A beautiful woman took a plane on business. She found her seat and sat down next to a young man. The man was just thinking of making a few dollars on the plane. When he saw the woman, he got an idea.
“Hey! Would you like to play a game?” he asked the woman. “No, thank you. I just want to take a nap (打盹),” the woman answered. “It’s really easy. All you have to do is to answer the questions that I ask you. If you don’t know the answer, you give me five dollars. If I don’t know the answer to your question, then I’ll give you five dollars.” “No,” the woman still refused. “OK. If I don’t know the answer to your question, I’ll give you five hundred dollars. How about that?” the man said. Then the woman became interested and decided to join in the game.
“OK. How many moons does Jupiter (木星) have?” asked the young man. The woman reached into her purse and took out a five-dollar bill. “What goes up the mountain with three legs and comes back with four?” the woman asked. Then the young man took out his computer and searched the Internet for an answer. Minutes later, the young man handed five hundred dollars to the woman.
After a few hours, the young man really wanted to know the answer to the question. So he asked the woman, “What is the answer to your question?” The woman reached into her purse and handed the young man a five-dollar bill.
49. Why did the man ask the woman to play a game?
A. He wanted to show his kindness.
B. He wanted to have a pleasant journey.
C. He wanted to earn some money from it.
D. He wanted to make friends with the woman.
50. How much did the woman get at the end of the story?
A. $ 500. B. $ 5. C. $ 10. D. $ 490.
51. What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. The woman told the man the answer to her question.
B. The woman gave the man’s money back to him.
C. The woman asked the man another question.
D. The woman didn’t know the answer, either.
52. We can learn from the story that the woman is ______.
A. clever B. friendly C. polite D. honest
The first day of school we were interested to get to know a new classmate.I looked around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.I found a little old lady with a warm smile.
She said,“Hi ! I’m Rose.I’m 87 years old.Can I give you a hug?”I laughed and I heartily responded,“Of course!”
“Why are you in college at such a young,innocent(天真无邪的)age?”I asked.
She jokingly replied,“I’m here to meet a rich husband,get married,have children, and then travel around.”
“Not seriously,”I asked.I was curious why she took on this challenge at this age.
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!”she told me.We became instant friends.
Over the year,Rose became a campus icon(偶像) and she easily made friends wherever she went.She loved to dress up and she enjoyed the attention from the other students.
At the end of the semester,we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us.
“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.Here are the secrets to staying young.You have to laugh and find humor every day.You’ve got to have a dream.When you lose your dreams,you die.Unfortunately we have many people like this walking around?”she said.
“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.Anybody can grow older.That doesn’t take any talent or ability,”she added.“But growing up requires finding the opportunity in change.Have no regrets.The elederly usually don’t regret what they did,but rather things they did not do.”
One week after graduation that year,Rose died peacefully in her sleep.She taught us by example that__________________.Why was Rose in college at 87? Because.
| A．she wanted to meet a rich husband |
| B．she wanted to get married and have children |
| C．she wanted to travel around |
| D．she dreamed of having a college education |
According to the passage,Rose loved to do the following EXCEPT.
| A．dress up |
| B．enjoy the attention from the other students |
| C．play football |
| D．make friends |
According to what Rose said,we can know that to stay young you must not.
| A．laugh | B．be humorous |
| C．have a dream | D．lose your dream |
According to the last paragraph but one we know.
| A．growing older is quite different from growing up |
| B．growing older needs talent |
| C．growing up doesn’t require ability |
| D．the elderly usually have no regrets |
Which of the following can be used to fill in the blank at the end of the passage?
