One of the most famous writers from England by far is Agatha Christie.
Agatha Christie’s real name was Agatha Miller. She was born in England in 1890.She married Archibald Christie when she was 24 years old, and she changed her family name to Christie.
She sold her first mystery book in 1920. This book was the first time that the world met Mrs.Christie’s famous detective Hercule Poirot. Ten years after that, Mrs. Christie wrote her book with her second famous detective, Miss Marple.
In 1928, Mrs. Christie’s first marriage broke up. She married M.E.L. Mallowan in 1930, but she still wrote her books under the name Agatha Christie.
In her life, Agatha Christie wrote 60 books, 16 plays, and more than 100 short stories. She passed away in 1976 when she was 85 years old. Her books can still be found on sale in bookstores all around the world. What did Aghta Christie do?
| A．She was a detective. | B．she wrote books. |
| C．She was a mystery． | D．She knew famous detectives. |
Who was Hercule Poirot?
| A．A detective in her books. | B．One of her books. |
| C．Her husband. | D．A writer. |
What happened in 1976?
| A．Agatha Christie died. |
| B．Agatha Christie left her husband. |
| C．Agatha Christie wrote her last book. |
| D．Agatha Christie wrote a short story. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Books about detectives. |
| B．Famous detectives. |
| C．A famous writer. |
| D．Agatha Christie or Agatha Miller. |
In Britain you may often hear “Drop in any time.” or “Come to see me soon”, but you can’t really do that. People just say those things to make you feel welcome. It is better to telephone before visiting someone at home. If you receive a written invitation to an event that says “RSVP”, you should reply to let the person who sent the invitation know whether or not you plan to go.
You should never accept an invitation unless you really plan to go. You may refuse by saying, “Thank you for inviting me, but I will not be able to come.” If, after accepting, you are unable to go, be sure to tell those who are expecting you as soon as possible that you will not be there. Although it is not necessarily expected that you give a gift to your host, it is considered polite to do so, especially if you have been invited for a meal. Flowers, chocolate, or a small gift are all appropriate(合适的). A thank-you note or telephone call after the visit is also considered polite and is an appropriate way to express your appreciation for the invitation.What can you do when a British friend says, “Drop in anytime”?
| A．Visit him or her at any time. | B．Say no time to him or her seriously. |
| C．Telephone him or her before visiting. | D．Visit him or her soon. |
What does the underlined word “RSVP” probably mean in Chinese?
| A．请自便 | B．请回复 | C．请审阅 | D．请来访 |
What should you do if your British friend sends you an invitation but you do not want to go?
| A．Do not give him or her an answer. |
| B．Tell another friend to go instead of you. |
| C．Tell him or her that you can’t be there for some reason. |
| D．Tell him or her that you don’t want to go there. |
Which of the following is considered impolite in Britain?
| A．Buy small presents when invited. |
| B．Refuse the invitation without telling anyone. |
| C．Write a thank-you note after a visit. |
| D．Give a telephone call after a visit. |
Where would you probably see this passage?
| A．In an invitation. | B．In a guidebook. |
| C．On a poster. | D．In a newspaper. |
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Huang Xiaoming Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming visited the panda base(据点) in Sichuan province. During his visit, Huang put on a keeper’s suit and tried cutting bamboo, cleaning cages and feeding the pandas. Huang also adopted a pair of panda twins with a gift of one million yuan. |
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Angelina Jolie Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie can do all kinds of things on screen. It looks like she’s good at everything, shooting, fighting and killing. But there’s one thing she’s afraid of—cooking. The 33-year-old actress says she was never able to master cooking skills.“I don’t cook—it’s the one thing I can’t do!”she says. |
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Chen Luyu Chinese hostess Chen Luyu is famous for her popular talk show. She set up an online version of her show at Sina.com. People have grown tired of Chen’s show, especially her habit of constantly asking guests, “really?”. But the producer of the show supports Chen. “She’s one of the few Chinese hosts who knows how to control her desire to express herself and let the guests speak freely in an interview.” |
What kind of animals does Huang Xiaoming like?
| A．Pandas. | B．Monkeys. |
| C．Tigers. | D．Lions. |
Which is TRUE about Angelina Jolie?
| A．She is good at everything. | B．She can’t shoot well. |
| C．She can’t cook by herself. | D．She can cook well. |
Why have people grown tired of Chen Luyu’s show according to the passage?
| A．Because she isn’t famous for her talk show. |
| B．Because she set up an online version of talk show. |
| C．Because she has the habit of constantly asking, “Really?”. |
| D．Because she likes to express herself. |
What does the underlined word“adopt”mean in the first paragraph?
| A．批准 | B．继承 | C．采纳 | D．收养 |
We can know from the passage that _______.
| A．Angelina Jolie is a shy actress | B．Chen Luyu isn’t famous any more |
| C．Huang Xiaoming is a kind man | D．All the three stars are Chinese |
ARE you creative, shy, outgoing? Our personalities reveal a lot about who we are. But what’s surprising is that our personality can also say something about our health. That’s according to researchers at Duke University, US.
