1 . On February 3,1931 the peace of New Zealand's Hawkes Bay region was destroyed when the area was hit by the worst earthquake in New Zealand's history.At 10:46 am on that summer's day,the quake hit with a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter scale（里氏震级）.The centre of the quake lied some 15 to 20 kilometers north of the two main centers,Napier and Hastings.The quake lasted for two and a half minutes.Many people died in the earthquake.
A fire broke out immediately after the quake.The fire started in a chemist's shop and spread quickly.Then the Fire Department in Napier came to help,but they were at a loss to control the fire as a result of losing their water supply.However,the water supply in Hastings,was still usable,allowing them to fight back against the fire.
The force of the earthquake destroyed many of the city's famous landmarks（地标）.Chunks of the coastline were thrown into the sea.Napier's Bluff Hill,a popular tourist spot,was completely destroyed and thrown into the waters below.
Most of the major buildings in the city were completely destroyed.Roads and communications across the whole area were cut.People were afraid to enter their homes for days and found shelters at the local Motor Camp or on the beach.There were about 150 aftershocks（余震）in the 24 hours after the main shock.Over the next 2 weeks,there would be 525 such aftershocks.
1. The worst earthquake took place in New Zealand_______.| A．at night | B．in the morning |
| C．at noon | D．in the afternoon |
| A．there was no usable water | B．they couldn't get close to it |
| C．the flames spread too quickly | D．The wind was very strong |
| A．there were many places of interest in New Zealand |
| B．the earthquake damaged the city seriously |
| C．many famous landmarks were thrown into the sea |
| D．people were afraid to enter their homes for sleep |
| A．The 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake |
| B．New Zealand's two cities |
| C．The great fire after the great earthquake |
| D．The city's famous landmarks |
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
My daughter performed on behalf of her class in the school concert today. She played so _______ that I could not help cheering her. The very _______ reminded me of her experiences of piano practicing.
When she was five, we gave her a piano as a birthday present. With great ______, she began learning it. However, when she was no longer _______, she became sick of it. _______, it is a tough job to learn the piano, not to mention the daily routine (常规) of _______.
When her first teacher left, my friend _______ me to an American teacher whose way of teaching was completely American. After practicing, she would give my daughter some _______ comments, and then point out what should be _______. Every time she came, ________ beginning the lesson right away, she would first play some ______. She said, “To learn the piano, you should learn not only the _______ of playing, but more importantly, to ________ the music and love it.”
After some time, my daughter became fond of her lessons. Sometimes she ________ would like to _______ a little bit when her skill had reached a certain level.
Surprisingly, my daughter said to me one day, “Mom, I was _______ that you didn’t give up my piano lessons. Learning it is like climbing a mountain. You’ll feel _______ when you are on the way. When you look _______ from where you are, you will realize that you have been making ________. But if you _______, you’ll never take one more step.” That was the very thing I wanted to teach her.1.
| A．regularly | B．smoothly | C．carefully | D．happily |
| A．music | B．scene | C．arrangement | D．praise |
| A．excitement | B．pressure | C．regret | D．unwillingness |
| A．young | B．free | C．curious | D．cautious |
| A．After all | B．Above all | C．In all | D．First of all |
| A．cost | B．practice | C．education | D．show |
| A．led | B．sent | C．directed | D．introduced |
| A．usual | B．interesting | C．good | D．humorous |
| A．explained | B．changed | C．stopped | D．improved |
| A．as with | B．instead of | C．except for | D．thanks to |
| A．music | B．jokes | C．games | D．sports |
| A．levels | B．skills | C．credits | D．secrets |
| A．create | B．follow | C．feel | D．read |
| A．once | B．then | C．still | D．even |
| A．make up | B．look back | C．show off | D．give away |
| A．nervous | B．lucky | C．afraid | D．astonished |
| A．tired | B．easy | C．embarrassed | D．excited |
| A．ahead | B．up | C．down | D．over |
| A．mistakes | B．choices | C．progress | D．time |
| A．stop | B．continue | C．do | D．move |
阅读短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
After a terrible electrical accident, which caused him to become both blind and deaf, the whole world became completely dark and quiet for Robert Edwards for almost ten years. The loss of sight and hearing threw him into such sorrow that he tried a few times to put an end to his life. His family, especially his wife, did their best to tend and comfort him and finally he regained the will to live.
