Unbelievable view appealed to me by accident．Just then, I checked once again: the somewhat tiny wood was having a leaf．Could I trust my own eyes? Had the hot sun annoyed me? After all, it as summer in Costa Rica, a country in Central America.
I left off, wiping sweat from my eyes．Then I moved the wood with my finger．It stopped．It looked up at me with big triangular eyes．Surprise! It was a mantid, a kind of insect, instead of a piece of wood．
The mantid was hanging upside down on a branch．Its wings made it look like a piece of tree bark．Then I noticed something else．The leaf wasn’t a leaf at all．The hungry mantid was really eating another insect—a katydid．By now, all that was left of the katydid was a pair of wings．A few moments later, the wings dropped to the ground．The mantid folded its long legs．It sat still．Now it looked even more like a piece of wood than when I had first seen it．
I thought about how I had been fooled by these clever animals．Then I thought about how the two insects go about trying to trick each other．Both mantids and katydids are masters of make-up．Katydids are particularly good at it．Many look like something they are not．Katydids often look like plants．Many seem to be leaves．Others look like leaves of grass．All day, the bugs try to stay perfectly still．Because their bodies look like plants, most animals interested in killing them don’t bother them while katydids eat plants．What is the main topic of the text?
| A．An experience of watching insects． |
| B．The fake image of mantids and katydids． |
| C．The fight between mantids and katydids． |
| D．The living habits of mantids and katydids． |
What caused the author amazed at first?
| A．The hot sun in summer．’ |
| B．The quick moving of the wood． |
| C．The sight of wood eating a leaf． |
| D．The fight for food between mantids and katydids- |
When the mantid was hanging upside down on a branch, it was ____．
| A．waiting for its other food | B．enjoying its food- katydid |
| C．eating a leaf from the branch | D．having a break under the tree |
Based on the passage, it can be inferred that the mantid ____．
| A．is a kind of meat-eafer | B．is easy to be found by a katydid |
| C．looks more like a green leaf | D．mainly lives on the green leaves |
You’re finishing up your history homework when your cell phone rings. You’ve got 30 minutes to reach head-quarters, get your equipment packed and receive your task. There’s a lost hiker in the mountains near the edge of town. Your task: find the missing person; provide emergency medical treatment, if necessary; and be prepared to operate 48 hours on your own with only the supplies you carry.
Sounds like some kind of film’s plot? Not if you’re a member of the Arapahoe teen rescue patrol in the suburbs of Denver. About 25 teen guys and girls are active members of this search, rescue and emergency organization, and they know firsthand that you don’t have to be an adult to save lives.
These 9th-through-12th graders are the real deal when it comes to emergency services. In fact, they’re the only teen-commanded patrol in the nation. Sure they have adult advisers to turn to if necessary, but in the field it’s a teen patrol officer calling the shots — sometimes even giving direction to adults.
Members are trained in rock-high-angle，swift-water and avalanche rescue (雪崩施行营救), winter and alpine operation , wilderness life support and emergency care, among other skills. They also regularly ride along with the local fire and police departments, providing support such as security details and evidence searching.
When asked what qualities make a good patrol member, founder and president Stan Bush named good physical conditioning and an interest in helping people. “We put in lots and lots of hours helping people in trouble,” he says. “So if a person is not really interested in doing that kind of thing, he won’t last as a member.”In the first paragraph, the author describes ______.
| A．a plot in some kind of film | B．a teen patrol member’s life |
| C．an emergency rescue | D．a lost hiker in trouble |
Which of the following is NOT true about the Arapahoe teen rescue patrol?
| A．They are trained to have many special skills. |
| B．They also work with local firemen and policemen. |
| C．They turn to adults for help sometimes. |
| D．They think they can save lives only when growing up. |
If you want to become a good rescue patrol member, you must ______.
| A．be strong and interested in offering help |
| B．be a 9th-through-12th grader |
| C．finish your history homework first |
| D．spend many hours helping people first |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．What qualities make a good patrol member? |
| B．The Arapahoe teen rescue patrol |
| C．How to become a rescue patrol member |
| D．Skills a rescue patrol member needs |
Isn’t it cool to surf (冲浪) in summer? You catch a wave and enjoy the ride. Surfing is not only our favorite sport, though. A group of penguins (企鹅) enjoy the sport as much as we do. And they show their excitement and skills in the new animated film —Surf`s Up, which came out on June 6, in the US.
Cody loves the sport. Cody’s idol (偶像) is Big Z, a great penguin surfing king. Cody doesn’t like his brother and his mother who are not supportive. He really wants to get away. Cody believes that winning a surfing competition will bring him admiration and respect. When Mikey Abromowitz, a talent scout (侦察员), comes to Antarctica to look for talented penguins for a surfing competition, Cody’s really excited, but during his show there are no waves and he doesn’t make it. But he knows he can’t give up. He runs after Mikey’s whale and begs until Mikey agrees to take him.
There Cody meets Lani, the island’s beautiful lifeguard, as well as his main rival (对手), the surfing champion Evans. The cocky Evans shows no respect for Big Z, which makes Cody angry. For this, he challenges Evans to a surfing match, only to suffer a terrible defeat.
Lani takes Cody to the island doctor. As they spend time together, Cody realizes that this doctor is really Big Z himself. When he learns this, Cody begs him to train him and make him a better surfer.
