阅读理解。
The saying “a penny for your thoughts” is an English idiom simply asking people to volunteer their opinions on an issue being discussed. In modern usage, it is often stated as an indirect way of asking what someone is thinking about.
This phrase is basically a proposal (提议), and the speaker is offering to pay to hear the listener's thoughts. It is an idiom, of course, and not meant literally (字面上地) so no real payment generally takes place.
When the saying originated, a penny was worth a lot more than it is in the 21st century.Therefore, “a penny for your thoughts” likely indicated the thoughts were more valuable to those asking the listener for them than they are by today's standards. This loss of value can be used ironically (讽刺地), however, through tone (语气) of voice; it can be used to indicate that someone's idea is bad or worth a penny in modern value.
The phrase is generally credited to a man by the name of John Heywood, who was born sometime just before the 16th century. During his life, he was a writer who penned many plays and a book in 1546, later known as The Proverbs of John Heywood. It is likely that Heywood did not actually come up with the phrase “a penny for your thoughts”. Rather, he was simply the first person to have set the phrase down in written form. The actual origins of the term are unknown, and since his book was simply a collection of common idioms and expressions, it was probably familiar to people in the mid 1500s.
Another phrase similar to “a penny for your thoughts”is offering “your two cents” after making a statement. Someone might give his or her opinion and then say, “that's my two cents，” to indicate the value of his or her idea. While, much like a penny, “two cents” is relatively low in value now, it would have been more valuable at one time and the expression is used in much the same way.
1.When someone says “a penny for your thoughts”， he or she________.
A．wants to ask you for advice
B．considers your thoughts unique
C．is curious about what's on your mind
D．will pay for what you're thinking about
2.The modern meaning of “a penny for your thoughts” ________.
A．is more closely connected to the value of the penny
B．can differ greatly according to a speaker's tone of voice
C．can confuse the listener easily
D．is more popularly accepted
3.In what way is Heywood related to the phrase “a penny for your thoughts”？
A．He came up with it while he was writing.
B．He helped to explain the origins of it.
C．He contributed to the wide use of it.
D．He was the first person to use it.
4.What do we know about the phrase “your two cents”？
A．It is usually used at the end of a statement.
B．It comes from “a penny for your thoughts”．
C．It has witnessed some changes since the 16th century.
D．It is more familiar to people than “a penny for your thoughts”．
阅读理解。
“Made in China” has Changed
Many shoppers in the West still prize labels, boasting (吹嘘) a product was made in Italy without knowing that a growing number of Italian products come from factories that are Chineseowned and staffed. The products which were marked “Made in China” gave the buyer an impression of “low pride and low cost, low technology and development”. The statement used to be true, but now it has changed.
“Made in China” is becoming a leading part in the world market. China's garment industry (制衣业) has been investing in producing technology and training for decades, and its workforce has collectively gotten better at sewing garments. As a result, the quality of Chinesemade clothes is rising fast. It has been home to a highlyskilled, highlyspecialized garment industry, one that supplies even some highend (高端的) labels and offers the best mix of price, speed, and quality.
“If I was to make a basic men's jean, I'd make that in Pakistan，” said Edward Hertzman, coowner of the trade publication Sourcing Journal. “If I was going to make a fashionable women's garment, I would move to China because their skill set is better, their hand is better, their finishing is better, and they can handle that type of fashion.”
Indeed, luxury fashion labels now routinely make things in China. Burberry, Armani, and Prada have all produced things there, because they're still able to get good workmanship at a relatively low price. Even the Japanese brand Visvim, known for its crazy attention to detail, also produces highend, handmade footwear in China.
Despite the rising wages and costs of doing business in China, companies have not walked away. “China is viewed by people who make buying decisions as unique and hard to copy elsewhere，” says Josh Green, CEO of Panjiva.
1.Which of the following is NOT true about “Made in China”？
A．It used to be associated with poor quality.
B．It has lost its leading status in the world market.
C．Its products are recognized by luxury fashion brands.
D．It reflects China's investment in producing technology.
2.Edward Hertzman thinks highly of “Made in China” in such aspects as ________.
①workers' skills ②low prices
③advanced technology ④a sense of fashion
A．①②③ B．①②④
C．②③④ D．①③④
3.What is the similarity between Prada and Visvim?
A．Both of them are from Japan.
B．Neither of them sells at a low price.
C．They both make products in China.
D．They both produce handmade footwear.
【小题】What can be learned from the last paragraph?
A．Doing business in China costs a lot more now.
B．Chinese companies are more creative than others.
C．Foreign producers want to copy China's success.
D．Rising costs stop the interest of foreign companies.
阅读理解。
Babies don't learn to talk just from hearing sounds. They are lipreaders too. It happens during the stage when a baby's babbling (咿呀声) gradually changes from unclear voices into that first “mama” or “dada”. The baby in order to do like you has to figure out how to shape their lips to make that particular sound they are hearing, according to developmental psychologist David Lewkowicz of Florida Atlantic University, who led the study.
Apparently it doesn't take them too long to absorb the movements that match basic sounds. By their first birthdays, babies start changing back to look you in the eye again. It offers more evidence that quality facetime with babies is very important for speech development more than, say, turning on the latest baby DVD.
But Lewkowicz went a step further. He and his student Amy HansenTift tested nearly 180 babies, groups of them at ages 4,6,8,10 and 12 months. How? They showed videos of a woman speaking in English or Spanish to babies of English speakers. They found that when the speaker used English, the 4montholds gazed mostly into her eyes. The 6montholds spent equal amounts of time looking at the eyes and the mouth. The 8and 10montholds studied mostly the mouth. At 12 months, attention started changing back toward the speaker's eyes.
