The Sahara Festival is a celebration of the very recent past. The three-day event is not fixed to the same dates each year, but generally takes place in November or December. It is well attended by tourists, but even better attended by locals.
During the opening ceremonies（仪式）, after the official greetings from the government leaders, people who attend the festival begin to march smartly before the viewing stands, and white camels （骆驼）transport their riders across the sands. Horsemen from different nations display their beautiful clothes and their fine horsemanship. One following another, groups of musicians and dancers from all over the Sahara take their turn to show off their wonderful traditional culture. Groups of men in blue and yellow play horns and beat drums as they dance in different designs（传统文化）. On their knees in the sand, a group of women in long dark dresses dance with their hair: their long, dark, shiny hair is thrown back and forth in the wind to the rhythm of their dance.
The local and visiting Italian dogs are anxious to run after hares. The crowd is on its feet for the camel races. Camels and riders run far into the distance, and then return to the finish Line in front of the cheering people.
Towards the evening, there comes the grand finale of the opening day, an extremely exciting horserace. All the riders run very fast on horseback. Some riders hang off the side of their saddles. Some even ride upside down -- their legs and feet straight up in the air -- all at full speed. Others rush down the course together, men arm in arm, on different horses. On and on they went. So fast and so wonderful!
64. The Sahara Festival is a festival which________.
A. has a very long history in North Africa
B. is held in the same place on the same day
C. is attended mainly by the people in the Sahara
D. is celebrated mostly by travelers from different countries
65. Before the races begin, ________ take part in the activities during the opening ceremonies.
A. musicians, dancers, horses and hares B. camel riders, musicians, dogs and hares
C. horsemen, dancers, camels and dogs D. musicians, officials, camels and horses
66. The underlined word "finale" in the fourth paragraph most probably means the ________of the opening day.
A. first part B. middle C. last part D. whole
67. This passage mainly tells readers_______.
A. what happens on the opening day of the Sahara Festival
B. how people celebrate during the three-day Sahara Festival
C. what takes place at the closing ceremonies of the Sahara Festival
D. how animals race on the first and the last days of the Sahara Festival
Fluency(流利) in another language is one of the most important aims of a newcomer to another country. In addition, understanding the culture and learning to communicate comfortably with people of that culture are as important as learning the rules of the language. Language learning and culture learning go together and may take a long time.
Sometimes people feel that they understand a culture after a few weeks or months. People do learn a lot when they first begin living in another culture, but this is only the first stage of learning. It usually includes things like learning everyday activities and some basic customs.
To really understand another culture, people have to go beyond the first stage, This is challenge because it is often difficult to know what to learn. Much of what we call “culture” is hard to see.
Culture is like an iceberg（冰山）. Picture in your mind a huge iceberg in the ocean. The only part of the iceberg that you see is the top. You don’t see the rest of the iceberg because it is hidden from sight in the water. It is easy to forget that it is there. Most of the iceberg is deep within the ocean, just as much of a culture is deep within its people.
When you meet someone from another culture，certain culture differences are easy to see: You hear another language or you hear your own language spoken with an accent(口音). You see different foods, clothes and sometimes physical characteristics of people. You notice new customs or habits, such as the use of chopsticks, and, bowing or kissing as a way of saying hello. These differences are interesting and important, but they are usually not too difficult to understand. They are visible so they are seen easily and quickly.
The part of culture that is like the underwater part of the iceberg consists of assumptions(设想), communication styles, values, and beliefs about what is right and wrong. The hidden part of culture affects much of a person’s way of thinking and communicating. It is the meaning behind his or her verbal (言语的) and nonverbal language. Learning to communicate well with people from another culture includes getting to know the hidden part of culture.What’s the subject of this passage?
| A．Learning about culture. |
| B．Language learning. |
| C．The hidden part of the iceberg. |
| D．Fluency in another language. |
What is learning about culture?
| A．Learning the hidden part of the iceberg, which is underwater. |
| B．Learning everyday activities and some basic customs. |
| C．Learning the culture of an iceberg. |
| D．Learning the visible as well as the hidden differences of culture. |
What’s the writer’s opinion?
| A．Communication styles can be easily seen and learned. |
| B．Language learning is more important than culture learning. |
| C．Learning about culture is not easy and may take a long time. |
| D．People usually learn a culture after a few weeks or months. |
The underlined phrase “consists of” can be replaced by “______”.
| A．is compared with | B．is made up of |
| C．agrees with | D．is different from |
What conclusion can we draw after reading this passage?
| A．Values and beliefs are like the top of the iceberg. |
| B．People are often clear about the hidden part of culture. |
| C．The top of the iceberg is larger than the hidden part. |
| D．The hidden part of culture has a great effect on people’s communication styles. |
Recently, my college degree has just been completed. The last project was called “Smile”. The class was asked to go out to smile at three people and write down their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake.
