1 . Many English learners have difficulty deciding what kind of English accent they want to have.A US accent,perhaps imitates(模仿) a Hollywood star speaker?Or maybe you want to imitate the British accent of a BBC news reader?
Young British people find the US accent attractive while young US people like a British accent.Especially when the person speaking is of the opposite sex(异性)!Let’s listen to what they have to say.
StephenYang,17,fromLondon,UK
A US accent is cute,especially when a girl speaks it.Whether it’s Jessia Alba speaking or the girl-next-door,the way US girls speak has a sweet tingle(感觉) that is really fashionable.A girl from Texas recently moved into our neighborhood.Her Texan twang(鼻音) had all the boys here on their knees within seconds of meeting her.
To me,accents reflect the attitudes,characteristics(特征) and lifestyles of the people.
JenniferSun,16,fromNewJersey,US
From watching English actors like Daniel Radcliffe,my friends and I have developed a soft spot(好感) for British men.Some are attracted to the qualities of English males,while others admire their sense of style.
Everyone,however,agrees that the most appealing aspect of an English man is his accent.For example,many American girls watch HarryPotter movies over and over again just to listen to the actors speak.
The English accent seems almost like art.
1. In Stephen Yang’s opinion,accents just show .| A．the beauty of the language |
| B．how the language is spoken |
| C．the fashion of the day |
| D．the cultural differences of the speakers |
| A．strange | B．exciting |
| C．attractive | D．fashionable |
| A．learn the acting skills of these stars |
| B．imitate the actors’ accents |
| C．learn the magic performed by HarryPotter |
| D．know more about British English |
2 . This is the story of three plastic bottles, empty and abandoned. Their journeys are about to diverge, more or less influencing the fate of our planet.
Bottle One, like hundreds of millions of tons of other plastic bottles, ends up in a landfill. This huge dump expands each day as more trash comes in and continues to take up space. As plastics sit there being pressed among layers of their junk, rainwater flows through the waste and absorbs the chemicals it contains, and some of those are highly poisonous. Together they create harmful matter called leachate (沥滤液）, which can move into groundwater, soil and streams, poisoning ecosystems and harming wildlife. It can take Bottle One 1,000 years to rot away.
Bottle Two's journey is strange. He floats on water that reaches a stream, a stream that flows into a river, and a river that reaches the ocean. After months lost at sea, he's slowly drawn where trash accumulates, a place known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Here the ocean's currents have trapped millions of pieces of plastic waste. There the water becomes a cloudy plastic soup. Some animals, like seabirds, get stuck in the mess. They, and others, mistake the brightly colored plastic things for food. Plastic makes them feel full when they're not, so they starve to death and pass the poisons from the plastic up the food chain. For example, it's eaten by fish, and the fish are eaten by us.
But Bottle Three is spared the cruel suffering of his brothers. A truck brings him to a plant where he and his companions are squeezed flat and pressed into a block. The blocks are cut and torn into tiny pieces, which are washed and melted, so they become the raw materials that can be used again. As if by magic, Bottle Three is now ready to be reborn as something completely new.
For this bit of plastic with such humble origins, suddenly the sky is the limit.
1. The underlined word “diverge” in paragraph 1 probably means| A．develop |
| B．disappear |
| C．conclude |
| D．vary |
| A．He will expand when pressed among layers of their junk. |
| B．He might poison or even endanger different forms of life. |
| C．He can be easily recognized by seabirds and taken for dangerous food source. |
| D．He will go through chemical changes and be recycled into new materials soon. |
| A．In a science magazine. |
| B．In a tour brochure. |
| C．In a product description. |
| D．In a geography textbook. |
| A．Fates of Plastic Bottles |
| B．The Significance of Recycling |
| C．The Shame of Wasting |
| D．High-Tech of Dealing with Waste |
3 . The Chinese word "Shanzhai" means a small mountain village, but it becomes an accepted name for fakes (假货), after "Shanzhai Cell-phones" produced by small workshops in southern China became popular in the mainland market over the past two years. Now besides "Shanzhai" electronic products, there are "Shanzhai" movies, "Shanzhai" stars and even a "Shanzhai" Sprin Festival Gala, a copy of the 25-year-old traditional show presented by CCTV on Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve.
