It was a mid April—a time when the planet Earth turns under the hot rays of the sun. There was a large desert in Africa with no sign of ________ except a little rose. There was not a bird or tree in _________ . The sand dunes(沙丘)became piles of burning coal as the days ________ . But the little rose successfully ________ the cruelty of sun. The sun was very ________ to have seen the rose’s ability to ________ such terrible conditions.
One afternoon, the sun said to the little ________ , “Dear Rose! I am the supreme power in this universe. I have the ________ to give and take life. Thousands of living things ________ every day, as they are not able to stand my heat. But, you have been bearing even my hottest ray ________any complaint. May I know the source that gave you this huge _________?”
“Oh，mighty Sun,” the little rose said ________ , “I don’t know much about this desert. But it appears ________ and there seems to be no one else in the whole world my eye could reach. I began to feel ________ for the loneliness of this desert and ________ to help it as possible as I could. And in this process, I never ________ anything that caused pain to me.My whole ________ has been to be a good friend to this desert and help _________ its loneliness.”
_____ by the little rose’s care for the large desert, the sun offered a(n) ________ — millions of other roses that filled the desert with their sweet smells and thus turned the entire stretch (延伸) into a great oasis (绿洲) of life.
1.A. history B. human C. life D. death
2.A. silence B. sight C. turn D. trouble
3.A. got through B. set down C. got together D. passed by
4.A. stood B. avoided C. completed D. disliked
5.A. pleased B. surprised C. disappointed D. frightened
6.A. change B. follow C. improve D. survive
7.A. child B. friend C. flower D. animal
8.A. power B. chance C. duty D. right
9.A. grow B. die C. stop D. live
10.A. with B. over C. through D. without
11.A. attention B. force C. strength D. success
12.A. gently B. proudly C. fluently D. rudely
13.A. small B. far C. thick D. large
14.A. happy B. lucky C. sorry D. angry
15.A. refused B. decided C. agreed D. promised
16.A. experienced B. collected C. solved D. forgot
17.A. courage B. bravery C. kindness D. concern
18.A. play jokes on B. think highly of C. get rid of D. pay attention to
19.A. Attracted B. Touched C. Injured D. Educated
20.A. expense B. salary C. praise D. reward
The Wonderful World of Makeup
As a busy mom, my makeup routine has changed significantly. Unless it’s a special occasion, I won’t spend much time on it. However, despite my speedy routine, makeup is fun. 1. I also enjoy freebies (赠品) very much. You too? Thought so. Let’s get started.
Be realistic. Are you a person who likes simplicity? 2. Besides time, how much money are you willing to invest in products? Do you know your skin type? Knowing how your skin reacts is important. Once you have a realistic idea of what you want to do, your skin type, and how much money you are willing to spend, you’re on your way.
Research. Think about your budget and check out different brands online. One of the very best websites and beauty retailers online is Sephora. The Sephora website gives you detailed information on each brand. Want to go green? Sephora has a great deal of information on green and natural products suited for every budget.
3. Once you’ve got an idea about brands, try it out. Sephora’s in-store product samples are enough and you are allowed and encouraged to give makeup a test. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
4. When you make a purchase from Sephora, you always get to choose three free samples. If you join its Beauty Insider program, you will earn reward points that can be redeemed (兑现) for more samples, other products, and a free beautiful gift on your birthday.
A word on expensive brands. Some of the expensive brands really do have superior staying power and last a long time. 5. Personally, I like to mix things up (higher end with drugstore brands).
A. They are investments for our skins after all.
B. When time allows, I love playing with different colors and trying new products.
C. There’s no pressure to buy — just come and learn.
D. Don’t be shy away from drugstore brands.
E. Take advantage of freebies.
F. Try before you buy.
G. Do you prefer the 5-minute or less routine?
Cats are domestic(驯养的)animals. They are not only sociable but also fashionable. Domesticated cats would like to form cat communities based on sharing of love and food. And they bond with each other very quickly, which is quite different from humans.
