What is the sky(天空)? Where is it? How high is it? What lies above it? These questions are hard to answer, aren’t they?
Is the sky blue? The sky has no color. We know that there is air around the world. When planes fly, they need air to lift their wings(翼) . Planes cannot fly very high because when they go high, the air gets thinner. If we go up about 1,200 kilometers from the earth, we find there is no air.
Perhaps(也许) we can answer some of our questions now. The sky is space(空间). In this space there is only the sun, the moon and all the stars.What is the sky?
| A．It’s the clouds | B．It’s space. |
| C．It’s air | D．It’s nothing |
The sky _____
| A．is blue | B．is white |
| C．is black | D．has no color |
Planes cannot fly very high because _________.
| A．the air becomes thinner |
| B．the flying machine is not good |
| C．people will be afraid if the planes fly too high |
| D．it is not necessary for planes to fly so high |
If we go up about 1,200 kilometers from the earth, we find ___________.
| A．there is more air | B．there is less air |
| C．there is nothing but air | D．there is no air |
In space there is _________.
| A．nothing | B．air everywhere |
| C．everything | D．only the sun ,the moon and all the stars |
The webs that spiders(蜘蛛) build to catch insects seem weak. However, the strength of spider thread is greater than steel. Webs can even stand up to very strong storms.
In each spider web, some threads are sticky(粘的), but some are not. When a spider is moving on the web, it will not step on the sticky threads. After a time the silk will lose its stickiness and become unable to catch insects. Then, spiders usually eat their own web.
Now a team of scientists has worked out why the spider web is so strong. It is not just the strength of the thread, but the clever design of the web. The key to a web’s success is its ability to keep its shape and strength even after some of the threads break, say scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The scientists found the thread itself has the ability to become softer or harder. So it can hold different types of heavy things.
In tests, scientists used three other strong materials(材料) made into the same webs. The spider thread was six times stronger than any other material. More surprisingly, when the scientists took away up to 10 percent of the threads from different places, the web didn’t become any weaker. Actually, it became up to 10 percent stronger.
The spider web’s clever design gives scientists many new ideas. The findings could help design safer buildings and even a new type of strong material. “It’s a really good chance,” said Markus Buehler, a professor at MIT. “It may give us some new ideas for engineering.”
According to the passage, the spider web is strong because .
a. the spider’s thread is sticky
b. the thread has a lot of strength
c. the web has a clever design
d. the web can keep the strength forever
| A．ab | B．ac | C．bc | D．bd |
In paragraph 4, the scientists’ tests show that .
| A．the spider’s thread is stronger than the other three materials |
| B．the spider’s thread is the strongest material in the world |
| C．the spider’s thread can be as soft or hard as it needs to be |
| D．taking away some spider thread makes the web weaker |
From the last paragraph, we learn that .
| A．people can use spider webs to build houses |
| B．the findings give people new ideas for buildings |
| C．there are many reasons why the spider web is so strong |
| D．Professor Buehler will make a new type of material |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．How spiders catch insects |
| B．How spiders design webs |
| C．Spiders are clever designers |
| D．Webs are stronger than steel |
Is learning a foreign language ever easy? Yes. If you are five and move to another country, you will quickly pick up the language. But what about for the rest of us who are no longer five, and need to be polite when traveling for business or for pleasure? I think that answer is also yes. Language learning can be easy if you don’t want or need to learn too much.
The key to successful language learning in my mind is not to set the goal too high. It is rather like running. Even if you run twice a week, you don’t necessarily want to be able to run a marathon (马拉松). You might just want to keep a level of fitness. I think the same can be true for language learning.
Let’s get back to the goal. If you decide to learn ten words in a foreign language before visiting the country, you know that you will be sure to do this. However, if you decide to talk to people with great fluency (流利), unless you are quite a talented person, you will probably fail and give up in half-way.
It is also far easier to start learning a foreign language than to finish. In other words, the better you are, the slower it can be to improve, because you will not be able to move further because of grammar, making sentences, learning less common words, etc. If you are only trying to learn a few foreign words and sentences, you will enjoy faster progress, have more fun, and won’t have to spend too much time.
The idea of learning only a few hundred words in a language, and then stopping, isn’t the usual way to language learning, but it can be a very meaningful and enjoyable activity.In the writer’s opinion, it is easy for adults to learn English if _______.
| A．they are especially talented people |
| B．they don’t want or need to learn too much |
| C．they have to spend a lot of time on it |
| D．they have a chance to go abroad |
The writer believes that if you want to be good at a foreign language, you will probably _______.
| A．forget your own goal |
| B．become a talented language learner |
| C．get tired of learning it |
| D．reach your learning goal |
The best title of this passage would be _______.
| A．Easy Language Learning |
| B．Hard Language Learning |
| C．Fluency in a Foreign Language |
| D．A way of Language Learning |
If the rose can be said to be a special flower, then the apple can be said to be a special fruit. It is very important in American culture. American stories speak of Johnny Appleseed, who went throughout America collecting apple seeds and planting apple trees. He had a great love for nature and went through fields and farms adding richness and beauty to the country.
