1 . Scotland is a country in Great Britain, to the north of England. Scotland has nearly 800 islands, but people only live on some of them. About five million people live in Scotland, which is 8.5% of the UK population. Most people live in the south of the country, in and around the cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth and Dundee.
Language
In Scotland, most people speak English and Scots and a minority speak Scottish Gaelic, an old Celtic language which is very different from English. Scots is spoken by young and old people and sometimes people mix Scots and English. Some words in Scots are the same as in English and some are different.
Sport
The most popular sport in Scotland is football and famous teams include Celtic and Rangers, from Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city. Another popular game, golf, was invented in Scotland in the Middle Ages. You can go skiing in winter at Scotland’s five mountain ski fields and any time of the year at snow sports centers around the country.
Food
When people think of Scottish food, they often think of haggis, a type of sausage made from parts of a sheep. However, Scotland is also known for its variety of seafood and beef.
Symbols
Blue is a colour which is often connected with Scotland. The Scottish flag is blue with a white X-shaped cross called the Saint Andrew’s cross. St Andrew is the Patron Saint(守护神) of Scotland. Everywhere you go in Scotland, you will see tartan(苏格兰格子呢), kilts and bagpipes. Also, look out for the national animal, the unicorn, and the thistle, the national flower of Scotland.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?A.The Scottish live separately on 800 islands. |
B.Most of the Scottish live in big cities. |
C.8.5% of the UK population live in Scotland. |
D.Scotland lies to the north of Great Britain. |
A.Two. | B.Three. | C.Four. | D.Five. |
A.Scotland is the birthplace of golf. |
B.Celtic and Rangers are famous golf clubs. |
C.The special Scottish food is its seafood. |
D.The Scottish flag is white with a blue cross. |
2 . When I was young, I lived on an island in the north of Scotland, but I went to school in Edinburgh. It was a music school, and I studied the violin. We practiced for six hours every day. Our school was a boarding school. At the end of the term, we all packed our bags and our instruments to go home for the holidays. Most kids went by train, or bus, or their parents took them home by car. Not me! I went home by ferry (渡船) — 14 hours overnight on the open sea. I loved it!
One summer I packed my suitcase and violin and said goodbye to my friends. I took the train to the ferry station and then got on the ferry. When we started moving away, I remembered a terrible thing! I left my violin on the train! I went to ask one of the crew (船员) what to do, but he said he couldn’t stop the ferry for me.
What should I do? What would my dad say? He’d be really angry! I was worried, and didn’t sleep all night. The next morning I got off the ferry to meet my dad. I didn’t want to look at him. I told him what happened. He laughed. I looked at him and couldn’t believe it. Why was he laughing?
In my violin case, I always have a label with my address and a telephone number. My dad told me, “A cleaner found your violin by the label on the train in London and took it to the police. They called me. They put the violin on a plane and it arrived an hour before you did.” My dad had it in his car! Thanks to those people, my violin was safe home!
1. Where was the writer’s home?A.On an island. | B.In London. |
C.In Edinburgh. | D.In the south of Scotland. |
A.He didn’t sleep all night. | B.He went back home alone. |
C.His dad would be angry. | D.He left his address on the train. |
A.模型 | B.标签 | C.绰号 | D.唱片公司 |
A.His father. | B.The police. | C.A cleaner. | D.A crewman. |
A.Travelling Violin | B.Boarding School |
C.Unforgettable Train | D.Missing Suitcase |
3 . If you walk through the doors of one of the Smithsonian Institution’s museums in Washington, D.C., you may be greeted by an unusual guide. A Japanese tech company recently sent 25 humanoid robots to the Smithsonian. All of them are named Pepper.
Each Pepper stands 4 feet tall and has a computer screen attached to its body. Built by SoftBank Robotics, the robots are programmed to share information about the museum in which they are based.
“Pepper is basically an experiment,” Goslins, director of the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Museum, said. “The idea is to explore and see how a robot performs in this kind of environment.”
Museum visitors communicating with Pepper. The robot can tell stories and answer basic questions. People even take pictures and dance with it.
“The robot draws big crowds,” said Allison Peck, director of marketing at the Hirshhorn. “People just love Pepper.”
According to the Smithsonian Institution’s website: “Pepper gives our museum workers a new way to reach and serve visitors.” For example, Pepper teaches Swahili words to visitors of the “World on the Horizon” exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art.
