Our first winter in Canada was the happiest we have ever experienced. We were living in the countryside then and had just arrived from Hong Kong that autumn.
One evening in mid December snow began to fall. When we looked out of the window and saw that it was snowing, we all cheered. It was the first snow we had ever seen and we were excited. We could hardly wait for the snow to stop so that we could go out to play. Next morning when we woke up, it was still snowing. We switched on the radio and learned that more than ten inches of snow had fallen during the night and that since the roads were blocked（堵塞） there would be no school that day. We jumped up and down for joy and begged mother to let us go outside to play in the snow. She said we could go out after breakfast if we dressed ourselves warmly and promised to come back as soon as we felt cold.
When we went out, the snow had almost stopped. The roads, paths, gardens, and playing grounds were all hidden under a white blanket of soft snow. It was the most beautiful sight we had ever seen. Just then, we saw some neighbors’ children coming out to play. We ran over to join them. Together we built a snowman and a snow house. After that, we took turns sliding down a hill on a large piece of card-board. We were having so much fun when supper time came. Mother almost had to force us to go in and eat.
| A．Spring. | B．Summer. | C．Autumn. | D．Winter. |
| A．they knew they would have no school the next day |
| B．it was the first time they had seen snow |
| C．they knew that winter had come |
| D．they liked cold weather |
| A．their teacher were sure that children liked snow |
| B．they wanted to play on the snow field |
| C．heavy snow blocked the roads |
| D．their mother allowed them to play outside |
| A．immediately allowed them to go out |
| B．refused to let them go outside |
| C．told them to switch on the radio |
| D．told them to wait until after breakfast |
| A．a snowman and a cardboard house of their own |
| B．a snowman and a snow house for themselves to live in |
| C．a snowman and a snow house with their neighbors’ children |
| D．a white blanket on the roads |
With only a click of the mouse, rumors can be forwarded between microblogs very quickly. As an example, recently, perceptive netizens discovered that some photos displayed on microblogs depicting Beijing’s June rainstorm had actually been fabricated.
Sina. com is one of the major internet portals(门户网站) in China with hundreds and thousands of users, and a majority of celebrities and renowned citizens have their microblog accounts on this portal. As recently as six months ago, the website decided to establish a specialized team to verify rumors and provide accurate information for its users. Tan Chao is in charge of the team.
“Before I took the job, I usually couldn’t identify what information was real and what was fake. But during the rumor verification process, we discovered that a lot of information was false, including fake photos, fake news stories and rumors that had been spread through microblogs.”
It‘s not just website portals which are taking on fact-checking responsibilities, but also a number of civic-minded netizens, who recently set up a Rumor Verification Federation on Sina.com’s microblog system to help netizens identify fake information online.
Dianzizheng is the team leader of the federation. He says they’ve publicized more than 150 pieces which refute rumors, which attracted more than 10 thousand visitors within two months.
“We live in an age of new media, so we can’t use the old methods to verify rumors. We can’t wait for the media to verify the facts with related administrative departments and then release a formal announcement. We can’t allow rumors to run rampant and then deal with it, we need to fight rumors while they’re spreading. I think that this is the best way to deal with rumors nowadays.”
Some experts say this demonstrates the advantages of the internet compared to other traditional media. The open platform allows information to be examined and clarified by netizens. But experts like Ding Wenguo, President of the Journalism and Communication College at the China University of Political Science and Law says this self-correction function of the internet is still quite limited.
“It’s still quite difficult to tell which information is true in such an open environment by just reading a number of different opinions on the same issue. This is something which we need to pay attention to. If society is deluged with too much false information, and it’s allowed to spread in such a fast manner, then people will be suspicious of all kinds of information including important information from authorities. It also exacerbates(恶化) problems relating to social communications and mutual-understanding, which in turn harms society as a whole.”
Experts suggest that the government should react more quickly in the internet age. Once a rumor begins to spread, administrative departments should make announcements as early as possible to dispel rumors before they lead to bad outcomes.Sina.com decided to found a specialized team to ____.
| A．limit the number of microblogs |
| B．advance the development of microblogs |
| C．prevent the spread of rumors on the Internet |
| D．urge the government to react quickly to the rumors |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
| A．All the rumors have been spread through microblogs. |
| B．Sina.com is the most popular Internet portal in China. |
| C．The photos displayed on microblogs might be fake. |
| D．Traditional media tend to get rumors examined and clarified. |
The underlined word "fabricated" in the first paragraph can be replaced by "_ _".
| A．dug out | B．made up |
| C．got round | D．given away |
The writer cited Ding Wenguo's words in Paragraph 8 to _ _.
| A．draw a conclusion | B．support an argument |
| C．introduce a topic | D．describe a scene |
Have you read " 'To Kill a Mockingbird’ The only novel by Harper Lee offers moral lessons about racial justice and respect．It tells the story of a young girl named Scout and her father, Atticus Finch, a lawyer．He defends a black man ．
Tom Robinson wrongfully accused of raping（强奸）
a white woman．In the end, an all-white- jury （陪审团）sentences Tom Robinson to death． The book is set in the American, South in the 1930s．
But it came out on July11th, 1960 as the civil rights movement in the United States was gaining strength.
