The year 2009 is the Year of Ox. The ox is a representative of the farming culture of China. In the farming economy, oxen are the major animals pulling plows (犁).
Of course, the good of oxen is not limited to plowing. In fact, they are seen as "boats on land" for their ability to carry loads. Besides, the whole body of an ox is full of treasures. Their meat and milk are food full of nutrition, and their skin can be used to make clothes and shoes. With all these qualities, oxen are regarded as generous creatures(动物) .
In the past, oxen played an important role in the spiritual life of the Chinese. Even today, oxen still play a special part in some folk activities. For example, some people who 1ive in southwest China will cook cattle bone soup and share it among family members when holding the ceremony for children who reach 13. They believe that the cattle bone soup represents the blood relationship among family members. In order to express their love for oxen, people in some other areas will run to shake off diseases on the 16th day of the first month by the lunar calendar (农历), and during their run they will take their oxen along, which indicates they regard the creature as human.
Because of the contribution of oxen in their lives, the Chinese people are very grateful to the animal. In addition, the use of oxen in ceremonies and the thanks people owe to oxen help to develop various traditional customs, which becomes an important part of the folk culture of the Chinese nation.
1. The words "boats on land" underlined in Paragraph 2 refer to _______.
A. animals for taking goods B. creatures for pulling plows
C. treasures of the folk culture D. tools in the farming economy
2. From the third paragraph, we know that _______.
A. oxen are no more important today than in the past
B. ceremonies are held when people cook cattle bone soup
C. oxen are treated as human in some areas of China
D. people run with oxen to shake off diseases every month
3. Which of the following helps to develop traditional customs?
A. The special role of oxen in farming.
B. People's respect and love for oxen.
C. The practical value of an ox's body.
D. The contribution of oxen to the economy.
4. Why does the author write the text?
A. To stress the importance of oxen in farming.
B. To introduce a kind of Chinese folk culture.
C. To describe how to celebrate the Year of Ox.
D. To explain how to develop agriculture with oxen.
Most British telephone cards are just plain green, but card collecting is becoming a popular hobby in Britain and collectors even have their own magazine, International Telephone Cards. One reason for their interests is that cards from around the world come in a wide variety of different and often very attractive design. There are 100, 000 different cards in Japan alone, and there you can put your own design onto a bank card simply by using a photograph or a business card.
The first telephone cards, produced in 1976, were Italian. Five years later the first British telephone cards appeared, and now you can buy cards in more than a hundred countries. People usually start collecting cards because they are attractive, small and light, and they do not need much space. It is also a cheap hobby for beginners, although for some people it becomes a serious business. In Paris, for example, there is a market where you can buy only telephone cards, and some French cards cost up to 4,000 pounds. The first Japanese card has a value of about 28,000 pounds. Most people only see cards with prices like these in their collectors’ magazine.
1. The passage is mainly about ______.
A. the history of phone cardsB. phone cards collecting as a hobby
C. reasons for phone cards collecting D. the great variety of phone cards
2. When did people in Britain begin to use phone cards?
A. In 1971. B. In 1975. C. In 1976. D. In 1981.
3. The main reason for most people to collect phone cards is that ______.
A. they find the cards beautiful and easy to keep
B. they like to have something from different countries
C. they want to make money with cards
D. they think the cards are convenient to use
4. The writer mentions a market in Paris in order to show that
A. card collecting is popular among young people
B. French and Japanese cards are the most valuable
C. people can make money out of card collecting
D. card collectors’ magazines are very useful
Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable jobs. Personal advisors give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants. But in the executive (主管的) circle, beauty can become a liability.
While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his. way up the executive ladder, it is harmful to a woman. Handsome male executives were considered having more honesty than plainer men; effort and ability were thought to lead to their success. Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones; their success was connected not with ability but with factors such as luck.
All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly, though, the rise of the attractive overnight successes was connected more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of the unattractive overnight successes.
Why are attractive women not thought to be able? An attractive woman considered to be more feminine has an advantage in traditionally female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally manly position appears to lack the " manly" qualities required.
