It’s only 4 hours flying time from Sydney, but a world away. What better place to rest than a country where the only place people hurry is on the football field and things are done in “Fiji time”?
Viti Levu – Great Fiji – is the largest island. Here you’ll find the capital Suva and the international airport at Nadi. Vatoa, on the other hand, is a tiny island in the farthest part of Fiji. Then there are 331 other islands, many of them with places to stay.
With less than a million people living on islands, you’ll never feel crowded. And with a climate that changes only for five degrees between seasons, there’s never a bad time to come.
From cities to villages, from mountains to beaches, from water sports to wooden artworks, Fiji can give you more adventures and special experiences than you could find almost anywhere in the world.
Whenever you come, wherever you go, you’re sure to see some unforgettable events. From war dances to religious(宗教的) songs. From market days to religious days. It’s not just staged for tourists; it’s still a part of everyday life in Fiji. And any one of us can enjoy Fiji’s spirit by being part of the traditional sharing of yaqona, a drink made from the root of a Fiji plant.
So why not join us for the experience of a lifetime? Where is the international airport of Fiji?
| A．In Suva. |
| B．In Sydney. |
| C．On the island of Vatoa. |
| D．On the island of Viti Levu. |
What does the text tell us about Fijian people?
| A．They invented “Fiji time” for visitors. |
| B．They stick to a traditional way of life. |
| C．They like to travel from place to place. |
| D．They love taking adventures abroad. |
The words “…is just staged for ”in the fifth paragraph most probably means________
| A．to make sth happen |
| B．to organize an event for people to see |
| C．to take part in an action |
| D．to divide into some parts |
One of the things that make Fiji a tourist attraction is _______.
| A．its comfortable hotels |
| B．its good weather all year round |
| C．its exciting football matches |
| D．its religious beliefs |
Where can we most probably read this text?
| A．In a personal diary. |
| B．In a science report. |
| C．In a travel magazine. |
| D．In a geography textbook. |
Sunny countries are often poor. A shame, then, that solar power is still quite expensive. Eight19, a British company by Cambridge University, has, however, invented a novel way to get round this. In return for a deposit of around $10 it is supplying poor Kenyan families with a solar cell able to generate 2.5 watts of electricity, a battery that can deliver a three amp（安培）current to store this electricity, and a lamp whose bulb is a light-emitting diode（二极管）.The firm thinks that this system, once the battery is fully charged, is enough to light two small rooms and to power a mobile-phone charger for seven hours. Then, next day, it can be put outside and charged back up again.
The trick is that, to be able to use the electricity, the system's keeper must buy a scratch card—for as little as a dollar—on which is printed a reference number. The keeper sends this reference, plus the serial number of the household solar unit, by SMS to Eight19. The company's server will respond automatically with an access code to the unit.
Users may consider that they are paying an hourly rate for their electricity. In fact, they are paying off the cost of the unit. After buying around $80 worth of scratch cards—which Eight19 expects would take the average family around 18 months—the user will own it. He will then have the option of continuing to use it for nothing, or of trading it in for a bigger one, perhaps driven by a 10-watt solar cell.
In that case, he would go then through the same process again, paying off the additional cost of the upgraded kit at a slightly higher rate. Users would therefore increase their electricity supply steadily and affordably.
According to Eight19's figures, this looks like a good deal for customers. The firm believes the average energy-starved Kenyan spends around $10 a month on oil—enough to fuel a couple of smoky lamps—plus $2 on charging his mobile phone in the market-place. Regular users of one of Eight19's basic solar units will spend around half that, before owning it completely. Meanwhile, as the cost of solar technology falls, it should get even cheaper. What should the user do when the electricity in the battery is used up?
| A．Recharge it outside. | B．Buy another solar cell. |
| C．Return it to the company. | D．Buy a scratch card. |
How much would users pay for the cell and scratch cards before they own a 2.5-watt solar cell?
| A．Around $10. | B．Around $80. | C．Around $180. | D．Around $90. |
It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ________.
| A．Kenyan families would find it difficult to afford the solar cell |
| B．the company will make a great profit from selling solar cells |
| C．few Kenyan families use mobile phones for lack of electricity |
| D．using the solar cell would help Kenyan families save money |
What might be the most suitable title for the passage?
| A．Solar Energy: Starting from Scratch. |
| B．Eight19: a creative British Company. |
| C．Kenyan Families: Using Solar Energy for Free. |
| D．Poor Countries: Beginning to Use Solar Energy. |
Has Tiger Mom gone soft? One year after the release of her book, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother," Amy Chua is back in the spotlight, reflecting on how overnight infamy（恶名）affected her life, her family and her parenting.
