Mark Twain was a great writer. He was from the USA. He was born in 1835. He was also a famous speaker. He was famous for his sense of humour（幽默感）. Many people liked to listen to him talk because he liked to tell some interesting stories to make people laugh all the time.
One day Mark Twain was going to a small town because of his writing. Before he was going to leave, one of his friends said to him that there were always a lot of mosquitoes in the town and told him that he’d better not go there. Mark Twain waved (摇动) his hand and said, “It doesn’t matter. The mosquitoes are no relatives of mine. I don’t think they will come to visit me.”
After he arrived at the town, Mark Twain stayed in a small hotel near the station. He went into his room, but when he was just about to have a rest, quite a few（许多） mosquitoes flew about him. The waiters felt very sorry about that. “I’m very sorry, Mr. Mark Twain. There are too many mosquitoes in our town.” One of them said to him.
Mark Twain, however, made a joke, saying to the waiter, “The mosquitoes a
re very clever. They know my room number. They didn’t come into the wrong room.” What he said made all the people present laugh heartily.
But that night Mark Twain slept well. Do you know why? That was because all the waiters in the hotel were driving the mosquitoes away for him during the whole night. .That day Mark Twain went to the town _____.
| A．to see one of his friends |
| B．because he wanted to do something there for his writing |
| C．because he was told there were a lot of mosquitoes there |
| D．to see one of his relatives |
. The waiters felt sorry because _____.
| A．they did something wrong to Mark Twain |
| B．their hotel was too small |
| C．the room was not very clean |
| D．there were quite a few mosquitoes in Mark Twain’s room |
. All the people present laughed heartily because _____.
| A．the mosquitoes were very clever and they didn’t come into the wrong room |
| B．the mosquitoes knew Mark Twain’s room number |
| C．Mark Twain gave the waiters some nice presents |
| D．Mark Twain made a joke |
. From the story we know _____.
| A．no mosquitoes troubled Mark Twain in the night |
| B．the owner of the hotel told the waiters to look after Mark Twain well at night |
| C．Mark Twain didn’t have a good rest that night |
| D．there were not mosquitoes in the hotel any longer |
Recordings of angry bees are enough to send big, tough African elephants running away, a new study says. Beehives (蜂窝)-either recorded or real-may even prevent elephants from damaging farmer's crops.
In 2002, scientist Lucy King and her team found that elephants avoid certain trees with bees living in them. Today, Lucy wants to see if African honeybees might discourage elephants from eating crops. But before she asked farmer to go to the trouble of setting up beehives on their farms, she needed to find out if the bees would scare elephants away.
Lucy found a wild beehive inside a tree in northern Kenya and set up a recorder. Then she threw a stone into the beehive, which burst into life. Lucy and her assistant hid in their car until the angry bees had calmed down. Next，Lucy searched out elephant families in Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya and put a speaker in a close to each family.
From a distance, Lucy switched on the pre-recorded sound of angry bees while at the same time recording the elephants with a video camera. Half the elephant groups left the area within ten seconds. Out of a total of 17 groups, only one group ignored the sound of the angry bees. Lucy reported that all the young elephants immediately ran to their mothers to hide under them. When Lucy Played the sound of a waterfall (瀑布) instead of the angry bees to many of the same elephant families, the animals were undisturbed. Even after four minutes, most of the groups stayed in one place.
Lucy is now studying whether the elephants will continue to avoid the sound of angry bees after hearing it several times. She hasn't tested enough groups yet to know, but her initial (最初的) results were promising enough to begin trials with farmers. She has now begun placing speakers in the fields to see if elephants are frightened away.As mentioned in the passage, Lucy
| A．works by herself in Africa |
| B．needs to test more elephant groups |
| C．has stopped elephants eating crops |
| D．has got farmers to set up beehives on their farms |
Why did Lucy throw a stone into a wild beehive?
| A．To record the sound of bees. |
| B．To make a video of elephants. |
| C．To see if elephants would run away. |
| D．To find out more about the behavior of bees. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Young elephants ignore African honeybees. |
| B．Waterfalls can make elephants stay in one place. |
| C．Elephants do not go near trees with bees living in them. |
| D．Farmers do not allow Lucy to conduct tests in their fields. |
The idea of being able to walk on water has long interested humans greatly. Sadly, biological facts prevent us ever accomplishing such a thing without artificial aid --- we simply weigh too much, and all our mass pushes down through our relatively small feet, resulting in a lot of pressure that makes us sink.
