Uncle Li and Uncle Wang are good friends. They live next to each other and their farms are both at the foot of the mountain. So they can help each other. But neither of them likes to use his head. They're both poor though they work hard. Most villagers have built new houses, but they still live in the low and broken houses. They never find out why.
Once Uncle Li went to town to buy some medicine for his wife. In the town he heard the apples in a city were expensive. He told Uncle Wang about it as soon as he went back. They decided to carry some apples to the city. They borrowed some money from their friends and bought nearly 1,000 kilograms of apples in the villages and carried them to the city on a tractor（拖拉机）. Bad luck! A lot of apples had already been carried there when they arrived. A few days later they had to sell them at a low price (价格)。They felt unhappy and returned to their village.
"I can't understand why we sustained (蒙受) losses in business while others always profit (盈利)" Uncle Li asked one day. "The tractor was too small " Uncle Wang said without thinking. "We'll carry more apples on a truck next time!" "I agree!" said Uncle Li.
How foolish they were !Uncle Li and Uncle Wang live in the low and broken houses because __________.
| A．they hope to save money |
| B．they're both poor |
| C．their farms are at the foot of the mountain |
| D．they're not far from their farms |
The two farmers carried the apples to the city to _________.
| A．make a journey | B．visit some places of interest |
| C．meet their friends | D．make a profit |
the two farmers had to sell their apples at a low price because ________.
| A．theirs weren't as good as the others' |
| B．theirs were much less than the others' |
| C．a lot of apples had been already carried to the city |
| D．they forgot to carry them on a truck |
D
Most city parks are places where you can escape from big, ugly structures of metal and stone. The Manhattan High Line is different. Raised 25 feet above the ground, this massive metal structure once supported a rail line. The line opened in 1934 to bring trains directly into factories and warehouses. It was hardly used after the 1960s, and much of it was torn down. However, one section remained in an area of Manhattan called Chelsea. Chelsea was becoming more and more valuable as restaurants, art galleries and apartments were built, but the ugly railway structure remained as a dead weight. Everyone knew that at some time, it would have to be removed.
But the High Line was not destroyed. In fact, now the old rail line serves as one of the most peaceful places in the city. It holds an elevated park, with beautiful gardens, a sidewalk and great views of the city. The idea to change the rail line into a park came from Joshua David and Robert Hammond. In 1999, they attended a community meeting to decide the fate(命运) of the High Line. David and Hammond were the only people at the meeting interested in saving the structure for its historical significance. Later on, when they asked railway officials to take them up to look at the High Line, they saw a mile and a half of wild flowers growing in the middle of the city, and they realized that the High Line had potential to become a park. There was growing interest in improving urban centers, and so the project quickly won support and funds for construction were easily obtained.
The first section of the High Line opened in 2009 and immediately became popular with tourists and locals alike. Each part of the park has a different atmosphere. Some areas are like balconies (阳台)with wonderful city views. Where the rail line goes between buildings, trees are thickly planted. Other sections have wide walkways planted with wild flowers. Only the final section remains the way it has been for the last fifty years – a railway line overgrown with weeds.The underlined phrase “a dead weight” in Paragraph 1 means_____.
| A．something with potential to be better. |
| B．something with historical interest. |
| C．something which is a danger to people. |
| D．something useless which slows progress. |
According to Paragraph 2, David and Hammond wanted to save the High Line because they_____.
| A．thought it had historical value |
| B．wanted to reopen the train line |
| C．thought it would bring them money |
| D．were interested in improving the city |
From the last paragraph, we can learn that the park ______.
| A．is different in its design |
| B．is covered with trees |
| C．didn’t change at all |
| D．became a natural countryside |
Which of the following is NOT true about the High Line?
| A．It is situated above ground level. |
| B．Only part of the line remains. |
| C．It is now a popular park. |
| D．Trains still use the line. |
C
Walt Disney is credited for creating such wonderful things as Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. However, he cannot take the credit for creating other well-loved characters, such as Cinderella and Snow White. They are almost automatically associated with Disney because Disney turned old fables(寓言) into cartoon movies.
The original Cinderella varies very much from the Disney version we know today. It started off with the girl mourning her mother’s death and going to her tomb three times a day. In addition, there were only birds that helped Cinderella; there was no such thing as a fairy godmother or helpful mice, nor was there mention of a horse and carriage.
