Let’s say a person gets up at 7:00 in the morning and goes to bed at 11:00 at night. He comes home from work about 6:30, and by the time he has finished with dinner it is after 8:00. He steps outside in the summer to relax — but it’s already getting dark! Not much time to enjoy the summer day.
Now suppose you set the clock ahead one hour. This person still does everything at the same time — but this time, when he steps out at 8:00 there’s still plenty of light to enjoy. An hour of daylight has been “saved” for him!
Daylight saving time doesn’t, of course, add any hours to a day. This is impossible. All it does is to increase the number of useful hours of daylight during the seasons when the sun rises early.
Daylight saving is most popular in cities. It allows the closing of offices, shops, and factories at the end of the working day while the sun is still high. Farmers, who do their work by sun time, usually do not observe daylight saving time. They cannot work in the field before the morning dew(露水) has dried or after it appears in the evening.
Did you know who first thought of daylight saving time? It was Benjamin Franklin! When he was living in France in the 18th century, he suggested the idea to the people in Paris. But it was not adopted then.
Daylight saving laws were first passed during World WarⅠ, when materials for making electricity was hard to find, and when it was necessary to save on artificial light. With daylight saving, the bedtime of many people comes soon after it gets dark, while without it, if people stay up until the same hour they may have to use artificial light.
Germany was the first country to adopt daylight saving time in 1915. Then England used it in 1916, and the United States adopted it in 1918.What does the underlined word “artificial” mean?
| A．natural | B．man-made |
| C．bright | D．sun |
What’s the purpose of adopting daylight saving time?
| A．To have more artificial light. |
| B．To have one more hour to work. |
| C．To make better use of daylight in certain seasons. |
| D．To have one more hour to rest. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Once the idea of daylight saving time is proposed, it was adopted. |
| B．The idea of daylight saving time went through a long process of being adopted. |
| C．It was a French scientist that put forward the idea of daylight saving time. |
| D．The idea of daylight saving time didn’t make any difference at all. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Winter is a good season for daylight saving time. |
| B．Daylight saving time is especially good for wars. |
| C．Daylight saving time is good for anyone in any places. |
| D．Not all seasons are good for daylight saving time. |
Rules for the University Entrance Examination
You must be at the examination center ten minutes before the examination starts．If you are more than ten minutes late, you may not enter the examination center．The examination takes place at the same time in different states．
You must have proof of your name and grade as well as official examination number．Show these when you come to the examination center．
Depending on which examination you are taking you may bring certain items into the examination center．Mathematics examinations may allow you to use electronic calculators（计算器）．Other subjects may allow you to use dictionaries and other reference material．Please read the notes sent with your time table carefully．
You must bring your own pencils．None will be provided for you．The following items are not allowed in the examination center: walkmans and radios, head sets, any food or drink, school bags, electronic equipment （unless specifically permitted for various subjects）, and mobile phones．
Once in the center, you must sit at the desk with your examination number on it．When you sit down, place your examination number at the to corner of your desk．You must remain silent during the examination．You must not disturb other people who are taking the test．
If you need a drink or toilet break, you should raise your hand and wait for the supervisor（监督者） to speak to you．You will be given water or the supervisor will take you to the bathroom．You are not allowed to talk with anyone during the break．
You must write your answers in the official answer sheet．Your supervisor will provide extra paper if you wish to make notes．
You may leave the examination room at any time if you do not plan to return, If you finish early and want to leave well away from the examination center．
The supervisor will warn you fifteen minutes, five minutes and one minute before the end of the examination．When the supervisor says that the time is up you must put down your pencil and wait at your desk until your paper is collected．What kind of examination are these rules probably for?
| A．A local exam． | B．A final exam． |
| C．A college exam． | D．A national exam． |
What are you allowed to have with you when you take mathematics examination?
| A．Related material． | B．Proof of yourself． |
| C．A cell phone． | D．A dictionary． |
What should you do if you finish the test early and want to get a better result?
| A．Take some notes carefully． |
| B．Leave the room immediately． |
| C．Remain in your seat and check again． |
| D．Raise your hand to inform your teacher． |
Hidden in our subconsciousness (潜意识) is a perfect mental picture. We see ourselves on a long trip that goes across the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows, we think in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle feeding on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, or row upon row of corn and wheat, of flat lands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hills, of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw（拼图玩具） puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles(通道), condemning the minutes for loitering --waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.
