The holiday is upon us. Finally, after months of study, you have some time to yourself. So, why not read a book? Well, some people will say, "Why bother with books? We have the Internet and other media that offer a lot of more colorful entertainment. Books are history!" But don't be fooled. I'm sure there's still a lot to be said for reading.
One clear reason is that a well-chosen book is a wonderful source of vocabulary, so long as you have a good dictionary, of course. Believe me, it's far easier to get new English words and phrases from a book or an article than it is from the TV or the Internet.
But another more important point is that books give you something that modern media simply can not. The average webpage is picture-heavy and the text is often designed to make it as 
easy to read as possible. While "easy" may be attractive, unfortunately it's of little use for any long-term development of reading skills and the general language level. Because of that, there's still no substitute (替代品) of a book.
But perhaps the best single reason is that simply choosing what you read and doing it independently means that it's something you do by and for yourself. You can choose what you want to read. It's hard work, but somewhere down the line, you'll find that what once seemed like a duty is n
ow a pleasure.How many reasons for reading a book does the author mention in the passage?
| A．Three | B．Two | C．One | D．Four |
According to the passage, we basically need a ________ in reading.
| A．television | B．pencil | C．notebook | D．dictionary |
In the author's opinion, reading on the Internet may_________.
| A．develop long-term reading skills |
B．improve the general language ability |
| C．not take the place of reading books | D．be an effective way of reading |
The passage is written mainly to _________.
| A．share the pleasure of reading books | B．advise readers to read books |
| C．stress the importance of reading online | D．help readers to choose good books |
Low-Cost Gifts for Mother's Day
Gift No. I
Offer to be your mother's health friend. Promise to be there for any and all doctor's visits
whether a disease or a regular medical check-up. Most mothers always say "no need," another set of eyes and ears is always a good idea at a doctor's visit. The best part ? This one is free.
Gift No. 2
Help your mother organize all of her medical records, which include the test results and medical information. Put them all in one place. Be sure to make a list of all of her medicines and what times she takes them. "Having all this information in one place could end up saving your mother's life," Dr. Marie Savard said.
Gift No. 3
Enough sleep is connected to general health conditions. "Buy your mother cotton sheets and comfortable pillows to encourage better sleep," Savard said. "We know that good sleep is very important to our health."
Gift No. 4
Some gift companies such as Presents for Purpose allow you to pay it forward this Mother's Day by picking gifts in which 10 percent of the price you pay goes to a charity (慈善机构) Gift givers can choose from a wide variety of useful but inexpensive things -many of which are "green" - and then choose a meaningful charity from a list. When your mother gets the gift, she will be told that she has helped the chosen charity.What are you advised to do for your mother at doctor's visits?
| A．Take notes. |
| B．Be with her. |
| C．Buy medicine. |
| D．Give her gifts. |
Where can you find a gift idea to improve your mother’s sleep?
| A．In Gift No. 1. | B．In Gift No. 2. |
| C．In Gift No. 3. | D．In Gift No. 4. |
Buying gifts from Presents for Purpose allows mothers to
| A．enjoy good sleep | B．be well-organized |
| C．bet extra support | D．give others help |
Jimmy is an automotive mechanic, but he lost his job a few months ago. He has good heart, but always feared applying for a new job.
One day, he gathered up all his strength and decided to attend a job interview. His appointment was at 10 am and it was already 8:30. While waiting for a bus to the office where he was supposed to be interviewed, he saw an elderly man wildly kicking the tyre(轮胎） of his car. Obviously there was something wrong with the car. Jimmy immediately went up to lend him a hand. When Jimmy finished working on the car, the old man asked him how much he should pay for the service. Jimmy said there was no need to pay him; he just helped someone in need, and he had to rush for an interview. Then the old man said, “Well, I could take you to the office for your interview. It’s the least I could do. Please. I insist.” Jimmy agreed.
