After sunset on our last day at the farm I walked out into the desert. In this, the first pleasant moment for a walk after long hot hours, I thought I was the only thing out of doors. Suddenly I stopped. Before me a rattlesnake lay fixed, its head not yet drawn back to strike but only turned a little to watch what I would do. Many snakes will run away at the sight of a man but this rattlesnake felt no necessity to get out of any-body's way. He held his ground in calm watch-fullness waiting for me to show my intentions. My first aim was to take no notice of him; I had never killed an animal if I was not forced to kill. But I remembered that there were children, dogs and horses at the farm as well as men and women with thin clothes on; my duty was to kill the snake. I went back to the farm and returned with a stick. The rattlesnake had not moved; he lay like a wire but more quickly than I could stride he shot into a bush and set up his rattling, warning me by this that I had made an unreasonable attack and attempted to take his life and that if I insisted he would have no choice but to take mine if he could. For a moment I listened to this terrifying sound and then I struck into the bush with my stick and, chop-ping about, dragged him out of the bush with his back broken. w.wHe struck once more at the stick but a moment later his neck was broken and he was soon dead although when I picked him up by the tail his mouth opened, proving that a dead snake may still bite. There was blood in his mouth and poison was dropping; it was not only a dis-gusting(令人作呕的) sight but a pitiful one too. I dropped the body into a green bush and, as I did so, I saw him in my imagination, crawling over the sands as he might have done if I had let him go.
49. At the sight of the author, the rattlesnake .
A. shot into a bush
B. lay motionless but got ready to meet danger
C. drew itself up to strike
D. took no notice of his presence
50. The author had to kill the rattlesnake because .
A. it stood in his way
B. it attempted to take his life
C. it presented a disgusting sight
D. its presence was a danger to the people and animals at the farm
51. Which of the following best describes the rattlesnake?
A. It attacked man without any reason.
B. It would not attack unless it was attacked.
C. It ran away at the sight of man.
D. It exposed itself to danger.
52. It is implied at the end of the passage that the author____.
A. regretted having killed the snake
B. was glad that he had killed the snake
C. felt a little sorry for the snake
D. could not help thinking about the dead snake
On the coast of Brazil lies its most famous city Rio de Janeiro. Rio is a beautiful place to visit. It is full of exciting parades, historical architecture and natural beauty.
The most famous time of year in Rio is the spring when the samba schools organize a giant parade of dance, music and costumes. Samba is a type of fast Brazilian music, which is perfect for dancing. The carnival lasts two days and over 20 samba schools perform, a total of 70,000 people in brightly coloured costumes, all dancing and singing! It is a magnificent spectacle and millions of people watch the carnival on television around the world.
Rio de Janeiro is a religious city and it is full of churches. Some, like the former Imperial Church, were built over 400 years ago while others, like the Metropolitan Cathedral, are very modern. The Metropolitan Cathedral was built in 1976 and is so large that 20,000 people can stand inside at one time!
Another important religious site in Rio is the Corcovado hill. On the top of the hill, along with a small church, stands a 30-metre high statue of Jesus with his arms stretched out. From this point you can see every part of the city. Brazilian carnival is_________.
| A．a type of Brazilian music |
| B．a parade of 70,000 people dancing and singing |
| C．a parade of millions of people on television |
| D．the name of a samba school |
The Metropolitan Cathedral___________.
| A．was built 400 years ago | B．is on Corcovado Hill |
| C．is a religious city | D．was built in 1976 |
The Corcovado Hill is famous for__________.
| A．the samba parade |
| B．the beautiful view of the city |
| C．the statue of Jesus |
| D．the small church |
When we see well, we do not think about our eyes very often. It is only when we cannot see perfectly that we realize how important our eyes are.
People who are near-sighted can only see things that are very close to their eyes, and everything else seems blurry (="unclear)." Many people who do a lot of work, such as writing, reading and sewing become near-sighted.
People who are far-sighted suffer from just the opposite problem. They can see things that are far away, but they have difficulty in reading a book unless they hold it at arm’s length. If they want to do much reading, they must get glasses, too.
Other people do not see clearly because their eyes are not exactly the right shape. They have what is called astigmatism (散光). This, too, can be corrected by glasses. Some people’s eyes become cloudy because of cataracts (白内障). Long ago these people often became blind. Now, however, it is possible to operate on the cataracts and remove them.
