Three wishes
A man and his wife were very poor. They kept hoping for new clothes and good food. The man enjoyed eating, and he especially liked cakes. One night an old woman came to their house and told them she would let them have three wishes. They could wish for anything they wanted.
The man had just finished eating a piece of bread for his dinner, but he was still hungry. He said, “I wish I had a big cake!”
Suddenly a cake appeared on his plate.
“You fool!” His wife cried. “You could have wished for a house full of wonderful food, but you wished for a cake. I wish that cake was on the end of your foolish nose! ”
Immediately the cake stuck to the end of his nose.
Then the man and his wife started blaming each other. “It’s your fault!” she man cried. “No, it’s your fault!” she answered. What could they do? The cake was still stuck to the husband’s nose.
“Oh!” the wife cried. “I wish none of this had ever happened!”
Immediately the cake was gone, and the man was saying, “I’m still hungry. How I wish I had some cakes! ”
But of course nothing happened.The man quarreled with his wife because ___.
| A．he always enjoyed eating |
| B．his wife hoped that he asked for a house |
| C．the cake stuck to the end of his nose according to his wife’s wish. |
| D．he didn’t want anything except cakes |
The wrong statement of the following is ___.
| A．the man made his wishes before dinner |
| B．the wife made two wishes, which worked |
| C．the wife wanted her husband to wish for more than a big cake |
| D．the man wished that the cake were not on his nose |
Why did the old woman not satisfy the man’s wish when he said he was still hungry and wanted some cakes?
| A．Because the old lady was angry with them |
| B．Because this was the fourth wish. |
| C．Because the man had made this wish before. |
| D．Because the cake had been gone. |
Nearly all the tourists who come to southeast France make a tour to Monaco(摩纳哥), too. Lying near the French-Italian border, Monaco is not part of France, but a separate principality(公国), though it is surrounded by its greatest neighbour.
Monaco became a principality in the 16th century after being owned by a family member of a certain Italian king. The French and Italians, however, soon came to “protect” it one after another, until 1861, when it became its own master again.
Facing the blue Mediterranean(地中海), Monaco is mainly made up of two cities, Monaco, where the palace of the prince(王子) stands, and Monte Carlo(蒙特卡洛), which is a wonderful place for tourists. Every year, around half a million people from all parts of the world come to Monaco, nearly 25 times as much as its population.
Believe it or not, Monaco has no soldiers or policemen of its own. Law and order is kept by French police, and French stands for it in its foreign affairs, even the money used in Monaco is franc, too.Monaco is _____________.
| A．surrounded by France |
| B．mostly visited by French tourists |
| C． another name for Monte Carlo |
| D．more related to Italy than to France |
Monaco has a population of _____________.
| A．more than 25,000 | B．over 20,000 |
| C．20,000 or so | D．no more than 20,000 |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The national income of Monaco depends mainly on France. |
| B．Monaco does not have a seat in the UN because it is too small a country. |
| C．Monaco is famous for having no soldiers or policemen of its own. |
| D．Monte Carlo City seems more important for the existence of this principality. |
The Head of Monaco is ___________.
| A．the King |
| B．a member of the royal family(王室) |
| C．the President of France |
| D．the Emperor |
Welcome to Shawnee Mountain, a great place for skiing! All people can have a wonderful time here. For more information, you can visit www.shawneemt.com or call 570-421-7231.
Two parents and their son aged 16 will pay ___for the lifts on Tuesday.
| A．$118 | B．$100 | C．$136 | D．$129 |
If a man aged 68 goes to the mountain, he should carry _____ with him.
| A．his ID card | B．his address |
| C．his phone number | D．the active duty ID |
It is known that people can go to Shawnee Mountain by lift___________.
| A．with expensive tickets at night |
| B．from 8 am to 10 pm on Sundays |
| C．from Mid December to March |
| D．just from Monday to Friday |
Which is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
| A．There are 2 holiday periods during a winter. |
| B．The prices now are not the same as last year. |
| C．People over 70 are also welcome to be there. |
| D．People can go to the mountain in the afternoon. |
Controlling the Ebola virus outbreak at the source in West Africa is the most effective way to decrease international risk of transmission, according to a research paper.
If the epidemic(时疫) persists and grows, it's likely there will be more cases(病例) of the deadly virus exported to other countries, including Canada, via air travel, said Dr. Kamran Khan, a physician and researcher at St. Michael's Hospital.
Dr. Khan, who examines global airline travel patterns to predict the spread of diseases, said that every month, three Ebola-infected travellers are likely to leave West Africa, which is experiencing a widespread outbreak of the virus -- and this number would only increase as the epidemic grows.
Dr. Khan and his co-authors said it is essential that other countries, their public health agencies and hospitals should be prepared. The risk of international spread would be further _____ if this epidemic were to take hold in other countries, especially those with weak public health systems.
"The international community must be mindful and be ready to support the early detection and control of cases." Dr. Khan said.
