Many years ago, a French naturalist, the Count de Buffon, wrote some books about natural history. 1..
Thomas Jefferson did not like what the Count had said about the natural wonders of the New World. It seemed to Jefferson that the Count had gone out of his way to speak of natural wonders in America as if they were unimportant. 2.. He, too, was a naturalist, as well as a historian, writer and politician. He had seen the natural wonders of Europe. To him, they were no more important than those of the New World.
In 1788,Thomas Jefferson wrote about his home state, Virginia. While writing, he thought of its natural beauty and then of the words of Count de Buffon. 3.. He said, “The Count de Buffon believes that nature belittles her productions on this side of the Atlantic.”
4.. However, in 1872, a famous American word expert decided that the time had come to kill this word. He said, “Belittle has no chance of becoming English. And as more critical writers of America, like those of Britain, feel no need of it, the sooner it is forgotten, the better.”
5.. Today, belittle is used, not only in the United States and England, but in other countries where the English language is spoken. It seems that efforts to belittle the word did not stop people from using it.
A.The books were a great success even though some people did not like them
B.They talked about the great cultural relics of different countries
C.Americans had already accepted Jefferson’s word and started to use it
D.The Count de Buffon was thought highly of at that time
E.At that moment, Jefferson created a new word -- belittle
F.This expert failed to kill the word
G.This troubled Thomas Jefferson
If you know a bottle of water has been recycled from urine (尿液), will you drink it? Chinese astronauts have done so.
China National Space Administration(CNSA)says it uses a high-tech machine to recycle wastewater. The machine will recycle everything from sweat, the water for washing hands, shower water, water used for brushing teeth, and even urine, to make drinking water.
It saves CNSA millions of YMB each year. At present, each CNSA astronaut uses about 4.4 liters of water every day. It costs about ￥150 million a year to transport water up to space.
The urine recycling system is needed for astronaut stations because it won’t have to ship up as much water to the station by space shuttles or rockets. Besides, it’s important as the space station is about to expand from three people living on board to more.
The recycling system was brought up to the space station last August by space shuttles. The three-man crew stood holding their drinks and congratulated engineers in CNSA center that worked on the system.
“This is something that has been the stuff of science work,” astronaut Chen Dong said before taking a small mouthful. “The taste is well worth trying.”
Is the water clean? Scientists say the wastewater will go through a very complicated (复杂的) process. For example, different chemicals will be put in the wastewater; the water will be heated to 130C to get rid of bacteria. The recycled water is thousands of times better than the water from a city tap, scientists say.
1.What can the water recycled from urine be used for?
A.Drinking.
B.Washing hands.
C.Brushing teeth.
D.Taking a bath.
2.Why is a high-tech machine to recycle wastewater needed on space stations?
A.To get astronauts to keep healthy.
B.To help astronauts do experiments.
C.To provide astronauts a basic living condition.
D.To save the cost of transporting water up to space.
3.Scientists get rid of bacteria in the wastewater by ________.
A.recycling
B.freezing
C.heating
D.collecting
4.What does the text mainly talk about?
A.Water recycled from urine tastes good.
B.How to recycle the wastewater on space.
C.New technology is used in the Chinese space station.
D.CNSA uses a high-tech machine to recycle wastewater for astronaut stations.
The Shanghai Wildlife Park is holding an “Olympic Games” for animals and welcomes sports fans to collect for Wildlife Protection Society. More than 300 animals from around the country will be competing in the National Sports Meeting for Animals.
To the accompanying music of “The Sportsmen’s March”, elephants, camels, monkeys, zebras, sheep and bears will march onto the field. They will be competing in the various events of the “Games” including bicycle racing, skating, gymnastics, boxing, football and rope skipping.
Boxing is always a highlight as the two best fighters － the bears － are said to be the respective kings of the South and the North. Heihei is from Heilongiang Province and Guigui is from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The match looks interesting and exciting but both boxers won’t fight according to the rules. They never listen to the referee (裁判).
Sea lions are skilled ball players in the water. But even an excellent player can sometimes make a mistake. When a sea lion misses the ball, it puts its “hands” to its face as if ashamed of the missed shot.
If the audience are brave enough to accept a kiss from a sea lion, they can have their picture taken with the animal.
The organizers also invite the audience to compete with another star of the “Games” in a game of tug-of-war (拔河). An elephant will be on their opposite side. But even 20 strong men won’t be a match for this elephant. Just by using its trunk, it can pull all comers to the ground.
The sports meeting starts at about 10 a. m. each day and will last a whole week.
1.How many kinds of animals are mentioned in the text?
A.Six.
B.Seven.
C.Nine.
D.Over 300.
2.What does the underlined word “highlight” in paragraph 3 mean?
