LONDON — Britain awoke on Easter Monday to a period of mourning for the Queen Mother, who died over the weekend after a life spanning a century of noisy and evident change. The 101-year-old royal matriarch died in her sleep last Saturday with Queen Elizabeth, her elder and only surviving daughter, at her bedside. For a woman who was one of the best-known figures in Britain for more than 80 years — from the era of tinted portraits on tin biscuit boxes and cigarette cards to the age of the Internet, the Queen Mother remained an enigmatic(不可思议的) and elusive(躲避的) figure.
She achieved such a respect through aeons(永世, 亿万年) of, first, fawning and, later, intrusive media fascination, by remaining almost entirely silent. Her private thoughts were never paraded(炫耀) in public. What the public saw was a charming and benign elderly lady, adept at winning the admiration of press photographers, whom she always favoured with a particular smile.
CHINA’s third unmanned spacecraft, Shenzhou Ⅲ, landed safely in central Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Monday afternoon, after orbiting the earth 108 times in slightly less than a week. The craft, which lifted off from Jiuquan in Gansu Province last Monday night, landed after successfully conducting a chain of flight and scientific experiments over a period of 162 hours.
A powerful earthquake jolted Taiwan, killing five construction workers, authorities(官方) said. Over 200 injuries ware reported across the island, mostly minor, as a result of Sunday’s 7.5-magnitude quake. The quake was centred off Hualien, 180 kilometres east of Taipei. It struck at 2:53 pm and lasted for nearly a minute.
1. Which of the following statements is true according to the news?
A. The Queen Mother died on Easter Monday alone.
B. The Queen Mother was an attractive person in her political life.
C. The British people felt sorry for the death of the Queen Mother.
D. The Queen Mother was suffering a lot when she was dying.
2. It can be inferred that _______.
A. the craft landed in central Inner Mongolia unexpectedly
B. it took the craft at least 2 hours to orbit the earth once
C. the Chinese scientists did a lot of experiments in space
D. China was successful in sending an unmanned spacecraft into space
3. The third news mainly talks about the _______ in Taiwan.
A. political matters B. social problems
C. unexpected damage D. construction workers
Whether you’re up for a Crocodile Dundee adventure or you’d just like a taste of the Australian sun, the beaches in and around Sydney can offer you all that and more.
Sydney Beach
Sydney Beach is located at Sydney’s northernmost tip on an extension（延伸） of land ending at Palm Beach. Before checking out the golden sand, take a quick tour of the houses of millionaires from the art and film industries.
Palm Beach
Only about an hour from downtown Sydney, Palm Beach offers a long stretch(地段) of clean sand and water. With parking near the center of the beach, that leaves the rest of it as a sparse population and peaceful location from which you can surf or body board—but take care; without the huge crowds of other Sydney beaches, Palm Beach doesn’t afford quite the safety level to be found elsewhere; volunteer lifesavers are on duty only on weekends and holidays.
Bondi Beach
For the big name beach, Bondi Beach has to be your choice. Parking is difficult to find even on slow days, so consider taking public transport to this world-known beach in the eastern Sydney suburbs. Easily reachable by taxi, bus, and rail, Bondi Beach offers sun bathing, swimming, snorkeling, and all sorts of water sports fun. If you’re in the mood for a bit of exercise, two scenic coastal walks will afford you great views and sights along the shore. Take in views from Mackenzie’s Point. It starts at Bondi and heads south to Bronte Beach. But don’t try to swim in Mackenzie’s Bay—it holds dangers such as hidden rocks.
Bronte Beach
Your second choice for a scenic coastal walk covers a little under two miles and takes you from Bronte Beach to Waverly Cemetery, where many famous Australians are buried, including poets Henry Kendall, Doreothea Mackellar, and Henry Lawson.Which of the following shows the right order of the beaches listed from the south to the north?
| A．Palm Beach---Sydney Beach—Bronte Beach—Bondi Beach |
| B．Bronte Beach—Bondi Beach—Palm Beach---Sydney Beach |
| C．Sydney Beach—Palm Beach—Bondi Beach---Bronte Beach |
| D．Bondi Beach—Bronte Beach—Palm Beach---Sydney Beach |
The underlined word “sparse” probably means .
| A．large | B．thick | C．thin | D．crowded |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．If you want to enjoy a walk, you can choose Bondi Beach or Bronte Beach. |
| B．If you want to swim in Palm Beach, the safer time is on weekdays and holidays. |
| C．If you want to visit the famous people’s tombs, you can choose Sydney Beach. |
| D．If you want to visit Palm Beach, the airplane is your best choice. |
The author intends to in and around Sydney.
| A．show the scenery of the beaches |
| B．introduce the culture and customs |
| C．show the activities on the beaches |
| D．attract the visitors to the beaches |
Shirley Temple Black, who lifted America’s spirits as a bright-eyed child movie star during the Great Depression and later became a US diplomat(外交官), died at the age of 85 at her home in Woodside, California, on Monday.
