Editor’snotes:AWLiswellknownfo-优题课

Protagoras was among the great teachers of ancient Athens. He taught many subjects, including the laws of argument(辩论) and the right use of language. It is said that he was the first teacher to accept money for his services.
A student, Evalthus, heard of this famous teacher and asked him to give him lessons. However, Evalthus didn’t want to pay for his lessons at once, and after some discussion it was finally agreed between them that Evalthus should pay only if he won his first case in the court. For if he won, it would prove that he had been taught well.
The lessons began and Evalthus proved himself to be a good student. But he refused to pay Protagoras anything at the end of his studies.
Protagoras therefore took Evalthus to the court and told the judges that he wanted his money. He explained that he must be paid whether he won or lost the case. “Whatever you decide,” he declared(宣称)to the judges, “ I must be paid. For if you decide in my fovor , then I win the case, and so I must be paid . But If you decide against me, then Evalthus has won his first case in the court; according to our agreement, he must pay his lessons. Therefore I shall get my money whatever happens.”
The Athenian judges found no fault in it, so they asked Evalthus to reply.
“No, it’s quite clear,” said Evalthus, “ that I need not pay. If the judged decide in my favor, then I have won the case, and I need not to pay. But if Protagoras wins, then I have lost my first case. Therefore, according to our agreement, I do not have to pay. So I need not pay in any event.”
As both arguments appeared to be faultless, the judges were unable to come to a decision. They therefore ordered the two men to appear before them again one hundred years later.
Evalthus would pay Protagoras _______________.

A．before he started his lessons

B．after he finished his lessons

C．after the court decided against him

D．after the court proved that he was taught well

What do we know about Protagoras?

A．He won the judges’ favor in the end and got his money.

B．He was probably the first teacher to accept money for his lessons.

C．He didn’t teach Evalthus well because Evalthus didn’t pay.

D．He was not confident of his winning the case in the court.

Why did the judged ask Protagoras and Evalthus to come to the court one hundred years later?

A．They couldn’t make a decision.

B．They needed to think it over again.

C．They wanted to make fun of them.

D．They wanted more money from them.

What is probably the best title for the text?

A．A Smart Student---- Evalthus

B．A Great Teacher---Protagoras

C．Come Here One Hundred Years Later

D．A Fight Between Teacher and Student

We already know the fastest, least expensive way to slow climate change: Use less energy. With a little effort, and not much money, most of us could reduce our energy diets by 25 percent or more—doing the Earth a favor while also helping our wallets.
Not long ago, my wife, PJ, and I tried a new diet—not to lose a little weight but to answer an annoying question about climate change. Scientists have reported recently that the world is heating up even faster than predicted only a few years ago, and that the consequences could be severe if we don’t keep reducing emissions(排放) of carbon dioxide(CO₂) and other greenhouse gases that are trapping heat in our atmosphere.
We decided to try an experiment. For one month we recorded our personal emissions of CO₂. We wanted to see how much we could cut back, so we went on a strict diet. The average US household(家庭) produces about 150 pounds of CO₂ a day by doing common-place things like turning on air-conditioning or driving cars. That’s more than twice the European average and almost five times the global average, mostly because Americans drive more and have bigger houses. But how much should we try to reduce?
For an answer, I checked with Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers:How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth. In his book, he had challenged readers to make deep cuts in personal emissions to keep the world from reaching extremely important tipping points, such as the melting(融化) of the ice sheets in Greenland or West Antarctica. “To stay below that point, we need to reduce CO₂ emissions by 80 percent, ”he said.
Good advice, I thought. I’d opened our bedroom windows to let in the wind. We’d gotten so used to keeping our air-conditioning going around the clock. I’d almost forgotten the windows even opened. We should not let this happen again. It’s time for us to change our habits if necessary.
Why did the author and his wife try a new diet?

A．To take special kinds of food.

B．To respond to climate change.

C．To lose weight.

D．To improve their health.

The underlined words “tipping points” most probably refer to “”.

A．freezing points	B．burning points
C．melting points	D．boiling points

It can be inferred from the passage that.

A．it is necessary to keep the air-conditioning on all the time

B．it seems possible for every household to cut emissions of CO₂

C．the average US household produces about 3, 000 pounds of CO₂ a month

D．the average European household produces about 1, 000 pounds of CO₂ a month

Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

A．Saving Energy Starts at Home

B．Changing Our Habits Begins at Work

C．Changing Climate Sounds Reasonable

D．Reducing Emissions of CO₂ Proves Difficult

B

If John wants to express his love to his wife, the book number he may choose is.

A．1404185526	B．0071460152
C．0312283202	D．140039404X

Which of the following will save the most money for you?

A．I Love You, Sweetheart

B．Eat Right for Your Metabolism

C．The Girls

D．The Twelve Dogs of Christmas Gift Set

What can we learn from the text?

