Old Cremona Violins
Most musicians(音乐家) agree that the best violins(小提琴) were first made in Cremona, Italy, about 200 years ago. These violins sound better than any others. They even sound better than violins made today. Violin makers and scientists try to make instruments(乐器) like the Italian violins. But they aren’t the same. Musicians still prefer the old ones.
Some people think it is the age of the violins. But not all old violins sound wonderful. Only the old violins from Cremona are special(特殊的). So age cannot be the answer.
Other people think the secret to those violins is the wood. The wood must be from certain kinds of trees.
But the kind of wood may not be so important. It may be more important to cut the wood in a special way. Wood for a violin must be cut very carefully. It has to be the right size and shape(形状). The smallest difference will change the sound of the violin. Musicians sometimes think that this was the secret of the Italians. Maybe they understood more than we do about how to cut the wood.
Size and shape may not be the answer, either. Scientists can make new ones that are exactly the same size and shape. But the new violins still do not sound as good as the old ones. Some scientists think the secret may be the varnish. Varnish is what covers the wood of the violin. It makes the wood look shiny. It also helps the sound of the instrument. But no one knows what the Italian violin makers used in their varnish.The passage is about .
| A．making violins | B．musical instruments |
| C．scientific ideas | D．the old Italian violins |
Other people think the Italian violin makers .
| A．did not know much about violins | B．were lucky |
| C．used many kinds of wood | D．knew something special |
Violins made today .
| A．have the same size and shape as the old ones |
| B．sound the same as the old ones |
| C．are better than the old ones |
| D．have the same varnish as the old ones |
Some scientists believe that the secret of the old violins was .
| A．their sound | B．their colour | C．their varnish | D．the music |
"I am going to the store，Uncle Moti，" Mina said． "Do you want to come along？ You have not seen much of the neighborhood yet．"
Uncle shook his head． "No，thank you，" he said． "It is just too loud and crowded for me． Everyone is always on the go， while I am used to the peace and quiet of our village． I feel afraid out there，like a frightened（害怕的）child． " Mina sat on the sofa next to her uncle． "Tell me about the village，Uncle Moti，" she said． "Would I like it there？"
Uncle laughed． "Without a doubt， you would find it dull at first﹣the loudest sound is usually birdsong． The people I meet on the street are all people I know， and we stop and talk or go to the tea shop and have tea． There are not many shops， but the shopkeepers know all their customers． Everyone is friendly and has a smile for everyone else．"
"Sounds really nice，" Mina said． "But I think maybe it is not different in every way． I really wish you
would come with me， and I could show you why I say that．" Uncle sighed and got up， saying， "All right，Mina，I will go．"
Out on the street， cars zoomed by， some of them honking． Uncle looked very nervous at all the noise and activities，and Mina took his hand．
"Look，" she said，"there is my friend Nate， and coming down the street is my teacher， Ms． Sanchez．" Mina waved to Nate， who waved back， and called hello to her teacher． Then she led her uncle down the street to the store， where she greeted the shopkeeper． "Hi， Ms． Franklin， this is my uncle Moti，who has come here to live．"
"Over here，" Mina took her uncle's arm and led him across the street． A sign over a door read "Navid's Tea Shop．" Uncle smiled． They went in and sat at a table． They ordered tea， and Uncle sighed happily．
"Well，I see what you were trying to show me，" he said． "This neighborhood is your village． Now it will be mine too． It has friends， kind shopkeepers， birds， and even a tea shop…．"
（1）At first， Uncle Moti didn't want to go out with Mina because ．
A．he missed his family in the village
B．he fell very tired after a long journey
C．he didn't get used to the life in Mina's neighborhood
D．people in Mina's neighborhood were unfriendly to him
（2）From the underlined sentences in the passage，we can infer（推断）that Mina is a girl．
A．brave
B．caring
C．creative
D．humorous
（3）The sentence " " in the passage shows that Mina's neighborhood and Uncle's village are similar．
A．I feel afraid out there， like a frightened child．
B．You would find it dull at first﹣the loudest sound is usually birdsong．
C．Out on the street，cars zoomed by，some of them honking．
D．It has friends， kind shopkeepers， birds， and even a tea shop．
（4）The story suggests that Uncle Moti will probably later on．
A．still feel frightened as before
B．start to look for a job in a tea shop
C．be willing to go out in Mina's neighborhood
D．tell people why he came to Mina's neighborhood
STUDY HELP
For many tests and exams， you are tested on your abilities to communicate successfully． In order to speak English fluently， you need to think in English． If you don't， your speech will be slow and it won't sound natural． Here are some things you can do to practice thinking in English．
•Look at objects around your home and school， and think of what they are called in English． Try to make a direct connection between the object and the English word．
•When you are out in a public place， practice describing the things and people you see in your mind． For example， think，"There is a man walking down the street． He's wearing a suit．I think he is going to work．" Try to think in English first， not in your first language．
•When you have to say something in English， think first and ask yourself，" What words and phrases do I know in English that I can use in this situation？" Try not to think in your first language and translate your ideas into English． If you do， you will get frustrated very quickly．
Try these tips and you'll soon find that you are thinking in English．
（1）The passage is most probably written to ．
A．students
B．teachers
C．parents
D．reporters
（2）The writer gives some advice on how to ．
A．greet people in English
B．practice thinking in English
C．write an article in English
D．improve English listening skills
（3）The passage above might be from the column（栏目）in a magazine．
A．News Corner
B．Story Garden
C．Language World
D．Technology Square
（1）阅读下面短文，从方框中所给的A﹣E五个选项中选择正确的选项（其中一项是多余选项）．
A． Remember there is hope for everyone! B． Open your eyes and you are ready to go! C． Your mind goes blank! D． Be more silent! E． Well， don't do that! |
Public speaking is one of the top three fears among adults in both the UK and the US． Here are some suggestions that deal with some of the most common problems people experience with public speaking．
Invite the attention in
Do you hate that moment when you stand up in front of a group to speak and everybody looks at you？① ． It's a sign that people are interested and want to hear what you have to say． Welcome those looks!