| A．where there is a will, there’s a way |
| B．never too late to learn |
| C．Study hard and you will be young |
| D．never too late to be all you can possibly be |
| Dear Expert: I was asked to retrieve my 14-year-old daughter from a five-day camping trip.She was suffering from such severe separation anxiety,her teacher thought she should go home.She hadn’t eaten anything and had refused to participate in any activities.The thing is my daughter is extremely bright and has many friends;she organized a few friends into a band,and it belongs to several school clubs.She’s just always had an extreme fear of being away from home.I don’t want her to miss out on other trips. Yours truly, Jonathan |
| Dear Jonathan: Sometimes kids can push through homesickness,but in other instances they become hurt mentally and develop greater anxiety around outings,which can worsen and prolong(延长) the problem.Separation anxiety can be the result of many complex interactions some genetic(遗传的) and some learned. People with high anxiety tend to be fearful and worried, ever when the sense of threat is minimum（最低程度）.Lots of talented,creative and successful people are exceedingly anxious. I believe your daughter is bright,active and popular,but simply can’t do well outside her home base.My suggestion is to take things in small steps,so your daughter can experience success,and always have a fallback(退却) plan if she needs it.For instance,she can plan an overnight with a friend,but assure her it’s no big deal to pick her up at midnight if she changes her mind. What’s important is to recognize the fear,and make plans to deal with whatever may cause distress.In other words,don’t try to talk your daughter out of her fears,equip her to master them.This way she’ll eventually gain the confidence to go on further trips. Expert |
What does the underlined word“retrieve”mean?
| A．Go with someone. | B．Take someone back. |
| C．Separate from someone. | D．Miss someone. |
Which of the following statements is TURE?
| A．Separation anxiety is the result of different reasons. |
| B．Separation anxiety is genetic. |
| C．Only creative people suffer from separation anxiety. |
| D．Separation anxiety is of the same level. |
When can’t the 14-year-old daughter function well?
| A．When organizing a band at school. |
| B．When she is not far away from her home. |
| C．When she is in a club. |
| D．When she is camping far away from home. |
Many American schools have a student exchange program with foreign countries. Along with this program,there is usually another one called the“American Host Family”program.As its name suggests,the program gets American families involved in foreign students’ lives in America and offers homes for them.
Foreign students generally welcome such an opportunity to have a“family”here,but there are also those who prefer to stay“homeless”.
Many American families volunteer to host foreign students.However,if there is a shortage of host families,schools also get in touch with local people and introduced foreign students to them.
The“American Host Family”program changes in lengths of time.It can go from a few days to a few years,depending on each individual school.After the first year is over,it is up to foreign students and their“families”to decide if they want to stay together as a“family”.American families can host as many foreign students as they like.They can either have several students or just one at a time.Many families start with new students each year while still keeping in touch with the old ones.Schools usually leave it to foreign students and their host families to decide their activities after both sides meet.
My school, however, holds activities every year. On major holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas,foreign students are usually invited to their thomes for dinner.Even schools that do not have host family programs often arrange students to get together with American families on these special holiday occasions.
It is typical that a host family invites its foreign daughter or son over,and they cook the student’s home food together,Undoubtedly,Chinese students are usually considered good cooks,whether or not they are really qualified for such praise at home.Although many Chinese students rarely cooked at home,they often have a hard time making their American friends believe that they cannot cook.It often happens when a Chinese student promises to cook a Chinese meal for his host family,he usually sees a little crowd expecting him:friends or relatives are also invited over for the“special”Chinese food!The best title of the passage might be.
| A．Studying in the U.S. |
| B．The“Host Family Program”in the U.S. |
| C．The“Student Exchange Program”in the U.S. |
| D．Activities in American Schools |
What’s the purpose of the“American Host Family program”?
| A．To bring foreign students closer to American life. |
| B．To provide homes for foreign students. |
| C．To make greater progress in the study of foreign students. |
| D．To supply“sons”or “daughters”for American families. |
What can we know about the program from the fourth and fifth paragraphs?
| A．Its time,the number of students and families. |
| B．Its activities,the number of schools and students. |
| C．Its lengths of time,the number of students and activities. |
| D．The number of students,the lengths of time and important holidays. |
We can know from the last paragraph that.
| A．foreign students must prepare their home food for their host family |
| B．not all Chinese students are good cooks in the eyes of Americans |
| C．it is good manners to invite relatives or friends to taste foreign food |
| D．Americans are very interested in foreign food |
Today is my first day at Merchiston Castle School,and I was really nervous about it, because I have never visited the school before and didn’t take any summer course. Despite my anxiety,I soon relaxed once I arrived; the staff were so nice that I felt my spoken English was better than it actually was! As soon as I walked into the dayroom of my boarding house,I was absolutely(完全地) amazed by the friendly atmosphere; everyone was so friendly that a boy as shy as I had no difficulty in setting in,and I made many new friends on my very first day,although I was struggling to remember all the names.
