The deserts of the world are not all covered with sand. Many of them have surfaces of rock or clay or small stones. They are not flat, either. They often have high hills and deep valleys. There is some plants’ life in many parts of the desert. There is little rain in the desert, but it does fall often enough for most plants.
The deserts of the world are not uninhabited(not lived by people). People also live outside oases(绿洲), but these people are not farmers. They have camels, goats, donkeys, sheep, etc. These animals can live on the desert plants and do not need much water.
The people of the desert have to move constantly from place to place, they must always look for grass or desert plants for their animals. They usually live in tents. When there is no more food for their animals, they fold up their tents, pat them on their camels and donkeys, and move to another place. In good years, when there is enough food for their animals, they trade their skins and their goats and camel hairs with the people of oases for wheat and fruit. But in bad years, when there is not enough food for their animals, the people of the desert would attack the oases people. But they are also hospitable, no man in the desert would ever refuse to give a stranger food and water.according to the passage, deserts are mostly made up of _______.
| A．clay | B．rock |
| C．sand | D．stones |
The underlined word “hospitable” has the meaning of being _______.
| A．brave | B．cruel |
| C．strange | D．kind |
In the desert _______.
| A．it rains in spring only |
| B．it rains for a short time every month |
| C．there is some rain, but far from enough |
| D．the rainfall is just enough for the plants |
People live _______.
| A．only inside the oases | B．only outside the oases |
| C．both inside and outside the oases | D．in places with regular rainfalls |
From the passage we know that life _______.
| A．is hard in deserts | B．is happy in deserts |
| C．is impossible in deserts | D．in deserts in much better now |
American middle school students don’t seem to care that they’re worse at maths than their counterparts (同龄人) in China’s Hong Kong and Finland. “I don’t need it,” my student says, “I’m going to be a basketball star.” Or a car mechanic, or a singer.
Middle school students’ maths skills were tested by the International Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The United States ranked 28th out of 41 countries tested. After all, when was the last time you used algebra (代数)？
But maths isn’t just about training Americans to become scientists. It has its own value. It helps you see patterns and develops your logic skills, and it teaches you to concentrate and to separate truth from falsehood. Maths helps you make wise financial decisions, so you can avoid false claims from advertisers, politicians and others. It helps you determine risk. For example, after an airplane crash, studies show that people are more likely to drive than to take a plane in spite of the fact that they are much more likely to be killed or injured while driving. Planes are not like criminals who repeat the same crime over and over. One plane is not more likely to crash just because another plane recently did. In fact, the most dangerous time to drive is probably right after a plane crash because so many people are on the road.
It is not possible to really understand science and the scientific method without understanding maths. A rainbow is even more beautiful and amazing when we understand it.
The precision (精确性) of maths helps us think in a very special way. How do we bring the learning of maths back to life? I don’t have the big answer. I try my best to help pupils find answers to some maths problems. When I can get one to say, “Wow, that’s great,” I feel the joy of a small victory.Some American students don’t care about their poor maths results because __________.
| A．maths is useless to most people |
| B．they have no interest in maths |
| C．they think maths has nothing to do with their future |
| D．they don’t do well in maths |
The example in Paragraph 3 is used to show __________.
| A．every coin has its two sides |
| B．we should not be cheated by fault facts |
| C．maths is close to our daily life |
| D．a simple fact shows complicated rules |
The writer would agree that __________.
| A．it’s normal that America kids are weak in maths |
| B．without maths we’ll miss much in our life |
| C．maths is the most important subject at school |
| D．American kids don’t work hard at school |
This text is most probably written by __________.
