If you walk slowly through downtown Helsinki during the day, taking in the splendid 19 th century buildings, white boats and noise of passing trams (有轨电车), you will start to understand why it is called a city of two colors: white and blue.
The sea is always present in Helsinki. When you take a walk over the great open space of the central square, you will hear seabirds screaming. When you take the tram, suddenly and unexpectedly, you are faced with a calm, shining blue sea. You may notice that people in Helsinki do not rush about as in other cities. Instead, they walk along the roads, politely letting other people by.
A usual way to see Helsinki for the first time is to start out by the boats. You will walk by the elderly women selling fish and vegetables in the market square and find yourself in front of a beautiful park. You may enjoy a pleasant walk in the park for a few hours and then take the tram. Trams are the perfect way to get around in Helsinki. Watching the old houses, parks, theatres, churches, shops, restaurants and people in the streets, you may have a slightly sad film feeling to it.
The pale summer nights are another wonder in the city. Following the waterfront（滨水区）of the city after sunset, you couldn’t help stopping and listening to the sweet silence, interrupted only by the screaming seabirds and leaving fishing boats.
However, in some way. Helsinki is also the most modern city in northern Europe. You will surely want to visit the white Glass Palace, the modern art museum, and all those extremely popular cafes and design stores.Helsinki is called a city of two colors mainly because of the colors of its ________.
| A．19th century white buildings and boats |
| B．19th century buildings and passing trams |
| C．white roads and blue trams |
| D．old buildings, boats and the sea |
The best way to see most of Helsinki is to go ________.
| A．by boat | B．by bus | C．by tram | D．on foot |
The 19th century buildings, the white Glass Palace and all those popular cafes and design shops show that Helsinki is _________.
| A．both western and eastern | B．both quiet and noisy |
| C．both historical and modern | D．both old and new |
This passage is most likely to be found in _________.
| A．a story-book | B．a geography textbook |
| C．a research report | D．a travel magazine |
Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important, of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging has increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household's waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for burying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But it is also applied to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realize just how much unnecessary materials are collected. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.What does the underlined phrase "over-consumption" refer to?
| A．Using too much packaging. |
| B．Recycling too many wastes. |
| C．Having more material than is needed. |
| D．Making more products than necessary. |
The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show_______.
| A．the tendency of cutting household waste |
| B．the increase of packaging recycling |
| C．the fact of packaging overuse |
| D．the rapid growth of supermarkets |
According to the text, recycling_________.
| A．means burning packaging for energy |
| B．helps control the greenhouse effect |
| C．is the solution to gas shortage |
| D．leads to a waste of land |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
| A．Unpackaged products are of bad quality. |
| B．Supermarkets care more about packaging. |
| C．Other products are better packaged than food. |
| D．It is improper to judge quality by packaging. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Needless material is mostly recycled. |
| B．Fighting wastefulness is difficult. |
| C．People like collecting recyclable wastes. |
| D．The author is proud of their consumer culture. |
The day when the jobs were handed out was one of the most exciting moments for all the children in the class. It took place during the first week of the term. Every kid was given a job for which they would be responsible for the rest of that school year.
Some jobs were more interesting than others, and the children were eager to be given one of the best ones. When giving them out, the teacher took into account which pupils had been most responsible during the previous year. During the previous year Rita had carried out the teacher’s instructions perfectly. All the children knew Rita would be given the best job.
But there was a big surprise. Each child received a normal job. But Rita’s job was very different. She was given a little box containing some sand and one ant. Though the teacher insisted that this ant was very special, Rita felt disappointed. Most of her classmates felt sorry for her. Even her father became very angry with the teacher and he encouraged Rita to pay no attention to this insignificant pet. However, Rita preferred to show the teacher her error by doing something special with that job of little interest.
Rita started investigating all about her little ant and gave the ant the best food, and it grew quite a bit bigger.
One day, a man, who looked very important, came into their classroom and declared, “Your class has been chosen to accompany me, this summer, on a journey to the tropical rainforest, where we will investigate all kinds of insects. Among all the schools of this region, your class has best cared for the little ant.”
That day the school was filled with joy and celebration. Everyone thanked Rita for having been so patient and responsible. And many children learnt that to be given the most important task you have to know how to be responsible even in what are the smallest tasks.What did the teacher base her decision on when giving out jobs to the children?
| A．Their ability of managing their accounts during the previous year. |
| B．Their characters and interests. |
| C．Their class performance during the previous year. |
| D．Their working performance during the previous year. |
What does the underlined sentence “But there was a big surprise.”mean?
| A．The most responsible student got the job of least interest. |
| B．Each child got an important job. |
| C．Each child got an interesting job. |
| D．The perfect student got the job of everyone’s preference． |
What is Rita’s attitude to her father’s suggestion?
| A．Acceptive. | B．Negative. |
| C．Uncertain. | D．Totally positive. |
We can infer that the man who made the declaration is a _________.
| A．principal | B．hunter |
| C．director | D．biologist |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Responsibility And Intelligence Bring Good Luck |
| B．Never Complain About Life |
| C．Small Tasks Can Lead To Fortunes |
| D．Men Are Best Known By Their Friends |
Starting high school means many changes in your life．Most teenagers look forward to the first day of high school，but still feel a little bit nervous．In order to make your high school life easier, you can follow these tips．
Learn all you can about your first day before the first day．Take part in some activities that are held at the school for new students to know the school better．If parents are invited to these activities, take yours with you．Carefully look over all the materials you receive．Be sure you know where the school’s buildings are．
Get the things you will need for class．Buy the things suggested on your teachers’ supply lists and place your materials for each class separately．
Keep up with your high school workload(工作量)．If you fmd you’re not doing well in a subject，make use of after-school study groups or ask your teacher to help you with your schoolwork．Consider private tutoring to get you through a difficult time．
There’re more extracurricular(课外的)activities in high school than in middle school，such as clubs，music and theater groups，student government，and sports teams． Make friends and be seen at such school activities．Join a club or other organizations to meet people and develop friendships．Ask someone in school activities if you don’t know how．This is a good time to do what you like doing and an opportunity to try new things．Whe said school has to be aH work and no play?