"Shanzhai" has become a culture of its own, meaning anything that imitates something famous. In Chongqing, "Shanzhai" version "Bird's Nest（鸟巢）" and "Water Cube（水立方）" woven by farmers with bamboo attract(吸引) wide attention from tourists. Both are copies of the famous Olympic buildings in Beijing.
A literature critic said that taking the "Shanzhai" Gala as an example, when the traditional CCTV program becomes less and less attractive to the audience, the "Shanzhai" version appears timely to attract people. "Although it is often connected with poor techniques and operation, 'Shanzhai' culture meets the psychological needs of common people and could be a comfort to their minds," he said.
To the mainstream（主流） culture, the rise of "Shanzhai" culture is a challenge and a motivation（推动）. People believe different kinds of cultures developing together is a perfect way and it is for the public to choose.
1. The Chinese word "Shanzhai" may have started with_______.| A．electronic products | B．fake(假的) cell-phones |
| C．Spring Festival Gala | D．Olympic buildings |
| A．anything that are copies of something famous |
| B．products with poor techniques and quality |
| C．the action that a person imitates famous people |
| D．those similar names to famous brands |
| A．is stopped by "Shanzhai" culture |
| B．is the challenge of"Shanzhai" culture |
| C．may develop faster because of the challenge of "Shanzhai" culture |
| D．will be replaced by "Shanzhai" culture |
| A．偷窃 | B．做广告 |
| C．仿造 | D．欺骗 |
4 . Water conservation (保护) means using limited water supply wisely and caring for it properly. Since each of us depends on water to support life, it is our responsibility to learn more about water conservation and how we can help keep our sources pure and safe for generations to come. Below are some of the main reasons why it's important to conserve water.
It diminishes the effects of drought and water shortages. Even though our need for fresh water is always increasing because of population and industry growth, the supply we have stays the same. Even though water eventually returns to the Earth through the water cycle, it's not always returned to the same spot, or with the same quantity and quality. By reducing the amount of water we use, we can better protect against future drought years.
It guards against a series of social problems. Failing to conserve water, can eventually lead to a lack of water supply, which can have bad results. These include rising costs, reduced food supplies, health dangers, and even political conflict. Many fears have been expressed that water wars will occur in the future as water is becoming scarcer and scarcer (更稀缺的).
It helps to protect our environment. Reducing our water usage reduces the energy required to process water and deliver it to businesses, farms, and communities, which, in turn, helps to reduce pollution and conserve energy.
It builds safe and beautiful communities. Hospitals, gas stations, health clubs, gyms, and restaurants all require large amounts of water to provide services for communities. Reducing our usage of water means that these services can continue to be provided. Much of our fresh water can also be used for beautifying our surroundings — trees, flowers, vegetable gardens, as well as filling public fountains.
Water conservation requires effort, and every little bit helps. Don't think that what you do does not matter. We can all make changes in our lifestyles to reduce our water usage. The trick is making water conservation a way of life — not just something we think about once in a while.