One hot summer afternoon, he was taking a walk with a stick near his house when a thunderstorm started all at once. He stood under a large tree to avoid getting wet, but he was struck by the lightning. Witnesses thought he was dead but he woke up some 20 minutes later lying face down in muddy water at the base of the tree. He was trembling badly, but when he opened his eyes, he could hardly believe what he saw: a plough and a wall. When Mrs. Edwards came running up to him, shouting to their neighbors to call for help, he could see her and hear her voice for the first time in nearly ten years.
The news of Robert regaining his sight and hearing quickly spread, and many doctors came to examine him. Most of them said that he regained his sight and hearing from the shock he got from the lightning. However, none of them could give a convincing answer as to why this should have happened. The only reasonable explanation given by one doctor was that, since Robert lost his sight and hearing as a result of a sudden shock, perhaps, the only way for him to regain them was by another sudden shock.
1. The reason for Robert’s attempts to kill himself was that .
| A．a terrible traffic accident happened to him |
| B．he had to live in a dark and silent world |
| C．he was struck by the lightning once more |
| D．nobody in the world cared about him |
| A．Sheltering from the rain under a tree. |
| B．Driving a car. |
| C．Taking a walk with a stick. |
| D．Lying on the ground. |
| A．there was no accurate explanation for Robert's recovery |
| B．many doctors came because Robert was badly injured |
| C．Robert’s wife sent for doctors immediately after the shock |
| D．a sudden Injury In the head led to Robert’s recovery |
| A．A Terrible Electrical Accident |
| B．Robert Edwards and His Wife |
| C．What a Sudden Shock |
| D．An Unforgettable Experience |
4 . Social networking is a tool used by people all around the world. Its
On these networking sites, users
With so many teens using social networking, it has become easier to
With the constant use of these social technologies, fewer people are communicating
Social networking aids long-distance communication greatly
| A．challenge | B．feature | C．purpose | D．solution |
| A．Therefore | B．However | C．Moreover | D．Instead |
| A．normally | B．quickly | C．repeatedly | D．regularly |
| A．boring | B．useless | C．dangerous | D．strange |
| A．manage | B．pretend | C．want | D．agree |
| A．draw | B．post | C．take | D．collect |
| A．conclusion | B．images | C．evaluation | D．stories |
| A．pretty | B．smart | C．cool | D．rich |
| A．frighten | B．support | C．influence | D．impress |
| A．cheat | B．attack | C．bother | D．embarrass |
| A．difficult | B．common | C．direct | D．possible |
| A．untrue | B．meaningless | C．stupid | D．cruel |
| A．witness | B．cause | C．prevent | D．suffer |
| A．user | B．victim | C．teenager | D．parent |
| A．in person | B．in order | C．as well | D．as usual |
| A．lonelier | B．quieter | C．weaker | D．lazier |
| A．show | B．lose | C．need | D．hide |
| A．willing | B．free | C．ready | D．able |
| A．and | B．but | C．or | D．so |
| A．form | B．system | C．rule | D．task |
5 . “Bill, you never miss！”Joe said admiringly. “Unless I'm in a real game, ”Bill complained. “Then I miss all the time.” Joe knew that Bill was right. Bill performed much better when he was having fun with Joe in the schoolyard than he did when he was playing for the school team in front of a large crowd. “ Maybe you just need to practice more, ”Joe suggested. “But I practice all the time with you！”Bill said. He shook his head. “ I just can’t play well when people are watching me.” “You play well when I'm watching, ” Joe pointed out. “That’s because I’ve known you since we were five years old, ”Bill said with a smile. “ I’m just not comfortable playing when other people are around. ” Joe nodded and understood, but he also had an idea.
The next day Joe and Bill met in the schoolyard again to practice. After a few minutes, Joe excused himself. “ Practice without me, ”Joe said to his friend. “I’ll be back in a minute. ”
Joe hurried through the school building, gathering together whomever he could find-two students, a math teacher, two secretaries, and a coach. When Joe explained why he needed them, everyone was happy to help. Joe reminded (提醒)the group to stay quiet as they all went toward the school's basketball court. As Joe had hoped, Bill was still practicing basketball. He made five baskets in a row without noticing the silent people standing behind him.
