Beijing (Xinhua): When she appeared on stage, singing a Japanese song, hundreds of excited teenagers crowded around shouting, "Curarpikt (酷拉皮卡)！It’s Curarpikt!"
At the Beijing Comic and Animation Expo last week, that’s exactly who Shi Jia was. The Senior 1 girl was cosplaying (角色扮演) "Curarpikt", a character from the popular Japanese comic book Hunter X Hunter (《猎人》)by Yoshihiro Togashi.
"I cosplay Curarpikt because I like him," said the pretty 15yearold girl. "I’m moved by his sad story and I’m attracted by his courage and personality."
In the adventure comic story, Curarpikt, a handsome and kindhearted boy, struggles to become a hunter so he can capture(掳获)the people who killed his tribe(部落).
Shi has read all the comic books and is a big fan of the animated series(动画片)of Hunter X Hunter. Then last year she saw a real "Curarpikt"in a cosplay show.
"I had watched cosplay shows before but only for fun," she explained. "It’s really exciting to see young people wearing the makeup and costumes of characters that you’ve read about and are familiar with."
"But that time I just fell in love with cosplaying, probably because I like Curarpikt so much. I thought I could play the character better, so I decided to have a go."
Shi bought some cloth and asked a tailor to make a Curarpikt costume for her. She was delighted to find out there was a cosplay show in Beijing in October.
"It’s a great way to spend the national holiday. Posing on the stage for all the comic book fans, I knew I was doing something I had always wanted to do," she said.
But she never talks about her hobby with her parents.
"They think it will distract me from my studies. I don’t want to upset them,that’s my secret hobby," she said. "It’s also why I don’t dye my hair for cosplaying like all the others."What’s cosplay according to the passage?
| A．When cosplaying, comic fans wear costumes and pretend to be their favourite comic characters. |
| B．Cosplay is a kind of performance in which you play a Curarpikt. |
| C．Cosplay is a character from the popular Japanese comic book Hunter X Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi. |
| D．When cosplaying, some funny teenagers play some characters in the animated series. |
Shi Jia cosplayed Curarpikt ______.
| A．in order to attract her fans |
| B．because she liked animated series |
| C．because she was greatly attracted by that role |
| D．because it’s her secret hobby |
The underlined word "distract" means_____.
| A．get rid of | B．keep out of |
| C．give courage to | D．draw away attention of |
Which of the following is wrong?
| A．Curarpikt was created by a Japanese cartoonist. |
| B．Shi Jia’s parents were in favor of her performance. |
| C．Shi Jia cosplayed Curarpikt successfully. |
| D．Cosplay is popular with some teenagers. |
We've all heard the old saying，“Sticks and stones can break my bones，but words can never hurt me.” Don't you believe it？Words are powerful，and they can hurt—a lot. In fact，if you're not careful，you can even hurt yourself，by using the wrong word in your writing.
Recently a friend sent me a copy of an email she received from the customer service department of her credit card company，after she contacted them with a question about her account. She was happy with their positive response. But as I read the email，one line jumped out at me：“In lieu of good customer service...”
Did they really mean they were offering her a few extra reward points instead of good customer service？I doubt it. More likely，what the customer service department meant to say was，“Because good customer service is important to us...” followed by the details of what they were doing to make sure she remained a happy customer.
So why didn't the writer say that？I can only guess that perhaps the writer liked the phrase “in lieu of”，thought it sounded more interesting than saying “because”，and so used it—without bothering to check the true meaning.
Have you ever done that？Try to impress others with a big word，only to find out you've used the word incorrectly？It's just the opposite effect，isn't it？You may impress people all right，but it's not the impression you were going for.
When you write，remember to choose your words carefully. People may still disagree with what you say，but they won't be able to dismiss you because you made careless mistakes in how you said it.What's the writer's purpose in giving the saying?
| A．To amuse the reader. |
| B．To persuade the reader. |
| C．To support a conclusion. |
| D．To lead to the topic. |
It can be inferred that the writer's friend ______.
| A．was the manager of the customer service department |
| B．was the customer of the credit card company |
| C．emailed a company to complain |
| D．used a phrase incorrectly |
What does the phrase “in lieu of” most probably mean?
| A．Because of. | B．In honour of. |
| C．Instead of. | D．In favour of. |
According to the writer，the customer service department ______.
| A．didn't express what they really meant |
| B．didn't prefer to use familiar words to attract customers |
| C．didn't need to offer their customers extra reward points |
| D．succeeded in impressing their customers |
The world has changed and being intelligent isn't normally equal to being a successful person. Look at the example of the blue whale：It has a huge brain，but it still doesn't know how to avoid whalers or use its large size and weight to deal with those who try to use their body for profit. Scientists hold an opinion that the blue whale just likes some highly intelligent people who fail to succeed. Those highly intelligent people can't succeed in life because they can't communicate well with the world around them.
Intelligence is a word in life that makes you think you are better than others. Intelligence can blind these very people from how others view them. These people also think that the route to power and success results purely from intelligence and they sometimes live in a fantasy world that they create by their supposed brain power.
This is a distance that develops whether or not they realize it and sometimes，a person can be disliked simply because of his or her intelligence. This distance is sometimes so far apart that it gets to the position where they can't listen to each other. One side thinks the other is stupid and the other thinks he/she is haughty(傲慢的)．And most of the time it is the intelligent people who lose themselves in this situation. They become unpopular with most of the people around them. This affects them in whatever they do and sooner or later they will lose their confidence.
