People like different kinds of vacations. Some go camping, They swim, fish ,cook over a fire and sleep outside Others like to stay at a hotel in an exciting city They go shopping all day and go dancing all night Or maybe they go sightseeing go places such Disneyland ,the Tai Mahal or the bouvre .
Some people are bored with sightseeing trips, They don’t want to be “tourists”. They want to have an adventure-a surprising and exciting trip .They want to learn something and maybe help people too .How can they do this? Some travel companies and environmental groups are planning special adventures. Sometimes these trips are difficult and full of hardships, but they’re a lot of fun .One organization, Earthwatch, sends of the world . Some volunteers spend two weeks and study the environment Others word with animals. Others learn about people of the past
Would you like an adventure in the Far North? A team of volunteers is leaving from Murmansk. Russia The leader of this trip is a professor from Alaska, He’s worried about chemicals from factories. He and the volunteers will study this pollution in the environment, If you like exercise and cold weather, this is a good trip for you, volunteers need ski sixteen kilometers every day .
Do you enjoy ocean animals? You can spend two to four weeks in Hawaii. There can follow orders such as “Bring me the large ball”, They also understand opposites .How much more can they understand? It will be exciting to learn about these intelligent animals Another study trip goes to Washington State and follows .How much More can they understand? It will be exciting to learn about these intelligent animals Another study trip goes to Washington Stare and follows orcas. We call orcas “Killer Whale ,”but they ‘re really dolphins-the largest kind of dolphin These beautiful animals travel together in family groups ,They move through the ocean with their mothers. They move through the ocean with their mothers, grandmothers and great –grandmothers . Ocean pollution is chasing their lives. Earthwatch is studying how this happens .
Are you interested in history? Then Greece is the place for your adventure. Thirty-five hundred years ago a volcane exploded there, on Santorini. This explosion was more terrible than Krakatoa or Mount Saint Helens. But today, we know a lot about the way of life of the people from that time. There are houses, kitchens, and paintings as interesting as those in pompei. Today reams of volunteers are learning more about people from the past .
Do you want a very different vacation? Do you want to travel far, word hard and learn a lot ? Then an Earthwatch vacation is for you .
The Tai Mahal may be
| A．a shopping center | B．a hotel | C．a dancing hall | D．a place of interest |
From the passage, on an adverture trip, people
| A．ay not spend much time on sighteeing | B．won’t meet some difficulties or hardships |
| C．can enjoy themselves | D．can’t learn something |
If you want to learn something about people of the past ,you can
| A．join the team to Hawaii | B．join the team to the Far North |
| C．join the team to Washington | D．join the team to Greece |
The word intelligent in para4means
| A．exciting | B．beautiful | C．large | D．clever |
Which of the following is false ?
| A．Some people find sightseeing trips boring. |
| B．Earth watch is planning various special adventures |
| C．The number of orcas is decreasing . |
| D．Volcano Explosions in all broke out 3500years ago in Greece |
The wedding took place in a Birmingham hotel. The bride and her father arrived in a new black American sports car. Her father looked nervous and uncomfortable in front of the cameras. The bride wore a silk wedding dress. She smiled nervously at the waiting photographers and went to a room on the first floor where she met her future husband for the very first time.
Carla Germaine and Greg Cordell were the winners of a radio station’s competition. The aim of the competition was to find two strangers prepared to marry without having met each other. Miss Germaine, 23, is a model. Mr. Cordell, 27, is a TV salesman. They were among the two hundred people who entered for a particular “experiment” organized by BMRB radio in Birmingham, England. Greg and Carla were among eight finalists who were interviewed live on radio. They took a lie detector （测谎仪）test and the station also spoke to their friends and family about their personalities. The competition judges included an astrologer（占卜家）who declared that they were suited.
The couple celebrated their wedding with a wedding breakfast and a party for 100 guests in the evening, but not everyone shared their joy. Miss Germaine’s mother looked anxious through-out the wedding and Mr. Cordell’s parents are reported to be less than delighted.
Organizations, including the marriage guidance service Relate, have criticized the marriage. As one expert put it, “we have enough problems getting young people to take marriage seriously. Marriage should always be about love.”
