高中英语阅读理解

In summer, millions of people will head for the beach．And while the ocean can be a great place to swim and play, it may also be useful in another way．Some scientists think that waves could help make electricity．
“Have you ever been on a surfboard or boat and felt yourself being lifted up by a wave? Or have you jumped in the water and felt the energy as waves crashed over you?” asked Jamie Taylor of the Wave Energy Group at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland．“There is certainly a lot of energy in waves．”
Scientists are working on using that energy to make electricity．
Most waves are created when winds blow across the ocean．“The winds start out by making little ripples (波纹) in the water, but if they keep on blowing , those ripples get bigger and bigger and turn into waves, ”Taylor said．“Waves are one of nature’s ways of picking up energy and then sending it off on a journey．”
When waves come towards the shore, people can set up dams or other barricades to block the water and send it through a large wheel called a turbine (涡轮) ．The turbine can then power an electrical generator (发电机) ．
The United States and a few other countries have started doing research on wave energy , and it is already being used in Scotland．
The resource is huge．We will never run out of wave power, besides, wave energy does not create the same pollution as other energy sources, such as oil and coal．
Oceans cover three quarters of the earth’s surface．That would make wave power seem perfect for creating energy around the world．There are some drawbacks, however．
Jamie Taylor said that wave power still cost too much money．He said that its effects on animals in the sea were still unknown．Plus, wave power would get in the way of fishing and boat traffic．
With more research, however, “many of these problems might be overcome,” Taylor said．“Demand for energy to power our TVs and computers, drive our cars, and heat and cool our homes is growing quickly throughout the world．Finding more energy sources is very important, for traditional sources of energy like oil and gas may run out some day．”
In the future, when you turn on a light switch, an ocean wave could be providing the electricity!
Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Wave power costs too much money．

B．Wave energy creates the same amount of pollution as other energy sources．

C．Wave power affects fishing and boat traffic．

D．Wave power may affect marine animals．

We can infer from the passage that ______．

A．finding new energy sources like wave energy is important

B．wave energy is a resource that will never run out and is used all over the world

C．wave power is perfect for creating energy around the world

D．wave power doesn’t create any pollution.

The underlined word “drawbacks” probably means ______．

A．regrets	B．adventures
C．disadvantages	D．difficulties

What can be the best title for the passage?

A．How to Get Electricity by Waves．

B．A Huge Resource of Energy．

C．Can Waves Make Electricity?

D．The Disadvantages of Wave Energy．

Hello, Listeners. Welcome to Henton Hospital Radio. Before our music programme at four, I’m going to repeat some of our hospital rules.
The hospital can sleep 800 patients. There’re 8 beds in each ward (病房). The visiting hours are in the afternoon from 2:30 to 3:30 and in the evening from 7:00 to 8:00. But remember only two people can see you at the same time. Sorry about that, but you can see what would happen if we didn’t have these rules.
The other rules are about our hours. We start quite early---you might not be used to that. We wake you at 6 o’clock, and breakfast is at 8 o’clock, lunch is at noon.
There’s tea at 3:30 and supper is at 6 o’clock.
You can see the non-smoking sign---we don’t allow smoking in the wards. I’m sure you understand why. However, if you do need to smoke, there are some smoking rooms where it is allowed.
You will find the radio switch on the wall near your bed, with your own headphones, if you want to listen. It’s our own hospital radio wishing you a quick recovery.
Who do you think the listeners might be?

A．Patients.	B．Visitors.
C．Doctors	D．Nurses

Which is Not allowed in the hospital?

A．Listening to the hospital radio.

B．Visiting patients in the morning.

C．Smoking in smoking-rooms.

D．Getting up early in the morning.

What programme will follow this radio talk?

A．Hospital rules.	B．A weather report.
C．A free talk.	D．A music programme.

