Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer(征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the united kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work , forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived(复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish song which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc. What does the author tell us in paragraph 1?
| A．How the Irish fought against the English. |
| B．How Ireland gained independence. |
| C．How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland. |
| D．How two “Irelands” came into being. |
We learn from the text that in Ireland .
| A．food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population |
| B．people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside |
| C．it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker |
| D．different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments |
The last paragraph is mainly about .
| A．the Irish character |
| B．Irish culture |
| C．Irish musical instruments |
| D．a famous Irish writer |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A．Life in Ireland |
| B．A Very Difficult History |
| C．Ireland, Past and Present |
| D．The Independence of Ireland |
How to Be a Winner
Sir Steven Redgrave
Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals
“In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes (糖尿病) . Believing my career (职业生涯)was over, I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing. That was it----the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believed in myself. I am not saying that it isn’t difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t finished yet. Nothing is to stand in my way.”
Karen Pickering
Swimming World Champion
“I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary. This is the key to success—you can’t follow a career in any field without being well-organized. List what you believe you can achieve. “Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you’ll be a step closer to achieving them.”
Kirsten Best
Poet ＆ Writer
“When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can’t achieve something. Then, there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as ‘calm’, ‘peace’ or ‘focus’, either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological (心理的) tool.”What does Sir Steven Redgrave mainly talk about?
| A．Difficulties influenced his career. |
| B．Specialists offered him medical advice. |
| C．Training helped him defeat his disease. |
| D．He overcame the shadow of illness to win. |
What does Karen Pickering put on top of her diary?
| A．Her training schedule. |
| B．Her daily happenings. |
| C．Her achievements. |
| D．Her sports career. |
What does the underlined word “distractions” probably refer to?
| A．Ways that help one to focus. |
| B．Words that help one to feel less tense. |
| C．Activities that turn one’s attention away. |
| D．Habits that make it hard for one to relax. |
According to the passage, what do the three people have in common?
| A．Courage. |
| B．Devotion. |
| C．Hard work. |
| D．Self-confidence. |
Not all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relive these experiences.
Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce, or possibly erase the effect of painful memories.
In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far, the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are erased.
The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it. Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers’ troubling memories after wars.
They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories. “Some memories can ruin people’s lives. They come back to you when you don’t want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions,” said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry(精神病学)at Harvard Medical School. “This could relieve（减轻）a lot of that suffering.”
But those who are against the research say that changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity. They also help us avoid the mistakes in the past. “All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were horrible at the time but make us who we are. I am not sure we’d want to wipe those memories out.” said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．People often suffer from bad memories. |
| B．American researchers are trying to develop a pill. |
| C．Forget bad memories , and be happy. |
| D．The research has caused a heated argument. |
The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refers to “_____”.
| A．the new drug |
| B．the research into the drug |
| C．the bad memory |
| D．the chemical in the drug |
Which of the following is NOT the opinion of the opponents(反对者)?
| A．Our memories give us our identity. |
| B．The memories help human avoid mistakes of the past. |
| C．The drug should be used in only very serious cases. |
| D．People may not be sure whether they want to wipe the memories out. |
Children of America are getting fatter every time. 13% of the children at the age of 6 to 11 are overweight(too fat).
When we look at children's lives today in the USA, we can see the root(origin)of the problem--sports and foods. Young children like sports but they don't have enough around the start of high school. That's especially true for girls. Meanwhile, to make matters worse, schools are becoming much more interested in sports teams. So children are not able to get enough exercise just when they need it the most. There is also the food problem. Children get most of their calories(热量) at restaurants or parties or somewhere else away from home. They often drink too many Cokes. Parents have a lot of fears about telling a child he needs to lose weight-- they are afraid it will push a child into an eating disorder. Some parents fear that pushing children to lose weight means their children will think they're not good enough, or not loved because of their weight. Parents need to come to terms with the fact that the family is very important to the children. The most useful program for children is called "family weight control". This is good news. Mom and Dad, even if they don't have weight problems, have to go through the same program as their children and learn how to get some exercise and how to eat healthily. Why are American children getting fatter? The writer thinks_______.