Cats don’t always cry because of being hungry for food. Because cats are social animals, they cry because they want to have company. Cats may not cry every time but they may chatter or mumble. It’s really scary to hear cats chattering like old women. They should be listened and one must talk back.
Meow does not mean that the cat is crying but it is simply a greeting. A cat’s cry may depend on what it is looking for; it can be championship or other things. Cats may cry because of boredom on rare occasions. Cats also need rest and recreation. Cats get stressed when they are ignored. It can be given a name and called, it can be given a pat on the head, but it should not be kicked when it wraps itself around its master’s leg.
A cat follows its master around because of a connecting feeling. Cats look upon its master as a second mother. Even if a cat is old, they never ignore the feeling of being attended and cared for.
Cats use a variety of sounds like mimicking to communicate with one another. They are very moody and they can’t be made like oneself all the time. They have different body language signs which you can tell by the way their tail, ears, paws and body are positioned.
There are many ways by which a cat can be stopped from crying like setting up playful activities with the cat, not ignoring it, taking it to a walk and feeding it regularly. A cat knows how to take advantage of its master’s feelings because they can read them.
1.Cats are probably afraid of_______.
A. excitement B. chattering C. being listened to D. loneliness
2.In order to comfort your cat when it is stressed, you’d better_______.
A. touch it on the head B. make it sleep quickly
C. kick it on the back D. pay no attention to it
3.The cat is good at communicating with others by_______.
A. making different noises B. moving its tail down
C. using different body languages D. lying on the ground on its back
4.Which of the following can comfort the crying cat?
a. interesting games b. listening to music c. having a walk d. shouting at it
e. having a meal f. leaving it alone
A. b, d, f B. a, c, e C. a, b, e D. b, c, f
China’s high-tech buildings can be seen everywhere in places like Beijing and Shanghai, but a few hundred miles away in Shanxi province, some three million people still live in caves.
These simple homes often dot the countryside in small, hard-to-find groups, but in places like Lijiashan, where hundreds of caves are on nine different levels of a hillside, it is possible to find whole villages made up entirely of cave livers.
People have been living in caves in Shanxi for around 5,000 years, and it is believed that at one time a quarter of the population lived underground. These days around one-twelfth live in caves and for many of them, life is almost as it was for their ancestors.
Lijiashan, a 550-year-old cave village is typical. Like most cave villages, there is still no running water, meaning locals are using muddy water of the nearby Yellow River. Most homes still have paper windows rather than glass ones. Inside, their owners sleep on large stone beds, known as kang; cool in the summer, but fires can be lit inside them during the winter months.
Lijiashan once housed 600 families. But now there are just over 40. Mr Li’s family has lived in Lijiashan for six generations. After his kids left the village to find work elsewhere, he and his wife turned their 180-year-old home into a guest house with cave bed-rooms where Chinese art students stay when they come to paint the unusual village landscape.
“The only people left here now are old people,” he said, “As soon as the children grow up they leave. They don’t mind living here by the Yellow River. Sometimes they just move down the road. But they want to live in new apartments, not in these old caves.”
1.According to the passage, in Lijiashan________.
A. some three million people still live in caves B. hundreds of caves are hard to find
C. all the villagers are cave livers D. people live in small groups
2.In a typical cave village_________.
A. people usually use water of the river B. the houses have glass windows
C. people sleep on the ground D. there is running water
3.Why do the families in Lijiashan become fewer and fewer?
A. Because old people have to leave their homes to have a better life.
B. Because the students go to school in the city.
C. Because caves are not fit to live now.
D. Because young people don’t want to live there any more.
4.The underlined word “landscape” can probably be replaced by_______.
A. animal B. scenery C. clothing D. window
Robert Frost was one of America’s best known and most honored serious writers. But his fame came late in his life.
He was born in San Francisco, California in 1874. He lived in California during his early childhood. He was named after the chief Southern general in America’s Civil War. The general’s name was Robert Edward Lee. The poet was named Robert Lee Frost, because his father wanted to honor the general.
