1 . I am the proud owner of three pet dogs. Over the years, I have watched their behaviours carefully that help me when I travel around the world.
One important lesson that my dog, Cody, taught me is how to deal with little problems in life. From his calm behavior when someone knocked unexpectedly at the door to the indifferent way he has dealt with his recent serious illness, he has always had the same easy-going attitude. This attitude is an important lesson to me in how I can face difficult situations when travelling, I've learned to try to handle bad situations calmly, such as when we miss a train, lose luggage, and so on.
Another dog of mine, Preston, loves to walk around the yard, spending hours smelling every place and finding out what it means to him. Taking it slowly is another lesson that’s been very hard for me to learn. As an active traveller, I am actually experiencing less by speeding through everything, rather than slowly getting to know a place. Even if it means that you won’t see as many things, going slowly when you travel is the only way to really get to know a new place. Rushing around a foreign city isn’t fun at all.
My dog, Moya, came from a truly bad situation. I am not sure what happened to her before; I just know it wasn’t good. Although she has become more relaxed over the years, she is still slightly on edge. She is very cautious when faced with any new situation. But once she’s accustomed to her new surroundings, she is fine. She doesn’t let fear influence her experience. The same can be applied to our travel experience. No matter where we go, we need to manage new situations with caution——while at the same time not letting that caution turn into fear.
Many thanks to my pets. Truly speaking, pets are as basic to American culture as hot dogs or apple pies. To Americans, pets are not just property, but a part of the family. After all, pets are people, too, with the help of whom I am able to gain a lot and live differently.
1. One of the three dogs, Cody, .| A．once suffered from a serious illness | B．is excited when under pressure |
| C．enjoys walking around the yard | D．is unable to deal with new situations |
| A．pay attention to the details in life | B．see as many things as possible when travelling |
| C．stay indifferent to strangers | D．travel around slowly and have fun |
| A．hungry | B．nervous | C．calm | D．happy |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
2 . Over the years, cheerleading has taken two primary forms: game-time cheerleading and competitive cheerleading. Game-time cheerleaders’ main goal is to entertain the crowd and lead them with team cheers, which should not be considered a sport. However, competitive cheerleading is more than a form of entertainment. It is really a competitive sport.
Competitive cheerleading includes lots of physical activity. The majority of the teams require a certain level of tumbling (翻腾运动) ability. It’s a very common thing for gymnasts, so it’ s easy for them to go into competitive cheerleading. Usually these cheerleaders integrate lots of their gymnastics experience including their jumps, tumbling, and overall energy. They also perform lifts and throws. This is where the “fliers” are thrown in the air, held by “bases” in different positions that require strength and working with other teammates.
Competitive cheerleading is also an activity that is governed by rules under which a winner can be declared. It is awarded points for technique, creativity and sharpness. Usually the more difficult the action is, the better the score is. That’s why cheerleaders are trying to experience great difficulty in their performance.
Besides, there is also a strict rule of time. The whole performance has to be completed in less than three minutes and fifteen seconds, during which the cheerleaders are required to stay within a certain area. Any performance beyond the limit of time is invalid.
Another reason for the fact that competitive cheerleading is one of the hardest sports is that it has more reported injuries. According to some research, competitive cheerleading is the number one cause of serious sports injuries to women. Emergency room visits for it are five times the number than for any other sport, partially because cheerleaders don’t use protective equipment. Smiling cheerleaders are thrown into the air and move down into the arms of the teammates, which may easily cause injuries. Generally, these injuries affect all areas of the body, including wrists, shoulders, ankles, head, and neck.
There can be no doubt that competitive cheerleading is a sport with professional skills. Hopefully, it will appear in the Olympics since cheerleaders are just as athletic and physically fit as those involved in the more accepted sports. It should be noted that it is a team sport and even the smallest mistake made by one teammate can bring the score of the entire team down. So without working together to achieve the goal, first place is out of reach.
1. What is the main purpose of competitive cheerleading?| A．To compare skills of participants. |
| B．To make the audience feel amused. |
| C．To attract more people to watch events. |
| D．To cheer up the competitors on the court. |
| A．examine | B．identify |
| C．combine | D．replace |
| A．lacks necessary guidelines to follow |
| B．enjoys greater popularity than other sports |
| C．requires more designed actions than gymnastics |
| D．has a relatively high rate of damage to the body |
I: Introduction P: Point Sp: Sub-point (次要点) C: Conclusion
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
Now, a new study has provided the best evidence of how the polar ice sheets are responding to our warming world. In the study, an international team of scientists looked at 20 years of' data in the ice sheets collected by 10 satellite missions. The team's conclusion: The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets both are losing ice overall. The researchers also found that between 1992 and 2011, melt water from those shrinking ice sheets caused sea levels to rise by about 11 millimeters.