Cody begins to find his own way. Cody improves his skills with the help of Big Z and discovers that a true winner isn’t always the one who comes in first.The passage mainly tells us ______.
| A．that winning can bring you good luck and respect |
| B．how a penguin can be a good surfer |
| C．about a new animated film —Surf`s Up |
| D．about the life of a teenage penguin called Cody |
Which of the following statements about Big Z is NOT true?
| A．He is a great penguin surfing king. |
| B．He doesn’t help Cody with surfing although Cody begs him. |
| C．He works as a doctor after he leaves surfing. |
| D．He is loved by the teenage penguin Cody. |
The underlined part “doesn’t make it” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_______”.
| A．feels very sad | B．can’t breathe freely |
| C．is not successful | D．can’t continue surfing |
Which of the following statements about Cody is NOT true?
| A．He likes surfing and lives in Antarctica. |
| B．He thinks winning will win him the respect of others at first. |
| C．He gets along well with his brother and his mother. |
| D．He is defeated by Evans in a surfing match. |
It’s 8:30, time for John to start work. So he turns on his radio. Then he eats breakfast. As he eats, he reads his e-mail and reviews his to-do list. Then he sits on the sofa and thinks about an article he needs to write ... Wait a minute! Radio? Breakfast? Sofa? What kind of workplace is this? Well, actually it is John’s house, and he is a telecommuter — he works at home, communicating with the workplace through the Internet.
Like John, millions of people — and their employers — are finding that telecommuting is a great way to work. Telecommuters can follow their own timetables. They work in the comfort of homes, where they can also look after young children or elderly parents. They save time and money by not traveling to work. Their employers save, too, because they need less office space and furniture. Studies show that telecommuters change jobs less often. This saves employers even more money. Telecommuting helps society, too, by reducing pollution and traffic problems.
Jobs that are suited to telecommuting include writing, design work, computer programming and accounting. If a job is related to working with information, a telecommuter can probably do it.From the passage we can learn that John does his job.
| A．by telephone | B．through the Internet |
| C．in his office | D．away from home |
One of the advantages of telecommuting is that you can.
| A．work for several employers | B．enjoy a lot of traveling |
| C．get along well with other workers | D．work on your own schedule |
Telecommuters change jobs less often, so.
| A．their employers can save money |
| B．their employers will give them a higher pay |
| C．they can get more work experience |
| D．they will have a longer paid holiday |
The underlined phrase “suited to” in the third paragraph probably means “”.
| A．acceptable for | B．bad for |
| C．difficult for | D．fit for |
Say you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.
Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, this story is about the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive (令人赞叹的) as the building itself.
First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Mad in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial (纪念物) to celebrate their love.
The heartbroken Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out, and more than 20,000 workers worked nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains under the center of the building.
Later, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Jehan lived the rest of his days, eight years, imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it until he was buried next to his wife.
Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange and sad story, people who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired its construction.The first two paragraphs were written mainly to show that ______.
| A．the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building |
| B．India has some of the most famous buildings in the world |
| C．ancient Indian emperors were cruel |
| D．construction workers led a hard life in ancient India |
The Taj Mahal was first built as ______.
| A．a memorial building | B．a tourist attraction |
| C．a prison | D．a gift to Mumtaz |
From the passage we can learn that Mumtaz probably died in ______.
| A．1626 | B．1653 | C．1632 | D．1634 |
The underlined word “happiness” in the last paragraph refers to “______”.
| A．the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal |
| B．the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal |
| C．the married happiness of the emperor and his wife |
| D．the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power |
Scholars and researchers have tried to discover what personality characteristics go along with success in different cultural experiences. Their findings have often been unclear or incomplete. But three typical characteristics stand out in their reports: patience, a sense of humor, and the awareness of being unclear.
Patience, of course, is the ability to keep calm when things do not go as one wants them to, or as one hopes they would, or even as one was sure they would. Impatience sometimes brings improvements in relations with other people, but usually it does not.
A person with a sense of humor is less likely to take things too seriously and more ready to see the humor in his own reaction than a humorless person. The value of a sense of humor really needs to be paid more attention to.
“The awareness of being unclear” is a more difficult concept to understand than patience and a sense of humor. Foreigners often find themselves in situations that are unclear as they are newcomers. That is, they do not know what is happening in a certain situation. Perhaps they do not understand the local language well enough, or they do not know how some system or organization works, or they can’t be sure of different people’s roles in what is going on. “It’s like that I just got here from the moon,” a Chinese graduate student who newly arrived in the United States said. “Things are just so different here.”The passage mainly tells us ______.
| A．about some uneasy traveling experiences in foreign countries |
| B．about the three main ways to communicate with foreigners |
| C．about some typical characteristics in different cultural experiences |
| D．how to show your characters to foreigners |
According to the passage, which characteristic should be focused on most?
| A．The ability to keep cool. | B．The sense of humor. |
| C．Patience. | D．The awareness of being unclear. |
“The awareness of being unclear” refers to “______” .
| A．not knowing what is happening in a situation |
| B．not understanding the local language well enough |
| C．being aware that the situation is unclear |
| D．not knowing how some system or organization works |
By what the Chinese graduate student said, we can learn that ______.
| A．he is not used to the culture of America |
| B．he went to the United States to study the moon |
| C．he is a person with a sense of humor |
| D．he has just returned from the moon |