Maybe you have ever seen a cross. A cross can be a piece of jewelry or an image in
a painting. But do 
you know the cross is a very popular symbol for Christmas？
It came from the story of Jesus’ death on the cross two thousand years ago in Jerusalem. Jesus was Jewish，and at that time Jewish people were under Roman rule. Jesus was badly punished because he declared to be the Son of God and the King of Jews. Surely，the Son of God could have saved himself from the deat
h！But the Bible says that Jesus had a reason to die that day. It was in God’s purpose that it would happen.
Christians call the day that Jesus died “Good Friday”.At first，it is hard to understand how a terrible day could ever be called good. Well，the story does not end there. Jesus died and he was buried. But three days later，Jesus was alive，and the whole world was changed.
Today，Christians everywhere remember this important time. They celebrate Easter. Easter is the day that Jesus rose from the dead. After his death on the cross，Jesus’ body was placed in a tomb. On the third day from then，God raised him from the dead. Jesus stayed on earth physically for several weeks. Many people saw him. Easter is the happiest time of year for Christians because they believe that Jesus had victory over death and evil and that now he lives with God the Father in heaven. But before celebrating Easter， Good Friday should be remembered. Jesus died a horrible and painful death. He suffered, though he did noting wrong. Christian believe that Jesus was God’s substitute(代表) for humans， because humans all do wrong. He died because of humans and he died for humans.
Christians often wear crossed around their necks of hang them in their homes because they believe it is a very important sign. The cross helps them rem
ember how much God loves them. It helps them remember how much his Son had to suffer. Seeing a cross always makes them think of Jesus’
death， and what it means.According to the bible， why Jesus could not save himself from death that day？
| A．Jesus was not afraid of death | B．God arrange Jesus’ death for certain purpose |
| C．Jesus should die without a reason | D．Jesus was not God’s Son at all |
Which is the right order of the events given in the passage？
a. Jesus was sentenced to death on the cross by the Romans
b Christians began to celebrate Easter
c Jesus declared himself the Son of God and the King of the Jews
d Three days later，Jesus came to life
e. “Good Friday” came into being
| A．a—e—c—d—b | B．a--e—b—d—c | C．c—a—b—d—e | D．c—a—e—d—b |
In Christians’ belief， for what reason did God want Jesus to die？
A．Go d loved humans despite human’s wrong—doing，so he asked his beloved Son to die in human’s place |
| B．Jesus did something wrong by acclaiming himself the Son of God |
| C．God wanted His Son Jesus to live with him in heaven |
| D．God wanted “Good Friday” and “Easter”mainly to be remembered by humans |
．It can be inferred from the passage that____________
| A．a cross is a piece of jewelry or an image in a painting for Christians |
| B．Christians call the day that Jesus died “Good Friday”mainly to reduce their pain for the loss of Jesus |
| C．if Jesus hadn’t returned to life， people would often wear crosses around their necks or hang them in their homes |
| D．Christians like crosses because crosses always remind them of God’s love and Jesus’ death |
The purpose of the author in writing this passage is to___________
A．introduce a  symbol for Christian---- the cross |
| B．tell an interesting Christian story |
| C．describe the rebirth of Jesus |
| D．inform the origin of two Christian festiva |
When Regina Mary' parents refused to let her get a horse ,the smart 15-year-olddidn’t sit in her room and complain. Instead she turned to a cow called Luna to make her riding dreams come true.
Hours of training ,and tons of treats later, the results are impressive: not only do the two regularly go on long rides through the southern German countryside, they can even do some difficult jumps successfully. Regina joked while sitting on her brown-and-white companion: “It’s unbelievable really , She thinks she’s a horse.”
The pairs unlikely friendship started about two years ago, shortly after Luna was born on the Mayer’s farm. They
started off with walks in the woods. Then Mayer slowly got her cow more adapted to human contact and riding equipment.
About six months later, it was time to see how Luna would respond to a rider on her back in a competition for horses. Mayer sat in the saddle(马鞍),and all went as planned. “She was really well behaved and walked normally, but after a couple of meters, she wanted to get me off her back! You could see that she got a bit peeved.” said Mayer.
Luna and Mayer are now soul mates, spending most afternoons together once the teen—who dreams of becoming a nurse one day—come home from school. The underlined word “peeved” in paragraph 4 probably means ________.
| A．excited | B．sorry | C．angry | D．puzzled |
Regina’s plan is to be ________ in the future.
| A．an animal trainer | B．a horse rider | C．a farmer | D．a nurse |
The passage mainly talks about ________.
| A．a cow performing in a horse competition |
| B．a German girl training a cow successfully |
| C．the way of gaining friendship from a cow |
| D．the efforts of a cow to adapt to riding equipment |
How can you build more word-of-mouth advertising (口碑广告)? In other words, why would your customers want to talk to their friends about their experience of doing business with you?
When you perform your service or deliver your product competently (出色地), you are just doing what the customer expects. In order to increase the number of the customers who want to share their good experience with their friends, you must make your service impressive, going beyond what is expected.
