Bedazzling (眼花缭乱) with their bright colors and eye-catching displays, fireworks light up our night skies during the holidays. However, these crowd-pleasers can have some damaging side effects.
Once a firework is set off, it only takes a couple of seconds before smoke, dust and harmful chemicals are let out into the atmosphere. The loud booming noises are caused by gunpowder. While the sounds may excite some people, they can be frightening to domestic and wild animals — as well as some humans.
The pretty colors you see are a result of more chemicals. Barium, added to make green, is known for its poisonous and radioactive qualities. Blue comes from copper compounds. Cadmium, lithium and lead — all found in fireworks — have been linked to diseases, such as allergies and skin rashes in both humans and animals. Acid rain has been linked to gases given off by fireworks, which sometimes go beyond the toxin(毒素) limits of the United States Clean Air Act.
Once all those chemicals come back down to the ground, they can cause problems too. Debris (碎片) from the fireworks falls to the ground, where animals can burn their paws or noses on piping hot pieces. Humans also are at risk of stepping on or picking up something sharp or hot. Meanwhile, debris that finds its way into waterways can damage animal habitats and water supply sources.
Instead of setting off fireworks, try to come up with some new ways for fun. Here are some ideas to get you started:
• Sky lanterns — a tradition that originated long ago in the most-populated Asian country.
• Party crackers — a favorite in the United Kingdom — give you noise and surprises without the mess of fireworks. You can make your own or buy eco-friendly crackers.
• Want noise excitement with less volume? Consider a fireworks sound recording beforehand or break out the party horns (号角) and blow up a storm!
46. The advantages of fireworks can be seen below EXCEPT that _____.
A. the special sounds of fireworks excite people
B. debris from fireworks can even find its way into water
C. the pretty and bright colors add to the beauty of night skies
D. fireworks are enjoyed as one of the crowd-pleasers
47. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Copper compounds are needed to make green in fireworks.
B. Chemicals in fireworks are both poisonous and dangerous.
C. Too much gases from fireworks can result in acid rain.
D. Chemicals in fireworks are harmful in the air and on the ground.
48. All the underlined words are probably _____________.
A. mineral materials B. tiny solids
C. chemical elements D. broken pieces
49. What is implied from the passage?
A. Gunpowder in fireworks makes loud booming noises.
B. It must be Indians who first started to hang sky lanterns.
C. Fireworks does less harm in the air than on the ground.
D. Fireworks can even break the balance of nature.
50. What can be concluded as the writer’s attitude towards fireworks?
A. It is not allowed to set off fireworks except during the holidays.
B. Fireworks should be banned and replaced by some other means.
C. Night is the best time to set off fireworks and see the pretty colors.
D. You cannot set off fireworks unless you come up with new ways.
At 9:00 Dick Spivak’s bank telephoned and said his payment was late. ‘The check is in the post,’ Dick replied quickly. At 11:45 Dick left for a 12:00 meeting across town. Arriving late, he explained that traffic had been bad. That evening, Dick’s girlfriend wore a new dress. He hated it. ‘It looks just great on you,’ he said.
Three lies in one day! Yet Dick Spivak is just an ordinary man. Each time, he told himself that sometimes the truth causes too many problems. Most of us tell much the same white lies, harmless untruths that help to save trouble. How often do we tell white lies? It depends in part on our age, education, and even where we live. According to one U.S. study, women are more truthful than men, and honesty increases as we get older.
While most people use little white lies to make life easier, the majority of Americans care about honesty in both public and personal life. They say that people today are less honest than they were ten years ago. Although it is believed that things are getting worse, lying seems to be an age-old human problem. The French philosopher (哲学家) Vauvenarges, writing in the eighteenth century, touched on the truth when he wrote, ‘All men are born truthful and die liars (说谎者).’When the writer says ‘Dick Spivak is just an ordinary man’, he means _________.
| A．it is common that people tell white lies |
| B．Dick could do nothing about bad traffic |
| C．it is common that people move their payment to a later time |
| D．Dick found it hard to deal with everyday problems |
According to the text, most Americans _________.
| A．hate white lies | B．believe white lies |
| C．consider others dishonest | D．value honesty |
Vauvenarges’ remark suggests (暗示) that _________.
| A．lying is an age-old human problem |
| B．dishonesty increases as people get older |
| C．people were dishonest in the 18th century |
| D．it is social conditions that make people tell lies |
‘As I stood in front of the grave (墓) of President Richard Nixon, I was thinking about the time 25 years ago when this president helped bring the United States and China closer together. Young people of our two countries should help this relationship grow.’
This remark (评论) was made by a Shanghai student when speaking to his fellow students at the Nixon Library in California, U.S.A. He was one of 80 middle school students from China attending a month-long ‘Youth Summit’. The Summit was to mark the 25th anniversary (周年) of President Nixon’s journey to China, which was the turning point in China-U.S. relations.
