An emotional reunion has been 75 years in the making. Two WWII
Since the cousins had no way of communicating with each other after they fled their home nation, both of
Decades later, Sana’s daughter began using the Internet
2 . In Europe many people died during the Second World War. As a result, at the end of the war there were many orphans (孤儿) there. A man called Hermann Gmeiner wanted to help these children. His idea was simple. He wanted orphans to have a home, and he wanted them to have the care and kindness of parents. Gmeiner asked people to give him some money. With this money he built the first SOS Children's Village at Imst, in Austria. It opened in1949. This is how the SOS stand for “Save Our Souls.” This means, “Please help us!” An SOS Children’ village gives help to orphans. Hermann Gmeiner’s idea for helping orphans soon spread all over the world. By 1983 there were 170 SOS Children's Villages in the world. People in many countries give money to help the villages.
Today the children from the first village have grown up. Now some of them work in other SOS Children’s Villages. In SOS Villages orphans live in family groups. There are several houses in each village. The biggest village has 40 or 50 houses! Between seven and ten children live in a house. A woman lives with each group of children and looks after them. She gives the children a lot of love and kindness. She cooks meals for them and makes comfortable, happy home for them.
Of course, the children don’t spend all their time in the village. They go to school; they go out with their friends. But the village gives them a home—sometimes for the first time in their lives.
1. The SOS Children’s Villages are built for________ first.| A．the children who are poor | B．the orphans in Europe |
| C．the kind women | D．people who died in the war. |
| A．governments | B．special organization |
| C．people in different countries | D．the orphans themselves |
| A．She lives with the children and looks after them. |
| B．She gives the children a lot of love and kindness. |
| C．She cooks meals for children. |
| D．She teaches the children how to use the computer. |
3 . In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, two plants were brought to England, for the first time, by Sir Walter Raleigh, both of which are now very much used—the tobacco-plant and the potato. Sir Walter had sailed across the seas to America, in search of new lands; and he brought back both these plants with him.
When he was in America, he had seen the Indians smoke, and before long he acquired the habit himself. He became extremely fond of smoking, and frequently indulged in the practice.
When he returned to England, he was sitting by the fire one day, and began to smoke. In the middle of his smoking, the door opened, and in came his man-servant. Now this man had never in his life seen any one smoke, and did not know that where was such a plant as tobacco. So, when he saw the smoke coming from his master’s mouth, he thought that he was on fire!
But very soon the old servant got used to seeing people with smoke coming out of their mouths; and all the young nobles of the court began to smoke because Sir Walter did so.
At first, people did not like the potato at all: nobody would eat it. Yet Sir Walter told them how useful it would be. The potato, he said, could be made to grow in England. He told them that, when the corn-harvest failed—which it often used to do—people need not starve if they had plenty of potatoes.
Queen Elizabeth, who was a very clever woman, listened to what Sir Walter said, and had potatoes served up at her own table. There the grand people who dined with her majesty were obliged to eat them. But they spread a report that the potato was poisonous, because it belongs to the same order as the deadly nightshade(龙葵属植物) and many other poisonous plants. So, in spite of all that the Queen could do, no one would eat potatoes, and they were left for the pigs.
The people did not find out their mistake till many years afterwards when the French king Louis XVI asked his people to eat them. And people began to find out how good and wholesome they were. The potato was more and more liked; and now there is hardly any vegetable that is more highly esteemed.
1. What do we know about Sir Walter?| A．He introduced the tobacco-plant and the potato to England. |
| B．He went to America in order to do research on plants and animals. |
| C．He was forced to smoke by the Indians in America during his stay there. |
| D．He taught Queen Elizabeth how to smoke in court with the young nobles. |
| A．the Queen refused to eat them herself |
| B．they were used as poison by the Indians |
| C．they were long used as food for the pigs |
| D．they belong to the poisonous nightshade |
| A．Both the tobacco plant and the potato were native to France. |
| B．Young nobles in England refused to smoke for the terrible smell. |
| C．It was not easy to grow corn back in the age of Queen Elizabeth. |
| D．The English people were the first to accept potatoes as tasty food. |
| A．Only those who are willing to take risks can succeed in the end. |
| B．They are lots of new plants on the earth that can be used as food. |
| C．All people are afraid to try things that are new and strange to them. |
| D．The upper class had huge influence on the way people lived in the past. |
4 . Every March, the country celebrates the achievements of women in American history. Even though these achievements go back a long way, most schools didn’t start focusing on women pioneers and their achievements until recently. Today, most schools teach kids about the many contributions women have made to our country. How did this change come about?
On March 19, 1911, a German woman named Clara Zetkin organized the very first International Women’s Day. Inspired by American working women, the event took on the causes of peace in an effort to end World War I as well as women’s rights. However, people’s interest in International Women’s Day still dwindled over the years. It gained momentum (势头) again in the 1960’s when the women’s movement caused women to wonder why they weren’t included in the history books.
By the 1970s, more female historians began to look back at women’s contributions in history. In 1978, a California school district started Women’s History Week to promote the teaching of women’s history. School officials picked the week of March 8 to include International Women’s Day. It was so popular that, in 1981, Congress passed a resolution, making the week a celebration for the entire country. The concept of studying women’s history continued to grow in popularity. In 1987, a group of women asked Congress to expand the celebration. That same year, Congress declared the entire month of March National Women’s History Month.
