The summer I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art. My brother and I were not very excited when we realized what my mother meant. What she meant was that we would have to spend one afternoon a week with her at the Fine Arts Museum. Before each visit to the museum, she made us read about artists and painting styles. It was almost as bad as being in school. Who wants to spend the summer thinking about artists when you could be with your friends at the swimming pool?
First we had to read about ancient Egyptians and their strange way of painting faces and then go to look at them at the museum. My 12-year-old brother thought this was so funny, but I was not interested. Later we had to learn about artists in the Middle Ages who painted people wearing strange long clothing. We had to look at pictures of fat babies with wings and curly (鬈曲的) hair and with no clothes on flying around the edges of paintings. I certainly couldn't see what was so great about art.
On our last visit to the museum, something happened when I saw a painting by a woman called Mary. In it, a woman was reading to a child. The colors were soft and gentle, and you could tell by the mother' s expression how happy she was just to be with the child. I couldn't stop looking at this painting ! I wanted to see every painting Mary had ever made! It was really worth looking at so many paintings to find a painter who could interest me so much.The aim of the mother' s plan was to _________.
| A．take them to visit the museum | B．introduce them to the world of art |
| C．ask them to read about artists | D．show them different painting styles |
What was the writer' s experience in the museum before the last visit?
| A．She came to feel her mother' s love. | B．She liked many paintings. |
| C．She hardly enjoyed herself. | D．She could understand the pictures of fat babies. |
What made the writer go through a change that summer?
| A．One of Mary's paintings. | B．A strange way of painting. |
| C．Artists in the Middle Ages. | D．Her mother' s instruction. |
From the text, we can see _________.
| A．the importance of curiosity | B．the effect of art |
| C．the value of learning | D．the power of family education |
A California family drives a car that could help protect the environment. When Jon and Sandy go to the store or to their daughters’ soccer games, they drive in high-tech style. They drive a $1 million, fuel-cell-powered car. It may be the world’s most expensive car and one of the most environmentally friendly cars. The FCX is the first fuel-cell-powered car to be used by a family anywhere in the world. The FCX uses hydrogen and oxygen for fuel. Car makers have been working to develop vehicles that are better for the environment. They are developing cars that use fuel other than gasoline. And then what is fuel cell technology? Fuel cell technology works by changing the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water. This process produces electricity, and water vapor which comes out of the exhaust pipe. Most cars release dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Many scientists say these gases are major contributors to global warming. “The FCX is driven just like any other vehicle on the road, but without the gases which pollute the environment,” scientists say. Fuel cell technology has been around since the 1800s, but scientists have yet been to perfect it. They say it may take years before the technology is ready for widespread use. Another earth-friendly car is already on the market. Hybrid cars use both gasoline and an electric motor. They are becoming more popular with customers because they cut pollution and improve fuel efficiency.Which of the following about the FCX is not true?
| A．It may be the most expensive car in the world. |
| B．It is one of the most environmentally friendly cars. |
| C．It releases dangerous gases to pollute the air. |
| D．It uses hydrogen and oxygen for fuel other than gasoline. |
According to the passage, what is the major cause for global warming?
| A．Gases from FCX. | B．Water vapor from cars. |
| C．Hydrogen and oxygen. | D．Gases from cars. |
From the passage, we know that fuel cell technology ______.
| A．works by water | B．has a history for over two hundred years |
| C．works by electricity | D．has been widely used since the 1800s |
We can infer from the passage that ______.
| A．future cars will be environmentally friendly |
| B．there will be no gasoline for cars |
| C．people can’t afford to buy cars in the future |
| D．global warming has been stopped |
Hybrid cars are popular because ______.
| A．they are the fuel-cell-powered cars |
| B．they are energy-saving and cut pollution |
| C．they are perfect cars in the world |
| D．they produce no gases to pollute the environment |
Learning English is a great challenge, but with a little help from technology it can be as easy as a piece of cake.
As well as the classroom, teachers and textbooks, the Internet, TV and radio programs can play an active role in helping learn English. The Internet is full of rich and up-to-date information. English learners might wish to try http://www.in2english.com.cn. This website is co-established by the British Council, the BBC World Service and Central Radio and TV University. It provides cultural information about Britain and has an example of the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) that students can use for practice. Different levels of grammar tests can also be found.