A MILLION people on Mars within 100 years. This is the brave vision (展望) of Elon Musk, the founder of the space technology company SpaceX.
“We need to be laser-focused (全神贯注的) on becoming a multi-planet civilization. That’s the next step,” he said in a recent interview with Aeon magazine. Musk expects to see about 80,000 people living on Mars by 2040.
It’s all about protecting the human race from extinction, according to Musk.
The Earth has always been a ticking (滴答作响的) time bomb. As the sun begins to die, it will grow bigger, becoming what is known as a Red Giant. In 500 million years, the sun will have become large enough to kill off any plant and animal life on Earth, according to US scientist Edward Guinan. In a billion years, the Earth will have become a hot planet with little or no water.
The brave dream of getting the human race to Mars is not only Musk’s; others have made plans, too.
A Dutch entrepreneur set up the Mars One foundation in 2011, hoping to be the first project to put humans on Mars. It received over 200,000 applications to become part of the first group of astronauts to go there.
According to Mars One, “human settlement on Mars is possible with existing technologies.”
Water, food, energy, and oxygen are needed for life anywhere. According to Mars One, water that was still in the Martian soil would be boiled and taken out.
By using a process called “electrolysis”, astronauts could split (分离) water into hydrogen (氢气) and oxygen for breathing. Astronauts on the International Space Station have already done similar things.
Food can also be grown in space. Certain plants such as lettuce and onions can be grown using LED light for different color spectrums (光谱) and much less heat. NASA has been researching this to prepare for visiting Mars.
But how will people get there? The Mars One project plans to use SpaceX’s Dragon capsule as part of its mission. But it is rumored (传闻) that Musk already has a design in mind for a giant spaceship. He calls it the Mars Colonial Transporter.
According to Elon Musk, the trip to Mars is significant because ______.

A．Earth is not the only planet that is suitable for human beings

B．settlement on Mars could save the human race from extinction

C．the environment on Earth will be too harsh for human beings in a few hundred years

D．a large amount of water has just been discovered on Mars

Mars One is a program that focuses on ______.

A．finding the source of water on Mars

B．setting up the first human settlement on Mars

C．developing spaceships to send people to Mars

D．growing plants for food in space

According to the article, “electrolysis” is a key technology that ______.

A．collects and analyzes the soil of Mars

B．uses LED lights to help plants grow

C．breaks down water into life-supporting elements

D．protects life on Earth from the heat of the sun

We can infer from the article that the author is ______ human settlements on Mars.

A．doubtful of	B．strongly against
C．optimistic about	D．uninterested in

“Soon, you’re going to have to move out!” cried my neighbor upon seeing the largest tomato plant known to mankind, or at least known in my neighborhood.
One tiny 9-inch plant, bought for $1.25 in the spring, has already taken over much of my rose bed, covering much of other plants, and is well on its way to the front door.
Roses require a good deal of care, and if it weren’t for the pleasure they give, it wouldn’t be worth the work. As it is, I have a garden full of sweet-smelling roses for most of the year. Bushes must be pruned(剪枝) in early spring, leaving ugly woody branches until the new growth appears a few weeks later. It was the space available in the garden that led me into planting just one little tomato plant. A big mistake.
Soil conditions made just perfect for roses turn out to be even more perfect for tomatoes. The daily watering coupled with full sun and regular fertilizing(施肥) have turned the little plant into a tall bush. The cage I placed around it as the plant grew has long since disappeared under the thick leaves.
Now the task I face in harvesting the fruit is two fold(方面): First, I have to find the red ones among the leaves, which means I almost have to stand on my head, and once found I have to reach down and under, pick the tomatoes and withdraw my full fist without dropping the prize so dearly won. Second, I found two full-blown white roses completely hidden as I picked tomatoes in June, but they were weak and the leaves already yellow for lack of light.
Here I am faced with a painful small decision: To tear up a wonderful and productive tomato plant that offers up between ten and twenty ripe sweet tomatoes each day or say goodbye to several expensive and treasured roses. Like Scarlett in Gone With the Wind, I’ll think about that tomorrow.
What are the requirements for the healthy growth of roses?

A．Frequent pruning and fertilizing.

B．Tomato plants grown alongside.

C．Cages placed around the roots.

D．A lot of care and the right soil.

The writer planted the tomato because ____.

A．there was room for it in the garden

B．it cost only $1. 25

C．the soil was just right for i

D．the roses’ branches needed to be covered

This year the writer’s roses were ____.

A．removed from the rose bed

B．picked along with the tomatoes

C．largely hidden under the tomato plant

D．mostly damaged by too much sunlight

By saying “the prize so dearly won” in paragraph 5, the writer wants to ____.

