Long ago, near the village of Hedley, there lived a strange and playful trickster(骗子), known as the Hedley Kow. Sometimes it looked like an ordinary object. Sometimes it looked like a donkey or a goat.
One evening, as an old woman went along the path, she saw an old iron pot lying in the ditch. “Fancy that,” she said. “Nobody seems to want this old pot. I will take it home and plant pretty flowers in it.”
When she tried to lift it, she saw that it was full of gold pieces. “Well, now, if that doesn’t beat all,” she said. “I’m rich! I can buy a fine house and fancy clothes.”
The pot was heavy, so she tied her shawl around it and began to drag it home. After a while, she stopped to rest. When she looked in the pot, she was amazed to see that it was full of silver pieces!
“Oh, my god!” she said. “Aren’t I the lucky one ! If it were gold, thieves would have been after me. My frie
nds might have
been jealous. But I can hide these silver pieces, take out a few at a time, and live like a queen.”
On she went, pulling the pot after her. She was nearing home now. At her gate, she looked into the pot. What a surprise! The silver had changed into a lump(块) of iron. “Iron,” she said. “Well, now! No one will be jealous or want to steal this from me. I can use this iron to prop my door open and let in fresh air and sunlight. Lucky me!”
As soon as she said that, the pot began to grow and later it became a goat. Then it jumped up and ran off down the road laughing.
“Fancy that!” said the old woman. “I believe I have seen the Hedley Kow! Not many folks can say that, and that’s a fact. I’ll just sit up by my fire tonight thinking about how lucky I was to see it for myself. I truly must be the luckiest person in the world!” Which of the following sayings can best describe this story?
| A．All good things come to an end. | B．The early bird catches the worm. |
| C．Content is better than riches. | D．All bad luck goes away. |
What does “the Hedley Kow” stand for in the eyes of the old woman?
| A．Glory | B．Honor | C．Misfortune | D．Luck |
From this passage we can know the old woman is _________.
| A．optimistic | B．pessimistic | C．strange | D．mindless |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．The woman | B．The Hedley Kow | C．The pot | D．The Effort |
Planet Earth would be a scary place for humans if dinosaurs still ruled the world.
Though there are still some traces of life from the Jurassic Period, the Age of Dinosaurs more than 65 million years ago.
This mass extinction is believed to be the result of an asteriod（小行星）hitting Earth. A new report by the journal Biological Reviews called " The Extinction of Dinosaurs” concludes that this impact was, indeed, the cause of the dinosaurs’ demise. But the space blast(爆炸) wasn't the only reason these creatures aren't still around today.
Dinosaurs need food to survive. Meat-eating monsters like the Tyrannosaurus Rex(霸王龙) were at the top of the food chain, and fed off plant eaters like the horned Triceratops (三角恐龙). These herbivores (食草动物) were decreasing in population after the asteroid hit Earth, which left the meat-eating species less food to survive on. “In any ecosystem where you remove links to key species, that community has problems," Richard Butler, one of the review's authors, told National Ceographic.
While the herbivore population was going down, Earth's temperatures were rising when volcanoes erupted. Hot vapors and gases began wiping out some of the dinosaur population and weakening the survivors.
These changes made the asteroid's impact especially powerful. It caused more volcanoes to erupt, heated up Earth's atmosphere, and led to a sharp drop in the level of oxygen in the oceans.
With the dinosaurs gone, mammals(哺乳动物) began to evolve into bigger and more diverse species. Many animals we see today, like birds, sharks, and even some cats and dogs, appeared after the asteroid hit Earth. But none rule Earth quite like the dinosaurs did.. Which of the following words can replace the underlined word’’ demise" in Paragraph 2?
| A．Death. | B．Evolvement. |
| C．Presence. | D．Decrease. |
According to what Richard Butler said, what caused dinosaurs to die out?
| A．A shortage of clean water. |
| B．A break in the food chain. |
| C．A small variety of animals. |
| D．The constant warming climate. |
What was the negative effect of the asteroid hitting Earth?
| A．Oceans became too hot for animals. |
| B．There was less oxygen in the oceans. |
| C．Earth's climate became violent. |
| D．The majority of the plants gradually died out. |
The text is mainly about .
| A．the evolvement of mammals on Earth |
| B．the gradual process of climate change |
| C．the importance of the balance of ecosystem |
| D．the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs |
A group of Russian criminals have stolen l.2 billion username and password combinations for more than 500 millione-mail addresses. It's the largest known theft on the Internet, according to a report of The New York Times.
