1 . The traditional Chinese lunar calendar(农历）divides the year into 24 solar terms(节气）．Start of Winter, the 19th solar term of the year,begins this year on Nov 7 and ends on Nov 21.
Start of Winter is the first solar term of winter,which means winter is coming and crops harvested in autumn should he stored up.
In ancient times, the Start of Winter was regarded as the beginning of winter, however,due to geographical factors, the actual winter time varies from place to place.
In fact,the Start of Winter is not the beginning of winter in terms of meteorology(气象学）。The weather every year is different, so the beginning of winter could be quite different.And as China is very large, it starts at different times in different areas.
The beginnings of the four seasons were important festivals in ancient times. Before the Start of Winter,the ancient emperor would take a shower and have no more meat.On that day,the emperor would lead his officials to the countryside and"welcome the winter".
People eat dumplings on the beginning of winter. Legend has it that in the late Eastern Han Dynasty,Zhang Zhongjing invented "Jiao Ear"(娇耳）to treat typhoid(伤寒） patients with ear frostbite(冻疮）.He cooked mutton,hot peppers and herbs to drive out the cold and warm up the body.He put these materials into a dough skin and made them into an ear shape.Since then,people have learned to make the food which became known as "dumpling" or jiaozi. Today there is still a saying that goes "Eat dumplings on Start of Winter Day, or your ears will be frostbitten.”
1. Which of the following is right about Start of Winter?| A．It is one of the solar terns in Chinese calendar. |
| B．People begin to harvest crops on this day. |
| C．Winter begins on November 7 this year. |
| D．It begins in different months in different places. |
| A．the Start of Winter |
| B．the change of weather |
| C．the important festival |
| D．the beginning of winter |
| A．Importance of Start of Winter. |
| B．Customs of Start of Winter. |
| C．Origin(起源）of Start of Winter. |
| D．Food eaten on Start of Winter. |
| A．Because dumplings can drive away typhoid. |
| B．Because they wish for good luck for themselves. |
| C．Because eating dumplings can warm up their ears. |
| D．Because they want to prevent the coming of winter. |
2 . Many families take their children on vacation. They will usually travel for a few days or weeks during school breaks. But Julie and Tim Smith have planned a longer vacation with their two children. The Smith family is on a one-year trip around the world .They plan to visit 30 countries in all. Right now, the four travelers are about halfway through their trip.
Ms. Smith says they are trying to see as much of their world as they can. Mr. Smith says one of the most interesting experiences of the trip has been meeting new people. He says people have been extremely friendly, very welcoming and love their kids. Eleven-year-old Tyler says he has enjoyed learning about the people they have met. He says, “I learned in Africa that people have very different lifestyles than in America."His sister, 9.year-old Kara, discovers that she likes Thai food. Ms. Smith says that the trip teaches the children a lot.
It took the family a year to prepare for the trip. They had to sell their house and cars. Ms. Smith left her job and her husband is using unpaid leave. They carry small bags filled with lightweight clothing and whatever else they need. Ms. Smith says she enjoys being able to carry everything she needs on her back. .She says she does not miss the things she has back home. “What has become more important is making these memories as a family and taking ”those” with us instead.”
The Smiths will continue to head east for the next six months.
1. In what way is the Smith family’s trip different from many others’ according to Paragraph1?| A．They take their children on vacation. |
| B．They travel around the world for a year with children. |
| C．They travel during school breaks with children. |
| D．They travel for a few weeks with children. |
| A．Living in Africa. | B．learning different Lifestyles in America. |
| C．Having Thai food. | D．Learning about the people they have met. |
| A．They left their jobs. | B．It took the Smith family a year. |
| C．They sold their house and cars. | D．They put lightweight clothing in small bags. |
| A．The small bags they carry. | B．The memories of the family. |
| C．The things on her back. | D．The things back home. |
3 . When I stepped out of Heathrow Airport, the British accents were music to my ears! The roads were so empty and traffic was so organized, with open spaces everywhere and so few people on the streets—what a difference from where 1 came—Mumbai. The difference was even more obvious after I had spent 21 years of my life living in that place. The streets were unfamiliar, and the faces were all foreign.
I boarded my bus for my university town. I felt like I had been in a fairytale book—the small houses, the quiet streets and the well-dressed people among other things. A small and beautiful three-storeyed building is quite a rarity back home and here, I have yet to see a building taller than that! Back home in India, the kind of rent I pay here could have afforded me a luxurious(豪华的） 2 bedroom-hall-kitchen apartment in a good location. But my accommodation here is the size of my bathroom back home! It’s just a fact... reality can be rude at times!
