January 1 — January 31
You are charming and intelligent．You are actually quite ambitious．You like to go to parties and chat with your friends．On the other hand, you are friendly, but you are also a very private person．
February 1 — February 28
You are determined and hard working．You are born under the sign of loyalty and evenness （公平）．You like parties and enjoy a lot of friends．On the other hand, you are quite famous for your courage．You really like to explore and you are an adventurer．
March 1 — March 31
You are very loyal, independent, and open-minded．You are a born leader, and when you set a goal, you go to it．You adore challenges and competitions．You are most likely to be the one who calls out, "Let's go!" you are always in a circle of friends．You love animals．You are like a roller coaster．
April I—April 30
You are artistic, well-mannered, intelligent, and diplomatic．You are usually sweet and kind, of course．You are sometimes famous for your artistic sense and good taste．You love throwing grand parties．Vacations and routines are very important to you．You are also fairly popular．
Mayl — May 31
You are talented, sincere, and most of all, enthusiastic．You are the master of ceremonies． You shine in the crowd．When you walk into a room, heads turn, and you hear whispers and gasps．You have a strong will to defeat any challenge in your way．You have a hunger for fashion．
June 1 — June 30
You are very elegant, wise, and compassionate(有同情心的)．You are very attractive and people are attracted to you．Your friends rely on you for advice．You will be someone like Jacqueline Onassis．You are also very lucky in many ways．
Julyl — July 31
You are mostly agreeable, energetic, and popular．You like to try new things wherever you go．You know how to dress and you always look your best．You are talented and you love sports． You are always one step ahead of anyone else．You adore freedom and independence．
August 1 — August 31
You are empathetic, easygoing, and compliant．You can get along with almost everyone． Many people admire you for your talent and creativity．On the other hand, you are sensitive and compassionate．You always like to dream．You enjoy peace and quiet at night．
September 1 — September 30
You are individualistic, sociable, and very entertaining．You are capable of anything．You have an excellent memory．You like long, friendly conversations with your closest friends．You turn boring things into the life of the party．
October 1 — October 31
You are thoughtful, intelligent, and the class comedian．You are also very popular, and nice around friends．You love to save the best for last．You are amusing and very fun to be around with．You love to spend hours each day reading and studying for final exams, when the school year has just started．You almost never turn on your friends．
November 1 — November 30
You are unselfish, knowledgeable, and friendly．You are loyal to your friends and family． You can see the difference between right and wrong．You are very honest and you speak out when you feel something has gone wrong．You are the person who likes trendy clothes．
December 1 —December 31
You are smart, optimistic, and willing to help others．You are like a rare diamond．You are intentionally the nicest while you are with friends．You are also very affectionate．You are too good to be true．Your friends trust in you easily．You are also popular in the "Being Nice" way．
1.People born in the months of_______ are usually very fashionable．
A．May, July and November
B．May, July and October
C．July, October, and November
D．April, May and October
2.If you are born in March, the sentence "You are like a roller coaster" is probably linked with which of the following characteristics?
A．Being loyal．
B．Being open-minded．
C．Loving animals．
D．Adoring challenges and competitions．
3.Who is the combination of very different characteristics?
A．A person born during April 1 — April 30．
B．A person born during August 1 — August 31．
C．A person born during January 1 — January 31．
D．A person born during February 1 — February 31．
4.Which of the following is most likely to have the combination of very different characteristics?
A．July — having an excellent memory．
B．October — loving to save the best for last．
C．September — enjoying peace and quiet at night．
D．August @ being always one step ahead of anyone else．
You have signed on for months of hard work．You're far from home．The pay is bad．The food is worse．You find rare comfort in the simple songs that you and your work mates sing．
This is what a sailor's life was like in the 1800s．The songs sung aboard ships were called sea shanties．You have probably heard a shanty or two yourself．Many of these songs have lasted through the years．They can often be found in surprising places today．
Sea Shanties Then ．．．
Sea shanties were valuable friends to sailors．Some shanties, such as "Blow the Man Down," had lively words and melodies．They broke up the boredom of long trips．Other shanties, including one called "Oh, Shenandoah," had a sadder tone．They helped seafarers express longing and loneliness．Still other shanties, such as "Leave Her, Johnny," let sailors complain about their hard lives．
But the first job of the sea shanty was to help the men work as a team．Ships had sails that were controlled by a system of moving ropes．For many jobs, all of the sailors had to pull on the ropes at once．
When faced with such a job, the shantyman, or song leader, began a tune．The crew joined in on the chorus, and it might have sounded like a playful sing-along．But when the sailors came to a certain beat, they knew it was the signal to pull together with all their might．
Raising or lowering the anchor called for a rhythm with a slow, steady motion．Then, the shantyman would choose a shanty with a slow, steady beat to match the job．Each duty on the sailing ship had its own rhythm and its own kind of song．
．．．and Sea Shanties Now