The stepsisters were cruel: they always threw Cinderella’s food into the ashes of the fire and made her sleep on the ashes on the floor, hence（因此）her name.
In the original story, the king’s ball actually lasted for three days. With the help of the birds, the girl, beautifully dressed, danced with the prince on all three nights and the prince fell in love with her. However, she broke away from him to rush back home each night. On the last night, the prince placed soothing sticky on the stairs; as Cinderella made her escape, a shoe got stuck on it.
Here now is where the story becomes unpleasant: when the prince went to the house looking for the girl whose foot fit the shoe, the wicked(邪恶的) stepmother told one of her two daughters to cut off her big toe to fit into the shoe. The daughter did as told. So the prince took her away to be his bride. But when they passed the tomb of Cinderella’s mother, the birds called out to the prince,
“Turn and peep, there’s blood in the shoe;
the shoe is too small, the true bride waits for you.”
Realizing he had been tricked, the prince returned the daughter to her mother. The other then had to cut off part of her heel in order to fit into the shoe, with the same result. Only Cinderella’s foot fit perfectly and so the prince chose to marry her. The story ends with the wedding day: as Cinderella’s two stepsisters followed her, pretending to be devoted to her so that they could enjoy the king’s riches, two birds flew by and plucked(啄) out their eyes. Because of their wickedness and falsehood, they had to spend the rest of their days blind.
The original Cinderella is so different from the Disney version. Thank goodness Disney made such changes; it indeed was a wise move.What dose the underlined word “They” in the first paragraph refer to?
| A．Such wonderful things. |
| B．Other well-loved characters. |
| C．Old fables. |
| D．Cartoon movies. |
How did Cinderella get her name?
| A．The Birds came up with it. |
| B．It was given by Disney. |
| C．It came from the word “ash”. |
| D．She got it from her mother. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the original story?
| A．Helpful mice got Cinderella a beautiful dress. |
| B．The ball was held to celebrate the prince’s wedding. |
| C．Cinderella left her shoe on the stairs on purpose. |
| D．The birds told the prince that he had been cheated. |
The moral of the original story is that ____________.
| A．a wicked person cannot escape punishment. |
| B．a devoted person certainly deserves respect. |
| C．a well-behaved child earns a great reward. |
| D．a dishonest child cannot get mother love. |
What does the author think of the Disney version?
| A．Excellent. | B．Ordinary | C．Dull. | D．Ridiculous. |
B
MAP ARTIST PROGRAM
Map Artist is the perfect tool for creating customized maps to include in research projects and reports. Map Artist offers endless possibilities. It has a huge collection of map styles to choose from, and they can be customized to suit your special needs. In this program, we will assume you have been asked to create a map for a social studies report.
Step 1. When you open Map Artist, a world map will be displayed. Type “USA” in the dialogue box. Click GO. A map of USA will be displayed.
Step 2. Click on the drop-down menu next to the outline map of the state. Click on the type of map you need for your report.
· OUTLINE shows only the outline shape of the state with no highways or population centers indicated.
· TOPOGRAPHIC indicates elevations（海拔）as well as the location of major cities.
· SHADED RELIEF shows only natural landforms (mountains, valleys, rivers) and national parks.
· POLITICAL shows major cities, interstates, and major highways.
· HISTORICAL recalls the oldest maps on record.
For the purposes of this program, select OUTLINE. A map showing an outline of USA will be displayed.
Step 3. Click CUSTOMIZE on the menu bar down the left side of the screen.
CUSTOMIZE allows you to place custom data on the map you have selected.
1．Click on the button next to the appropriate symbol. For practice, click on the shovel, which symbolizes archaeology.
2．Next to the word TEXT, type “The Presidio”, which is an archaeological site near San Francisco.
3．Now use your mouse to click on the spot on the map where you would like this data to be placed.
4．You can add as many sites as you wish.
Step 4. Click SAVE if you would like to save the map to a file. Later, after opening the saved document, click on the map with your right mouse button and select COPY. And then PASTE it at the location where you want the map to appear.If your report is about Plants and Animals in New York, you may click on__________ map.
| A．HISTORICAL | B．SHADED RELIEF |
| C．TOPOGRAPHIC | D．POLITICAL |
Which function is required to place a specific location on a CUSTOMIZE map?
| A．Clicking on GO. | B．Cutting and pasting. |
| C．Clicking on the map. | D．Opening the file. |
Which of the following orders is true according to the Map Artist Program?