Cyber security firm Hold Security discovered the security breach(漏洞 ). The firm found that the group of criminals collected personal information from 420,000 websites, including household names and small Internet sites. The criminals were based in a small city in south central Russia. They hacked websites inside Russia as well as big companies in the U.S. and other countries ,The New Times reports.
The criminals found hundreds of thousands of weak websites and attacked their coding，Hold Security said. Alex Holden is chief information security officer of Hold Security. “The hackers did not just target U.S. companies；they targeted any website they could get，” Holden said. “And most of these sites are still easy to attack”.
According to Hold Security, the criminals have been using the stolen information to send junk mail through e-mail and on social networks like Twitter. They can also use the 500 million stolen e-mail -addresses to plan other crimes. They could use information from bank e-mails to steal your identity or sell the e-mail address to other criminals to make quick cash.
The reported break-ins are the latest events to raise doubts about security at big and small companies. Last winter, hackers stole 40 million credit card numbers and 70 million addresses, phone numbers and other personal information from the retailer Target Corp. The brand is still working to regain its shoppers' trust.
John Prisco is a CEO of a security firm. He says security hacks are more common than many people and companies realize. "This issue reminds me of an iceberg, where 90% of it is actually under water," Prisco said in an e-mailed statement. So many cyber breaches today are not actually reported, because companies are losing information and they are not even aware of it. "
Security experts believe hackers will continue breaking into computer networks unless companies become more protective of personal information. What did a group of Russian criminals do according to the report?
| A．They stole e-mail addresses of the Internet users. |
| B．They destroyed the websites of some big companies. |
| C．They attacked American companies in southern Russia. |
| D．They downloaded the secret information of some banks. |
According to Alex Holden, the criminals entered some websites easily because .
| A．some websites don't have their own coding |
| B．most of the websites lack protective measures |
| C．Russia is more developed in computer science |
| D．the hackers are equipped with high technology |
What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about?
| A．The criminals are fond of using social networks. |
| B．The criminals sell the stolen information for money. |
| C．The stolen information causes great economic losses. |
| D．The stolen information could bring harmful effects. |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 6 imply?
| A．We cannot tell how large an iceberg is just from the part on the water. |
| B．Many companies are unwilling to report their information stolen. |
| C．Many companies are not aware their information has been stolen. |
| D．People usually can see just a small part of an iceberg. |
A new study of 8,000 young people in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior shows that although love can make adults live healthily and happily, it is a bad thing for young people. Puppy love(早恋) may bring stress for young people and can lead to depression(忧郁症). The study shows that girls become more depressed than boys, and younger girls are the worst of all.
The possible reason for the connection between love and higher risk of depression for girls is “loss of self". According to the study, even though boys would say "lose themselves in a romantic relationship", this "loss of self" is much more likely to lead to depression when it happens to girls. Young girls who have romantic relationships usually like hiding their feelings and opinions. They won’t tell that to their parents.
Dr Marianm Kaufman, an expert on young people problems, says 15% to 20% young people will have depression during their growing. Trying romance often causes the depression. She advises kids not to jump into romance too early. During growing up, it is important for young people to build strong friendships and a strong sense of self. She also suggests the parents should encourage their kids to keep close to their friends, attend more interesting school activities and spend enough time with family.
Parents should watch for signs of depression--eating or mood changes--and if they see signs from their daughters or sons, they need to give help. The good news is that the connection between romance and depression seems to become weak with age. Love will always make us feel young, but only maturity(成熟) gives us a chance to avoid its bad side effects.What's the main idea of the passage?
| A．Puppy love may bring young people depression. |
| B．Parents should forbid their children's love. |
| C．Romance is a two-edged sword for adults. |
| D．Romance is good for young people. |
Which of the following is more likely to have depression?
| A．Young people who have a strong sense of selfishness. |
| B．Young boys whose parents watch for their behavior. |
| C．Young girls who always hide their feelings and opinions. |
| D．Careless parents whose children are deep in love. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Lacking love can lead young people to grow up more quickly. |
| B．Early love makes young people keep close to their friends and parents. |
| C．Parents should help their children to be aware of the signs of depression. |
| D．The older a woman is, the less likely she seems to lose herself in romance. |
What's the author's attitude towards puppy love?
| A．Confused. | B．Disapproving. |
| C．Disinterested. | D．Scared. |
Moral science is taught as a subject in most schools but with little effect. Perhaps part of the problem lies in the fact that morality is not a science, strictly speaking. It is too much of a social phenomenon, and also has too much of the personal and subjective things mixed within. Besides, morality itself changes with generations. So it is impossible to be defined in a textbook.