Make friends online
Another useful website for middle school students and teachers is: Besides reading 21st Century School Edition online, students are also invited to put their views on different topics up on the website.
Users have the opportunity to make friends with people who share their interests.
In the teaching and learning section, there are reading and vocabulary tips for students.
Compared with the Internet, TV programs have their own advantages: one does not have to sit at a computer and the audio and visual effects can even be relaxing.
One popular English-learning program is called "Modern English". This focuses on oral English in practical situations such as taking photos and shopping.
The short dialogues and useful phrases may help students to express themselves if they go abroad or meet foreigners in China. More than 50 TV stations in about 300 cities have aired the program.
Word to World
If you watch Beijing Television Channel 8, you might see a program titled "Study Abroad". On this show Professor Wang Qiang from New Oriental School hosts "From Word to World".
He selects words with a deep cultural background and teaches useful phrases related to that word. Cartoons are also used to explain how to use the word in daily life. Listening to the radio may not be a new way to learn English but it is easy.
China Radio International airs a program called "Studio Classroom" at 6:30 a.m. every day. This 25-minute program is aimed at middle school students and covers subjects from current news to travel and history, all in simple language. This passage ______.
| A．introduces some new websites and TV and radio programs |
| B．focuses on advantages and disadvantages of different medium forms |
| C．recommends technological help in learning English |
| D．aims at advertising various English courses |
If you want to read an English newspaper and make comments on different topics, you try_____.
| A．www.in2english.com.cn. | B．www.21st.com.cn. |
| C．Modern English | D．Studio Classroom |
One can practise oral English in everyday situations in _____.
| A．Studio Classroom | B．From Word to World |
| C．Study Abroad | D．Modern English |
According to the author, one advantage of TV programs over the Internet is that they ____.
| A．offer more English learning resources |
| B．cost you nothing |
| C．have better audio and visual effects |
| D．have English courses available whenever you need them |
The author wants the readers to know that learning English ______.
| A．is difficult |
| B．is easy |
| C．is neither easy nor difficult |
| D．can be made much easier with a little help of modern technology |
A "blogger" is a person who writes on an Internet computer Web site called a "blog". The word "blog" is a short way of saying Web log, or personal Web site. Anyone can start a blog, and they can write about anything they like.
There are millions of blogs on the Internet today. They provide news, information and ideas and many people read them. They contain links to other Web sites. And they provide a place for people to write about their ideas and react to the ideas of others.
A research company called Perscus has studied more than 300 Web logs . It says that blogs are most popular with teenage girls. They use them to let their friends know what is happening in their lives. The study also says that more than 100,000 bloggers stopped taking part in the activity after a year.
However, some people develop serious blogs to present political and other ideas. For example, the Republican and Democratic parties in the southern state of Kentucky recently started their own blogs. And American companies are beginning to use blogs to advertise their products.
At the same time, some long-standing blogs have ended last week, blogging leader Dave Winer closed his free blog service "weblogs. com". He says the site became too costly to continue. He started the blog four years ago. And thousands of people had written on it. They are now upset because they did not know that the site was closing.
One blog that is still going strong is called Rebecca's Pocket. Rebecca Blood created the Web-site in 1999. She wrote about the history of blogs on the site. That article led to a book called "The Weblog Handbook". It has been translated into four languages so far.
Ms. Blood says Rebecea's Pocket gets about 30,000 visitors a month. She writes about anything and everything--politics, culture and movies. She recently provided medical advice. And she wrote about how to prevent people from stealing money from on -line bank accounts. The author wrote this passage mainly to _________.
| A．introduce an Internet computer Web site called "blog" |
| B．introduce a short way of saying Weblog |
| C．tell readers about blogs |
| D．tell readers how to write blogs |
From the passage we can learn that blogs cover almost everything EXCEPT ______.
| A．different ideas | B．medical advice |
| C．advertisements | D．account passwords |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Politicians don' t use blogs at all. |
| B．A lot of bloggers no longer write or read blogs. |
| C．Among school children, fewer boys like to use blogs. |
| D．People have 5 language versions of "The Weblog Handbook" to read. |
Dave Winer closed his "weblogs. com" because __________.
| A．more than 100,000 bloggers stopped taking part in the activity |
| B．American companies used blogs to advertise their products |
| C．people stole money from on -line bank accounts |
| D．He couldn’t afford the increasing money needed to run the blogs |
The reason why Rebecca' s Pocket is still going strong is that ______.
| A．it was created by a woman |
| B．it is about the history of blogs |
| C．it provides useful information and advice |
| D．it has editions in at least four different languages |
Years after throwing a bottle-up note into a lake for a class project and just one year after his death, a man’s childhood message was found and returned to his mother.