A
A young man returns to his hometown of Aractataca, Colombia. He visits the house where he lived as a child. Here, he remembers the most important memories of his childhood. Standing in front of his old house, the young man makes an important decision. He says to himself, “I will start my life over again. I will become a writer.”
This man is the world famous writer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez was born on March 6, 1928. During his early life, Garcia Marquez’s grandmother and grandfather told him many stories. His grandmother would tell him legends as if they were real. Garcia Marquez says that his grandmother’s way of storytelling later influenced his own methods.
When Garcia Marquez was about 20 years old, he left Aractataca and attended university in Bogota. He began studying law because this was what his father wanted him to study. However, Garcia Marquez was not happy.
During this time Garcia Marquez returned to Aractataca. It was on this visit that he realized he must stop studying law. And he recognized that he must return to the dream of his childhood-writing. For the next few years, Garcia Marquez wrote for many different newspapers. And in 1955, he published his first book called “Leaf Storm”.
For many years, Garcia Marquez knew he wanted to write about his grandfather’s house in Aractataca. To write this book, Garcia Marquez and his wife had to sell almost all of their possessions to survive. But their act was worth it. The book, “One Hundred Years of Solitude” was immediately successful. And this book created a path for Garcia Marquez’s future success.
In 1982, Gabriel Garcia Marquez was given the Nobel Prize in Literature for his book “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, making him the first Colombian and the fourth Latin American to win a Nobel Prize in Literature.
Who influenced Garcia Marquez’s writing style?
| A．His grandfather. | B．His father. |
| C．His grandmother. | D．His wife. |
Garcia decided to take up writing_________.
| A．when he worked for a newspaper |
| B．under the influence of his family |
| C．when he graduated from college |
| D．after a visit to his hometown |
Garcia’s book “One Hundred Years of Solitude” .
| A．was written in the 1950s |
| B．enjoyed a quick success |
| C．helped Garcia lead a better life |
| D．was about Garcia’s grandfather |
San Francisco(People's Daily Online)-- Apple Inc. Tuesday introduced its mobile payment service Apple Pay alongside the company's iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California.
What apple does is to replace consumers' wallet with its cell phone. Apple said it hopes to speed up the checkout process, make credit-card payments more secure and ultimately, to replace physical wallets.
With the near-field communication technology, Apple's gadgets like iPhone and Apple watch can transmit a radio signal between the device and a receiver when the two are in an inch apart. "To pay, just hold your iPhone near the contactless reader with your finger on Touch ID. You don’t even have to look at the screen to know your payment information was successfully sent," Apple says on its official website.
Apple said that each transaction (交易)would be authorized(授权) with a one-time, unique number, creating a security code that it said is more secure than the one on the back of your credit card because cashiers won’t see your name, card number or security code. The service will work with the three major payment networks — American Express, MasterCard and Visa — and Apple said that there are 220,000 merchant locations that accept these contactless payments.
When some applaud this disrupted service that will compete with Paypal and endanger other online payment companies, some others concern about its safety, especially when another retailer Home Depot confirmed a data opening yesterday and iCloud was reported exposing nude (裸体)pictures of celebrities (名人) a week ago.
Leo Zheng, a technology reporter in Silicon Valley said: "When Apple attracts consumers to put all their cards into one iPhone and promised the security, Jennifer Lawrence should say something."Which can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Apple announces mobile payment service to replace consumers' wallet. |
| B．Consumers can pay in cash through mobile phones. |
| C．Apple Inc. will introduce new models to the market. |
| D．Mobile payment will be popular soon. |
After reading the third paragraph, we know .
| A．Apple’s new products are popular |
| B．Apple can be used as an ID |
| C．Apple's gadgets can receive message easily |
| D．how Apple's gadgets work |
The attitude of the writer towards the mobile payment is .
| A．indifferent (冷漠的) | B．objective |
| C．skeptical | D．positive |
What could have happened to Jennifer Lawrence?
| A．She made great contributions to Apple. |
| B．She put all her cards into her iPhone. |
| C．Her nude pictures were spread online. |
| D．Her iPhone often broke down. |
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