nickname is a shortened form of a person's name. A nickname also can be a descriptive name for a person, place or thing. Many American cities have nicknames. These can help establish an identity, spread pride among citizens and build unity.
A few years ago, some marketing and advertising experts were asked to name the best nickname for an American city. The winner was the nation's largest city, New York. The top nickname was The Big Apple.
You might wonder how New York got this nickname. In the early nineteen seventies, the city had many problems. The number of visitors was falling. So a campaign was launched to give the city a new image. The head of the New York Conventions and Visitors Bureau decided to call the city, The Big Apple.
There are several explanations for where this name came from. Language expert Barry Popik studied the question and wrote about it on his Web site. He says John Fitz Gerald, a writer for a New York newspaper, used the name The Big Apple to mean New York in the nineteen twenties. Mister Fitz Gerald wrote about horse races. He heard the name used by men who worked at a racetrack in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Mister Fitz Gerald wrote: "The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There's only one Big Apple. That's New York."
In horse racing, the expression meant "the big time," the place where large amounts of money could be won. The Big Apple became the name of a night club in the Harlem area of New York City in nineteen thirty-four. It also was the name of a popular dance and a hit song in the nineteen thirties.
But it is not the only nickname for America's largest city. Barry Popik's web site lists almost one hundred nicknames that describe New York. The best known are The Capital of the World. Empire City. Gotham. The City So Nice They Named it Twice. And, The City That Never Sleeps. You can hear about the city in the song, "New York, New York," by Frank Sinatra. Why do many American cities have nicknames?（回答词数不超过15个）
What did John Fitz Gerald write about for the New York newspaper?（回答词数不超过5个）
Besides “The Big Apple”, how many best known nicknames that describe New York are listed according to Barry Popik's web site?（回答词数不超过2个）
Governors, lawyers and business leaders have to deal with scientists, and every educated person finds his views affected by science. Yet our science teaching of non-scientists, in school and college, has built up mistaken ideas, dislikes, and the common boast, "I never did understand science.' Even those students who arrive at college with plans to become scientists usually bring a mistaken picture of science: some have a collection of unorganized facts about science, and some regard the study of science as a game which includes getting the right answer.
The first of these attitudes seems to come from a kind of course which provides various kinds of information; the second, from a training course on how to pass examinations that do not ask about the student's understanding but simply require him to put the numbers in the right formulas(公式). Neither type of courses (in school or college) seems to give students and understanding of science as we find it among scientists. Neither shows students how real scientists work and think how the facts are gathered, how discoveries are made, and what they mean. Young people need good teaching of science, not so much a great wealth of knowledge as a healthy understanding of the nature of science. They need an understanding of knowledge leading to sympathy with science and an eagerness of the way scientists work. Given these, it is easy to encourage later reading and learning. One of the reasons that cause mistaken ideas of science is _____. .
| A．a mistaken picture in students' mind |
| B．the unscientific way of teaching of science |
| C．the fact that students fail to see the influence of science |
| D．the fact that students have a collection of unrelated facts about science |
According to the passage, we can safely say that the subject of the passage is _______.
| A．need for good science teaching |
| B．every person, including governors, lawyers and business leaders should study science |
| C．young people should form a correct attitude to science |
| D．students must know what science is and how scientists work and think |
A good course of science is_______.
| A．to teach students to do things according to formulas |
| B．to provide students with all kinds of information |
| C．to help students have a good understanding and form a correct attitude to science |
| D．to encourage students to have a good command of knowledge |
People such as governors, lawyers and business leaders deal with scientists mainly because _______.