| A．parents also have weight problem as their children |
| B．children drink too many Cokes |
| C．schools are more interested in sports teams |
| D．children have less exercise and eat unhealthily |
The writer wants to tell parents that_______.
| A．overweight children are not loved by people |
| B．children are afraid to lose weight when they have to |
| C．family members can help overweight children a lot |
| D．girls don't like to exercise |
Which of the following is NOT the root of overweight problem? _______.
| A．Higher-calorie. | B．Less sports. |
| C．Family weight control. | D．higher-fat foods. |
The writer thinks if mother or father is on the same program as their children, _______.
| A．"family weight control" will be successful |
| B．it will make the children eat much more |
| C．their children will not eat better |
| D．parents will feel sorry about themselves |
One is not born able to speak a language. One is born able to make a noise. I have heard babies cry in America and in China. I can’t tell any difference. But when I hear someone from America speak English and hear someone speak Chinese, I can tell you there are a lot of differences.
I believe a common(普遍的) problem with Chinese students’ learning English is that they were not taught to think in English. They have an idea spoken in English and want to translate the idea into Chinese, then they think in Chinese of the proper reply and translate it into English. After a long period of speaking the language, one begins to think in the foreign language naturally. You will learn faster if you begin to think in English at the very beginning of your study. Many students ask me: What can I do to improve my spoken English?
My reply is: The more English you speak, the better English you will speak. There are many things you can do to improve your spoken English. Of course, the best way is to live where English is spoken as a language of the country.The cries of American and Chinese babies are _______.
| A．different | B．the same |
| C．not like each other | D．like each other |
The underlined sentence (in Paragraph 2) means that______.
| A．some teachers didn’t teach students to think in English |
| B．teachers never gave the students the way of learning English |
| C．students didn’t remember the way teachers taught them |
| D．teachers didn’t want their students to think in English |
The underlined word “they” (in Paragraph 2) refers to “_____”.
| A．Chinese students | B．English students |
| C．Chinese teachers | D．English teachers |
According to the article, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．You must think in English all the time. |
| B．You should always translate English into Chinese. |
| C．After speaking English for a long time, you may probably think in English naturally(自然地). |
| D．The best way of learning English is to live in America. |
Tom was a clever boy, but his parents were poor, so he had to work in his spare time and during his holidays to pay for his education. In spite of this, he managed to get to the university, but it was so expensive to study there that during the holiday he found it necessary to get two jobs at the same time so as to make enough money to pay for his studies.
One summer he managed to get a job in a butcher’s shop(肉店)during the day-time, and another in a hospital at night. In the shop, he learnt to cut meat quite nicely, so the butcher often left him to do all the serving （服务）while he went to the back room to do the accounts(账目). In the hospital , on the other hand, he was , of course , allowed （允许）to do the simplest jobs, like helping to lift people and to carry them from one part of the hospital to another. Both at the butcher’s shop and at the hospital, Tom had to wear white clothes.
One evening at the hospital, Tom had to carry a woman from her bed to the place where she was to have an operation. The woman was already feeling frightened at the thought of the operation before he came to get her, but when she saw Tom, that finished her.
“No! No!” she cried． “Not my butcher! I won’t be operated on by my butcher!” and fainted away(昏厥).Tom made enough money by ________.
| A．studying in the university |
| B．working in a butcher’s shop |
| C．doing two jobs |
| D．cutting meat well |
Tom was a student, but at the same time he was__________.
| A．a butcher and a doctor |
| B．a manager and a doctor |
| C．an assistant（助手） |
| D．a manager |
The woman patient recognized Tom because ____________.
| A．he was wearing white clothes |
| B．he had sold meat to her |
| C．he was now working in the hospital |
| D．he was going to operate on her |
When she saw Tom, that finished her, the sight of Tom _________.
| A．plunged her into deep sorrow |
| B．made her decide not to have an operation |
| C．broke her heart |
| D．took all her strength and courage away |
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