There are many American expressions about insects--- like bees, for example. Bees are known as very hard workers. They appear to be busy, moving around their homes, or hives. So you might say you were as busy as a bee if you spent your weekend cleaning your house. In fact, you might say your house was a beehive of activity if your whole family was helping you clean. You also might say you made a beeline for something if you went there right away. When we go to see a movie, my friend always make
s a beeline for the place where they sell popcorn .
Here is an expression about bees that is not used much any more, but we like it anyway. We think it was first used in the 1920s. If something was the best of its kind, you might say it was the bee’s knees. Now, we admit that we do not know how this expression developed. In fact, we do not even know if bees have knees!
If your friend cannot stop talking about something because she thinks it is important, you might say she has a bee in her bonnet. If someone asks you a personal question, you might say “that is none of your beeswax”. This means none of your business.
Speaking of personal questions, there is an expression when their children ask, “Where do babies come from?” Parents who discuss sex and reproduction say this is talking about the birds and bees.
Butterflies are beautiful insects, but you would not want to have butterflies in your stomach. That means to be nervous about having to do something, like speaking in front of a crowd. You would also not want to have ants in your trousers. That is, to be unable to sit still.If you make a beeline for something, you _____ .
| A．are as busy as a bee | B．go quickly and directly towards it |
| C．always go to the same place | D．buy something at a certain place |
The un
derlined expression “ it is the bee’s knees” ______ .
| A．is not used at all now | B．was first used in the 1820s |
| C．reminds us that bees have knees | D．means “it is very good” |
If you ask your American friend Jack “H
ow old is your wife?” he may say “_____.”
| A．It is none of your beeswax | B．You have a bee in your bonnet |
| C．It is the bee’s knees | D．You are talking about the birds and bees |
When you have butterflies in your stomach, you _____ .
| A．are too sick to sit still | B．have ants in your trousers |
| C．are nervous about something | D．have a stomachache |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项。
Ever wondered how one person could save the planet from the effects of climate change？A British-made computer game on trial release on Monday creates different ways of doing just that.
“Fate of the World” puts the Earth's future in players' hands，placing them in charge of an international environmental body which could save the world from the effects of rising greenhouse gas emissions(排放) or let it destroyed by more emissions.
Through different scenes，players can explore options such as geoengineering(地球工程) and alternative energy sources to save the planet from rising temperatures，decreasing natural resources and a growing population over the next 200 years.
An improved version of the game will be followed by a three-month feedback period from players，with final release due in February next year.
Created by Oxford-based games developer Red Redemption，the game is different from other mainstream action games mainly by using data from real climate models and advice from scientists and economists.
“Science data is often inaccessible and we are trying to put players in a position of power and connected with the issues，” Gobion Rowlands，Red Redemption's founder and chairman said.
This year，a series of apparent errors in climate science and the failure of UN talks to reach an international deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions appeared to weaken the public's interest in climate change.
However，games centered on sustainability(持续性) and human rights have been growing in popularity and are welcomed by green groups as a way of raising awareness.
Using climate change as inspiration for entertainment shows the issue has affected global culture，which can only be a good thing. Friends of the Earth's head of climate Mike Childs said.“We need creative industries to work with these big issues as the results can be extremely powerful and can help us to understand what a sustainable future looks and feels like，” he added.Fate of the World in the passage refers to ________.
| A．a book on computer games |
| B．a company developing computer games |
| C．a computer game on climate change |
| D．a player in charge of computer games |
What makes the climate computer game different from the other games?
| A．It uses data from real climate models and advice from experts. |
| B．It is the only computer game about climate. |
| C．It can save the planet from the effect of climate change. |
| D．It aims to affect the global culture. |
It can be concluded from the passage that ________.
| A．games on sustainability and human rights are very popular among young players |
| B．the game increases players' awareness of environmental protection |
| C．only computer experts can play the new climate computer game |
| D．after a three-month feedback period from players，the new game is on sale now |
Which of the following can the players not experience while playing the new game?
| A．Challenging the climate change in an unreal world. |
| B．Understanding what a sustainable future looks and feels like. |
| C．Enjoying the power to decide the earth's fate. |
| D．Predicting what will happen in 200 years. |
In which column of a newspaper can you read this article?
| A．Weather & Climate |
| B．Science & Technology |
| C．Life & Entertainment |
| D．Sports & Culture |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项。
Next time a customer comes to your office，offer him a cup of coffee. And when you're doing your holiday shopping online，make sure you're holding a large glass of iced tea. The physical sensation(感觉) of warmth encourages emotional warmth，while a cold drink in hand prevents you from making unwise decisions－those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by psychologist John A. Bargh.
