Have you ever wondered?
1. Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?
It can take five hours to go west-east from New York (NY) to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY. The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon (大气现象) known as the jet stream (气流). The jet stream is a very high altitude (=" above" sea level) wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic. So the planes moving at a constant air speed go faster from the west to the east when they are moving with the wind than in the opposite.
2. What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?
Supposing we could magically turn off gravity. Would buildings and other structures（建筑物）float away? What happened would depend on (依靠) how strongly the things were attached (吸附) to the earth. The earth is moving at quite a speed, moving at over a thousand miles per hour. If you turn something around your head on a string, it goes around in a circle until you let go of the string. Then it flies off in a straight line. ‘Turning off’ gravity would be like letting go of the string. Things not attached to the earth would fly off in a straight line. People in buildings would suddenly shoot upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling (=" top" surface of a room). Most things outside would fly off into space.
1.What information can we get from the first passage?
|
A．It is the jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly. |
|
B．Planes go slower when they are moving with the wind. |
|
C．It takes more time to fly from NY to London than from London to NY. |
|
D．The jet stream always blows from the east to the west across the Atlantic. |
2.The underlined word “shoot” in the 2nd paragraph means “_________”.
|
A．send for |
B．move quickly |
C．come out |
D．grow quickly |
3.It can be known that without gravity _________.
|
A．buildings and other structures would float away |
|
B．trees and buildings would not so easily fly off |
|
C．something around your head would not float away |
|
D．everything outside buildings would fly off into space |
4.Where can we read this passage?
|
A．In a research paper. |
B．In a short story. |
|
C．In a travel magazine. |
D．In a student’s book |
At two o’clock a bank robber stole in. “This is a hold-up,” the man said loudly. He took a gun from under his jacket, pointing to George. “Hand it over!” George reached into his money-box and took all the bills from the top part --- close to six thousand dollars. The robber took them and turned to leave. Then, while everyone watched the robber, George calmly lifted the top part of the money-box, took bills from the bottom part and put them into his own pocket secretly. The door was shut and the bank robber was gone. George fainted（晕倒）. As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George counted the money. He had eight thousand dollars. He was very happy.
The next morning, while the others were checking the bank’s records, George was asked to go to Mr. Burrow’s office and was introduced to Mr. Carruthers, who used to be president of the bank.
“Good morning, George, I was sorry to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks being robbed these days I thought it would be a good idea to prove that our small bank can be robbed, too. I have retired （退休）, but I am always thinking of our bank. That’s why I played my little game yesterday, just to keep everyone on his toes（趾）. Now, I have put the money back in your money-box all six thousand.”
1. Which of the following do you think is TRUE?
|
A．George wanted to protect the money for the bank. |
|
B．George had been thinking of taking money away. |
|
C．This bank had been robbed several times. |
|
D．Nobody knew the bank would be robbed that day. |
2.Why was George asked to go to Mr. Burrow’s office?
|
A．His stealing money was known to all. |
|
B．Mr. Burrow wanted to say sorry to him. |
|
C．Mr. Carruthers wanted to explain the whole thing to him. |
|
D．Mr. Burrow wanted to tell him the money had been put back. |
3. In this article “to keep everyone on his toes” means _________.
|
A．to make everyone work hard |
|
B．to keep everyone standing straight |
|
C．to make everyone do a kind of exercise |
|
D．to keep everyone preparing for the coming danger |
4. Which sentence can be used to end this story?
|
A．George turned cold with fear. |
|
B．George turned red with anger（愤怒）. |
|
C．George was pleased with the end. |
|
D．George was excited with the end. |
American cities are similar to other cities around the world: In every country, cities reflect（反映）the values of the culture. American cities are changing, just as American society is changing.
After World War Ⅱ, the population of most large American cities became smaller; however, the population shifts（转移）to and from the city reflect the changing values of American society. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, city residents（居民）became richer. They had more children so they needed more space. They moved out of their flats in the city to buy their own homes. They bought houses in the suburbs（郊区）.
Now things are changing. The children of the people who left the cities in the 1950s are now adults. Many, unlike their parents, want to live in the cities. They continue to move to Sun Belt cities and older ones of the Northeast and Midwest. Many young people are moving back into the city. They prefer the city to the suburbs because their jobs are there; or they just enjoy the excitement and what the city offers.
This population shift is bringing problems as well as some advantages. Countless poor people must leave their flats in the city because the owners want to sell the buildings or make flats for sale instead of for rent（租金）. In the 1950s, many poor people did not have enough money to move to the suburbs; now many of these same people do not have enough money to stay in the cities.
Only a few years ago, people thought that the older American cities were dying. Some city residents now see a bright, new future. Others see only problems. One thing is sure: many dying cities are alive again.