My husband, the youngest son and I went out to McDonald. We were standing in line when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away. As I turned around, an unpleasant body smell came to my nose and two poor homeless men stood just behind me. As I looked at the short blue-eyed gentleman closest to me, he was “smiling”. The second man fumbled（摸索）with his hands as he stood behind his friend.
The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, “Coffee is all, Miss,” because that was all they could afford.
Then I really felt it — I embraced（拥抱）the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action. I smiled and asked two more breakfast meals and gave them to the men.
The blue-eyed gentleman looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, “Thank you.”
I turned in my project. My teacher said, “Can I share this?” I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings share this need to make people happy and to be made happy.
In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald’s and every soul that heard the story in the classroom. But, I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn.The underlined part “a piece of cake” in Paragraph 1 means _______.
| A．easy | B．embarrassing |
| C．moving | D．Comfortable |
Why did people around the writer in the McDonald step back?
| A．Because they were very polite to the two men. |
| B．Because they were moved by the two men. |
| C．Because the two men smelt terrible. |
| D．Because the two men seemed unfriendly. |
Why did the two men only buy coffee?
| A．Because they didn’t have enough money. |
| B．Because they didn’t feel hungry. |
| C．Because they knew others would help them. |
| D．Because they were looked down upon. |
How did the teacher think of the author’s project?
| A．Hard to believe. | B．Interesting to read. |
| C．Very puzzling. | D．Very satisfying. |
What did the writer think she learn from the story?
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed |
| B．Helping others can bring pleasure to many people. |
| C．Nothing is difficult to a willing heart. |
| D．Don’t judge people according to their appearance. |
Did you know that there are actually people who have paid for a flight to the moon? In the future, there will be a lot more opportunities to travel to faraway places than now… perhaps even as far as the moon. As people adventure further and further away and as planes, trains, cars, and rocket ships become faster, is it safer to have these vehicles controlled by humans or by computers?
While many flights by plane are controlled automatically by machines, most people today wouldn’t let their car drive itself. That’s because currently the autopilot function on your car can only keep it on the same course you are travelling on. It won’t turn the car right or left. It won’t stop if an animal jumps in the way. However, cars today can sense when something is too close and warn the driver with flashing lights and alarms. Many cars also have GPS（global positioning systems） that tell drivers which road to take and when to turn. These systems, unlike human drivers, never get lost. In the future, it is easy to believe that your car will be better able to drive itself with the aid of computers that can determine the position of your car and the speed it should travel at.
In addition to computers being ‘smarter’ than people regarding the best way to go or knowing how close another vehicle is, computers don’t get sick, tired, or angry. This means they won’t make the same mistakes that people make when they are not having a good day. While responding with emotion is a good thing when choosing the best way to deal with a friend’s personal problem, it may not be such a good thing when deciding what to do at the wheel of a fast-moving vehicle.
So what are the disadvantages of autopilot systems? Maybe one disadvantage is that a small computer problem could cause a serious accident. It could also be argued that in unexpected situations, computers might not be able to respond appropriately; some decisions require human emotions. Another problem might be that if everything were controlled by computers or robots, people wouldn’t have any jobs.What is the best title for the passage?
| A．The Development of Autopilot |
| B．Technology of Future Travel |
| C．A New Driving System |
| D．Computerized Cars |
Which of the following is the disadvantage of an autopilot system?
| A．It won’t make the same mistakes as people do. |
| B．It can point out the best route for the driver. |
| C．It might not respond properly to unexpected situations. |
| D．It does not have human emotions to influence its function. |
If some falling rocks roll down toward your car, the autopilot on your car will_______.
| A．inform you of the danger |
| B．turn the car right or left |
| C．do nothing about it |
| D．stop the car |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the autopilot?
| A．Approving. | B．Objective. |
| C．Negative. | D．Doubtful. |
Online shoppers would rather receive an offer for a product or service than make their own offer, according to a study led by a Michigan State University scholar that has implications for the fast-growing e-commerce industry. The findings may come as a surprise given that shopping online is an anonymous（匿名的）process that seemingly can give consumers more confidence to drive a hard bargain, said Don Conlon, Professor of Management in MSU's Broad College of Business.
