What do you think of black cats? Are they unluckier than cats of other colors? Many people in Western countries think so. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), did a study on cat colours and people’s understandings of cat personalities.
The study found that people do judge(判断) cat personalities by color. Scientists did a survey on the Internet. There were 49 statements (描述) matching five cat colorings with 10 personalities. People think orange and bi-coloured (双色的) cats are friendly, tri-coloured (三色的) cats are not generous, and white cats are calm, lazy and shy. As for black cats, people think they don’t have special personalities.
But why do so many people dislike keeping black cats as pets? People think black cats have less special personalities, which might be because of their bad reputation (口碑). They think black cats may bring bad luck, especially at Halloween. Movies and television shows also make people believe that.
Although people have these ideas, UC Berkeley scientists give another reason: people don’t think black cats are pretty enough. After all, nothing can show black cats are unluckier than other cats. “You can’t judge a cat by its colour, because it’s the personality of the cat, not the colour, that will let you know if the cat is right for you,” Cathy Marden, a scientist said.
1.Many people in Western countries may think black cats are .
A. lovely animals B. a sign of bad luck
C. a sign of good luck D. unfriendly animals
2.The main idea of paragraph 2 is that .
A. people often complain about black cats on the Internet
B. people think cats of different colours have different personalities
C. black cats are less popular than other cats
D. the study is a great success
3.According to the study, people think that .
A. black cats have special personalities
B. orange and bi-coloured cats are generous
C. cats with three colours are friendly
D. white cats are calm, lazy and shy
4.People don’t like black cats for the following reasons EXCEPT .
A. black cats often appear in TV shows
B. black cats bring bad luck to people
C. black cats have bad reputations
D. they don’t think black cats are beautiful
5.The passage mainly talks about .
A. why black cats are popular in movies
B. why people are not willing to keep black cats as pets
C. different colour cats have different personalities
D. different people have different ideas on black cats
“Did you go skating a lot last year?” I asked. Jen shook her head and looked at me. Finally she said, “On Thanksgiving, Mom and I always went to visit some friends who lived on a farm. I especially loved seeing their big turkeys.”
Until then, I didn’t think about how Jen felt. She had a new stepfather (继父) and stepbrother, and had a new town and home, too. Jen and her mom used to live near a lake where Dad and I went every summer, and she had to move up north with us. She had more changes than me.
Jen seemed sad, so I was busy thinking of some ways to cheer her up on Thanksgiving. I told her my plan and she was excited. First we made a huge snowball, and then a small snowball. Then we built a wall behind the big snowball as a tail. Jen mixed some food coloring with water, saying, “We can spray (喷) colors on the tail.” Our snow turkey had a red, blue, green, and yellow tail. We were so busy that we didn’t notice our parents come outside. Dad found a hat for thesnow turkey, and Mom wrapped her scarf around its neck.
“Thanks for cheering Jen up,” Mom said. “You’re a good brother, and you always come up with great ideas.’”A happy feeling spread through me. I began to understand how much she cared about everyone in our new family.
1.What did Jen do on Thanksgiving in the past?
A. She went skating with her friends.
B. She went to the farm with her mother.
C. She stayed at home with her mother.
D. She made snow turkeys with her mother.
2.What can we learn from the second paragraph?
A. Jen lived near a lake in the past.
B. The writer was Jen’s stepfather.
C. Jen moved up north for studying.
D. The writer just moved out of his old house.
3.How many people are there in Jen’s new family?
A. Two. B. Three. C. Four. D. Five.
4.Which of the following is the right order?
①made a small snowball
②found a hat
③made a huge snowball
④sprayed colors on the tail
⑤wrapped a scarf around the neck
⑥built a wall behind the big snowball
A. ①③⑥④②⑤ B. ①②③④⑤⑥
C. ③①⑥④②⑤ D. ③①⑥②④⑤
5.What can we infer (推断) from the underlined sentence?
A. Jen’s stepmother was not friendly to the writer.
B. Jen didn’t feel happy after moving here.
C. Jen’s mother did a lot to make Jen happy.
D. The writer felt happy because his stepmother liked him.
Survey: What were you scared of when you were a kid?
I was scared of spiders but I didn’t let my friends know because all of them liked catching these spiders. I was terrified but I just acted cool. — Buding, still afraid of spiders |
I was scared of the dark because I didn’t know if there was something scary inside the room. As a result, I always liked sleeping with my back facing the wall because it made me a little comfortable. — Gerard, not so afraid of the dark anymore, but still sleeps with his back facing the wall |
Strange as it probably sounds, I was scared of shadows (影子). Not the shadows themselves, but what they formed (形成). Because I was near-sighted (近视的), the shadows I saw formed into the scariest things I saw in my mind. — Jean, no longer afraid of shadows |
I was afraid of the old woman who lived alone right in front of us. Very large trees covered the front part of her small house. The few times I saw the old woman, it scared me because she looked like a witch (女巫). Once I was playing volleyball with my friends and the ball flew into her house. We all ran home quickly and decided that it was okay to lose the ball instead of seeing her come out of the house. — Mac, who has already moved to a different house |
1.Buding used to be afraid of .
A. the dark B. spiders
C. shadows D. an old woman
2.Gerard sleeps .
A. with the light on
B. with his parents
C. with the window open
D. with his back facing the wall
3.There is something wrong with Jean’s .
A. legs B. back C. eyes D. feet
4.The old woman lived in a small house .
A. by herself B. with her daughter
C. with her husband D. with her grandmother
5.After the volleyball flew into the woman’s house, Mac and his friends .
A. ran home quickly B. asked her for it
C. broke into her house D. waited for her to come out
完形填空(每小题1分,满分15分)
Colors have an effect on our moods. It has been found that colors like red, yellow and orange us while colors like blue, purple and green calm us. This relationship between colors and moods is not recently. Long long ago, Indian brides (新娘) were dressed in red as it represents and passion(激情). Now let us discuss the effect of each color on our moods . Blue is a calm color and it makes us feel relaxed. It can also make in factories work hard but too much of it can make us feel . Black represents power and . Thus, it makes you feel superior (有优越感的). It is generally by people who is not outgoing as it is a color. Green makes us feel , energetic and positive. It is relaxing said to improve vision (视力). Red represents strength, excitement and passion. While amount of red can help to make us feel energetic, of it can make us feel bored. White represents and peace. So wearing white makes us feel calmer. As colors have an effect on your moods, you need to choose those colors which would help you the tasks you are doing and you will get to see the difference.
1.A. bore B. excite C. interest D. tire
2.A. looked B. watched C. discovered D. ordered
3.A. sadness B. wisdom C. love D. growth
4.A. in danger B. in public C. in fact D. in detail
5.A. farmers B. scientists C. workers D. teachers
6.A. sad B. happy C. active D. creative
7.A. strength B. protectionC. warmth D. energy
8.A. refused B. preferredC. hated D. borrowed
9.A. protecting B. bright C. calm D. satisfying
10.A. proud B. peaceful C. sleepy D. warm
11.A. but B. or C. so D. and
12.A. much B. some C. lots of D. few
13.A. much too B. too much C. too little D. many too
14.A. joy B. success C. purity D. stress
15.A. with B. on C. at D. to
—I’m in a bad mood these days. —
A. You are right. B. No problem.
C. I’m sorry to hear that. D. You’re welcome.
-Could you_________? - I’m glad to
A. give me some advice B. offer me any suggestions
C. give me some advices D. offer me some suggestion