When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man bought it for a few coppers（铜钱）.Between its pages there was something very interesting. It was a thin paper on which was written the secret of the “Touchstone”!
The touchstone was a small pebble（卵石）that could turn any common metal into gold. The writing explained that it was lying among thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles were cold.
So the man camped on the seashore and began testing pebbles.
He thought that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and put them down again, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone.
The days became weeks and the weeks into months. One day, however, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea .So when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.
So it is with opportunity. Unless we are careful, it’s easy to fail to know an opportunity when it is in hand and it’s just as easy to throw it away.The book was special to the man because ______.
| A．it was made of cotton |
| B．it was the only book that was saved from the great fire |
| C．it was a story about how to tell the touchstone from ordinary stones |
| D．it included the secret of the touchstone |
The man threw pebbles into the sea ______.
| A．to test how far he could throw |
| B．to practice throwing pebbles |
| C．to avoid picking up the same pebble once again |
| D．to express his disappointment at failing to find the touchstone |
The story is written mainly to tell us that___________.
| A．careful habits can lead to success. |
| B．habits can benefit you but also hold you back. |
| C．never judge a person or a thing by appearances. |
| D．opportunity only visits the ready and watchful mind |
Language shows the environment where we live. We name the things around. Usually, the important things own many specific names, while the less important things only have some general names. So in one culture people may have a large vocabulary to describe a certain object, while in another culture, such vocabulary is small.
For instance. the Chinese have many words for "rice" and for "family members". The British use many different expressions for "rain". Kids growing up on a farm may be able to offer ten different words for plow, a farming tool.
In some cultures, there is an amazingly large vocabulary to describe a certain thing. Eskimos have about 100 words for snow. For them, snow is so important to life that each of its forms and conditions has to own a name, They divide snow into four main categories, such as snow lying on the ground, snow floating in the sky .snow piling up, and snow piles. These different kinds of snow will tell them different weather conditions. It's the same with the Arabians, whose life depends much on camels. In the Arabic language, according to camels' appearance, characters, drinking behaviours, and the roles they play, there are hundreds of different words for the camel and all of its parts. Snow and camel are far less important in English-speaking cultures, and the single words "snow" and "camel" can usually satisfy their needs. When the needs become more specific, however, they can make up longer phrases to meet the needs: "corn snow", "flying snow", "big camel", "funny camel", etc.
As we can see, there is a 45 between the words and the ideas of that culture. So it's not hard to understand that each culture passes on its ideas and thoughts through word.
42. What does Paragraph 2 serve as?
| A． | Opinions. |
B． | Examples. |
C． | Conclusions. |
D． | Reasons. |
43. From the passage, we know that the Eskimos live in very places.
| A． | cold |
B． | dry |
C． | hot |
D． | wet |
44. In English-speaking cultures, how do people show more specific meanings of single words like "snow" and "camel"?
| A． | By inventing new words. |
B． | By using other sentences. |
| C． | By making up longer phrases. |
D． | By translating from another language. |
45. Which word is the most suitable here?
| A． | difference |
B． | connection |
C． | change |
D． | distance |
Lisa stood next to her tall silent grandfather and watched her parents drive off, leaving her behind. She looked up at her grandfather. He looked down at her. His skin was a little darker than hers. His hair was black and white, as if it couldn't decide which color it should be.
"You don't talk much, Grandpa," Lisa said.
"You don't visit much, Lisa," her grandfather replied.
They stood looking at each other. "Come with me, Lisa," said Grandpa. He started walking without looking back.
Lisa followed him to a large storehouse.
Lisa remembered her last visit to Grandpa's. She had played hide-and-seek with her brother Jack in the storehouse. But now Jack needed an operation. Lisa had to stay here alone for a few days.
"You coming?" Grandpa's voice sounded muffled. His words were coming from inside the storehouse.
Lisa went inside. The storehouse was full of all kinds of things. She could see him in the far corner. Lisa walked over and stood next to him. He pointed to a small wooden box with "Lisa" painted on it in bright green letters.
"Yours," he said.
Lisa bent down and opened it. In it were some old things-a bright blue feather, a tiny V-shape leaf and some dolls. She looked up at Grandpa, with tears in her eyes.
"The box stays here, but it belonged to you. No one else." Then he closed his eyes and smiled. His smile reminded Lisa of her father. Grandpa no longer seemed strange and silent.
"I may be so overcapitalized （过剩）," Lisa answered, carefully pronouncing the familiar word.
Grandpa laughed out loud. "How did that eight year -old brain of yours find its way around a big word like overcapitalized'?"
"It's my dad's favourite word," Lisa replied.
Grandpa looked down at Lisa and smiled. His smile again reminded Lisa of her father. Without thinking, she reached up and took Grandpa's hand. Lisa's hand felt small and safe inside her grandfather s.
"I might need more than one visit to my box," Lisa said seriously.
"I expect," Grandpa said.
