One of the traditions which is now a necessary part of Christmas is that of Father Christmas, or Santa Claus. According to the modern legend, he is a magical figure who visits all the children of the world during the night before Christmas Day, leaving presents which they find the next morning. He flies through the night sky in a sledge pulled by reindeer, and enters houses by climbing down chimneys. This strange legend is based on the life of a man called Nicholas, but in fact we know very little about him. Historians think he was a Christian bishop(主教) in Turkey in about 285－350 A. D. One of the stories about him is that he helped three poor girls. No one would marry them because they were so poor. To provide them with money for their weddings, Nicholas secretly dropped some gold coins down the chimney of their house. After Nicholas died, he was made a saint(圣人) by the church. (The name Santa Claus thus comes from St Nicholas.) His feast day was celebrated in December, and parents started giving their children secret presents from St Nicholas. Over the years, this custom became part of our Christmas traditions.
Recently, a psychologist has claimed that Father Christmas is “the perfect fantasy” for children. According to Professor Anthony Clare, children love the character of Father Christmas because he is like an ideal father: he loves children and gives them presents, but he never criticizes them, is never angry, and children do not even need to thank him for the presents. Other writers, however, point out that Father Christmas can be a frightening character to some children. Jane Bidder says that some children are terrified of this fat, bearded old man. It can certainly confuse many children. As parents, we warn our children to be careful of strangers and never to let them into the house, and yet we tell children that a strange man will come into their bedroom at night! Some children can become very worried about this idea and fear that he is a kind of burglar.
Most children, however, understand from their parents and from the media that Father Christmas is basically a benign character, and look forward to his annual visit with joy and excitement.
46. The main point of the first paragraph is that ________.
Father Christmas is an important part of Christmas
the tradition of Father Christmas is a modern idea
Father Christmas is a magical figure who can fly
the legends about Father Christmas are not true
47. The writer mentions details such as Father Christmas’s sledge, the reindeer and the way he climbs down chimneys because he/she ____________.
wants to make it clear that these things are impossible
is describing the history of St Nicholas
wants everyone to believe that Father Christmas is real
is explaining the modern legend of Father Christmas
48. Why does the writer mention the story about St Nicholas helping three poor girls?
It shows us that historians know very little about him.
This story explains why parents give secret presents to children.
It supports the writer’s main point that Father Christmas is based on an untrue story.
This story explains why we celebrate Christmas in December.
49. In the last paragraph, the word “benign” means _________.
A. religious B. friendly C. frightening D. unreal
50. The best title for this passage would be __________.
A. Is Father Christmas Dangerous? B. The True History of St Nicholas
C. The Legend of Santa Claus D. The Traditions of Christmas
How fit are your teeth? Are you lazy about brushing them? Never fear: An inventor is on the case. An electric toothbrush senses （感觉） how long and how well you brush, and it lets you track（跟踪） your performance on your phone.
The Kolibree toothbrush was exhibited at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. It senses how it is moved and can send the information to an Android phone or iPhone via a Bluetooth wireless （无线的） connection.
The toothbrush will be able to teach you to brush right (don’t forget the insides of the teeth!) and make sure you’re brushing long enough. “It’s kind of like having a dentist actually watch your brushing on a day-to-day basis,” says Thomas Serval, the French inventor.
The toothbrush will also be able to talk to other applications （设备）on your phone, so developers could, for example, create a game controlled by your toothbrush. You could score points for beating monsters among your teeth. “We try to make it smart and fun,” Serval says.
Serval says he was inspired by his experience as a father. He would come home from work and ask his kids if they had brushed their teeth. They said “yes,” but Serval would find their toothbrush heads dry. He decided he needed a brush that really told him how well his children brushed.
The company says the Kolibree will go on sale this summer, from $99 to $199, and the U.S. is the first target market. ( 目标市场)All of the following statements are wrong except ____________.
| A．It can sense how users brush their teeth. |
| B．It can track users’ school performance. |
| C．It can check users’ fear of seeing a dentist. |
| D．It can help users find their phones. |
What can we learn from Serval’s words in Paragraph 3?
| A．You will find it enjoyable to see a dentist. |
| B．You should see your dentist on a day-to –day basis. |
| C．You can brush with the Kolibree as if guided by a dentist. |
| D．You’d like a dentist to watch you brush your teeth every day. |
What can we infer about Serval’s children?
| A．They were unwilling to brush their teeth |
| B．They often failed to clean their toothbrushes. |
| C．They preferred to use a toothbrush with a dry head. |
| D．They liked brushing their teeth after Serval came home. |
In 1943, when I was 4, my parents moved from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to Fairbanks, Alaska, where adventure was never very far away.
We arrived in the summer, just in time to enjoy the midnight sun. All that sunlight was fantastic for Mom's vegetable garden. Working in the garden at midnight tended to throw her timing off, so she didn't care much about my bedtime.