“Hey, Bill” Joe called out finally. Bill turned. A look of surprise came over his face.“I just wanted to show you that you could play well with people watching you,”Joe said. “Now you’ll have nothing to worry about for the next game!”
1. What would be the best title for the story?| A．Joe Joins the Team |
| B．Practice Makes Perfect |
| C．Bill Wins the Big Game |
| D．Bill's Basketball Problem |
| A．That he played better in practice than he did during games. |
| B．That the schoolyard is not a good place to practice. |
| C．That Joe watched him too closely when he played. |
| D．That his team had lost too many games. |
| A．Because he wanted more players for his team. |
| B．Because he wanted to help Bill feel less nervous. |
| C．Because he wanted to show them his talent. |
| D．Because he wanted more people to see the next game. |
| A．The group had to be quiet because they did not want Bill to know they were there. |
| B．Bill played well in front of Joe because he wanted to prove to Joe he was a good player. |
| C．Six people including his basketball coach were watching Bill playing in the end. |
| D．Bill made five baskets in a row after he saw the group of people behind him. |
6 . If you make a list of the world’s top ten most challenging jobs, chances are that being a teacher will not make the cut. But think about the discouraging task millions of educators face each day as they try to shape a group of often bad-tempered, wild kids into intelligent, well-rounded individuals. That surely has to be the toughest job in the world, especially given that there is no promotion or bonus awaiting them even if they are wildly successful!
What if these all-important individuals that we often take for granted disappear from our lives? That was what Project Ed and Participant Media’s Teach campaign asked filmmakers of all ages to imagine in their recently-held competition. Entitled “A World Without Teachers”, its purpose was to inspire more young people to become teachers. However, the 62 amazing video submissions also serve as a reminder of how horrible things would be if we didn’t have these selfless individuals guiding us through life. What was interesting is that even the youngest participants did not appear to be happy at the idea of not having anybody telling them what to do.
High-school student Savannah Wakefield reflected if art as we know it today would have been different without teachers. Would Monet have discovered his talent for impressionism? Los Angeles-based Miles Horst, who won the 1000 USD prize for the best adult submission imagines a world where teachers are replaced by a “brain box” in his fun lively entry.
Youth category winner Marina Barham’s video represents a fact we all know but often forget. Teachers don’t just teach, they inspire—something that no electronic device, no matter how smart, can do! So the next time you think your teacher is being “mean” for trying to channel you in the right direction, imagine a life without him/her. We have a feeling it will not appear as rosy!
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．The significance of teachers. |
| B．The campaign to promote teachers’ status. |
| C．A survey of people’s views about teachers. |
| D．A competition to win the prize for the best teacher. |
| A．teaching naughty kids is a very discouraging task |
| B．being a teacher is one of the most challenging jobs in the world |
| C．a successful teacher has the greatest chance to be promoted |
| D．teachers have little influence on kids’ individual development |
| A．To attract kids to submit more videos of their teachers. |
| B．To encourage more people to go into teaching career. |
| C．To expect teachers to devote themselves to their jobs. |
| D．To remind students to appreciate teachers’ hard work. |
| A．Teaching is quite different from other jobs. |
| B．The future of teachers’ work appears inspiring. |
| C．A world without teachers will be unimaginable. |
| D．Many people attach more importance to teaching. |
7 . The brain is a remarkable part.It's responsible for thoughts and feelings.Now a new study finds that going through tough times as a kid also can have an impact.The adult brains of people who lived through lots of stress before the age of six—and then became depressed or anxious as teenagers—were different compared with adults who had an easier childhood.It seems that teens changed the shape of their brains by internalizing (使内在化) the stresses experienced years earlier.
Researchers already knew that the shape and size of a child's brain can change in response to lots of stress.They also knew that adults were more likely to be depressed if，as kids，they'd lived in poverty.Some studies showed that these depressed adults had unusual changes in their brain shape.But no one had tested if the early stress and later brain changes were linked.
Scientists in England studied almost 500 boys from birth until the ages of 18 to 21.Sarah Jensen is one of the new study's authors.Almost all of the boys her team studied experienced some hard times as kids.And，she concludes，“This is not necessarily harmful.”To some extent，that's just life.What can be dangerous，she says，is when children experience too many forms of difficulties.Her team's new data suggest that the tougher the childhood，the stronger the impact on the brain might be.