“When we reach the station, that will be it!” we cry. “When I’m 38.” “When I buy a new 450SL Mercdes Benz!” “When I put the last kid through college.” “When I have paid off the loan!” “When I get a promotion.” “When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after! ”
Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.
“Relish(appreciate) the moment” is a good motto, actually it isn’t the burdens of today that drive man mad. It is the regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more and cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. Then the station will come soon enough.Why does the author describe the mental picture?
| A．To lead us into a perfect world. |
| B．To let people enjoy the scenery. |
| C．To introduce an actual trip of his. |
| D．To compare it to our life’s journey. |
How do people feel when they’re on their trip?
| A．Puzzled. | B．Happy. | C．Relaxed. | D．Impatient. |
What does the author mean by “Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today” in Line 2 Paragraph 5?
| A．Regret and fear are responsible for the loss of today. |
| B．We must be careful of the two thieves: regret and fear. |
| C．regret and fear stop us from enjoying our present life. |
| D．We’re frequently challenged by the two : regret and fear. |
Why does the author write the passage?
| A．To teach us a good lesson. |
| B．To tell us the right attitude to life. |
| C．To advice us to forget our worries. |
| D．To stop us wandering along the aisles. |
American actress Marisa Tomei won an Academy Award for her work in the 1992 movie My Cousin Vinny. People laughed when they saw her film character telling a boyfriend that they need to get married. Why marriage? Because her biological clock is ticking and she wants a baby.
“Well I hate to bring it up because I know you got enough pressure on you already. But…we agreed to get married as soon as you won your first case(law case). Meanwhile, ten years later…my niece…the daughter of my sister is getting married. My biological clock is ticking like this (stomp, stomp, stomp). And the way this case is going…I ain’t never getting married.”
“Lisa, I don’t need this. I swear to God I don’t need this right now.”
Using it this way, a biological clock means the time in a woman’s life when she is able to bear children. In the not-so-distant past, most people thought that when a woman reached her 40s it was too late for her to have children. The time on her biological clock had run out.
Well, that has changed. These days some women are resetting their biological clocks. They are giving themselves more time to have children.
Make no mistake. Being a “Single Mother by Choice” is very different from younger women who find themselves pregnant, perhaps not by choice.
Generally speaking, single mothers by choice are older and well educated. They are usually financially secure and successful in their careers. So, they have the money. What they may not have is a partner.
This is the place in life where writer Kerry Reichs found herself several years ago. She says she did not plan to become a single mother. She says she just did not find the right partner.
“Well, I think I had a set of standards for the partner I was looking for and I didn’t meet anyone that fit those standards. And, at 39 I found myself single, without children and I wanted them very much. So, I made the difficult decision that I could do this on my own. According to the passage, what is a biological clock?
| A．It’s a clock made of biological matters. |
| B．It refers to a women’s certain life period. |
| C．It records when women need to bear children. |
| D．It refers to a woman in her 40s. |
According to the passage, in the past, when a woman reached her 40s, ________.
| A．she can’t get married. |
| B．she might not be able to have children. |
| C．her biological clock will need to be reset. |
| D．her status of being a single mother is difficult. |
What does “Single Mother by Choice” mean?
| A．It means single mothers have a choice. |
| B．It means single mothers are pregnant by chance. |
| C．It means single women in their late 30s or early 40s decided to have children. |
| D．It means women want to make a choice. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Choosing to be a single mother. |
| B．A woman’s biological clock. |
| C．Getting married by force. |
| D．Single women wanting marriage. |
Thick dust rose and a large building collapsed. This was the scene in Zhu Zhou，Hunan Province on May 17. Nine people were killed and 16 injured.
Things were similar in the Sichuan earthquake. Thousands of people were buried in the ruins and lost their lives. What if we could have warned them?
People are always racking their wits to find a way of preventing buildings’ collapse. Better materials and technology help，but they are not a solution.
