When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to live near a copper smelter（炼铜厂），and the chemicals that poured out had made a wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest．One day a young visitor looked at this wasteland and called it an awful area．Paul knocked him down．From then on, something happened inside him.
Years later Paul was back in the area, and he went to the smelter office．He asked if they had any plans or if they would let him try to bring the trees back．The answer from that big industry was “No”.
Paul then went to college to study the science of plants．Unfortunately, his teachers said there weren’t any birds or squirrels to spread the seeds．It would be a waste of his life to try to do it．Everyone knew that, he was told．Even if he was knowledgeable as he had expected, he wouldn’t get his idea accepted．
Paul later got married and had some kids．But his dream would not die．And then one night he did what he could with what he had．As Samuel Johnson wrote, “It is common to overlook what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote．Attainable good is often ignored by minds busied in wide ranges.” Under the cover of darkness, he went secretly into the wasteland and started planting.
And every week, he made his secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and grass．For fifteen years he did this against the plain common sense．Slowly rabbits appeared．Later, as there was legal pressure to clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul to do what he was already doing.
Now the place is fourteen thousand acres of trees and grass and bushes, and Paul has received almost every environmental award Utah has．It took him until his hair turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow he made to himself as a child.When Paul was a boy，______________.
| A．he had decided never to leave his hometown |
| B．the economy of Utah depended wholly on the copper smelter |
| C．no laws were made to protect the environment against pollution |
| D．he had determined to stop the copper smelter polluting the area |
Why did Paul go to college to study the science of plants？
| A．Because he wanted to find out the best way to save the area himself. |
| B．Because he was interested in planting trees since he was young. |
| C．Because he wanted to get more knowledgeable people to help him. |
| D．Because he thought his knowledge would make his advice more persuasive. |
What does the underlined phrase “the plain common sense” probably refer to?
| A．That it was impossible for trees to grow on the wasteland. |
| B．That his normal work and life would be greatly affected. |
| C．That no one would like to join him in the efforts. |
| D．That he had to keep everything he did secret. |
The company hired Paul to plant trees and grass because___________.
| A．they realized the importance of environmental protection |
| B．What Paul was doing moved them |
| C．Paul persuaded them to help him |
| D．they had legal pressure |
The message of the passage is that _____________.
| A．action speaks louder than words |
| B．perseverance（持之以恒）will work wonders |
| C．God helps those who help themselves |
| D．many hands make light work |
Following some of the tips for green living helps save our planet. All of these involve just a few changes to our daily habits.
Just walk and limit the use of your car. One of the poster images of pollution is our vehicles. It burns fuel. It is not as efficient as we hope it could be, and we use it every single day. To lessen the effects of the air pollution caused by our vehicles, we should limit their use. If we can walk to our destination then just let us go. Not only do we lessen our carbon dioxide emissions, but we also get a good exercise out of it.
Use a laptop instead of a computer desktop. Laptops are more energy efficient compared to their bigger counterparts. A laptop is generally 50 percent more efficient in using electricity. Aside from that there are other benefits of a laptop. It is portable so you can work anywhere you like and that you get powerful features without the large size of desktop units.
Turn off the faucet while you are brushing your teeth. It is always a better idea to use a glass when we are brushing our teeth and not to just let the faucet keep on running. Therefore，there is less water to waste while we are cleaning our pearly whites. Simply turn off the faucet when you are not using it.
Make good use of natural light. We have a great and natural lamp --- the sun, and we should learn how to take full advantage of it during daytime. So instead of turning on our lights or lamps even if it is still not evening, we should pull up the drapes and let the natural light come in from the windows.
These are just some of the best tips for green living, but of course there are still many of these tips if you just search for them. But you can do your own variation any time just always prioritize how you can use less energy and produce even lesser trash and pollution.What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．How to Save Our Planet |
| B．How to Change Our Daily Habits |
| C．Tips for Green Living Today |
| D．Green Living and Serious Pollution |
Compared with a computer desktop, a laptop is__________.
| A．less energy efficient | B．faster at work |
| C．easy to repair | D．easy to carry |
How many tips does the passage mention for green living today?
| A．Three | B．Four |
| C．Five | D．Six |
The underlined word “prioritize” in the last paragraph can be replaced by the word_________.
| A．decrease | B．consider |
| C．imagine | D．guess |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．A few changes to daily habits can help a lot. |
| B．While washing teeth we should turn off the faucet. |
| C．Vehicles bring pollution and we should try to avoid. |
| D．In the daytime we should not pull up the drapes. |
Susan was born as the ninth child in a Catholic family. She suffered from learning disabilities ever since her birth because of her mother’s poor health.
