Comera is the only place in the world which has a whistle language. We do not know how and why it began because we do not know the complete history of the island. But we can certainly imagine the reasons for the beginning of the whistle language. There are many deep valleys on the island. A person on one side of valley can not easily shout to a person on the other side. But he can whistle and be heard from four miles away, and the record is seven miles. The people who live on the island usually have good teeth, and this helps them to whistle well. They must also have good ears so that they can hear other whistlers.
We can understand why the whistle language continues. It is very useful on the island, and quite easy to learn. When somebody is hurt or ill, the whistle language takes the place of telephone. If the sick person is a long way from the town, boys and men pass the news from one to another. A boy guarding cattle on a hillside whistles to a man fishing from his boat. The last one is able to describe the trouble fully and exactly to the doctor in town. People help each other in the same way when a car breaks or a cow is lost.
The whistle language is hundreds of years old, and probably it will continue to live for hundreds of years more. Radio and TV often kill the special ways of speaking in the different parts of a country. But on Comera you are nobody if you cannot whistle. Perhaps soon after TV arrives on the island, the people there will be whistling the news and other facts and opinions.
4. If a person on Comera island is ill, .
| A．others will phone the doctor in town |
| B．whistle language will pass the news to the doctor |
| C．his family will take him to the doctor |
| D．people will take him to the hospital |
5. From the passage we know radio and TV at that time.
| A．killed the special way of speaking |
| B．whistled all the news and opinions |
| C．helped Comera people to communicate |
| D．did not appear on Comera island yet |
6. Comera island is special in that .
| A．it attracts visitors every year |
| B．no visitors have ever been there |
| C．people there have special ears to hear whistles |
| D．people there use the whistle language to communicate with each other |
7. Which of the following is not true according to the passage?
| A．It is not easy for a person to live on Comera island if he cannot whistle. |
| B．The whistle language can only be found in Comera. |
| C．The whistle language has been used for hundreds of years on the island, but will not be used any longer. |
| D．The record shows that one best whistler can be heard by others seven miles away. |
Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the books he was carrying，along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove and a small tape recorder. Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered（零散的） articles.
Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry part of the burden. As they walked Mark discovered the boy’s name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball and history, and that he was having lots of trouble with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.
They arrived at Bill's home first and Mark was invited in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed pleasantly with a few laughs and some shared small talks, then Mark went home. They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated from junior high school. They ended up in the same high school where they had brief contacts over the years. Finally the long awaited senior year came and three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.
Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first met. “Do you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill. “You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn’t want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mother’s sleeping pills and I was going home to commit suicide(自杀). But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I had killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life.”How did Bill and Mark get to know each other?
| A．They were attending the same junior high school. |
| B．They were living in the same neighborhood. |
| C．Mark was once invited to Bill’s home to play video games together. |
| D．Mark once lent Bill a hand when he dropped all things the was carrying. |
The underlined word “tripped” in Paragraph One probably means.
| A．stopped | B．scattered |
| C．trapped himself | D．caught his foot on something |
According to the passage, we learn that ________
| A．Bill would have gone to another school if Mark hadn’t met him that day. |
| B．Mark would have been informed of Bill’s death shortly after |
| C．Bill would have killed himself |
| D．Bill’s mother would find out his secret |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The boy took so many books with him because he was about to graduate soon. |
| B．In fact Mark knew from the beginning that he had saved his friend’s life. |
| C．Bill actually wanted to have a good sleep because he was too tired. |
| D．After they entered Bill’s house they had a drink together. |
On March 19, 2013, Malala Yousafzai, a 15-year-old Pakistani student and women’s-education activist(积极分子)， returned to the classroom for the first time since being attacked by a member of the Taliban on October 9, 2012. Malala was shot on her way home from school in Mingora, Pakistan. The Taliban(塔利班) said that they did the attack. The group said the attack should be a warning to others. Malala was targeted(作为目标) because she expresses her opinion publicly about girls’ rights to education.
After a long period of recovery, Malala is starting as a ninth-year student at Edgbaston High School. It is the oldest independent girl’s school in Birmingham, England. Though she has no specific plans to return to Pakistan, Malala still speaks out as a voice for change in her country, and everywhere. “I’m excited that today I have realized my dream of going back to school. I want all girls in the world to have this kind of chance,” Malala said in a statement .
Malala has been an Internet blogger since she was 11 years old. In 2011 she was awarded Pakistan’s National Peace Award for her bravery in writing about the difficulties of life and education in the shadow of the Taliban. She has spoken publicly about children’s rights and been nominated(提名) for an international children’s peace prize.Why did the Taliban attack Malala?
| A．She is a Pakistani student. |
| B．She was targeted without being planned. |
| C．She didn’t want to be a member of the Taliban. |
| D．She spoke publicly about girls’ rights to education. |
How long did it take Malala to recover from the attack?
| A．Four years. | B．About one year. |
| C．Over five months. | D．About four months. |
We can learn from the passage that Malala______.
| A．is now attending school in Pakistan |
| B．is still under the shadow of the attack |
| C．has made a careful plan for her future |
| D．cares about the situation in her home country |
While English is getting more important in our schools, Chinese has become popular among foreign kids. But Chinese can be more difficult to learn. At least 16-year-old Piao Chenglong thinks so. “English is easier for me. Chinese characters(汉字) have too many strokes(笔画),” said Piao. “But I want to learn it. I want to study at Peking University when I grow up.” Piao is from South Korea. He came to China in 2008.
