You are walking down the street, minding your own business when you see a snowball. No big deal, right? Except the snowball is as tall as you are. And weighs about a ton. Did we mention that it is June?
That’s the experience thousand of Londoners had when they crossed paths with “ Snowball in Summer,” Goldsworthy makes sculpture (雕塑)from all sorts of things he finds outside – leaves, earth, and rocks, as well as ice and snow. He wanted to find out how busy people would react to an unexpected snowball melting in their midst.
During the winter of 2008, he rolled 13 giant snowballs near his home in Scotland. He filled each one with a surprise in the center – such as berries, feathers, little stones or sheep’s wool – which would appear as the snow melted. The finished snowballs were stored in a deep freeze until summer, then transported to London in refrigerated trucks. At midnight on June 21, 2008, while the city slept, Goldsworthy and his helpers rolled their snowballs into place.
People walking to work or school must have thought the sky was falling when they stumbled across snowballs the size of baby elephants. Some of them had never even seen snow in real life, and they couldn’t help touching them in great surprise. As the snow started to melt, things got even more interesting. The perfectly round snowballs took on different shapes as the stuff inside began to poke through. Two days later, most of Goldsworthy’s snowballs were gone, and their fillings scattered. But Londoners were left with a really good story about that odd summer day when the snowball came. What is really special about the snowballs is that ______________________.
A.they lie in the street |
B.they are in the shape of baby elephants. |
C.they have berries, feathers, little stones and feathers in them. |
D.they appear in June. |
What was the purpose of Goldsworthy in making the snowballs?
A.To find out people’s reactions to them |
B.To call up people’s memory of the cold winter. |
C.To show off his skills in sculpture. |
D.To let people experience the cold winter. |
Why did Gold
sworthy and his helpers roll their snowballs into place at mid-night?
A. They didn’t want to disturb other people.
B. It was quite at that time.
C. They wanted to avoid the traffic jam.
D, They wanted to give people a surprise.
What could be cuter than your puppy giving his doggy friend a kiss on the nose? Nothing,really.But is your dog actually planting a kiss on his friend? Yes,but that’s only one of the reasons your dog may lick another dog’s nose.Here are some other reasons why your dog may lick another dog’s nose.
During an introduction,a shy and lower-ranking dog will lower his head,avoid direct eye contact and gently extend his tongue to lick the nose of a more confident and high-ranking dog.The first dog licks the nose of the second dog to simply make it know that:he comes in peace.
Dogs who are already friends will also trade kisses.Two strongly bonded dog pals will lick and clean each other.They give each other “dog kisses” showing friendship.
Puppies also “kiss” their mothers,but it's not a gesture of love.When puppies stop suckling(吸吮)their mothers’ tits for milk and start to eat semisolid(半固体)food instead;they lick their mothers’ mouths and noses in the hope of getting the mother to regurgitate(反哺) some semi-digested food.
So how to help your bashful dog make friends with other dogs? You can carefully select confident-but-friendly and good-tempered dogs to play with your shy dog,to help him develop his social skills.Also consider taking him to a special training class that focuses on socialization and positive training technique.
Do not disturb them when your two dogs play “kiss” briefly with each other.Sit back and enjoy this display of friendship.Then call them over and have them do a command such as “sit’’ or “shake paws”.Offer them treats as a reward for being good to each other.
If you foster(收养)a dog and have three or more resident dogs,introduce the foster dog to your brood dog one at a time and let muzzle licking between them happen naturally.Start with your least reactive or most friendly dog.Never force an in production between the dogs because this can deepen the foster dog’s submissiveness or spark a fight.We know a shy and lower—ranking dog licks the nose of a higher-ranking dog to.
A.ask the dog for help | B.show he is friendly |
C.show his anger | D.show his respect for him |
What can we know about two dogs who are already friends?
A.They seldom give each other kisses. |
B.They usually avoid direct eye contact. |
C.They like keeping their friendship a secret. |
D.They show their friendship by “dog kisses”. |
What does the underlined word “bashful” in Paragraphs 5 mean?
A.Shy. | B.Honest. | C.Lovely. | D.Little. |
What should you do if your two dogs play “kiss” briefly with each other?
A.Ask them to stay away from each other immediately. |
B.Ask them to shake tails. |
C.Ask them to have a fight. |
D.Give them a reward for being friends. |
The writer wrote this passage to_________.