Upon arrival, Jimmy found a long line of applications waiting to be interviewed. Jimmy still had some grease on him after the car repair, but he did not have much time to wash it off or have a change of shirt. One by one, the applicants left the interviewer’s office with disappointed look on their faces. Finally his name was called. The interviewer was sitting on a large chair facing the office window. Rocking the chair back and forth, he asked, “Do you really need to be interviewed?” Jimmy’s heart sank. “With the way I look now, how could I possibly pass this interview?” he thought to himself.
Then the interviewer turned the chair and to Jimmy’s surprise, it was the old man he helped earlier in the morning. It turned out he was the General Manager of the company.
“Sorry I had to keep you waiting, but I was pretty sure I made the right decision to have you as part of our workforce before you even stepped into the office. I just know you’d be a trustworthy worker. Congratulations!” Jimmy sat down and they shared a cup of well-deserved coffee as he landed himself a new job.Why did Jimmy apply for a new job?
| A．He was out of work |
| B．He was bored with his job |
| C．He wanted a higher position |
| D．He hoped to find a better boss |
What did Jimmy see on the way to the interview?
| A．A friend’s car had a flat tyre |
| B．a wild man was pushing a car |
| C．a terrible accident happened |
| D．an old man’s car broke down |
Why did the old man offer Jimmy a ride?
| A．He was also to be interviewed |
| B．He needed a traveling companion |
| C．He always helped people in need |
| D．He was thankful to Jimmy |
How did Jimmy feel on hearing the interviewer’s question?
| A．He was sorry for the other applicants |
| B．There was no hope for him to get the job |
| C．He regretted helping the old man |
| D．The interviewer was very rude |
What can we learn from Jimmy’s experience？
| A．Where there is a will, there’s a way |
| B．A friend in need is a friend indeed |
| C．Good is rewarded with good. |
| D．Two heads are better than one |
Most people agree that honesty is a good thing. But does Mother Nature agree? Animals can't talk, but can they lie in other ways? Can they lie with their bodies and behavior? Animal experts may not call it lying, but they do agree that many animals, from birds to chimpanzees, behave dishonestly to fool other animals. Why? Dishonesty often helps them survive.
Many kinds of birds are very successful at fooling other animals. For example, a bird called the plover sometimes pretends to be hurt in order to protect its young. When a predator（猎食动物）gets close to its nest, the plover leads the predator away from the nest. How? It pretends to have a broken wing. The predator follows the "hurt" adult, leaving the baby birds safe in the nest.
Another kind of bird, the scrub jay, buries its food so it always has something to eat. Scrub jays are also thieves. They watch where others bury their food and steal it. But clever scrub jays seem to know when a thief is watching them. So they go back later, unbury the food, and bury it again somewhere else.
Birds called cuckoos have found a way to have babies without doing much work. How? They don't make nests（鸟巢）. Instead, they get into other birds' nests secretly. Then they lay their eggs and fly away. When the baby birds come out, their adoptive parents feed them.
Chimpanzees, or chimps, can also be sneaky. After a fight, the losing chimp will give its hand to the other. When the winning chimp puts out its hand, too, the chimps are friendly again. But an animal expert once saw a losing chimp take the winner's hand and start fighting again.
Chimps are sneaky in other ways, too. When chimps find food that they love, such as bananas, it is natural for them to cry out. Then other chimps come running. But some clever chimps learn to cry very softly when they find food. That way, other chimps don't hear them, and they don't need to share their food.
As children, many of us learn the saying "You can't fool Mother Nature." But maybe you can't trust her, either.
