Any mistake made in the printing of a stamp raises its value to stamp collectors. A mistake on one inexpensive postage stamp has made the stamp worth a million and a half times its original value.
The mistake was made more than a hundred years ago in the British colony of Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean. In 1847 an order for stamps was sent to a London printer-Mauritius was to become the fourth country in the world to issue stamps.
Before the order was filled and delivered, a ball was planned at Mauritius’ Government House, and stamps were needed to send out the invitations. A local printer was instructed to copy the design for the stamps. He accidentally inscribed the words “Post Office” instead of “Post Paid” on the several hundred stamps that he printed.
Today there are only twenty-six of these misprinted stamps left fourteen One Penny Orange-Reds and twelve Two Penny Blues. Because of the Two Penny Blue’s rareness and age, collectors have paid as much as ＄16 800 for it.Over a century ago, Mauritius ________.
| A．was an independent country | B．belonged to India |
| C．was one of the British colonies | D．was a small island in the Pacific Ocean |
The mistake on the stamps was made ________.
| A．in Mauritius | B．at Mauritius Government House |
| C．in a post office | D．in London |
Stamp collectors have paid 16 800 for ________.
| A．fourteen One Penny Orange-Reds | B．twelve Two Penny Blues |
| C．one One Penny Orange-Red | D．one Two Penny Blue |
Plants are very important living things. Life could not go on if there were no plants. This is because plants can make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals and man cannot make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals. Therefore animals and man need plants in order to live. This is why we find that there are so many plants around us.
If you look carefully at the plants around you, you will find that there are two kinds of plants： flowering plants and non-flowering plants. Flowering plants can make seeds. The seeds are protected by the fruits. Some fruits have one seed, some have two, three or four, and some have many seeds. But a few fruitshave no seeds at all. An example of a fruit without seeds is the banana fruit. Most non-flowering plants do not grow from seeds. They grow from spores（胚芽）. Spores are very small. Some spores are so small and light that they can float in the air. We may say that spores are quite the same as seeds. When these spores are all on wet and shady places, they usually grow into new plants. The main idea of the first paragraph is that ______.
| A．plants are important for life |
| B．plants cannot grow without air |
| C．there are many plants in the world |
| D．we can not live without water |
Plants can make food from______.
| A．flower, water and air |
| B．water, sunlight and air |
| C．air, water and soil |
| D．air, sun and light |
What can we infer from the passage？
| A．Of all living things animals are most important |
| B．Spores are seeds |
| C．All fruits of flowering plants have seeds |
| D．Without plants, man will die out |
This passage may be taken from ______.
| A．a medicine book | B．a novel |
| C．a science magazine | D．an experiment report |
The underlined word “protected” in the second paragraph can be replaced by ______.
| A．damaged | B．polluted |
| C．prevented | D．guarded |
Some people think that they will get ill if they use their brains (大脑) too much.. It is not true. Through many studies, scientists show us that the more you use your brains, the better it will be, and the cleverer you will become.
Of course, if you want to keep your mind clear and active, you must take a proper rest and study properly. To the teenagers, using their brains in the morning is good for their health.
There are many ways to rest. One is a peaceful rest. Sleep is a peaceful rest. Another is an active rest. For example, take a walk outdoors, do more exercises every day. To change the way of the brains’ activities is also a good way to rest.
In everyday life, to eat some eggs, meat, fresh vegetables and fruit（水果）is also good for the brains.
Wish you a wise man and a happy life. According to the writer of the passage, our brains should be used ____.
| A．hardly | B．seldom |
| C．more often | D．at times |
Which of the following sentences is NOT TRUE?
| A．Sleep is a kind of a good rest. |
| B．Doing morning exercises is a peaceful rest. |
| C．Going out for a rest is an active rest. |
| D．There are different activities for a good rest. |
Which is TRUE?
| A．Illness comes from the fact that the brains are used too much. |
| B．Fruits are the most important for the brains. |
| C．The brains will be better if they are used often. |
| D．Sleep is the only way of having a rest. |
“Teenagers” in paragraph 2 probably means____.
| A．young girls | B．middle-school students |
| C．clever boys | D．poor students |
Which of the following can be used as the best title for the passage?
| A．How to use your brains |
| B．How to rest |
| C．How to become a wise man |
| D．Keep your mind clear |
Too many people want others to be their friends, but they don’t give friendship back. That is why some friendship doesn’t last long. To have a friend, you must learn to be one. You must learn to treat your friend the way you want your friend to treat you. Learning to be good friend means learning three rules: be honest;be generous; be understanding.
Honesty is where a good friendship starts. Friends must be able to trust one another. If you do not tell the truth, people usually find out. If a friend finds out that you haven’t been honest, you may lose the friend’s trust. Good friends always count on one another to speak and act honestly.
Generosity means sharing and sharing makes a friendship grow. You do not have to give your lunch money or your clothes. Naturally you will want to share your ideas and feelings. These can be very valuable to friend. They tell your friend what is important to you. By sharing them, you help your friend know better.
Sooner or later everyone needs understanding and help with a problem. Something may go wrong at school. Talking about the problem can make it easier to solve. Turning to a friend can be a first step in solving the problem. So to be a friend you must listen and understand. You must try to put yourself in your friend’s place so you can understand the problem better.