"I've changed a lot," she told The Huffington Post. "In October, we had 30 kids at our house! We've hosted parties with lots of food and music."
Last January, the Wall Street Journal published an excerpt（节选）from Chua's book with the headline "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior." In the excerpt, Chua described how her daughters were never allowed to have sleepovers（在外过夜的儿童聚会）, appear in school plays, earn any grade lower than an A . Chua, an author and professor at Yale Law School, spent much of 2011 on the defensive. In fact, many of her interviews seemed to lend fuel to her critics' fire.
Now, with the book out in paperback（简装）,she said, "I put passages in the book and used very harsh words that I regret. Everybody has those moments you wish you could take back." Many of the scenes she described in the book are a far cry from the child-raising methods she advocates.
For those who still read "Battle Hymn" as an advice guide, Chua argues that so-called tiger parenting should be employed mainly during a child's early years, ideally between the ages of 5 and 12. These "super-strict parenting methods" are not meant for all ages. Remaining strict after middle school makes you a helicopter parent, according to Chua. And she is quick to point out how different that is from being a tiger mom.
"By the time kids get to high school, helicopter parents are hiring all these tutors, carrying their kids' sports bags. I never checked older daughter Sophia's papers because I knew she knew how to sit down and focus," Chua said.
As for younger daughter Lulu, 15, the rebel for whom the book waswritten, Chua has really backed off. Instead of forcing Lulu to practice violin for hours a day -- the source of their biggest fights, Chua "let her give that up". "My compromise is that I'm going to still be as strict academically, but in exchange she has a lot of social freedom. Lulu has had four sleepovers in the last two months!" Chua said. "Chua predicts she'll only get more easygoing with age. From Paragraph 1 we can know that after the publication of the book_____.
| A．Tiger Mom became stricter with her children |
| B．Tiger Mom was thought highly by the public |
| C．Tiger Mom’s life and family were influenced |
| D．Tiger Mom became wealthy and easygoing |
What does the passage mainly tell us?
| A．Tiger Mom has changed and wants to be soft. |
| B．Tiger Mom persuaded readers to follow her example. |
| C．How Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother came out. |
| D．How Tiger Mom became the worldwide spotlight. |
What does the underlined phrase “a far cry from” in Paragraph 4 mean?
| A．similar to | B．just the same as | C．very different from | D．a cry far from |
What is the writer’s attitude towards Tiger Mom?
| A．supportive | B．opposed | C．unconcerned | D．objective |
One day, Mr. Arnold was teaching a lesson, and things were going as normally as ever. He was explaining the story of mankind to his pupils. He told them that, in the beginning, men were nomads; they never stayed in the same place for very long. Instead, they would travel about, here and there, in search of food, wherever it was to be found. And when the food ran out, they would move off somewhere else.
He taught them about the invention of farming and keeping animals. This was an important discovery, because by learning to cultivate(耕作)the land, and care for animals, mankind would always have food steadily available. It also meant that people could remain living in one place, and this made it easier to set about tasks that would take a long while to complete, like building towns, cities, and all that were in them. All the children were listening attracted by this story, until Lucy jumped up:
“And if that was so important and improved everything so much, why are we nomads all over again, Mr. Arnold?”
Mr. Arnold didn’t know what to say. Lucy was a very intelligent girl. He knew that she lived with her parents in a house, so she must know that her family were not nomads; so what did she mean?
“We have all become nomads again,” continued Lucy, “The other day, outside the city, they were cutting the forest down. A while ago a fisherman told me how they fish. It’s the same with everyone: when there’s no more forest left the foresters go elsewhere, and when the fish run out the fishermen move on. That’s what the nomads did, isn’t it ?
The teacher nodded, thoughtfully. Really, Lucy was right Mankind had turned into nomads. Instead of looking after the land in a way that we could be sure it would keep supplying our needs, we kept developing it until the land was bare. And then off we would go to the next place! The class spent the rest of the afternoon talking about what they could do to show how to be more civilized.
The next day everyone attended class wearing a green T-shirt, with a message that said “I am not a nomad!”
And , from then on, they set about showing that indeed they were not. Every time they knew they needed something, they made sure that they would get it using care and control. If they needed wood or paper, they would make sure that they got the recycled kind. They ordered their fish from fish farms, making sure that the fish they received were not too young and too small. They only used animals that were well cared for, and brought up on farms.
