In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music, dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.
It quickly attracted famous names such as Alec Guinness, Richard Burton, Dame Margot Fonteyn and Marlene Dietrich as well as the big symphony orchestras (交响乐团). It became a fixed event every August and now attracts 400,000 people yearly.
At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival. Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947, in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform, and they did so in a public house disused for years.
Soon, groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.
Today the “Fringe”, once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre, music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yet as early as 1959, with only 19 theatre groups performing, some said it was getting too big.
A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. More than 1.25 million tickets were sold.What was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at the beginning?
| A．To bring Europe together again. |
| B．To honor heroes of World WarⅡ. |
| C．To introduce young theatre groups. |
| D．To attract great artists from Europe. |
Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to Edinburgh in 1947?
| A．They owned a public house there. |
| B．They came to take up a challenge. |
| C．They thought they were also famous. |
| D．They wanted to take part in the festival. |
Who joined the "Fringe" after it appeared?
| A．Popular writers |
| B．University students. |
| C．Artists from around the world. |
| D．Performers of music and dance. |
We may learn from the text that Edinburgh Festival______.
| A．has become a non-official event |
| B．has gone beyond an art festival |
| C．gives shows all year round |
| D．keeps growing rapidly |
We already know the fastest, least expensive way to slow climate change: Use less energy. With a little effort, and not much money, most of us could reduce our energy diets by 25 percent or more—doing the Earth a favor while also helping our wallets.
Not long ago, my wife, PJ, and I tried a new diet—not to lose a little weight but to answer an annoying question about climate change. Scientists have reported recently that the world is heating up even faster than predicted only a few years ago, and that the consequences could be severe if we don’t keep reducing emissions(排放) of carbon dioxide(CO2) and other greenhouse gases that are trapping heat in our atmosphere.
We decided to try an experiment. For one month we recorded our personal emissions of CO2. We wanted to see how much we could cut back, so we went on a strict diet. The average US household(家庭) produces about 150 pounds of CO2 a day by doing common-place things like turning on air-conditioning or driving cars. That’s more than twice the European average and almost five times the global average, mostly because Americans drive more and have bigger houses. But how much should we try to reduce?
For an answer, I checked with Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers:How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth. In his book, he had challenged readers to make deep cuts in personal emissions to keep the world from reaching extremely important tipping points, such as the melting(融化) of the ice sheets in Greenland or West Antarctica. “To stay below that point, we need to reduce CO2 emissions by 80 percent, ”he said.
Good advice, I thought. I’d opened our bedroom windows to let in the wind. We’d gotten so used to keeping our air-conditioning going around the clock. I’d almost forgotten the windows even opened. We should not let this happen again. It’s time for us to change our habits if necessary.Why did the author and his wife try a new diet?
| A．To take special kinds of food. |
| B．To respond to climate change. |
| C．To lose weight. |
| D．To improve their health. |
The underlined words “tipping points” most probably refer to “ ”.
| A．freezing points | B．burning points |
| C．melting points | D．boiling points |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
| A．it is necessary to keep the air-conditioning on all the time |
| B．it seems possible for every household to cut emissions of CO2 |
| C．the average US household produces about 3, 000 pounds of CO2 a month |
| D．the average European household produces about 1, 000 pounds of CO2 a month |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Saving Energy Starts at Home |
| B．Changing Our Habits Begins at Work |
| C．Changing Climate Sounds Reasonable |
| D．Reducing Emissions of CO2 Proves Difficult |
B
If John wants to express his love to his wife, the book number he may choose is .
| A．1404185526 | B．0071460152 |
| C．0312283202 | D．140039404X |
Which of the following will save the most money for you?
| A．I Love You, Sweetheart |
| B．Eat Right for Your Metabolism |
| C．The Girls |
| D．The Twelve Dogs of Christmas Gift Set |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Not only I Love You, Sweetheart but also The Girls is paperback. |
| B．There are many beautiful songs in I Love You, Sweetheart. |
| C．Eat Right for Your Metabolism tells us the importance of keeping healthy. |
| D．The Girls is thicker than The Twelve Dogs of Christmas Gift Set. |
You know how wonderful you are, and you know that others know how wonderful you are, but what do you do when admiration crosses over the line into jealousy？For most teens there will come a day when you realize that one of your friends is jealous and that this jealousy is hurting your friendship. When this happens it can seem like there is nothing that you can do, but the good news is that there is. Don’t let jealousy spoil your relationships. Tackle it head on and you might be back to normal much sooner than you think.
It can be hard to walk up to a friend and ask them what the problem is, but if you want to save your friendship you’ll have to do just that. Don’t approach them and ask why they are jealous of you (unless of course you want to appear totally conceited), just take some time alone with them and let them know that you’ve been feeling like there’s been something coming between you. If they refuse to respond, then use the opportunity to explain how you have been feeling. Chances are that something you say will strike a nerve and your friend will open up as well.
