3 . These days, football is one of the most popular sports in the world.    1     It was then known as cuju, a game using a ball of animal skins with hair inside. Football as we know it today started in Great Britain, where the game was given new rules.

The basis of the popularity of football may be that it is such a simple game to play.     2     You don’t need expensive equipment; even the ball doesn’t have to cost much money. All over the world you can see kids playing to their hearts’ content with a ball made of plastic bags; just like Pele did when he was a boy.

    3     It is fun enough to attract millions of people. You do not have to be a fan to recognize the skill of professional players or to feel the excitement of a game ending with a surprising twist.

What’ more, football has become one of the best ways for people to communicate: it does not require words, but everyone understands it.    4     Take, for example, the famous football game on Christmas Day 1914. World War I had broken out months before, but British and German soldiers put down their guns and played football together—one moment of peace to remember during years of conflict.

    5     However, in the eyes of Bill Shankly, the famous footballer and manager, it is   much more important than that. This might sound funny, but one only has to think about the Earth to realise that our planet is shaped like a football.

A．It is also a game that is very cheap to play.

B．It is fairly easy to understand when you start watching.

C．Some people believe football is a matter of life and death.

D．It is played in 208 countries and it has about 4 billion fans.

E．It breaks down walls and brings people together on and off the field.

F．The history of the game goes back over two thousand years to Ancient China.

G．Another factor behind football’s global popularity is its excitement on the field.

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Several days before July 28,1976, many strange things happened in Tangshan. The water in the village wells     1    (rise) and fell. In the city, the water pipes in some buildings cracked and burst. They were     2    (sign)for the earthquake. But people in the city didn't think much     3     these events. At 3:42 am that day, the earth began to shake,     4     destroyed the city. Many people,     5     (include) rescue workers and doctors, came to rescue those     6     (trap) under the ruins.     7     (late) that afternoon, another big quake struck Tangshan. More people     8     (kill) or injured and     9     (many) buildings fell down. Soldiers were called in to help the rescue workers. Team were organized to dig out     10     trapped and to bury the dead.

5 . For many years the school system in Finland has been very successful. In the PISA survey, which compares reading, math and science knowledge of 15-year-olds around the world, Finland is not only the top European country but also competes with Asian giants like Shanghai, Singapore and South Korea. But what makes the educational system in this small country so different from others in the western world?

Until the 1960s Finland’s school system had been influenced largely by its neighbor, the Soviet Union. Most students left school after six years; some went on to private schools. Only the wealthy ones got a better education. In the middle of the 1960s the Finnish government saw the need to change and modernize their education system if they wanted to be internationally competitive. Lawmakers made a simple decision: a basic school for all the 7- to 16-year-olds. Compulsory education begins at 7. The government makes it possible for all children to attend preschool as well.

Most of Finland’s schools get their money from the government. The people who are in charge of the education system, from teachers to officials are trained teachers, not politicians like in other countries.

Teachers work with their pupils in school as much as possible. When teachers are not with the pupils, they spend a lot of time in schools working on the curriculum and new projects. Schools in Finland are small, at least for international standards. So teachers know every pupil in their school and try everything to succeed with their pupils. That is why dropout rates are low compared to other countries. In contrast to other nations, teachers in Finland are highly respected. Finland selects its teachers very carefully: only talented students go on to a university and receive a master’s degree in education. Finland only takes the best to educate its youth.

All Finnish children, whether they come from the city or the country, whether from a rich or poor family, have the same chances in education. There are not so many differences between the wealthy and poor, as in America or other western European countries. Education experts say that there is very little difference between very good and the worst students. Two thirds of Finnish pupils move on to higher education, the highest rate in the European Union.

1. What can be the best title for the text?

A．What Differences European Schools Have	B．What Good Schools Provide Students with
C．Why Finland’s School System Has Changed	D．Why Finland’s School System Is Successful

2. What did the Finland government do in the middle of the 1960s?

A．They encouraged students to go to private school.

B．They changed the school system.

C．They lengthened preschool education.

D．They learned modern education from neighboring countries.

3. We can learn from the text that ______________.

A．the children in Finland attend preschool at the age of six.

B．the children in Finland have equal opportunity to receive education.

C．the school system in Finland is better than that in Singapore.

D．the school equipment in Finland doesn’t meet international standards.

4. The author mentions Shanghai, Singapore and South Korea to show________.

A．the school system in Finland has been very successful

B．Asian countries are successful in school education

C．students in these places are better than those in European countries

D．the educational system in Asia is different from that in the western world

6 . We are all busy talking about and using the Internet, but how many of us know the history of the Internet?

Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up in the 1960s. At that time, computers were large and expensive. Computer networks didn’t work well. If one computer in the network broke down, then the whole network stopped. So a new network system had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was not working, information could be sent through another part. In this way, computer network system would keep on working all the time.

At first the Internet was only used by the government, but in the early 1970s, universities, hospitals and banks were allowed to use it, too. However, computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult to use. By the start of the 1990s, computers had become cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made “surfing” the Internet more convenient.

Today it is easy to get online and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day. Sending email is more and more popular among students.

The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of people’s life．

1. The Internet has a history of around ______ years.

A．ten

B．twenty

C．fifty

D．seventy

2. A new network system was set up to ______ .

A．break down the whole network

B．make itself keep on working all the time

C．make computers cheaper

D．make computers large and expensive

3. At first the Internet was only used by ______.

A．Scientists	B．the government
C．schools	D．hospitals and banks

4. ______ made “surfing” the Internet more convenient.