But what happened when these babies accustomed to English heard Spanish? The 12montholds studied the mouth longer, just like younger babies. They needed the extra information to recognize the unfamiliar sounds. That fits with research into bilingualism (双语) that shows babies' brains adjust themselves to distinguishing the sounds of their native language over other languages in the first year of life.
The continued lipreading shows the 1yearolds clearly still are fit for learning. Babies are so hard to study that this is “a fairly heroic data set”， says Duke University cognitive neuroscientist Greg Appelbaum, who found the research so fascinating that he wants to know more.
1.According to the first paragraph, babies________.
A．might get its voice “mama” by lipreading
B．learn to talk just from hearing the sounds
C．like to figure out how to shape their lips
D．communicate with parents through gestures
2.What is necessary in developing babies' speech according to Lewkowicz?
A．Playing baby DVD nearby.
B．Teaching babies to read English.
C．Speaking with babies face to face.
D．Speaking different languages in front of babies.
3.Which of the following shows the right change of babies' eye gaze according to the text?
4.What would be the best title of the text?
A．Babies Have Different Methods to Talk
B．Babies Try Lipreading in Learning to Talk
C．Babies Are Suitable to Learn Two Languages
D．Babies Can Easily Accept Foreign Language
语法填空
Would you like to explore (勘探) the oceans? Do you want to find 1. life than we imagine there? For Jacques Cousteau, the answer was “yes”. His career was a lifelong dream, and he is _2. (probable) the most famous ocean scientist in recent times.
Cousteau was born in France in 1910. Even 3._ a child, he loved water. Cousteau was bright, 4. he got bored with school and began to cause trouble. His parents sent him to a strict boarding school. There, Cousteau finally 5. (challenge). He studied hard and did well in all his courses. In 1933, he served as a general officer in the French Navy. He also began to explore the life under the water. He worked 6. a breathing machine to stay under water longer. It was finished in 1943.
In 1948, Cousteau became a captain, and he had new duties. Even so, he continued to explore the oceans. Two years later, he became the president of the French Oceanographic Campaigns. He also bought a ship 7. (help) with his dives. But he _8. (need) a way to get money for his trips. To do that, he produced many films and published a number of books. His films include The Silent World (1956) and World Without Sun (1996). One of his books is The Living Sea (1963)．
In 1974, he founded the Cousteau Society, 9. function was to further oceanic research and encourage people to help protect the oceans and the life within them.
Cousteau won many honors for his work, 10. (include) the Presidential Medal of Freedom and membership in the French Academy in 1989.
阅读理解。
Visitors to the dry, hot Sonoran Desert of the southern Arizona and northern Mexico are amazed at the manyarmed giants. They are the saguaro cacti (树形仙人掌), a giant which gives the landscape its _____________ appearance. In the dry desert the saguaro cacti can live for more than 200 years, grow to a ___________ of 60 feet, and have as many as 50 arms.
More __________， the saguaro cacti still persist despite the unbearable desert climate. Those that have grown to old age have ___________ droughts, freezes, flash floods, and bush fires as well as the ___________ caused by groups of rats that eat their seedlings (秧苗). Like all other desert ___________， these leafless giants can store water for use during the desert's long dry seasons by ____________ water through their long roots.
Naturally, the great saguaro cacti are a(n) __________ part of the desert life. Actually the giants may be ___________ to many animals, including woodpeckers, owls, doves, bats and insects. In addition, after a saguaro __________ the age of 50 or so, coldresistant flowers ___________ at the top of the plants once a year. These flowers ____________ birds, bats and bees, which come for the honey and for the tasty flowers with their black seeds.
___________ the splendid saguaros are plentiful in the Southwest, they are unfortunately ___________. These giant cacti have great value in landscape gardening, and the thieves can earn thousands of dollars by uprooting and __________ them to nurseries (苗圃). To protect these southwestern ___________， agents for the Arizona Department of Agriculture go around and __________ the desert. It's a most important job though a hard one. But without the saguaro cacti, many desert animals would suffer a lack of __________ and loss of nesting sites. The Southwest, too, would ____________ something of unique importance, since these desert giants have become a ____________ of the dry region.
1.A.general B．basic C．unique D．lovely
2.A.length B．height C．size D．width
3.A.pleasingly B．inspiringly C．interestingly D．amazingly
4.A.lived through B．broken through C．cut through D．got through
5.A.crisis B．damage C．destruction D．load
6.A.plants B．lives C．animals D．creatures
7.A.pouring B．squeezing C．pumping D．absorbing
8.A.independent B．vital C．original D．mysterious
9.A.spot B．field C．home D．camp
10.A.turns B．takes C．meets D．gains
11.A.come up B．come out C．show off D．show up
12.A.call B．trap C．fascinate D．stick
13.A.As B．But C．Although D．Yet
14.A.in danger B．in demand C．in need D．in control
15.A.exchanging B．trading C．offering D．selling
16.A.treasures B．decorations C．possessions D．creations
17.A.look over B．hand over C．watch over D．turn over
18.A.food B．scenery C．water D．flavor
19.A.affect B．abandon C．increase D．lose
20.A.signal B．sign C．mark D．symbol
短文改错
About a month ago, I was walking alone on the beach in the evening. I have already finished my homework, and I wanted to relax. Suddenly, I saw two children stand on the beach. They seem to have found something made of metal, which was big and reddishbrown. When I took a look at it, I knew immediate that it was an old bomb! I told them to move away the bomb. Fortunately, I had a mobile phone around with me, so I called the police and told them that had been found. About 15 minutes late, the police arrived. I was praised for it but then I went home. The next day, I heard that the police had blown the bomb up. It had been on the sand for over 60 years!