Recently my daughter Dawn and I had lunch with my team members at the Campbell House. The food and service were truly excellent. My daughter asked for her leftovers (剩菜) to be packed. They were returned to her in aluminum foil (铝箔) shaped like a swan(天鹅). Guess what she talked about when she got home? How much more do you think it cost the Campbell House to produce that “Wow!” experience? Answer —not a cent!
Disneyland should be an inspiration to us all in providing a “Wow!” experience. What do people talk to their friends about when they come home? “You should have seen how clean that park was! With all of the people there, it’s unbelievable! There’s not even a gum wrapper on the ground!” Walt Disney understood that cleanliness is marketing.According to the passage, customers would like to share their good experience with their friends if ______.
| A．what they need is provided on time |
| B．the price of the service is low enough |
| C．the service is better than they expected |
| D．the after-sale service is good enough |
How did Dawn feel the moment she saw her packed leftovers?
| A．Disappointed and angry. | B．Excited and crazy. |
| C．Worried and unhappy. | D．Surprised and pleased. |
By saying “Answer — not a cent!” the author seems to believe that ______.
| A．it is always possible to satisfy all of the customers |
| B．sometimes it is easy to provide a good experience |
| C．most customers are easy to do business with |
| D．the service should be as cheap as possible |
If Confucius(孔子）were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be many candles. He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It’s nothing personal. Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually include Chinese art, history and philosophy（哲学）. Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantages of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.
So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well.
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is. The opening paragraph is mainly intended to ________
| A．provide some key facts about Confucius |
| B．attract the readers’ interest in the subject |
| C．show great respect for the ancient thinker |
| D．prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations |
We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students______
| A．have a great interest in studying Chinese |
| B．take an active part in Chinese competitions |
| C．try to get high scores in Chinese exams |
| D．fight for a chance to learn Chinese |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Forgotten Wisdom in America |
| B．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language |
| C．Chinese Culture for Westerners |
| D．Old Thinker with a Big Future |
The passage is likely to appear in ___________.
| A．a biography(自传) | B．a history paper | C．a newspaper | D．a philosophy textbook |
One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts ,it came without wrap（包装）. On September 11, 1958, mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from hospital, she put him in my lap（大腿）, saying, “I promised you a gift, and here it is .” What an honor! I turned four a month earlier and none of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it over and over how much I loved it!
One morning, however, I found its bed empty. My doll was gone! I cried for it. Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a fever. For several days, I heard mum and dad whispering such words as “hopeless”, “pitiful”，and “dying”, which sounded ominous.
“Christmas was coming, don’t expect any presents this year ”Dad said, pointing at the socks I hung in the living room. I’d never seen him cry before.
The phone rang early on Christmas morning. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say.” What? he’s all right?” he hung up and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we could bring Richard home! ”
“Thank god!” I heard Mum cry.
From the upstairs window, I watched my parents rush out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of joy. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there flat. But I knew they were not empty: they were filled with love!What happened to the author on September 11, 1958 ?
| A．He got a baby brother. | B．He got a Christmas gift |
| C．He became four years old. | D．He received a doll |
What does the underlined word “ominous” in Paragraph 3 probably mean？
| A．Impossible. | B．Boring | C．Difficult | D．Fearful |
Which word can best describe the feeling of the father when Christmas was coming?
| A．Excitement. | B．Happiness. | C．Sadness. | D．Disappointment. |
What is the passage mainly about ?
| A．A sad Christmas day | B．Life with a lovely baby |
| C．A special Christmas gift. | D．Memories of a happy family |
Cold weather can be hard on pets, just like it can be hard on people. Sometimes owners forget that their cats are just as used to the warm shelter as they are. Some owners will leave their animals outside for a long period of time, thinking that all animals are used to living outdoors. This can put their pets in danger of serious illness. There are things you can do to keep your animal warm and safe.
Keep your pets inside as much as you can when the weather is bad. If you have to take them out, stay outside with them. When you’re cold enough to go inside, they probably are too. If you must leave them outside for a long time, make sure they have a warm, solid shelter against the wind, thick bedding, and plenty of non-frozen water.
If left alone outside, dogs and cats can be very smart in their search for warm shelter. They can dig into snow banks or hide somewhere. Watch them closely when they are left outdoors, and provide them with shelter of good quality. Keep an eye on your pet’s water. Sometimes owners don’t realize that a water bowl has frozen and their pet can’t get anything to drink. Animals that don’t have clean and unfrozen water may drink dirty water outside, which may contain something unhealthy for them.What do we learn about pets from Paragraph 1?
| A．They are often forgotten by their owners. |
| B．They are used to living outdoors. |
| C．They build their own shelters. |
| D．They like to stay in warm places. |
Why are pet owners asked to stay with their pets when they are out in cold weather?
| A．To know when to bring them inside. |
| B．To keep them from eating bad food. |
| C．To help them find shelters. |
| D．To keep them company. |
If pets are left on their own outdoors in cold weather, they may ___.
| A．run short of clean water | B．dig deep holes for fun |
| C．dirty the snow nearby | D．get lost in the wild |
What is the purpose of this text?
| A．To solve a problem. |
| B．To give practical advice. |
| C．To tell an interesting story. |
| D．To present a research result. |