It doesn't help that they get a culture shock—especially when they leave college and realize success and richness don't always and sometimes never come naturally with intelligence. While some might think this is a dramatic picture to paint，it is sometimes the end result of some people.The example of “the blue whale” is used to show ______.
| A．communication is more important than intelligence |
| B．human beings are always more intelligent than animals |
| C．humans should have the sense of protecting animals |
| D．the blue whale is the largest animal in the world |
Those supposed intelligent people often believe that ______.
| A．they should make their life the same with others |
| B．they should live in a better world than the others |
| C．they are sure to be successful because of their intelligence |
| D．other people's opinion should be seriously considered |
What makes the intelligent people lose their confidence?
| A．They often can't get higher positions though they are intelligent. |
| B．They become separated from other people and lose their support. |
| C．They can't persuade those stupid people to accept their ideas. |
| D．They often can't make good use of their advantages. |
We can infer that the end result of the supposed intelligent people would be ______.
| A．great achievements | B．more efforts |
| C．proper changes | D．failure in the future |
The first tape recorder didn’t use tape. It used long thin wire. It was invented in 1900 by Valdermar Poulsen. In 1930, German scientists invented the tape we use today. Back then the tape was on big rolls. In 1964 the Philips company in Holland invented the cassette. It’s pretty much a holder for the tape. People use cassettes all over the world. If you don’t have a cassette recorder, borrow one.
Think of a book your parents read out loud to you. That might be a great book to read out loud to your mom or dad in their car. Put a cassette in the recorder, open the book, hit the record button and start reading out loud.
Remember there is no such a thing as a wrong way to do this. You might think you’ve made a mistake, but this gift is part of you, and nothing about that can be a mistake. It’s impossible.
You get to be all artistic and creative here. You might want to play music in the background. Do whatever you want. The gift is you, so you decide. Remember to say “I love you”at the end of your reading. That’s like the prize at the end of the book.Why does the author mention the history of tape recorders in Paragraph 1?
| A．To inform readers of new inventions. |
| B．To lead into his following suggestion. |
| C．To give an example of his suggestion. |
| D．To show the importance of tape recorders |
What does the author advise us to do?
| A．To read a book to our parents in their car |
| B．To ask our parents to record a book. |
| C．To make a gift for our parents. |
| D．To practice reading out loud. |
Why does the author say it is impossible to make a mistake in Paragraph 3?
| A．Because the tape shows your true love. |
| B．Because it’s easy to use a tape recorder. |
| C．Because the music is what your parents like. |
| D．Because it’s impossible to find a mistake in the book. |
When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly as possible and head for safety…But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm．These people are willing to risk being killed by floods or 100-Kilometer- an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up．
“Storm chasing (追逐)”is becoming an increasingly popular hobby，especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July．A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to l,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop．
Although anyone can do it，storm chasing is extremely dangerous．The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds．Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain．If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm - chasing vacations during the storm season．
Even then，storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement．“Storm chasing is 95％driving，”says Daniel Lynch，who spends most of his summer storm-chasing．“Sometimes you
Can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen，and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”
However，for storm chasers，it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm，it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life，”says Jasper Morley．“Every storm is an example of the power of nature．It is the greatest show on Earth．”For storm chasing，the first thing storm chasers do is to．
| A．head straight for the center of the storm |
| B．get into the car for safety |
| C．wait patiently for the storm to develop |
| D．collect information about a coming storm |
Beginners of storm chasing are advised
| A．not to drive in a heavy rain |
| B．to do it in an organized way |
| C．not to get too close to a storm |
| D．to spend more time on it in summer |
By saying “it is all worth it” in the last paragraph，the author means that
| A．storm chasing costs a lot of money |
| B．storm chasing is worth hours of waiting |
| C．efforts in storm chasing are well paid |
| D．a storm presents the greatest show on Earth |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Sometimes storm chasers get nothing but disappointment． |
| B．Many storm chasers get killed in the storms． |
| C．Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world． |
| D．Storm chasing is only fit for young people |
Surfing for hours on the Internet consumes a lot of electricity and is harmful to the environment. However, a new ecological PC saves energy as it operates：it produces about 70 percent less CO2 than conventional computers.
As a work tool, a leisure activity resource, and a personal assistant, computers seem to be everywhere. Yet the environmental performance for today's computers leaves a lot to be improved: they rapidly become out of date, and typically contain poisonous materials and individual parts that are difficult to recycle. Moreover, they consume plenty of power whose production, in return, causes the release of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Employees at the MicroPro Company in Ireland, teaming with colleagues at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM in Berlin, have engineered a wooden—frame computer with reduced environment impact. As the first computer for its class, the“iameco”(pronounced I-am-eco) was awarded the “EU Ecolabel”, the European Union’s environmental label. “This touch-screen PC has very low energy consumption over the entire lifecycle” explains Alexander Schlosser, scientist at IZM.
Over the full product life cycle, it releases 70 percent less CO2 than a typical desktop PC with monitor. In addition, it can be easily recycled. Of the materials used, 98 percent can be recycled. Indeed, 20 percent of the computer can be reused immediately—in other words, many parts can be reused for repairing other computers—such as parts of the wooden frame.Paragraph 2 mainly talks about______________.
| A．the popularity of computers |
| B．the latest development of computers |
| C．the improvement of computers |
| D．the environmental pollution of computers |
The “EU Ecolabel” is probably awarded to_____________.
| A．products made of wood |
| B．products saving energy |
| C．products releasing much CO2 |
| D．products made by the EU |
The wooden frame is used because__________.
| A．it has better appearance |
| B．it can reduce weight |
| C．it doesn’t break easily |
| D．it can be recycled directly |
The author uses figures in the last paragraph to______________.
| A．record valuable data |
| B．give detailed description |
| C．provide concrete evidence |
| D．introduce a research method |
What’s the text mainly about?
A. The fun of surfing the Internet.
B. Disadvantages of the desktop PC.
C. The recycling of computers.
D. Benefits of the new ecological PC.