1 . They say everything is bigger in Texas. While that may be true, some of the best things in Texas are quite small. Case in point: tiny Mount Vernon, a town of just under 3,000 people. But if you do come across Mount Vernon, you might just get an intention to stay. That happens a lot around here, and it’s worth noting how remarkable that is.
Tom Wilkinson was born in Mount Vernon 87 years ago and moved back after he retired from his career as a college English professor in Dallas. Like many of his neighbors, Wilkinson can track his ancestors back to the pioneers who settled here in the 1870s. And like many, he values the simple life you can’t easily find in big cities. “People are still polite. They hold the door open for you.” he says, “We grow strong roots here!”
Preserving and honoring the past has been key to helping Mount Vernon survive. The residents have restored and reopened some of the empty stores, including the old barbershop, built more than 100 years ago. An old general store was turned into a combination space. Wander in on any given day and you might find a book club discussion, a Coffee Ladies meet-up, or a work session for the local genealogy(家谱) group among the tables of people chatting over cups of coffee and plates of food.
Mount Vernon has the kind of big hearts you tend to find in a small town. For instance, when a local policeman was diagnosed with cancer last year, ten-year-old Lola McKellar set up a lemonade stand to raise money for his treatments. In 2015, when a 350-year flood sent water rushing into local homes, an army of volunteers showed up to get a wheelchair-bound neighbor and his wife to higher ground, and then came back to help rebuild.
1. What does the author think of Mount Vernon?| A．Remote. | B．Wealthy. |
| C．Primitive. | D．Attractive. |
| A．He preferred the simple and natural life. | B．He could continue his language teaching. |
| C．He could live together with his ancestors. | D．He could meet more neighbors of his age. |
| A．It is in danger of extinction. | B．It is quickly changing over time. |
| C．It is conservative but harmonious. | D．It is being disturbed by the outside world. |
| A．The history of Mount Vernon. | B．The humanity of Mount Vernon. |
| C．The volunteers of Mount Vernon. | D．The reconstruction of Mount Vernon. |
2 . The pupils of Grange town High have been busy getting to know their newest and tallest classmate, a 7-meter-tall giraffe outside their school
The giraffe is a huge sculpture made by a local artist. The school's headmaster noticed the sculpture in the artist's garden as he drove past one day. He thought it would be perfect for his school. “I knew everyone would love it,” he said, “because our basketball team is known as Grange town giraffes, and they wear giraffes on their shirts. So I asked them to write a letter to the artist, asking how much it would cost to buy the giraffe. He was very kind and got it ready to deliver in six weeks - all for nothing. It was expected to arrive on Sunday morning so that the pupils would see it when they got to school on Monday - at that time they had no idea that we were getting it.
The artist, Tom Bennett, was a university professor of chemistry before he left that job in 2006 and only took up metalwork a couple of years ago. “I've always drawn pictures,” he said, “I can even remember doing it on my first day at school - I drew a horse. I wanted it to be the best horse picture ever, but I don't think I succeeded.” Tom's first metalwork was a bicycle for two that he and his wife could go cycling on together. “It was a most uncomfortable bike ever created,” he said, “So I gave up making bicycles and went into sculpture instead.”
Meanwhile, the pupils at Grange town High are very happy with their new classmate. “We are going to hold a competition to give it a proper name.” said one girl. “Everyone likes the expression on his face, so perhaps that will give us some ideas.”
1. According to the text, the giraffe _______________.| A．was as tall as a basketball player | B．was given to Grange town High for free |
| C．was sent to Grange town High on Monday | D．was specially made for a basketball team |
| A．excited | B．nervous | C．worried | D．confident |
| A．He learned a lot about sculpture at university. | B．He visited Grange town High |
| C．He was good at drawing, especially horses. | D．He showed interest in art at an early age. |
| A．It was a difficult job to name a giraffe. |
| B．Tom Bennett is well-known as a sculptor. |
| C．A metal giraffe arrived at Grange town High. |
| D．The Grange town Giraffe is a strong basketball team. |
3 . Festivals and celebrations of all kinds have been held everywhere since ancient times. Most ancient festivals would celebrate the end of cold weather, planting in spring and harvest in autumn .Today's festivals have many origins: some are seasonal, some for special people and some for special events.
