The World's Largest Insect
This giant insect can be used as a toy.
A child ties one end of a string to a stick and the other end around the "neck" of an insect. Holding the stick, the child lets the insect go. With a loud whirring sound, the insect takes off, pulling the string in a large curve over the child's head. The child laughs as the stick jumps around. The child is African, and the toy is the African Goliath beetle, the largest insect in the world.
The Goliath is a true insect because it has six legs and a body that is divided into three parts. Like all beetles, it has two pairs of wings. The front pair are thick and stiff and protect the back pair, which are soft. It is these soft back wings that make the beetle fly forward. They also cause the loud whirring sound the beetle makes when it flies. To steer, the beetle twists and turns its legs the same way you steer a bike by turning its front wheel.
African children often use the Goliath beetle as a toy. Although it is over 15 centimeters long, it is quite harmless.
1.The African Goliath beetle is _______.
A. the world's largest insect
B. a toy used in many parts of the world
C. the only insect found in Africa
D. the world's smallest insect
2.What made the whirring sound that the child heard?
A. The curved string. B. The beetle's soft wings.
C. The beetle's six legs. D. The beetle's body.
3. We know the Goliath beetle is a true insect because it _______.
A. makes a whirring sound when it flies B. has both soft and hard wings
C. has six legs and a body with three parts D. can fly
4.When flying, the Goliath steers by_______.
A. turning its soft back wings
B. twisting and turning its hard front wings
C. twisting and turning its legs
D. twisting and turning its whole body
Here is a question I have often asked at dinner parties:
You're on an island with only one other person, your best friend. He's dying of cancer. In his final days, he tells you, "I have 100,000 dollars in a bank back home. When I die, make sure my son goes to medical school." Then he dies. But his son is a no-good playboy who has no interest in going to medical school and will waste that money away in a very short time. But your son is entering college, and he is willing to become a doctor. Which one do you give the money to for medical school?
I've asked this question of everyone from the president of a famous university to an ordinary young soldier, and it has never failed to get a discussion going. Everyone has an opinion, most of them different, but all of them correct. Sometimes this one topic lasts the whole evening.
1.Which of the following is TRUE to the passage?
A. Only the clever people can answer the question rightly.
B. Some people refuse to answer such a silly question.
C. Everyone at the dinner party seems to be interested in the question.
D. Most of the people have the same answer.
2.What the writer often says at dinner parties is _______.
A. not a true story B. a true story
C. a strange story D. just a joke
3.Why does the writer often ask people such a question? Because ______.
A. he wants to find the answer for a research
B. he is interested in such a question
C. he likes to make fun of people at parties
D. he wants to offer people a topic in which everyone could say something
4.Which of the following decisions is most likely NOT correct?
A. You give the money to your friend's son.
B. You give the money to your son for medical school.
C. You keep the money for your future medical care.
D. You keep the money for your friend's son.
It doesn't matter when or how much a person sleeps, but everyone needs some rest to stay alive. That's what all doctors thought, until they heard about Al Herpin. Al Herpin, it was said, never slept. Could this be true ? The doctors decided to see this strange man themselves.
Al Herpin was 90 years old when the doctors came to his home in New Jersey. They thought for sure that he got some sleep of some kind. So they stayed with him and watched every movement he made. But they were surprised. Though they watched him hour after hour and day after day. They never saw Herpin sleeping. In fact, he did not even own a bed. He never needed one.
The only rest that Herpin sometimes got was sitting in a comfortable chair and reading newspapers. The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. They found only one answer that might explain his condition. Herpin remembered some talk about his mother having been injured several days before he was born. But that was all. Was this the real reason ? No one could be sure. Herpin died at the age of 94.
1. The main idea of this passage is that _______.
A. large numbers of people do not need sleep
B. a person was found who actually didn't need any sleep
C. everyone needs some sleep to stay alive
D. people can live longer by trying not to sleep
2.The doctors came to visit Herpin, expecting to _______.
A. cure him of his sleeplessness
B. find that his sleeplessness was not really true
C. find a way to free people from the need of sleeping
D. find out why some old people didn't need any asleep
3.After watching him closely, the doctors came to believe that Al Herpin _______.
A. was too old to need any sleep B. often slept in a chair
C. needed no sleep at all D. needed some kind of sleep
4.One reason that might explain Herpin's sleeplessness was _______.
A. that he hadn't got a bed
B. that he had gradually got tired of the sleeping habit
C. his mother's injury before he was born
D. his magnificent physical condition
阅读下面短文, 掌握其大意, 然后从每题所给的 A , B , C , D四个选项中选出最佳答案。
It was a winter afternoon．Some friends and l were eating at a restaurant and talking．We talked and talked and soon 36 became the topic．Suddenly I 37 upon an idea．“Wouldn’t it be fun to go swimming ? Others go 38 in winter，but why couldn’t we ? 39 , we could be healthier if we did．”I told them about this , and they all said it was a good idea 40 .
Early the next morning , we four were standing at the bus stop，with bags in our hands 41
for a bus to take us to the 42 ．The sky was clear；the sun was shining，but it was very cold all the same． 43 0ur heavy overcoats were not enough to keep us wall．We all felt we should go ___44__ but no one wanted to speak out .
We soon reached the sands．There was nobody there，but we were not discouraged．Instead we were 45 that we were the only ones that dared to challenge the weather． 46 we changed our clothes quickly．
But things were not going so 47 ．The freezing sea wind was blowing．We left very cold and 48 all over．At last we made up our minds to 49 into the water．We put our feet in first, __50__ to take them back very quickly．The water was unbelievably cold．
Then I suggested we all jump in．We all went back ten steps . I gave the 51 ，and we all rushed forward and jumped in．I shall never forget the moment I was in the water. I was up __52__ and rushed again to the shore．So it was with my friends．We 53 0ur clothes as quickly as possible．
On the way back home，we talked about this unforgettable 54 ．The four of us did not __55____ school for the following three days．We all suffered a lot from a very bad cold，but we thought it was all worth it．
1.A．films B. music C. sports D. plays
2.A．caught B. fell C. came D. hit
3.A．swimming B. skating C. skiing D. camping
4.A．Specially B. Besides C. Really D. Clearly
5.A．indeed B. surely C. certainly D. truly
6.A．1ooking B. searching C. waiting D. asking
7.A．river B. lake C. pool D. sands
8.A．Even B. Yet C. If D. And
9.A．ahead B. forward C. away D. back
10.A．excited B. happy C. proud D. lonely
11.A．So B. However C. Still D. Or
12.A．wrong B. right C. bad D. smooth
13.A．walked B. changed C. trembled D. hid
14.A．go B. drop C. fun D. rush
15.A．just B. then C. only D. but
16.A．message B. order C. mark D. information
17.A．slowly B. nervously C. happily D. immediately
18.A．had on B. put on C. wore D. dressed
19.A．1ife B. experiment C. chance D. experience
20.A．attend B. reach C. enter D. go
------- I was wondering if we could go skiing on the weekend .
------- _____ good .
A. Sound B. Sounded C. Sounding D. Sounds
It was _____ weather that everyone wanted to go outing .
A. so fine B. such fine C. so a fine D. such a fine