Dad was a Railway Express agent and Mom was his clerk. That left me in a mess（混乱）. I usually managed to find some trouble to get into. Once I had a little fire going in the dirt basement of a hotel. I had tried to light a barrel（桶） of paint but couldn't really get a good fire going. The smoke got pretty bad, though, and when I made my exit, a crowd and the police were there to greet me. The policemen took my matches and drove me home.
Mom and Dad were occupied in the garden and Dad told the police to keep me, and they did! I had a tour of the prison before Mom rescued me. 1 hadn't turned 5 yet.
As I entered kindergarten, the serious cold began to set in. Would it surprise you to know that I soon left part of my tongue ( 舌头 )on a metal handrail at school?
As for Leonhard Seppala, famous as a dog sledder (驾雪橇者), I think I knew him well because I was taken for a ride with his white dog team one Sunday. At the time I didn't realize what a superstar he was, but I do remember the ride well. I was wrapped (包裹) heavily and well sheltered （保护） from the freezing and blowing weather.
In 1950, we moved back to Coeur d'Alene, but we got one more Alaskan adventure when Leonhard invited us eight years later by paying a visit to Idaho to attend a gathering of former neighbors of Alaska.What can be inferred about the author's family?
| A．His father was a cruel man. |
| B．His parents didn't love him. |
| C．His parents used to be very busy. |
| D．His mother didn't have any jobs. |
What happened when the author was 4?
| A．He learned to smoke. |
| B．He was locked in a basement. |
| C．He was arrested by the police. |
| D．He nearly caused a fire accident. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Leonhard was good at driving dog sleds. |
| B．The author spent his whole childhood in Alaska. |
| C．Leonhard often visited the author's family after 1950. |
| D．The author suffered a lot while taking the dog sled in Alaska. |
What is the author's purpose of writing the text?
| A．To look back on his childhood with adventures. |
| B．To describe the extreme weather of Alaska. |
| C．To express how much he misses Leonhard. |
| D．To show off his pride in making trouble. |
A schoolgirl saved her father's life by kicking him in the chest after he suffered a serious allergic (过敏的) reaction which stopped his heart.
Izzy, nine, restarted father Colm's heart by stamping (踩) on his chest after he fell down at home and stopped breathing.
Izzy's mother, Debbie, immediately called 999 but Izzy knew doctors would never arrive in time to save her father, so decided to use CPR.
However, she quickly discovered her arms weren't strong enough, so she stamped on her father's chest instead.
Debbie then took over with some more traditional chest compressions (按压) until the ambulance（救护车）arrived.
Izzy, who has been given a bravery award by her school, said: "I just kicked him really hard. My mum taught me CPR but I knew I wasn't strong enough to use hands. I was quite afraid. The doctor said I might as well be a doctor or a nurse. My mum said that Dad was going to hospital with a big footprint on his chest.”
"She's a little star," said Debbie, "I was really upset but Izzy just took over. I just can't believe what she did. I really think all children should be taught first aid. Izzy did CPR then the doctor turned up. Colm had to have more treatment on the way to the hospital and we've got to see an expert."
Truck driver Colm, 35, suffered a mystery allergic reaction on Saturday and was taken to hospital, but was sent home only for it to happen again the next day. The second attack (发作)was so serious that his airway swelled, preventing him from breathing, his blood pressure dropped suddenly, and his heart stopped for a moment.
He has now made a full recovery （康复）from his suffering.Izzy kicked her father in the chest ______ .
| A．to express her helplessness |
| B．to practise CPR on him |
| C．to keep him awake |
| D．to restart his heart |
What's the right order of the events?
① Izzy kicked Colm.② Debbie called 999.
③ Izzy learned CPR.④ Colm's heart stopped.
③ ① ② ④B.④ ② ③ ①
C.③ ④② ① D.④③ ① ②What does Paragraph 8 mainly talk about?
| A．What Colm suffered. |
| B．Colm's present condition. |
| C．What caused Colm's allergy. |
| D．Symptoms of Colm's allergic reaction. |
Why does the author write the news?
| A．To describe a serious accident. |
| B．To prove the importance of CPR. |
| C．To report a 9-year-old girl's brave act. |
| D．To call people's attention to allergic reaction. |
Half of the world’s population lives in areas affected by Asian monsoons（季风）, but monsoons are difficult to predict. American researchers have put together a 700-year record of the rainy seasons, which is expected to provide guidance for experts making weather predictions.
Every summer, moist（潮湿的）air masses, known as monsoon, produce large quantities of rainfall in India, East Asia, Indonesia, Northern Australia and East Africa, which are pulled in by a high pressure area over the Indian Ocean and a low pressure area to the south.
According to Edward Cook, a weather expert at Columbia University in New York, the complex nature of the climate systems across Asia makes monsoons hard to predict. In addition, climate records for the area date to 1950, too recent and not detailed enough to be of much use. Therefore, he and a team of researchers spent more than fifteen years travelling across Asia locating trees old enough to provide long-term records. They measured the rings（年轮）or circles, inside the trunks of thousands of ancient trees at more than 300 sites.
