Sicily, an island of Italy, is home to beautiful beaches, outstanding food, and a bit of Italian history on every corner. It’s located just southwest of the Italian mainland and it’s the largest Mediterranean island.
Invaded(侵略)by many armies over the centuries, it became the site of Roman and Greek colonies. Those cultures remain to this day.
Although they have a rich culture and history, Sicilian people lead a simple life. Living on land with fertile(肥沃的) soil, most of them work in agriculture, fishing and mining, and of course tourism.
In Sicily, most stores and businesses are closed from one to four in the afternoon. Street become crowded around five as people start to go out and engage in a variety of activities. They may take a walk to the shops, enjoy a pastry(糕点)or just meet up with friends.
Food is one of the great pleasures of Sicilian people. There is an old Sicilian saying：“With a contented stomach, your heart is forgiving. With an empty stomach you forgive nothing.” People will go miles out their way to eat fresh seafood. Pasta(意大利面)is the main food Each region has its seasonal pasta dishes, and every family cook their own specialty. Bread is common too. As another Sicilian saying goes, “A table without bread is like a day without sunshine.” In Sicily, bread is always freshly baked or bought, and usually twice a day. Invaders from Rome and Greece came to Sicily______.
| A．by bike | B．by ship | C．on foot | D．by train |
The underlined sentences mean Sicilian people______.
| A．can always forgive other’s mistakes |
| B．can’t stand going hungry |
| C．like eating |
| D．may make mistakes when they are hungry |
According the author, Pasta changes with______.
| A．weather | B．age | C．social position | D．season |
The best title of this passage might be______.
| A．Sicily—an Island of Italy |
| B．Sicily—the Site of Roman and Greek Colonies |
| C．Italy’s most Beautiful Island |
| D．SiTALY’S Tasty Island Culture |
Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet fighter pilot in Viet Nam. After 75 missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb parachuted down into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison.
One day, Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant when a man from another table came up and said “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Viet Nam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!”
“How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb.
“I packed your parachute,” the man replied. “I guess it worked”. Plumb assured him, “It sure did. If your chute（降落伞） hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Plumb couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, “I kept wondering what he looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said ‘Good morning. How are you?’ or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was ‘just a sailor’”.
Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds(伞罩) and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn’t know.
Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachutes.Why didn’t Plumb say hello to the sailor each time he passed him on the Kitty Hawk?
| A．He thought the sailor was just an unimportant man. |
| B．He didn’t like him at that time. |
| C．He was very busy then. |
| D．He didn’t know him well then. |
What did the sailor do on the Kitty Hawk at the Viet Nam War?
| A．weaved clothes for the pilots. | B．repaired the wooden table in the ship. |
| C．helped the jets start. | D．packed the parachutes for the fighter pilots. |
What does the writer think we should do?
| A．We should help each other if they are in trouble. |
| B．We shouldn’t look down upon the sailors. |
| C．We should be thankful to others’ help. |
| D．We should be honest to our friends. |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．A story about a sailor. | B．Who pack your parachutes? |
| C．Don’t forget your past! | D．Never forget your friends! |
We can achieve knowledge either actively or passively. We achieve it actively by direct experience, by testing and proving an idea, or by reasoning.
We achieve knowledge passively by being told by someone else. Most of the learning that takes place in the classroom and the kind that happens when we watch TV or read newspapers or magazines is passive. Conditioned as we are to passive learning, it’s not surprising that we depend on it in our everyday communication with friends and co-workers.
Unfortunately, passive learning has a serious problem. It makes us tend to accept what we are told even when it is little more than hearsay and rumor.
Did you ever play the game Rumor? It begins when one person writes down a message but doesn’t show it to anyone. Then the person whispers it, word for word, to another person. That person, in turn, whispers it to still another, and so on, through all the people playing the game. The last person writes down the message word for word as he or she hears it. Then the two written statements are compared. Typically, the original message has changed.
That’s what happens in daily life. The simple fact that people repeat a story in their own words changes the story. Then , too, most people listen imperfectly. And many enjoy adding their own creative touch to a story, trying to improve on it, stamping(打上标记) it with their own personal style, Yet those who hear it think they know.
This process is also found among scholars and authors: A statement of opinion by one writer may be re-stated as a fact by another, who
may in turn be quoted by yet another; and this process may continue, unless it occurs to someone to question the facts on which the original writer based his opinion or to challenge the interpretation he placed upon those facts.According to the passage, passive learning may occur in _____.
| A．doing a medical experiment | B．solving a math problem |
| C．visiting an exhibition | D．doing scientific reasoning |
The underlined word “it” in Paragragh 2 refers to ______.
| A．active learning | B．knowledge |
| C．communication | D．passive learning |
The author mentions the game Rumor to show that ______.
