The sandstorm has a bad effect on human beings, but it also brings some good results. There wouldn’t have been our Chinese nation if there had been no sandstorms. Sandstorms have existed for millions of years, while the written history of human beings has lasted only 5,000 years. The Loess Plateau(黄土高原) was formed by sandstorms over millions of years. The Yellow 
River, while moving through the Loess Plateau, carries a great deal of sand and has formed the North China Plain. The Loess Plateau is regarded as the place where Chinese civilization(文明) began. If there had been no Loess Pla
teau, the North China Plain wouldn’t have existed, nor would have the Chinese civilization.
Sandstorms don’t bring only loess to human beings. When sandstorms move from central Asia to the Pacific regions, they carry some minerals into the a
ir, which will later fall into the ocean in the form of rain. The minerals will help some planktons(浮游生物) to survive. The planktons are eaten by small shellfish, and fish live on these small shellfish, and fish are eaten by humans. This forms a biological chain which shows a relation between humans and nature.
So it is unrealistic to say we should stop sandsto
rms. What we can possibly do is to reduce their bad influence as much as we can.
1. The underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably means _________.
A. there are many sandstorms in China
B. the land of China was made by sandstorms
C. sandstorms helped to form Chinese civilization
D. the history of sandstorms was longer than that of Chinese nation
2. Ho
w does the sandstorm help to form the biological chain?
A. The sandstorm carries lots of rain into the ocean.
B. The sandstorm helps some minerals fall into the ocean.
C. Some minerals directly fall into the ocean in the form of rain.
D. The sandstorm moves from central Asia to the Pacific regions.
3. The writer thinks that _______.
A. the sandstorm only has a bad effect on human beings
B. sandstorms bring about lots of trouble, but we can still make use of them
C. without sandstorms, there would be no Chinese civilization and human beings
D. sandstorms play an active role in the Chinese civilization, so we should protect them
4. The text mainly talks about _______.
A. the history of sandstorms B. what the biological chain is
C. how the Loess Plateau formed
D. the good effects of sandstorms
Dinner customs (风俗) are different around the world. If you are a dinner guest (客人) in Ghana(非洲的加纳), this information will help you.
In Ghana, dinner is usually from four in the afternoon to six in the evening. But there are no strict rules about time in Ghana. Whenever a guest arrives, a family offers food.
When you go to a home, the host takes you to the living room first. At this time everyone welcomes you. Then you go to the dinner room. There you wash your hands in a bowl of water. All the food is on the table.
In Ghana you usually eat with your fingers. You eat from the same dish as everyone else. But you eat from one side of the dish only. It is not polite to get food from the other side of the dish. After dinner, you wash your hands again in a bowl of water.
Most meals in Ghana have a dish called fufu. People in Ghana make fufu from the powder（粉末） of some plants. Sometimes they cut the fufu with a saw（锯） because it is very hard and like rubber（橡胶）. You must chew fufu well, or you can get sick. You eat fufu with fingers of your right hand only.If you are a dinner guest to a family in Ghana, you’re first ________.
| A．told to wash your hands |
| B．taken to the dinning-room |
| C．told some strict rules about dinner |
| D．taken to the living-room |
In the fourth paragraph, the writer wants to tell us ________
| A．what to eat in Ghana |
| B．how much time to spend on a dinner. |
| C．the way of eating |
| D．different food at a dinner |
The word “chew” in the last paragraph means ________
| A．smell | B．taste |
| C．presses with your hands | D．crush with your teeth |
Let’s say a person gets up at 7:00 in the morning and goes to bed at 11:00 at night. He comes home from work about 6:30, and by the time he has finished with dinner it is after 8:00. He steps outside in the summer to relax — but it’s already getting dark! Not much time to enjoy the summer day.
Now suppose you set the clock ahead one hour. This person still does everything at the same time — but this time, when he steps out at 8:00 there’s still plenty of light to enjoy. An hour of daylight has been “saved” for him!
Daylight saving time doesn’t, of course, add any hours to a day. This is impossible. All it does is to increase the number of useful hours of daylight during the seasons when the sun rises early.
Daylight saving is most popular in cities. It allows the closing of offices, shops, and factories at the end of the working day while the sun is still high. Farmers, who do their work by sun time, usually do not observe daylight saving time. They cannot work in the field before the morning dew(露水) has dried or after it appears in the evening.
Did you know who first thought of daylight saving time? It was Benjamin Franklin! When he was living in France in the 18th century, he suggested the idea to the people in Paris. But it was not adopted then.
Daylight saving laws were first passed during World WarⅠ, when materials for making electricity was hard to find, and when it was necessary to save on artificial light. With daylight saving, the bedtime of many people comes soon after it gets dark, while without it, if people stay up until the same hour they may have to use artificial light.
Germany was the first country to adopt daylight saving time in 1915. Then England used it in 1916, and the United States adopted it in 1918.What does the underlined word “artificial” mean?
| A．natural | B．man-made |
| C．bright | D．sun |
What’s the purpose of adopting daylight saving time?
| A．To have more artificial light. |
| B．To have one more hour to work. |
| C．To make better use of daylight in certain seasons. |
| D．To have one more hour to rest. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Once the idea of daylight saving time is proposed, it was adopted. |
| B．The idea of daylight saving time went through a long process of being adopted. |
| C．It was a French scientist that put forward the idea of daylight saving time. |
| D．The idea of daylight saving time didn’t make any difference at all. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Winter is a good season for daylight saving time. |
| B．Daylight saving time is especially good for wars. |
| C．Daylight saving time is good for anyone in any places. |
| D．Not all seasons are good for daylight saving time. |
It is difficult for doctors to help a person with a damaged brain. Without enough blood, the brain lives for only three to five minutes. More often the doctors can’t fix the damage. Sometimes they are afraid to try something to help because it is dangerous to work on the brain. The doctors might make the person worse if he operates on the brain.