Today, schools and communities across the country celebrate the month with special lessons and activities designed to teach the ways women have helped shape the US. The women who have worked hard to make Women’s History Month a reality would like to see women’s history studied all year, not just every March. In 1996, the National Women’s History Museum was founded. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and celebrating the various historic contributions of women. The organization is working with Congress to open a permanent (永久的) museum site in Washington, D.C.
1. What was ignored in school education in the past according to the text?| A．Popularizing American history. |
| B．Introducing the history of WWI. |
| C．Sharing Americans’ global contributions. |
| D．Teaching about American women’s achievements. |
| A．Started. | B．Survived. | C．Decreased. | D．Completed. |
| A．How Women’s History Month became a reality. |
| B．How women were included in the history books. |
| C．Why women’s history should be taught at school. |
| D．Why women’s contributions should be honored in history. |
5 . On May 13, 1940, the newly appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, gave his first speech to Parliament. He was preparing the people for a long battle against Nazi aggression, at a time when England’s survival was still in doubt.
“…
In this crisis I think I may be pardoned if I do not address the House at any length today, and I hope that any of my friends and colleagues or former colleagues who are affected by the political reconstruction will make all allowances for any lack of ceremony with which it has been necessary to act.
I say to the House as I said to Ministers who have joined this government, I have nothing to offer but blood, labor, tears, and sweat. We have before us a big trial of the most terrible kind. We have before us many, many months of struggle and suffering.
You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage(作战)war by land, sea and air - war with all our might and with all the strength God has given us, and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny(暴政)never surpassed(超过) in the dark and disappointing catalogue of human crime.
You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs -victory in spite of all terrors - for without victory there is no survival.
Let that be realized. No survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge, the impulse of the ages, that mankind shall move forward toward his goal.
I take up my task in optimism and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. I feel I have the right, at this critical point, at this time, to claim the aid of all and to say, ‘Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength’.”
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．To prepare the British people for a long battle. |
| B．To ask people to listen to Winston Churchill's speech. |
| C．To provide some background information of this speech. |
| D．To inform people of the newly appointed Prime Minister. |
| A．form a new yet forceful government |
| B．let people know he was the Prime Minister |
| C．call on the British people to fight against the Nazis |
| D．inform people that Britain was facing a difficult time |
| A．tiring | B．inspiring | C．interesting | D．frightening |
1. What was the purpose of Columbus’ first trip?
| A．To collect plants. | B．To look for gold | C．To learn about American cultures |
| A．It is delicious and cheap. |
| B．It can be cooked in many way |
| C．It grows easily in various conditions. |
| A．Chocolate beans | B．Fried potatoes. | C．Sweet corn |
| A．They made native Americans enjoy European foods |
| B．They made native American foods popular |
| C．They made native American lifestyle well-known |
The distance between ancient Rome and ancient China was about 4,000 miles by land. It was a very
For a very long time, the ancient Romans did not know who was making the wonderful cloth
As the years went by, a civilization of sorts grew up along the Silk Road. Temples appeared. There were even
8 . The first Ferris wheel was built for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The people who planned the fair were looking for an attraction that would bring people to Chicago. The Eiffel Tower had been a great success for the fair in Pairs in 1889, and they wanted something like that.
George Ferris handed in drawings of a giant wheel that people could ride on. At first everyone laughed at his strange idea. But Mr. Ferris didn’t give up, and finally the idea was accepted. The ride opened in June of 1893.
That first wheel had thirty six enclosed cars, each holding sixty passengers. When filled it carried 2,160 people. During that summer in Chicago one and a half million people rode the Ferris wheel, which was named after Ferris. Six platforms were used to pick up and drop off passengers. Each ride was two full turns of the wheel. On the first turn, it made six stops for loading. Then the second turn was a nonstop nine-minute ride. Each car had five large glass windows in front and in back, giving everyone a great view of Chicago and Lake Michigan.
After the fair the ride was moved to a nearby amusement park built especially to show off the wheel. In 1904 it was moved again—this time to St. Louis for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. After the fair in St. Louis closed, the wheel stood unused. In 1906 it was finally sold to a company for scrap(废弃材料）metal. It took 200 pounds of dynamite to bring it down.
Fortunately a Chicago bridge builder, W. E. Sullivan, figured out how to make a smaller Ferris wheel that could easily be taken apart and put together. In 1906 he started the company that still makes many of the Ferris wheels used today.
But whenever you ride one remember that it all began with George Ferris’ very strange idea.
1. What is the main idea of the passage?| A．Large designs are more successful than small ones. |
| B．Riding a Ferris wheel is the best way to travel around the world. |
| C．World fairs attracted millions of visitors to Chicago from all around the world. |
| D．Ferris’ design was so successful that Ferris wheels are still around today. |
| A．make George Ferris well-known worldwide. |
| B．attract visitors to an event in Chicago. |
| C．match the Eiffel Tower in Paris |
| D．bring fun to people in Chicago |
| A．He showed great creativity in the Ferris wheel design. |
| B．His Ferris wheel design was impractical. |
| C．He was a leader in the amusement industry. |
| D．He did a lot better than W. |
| E．Sullivan. |
| A．To persuade the reader to ride a Ferris wheel. |
| B．To describe the success of the 1893 World’s Fair. |
| C．To inform the reader about the first Ferris wheel ever built. |
| D．To entertain the reader with a story about World Fairs in the US. |