| A．scientists are great persons |
| B．scientists make discoveries and apply them to help people live a more comfortable, stable and safe life |
| C．they owe much to scientists' contributions |
| D．they can be affected by scientists when they are together |
Some wonderfully creative uses of X-rays have been in the world of art．But the most impressive one is to uncover what has been covered up．Details unfolded by an X-ray of a painting can ' t be seen any other way．For example, in the past, paintings were often repaired if small pieces of paint fell off the canvas（帆布）.These repairs cannot be seen just by looking at the painting．It takes an X-ray to discover where the repairs have been made．
An X-ray of a painting is one of the best ways to tell if it was created by a famous painter or if it is a forgery．If there is a question as to whether an old master has painted a certain painting or not, X-rays are made and compared to those of paintings that are known to be original．If the brushstrokes （笔迹） , for example, are shown to be totally different than in other work done by a certain artist, then the painting is proved to be a fake copy．
Since modern paints are usually made from different materials than paints of hundreds of years ago, the image they leave on an X-ray film looks different．This is another way X-rays can be used to spot a forgery．A modern artist will try to make a forgery (伪造物) look hundreds of years old by painting dirty varnish（清漆）on it or by using artificial means to get the varnish to look cracked（破裂的）．To the naked eye the forgery may look old, but when a careful study of the X-ray image is made, the deception is obvious．
It was common many years ago for an artist to finish a painting, decide it wasn't any good, and paint a completely different picture on top of it．Or artists would paint over others' work —it was their version of recycling．Taking an X-ray is the only way to find out if there is a picture underneath the picture you see with your eyes．Sometimes museums will be more interested in the painting beneath than the one on top, and will restore the older one by having the top layer painstakingly removed．What is the main purpose of the article?
| A．To provide information to police who are looking for stolen art． |
| B．To persuade art dealers to check for fake copies before selling art． |
| C．To explain how modern technology can be applied in unique ways． |
| D．To help artists restore damaged artwork to its original appearance． |
According to the passage．X-rays are used to ______．
| A．make repairs on paintings in the past |
| B．identify the authenticity of an artwork |
| C．change the materials of a forgery |
| D．remove the recyclable paints |
In Paragraph 3, the word "deception" probably means ______．
| A．comparison | B．drawback | C．trickery | D．judgement |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．X-ray Detectives | B．Creative Uses of Technology |
| C．Forgery Studies | D．X-ray Painting Techniques |
Preliminary English Test(PET)covers all four language skills---reading, writing, listening and speaking. Each skill carries 25% of the total marks. PET has three papers:
Reading and Writing: 1 hour 30 minutes
Listening : about 30minutes
Speaking: up to 10 minutes
There are two Pass grades(Pass with merit(优秀)and Pass) and certificates are awarded to candidates who achieve these grades. Candidates who achieve a grade Narrow Fail or Fail are judged not to have reached the required standard for PET.
Exam dates
| Reading and Writing (paper1) |
Saturday 15March AM Saturday 24 May AM Friday 30 May AM Saturday 07 June AM Saturday 22 November AM Friday 05 December AM |
| Listening (paper 2) |
Saturday 15 March AM Saturday 24 May AM Friday 30 May AM Saturday 07 June AM Saturday 22 November AM Friday 05 December AM |
| Speaking (paper 3) |
This paper is held by separate arrangement, within specified periods—contact your centre for more details. UK 07 March to 29 March 16 May to 07 June 23 May to 14 June 30 May to 21 June 14 November to 06 December 21 November to 13 December Overseas 07 March to 17 March 16 May to 26 May 23 May to 02 June 30 May to 09 June 14 November to 24 November 21 November to 08 December |
The passage is most probably taken from________.
| A．an advertisement | B．a teaching program | C．a book review | D．an exam notice |
According to the passage, altogether PET lasts about_______.
| A．90 minutes | B．130 minutes | C．180 minutes | D．210 minutes |
A candidate will receive a PET certificate if he gets_______.
①a Pass with Merit grade ② a Pass grade ③a Narrow Fail grade ④a Fail grade
| A．①or② | B．③or④ | C．①or③ | D．②or③ |
A year ago August, Dave Fuss lost his job driving a truck for a small company in west Michigan. His wife, Gerrie, was still working in the local school cafeteria, but work for Dave was scarce(不足的), and the price of everything was rising. The Fusses were at risk of joining the millions of Americans who have lost their homes in recent years. Then Dave and Gerrie received a timely gift--$7,000, a legacy(遗产) from their neighbors Ish and Arlene Hatch, who died in an accident . “It really made a difference when we were going under financially.” says Dave.
