London is the capital of the UK, with seven million people. London is in the south of England and it’s on the River Thames. The river is 336kilometres long. London is an old city-about 2,000years old.
In the north of England there are some lakes and low mountains. In the west of England you’re always near sea. There are lots of small villages on the coast.
England is a region of Britain, and Britain is an island. It’s never very hot in summer, or very cold in winter.Is England a city?
_____________________________________________________________________.What is in the north of England ?
______________________________________________________________________.What’s the weather like in Britain?
_____________________________________________________________________.Is London an old city or a new city?
_____________________________________________________________________.Where is London?
_____________________________________________________________________.
After spending years searching for a planet with life, scientists may have found one. In September 2010, a team of US scientists discovered a planet called Gliese 581g. It has a surface temperature neither too hot nor too cold for liquid（液态）water. Scientists think there is a chance that the planet could have life.
The planet Gliese 581g goes around a star called Gliese 581, which is about 20 light-years from Earth. That is about 194 trillion（万亿）kilometres －500 million times farther away from us than the moon.
A spacecraft traveling at a one-tenth of the speed of light would reach Gliese 581g within about 220 years. A human can’t live that long, but robotic explorers could make the job easier. However, our fastest spacec raft don’t come anywhere near that one-tenth light-speed mark.
At present, scientists don’t know what the surface might be like on Gliese 581g. What they know is that the planet is at the right distance from its star to have liquid water. It’s also at the right distance to have an atmosphere that could protect the water if it is on the surface.
Although spacecraft won’t be getting there anytime soon, one way to look for life on Gliese 581g is to turn our radio telescopes（望远镜）towards the planet and search for radiation（放射）. By studying the radiation, scientists would find out about the chemicals（化学物质）around the planet and discover if Gliese 581g has an atmosphere. If it has one, studying the atmosphere would give us a good idea whether the planet has life or not. But it’ll probably be many years before we can do this properly.
People have been arguing about whether there is alien life on Gliese 581g. Any discussion about alien life is just guessing at this point, according to its discoverers.What did scientists find in September 2010?
| A．A planet with water. | B．A planet similar to the earth. |
| C．A planet without life. | D．A planet near the earth. |
According to the article, Gliese 581g ________.
| A．is at the right distance from its star | B．moves around the earth |
| C．is as far away from us as the moon | D．can be reached in about 220 years |
Paragraph 5 is mainly about ______.
| A．the possibility of living on Gliese 581g |
| B．the kinds of chemicals around Gliese 581g |
| C．the way of looking for life on Gliese 581g |
| D．the aim of studying the radiation on Gliese 581g |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage above?
| A．Gliese 581g, a Likely Living Planet | B．Gliese 581, a Likely Living Planet |
| C．Gliese 581g and Its Star | D．Gliese 581g and Radiation |
In 1826, a Frenchman named Niepce needed pictures for his business .But he was not a good artist .So he invented a very simple camera. He put it in a window of his house and took a picture of his garden .That was the first photo.
The next important date in the history of photography was in 1837. That year, Daguerre, another Frenchman, took a picture of his reading room .He used a new kind of camera in a different way. In his picture you could see everything very clearly, even the smallest thing. This kind of photo was called a Daguerreotype.
Soon, other people began to use Daguerre’s way. Travelers brought back wonderful photos from all around the world .people took picture of famous buildings, cities and mountains.
In about 1840, photography was improved .Then photographers could take pictures of people and moving things .That was not simple .The photographers had to carry a lot of films and other machines. But this did not stop them, for example, some in the United States worked so hard. Mathew Brady was a famous American photographer. He took many pictures of great people .The pictures were unusual because they were very lifelike.
Photographers also became one kind of art by the end of the 19th century. Some photos were not just copies of the real world .They showed feelings like other kinds of art.The first photo taken by Niepce was a picture of ________
| A．his business | B．his house | C．his garden | D．his window |
The Daguerreotype was_______.
| A．a Frenchman | B．a kind of picture |
| C．a kind of camera | D．a photographer |
If a photographer wanted to take pictures of moving things in the year of 1840, he
had to_____.
| A．watch lots of films | B．buy an expensive camera |
| C．stop in most cities | D．take many films and something else. |
This passage tells us_____________.
| A．how photography was developed | B．how to show feelings in pictures |
| C．how to take pictures in the world | D．how to use different cameras |
What is your zodiac（生肖） animal? According to the Chinese lunar calendar（农历）, 12 animals mark 12 different years. It is the basis of the Chinese zodiac. Nowadays, Chinese zodiac animals have worldwide fame and are increasingly popular among western people.
