阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
English is a language 1.(speak) all around the world. There are more than 42 countries 2. most of the people speak English. And most native speakers of English 3. (find) in the UK, the US, Canada, and many other countries. In total, English is their mother tongue for more than 375 million people. An equal(相等的) number of people learn English as 4. second language. However, the number of people who learn English as a foreign language 5.(be) more than 750 million.
In only fifty years, English has developed into the language most 6.(wide) spoken and used in the world. Foreign staff in China are not requested 7.(learn) Chinese. Chinese businessmen, taxi drivers and students can talk with them using English. You can listen to English songs 8. the radio or use English to communicate with people around the world through the Internet. With so many people communicating in English every day, 9. will become more and more important to have a good knowledge of English. Believe it or not, English 10.(rich) our lives since it came to China.
Long ago there was a poor farmer in Russia. He had been very ______ with everything he had. However, when he found his elder brother was ______ than him, he felt disappointed. So he ______ hard about how he could also be richer. Finally he got an idea. He started to spend less money on food and clothes to ______ some money to buy more land. Once he had enough money, he started ______ for land.
He ______ that on the neighboring land, there were some nomads (游牧民) living there. He bought some gifts and went to ______ their head. He presented the gifts to the head and told him the ______ of his visit. The head welcomed him, accepted the gifts and agreed to his ______ to get the land. The head told him that he could have the land ______ giving him anything. He can take as much land as he could ______ by walking through the land before sunset (日落). He should start in the morning and whatever distance he could travel during the ______, he could have it.
The farmer became very ______ when he heard this offer. Now he could have lots of ______ without paying anything. He came ______ the next morning and started running, not walking,______ he could cover the largest area. To reach his goal, he neither ate food, nor drank water, nor had any rest. He just continued ______. Without eating, or drinking, or resting he just got very ______. When he came back to the head in the evening, he ______ right on the spot. Sadly his son buried him in a piece of land about 6 x 4 feet.
Don’t be greedy (贪婪的) or you will ______ everything finally.
1.A.careful B.bored C.pleased D.busy
2.A.healthier B.stronger C.cleverer D.richer
3.A.learned B.thought C.tried D.worked
4.A.save B.spend C.make D.borrow
5.A.waiting B.preparing C.looking D.caring
6.A.explained B.hoped C.guessed D.noticed
7.A.follow B.see C.help D.cheat
8.A.purpose B.result C.condition D.chance
9.A.promise B.suggestion C.request D.order
10.A.for B.by C.before D.without
11.A.farm B.cover C.buy D.have
12.A.day B.month C.week D.year
13.A.interested B.sad C.calm D.happy
14.A.crop B.land C.experience D.knowledge
15.A.quietly B.finally C.early D.suddenly
16.A.even if B.so that C.because D.whether
17.A.running B.walking C.speaking D.dreaming
18.A.nervous B.excited C.worried D.tired
19.A.refused B.appeared C.died D.rested
20.A.face B.lose C.change D.defeat
Saving Money on Holiday Travel
The holiday season isn’t just about shopping and gifts. 1. However, holiday travel can get very expensive. Fortunately, the following tips will help you keep your travelling expense under control.
Plan ahead. The earlier you book your travel, from tickets to hotels, the easier it is to find good deals. 2. In fact, you should book travel one to three months in advance so that you have more opportunities to find the best deals.
Book your air travel on cheaper days. Travelling by air on Tuesdays and Wednesdays often costs less than travelling on Fridays and Sundays. During the holidays, though, it’s not just about a specific day of the week. 3. Days right before and after a holiday can be more expensive. If you don’t travel on Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day, you might be able to find an even better deal.
Consider travelling overnight. Early-morning flights often cost less than those at more convenient time. 4. Depending on where you are going, and the ways of getting there, overnight travel can help you avoid a night in the hotel, as well as save you money on travel to your destination.
5. You can’t bring water or drink with you on the plane, but you can bring sandwiches and other food. When you’re on the road, you can buy food at local food stores to make your own meals.
A. Bring your own food.
B. Consider cheap hotels that provide food.
C. Besides, booking earlier can save you money.
D. If you are flying, consider airports that are farther away.
E. You also need to consider the days before and after the holiday.
F. A great deal of travel also takes place during this time of year.
G. Other choices include night trains and ships.
Red squirrels (松鼠) , a kind of animal once lost from their native woodlands, have been returned to the north-west Highlands, early results of a reintroduction (重新引进) project show.
The new population has naturally increased since they were reintroduced to north-west Scotland last year. The animal had disappeared as a result of the reduction of forests, as well as illness and competition from the introduced non-native grey squirrel. However, Trees for Life—the organization behind the project—is hopeful that red squirrels will continue to add to their 138,000 number and continue their increase.
“Early results shows that this could be a real wildlife success story. The new squirrel populations are not only living in their new homes, they are also starting to spread out into new areas, with squirrels being sighted as far as 15km away, “said Becky Priestley, Trees for Life’s wildlife officer.
The first relocation began in the spring of 2016, through to this year, when the first 33 squirrels from Inverness-shire and Moray were set free at Shieldaig in Wester Ross. Another 22 were set free at the Coulin estate, next to Beinn Eighe, plus 30 at Plockton, which is partly owned by the National Trust for Scotland.