But the Fusses weren’t the only folks in Alto and the neighboring town of Lowell to receive unexpected legacy from the Hatches. Dozens of other families were touched by the Hatches’ generosity. In some cases, it was a few thousand dollars; in other, it was more than ＄100,000.
It surprised nearly everyone that the Hatches had so much money , more than ＄3 million—they were an elderly couple who lived in an old house on what was left of the family farm .
Children of the Great Depression, Ish and Arlene were known for their habit of saving. They thrived on (喜欢) comparison shopping and would routinely(通常地) go from store to store, checking prices before making a new purchase .
Through the years, the Hatches paid for local children to attend summer camp when their parents couldn’t afford it. “Ish and Arlene never asked if you needed anything,” says their friend Sand Van Weelden, “They could see things they could do to make you happier, and they would do them.
Even more extraordinary was that the Hatches had their farmland distributed. It was the Hatches’ wish that their legacy——a legacy of kindness as much as one of dollars and cents ——should enrich the whole community and last for generations to come.
Neighbors helping neighbors ——that was Ish and Arlene Hatch’s story .According to the text, the Fusses______.
| A．were employed by a truck company |
| B．were in financial difficulty |
| C．worked in a school cafeteria |
| D．lost their home |
Which of the following is true of the Hatches?
| A．They had their children during the Great Depression. |
| B．They left the family farm to live in an old house. |
| C．They gave away their possessions to their neighbors. |
| D．They helped their neighbors to find jobs. |
Why would the Hatches routinely go from store to store?
| A．They decided to open a store. |
| B．They wanted to save money. |
| C．They couldn’t afford expensive things. |
| D．They wanted to buy gifts for local kids. |
According to Sandy Van Weelden, the Hatches were _______.
| A．understanding | B．optimistic | C．childlike | D．curious |
It’s going to be a busy day at Betsy Ross house in Philadelphia on Thursday. She won’t be there, since she died in 1836, but hundreds of tourists will be going through her house.
You see, Thursday is Flag Day in the United States. The unofficial holiday commemorates the adoption of the stars-and-stripes design of the American flag by the Continental Congress 235 years ago, on June 14, 1777. According to lore, the Ross House is the birthplace of the nation’s flag. That’s open to debate, but it’s a story that schoolbooks still tell. Betsy Ross was a seamstress, busy sewing cushions for chairs in Philadelphia, which was the focus place of the American revolution against British rule. The Declaration of Independence by the colonists was signed there, and so was the new nation’s Constitution after independence was won.
Widowed when her husband, a member of the local militia, was killed in a gunpowder explosion, Betsy Ross often mended the clothes of the rebels’ leader and future U.S. president, George Washington. According to what some say in history and others a stretch of what really happened, Washington asked Ross to design and sew the new nation’s flag. The story was promoted by Ross grandson, who wrote that Betsy Ross had “made with her hands the first flag.” She became a role model for girls - a shining example of women’s contributions to the nation’s history. Most research indicates that Ross did sew the first flag. She’s credited with substituting artful five-point white stars for six-pointed ones in the upper-left blue field. But many other accounts indicate George Washington brought the design to Ross and simply asked her to stitch it together.
In a letter, Washington wrote: “We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her. And the white stripes shall go down to posterity as representing liberty.” People would like to go to Ross’s house in Philadelphia to _____.
| A．ask Betsy Ross who created the first American flag |
| B．meet her grandson who wrote a book about flags |
| C．debate over who designed the first American flag |
| D．remember her as the creator of the first American flag |
Which statement is true according to the passage?
| A．Betsy Ross was one of the people who signed The Declaration of Independence |
| B．All are in agreement that Ross designed the first American flag |
| C．It is almost certain that Ross did sew the first American flag |
| D．It is George Washington who designed the stars and stripes flag |
The underlined the word “seamstress” in Paragraph 2 probably means_____.
| A．a person who designs flags |
| B．a person who makes a living by sewing |
| C．a person who takes part in revolution |
| D．a person who creates chairs |
What does the last paragraph imply according to the passage?
| A．It implies that the U.S. is independent from Britain |
| B．It implies that Washington liked Ross’s design of the flag |
| C．It implies that Washington might be the designer of the flag |
| D．It implies that Ross did have helped with the design of the flag |
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