A．show the hardship of growing the roses

B．show the difficulty in picking the tomatoes

C．express her liking for the roses

D．express her care for the tomatoes

Unlike chemists and physicists, who usually do their experiments using machines, biologists and medical researchers have to use living things like rats. But there are three Nobel prize-winning scientists who actually chose to experiment on themselves – all in the name of science, reported The Telegraph.
● Werner Forssmann (Nobel prize winner in 1956)
Forssmann was a German scientist. He studied how to put a pipe inside the heart to measure the pressure inside and decide whether a patient needs surgery (手术).
Experiments had been done on horses before, so he wanted to try with human patients. But it was not permitted because the experiment was considered too dangerous.
Not giving up, Forssmann decided to experiment on himself. He anaesthetized (麻醉) his own arm and made a cut, putting the pipe 30 centimeters into his vein (血管). He then climbed two floors to the X-ray room before pushing the pipe all the way into his heart.
● Barry Marshall (Nobel prize winner in 2005)
Most doctors in the mid-20th century believed that gastritis was down to stress, spicy food or an unusually large amount of stomach acid (胃酸). But in 1979 an Australian scientist named Robin Warren found that the disease might be related to a bacteria (细菌) called Helicobacter pylori. So he teamed up with his colleague, Barry Marshall, to continue the study. When their request to experiment on patients was denied, Marshall bravely drank some of the bacteria. Five days later, he lost his appetite and soon was vomiting (呕吐) each morning – he indeed had gastritis.
● Ralph Steinman (Nobel prize winner in 2011)
This Canadian scientist discovered a new type of immune system cell (免疫细胞) called the dendritic cell. He believed that it had the ability to fight against cancer.
Steinman knew he couldn’t yet use his method to treat patients. So in 2007, when doctors told him that he had cancer and that it was unlikely for him to live longer than a year, he saw an opportunity.
With the help of his colleagues, he gave himself three different vaccines (疫苗) based on his research and a total of eight experimental therapies (疗法). Even though Steinman eventually died from his cancer, he lived four and a half years, much longer than doctors had said he would.
The main purpose of the article is to ______.

A．list some famous Nobel prize winners.

B．introduce a few Nobel prize winners who did experiments on themselves.

C．describe some dangerous experiments that Nobel prize-winners did on themselves.

D．list some difficulties that scientists go through to make important discoveries in biology .

Which of the following is TRUE according to the article?

A．Forssmann’s experiment ended in failure.

B．Forssmann had the pipe pushed all the way into his heart.

C．Barry Marshall succeeded by drinking some Helicobacter pylori.

D．Barry Marshall was given full responsibility for the study on gastritis at first.

The underlined word “gastritis” in Paragraph 5 probably means ______.

A．a kind of stomach disease	B．a kind of immune cell
C．a new type of therapy	D．a type of leg cancer

From the text, we can conclude that Ralph Steinman ______.

A．had his request to experiment on patients denied

B．believed that cancer comes from stress and spicy food

C．discovered a new type of cancer cell called the dendritic cell

D．tried different therapies containing the dendritic cell on himself

Someday a stranger will read your email without your permission or scan the websites you've visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.
In fact, it's likely some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss, a policeman or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen—the 21st century equal to being caught naked.
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, though it's important to reveal yourself to friends, family and lovers in stages, at appropriate times. Actually few boundaries remain. The digital bread crumbs you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.
The key question is: Does that matter? For many Americans, the answer apparently is “no”.
When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. A survey found a majority of people are pessimistic about privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me”．
But people say one thing and do another. Only a small part of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths to avoid using the EZPass system that can track automobile movements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessandro Acquits has run a series of tests that reveal people will submit personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50centsoff coupon(优惠券).
But privacy does matter at least sometimes. It's like health: when you have it, you don't notice it. Only when it's gone do you wish you'd done more to protect it.
From Paragraph 2, we can infer________.

A．criminals are easily caught on the spot with advanced technology

B．people tend to be more frank with each other in the information age

C．in the 21st century people try every means to look into others' secrets

D．people's personal information is easily accessed without their knowledge

What would psychologists advise on the relationships between friends?

