1 . I was reading these interesting stories behind a group of great logos（商标） in the world. Personally Nike is my favorite one﹣it's so simple. And I liked the stories behind them, which made me forget all other things. McDonald's, Apple, and Mercedes Benz own great logos as well, and they are among my favorites.
Nike
In the Greek myth, Nike is the goddess of victory and the source of inspiration for soldiers. This logo represents the wing in the famous statue of the Greek goddess. Nike's logo was designed by Carolyn Davidson in 1971 for﹩35, and was registered as a trademark in 1995.
McDonald's
The logo was designed in 1962 by Jim Schindler to resemble the arch shaped （拱形的） signs on the side of the company's then walk﹣up hamburger stand. Later on, the two golden arches were combined together to form the M. The McDonald's name was added to the logo in 1968.
Apple
There are different stories behind Apple's logo. The first logo was a reference to the religious story of Adam and Eve, in which the apple represented the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. One year later, the second logo was designed in 1977 by Steven Jobs and Ronald Wayne, and it described Sir Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. This logo didn't stay long. One year later it was replaced almost immediately by graphic designer Rob Janoff's "rainbow apple", a rainbow﹣colored silhouette （轮廓） of an apple with a bite taken out of it. And then the rainbow﹣colored apple was replaced by the one﹣colored logo in 1998. It has not been changed so far.
Mercedes Benz
The Mercedes Benz logo, which was originally created by Gottlieb Daimler in 1909, consists of a simple description of a three﹣pointed star that represents its rule of the land, the sea and the air. The company was founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Mercedes is the name of Maybach's elder daughter, while Benz came as a result of a combination with Benz Cie and DMG in 1926.
1. What does the author think of the stories of the great logos?| A．They are boring. | B．They are attractive. |
| C．They are out of date. | D．They are practical. |
| A．a bitten apple with only one color | B．Newton's sitting under an apple tree |
| C．the religious story of Adam and Eve | D．the rainbow﹣colored bitten apple |
| A．Nike ﹣ McDonald's ﹣ Apple ﹣ Mercedes Benz． |
| B．Mercedes Benz ﹣ Apple ﹣ Nike ﹣ McDonald's． |
| C．Mercedes Benz ﹣ McDonald's ﹣ Nike ﹣ Apple． |
| D．Nike ﹣ Mercedes Benz ﹣ McDonald's ﹣ Apple． |
2 . It's easy to imagine the Sahara as a lifeless and timeless place, where the merciless forces of nature rule over any sense of human history. However, that’s far from the truth. Some corners of the Western Sahara, found along the northwestern coast of Africa, are littered with hundreds of ancient stone monuments from centuries worth of human culture, some of which date back to over 10,000 years ago.
Between 2002 and 2009, the Western Sahara Project, led by the University of East Anglia in the UK, documented the archaeology(考古学) and environment of northwestern Sahara around the town of Tifariti. The monuments come in a variety of forms and were constructed by a number of different cultures across the centuries. Many appear to be little more than long rows of piled rocks, while others are purposefully placed large stones standing proudly in a circular pattern. Others are 5-meter-high (16 feet) dry stone wall constructions that could have only been built by human hands.
It’s unclear what most of the monuments are meant to represent, although most are assumed to be burial mounds(墓冢), used as part of a funerary ceremony, or sign at the presence of a grave. This desire to construct burial mounds is something that can be found in countless cultures across the planet, from the Scythians of ancient Siberia to the sea-faring Vikings of northern Europe, and it looks like the ancient people of Western Sahara were not different.
For one reason or another, this natural basin area managed to remain a place of human activity over the millennia, especially when times became tough in the surrounding areas. "One of our theories is that as the Sahara dried between five and six thousand years ago—this is one of the refugia(避难所), an area where water remained," Joanne Clarke, prehistoric archaeologist at the University of East Anglia, told Atlas Obscura.
1. How were the monuments constructed?| A．They are in different shapes. |
| B．They are piled up on one another. |
| C．They took about 500 years to complete. |
| D．Most of them are parallel to each other. |
| A．The way to build burial mounds. |
| B．The symbols of different monuments. |
| C．The original appearances of the monuments. |
| D．Their difference between the Sahara and other regions. |
| A．It was the mere source of water in that area. |
| B．It used to be a shelter from sufferings for people. |
| C．People used to hold various activities in its honor. |
| D．It shouldn’t have dried five and six thousand years ago. |
| A．The Sahara used to be a heaven for every culture. |
| B．The Sahara is really a lifeless and timeless place. |
| C．The burial bounds represent different cultures in the Sahara. |
| D．The Western Sahara is covered with mysterious ancient stone monuments. |
3 . Teachers’ Day around the world is not celebrated on the same day. In some countries, Teachers’ Day is celebrated on working days. However, in other countries, it is celebrated on holidays.
Here we are giving you a list of countries that celebrate Teachers’ Day on holidays.
China
The Teachers’ Day was proposed(提议) at National Central University in 1931. It was adopted(被采纳) by the central government of Republic of China in 1932. In 1939, the day was set on August 27th, Confucius’s birthday. People’s Republic of China government called it off in 1951. It was reestablished in 1985, and the day was changed to September 10th. Now more and more people are trying to celebrate the Teachers’ Day back to Confucius’s birthday.
India
In India, Teachers’ Day is celebrated on September 5th, in honor of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second President of India. Because his birthday was September 5th. At schools on this day, students in India celebrate this day to show their respect and love to their teachers.