The couples are now on a Caribbean honeymoon followed by journalists. Their other prizes include a year’s free use of a wonderful apartment in the centre of Birmingham, and a car. But will it last?How did the couple’s parents react to the wedding?
| A．The bride’s mother shared their joy. |
| B．The bridegroom’s parents were not that joyful. |
| C．The bridegroom’s parents were quite delighted. |
| D．The bride’s father felt uncomfortable about the wedding. |
Some experts believe that ________.
| A．marriage without the couple’s meeting each other first ends up in divorce. |
| B．most young people take marriage seriously except this couple. |
| C．taking a lie detector test can not solve all the marriage problems. |
| D．young people nowadays are too careless about marriage. |
One of the prizes for the couple is ________.
| A．to use an apartment free for some time. |
| B．to spend their honeymoon wherever they like. |
| C．to have a wedding dress free. |
| D．to own an American sports car. |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A．A Wedding Based on love. | B．Two Strangers and a Wedding. |
| C．A Short--lived Marriage. | D．A Well--Matched Couple. |
One day I heard that one of my dear friends had lost his mother. This made me sad, for my friend was very close to his mother. He had been by her side as she traveled through her long and hard journey with cancer. At this time, many memories about my loved ones that had passed away came back to me. Finally these memories passed, but it was really sad to think that my friend would have to go through the pain. Three times I tried to write an email to my friend and three times words failed me. I am not the one that is often lost for words and I decided to have a sleep. Upon waking up，I could hardly wait for my computer to work；the words I needed were there. I was still left with a heavy heart although I had sent the email. They say that everything in this universe is balanced (平衡的) and indeed it is.
Three days later, I received his reply letter. I was happy to hear that he’d been admitted (被录取) to Cambridge University. It served as a gentle reminder for me that my friend would be okay and that life would go on. Everything in life is balanced；the lowest feelings change places with the highest feelings. Without the lows, we would never appreciate the highs. No matter how dark the clouds seem to be, sunshine is always there and you just wait for the opportunity to shine through.After the author learnt her friend had lost his mother, she ______.
| A．gave him some money |
| B．wrote an email to him |
| C．went to visit him |
| D．went on a journey with him |
What good news did the author’s friend receive?
| A．He received the author’s email. |
| B．He was told that life would go on. |
| C．He would go to Cambridge University. |
| D．His life would go back to normal again. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The author wrote four emails to her friend. |
| B．The mother of the author’s friend died of cancer. |
| C．The author’s friend is a teacher in Cambridge University. |
| D．The author became relaxed after sending the email. |
From the passage, we can learn that the author is ______.
| A．sincere and warm-hearted | B．proud and confident |
| C．serious and friendly | D．funny and responsible |
The author aims to tell us that ______.
| A．life is fair to everybody |
| B．time waits for no man |
| C．everyone has good and bad times in life |
| D．on sunny days it doesn’t often rain |
Most of us know about the Nobel Prize, especially the Nobel Peace Prize, but few of us know anything about the man who set them up. His name was Alfred Nobel. He was a great scientist and inventor himself. Besides, he had a big business. His business may surprise you. He made and sold explosives(炸药). His companies even made and sold weapons. Isn’t this something that surprises you? The man who made money from weapons should set up the Peace Prize?
Though Alfred Nobel had a lot of money from weapons, he hated war. He hoped that there would be no war in the world. He was one of the richest in Europe. When he died in 1896, he left behind him a lot of money and his famous will. According to his will, most of his money was placed in a fund(基金). He wanted the interest(利润) from the fund to be used as prizes every year. We know them as the Nobel Prizes. The Nobel Prizes are international. Alfred Nobel wanted the winners to be chosen for their work, not the country they came from.
Alfred Nobel had given his whole life to his studies and work and to the benefits of mankind. He made money all by his own efforts, but he left the world share his wealth. His inventions and wealth stay with the world for ever.Alfred Nobel did the following EXCEPT ______________
| A．choosing the winners of Nobel Prize |
| B．making and selling weapons |
| C．setting up the Nobel Prize |
| D．making and selling explosives |
Nobel wanted to set up the Nobel Peace Prize because _____.
| A．he made enough money |
| B．he hated war |
| C．he wanted to get more interest from the fund |
| D．he liked to live in a peaceful world |
Nobel Prizes come from _____.
| A．all Nobel’s money in the fund |
| B．all Nobel’s money in his company |
| C．all the interest from the fund |
| D．some of the interest in the fund |
Nobel was a (an) _____ person in the world.
| A．interesting | B．unselfish | C．cold-hearted | D．richest |
Which statement of the following is Right according to the passage?