Laws and customs in the South, however, still kept blacks and whites mostly separated．
A mockingbird is a land of gray songbird．The book
gets its title from something Atticus Finch was told in his
childhood when his father gave him a gun. Atticus Finch said, "I remember when my daddy first gave me that gun, he told me that I should never point at anything in the house, and that I could shoot all the blue jays I wanted, if I could hit them．But remember, it was a sin （罪过） to kill a mockingbird, for they don't hurt anyone, they just make music．"
Some people said, " 'To Kill a Mockingbird' treats racism in a way that is simplisite（过分单纯化的）, even offensive to blacks, and out of date in today's America．" Still, it has been translated into more than forty languages and has sold over forty million copies. It is often required reading in high schools. Harper Lee won a Pulitzer Prize in America in 1961 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom of the United States for her contribution to literature in 2007.
The story takes place in a town that Harper Lee called Maycomb. But she based the characters on real people she knew growing up．Since then her hometown Monroeville has changed a lot．A number of African-Americans serve m the local government．The courthouse, made famous by the book, is now a museum．A small shop and a fast-food restaurant called Mel's Dairy Dream have replaced Harper Lee's childhood home．
We can learn from the passage that Harper Lee __．
| A．has written more than-one novel in her life |
| B．lived in a town called Maycomb as a child |
| C．had been awarded two prizes in America by 2007 |
| D．likes a mockingbird very much that makes music |
According to the passage, __ in the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” is compared to a Mockingbird．
| A．Harper Lee | B．Scout |
| C．Attricus Finch | D．Tom Robison |
What is the main idea of the 4th paragraph?
| A．A mockingbird doesn't hurt anyone at all． |
| B．To tell readers how the novel gets its title, |
| C．A mockingbird is a kind of gray songbird． |
| D．To kill a mockingbird is more than a hunting． |
We can infer from the passage that the novel "To Kill Mockingbird" __．
| A．was published about 60 years ago |
| B．was very popular in the late 1930s |
| C．has been read by millions of high school students |
| D．gets its title from a story told by Harper Lee's father |
Here is some information about several famous local bakeries(面包烤房) in Indiana, the US. They serve as a social gathering place for locals.
Maple Lane Bakery
At 8260 S. State Rd. Claypool, IN. (574) 566-2917, it offers a variety of cooked pies, cookies, and bread. With 20 years’ experience Maple Lane Bakery has specialized in the making of pies. The menu includes peach pie $7.19, berry pie $7.70, apple pie $7.19 and banana pie $6.99. Feel free to place an order at least 24 hours in advance.
Betty’s Cakes & Candy Shop
At 816 E. Winona Avenue Warsaw, IN. (574) 269-1231, it specializes in cakes and offers cookies and candies. The chocolate cookies are sold at $8.99 a dozen. Betty’s Cakes & Candy Shop, started half a century ago, specializes in wedding cakes and birthday cakes. Buying a cake from Betty’s will not disappoint you as they are always excellent.
Crepes’ Quality Bakery
At 217 S. Cavin Street Ligonier, IN. (260) 894-3024, this third generation bakery is located downtown Ligonier. It offers cookies and cupcakes, and specializes in rolls and bread. If you plan to buy cookies for the office or work area, you had better get there early as the building workers arrive just before 5:00 am waiting for the doors to open.
Olympia Candy Kitchen
At 136 N. Main Street Goshen, IN. (574) 533-5040, it has been welcoming visitors for almost a century in its unchanged location in downtown Goshen, Indiana. Its tradition began in 1912 when Greek Nicholas began making his own chocolates. Today this family-owned operation offers all kinds candies and boxed candies.