Also I realized there were other international students in the house from all over the world,such as South Korea,Japan and Russia.Although their English was not so fluent,it didn’t take long for us to understand each other at all.In some ways,it was even better to practice Enlgish by speaking to the international students,because we were both learning.
As a boarder,the quality of food is something I consider very important,and Merchiston has not let me down.The school kitchens are run by a professional catering company,and the quality of food is excellent,also they take the issue of a healthy diet really seriously.I remember once I was asked to take more salad for my meal by a member of the kitchen staff for I did not have enough vegetables.This brings to another point of being a boarder:you need to learn how to look after yourself and be responsible for yourself.One of the huge advantages of being a boarder is that we can have breakfast in the school,which means we don’t have to pull ourselves out of the bed as early as the daypupils!Why was the writer nervous when he was at Merchiston Castle School on the first day?
| A．Because he had no friends and relatives there. |
| B．Because he didn’t know the school well. |
| C．Because he was not good at English. |
| D．Because he was shy. |
On the first day,.
| A．though the writer was anxious,he soon relaxed |
| B．he found the dayroom of his boarding house terrible |
| C．he made many new friends,but he didn’t remember any of their names |
| D．he thought he spoke English better than the staff in the school |
Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?
| A．In the boarding house,there are only students from South Korea,Japan and Russia. |
| B．The international students in the boarding house don’t speak Englsih very fluently. |
| C．The food in Merchiston doesn’t make the writer disappiointed. |
| D．The professional catering company thinks the issue of a healthy diet is very important. |
The underlined word“boarder”in the first paragraph means“”.
| A．a student who is from abroad | B．a student who lives at school |
| C．a student who is good at English | D．a student who used to be shy |
Many scientists are now exploring the idea of going to live on Mars. Some other scientists from the MASA AMES Center(美国宇航局) have already started the creation of a “Mars town” and many others are in fact already experimenting with it. Of course, these experiments are done on Earth itself but this “Mars town” has an environment practically like that of Mars.
The astronauts working in these towns wear their space suit and also do everything they would really have to carry out if they ever go to Mars in the future.
But Mars would be like Earth, a temporary（临时的） place for humans. When the Sun starts swallowing up(吞掉) the planets, Mars will disappear only hours after Earth. So Mars only seems to be the ideal place to spread the human beings. It is also a good location to send humans if ever there is a disaster on Earth. By saying disaster, I mean asteroids(小行星) hitting and things like that.
If we humans do not want to disappear when Earth or Mars gets swallowed up, we will have to go and live beyond the solar system. But are there any planets outside our solar system prepared to support life? Astronomers’ answer is:
“If Earth can support life, why can’t other planets do the same too? Astronomers have already discovered a Jupiter(木星)- like planet orbiting a Sun-like star, so why not an Earth-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star?
To achieve this goal though, many other problems have to be taken into consideration. How do we transform(改造) a dusty planet like Mars into one more or less like our Earth? How should we go on? There is still a long way to go. The “Mars town” mentioned in the passage is ___________
| A．a research base on Mars. |
| B．an experimental lab built on Earth. |
| C．a strange place on Mars . |
| D．a town existing in scientists’ imagination |
We can know from the passage that astronomers probably think ____________
| A．it is impossible to transport humans to other planets. |
| B．there may be an Earth-like planet outside the solar system |
| C．humans will move to the new-found Jupiter-like planet |
| D．there’s no need for humans to move beyond the solar system. |
Why would Mars only be a temporary(临时) place for humans?
| A．The conditions there would be too hard for the human beings |
| B．There would be more disasters like asteroids hitting. |
| C．It would disappear when Earth disappeared. |
| D．It would be too hot to live on. |
The underlined word “orbiting” in the fifth paragraph is closest in meaning to “________”
| A．moving around | B．getting close to |
| C．passing by quickly | D．going through |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Mars Town | B．Living on Mars |
| C．The Future of Earth | D．Where to live in the Future |