Sea shanties have been passed down to us in much the same way as folk stories．Long ago, someone came up with a memorable idea and melody．Others repeated the shanty, often adding changes along the way．
Over time, people saw the sea shanty for the treasure it was．Like any treasure, shanties were collected．Many were written down in books．
Where do the old shanties appear now? Today's musical artists love the fun, beauty, and history of these songs．Many musicians, including Bob Dylan and Harry Belafonte, have their own versions of "Oh, Shenandoah．" One group, the Robert Shaw Chorale, recorded a collection of shanties．
In Hollywood, shanties serve as a symbol of the sea．A fisherman sings the shanty "Spanish Ladies" in the film Jaws．The cartoon character Woody Woodpecker whistles "Blow the Man Down" when he finds himself aboard a pirate's ship．
Today, shanties tell us about shipboard life more than one hundred years ago．They help us understand what the working sailor sang and perhaps thought about．
So the next time you're doing a boring task, try making up a tune to go along with it．Time may pass more quickly, and your job may seem easier．Also, you may understand why sailors loved those old songs of the sea．
1.The main purpose of the sea shanty in the 1800s was________．
A．to communicate with passing ships
B．to help sailors work together as a team
C．to allow sailors to complain about the food
D．to give sailors an opportunity to record their music
2.Today, sea shanties are mainly used________．
A．to provide material for musical artists to record
B．to provide a source of music for Hollywood films
C．to help sailors work together aboard modem ships
D．to help people understand the lives of sailors of the past
3.The author uses two subheadings(小标题) within the article in order to_______．
A．compare sea shanties to modem sailing songs
B．describe how popular sea shanties are with musicians
C．compare how sea shanties have been used over the years
D．describe how sea shanties have influenced Hollywood films
4.Which of these topics would most probably be included in this article?
A．The work of sailors today．
B．The cost of sailing ships in the 1800s．
C．Other sailing duties that were made easier by sea shanties．
D．Some music studios where sea shanties are recorded today．
45．5.According to information in the article, a movie director today would most likely use a shanty________．
A．to make a scene about sailors more realistic
B．to give a musician a chance to record the song
C．to make the crew's daily chores pass more quickly
D．to express the loneliness of making a film away from home
The day for the great balloon competition finally arrived．Every insect in the garden had been hard, and now they were preparing to begin their routines．The balloon competitions were always something really special．
Each time, the flying insects were favourite to win, because they could seize the balloon strings and fly off in all directions, creating all sorts of in the air． , on this occasion there were some rather unusual insects taking part: a group of ants．Of course, expected that they could do anything special．They were so light that no ant had ever to take part, but it was quite impressive to see all the ants all organized and prepared．
So the competition began, and the insects took their turns, performing beautiful movements with the balloons．As always, the butterflies left everyone with their twist and turns, and their wonderful colours．When it was time for the ants to perform, it seemed like the competition had already been decided．
For the time in living memory, the ants shared just one balloon between them, and one by one they climbed up the balloon string, a thin black thread of ants．When all the string was covered, the last ant climbed his teammates to reach the balloon． he got there, he climbed onto the top of the balloon．
This strange attracted everyone's curiosity, and they were just about to witness the most important : the ant opened his jaws as wide as he could．．．and then he made a violent movement at the balloon with all his strength!
The result was powerful! The balloon began blowing out its air, flying about, here and there, doing a thousand turns and spins, while the ants made all kinds of beautiful shapes out of the string．
Of course, that acrobatic(杂技般的) flight with quite a hard landing, but it didn't ．The creativity and teamwork of the ant performance was so that the crowd didn't even have to vote for there to be a winner．
From then on, in that garden, everyone understood how much could be achieved by working ．In the years to come, the balloon competitions were full of displays carried out by teams, and they put on some wonderful routines; something those individual insects could never have achieved on their own．
1.A．fighting B.training C．functioning D．living
2.A．speakers B．organizers C．candidates D．producers
3.A．patterns B．numbers C．drawings D．sounds
4.A．Besides B．Thus C．Instead D．However
5.A．anybody B．somebody C．everybody D．nobody
6.A．bothered B．hesitated C．refused D．promised
7.A．quickly B．terribly C．perfectly D．strangely
8.A．special B．different C．familiar D．similar
9.A．amazed B．disappointed C．bored D．blessed
10.A．first B．second C．last D．next
11.A．cutting B．forming C．using D．passing
12.A．with B．over C．around D．through
13.A．Once B．If C．Though D．Until
14.A．idea B．attitude C．behavior D．experience
15.A．effect B．case C．condition D．moment
16.A．weakly B．madly C．peacefully D．carefully
17.A．ended B．started C．continued D．broke
18.A．help B．work C．matter D．tell
19.A．necessary B．impressive C．natural D．important
20.A．alone B．behind C．out D．together
— In my opinion, your sister is not fit to be a driver．
—____．She has no sense of direction．
A．It depends B．That's it
C．It makes no difference D．It's up to you
—Tracy, did your whole family go to Paris for sightseeing last year?
—No．____only two of us, my sister and I．
A．There was B．It were C．That were D．It was
____ you come across Tom, tell him I could visit him recently．
A．Should B．Would C．Could D．Might