A.tell us about a study he did recently |
B.explain why a dog kisses other dogs |
C.tell us how to raise dogs |
D.help us to make friends with dogs. |
Jenny found her old bicycle at the back of the garage.It was a lot smaller than she remembered.When she sat on it and put her feet on the pedals,her knees nearly touched her chin. She then asked her dad for a new bicycle.
“Well,I’m sorry,but I can’t afford a bicycle now,“said Dad.“Why don’t you work and earn some money? You can save up for a bicycle yourself.”
Jenny began to work.That day she earned five dollars for cutting the grass and ten dollars for mowing the lawn for her dad.
That night Jenny went on the computer.She wrote“Gardening and Housework—Ten dollars an hour.Call Jenny at 23 Roseville Lane.“She decorated the page with pictures of cleaning and gardening equipment.She printed it fifty times.Then she posted the pages through all the doors on her street.
That week,Jenny was very busy! Lots of people had jobs to do,but they didn’t have time to do them.So they called Jenny.Every day,Jenny rushed home from schoo1.She did her homework quickly,and then she went out to work.
At the end of the week.she had$65! She told her father.
“That’s enough for a second hand bicycle.”he said.
“Yes,but if I work for one more week,I might have enough money for a new bike,“said Jenny.“In two more weeks,I could buy a really good bicycle! I think that's what I'll do. I want to have the best bicycle in the class,because I earn it myself!”
Jenny’s dad hugged her.“I think you learned something important.We appreciate things a lot more when we earn them.When we get something without earning it,we do not realize its true value.”What was the problem with Jenny’s old bicycle?
A.It was broken. | B.It was too small. |
C.Jenny didn't like it. | D.It was too dirty. |
Why didn’t Jenny’s dad buy her a bicycle?
A.He had just bought Jenny a birthday present. |
B.He was too busy. |
C.He wanted to teach her a lesson. |
D.He didn’t think it was a good idea. |
How much money did Jenny earn on the first day?
A.$10. | B.$15. | C.$65. | D.$5. |
How did Jenny tell her neighbors about her new business?
A.She mailed letters to them. | B.She talked to all her neighbors. |
C.she sent them an email. | D.She delivered messages by hand. |
We can infer from Jenny’s words at the end of the story that she was ___________.
A.optimistic about making more money |
B.grateful to her father for his advice |
C.pleased because she had learnt a useful lesson |
D.disappointed because she couldn’t afford a new bicycle |
Goldie's Secret
She turned up at the doorstep of my house in Cornwall. No way could I have sent her away. No way, not me anyway. Maybe someone had kicked her out of their car the night before. "We're moving house.'; "No space for her any more with the baby coming." "We never really wanted her, but what could we have done? She was a present." People find all sorts of excuses for abandoning an animal. And she was one of the most beautiful dogs I had ever seen.
I called her Goldie. If I had known what was going to happen I would have given her a more creative name. She was so unsettled during those first few days. She hardly ate anything and had such an air of sadness about her. There was nothing I could do to make her happy, it seemed. Heaven knows what had happened to her at her previous owner's. But eventually at the end of the first week she calmed down. Always by my side, whether we were out on one of our long walks or sitting by the fire.
That's why it was such a shock when she pulled away from me one day when we were out for a walk. We were a long way from home, when she started barking and getting very restless. Eventually I couldn't hold her any longer and she raced off down the road towards a farmhouse in the distance as fast as she could.
By the time I reached the farm I was very tired and upset with Goldie. But when I saw her licking (舔) the four puppies (幼犬) I started to feel sympathy towards them. "We didn't know what had happened to her," said the woman at the door. "I took her for a walk one day, soon after the puppies were born, and she just disappeared." "She must have tried to come back to them and got lost," added a boy from behind her. '
I must admit I do miss Goldie, but I've got Nugget now, and she looks just like her mother. And I've learnt a good lesson: not to judge people.In her first few days at the author's house, Goldie .
A.felt worried | B.was angry |
C.ate a little | D.sat by the fire |
Goldie rushed off to a farmhouse one day because she .
A.saw her puppies | B.heard familiar barking |
C.wanted to leave the autho | D.found her way to her old home |
The passage is organized in order of .