Dr. Robert White, a famous professor and doctor, thinks he knows a way to help. He thinks doctors should make the brain very cold. If it is very cold, the brain can live without blood for 30 minutes. This gives the doctor a longer time to do something for the brain.
Dr. White tried his idea on 13 monkeys. First he taught them to do different jobs, and then he operated on them. He made the monkeys' blood go through a machine. The machine cooled the blood. Then the machine sent the blood back to the monkeys' brains. When the brain’s temperature was 10°C, Dr. White stopped the blood to the brain. After 30 minutes he turned the blood back on. He warmed the blood again. After their operations the monkeys were like they had been before. They were healthy and busy. Each one could still do the jobs the doctor had taught them.
The biggest difficulty in operating on the damaged brain is that _______.
| A．the time is too short for doctors |
| B．the patients are often too nervous |
| C．the damage is extremely hard to fix |
| D．The blood cooling machine might break down |
The brain operation was made possible mainly by _______.
| A．taking the blood out of the brain |
| B．trying the operation on monkeys first |
| C．having the blood go through a machine |
| D．lowering the brain’s temperature |
With Dr. White’s new idea, the operation on the damaged brain ______.
| A．can last as long as 30 minutes |
| B．can keep the brain’s blood warm |
| C．can keep the patient’s brain healthy |
| D．can help monkeys do different jobs |
The story is about two old people named David and Rosy Jackson. Both of them had very bad memories. For example, Rosy would forget to cook dinner or take vegetables home after paying for them. David would show up for work on Sundays, thinking it was Monday. One winter they were to take a long plane trip. When they arrived at the airport, there were only ten minutes left. In that situation, anyone would get into the plane right away. But David and Rosy didn’t do so. They went to buy some flight insurance(保险) instead. Immediately after they put a two-pound note into a machine, their policy (保险单) came out.
“Who would get the money if the plane crashed, I wonder?” asked Rosy. “My mother, of course,” her husband replied. “We should post the policy to her. Now, be quick! Give me a stamp, will you?” he said to Rosy. “The plane is going to take off in another minute.” David put the stamp on the envelope, dropped it into a postbox, and suddenly he let out a cry.
What do you suppose happened to him? He had posted their plane tickets to his mother.Rosy is David’s ______.
| A．friend | B．mother |
| C．sister | D．wife |
This passage tells us that David and Rosy ______.
| A．were always short of time |
| B．always did everything in a great hurry |
| C．were very forgetful |
| D．usually worked on Sundays |
David meant to post his mother _____.
| A．two plane tickets | B．a two-pound note |
| C．the flight insurance | D．an empty envelope |
Mr Jackson made such a foolish mistake because ______.
| A．he was worried about his mother |
| B．he had forgotten to buy a stamp |
| C．he was worried about this flight |
| D．his memory was poor and he posted the letter in a great hurry |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．A forgetful old couple. |
| B．Two plane tickets. |
| C．A pleasant flight. |
| D．A plane crash. |
Five boys are suspected of starting a fire that destroyed their school on the eve of the new term. Police said yesterday that five boys — one aged 11, two 12-year-olds, one aged 13 and one 15 — arrested on suspicion of starting the fire had been released until later this month. Parents said the five pupils all attended St Mary’s.
Pupils witnessed their schoolwork being destroyed in the fire at Leyland St Mary’s Catholic Technology College in Lancashire. The 1950s science block was reduced to the ground in Sunday’s fire, which created clouds of smoke visible for miles. It is reported that the library and sports hall were also destroyed beyond repair. Strong winds and a shortage of water prevented 125 firemen trying to bring it under control. Firefighters were expected to remain at the scene until late this afternoon. Staffs were due to attend the school yesterday for an inset(培训)day, and pupils pupils were to return for lessons after the holidays today.
St Mary’s head teacher Kathy McNicholas fought back the tears as she watched her school go up in flames last night. She said, “This is so upsetting to watch. It’s heartbreaking. It’s very distressing for the staff and the children. Everyone had been looking forward to coming back for the new school year.” Finding somewhere around 730 children won’t be easy. A few of the staff have turned up to see if there is anything they can do and they have all been shocked and saddened by what has happened. “It’s tragic because we have only just had a lot of refreshment work done to the school during the summer break. It was a big investment. The community around here very much looks after its school.”
Plans were being drawn up to provide alternative classrooms for 730 children, with parents warned to keep them at home for at least the rest of the week.
Which part of St Mary’s Catholic Technology College was burned to the ground in the fire?
| A．The library. | B．Sports hall. |
| C．The science block. | D．The passage doesn’t tell us. |
The underlined word “distressing” in the third paragraph can be replaced by “ ”.
| A．excited | B．surprised |
| C．annoyed | D．embarrassed |
From the whole passage, we can know that .
| A．the education of England is worse |
| B．St Mary’s Catholic Technology College had no trouble finding enough classrooms |
| C．a shortage of money prevented more than 100 firemen controlling the big fire |
| D．the pupils had to stay at home before the alternative classrooms were found |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Five boys started a fire that destroyed their school. |
| B．The firemen failed in controlling the fire. |
| C．The staff and the children were upset. |
| D．The school planned to take measures to solve the problem. |
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