A．There should be a distance even between friends.

B．There should be fewer quarrels between friends.

C．Friends should always be faithful to each other.

D．Friends should open their hearts to each other.

According to the passage, privacy is like health in that________.

A．its importance is rarely understood

B．it is something that can easily be lost

C．people will make every effort to keep it

D．people don't treasure it until they lose it

Bamboo (竹子) is one of nature’s (自然) most surprising plants. Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass.
Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist reported one bamboo plant which grew 1.5 metres (4 feet) in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe. There are more than 1, 000 kinds of bamboo.
Not all bamboo looks the same. Some bamboo plants are very thin. They may only grow to be a few centimeters wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimetres (1 foot) across. This plant also comes in different colors, from yellow to black to green.
Bamboo has been used to make many things such as hats and kitchen tools. Because it is strong, bamboo is also used to build buildings.
Many Asian countries have used bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use bamboo for buildings and supporting  new buildings and bridges while they are being built.
In Africa, poor farmers are taught how to find water using bamboo. These African countries need cheap way to find water because they have no money, and their crops often die from no rain and no water. Bamboo pipes help poor farmers bring water to their thirsty fields without spending a lot of money.
How is bamboo like grass?

A．It grows quickly.	B．It’s wood.
C．It is easy to cut	D．It is very thin

Though you can see bamboo everywhere, it doesn’t grow ______.

A．in China	B．in Europe
C．on mountains	D．in Africa

Why is bamboo used by African poor farmers?

A．Because it is cheap.

B．Because it has different colours .

C．Because it is strong.

D．Because it has been used by Asians.

Bamboo pipes can ______.

A．make money	B．be trees
C．grow quickly	D．carry water

HOTEL INFORMATION
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Room Information
Rooms are equipped with Double, Queen , or King bed (s) , smoking or non-smoking based on location and availability. Provided in each spacious guest room is a hair dryer, coffee maker, iron, ironing board, 25’TV and guest voice mail．
Check-in Time：7:00 P. M.
Hotel Amenities：Air Conditioned, Free Parking, 24 Hour Front Desk, Pool, Television with Cable, Coffee Maker in Room, Hairdryers Available．
Beach Plaza Hotel
625 N．Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd, Ft．Lauderdale, FL 33304
Room Information
The oceanfront accommodations at Beach Plaza Hotel are some of the most affordable on Fort Lauderdale Beach．Each room features direct-dial telephone, cable television and daily maid service．The very affordable efficiency studios even include full kitchens! All rooms surround the private poolside garden courtyard．
Check-in Time：7:05 P. M.
Hotel Amenities：Air Conditioned, Coffee Maker in Room, 24 Hour Front Desk, Parking, Hairdryers Available, Pool, Television with Cable．
Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel
3711 N．Ocean Blvd, Ft．Lauderdale, FL 33308
Room Information
Guest rooms feature TVs, in-room movies, Internet access, in-room safes, alarm clock radios, hairdryers, refrigerators, microwaves, and balconies．
Check-in Time：7:00 A.M.
Hotel Amenities：Parking，Heated Pool, Television with Cable, and Coffee Maker in Room．
Which hotel gives a promise?

A．Beach Plaza Hotel．	B．Baymont Inn Ft . Lauderdale．
C．Baymont Inn Hotel．	D．Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel．

In which hotel parking is the cheapest?

A．Beach Plaza Hotel．	B．Baymont Inn Ft . Lauderdale．
C．Baymont Inn Hotel．	D．Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel．

If you ______ , you will probably go to Beach Plaza Hotel．

A．enjoy seeing films without leaving your hotel room

B．want to eat food cooked by yourself in the hotel

C．are fond of swimming in heated water

D．are a cigarette smoker

Which of the following is NOT true to the ads?