Dragon Boat Festival celebrations take place in China on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. They are held in memory of Qu Yuan, a famous person who wrote poems in Ancient China. It was the first traditional Chinese festival added to UNESCO'S List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Thanksgiving is celebrated mainly in North America, in October or November. Traditionally, it was a chance to give thanks for a good year, Now. i is also a time for families to get together for a big dinner.
May Day s a festival to celebrate the start of summer, with celebrations held across Europe and in parts of North America. People prepare decorations with flowers and dance around poles.
The Spring Festival that is also called Chinese New Year is one of the most important Festivals in China.It stars with a new moon and ends 15 day later on the full moon, marking the beginning of spring .During this festival,people eat dumpling, fish and meat and may give children lucky money in red paper. Nowadays, more and more countries around the world are holding celebrations for Chinese Spring Festival.
Festivals let us enjoy life , be proud of our customs and forget our work for a little while.
1. How many festivals are introduced in the text?| A．Two. | B．Three | C．Four | D．Five. |
| A．May Day. | B．Thanksgiving. |
| C．The Spring Festival. | D．Dragon Boat Festival |
| A．Pies and chicken. | B．Dumplings and fish. |
| C．Noodles and meat. | D．Sandwiches and Turkey. |
| A．In China | B．Across Europe. |
| C．in North America | D．In South Africa. |
| A．The introduction of some festivals. | B．The activities of some festivals. |
| C．The customs of some festivals. | D．The history of some festivals. |
4 . “The fact that the smoke reached São Paulo and blackened an afternoon proves how unusual the fires that burn in the countryside of Brazil are,” Ricardo Mello, head of the World Wide Fund for Nature's (WWF) Amazon program, said.
The latest figures come at a time of international protest against the inaction of President Jair Bolsonaro's administration. In July, Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) showed data to the public, which indicated that there had been a significant rise in deforestation (毁林) rates. Particularly, the figures showed that in July 2019, deforestation had increased nearly 300 percent in comparison to the same month in 2018.
Environmentalists are becoming increasingly concerned, accusing the government of encouraging deforestation and those who want to make use of the forest for commercial gain. During his time in power, Bolsonaro has moved to rob some power of government agencies that are responsible for protecting the rainforest as well as regulations covering native lands and nature reserves. Bolsonaro sees these kinds of regulations as a drag on economic growth in the Amazon region.
Fire in the Amazon is used as a technique to clear land for agriculture. “Farmers clear cut land to make way for agriculture, and then wait for the dry season to set fire to clear the land so they can plant，” Mello said. “It's likely that all of these forest fires are deliberately set by humans.”
Now it is the dry season in the Amazon, which means conditions in many parts of the rainforest are suitable for the fires to spread over large areas. “It is very unlikely that those fires break out naturally，” Mello said. “It is important to remember that 2019 is not a strong El Niño year. When we have strong El Niños, weather gets drier in the northern part of Brazil and this favors fires. This is not the case of 2019.”
1. Why are deforestation figures of 2018 and 2019 compared?| A．To share knowledge of the Amazon forest. |
| B．To show how the Brazil president governs. |
| C．To stress the seriousness of deforestation. |
| D．To express the anger of environmentalists. |
| A．Weakening relevant government agencies. |
| B．Encouraging the fight for commercial gain. |
| C．Using techniques to clear land for agriculture. |
| D．Defending regulations about nature reserves. |
| A．They're fit for fires to break out naturally. |
| B．The Amazon experiences the dry season. |
| C．They're possible for fires to spread everywhere. |
| D．The Amazon is just in a strong El Niño year. |
| A．Jair Bolsonaro's Administration Was Accused |
| B．Farmers Cleared Amazon Land for Agriculture |
| C．Unusual Rainforest Fires: Effects on Health and Weather |
| D．Amazon Fires: Possibly Linked to Environmental Policies |
5 . There are three different kinds of friends in our life. I classify (分类) them according to how well I know them and how well they know me.
