American cities are similar to other cities around the world — American
cities are changing, just as American society is changing. After World War Two, the population of most large American cities decreased; however, the population in many Sun Belt cities increase. Los Angeles and Houston are cities where population shifts (转移) to and from the city reflect the changing values of American society. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, city residents became wealthier. They moved out of their apartments in the city to buy their own homes. They bought houses in the suburbs.
Now things are changing. The children of the people who left the cities in the 1950s are now adults. Many, unlike their parents, want to live in the cities. They continue to move to Sun Belt cities and older ones of the Northeast and Midwest. Many young professionals are moving back into the city. They prefer the city to the suburbs because their jobs are there, or they just enjoy the excitement and possibilities that the city offers.
This population shifting is bringing problems as well as benefits. Countless poor people must leave their apartments in the city because the owners want to sell the buildings or make apartments for sale instead of for rent. In the 1950s, many poor people did not have enough money to move to the suburbs; now many of these same people do not have enough money to stay in the cities.
Only a few years ago, people thought that the older American cities were dying. Some city residents now see a bright, new future. Others see only problems and conflicts. One thing is sure: many dying cities are alive again.What does the author think of cities all over the world?
| A．They are alive. | B．They are hopeless. | C．They are similar. | D．They are different. |
Why did American city residents want to live in the suburbs after World War Two? Because ______.
| A．older American cities were disappearing | B．they got richer and needed more space. |
| C．cities only provided them with apartments | D．they could hardly afford to live in the city. |
According to the 3rd paragraph, a great many poor people in American cities .
| A．are faced with housing problems | B．are forced to move to the suburbs |
| C．want to sell their buildings | D．need more money for daily expenses |
We can conclude from the text that .
| A．American cities are changing for the worse |
| B．people have different views on American cities |
| C．many people are now moving from American cities |
| D．the population is decreasing in older American cities |
For most South Africans, Nelson Mandela is the father of their nation – many even called him "Tata", a local word for father. It was sometimes forgotten that he was also a real father of six, grandfather of 18, great-grandfather of eight, and husband to three women.
He earned a place in history just like another father of a nation, Mahatma Gandhi. But there was a fundamental difference between these beloved men. While Gandhi was thought to be a depressed family man, Mandela was a strong and loving family man. Even so, Mandela and his family paid dearly for his devotion to his country's freedom.
Mandela himself offered a glimpse into his personal war. "To be the father of a nation is a great honor, but to be the father of a family is a greater joy. But it was a joy I had far too little of." he said in April 1992, announcing his separation from Winnie.
In 1944, Nelson Mandela married Evelyn. "I could not give up my life in the struggle," Mandela explained in his autobiography(自传), Long Walk to Freedom, "and she (Evelyn) could not live with my devotion to something other than herself and her family... I never lost my admiration for her, but in the end we could not make our marriage work." They divorced in 1958.
When Evelyn died in 2004, Mandela stood at her graveside with his third wife, Graca. Winnie also attended the funeral.
Mandela married Winnie in 1958. But Winnie bore the hardship of life as Mandela, enduring her husband's 27-year imprisonment. From prison, Mandela wrote some of the greatest love letters to Winnie. "I dust it (your photo) carefully every morning – I even touch your nose with mine to regain the electric current that used to run through my blood whenever I did so."
For many South Africans, it was the end of a fairytale love story when their separation was made public in 1992. "Tensions" had arisen and they had agreed on a separation. The hurt in his words was clear: "Perhaps I was blinded to certain things because of the pain I felt for not being able to play my role as a husband to my wife and a father to my children."
“Unstable(不稳定的) personal lives seemed freedom fighters' destiny(命运),” he said. "When your life is the struggle, as mine was, there is little room left for family. That has always been my greatest regret, and the most painful aspect of the choice I made." The couple divorced in 1996.The author mentioned Mahatma Gandhi in the second paragraph in order to _________.
| A．show the character of Gandhi |
| B．prove Mandela is the great leader |
| C．draw attention to Mandela’s personal life |
| D．honour these two great fathers |
The underlined sentence in the third paragraph shows_________.
| A．Mandela felt regretful about his family life |
| B．Mandela got no joy from his family |
| C．Mandela was not satisfied with his wife Winne |
| D．Mandela preferred to be the father of the nation |
The first wife of Nelson Mandela is _________.
| A．Winnie | B．Evelyn |
| C．Graca | D．not mentioned |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Mandela: not just the father of the nation. |
| B．Mandela: a devoted leader of the nation. |
| C．Mandela: a freedom fighter with deep love. |
| D．Mandela: success and failure. |
The timing of school holidays has always had a lot to do with when a family goes on vacation. For many kids, summer holidays mean spending time outdoors and heading toward water- the local swimming pool, a lake, or the beach.
What people wear to go swimming or sunbathing has changed a great deal since the early 1990s. Do you know what early swimsuits(游泳衣） looked like and what they were made of? The earliest swimsuits covered most of the body and were called “bathing clothes”. They were often made of wool, which made them scratchy（扎人的） and very heavy when they got wet. Newer materials made it possible to make lighter swimsuits. Over time, swimsuits covered less and less of the body. In 1946, the bikini became popular among women.
Summer holidays don’t just mean going to the water. They can also mean going for a bike ride, or a picnic. It all depends how you want to spend your summer days.
If you live or spend your holiday near the water, then fishing, diving and boating are all good possibilities. In summertime, lots of people enjoy playing, picnicking, and just going out with friends on a long summer day until the sun goes down.