1. What does Paragraph 1 mainly show?| A．Conserving water is very difficult. |
| B．Everyone should learn to conserve water. |
| C．Many people don't care about water waste. |
| D．Water shortage will influence the later generations. |
| A．Proves. | B．Reduces. |
| C．Examines. | D．Removes. |
| A．To explain what services need water the most. |
| B．To show water is widely used in our daily life. |
| C．To explain why people today love to conserve water. |
| D．To show conserving water benefits our communities. |
| A．Why Do Water Resources Become Scarcer? |
| B．How Can We Make Our World a Better Place? |
| C．Why Should We Conserve Water in Our Daily Life? |
| D．How Can We Conserve Water to Protect Our Earth? |
5 . We all need inspiration. Dealing with neck to neck competition in the modern era, sometimes we get tired of trying and want to give up. But movies make us look inside ourselves and, often, can be used as inspiration themselves. So, without further ado(废话), here are our Top 3 Motivational Movies for students:
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Robin Williams is on top form as the iconoclastic(打破旧习的) John Keating, the unconventional English teacher who uses his love of poetry and classic literature to break down barriers at the oppressive Welton Academy. Keating inspires his students to “seize the day” rather than just wasting hours, challenge the school’s strict rules, and truly be themselves.
The film is packed with emotionally-charged, touching scenes; but the one that won’t fail to make the hairs on your arm stand up is this one where Keating’s students demonstrate what he means to them – “Oh Captain, My Captain…”
Forrest Gump (1994)
This classic movie starring Tom Hanks is very motivating. It’s about a man who has low IQ but manages to be part of many important moments in modern history, able to achieve a lot, and even given a Medal of Honor for his bravery. Gump inspires a popular dance for Elvis Presley and even plays ping pong in China. No student should miss out on this movie. Nothing is impossible if you have the will to do it…and a box of chocolates.
The Pursuit of Happiness (2006)
The Pursuit of Happiness is the amazing real-life tale of Chris Gardner who, with the power of hard work and perseverance, takes himself from sleeping on the subway all the way to the millionaire founder of his own brokerage house.
Never missing an opportunity and studying hard, after a few years, Chris works his way up the career ladder from medical equipment salesman to financial hotshot. If there’s one story that demonstrates that you should never give up, no matter how bad things get, it’s Chris’.
1. Which of the following best explains “seize” underlined in paragraph 2?| A．make sure of | B．make up for |
| C．make the most of | D．make a mess of |
| A．It tells a story about a man who plays ping pong in China and becomes famous. |
| B．It tells a story in which the main character with a low intelligence achieves a lot unexpectedly. |
| C．It is a classic motivational movie teaching how to gain a Medal of Honor. |
| D．It shows the evidence and arguments for the importance of high IQ. |
| A．Tom Hanks | B．John Keating |
| C．Robin Williams | D．Chris Gardner |
6 . If you’ve ever been on a fishing boat, you’ve probably seen crowds of birds following it, hoping to catch a snack. Now scientists use those birds’ behavior to track illegal fishing boats.
Researchers attached data loggers to the backs of 169 albatrosses (信天翁) in Indian oceans. Weighing only 42 grams, the devices included a GPS, which enabled them to detect the presence and intensity of radar signals emitting from boats. That information was then sent by satellite, so the researchers could track the location of the birds—and thus the radar-emitting boats—in real time.
The scientists then cross-checked that data against the known locations of boats, collected from a system boats use to declare themselves, called the Automatic Identification System (AIS). And noticeable differences appeared frequently.
More than a third of the times the birds “loggers” detected radar signals, and therefore a boat, but no such boat appeared in the official log—meaning that the vehicles had likely switched off their AIS—something that probably happens in illegal fishing operations.
The work suggests birds could be an effective boat-monitoring tool as long as illegal fishing operations don’t target the birds.
Fortunately, such a task would be difficult. Around fishing boats, you can find hundreds of birds at any one time that are flying around. And the birds with loggers are not marked in any way. So it’s not really possible for fishermen to pick out a specific bird.
But what concerns researchers is that albatrosses often get caught by some fishing boats. Though regulations have been established to protect against that happening—with success—illegal boats don’t necessarily obey. So scientists might be underestimating the risk posed to albatross populations.