A．Software

B．Scientists

C．Information

D．Computers

7 . Clowns (丑角) have been around for a long time. They not only make us laugh at the circus (马戏团) but they used to make the king and his followers laugh in court. The earliest of these fun-makers are called “fools”. In Greek and Roman times these fools dressed up like clowns do today with painted faces and funny costumes (戏服). They danced around the stage and did things to make people laugh as clowns do in circuses today. By medieval times (中世纪) every court had its fools. Fools wore bright colours and had bells (大肚子) on their shoes and their hats.

They were not really meant to be foolish and often they would say wise and sensible things to the king which nobody else was brave enough to say. The king never got cross with the fool as this was his job. He was meant to be both wise and foolish and try to make the situation in court less serious.

Of course people wanted to have their own kind of fool and shows developed in the 1500s in which fools (or Zanies) performed to make the crowd laugh. This kind of entertainment became so popular that it started a special kind of drama in Italy called Commedia dell´arte, which gradually turned into our comedy programmes today. When you watch the antics (滑稽剧) of Charlie Chaplin or Rowan Atkinson, you are watching a kind of comedy that is directly originated from the fools of ancient Rome and Greece.

1. How do clowns entertain people?

A．By their amusing talk and body language.

B．By their amusing voices and body langauge.

C．By their clothes, songs and the way they talk.

D．By their clothes, make-up and the way they act.

2. Where did fools first give performances?

A．In different towns in Europe.

B．In shows in ancient Greece and Rome.

C．At fairs or market where there were a lot of people.

D．in the building where law cases could be heard and judged.

3. When did the Commedia dell´arte begin to develop?

A．Before the fifth century.

B．Around the tenth century.

C．During the Middle Ages.

D．In the sixteenth century.

4. What does the underlined “got cross” in the second paragraph mean?

A．got satisfied	B．got through
C．got angry	D．got delighted

8 . With attractiveness in its structure and in its presence, the Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of France and Gustave Eiffel's architectural (建筑的) wonder. Do you know how tall the Eiffel Tower is? Standing at 1, 063 feet tall, this is the second tallest monument in France after the Millau Viaduct, a road bridge over the river Tarn. The tower was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the World Fair. About 18,038 pieces of iron were put together with millions of rivets (铆钉). Gustave Eiffel was helped by several design engineers. Ironically, at first, the tower was considered unpleasant by a lot of artists. Several members from the arts community said it only ruined the empty skyline of the Paris city. French novelist Guy de Maupassant expressed his dislike for the tower by eating lunch everyday at the tower's restaurant-his explanation was that it was the only place in Paris where one could not see the structure!

The tower, weighing 10,000 tons, includes several non-metallic (非金属的) parts as well. The metallic parts used in the structure weigh 7, 300 tons, which, if melted, will fill up a 125-meter square with a depth of 6 cm. At the time when the tower was built, the great structure amazed lots of engineers and common people. The Eiffel Tower needs 50-60 tons of paint every seven years to keep the rust(铁锈) away.

Being one of the most visited sites in the world, the Eiffel Tower still remains an architectural wonder! To sum up its beauty, here's a quote by Gustave Eiffel, “I ought to be jealous (嫉妒的) of the tower. She is more famous than I am!”

1. Which of the following about the Eiffel Tower is TRUE?

A．It runs across the river Tarn.	B．It's the tallest monument in France.
C．Gustave Eiffel was its leading designer.	D．It has become a less popular landmark.

2. What does the underlined word “Ironically” in the first paragraph mean?

A．Impolitely.	B．Excitingly.
C．Surprisingly.	D．Carefully.

3. How much paint was probably used from1996 to 2016 on the tower?

A．About 7,300 tons.	B．About 170 tons.
C．About 10,000 tons.	D．About 55 tons.

4. What is the purpose of the second paragraph?

A．To show how grand the Eiffel Tower is.

B．To show what the Eiffel Tower was used for.

C．To show what was used to build the Eiffel Tower.

D．To show how difficult it is to clean the Eiffel Tower.

9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Clowns (小丑)are almost everywhere in popular culture. But what they represent     1    (change) a lot over the past 400 years.

Clowns began appearing in     2     form we recognize today in European theaters in the 17th century. With brightly colored clothes, big red noses and colorful faces, clowns tried every means to act foolish or play tricks     3     (make) the audience laugh.

Clowns became popular in the US in the 1960s. A happy clown     4     (choose) by McDonald's to appear in its advertisements. Today, as we know, that company mascot (吉祥物)， Ronald McDonald, is world famous.

However, the image of a happy clown is largely an American creation. In other cultures, the clown character is not     5     (necessary) good. One example is “Mr. Punch”, who was popular in British and French theaters during the 1700s. While Mr. Punch was funny, he was also violent, often     6     (hit) his wife during the show,     7     gave rise to the name of “bad clowns”. Even today, in the eyes of some people, clowns are evil (邪恶的)and     8     (frighten).

Of course, there are different voices. Some people think clowns are positive, creative and imaginative. They bring people     9     (please) and laughter. That's     10     attracts people, especially children, to clowns. They believe that as long as there are children in the world, there will be a future for clowns.

10 . 根据课文内容完成以下空格，每空1到3词。

(1). The amber which    1     had a beautiful yellow-brown color like honey. The design of the room was in the     2     popular in those days. It was also a treasure     3     gold and jewels, which took the country’s best artists about ten years to make.

(2). I have become very important in communication,     4     and trade. I have also been put into robots and used to make mobile phones     5     help with medical operations....Anyhow, my     6     is to provide humans with a life of high quality…

(3). “What are you doing?” asked Daisy. “I’m protecting myself     7     mosquitoes,” it replied. When I find a millipede insect, I rub it over my body. It     8     a powerful drug which     9     mosquitoes. You should pay more attention to the rainforest where I live and     10     how the animals live together. No rainforest, no animals, no drugs.”