Dr. Khan noted that of the almost 500,000 travellers who flew on commercial flights out of Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone in 2013, more than half were headed to destinations in five countries: Ghana (17.5 per cent, Senegal (14.4 per cent), the United Kingdom (8.7 per cent, France (7.1 per cent) and Gambia (6.8 per cent). More than 60 per cent of travellers from those countries in 2014 are expected to have final destinations in low- or lower-middle income countries.
"Given that these countries have limited medical and public health resources, they may have difficulty quickly identifying and effectively responding to imported Ebola cases”, said Dr Khan.How does Dr. Khan predict the spread of diseases?
| A．By doing experiments |
| B．By examining global airline travel patterns |
| C．By setting up a model |
| D．By collecting the data of the cases |
We can fill in the blank in Paragraph 4 with _____.
| A．decreased | B．increased |
| C．avoided | D．predicted |
In low income countries, ______.
| A．it is easy to identify imported Ebola cases |
| B．people have rich medical resources |
| C．imported Ebola cases may not be effectively responded to |
| D．travelers are not allowed to go to some places |
The end of the 2014 World Cup does not mean the end of the international competition in Brazil. A major football event which is known as RoboCup will be held in the coastal city Joao Pessoa. Teams of robots from around the world will take part in it and play the game known as soccer in the United States. The robot teams are guided by teams of human beings.
Watching robots play football is similar to watching children play the game. The kicks are not good, there are a lot of falls , and people are there to guide and support the robot players. Students of the University of Pennsylvania are trying for their fourth victory at the competition. The students have won the last three RoboCup competition in the Netherlands, Mexico and Turkey.
Jian Qiaoli is one of the leaders of the University of Pennsylvania team. He says one goal he has set for his team is to make sure the robots can find the ball and know where they are on the playing field. And he wants the team to be able to better control the walking ability of the robots. They should pay more attention to the kicking ability, which is the key to winning the game.
Qin He is another leader of the robot team. She says the abilities of the robots improve every year. The robots know the difference between the colors green and red, and they can decide where to go and where the ball is on the playing field. She says the robots are self-learning and don’t need to be told what to do. If there are three robot players on the playing field at the same time, they will communicate with each other to decide different responsibility for each of them. They have very good team play right now.
As long as the radar detection(雷达探测) works well, the robots will be very competitive. So RoboCup will be an exciting technology competition. Each team develops their own software. Actually, it’s a competition of who has the best software. Some RoboCup participants hope to develop a team of robots that can play against human beings.What does the underlined word “it” in the first paragraph refer to?
| A．The 2014 World Cup | B．Joao Pessoa |
| C．RoboCup | D．A basketball game |
What can we learn about the robot players?
| A．They look like children. |
| B．They are from Joao Pessoa. |
| C．They are not very skillful. |
| D．They are against human beings. |
What is the deciding factor for the robots to win the game?
| A．The ability to find the ball. |
| B．The ability to know the position. |
| C．The ability of walking. |
| D．The ability of kicking. |
What’s the best title for the text?
| A．The technology competition—RoboCup |
| B．The international competitions in Brazil |
| C．How to develop robot players? |
| D．Can robot players play football? |
In spring, you may have seen white foam(泡沫) on a green tree or other plants. As a matter of fact, the foam is where young spittlebugs(吹沫虫) live. These insects are protected by the foam, and they usually don’t do much harm to the plants.
As we all know, in late summer, a mother spittlebug lays her eggs on the plant. The babies will hatch(孵化) in spring. After they come to the new world, they begin to eat juice from the plant. The babies eat more juice than their bodies need for food. The extra juice mixes with a special waste that the spittlebugs produce. When this fluid(液体) is released, it mixes with the air, forming bubbly foam.
What is so great about having a foam home? The space inside is so wet that it can keep the bugs’ soft bodies from drying out. And the foam tastes bad, so it keeps away most animals that would eat the bugs. Some birds will reach their heads through the foam to find the bugs. Wasps and ants might eat them, too. But most of the bugs stay safe inside the foam.
Once the bugs have grown into adults, they stop making foam. They leave their homes and jump from plant to plant in search of food. The adults look a little like tiny frogs. For this reason they are also called froghoppers.
If you see some foam on a plant, you might want to take a careful look inside. Gently push some of the foam aside with a small stick. Deep inside you may see a few insects eating plant juice. They might also be making more foam. Be sure to push the foam back after a moment to cover the insects and keep them safe. Soon the spittlebugs will grow up and leave their foam home. They will join the other insects in the grassland.The eggs of spittlebugs_____.
| A．are laid in late spring |
| B．have to pull through a winter before they hatch |
| C．are protected by mother spittlebugs all the time |
| D．will be eaten by ants |
According to the passage, the white foam_____.
| A．does much harm to the plant |
| B．protects the plant from being harmed |
| C．is where a mother spittlebug is living |
| D．is plant juice mixed with spittlebugs’ waste and the air |
Which of the following is a function of a foam home?
| A．Protecting the bugs from being eaten. |
| B．Helping the bugs find food. |
| C．Providing enough drinking water for the bugs. |
| D．Keeping the plant from drying out. |
After the spittlebugs grow into adults, they______.
| A．continue to make foam |
| B．take on a different look |
| C．begin to eat tiny frogs |
| D．begin to do harm to plants |