1. What characteristic of albatrosses do scientists take advantage of in their research?| A．Their feeding patterns. |
| B．Their sense of direction. |
| C．Their greedy behaviors. |
| D．Their habit of following fishing boats. |
| A．To seek more fishes. |
| B．To have it mistaken for another. |
| C．To avoid being detected. |
| D．To save the trouble of declaring itself. |
| A．Identifying birds with loggers. |
| B．Monitoring illegal boats. |
| C．Tracking radar signals automatically. |
| D．Fishing illegally. |
| A．AIS: an Effective System to Locate Boats |
| B．Humans Are Good at Discovering Birds’ Nature |
| C．Data Loggers Help Fishermen Get a Good Harvest |
| D．Scientists Use Birds to Track Illegal Fishing Operations |
7 . School uniforms are becoming more and more popular across the U.S.A. That's no surprise, because they offer many benefits. They immediately remove the powerful social labels from clothing. If all students are dressed in the same way, they will not pay too much attention to their clothing, and some of them will not be laughed at for wearing the "wrong" clothes.
Some people are against the strict rule of school uniforms, but they do not realize that students already accept a kind of rule — wanting to look just like their friends.
As in other places, uniforms remind the wearers of their purposes and duties. For example, when a man or woman puts on a police uniform, he or she becomes the symbol of law and order. The uniform means his or her special duties to the wearer and sends the same message to everyone the wearer meets. People with different jobs wear different uniforms. For students, the school uniform reminds them that their task for the six or seven hours in school is to get education.
Some parents are unhappy about uniforms, saying that school uniforms will affect their children's "creativity." First, as noted above, the clothes students choose to wear do not necessarily express their individuality (个性). They just copy their classmates. Second,while students are in school, their job is to master reading, writing and maths. Mastery of those skills will be good for the students to build up their creativity in every way.
1. In Paragraph 1, the word "benefits" probably means______________.| A．tasks | B．messages | C．differences | D．advantages |
| A．prevent the wearers from being laughed at |
| B．help the wearers keep their duties in mind |
| C．are seen as a symbol of power |
| D．help to develop students’ creativity |
| A．they fail to realize that students have accepted the uniforms |
| B．they believe that uniforms will make students less creative |
| C．they don't agree that uniforms can remove social labels |
| D．they think that school uniforms are too popular |
| A．it makes no difference whether to wear school uniforms or not |
| B．students’ individuality may not come from school education |
| C．students’ creativity is related to the clothes they choose |
| D．school uniforms help to create equality among students |
8 . Many years ago, dogs and wolves were the same. But about 14,000 years ago, some wolves began to change. They were no longer as wild. No one knows exactly how this happened. Angus Phillips of National Geographic Magazine thinks it may have happened like this: “Some wolves moved close to human cooking fires after smelling something good to eat. Then they worked to get closer to groups of humans. They did this by being helpful or proving they would not hurt people. The humans might have used the wolves’ better hunting skills to help them hunt animals. The wolves could warn humans of danger at night. Over thousands of years, humans kept the large, rough wolves out of the human camps. This led to the development of different kinds of dogs that were more friendly to people. They began to look different than wolves. They were generally smaller than wolves, with a shorter nose.”
Through the late 19th century, humans would raise dogs for special skills they wanted, such as hunting, helping with the work on farms or protecting animals. Today, the most common use of a dog is for friendship. Some people even consider their dog to be a part of their family. Scientists are finding that dogs can even understand human emotions. Around the world today there are more than 400 million dogs. But their relationship with people is not always close. Some of these dogs become strays. They live on the streets and often eat garbage. Diana Bharucha, from Bangalore,
Diana, started a program called ‘Stray Dogs Free Bangalore.’ She says that dogs should have a home with a human master. Diana told the news-magazine Citizens Matters: “If the dog population continues to increase, they will go back to living in a group and turn wild. They will start hunting like wild animals which will be a danger for human life.” Humans are still learning how to live together with dogs. This relationship can be wonderful but difficult. But people will continue to share their lives with man’s best friend: the dog.