However, several types of animals can walk on water. One of the most interesting is the common basilisk Basilicus basilicus, a lizard（蜥蜴）native to Central and South America. It can run across water for a distance of several meters, avoiding getting wet by rapidly hitting the water’s surface with its feet. The lizard will take as many as 20 steps per second to keep moving forward. For humans to do this, we’ll need huge feet that we could bring up to our ears in order to create adequate “hitting.”
But fortunately there is an alternative: cornflour. By adding enough of this common thickening agent to water (and it does take a lot), you can create a “non-Newtonian” liquid that doesn’t behave like normal water. Now if the surface of the water is hit hard enough, particles（粒子）in the water group together for a moment to make the surface hard. Move quickly enough and put enough force into each step, and you really can walk across the surface of an adequately thick liquid of cornflour.
Fun though all this may sound, it’s still rather messy and better read about in theory than carried out in practice. If you must do it, then keep the water wings handy in case you start to sink --- and take a shower afterward!What do we know about Basilicus basilicas from the passage?
| A．It is light enough to walk on water. |
| B．Its huge feet enable it to stay above water. |
| C．It can run across water at a certain speed |
| D．Its unique skin keeps it from getting wet in water |
What is the function of the cornflour according to the passage?
| A．To create a thick liquid. |
| B．To turn the water into solid. |
| C．To help the liquid behave normally. |
| D．To enable the water to move rapidly. |
What is the author’s attitude toward the idea of human’s walking on water?
| A．It is risky but beneficial. |
| B．It is interesting and worth trying |
| C．It is crazy and cannot become a reality |
| D．It is impractical though theoretically possible |
According to the dictionary definition of "create "，ordinary people are creative every day. To create means " to bring into being, to cause to exist"-something each of us does daily.
We are creative whenever we look at or think about something in a new way. First, this includes an awareness （意识）of our surroundings. It means using all of our senses to become aware of our world. This may be as simple as being aware of color and texture（质地），as well as taste, when we plan a meal. Above all, it is the ability to notice things that others might miss.
A second part of creativity is an ability to see relationships among things. If we believe the expression，"There is nothing new under the sun，" the creativity is remaking or recombining（重组）the old in new ways. For example, we might do this by finding a more effective way to study or a better way to arrange our furniture, or we might make a new combination of camera lenses and filters to create an unusual photograph.
A third part of creativity is the courage and drive to make use of our new ideas, to ask for them to achieve some new results. To think up a new idea is one thing; to put the idea to work is another.
These three parts of creativity are included in all the great works of geniuses, but they are also included in many of our day-to-day activities.Which of the following activities is NOT a creative one according to the passage?
| A．To prepare for a meal. |
| B．To arrange the furniture in a special way. |
| C．To buy some books from a bookstore. |
| D．To "write" a letter with the computer. |
"There is nothing new under the sun" really implies that __________.
| A．a new thing can only be created at the basis of earliest things |
| B．a new thing is only a tale |
| C．we can seldom create new things |
| D．we can hardly see really new things in the world |
What does the author think about the relationship between a new thought and its being put into practice?
| A．It's more difficult to create a new thought than to use it in practice. |
| B．To find a new thought will clearly lead to the production of a new thing. |
| C．A man with an excellent ability of practice can easily become an inventor. |
| D．One may come up with a new thought, but cannot put it into practice. |
The best title for this passage is __________.
| A．How to Cultivate One's Creativity |
| B．What Is Creativity |
| C．The Importance of Creativity |
| D．Creativity a Not Faraway Thing |
" Earthquake ！ " The word flashed in my brain. A roaring sound filled my ears. I tried to slide beneath my desk. The desk did a wild tap dance, slipping and sliding towards the centre of the room. I twisted my body and grabbed at the windowsill behind me, somehow kicking free of my dancing chair. I tried to stand. My legs skated a-way as if on a bucking escalator.