And so, from their little town, those children managed to give up being nomads again, just as prehistoric men had done, so many thousands of years ago.From Paragraph 2, we can know that______ .
| A．people got tired of living in the same place |
| B．people gradually got used to living in cities |
| C．people tended to settle down after learning farming |
| D．people spent a long time in learning to keep animals |
In the teacher’s opinion, Lucy’s argument was______
| A．shocking | B．ridiculous | C．puzzling | D．reasonable |
Which of the following agrees with the message “I am not a nomad” (Paragraph 7)?
| A．People eat young fish for its delicious taste. |
| B．Foresters leave the place where wood is not available. |
| C．Fishermen move elsewhere when there is no fish left. |
| D．People use recycled materials as much as possible. |
The writer tries to make us believe that ______.
| A．mankind has been progressing mainly through traveling about |
| B．it’s unwise for mankind to use the land in an uncontrolled way |
| C．it’s quite good for students to learn more about the history of mankind |
| D．in the beginning men were nomads. |
We do some strange things when we don’t like the way our life is going．Too often we blame(责怪)someone else．‘‘I wish my parents were more understanding．”
“I have such a bad Chemistry teacher!”
“My friends are so boring and self-centered．They make my life worse and worse．’’
Blame! Blame! Blame!
It seems natural to sing this self-pitying song，but the truth is，if you don’t like your life，you should do something about it．No one else knows exactly how you feel or what you need．No one can read your mind correctly．You are the only one with the power to cheek your life，and if you want it to be different，you can change what you’re doing．
When you’re in trouble，don’t give away your power to decide how you feel about yourself. Choose how you want to think and act．Other people can’t make you unhappy or angry．They only act in their own way and then it’s up to you to decide how you will respond(回应)．For example，your friends go out to lunch without you and you feel very angry．How are you going to act? You may blame your friends，“They are not kind．Who needs them anyway?” Or you may tell your friends how you feel，listen to their explanation，and let them know you’d like to be invited next time．
When you decide everything in your own way，you’re getting hold of your own life and shaping(塑造)it according to your tastes and feelings．You can choose to be happy，to make friends and to build an interesting life．When you blame others for what is or isn’t happening in your life，you have stopped growing or learning．
One of the most important rules is that you can never change another person by your direct action．The only person you have the right to change is yourself．Once you change，the other person has something different to respond to and change is possible．If you want change in your life，begin with yourself．What should we do if we don’t like our life?
| A．Change what we’re doing． | B．Read our minds correctly． |
| C．Sing that self-pitying song． | D．Tell others what we want． |
If the writer’s friends have dinner together without him，he may _________.
| A．ask somebody else to talk to them |
| B．do the same thing to them in return |
| C．talk to them and try to find out why |
| D．forget it and be still friendly with them |
What’s the writer’s idea about how to change others?
| A．He thinks it’s impossible to change others． |
| B．He believes our love can change everything． |
| C．He chooses to talk with others directly． |
| D．He prefers to change ourselves first instead． |
At the beginning of the passage three examples are given __________.
| A．to support the idea that people often blame others |
| B．to suggest that there are various problems in people’s life |
| C．to show that not all chemistry teachers are fit for their job |
| D．to explain the reason why some people’s life is worse and worse |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Blame! Blame! Blame! | B．Who Controls My Life? |
| C．Change! Change! Change! | D．What Makes Me Unhappy? |
Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing when you are happy. Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However, they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims (声称) as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your house is your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away. If so, you have actually frightened the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting (筑巢) season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.Some scientists believe that most of the time bird’s singing is actually ________.
A.an expression of happiness B. a way of warning
B.an expression of anger D. a way of greetingWhat is a bird’s “territory”?
| A．A place where families of other species are not accepted. |
| B．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice. |
| C．An area for which birds fight against each other. |
| D．An area which a bird considers to be its own. |
Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?
| A．Because they want to invite more friends. |
| B．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away. |
| C．Because they want to find outsiders around. |
| D．Because their singing helps get rid of their fears. |
How does the writer explain birds’ singing?
| A．By comparing birds with human beings. | B．By reporting experiment results. |
| C．By describing birds’ daily life. | D．By telling a bird’s story. |
What does the underline word “screaming” in paragraph 4 mean?
| A．哭喊声 | B．令人惊愕的 | C．尖叫声 | D．尖叫的 |
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