In Mexico, girls mark their fifteenth birthday with a celebration called Quinceanera. In the morning, the birthday girl goes to the church with her family and her best friends. She wears a beautiful dress. Later in the day, there is a huge party, with a big cake that matches the girl’s dress, and a night filled with music and dancing.
Becoming an adult is a very important life change, and Japan has a special holiday to celebrate this. The second Sunday in January is Coming-of-Age Day. On that day, everyone who had their twentieth birthday in the last year goes to their Town Hall for a special activity. Everyone dresses up, and many women wear beautiful dresses. The mayor makes a speech and gives presents to all the new adults.
Some kids are afraid to start school, but six-year-olds in Germany can’t wait. For them, Schulanfang is a big holiday. To celebrate a child’s first day of school, parents or friends give the child a Zuckertuete, a big color box filled with candy and little presents. People take pictures of the kids holding their Zuckertuete, and there is a school party later for the parents with cake and coffee.What happens at Quinceanera?
| A．The birthday girl buys many gifts. |
| B．The birthday girl goes to the church. |
| C．Parents give a Zuckertuete to the child. |
| D．Parents make speeches in the church. |
When is Coming-of-Age Day celebrated?
| A．On one’s first day of school. |
| B．On one’s twentieth birthday. |
| C．On a girl’s fifteenth birthday. |
| D．On the second Sunday in January. |
Schulanfang is celebrated when German children ______.
| A．start school | B．reach the age of 15 |
| C．grow into adults | D．are born |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Celebrating birthdays. |
| B．Celebrating school holidays. |
| C．Celebrating life changes. |
| D．Celebrating national holidays. |
Not many years ago, a wealthy and rather strange old man named Johnson lived alone in a village in the south of England. He had made a lot of money in trading with foreign countries. When he was seventy – five, he gave $ 60,000 to the village school to buy land and equipment for a children’s ground.
As a result of his kindness, he became famous. Many people came to visit him. Among them was a newspaperman. During their talk, Johnson remarked that he was seventy-five and expected to live to be hundred. The newspaperman asked him how he managed to be healthy at seventy-five. Johnson had a sense of humor. He liked whisky and drank some each day. “I have an injection (注射) in my neck each evening,” he told the newspaperman, thinking of his evening glass of whisky.
The newspaperman did not understand what Johnson meant. In his newspaper he reported that Johnson was seventy-five and had daily injection in his neck. Within a week Johnson received thousands of letters from all over Britain, asking him for the secret of his daily injection.Johnson became a rich man through _______.
| A．doing business | B．making whisky |
| C．cheating | D．buying and selling land |
The gift of money to the school suggests that Johnson _______.
| A．had many children in the school | B．was a strange old man |
| C．was very fond of children | D．was very kind |
Many people wrote to Johnson to find out _______.
| A．what kind of whisky he had |
| B．how to live longer |
| C．how to become wealthy |
| D．in which part of the neck to have an injection |
When Johnson said he had an injection in his neck each evening, he really meant that _______.
| A．he liked drinking a glass of whisky in the evening |
| B．he needn’t an injection in the neck |
| C．a daily injection in the evening would make him sleep well |
| D．there was something wrong with his neck |
Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. All believed that they were the most important.
“ Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. Without me, all animals would die. ” Green said.
“ You only think about the earth,” Blue interrupted, “ but consider the sky and the sea. The sky gives space, peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing. ”
Yellow shouted, “ You are all so serious. I bring laughter and warmth into the world. Without me there would be no fun. ”
Orange started next , “ I am the color of health and strength. My beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you. ”
Red could stand it no longer, he shouted out, “ I am the ruler of all of you. I am the color of danger and of bravery. Without me, the earth would be an empty as the moon. ”
Purple rose up to his full height. He was very tall and spoke with great pomp(炫耀), “ I am the color of loyalty(忠诚) and power. I am the sign of authority(权利) and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey. ”
Finally Indigo(靛蓝) spoke, much more quietly than all the others, “ I represent thought and reflection（反思）. You need me for balance and contrast(对比). ”
Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a flash of lightning. Rain started to pour down and speak “ You should stretch across the sky in a great bow of color. Remember to appreciate one another. Only the rainbow is the most beautiful. ”Green thinks he is according to the passage.
| A．the sign of life | B．the laughter of the world |
| C．the ruler of the world | D．the sign of authority |
Purple thinks people should listen and obey him because he stands for .
| A．life | B．peace | C．power | D．strength |
From the story we know that is very calm(镇定的).
| A．Red | B．Yellow | C．Purple | D．Indigo |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
| A．None of the colors would agree with others. |
| B．Yellow believes the world have fun because of him. |
| C．Rainbow is the most beautiful because of all the colors. |
| D．Rain thinks he is the most important. |
The implied(暗指的) meaning of the story is that .
| A．colors can quarrel like humans |
| B．everyone should learn to appreciate one another |
| C．only the rainbow is the most beautiful |
| D．the rainbow is made up of many colors |
To be punctual is important for us because people rather expect us to be on time for appointments. But it seems not easy to be on time every time. Here are some useful methods to help you be punctual.
Plan your route. If your destination(目的地) is unfamiliar, go online the night before to map out your route and see how long it’s going to take. Then you will know when you have to leave the house.
