阅读理解。
Cotton farmers in some Indian villages are busily buying Coca Cola and Pepsi, believing that the sugar in the fizzy (有泡沫的) drinks kills pests.
Farmers say scientists advised them to mix pesticides with a sugary juice to control pests, and they found the mixture cheaper and more effective than pure chemicals — although soft drink makers and scientists dismissed the remarks. N. Hamunayya, who has become a famous person in his village in the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, said his crop survived an attack of pests which had resisted other pesticides. “We found that all the colas had uniform effect on pests. The pests became dead and fell to the ground，” he said. He said the drinks had all the elements they needed: they were cheaper, sticky, fizzy, and attracted ants, which ate the young of the pests. But Thinupathi Reddy, assistant director of the Regional Agri Research Station, Guntur, says tests had proved such results wrong. “We conducted some field trials on cotton crop at our research station. There was no obvious productivity or destruction of pests，” he says.
Statements from Pepsi and Coca Cola said there was “no scientific basis” for this_practice. But their dealers are enjoying increasing sales. Mantan Wall, who sells soft drinks in 17 villages in the region, said sales rose up, thanks to the farmers. “For the 10 days between August and September I had successful business. Instead of just 30 cases (each containing a dozen one litre bottles) of cola, I started selling almost 200 cases，” he said. “We expected the sales to drop after the news over pesticide residues (残留) in the cola drinks. Now I have to keep extra supply for the cotton farmers，” he said.
In February, an Indian environment group made a report saying drinks made by Coca Cola and Pepsi contained pesticides and called for tougher safety standards. The US firms strongly rejected the findings of the New Delhibased Centre for Science and Environment and said their products were safe.
1.Some Indian farmers think the drinks can kill pests because ________.
A.there is some pesticide left in them
B.they are sticky and fizzy
C.they have elements that kill pests
D.they made the pesticide more effective
2.The underlined part “this practice” in Para. 3 probably refers to “________”.
A.testing the mixture
B.selling more drinks in India
C.mixing the drinks with the pesticide
D.attracting ants to eat the young pests
3.The drink makers would not accept the fact that their drinks could kill pests because they ________.
A.thought it went against science
B.believed that the farmers didn't tell the truth
C.might fear that it could bring harm to their business
D.insisted that no poison was left in their products
4.The writer's purpose of writing this passage is to ________.
A.tell an interesting incident
B.warn people that some drinks might be dangerous to health
C.suggest using Coca Cola to kill pests
D.announce a new discovery of Coca Cola
阅读理解。
There are probably no people on Earth who like to gossip (说闲话) as much as the British.If prying into other’s lives were an Olympic sport，then Team GB would surely take the gold medal.
And when the British can’t watch the lives of real people with glee，they have another source of entertainment to fall back on—the soap opera.British soap operas are very different to US TV dramas.For one，they are normally longer running.The two most popular，Coronation Street and Eastenders，have been running for 48 and 24 years respectively.Both are broadcast several times a week，so remarkably there have been more than 7,000 episodes of Coronation Street.
The most obvious difference is that，unlike US dramas，the British soap operas focus on the real world.There is little glamour，the stars are rarely rich，and they normally have boring jobs.Perhaps the appeal is that the lives of the characters often mirror the lives of the audience—but with some drama added.This means the viewer can relate to the characters and feel the pain and happiness they go through on the show.
Because these soap operas last for decades，the cast is ever changing.The shows rarely focus on one or two main characters.Like the real world，people come and go all the time.However，there are exceptions.Coronation Street’s William Roach,76，has played the role of Ken Barlow since the very first episode of the show in 1960，and he is still a regular.
The choice of which soap opera you follow is often cultural：People from the north of British tend to watch Coronation Street as it is set in Manchester.People from the south generally prefer Eastenders，which is set in the east of London.The show is generally considered grittier and is aimed at a younger audience.
1.What does this passage mainly talk about?
A．British people like to know things about other people.
B．British team can get Olympic gold medals.
C．What is British soap opera.
D．People in the north like different things from the people in the south.
2.What is the main difference between American dramas and British soap operas?
A．American dramas are longer.
B．British soap operas are longer.
C．American dramas deal with dangerous things.
D．British soap operas deal with real people.
3.Why do British people like to watch such operas?
A．They can find their own life from the operas.
B．They can enjoy the operas in their free time.
C．They can watch the operas for many years.
D．They care about the fate of the characters in the operas.
4.The underlined word “episodes” in the 2nd paragraph probably means ________.
A．plays B．pages
C．issues D．parts
5.One characteristic of British operas is that ________.