Eleven years ago, a then 10-year-old boy, Joshua Baker, wrote the message, folded and put it in an empty container, his mother, Maggie Holbrook said. He died last February in a motor vehicle accident in California. He had recently returned after a serving in the Middle East as a US marine.
“ I think he was just letting us know he was OK and keep doing what we are doing ,” Holbrook said.
The message surfaced in White Lake in late April, just days after the 11th anniversary of its being thrown into the lake. It was found by one of Baker’s closest friends, Steve Lieder, she said. Lieder and two friends were chatting near the lake when Lieder looked down and saw the bottle. He broke it open and found the note inside.
“My name is Joshua Baker. I am 10. If you find this, put it on the news. The date is 4/16/95.”
They immediately took it to Holbrook, who said she is now having the note preserved and will display it in her home.
She can remember when her son wrote the message for the school project. She said she always wondered why he didn’t put it in the nearby Wolf River, which has a much stronger current（水流）.
“I still remember the day he wrote it,” Holbrook said. “ I couldn’t understand why he threw it in the lake. No one would never see it again. Now I know.” What was Joshua Baker when he died in motor vehicle accident in California?
| A．An official | B．A soldier | C．A worker | D．A teacher |
Who found the bottle according to the passage?
| A．Joshua Baker’s mother | B．A fisherman |
| C．Joshua Baker’s friend | D．Joshua Baker’s mother’s friend |
What does the underlined sentence mean?
| A．The mother believes his son is still living with her in the house. |
| B．The mother thinks his son will come to see her one day |
| C．The mother thinks it’s foolish to throw the note in the lake |
| D．The mother thinks the bottle is her son’s gift only left to her after his death |
Which of the following statements is correct according to the passage?
| A．The man threw the bottle into the lake without any purpose. |
| B．The man didn’t put the bottle into the nearby river because it had a strong current. |
| C．Not until recently did his mother understand why he put the bottle into the lake instead of the nearby river. |
| D．The man made the bottle-up note so as to let his parents know he was OK. |
The best title for this passage would be ____.
| A．A man’s Bottle Message Found After His Death |
| B．A Ridiculous and Unbelivable Bottle Message |
| C．A Strange Bottle-up Note Appearing In a Lake |
| D．An Important Childhood Message 11 Years After His Death |
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Recently some American scientists have given a useful piece of advice to people in industrialized nations. They say people should eat more of the same kind of food eaten by humans living more than 10,000 years ago. ______
The scientists say that the human life has changed greatly. Our bodies have not been able to deal with these changes in lifestyle and this had led to new kinds of sickness. ______ So they are called “disease of civilization”. Many cancers and diseases of the blood system are examples of such diseases.
Scientists noticed that people in both the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age enjoyed very little alcohol or tobacco, probably none. _____ However, a change in food is one of the main differences between life in ancient times and that of day.
Stone Age people hunted wild animals for their meat, which had much less fat than domestic ones. They ate a lot of fresh wild vegetables and fruits. They did not have milk or any other dairy product, and they made very little use of grains.
______ We eat six times more salt than our ancestors(祖先). We eat more sugar. We eat twice as much fat b
ut only one third as much protein and much less vitamin C.
______ But scientists say that we would be much healthier if we eat much the same way as our ancestors did, cutting the amount of fatty, salty and sweet food.
| A．These new sicknesses were not known in ancient times. |
| B．People today probably don’t want to live the way people thousands of years ago did. |
| C．Ancient people also lived in large groups. |
| D．But today, we eat a lot of these. |
E.Ancient people also got a great deal of physical exercise.
F.In that case, they would live much healthier.
G. People today probably live the same life as people thousands of years ago did.