The first type of friend is just an acquaintance (熟人). This means that you only know their name. You might not even remember what they look like if you go away for a short vacation. You don’t miss them when they are elsewhere. It is also this type of friend who gives you the most amount of aggravation (恼怒). Since most of the time you are placed in a position where you have to act friendly, you would not normally tell an acquaintance when he or she is doing something that makes you feel angry, such as tapping the fingers on a table or shouting loudly. I call them “pest friends”.
The second kind of friend is a “guest friend”. They are just social partners. You meet them at a certain location and at the end of the meeting you go your separate way and they go theirs. You don’t talk too often with this sort of friend, and you don’t share each other’s secrets.
Lastly, we have “best friends”. This sort of friend is there when you need them. They know you as a person and they are there through thick and thin. Best friends are the ones that you can lean and depend on no matter what happens. If you need a listening ear, they will be the one to lend support.
Friends come in all different shapes and sizes. Every friend has an impact on our life. . .
1. According to the writer, when a friend of the first type acts in an annoying way, you .| A．can tell him/her about it directly |
| B．should stay away from him/her |
| C．should advise him/her to correct his/her behavior |
| D．may find it hard to tell him/her not to do so |
| A．They are only social partners. |
| B．You don’t talk very often with them. |
| C．You don’t share your secrets with them. |
| D．They are called “pest friends” by the writer. |
| A．he/she is your friend for sure |
| B．he/she agrees with whatever you say |
| C．you spend most of your time together |
| D．he/she is with you even when there are difficulties |
| A．How to make friends. |
| B．How friends influence our life. |
| C．How to improve friendship. |
| D．How to get along well with the third type of friend. |
| A．What a true friend is like. |
| B．Three kinds of friends in our life. |
| C．The role that friends play in our life. |
| D．Why there are different kinds of friends. |
6 . That the Leaning Tower of Pisa no longer leans quite so much after a ￡20 million project to save it has proved to be a great success.The tower,which was on the edge of collapse,has been straightened by 18 inches,returning it to its 1838 position.
“It has straightened a little bit more than we expected,but very little helps,”said Prof.John Burland,the only British member of the rescue committee.“The tower is still very slightly moving towards being upright.”
The tower,which has been leaning almost since building work first began in 1173,was closed to the public in 1990 because of safety fears.The 183-foot tower was nearly 15 feet off vertical and its structure was found to have been weakened by centuries of strain(作用力).
Prof.Burland said it could have collapsed “at any moment”.However,it took nine years of quarrelling before any work was done.The last attempt at straightening the tower was carried out.Concrete(混凝土) was poured into the foundations,but the result was that the tower sank further into the soil.
The straightening work involved digging out around 70 tonnes of earth from the northern side of the tower,causing it to sink on that side.Before the digging started,the tower was fixed with steel ropes and 600 tonnes of lead weights.
However,halfway through the project,concerns at the ugliness of the lead weights led to their removal and the tower leaned greatly.The weights were hurriedly reattached.One night,the tower moved more than it had averaged in an entire year.The tower’s stonework has also been restored.
The Italian government stepped in after a tower collapsed in Pavia in 1989,killing four people.Experts suddenly realized that the tower at Pisa,which was similarly built and on the same sort of earth,could do the same.