A．the characters play the same role for a long time
B．the characters in the play often change
C．people don’t know what will happen next
D．there is only one or two characters in them
阅读理解。
Parties and social gatherings no longer excite us the same way they once did. This is not due to a lack of desire to socialize, but the smartphone.
At parties, more people are on their smartphones than on their drinks. According to a recent International Data Corporation study, well over half of all Americans have a smartphone and reach for it the moment they wake up, keeping it in hand all day. In addition, too many people in society are using smartphones while driving and as a result, they get into car crashes. 34 percent of teenagers admit to texting while driving, and they confirm that text messaging is their number one driving interruption. People's attachment to their smartphones is unbelievably becoming more important than the lives of themselves and others.
Just as drivers dismiss the importance of focusing while on the road, many people also fail to recognize the significance of human interaction. When with their friends, some people pointlessly check or send text messages in the presence of a friend, which sends a message to that friend: the person I am texting is more important than you. In addition, relying on our smartphones to make friends does not give us the same advantage as being able to make new friendships in the real world. Facetoface conversations will give us much stronger communication skills in the long run.
As many people risk their lives and the lives of people around them just to send a text or mindlessly check their messages, smartphones are in many ways more dangerous to people. The quality of this technology is preventing societal achievements and weakening the value of communication. Not only is the smartphone affecting our desire to interact (交流) facetoface, but it is also lowering society's ability to communicate.
1.The purpose of this text is to ________.
A.call for an end to use the smartphone while driving
B.appeal to us to pay attention to communication skills
C.express a concern about the overuse of the smartphone
D.advise us to be cautious about the addiction to the smartphone
2.The second paragraph is developed by ________.
A.giving examples B.listing figures
C.comparing facts D.analyzing the effects
3.The author advocates us to make new friends ________.
A.by using smartphones
B.in a facetoface way
C.in different ways
D.under a free circumstance
4.Overdependence on the smartphone leads to the fact that ________.
A.parties and gatherings limit their social circle
B.people are more and more narrowminded
C.people's communication skills are weakened
D.facetoface communication becomes less important
阅读理解。
Men can be beautiful too，right?
China is going to host the 18th World University Student Beauty Contest in Guangzhou this December.This year for the first time the contest will include a male section.Students from over 130 countries will compete for Mr and Miss Beauty.The contest is one of the most respected beauty contests in the world.It was copied by the United Nations University (an international university belonging to the United Nations) in 1986.
Stick to studying
Li Yining，an economics professor at Peking University，said that he would not encourage students to try their luck in the stock market (股市). “They should stress study，” Li said in his speech at Beijing Foreign Studies University.When asked，the professor said he expected house prices in Beijing to continue to rise.Li thinks the government should provide more affordable houses for lowlevel income people.
Campus cinema
Students at over 100 universities will have a digital cinema on campus after the National Day holiday.The 21st Century Digital Film on Campus Project was launched at the end of September.The ticket will cost 3－8 yuan，rather than 30－40 yuan at cinemas in town.Students often download movies online or watch DVDs.Now they can enjoy original films in the digital cinema.The digital cinema will show a variety of films besides Hollywood blockbusters (好莱坞大片)．
Getting practical
All 12,000 graduates from vocational school in Shanxi Province have landed a job，according to the provincial government.In the past five years，it is estimated that over 95 percent of the professional school graduates have found jobs.However，the number for university graduates is 70 percent.Some employers said that they prefer professional school graduates who learned something more practical in school and expected lower salaries than university students.
1.In the third part，the underlined word “launched” may mean________.
A．started B．ended
C．told D．mentioned
2.Where can the material be chosen from?
A．A novel. B．A newspaper.
C．An advertisement. D．A fashion magazine.
3.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A．More than 130 countries will take part in the 18th World University Student Beauty Contest.
B．The ticket for a digital film on campus will cost 38 yuan.
C．In the past five years，over 95 percent of the university graduates have found jobs in Shanxi Province.
D．Over 100 universities will take part in the 21st Century Digital Film on Campus Project.
4.Professor Li thinks that________.
A. the house prices in Beijing will keep going up
B．the students should try their luck in the stock market
C．the government can do nothing about the housing problem
D．the students should not only pay attention to study
5.What can we infer from the passage?
A．In Shanxi Province，the professional school graduates are less popular with employers than university graduates recently.
B．The digital cinema will only show Hollywood blockbusters.
C．The graduates from universities can put what they learned into practice more easily.
D．No men competed in the World University Students Beauty Contest before this year.
阅读理解。
Recordings of angry bees are enough to send big, tough African elephants running away, a new study says.Beehives (蜂窝) — either recorded or real — may even prevent elephants from damaging farmers' crops.