If you need an order, you should call ahead of time to see if they can meet your request.Which of the following pies is the most expensive?
| A．Peach pie. | B．Banana pie. |
| C．Apple pie. | D．Berry pie. |
If you want to order a birthday cake, you are advised to call _________.
| A．(574) 533-5040 | B．(574) 269-1231 |
| C．(260) 894-3024 | D．(574) 566-2917 |
Which of the following bakeries has the shortest history?
| A．Crepes’ Quality Bakery |
| B．Betty’s Cakes & Candy Shop |
| C．Olympia Candy Kitchen |
| D．Maple Lane Bakery |
The author wrote this passage mainly to __________.
| A．tell readers some travel information |
| B．persuade more people to eat pies |
| C．make the bakeries better known to readers |
| D．warn customers to order bakeries in advance |
Would it surprise you to learn that, like animals, trees communicate with each other and pass on their wealth to the next generation?
UBC Professor Simard explains how trees are much more complex than most of us ever imagined .Although Charles Darwin thought that trees are competing for survival of the fittest, Simard shows just how wrong he was. In fact, the opposite is true: trees survive through their co-operation and support, passing around necessary nutrition “depending on who needs it”.
Nitrogen（氮） and carbon are shared through miles of underground fungi（真菌） networks, making sure that all trees in the forest ecological system give and receive just the right amount to keep them all healthy. This hidden system works in a very similar way to the networks of neurons（神经元）in our brains, and when one tree is destroyed, it affects all.
Simard talks about “mother trees”, usually the largest and oldest plants on which all other trees depend .She explains how dying trees pass on the wealth to the next generation, transporting important minerals to young trees so they may continue to grow .When humans cut down “mother trees” with no awareness of these highly complex “tree societies” or the networks on which they feed, we are reducing the chances of survival for the entire forest.
“We didn't take any notice of it.” Simard says sadly .“Dying trees move nutrition into the young trees before dying, but we never give them chance.” If we could put across the message to the forestry industry, we could make a huge difference towards our environmental protection efforts for the future.What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Old Trees Communicate Like Humans |
| B．Young Trees Are In Need Of Protection |
| C．Trees Contribute To Our Society |
| D．Trees Are More Complex Than You Think |
In Simard's opinion, trees _______
| A．compete for survival |
| B．protect their own wealth |
| C．depend on each other |
| D．provide support for dying trees |
We can learn from the passage that .
| A．“mother trees” are usually of no use to other trees. |
| B．Charles Darwin had the same thought as Simard. |
| C．if “mother trees” are cut down, the survival for the entire forest will be affected. |
| D．people know much about the complex “tree societies”. |
The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to .
| A．how “tree societies” work |
| B．how trees grow old |
| C．how forestry industry develops |
| D．how young trees survive |
Once upon a time, there was a lovely vegetable field, on which grew a very thick tree. Both the vegetables and the tree gave the place a wonderful appearance, which was the joy of the garden’s owner. What no one knew was that the vegetables in the field and the tree couldn’t stand each other. The vegetables hated the tree’s shadow, because it left them only just enough light to survive. The tree, on the other hand, hated the vegetables because they drank nearly all the water before it could get to him, leaving him with just enough to survive.
The situation became so extreme that the vegetables got totally fed up and decided to use up all the water in the ground so that the tree would dry up. The tree answered back by refusing to give the vegetables shadow from the hot midday sun, so they both began to dry up. Before long, the vegetables were really thin and the tree’s branches were drying up.
Neither of them thought that the gardener, on seeing his vegetable field becoming worse, would stop watering it. When he did that, both the tree and the vegetables really learned what thirst was. There seemed to be no solution, but one of the vegetables, a small courgette（小胡瓜）, understood what was going on, and decided to deal with it. Despite the little water and the unbearable heat, the little courgette did all he could to grow, grow...He managed to grow so big that the gardener started watering the field again. The gardener wanted to enter that beautiful big courgette in some gardening contest.
And so the vegetables and the tree realized that it was better to help each other than to fight. They should really learn how to live in harmony with those around them, doing the best they could. So they decided to work together, using both the shadow and the water in the best combination to grow good vegetables. Seeing how well they were doing, the gardener now gave the best of care to his vegetable field, watering it better than any other field for miles around.What is the problem between the tree and the vegetables?
| A．They looked down upon each other. |
| B．They didn’t leave water to each other. |
| C．They couldn’t stand each other. |
| D．They didn’t know how to protect themselves. |
What is the result of the fight between the tree and the vegetables?
| A．They grew taller and stronger. |
| B．They were both drying up. |
| C．The tree defeated the vegetables. |
| D．The vegetables defeated the tree. |
The courgette thought of ways to solve the conflict by .
| A．making peace with the tree |
| B．working together with other vegetables |
| C．entering the gardening contests |
| D．growing big enough |
What can we learn from this passage?
| A．We ought to live in harmony with others. |
| B．We ought to save as much water as possible. |
| C．We ought to learn from each other in some ways. |
| D．We ought to learn to respect each other. |
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