The ocean contains many strange and surprising creatures. One such creature is the puffer fish. This very strange fish is probably the most poisonous creature in the ocean. The poison that this fish produces is 275 times more poisonous than the chemical which is usually used to kill rats.
The puffer fish gets its name from the way the fish protects itself from enemies. Whenever it is attacked, the fish blows up its body to three times bigger than its normal size!
Another strange thing about this fish is the fact that it can swim like other fish. Because it does not have bones like other fish, the puffer fish can only move slowly through the water as it is carried by waves.
The puffer fish also has funny teeth. These teeth stick out of the fish’s mouth and are used by the fish to open the shells of the creatures that live on the ocean floor.
This strange, ugly, and very poisonous fish is actually a very expensive kind of food in Japan. The Japanese call this fish “fugu”, and people have been known to pay $150 per person to eat a fugu meal (usually eight servings)!
Very brave people want to eat the most poisonous part of the fugu fish on purpose. They think that this part of the fish tastes the best! Strict laws have been passed to control restaurants which serve fugu; however, quite a few people have still died from eating fugu. Almost 200 people have died over the past 25 years.
When people eat fugu poison, they do not die on the spot. First, they feel a strange tickle on their lips and in their mouth. Then they can not feel anything with their fingers. Finally, they cannot move or speak. Death follows when they can no longer breathe. The poison may take only a few minutes or up to six hours to kill a person. There is no known cure for fugu poisoning.
56. According to the passage, the puffer fish .
A. is probably the most poisonous creature in the world
B. is generally considered to be the strangest fish in the ocean
C. is slightly more poisonous than the chemical used to kill rats
D. is without doubt a deadly creature if it is not eaten properly
57. Why do people think that the puffer fish is strange when it is attacked by an enemy?
A. It becomes bigger. B. It has funny teeth.
C. It gives off poison. D. It can swim swiftly.
58. The underlined expression “on the spot” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to .
A. now and then B. once in a while
C. then and there D. sooner or later
59. Who is allowed to serve fugu according to the passage?
A. The Japanese government. B. Licensed restaurants.
C. Strict lawyers in Japan . D. Very brave people
60. Which is NOT a symptom of fugu poisoning?
A. Having difficulty breathing. B. Having no sense of touch.
C. Having no sense of taste. D. Having trouble speaking.
A
Chinese writer Mo Yan has won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature, announced the Swedish Academy in Stockholm on Thursday．The win makes Mo Yan the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel in its Ⅲ-year history．Informed of his win today, the author, who was having dinner at home, was “overjoyed and scared"．
Born in 1955 to parents who were farmers, Mo Yan－a pen name for Guan Moye，grew up in Gaomi in Shandong province in eastern China. At the age of 12, he left school to work, first in agriculture, later in a factory. In 1976 he joined the army and during this time began to study literature and writing．
He published his first book in 1981, but found literary success in 1987 with Hong Gaoliang Jiazu, which was successfully filmed in the same year, directed by famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou. In his writing, Mo Yan draws on his youthful experiences and on settings in the province of his birth and his works show the life of Chinese people as well as the country's unique culture and folk customs. Mo Yan is known as a prolific（多产的）writer. In addition to his novels, he has published many short stories and essays on various topics. Despite his social criticism, he is seen in his homeland as one of the most famous contemporary authors. Dozens of his works have been translated into English, French, Japanese and many other languages．
The awarding ceremony will be held on December 10．The winner will win a medal, a personal diploma and a cash award of about $l million．How did Mo Yan feel when he was told about the news?
| A．Excited and proud． | B． Happy and surprised． |
| C．Worried and cautious | D． Uncertain and shocked． |
Mo Yan developed his ability for writing when he was．
| A．on a farm | B．in a factory | C．in a school | D．in the army |
One of Mo Yan's characteristics of writing is that he
| A．writes about topics he is familiar with | B．focuses on social problems in the country |
| C．describes his characters in a unique way | D．explains difficult matters in simple words |
What's the best title for this passage?