In 2002, scientist Lucy King and her team found that elephants avoid certain trees with bees living in them.Today, Lucy wants to see if African honeybees might discourage elephants from eating crops.But before she asked farmers to go to the trouble of setting up beehives on their farms, she needed to find out if the bees would scare elephants away.
Lucy found a wild beehive inside a tree in northern Kenya and set up a recorder.Then she threw a stone into the beehive, which burst into life.Lucy and her assistant hid in their car until the angry bees had calmed down.Next, Lucy searched out elephant families in Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya and put a speaker in a tree close to each family.
From a distance, Lucy switched on the prerecorded sound of angry bees while at the same time recording the elephants with a video camera.Half the elephant groups left the area within ten seconds.Out of a total of 17 groups, only one group ignored the sound of the angry bees.Lucy reported that all the young elephants immediately ran to their mothers to hide under them.When Lucy played the sound of a waterfall (瀑布) instead of the angry bees to many of the same elephant families, the animals were undisturbed.Even after four minutes, most of the groups stayed in one place.
Lucy is now studying whether the elephants will continue to avoid the sound of angry bees after hearing it several times.She hasn't tested enough groups yet to know, but her initial (最初的) results were promising enough to begin trials with farmers.She has now begun placing speakers in the fields to see if elephants are frightened away.
1.We know from the passage that elephants may be frightened of ________.
A.loud noises B.some crops
C.video cameras D.angry bees
2.Why did Lucy throw a stone into a wild beehive?
A.To record the sound of bees.
B.To make a video of elephants.
C.To see if elephants would run away.
D.To find out more about the behavior of bees.
3.As mentioned in the passage, Lucy________.
A.works by herself in Africa
B.needs to test more elephant groups
C.has stopped elephants eating crops
D.has got farmers to set up beehives on their farms.
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Young elephants ignore African honeybees.
B.Waterfalls can make elephants stay in one place.
C.Elephants do not go near trees with bees living in them.
D.Farmers do not allow Lucy to conduct tests in their fields.
阅读理解。
“I’ve changed my mind.I wanted to have a telescope，but now I want my dad back.” Lucien Lawrence’s letter to his father for Christmas written after his father had been knifed to death outside his school gate，must have touched everyone’s heart.Lucien went on to say that without his father he couldn’t see the stars in the sky.When those whom we love depart from us，we cannot see the stars for a while.
But Lucien，the stars are still there，and one day，when you are older and your tears have gone，you will see them again.And，in a strange way，I expect that you will find your father there，too，in your mind and heart.I find that my parents，who died years ago，still figure in many of my dreams and that I think of them perhaps more than I ever did when they were alive.I still live to please them and I’m still surprised by their reactions.I remember that when I became a professor，I was so proud，or rather so pleased with myself that I couldn’t wait to cable my parents.The reply was a long time in coming，but when it did，all my mother said was “I hope this means that now you will have more time for the children！” I haven’t forgotten.The values of my parents still live on.
It makes me pause and think about how I will live on in the hearts and minds of my children and of those for whom I care.Would I have been as ready as Philip Lawrence have been to face the aggressors，and to lay down my life for those in my care？How many people would want me back for Christmas？It’s a serious thought，one to give me pause.
I pray silently，sometimes，in the dead of night，that ancient cry of a poet “Deliver my soul from the sword，and my darling from the power of the dog.” Yet I know the death comes to us all，and sometimes comes suddenly.We must therefore plan to live forever，but live as if we will die tomorrow.We live on，I’m sure，in the lives of those we love，and therefore we ought to have a care for what they will remember and what they will treasure.If more parents knew this in their hearts to be true，there might be fewer knives on our streets today.
1.According to the whole text we can see that the first paragraph________.
A．puts forward the subject of the text
B．shows the author’s pity on the kid
C．relates a kid wrote a letter to his father
D．makes a clear statement of the author’ views
2.In the second paragraph the author mainly wants to explain to us________.
A．how much he misses his parents now
B．why his parents often appear in his dreams
C．when Lucien will get over all his sadness
D．how proud he was when he succeeded in life
3.What feelings did the author’s mother express in her reply?
A．Proud. B．Happy.
C．Disappointed. D．Worried.
4.In the author’s opinion，the value of a person’s life is ________.
A．to leave a precious memory to those he loves and cares for
B．to have a high sense of duty to the whole society
C．to care for what others will remember and treasure
D．to share happiness and sadness with his family
5.What does the writer mean by mentioning the sentence taken from an old poem?
A．Call on criminals and murderers to lay down their guns.
B．Advise parents to stay with their children safely at home.
C．Spend every day meaningfully while alive.
D．Try to keep violence and murder far away from society.