School was difficult for Susan and she was bullied because of her different behaviors. Her siblings, who were much older, had life experiences that were unknown to their little sister. From the time of her birth, Susan was a screamer. The only really safe place that she would use as a repeat was her bedroom. There she would hang posters of her musical idols on the wall and sing popular music into a hairbrush that she pretended was a microphone.
One by one the siblings moved away from home and then Susan’s father died. This left her alone with an aging mother and a cat. The siblings accused her mother of not expecting more out of Susan. She had seen many professionals and remembered hearing the word “borderline” but didn’t know what it meant. She tried volunteer work. Her best state of mind, however, was found when she was singing and so she would regularly join others in karaoke or pubs where she could show her skills and receive appreciation from the crowd.
When Susan announced at Christmas that she was planning to compete in the Britain’s Got Talent contest, her siblings tried to discourage her. It was a wonder that she was even able to do the audition considering the troubles she faced just physically getting to the right place.
“The Woman I Was Born to Be” is a beautiful story written in the simple but humorous voice of the author, Susan Boyle. She tells her story from birth to the present in an interesting and educational manner. The writing is supplemented by photos from her albums.
I love this book! In fact, I read the whole thing in one day!
There is something in the stories that not only teaches the reader but also inspires us to reach for our dreams — no matter how impossible they may seem to be!This passage should be ___________.
| A．a news report | B．a biography |
| C．a book review | D．an introduction |
When Susan was young, ____________.
| A．her mother died of an illness |
| B．her siblings liked her very much |
| C．she was fond of music |
| D．she was envied at school |
According to the passage, which was NOT true?
| A．Susan’s mother expected too much out of her. |
| B．Susan tried doing a lot of volunteer work. |
| C．Susan’s siblings tried to stop her from competing in the Britain’s Got Talent contest. |
| D．Susan’s performances were well received by the customers in pubs. |
The book “The Woman I Was Born to Be” ______________.
| A．is always a best-seller | B．is written in a serious voice |
| C．is full of sad stories | D．contains some photos of Susan |
What does the author think of Susan Boyle？
| A．Pitiful and selfless. | B．Shy and passive. |
| C．Great and generous. | D．Determined and inspiring. |
Scientists in UK have grown a living human "brain". The team at Aston University created tiny bunch of cells which act like a mini nervous system.
They believe it could help find a cure for worse mental conditions like Parkinson’s disease. Professor Michael Coleman is leading the research program. He explained, "We are aiming to be able to study the human brain at the most basic level, using an actual living human cell system. Cells have to be alive and operating efficiently to enable us to really understand how the brain works. "The experiment involves changing cells from a cancer tumour (肿瘤）and making them behave like brain cells.
Although far from finished, researchers hope the false brain cells will give them a greater understanding of how real brains work. This, in turn, could significantly further research into conditions which affect the brain. Neil Hunt, chief leader of the research group, said, "It is still very early days, but in the future the research could lead to a useful tool for looking into dementia (痴呆)."
The technique could also provide a way to carry on animal test and is being supported by the Humane Research Trust (HRT). The scientists predict that over the next ten years a million people will develop dementia. Professor Coleman believes their findings could change this. He said，"We hope our research will provide scientists with a new and highly relational human experimental model to help them understand the brain better and develop new drugs to control the related disease. However, the biggest challenge at present is that we are greatly short of fund, which will slow our research."UK scientists grow a living human "brain" in order to ______.
| A．study the structure of human brain |
| B．make use of living human cell system |
| C．discover how human brain really works |
| D．separate cells from a cancer tumour |
According to Neil Hunt, research into brain cells ______.
| A．will get finished as early as possible |
| B．will make people discover dementia |
| C．will affect the brain growth in many ways |
| D．will help to treat some diseases in nerve system |
From the last paragraph，we can know that ______
| A．the technique provided by HRT is immature |
| B．animal tests are no longer allowed by law |
| C．a million people suffer from brain diseases |
| D．the research program lacks financial support |
The text is intended to ______.
| A．tell us about a breakthrough in medical research |
| B．introduce a research program in human's brain |
| C．introduce the progress of drugs for dementia |
| D．tell us about health problem in nerve system |
No one gets through life without experiencing many disappointments. Strangely, though, most people seem unprepared for disappointment and react to it in negative ways. They feel depressed or try to escape from their troubles instead of using disappointment as an opportunity for growth.
