My house is made out of wood, glass and stone. It is also made out of software.
If you come to visit, you’ll probably be surprised when you come in. Someone will give you an electronic PIN （个人身份号码）to wear. This PIN tells the house who and where you are. The house uses this information to give you what you need. When it’s dark outside, the PIN turns on the lights nearest you, and then turns them off as you walk away from them. Music moves with you too. If the house knows your favorite music, it plays it. The music seems to be everywhere, but in fact other people in the house hear different music or no music. If you get a telephone call, only the nearest telephone rings.
Of course, you are also able to tell the house if you want something. There is a home control console (控制台), a small machine that turns things on and off around you.
The PIN and the console are new ideas, but they are in fact like many things we have today. If you want to go to a movie, you need a ticket. If I give you my car keys, you can use my car. The car works for you because you have the keys. My house works for you because you wear the PIN or hold the console.
I believe that ten years from now, most new homes will have the systems that I’ve put in my house. The systems will probably be even bigger and better than the ones I’ve put in today.
I like to try new ideas. I know that some of my ideas will work better than others. But I hope that one day I will stop thinking of these systems as new, and ask myself instead, “How will I live without them?” What does the passage mainly discuss?
| A．How to develop a new system. | B．The function of the PIN. |
| C．A home for the future. | D．Easy life in the future. |
What’s the purpose when the writer wrote the fourth paragraph?
| A．To let readers know why his ideas are new. |
| B．To let readers know how special his house is. |
| C．To explain the importance of the PIN and the console. |
| D．To explain more easily what the functions of the PIN and the console are. |
The writer’s new house is different from ordinary ones mainly because _____.
| A．it has been controlled by computers |
| B．you can make a telephone call anywhere |
| C．it has your favorite music following you |
| D．the writer is able to change his new idea into practice |
What is the writer most likely to be according to the passage?
| A．An IT expert. | B．A famous doctor. |
| C．An idealist | D．An experienced teacher. |
What can’t be done in the writer’s new house?
| A．turns on the lights | B．play music |
| C．get a telephone call | D．go swimming |
When I first entered high school, I knew no one at my school. All my friends in middle school went to other schools. I wanted to make some new friends. However, I was shy and wasn’t good at making new friends. On my first day at school, I looked at others who were talking in groups happily. How I wish I were one of them!
I guess I was very lucky then. At lunch in the dinning hall, when I was eating at a table alone, a girl came to me. “Excuse me, is this seat taken?” she asked. I immediately shook my head. She smiled and sat down opposite(面对) to me. I felt a little awkward and didn’t know what to say at all, but I really wanted to communicate with her. It was a good opportunity to make friends with her. When I looked up, I found she was smiling at me. Her smile calmed me down. “I really like this school. It’s beautiful, but I don’t know anyone here. All my friends went to other schools,” said the girl. Hearing her words, I immediately said, “my friends are not here either. Can we be friends?” I was surprised. I couldn’t believe I would say something like that, and to my surprise, that girl immediately said “yes”. We both smiled.
We became very good friends. Now it’s the beginning of a new term again. Many students may have no friends at their new schools. If you are also as shy as I used to be, please don’t be afraid to talk to others. You may get a surprise and make a new friend. After all, others want to make new friends, too.We know on her first day at school, the author _________.
| A．hoped she could make some new friends |
| B．only knew a few people at her school |
| C．met some old friends at her new school |
| D．hoped she could go to her old friends’ schools |
The underlined word “awkward” in paragraph 2 is closed in meaning to “”
| A．bored | B．excited |
| C．interested | D．embarrassed |
After the girl sat down opposite to the author, the author _________.
| A．immediately shook her hand |
| B．immediately say something to keep calm |
| C．wanted to talk with her |
| D．wanted her to go away at once |
What did the girl do after the author asked if they could become friends?
| A．She agreed at once |
| B．She thought for a long time |
| C．She felt a little down |
| D．She sat down in no time |
What’s the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
| A．To show that high school is really exciting. |
| B．To encourage shy people to talk to others. |
| C．To tell us how lucky she was in high school. |
| D．To advise us to have a good first day in high school. |
Throughout the world, clothing has many uses. It is used to provide protection from cold. It is also worn to prevent others from seeing specific parts of one’s body. However, the parts of the body that must be covered vary widely throughout the world. Some clothing is worn to provide supernatural protection. Wearing a lucky shirt to take an exam is calling for supernatural assistance.