But the study found that participants who made their own offers were less successful in sealing the deal and, when they were successful, worried they overpaid. Many shoppers found the process of researching an offer to be a hassle. "Americans are very busy, and it's less time-consuming to be the one receiving the offer rather than the one proposing the offer,” Conlon said. “People tend to be happier when they're in the receiver role.”
Online spending in the United States is expected to jump 45 percent in the next four years, from＄226 billion this year to＄327 billion in 2017, according to Forrester Research Inc. Nevertheless, researches into this prosperous market remain largely focused on the strategies of companies, rather than those of shoppers. Conlon's study is, obviously, a rare exception. Conlon got the idea for the study after considering the difference between two popular sites for hotels and airline flights, priceline.com, which takes bids, and hotwire.com, which provides offers. Using these two models, Conlon and his fellow researchers conducted a series of experiments with more than 850 people who were charged with booking a fictional hotel room and acquiring a fictional antique car. Not only did participants prefer to receive bids, Conlon said, but they also secured more deals in that receiver role. Further, when they had to make the bids, they were left more mentally taxed and regretful.
From an industry perspective, putting customers in the receiver role may help fill more hotel rooms and airplane seats. “If you're a business with a lot of products, ” Conlon said, “you may want to be the one making the offers.” However, when selling single items, such as an antique car, accepting bids may be a better option since that typically drives up the price, he said.What can we learn from Para. 1?
| A．The result of the study gives customers more confidence. |
| B．Scholars aren't surprised at the findings of the study. |
| C．E-commerce industry drives more hard bargains. |
| D．Online shoppers don't bargain as much as expected. |
It can be concluded from Conlon's experiments that _____.
| A．online shopping is time-consuming |
| B．given prices help promote online sales |
| C．online businesses provide a lot of products |
| D．receiving offers makes online shoppers regretful |
The underlined word “taxed" in Para. 4 probably means _____.
| A．burdened | B．numbed |
| C．relieved | D．challenged |
The passage is mainly about _____.
| A．the big advantages of online shopping |
| B．the rapid development of online shopping |
| C．online shoppers' preference for taking offers |
| D．online companies' strategies to improve service |
When should a child start learning to read and write? This is one of the questions I am most frequently asked. There is no hard and fast rule, for no two are alike, and it would be wrong to set a time when all should start being taught the intricacies（复杂）of reading letters to form words.
If a three-year-old wants to read（or even a two-year-old for that matter）, the child has the right to be given every encouragement. The fact that he or she might later be “bored” when joining a class of non-readers at child school is the teacher’s affair. It is up to the teacher to see that such a child is given more advanced reading material.
Similarly, the child who still cannot read by the time he goes to junior school at the age of seven should be given every help by teachers and parents alike. They should make certain that he is not dyslexic（having difficulty in reading）.
Although parents should be careful not to force youngsters aged two to five to learn to read（ if badly done it could put them off reading for life ）, there is no harm in preparing them for simple recognition of letters by labeling various items in their rooms. For instance, tie a nice piece of cardboard to their bed with BED written in neat, big letters.
Should the young child ask his parents to teach him to read, and if the parents are capable of doing so, such an attraction should not be ignored. But the task should never be made to look like a hard job and the child should never be forced to continue, or his interest should start to flag.This passage is mainly about ____.
| A．what qualities people teaching children reading should have |
| B．when and how children should be taught reading |
| C．different age groupings of children to be taught reading |
| D．various problems of children who start learning to read |
In the writer’s opinion, children start learning to read ____.
| A．at different times | B．from word games |
| C．by a certain rule | D．early and fast |
The purpose of labeling items in the room is to ____.
| A．make it more colorful |
| B．help children recognize simple letters |
| C．force children to develop the habit of reading |
| D．teach children to write neatly |
The writer suggests that ____.
| A．children should ask their parents to teach them to read |
| B．children starting to read should ask specialists for help |
| C．children should be taught with patience, care and a sense of humor. |
| D．children should not feel bored if given advanced reading material |