Pepper also has the special ability to draw guests to less-visited areas of the Smithsonian’s museum. When Pepper is placed in a spot, crowds are attracted to that place.
When not educating museum visitors, Pepper stays in the Smithsonian offices, getting charged and programmed. After being charged, Pepper can run for about 8 hours at a time.
Pepper plays an important role, but the robot“ is not meant to take away human jobs at the museum, ” Goslins explained. “It is meant to give our visitors a more enjoyable experience while they are here with us.”
1. What do you know about Pepper?A.It measures 4 feet in width. | B.It serves as a guide. |
C.It is named after a robot. | D.It is made in the US. |
A.Draw pictures. | B.Take pictures. |
C.Ask questions. | D.Tell stories. |
A.Reasonable cost. | B.Pepper’s appearance. |
C.Workers’service. | D.Attractive scenery. |
A.To please visitors. | B.To replace humans. |
C.To perform programs. | D.To educate visitors |
4 . “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade (柠檬水).” It is a good saying, but life throws at us more serious problems than lemons, doesn’t it? What do we do when we lose a family member? What do we do when we have been through events that leave us feelings? Can any failure be turned into success?
Most of us realize we can learn one or two things from failure. When we fail, we think, “Well, I won’t try that again! ”or “I won’t trust anyone again! ”But this is not useful learning. It is suggested that we ask challenging questions. For example, “How could I try that again?” There are a lot we can learn and get from failure if we keep asking good questions on how to do better next time.
Failure or pain can be good for developing our character if we choose to face it in a positive way. Our own suffering often makes us understand others better. It can give us wisdom or knowledge to share with others, which can prevent them from similar failure. If we have been hurt by others because of another person’s poor character, it may improve us to be better persons.
Failures can make us experience many things that we didn’t experience before. If you lose your job, it doesn’t mean you lose everything and probably you may get more. As we know, no job often leads to self employment; no job has been the beginning of many highly successful businesses. It is common that we don’t like changing, but change, even unfortunate change, brings new opportunities. Sometimes only failure brings us better opportunities or greater success.
1. The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 means that ________.A.any lemons can be made into lemonade |
B.problems always bring us lots of trouble |
C.problems can never be avoided in our life |
D.failure can also be turned into a success |
A.We should learn more when we fail |
B.We must be careful to trust anyone |
C.We must ask questions when we fail |
D.We should deal with failure positively |
A.avoid hurting others in the same way |
B.find a better way to hurt him bravely |
C.try to prevent him from hurting others |
D.thank him for making you more perfect |
A.Failure Decides success | B.Failure Creates Opportunities |
C.Failure Brings Everything | D.Failure Makes a Perfect Person |
5 . Be Healthy! Be Slim! Be Beautiful!
Discover the secret for a healthy, slim, and beautiful you!
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This healthy diet is an 8 week’s program which is unlike other diet regimes (食物疗法). In that it focuses on proper nutrition(营养) first and weight loss second. Your body must have proper levels of minerals, vitamin, and protein in order to work well. It provides a simple lifestyle change to give you more energy and improve your health most greatly. It offers control over hunger with a dense diet allowing 1,700 to 2,000 calories a day. If a person has a weight problem, their body probably is not working at proper levels of basic nutrients(营养物). We invite you to follow this program, so you can be the slim person who lives inside you.
You too, can love dieting especially if you are losing weight and losing inches. For more information about our program, please get to our address in the internet: http://www.Shaklee.net/ lifestyle_for_heath/products.
1. This passage is mainly about _____.A.how people should keep fit | B.why people should keep fit |
C.a healthy diet program | D.ways to lose weight |
A.become shorter | B.become thinner |
C.become fatter | D.become taller |
A.this program makes a change in your lifestyle |
B.this program can stop you from feeling hungry |
C.this program tries to tell us what people should do to become slim |
D.this program allows you 1,700 to 2,000 calories for each meal |
A.the content of this program | B.some other programs |
C.some interesting foods | D.some products you can buy |
6 .