Rainfall has a direct link to the growth and width of rings on some kinds of trees. The researchers developed a document—a Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas（地图集）. It shows the effect of monsoons over seven centuries, beginning in the 1300s.
Professor Cook says the tree-ring records show periods of wet and dry conditions. “If the monsoon basically fails or is very weak one year, the trees affected by the monsoon at that location might put on a very narrow ring. But if the monsoon is very strong, the trees affected by that monsoon might put on a wide ring for that year. So, the wide and narrow ring widths of the tree chronology（年表）that we developed in Asia provide us with a measure of monsoon variability. ” Armed with such a sweeping set of data, researchers say they now can begin to refine climate computer models for predicting the behavior of monsoons.
“There has been widespread famine and starvation and human dying in the past in large droughts. And on the other hand, if the monsoon is particularly heavy, it can cause extensive flooding,” said Eugene Wahl, a scientist who is with America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s paleoclimate（古气侯）branch studying weather patterns over the history of the Earth. “So, to get a knowledge of what the regional moisture patterns have been, dryness and wetness over such a long period of time in great detail, I would call it a kind of victory for climate science.”What’s the passage mainly about?
| A．A breakthrough in monsoon prediction. |
| B．The necessity of weather forecast. |
| C．The achievements of Edward Cook. |
| D．The effects of Asian monsoons. |
It is difficult for experts to predict Asian monsoons because______.
| A．it is hard to keep long-term climate records |
| B．they are formed under complex climate systems |
| C．they influence many nations |
| D．there is heavy rainfall in Asia |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The trees affected by monsoon grow fast if the monsoon is weak. |
| B．The Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas has a monsoon record for about 1,300 years. |
| C．Long and detailed climate records can offer useful information for monsoon research. |
| D．The rainfall might be low although the monsoon is strong in monsoon-affected areas. |
According to Professor Cook, the rings of the trees_________.
| A．determine the regional climate |
| B．have a great influence on the regional climate |
| C．offer people information about the regional climate |
| D．reflect all kinds of regional climate information |
What do we know about the research according to Eugene Wahl?
| A．It will help people prevent droughts and floods. |
| B．It should include information about human life in the past. |
| C．It has analysed moisture models worldwide. |
| D．It is a great achievement in climate science. |
Which of the following best describes the tone of this passage?
| A．Friendly. | B．Pessimistic. |
| C．Humorous. | D．Matter-of-fact. |
Where Are We Going, Dad? has become one of China’s most popular television shows, since its debut（首次登场）in October, averaging more than 600 million viewers each week. Sponsorship rights（冠名权）for the show’s second season were sold for 312 million yuan（about $ 50 million）, more than ten times higher than the rights to the first season.
What accounts for its popularity? The show features a mew generation of Chinese fathers, who, as part of the country’s new middle class, have faced more problems with modern child-raising techniques such as taking an active role with their children.
Part of the appeal of the show is the chance to throw a glance at the lives of Chinese celebrities（名流）and their children. Audiences are interested in watching the failed attempts of celebrity dads making dinner, doing hair, and disciplining（管教）children — tasks often left to mothers in a society still influenced by the saying that “men rule outside and women are inside.” “In traditional Chinese culture, fathers are strict and mothers are kind. But on the show, we see fathers who are much gentler on their kids and more involved in their upbringing,” said Li Minyi, an associate professor. “This show raises an important question for modern Chinese society — what is the role of fathers in today’s China?”
After each episode（集）goes to air, the Chinese Internet explodes with comments on each celebrity’s parenting style.
Actor Guo Tao tries to communicate with his son, Shitou, but is seen as a more traditional Chinese father, and has been criticized online for being too harsh. Zhang Liang, a supermodel, is an audience favorite for treating his son, Tiantian, more like a friend. The show’s most famous celebrity, Lin Zhiying, a film star, was originally praised as patient with his son Kimi. But as the season progresses, fans begin to criticize him for raising a spoiled, undisciplined boy. Director Wang Yuelun is at a complete loss when it comes to care of his daughter’s hair.
Even the People’s Daily is pleased with the success of the show.Sponsorship rights for the show’s first season were sold for ________.
| A．312 million yuan |
| B．about 50 million yuan |
| C．more than 600million yuan |
| D．about 30million yuan |
According to the passage, the show_________.
| A．gives audiences the chance to raise the stars’ children themselves |
| B．invites some famous film stars to take part in it |
| C．lets people think about the role of fathers in modern families |
| D．raises people’s concern about women’s role in the society |
The underlined word “harsh” in the fifth paragraph most probably means “_____”.
| A．careless | B．strict | C．clumsy | D．kind |
According to the writer, _________ is the most successful father.
| A．Zhang Liang | B．Guo Tao |
| C．Lin Zhiying | D．Wang Yuelun |