The price of rice changes during the year.
It is useful for rice farmers to know how the price changes, then they can sell their rice when the price is high. But it was hard for farmers to guess how the price would change from month to month.
Last year, the price of rice was very low in November. This was a bad time for farmers to sell their rice. November, December, and January were all bad months. The best month for farmers to sell rice last year was April. July and August were also good times to sell rice.
Between August and November, the price of rice were down every month. During other parts of the year, the price went up and down.
| A．January | B．April |
| C．July | D．November |
| A．April and May | B．February and December |
| C．July and August | D．March and September |
| A．Farmers and Rice | B．Buying and Selling Rice |
| C．High Price of Rice | D．Changes in Price of Rice |
There is good news for students of vocational （职业的） colleges in China： the government has announced plans to develop modern vocational education． Premier Li Keqiang said the government should speed up the development of modern vocational education to meet the need for skilled workers and technicians （技术人员） in the job market． High school graduates and workers with no special training are encouraged to study in higher vocational colleges． Li said that the number of the new students in higher vocational colleges in China should go up by 1 million this year． This is the first time the central government has a clear plan．
This comes after the news of the large shortfall （不足） in highly skilled technicians， although China has millions of technical workers． China is expected to face a shortfall of 3 million skilled workers who can operate the newest machines by 2020． The shortfall will grow to 4.5 million by 2025． Also， vocational education is unsatisfactory （不令人满意的）， although there are many vocational colleges in China． In some vocational colleges， the education methods and courses cannot meet the need of upgrading （升级）， manufacturing （制造业）． As can be seen from the job market， some companies still can't find highly skilled technicians even with high pay．
To deal with the problem． some vocational colleges have worked with companies to teach students． They have hired skilled technicians from companies as teachers． With the rising of the skilled workers' social position and pay， it is believed the vocational education system in China will start to play a bigger role in the development of China．
（1）What's the main purpose of the development of modern vocational education in China？ _
A． To train more highly skilled technicians for the job markets
B． To help vocational college graduates get higher pay from their work．
C． To ask more people to live on themselves with technical skills．
D． To encourage more companies to upgrade manufacturing．
（2）What is one of the problems of Chinese vocational education according to the passage？ _
A． Higher vocational college teachers are not well paid and valued．．
B． There are only a small number of higher vocational colleges in China．
C． The education methods and courses in vocational colleges are unsatisfactory．
D． Some of the vocational college teachers are skilled technicians from companies．
（3）The writer believes China's future vocational education is ．
A． hopeful
B． doubtful
C． unsatisfactory
D． worrying
The Dead Sea
At 430 meters below sea level， the Dead Sea is Earth's lowest point on land． It is popular for its wonderful buoyancy（浮力）． The high salt content﹣more than 34 percent ﹣ makes swimming more like floating．
Now the Dead Sea is actually dying． People are using water from the Jordan River， which takes water away from the Dead Sea． Since 1930， its surf area has reduced by almost 40 percent．
Venice， Italy
With waterways instead of streets． This "Floating City" has attracted visitors for centuries． But no visit to Venice is complete without a ride on one of its famous gondolas， human powered water taxis． Water creates Venice． But water will also kill the city．
Built on soft earth， Venice has slowly been sinking （下沉） for centuries． Now， with rising sea levels caused by human activities， it's sinking faster． According to US﹣based magazine Architectural Digest， the city may disappear in the next 100 years． Better book your gondola soon!
Great Barrier Reef， Australia
Covering more than 2，300 kilometers of Australia's northeast coast， Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest reef ecosystem， and an ideal place for scuba divers （水肺潜水者）．Thousands of colorful coral （珊瑚） and fish make homes in the blue sea water． It's like a big underwater party!