| A．a student career guide | B．a researcher on students’ problems |
| C．a specialist in students’ studies | D．a maths teacher |
The Weekly Telegraph is Britain’s global newspaper, the home-grown quality newspaper that delivers the best of The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph to the British around the world and adds its special articles, features and reports designed to be of real value to foreign readers．Telegraph．co．uk/expat, the website, increases the value of the newspaper, thus creating a complete expatriate（国外的）support system, both online and offline．
Order a gift subscription（订阅）for a friend or relation overseas this Christmas and they will begin to recognize what a useful investment your subscription represents, and you’ll receive a FREE bottle of 10-year-old Tawny Port to enjoy at home in the UK．
Subscriptions will start early January 2010．Port can only be delivered to a UK address and receivers must be over 18 years of age．
For more details or for 6-month subscriptions, please contact our subscriptions department on Tel +44 （0） 1622 335080 or emailweeklytelegraphsubs@telegraph．co．ukOffice hours: 09:00-17:00 GMT）．
Please contactweeklytelegraphsubs@telegraph．co．ukwith any questions regarding your subscription．
Your money back if you are not satisfied
Our “no quibble” money-back policy means that we guarantee to return the money for your subscription in full if you are not satisfied with the first four issues．
YOUR PAYMENT
Select a zone of payment．Price is for 52 issues．
United Kingdom105．00 GBP （Great Britain Pound）
USA125．00 GBP
Canada/ Australia/ New Zealand108．00 GBP
Zambia/ Zimbabwe /Tanzania85．00 GBP
South Africa80．00 GBP
Middle East/ Europe/ Rest of the world80．00 GBPThe Weekly Telegraph in the advertisement is mainly intended for ______．
| A．the British at home and abroad | B．the British in the UK |
| C．the foreigners in Britain | D．English learners across the globe |
If you want to receive a free bottle of 10-year-old Tawny Port, you must ______．
a．live in the United Kingdom b．have an overseas friend who is over 18
c．order a subscription of the Weekly Telegraph
d．offer your friend or relation’s address overseas
| A．a, b | B．c, d | C．a, c | D．b, c |
What do we know about the Weekly Telegraph from the passage?
| A．The content of it can’t be read online． |
| B．One can subscribe to it 24 hours a day． |
| C．Your money can partly come back if you’re not satisfied． |
| D．The prices for different countries are probably different． |
To order a 6-month subscription for a friend in Tanzania, you should ______．
| A．contact the subscriptions department |
| B．subscribe to the Daily Telegraph for a year |
| C．tell your friend to visit telegraph．co．uk/expat |
| D．pay 85．00 GBP |
Which of the following statements is true based on the text?
| A．Telegraph．co．uk/expat receives support from online readers only． |
| B．Subscriptions of the paper can be made starting from January 2010． |
| C．Telegraph．co．uk/expat mainly solve your subscription problems． |
| D．US and Middle East readers can enjoy equal price for 52 issues． |
A growing number of health, hunger, and sustainable （可持续的）agriculture groups today announced plans for Food Day-a nationwide campaign to change the way Americans eat and think about food．Food Day will encourage people around the country to sponsor or participate in activities that encourage Americans to “eat real” and support healthy, affordable food grown in a sustainable, humane way．
Organizers hope Food Day will inspire Americans to hold thousands of events in schools, college campuses, houses of worship and even in private homes aimed at fixing America’s food system．A Food Day event could be as small as a parent organizing a vegetable identification contest at a kindergarten class-or as massive as a rally（集会）in a city park, with entertainment and healthy food．Health departments, city councils and other policy makers could use Food Day to launch campaigns, hold hearings, or otherwise address communities food problems．
The campaign will advocate progress toward five central goals:
·Reducing diet-related disease by promoting healthy foods．The American diet is too low in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and too high in fatty meat, soft drinks and salty packaged and restaurant foods-contributing to hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year．
·Supporting sustainable farms and stopping subsidies to agribusiness．Billions of federal dollars a year would be better spent helping environmentally conscious family farmers than hugeagribusiness operations．
·Expanding access to food and alleviating hunger．Far too many Americans don’t know where their next meal is coming from, or have access to fresh produce in their neighborhood．
·Reforming factory farms to protect animals and the environment．Farming of animals can and should be done without cruelty, and without degrading the quality of life．
·Curbing junk-food marketing to kids．Food companies should not be targeting children with foods that promote tooth decay, obesity and other health problems．What is the best title of the text?
| A．Food Day Campaign | B．Eat Real and Keep fit |
| C．How to Observe Food Day | D．Food Problems in the USA |
What can we learn from Paragraph 2?
| A．Food problems are not easy to deal with． |
| B．Food Day events should be held in public places． |
| C．Kindergarten kids are unable to identify vegetables． |
| D．People are invited to create their own Food Day events． |
One of the aims of Food Day is to ____．
| A．target children with junk food | B．operate more agribusiness |
| C．increase access to food | D．cancel a series of events |
The underlined word "curbing" in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “”．
| A．controlling | B．enlarging | C．evaluating | D．providing |
We can infer from the text that _____．
| A．Food Day will not help preserve natural resources． |
| B．Food Day can be an opportunity to solve food problems． |
| C．Food Day has so far achieved all the central goals． |
| D．there are different ideas and views about Food Day． |
What makes a house a home?