A．In Beach Plaza Hotel a 24-hour maid is available．

B．All of the three hotels provide television with cable．

C．You can keep your money in the room safe in Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel．

D．While staying in Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel, you can surf the Internet．

Children have their own rules in playing games. They seldom need a referee (裁判) and rarely trouble to keep scores. They don’t care much about who win or lose, and it doesn’t seem to worry them if the game is not finished. Yet, they like games that depend a lot on luck, so that their personal abilities cannot be directly compared. They also enjoy games that move in stages, in which each stage, the choosing of leaders, the picking-up of sides, or the determining of which side shall start, is almost a game in itself.
Grown-ups can hardly find children’s games exciting, and they often feel puzzled at why their kids play such simple games again and again. However, it is found that a child plays games for very important reasons. He can be a good player without having to think whether he is a popular person, and he can find himself being a useful partner to someone of whom he is ordinarily afraid. He becomes a leader when it comes to his turn. He can be confident, too，in particular games, that it is his place to give orders, to pretend to be dead, to throw a ball actually at someone, or to kiss someone he has caught.
It appears to us that when children play a game they imagine a situation under their control. Everyone knows the rules, and more importantly, everyone plays according to the rules. Those rules may be childish, but they make sure that every child has a chance to win.
To become a leader in a game, the child has to_______.

A．play well

B．wait for his turn

C．be confidence in himself

D．be popular among his playmates

What do we know about grown-ups?

A．They are not interested in games.

B．They find children’s games too easy.

C．They don’t need a reason to play games.

D．They don’t understand children’s games.

Why does a child like playing games?

A．Because he can be someone other than himself.

B．Because he can become popular among friends.

C．Because he finds he is always lucky in games.

D．Because he likes the place where he plays a game.

The writer believes that _________.

A．children should make better rules for their game

B．children should invite grown-ups to play with them

C．children’s games can do them a lot of good

D．children play games without reason

Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table, reading his book. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to copy him in every way he could.
One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa, I try to read the book just like you, but I don’t understand it, and I forget what I understand as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the book do?”
The grandpa quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.”
The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandpa laughed and said, “You’ll have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.
This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned. Out of breath, he told his grandpa that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, so he went to get a bucket instead.
The grandpa said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You’re just not trying hard enough.”
The boy again dipped the basket into the river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandpa the basket was empty again. Out of breath, he said, “Grandpa, it’s useless!”
“So, you think it is useless?” the grandpa said, “Look at the basket.”
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean.
“Grandson, that’s what happens when you read the book. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you’ll be changed, inside and out.”
What puzzled the grandson most was ________.

A．whether it was useful to read books

B．why he forgot what he read soon

C．what kind of book he could understand

D．how he could read books like his grandpa

Why did Grandpa ask his grandson to fetch a basket of water?

A．To train him to run faster.

B．To clean the dirty basket in the river.

C．To punish him for not reading carefully.

D．To get him to realize the use of reading books.

What lesson can we learn from the story?

A．The old are always wiser than the young.

B．It is foolish to carry water with a basket.

C．Reading books can change a person gradually.

D．You can’t expect to remember whatever you read.

Why do people run? That is, why do thousands get up early and put their knees and ankles and hearts and lungs through the hell of 10,000 meters on the roads? For those who stick with it and are lucky, they get into another world: a state of physical and mental grace reached when their blood is racing through every vein (血管).
And in Austin, those who long to get better, even when they know it’s impossible, hang on Gilbert’s every word.
Gilbert’s methods are simple. It’s all about form: how the arms move and the feet land. He pushes his students hard. When they feel like they’re about to die, they look at Gilbert’s scars (伤疤) — the burns along his right arm, and then to his right leg, where the flames ate down to the bone. Whatever they feel, how bad, really, could it be?
“He gets people to believe in themselves,” says Lisa Spenner, one of the fanatics, who are crazy about Gilbert. “He treats everyone like they’re amazing.” If Gilbert is their savior, they are his saviors too. “Eventually, I realized I had to help people. When I help people, I feel good,” he says.
Gilbert’s right leg was so badly burnt that the knee was stuck at a 90-degree angle. The doctor said it would take six months to heal. Frustrated, Gilbert got on a bike. The biking led to walking, which finally led to running a year after he had been left to die.
In truth, runners don’t race other runners. They race against themselves to conquer their wills. So Gilbert spent the spring and summer of 2007 trying to do that, racing men faster than he is, knowing it would make him better.
Gilbert’s students, of course, keep rooting for him, though sometimes they wonder, “How much better can he get?” After all, they see him as more than just a runner and a coach. He’s a flesh-and-blood symbol: the daily struggle to show what you’re made of.
What’s the purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To explain to us why people run in the morning.