A plover protects its young from a predator by______.
| A．getting closer to its young |
| B．driving away the adult predator |
| C．leaving its young in another nest |
| D．pretending to be injured |
By "Chimpanzees, or chimps, can also be sneaky" (paragraph 5), the author means______.
| A．chimps are ready to attack others |
| B．chimps are sometimes dishonest |
| C．chimps are jealous of the winners |
| D．chimps can be selfish too |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Some chimps lower their cry to keep food away from others. |
| B．The losing chimp won the fight by taking the winner's hand. |
| C．Cuckoos fool their adoptive parents by making no nests. |
| D．Some clever scrub jays often steal their food back. |
Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
| A．Do animals lie? |
| B．Does Mother Nature fool animals? |
| C．How do animals learn to lie? |
| D．How does honesty help animals survive? |
The Cambridge Science Festival Curiosity Challenge
Dare to Take the Curiosity Challenge!
The Cambridge Science Festival (CSF) is pleased to inform you of the sixth annual Curiosity Challenge. The challenge invites , even dares school students between the ages of 5 and 14 to create artwork or a piece of writing that shows their curiosity how it inspires them to explore their world.
Students are being dared to draw a picture, write an article, take a photo or write a poem that shows what they are curious about. To enter the challenge, all artwork or pieces of writing should be sent to the Cambridge Science Festival, MIT Museum, 265 Mass Avenue,
Students who enter the Curiosity Challenge and are selected as winners will be honor at a special ceremony during the CSF on Sunday, April 21st. Guest speakers will also present prizes to the students. Winning entries will be published in a book. Student entries will exhibited and prizes will be given. Families of those who take part will be included in celebration and brunch will be served.
Between March 10th and March 15h, each winner will be given the specifics of the closing ceremony and the Curiosity Challenge celebration. The program guidelines and other related information are available at :http:// cambridgesciencefestival.org.Who can take part in the Curiosity Challenge?
| A．Cambridge locals. | B．School students. |
| C．CSF winners. | D．MIT artists. |
When will the prize-giving ceremony be held?
| A．On February 8th. | B．On March 10th. |
| C．On March 15th | D．On April 21st. |
What type of writing is this text?
| A．An exhibition guide. | B．An art show review. |
| C．An announcement. | D．An official report. |
Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense too. It takes the most cool-headed and good-tempered drivers to resist the temptation to take revenge (报复) on uncivilized behavior. On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards reducing the tensions of driving. A friendly nod or a wave of appreciation in response to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of goodwill and tolerance so necessary in modern traffic conditions. But such appreciation of politeness is too rare today. Many drivers nowadays don’t even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it.
However, misplaced politeness can be dangerous. Typical example are the drivers who brakes violently to allow a car to came out of a side street at some danger to following traffic; or the man who wave a child across a zebra crossing into the path of oncoming vehicles that may be unable to stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they like to.
An experienced driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if motorists learnt to move correctly into traffic streams one at a time without causing the total blockages that give rise to bad temper. Unfortunately, modern motorists can’t even learn to drive, let alone master the less obvious points of driving perfectly. Years ago the experts warned us that an explosion in car-ownership would demand a lot more give and take from all road users. It’s high time for all of us to take this message to heart. According to the passage, the role of politeness can _______.
| A．help us learn about traffic rules |
| B．reduce the pleasure of driving |
| C．make our life happier than others’ |
| D．resist the temptation to take revenge on uncivilized behavior |
By “good sense” in the first paragraph, the writer means ________.
| A．the driver’s ability to understand politeness and react reasonably |
| B．the driver’s immediate response to terrible road conditions |
| C．the driver’s skill of controlling his or her car in extreme situations |
| D．the driver’s ability of driving safely in traffic jams |
Which of the following is NOT misplaced politeness?
| A．The driver lets old ladies cross the road when they want to. |
| B．The driver responses to an act of politeness in a friendly way. |
| C．The driver suddenly stops to permit a car to come from a side street. |
| D．The driver waves a child across a zebra crossing into the path of dangerous |
oncoming vehicles.In the writer’s opinion, ___________.
| A．strict traffic regulations are badly needed |
| B．drivers should apply road politeness properly |
| C．rude drivers should be punished |
| D．drivers should avoid traffic jams |