A family statement said, “We announce with great sadness that diplomat Shirley Temple Black, former Hollywood child star and forever America’s little darling peacefully passed away at her Woodside, California, home from natural causes, at the age of 85, on February 10, 2014.” She was surrounded by her family and caregivers.
“We respect her for a life of remarkable achievements as an actor, as a diplomat, and most importantly as our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and good wife for fifty-five years of much-missed Charles Alden Black, who has passed away.”
Temple’s film career began in 1932 and she found international fame two years later aged in the film Bright Eyes, famous for the song On the Good Ship Lollipop. The youngster was seen with her hair in curls, and the unforgettable performance made her one of the biggest box office draws (有票房影响力的明星) of the times. She was awarded a Juvenile Academy Award in 1935 and starred in films such as Curly Top and The Littlest Rebel, helping the US deal with the depression of the 1930s. And she was credited with helping save the film company 20th Century Fox from being bankrupt(破产).
But after retiring from the entertainment world in her early 20s with a special Oscar under her belt for the movie Stand up and Cheer when she was six, she created a role as an outstanding diplomat, serving as the US ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia.
Temple was also a delegate to several international commissions and was involved with the United Nations. She was the first woman to serve as US chief of protocol(礼仪) in the Department of State.According to the family statement we can know that .
| A．Shirley Black had been ill in bed for a long time |
| B．Black’s family was of five generations before she died |
| C．no doctors and nurses were allowed in Black’s home |
| D．Shirley Black survived her husband Charles Black |
What movie did Shirley Temple win the Oscar in?
| A．The Littlest Rebel. | B．Stand up and Cheer. |
| C．On the Good Ship Lollipop. | D．Bright Eyes. |
It can be inferred from the fourth paragraph that .
| A．Shirley saved the falling American government |
| B．most film companies had already gone bankrupt |
| C．Shirley ever brought in big incomes to herself |
| D．Century Fox was the biggest company on earth |
What does the passage mainly tell us?
| A．Shirley Temple performed in a lot of films. |
| B．Shirley Temple became famous as a child. |
| C．Shirley Temple, a former child star, died. |
| D．Shirley Temple acted as an excellent diplomat. |
I was doing a weekend seminar (研讨会) at the Deerhurst Lodge, north of Toronto. On Friday night a tornado swept through a town north of us called Barrie, killing dozens of people and doing millions of dollars worth of damage. Sunday night, as I was coming home, I stopped the car when I got to Barrie. I got out on the side of the highway and looked around. It was a mess. Everywhere I looked there were smashed houses and cars turned upside down.
That same night Bob Templeton was driving down the same highway. He stopped to look at the disaster just as I had; only his thoughts were different than my own. Bob was the vice-president of Telemedia Communications, which owns a string of radio stations in Ontario and Quebec. He thought there must be something we could do for these people with the radio stations they had.
The following night I was doing another seminar in Toronto. Bob Templeton and Bob Johnson, another vice-president from Telemedia, came in and stood in the back of the room. They shared their conviction (信念) that there had to be something they could do for the people in Barrie.
After the seminar we went back to Bob's office. He was now committed (坚定的) to the idea of helping the people who had been caught in the tornado.
The following Friday he called all the executives (执行委员会) at Telemedia into his office. At the top of a flip chart (海报) he wrote three 3s. He said to his executives, "How would you like to raise 3 million dollars 3 days from now in just 3 hours and give the money to the people in Barrie?" There was nothing but silence in the room.
Finally someone said, "Templeton, you're crazy. There is no way we could do that."
Bob said, "Wait a minute. I didn't ask you if we could or even if we should. I just asked you if you'd like to."
They all said, "Sure we'd like to." He then drew a large ‘T’ underneath the 333. On one side he wrote, "Why we can't." On the other side he wrote, "How we can."
"I'm going to put a big X on the 'Why we can't' side. We're not going to spend any time on the ideas of why we can't. That's of no value. On the other side we're going to write down every idea that we can come up with on how we can. We're not going to leave the room until we figure it out." There was silence again.
Finally, someone said, "We could do a radio show across Canada."