The Youth Summit was aimed at increasing understanding and friendship between young students of the two countries through visits and discussions. Seventy-five American students were selected to visit China. They also visited the Nixon Library on July 21 before leaving for Beijing the next day. The head of the Library said he was pleased to see the American and Chinese students talking and laughing together.
One Chinese student said, ‘I didn’t find it particularly difficult to talk with Americans. We have our differences, but we have a lot in common. Dialogue is good for us.’The words ‘Youth Summit’ in the text refer to ________.
| A．visits to the Nixon Library |
| B．the Chinese students’ visit to the U.S. |
| C．a meeting discussing relations between China and the U.S. |
| D．activities to make the ties between the Chinese and American students stronger |
The student from Shanghai thought about the time 25 years ago because it was when Nixon ________.
| A．died |
| B．visited China |
| C．became U.S. president |
| D．started building the library in his name |
The text is mainly about ________.
| A．the China-U.S. relations | B．the Nixon Library |
| C．the youth Summit | D．President Nixon |
Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn’t exist (存在). That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball (化装舞会). He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand (壮丽的) entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was greatly surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin’s grand entrance for a long time!The text is mainly about __________.
| A．a strange man |
| B．an unusual party |
| C．how roller skating began |
| D．how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century |
People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he __________.
| A．was full of imagination |
| B．was a gifted (有才华的) musician |
| C．invented the roller skates |
| D．often gave others surprises |
Merlin put wheels under his shoes in order to __________.
| A．show his skill in walking on wheels |
| B．arrive at the party sooner |
| C．test his invention |
| D．impress the party guests |
What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph (自然段)?
| A．The roller skates needed further improvement. |
| B．The party guests took Merlin for a fool. |
| C．Merlin succeeded beyond (超出) expectation. |
| D．Merlin got himself into trouble. |
Say (suppose) you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked long and hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.
Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, that is the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive as the building itself.
First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Madly in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she had heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial (纪念物) to celebrate their love.
When the heartbroken Jehan appeared eight days after his wife’s death, his people were shocked to see that his coal-black hair had turned snow-white.
Putting away his sadness, Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out. More than 20,000 workers labored nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains (遗体) in the center under the building.
And then, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Jehan lived the rest of his days － eight years, to be exact － imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it－until he was buried next to his wife.
Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange, sad story, those who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired (激发……的灵感) its construction.The first two paragraphs were written to show that ________.
| A．the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building |
| B．ancient Indian emperors were cruel |
| C．construction workers led a hard life in ancient India |
| D．India has some of the most famous buildings in the world |
The Taj Mahal was first built as ________.
| A．a prison | B．a gift to Mumtaz |
| C．a memorial building | D．a tourist attraction |
We learn from the text that Mumtaz probably died in ________.
| A．1626 | B．1632 | C．1634 | D．1653 |
The underlined word “happiness” in the last sentence refers to ________.
| A．the married happiness of the emperor and his wife |
| B．the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power |
| C．the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal |
| D．the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal. |
Deserts are found where there is little rainfall or where rain for a whole year falls in only a few weeks time. Then inches of rain may be enough for many plants to survive if the rain is spread throughout the year. If it falls within one or two months and the rest of the year is dry, those plants may die and a desert may form.
Sand begins as tiny pieces of rock that get smaller and smaller as wind and weather wear them down. Sand dunes (沙丘) are formed as winds move the sand across the desert. Bit by bit, the dunes grow over the years, always moving with the winds and changing the shape. Most of them are only a few feet tall, but they can grow to be several hundred feet high.
There is, however, much more to a desert than sand. In the deserts of the Southwestern United States, cliffs (悬崖) and deep valleys were formed from thick mud that once lay beneath a sea more than millions of years ago. Over the centuries, the water dried up. Wind, sand, rain, heat and cold all wore away at the remaining rocks. The faces of the desert mountains are always changing — very, very slowly — as these forces of nature continue to work on the rock.
Most deserts have a surprising variety of life. There are plants, animals and insects that have adapted to life in the desert. During the heat of the day, a visitor may see very few signs of living things, but as the air begins to cool in the evening, the desert comes to life. As the sun begins to rise again in the sky, the desert once again becomes quiet and lonely.Many plants may survive in deserts when ________.
| A．the rain is spread out in a year |
| B．the rain falls only in a few weeks |
| C．there is little rain in a year |
| D．it is dry all the year round |
Sand dunes are formed when ________.
| A．sand piles up gradually |
| B．there is plenty of rain in a year |
| C．the sea has dried up over the years |
| D．pieces of rock get smaller |
The underlined sentence in the third paragraph probably means that in a desert there is ________.
| A．too much sand |
| B．more sand than before |
| C．nothing except sand |
| D．something else besides sand |
It can be learned from the text that in a desert ________.
| A．there is no rainfall throughout the year |
| B．life exists in rough conditions |
| C．all sand dunes are a few feet high |
| D．rocks are worn away only by wind and heat |