Over the 19 years studied, the Greenland ice sheet lost 2.7 trillion metric tons of ice. The Antarctic ice sheet also shrank by about l.3 trillion metric tons. Previously, some scientists disagreed whether the Antarctic sheet, the largest mass of ice in the world, was shrinking or growing or neither.
While the Earth is warming overall, the effect of climate change varies from region to region. Over the last 15 years, for example, scientists have something disagreed over how climate change has affected the polar ice sheets. Many studies found that the sheets lost a lot of ice and that not enough snow fell on the sheets to compensate for the loss. But other studies found that the loss of ice was balanced by the gain in snowfall.
Richard Alley, a glacier scientist at Penn State University, said that many of those studies looked at different areas, and over different time periods. In addition, the studies didn't all use the satellite data in the same way. Those differences made, it difficult to compare the results.
The data in the new study matched time periods and areas. The study also combined measurements from kinds of satellites.
1. Why does the author use a common-sense phenomenon as the beginning?
| A．To present the reason for ice sheet melting. |
| B．To show us the result of a scientific experiment. |
| C．To give a simple example to introduce the topic. |
| D．To present a common daily finding obvious to the readers. |
| A．analyzing the findings of former studies |
| B．observing the Antarctic and Greenland |
| C．referring to the data from satellites |
| D．making measurements in the Antarctic and Greenland |
| A．Cut down. |
| B．Lead to． |
| C．Bring about. |
| D．Make up for. |
| A．Ice sheets are shrinking due to global warming. |
| B．People are suffering from climate change. |
| C．Rising sea levels makes people live in danger. |
| D．Shrinking ice has nothing to do with sea levels. |
4 . Nothing says love like a dozen long – stemmed roses on Valentine’s Day. More than a million roses will be sold during this festival for lovers, the biggest day of the year for the nation’s rose industry. It’s going to remain the most popular flower because love never goes out of style.
Yes, a rose is a rose is a rose. But selling them is no longer a beautiful experience for traditional flower shops. Supermarkets now offer convenience to the busy and discount rose shops help those hopelessly in love save money. Roses only is a good example of a discount rose retailer that was transformed from a traditional shop to answer the challenge in the 90s.
Inside this store on Sixth Avenue near 40 th Street, contemporary white furniture and wall – to – wall mirrors give it an expensive look. Customers move about freely among the counters, looking eagerly at the roses in more than 50 colors from shelf to shelf. Some customers say it’s the high quality of the roses that attracts them there. “I spent $ 20 but the flowers looked like I paid 60 or 70 dollars,” says one customer.
Studies show more people are buying roses in ones, two and threes these days. In fact, more than half of all roses are sold in bunches of fewer than a dozen. But Roses Only’s low prices encourage people to spend. Even on Valentine’s Day, when the price of a dozen roses and delivery can soar as high as $150, 12 of Roses Only's most expensive flowers sell for just $35. The company's key to success is to hold prices down by controlling every link in the rose chain. It grows its own roses in the sunshine of the Andes Mountains. In addition, the company also sells other items such as ballons and stuffed animals.
While discount rose retailers are witnessing their business bloom, U.S. rose growers aren’t able to compete with the fierce foreign competition. More than 57% of roses sold in the USA are grown in other countries. The biggest foreign producers are Colombia and Ecuador, which accounted for almost 90% of the total imported last year. The trend has hurt domestic rose growers such as Johnson Flowers of California, considered to be this country's leading producer.
Now, instead of fighting overseas rivals, the Johnsons are trying to work with them. "We have a few big fighting overseas rivals, the Johnsons are trying to work with them. “We may also widen our business to include the service area and be a representative for overseas flower producers.”
As a result of severe competition, those in the rose business long for the good old days, whereas ordinary people benefit from the low price.
1. What is the central theme of this text?| A．The US rose business is going from bad to worse in spite of the efforts made. |
| B．The rose will remain the most popular flower as love never goes out of date. |
| C．The rose business is trying to meet the challenges in the market to succeed. |
| D．The rose industry plays an important role in American economy. |
| A．By setting up more chain stores across the country. |
| B．By selling roses in supermarkets. |
| C．By selling high quality roses at a low price. |
| D．By selling roses by the dozen. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Selling roses is no longer as easy for traditional flower shops as it was. |
| B．Almost 90% of roses sold in US are imported from Colombia and Ecuador. |
| C．US rose growers are faced with intense foreign competition. |
| D．the Johnsons are trying to co-operate with foreign competitors instead of fighting them. |
