Students who say they never or hardly ever used dictionaries often speak English well but usually write poorly, because they make many mistakes.
The students who use dictionaries most do not learn especially well either. The ones who look up every new word do not read fast. Therefore they do not have time to read much. Those who use small two-language dictionaries have the worst problems. Their dictionaries often give only one or two words as translations of English. But one English word often has many translations in a foreign language and one foreign word has many translations in English.
The most successful students are those who use large college edition dictionaries with about 100,000 words but do not use them too often. When they are reading, these students first try to get the general idea and understand new words from the context. Then they reread and use the dictionary to look up only key words that they still do not understand. They use dictionaries more for writing. If they are not sure how to spell a word, or divide it into syllables, they always use a dictionary. Also, if they think a noun might have an unusual plural form, they check these in a dictionary.The writer thinks that .
| A．choose a good dictionary, and you’ll be successful in learning English |
| B．dictionaries are not necessary to the students who learn English. |
| C．it is very important for students to use good dictionaries properly |
| D．using dictionaries very often can’t help to improve writing |
According to the passage, which of the following is wrong?
| A．Dictionaries have little effect on learning to speak English. |
| B．Whatever new words you meet while reading, never use dictionaries. |
| C．Small two-language dictionaries have serious disadvantages. |
| D．Reading something for the first time, you’d better not use dictionaries. |
This passage mainly tells us ． .
| A．that students shouldn’t use small two-language dictionaries |
| B．what were the defects of small two-language dictionaries |
| C．why students should use large college edition dictionaries |
| D．what dictionary students should choose and how to use it |
Which is not mentioned in this passage?
| A．How to make good use of a dictionary. |
| B．When to use a dictionary. |
| C．How to improve spoken English. |
| D．How to practise reading fast. |
Shirley Temple, who died on February 10, 2014, was that rare example of a Hollywood child star who, when the cameras stopped rolling, carved out a new career.
For four years, she was Hollywood’s biggest box-office star representing the kind of sweet, innocent girl that everyone wanted as their daughter. However, years later, she reappeared as a successful politician.
Shirley Temple was born in Santa Monica, California on 23 April 1928. Encouraged by her mother, she learned to dance while she was just three.
In 1934, Stand Up and Cheer became her first film and the film was a great success. At the age of six she was earning $1,250 a week — more than $21,000 at today’s values.
Across the world, audiences flocked to see her in films such as Little Miss Marker, The Little Colonel and The Littlest Rebel.
In 1935 she was awarded a special Oscar (Academy Award) and her foot and hand prints were added to those of stars such as Jean Harlow and Mary Pickford outside Grauman’s Chinese theatre in Hollywood. The peak of her film career came in 1939 when The Little Princess became a box-office success.
Temple starred in a total of 43 feature films. But she found it difficult to maintain her film career in adulthood and retired from Hollywood in 1950.
She disappeared from the spotlight for nearly 20 years. She returned to the public eye in 1967, as a Republican candidate for Congress. When Nixon became president, he rewarded her with an appointment to the American delegation to the United Nations. Then, in 1974, President Ford appointed her the United States Ambassador(大使) to Ghana. George Bush Snr, appointed her Ambassador to Czechoslovakia.
Shirley Temple drew a line between her childhood stardom and her later political career. “Some people are stuck on this image of the little girl,” she once said. “She is not me. We shouldn’t live in the past; my life is now.” Nevertheless, for many across the world, the name Shirley Temple always called to mind a superstar child.Shirley Temple died at the age of _____.
| A．75 | B．80 | C．86 | D．90 |
What happened to Shirley Temple when she was 7 years old?
| A．She won a special Oscar. | B．She began to learn to dance. |
| C．She appeared in her first film. | D．She retired from Hollywood. |
Which of the following represents the peak of Shirley Temple’s film career?
| A．Stand Up and Cheer. | B．Little Miss Marker. |
| C．The Little Colonel. | D．The Little Princess. |
We can infer that _____.
| A．the films in which Shirley Temple starred in adulthood were not popular |
| B．Jean Harlow and Mary Pickford appeared in the same film with Temple |
| C．Shirley Temple succeeded in being elected as Congresswoman in 1967 |
| D．Shirley Temple was the youngest person to receive an Academy Award |
Human civilization has truly come a long way．From using animals for transport to the super fast automobiles that we have today．From using flint to making fire to using one touch lighters．But there are some things that we will never let go of．Some ancient traditions that have been brought down through the ages are still followed today．
Groundhog Day(土拔鼠节)，falls on the 2nd of February every year．It is observed in the United States and Canada．While this day may be a public holiday and a bank holiday，it is not a compulsory holiday declared by the government．But this is not so for all the states．State-wise holidays may vary．
Ever heard of Punxsutawney Phil? Groundhog Day is observed because of this groundhog．The day is indeed about a groundhog．Punxsutawney is the name of an apparently weather forecasting groundhog．He lives in his burrow(洞穴)on Gobler’s Knob，Punxsutawney in Pennsylvania，for a short period before the 2nd of February every year．On the 2nd of February，Phil comes out from his burrow and looks for his shadow．If he sees his shadow and goes back into the burrow，then America will have an extended winter of six weeks，But if he cannot see his shadow，and he remains outside．It means winter will soon end and spring will arrive very shortly .Phil has been‘predicting’the length of winter in this manner for almost a century and they have always been almost 100％ accurate．
Groundhog Day is celebrated in some parts of the USA and Canada．The largest celebration is held at Punxsutawney，Pennsylvania．People come in scores to visit Punxsutawney Phil．They wait eagerly, camping days in advance，to see the small groundhog appear from his burrow，check for his shadow and either go back in or stay out．People cheer when they hear it is time for winter to end and celebrate by eating sweets and singing and dancing．Today．the Groundhog Day is a widespread tradition and an exciting event．People celebrate Groundhog Day because ______________.