Psychologists have known that one person's perception(感知) of another's “warmth” is a powerful determiner in social relationships. Judging someone to be either “warm” or “cold” is a primary consideration，even trumping evidence that a “cold” person may be more capable. Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences，Bargh argues，when babies' conceptual sense of the world around them is shaped by physical sensations，particularly warmth and coldness. Classic studies by Harry Harlow，published in 1958，showed monkeys preferred to stay close to a cloth “mother” rather than one made of wire，even when the wire “mother” carried a food bottle. Harlow's work and later studies have led psychologists to stress the need for warm physical contact from caregivers to help young children grow into healthy adults with normal social skills.
Feelings of “warmth” and “coldness” in social judgments appear to be universal. Although no worldwide study has been done，Bargh says that describing people as “warm” or “cold” is common to many cultures，and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozens of countries.
To test the relationship between physical and psychological warmth，Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 college students. A research assistant who was unaware of the study's hypotheses(假设)，handed the students either a hot cup of coffee，or a cold drink，to hold while the researcher filled out a short information form：The drink was then handed back. After that，the students were asked to rate the personality of “Person A” based on a particular description. Those who had briefly held the warm drink regarded Person A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink.
“We are grounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly.” says Bargh.According to Paragraph 1，a person's emotion may be affected by ________.
| A．the visitors to his office |
| B．the psychology lessons he has |
| C．his physical feeling of coldness |
| D．the things he has bought online |
The author mentions Harlow's experiment to show that ________.
| A．adults should develop social skills |
| B．babies need warm physical contact |
| C．caregivers should be healthy adults |
| D．monkeys have social relationships |
In Bargh's experiment，the students were asked to ________.
| A．evaluate someone's personality |
| B．write down their hypotheses |
| C．fill out a personal information form |
| D．hold coffee and cold drink alternatively |
We can infer from the passage that ________.
| A．abstract thinking does not come from physical experiences |
| B．feelings of warmth and coldness are studied worldwide |
| C．physical temperature affects how we see others |
| D．capable persons are often cold to others |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Drinking for Better Social Relationships |
| B．Experiments of Personality Evaluation |
| C．Developing Better Drinking Habits |
| D．Physical Sensations and Emotions |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项。
That our students rarely get the opportunity to use their imagination was an open secret among Chinese people. Now，a global survey has brought it to the notice of the rest of the world.
The survey covering 21 countries，conducted by International Educational Progress Evaluation Organization，showed Chinese students excelled at math，beating their peers from other countries. But when it came to using their imagination，they were tied for the last place. And in creativity，they were fifth from the bottom.
The survey results are not shocking，given the way our children are taught in schools and at home. But they are a severe reminder to our educators and parents to improve their ways.
Chinese students rarely get the time or chance to use their imagination. Right from the day they enter school they are pushed into a culture of exams and more exams. Teachers and parents teach them that education is all about passing these exams with flying colors. And to pass those exams，they are made to learn by fixed standard answers.
Teachers dare not encourage students to think outside the box. Teachers don't like students questioning them，killing the curiosity of the young minds. For children，there's hardly any room for bright ideas either in class or at home.
Israel shares the values of education with China. But there is a world of difference between the way Israeli parents treat their children and we do. Israeli parents do not mollycoddle their children. Instead，they encourage them to learn how to live independently. In contrast，Chinese parents go to extremes，allowing their children to do whatever they like to do and punishing them severely the next for committing a “mistake”．
The global study should make us swing into action and help our students to throw open their young minds to imagination and creativity. It is time our education officials and educators asked themselves what they should do to let our children's imagination and creativity blossom.Based on the passage，the creativity of the Chinese students ranks ________ among the 21 countries.
| A．the 5th |
| B．the 17th |
| C．the 21st |
| D．the 1st |
Why is the imagination of the Chinese students so poor?
| A．Their parents often improve their educational ways. |
| B．They are thought to be lacking in curiosity. |
| C．Their teachers are afraid of being questioned. |
| D．They are not encouraged to imagine both at home and in class. |
What does the underlined word “mollycoddle” probably mean in Paragraph 6?
| A．spoil |
| B．motivate |
| C．appreciate |
| D．scold |
It can be learned from the passage Israeli parents ________.
| A．lay much more emphasis on education than Chinese ones |
| B．allow their children to live in whatever way they like |
| C．focus more attention on developing their children's living ability |
| D．encourage their children to commit mistakes in lives |
Israel is introduced in the passage mainly ________.
| A．to enrich the content of the text |
| B．to support and advocate Israel education |
| C．to illustrate the disadvantages of Chinese education |
| D．to criticize the wrong behavior of Chinese parents |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项。
(2012年湖南卷，B)Still seeking a destination for your weekend break? There are some places which are probably a mere walk away from your college.