Summer 2016 Art Camps The Harn Museum of Art offers Art Camp for kids, aged 7 to 11, during school breaks. Fees: Half-day: $ 150 per week ($ 130 Harn members) Full-day: $ 290 per week ($ 250 Harn members) | ||
Dates | Camp Descriptions | |
Morning: | Afternoon | |
July 11-15 | Comics for Kids. Learn the art of comics. Create original characters, design backgrounds, and use comics to tell stories. Instructor: Tom Hart. | Asian Art & Anime Explore the art of Asia, from traditional ink painting and block printing to Japanese drawing and Anime. Instructor: Sunny Heo. |
July 18-22 | Printmaking: Line, Color, and Shape Master the printing press and discover a variety of printmaking techniques. Instructor: Katie McDonald. | Painting a Rainbow: The Art & Science of Color Learn from museum professional and paint a variety of subjects. Instructor: Katie McDonald. |
July 25-29 | Faces in Art: Masks and Mirrors Explore the face in art, from portraits to masks. Practice working with your own face to create a self-portrait. Instructor: Katie McDonald. | 3D Art: Build It, Shape It, Sculpt It! Move beyond the surface and have fun playing around with 3D art using a variety of techniques, tools and media. Instructor: Katie McDonald. |
August 1-5 | People in Art Learn how to draw, paint and sculpt people. Instructor: Linda Zidonik. | Wild Things: Animals in Art Go wild and create animal-inspired artwork. Look at animals in art in the museum, and make animal paintings, drawings, sculptures. Instructor: Linda, Zidonik. |
A.$ 130. | B.$ 150. | C.$ 250. | D.$ 290. |
A.July 11-15 | B.July 18-22 | C.July 25-29 | D.August 1-5 |
A.Faces in art. | B.Printmaking. | C.The art of Asia. | D.Animals in Art. |
7 . A new study establishes that environmental damage caused by corn production results in 4,300 premature deaths annually in the United States, representing cost of $39 billion.
The paper, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Sustainability, presents how researchers have estimated for the first time the health damages caused by corn production using detailed information on pollution emissions, pollution transport by wind, and human exposure to increased air pollution levels.
The study also shows how the damage to human health of producing a litre (升) of corn differs from region to region and how, in some areas, the health damages of corn production are greater than its market price.
“The deaths caused per litre in western corn belt states such as Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska tend to be lower than in eastern corn belt states such as Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio,” said lead researcher Jason Hill.
It’s important for farmers to have this information so that they can carry out practices that reduce the environmental influence of the crops they grow. Farmers can greatly improve the environmental profile of their corn by using precision agriculture tools and switching to fertilizers that have lower ammonia (氨) emissions. The study’s results also suggest potential benefits from improving nitrogen use efficiency, switching to crops requiring less fertilizer, and changing the location where corn is grown.
Aware that changes in practices can take time and planning, Hill suggests farmers could be offered motivation to switch to crops that demand less applied nitrogen while still offering market and nutritional benefits.
Hill said, “The number of deaths related to corn production could be reduced through these key strategies”.
1. Which of the states has the lowest death rate caused by corn production?A.Nebraska. | B.Illinois. |
C.Indiana. | D.Ohio. |
A.Improve nitrogen use efficiency. |
B.Plant crops with no fertilizer. |
C.Change the corn’s location. |
D.Using precision agriculture tools. |
A.Indifferent. | B.Optimistic. |
C.Pessimistic. | D.Neutral. |
A.Health and lifestyle. |
B.Art and design. |
C.Science and environment. |
D.Fashion and business. |
8 . The story of Santa Claus began hundreds of years earlier. During the fourth century, a Roman Catholic church official called Nicholas of Myra became famous for his many good actions. Nicholas was made a saint after his death and it became common in northern Europe to hold a celebration on December 6th, the day Nicholas died. All kinds of stories were told about saint Nicholas and the Dutch brought one of these stories with them to America. They believed that each year the saint rode a white horse from home to home. He gave presents to children who had been good, and coal or straw to children who had been bad. Other Americans who lived nearby greatly enjoyed the Dutch celebrations. They decided to make saint Nicholas part of their own celebration of Christmas. But he got a new name Santa Claus. It was taken from the Dutch words for Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus. The Dutch imagined Saint Nicholas to be a serious, even frightening person, who could punish as well as give gifts. But in 1822, an American named Clement C. Moore wrote a Christmas poem for his children, the poem called A Visit from St. Nicholas, created a completely new Santa Claus. Dr. Moore described a short, happy, little man who rode in an open sleigh. The sleigh was pulled from house to house by eight white reindeer. At each house Santa delivered gifts by dropping them down the chimney into the fireplace. Dr. Moore’s poem was published in a newspaper in New York, in 1823. It soon became popular all over America and it became the source for the Santa Claus American children still believe in today.