38. Why did Lisa stay with Grandpa alone for a few days?
| A． | She was on her summer vacation. |
| B． | She missed her grandfather very much. |
| C． | Her grandfather needed an operation soon. |
| D． | Her parents had to look after her sick brother. |
39. What does the underlined word "muffled" probably mean?
| A． | Strange. |
B． | Loud. |
C． | Unclear. |
D． | Beautiful. |
40. The passage tells about Grandpa EXCEPT that ________________.
| A． | he liked doing DIY |
B． | he was a man of few words |
| C． | he had black and white hair |
D． | he kept a wooden box for Lisa |
41. What did Lisa promise to do at the end of the story?
| A． | Take care of her brother. |
B． | Write to her parents. |
| C． | Use big words sometimes. |
D． | Visit Grandpa often. |
| Minmin 15 |
I live by the seaside in a stone house. My father is a fisherman. Sometimes I go fishing with him at the weekends. It is great fun! After dinner, I usually take a walk on the beach with my parents. I talk about my school life with them and enjoy the beautiful sunset. We swim in the sea when the weather is fine. I love my home and my life here. |
| Yanyan 13 |
I live in a house made of bamboo. It has two floors. The ground floor has no walls. We keep animals like pigs, cattle and chickens on the ground floor. Our family lives on the first floor. It is a good way to keep dry. 35 The tables and chairs in my house are made of bamboo. We also eat with bamboo plates and bowls. Sometimes we cook rice in bamboo. It is very delicious. Come and have a try! |
| Leilei 14 |
I live on the grassland. My home is like a big tent. We can move it from one place to another. My family has 100 sheep and 60 cattle. Sometimes I help my parents look after them. We usually eat mutton and beef. They are very delicious. During the summer holiday, I often go riding on the grassland with my brother. It's so exciting. Please come and visit my home it's very beautiful here! |
34. Which sentence is WRONG about Minmin?
| A． | His father makes a living by fishing. |
B． | His family often ride on the grassland. |
| C． | He likes watching the beautiful sunset. |
D． | He usually goes walking on the beach. |
35. Which sentence should be put here?
| A． | Bamboo looks so beautiful. |
B． | Bamboo can live a very long life. |
| C． | Bamboo is used a lot in artists' works. |
D． | Bamboo is very important in our daily life. |
36. What do we know about Minmin, Yanyan and Leilei?
| A． | They are all teenagers. |
B． | They live in the same style house. |
| C． | They keep animals at home. |
D． | They enjoy the same kind of food. |
37. What can we infer from the passage?
| A． | Practice makes perfect. |
B． | Many hands make light work. |
| C． | East or west, home is best. |
D． | The early bird catches the worm. |
31. How many main sections are there in the website?
| A． | Two. |
B． | Three. |
C． | Four. |
D． | Five. |
32. What can visitors to the website do?
| A． | Write news. |
B． | Talk with other people. |
| C． | Get free fruit. |
D． | Make short movies. |
33. Where is the advertisement?
A. At the top of the page. B. In the center of the page.
C. On one side of the page. D. Next to the family picture.
Looking at the undone homework on his desk always makes David Grey feel uncomfortable. More often than not, David leaves his homework behind and surfs the Internet or watches TV instead, waiting until the last minute." But the longer 1 wait," says David, aged 15, "the more I worry."
Everyone procrastinates (拖延) because they want to feel good now. The way to do that is to avoid the task. You can procrastinate on nearly anything, even enjoyable tasks such as planning a vacation. "Some people procrastinate cleaning. Some people procrastinate by cleaning," says Professor Peter Stone. Research has shown that the top tasks young people procrastinate are studying and going to bed." One big cause for procrastination is that people are afraid of failure, of not meeting others' expectations," Stone adds.
Some people believe that procrastination will make them thrive. But researchers disagree. "I did a study several years ago, asking procrastinators to finish a task in a certain period of time," says Stone. "They did worse than non-procrastinators: they made more mistakes and they took longer. But they thought they did better." No matter what the cause is, procrastination is usually not going to be good for you. For example, bedtime procrastination can lead to sleeplessness, which in turn can cause many other health problems.
For those who need some drives to stop procrastinating, the best advice might be to take action first. If you've been procrastinating on forming a habit of exercise, just put on your walking shoes. A little bit of progress will get you moving.
Next, find something to help you remember to take action. If you want to go to bed at 10:30 pm, you might set a timed dimmer switch (渐暗开关) at 10 pm. When the lights are dimmer, you'll start going to bed. It works for most people.
Finally, reward yourself every time you make progress. For example, after you've run 3 km, enjoy your favourite ice-cream. But be careful: it won't work the other way around.
37. What can be the best title of this passage?
| A． | A day of a procrastinator |
| B． | Procrastination: yes or no? |
| C． | Say goodbye to procrastination |
| D． | Want to feel good now? Procrastinate! |
38. What is the main reason for people's procrastination?
| A． | They want to avoid doing hard work. |
| B． | They fear to lose and let others down. |
| C． | They need to finish the top tasks first. |
| D． | They plan to do the enjoyable tasks last. |
39. The underlined word "thrive" in paragraph 3 most probably means ________.
| A． | think faster |
B． | work more successfully |
| C． | give up more easily |
D． | worry too much |
40. What should David do if he wants to stop procrastinating on a writing task?
| A． | Put on some soft music to help think actively. |
| B． | Enjoy a favourite ice-cream, and then start writing. |
| C． | Search the Internet for enough ideas before starting. |
| D． | Pick up a pen and write down possible starting sentences. |
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