B．To tell us how important it is for people to run.

C．To lead to the topic of the passage.

D．To tell us that we may be running the wrong way.

The underlined word “fanatics” in the fourth paragraph can be replaced by
“_____”.

A．students	B．friends
C．fans	D．relatives

What do we learn about Gilbert after reading the passage?

A．He used to work as a fireman.

B．He has determination and strong will-power.

C．He learnt running from a coach.

D．He was advised to ride a bike when he was badly burnt.

If your family is like many in the United States, keeping a lot of bottled water at home, it’s easy to get a cold one right out of the fridge on your way to a soccer game or activity, right?
But all those plastic bottles use a lot of fossil fuels and pollute the environment. In fact, Americans buy more bottled water than any other nation in the world, and add 29 billion water bottles a year to the problem. In order to make all these bottles, manufacturers use 17 million barrels of crude oil (原油). That’s enough oil to keep a million cars going for twelve months.
So why don’t more people drink water straight from the kitchen faucet? Some people drink bottled water because they think it is better for them than water out of the tap, but that’s not true. In the US, local governments make sure water from the faucet is safe.
People love the convenience of bottled water. But maybe if they realized the problems it causes, they would try drinking from a glass at home or carrying water in a refillable steel container instead of plastic.
Unfortunately, for every six water bottles we use, only one makes it to the recycling bin. The rest are sent to landfills. Or, even worse, they end up as trash on the land and in rivers, lakes and the ocean. Plastic bottles take many hundreds of years to break down.
Water is good for you, so keep drinking it. But think about how often you use water bottles, and see if you can make a change. And yes, you can make a difference. Remember this: recycling one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours. No matter who you are, you can do something for the environment. Join us and protect the environment.
What’s the best title for this passage?

A．Drinking water: bottled or from the tap?

B．How to save more energy?

C．Why is it good to drink water out of the tap?

D．Stop drinking bottled water from now on.

According to the passage, why don’t some people drink water straight from the kitchen faucet?

A．Because they think bottled water is healthier than water out of the tap.

B．Because local governments don’t make sure that water from the faucet is safe.

C．Because bottled water is much cheaper than water out of the kitchen faucet.

D．Because water out of the kitchen faucet is not provided anywhere.

The author may disagree that _____.

A．it is very hard for plastic bottles to break down

B．if we used one bottle less, more oil would be saved

C．bottled water is very convenient to drink

D．plastic bottles have been causing less and less pollution

Although the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have English as an official language, the United States does not have an official language. This is why it’s possible to become a US citizen without speaking English. Canada also has French as an official language, though it is mostly spoken in the province of Quebec. Because many of the English speakers who originally lived in Canada came from the US, there is little difference in American and Canadian English. Similarly, Australian English and New Zealand English have few differences, except Australia was originally settled as a penal colony (罪犯流放地) and New Zealand was not. New Zealanders were more attached to the Received Pronunciation of the upper class in England, so their dialect is considered closer to British English.
British colonialism (殖民主义) has spread English all over the world, and it is still popular in South Africa, India, and Singapore, among other nations. In South Africa, English became an official language, along with Afrikaans and 9 African languages, in the 1996 constitution. However, only 3% of the country’s 30 million people are native English speakers. Twenty percent are descendants (后代) of Dutch farmers who speak Afrikaans, and the rest are native Africans.
India became independent from Britain in 1947. However, today English and Hindi are the official languages. Indian English is characterized by treating mass nouns as count nouns, frequent use of the “isn’t it?” tag, use of more compounds, and a different use of prepositions. In Singapore, Chinese, Malay and Indian languages all influence the form of English spoken. Everyone is taught English in the school system, but there are a few differences from British English as well. Mass nouns are treated as count nouns, “use to” means usually, and no articles are used before occupations.
Why can people become a US citizen without speaking English?

A．They can learn English there.

B．Different languages are spoken in the US.

C．The US doesn’t have an official language.

D．They can speak their own language there.

What do we know about South Africa?

A．English is its only official language.

B．It has 11 different official languages.

C．English is becoming less important there.

D．20 percent of its population are native English speakers.