What's happening in the world around us relates to how we feel.Her team linked more childhood stress to more depression.Still，she notes，it's possible that if you find support for anxiety or depression，you might be able to prevent the changes seen here.“If you can change the environment，you can change the course of things，”Sarah says.So，she recommends，if teens develop anxiety or depression，it's good to ask for psychological doctors to give advice.
1. When people had a hard childhood， ．| A．they will have a brave attitude to life |
| B．their way of thinking may be strange |
| C．they will be good at dealing with stress |
| D．the shape of their brain may be changed |
| A．The size of the brain can change. |
| B．The brain can be influenced by stress. |
| C．Poverty can affect the brain's shape in future. |
| D．Changes in brain are connected with earlier hardship. |
| A．had a lonely childhood |
| B．led a peaceful childhood |
| C．got different kinds of hardship |
| D．experienced limited hard times |
| A．they adapt to their life |
| B．they seek professional help |
| C．they talk to friends or relatives |
| D．they become confident and optimistic |
8 . People often ask which is the most difficult language to learn, and it is not easy to answer because there are too many factors to take into consideration. Firstly, in a first language the differences are unimportant as people learn their mother tongue naturally, so the question of how hard a language is to learn only makes more sense when learning a second language.
A native speaker of Spanish, for example, will find Portuguese much easier to learn than a native speaker of Chinese, for example, because Portuguese is very similar to Spanish, while Chinese is very different, so first language can affect learning a second language. The greater the differences between the second language and our first, the harder it will be for most people to learn. Many people answer that Chinese is the hardest language to learn, possibly influenced by the thought of learning the Chinese writing system, and the pronunciation of Chinese does appear to be very difficult for many foreign learners. However, for Japanese speakers, who already use Chinese characters in their own language, learning writing will be less difficult than for speakers of languages using the Roman alphabet.
Some people seem to learn languages easily, while others find it very difficult. Teachers and the circumstances in which the language is learned also play an important role, as well as each learner's motivation for learning. If people learn a language because they need to use it professionally, they often learn it faster than people studying a language that has no direct use in their day to day life.
Obviously , British diplomats and other embassy staff have found that the second hardest language is Japanese, which will probably come as no surprise to many, but the language that they have found to be the most problematic is Hungarian, which uses a similar alphabet to English but has 35 cases (forms of a nouns according to whether it is subject, object, genitive, etc). This does not mean that Hungarian is the hardest language to learn for everyone, but it causes British diplomatic personnel, who are generally used to learning languages, the most difficulty. However, Tabassaran, a Caucasian language has 48 cases, so it might cause more difficulty if British diplomats had to learn it.
Different cultures and individuals from those cultures will find different languages more difficult. Therefore, it is impossible to say that there is one language that is the most difficult language in the world.
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?| A．The question of how hard a language is to learn is only applicable to first language acquisition |
| B．The question of how hard a language is to learn is only applicable to second language acquisition |
| C．The question of how hard a language is to learn is applicable to both first and second language acquisition. |
| D．There are too many languages in the world so it’s difficult to say which one is the most difficult to learn. |
| A．Chinese , because Portuguese use Chinese characters in their own language . |
| B．Japanese , because it is similar to their own language. |
| C．Spanish , because it also uses Roman alphabet . |
| D．Any one but Chinese, because its pronunciation is very difficult. |
| A．A particular situation or environment. |
| B．The degree of education that somebody has obtained |
| C．Teachers’ encouragement. |
| D．Professional training. |
| A．Not Hungarian’s writing system but its grammatical complexity causes problems for native British speakers. |
| B．Tabassaran is the hardest language to learn in the world for native European speakers. |
| C．Many British diplomats learn Tabassaran. |
| D．Learning a different writing system is easy. |
9 . Some of the world’s most famous musicians recently gathered in Paris and New Orleans to celebrate the first annual International Jazz Day. UNESCO( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recently set April 30 as a day to raise awareness of jazz music, its significance, and its potential as a unifying(联合) voice across cultures.
Despite the celebrations, though, in the U.S. the jazz audience continues to shrink and grow older, and the music has failed to connect with younger generations.