In South Korea, there are more than 300000 Chinese learners like Piao. Some South Korean students begin to learn to write the language on their first day at school. To help students learn Chinese, South Korea holds speaking competitions for high school students every year.
Chinese isn’t just popular in South Korea. People from all the world want to learn it. The Chinese Ministry of Education says that nearly 130 million people from 85 countries are learning Chinese. This number will be increasing to 800 million in the coming years.
In America, Chinese is the second most popular foreign language after Spanish. Some American middle schools have Chinese classes. Students learn to make jiaozi and tie Chinese knots(中国结). Some even try to write and draw in Chinese way!
People want to learn Chinese because China is becoming such an important country. Foreign countries want to understand China better to help them with business. The Chinese government is also helping the world learn Chinese. It has sent more than 200 Chinese teachers to more than 60 countries in the world. Many more Confucious College(孔子学院) will be set up in the world. These colleges will teach Chinese to foreign students.Which of the following is the topic sentence for the text?
| A．Chinese has become popular among foreign kids. |
| B．Chinese can be more difficult to learn. |
| C．In America, Chinese is the second most popular foreign language after Spanish. |
| D．Students learn to make jiaozi and tie Chinese knots. |
Where does Piao Chenglong come from?
| A．China | B．America | C．South Korea | D．Spain |
According to the text, some American middle school students learn to do the following EXCEPT_______.
| A．making jiaozi |
| B．writing and drawing in Chinese way |
| C．trying Chinese knots |
| D．singing Chinese songs |
Why do foreign kids want to learn Chinese?
| A．Because Chinese is getting more important in their schools. |
| B．Because Chinese characters have too many strokes. |
| C．Because the number of people learning Chinese will be 800 million. |
| D．Because China is becoming more and more important in the world. |
Once an Englishman named Larry Belmont went to Russia for a holiday. After he got back, some of his friends came. “I had a very dangerous trip while I was in Russia,” Larry said. “I went to see a friend in the country when the sun went down, I was still travelling through a forest in a sleigh(雪橇). It was a long way from my friend’s house when about twenty wolves began to follow my sleigh.”
“It was very dark in the forest. There was thick snow on the ground. First I heard the wolves. The noise was terrible! Then I saw long, grey forms among the trees, and soon the wolves were near me. They were running very fast, and they didn’t seem to get tired like the horses.”
“What did you do?” one of Larry’s friends asked.
“When the wolves got very near,” Larry answered, “I put up my gun and shot the first wolf dead. Then all the other wolves stopped and ate it, so my sleigh got away from them for a few minutes. Then they finished their meal, and I heard them coming again. The moon was shining brightly on the snow now, and after a few minutes I saw them running among the trees once more. They came nearer again, and then I shot another one of them, and the others stopped once more to eat it. The same thing happened again, and my horses became more and more tired and ran slower and slower until, after two hours, only one wolf was still alive and following me.”
“Wasn’t it too fat to run?” one of Larry’s friends asked.The purpose of this passage is to_______.
| A．amuse readers |
| B．tell an exciting adventure |
| C．praise Larry Belmont’s bravery |
| D．show the danger of travelling through a forest |
Larry told his friends what happened to him when he was ______.
| A．in Russia one winter morning |
| B．in England one winter evening |
| C．in Russia one winter evening |
| D．in America one winter morning |
According to what Larry said, the last wolf ______.
| A．was the strongest of all |
| B．had eaten up all the other wolves |
| C．ran much faster than the other wolves |
| D．was very fat and couldn’t run fast enough |
From what Larry’s friend asked in the end,we know that ______
| A．Larry’s trip was really dangerous |
| B．the last wolf was too fat to run |
| C．all the wolves had been shot by Larry |
| D．his friend did not believe what Larry had said. |
One of the most important things in the world is friendship. In order to have friends, you have to be a friend. But how can you be a good friend at school?
Listen----Listen when they are talking. Don’t say anything unless they ask you a question. Sometimes it’s not necessary for you to have anything to say; they just need someone to talk to about their feelings.
Help them----If your friend is ever in need of something, be there to help them. You should try to put them first, but make sure you don’t do everything they want you to do. Try to take an extra pencil or pen with you to classes in case they forget one. Have a little extra money in your pocket in case they forget something they need.
Be there for them----Be there for your friends to help make them feel better in hard times. Marilyn Monroe, a famous US actor, once said, “I often make mistakes. Sometimes I am out of control, but if you can’t stay with me at my worst, you are sure not to deserve(应受、值得) to be with me at my best.” Always remember this! If you don’t want to stay with your friends when they’re in hard times, then you don’t deserve to be with them when they’re having a good time!
______----Try to make plans with your friends. Go shopping, go for ice cream, have a party, go to a movie and so on. Take time to know each other even better by doing something you both enjoy. By planning things together, you both can have a good time. And you’ll remember these things when you’re all old!While your friend is talking to you about his or her feelings, you should ____.
| A．give him or her some advice |
| B．just listen unless asked |
| C．calm him or her down |
| D．share your feelings as well |
What can we learn from Marilyn Monroe’s words?
| A．Life without a friend is death. |
| B．A friend is easier lost than found. |
| C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| D．A man is known by his friends. |
Which of the following can be put in the blank of the last paragraph?
| A．Make plans | B．Enjoy yourself |
| C．Understand your friends | D．Play with your friends |
The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．how to find a good friend |
| B．how to help friends in trouble |
| C．how to be a good friend |
| D．how to make more friends |