What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．The Indians are good at English grammar.

B．People in Singapore often misuse count nouns.

C．Singaporean English is similar to Indian English.

D．English is a required subject in Singaporean schools.

What is the text mainly about?

A．British colonialism.

B．The wide use of English.

C．English around the world.

D．The history of the English language.

JULY

MON.	TUES.	WED.	THURS.	FRI.	SAT.	SUN.
	132	2 29	3 31	4 40	5 46	6 38
7 27	8 34	9 30	10 24	1139	1245	1341
14 23	15 31	1628	1726	1838	19 49	2039
2126	22 35	2327	24 25	25 43	2647	2742
2829	2927	30 34	3129

Ms. Rossi owns the Roadside Motel(汽车游客旅馆)，which has 50 units.She wishes to keep a handy record of the number of units occupied(占用).To do this she uses a calendar and writes the number of units occupied in a small box in the right-hand square of each date.The following questions are based on the occupancy rate(率) for July.
The total number of units occupied during the week of July 14 through July 20 was ______.

A．234

B．239

C．240

D．244

The average(平均) occupancy rate for Thursday was ________.

A．29

B．31

C．27

D．28

Ms. Rossi regards a 90% occupancy rate as excellent.On how many days during the month did the Roadside Motel have a 90% or better rate of occupancy?

A．6.

B．5.

C．4.

D．1.

After the Summer Olympics are over, when all the athletics have gone home and the television audience has switched off, another group of athletics and fans will arrive at the host city, and another competition will begin. These are the Paralympics, the games for athletes with a disability. But in Beijing in 2008, for the first time, one of the greatest Paralympics will not be taking part.
She is a British athlete by the name of Tanni Grey-Thormpson. Born with spina bifida (脊椎裂) which left her paralyzed from the waist down. Tanni used a wheelchair from the age of 7. At first, she was not keen on sport, apart from horse-riding, which gave her a sense of freedom. But in her teens, she started taking sports more seriously. She tried swimming, basketball and tennis. Eventually
she found athletics, and never looked back.
Indeed, Tanni’s athletic career took off. In 1984, when she was 15, she pulled off a surprise victory in the 100metres at the Junior National Wheelchair Games.
In 1988, Tanni went to her first Paralympic Games in Seoul. She won bronze in the 400 metres. Even greater success followed at the 1992 Barcelona. Paralympics. Tanni won gold in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 metres relay, setting two world records in the process. In the same year she achieved the first of her six London Wheelchair Marathon victories.
Tanni’s enduring success had been part motivation(动机), part preparation, “The training I do that enables me to be a good sprinter(短跑运动员) enables me to be good at a marathon too. I train 50 weeks of the year and that keeps me prepared for whatever distance I want to race. I am still competing at a very high lever, but as I get older things get harder and I want to retire before I fall apart.”
Indeed Tanni retired finally after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. Her wish is to coach young athletes for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
In spite of ups and downs, she never take her fate lying down. In her splendid life, she has won an amazing eleven gold medals, four silvers and one bronze in series of Paralympics--- a top lever athletic career covering two decades. She has won the London Wheelchair Marathon six times, more than any other competitor, and she has set over thirty world records.
What advice does she have for young athletes? “Work hard at your studies, and then train, train and train again.”
Which of the following sports did Tanni like before thirteen?

A．Basketball	B．Swimming.
C．Tennis.	D．Horse-riding.

When did Tanni win her first Olympic gold medal?

A．In 1984.	B．In 1988.
C．In 1992.	D．In 2007.

The underlined word “that” in the 5th paragraph refers to _______.

A．fifty weeks’ training

B．being a good sprinter

C．training almost every day

D．part motivation and part preparation

What’s the right order of the events related to Tanni?
a. She works as a coach.
b. She took up athletics.
c. She won four gold medals in Barcelona.
d. She competed in her first Paralympic Games.
e. She achieved a victory in her first London Wheelchair Marathon.

A．b,d,c,e,a	B． a,d,b,c,e
C．a,d,c,e,b	D．b,d,a,e,c

What can we learn from Tanni’s success?

A．Union is strength.	B．Never too late to learn.
C．Well begun is half done.	D．No pains, no gains.