Many years ago，a French naturalist，the Count de Buffon，wrote some books about natural history．The books were a great success even though some critics did not like them．Some critics said，“Count Buffon is more of a poet than a scientist．”
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 spoken of natural wonders in America as if they were unimportant．
This troubled Thomas Jefferson．He too was a naturalist，as well as a farmer，inventor，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 the Count de Buffon．At that moment．Jefferson created a new word—belittle．He said．“The Count de Buffon believes that nature belittles her productions on this side of the Atlantic．”
Noah Webster，the American word expert，liked this word．He put it in this English language dictionary in 1806，“Belittle—to make small，unimportant．”
Americans had already accepted Jefferson’s word and started to use it．In 1797，the Independent Chronicle newspaper used the word to describe a politician the paper supported．“He is an honorable man，”the paper wrote，“so let the opposition try to belittle him as much as they please．”
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．”
This expert failed to kill the word．Today．belittle is used where the English language is spoken．
1.Why did Thomas Jefferson disagree with the Count de Buffon?
A．The Count said something silly about the Atlantic．
B．The Count wasn’t a true scientist in natural history．
C．The Count was a poet from a different country．
D．The Count belittled the natural wonders in America．
2.We can infer that Jefferson created the word“belittle”out of his ___________．
A．anger B．excitement
C．kindness D．responsibility
3.From the text we can know that ______________．
A．all critics thought little of the Count de Buffon
B．Europe has better wonders than the New World
C．the word“belittle”survived from disagreements
D．word experts can change the future of a new word
4.Which of the following is true of the word“belittle”?
A．It is gradually accepted by people．
B．It was invented by the Count de Buffon．
C．It was used to describe nature．
D．The Independent Chronicle made it popular．
5.What is the main idea of the text?
A．How the word“belittle”came into being．
B．The argument about natural wonders．
C．Every word has a long history behind．
D．Noah Webster supported Jefferson’s idea．
As the new semester begins，millions of college students across the country are trying hard to remember how best to write a paper-or，more likely，how best to delay that paper．
Procrastination is the thief of time and a lot of students suffer from it．They can spend whole days in the library doing nothing but staring into space，eating snacks，surfing the Internet，watching videos and looking at their pretty peers sitting around them，who，most likely，are doing nothing either．
Paralyzed by their habit to procrastinate，they write micro blogs about their fears，asking their online friends if they sometimes have the same issue．But this does nothing to solve their problems．
According to a recent report by the BBC，95 percent of us procrastinate at some point and 20 percent of the world’s population are procrastinators，complicating their lives with their continual delaying of tasks．
Procrastinators like to find excuses to justify their behavior，but BBC columnist Rowan Pelling says they are all wrong．Many procrastinators tell themselves they are perfectionists who work best under pressure．Pelling says this is nonsense，as work done at the last minute is more likely to have mistakes than work done on time．
She says the behavior of procrastinators often makes them feel flustered and ashamed，inconveniences others，and annoys loved ones．
Fortunately，social seientists have made tireless efforts to understand this behavioral shortcoming and offer strategies to control it．Piers Steel，a Canadian social scientist and author of The Procrastination Equation，believes humankind is“designed”to procrastinate．Nevertheless，he suggests a couple of good ways to get through the task at hand．
The first one is obvious：Break the task down into small pieces and work your way through them methodically．
The second is clever：Give a trusted friend a sum of money and tell them that if you don’t complete the task you have undertaken by a specific time，they can keep it or donate it to a cause you hate.
1.．What does the underlined word“Procrastination” in the second paragraph refer to?
A．A bad habit of putting work or tasks off．
B．A thief who steals time and money in college.
C．A college student who learns nothing．
D．A study way of doing nothing in the library.
2.．Which of the following statements is true according to the text?
A．College students can have their papers written if they delay them．
B．Many students don’t know what to do in the library．
C．Students can’t solve their procrastination by writing micro blogs．
D．20％of the procrastinators make their life complicated．
3.．According to Rowan Pelling，we can learn that procrastinators ____________.
A．can find reasonable excuses for their behavior
B．are able to work best under pressure
C．are more likely to avoid mistakes at work
D．may upset themselves and their loved ones more frequently
4.．Which of the following may Piers Steel support?
A．Human beings are not born to be procrastinators．
B．Complete your tasks or work step by step．
C．Give your trusted friend money and ask him to help you finish your tasks．
D．You can’t control procrastination but you can avoid it．
5.．What’s the best title of the text?
A．Who steals my time?
B．The solutions to procrastination
C．I’ll do it tomorrow，I swear!
D．Don’t do nothing!
In Singapore，most of us love window-shopping while some others enjoy having a picnic at East Coast Park or Changi Beach on sunny days．Singaporeans are never bothered by the occasional thunderstorm．However，we know that if it rains for long continuous periods，there will be more serious effects．Just recently the main shopping street of Orchard Road was flooded and some part of Bukit Timah was impassable(不能通行的)to traffic．People reacted by writing in to the newspaper to complain about this! We forget that other countries suffer much worse effects.