Sadly， the party might be over soon． The reef is dying． Human activities are changing the weather． Warming ocean， water kills the coral， and this causes problems up the food chain． The New York Times reported that large parts are already dead， and the reef system might be gone by 2030．
（1）What can be the best title of the passage？
A． Disappearing Watery Wonders
B． Amazing Man﹣made Wonders on the Sea
C． Lost Watery Wonders on the Sea
D． Last Watery Wonders in the World
（2）Which of the following is the shared cause of the problems all the three places are facing？
A． Water loss．
B． Sea pollution．
C． Warming seas．
D． Human activities．
（3）If Tom wants to visit all the following places before they are gone， and he can only afford one in the next 15 years， where must he go？
A． The Dead Sea．
B． Venice．
C． Italy．
D． Great Barrier Reef．
Both language and music play a huge role in our culture． Here are some of their similarities．
（1）Both language and music have a writing system．
In English we record language using letters． Similarly， we use notes to record music． Just as you are reading letters and find meaning in them， musicians read notes and create meaning in the form of music． So just as you read English， you can read music． By writing pieces of text or music， we are able to share experiences through time． I can read the ideas or hear the works of someone who lived hundreds of years ago， which is really exciting．
（2）
You can guess where someone is from by listening to the language they use．In the same way，styles of music are different around the world， giving us the chance to understand many different cultures， This also means that there is something for everyone! Even if you don't like British pop music， you may love the energy of Latin American salsa music．
（3）Both share feelings．
How do you know that I am angry？ Of course you can see it in my face， but you will know for sure through my words， Similarly， music can show you exactly how the composer （作曲者） was or is feeling． When I'm happy， I want to sing and dance to a happy song to celebrate my happiness； and I listen to slow and quiet music when I'm feeling down． I think we have all used music to express our feelings， often combining （结合）it with language in the form of song lyrics．
（1）Which of the following is the best for the blank？
A． Both are from daily life
B． Both bring us happiness
C． Both have a sound system
D． Both vary （变化） with culture．
（2）According to the passage， when the writer feels unhappy， he might listen to ．
A． scary movie music
B． exciting rock music
C． loud electronic music
D． sad piano music
（3）The underlined word "it" in the passage refers to " "．
A． music
B． idea
C． feeling
D． culture
（4）Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage？
A． We use notes to write music．
B． We can write music if we speak English．
C． We can understand different cultures in music．
D． We can share the composer's feelings in his or her music．
If you ask me what my favorite sport is， my answer is swimming． I started learning how to swim when I was five years old． I have been swimming ever since．
There are many reasons why I love swimming， but I'll just share a few with you． Maybe I can even encourage you to go for a swim．
The first reason I love swimming is that I feel totally relaxed whenever I leave the pool． I love the feeling of floating on the water and feeling almost weightless．
On the other hand． it can also be a competitive sport which raises your heartbeat． It's amazing pushing yourself to the challenge of beating someone else to the finish line． It's great fun racing across the pool as fast as you can！
Another reason that I love swimming is that it has more styles than other sports such as running and walking．It doesn't feel like you're doing the same thing over and over again．
In summer， swimming can be a nice， refreshing （恢复精力的） break! There's nothing better than jumping into the water on a hot summer's day． You can choose to swim in a swimming pool or in the sea．
And finally，it's a life skill which everyone should have．Not only is it good for your health， but you never know when you'll need your ability to swim．
（1）In Paragraph 3， "floating" means " " in Chinese．
A． 跳跃
B． 漂浮
C． 翻滚
D． 日光浴
（2）The last sentence of the passage means that ．
A． swimming is a healthy sport
B． swimming is a useful life skill
C． everyone should have more life skills
D． you should teach your friends to swim
（3）Which of the following is not mentioned？
A． Swimming is relaxing．
B． Swimming is competitive．
C． Swimming is simple
D． Swimming is refreshing．
（4）What can be the best title for the passage？
A． How to Swim Better
B． Let's Do Sports
C． A Swimming Star
D． Why I love Swimming
Amazing Animals
A Cat Has Cool Eyes
It's hard to look away from Pam Pam， a white shorthair cat． Pam Pam has iridis， an eye problem that means one eye is blue and the other is a different color﹣﹣﹣yellow．
"Luckily， iridis doesn't cause any pain or sight problems，" Doctor Seth Cohen says．This problem can also be found in humans and other animals，such as dogs and horses． An interesting thing： Pam Pam's owner always matches a scarf to her eye colors．
Even though Pam Pam doesn't look like a regular cat， she acts like one． She loves to hide behind chairs and jump out at the little dog suddenly when he walks by．
A Sea Lion Goes for a Walk
What does a wild sea lion do when he needs some exercise？A sea lion named Astro walked to the crowd on the road! Astro pushed himself to a nearby school last Friday．The students soon called the Wildlife Center for help and sent him back．There， Astro lived with other sea lions again﹣﹣﹣and got plenty of exercise!
A Hero Horse
When a cow attacked （攻击） Fiona Boyd， she found herself in a scary place．"I was under her four legs and …" Boyd says． Luckily for the farmer， her horse rushed to the cow， and began fighting with her legs as her owner moved to safety．
"I'm quite sure Kerry saved my life．She became my bodyguard． That was her purpose in life．" Boyd says．
（1）Which of the following about Pam Pam is TRUE？
A． Pam Pam is afraid of the little dogs．
B． Pam Pam's eye colors are different．
C． Pam Pam's scarf matches her hair color．
D． Iridis makes Pam Pam blind．
（2）What was Astro's amazing experience last Friday？
A． He walked to the crowd on the road．
B． He played with some students．
C． He exercised in the Wildlife Center．
D． He went to a school playground．
（3）Why is Kerry called a "Hero Horse"？
A． Because she attacked Fiona Boyd．
B． Because she saved Fiona Boyd．
C． Because she saved the cow．
D． Because she was strong and fast．
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