| A．How Mo Yan Gets Nobel Prize | B．An Introduction to Nobel Prize |
| C．Mo Yan Wins Nobel Prize in Literature | D．A World Famous Writer, Mo Yan |
(D)
You can not see any object unless light from that object gets into your eyes. Some of the things you see give off light of their own. The sun, the stars, a lighted lamp are examples that can be seen by their own light. Such things are luminous. Most of the things you see are not giving off light of their own. They are simply reflecting light that falls on them from the sun or some other luminous bodies. The moon, for example, does not give off any light of its own. It is non-luminous. You see it because sunlight falls on it and some of it reflects in our direction. So moon light is only second hand sunlight.
When you look at a book, it sends to your eyes some of the light which falls on it, and you see the book. If light could be kept out from where you are so that there would be no light for the book to reflect, then you could not see the book even with your eyes wide open.
Light travels so fast that the time in which it travels from the book you are reading to your eyes is so short as if there were no time at all. Light reaches us from the moon, which is about 380 000 kilometers away, in only a little more than a second.You can see the book because_______.
| A．your eyes are close to it | B．it reflects some of the sunlight |
| C．it has light of its own | D．your eyesight can get to it |
The underlined word “luminous” means_______.
| A．visible | B．all colors | C．giving off light | D．sunlight |
________ have light of their own.
| A．The sun and the moon | B．The stars and the earth |
| C．The sun and the stars | D．The moon and the earth |
Which of the following is true?
| A．All the things you can see give off light. |
| B．Light from the book is much shorter than that from the moon. |
| C．The moment you open your eyes the light from the book travels to your eyes. |
| D．Light travels so fast that there is no time for you to read. |
This article is probably from _________ .
| A．a science magazine | B．a medical magazine |
| C．a biography | D．a story book. |
( C )
In Denmark, parents are allowed to set up a new school if they are dissatisfied with the school in the area where they are living. Although these schools have to follow the national courses, they are allowed a lot of choice in deciding what to teach. Some of these new schools are called “small schools” because usually the number of pupils in them is only sixty, but a school has to have at least twenty-seven pupils.
Cooleenbridge School in Ireland, is a small school similar to the ones in Denmark, it was set up by parents who came from Holland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, England and other parts of Ireland. They came because they wanted to live in the countryside and to grow their own food. In June 1986, they decided to start a school. They managed to get an old, disused primary-school (小学) building and started with twenty-four children aged from four to twelve.
The teachers say, “The important thing in school is doing, not sitting.” And so the courses includes yoga(瑜伽), cooking, knitting, kite-making, music, fishing, drama (戏剧) and environmental(环境的) river studies, as well as reading, writing, maths and science.What are the rules for setting up a new school in Denmark?
| A．Parents are allowed to set up their own school. |
| B．The school has to follow the national courses. |
| C．The school has to have at least 27 pupils. |
| D．All of the above. |
The writer tells about the Cooleenbridge School in Ireland because ____ .
| A．it was set up by parents who are not people of Denmark |
| B．it was taken as an example of this kind of “small school” |
| C．there were only twenty-four children |
| D．the pupils there were aged from 4 to 12 |
What makes this kind of school special?
| A．It is set up by parents not by government. |
| B．It is free to decide what to teach. |
| C．The number of pupils in it is only sixty. |
| D．It has to have at least 27 pupils. |
“The important thing in school is doing not sitting.” What the teachers say actually means ____ .
| A．What we should do is teaching in the classroom, not sitting in the office. |
| B．Children should do more homework at home, not just sit in class to listen to the teachers. |
| C．Children should learn by themselves not rely on teachers. |
| D．Children should learn through practice not just from books. |
The courses includes ____ .