My fingers shook, grasped and held the windowsill tightly. Somewhere through the roar sounded the terrified scream of some wounded animal. I looked behind me and tried to steady my gaze on the other kids but the scene was a dizzy nightmare. Some of the class were sitting in the middle of the room, surrounded by chairs and desks. One girl was screaming. A boy was trying to claw his way across the floor to the door in a crazy overarm crawl. My grip froze me to the windowsill.
I cried aloud，" I'm going to die. I'm going to die. Save me, I'm not ready to die, I'm not ready ！" I hunched forward on my knees and pressed my face against my clenched fingers. I looked at the backs of my fingers and stupidly noticed the fragile pale hairs growing out of the pores. The fingers would soon cease to exist. Somehow the impending horror of my death was too terrible to even cry about.
Suddenly, I became aware that the rocking had ceased. Perhaps I wasn't going to die.The roaring sound was made by __________.
| A．a wounded animal | B．people screaming |
| C．children running | D．an earthquake |
When the narrator clenches his fingers, he is __________.
| A．afraid | B．angry | C．injured | D．impatient |
Paragraph two describes the __________.
| A．injuries suffered by the narrator |
| B．effects of a bad nightmare |
| C．disorder in the classroom |
| D．narrator's fear of death |
At the end of the passage there is a feeling of __________.
| A．panic | B．hope |
| C．sorrow | D．excitement |
Alzheimer's disease is a major national health problem. Nearly2 million Americans over the age of 65 have Alzheimer's disease. It is a leading cause of death among the elderly. But Alzheimer's disease is not confined （限于）to the aged. There may be a million or more people under the age of 65 suffering from the disease.
At one time, people suffering from the disease were said to be "getting old". The disease was thought to be a natural part of growing old, but it is now known that Alzheimer's disease strikes young and old alike. It is an organic （器官的）disease, that destroys brain cells.
Alzheimer's disease affects the patient's memory, speech, and movement. In the beginning stages of the disease, the patient may seem slightly confused. He may have trouble speaking, then the patient's memory begins to fail. He may forget dates, numbers, names and plans.
As the disease progresses, the patient may not recognize family and friends. These symptoms （症状）often cause terrible anxiety in the patient. He may feel lost and frightened. Sometimes the patient reacts with wild and bad behavior.
In the last stages of the disease, the patient may not be able to take care of himself. He may have lost the ability to speak and walk.
Scientists don't know exactly what causes Alzheimer's disease. It may be caused by a virus （病毒）. It may be caused by a poisonous substance （物质）in the environment. At present, there is no cure for the disease. But there are ways to slow its progress. Exercise and physical treatment can help the patients of this disease.The main idea of the passage is that Alzheimer's disease __________.
| A．is a terrible part of the aging process |
| B．is an organic disease that affects young and old |
| C．can be cured by physical treatment |
| D．causes forgetfulness |
All of the following are symptoms of Alzheimer's disease EX-CEPT __________.
| A．forgetfulness | B．difficulty in speaking |
| C．loss of sight | D．loss of the ability to walk |
According to the passage, which of the following may be a cause of Alzheimer's disease?
| A．Poisons produced by the brain. |
| B．Getting old. |
| C．A virus. |
| D．Lack of exercise. |
The press of Alzheimer's disease can be slowed by __________.
| A．operation |
| B．a change in environment |
| C．medicines |
| D．physical treatment and exercise |