Beat the brain freeze
Have you ever been in the middle of speaking and suddenly……brain freeze!② ． It is possible that you forgot something for the moment． And you are holding your breath! All you need to do is to trust yourself， clear your mind， focus and breathe． The thoughts will come rushing back to your mind in no time． Phew!
Increase your confidence
Use this exercise to get in touch with the "naturally confident （自信的） you" inside． Close your eyes and remember a special time you felt really relaxed and confident． Imagine the feeling of relaxation rushing through your whole body． It will pass information to your brain that you are confident and happy．③ Whether you are someone who just wants to move from good to great with your speaking， or someone who feels too afraid to stand up and speak， the great news is that you can move forward， be relaxed， and turn into a great speaker．④
（2）Write down another suggestion on how to become a good speaker． （答案不多于5个单词）
To help Japanese companies better deal with the increasing number of foreigners visiting the country， Panasonic has created a megaphone （扩音器） which is able to smartly translate Japanese into English， Chinese and Korean．
Panasonic named the product "Megahonyaku"． It is a term for the Japanese words for "megaphone" and "translate"， which actually makes a lot of sense because it's a megaphone that can translate Japanese into several other languages in real time． When a user speaks Japanese into the megaphone， it recognizes （辨认） and translates what is being said immediately， and outputs the words in English， Chinese or Korean．
It sounds amazing， and seeing it in action is wonderful， but Megahonyaku is not good enough． It cannot translate everything you say， as it only stores 300 common expressions， like "The train has been put off" or "Watch your step"． However， the Japanese company behind Megahonyaku promises to add new expressions regularly， which users can get on the Internet．
The machine was designed to be used in places like transport stations， airports and places of interest where quick and exact announcements are needed most． Around 30 Japanese organizations， including the police and guides， have been trying out Megahonyaku for about one year， but Panasonic says it will come onto the market on December 20th． Instead of selling these speech translators， Panasonic plans on renting （出租） them out for less than ﹩183 a month on a three﹣year agreement，and offering users future improvements and necessary services．
Panasonic has also said that it may add support for other languages，like Russian，depending on customers' needs．Megahonyaku also includes a touch screen that allows users to choose the language they need their speech translated into．
（1）Panasonic has produced Megahonyaku so that ．
A．guides can translate Chinese into Japanesefaster
B．Japanese companies can receive foreigners better
C．foreigners can talk with the Japanese freely
D．the Japanese can learn other languages easily
（2）The third paragraph is mainly about the of Megahonyaku．
A．invention
B．importance
C．disadvantage
D．history
（3）It can be learnt from Paragraph 4that Megahonyaku ．
A．may be popular with the police
B．is widely used in private homes
C．will be sold on December 20th
D．stores about 30foreign languages
（4）According to the passage，Panasonic will in the future．
A．sell Megahonyaku to foreign visitors
B．bring down the price of Megahonyaku
C．change the screen of Megahonyaku
D．improve Megahonyaku regularly
A zero﹣waste life is a lifestyle that hardly creates any rubbish． So， a zero﹣waste store is about providing a kind of everyday and pleasant﹣looking zero﹣waste products to help people start on a zero﹣waste life journey．
"Zero waste" or "danshari" was first suggested by a French woman called Bea Johnson． Her idea is： live a life and try not to create any rubbish； use different kinds of ways to save the environment such as stopping the use of one﹣off objects； giving unwanted things to others or giving them away to organizations like the Red Cross．
Yu Yuan， 27， is deeply interested in this idea． She and her boyfriend have lived in Beijing for many years． And earlier she used to buy things without thinking about them carefully until she saw a video about "zero waste"， in which a family of four placed the rubbish they produced every year in a jar （罐）． After watching the video， Yu wanted to experience this zero﹣waste lifestyle with her boyfriend．
A zero﹣waste life follows the 6R rule﹣Refuse Reduce， Reuse， Repair， Recycle and Rot． Over August﹣October when Yu followed the rule of zero waste 6R， she and her boyfriend Joe Harvey both produced only two cans of rubbish．
Now， the couple have opened a small shop in Beijing， where they use wood products to take the place of plastic ones and cloth bags printed with environmentally friendly logos． Most products sold in the store can be reused． The store also has second﹣hand books and CDs/DVDs with， ideas to make the best of the used things．
"Those who once experienced the non﹣waste lifestyle have slowly changed their ideas，" says Ya， "The zero﹣waste lifestyle is not for ascetics （苦行僧）． It is just around us at our finger﹣tips．" Yu expects some of her friends to join her on the road to zero waste．
（1）Bea Johnson suggests that people should ．
A． try to produce no rubbish in life
B． share objects with others
C． help their friends live comfortably
D． work hard for the Red Cross
（2）We can see from the passage that Yu Yuan ．
A． offers plastic bags in her store
B． is influenced by the 6R rule
C． often buys things she doesn't need
D． likes listening to CDs very much
（3）What Yu Yuan says in the last paragraph probably means that ．
A． lots of people doubt the zero﹣waste lifestyle
B． she feels it hard to continue her lifestyle
C． her friends have followed her lifestyle
D． the zero﹣waste lifestyle is not difficult to live
（4）Which of the following is the best title for the passage？
A． Opening up a second﹣hand store
B． Recycling waste
C． Saving the environment
D． Joining the couple
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