A．Not only I Love You, Sweetheart but also The Girls is paperback.

B．There are many beautiful songs in I Love You, Sweetheart.

C．Eat Right for Your Metabolism tells us the importance of keeping healthy.

D．The Girls is thicker than The Twelve Dogs of Christmas Gift Set.

You know how wonderful you are, and you know that others know how wonderful you are, but what do you do when admiration crosses over the line into jealousy？For most teens there will come a day when you realize that one of your friends is jealous and that this jealousy is hurting your friendship. When this happens it can seem like there is nothing that you can do, but the good news is that there is. Don’t let jealousy spoil your relationships. Tackle it head on and you might be back to normal much sooner than you think.
It can be hard to walk up to a friend and ask them what the problem is, but if you want to save your friendship you’ll have to do just that. Don’t approach them and ask why they are jealous of you (unless of course you want to appear totally conceited), just take some time alone with them and let them know that you’ve been feeling like there’s been something coming between you. If they refuse to respond, then use the opportunity to explain how you have been feeling. Chances are that something you say will strike a nerve and your friend will open up as well.
When you figure out what is annoying your friend，ask him or her what (s)he thinks would make the situation better. If ,for example, (s)he says that (s)he feels like (s)he doesn't get to spend any time with you because of your being off with your new friends from the swim team then maybe you could invite her along the next time or block off one day a week for just the two of you. Remember, though, that whatever solution you decide on should be a compromise. Don’t limit your own talents or opportunities simply because your friend is unhappy. Try instead to include him or her in your new life and see how that works out.
Even the best of friendships can be tinged by jealousy. This destructive emotion is rarely productive and can turn best friends into worst enemies. Before taking extreme action, chat with your jealous friend to see if the two of you can work out a compromise. If you can’t, be prepared to know exactly how far you will go to keep your friend and how far you won't.
According to the author，the jealousy emotion is ________.

A．normal

B．productive

C．destructive

D．extreme

Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way to confront your friend when jealousy happens?

A．Walking up to him/her and asking him/her why he/she is jealous of you.

B．Walking up to him/her and asking him/her what the problem is.

C．Spending some time with him/her and letting him/her know how you feel.

D．Spending some time with him/her and letting him/her know you think there’s something coming between you.

What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?

A．There's always a solution to solve the problem of jealousy.

B．Jealousy can turn best friends into worst enemies.

C．You may lose a friend to keep your own gifts，chances or self-development.

D．You should go a long way with your friend to work out a solution

The purpose of the passage is ________.

A．to explain what causes jealousy

B．to offer some advice on making friends

C．to introduce the way to cope with a jealous friend

D．to explain how destructive the jealous emotion is

Energy goes from one plant or animal to another. A food chain shows how this energy moves. Each time an animal gets eaten, its energy is passed onto the animal that eats it. The food chain is very important because it keeps the balance of nature. If one part of the food chain disappears, it can affect all the other plants and animals. Any threat to the food chain is a threat to the environment’s biodiversit(生物多样性). The food chain helps keep animal populations in balance. However, if something happens to increase or decrease one of the links in the food chain, that balance is broken. If one animal becomes endangered, it puts all the animals above it at risk.
Some of the threats are natural, such as wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, floods and so on. But the biggest threats to the food chain come from you and me. These threats include overhunting, overfishing, logging, farming, development, pollution, etc. The food chain is endangered anywhere humans have had an effect on the natural environment.
A recent study shows that the overfishing of large sharks is damaging the food chain along the US Atlantic coast. Canadian and American scientists say sharks are being killed in great numbers for their meat and fins(鳍). Now, not enough sharks are around to eat the cownose(牛鼻) ray. The ray’s population has increased and they have eaten up the shellfish to the point where it has hurt commercial(商业的) fishing.
Many of us disturb the natural environment in our own backyards. It’s up to us to take care of the environment and try not to disrupt the natural food chain. If we don’t act responsibly, animals will start disappearing.
What can we learn from Paragraph 1?

A．The food chain is not easy to be broken.

B．The energy of an animal usually disappears when it dies.

C．Increasing the links will not break the balance of nature.

D．Breaking the food chain is bad for the biodiversity of the environment.

The study mentioned in Paragraph 3 proves that.

A．human activities can be a big threat to the food chain

B．we are all responsible for the breaking of the food chain

C．natural disasters are hard to break the food chain

D．hunting large sharks for meat is beneficial

We can infer that the writer wrote this passage mainly to.

A．explain what the food chain is

B．tell us something interesting about Nature

C．suggest that we stop eating meat to save animals

D．suggest that we not disrupt the natural food chain

A．the English native speakers	B．the English learners
C．the readers of the two books	D．the readers of the newspaper

A．EDUCATION	B．NEWS
C．ENTERTAINMENT	D．BOOKSHELF