| A．some sweets are provided on Groundhog Day |
| B．more and more people love groundhogs |
| C．the groundhog predicts the beginning of spring |
| D．Punxsutawney Phil is worth respecting |
What does the author intend to tell us in Paragraph 1？
| A．Human civilization has a long history． |
| B．Some old traditions should be carried on． |
| C．Human civilization develops very fast． |
| D．Some old traditions have disappeared． |
We learn from the passage that Punxsutawney Phil ____________．
| A．forecasts the weather based on his shadow |
| B．witnesses the history of human development |
| C．organizes celebrations on Groundhog Day |
| D．gives performances on Groundhog Day |
We may infer from the passage that ________________．
| A．groundhogs will replace TV weathermen soon |
| B．groundhogs can forecast the weather accurately |
| C．Groundhog Day is becoming popular in the US and Canada |
| D．a longer shadow of a groundhog indicates a longer winter |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．Winter will end if the groundhog goes back into the burrow. |
| B．Groundhog Day is a compulsory’holiday in the US and Canada． |
| C．A groundhog will remain outside if he sees his shadows on 2nd，Feb． |
| D．The celebration in Punxsutawney attracts large numbers of visitors． |
Most of the people who appear most often and most gloriously in the history books are great conquerors and generals and soldiers, whereas the people who really helped civilization forward are often never mentioned at all. We do not know who first set a broken leg, or launched a seaworthy boat, or calculated the length of the year, or manured(施肥)a field; but we know all about the killers and destroyers. People think a great deal of them, so much so that on all the highest pillars (纪念柱) in the great cities of the world you will find the figure of a conqueror or a general or a soldier. And I think most people believe that the greatest countries are those that have beaten in battle the greatest number of other countries and ruled over them as conquerors. It is just possible they are, but they are not the most civilized.
Animals fight; so do savages (野蛮人); hence to be good at fighting is to be good in the way in which an animal or a savage is good, but it is not to be civilized. Even being good at getting other people to fight for you and telling them how to do it most efficiently －this, after all, is what conquerors and generals have done －is not being civilized. People fight to settle quarrels. Fighting means killing, and civilized peoples ought to be able to find some way of settling their disputes other than by seeing which side can kill off the greater number of the other side, and then saying that that side which has killed most has won. And it not only has won, but, because it has won, has been in the right. For that is what going to war means; it means saying that might is right.
That is what the story of mankind has on the whole been like. Even our own age has fought the two greatest wars in history, in which millions of people were killed or disabled. And while today it is true that people do not fight and kill each other in the streets －while, that is to say, we have got to the stage of keeping the rules and behaving properly to each other in daily life － nations and countries have not learnt to do this yet, and still behave like savages.In the opening sentence the author indicates that ________.
| A．conquerors, generals and soldiers should not be mentioned in history books. |
| B．history books focus more on those who helped civilization forward. |
| C．those who truly helped civilization forward is rarely mentioned in history books. |
| D．most history books were written by conquerors, generals and soldiers. |
In the author’s opinion, the countries that ruled over a large number of other countries are
| A．certainly both the greatest and the most civilized |
| B．neither the most influential nor the most civilized. |
| C．possibly the most civilized but not the most powerful. |
| D．likely the greatest in some sense but not the most civilized. |
The meaning of “it means saying that might is right.”(The last sentence of Paragraph 2) is that ________.
| A．in a war only those who are powerful will win. |
| B．those who are right should fight against those who are wrong. |
| C．only those who are powerful have the right to go to war. |
| D．those who fight believe that the winner is right and the loser wrong. |
In the third paragraph, what the author wants to convey to us is that ________.
| A．we have fought fewer wars but suffered heavier casualties. |
| B．modern time is not so civilized compared with the past. |
| C．our age is not much better than those of the past. |
| D．World War I and World War II are different from previous wars. |
According to the passage, who helped civilization forward?
