My 9-year-old daughter and I were flying from our home in Carolina to spend a week with my husband in Florida. We were ________ about the trip because we hadn’t seen him for five months, and my daughter ___________ her Dad terribly.
As usual on the Charlotte-to-Miami flight，the plane was totally ________. Because we did not get our boarding passes until we ________ at the gate, Kallie and I could not get seats together and were __________ by the aisle (过道). I asked two passengers in my row if they would switch places with Kallie and me, _________ we could be together. They ________, saying they thought they should stay in their assigned seats. Meanwhile, a mother and her three children were in a ________ several rows ahead of us. There had been a mistake in their boarding passes, and ________ the whole family had been split up. The passengers in her row________ refused to move elsewhere. She was very ________ about the younger boy sitting with strangers. She was in tears, yet nobody _______ to help her. There were a troop of Boy Scouts(童子军) on ___________. Suddenly the Scout leader stood up and said, “Ma’am, I think we can help you.” He then_________ five minutes rearranging his group so that enough space was ______ for the family. The boys followed his directions cheerfully and without _______, and the mother’s relief was obvious.
Kallie, however, was beginning to panic at the ______of not being next to me. I told her that there wasn’t anything I could do. ______, the man sitting next to the Scoutmaster, ______to me and asked, “Would you and your daughter like our seats?” ______ to himself and the Scoutmaster. We traded seats and continued our trip, very much relieved to be together and watch the scenery from Kallie’s window sea.
1.A. eager B. anxious C. excited D. worried
2.A. loved B. considered C. imagined D. missed
3.A. full B. crowded C. empty D. overweight
4.A. reached B. arrived C. landed D. knocked
5.A. divided B. blocked C. separated D. connected
6.A. in case B. even if C. as if D. so that
7.A. prevented B. refused C. agreed D. promised
8.A. panic B. hurry C. rush D. seat
9.A. however B. otherwise C. therefore D. instead
10.A. too B. also C. ever D. even
11.A. concerned B. curious C. particular D. content
12.A. suggested B. offered C. provided D. supplied
13.A. duty B. watch C. board D. spot
14.A. took B. cost C. paid D. spent
15.A. suitable B. available C. probable D. comfortable
16.A. permission B. excuse C. apology D. complaint
17.A. thought B. end C. feeling D. sense
18.A. Immediately B. Puzzlingly C. Clearly D. Amazingly
19.A. turned up B. turned around C. turned out D. turned away
20.A. sticking B. keeping C. waving D. referring
After a long day at work, coming home is a breath of fresh air. Home is a comfortable place to sit back and relax. 1.Below are a number of things we can do to create a healthy home environment that will help to ease the workday stress and promote our physical and mental health.
2.It may seem like a tiring thing to clean but there is a reason for doing so. We can remove dust by cleaning the house. Leaving layers of dust everywhere means that there is a build-up of dust. And where do these layers of dust go? Into our lungs.
Making sure the rooms are full of sunlight is also important. We may not realize it but sunlight is an important part of our growth. We all know that sunlight promotes better working conditions. 3.Think about using a Parans system where sunlight does not reach. This technology gathers the sunlight by using solar panels(板). It can send out sunlight wherever we are.
It is also a good idea to add more plants in our house. 4.They also give off oxygen, which can lower stress and improve our moods.
Along the lines of being green, it can also be vital to think about what things we are bringing into the house. Try to avoid specific plastics that are harmful to health. 5.They may contain poisonous chemicals that can be breathed in, or simply absorbed through the skin.
A. However, is it as healthy as it can be?
B. Is our home as comfortable as it used to be?
C. The same thing applies to certain carpets and paint.
D. Going green will help to remove toxins(毒素) in the air.
E. Besides, it can reduce both stress and high blood pressure.
F. Cleaning the house regularly is the first thing we should do.
G. It is acknowledged that a greener lifestyle is linked to better health.
My favourite book is The Adventure of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Tom lives with his aunt Polly in a quiet street of St. Petersburg, Missouri. He’s a lively and clever young boy, and he finds himself in many exciting adventures. He runs away with his two friends, Huck Finn and Joe, to an island in the middle of the Mississippi River for several days. With Huck he goes looking for treasure, with Becky he gets lost in a cave. And finally, they find a box of gold.
My favourite scene in the book is when everyone thinks Tom is dead. He decides to go to his own funeral. He hides and watches for a time and then suddenly he appears. Everyone is astonished to see him but they’re also pleased to see him alive.
Tom is the hero of the story, but there are other important characters. Huck is an outsider and everyone is afraid of him. Becky is pretty with fair hair, Joe is Tom’s best friend. And Injun Joe is the bad man of the story.
The theme of the story is about children growing up. It describes how strangers are seen in small towns of America. Finally, it talks about freedom, social rules and how people are punished for bad behaviour.
Why do I think The Adventure of Tom Sawyer is a great book? Mark Twain wrote the story in 1876, but it’s still read and loved by people all over the world today. And although it’s only a story, Twain wrote it in the everyday English of the southern states of America in the 19th century, so it sounds very real. Today it’s thought to be one of the greatest books in American literature. Go on—read it! I know you’ll enjoy it, too.
1.Where does Tom run away with his two friends?
A. To a quiet street. B. To a small town.
C. To an island. D. To a forest.
2.Who is the bad man in the story?
A. Huck Finn. B. Injun Joe.
C. Becky. D. Polly.
3.How did people feel when Tom appeared at his own funeral?
A. They were surprised and happy.
B. They were surprised and sad.
C. They were worried and excited.
D. They were frightened and happy.
4.The writer writes the article to ________.