A famous song called Summertime from the opera Porgy and Bess describes life’s more relaxed pace in this season, “Summertime...and the living is easy. Fish are jumping...” Ask your parents and older relatives about their summertime memories.What does the first paragraph mainly talk about?
| A．Being near water is great in summer for kids. |
| B．It is great for kids to spend holidays with their family. |
| C．when you should prepare for summer holidays. |
| D．Where you can find water on summer holidays. |
From the passage we can know that_________.
| A．People with “bathing clothes” could swim easily |
| B．The earlier swimsuits were very comfortable to wear |
| C．There are other ways to enjoy summer holidays |
| D．It is easy for a family to arrange summer holidays |
What is summertime like according to the passage?
| A．It is busy | B．It is interesting |
| C．It is simple | D．It is hard |
If the crust （外壳） of the earth were not pretty solid （坚固的），it would be shaking about and moving up and down frequently. However，there are places in the rocks of the earth’s crust where it isn’t strongly held together—where faults exist. Along the faults，one rock might push against another with great force. The energy is changed to vibration in the rocks，so they begin to shake and we have an earthquake!
The most famous one in North America was the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Seven hundred people died and property（财产）damage amounted to about ＄425，000，000.The greatest destruction came from the fires that followed the quake.
One of the most famous earthquakes in Europe took place in Lisbon，Portugal，in 1755.The city was destroyed and at least thirty thousand people were killed. In 1908，in Calabria and Sicily，a quake killed about seventy-five thousand people. In 1915，in central Italy，hundreds of towns and villages were damaged and thirty thousand people were killed.
Two great earthquakes that caused great damage in Asia took place in Tokyo，Japan，and in Gansu Province in China. The Tokyo quake of 1923 killed more than one hundred thousand people and destroyed the city and the city of Yokohama，too. The Chinese quake in 1920 covered more than three hundred square miles and killed about two hundred thousand people.The first paragraph mainly tells us.
| A．where earthquakes happen |
| B．how earthquakes happen |
| C．the damage caused by earthquakes |
| D．famous earthquakes in the world |
Which of the following is the correct order of the years when the earthquakes happened?
①the San Francisco earthquake
②the earthquake in Lisbon，Portugal
③the earthquake in Calabria and Sicily
④the earthquake in central Italy
⑤the earthquake in Gansu Province
⑥the Tokyo quake
| A．③④⑤⑥②① | B．⑤⑥②①③④ |
| C．②①③④⑤⑥ | D．①③④②⑤⑥ |
According to the passage，the earthquake that killed the most people happened in.
| A．Portugal | B．Italy | C．Japan | D．China |
Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the books he was carrying，along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove and a small tape recorder. Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered（零散的） articles.
Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry part of the burden. As they walked Mark discovered the boy’s name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball and history, and that he was having lots of trouble with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.
They arrived at Bill's home first and Mark was invited in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed pleasantly with a few laughs and some shared small talks, then Mark went home. They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated from junior high school. They ended up in the same high school where they had brief contacts over the years. Finally the long awaited senior year came and three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.
Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first met. “Do you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill. “You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn’t want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mother’s sleeping pills and I was going home to commit suicide(自杀). But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I had killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life.”How did Bill and Mark get to know each other?
| A．They were attending the same junior high school. |
| B．They were living in the same neighborhood. |
| C．Mark was once invited to Bill’s home to play video games together. |
| D．Mark once lent Bill a hand when he dropped all things the was carrying. |
The underlined word “tripped” in Paragraph One probably means.
| A．stopped | B．scattered |
| C．trapped himself | D．caught his foot on something |
According to the passage, we learn that ________
| A．Bill would have gone to another school if Mark hadn’t met him that day. |
| B．Mark would have been informed of Bill’s death shortly after |
| C．Bill would have killed himself |
| D．Bill’s mother would find out his secret |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The boy took so many books with him because he was about to graduate soon. |
| B．In fact Mark knew from the beginning that he had saved his friend’s life. |
| C．Bill actually wanted to have a good sleep because he was too tired. |
| D．After they entered Bill’s house they had a drink together. |
On March 19, 2013, Malala Yousafzai, a 15-year-old Pakistani student and women’s-education activist(积极分子)， returned to the classroom for the first time since being attacked by a member of the Taliban on October 9, 2012. Malala was shot on her way home from school in Mingora, Pakistan. The Taliban(塔利班) said that they did the attack. The group said the attack should be a warning to others. Malala was targeted(作为目标) because she expresses her opinion publicly about girls’ rights to education.
After a long period of recovery, Malala is starting as a ninth-year student at Edgbaston High School. It is the oldest independent girl’s school in Birmingham, England. Though she has no specific plans to return to Pakistan, Malala still speaks out as a voice for change in her country, and everywhere. “I’m excited that today I have realized my dream of going back to school. I want all girls in the world to have this kind of chance,” Malala said in a statement .
Malala has been an Internet blogger since she was 11 years old. In 2011 she was awarded Pakistan’s National Peace Award for her bravery in writing about the difficulties of life and education in the shadow of the Taliban. She has spoken publicly about children’s rights and been nominated(提名) for an international children’s peace prize.Why did the Taliban attack Malala?
| A．She is a Pakistani student. |
| B．She was targeted without being planned. |
| C．She didn’t want to be a member of the Taliban. |
| D．She spoke publicly about girls’ rights to education. |
How long did it take Malala to recover from the attack?
| A．Four years. | B．About one year. |
| C．Over five months. | D．About four months. |
We can learn from the passage that Malala______.
| A．is now attending school in Pakistan |
| B．is still under the shadow of the attack |
| C．has made a careful plan for her future |
| D．cares about the situation in her home country |