It’s Jason Moran’s job to help change that. As the Kennedy Center’s artistic adviser for jazz, Moran hopes to widen the audience for jazz, make the music more accessible, and preserve its history and culture.
“Jazz seems like it’s not really a part of the American appetite,” Moran tells National Public Radio’s reporter Neal Conan. “What I’m hoping to accomplish is that my generation and younger start to reconsider and understand that jazz is not black and write anymore. It’s actually color, and it’s actually digital.”
Moran says one of the problems with jazz today is that the entertainment aspect of the music has been lost. “The music can’t be presented today the way it was in 1908 or 1958. It has to continue to move, because the way the world works is not the same,” says Moran.
Last year, Moran worked on a project that arranged Fats Waller’s music for a dance party, “Just to kind of put it back in the mind that Waller is dance music as much as it is concert music,” says Moran. “For me, it’s the recontextualization. In music, where does the emotion(情感) lie? Are we, as humans, gaining any insight(感悟) on how to talk about ourselves and how something as abstract as a Charlie Parker record gets us into a dialogue about our emotions and our thoughts? Sometimes we lose sight that the music has a wider context,” says Moran, “so I want to continue those dialogues. Those are the things I want to foster.”
1. Why did UNESCO set April 30 as International Jazz Day?| A．To remember the birth of jazz. |
| B．To protect cultural diversity. |
| C．To encourage people to study music. |
| D．To recognize the value of jazz. |
| A．Jazz becoming more accessible. |
| B．The production of jazz growing faster. |
| C．Jazz being less popular with the young. |
| D．The jazz audience becoming larger. |
| A．It will disappear gradually. |
| B．It remains black and white. |
| C．It should keep up with the times. |
| D．It changes every 50 years. |
| A．Exploring the Future of Jazz. |
| B．The Rise and Fall of Jazz. |
| C．The Story of a Jazz Musician. |
| D．Celebrating the Jazz Day. |
10 . Regarded as one of the English language’s most gifted poets, John Keats wrote poetry that concentrated on imagery, human nature, and philosophy (哲学). Although Keats didn’t receive much formal literary education, his own studies and passion brought him much success. Additionally, his own life situation influenced his poetry greatly.
Growing up as a young boy in London in a lower middle-class family, the young John didn’t attend a private school, but went to a public one. His teachers and his family’s friends regarded him as an optimistic boy who favored playing and fighting much more than minding his studies. After his father’s death in the early 1800s, followed by his mother’s passing due to tuberculosis (肺结核), he began viewing life differently. He wanted to escape the world and did so by reading anything he could get his hands on.
At around the age of 16, the teenage John Keats began studying under a surgeon so that he too might become a doctor. However, his literary appetite had taken too much of his fancy, especially with his addiction to the poetry of Ehmund Spenser. He was able to have his first full poem published in the Examiner in 1816, entitled O Solitude! If I Must With Thee Dwell. Within two months in 1817, Keats had written an entire volume of poetry, but was sharply criticized (批评) by a magazine. However, the negative response didn’t stop his love of rhythm (韵律).
John Keats’ next work was Endymion, which was published in May 1818. The story involves a shepherd who falls in love with the moon goddess and leads him on an adventure of one boy’s hope to overcome the limitations of being human. Following Endymion, however, he tried something more narrative-based (叙事体的) and wrote Isabella. During this time, John Keats began seeing his limitations in poetry due to his own limit in life experiences. He would have to have the “knowledge” associated with his poems. His next work was Hyperion that would attempt to combine all that he learned. However, a bout (发作) with tuberculosis while visiting Italy would keep him from his work and eventually take his life in 1821.
1. John Keats’ attitude towards life changed because of .| A．his early education from school | B．the deaths of his parents |
| C．Edmund Spenser’s poetry | D．the criticism of a magazine |
| A．They read many books. | B．They had a bad childhood. |
| C．They died of the same disease. | D．They showed strong interest in poetry. |
| A．determined | B．experienced |
| C．knowledgeable | D．impatient |
| A．Keats received little education at school. |
| B．Endymion was about a real love story. |
| C．In 1816 Keats spent two months writing a poem. |
| D．Keats once had a chance of becoming a doctor. |