Bob said, "That's a great idea," and wrote it down. Before he had it written, someone said, "You can't do a radio show across Canada. We don't have radio stations across Canada." That was a pretty valid (有效的) objection. They only had stations in Ontario and Quebec.
Templeton replied, "That's why we can. That stays." But this was a real strong objection because radio stations are not very compatible (和谐相处的). They usually don't work together. They are very cutthroat. They fight each other. To get them to work together would be virtually impossible according to the standard way of thinking.
All of a sudden someone said, "We could get Harvey Kirk and Lloyd Robertson, the biggest names in Canadian broadcasting, to anchor (主持) the show.” (That would be like getting Tom Brokaw and Sam Donaldson to anchor the show. They are anchors on national TV. They are not going to go on radio.) At that point, it was absolutely amazing how fast and furious the creative ideas began to flow.
That was on a Friday. The following Tuesday they had a radiothon (广播募捐). They had fifty radio stations all across the country that agreed to broadcast it. It didn't matter who got the credit as long as the people in Barrie got the money. Harvey Kirk and Lloyd Robertson anchored the show and they succeeded in raising three million dollars in three hours within three business days!
You see, you can do anything if you put your focus on how to do it rather than on why you can't.The first paragraph is written to______.
| A．arouse the readers’ curiosity about the tornado. |
| B．tell the readers why the writer got out on the side of the highway and looked around. |
| C．introduce the background of the story. |
| D．tell the readers the influence of the tornado. |
Why did Bob Templeton called all the executives at Telemedia into his office the following Friday? Because he wanted ______.
| A．them to help him decide whether they should raise money for the people in Barrie |
| B．them to help him think of ways to raise money for the people in Barrie |
| C．them to discuss how to do a radio show across Canada |
| D．to share his conviction that there had to be something they could do for the people in Barrie |
Which of the following does NOT result in the fact that they could not do a radio show across Canada?
| A．Telemedia only had stations in Ontario and Quebec. |
| B．Radio stations are very compatible. |
| C．It is virtually impossible to get the radio stations to work together. |
| D．Radio stations are very cutthroat, and they fight each other. |
What do the underlined sentences mean in the passage?
| A．That’s the reason why we can do a radio show across Canada, so it remains. |
| B．That is a real strong objection. |
| C．The idea of doing a radio show across Canada belongs to the side of “how we can”, so it should stay. |
| D．The idea shows why we can help the people in Barrie. |
That Tom Brokaw and Sam Donaldson are mentioned in the passage is because ______.
| A．they are anchors on national TV |
| B．they are not going to go on radio |
| C．they are biggest names in Canadian broadcasting |
| D．they are to national TV as Harvey Kirk and Lloyd Robertson are to Canadian broadcasting |
We can conclude from the passage that Bob Templeton is______.
| A．compassionate and determined |
| B．stubborn and simple-minded |
| C．independent and strong-willed |
| D．passionate and stubborn |
Picture a library without books? Well, I can’t. Ever since I was little I would go to the library and take out numerous books. From picture books to beginning chapter books to YA books, books have always been a part of my life. Unlike many people today, I don't own a Kindle or a Nook or any type of e-reader. I prefer the old-fashioned book. There is something about holding a book and being able to turn the pages that I find comforting. In today's 21st century, books may become obsolete. For me that's something I find scary.
I am a fan of the old TV science-fiction series Twilight Zone. One episode（一段情节）is about a librarian who has become obsolete. Though this episode aired in 1961, the writer of the series, Rod Serling was exactly on point when it came to predicting the future.
In fact, in San Antonio, Texas the first-ever bookless library in the country opened. The library is full of iMacs, tablets and iPads which cost a huge $2.3 million. The library offers around 10,000 e-books. So the question is, is this what the future will soon be? Mary Graham, vice president of South Carolina's Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce states, "This is the future…If you're going to be building new library facilities, this is what you need to be doing."
It is our generation that will be the guinea pigs（试验品）of increasing technology like this. Is this a good or bad thing? Well, digital libraries may help the environment by not using paper; however, I feel like something will always be lacking with a digital book. A digital library is just the beginning.
With all of this new technology, people seem to be more absorbed in their own world. One of my biggest complaints is when I am with my friends and they can't seem to get off their smart phone and talk to me. To make plans with a friend and then have them stuck on their phone the whole time is extremely rude. Not only is it disrespectful, but it reflects the direction of where human interactions are heading. Though social media is great, it also is addicting and has negative effects.