During an experiment on 1,000 people, scientists assessed (评定) their personalities in two ways: by asking someone they knew, such as a family member or friend; then by asking someone they had just met, such as a nurse. The study found that those who were careful at age 26 were in better health after 12 years.
Being careful means that people tend to have a lot of self-control, and are less likely to smoke, the scientists said. Careful people are also more likely to have an active lifestyle and healthy diet.
From those who were least careful, 45 percent developed health problems by the age of 38. Such health issues included gum disease and high blood pressure (高血压). To compare, only 18 percent of careful people went on to develop health problems.
Another positive personality was called “openness to experience”, meaning curious and imaginative. People who have more of this personality have higher IQ scores. So they’d be more likely to know how to find medical help to prevent disease.
According to the report, if doctors assessed our personalities, it could help doctors to find which young adults need advice on how to live a healthy lifestyle. What’s surprising is that stress didn’t play a big part on a person’s health. Even though stress and anxiety (焦虑) are usually linked to bad health.
But can a doctor who knows our personality really improve our health? Or should doctors be kept away from knowing something so personal?Which personality type may be better for our health, according to the research?
| A．self-controlled. | B．Stressed. |
| C．Shy. | D．Careless. |
From the passage, we learn that careful people ____.
| A．are too shy to talk to strangers |
| B．love to ask the doctor for advice |
| C．are likely to have a healthy lifestyle |
| D．may have high blood pressure when they’re older |
Where can you probably read the article?
| A．Newspaper. | B．Science fiction book. |
| C．Research paper. | D．Travel guide. |
What is the main idea of the article?
| A．People can change their personality type. |
| B．Scientists have found two different personality types. |
| C．Personalities have something to do with our lifestyle. |
| D．Personalities say something about our health. |
“AN Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue (队伍) of one,” wrote famous British author George Mikes. While this sounds funny, it’s a popular English stereotype (刻板印象). From the supermarket to the subway, queues are a common sight on the streets of Britain.
Here in China, queues are normal, too. It is a part of everyday life. People queue most of the time, from buying tickets in the cinema to waiting for seats at a restaurant.
But in certain situations, you’ll find yourself in the middle of a rushing crowd, such as getting onto the subway. Even away from the busy subway platform (站台), queues are different. One day I was standing in line at the supermarket.
I left a small space in front of me. Within seconds, a girl walked by and took her place in that small space.
I was surprised at first, but later I found these experiences very interesting. It is with these small, everyday differences that I get to live and learn within a new culture.
Back in Britain, the average person spends six months of their life waiting in a queue, according to the auction site MadBid. To pass the time, maybe they tell themselves the famous proverb: good things come to those who wait.The English are well known for _____.
| A．forming an orderly queue |
| B．being rude and loud |
| C．traveling on subways |
| D．spending more time waiting in a queue |
The purpose of the article is to _____.
| A．call on people in China to queue more |
| B．compare queuing in two cultures |
| C．praise the English for following good manners |
| D．explain why people rush in some situations |
In which part of a newspaper would you most probably read this article?
| A．Sports. | B．News. | C．Culture. | D．Business. |
MANY 15-year-olds don’t know what they want to be when they grow up. Abby Harris knows she wants to become an astronaut and isn’t letting anything stop her.
According to Harris’ Internet blog, Astronaut Abby, she has wanted to be the first astronaut to walk on Mars since she was 5 years old.
Harris wrote that at the beginning, most people didn’t take her dream seriously. But she stuck with (坚持) it.
“I made plans, I worked hard and I focused on (集中于) my goal. As I got older and continued to stay focused on science, people in my life began to notice and encouraged me to dream big,” she wrote.
In the 7th grade, Harris was doing a project on the International Space Station. She set up a Twitter account to get in touch with NASA. But soon she found that it was a great place for her to write about her dreams and talk with others who are interested in space. Her friends on Twitter then helped her create her website and blog, Astronaut Abby.
What’s more, Harris has a real astronaut as her mentor. Several years ago, Harris ran into Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano at an airport. They talked for an hour and Parmitano agreed to become her mentor. Now Parmitano is in the International Space Station. Harris e-mails him every day to learn about his experiences.
It’s not easy to become an astronaut, but Harris is confident about herself.
“If you work really hard at something, it can happen. And it will happen,” she said.What’s the meaning of the word “mentor” (in paragraph 6) ?
| A．朋友 | B．导师 | C．徒弟 | D．助手 |
Abby Harris set up a Twitter account in order to _______.
| A．learn more about space | B．make more friends online |
| C．tell others about her dream | D．introduce her website and blog |
Where did Harris meet Luca Parmitano?
| A．In Italy. | B．On the street. |
| C．At an airport. | D．In the International Space Station. |
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