Russia
In Russia Teachers’ Day is on October 5th. Before 1994, this day was set on the first Sunday of September.
USA
In the United States, Teachers’ Day is a holiday on the Tuesday of the first full week of May.
Thailand
January 16th was adopted as Teachers’ Day in the Thailand by a resolution(决议) of the government on November 21, 1956. The first Teachers’ Day was held in 1957.
Iran
In Iran, Teachers’ Day is celebrated on May 2nd every year. It is in honor of the famous Iranian professor Ayatollah Morteza Motahhari who died on May 2, 1980.
Although different countries celebrate Teachers’ Day on different days, the activities people take to celebrate it just stay the same.
1. The best title of the passage is __________.| A．Teachers’ Day around the world |
| B．The history of Teachers’ Day |
| C．Activities on Teachers’ Day |
| D．How to celebrate Teachers’ Day |
| A．How Teachers’ Day became popular in the world. |
| B．Which country is the first to celebrate Teachers’ Day. |
| C．What activities people take to celebrate Teachers’ Day. |
| D．Which country has the longest vacation for Teachers’ Day. |
| A．Iran. | B．Thailand. |
| C．Russia. | D．India. |
| A．not all the Teachers’ Days are celebrated on holidays |
| B．China is the first country to celebrate Teachers’ Day |
| C．Thailand first celebrated Teachers’ Day in 1956 |
| D．Russia and USA celebrate Teachers’ Day on the same day |
4 . Everyone knows that the French are romantic, the Italian are fashionable and the Germans are serious. Or do they? Are these just stereotypes or is there really such a thing as national character? And if there is, can it affect how a nation succeed or fail?
At least one group of people is certain that it can. A recent survey of the top 500 entrepreneurs (实业家) in the UK found that 70 percent felt that their efforts were not appreciated by the British public .
Britain is hostile to success, they said. It has a culture of jealousy (嫉妒). As a result, the survey said, entrepreneurs were “unloved, unwanted and misunderstood”. Jealousy is sometimes known as the “green-eyed monster” and the UK is its home. Scientists at Warwich University in the UK recently tested this idea. They gathered a group of people together and gave each an imaginary amount of money. Some were given a little, others a great deal. Those given a little money were given the chance to destroy the large amounts of money given to others—but at the cost of losing their own. Two thirds of the people tested agreed to do this.
This seems to prove the entrepreneurs were right to complain. But there is also conflicting evidence. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently reported that the UK was now the world’s fourth largest economy. That is not bad for people who are supposed to hate success. People in the UK also work longer hours than anyone else in Europe. So the British people are not lazy, either.
“It’s not really success that the British dislike,” says Carey Cooper, a Professor of management at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. “It’s people using their success in a way that seems arrogant (傲慢) or unfair or which separates them from their roots.”
Perhaps it is the entrepreneurs who are the problem. They set out to do things in their way. They work long hours. By their own efforts they become millionaires. But instead of being happy they complain that nobody loves them. It hardly seems worth following their example. If they were more friendly, people would like them more. And more people want to be like them.
1. What does the underlined “it” in the second paragraph refer to?| A．One group of people | B．A great survey |
| C．National character | D．A nation |
| A．they are not popular simply because they are successful |
| B．the British public are hardworking |
| C．love of success is Britain’s national character |
| D．they are considered as “green-eyed monsters” |
| A．Two thirds of the people tested didn’t love money |
| B．Most people would rather fail than see others succeed |
| C．An imaginary amount of money does not attract people |
| D．Most people are willing to enjoy success with others |
| A．Jealousy is Britain’s national character |
| B．British entrepreneurs are not fairly treated |
| C．the scientists are Warwich University did a successful test |
| D．the British dislike the entrepreneurs because they do not behave properly |
Vietnamese families plan their activities around their children on this special day. In a Vietnamese folk story, parents were working so hard to prepare for the harvest that they left the children playing by themselves. To make up for that time, the parents would use the Mid-Autumn Festival as a chance to show their love and thanks for their children.
As a result, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Children’s Festival. In the United States, this tradition continues in many Vietnamese-American families. Activities are often centered on children and education. Parents buy lanterns for their children so that they can take part in a candle and lantern parade at dawn. Lanterns mean brightness, while the parade means success in school. Vietnamese markets sell a variety of lanterns, but the most popular children’s lantern is the star lantern. Other children’s activities include arts and crafts in which children make face masks and lanterns. Children also perform traditional Vietnamese dances for adults and take part in contests for prizes. Unicorn (麒麟) dancers are also very popular.
Like Chinese people, Vietnamese parents tell their children folk stories and serve moon cakes and other special treats under the bright moon. A favorite folk story is about a carp (鲤鱼) that wanted to become a dragon. The carp worked and worked and finally changed itself into a dragon. Parents use this story to encourage their children to work hard so that they can become whatever they want to be.
1. We can learn from the passage that Tet-Trung-Thu is celebrated ________.
| A．in China and other Asian countries |
| B．by Vietnamese-American families |
| C．all over the world except Vietnam |
| D．across the United States |
| A．eat moon cakes | B．buy lanterns for children |
| C．take part in contests | D．buy a carp |
| A．Family get-togethers. |
| B．Children and education. |
| C．Relaxation and fun in the middle of the year. |
| D．Parents having more time with their children. |
| A．children like listening to them in the evening |
| B．they want to show their love for their children |
| C．they want to encourage their children to work hard |
| D．they want to make up for lost time |