One negative reaction to disappointment is depression. A woman trying to win a promotion, for example, works hard for over a year in her department. Helen is so sure she will get the promotion. However, the boss names one of Helen’s co-workers for the spot. Deeply depressed, Helen loses her enthusiasm for her job and can barely force herself to show up every day. Helen tells herself that she is a failure and that doing a good job just isn’t worth the work.
Another negative reaction to disappointment is the desire to escape. Kevin fails to get into the college his brother is attending, the college that was the focus of all his dreams, and decides to escape his disappointment. Why worry about college at all? Instead, he covers up his real feelings by giving up on his school-work and getting completely involved with friends, parties, and “good times”.
The positive way to react to disappointment is to use it as a chance for growth. This isn’t easy, but it's the only useful way to deal with an inevitable part of life. Helen, the woman who was not promoted, could have handled her disappointment by looking at otheroptions. If her boss did not recognize her talent and hard work, perhaps she could transfer to another department. Or she could ask the boss how to improve her performance so that she could prepare for the next promotion. Kevin, the boy who didn't get into the college of his choice, should look into other schools. Going to another college may encourage him to be his own person, step out of his brother's shadow, and realize that being turned down by one college isn't a final judgment on his abilities or potential.
Disappointments are unwelcome, but regular visitors to everyone’s life. We can feel depressed about them or we can try to escape from them. The best thing, though, is to accept a disappointment and then try to use it somehow: Step over the unwelcome visitor on the doorstep and get on with life.In this passage, the author _____.
| A．analyzes the cause of disappointment |
| B．describes his personal experience in dealing with disappointment |
| C．criticizes Helen and Kevin's negative responses to disappointment |
| D．offers specific examples of the ways people deal with disappointment |
From the context, the word “option” (Para.4) means _____.
| A．way | B．choice |
| C．place | D．job |
In the author's opinion, Helen should ______ instead of feeling depressed.
| A．work even harder to get better than her promoted co-worker |
| B．stand the pressure and competition |
| C．win a good opinion from the boss by seeking his advice |
| D．move into another department to have her talent and hard work appreciated |
Which of the following best expresses the main ides of this selection?
| A．Disappointment is an inevitable part of life and we have to handle it in a positive way. |
| B．Life is made up of a series of disappointments. We have to accept them. |
| C．There are two kinds of reactions to disappointment. |
| D．Most people react to disappointment in negative ways. |
China’s new term, tuhao, may be in next year’s Oxford English Dictionary. The word caught the attention of the dictionary's editing team after BBC’s recent program on influential Chinese words. “If its influence continues, it is very likely to appear on our updated list of words,” said Julie Kleeman, project manager with the editing team.
In Chinese tu means uncouth (笨拙的) and hao means rich. It has traditionally been referred to rich people who throw their weight around in China’s countryside. The word became more popular in September with the launch of Apple’s new gold-colored iPhone, which is loved by China’s rich people. The color became known as “tuhao gold.” The word is now also used by the online community to refer to people who have the cash but lack the class to go with it. Kleeman also mentioned two other Chinese words — dama and hukou — which may also make it into the dictionary.
People can have an intuitive (直观的) grasp of the meanings if they see pinyin, Kleeman said, adding that people avoid using an English word to keep the original meaning.
“We have nearly 120 Chinese-linked words now in Oxford English Dictionary,” she said. Some of them are: Guanxi, which means “connection”; Taikonaut, a mix of taikong, meaning outer space, and astronaut.
The new words will be first uploaded on the official website before the dictionaries arrive. The online version is also renewed every three months. “It at least broke our old rules. It used to take 10 years to include a new word but now we keep the pace with the time,” according to a statement from ex-chief-editor John Simpson.Which of the following statements is true according to the text?
| A．Dama and hukou have made it into Oxford English dictionary. |
| B．Some influential Chinese words appeared on one of BBC’s recent programs. |
| C．tuhao refers to people who have both the cash and the class. |
| D．John Simpson thinks that it is not good to break old rules. |
What does the underlined part in paragraph 2 mean?
| A．Give orders to others. | B．Get ready to help others. |
| C．Go on a diet. | D．Put on weight. |
Tuhao becomes more popular in September partly because ______.
| A．it is very likely to appear in Oxford English Dictionary |
| B．it is often used by the online community |
| C．people use Chinese pinyin to keep the original meaning |
| D．Apple launched a new gold-colored iPhone |
The main idea of the text is that ______.
| A．tuhao may end up in Oxford English Dictionary |
| B．sometimes pinyin makes Chinese words better understood |
| C．tuhao has a new meaning at the present time |
| D．Oxford English Dictionary Includes new words faster than before |