I really cherish the first day of my new university. I’ve met so many students from countries that I didn’t even know. But living alone in a new place, away from the protection of my family and friends, is a different experience altogether—a wonderful experience of further education!
It's been almost two months now. The novelty(新奇)is gradually disappearing, and the dust is settling down. It’s all just daily now but I feel fully settled. I really like this place. It feels like home!
1. What does the underlined part “that place” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Heathrow Airport. | B．Britain. |
| C．Mumbai. | D．A university of India. |
| A．Dirty and noisy. | B．Different but poor. |
| C．Hopeful and inspiring. | D．Strange but beautiful. |
| A．An international student. | B．A tourist from India. |
| C．A British college teacher. | D．An unknown writer. |
| A．The author is less interested in everything because of dust. |
| B．The author still feels curious about everything around. |
| C．The author has been used to the new environment. |
| D．The author feels like going home after nearly two months. |
4 . Grown-ups are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practiced ever since. A man who has not had a chance to go swimming for years can still swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after many years and still ride away. He can play, catch and hit a ball as well as his son. A mother who has not thought about the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” or remember the story of Cinderella or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
One explanation is the law of overlearning, which can be stated as follows: Once we have learned something, extra learning trials (尝试) increase the length of time we will remember it.
In childhood we usually continue to practice such skills as swimming, bicycle riding, and playing baseball long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and remind ourselves of words such as “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” and childhood tales such as Cinderella and Goldilocks. We not only learn but overlearn.
The multiplication tables (乘法口诀表) are an exception (例外) to the general rule that we forget rather quickly the things that we learn in school, because they are another of the things we overlearn in childhood.
The law of overlearning explains why cramming (突击学习) for an examination, though it may result in a passing grade, is not a satisfactory way to learn a college course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little overlearning, on the other hand, is really necessary for one’s future development.
1. What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?| A．People remember well what they learned in childhood. |
| B．Children have a better memory than grown-ups. |
| C．Poem reading is a good way to learn words. |
| D．Stories for children are easy to remember. |
| A．presenting research findings |
| B．setting down general rules |
| C．making a comparison |
| D．using examples |
| A．Commonly accepted rules. |
| B．The multiplication tables. |
| C．Things easily forgotten. |
| D．School subjects. |
| A．It’s helpful only in a limited way. |
| B．It leads to failure in college exams. |
| C．It’s possible to result in poor memory. |
| D．It increases students’ learning interest. |
5 . Using a mobile phone before going to bed can damage your health, according to a major study.
It says that radiation from the mobile phone can cause insomnia(失眠症) and headaches as well as cutting the time spent in deep sleep. Failing to get enough sleep can lead to depression, lack of concentration and personality changes. In teenagers and young children, lack of sleep can result in attention disorders and poor grades.
The research showed that using mobile phones before bed causes people to take longer to reach the deeper stages of sleep and to spend less time in them.
Deep sleep is important as it is the time when the body rejuvenates(更新) cells and repairs damage suffered during the day. Scientists found that using mobile phones an hour before sleep affects it. In the study scientists examined the sleep patterns of 36 women and 35 men aged 18 to 45. Some were exposed to radiation that is similar to what a person receives when using a mobile phone. The others received none. The results are as follows: The first group took longer to enter the first of the deeper stages of sleep and spent less time in the deepest one. However, the second group was opposite.
The findings will shock many parents. Many parents are always worried about their children’s health. But they didn’t have a better way to persuade them not to use a mobile phone.
1. The passage mainly tells us that ________.| A．deep sleep is good for your health |
| B．using a mobile phone before sleep can damage your health |
| C．different people have different sleep patterns |
| D．long sleep can renew cells |
| A．people’s body | B．deep sleep |
| C．a sleep pattern | D．a day |
| A．Deep sleep is a good time for the body to repair damage suffered during the day |
| B．The study examined the sleep patterns of about 70 people. |
| C．The findings shocked many teachers and teenagers. |
| D．Using mobile phones before bed causes people to take longer time to enter the deep sleep. |
| A．the lack of sleep can lead to children’s excitement |
| B．radiation from the mobile phone can cause parents’ worries |
| C．many children use mobile phones before sleep |
| D．using a mobile phone before sleep doesn’t harm the aged |