Do as much as possible the night before. Make your mornings less stressful（有压力的） by doing what you can the night before to make your time enough. Get your clothes ready. Set the breakfast table. Make your lunch if you need to take it.
Make a time table. You need to make a time table if you have lots of things to do in a day. For example, the time you get up, the time you leave the house, and the time you wait for the bus. You also need to estimate(估计) how long it takes.
Give yourself a gift of being early. If you plan to get to your destination 15 minutes early, you’ll probably never be late again. Being early seems a waste of time. But you can do something you love. Read the newspaper, read your favorite blogs and even call a friend. It really can be a gift.The underlined word “punctual” probably means .
| A．on time | B．at work | C．quiet | D．careful |
You need to plan your route when .
| A．you are busy in the morning |
| B．you have to take your breakfast |
| C．you have lots of things to do |
| D．you are unfamiliar with your destination |
What don’t you need to do to make your mornings less stressful?
| A．Get your clothes ready. | B．Set the breakfast table. |
| C．Make a time table. | D．Make your lunch. |
The writer gives us methods to help us be punctual.
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
From the passage, we can know that .
| A．being early is a waste of time |
| B．your friends will give you a gift if you’re on time |
| C．being late sometimes is good |
| D．doing something you love is a gift sometimes |
A number of recent studies have shown how making several small lifestyle changes could help you lose weight without losing the pleasure to enjoy the food you love．
1．Use a smaller plate
A Comell University study found that when a fixed portion（一份，一客） of food was eaten from a large plate, diners felt they had been given a smaller than average portion, so ate more．When the same portion of food was eaten from a smaller dish, the meal seemed more, so they ate less．
2．Eat with men
Eat with men if you're a woman．According to psychologist Meredith Young, women eat less if there are men around．She told The Atlantic: "It is possible that small food portions signal attractiveness．"
3．Avoid light at night
This includes late-night television and computer use．A study into the effects of bright light or darkness on weight-gain in mice found that those under a bright light at night gained 50 per cent more weight than those in darkness．
4．Be careful around friends
Children eat more with a friend than with a stranger, according to a study at the State University of New York at Buffalo．Researchers said that it ，which applies to adults too, can be blamed on the fact that friends act as so-called permission-givers, and encourage one to eat．
5．Be aware of skinny friends who eat a lot
Worse still, are thin friends who have large appetites．A study found that participants ate more during a movie when accompanied by a skinny person who ate a Jot, compared with those sitting next to a fat person who ate a lot．
6．Avoid advertisements for exercise
A study shows that participants who were shown advertisements encouraging exercise ate more than those who weren't．The same was true of participants exposed to words related to exercise during mealtimes．The underlined word "it" refers to ____．
| A．children eat more with a friend |
| B．adults eat more with a friend |
| C．friends act as permission-givers |
| D．people should be careful around friends |
In order to lose weight, everyone should _____．
| A．be exposed to words related to exercise |
| B．try to eat with men together |
| C．avoid watching TV at night |
| D．be always around skinny friends |
The purpose of writing the passage is ______．
| A．to make the readers amused |
| B．to give advice on losing weight |
| C．to introduce common sense |
| D．to attract more fat readers |
Any list of the world's top ten most famous paintings will surely include da Vinci's Mona Lisa．Part of the painting's attraction is its mystery（神秘）．
Those lucky enough to have a view of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre often stare in awe（敬畏）, surprised by the smile that seems to flicker（忽隐忽现）．Staring at a reproduction of the work produces the same effect．Now she's smiling, then she's not．
What's the deal with Mona Lisa's smile?
Harvard scientist Margaret Livingstone is pretty sure she's solved the puzzle．After careful studies on human brains, Livingstone reasoned that the famous painting's flickering smile is caused by the way human beings see．
Our eyes use two separate regions（部位） to see．One is central vision（视力；视觉）, used to see colors and pick out details such as fine print．The other is the vision around, used to observe lights, shadows, black and white contrasts．
When we look at a person's face, according to Livingstone, we usually focus centrally on the eyes．Staring at Mona Lisa's eyes, our less accurate vision notices the mouth, picking up shadows from the cheekbones．The shadows play tricks, looking like a smile．But when we look directly at the mouth, our central vision doesn't see the shadows, and so the smile suddenly disappears．As our eyes observe different parts of the painting, Mona's smile seems to show up or disappear．
Did da Vinci intend to create this flickering smile effect? Perhaps．In any case, he was talented enough to paint shadows so good as to puzzle viewers for centuries．Meanwhile, Mona Lisa will keep smiling．And not．Staring at Mona Lisa, people are amazed because _____．
| A．it is one of the world's top ten most famous paintings |
| B．Mona Lisa's smile seems to disappear sometimes |
| C．they are lucky enough to have a view at the Louvre |
| D．the reproduction of the work produces the same effect |
The central vision is used to see ______．
| A．colors and pick out details | B．black and white contrasts |
| C．lights and shadows | D．fine paintings |
While looking at a person's face, the first we focus on is ____．
| A．eyes | B．brains | C．mouth | D．cheekbone |
What can you infer from the passage?
| A．Da Vinci created the flickering smile effect by design． |
| B．The flickering smile effect is caused by the shadows． |
| C．Our eyes use many separate regions to see paintings． |
| D．Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world． |
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