The red squirrel, found throughout Eurasia, has experienced a great population reduction in recent years. In 2007, just 25,000 could be found throughout the UK after a one-time high of 3.5 million. This is often because of the fact that their grey cousins have a larger appetite (食欲) and eat most of the food in the forest. Reds are also more likely to be influenced by viruses (病毒) than greys, dying up to 25 times quicker.
Grey squirrels first came to England from North America in 1876 as a decorative species. However, it was not until 1930 that the damage they did was realized, when it was almost too late for the reds.
Now, though, red squirrels appear to naturally take over their land again. During 2016, they spread beyond Shieldaig, with one sighting eight miles away beyond Loch Torridon. One was seen recently near Nostie, about five miles from the release site, and there have been sightings further.
1.What is the reason for red squirrel’s disappearing from north-west Highlands?
A.Humans’ activity caused the forests to reduce.
B.There’s competition from native animals.
C.The number of their natural enemies was reduced.
D.There was illness spreading among the red squirrels.
2.Where was the first relocation of red squirrels after its disappearance in woodlands?
A.At Shieldaig. B.At the Coulin estate.
C.At Plockton. D.At Moray.
3.Compared with grey squirrels, red squirrels .
A.have a better appetite
B.are easier to fight against viruses
C.are more beautiful and decorative
D.are more likely to suffer from illnesses
4.How does the author find about the red squirrel project?
A.Difficult. B.Successful.
C.Depressing. D.Unrealistic.
Miep Gies, the woman who hid the Dutch girl Anne Frank’s diary from the Nazis to become one of the world’s most-read books, died after a brief illness at the age of 100.
It was Gies who guarded Anne’s diary, and presented it to the girl’s father, Otto, when he returned from the Auschwitz concentration camp(奥斯威辛集中营) at the end of World War Ⅱ—the only one of his family to survive.
In her diary, Anne Frank wrote about her teenage life hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam from 1942 to 1944, when the Nazi police discovered her and her family’s hiding place. The diary, first published in 1947, has been translated into 70 languages.
Anne Frank expressed a great wish to live on after her death. Miep Gies saw it as her duty to help in making this happen.
Born in Vienna in 1909, Gies moved to the Netherlands at the age of 11. In 1933, she began working for Otto Frank at his trading company. At great risk to her own safety, she and four other helpers brought food and supplies to the Frank family hiding in a secret office building for more than two years.
When she turned 100, Gies tried to play down her own role. “I’m not a hero,” she said. “It wasn’t something I planned in advance. I simply did what I could to help.”
Every day she received letters from all over the world with questions about her relationship with Anne Frank and her role as a helper. Gies received many honors for her role, including from the Netherlands, Germany and Israel.
1.When did Miep Gies move to the Netherlands?
A.In 1909. B.In 1947.
C.In 1920. D.In 1933.
2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Only Miep Gies helped the Frank family.
B.Anne’s father Otto survived World War Ⅱ.
C.Anne’s hiding place was discovered in 1943.
D.Miep Gies wasn’t highly honored until her death.
3.By saying “Gies tried to play down her own role”, the writer means Gies ________.
A.didn’t play a role in saving the diary. B.regretted saving the diary.
C.was proud of what she had done. D.thought she was overpraised.
4.What’s the best title for the passage?
A.Woman who saved Anne’s diary dies at 100.
B.Anne Frank’s diary.
C.Survivors of World War Ⅱ.
D.The story of Miep Gies and Anne Frank.
A new pastor(牧师) named John reopened a church that had been abandoned in a suburb. He found it broken, and in need of a lot of repair work. His goal was to have everything done in time for his first service on Christmas Eve.
He worked hard. However, when John went to the church on Dec. 21, his heart sank: a large area of plaster (石膏) had fallen off the front wall due to a terrible storm the night before. John headed home, and on the way he stopped at a market selling items for charity.
One of the items was an exquisite( 精致的)handmade tablecloth. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church. It started to snow. An old woman had missed her bus, and he invited her to wait in the warm church for the next one. As John put up the tablecloth the woman asked him to check the corner for the initials(手写字母). They were her initials: she had made this tablecloth 35 years before. Then the war broke out, and forced her to part with her husband.
John wanted to give her the tablecloth. but she asked him to keep it for the church. John insisted on driving her home which he thought was the least he could do.
What a wonderful service he had on Christmas Eve! John noticed one old man staring at the tablecloth on the front wall. The man said it was similar to one that his wife had made many years before.
John brought the old man to the house where he had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped him climb the three flights of stairs to her apartment, and saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever have imagined.
1.According to Paragraph one, we learn that John decided to_______.
A. help people affected by a terrible storm
B. buy goods for charity in the neighborhood
C. repair the abandoned church before his first service
D. do some work for the local people
2.Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?
A. The woman’s husband had to leave her because of a war
B. Johns service on Christmas Eve was disappointing
C. Everyone was surprised by the beauty of the tablecloth.
D. John drove the old man home because he was lost.
3.The tablecloth drew the old man's attention because________.
A. he loved its colors B. he had seen it in a church
C. It was like one his wife had made D. it looked strange hanging on a wall
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. A kind pastor who had difficulty repairing an ancient church
B. A new pastor who gave his first service with a couples help
C. A tablecloth made 35 years ago being discovered by a pastor
D. An old couple being reunited on Christmas Eve through a tablecloth