People in all cultures use clothing and other forms of bodily decoration to communicate status(身份), intentions and other messages. In North America, we dress differently for business and various leisure activities. North American women usually are much more knowledgeable of little difference in messages communicated by clothes than men. At times, this leads to silly mistakes of understanding of female intentions on the part of men. Of course, clothing styles also are intended to communicate messages to members of the same gender（性别）.
Long before we are near enough to talk to someone, their appearance tells their gender, age, economic class, and often even intentions. We begin to recognize the important cultural clues at an early age. The vocabulary of dress that we learn includes not only items of clothing but also hairstyles, jewelry, and other body decoration. In most cultures, however, the same style of dress communicates different messages depending on the age, gender, and physical appearance of the individual wearing it.
Putting on certain types of clothing can change your behavior and the behavior of others towards you. This can be the case with a doctor’s white lab coat, or an army uniform. Most uniforms are clearly symbolic so that they can rapidly and unmistakably communicate status. For instance, the strange hairstyle and clothing of the English “punks” are essential aspects of their uniforms.
There are many forms of body decoration other than clothes that are used around the world to send messages. These include body and hair paint, and even body deformation. When doctors put braces on teeth, they are actually doing the same thing – deforming or reforming a part of the body to make it more attractive.Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
| A． Clothing and Culture |
| B． Ways of Sending Message |
| C． Clothing and Social Behavior |
| D． Communication through Clothing |
Some people wear lucky shirts to take an exam because they believe .
| A． clothes can hide their fear for the exam |
| B． clothes have extraordinary power |
| C． shirts can make them more comfortable |
| D． shirts provide protection against bad weather |
In North America, men sometimes misunderstand women’s intention because .
| A． men are more careless than women |
| B． women spend more time on their clothes |
| C． men and women have different views on clothing styles |
| D． men care less about the different messages communicated by clothes |
According to the passage, the behavior of others towards you can be changed by your .
| A． age | B． dress |
| C． status | D． gender |
From the passage, it can be inferred that .
| A． clothing plays an important role in social activities |
| B． words of dress are unable to communicate different messages |
| C． dress is better than language in communicating messages |
| D． messages communicated by clothes are the same in different cultures |
Today, nearly 400 animals are listed as threatened or endangered animals in the United States. Many are at risk of becoming extinct or disappearing permanently. Unless efforts to save these vulnerable(易受攻击的) animals succeed, many of the country's greatest creatures will be lost forever. From the facts listed, guess which animals are endangered. Click on the picture to find out more about each of these animals in trouble.
American Crocodile
●American crocodiles are about 12 feet long. They live on land and in shallow water, swamps and marshes.
●American crocodiles like to float in the water with only their eyes and noses above the water surface.
●American crocodiles eat mostly small animals, which they grab with their strong jaws and sharp teeth.
●American crocodiles lay eggs. They hide their eggs under twigs and leaves, or bury them in the sand.
●Some crocodiles help their young hatch, and then carry them to the water in their mouth.
Habitat
Southern Florida, Mexico, Central and South American, Caribbean islands.
Why It's Endangered
Overhunted for its skin and habitat destruction.
Peninsular Bighorn Sheep
●Bighorn sheep can weigh as much as 280 pounds and stand about 3 feet tall.
●They live in dry, desert mountain ranges, near rocky cliffs.
●Bighorn sheep eat grass, twigs and leaves.
●Male sheep are called rams and can be recognized by their huge, brown horns. The horns curl back over the ears, down，and up past the cheeks.
●They live in herds or groups. The male sheep with the biggest horns are usually in charge. Male horns can weigh as much as 30 pounds.
●Males will use their massive horns to fight. The fights can last as long as 24 hours.
●Females are called ewes. They are smaller than rams and have shorter, smaller horns.
Habitat
Nevada and California to west Texas and south into Mexico.