An American artist named Thomas Nast also played a part in creating Santa Claus. Beginning in 1860’s, Mr. Nast drew pictures of Santa Claus for an American publication called Harper’s Weekly. These pictures showed a fat, smiling old man with a red nose and white beard. He was dressed in a red suit with white fur and a black belt. Today more than one hundred years later, that same Santa Claus can be seen everywhere at Christmas time.
1. Nicholas died ________.A.on December 25th | B.on December 6th |
C.in 1822 | D.in 1823 |
A.he lived during the fourth century |
B.he was a Roman Catholic Church official |
C.he did a lot of deeds |
D.he lived in Myra, the ancient capital of Lycia |
A.gave presents to each child |
B.gave nothing to the bad children |
C.gave coal or straw to the bad children |
D.gave presents to the adults |
A.a newspaper | B.a poem |
C.a chimney | D.a forest |
9 . Even though these monuments are extremely well known, they hold secrets that not many people are aware of.
Empire State Building
On the 103rd floor of the Empire State Building in New York, there is a secret observation deck that not a lot of people know about. To access the balcony, you have to take a series of elevators and then a very steep, narrow staircase. The observation deck isn’t open to the public, but many celebrities have been photographed there.
Eiffel Tower
There is a secret apartment and office at the very top of the Eiffel Tower that has just recently become open to the public. In 1889, Gustave Eiffel, the engineer of this famous Paris landmark, built himself a private apartment and office. It has been restored and has wax models of Gustave, his daughter, and American inventor Thomas Edison on display.
Statue of Liberty
There is actually a room in the torch of the Statue of Liberty that showcases breathtaking views of the city. People used to be able to visit that room until 1916 when German agents blew up a nearby wharf (码头). The explosion sent broken pieces into the raised arm of Lady Liberty, making the staircase up to the hidden room unsafe.
Disneyland
Hardcore Disney fans might think they know all of the secrets of the park, a famous U.S. landmark, but many haven’t heard of Club 33. This exclusive restaurant is hidden behind an unmarked door in Disneyland’s New Orleans Square. If you want to dine here on your next trip to Disneyland, don’t get your hopes up. It costs $25,000 to join the club, plus an annual fee of $12,000.
1. What do the monuments have in common?A.They are all in Europe. |
B.They all have skyscrapers. |
C.They are all the best-known. |
D.They all hide little-known secrets. |
A.Disneyland. | B.Eiffel Tower. |
C.Statue of Liberty. | D.Empire State Building. |
A.Attractive. | B.Expensive. |
C.Wonderful. | D.Beautiful. |
10 . You may have been told in the past that reading to your children can help their development. Now an organization is trying to stress it even more.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is now having doctors encourage parents to read aloud to their children, even at the earliest stages. They say it is an important part of the brain’s development in the first three years of a child’s life.
“Although reading to our children can be a simple thing, it has a huge effect on our children. It can encourage our children to read later on in life and give a good start to their education. It can enhance the vocabulary and other communication skills. We can continue to do something that doesn’t take a lot of time and energy to tell the children that love of reading is so important when they are babies,” said Dr Heidi Stoltenberg at Mayo Clinic Health System.
Reading to your children is very important. Stoltenberg said it is never too early to start. “It may seem kind of unusual because we don’t necessarily think babies are at an age when you would read to them, but immediately when you come home from the delivery (分娩) of your baby is a great time to start that,” Stoltenberg said.
Studies have shown that the poverty level plays a major role in parents who read to their children. Many times, that is simply because the families cannot afford books or other things to read. There are many resources (资源) in our area to help those families get reading materials. The United Way of Freeborn County, and many others across the region, have teamed up with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Many local hospitals, including Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea and Austin, also take part in Reach Out and Read.
1. What does the underlined word “enhance” in the third paragraph mean?A.Choose. | B.Receive. | C.Increase. | D.Prevent. |
A.She thinks it is completely meaningless. |
B.She believes babies may get hurt if you do that. |
C.She insists that the parents turn to some experts. |
D.She holds that reading to babies should start as early as possible. |
A.Being short of time. |
B.Being short of money. |
C.The bad family environment. |
D.The poor education background. |
A.The importance of reading to children. |
B.New ways to develop children’s reading ability. |
C.Reasons that influence children’s reading habits. |
D.Necessity of paying attention to children’s brain development. |