1. Paragraph1 is mainly about ________.| A．the wolves’ great hunting skills | B．how some wolves developed into dogs |
| C．why some wolves got close to humans | D．the difference between wolves and dogs |
| A．the method | B．the place | C．the number | D．the purpose |
| A．have no home | B．are abused by the family |
| C．get separated from others | D．suffer from serious illnesses |
| A．To control the dog population. | B．To prevent dogs turning wild. |
| C．To rescue dogs on the street. | D．To stop dogs being hunted. |
And every week he cleaned Old Man McColgin's chicken house in exchange for manure(肥料). The smell really burned the inside of your nose. When we complained about the terrible smell, Dad said the stronger the manure, the healthier the crops, and he was right. For example, just one of his cantaloupes(甜瓜) filled the entire house with its sweet smell, and the taste was even sweeter.
As the vegetables started coming in, Dad threw himself into cooking. One day, armed with a basket of vegetables, he announced he was going to make stew(炖菜).Dad pulled out a pressure cooker（高压锅）and filled it up with cabbages, eggplants, potatoes, corns, onions and carrots. For about half an hour, the pressure built and the vegetables cooked. Finally, Dad turned off the stove, the pot began to cool and the pressure relief valve sprayed out a cloud of steam. If we thought Dad's pile of chicken manure was bad, this was 10 times worse. When Dad took off the lid, the smell nearly knocked us out.
Dad carried the pot out and we opened doors and windows to air out the house. Just how bad was it? The neighbors came out of their houses to see if we had a gas leak!
Determined, Dad filled our plates with steaming stew and passed them around. It didn’t look that bad, and after the first wave had shut down my ability to smell, it didn’t offend the nose so much, edible, and we drank up every last drop of soup.
1. Why did Dad clean Old Man Mocolgin’s chicken house regularly?
| A．To earn some money for the family. |
| B．To collect manure for his crops. |
| C．To get rid of the terrible smell. |
| D．To set a good example to us. |
| A．It is popular among the neighbors. |
| B．It contains honey and vegetables. |
| C．It looks very wonderful. |
| D．It tastes quite delicious. |
| A．To attract | B．To upset |
| C．To air | D．To shut |
Dementia is a brain disease that damages thinking and memory processes, which scientists call “cognitive (认知) abilities.” Dementia is difficult to treat. Taking care of someone who has dementia is extremely demanding. And the disease is very frightening to sufferers. Chris Roberts suffers from dementia. He says the worst part of living with this disease was getting lost while driving. “The worst thing that I found was getting lost in the car, not just forgetting where I was going— I wouldn’t know where I was.” More than 47 million people around the world suffer from dementia. The World Health Organization reports that 60 percent of them live in low- and middle-income countries.
We get vitamin D from some foods like nuts, lentils (扁豆) and fatty fish. We also get vitamin D from the sun. But that is not dependable. In some parts of the world, there is not enough sunlight to provide enough vitamin D. Also, sunblock prevents the vitamin from entering the body. To add to the problem, the skin’s ability to process vitamin D weakens as a person ages.
Researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey are exploring the relationship between vitamin D and dementia. The team recently measured vitamin D levels and cognitive ability in older people. Nutritional sciences professor Joshua Miller led the team. He said cognitive abilities differed among the study subjects. He said tests showed that about 60 percent of the group was low in vitamin D.
1. Which of the following is true about vitamin D?
| A．Vitamin D can decrease people’s risk of heart diseases. |
| B．Vitamin D helps the body fight against cancer. |
| C．Vitamin D is mainly obtained from the sun. |
| D．The need for Vitamin D decreases as people age. |
| A．Boring but rewarding. |
| B．Disturbing and frightening. |
| C．Disgusting and stressful. |
| D．Hard and tiresome. |
| A．How vitamin D affects people’s health. |
| B．Where people get vitamin D. |
| C．Whether sunlight can produce vitamin |
| D．D. Why people’s age influences the production of vitamin D. |
| A．In a travel brochure. |
| B．In a literature magazine. |
| C．In a science journal. |
| D．In a commercial advertisement. |