Since you’ll attend more activities in high school than in middle school，you’ll have to learn how to manage your time． The writer wrote this passage to .
| A．advise us to study hard in high school |
| B．tell us how to live an easier life in high school |
| C．show that we may live a hard life in high school |
| D．explain why there will be many changes in high school |
In Paragraph 2，the writer suggests that we should．
| A．ask our parents to walk us to school |
| B．ask other students about our high school |
| C．prepare all the things we need for our classes |
| D．1earn about our high school well before attending it |
According to Paragraph 4，what should we do if we are not doing well in a subject?
| A．We should get help from others． |
| B．We should stop going to activities． |
| C．We should spend most of our time on it． |
| D．We should give it up if it is not important． |
In Paragraph 5．the writer wants to tell us that．
| A．every coin has two sides |
| B．the early bird catches the worm |
| C．where there is a will, there is a way |
| D．all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy |
What will the Writer most probably talk about next?
| A．How to manage time well in high school． |
| B．Why we need to learn how to manage time． |
| C．How to attend more activities in high school． |
| D．Why middle school is difierent from high school． |
A newspaper reporter’s job can be very interesting．He meets all types of people and lives quite a busy life．He is on the rush for news all the time，then after several years he may get a desk job，and life becomes a bit more settled．Let’s look at his work a little more closely．In a day he may have to interview the prime minister of a foreign country, and the next day he may be writing about a football match．Sometimes he may be so busy that he hardly has any time to sleep．And at other times he may go on for days looking out for news materials yet return empty—handed．
In the beginning，a reporter has to cover a very wide field．After the early years he becomes more specialized in his work．For example，he may finaliy be asked to write only on court cases or politics or sports．Some reporters may become so specialized that they are asked only to write on a special thing：horse racing，for example．In most newspaper houses there is at least one special racing correspondent．Some newspapers have book reviews. Their job is delightful．They read the latest book and then write reviews on the ones they like．Then there are those who write on fdms，so they get to see them even before they are shown in the cinema．How lucky, you would say!
A reporter’s job can also be very dangerous．If there is a flood or a riot(暴乱)they may get hurt or even be killed．Three years ago there was a reporter whose camera was destroyed by a group of men，because they were angry with him for taking their picture．Dangerous or not，one thing is certain，and that is，their job is never dull! The underlined words“on the rush”in the Paragraph I mean“’’．
| A．on thebeach | B．in no time |
| C．in ahurry | D．on the spot |
Reporters who write on films are said to be lucky because they.
| A．can write anything they like |
| B．can see more film stars |
| C．can pay less than other people |
| D．can see the fdms before most people see them in the cinema |
Why did the men break the reporter’s camera?
| A．The reporter took their picture． |
| B．They did not like him at all． |
| C．They were afraid of his camera． |
| D．The camera was in the way． |
According to the passage，a reporter’s work becomes dangerous when .
| A．he is seeing a horror film |
| B．thereis afloodora riot |
| C．there is a football match |
| D．there is an interview with the prime minister |
What’s the passage mainly about?
| A．An introduction to a newspaper reporter’s job． |
| B．An interesting life of a newspaper reporter． |
| C．Something written by a newspaper reporter． |
| D．How to become a good newspaper reporter． |
Last week when I was sitting in my office，I heard an elderly lady talking on the phone about her husband．Her husband’s name was Ed．He dropped her off for her doctor’s appointment and was going to park the car and wait for her．She was so upset that she started to cry．I knew I should take action．
The lady told me her name was Helen and she called the restaurant she and her husband were going to have lunch at after her appointment to see if he was waiting for her there．She explained that she thought her husband parked the car in the parking lot and waited for her in the car but she didn’t find him there so she returned to see if he entered the medical building，but Ed was not there either．She regretted making her husband park the car alone since some signs of Alzheimer’s(早老年性痴呆病)had happened in his behavior．I asked a few nurses to help look for Ed inside and outside the medical building according to Helen’s description．Then I offered to drive Helen to the restaurant to see if Ed was waiting for her there．
On arriving at the parking lot of the restaurant，Helen began to search for Ed’s car but she failed，which suggested Ed wasn’t there．We decided to have a talk with the manager before we returned to the hospital．On our way to the manager’s office．I received a call from a nurse，who said they had found Ed．What a relief! But we still needed to go on searching since he forgot where he parked his car! Fortunately, we didn’t have much difficulty finding it．
As I waved good-bye to the couple, I thought “This is true love in life．The love is not romantic but it stays with us all the time．’’We learn from this passage that Ed ．
| A．went to the restaurant himself |
| B．might have developed Alzheimer’s |
| C．visited his friend in the hospital |
| D．worried about his wife very much |
When did the author know that Ed was found?
| A．After the author and Helen returned from the restaurant． |
| B．While the author and Helen were on their way to the restaurant． |
| C．Before the author and Helen found the manager of the restaurant． |
| D．When the author and Helen arrived at the parking lot of the restaurant． |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．The author was Helen’s friend． |
| B．The author had seen Ed before． |
| C．The author went to see his doctor． |
| D．The author worked in the hospital． |
The underlined word‘‘relief'’in the third paragraph means‘‘’’．
| A．a feeling of comfort | B．the final conclusion |
| C．something misleading | D．an important discovery |
From the passage, we can know that the author was.
| A．serious | B．hardworking |
| C．warm—hearted | D．experienced |