A. The pioneers in science and technology.
B. Conquerors and generals.
C. Those setting disputes by force.
The experts in military matters This passage is most likely taken from an article entitled ________.
| A．Who Should Be Remembered |
| B．Civilization and History |
| C．War and World Peace |
| D．Great conquerors in the world |
Scientists have long puzzled over how iguanas, a group of lizards(蜥蜴) mostly found in the Americas, came to live in the isolated Pacific islands of Fiji and Tonga. Some scientists used to suppose that they must have traveled there on a raft, a journey of around 5,000 miles from South America to the islands. There are documented cases of iguanas reaching remote Caribbean islands and the Galapagos Islands on floating logs. But new research in January by Brice Noonan and Jack Sites suggested that iguanas may have simply walked to Fiji and Tonga when the islands were still a part of an ancient southern supercontinent.
The ancient supercontinent was made up of present-day Africa, Australia, Antarctica and parts of Asia. If that’s the case, the island species would need to be very old. Using “molecular (分子) clock” analysis of living iguanas’ DNA, Noonan and Sites found that, sure enough, the lineage of iguanas has been around for more than 60 million years—easily old enough to have been in the area when the islands were still connected by land bridges to Asia or Australia.
Fossils (化石) uncovered in Mongolia suggest that iguanid ancestors did once live in Asia. Though there’s currently no fossil evidence of iguanas in Australia, that doesn’t necessarily mean they were never there. “The fossil record of this continent is surprisingly poor and cannot be taken as evidence of true absence,” the authors write.
So if the iguanas simply walked to Fiji and Tonga from Asia or possibly Australia, why are they not also found on the rest of the Pacific islands? Noonan and Sites say fossil evidence suggests that iguana species did once inhabit other islands, but went extinct right around the time when humans settled in those islands. But Fiji and Tonga have a much shorter history of human presence, which may have helped the iguanas living there to escape extinction.
The researchers say that their study can’t completely rule out the rafting theory, but it does make the land bridge theory “far more reasonable than previously thought.” What did some scientists previously believe about the iguanas?
| A．They were once discovered in America. |
| B．They traveled by raft to Fiji and Tonga. |
| C．They could survive in poor living conditions. |
| D．They moved to Fiji and Tonga from Australia. |
According to Noonan and Sites, 60 million years ago ____.
| A．the land of the world was a supercontinent |
| B．Fiji and Tonga were connected to Asia or Australia |
| C．Africa, Australia and America were a continent |
| D．iguanas walked to Fiji and Tonga from Africa |
The underline word “lineage” in Paragraph 2 probably refers to ____.
| A．conditions in which creatures can survive |
| B．the change in ancient plants and animals. |
| C．the line of generations of an ancestor |
| D．the habitat of a type of an ancient animal |
What is the main topic of this passage?
| A．The life span of animals living on the ancient supercontinent. |
| B．The two islands being home to several iguana species in the Pacific region. |
| C．The fossil evidence suggesting iguanas’ ancestors’ swimming to Fiji and Tonga |
| D．By raft or by land — how did iguanas reach the tiny Pacific islands? |
Sometime in the next century, the familiar early-newspaper on the front porch (门廊) will disappear. And instead of reading your newspaper, it will read to you. You'll get up and turn on the computer newspaper just like switching on the TV An electronic voice will distribute stories about the latest events, guided by a program that selects the type of news you want. You'll even get to choose the kind of voice you want to hear. Want more information on this brief story? A simple touch makes the entire text appear. Save it in your own personal computer if you like. These are among the predictions from communication experts working on the newspapers of the future. Pictured as part of broader home-based media and entertainment systems, computer newspapers will unite print and broadcast reporting, and offer news and analysis with video images of news events.
Most of the technology is available now, but convincing more people that they don't need to read a newspaper is the next step. But resistance to computer newspapers may be stronger from within journalism. Since it is such a cultural change, it may be that the present generation of journalists and publishers will have to die off before the next generation realizes that the newspaper industry is no longer a newspaper industry. Technology is making the end of ' traditional newspapers unavoidable.
Despite technological advances, it could take decades to replace newsprint with computer screens. It might take 30 t0 40 years to complete the changeover because people need to buy computers and because newspapers have established financial interests in the paper industry. Which of the following is NOT an advantage of computer newspapers?
| A．They are cheaper than traditional newspapers. |
| B．They are more convenient to read. |
| C．You can choose the kind of voice you want to hear. |
| D．You can easily save information for future use. |
Which of the following is a reason why it will take a long time to complete the changeover?
| A．The technology is impossible now. |
| B． Computer newspaper s are too expensive. |
| C．The popularization of computers needs a long time. |
| D．Traditional newspapers are easier to read. |
It can be inferred that journalists are against computer newspapers because _______ .
| A．they don't know how to use computers |
| B．they think computer newspapers take too much time to read |
| C．they think the new technology is bad |
| D．they have been trained to write For traditional newspapers |
We can infer from the passage that
| A．all technological changes are good |
| B．new technologies don't always replace old ones |
| C．new technologies will eventually replace old ones |
| D．traditional newspapers are here to stay for another century |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Computer newspapers are well liked. |
| B．Newspapers of the future will be on the computer. |
| C．Newspapers are out of fashion. |
| D．New communications technology. |