Having two good eyes is important for judging distances. Each eye sees things from a slightly different angle. To prove this to yourself, look at an object out of one eye; then look at the same object out of your other eye. You will find the object’s relation to the background and other things around it has changed. The difference between these two different eye views helps us to judge how far away an object is. People who have only one eye cannot judge distance as people with two eyes.When things far away seem indistinct(模糊不清) , one is probably____.
| A．near-sighted | B．far-sighted |
| C．astigmatic | D．suffering from cataracts |
The underlined word suffer in the third paragraph probably means_____.
| A．experience | B．imagine |
| C．feel pain | D．are affected with |
Having two eyes instead of one is particularly useful for______.
| A．seeing at night | B．seeing objects far away |
| C．looking over a wide area | D．judging distances |
People who suffer from astigmatism have______.
| A．one eye bigger than the other |
| B．eyes that are not exactly the right shape |
| C．a difficulty that can be corrected by an operation |
| D．an eye difficulty that cannot be corrected by glasses |
Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But it also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realise just how much unnecessary material is collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.What does the underlined phrase “over-consumption” refer to?
| A．Using too much packaging. |
| B．Recycling too many wastes. |
| C．Making more products than necessary. |
| D．Having more material than is needed. |
The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show _______.
| A．the tendency of cutting household waste |
| B．the increase of packaging recycling |
| C．the rapid growth of super markets |
| D．the fact of packaging overuse |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
| A．Unpackaged products are of bad quality. |
| B．Supermarkets care more about packaging. |
| C．It is improper to judge quality by packaging. |
| D．Other products are better packaged than food. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Fighting wastefulness is difficult. |
| B．Needless material is mostly recycled. |
| C．People like collecting recyclable waste. |
| D．The author is proud of their consumer culture. |
Jeanne Calment, a French woman, became a record breaker on 17 October of 1995, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days.
Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people’s home in the south of France; her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes her as being more like a 90-year-old in good health than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on her 120th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied: A very short one. She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her.
So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips. She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercise every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two glasses of strong red wine a day, and she does smoke (now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good genes from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86.
A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at the time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying:
Sorry, I’m still alive!How does Jeanne Calment feel about her old age?
| A．She is miserable and unhappy. |
| B．She is cheerful and humorous. |
| C．She would like to live much longer. |
| D．She feels she is going to die very soon. |
Jeanne Calment owes her good health and long life to _______.
| A．smoking only a little every day |
| B．her giving up smoking and drinking |
| C．drinking two glasses of strong red wine every day |
| D．the good genes from her parents, a healthy diet and some exercise |
Which of the following could best replace the word “move” in the fourth paragraph?
| A．deal | B．trick | C．march | D．sport |
Why does Jeanne Calment say “Sorry, I’m still alive” to the local lawyer every year on her birthday?
| A．Because she had an agreement at 80 with the lawyer which was to her advantage. |
| B．Because she has asked the lawyer to pay her more rent than they first agreed. |
| C．Because the lawyer has paid her much more money than the value of the house. |
| D．Because the house she sold to the lawyer isn’t worth the money he has already paid. |
Towards evening, Jennifer was walking on the beach with a gentle breeze blowing through her hair. Looking up at the golden red sun ball, she was surprised by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.
The atmosphere relaxed her. This was what she needed. “It’s getting late,” she thought, “I must go home. My parents will be wondering where I am.” She wondered how her parents would react when she got home after the three days she was missing. She kept on walking, directing herself to bungalow 163, where she spent every summer holiday. The road was deserted. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters, she would have been safe in her house.
It was really getting dark now. She wished she had her favorite coat on. It might keep her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought dissipated(消散) when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now…
She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen and saw a note written by her father, “Dear Ellen, there’s some coffee ready; I went looking.” But where was Ellen? On the right side of the hallway was her parents’ room. She went in and saw her. Her mother, lying on the bed, was sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn’t slept for days. She was really pale. Jennifer would have wanted to wake her up, but she looked too tired. So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up something was different. She wasn’t in her mother’s room and she wasn’t wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her cozy bed in her pajamas(睡衣).
It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice. “Are you feeling better now, dear?
You know you got us very, very scared.”The author mentions the views of the beach in Para. 1 in order to __________.
| A．tell us the time of the story |
| B．show Jennifer’s eased mind |
| C．show Jennifer’s loneliness |
| D．indicate the beauty of nature |
Jennifer decided to go home because __________.
| A．it was getting cold |
| B．she realized her parents were worried |
| C．she began to miss her parents |
| D．she knew nobody would take care of the garden |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Jennifer went home to fetch her favorite coat. |
| B．Jennifer’s father was so worried that he couldn’t take care of the outside garden. |
| C．Jennifer understood why the outside garden was left uncared for. |
| D．Jennifer’s father used to be too strict with her. |
Which of the following shows the change of Jennifer’s feeling?
| A．Relaxed→Lonely→Tired→Upset. |
| B．Angry→Relaxed→Fearful→Comfortable. |
| C．Fearful→Relaxed→Cheerful→Lonely. |
| D．Relaxed→Anxious→Shocked→Comfortable. |