Elsewhere，heavy tropical(热带的)storms often result in floods that ruin crops especially in Thailand and Malaysia．This in turn usually means that the price of rice and vegetables here in Singapore will rise because we import these products from them．If there is a typhoon or tsunami，thousands of lives are lost too．This happened in Indonesia and Phuket in Thailand in 2004 and It serves to remind us of how Mother Nature can cause great damage．
Weather patterns in general have changed dramatically in recent years．Scientists believe that global warming and the resulting melting of the polar ice-cap has caused the level of the ocean to rise．This in turn causes flooding of low-lying areas in countries where the land is rather flat and some parts of which is below water level．It is believed that human activities have caused Mother Nature to show her extreme anger，so it is now important that we really work together to cut down on harmful activities，for example，illegal logging(伐木)or irresponsible forest-burning to clear land for farming．
1.．From Paragraph 1，we can see that most Singaporeans love ______________．
A．making complaints B．going out for picnics
C．doing window-shopping D．traveling along the coast
2.．What will happen in Singapore if there are floods in its neighboring countries?
A．Heavy tropical storms will follow shortly．
B．The price of rice and vegetables will go up．
C．Many people will write in to the newspaper．
D．More rice and vegetables will be imported．
3.．The underlined word“it”in Paragraph 2 refers to ___________．
A．the arrival of heavy tropical storms
B．the import of rice and vegetables
C．the rising price of rice and vegetables
D．the loss of lives in natural disasters
4.．What’s the right order of the following events?
a．global warming
b．the rise in ocean level
c．harmful human activities
d．the flooding of low-lying areas
e．the melting of the polar ice-cap
A．c→a→e→b→d B．a→c→e→b→d
C．c→a→b→e→d D．d→a→c→b→e
5.．What should we do in order not to make Mother Nature angry?
A．Clear more land for farming．
B．Reduce harmful human activities．
C．Bring down the price of food．
D．Improve the quality of weather．
The family had just moved．The young woman was feeling a little ．It was Mother's Day—and 800 miles separated her from her parents．
She had called them that morning，and her mother had how colorful their backyard was spring had arrived． Later，she told her husband how she those lilacs(丁香)in her parents’yard．“I know where we can find some，”he said．“Get the and come on．”So off they went．
Some time later，they stopped at a hill and there were lilacs all round．The young woman rushed up to the nearest and buried her face in the flowers．Carefully，she some．Finally，they returned to their car for the home．The woman sat smiling，surrounded by her ．
When they were near home，she shouted“stop”，got off quickly and to a nearby nursing home．She went to the end of the porch(门廊)，where a(n) patient was sitting in her wheelchair，and put the flowers into her lap．The two ，bursting into laughter now and then．Later the young woman turned and ran back to her ．As the car pulled away，the woman in the wheelchair with a smile，and held the lilacs ．
“Mom，”the kids asked，“ did you give her our flowers?”“It is Mother's Day，and she seems so while I have all of you．And anyone would be by flowers．”
This satisfied the kids，but not the husband．The next day he some young lilacs around their yard．
I was the husband．Now，every May，our yard is full of lilacs．Every Mother’s Day our kids purple lilacs．And every year I remember that smile of the lonely old woman．
1.A．moved B．worried C．angry D．depressed
2.A．1earned B．imagined C．mentioned D．realized
3.A．now that B．so that C．as if D．even if
4.A．missed B．grew C．watered D．showed
5.A．cars B．kids C．clothes D．1ilacs．
6.A．bush B．hill C．yard D．door
7.A．bought B．picked C．set D. raised
8.A．break B．holiday C．trip D．dinner
9.A．friends B．memory C．flowers D．honor
10.A．responded B．pointed C．drove D．hurried
11.A．1oving B．elderly C．serious D．sensitive
12.A．hesitated B．waited C．sat D．chatted
13.A．family B．mother C．path D．home
14.A．nodded B．waved C．1eft D．continued
15.A．sadly B．politely C．quickly D．tightly
16.A．why B．when C．how D．where
17.A．quiet B．confused C．alone D．patient
18.A．calmed B．persuaded C．disappointedD．cheered
19.A．arranged B．dried C．planted D．hid
20.A．find B．gather C．receive D．buy
A man was bitterly envious of his neighbour．He spent long hours in prayer，wanting to be to his neighbour in every aspect of life．
One night，God appeared before him in a dream and said，“I am pleased with your ．Ask for a gift your neighbour will get the same gift in double amount．”
He was glad but sad that his enemy would get a greater gift．He requested，“God， the sight in one of my eyes．”
With his single eye，he peeped at his neighbour but was to see his neighbour's sight was not lost! Confused，he to God，“Why don’t you keep your word?”
God said，“Son，I always keep my word． is not a gift，but a curse．You have the gift of sight in only one eye now，as asked by you．But your neighbour has sight in both of his eyes．I the gift．”
He suddenly from his dream and was sure that it was a message from God．Englightened by the dream，he went to his neighbour and begged his pardon for thinking and acting him．They embraced each other and were good friends thereafter．
1.A．cleverer B．previous C．stronger D．superior
2.A．prayer B．envy C．sorrow D．pity
3.A．Otherwise B．But C．Therefore D．Besides
4.A．finish B．cut C．move D．destroy
5.A．delighted B．terrified C．surprised D．worried
6.A．blamed B．complained C．yelled D．hurried
7.A．Blindness B．Envy C．Disability D．Promise
8.A．relieved B．awarded C．kept D．doubled
9.A．awoke B．burst C．cried D．frightened
10.A．towards B．for C．against D．on
We have just heard a warning on the radio _____________ a typhoon may be on its way．
A．what B．when C．which D．that