1. What would be the best title for the passage?| A．The Building of the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
| B．Saving the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
| C．The Collapse of the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
| D．The History of the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
| A．closed for the straightening work in 1990 |
| B．began to lean more than 800 years ago |
| C．has a history of more than 1,000 years |
| D．has become vertical |
| A．The development of new technology. | B．The advice of Prof.John Burland. |
| C．The expectation of the rescue committee. | D．The collapse of a tower in Pavia. |
| A．The lead weights fixed to the tower. |
| B．Restoring the stonework. |
| C．Pouring concrete into the foundations. |
| D．Digging earth from the southern side of the tower. |
| A．The position of the tower has been restored to what it was 182 years ago. |
| B．Hundreds of years of strain has weakened the tower’s structure. |
| C．The tower doesn’t lean any more after the straightening work finished. |
| D．People spent nine years in discussing about the straightening work. |
7 . A thief who dropped a winning lottery ticket at the scene of his crime has been given a lesson in honesty.His victim,who picked up the ticket and then claimed the $25,000 prize,managed to trace him,and handed over the cash.The robbery happened when maths professor Vinicio Sabbatucci,58,was changing a tire on an Italian motorway.Another motorist,who stopped “to help”,stole a suitcase from his car and drove off.The professor found the dropped ticket and put it in his pocket before driving home to Ascoli in eastern Italy.
Next day,he saw the lottery results on TV and,taking out the ticket,realized it was a winner.He claimed the 60 million lire(里拉) prize.Then he began a battle with his conscience.Finally,he decided he could not keep the money despite having been robbed.He advertised in newspapers and on the radio,saying,“I’m trying to find the man who robbed me.I have 60 million lire for him—a lottery win.Please meet me.Anonymity(匿名) guaranteed.”
Professor Sabbatucci received hundreds of calls from people hoping to trick him into handing them the cash.But there was one voice he recognized and he arranged to meet the man in a park.The robber,a 35-year-old unemployed father of two,gave back the suitcase and burst into tears.He could not believe what was happening.“Why didn’t you keep the money?”he asked.The professor replied,“I couldn’t because it’s not mine.”Then he walked off,spurning the thief’s offer of a reward.
1. The underlined sentence “Then he began a battle with his conscience.” in Paragraph 2 implies all of the following except that .| A．he knew what he should do as soon as he saw the lottery results |
| B．he hesitated about keeping the money for sometime |
| C．he thought for a moment of avenging himself on the robber |
| D．he came to realize that honesty is more important than money |
| A．wanted to make fun of him | B．hoped to get the money |
| C．knew who the robber was | D．lost the lottery ticket |
| A．Excited. | B．Frightened. |
| C．Ashamed. | D．Incredible. |
| A．accepting | B．claiming |
| C．rejecting | D．cancelling |
| A．A Thief’s Lucky Day | B．A Popular Maths Professor |
| C．A Magic Lottery | D．A Reward of Honesty |
8 . The South American country of Bolivia has a highly varied climate which ranges from hot and moist in the east to high and cool in the west.In fact,the one missing element is a sea breeze,since Bolivia has no coastline.
The population of Bolivia is about three and a half million.Three-fourths of the people live in the mountainous regions,where the altitude varies from 8,000 to over 13,000 feet.The highest mountains are over 21,000 feet high.
About one-tenth of the total population is white.Some of these white citizens are descendants of the Spanish conquerors who came to South America with Pizarro in the sixteenth century.Others white citizens migrated to Bolivia from Europe and the United States because of their interest in trade.The white people in Bolivia control the government and the industries.
About one-fourth of the Bolivians are mixed Indian and white.They usually work as shopkeepers or government employees.More than half of the Bolivians are full-blooded Indians.They are the descendants of the people who made up the Inca Empire.The Inca rulers claimed that they come from a mythical race living on an island in Lake Titicaca.This lake is the largest in South America and one of the highest lakes in the world.
When the Spanish soldiers conquered the Incas,they imposed their own government on the country.They also tried to force the people to practice Roman Catholicism and to speak Spanish.However,even today,most of the Indians still speak their own languages.
1. Which of the following statements is true according to Paragraph 1?| A．West of Bolivia is the Pacific Ocean. | B．East of Bolivia is the Atlantic Ocean. |
| C．North of Bolivia is the Arctic Ocean. | D．There is no ocean around Bolivia. |
| A．2,625,000 | B．3,500,000 | C．1,750,000 | D．875,000 |
| A．English | B．French |
| C．Spanish | D．their own language |
| A．forefathers | B．offspring |
| C．ancestors | D．grandfathers |
| A．about 875,000 Bolivians are mixed Indian andwhite |
| B．some Bolivians serve as shopkeepers or government employees |
| C．Lake Titicaca is one of the highest lakes in the world |
| D．the blood relation of Bolivians |
9 . Is there something strange high up in the world’s tallest mountains? If so, is it a big bear? Is it a monkey? Or is it a kind of man?