Often when I go on Facebook it just makes me feel worse about myself. I'll see many of my 800 Facebook friends showing off their newest accomplishment or acceptance to college. Additionally, our society is becoming increasingly lazy. For instance, instead of doing mental math, people use their phone to solve 89 + 74. It is simple tasks like these that are allowing people to lack important educational and social skills.
It is up to us to find a balance between technology and human values and interactions. With new technology being created every day, we need to learn how to use it alongside our great minds. After all, inventions are supposed to benefit society not harm it. In the day of technology, who knows what's next?The underlined word "obsolete" (Paragraph l) is closest in meaning to.
| A．outdated | B．complex |
| C．expensive | D．meaningless |
What can we infer from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2?
| A．The episode still enjoys great popularity nowadays. |
| B．Rod Serling liked making predictions about the future. |
| C．The situation of books today is similar to what Rod Serling predicted in the episode. |
| D．The episode airing in 1961 was the most entertaining of the TV science-fiction series. |
What can we learn about the library in San Antonio, Texas?
| A．It is the first-ever library in America. |
| B．It is of no practical use although it costs so much. |
| C．It holds an exhibition of much electronic equipment. |
| D．People can read e-books there with the help of the new facilities. |
Which of the following will the writer probably disagree with?
| A．Great as social media is, it does have some negative effects. |
| B．With the increasing use of social media, something will actually be lost. |
| C．Through social media, people can develop educational and social skills around. |
| D．As a result of social media, people may communicate less with the people around. |
The tone of the passage is best described as.
| A．Optimistic | B．Skeptical |
| C．Supportive | D．Objective |
Below are some interesting columns from a website:
| Girl’s Crazy Historical Costumes Stella Ehrhart, a US third-grader, dresses up as a different historical figure every day before school—yes, you heard right! The 8-year-old has been coming to class in a different persona (人物) daily since the second day of second grade, when she showed up as American author Laura Ingalls Wilder. Stella gets ideas for what to wear from the book 100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century. However, in the past years she has also dressed up as fictional characters including Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. The eager student managed to get through the entire second grade without repeating herself, but now she is running out of ideas. The girl’s parents, who are both theater professionals, say they support their daughter’s “creativity”. Her mother told UK news website The Huffington Post, “She goes into her closet and just picks out what she wants each day.” Learning Soars How do you get a child’s early education off the ground? A head teacher in the Georgian city of Rustavi has found a unique way of creating an exciting learning environment. He has transformed a plane into a kindergarten. Gari Chapidze bought an old but functional Yakovlev Yak-42 from Georgian Airways and filled it with education equipment, games and toys, but left the cockpit (驾驶舱) untouched so it could be used as a play area. “The idea was to create a kindergarten where children go |
with joy,” Chapidze, who runs the kindergarten, told AFP. “The children come in to the kindergarten with pleasure and cry when they have to go home. They are happy here,” he added. Taxi Driver Gets Lucky in Las Vegas Bright lights and big wins—this is what Las Vegas is known for, and even the taxi drivers here get lucky. Well, at least recently one did. Adam Woldemarim, 42, discovered $ 221,510 in the back of his van after a long day at work. The money was in a laptop case left between the seats of the Virgin Valley cab. What did Woldemarim do with the cash? He turned it in. The Ethiopian driver soon got a call from the case’s owner who, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, had “won big” and was on his way to the airport when he realized he had forgotten his winnings. Woldemarim was given a $ 2,000 reward. But it was reported that the driver’s fellow taxi drivers thought he should have got a lot more. Eat Crickets (蟋蟀) and Worms at a Museum The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia is putting on a night for meat eaters who want to try some unusual foods. It is hosting a cocktail party on Oct 27 called Cuisine from the Collections. The food on the menu is inspired by the exhibited specimen (标本) at the museum. The event is for adults only. Let’s hope they don’t get a stomach bug from all the insects! |
Stella Ehrhart gets ideas on how to dress up every day before school from ________.
| A．Laura Ingalls Wilder | B．a book |
| C．Hermione Granger | D．her parents |
Which of the following is the biggest problem Stella Ehrhart is facing?
| A．She has to get through the entire second grade dressing up as others. |
| B．She finds her parents no longer offer her as much support as before. |
| C．She finds it hard to think of enough new figures to dress up. |
| D．She has difficulty dressing up without falling behind in study. |
Yakovlev Yak-42 is a certain kind of ________.
| A．school | B．company | C．toy | D．plane |
According to the passage, the van driver ________.
| A．was lucky to win a laptop case after a long day at work |
| B．was on his way to the airport when he saw the money |
| C．was given a reward but not quite satisfied with the sum |
| D．discovered the money but didn’t keep it for himself |