My wife and I were on our honeymoon in our homeland， visiting my parents﹣in﹣law．My wife Helen was making a film and my job was to make up the music， but I didn't bring my guitar with me． I locked myself in the barn toilet，and carved a guitar neck from a scrap（废弃的） piece of wood． In the barn， I found a drum， which used to be part of an old tape﹣recorder， It's like a guitar， but it has four strings． So is it a balalaika or a guitar？ They have something in common （共性）， we call it a balalaika but it's played differently． |
Our daughter Kitty had just started school，so she needed a place to do her homework．There isn't much room except a table in the kitchen．When my wife cooks，she needs to use the table． One day I walked past a rubbish bin and saw a folding （可折叠的） table lying there．I thought I could make something out of it． It was just the right size a bigger one wouldn't have fitted into the room．I fixed a slab of board for the desk and made the back of the seat softer，then I oiled the screws so it is easier to fold． |
Our dad's friend made the Little House for his daughter．It was made of wood and bricks which were thrown away．And when she grew up， he offered it to us．So how long has it been standing here？ I'm forty years old now， so it must be at least fifty．The man's name was Bob．He's not alive any more but I still remember the nice time in the Little House． When my children were growing up， they used to say "We're going to play in the Little House!"or "Where are you？ I'm in the Little House!" |
It's a go﹣kart for my son Tom to ride down the hill．He wanted to make one so I helped him．I had bought him one，but he wasn't satisfied with that．I just made it from pieces lying around．The wheels were from two different scrapped carts． My father﹣in﹣law had them in his barn．He doesn't throw anything away． I only used cart parts， some wood， a cushioned seat， and a rope．It cost nothing． My son likes it so much． I feel so happy． |
（1）Which of the following was given by a friend？
（2）What do the four stories have in common？
A． The children in the stories were good at DIY．
B． Fathers made the four objects for their children．
C． Some scrap materials were made good use of．
D． The four objects were made just for pleasure．
（3）From the passage， we can infer （推断） that ．
A． Kitty's father did not have money to buy a new table
B． at least four children once played in the Little House
C． Helen and her husband were good at making instruments
D． Tom enjoyed making things like his father and grandfather
B
Sun Liping, 6 , lives in a small village in Yunnan. Her biggest wish is to have running water in her home. All 35 families in Sun’s village have a serious problem--- they don’t have enough water. Every day, the villagers have to walk 20 minutes to get water.
Last year, the worst drought since the 1950s hit Yunnan, making more than 2 million people short of drinking water. This year, the drought is even worse.
Not only Yunnan, but many other provinces in China are short of water as well, such as Gansu and Qinghai.
According to a report on February 17, each Chinese person has about 28% of the world’s average（平均的） person’s amount of available(可用的) water. Two thirds of China’s cities are short of water and nearly 300 million people in rural areas don’t have safe water for drinking.
Every drop of water is important. Waste a drop of water a day and you lose a bucket(桶) a year. How can we use water in a smart way? Here are some tips for you to save water in your daily life:
1. Put plastic bottles of water in your toilet to cut down the water waste when you flush (冲洗) your toilet.
2. Don’t keep the water running while you’re brushing your teeth or washing your face and hands.
3. Use low-flow(低流量) shower heads .
4. Use a bucket to collect shower water while you wait for it to warm up.
5. Make your shower time shorter.
6. Set up a rain bucket to collect rainwater for watering plants or flowers. What is the problem in Sun’s village?
| A．They don’t have enough food. |
| B．They don’t have enough water. |
| C．They have to walk far away to go to school. |
| D．There are fewer and fewer villagers. |
What does the underlined word drought mean in the second paragraph?
| A．饥饿 | B．干旱 | C．水灾 | D．贫穷 |
According to the report, __________________________________.
A. China has just 28 percent of the world’s available water.
Each Chinese person can use more water than the world’s average person.
There is not enough water in two thirds of China’s cities.
D. There are about 300 million people in China’s cities who don’t have enough water. Which of the following would lead to a waste of water?
| A．Using low-flow shower heads. |
| B．Collecting shower water while waiting for it to warm up. |
| C．Taking a quick shower. |
| D．Keeping the water running while brushing one’s teeth. |
阅读理解。（每小题2分，共30分）
阅读下列材料，从 A、B、C、D 四个选项中选出最佳答案，并把答题卡上对应题目的答案标号涂黑。
A
People say that George Washington, the first president of the United States, never told a lie. But it seems that the president was not without faults.
A New York library recently found that Washington borrowed two books from the library in 1789. He didn’t return them.
If he were still alive, he would have to pay the library ＄300,000 for being 220 years late.
On October 5, 1789, when the first president borrowed the books form the New York Society Library, he didn’t sign his name in the borrower’s book. He just wrote “president” to show who had taken them out.
The two books should have been brought back a month later but were never returned. Workers at the library realized the books were missing.
The New York Society Library doesn’t expect anyone to pay the fine. But it hopes that someone will return the books. Gorge Washington is__________.
| A．the president of the US now |
| B．the first president of the US |
| C．the first black president of the US |
| D．the president who always borrowed the books without returning them back |
Gorge Washington borrowed a book from ________.
| A．the Washington Public Library |
| B．the New York Society Library |
| C．the Paris Society Library |
| D．the Chinese Public Library |
The library hopes _________.
| A．Gorge Washington will return the book. |
| B．Gorge Washington will pay the fine |
| C．someone will find the book and return it |
| D．someone will pay the fine for the president |
Have you ever wondered?
1. Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?
It can take five hours to go west-east from New York (NY) to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY. The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon (大气现象) known as the jet stream (气流). The jet stream is a very high altitude (=" above" sea level) wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic. So the planes moving at a constant air speed go faster from the west to the east when they are moving with the wind than in the opposite.
2. What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?
Supposing we could magically turn off gravity. Would buildings and other structures（建筑物）float away? What happened would depend on (依靠) how strongly the things were attached (吸附) to the earth. The earth is moving at quite a speed, moving at over a thousand miles per hour. If you turn something around your head on a string, it goes around in a circle until you let go of the string. Then it flies off in a straight line. ‘Turning off’ gravity would be like letting go of the string. Things not attached to the earth would fly off in a straight line. People in buildings would suddenly shoot upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling (=" top" surface of a room). Most things outside would fly off into space.What information can we get from the first passage?
| A．It is the jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly. |
| B．Planes go slower when they are moving with the wind. |
| C．It takes more time to fly from NY to London than from London to NY. |
| D．The jet stream always blows from the east to the west across the Atlantic. |
The underlined word “shoot” in the 2nd paragraph means “_________”.
| A．send for | B．move quickly | C．come out | D．grow quickly |
It can be known that without gravity _________.
| A．buildings and other structures would float away |
| B．trees and buildings would not so easily fly off |
| C．something around your head would not float away |
| D．everything outside buildings would fly off into space |
Where can we read this passage?
| A．In a research paper. | B．In a short story. |
| C．In a travel magazine. | D．In a student’s book |
At two o’clock a bank robber stole in. “This is a hold-up,” the man said loudly. He took a gun from under his jacket, pointing to George. “Hand it over!” George reached into his money-box and took all the bills from the top part --- close to six thousand dollars. The robber took them and turned to leave. Then, while everyone watched the robber, George calmly lifted the top part of the money-box, took bills from the bottom part and put them into his own pocket secretly. The door was shut and the bank robber was gone. George fainted（晕倒）. As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George counted the money. He had eight thousand dollars. He was very happy.
The next morning, while the others were checking the bank’s records, George was asked to go to Mr. Burrow’s office and was introduced to Mr. Carruthers, who used to be president of the bank.
“Good morning, George, I was sorry to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks being robbed these days I thought it would be a good idea to prove that our small bank can be robbed, too. I have retired （退休）, but I am always thinking of our bank. That’s why I played my little game yesterday, just to keep everyone on his toes（趾）. Now, I have put the money back in your money-box all six thousand.” Which of the following do you think is TRUE?
| A．George wanted to protect the money for the bank. |
| B．George had been thinking of taking money away. |
| C．This bank had been robbed several times. |
| D．Nobody knew the bank would be robbed that day. |
Why was George asked to go to Mr. Burrow’s office?
| A．His stealing money was known to all. |
| B．Mr. Burrow wanted to say sorry to him. |
| C．Mr. Carruthers wanted to explain the whole thing to him. |
| D．Mr. Burrow wanted to tell him the money had been put back. |
In this article “to keep everyone on his toes” means _________.
| A．to make everyone work hard |
| B．to keep everyone standing straight |
| C．to make everyone do a kind of exercise |
| D．to keep everyone preparing for the coming danger |
Which sentence can be used to end this story?
| A．George turned cold with fear. |
| B．George turned red with anger（愤怒）. |
| C．George was pleased with the end. |
| D．George was excited with the end. |
American cities are similar to other cities around the world: In every country, cities reflect（反映）the values of the culture. American cities are changing, just as American society is changing.
After World War Ⅱ, the population of most large American cities became smaller; however, the population shifts（转移）to and from the city reflect the changing values of American society. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, city residents（居民）became richer. They had more children so they needed more space. They moved out of their flats in the city to buy their own homes. They bought houses in the suburbs（郊区）.
Now things are changing. The children of the people who left the cities in the 1950s are now adults. Many, unlike their parents, want to live in the cities. They continue to move to Sun Belt cities and older ones of the Northeast and Midwest. Many young people are moving back into the city. They prefer the city to the suburbs because their jobs are there; or they just enjoy the excitement and what the city offers.
This population shift is bringing problems as well as some advantages. Countless poor people must leave their flats in the city because the owners want to sell the buildings or make flats for sale instead of for rent（租金）. In the 1950s, many poor people did not have enough money to move to the suburbs; now many of these same people do not have enough money to stay in the cities.
Only a few years ago, people thought that the older American cities were dying. Some city residents now see a bright, new future. Others see only problems. One thing is sure: many dying cities are alive again.The main idea of the passage is _________.
| A．cities around the world |
| B．the dying cities |
| C．the changing American cities |
| D．the changing of the American culture |
Why did American city residents want to live in the suburbs after World War Ⅱ?
| A．Because older American cities were dying. |
| B．Because they were richer and needed more space. |
| C．Because cities included the worst parts of society. |
| D．Because they could hardly afford to live in the city. |
According to the 4th paragraph, a great many poor people in American cities _________.
| A．are faced with housing problems |
| B．are made to move to the suburbs |
| C．want to sell their buildings |
| D．need more money for daily costs |
We can know from the passage that _________.
| A．American cities are changing for the worse |
| B．the population is getting smaller in older American cities |
| C．many people are now moving from American cities |
| D．people have different views on American cities |
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