Why It's Endangered
Loss of habitat, hunting illegally, drought and disease.Where can the article be found according to the passage?
| A．Newspaper. | B．Website. |
| C．Student book. | D．Magazine. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the description about American crocodiles?
| A．American crocodiles live on land and in swamps and marshes. |
| B．American crocodiles hide their eggs under leaves, or bury them in the sand. |
| C．American crocodiles grab small animals with their strong jaws and sharp teeth. |
| D．American crocodiles like to float with their eyes and nose below the water surface. |
Where can we find both American crocodiles and Bighorn sheep according to the passage?
| A．Southern Florida. | B．California. |
| C．Mexico. | D．West Texas. |
Rams make use of their massive horns to ________.
| A．master the herds | B．show their beauty |
| C．fight with others | D．hunt for food |
What can be the best title?
| A．Animals in Danger |
| B．American Crocodile |
| C．Peninsular Bighorn Sheep |
| D．How to Save Animals in Danger |
Most young people enjoy some forms of physical activities. It may be walking, cycling or swimming, or in winter, skating or skiing. It may be a game of some kind, football, hockey, golf, or tennis, it may be mountaineering.
Those who have a passion for climbing high and difficult mountains are often looked upon with astonishment. Why are men and women willing to suffer cold and hardship, and to take risks on high mountaineering? This astonishment is caused probably by the difference between mountaineering and other forms of activity to which men give their leisure.
Mountaineering is a sport and not a game. There are no manmade rules, as there are for such game as golf and football. There are, of course, rules of a different kind, which would be dangerous to ignore, but it is this freedom from manmade rules that makes mountaineering attractive to many people. Those who climb mountains are free to use their own methods.
If we compare mountaineering with other more familiar sports, we might think that one big difference is that mountaineering is not a “game”. We would be mistaken in this assumption. There are, it is true, no “matches” between “teams” of climbers, but when climbers are on a rock face linked by a rope on which their lives may depend, there is obviously teamwork.
The mountain climber knows that he may have to fight forces that are stronger and more powerful than man. He has to fight the forces of nature. His sport requires high mental and physical capacities.
A mountain climber continues to improve in skill year after year. A skier is probably past his prime by the age of thirty, and most international tennis champions are in their early twenties. But it is not unusual for a man of fifty or sixty to climb the highest mountains in the Alps. They may take more time than younger men, but they probably climb with more skill and less wasted effort, and they certainly experience enjoyment.Mountaineering is a sport which involves all the following things EXCEPT ______.
| A．hardship | B．comfort |
| C．physical risk | D．cold |
The main difference between a sport and a game lies in origin of the ________.
| A．uniform | B．activity |
| C．skills | D．rules |
Mountaineering is also a team sport because ________.
| A．it involves rules as well |
| B．it involves matches between teams |
| C．mountaineers depend on each other while climbing |
| D．it requires mental and physical qualifications |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Mountaineers compete against nature. |
| B．Mountaineers compete against teams. |
| C．Mountaineers compete against each other. |
| D．Mountaineers compete against international standard. |
What is the best title for the text?
| A．Mountain Climbers. |
| B．Mountaineering. |
| C．Mountaineering is gaining popularity. |
| D．Mountaineering is More Dangerous than Other Sports. |
It is difficult for doctors to help a person with a damaged brain. Without enough blood, the brain lives for only three to five minutes. More often the doctors can’t fix the damage. Sometimes they are afraid to try something to help because it is dangerous to work on the brain. The doctors might make the person worse if he operates on the brain.
Dr. Robert White, a famous professor and doctor, thinks he knows a way to help. He thinks doctors should make the brain very cold. If it is very cold, the brain can live without blood for 30 minutes. This gives the doctor a longer time to do something for the brain.
Dr. White tried his idea on 13 monkeys. First he taught them to do different jobs, and then he operated on them. He made the monkeys' blood go through a machine. The machine cooled the blood. Then the machine sent the blood back to the monkeys' brains. When the brain’s temperature was 10°C, Dr. White stopped the blood to the brain. After 30 minutes he turned the blood back on. He warmed the blood again. After their operations the monkeys were like they had been before. They were healthy and busy. Each one could still do the jobs the doctor had taught them.The biggest difficulty in operating on the damaged brain is that _______.
| A．the time is too short for doctors |
| B．the patients are often too nervous |
| C．the damage is extremely hard to fix |
| D．The blood cooling machine might break down |
The brain operation was made possible mainly by _______.
| A．taking the blood out of the brain |
| B．trying the operation on monkeys first |
| C．having the blood go through a machine |
| D．lowering the brain’s temperature |
With Dr. White’s new idea, the operation on the damaged brain ______.
| A．can last as long as 30 minutes |
| B．can keep the brain’s blood warm |
| C．can keep the patient’s brain healthy |
| D．can help monkeys do different jobs |