One of the first sayings taught to school children is, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” This short saying encourages children to eat fresh fruit to keep healthy. If someone always says good words to a person, people will call him an “apple polisher”. This, however, is not a good name. If someone is very dear to us, we say that he or she is the “apple of our eye”.
Most people believe that the fruit which Eve gave to Adam was an apple, even though the Bible(圣经) never says so. The apple, therefore, is a deep part of the language and stories of America.
An apple is also delicious. Apples can be cooked in many ways, used as a dessert, and made into sweet juice.
In many parts of the country during the harvest season, a popular activity is to go into an apple garden to pick apples. Washington, D. C. and New York are both famous for
their apples.
Finally, when it’s time to take a vacation to American cities, one can always visit New York, which is “the biggest apple” of all the American cities.
What does the underlined phrase “apple polisher” mean?
| A．Something for cutting apples. |
| B．A person who likes to please others. |
| C．A person who is dealing with fruits. |
| D．A machine for cleaning apples quickly. |
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a proverb about ____________.
| A．cooking | B．medicine |
| C．shopping | D．health |
Which of the following is TRUE with apples?
| A．Apples are medicine. |
| B．Apples are the most important food. |
| C．New York is famous for its big apples. |
| D．The Bible says Adam was given an apple. |
The passage is mainly about___________.
| A．stories about the apple |
| B．apples in American culture |
| C．some famous sayings of the apple |
| D．big cities that is famous for apples |
Mr. Smith was in trouble those days. He drove a car for Mr. Black, a rich businessman. He worked hard and the shopkeeper liked him. But he couldn't work when he drank too much. Once he almost fell into the river when he drove along the bridge. Mr. Black became angry and was going to send him away. Mr. Smith had a big family and was afraid of it and promised he would stop drinking at once. The man told him to wait to be dealt with.
One Monday morning Mr. Smith came into the office with two badly burnt ears. "What happened to your ears?" asked Mr. Black.
"Well, "said the man," I went to watch a football match yesterday while my wife was ironing （熨）clothes. She had put the iron near the telephone before she went to cook supper. Our team lost the game and I felt sorry for it. As soon as I went in the sitting -room, the phone rang and I answered the iron!” “And what happened to the other ear?" "When I put the iron down on the table, the telephone rang again!"________ , so he almost drove the car into the river.
| A．Mr. Smith was not careful |
| B．Mr. Smith drank too much |
| C．Mr. Smith, forgot they were on the bridge |
| D．Mr. Smith couldn't work in the evening |
Mr. Smith went to watch the football match on______.
| A．Monday | B．Tuesday |
| C．Saturday | D．Sunday |
Why were Mr Smith’s ears burnt?
| A．Beacause he had a car accident |
| B．Because his wife hit him |
| C．Because he mistake the iron for the telephone and “answer it” |
| D．Because his boss hit him |
We can guess________.
| A．Mr. Smith drank much after the match |
| B．Mr. Smith was angry with his team |
| C．Mr. Smith didn't drink those days |
| D．Mr. Smith watched the match at home |
Many daily American expressions are based (以……为基础) on colours.
Red is a hot colour. Americans often use it to represent heat. When they say “red-hot”, that means they are very angry about something. Loud music is popular with many people. Some may say that such music is red-hot.
Pink is a lighter kind of red. People sometimes say “I’m in the pink” when they are in good health. The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the 20th century. It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink colour that shows that they are in good health.
Blue is a cool colour. The old Blues music in the United States is the opposite of red-hot music. Blues is slow and sad. Someone who is “blue” is very sad.
The colour green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural colour for humans. A person who has an upset stomach may say “I’m feeling a bit green”. A person on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves can be said “look very green”. Sometimes a person may be very jealous because he does not have anything as nice as someone has, like a fast new car. That person may say “I’m green with envy”. Some people are green with envy because someone has more dollars or “greenbacks”. Dollars are called greenbacks in American slangs because that is the colour of the bottom of their bank notes.
The colour black is used often in expressions. People may say “it’s a black day” when everything goes wrong on that day.
In some cases, colours describe a situation. Blackouts were common during the World War II. All the lights in a city were turned off at night to make it difficult for enemy planes to find their aims in the dark.
阅读短文，选择最佳选项。 What does “I’m in the pink” mean?
| A．I’m sad. | B．I’m happy. |
| C．I’m healthy. | D．I’m worried. |
We describe a day on which everything goes wrong as ______.
| A．a red day | B．a green day |
| C．a pink day | D．a black day |
What does the underlined word, “blackouts” mean in Chinese?
| A．漆黑的夜晚 | B．穿黑衣服外出 |
| C．灯火管制 | D．去掉黑色 |
Which of the following sentences is TRUE, according to the passage?
| A．People in the USA use the colour black to express heat. |
| B．If you are blue, you are very happy. |
| C．Blue and red are both warm colours. |
| D．If someone is very rich, you may be green with envy. |
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