Just like humans，a building has its own life cycle from “birth” to “death”．If we know when a building is going to collapse，we can repair it in advance or get out of it before it falls. Now，scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a material that turns red before it breaks. The invention could be used in things like climbing ropes or bridge supports. The research was led by Nancy Sottos，a professor at the university’s Beckman Institute，and Douglas Davis，a graduate research assistant.
The secret behind the color—changing material is a type of molecule (分子)．A molecule is a group of atoms held together by chemical bonds. Imagine you and your friends standing in a circle，holding hands. Each person stands for one atom，your hands represent the bonds，and the entire circle represents a molecule. If one person lets go of his or her hands，the molecule changes color. The research team put the molecule into a soft material. When the researchers stretched the material，it turned bright red for a few seconds before it broke into two pieces. When they repeatedly stretched and relaxed the material，without breaking it，it only turned a little red.
The major problem is that light can get rid of the red color. When the team shone bright light on the molecule，the broken bond was fixed，and the color disappeared. Scientists have yet to do more research before the color—changing molecules can be used outside the lab.What does the passage mainly introduce?
| A．The collapse of a large building in Zhu Zhou, Hunan Province. |
| B．A type of molecule that can be put into a soft material |
| C．A material that turns red before it breaks. |
| D．A way of preventing building from collapsing. |
The underlined words “racking their wits” in the third paragraph mean ________.
| A．suffering a lot | B．collecting beyond imagination |
| C．losing a lot | D．thinking very hard |
Which of the following is a WRONG statement?
| A．Thousands of people died from the collapse of buildings in the Sichuan earthquake because they hadn’t been warned. |
| B．There is no building that will never collapse. |
| C．A new material has been applied to buildings to warn people of collapse. |
| D．A color—changing material can turn red before it breaks. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．The color—changing molecules are certain to be used outside the lab. |
| B．There will be less collapse with the help of the color—changing material. |
| C．The bright light may make the material’s warning system useless. |
| D．The problem caused by bright light will be solved by scientists soon. |
The U.S. government is facing an increasing bother. Wild pigs, at their worst, can damage crops, spread diseases, attack humans and kill farm animals. And things are getting worse: a study shows that they are likely to double in number over the next 3 years. Why is it so hard to control wild pigs?
Introduced to America in the 16th century, and related to the wild pigs found in Europe, wild pigs can be found in 75% of all states. No single law exists to control them and regulations differ between states: while in Missouri they can only be shot if met by chance, in Texas hunting is actively encouraged; a “pork chopper” law allows Texan hunters to shoot wild pigs from helicopters, and some people in Louisiana have even built their own pig—hunting drone(无人机). As well as being popular with hunters, wild pigs are cheaper for game raisers to breed(饲养)than deer. In Michigan and Pennsylvania suggested bans on the private breeding of pigs for hunting have caused quarrels between game raisers and wildlife officials.
Wild pigs' double nature—considered pests by farmers, but valued by hunters—makes it hard to pass laws to control them. Two other factors also contribute. Nearly 70% of land in America is privately owned. And it is difficult for lawmakers to force breeding and hunting laws on private landowners. Secondly, it is hard to define a wild pig.
In some states, laws are being introduced to redefine the term “wild animal” to keep out wild pigs. This is good news for those raising pigs for hunting, but less are to those who consider them pests whose number should be limited. Meanwhile, discussions continue over how to deal with this problem.People are not permitted to hunt wild pigs freely in ________.
| A．Texas | B．Michigan |
| C．Missouri | D．Louisiana |
Why do the game raisers prefer raising wild pigs to deer?
| A．It's difficult to raise deer. |
| B．Wild pigs are in large numbers. |
| C．Deer are not popular with hunters. |
| D．They can benefit more from wild pigs. |
Which is NOT the reason for the difficulty in controlling wild pigs?
| A．The difficulty of passing effective laws. |
| B．The high percentage of land owned privately. |
| C．The farmers' unwillingness to shoot wild pigs. |
| D．The popularity of raising wild pigs in many states. |
What is the best title of the text?
| A．Why are wild pigs so hard to control? |
| B．Are wild pigs pests or wild animals? |
| C．Wild pigs—an increasing danger in the US. |
| D．How to deal with the problem of wild pigs? |
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