1.The main idea of the passage is _________.
|
A．cities around the world |
|
B．the dying cities |
|
C．the changing American cities |
|
D．the changing of the American culture |
2. Why did American city residents want to live in the suburbs after World War Ⅱ?
|
A．Because older American cities were dying. |
|
B．Because they were richer and needed more space. |
|
C．Because cities included the worst parts of society. |
|
D．Because they could hardly afford to live in the city. |
3. According to the 4th paragraph, a great many poor people in American cities _________.
|
A．are faced with housing problems |
|
B．are made to move to the suburbs |
|
C．want to sell their buildings |
|
D．need more money for daily costs |
4.We can know from the passage that _________.
|
A．American cities are changing for the worse |
|
B．the population is getting smaller in older American cities |
|
C．many people are now moving from American cities |
|
D．people have different views on American cities |
The red phone box in Britain is a perfect example of the British traditional culture. However, with the fast development of mobile phones, it has lost its place in people’s everyday life. In order to save their loved red phone boxes, people have come up with many ideas, for example, to turn them into toilets or art houses.
In a village in Somerset, a place in South West England, villagers have found a new way to save their red phone box. They turned it into a mini library to deal with the shortage of libraries in their area. The idea was given by a local villager, Janet Fisher, who lives opposite the phone box. Villagers got together to set up the book box. Over 100 books and a lot of movies and music CDs are available at this mini library. The books are of different kinds, including from cooking books to the classics and children’s books. People can put the books that they have read inside the phone box, and take away the books that they’d like to read. The books are always changing. There is a regular check on the books to keep the phone box collection fresh.
Anyone is free to come to read books there. The phone box library is open every day around the clock and is lit (the past form of “light”) at night. “ It’s very pleasing that the red phone box has been saved. More importantly, it can continue providing a service for us,” said one of the villagers.
1.The red phone box has been a symbol of _________.
|
A．the British culture |
|
B．the European art of building |
|
C．the development of mobile phones |
|
D．British people’s daily life |
2. People in Somerset turned the red phone box into a mini library to _________.
|
A．make it like the new one |
|
B．help solve the shortage of library service |
|
C．provide a place to exchange ideas |
|
D．make the collection of the local library larger |
3.Which of the following statements is TRUE about the red phone box?
|
A．People can borrow books and enjoy the films and CDs there. |
|
B．The library was set up by a local villager living opposite a phone box. |
|
C．The library is open to the public day and night. |
|
D．Regular check is made to keep the books in good order. |
Many children love junk food. It's bad for their health. Their parents don't want them to eat too much junk food. Although they know it's not a good habit, they still eat it. Some of them eat this kind of food every day. Some only once or twice a week.
Paul is kind of unhealthy. He hardly ever exercises. He eats lots of junk food because he loves it. When he has money, he'll buy junk food. His parents worry about him. But he says.“Maybe I'm not very healthy, but I enjoy myself.”
根据短文内容判断正误，正确的填“T”，错误的填“F”
1.Few children love junk food.
2.Many parents want their children to eat junk food.
3.Children know it's bad habit to eat junk food.
4.Paul is very healthy.
5.Paul often borrows money to buy junk food.
Mr. and Mrs. Long had one daughter. Her name was Lena. She was eighteen years old. Lena lived with her parents and worked in an office. She had some friends, but she didn’t like any of the boys very much.
One day she met a very nice man. He was young. His name was Watts and he worked in a post office. They became friends and he came to Lena’s parents house twice. Last week Lena said to her father, “I’m going to marry（嫁给） Watts, Daddy. He was here yesterday.”
“Oh, yes.” her father answered. “He’s a nice boy, but has he got much money?”
“Oh, no, both of you are the same,” the daughter answered angrily. I met Watts on the first day of June and the next day he asked me, “Has your father got much money?”
1.Mr. and Mrs. Long had a ______.
|
A．son |
B．grandson |
C．daughter |
D．granddaughter |
2.Lena worked _________.
|
A．in a school |
B．in an office |
C．in a factory |
D．in a hospital |
3.Lena had a few friends before she came to know Watts, but she _____.
|
A．liked no one very much |
B．like all of them
|
C．didn’t know their names |
D．didn’t talk to them about their work |
4.Last week Lena asked her father _______.
|
A．to help her find a good husband |
B．to let her marry(嫁给) Ｗatts |
|
C．to give her some money to buy a house |
D．to let her work in a big city |
5.Lena got angry because ______.
|
A．her father didn’t like her boyfriend, Watts
|
B．her father asked her to make friends with money
|
C．her father and Watts only thought of money
|
D．her parents asked Watts to give them too much money |