When you figure out what is annoying your friend，ask him or her what (s)he thinks would make the situation better. If ,for example, (s)he says that (s)he feels like (s)he doesn't get to spend any time with you because of your being off with your new friends from the swim team then maybe you could invite her along the next time or block off one day a week for just the two of you. Remember, though, that whatever solution you decide on should be a compromise. Don’t limit your own talents or opportunities simply because your friend is unhappy. Try instead to include him or her in your new life and see how that works out.
Even the best of friendships can be tinged by jealousy. This destructive emotion is rarely productive and can turn best friends into worst enemies. Before taking extreme action, chat with your jealous friend to see if the two of you can work out a compromise. If you can’t, be prepared to know exactly how far you will go to keep your friend and how far you won't.According to the author，the jealousy emotion is ________.
| A．normal | B．productive | C．destructive | D．extreme |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way to confront your friend when jealousy happens?
| A．Walking up to him/her and asking him/her why he/she is jealous of you. |
| B．Walking up to him/her and asking him/her what the problem is. |
| C．Spending some time with him/her and letting him/her know how you feel. |
| D．Spending some time with him/her and letting him/her know you think there’s something coming between you. |
What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?
| A．There's always a solution to solve the problem of jealousy. |
| B．Jealousy can turn best friends into worst enemies. |
| C．You may lose a friend to keep your own gifts，chances or self-development. |
| D．You should go a long way with your friend to work out a solution |
The purpose of the passage is ________.
| A．to explain what causes jealousy |
| B．to offer some advice on making friends |
| C．to introduce the way to cope with a jealous friend |
| D．to explain how destructive the jealous emotion is |
Energy goes from one plant or animal to another. A food chain shows how this energy moves. Each time an animal gets eaten, its energy is passed onto the animal that eats it. The food chain is very important because it keeps the balance of nature. If one part of the food chain disappears, it can affect all the other plants and animals. Any threat to the food chain is a threat to the environment’s biodiversit(生物多样性). The food chain helps keep animal populations in balance. However, if something happens to increase or decrease one of the links in the food chain, that balance is broken. If one animal becomes endangered, it puts all the animals above it at risk.
Some of the threats are natural, such as wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, floods and so on. But the biggest threats to the food chain come from you and me. These threats include overhunting, overfishing, logging, farming, development, pollution, etc. The food chain is endangered anywhere humans have had an effect on the natural environment.
A recent study shows that the overfishing of large sharks is damaging the food chain along the US Atlantic coast. Canadian and American scientists say sharks are being killed in great numbers for their meat and fins(鳍). Now, not enough sharks are around to eat the cownose(牛鼻) ray. The ray’s population has increased and they have eaten up the shellfish to the point where it has hurt commercial(商业的) fishing.
Many of us disturb the natural environment in our own backyards. It’s up to us to take care of the environment and try not to disrupt the natural food chain. If we don’t act responsibly, animals will start disappearing.What can we learn from Paragraph 1?
| A．The food chain is not easy to be broken. |
| B．The energy of an animal usually disappears when it dies. |
| C．Increasing the links will not break the balance of nature. |
| D．Breaking the food chain is bad for the biodiversity of the environment. |
The study mentioned in Paragraph 3 proves that .
| A．human activities can be a big threat to the food chain |
| B．we are all responsible for the breaking of the food chain |
| C．natural disasters are hard to break the food chain |
| D．hunting large sharks for meat is beneficial |
We can infer that the writer wrote this passage mainly to .
| A．explain what the food chain is |
| B．tell us something interesting about Nature |
| C．suggest that we stop eating meat to save animals |
| D．suggest that we not disrupt the natural food chain |
If you will be cycling, you will need to know what these traffic signs and signals mean.
A sign like this one means that there is a bike lane(道). If there is a bike lane, you are required to use it. If there is not a bike lane, you should ride with traffic as far to the right side of the road as possible.
When the signal light turns green, cars go. When you cross the street at a signal light, you should wait for the walk signal. Be sure to look carefully to the left, right and left again, before crossing the street.
When the signal light turns yellow, car drivers should slow down and prepare to stop. You should not cross if the light is yellow. The light is about to turn red, and cars will enter the intersection(十字路口).
This signal is the WALK sign. It has a picture of a person walking instead of using the word WALK.
This signal is the DON’T WALK sign. It is part of the signal with the picture of a person walking. This is a picture of a red hand, meaning you should stop. You should wait to cross the street until the green picture of the person walking is showing.
Car drivers and bikers must come to a complete stop at STOP signs.
A yield sign means to slow down and be ready to stop. If there are pedestrians（行人）or vehicles in or nearing the intersection, you must stop. If there is no traffic in or nearing the intersection and it is safe, you may go through.
This sign means you are coming to a crosswalk. Car drivers and bikers must stop to allow people in the crosswalk to cross the street.The passage is intended for .
| A．car drivers | B．skaters |
| C．bikers | D．pedestrians |
If you see the sign
while riding a bike, you are required to .
| A．take the bike lane |
| B．stop your bike |
| C．ride close to the right side of the road |
| D．ride in the middle of the road |
Which of the following signs has the same meaning as the sign
?
A． |
B． |
C． |
D． |
When the signal light turns yellow, cyclists .
| A．can cross the road | B．should walk across the road |
| C．should wait | D．can enter the intersection |
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