A. ask us to read the book
B. tell us how popular the book is today
C. tell us when Mark Twain wrote the story
D. tell us why the story sounds very real
Unlike most other holidays, the history of April Fools’ Day, sometimes called All Fools’ Day, is not totally clear. The only point in time that can be agreed on as the beginning of this tradition was 1582, in France. Before that year, the New Year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25th. The celebration reached the highest point on April 1st. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX，the Gregorian calendar(公历，阳历) was introduced, and New Year’s Day was moved to January 1st.
However, because in those days communications were not as developed as they are today, many people did not receive the news for several years. Some people refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1st.These backward people were considered “fools” by other people. They were often sent on “fools” errands(徒劳无益的工作) or were made the targets of jokes.
This developed, over time, into a tradition of playing a trick on someone on the first day of April. The tradition eventually spread to England and Scotland in the eighteenth century. It was later introduced to the American colonies of both the Britain and France. April Fools’ Day thus developed into an international fun feast, so to speak, with different nationalities specializing in their own kind of humor at the expense of their friends and families.
1.According to an earlier calendar, New Year’s Day in France was ________.
A. March 25th B. January 1st
C. April 1st D. April 3rd
2.Which of the following first had the tradition of celebrating the April Fools’ Day？
A. France. B. England.
C. Scotland. D. America.
3.What was people’s attitude towards the new calendar？
A. They accepted it happily.
B. They refused it immediately.
C. Some recognized it.
D. Some laughed at it.
4.The passage mainly tells us ________.
A. what the French did on April Fools’ Day
B. how April Fools’ Day came into being
C. when was the new calendar introduced
D. why some people were fooled in France
One of the most famous buildings in the United States is Carnegie Hall, the home of classical and popular music concerts in New York. Carnegie Hall is known not just for its beauty and history, but also for its amazing sound. Carnegie Hall is named after Andrew Carnegie, who paid for its construction. Construction of Carnegie Hall began in 1890 and the official opening night was on May 5th, 1891.
The hall was owned by the Carnegie family until 1924 when it was sold to Robert E Simon. The building became very old and in 1960, the new owner made plans to destroy it and build an office block. Isaac Stem led a group of people who fought to save Carnegie Hall and finally, the city of New York bought it for $5 million. It was then fixed up between 1983 and 1995.
Advertisements and stories in newspapers about how Carnegie Hall needed help to recover its history led people to send in old concert programmes and information from all over the world. Over 12,000 concert programmes were received and with these it was possible to make a proper record of Carnegie Hall’s concert history.
Carnegie Hall is actually made up of several different halls, but the Main Hall, now called the Isaac Stem Auditorium, is the most famous. The hall itself can hold an audience of 2,804 in five levels of seating.
Because the best and most famous musicians of all time have played at Carnegie Hall, it is the dream of most musicians who want to be great to play there. This has led to a very old joke which is now part of Carnegie Hall’s history. Question: “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” Answer: “Practice, practice, practice.”
1.It can be inferred that people wanted to save Carnegie Hall mainly because________.
A. it made a lot of money
B. it was worth visiting
C. many important concerts were held in it
D. it made some players become famous
2.How did Carnegie Hall recover its concert history?
A. Through newspaper reports.
B. Through old concert programmes.
C. Through old photographs.
D. Through old jokes.
3.Why is the Carnegie Hall joke funny?
A. Because you expect the answer to be directions but not advice.
B. Because Carnegie Hall is a place where musicians practice a lot.
C. Because it is difficult to find your way to Carnegie Hall.
D. Because you don’t expect the answer to repeat the same word three times.
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. The history of Carnegie Hall
B. The best musician having played in Carnegie Hall
C. A joke about Carnegie Hall
D. The dream of most musicians
More than two thirds of the world’s polar bears will be wiped out by 2050, according to a shocking new study. By then, scientists say, global warming will have melted 42 percent of the Arctic sea ice. By 2100, only a very few of these important creatures will be left.
The report has been produced by the US Geological Survey. The scientists have publicized their findings in the hope of influencing US Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, who has been asked to put polar bears on the US endangered species list.
Polar bears depend on floating sea ice as a platform for hunting seals, which are their main food. Without enough ice, polar bears would be forced to go onto the land, where they are poorly skilled hunters, and would be unlikely to adapt to the life on the land in time. Experts say few little bears would survive and the stress could make many females unable to get pregnant.
The team of American and Canadian scientists spent six months studying bears, on the ground, from spotter planes and in the lab，using computer models. Some team members fear the result is even worse for the bears than what their report says. They say the Arctic is warming faster than anywhere in the world and much faster than their computer had been forecasting. Satellite observations have showed that the ice has decreased to an alltime low.
However, not everyone in the scientific community believes that global warming is happening on such an alarming scale. Another investigation has found that polar bears are still being hunted by wealthy “sportsmen” who want their skins and heads. At least ten international companies offer bearhunting trips.
1.What do we know about Dirk Kempthorne according to the passage?
A. He is an animal scientist.
B. He is a protector of animals working for the US government.
C. He was asked to put polar bears on the US endangered species list.
D. He offered to put polar bears on the endangered species list.
2.Why will polar bears die out if there is not enough sea ice?
A. Because polar bears can’t catch enough food without ice.
B. Because polar bears eat ice when they feel thirsty.
C. Because polar bears will be easily found by hunters without ice.
D. Because most female bears are used to giving birth under ice.
3.After a sixmonth study, some scientists fear that________.
A. there is something wrong with their computers
B. polar bears will disappear even faster than they ever expected
C. their computer models are not as accurate as they expected
D. global warming will destroy everything in the Arctic