A.The most dangerous part.
B.The most enjoyable part.
C.A close match.
D.A violent fight.
3.Which of the following is NOT a quality of the competing animals?
A.Strong.
B.Gentle.
C.Voilent.
D.Skillful.
4.What is the main purpose of the sports meeting for animals?
A.To select the best animal of its kind.
B.To raise money to protect wildlife.
C.To improve the animals’ health.
D.To entertain the sports fans.
Donald Watson was a man who thought very much about the food he ate. He was born in Yorkshire, England, in September 1910. And he died in November 2005, at the age of 95. That is a very great age. Watson explained that it was because he never ate any food from animals.
When he was a boy, Watson stayed on a farm. He loved to see the animals. He said that they gave so much to people. And all the animals were so friendly. Then, one day, he saw a man killing a pig. He was very sad. From then on, Watson decided that he would never again eat meat. Twenty years later he decided that he wouldn’t eat anything from animals, such as milk, cheese or eggs. He became a vegan (素食主义者).
Watson formed a group called “The Vegan Society”. The Vegan Society thought it was terrible and wrong to eat food from animals. At first, there were not many people who agreed with him. They thought it was crazy to do it. Most people thought it was too difficult and unhealthy. However, over time, more and more people began to agree with Watson and The Vegan Society.
People become vegans for many reasons. Watson and his friends stopped eating because they loved animals. They believed that it was wrong to hurt another living thing.
Now, people also become vegans for environmental reasons. Keeping animals takes a lot of resources (资源), including water and food. Also, in some places, people are cutting down trees to create more land for cows. By avoiding food from animals, vegans hope to protect these forest areas.
Finally, just like Watson, some people believe that being a vegan is healthier. They believe that food from animals causes heart problems, a high body weight and many other health problems.
1.What do we know about Watson from the first two paragraphs?
A.He enjoyed a very long life for being a vegan.
B.He owned a farm with a lot of animals.
C.He didn’t like eating meat by birth.
D.He became a vegan at 20.
2.The underlined word “it” in paragraph 3 refers to “________”.
A.agreeing with Watson
B.eating food from animals
C.avoiding food from animals
D.forming “The Vegan Society”
3.Now people become vegans because ________.
A.they have many health problems
B.they think keeping animals costs too much
C.they love animals and want to keep them
D.they want to save resources and protect the environment
4.What’s the best title for the text?
A.Donald Watson: A New Way to Eat
B.Vegans’ Opinions on Health
C.Animal Protection in England
D.The Vegan Society
Everyone loves travelling, right? Unfortunately, money can sometimes be a problem but not if you’re prepared. Here are my top tips for making the most of your travel experience, no matter how much you have in the bank!
Tip 1: Decide where you’ll go, based on your budget.
Knowing the average costs in a country can help you make the best decision. For example, countries like France, Italy, the UK and the USA can be pretty expensive to visit. On the contrary, Eastern Europe, South-East Asia and South America are cheaper and they still offer great cultural experiences and rich histories.
Tip 2: Choose relatively cheap accommodation.
Yes, everyone loves staying at a five-star hotel. But sadly, in a lot of places, this is just not realistic for those on a budget. In general, hostels (招待所) are a sure way to meet those travelers’ needs and this creates a great atmosphere. Camping is also a great choice for budget accommodation.
Tip 3: Don’t always rely on restaurants.
Eating meals in a restaurant can be very expensive, so you can easily save by cooking your own breakfast, lunch and dinner. Many cities have markets where you can buy fresh food and vegetables on the cheap.
Tip 4: Look for discounts on major attractions.
Obviously when you’re travelling you want to see everything the country has to offer, including the attractions which bring millions of people. But before paying a fee to see these, you can visit related websites to see if it’s possible to see them for less. Many tourist attractions have a student or youth discount and some attractions are free for everyone on certain days. By the way, do remember try to get there as early as possible, for they are possibly very crowded.
1.If you travel for a low budget, which place should you choose?
A.The USA.
B.France.
C.England.
D.Thailand.
2.What accommodation is generally a sure way for those on a budget?
A.Five-star hotel.
B.Hostel.
C.Camping.
D.Student dormitory.
3.To see the major attractions economically, what should you do?
A.Look for discounts and get there as early as possible.
B.Get to the attractions when there are less visitors.
C.Try to get the free tickets as possible as you can.
D.Visit the websites and try to get tickets online.
假定你是李华。端午节即将来临，请给你的英语外教老师Jack写封邮件，介绍这一中国传 统的节日。内容包括：
1. 节日由来；
2. 庆祝方式；
3. 你的看法。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3. 参考词汇：端午节the Dragon Boat Festival；农历the lunar calendar
Dear Jack,
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Yours,
Li Hua