A.time | B.effect | C.importance | D.complexity |
Knowing the best way to study will help you to be a better student. By using your time properly, you can do your homework more quickly. Learning to study is not difficult.
The first thing to remember is that you must be willing to learn. It doesn’t mean that you must always like the subject. It does mean, however, that you must be wil1ing to do whatever is necessary to learn. Try to understand why it is important and how it will help you now and later to do and learn other things. Knowing mathematics facts will be useful in your whole life. Knowing how to spell makes any kind of writing easier. Sometimes the subject that you think is going to be uninteresting will be exciting when you begin to work at it and understand it more clearly. Learning things can be fun if you are willing to work with them.
Here’s some advice for you: have a certain time each day and a quiet place with good lighting for study, so that you can concentrate on your study without interruptions(中断); have everything ready before you sit down to study, a dictionary, paper, a pen and books; be sure you understand what you should learn before you start; read carefully and pay special attention to the most important things; when memorizing, first find out the main parts and then recite the whole thing; check your homework after you finish it; never forget the importance of review and preview.
Don’t try to spend a lot of time researching learning methods. There are many students who know many good learning methods but don’t study well. They forget that the most useful learning method is to study hard.The main goal of the article is .
A.to prove that learning is not difficult |
B.to make the readers be interested in study |
C.to tell the importance of self teaching |
D.to tell the students how to study well |
The first thing to remember in studying is that .
A.you must like the subject | B.you must follow the teacher |
C.you must enjoy learning | D.you must study hard |
We learn things because .
A.our parents want us to learn | B.every student learns at school |
C.we may use these things in the future | D.we like the subjects |
The following advice is given in the article EXCEPT .
A.To put a pen, paper and books beside you before study. |
B.To study at any possible time and place. |
C.To review and preview |
D.To pay attention to the most important things. |
Among the following statements, which is true?
A.The more learning methods we have, the better we will study. |
B.Finding the best learning method is the most important in learning. |
C.If you don’t work hard, though you have a good learning method, you can’t be good at study. |
D.Once we have mastered a good learning method, we can improve our study greatly. |
All of us eat every day, but most of us don’t understand nutrition(营养). How much do you know about good nutrition? Are the following statements true or false?
1. People who don’t eat meat can stay healthy.
True. As long as people eat enough milk, eggs and meat alternates(替代物), they can get enough protein.
2. Fresh vegetables cooked at home are always more nutritious than canned vegetables.
False. The difference depends more on how vegetables are prepared than whether they are fresh or canned. Vegetables cooked in too much water can lose a large quantity of vitamins.
3. Food eaten between meals can be just as good for health as food eaten at regular meals.
True. Nutritional value depends on what types of food you eat, not when you eat them. Eating an egg or an orange between meals can contribute to a good diet.
4. Taking extra vitamins beyond the recommended daily allowances won’t give you more energy.
True. It’s widely believed that extra vitamins provide more energy. But taking more than the baby needs doesn’t make it function better, just as overfilling your gas tank doesn’t make your car run better.
5. Natural vitamins are better supplements(补充)for the diet than synthetic vitamins.
False. There is no difference. A vitamin has the same properties(性质)and specific chemical structure whether made in a laboratory or taken from plant or animal parts.
6. Older people need the same amount of vitamins as younger people.
True. Older people need the same quantity of vitamins as younger people although they need fewer calories. Certain illnesses raise the requirements for some vitamins, but that is true for the young as well as the old.
7. Food grown in poor soil is lower in vitamins than food grown in rich sold.
False. The vitamins in our foods are made by the plants themselves. They don’t come from the soil.
However, the minerals in a plant depend on the minerals in the soil.
If you have answered these questions correctly, you can say you know much about food and nutrition by today’s standards. But remember that nutrition is a growing science and that may be aged as new information is obtained.The main purpose of the passage is to .
A.list today’s standards of some food and nutrition |
B.introduce what should be eaten and what not |
C.explain what is helpful to your health and what is not |
D.test our nutrition IQ by judging the problems listed |
From the surrounding words and sentences we know that the underlined phrase “contribute to” means .
A.help to bring about | B.take the place of |
C.make room for | D.turn to |
The underlined word “synthetic” most probably meansin Chinese.
A.不同的 | B.特别的 |
C.合成的 | D.天然的 |