The zodiac is an important part of Chinese culture. People believe that the characteristics of a zodiac animal influence the personality of every person born in that year. For example, people born in the Year of the Tiger are considered powerful and brave.
Zodiac animals also have some social functions. When people think it is not proper to ask: “How old are you”, they may change their question to “What is your zodiac animal?” With this question, you can figure out roughly which year someone was born and the person’s age.
Zodiac animals are not special to China. Many countries share a similar zodiac culture with China. For example, in the Japanese Zodiac, a wild boar（野猪）takes the place of a pig and the Vietnamese（越南的）zodiac has a cat instead of a rabbit.
But have you ever wondered how these 12 animals were chosen to represent each year? According to legend, the Jade Emperor（玉皇大帝）invited all the animals to join him for Chinese New Year. Only 12 animals went to see him. As a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. The ox would have been the first to arrive, but the rat sat on his back and jumped off just before they arrived to come in first place.The characteristics of a zodiac animal may influence the _____ of every person
born in that year.
| A．appearance | B．personality | C．hobby | D．education |
“What is your zodiac animal?” is a question used to find out a person’s______.
| A．age | B．name | C．job | D．weight |
In the Japanese zodiac, we don’t see the zodiac animal：_______
| A．wild boar | B．rabbit | C．dragon | D．pig |
According to the last paragraph, we know that ____ was the first animal to arrive.
| A．ox | B．rat | C．pig | D．cat |
ASK THE BLOG!
Post your problems on the blog and get other bloggers’ advice!
★★★★★★
My problem is my parents. They never stop going on about how I should keep my room tidy, keep my hair tidy and wear smart clothes. They even make me do the washing-up after dinner every night! None of my friends have got such tenable parents. What should I do?
Helen, USA
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Hi, Helen. I think you should do what your parents ask. They’re much older than you and you should respect them. It’s their house you live in and their money you spend.
Emily, Australia
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Helen, why should your parents do all the housework? You should help around the house. –it’s only fair. I don’t think you should change your appearance though. Teenagers should look like teenagers.
Simon, EnglandWhat is Helen’s problem?
| A．Her parents treat her badly. |
| B．She always worries about her parents. |
| C．Her parents don’t care about her feelings. |
| D．She doesn’t want to do what her parents ask. |
In Emily’s opinion, Helen should .
| A．respect her parents | B．give her parents money |
| C．leave her parents | D．change her appearance |
Simon suggests that Helen should .
| A．wear smart clothes | B．help with housework |
| C．do all the washing-up | D．change her appearance |
Happiness is for everyone. You don’t need to care about those people who have beautiful houses with large gardens and swimming pools or those who have nice cars and a lot of money and so on. Why? Because those who have big houses may often feel lonely and those who have cars may want to walk on the country roads at their free time.
In fact, happiness is always around you if you put your heart into it. When you are in trouble at school, your friends will help you; when you study hard at your lessons, your parents are always taking good care of your life and your health; when you get success, your friends will say congratulations to you; when you do something wrong, people around you will help you to correct it. And when you do something good to others, you will feel happy, too. All these are your happiness. If you notice a bit of them, you can see that happiness is always around you.
Happiness is not the same as money. It is a feeling of your heart. When you are poor, you can also say you are very happy, because you have something else that can’t be bought with money. When you meet with difficulties, you can say loudly you are very happy, because you have more chances to challenge(向…挑战)yourself. So you can not always say you are poor and you have bad luck. As the saying goes, life is like a revolving(旋转)door. When it closes, it also opens. If you take every chance you get, you can be a happy and lucky person.When you fall down in a PE class, both your teacher and your classmates will_________.
| A．laugh at you | B．play jokes on you |
| C．quarrel with you | D．help you up |
What will your friends say to you when you make great progress?
| A．Oh, so do I. | B．Congratulations. |
| C．Good luck. | D．It’s just so-so. |
Which idea is NOT right according to the passage?
| A．People who have cars would never like to walk in the open air. |
| B．You can get help from others when you make mistakes. |
| C．You can still be a happy person even if you have little money. |
| D．Happiness is always around you though difficulties come towards you. |
Which of the following is this passage about?
| A．Bad luck. | B．Good luck. | C．Happiness. | D．Life. |
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