I remember sitting through forty minutes of moral lessons, which told stories about little children who never told lies and were rewarded for their goodness. It had little effect and left no impression on me, though.
If moral science has to be taught as a subject in schools, it needs a participatory (参与其中的 ) approach. When you tell a child about morals, you also have to deal with social norms(规范) and cultural differences. You have to explain that morality can be subjective, and be able to co-exist in society. You will probably have to refer to the morals of the present time.
The best way to tell a child how to live is to show him what is valued. If a child likes his friend, you have to make the child think about why. Once the child notices and recognizes goodness in others, he or she is likely to develop it as well.
In fact, children learn most of their morals by watching people around them. They absorb behavior patterns from teachers and older students. They watch to see what is rewarded and who is punished. They learn on the sports field and through social work. Moral science lessons should simply consist of letting them live and interact, and watch you support correct values and reward good behavior.Which is NOT the reason that moral science is taught in schools but with little effect?
| A．Morality doesn't strictly belong to a science. |
| B．Morality is more like a social phenomenon. |
| C．Morality can't be written down in textbooks. |
| D．Different generations have different moral ideas, ' |
The author describes his own experience of having moral lessons in order to.
| A．explain telling lies not moral for little children |
| B．advise people should be rewarded for their goodness |
| C．show he has no opinions about moral science |
| D．prove moral lessons in schools have little effect |
When you tell a child about morals, you should.
| A．teach him to share personal moral ideas with others |
| B．tell him about social norms and cultural differences |
| C．explain that nobody can influence his moral ideas |
| D．say that the present morals are likely to be changed |
What is the last paragraph mainly about?
| A．The influence of people's behavior on morals. |
| B．The value of teachers' setting a good example. |
| C．The best way of teaching children about morals. |
| D．The importance of rewarding good behavior. |
Do you sleep well? Some people get off to sleep as soon as the head hits the pillow, but many others are not so lucky．In fact，the lack of quality sleep has become a public health issue around the world．According to the World Association of Sleep Medicine，45 percent of the world’s population suffer from sleep problems．One in eight people don’t sleep well and are easily woken．7．6 percent sleep less than 3 hours each night．Some even can not fall asleep for several days in a row．
As a basic bodily and mental need，sleep is essential for our survival．It helps us to fight diseases，strengthen our memory, perform better in work and school and improve our quality of life．Lack of sleep is known to have a significant negative influence on health，both in the short and long term．Poor sleep has been associated with obesity, weakened immune systems and even some cancers，as well as depression and anxiety．
The World Sleep Day, held on the third Friday of March，is an annual celebration of sleep to lighten the burden of sleep problems through better prevention and management of sleep disorders．
Unhealthy lifestyle may be the first to blame for sleeplessness．More and more people use cellphones and computers in bed，with many staying up until midnight．Modern technology does make our life convenient，but abuse of it ruins our health．Environmental conditions，such as temperature，noise，light，bed comfort also play an important role in one’s ability to get proper sleep．Besides，improper evening diet，like a full or an empty stomach，coffee and alcohol all contribute to sleep problems．Of course，when it comes to causing poor sleep stress from finances，family or work should never be ignored．
However, those who suffer from sleep disorders don’t necessarily have to continue to do so—most sleep problems can be solved．What can be inferred from Paragraph 1 ？
| A．Nobody can stay awake for several days． |
| B．All people are going through sleep problems． |
| C．Sleep problems have become a worldwide concern． |
| D．The majority of the world’s population can’t sleep well． |
What does Paragraph 4 mainly tell us?
| A．The influences of lack of sleep． |
| B．The possible causes of poor sleep． |
| C．Poor sleep is associated with illness． |
| D．Good sleep helps us to perform better. |
What will be discussed in the paragraph that follows?
| A．The harm of sleep problems． |
| B．Activities on the World Sleep Day． |
| C．Interviews of poor sleep sufferers． |
| D．Measures against sleep problems． |