did folk music begin？
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2. Why do people want to write folk songs？
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3. Are the words important in folk songs？
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4. Where did people enjoy folk music in the 1960s？
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5. Can people hear folk songs on the Internet？ Whose folk songs do you like best？
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8 . The home of tea is in China. It is said that tea was found by Shennong, a legendary(传说中的)ruler of ancient China about 5000 years ago. Some people say that tea is the national drink of China. There are mainly six kinds of tea in China, such as black tea, green tea, white tea, etc.

Many Chinese drink it almost every day.

Tea helps keep your mind clear. It's calorie- free and good for your heart. Also, tea can protect against cancer. So it becomes the most widely consumed(广泛饮用的)drink in the world next to water. To celebrate this popular drink, the United Nations has made May 21^st International Tea Day recently.

However, people in different countries have different ways to drink tea. In the US, sweet tea is popular. It is made with black tea, sugar and fruit. Unlike Chinese tea, sweet tea in the US is always served ice cold. Many years ago, only rich people drank it.

Black tea and sugar used to cost a lot of money. But now, anyone can drink it．

In the UK, people like to put milk in their tea. This gives it a nice taste. They usually drink it in the afternoon— this is called “tea time”. They like to eat biscuits while drinking their tea.

During tea time, people take a break from work and relax.

If you never drink tea, you can try it. Maybe you'll find your favorite taste.

1    Culture in Different Countries
History	It has about five    2    years of history.
Function	● Tea helps keep your mind clear. ●It's calorie -free and good for your heart. ●It can    3    against cancer.
Details	In China	There are mainly six kinds of tea in China.
	In the US	4     people didn't drink tea because it used to cost much money many years ago.
	In the UK	People like to drink tea    5    milk to relax themselves.

9 . You might think the largest library in the world would be in Europe. But it isn't. It's in Washington, D. C. It's called the Library of Congress.

President John Adams started the library in 1800 for members of Congress. He wanted them to be able to read books about law. The first 740 books were bought in England. They were simply set up in the room where Congress met. Then Thomas Jefferson sold Congress may of his own books. He felt Congress should have books on all subjects, not just on law. This idea changed the library fundamentally.

The library grew and grew. Now it covers acres of land. It has 20 million books as well as scores of pictures, movies, globes and machines. Experts in every field work there. Hundreds of people call every day with all kinds of questions. Many of them get answers right over the phone.

The library is a huge storehouse. Thomas Edison's first movie and Harry Houdini's magic books reside there. And it is the proud owner of the world's best collection of comic books.

The     1     Library in the World
Location of the library	The largest library in the world is not in     2     . In fact, It's in Washington, D.C. of the USA.
Purpose of the library	The library was started by President John Adams in 1800. He wanted the members of Congress to be able to read books about     3    .
Area of the library	The library has     4     larger and larger. Now it covers acres of land.
5    of the library	It has 20 million books as well as scores of pictures, movies, globes and machines. Thomas Edison's first movie and Harry Houdini's magic books are also collected there.

10 . Every year, more than nine million people all over the world come to visit London. They go to the museums and theaters; they look at interesting old buildings or have a drink in a park.

A quick and easy way to get to different places in the city is to take an underground train. The London underground is one of the best and most widely used transport networks (网状组织) in the world. The trains run all day and most of the night. 1. You’d better not take the underground between eight o’clock and ten o’clock in the morning, or four o’clock and six o’clock in the afternoon. 2. The trains are so crowded that you can hardly move or find a place to sit.

London’s famous red buses form a big part of getting around in London. Although the London underground is the fastest and the simplest way of getting around London, the buses play their part and are an experience you should try at least once. By sitting on the top deck (层) of the bus, you can get a great sightseeing (观光) experience of London as well.

Some special visitors’ buses take you to many of the interesting places in the city on one journey. It takes about one and a half hours, but you can cancel your journey and get off (and on again) at the different places you want to visit.

London taxis are called “black cabs”. Most of them are black, but some are not. You can stop one if it has a “For Hire (供租用的)” sign on it. The drivers are friendly and helpful.

In a word, London is a big and beautiful city with lots to see and to do.

1. 任务一：根据短文内容简要回答问题。
(1)How many kinds of transportation can visitors use to get around in London? List them.
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(2) If you go to visit London, which two kinds of transportation are you going to choose? Why?
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2. 任务二：将短文中画线的句子译成汉语。
(1)_________________________________________________________
(2) _________________________________________________________
3. 任务三：请给短文拟一个适当的英文标题。________________