Not size, of course．I’ve been in some of the grandest houses in America, and it’s readily apparent no one lives there．Earlier this year, I had dinner in a mud hut in Ethiopia, where we sat on chairs next to the hostess’ bed -- a home that had more warmth than any house I’ve been in since．
Now John Edwards is exploring what makes a house a home in his just-released Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives．There Edwards writes, " This is a book about homes, the values they rest on, the dreams they are filled with, and the people they have shaped．The houses and circumstances are different, but much of what you find inside will be familiar．"
Whether you’re sitting in an airport right now, waiting to fly to your childhood home for Thanksgiving, or in your own home waiting for the relatives to arrive, you know what he’s talking about．
We’ve lived in our townhouse for 21 years．The loose windows that make noise in the wind．The fireplace so shallow it holds only one log．The kitchen window that offers a view of the world passing by．It’s where friends sit on the kitchen counter drinking wine while dinner is being fixed．I lived there for only 18, but it will always be my true home．Even the lamp in the west living room window, which I could see far down the road when driving home late at night, still shines．
While all this talk about childhood memories can be warm and comforting, home is whom you’re with, not where you are．As Edwards writes, "Home is family．Home is safety．Home is faith．"
Happy homecoming．What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Home Means Everything | B．What’s Inside Makes Us Feel at Home |
| C．Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives | D．The Importance of the Home |
The purpose of the second paragraph is to __
| A．mean the author likes living in grandest houses |
| B．prove the author got along well with the hostess |
| C．mean the feeling of home isn’t related to the size |
| D．show the author’s different feelings about houses |
About the book Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives, we know that __
| A．it was the description of Edwards’ houses |
| B．it is mainly about houses |
| C．it helps us understand the concept of home |
| D．it was written by the author of the text |
What did the author mainly mean when he mentioned the loose windows and the shallow fireplace ?
| A．His house was too old to live in． | B．He missed the feelings of home． |
| C．He hated living there． | D．He missed his old friends too much． |
It can be inferred according to the text that __
| A．the author’s family were very rich | B．every happy home is the same |
| C．the author has been living a hard life | D．the author and Edwards hold similar ideas |
WHAT happens to a teenage kid when the world he thought he knew suddenly changes? Find out in Little Brother by American author Cory Doctorow．It is a fascinating book for a new generation of sci-fi readers．
Marcus Yallow, 17, from San Francisco is much more comfortable in front of a computer than obeying the rules of society．Smart, fast and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting （骗过） his high school’s monitoring system．This way he and his friends get to head off to play a popular online game in real life．
While they are playing, a bomb explodes on the Bay Bridge．Marcus stops a military vehicle to get help for his injured friend, but this simple act throws him into a Department of Homeland Security （DHS） secret prison．There he is treated as a possible terrorist．He is eventually let go after four days, but his injured friend disappears．
When he returns, Marcus discovers that there are many "security measures" in place and that now all citizens are treated like potential terrorists．While some consider this government action necessary for public safety, Marcus sees this as a complete destruction of the rights he is supposed to have as a citizen．
He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him with only one thing to do: to take down the DHS himself．He helps organize a large network called Xnet to spread the truth, anonymously （匿名地）．
The book presents a young man who is irresponsible, but learns about himself, and grows, in the course of the story．As part of this learning and growing he becomes aware of very serious issues about his society．What kind of article does this passage belong to?
| A．A fascinating story | B．A book review |
| C．A News report | D．A TV programme |
The underlined word “destruction” in the passage means．
| A．damage | B．reward | C．ruin | D．protection |
Marcus Yallow was sent to prison because．
| A．he killed his friend |
| B．he bombed a military vehicle |
| C．he did something that a possible terrorist could do |
| D．his injured friend disappeared |
From the second paragraph we can infer that．
| A．Marcus Yallow is much more comfortable obeying the rules of society |
| B．Marcus Yallow is smart, fast and wise in real life |
| C．Marcus Yallow always plays online games in real life |
| D．Marcus Yallow is expert at the network world |
At the end of the book, Marcus Yallow．
| A．is supposed to be more irresponsible |
| B．becomes aware of very serious issues about his society |
| C．presents a young man who is irresponsible |
| D．plays a popular online game in real life |