| A．Nobel set up his company to sell clothes. |
| B．Most of Nobel’s money was used for the world Wars. |
| C．Nobel Prizes are only for some people from some special countries. |
| D．Nobel worked hard in his life and saved lots of money for the world to share. |
A World of Color
No matter where you go, colors are everywhere! And while the colors may be the same, their meanings change depending on the country.
| Colors |
Different Meanings |
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| Green |
Green means “hope” in Ecuador. In the U.S., it’s a symbol of money and concern for the environment. |
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| Purple |
Purple is worn by kings and queens in Europe, while in Thailand, it’s worn by women whose husbands have died. |
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| Black |
Black is the traditional color of mourning(哀悼) in the West. But on the Pacific islands of Melanesia, it’s a symbol of beauty and speed. |
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| White |
White is considered a pure color and is worn at weddings in America. In parts of Asia, however, white is worn to funerals(葬礼) as a sign of winter, when everything is dead. |
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| Red |
Red means “beautiful” in Russia, but in South Africa, it’s the color of mourning. In the United States, a bride would be criticized(批评) for wearing a red gown. In India or China, though, brides often wear red as a symbol of good fortune. |
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Colors mean different things in different countries. No matter what the meaning is, color adds interest to our lives and makes them brighter.In the US if you prefer the color_____, it will probably show that you are concerned about the environment.
| A．green | B．purple | C．black | D．white |
How many colors mentioned in the passage can be used as a sign of mourning?
| A．Five. | B．Four. | C．Three. | D．Two. |
If a bride is wearing a red gown in the wedding, she must come from_____.
| A．Thailand | B．America | C．India | D．South Africa |
Which is true according to the passage?
| A．White stands for purity in China. |
| B．An American bride will wear a red gown on the wedding. |
| C．Black is a symbol of beauty and speed in the west. |
| D．Purple is worn by kings and queens in Europe |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．All the colors have different meanings in different countries. |
| B．From country to country, people view colors differently. |
| C．All the brides from China prefer to wear white gowns. |
| D．White is considered a pure color and often worn to funerals. |
Thousands of puffins(海鹦) live in Maine and on islands in the Gulf of Maine. But the puffins may be in danger. Last summer, the percentage of laid eggs that successfully produced baby puffins took a dive. Scientists also found a decline in the average body weight of the adult and baby puffins on Machias Seal Island, home to the area’s largest colony. Over the winter, dozens of the seabirds from the region were found dead, likely from starvation.
What’s causing the puffin trouble? Scientists think it may be a shortage of food. With ocean temperatures rising, fish populations have moved around. Normally, puffins’ primary food source is herring, a type of fish. A lack of herring in the area could be causing the problem.
Butterfish from the south have become more abundant in the Gulf of Maine and could be a new food source for birds. But Steve Kress says butterfish may be too big and round for baby puffins to swallow.
Puffins spend most of their lives at sea. They come ashore to breed each spring and return to the ocean in August. The chicks swim to sea about 40 days after hatching. Puffin populations stretch across the North Atlantic, from Maine to northern Russia.
Maine’s puffin population has been at risk in the past. In the 1800s, they were hunted for their food, eggs and feathers. By 1901, only one pair of puffins remained in the state. Thanks to the help of local lighthouse keepers and seabird restoration programs, the state’s puffin population has been restored to more than 2,000 birds.
Scientists aren’t sure what will happen to the Gulf of Maine’s puffins. The birds may move further north. Kress says he hopes the Gulf population will sustain itself and then he continued. “You never know what climate change will bring,” Kress said. “Historically fish could move out and more southerly fish could move in, and puffins may adapt to the new fish. Only they will know how the story will unfold.”The underlined phrase “took a dive” means _______.
| A．increased | B．arose | C．reduced | D．changed |
In the scientists’ opinion, ________ is contributing to the puffin trouble.
| A．a lack of herring | B．environmental pollution |
| C．the increase of birds | D．the huge size of butterfish |
It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
| A．Maine’s puffin once nearly became extinct |
| B．Maine’s puffins’ eggs were of high prices |
| C．baby puffins grew up quickly |
| D．the number of Maine’s puffins is worrying |
Judging from Kress’s words in the last paragraph, we know ________.
| A．climate change matters little |
| B．there is cause for concern |
| C．the new fish won’t harm puffins |
| D．puffins may move to the south |
How is the second paragraph mainly developed?
| A．By giving examples. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By following time order. | D．By asking questions |