King's Art Centre
A day at the Centre could mean a visit to an exhibition of the work of one of the most interesting contemporary artists on show anywhere. This weekend sees the opening of an exhibition of four local artists.
You could attend a class teaching you how to ‘learn from the master' or get more creative with paint—free of charge.
The Centre also runs two life drawing classes for which there is a small fee.
The Botanic Garden
The Garden has over 8,000 plant species，it holds the research and teaching collection of living plants for Cambridge University.
The multi-branched Torch Aloe here is impressive. The African plant produces red flowers above blue-green leaves, and is not one to miss.
Get to the display house to see Dionaea muscipula, a plant more commonly known as the Venus Flytrap that feeds on insects and other small animals.
The Garden is also a place for wildlife-enthusiasts. Look for grass snakes in the lake. A snake called ‘Hissing Sid' is regularly seen lying in the heat of the warm sun.
Byron's Pool
Many stories surround Lord Byron's time as a student of Cambridge University. Arriving in 1805, he wrote a letter complaining that it was a place of “mess and drunkenness”. However, it seems as though Byron did manage to pass the time pleasantly enough. I'm not just talking about the pet bear he kept in his rooms. He spent a great deal of time walking in the village.
It is also said that on occasion Byron swam naked by moonlight in the lake, which is now known as Byron's Pool. A couple of miles past Grant Chester in the south Cambridge shire countryside, the pool is surrounded by beautiful circular paths around the fields. The cries of invisible birds make the trip a lovely experience and on the way home you can drop into the village for afternoon tea. If you don't trust me, then perhaps you'll take it from Virginia Woolf—over a century after Byron, she reportedly took a trip to swim in the same pool.As mentioned in the passage, there is a small charge for________.
| A．attending the masters' class |
| B．working with local artists |
| C．learning life drawing |
| D．seeing an exhibition |
“Torch Aloe” and “Venus Flytrap” are ________.
| A．common insects |
| B．impressive plants |
| C．rarely-seen snakes |
| D．wildlife-enthusiasts |
We can infer from the passage that Byron seemed ________.
| A．to fear pet bears |
| B．to like walking |
| C．to be a heavy drinker |
| D．to finish university in 1805 |
In the passage Byron's Pool is described as a lake________.
| A．surrounded by fields |
| B．owned by Lord Byron |
| C．located in Grant Chester |
| D．discovered by Virginia Woolf |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Some places for weekend break. |
| B．A way to become creative in art. |
| C．The colorful life in the countryside. |
| D．Unknown stories of Cambridge University. |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项。
It was graduation day at the university where I worked a beautiful day quite unlike the first graduation I attended as a young professor. On that cold day years ago，as we watched the students walking into the hall，one of my colleagues turned to me and said，“Graduation will be one of the happiest and one of the saddest times of your life.”At my inquiry，he answered，“Because the students you have gotten to know have to leave.”
As years went by，my previous confusion about my colleague's words no longer existed. When I come across naughty students，I have to rethink why I chose to be a teacher. It obviously isn't the money. Once a former computer science student of mine called me，asking me if I wanted to have a change. He was working at Nintendo Corporation. His salary was higher than my current one，though I have more education and have worked for over a decade. With my programming skills，he said he could get me hired. I thanked him，but declined his kind offer.
A few days before this current graduation，while working on final grades，I found a note a student had slipped in with her homework. She thanked me for being her teacher and said the things she had learned in my class－not about math，but about life－would be things she would remember long after the math skills had faded away. As I finished reading，I remembered why I had become a teacher.
Now，on this sunny graduation day，as I again observed the sea of blue_hats_and_gowns，I did so with renewed dedication(奉献) and a deeper sense of satisfaction－I will always be grateful that I am a teacher.Hearing his colleague's description of graduation for the first time，the author ______.
| A．quite agreed with his colleague |
| B．thought it very funny |
| C．was very puzzled |
| D．was very sad |
The computer science student called up the author because he ________.
| A．wanted to inform the author of his present job |
| B．tried to persuade the author to work with him |
| C．wanted the author to share his joy and satisfaction |
| D．thought the author wasn't fit to be a teacher |
The underlined part “blue hats and gowns” refers to ________.
| A．university colleagues |
| B．life memories |
| C．graduates' clothes |
| D．decorations in the hall |
The author wrote this passage to ________.
| A．express his devotion to being a teacher |
| B．compare two different graduation ceremonies |
| C．talk about the meaning of graduation |
| D．give advice on how to be a good teacher |