This is true even in politics, “When the only clue is how he or she looks, people treat men and women differently,” says Anne Bowman, who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates (候选人). She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of women, in order of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again, in the order they would vote for them.
The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the women who had ranked most attractive unchangeably received the fewest votes.
5. The underlined word "liability" most probably means ______.
A. disadvantage B. advantage C. misfortune D. trouble
6. Bowman’s experiment shows that when it comes to politics, attractiveness ______.
A. turns out to be a disadvantage to men
B. is more of a disadvantage than an advantage to women
C. has as little effect on men as on women
D. affects men and women alike
7. It can be inferred from the passage that people’s views on beauty are often ______.
A. practical B. supportive C. old-fashioned D. one-sided
8. The author writes this passage to______.
A. give advice to job-seekers who are attractive
B. discuss the disadvantages of being attractive
C. demand equal rights for women
D. state the importance of appearance
BROOKSVILLE — It’s the time of year again, when young bears are on their own for the first time. And that means more sightings where bears usually aren’t supposed to be.
This weekend, a 258-pound black bear took a brief tour of Brooksville, with police and firefighters chasing.
Another black bear, weighing just 100 pounds, was spotted Saturday, crossing busy U. S. 19 near a retirement community in Spring Hill. Several other bear reports have come from Citrus County.
"It is really difficult for the younger bears to find their own land around here, " said Niki Everitt, bear hot line director for the Gulf Coast Conservancy.
Brooksville’s bear first was spotted late Thursday crossing State Road 50, headed toward Tom Varn Park. Police and firefighters tracked the bear through the park and the Brooksville Quarry golf course.
The bear then wounded down the middle of Broad Street before being surrounded near Luigi’s Pizza. An official with the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission came with a tranquilizer spear(加入镇静剂的矛).planning to stick the bear by hand. "The guy saw the size of the bear and figured that wasn’t a great idea, "said Capt. Frank Phillips of the Brooksville Fire Department.
Emergency officials waited until a tranquilizer gun was brought from Land O’ Lakes. The bear then got a free ride to the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area.
It is not unusual for bears to move into living areas this time of year, experts say. Mothers give their male baby bears the boot once the youngsters are 2 years old. With living areas growing, the young bears keep finding smaller and smaller areas in which they can set up their own land.
"They’ re trying to find a land of their own, where they won ‘t get beat up, " said Lt. Rip Stalvey, a game commission spokesman.
Everitt said people should not be too concerned about the recent bear sightings, since" we have never had a bear attack in Florida."
Black bears mainly eat the tender and fresh leaves of Sabal palms, as well as acorns and berries. Recent weeks of dry weather likely have reduced their food supply.
"If we don’t get some relief soon," Everitt said," we’re probably going to see a lot more of it."
1. What’s the main idea of this passage?
A. Bear sightings in living areas worry people.
B. Policemen try hard to get the bears controlled.
C. People take up too much land from bears.
D. ears come out to disturb people’s lives.
2. Which is true according to the passage?
A. The 100-pound bear was caught near Luigi’s Pizza.
B The Gulf Coast Conservancy makes bears homeless.
C. Brooksville’s bear was too large to be caught by hand.
D. Bears frequently visit humans’ living areas.
3. Bear sightings can usually be expected ______.
A. in the cold season B. in the warm season
C. near lakes or rivers D. near Luigi’s Pizza
4. The underlined phrase "give their male baby bears the boot" means______.
A. make them wear the boots B. find new homes for them
C. drive them away from home D. keep them in safe places
The A-level question Have 22 continuous years of rises in A-level pass rate made the exam worthless? David Miliband, the minister for School Standards, insists the answer is a firm " no". And he said it was wrong that " more will mean worse and more education for more people will mean lower standards". Figures show that — despite the rise in A-grades to 21. 6 per cent — only 22,000 out of 600,000 18-year-olds gain three A-grade passes. Put another way, that means — in a primary class of 30 pupils — only one will get three A-grades. The center right Bow Group, in a pamphlet published today, however, says nine out of ten scholars believe A-grades have been devalued over the past ten years.