| A．yoga, cooking, knitting, kite-making, music, fishing, drama and environmental river studies, except reading, writing, maths and science |
| B．either yoga, cooking, knitting, kite-making, music, fishing, drama and environmental river studies, or reading, writing, maths and science |
| C．not only reading, writing, maths and science, but also yoga, cooking knitting, kitemaking, music, fishing, drama and environmental river studies |
| D．mainly yoga, cooking, knitting, kite-making, music, fishing, drama and environmental river studies, and supplemental (补充的) reading writing, maths and science |
(B)
Sixty-year-old grandmother, Fiona McFee, is going to stop working next year and she decided to realize a childhood dream and sail around the coast of Scotland in a small boat. Although the inside of the boat is very cosy it has no running water or electricity. Fiona says she can live without these things but she plans to take her small CD player, her hot water bottle and a bag of books to make sure life isn’t too uncomfortable.
We asked her if she was afraid of being at sea for so long. She said, “Well, I’m going to take a good compass (指南针). Anyway I’m not afraid of death because I love the sea---I just hope it loves me.” Fiona certainly has plenty of energy; in her spare time, she enjoys playing the piano, rock-climbing, canoeing and dancing. Although she is sixty, she doesn’t want to have a quiet and peaceful life. “I’m looking forward to having fun in the rest of my life and that’s exactly why I’d like to be a sailor for a while.”The underlined word cosy in the first paragraph means ____ .
| A．bright | B．dirty | C．comfortable | D．dark |
When Fiona McFee said “---I just hope it loves me.” What she meant was ____
| A．Of course , it loves me , since I love it . |
| B．If I love it , it should love me. |
| C．I hope it will bring me a safe sailing as a return for my love of it . |
| D．I hope it will save my life when I am in time of danger . |
The reason why she would like to have the sail is that ____.
| A．she thinks it will be very exciting |
| B．she likes sports and enjoys canoeing |
| C．she has decided to realize a childhood dream |
| D．she wants to be still active when she gets old |
What kind of person would you say the old woman is ?
| A．Someone who does not show what she is feeling . |
| B．Someone who is very proud and sure of her success . |
| C．Someone who doesn’t use her head much . |
| D．Someone who is open , honest and brave . |
The best title for this passage is ____ .
| A．Life Begins at Sixty | B．A Round Coast Sail |
| C．An Old Woman Sailor | D．An Unusual Hobby(爱好) |
A
This is a talk by a London taxi(出租车)driver.
"I've been a taxi driver for nearly ten years. Most London taxi drivers have their own taxis."
"It's a nice job most of time. You meet a lot of people. I always work at night, because there is too much traffic during the day. I live twenty miles outside London and I go to work at 5:30 in the afternoon."
"I usually go home between 2 and 3 in the morning."
"Some very strange things happened late at night .The other day I was taking a woman home from a party .She had her little dog with her. When we got to her house, she found that she had lost her key. So I waited in the car with the dog while she climbed in through the windows."
"I waited and waited. After half an hour of ringing the bell I decided to find out what was going on .I tied the dog to a tree and started to climb in through the window. The next thing I knew was that the police came. They thought I was a thief.
Luckily the woman came downstairs.She must have gone to sleep and forgotten about me and the dog!" The driver always worked at night because it was easier to _____.
| A．make money | B．drive |
| C．climb in through the window | D．meet a lot of people |
The woman climbed in through the window because _____.
| A．she wanted to have a sleep |
| B．her husband didn't open the door for her |
| C．she didn't want to pay the driver |
| D．she couldn't find her key |
The story happened _____.
| A．early in the morning | B．late at night |
| C．20 miles outside London | D．near the police station |
Which of the following is wrong?
| A．The driver worked until between 2 and 3 in the morning. |
| B．The police made a mistake. |
| C．The woman had no money to pay the driver. |
| D．The woman had forgotten about the driver and the dog. |
The driver climbed in through the window to
| A．get money from the woman | B．return the dog to the woman |
| C．phone the police | D．see what was happening in the house |