No one knows. This mystery (谜) has puzzled the world for years.
In 1887, a mountain climber found large footprints (脚印) in the snow. They looked like the footprints of a very large man. But men don’t walk without shoes in the snow!
In 1906, other climbers saw more than footprints. Far away they saw a very large animal standing on two legs. As they watched, it ran very quickly.
Fifteen years later, newspapers had new stories about the “something”. A mountain climber said he had seen the “snowman” walk slowly across the snow, far below him.He said it looked like a very large man.
From then on, more and more people had stories to tell. But not until 1951 did a mountain climber bring back pictures of large footprints. His pictures showed clearly that the snowman walked on two legs, so it was not a bear or a monkey. Could it be an ape (猿) man? The mystery grew! And the mystery keeps growing. Some day we may find out just what it is that makes the large footprints.
1. Why were people interested in the footprints?| A．They were footprints of a large bear. |
| B．They looked like the footprints of a large man. |
| C．They were found in the snow. |
| D．They were found in the world’s tallest mountains. |
| A．1887 | B．1906 | C．1921 | D．1951 |
| A．They were footprints of an ape man. |
| B．They were footprints of a snowman. |
| C．The pictures showed clearly how the snowman walked. |
| D．The pictures showed clearly how an ape man walked on two legs. |
| A．over one hundred | B．ninety-five | C．eighty | D．fifty |
| A．some mountain climbers | B．some strange animals |
| C．some large footprints | D．the mystery of the snowman |
10 . The piping plovers（千鸟）are already one of the most endangered birds in the Great Lakes area of the northern United States. Now, the rising water levels of Lake Michigan further threaten（威胁）the birds and the areas where they live.
The waters of Lake Michigan are now only a few meters from the plovers' sandy living area. Their home could be one storm away from being destroyed. Many sandy areas near the water are getting smaller, while others are underwater. The birds are forced to move closer to places with trees and bushes, or even to city areas.
Water levels on the Great Lakes are reaching some of their highest points since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began keeping records 101 years ago. Streets, businesses and houses in the area have flooded, the Associated Press（AP）reports. Vince Cavalieri works with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He told the AP that the high water levels put plovers in more danger than most other bird groups. That is because the areas where they live have been disappearing. He added that some nests on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes also have been swept away.
The Great Lakes generally rise with the melting snow and rainstorms of spring, and fall during the drier summer months. However, some scientists believe climate change is causing more changes in water levels. If that is true, the piping plovers could be at greater risk. Their numbers have already dropped because of coastal development. The government lists the birds as threatened in the northern Great Plains and along the Atlantic coast. Rising sea levels there threaten their wintering grounds.
Recovery projects are helping, however. In 2017, officials counted 76 pairs of plovers. Vince Cavalieri expects to see more numbers this year. Most of this year's plover eggs will hatch（孵化）by the end of June. If more storms do not wash away nests, a new group of plovers may survive.
1. What do we know about the piping plovers from Paragraph 2?| A．They are forced to live in cities. |
| B．They build nests in trees and bushes. |
| C．Their living environment is badly polluted. |
| D．Their homes could be easily destroyed by storms. |
| A．A lot of houses have been flooded. |
| B．Many factories have been swept away. |
| C．Plenty of piping plovers may lose their nests. |
| D．He cannot provide enough service for people. |
| A．Spring. | B．Summer. |
| C．Autumn. | D．Winter. |
| A．There will be more snow in winter. |
| B．More rainstorms will happen in summer. |
| C．The government has taken measures to protect birds. |
| D．Water levels may change because of climate change. |
| A．Piping plovers' living habits. |
| B．Piping plovers in great danger. |
| C．Great Lakes getting smaller. |
| D．Climate change causing storms. |