Two inquiries (调查) — both set up by the Government’s exams watchdogs — one of which included independent teaching experts, refused to accept that there had been any " dumping down" of A-level standards. But while they conclude that the exam questions have not become easier, changes in examining methods have almost certainly made it easier to gain top-grade passes.
As a result of the exams shake-up introduced in 2000, students sit six different types of exams to make up an A-level during the course of their two years of study. Only 20 per cent of the marks are set for the end-of-term exam. This makes it easier for teachers to help their pupils with the right answers.
Mr Miliband said yesterday, " My argument is not that today ‘s generation of pupils are cleverer than their parents; it is that schools and teachers are getting better at getting the best out of them. "
5. From the writer’s point of view, the rise in A-grades to 21. 6 per cent shows ______.
A. it is generally thought more education means lower standards
B. the rise in the A-level pass rate has made the exam worthless
C. the quality of the 18-year-olds has become lower
D. it is still hard for the general pupils to get three A-grade passes
6. The underlined word " they" in the second paragraph refers to ______.
A. the exams watchdogs B. the independent teaching experts
C. the A-level standards D. the two inquiries
7. As a result of the exams shake-up introduced in 2000 ______.
A. the pass rate for A-levels was set to rise continuously
B. the exam became easier than it had been before 2000
C. pupils could have many more choices of test after 2000
D. it soon became popular with teachers and pupils
8. What does this passage mainly discuss?
A. How reliable and effective the A-level grading system is.
B. How the A-level system helps universities select pupils.
C. How the pass rate has been increased in recent years.
D. How the A-level grading system has changed over the years.
Toyota Motor Corp, Japan’s biggest carmaker, said on Friday it will recall 1,489 Lexus sedans (高级轿车) sold in China. "It will take us some time to ship the fuel tanks and vent pipes to China to change those in these Lexus sedans for customers free of charge, if problems are found," said Yang Hongjian, a spokes- woman of Toyota’s China representative office.
The expected recall will affect Lexus LS430 sedans made in Japan from July 29, 2003 to January 14, 2004, the representative office said in a statement. Toyota has not received complaints from Chinese customers, according to the statement. The move will be part of Toyota’s global recall of 18,200 Lexus LS430s. It will be the third car recall in China in two weeks. Although automobile recall is a common practice in developed markets, it remains new to Chinese customers. The Chinese government published long-awaited automobile recall rules on March 15, which will be officially carried out at the beginning of October.
China’s auto market is forecast to reach 10 million units by 2010. Automakers, especially Chinese producers, will face greater pressure from automobile recalls, which could be very costly sometimes, and should be in full preparations, according to the expert. The Japanese carmaker sold 1, 549 Lexus vehicles on the Chinese mainland during the first five months of this year, according to Yang. Lexus sales on the mainland reached 4,000 units last year, up from 1,600 units in 2002. (China Daily July 3, 2004)
1. What can we learn from the text?
A. Chinese customers are not satisfied with Toyota Lexus LS430 sedans.
B. Chinese car market has seen car recalls three times so far.
C. Toyota will have a worldwide recall of Lexus LS430 sedans.
D. Toyota Motor start to recall Lexus Sedans due to the problems with fuel tanks.
2. The carmakers were unwilling to recall their cars in the past mainly because ______.
A. they were not fully prepared
B. they couldn’t afford the cost for their car recalls
C. their products could not meet the required standard
D. there were no related rules and little pressure
3. It is implied in the passage that ______.
A. sales of homemade automobiles will grow even faster
B. automobile recalls will take place in China more frequently
C. China’s car market is forecast to be the biggest by 2010 in the world
D. Toyota is likely to sell the most Lexus Sedans in China in the future
4. Which of the following is the best tide of this passage?
A. Toyota to Recall Its Lexus Sedans Sold in China
B. China Prepares to Recall Cars
C. The Problems in China’s Car Market
D. Costly Japanese Car Recalls