| A．a message may be changed when being passed on |
| B．a message should be delivered in different ways |
| C．people may have problems with their sense of hearing |
| D．people tend not to believe in what they know as rumor |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Active learning is less important. |
| B．Passive learning may not be reliable. |
| C．Active learning occurs more frequently. |
| D．Passive learning is not found among scholars. |
Some families live quite far in the UK．Visiting them can either be an adventure or a chore(麻烦事)．It depends on how much family members like each other．
If all goes well，kids have an exciting time．Your relatives will plan different fun activities and make you happy．Taking you to visit relatives gives your parents a chance to rest．It gives older relatives a good chance to relive the time when they had young kids．If they do not have children of their own，they get to play parent for a while．
I remember that Blackpool Pleasure Beach was the place I liked to go with my grandparents
It is an amusement park on the northwest coast．It is packed with roller coasters(过山车)and candy stalls(糖果摊)．You could race small boats on a lake or scare yourself into death riding the ghost train．I had good memories of my time there．
As you get older，you suddenly become the one who must help your relatives with their kids．I have four COUSINS aged between one and eleven．They are fantastic and I really enjoy seeing them．However，it is very tiring，as they get so excited and energetic(充满活力)．I fall asleep hoping they will remember our good times when they get older．If all goes well，visiting relatives far away can be _____for kids．
| A．dangerous | B．exciting | C．boring | D．hard |
By saying “relive the time”，the author means the old relatives enjoy______．
| A．sharing old memories | B．eating lots of food |
| C．watching old movies | D．going out together |
The author feel tired after playing with his cousins because_________．
| A．his cousins are funny | B．he enjoys playing with them |
| C．he doesn’t like children | D．his cousins have too much energy |
The best title for this passage is
| A．My Favorite Amusement Park | B．Fun Playing with Cousins |
| C．Visiting Relatives in the UK | D．Childhood Memories |
China news, Beijing, Feb. 9 – Housing price in China has always aroused heated discussions among property developers and ordinary Chinese. To many property developers and local government officials, housing price in China is still low compared with many developed countries. However, the average housing price in the United States is only 8,000 yuan per square meter, while in China, it is even higher than in the United States. This shows that there are some bubbles(泡沫) in Chinese real estate market
, the International Finance News reported.
Although the average price of residential houses in the United States, after converted to Renminbi, is about 8,000 yuan per square meter, the houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. If US property developers sell their houses according to the building area, then the housing price will be even lower than 8,000 yuan per square meter. In most big Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, houses are sold at a price even higher than those in the US.
The high housing sales price in large cities in China proves that Chinese real estate market does have some bubbles. Moreover, Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. Furthermore, it should be noted that American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. How can the Chinese afford to buy a house which is even more expensive than that sold in US?
At the beginning of 2007, Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. Now in order to reduce the high housing prices, the government can regulate(控制) the real estate market by raising tax on property industry and controlling the release of loans and lands to property developers. At the same time, the government should allow people to build more houses through various fund-raising channels, such as funds collected from buyers or raised by working units. By applying these multiple means, it is expected that the high housing prices can be lowered. What is the average housing price per square meter in China?
| A．8000 yuan | B．10000 yuan | C．7000 yuan | D．It’s not mentioned here |
Which of the following does NOT support the idea that the average housing price in China
is even higher than in the United States?
| A．Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. |
| B．American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. |
| C．The houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. |
| D．There are more people who need houses in China. |
What is the main idea of this passage?
A The hous
ing price in China is so high that the government should do something useful to
prevent it.
B. There are some bubbles in Chinese real estate market
C. The average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States
D. Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. How many measures are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to reduce the high housing
prices?
| A．Four | B．Three | C．Five | D．Two |
Dear Cassy,
Thanks for reminding me by e-mail that you want to baby-sit our children. In spite of the fact that you are only 15 years old, my wife and I would be willing to consider your application if you can meet a few modest requirements:
1. Submit three letters from teachers who will prove that you have never failed to follow directions perfectly in class and never failed to hand in the homework on time.
2. Submit a note from two doctors which says that you are in perfect health, have never been sick, and will never be sick.
3. Submit a document (文件) from your physical education teacher or team coach that proves that you can do each of the following: Run two miles in less than nine minutes, climb an oily rope to a height of twenty feet in thirty seconds while balancing a glass of water on your nose, and walk in bare feet over hot coals and broken glass without complaint or injury.
4. Submit letters from at least two mental health experts saying that you have never had a bad thought towards any living being or not living object.
5. Play and defeat five expert chess players with your eyes covered after going without sleep for 48 hours.
6. Wait patiently for two years while we make sure that all your documents are true.
Your loving and trusting friends,
The SmithsFrom the letter we can know that ______.
| A．Cassy wrote to the Smiths twice | B．Cassy loves children very much |
| C．Cassy will be in perfect health | D．Cassy does very well in her studies |
Which of the following can most probably replace the underlined word “submit”?
| A．write | B．report | C．hand in | D．recommend (推荐) |
What can we infer from this text?
| A．Their children are hard to baby-sit. | B．Their children are well educated. |
| C．Cassy is good at doing many things. | D．Cassy won't get the job as a baby-sitter. |
Which of the following words can best describe the Smiths?
| A．Humorous. | B．Patient. | C．Honest. | D．Kind-hearted. |
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