Someone once asked another American writer, Ernest Hemingway, how to become a writer. The best thing, he said, was to have an unhappy childhood. If this is true, Robert Frost’s childhood was unhappy enough to make him a very good writer. Robert Frost’s father was a reporter who wanted to be a politician. But he didn’t make it. He often drank too much wine and became angry. Robert was the victim (受害者) of his anger.
Robert Frost finished high school in 1891. After high school, Robert’s grandfather offered to pay his costs at Dartmouth College. But Robert left the school after a few months. He did not like it. He spent the next few years working at different jobs. At one time, he worked in a factory. Later, he repaired shoes. He was a teacher. He was a reporter. Always, he wrote poetry.
Robert Frost attended Harvard University for two years. After that, he returned to the many jobs he held before. For a while, Frost tried to take care of a farm in the state of New Hampshire. He was not a successful farmer. And he continued to write poetry. He said that until 1930, he earned only about ten dollars a year from writing.
In 1912, he decided to try to make a new start. He took his family to Britain. The cost of living was low. In Britain, Frost found a publisher for his first book of poems. The book was called A Boy’s Will. When it appeared in 1913, Frost received high praise from British readers. Praise was something he had not received in his own country.
Ezra Pound, another American poet living in Britain, read the poems and liked them very much. He wrote a magazine article about Frost. He also helped get Frost’s second book of poems published in America. That book was called North of Boston.
1.The followings are writers EXCEPT _____.
A. Robert Lee Frost B. Robert Edward Lee
C. Ernest Hemingway D. Ezra Pound
2.The passage wrote about Hemingway in order to show that _____.
A. he had great influence on Frost’s poetry and life
B. Frost’s poetry style was the same as Hemingway’s
C. Frost spent his childhood unhappily
D. Frost was unhappy because he was the victim of his father
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A. Robert Frost’s father was angry and drank a lot because he didn’t realize his dream.
B. Once Frost’s first book was published he gained great praise in his country.
C. After leaving Harvard University, he began to learn to write poetry.
D. Frost was found to have a gift in poetry while he studied in high school.
4.What’s the passage mainly about?
A. Roberl Frost’s unhappy childhood. B. Roberl Frost’s first and second book.
C. Roberl Frost’s family and jobs. D. Roberl Frost’s life and poetry.
Alton Towers is the most famous theme park in the UK which has been successfully running since 1980. The park is set high in the hills of Alton in Staffordshire and it is hidden amongst the trees.
The buying up of the theme park has caused more and more money to be put into the park which is only good for thrill (兴奋) seekers! The amount of new rides is increasing but at the expense of the admittance fees. However the higher fees by no means stops people from visiting though with still around 2.5 million visitors each year.
The theme park is open this year from the 17th March through until 11th November. This gives riders the nice hot British summer time to enjoy the rides with preferably less rainfall. The gates to the park open at 9:30 am and the rides and other attractions open at 10 am. To make the most of your money and your day I would suggest getting there on time or it will seem wasted. When I went we got there at around 1 o’clock and because of that we didn’t get around everything we wanted to.
The cost of getting into the park these days is very expensive so trips there I think for most families would be few and far between. There are many different prices as the cost changes depending on how you pay and when you want to go. There are three sets of prices, normal day ticket, event day ticket and buying online. The prices are as follows:
Adult | Child Under 12 | Disabled |
Normal Day Pass: £32 | Normal Day Pass: £22 | Normal Day Pass: £16 |
Event Day Pass: £34 | Event Day Pass: £23 | Event Day Pass: £17 |
Buying Online: £24 | Buying Online: £16 | Buying Online: £12 |
1.Which of the following is true of Alton Towers?
A. It lies at the foot of the hills of Alton. B. It is the best national park in the UK.
C. It is covered with trees and grasses. D. It has a history of over thirty years.
2.You’d better travel to Alton Towers in _____.
A. January B. February C. September D. December
3.If you are at the age of 9 and visit Alton Towers on St David’s Day with your mom, how much has to be paid online?
A. £64 B. £40 C. £54 D. £57