No two friendships are ever exactly alike. But all true friendships have three thinks in common. If you plan to keep your friends, you must practice honesty, generosity and understanding.Some friendships don’t last very long because_______.
| A．some people receive friendship but don’t give friendship back |
| B．there are too many people who want to make friends |
| C．those who give others friendship receive friendship from others. |
| D．they don’t know friendship is something serious. |
According to the passage honesty is_________.
| A．something countable |
| B．the base of friendship |
| C．as important as money |
| D．more important than anything else |
Which of the following isn’t mentioned in the passage?
| A．Always tell your friends the truth. |
| B．Sharing your mind with your friends is of great value. |
| C．Discussing your problems with your friends often helps to solve the problem. |
| D．A friend who gives you his lunch money is a true friend. |
The best title of this passage is_________.
| A．Honesty Is the Best Policy |
| B．A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed |
| C．How to Be Friends |
| D．Three Important Points in Life |
What’s the meaning of “count on” in the second paragraph?
| A．期望，依赖 | B．认为 |
| C．重视 | D．数，点（数） |
We all know that if we want to keep our body in good shape we have to do physical exercise regularly as well as be careful with what we eat. What we tend to forget is that this goes for our eyes as well. Medical science confirms that a diet rich in carotenoids (类胡萝卜素) can help maintain good vision(维持好视力) and prevent against a number of eye diseases. Here's some advice about how to choose the right diet to keep your eyes healthy.
— Eat orange food. Fruits and vegetables with orange flesh are rich in carotenoids. In addition to carrots，oranges，pumpkins and sweet potatoes are also available. All of these contain high levels of carotenoids，which help to maintain good vision.
— Include dark green vegetables，such as spinach (菠菜) and broccoli (西兰花) in your diet, to act as natural sunglasses. Recent scientific studies have shown that these vegetables can help block (阻挡) the damaging UV radiation(紫外线辐射)from the sun's rays.
— Prevent some eye diseases with orange juice, yellow corn, whole milk, nuts and leafy vegetables. These foods are good sources of vitamins A, C, D and E. All of these are necessary to good eye health.
— Increase your intake of omega¬3 with some sea fish, and some other seafood. Omega-3 helps build cell walls and is especially beneficial to keeping eyes healthy .It also helps regulate the eye's internal pressure and helps the eye dry up excess fluid.
We can learn from the first paragraph that healthy food .
| A．keeps eyes healthy |
| B．means you don't need exercise |
| C．can help cure eye diseases efficiently(有效地) |
| D．means people don't have to wear glasses |
Why should people eat orange food according to the text？
| A．It is beneficial to building cell walls in eyes. |
| B．It is more delicious than other food. |
| C．It is good for eyesight. |
| D．It is rich in various vitamins. |
Which of the following can help block the damaging UV radiation from the sun's rays？
| A．Pumpkins. | B．Juice. |
| C．Nuts. | D．Broccoli. |
The purpose of the text is to tell people how to .
| A．keep their body in good shape |
| B．choose a healthy diet for their eyes |
| C．prevent serious eye diseases |
| D．get natural sunglasses from food |
A romantic message-in-a-bottle discovered by a mother and daughter at a Scottish beach has sparked（触发） a mystery about whether it could have travelled 5,000 miles across the seas from China.
Nicola MacFarlane, 41, and daughter Lucy, four, from Portobello, near Edinburgh, were looking for driftwood（浮木） on Portobello Beach when they came across an old glass bottle containing a note inside written in Mandarin. Now the family are trying to work out if the letter has managed the extraordinary journey across the Philippine Sea, into the Indian Ocean and through both the South Atlantic and the North Atlantic Ocean’s before washing up on the shores of Great Britain.
It was written on Chinese Valentine’s Day or Qixi Festival as it is more traditionally known, lunar July 7, 2012, so it sent off as recently as six days ago because it followed the modern calendar, which celebrated the occasion on August 23. Nicola was still excited to read about the Chinese love story after having it translated.
“I really do hope that it is from China but even it is from nearer to home, it’s still a lovely gesture and an inspiring find. It’s a love story regardless of where it came from. Nicola, who runs a beach art business in Portobello, added: “I’m always at the beach looking for bits of driftwood but I’ve never come across anything like this before. We knew it was Chinese, but we had no idea what it said.’
Unable to read the Mandarin text, Nicola turned to the internet and her Australian friend, Julie Gould, whose daughter attended a Chinese school in Sydney.
Several hours later Julie returned with the news that it was in fact a love letter.
The translated letter reads: “Da Hai(Ocean), I hope no-one will get this bottle, as we just wish you can hear our voice, and get your blessing. Today is the Chinese Valentine’s Day, we pray that our relationship will last forever and we will have a long happy life together…”
Nicola said: “It sounds to me like the couple are in love but cannot be together so they have sent the message to tell the world of their love.”When did Nicola and her daughter come across the message-in-bottle?
| A．On July 15, 2012. | B．On August 29, 2012. |
| C．On August 31, 2012. | D．On September 2, 2012. |
What were Nicola and her daughter probably doing when they found the bottle?
| A．They were walking on the beach. |
| B．They were washing hands and feet. |
| C．They were looking for the driftwoods. |
| D．They were lying on the beach resting. |
The underlined word “Mandarin” probably means “ ” .
| A．Scottish | B．British |
| C．English | D．Chinese |
We can learn from the passage that Nicola__________.
| A．thinks the letter was written to show love |
| B．had expected to get something unusual |
| C．knows a little Chinese |
| D．found the bottle was from a nearby place |
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