Andy rode slowly on his way to school, day-dreaming about the fishing trip that his father had promised him. He was so busy dreaming about all the fish he would catch that he was unaware of everything else around him.
He rode along until a strange sound drew him to the present. He came to a stop and looked curiously up to the heavens. What he saw shocked and terrified him. A huge swarm of bees filled the
sky like a black cloud and the buzzing mass seemed to be heading angrily towards him.
With no time to waste, Andy sped off in the opposite direction, riding furiously—but without knowing how to escape the swarm. With a rapidly beating heart and his legs pumping furiously, he sped down the rough road. As the bees came closer, his panic (惊慌) increased. Andy knew that he was sensitive to bee stings(蜇). The last sting had landed him in h
ospital—and that was only one bee sting! He had been forced to stay in bed for two whole days. Suddenly, his father’s words came to him. “When you are in a tight situation, don’t panic. Use your brain and think your way out of it. ”
On a nearby hill, he could see smoke waving slowly skywards from the chimney of the Nelson family home. “Bees don’t like smoke,” he thought. “They couldn’t get into the house.” Andy raced towards the Nelson house, but the bees were gaining ground. Andy knew he could not reach the house in time. He estimated that the bees would catch up with him soon.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted a small dam used by Mr. Nelson to irrigate his vegetable garden. Off his bik
e and into the cool water he lived, disappearing below the surface and away from the savage insects. After holding his breath for as long as he could, Andy came up for air and noticed the bees had gone. Dragging himself out of the dam, he struggled up the hilly slope and rang the doorbell. Mrs. Nelson took him inside and rang his mother.
“You’ll really need that fishing break to help you recover,” laughed his mother with relief. “Thank goodness you didn’t panic!” But Andy did not hear her. He was dreaming once again of the fish he would catch tomorrow.
Why did Andy fail to notice the swarm of bees earlier?
| A．He was riding to school. |
| B．He was listening to a strange sound. |
| C．He was going fishing with his father. |
| D．He was lost in the thought of the fishing trip. |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the swarm of bees in the passage?
| A．They crowded like a black cloud. |
| B．They shocked and terrified Andy. |
| C．They tried to attack Andy in a mass. |
| D．They made Andy stay in hospital for two days. |
How did Andy avoid the bees in the end?
| A．He asked Mr. Nelson for help. |
| B．He did himself under the water. |
| C．He rushed into the Nelson house. |
| D．He rode off in the opposite direction. |
Which of the following can best describe Andy’s escape from the bees?
| A．No pains, no gains. |
| B．Once bitten, twice shy. |
| C．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| D．In time of danger, one’s mind works fast. |
“Reading makes a full man” (Bacon, 1597). Novels written by the writers like Jane Austen, Victor Hugo and Ernest Hemingway help us to know more about our history, culture and many other things.
| Jane Austen was one of the most well-known women writers of the world. She was born in England in 1775. Jane loved reading and writing. She wrote a number of famous novels in her life. Among them, Pride and Prejudice written in 1779 was the most popular. |
| Victor Hugo, born in 1802 in France, was one of the best writers in the19th century. The talent in writing and hard work brought great success to Hugo at an early age. His most popular novel, the Hunchback of Notre-Dame, was written in 1831. The book was so successful that it was quickly translated into many other languages across Europe. |
| Ernest Hemingway, an outstanding American writer and reporter, was born in 1899. His life experience had a great influence on his writing style. Hemingway lived in France and Italy between the 1920s and 1950s. Most of his books such as The Sun Also Rises were written at that time. He won the Nobel Prize in 1954 mainly because of the novel The Old Man and the Sea. |
When was Jane Austen born?
| A．In 1775 | B．In 1799 | C．In 1802 | D．In 1899 |
Where was Victor Hugo from?
| A．England. | B．America. | C．Italy. | D．France. |
Ernest Hemingway won the Nobel Prize mainly because of _________.
| A．The Hunchback of Notre-Dame | B．Pride and Prejudice |
| C．The Old man and the Sea | D．The Sun Also Rises |
Was the London Olympics a success? Many people hold different opinions. However one thing is certain, London could win a gold medal for hosting the “greenest” Games ever, BBC News reported.
Previous Olympic hosts have been criticized for the environmental damage they have caused through construction, waste. and transport. But things had to be different in London because seven years ago it bid for the Olympics through the concept of “a One Planet Olympics”.
What is most impressive is that London used the construction of the Olympic Park as an opportunity to clean up polluted areas — 2 million tons of contaminated (被污染的) soil were removed and 200 old factory buildings, were torn down, according to sustainablebusiness.com. But that’s not all —. 99 percent of the debris (废瓦砾) were reused to build the Olympic Park. For example, part of the Olympic Stadium’s roof is made from 2,500 tons of steel tubes recycled from old gas pipelines.
As well as using recycled materials, all venues were built with green building techniques. The Olympic Stadium is the lightest one ever built, which minimized the amount of steel and concrete needed. Also, the handball field has lighting pipes on the roof that reduce electricity use by 40 percent, according to sustainablebusiness.com.
The effort that London made to deal with waste also deserves praise. Water used for drinking and watering plants was from collected rainwater or recycled wastewater. In this way. about 30-40 percent less water was used in total. Waste food packages were either recycled or processed and turned into renewable energy.
As one of the best connected places in Europe, London tried to solve traffic jams by encouraging the use of public transport. For example, it had trains deliver half of the building materials, instead of cars, which greatly reduced carbon emissions.
The clean anti-doping (反兴奋剂) result also added to the greenness of the Games. The International Olympics Committee (IOC) said that the devices used this time were the most accurate and advanced. Only one athlete tested positive for a banned drug on the day of competing, which is why the IOC President, Jacques Rogge, has praised anti-doping efforts at the London Games.To make the Olympic Park green, London _______.
| A．recycled 2 million tons of contaminated soil |
| B．removed 99 percent of the debris from the city |
| C．built the Olympic Stadium mostly with recycled materials |
| D．applied green building techniques to the construction work |
The underlined word “minimized” in the fourth paragraph probably means
| A．increased as much as possible |
| B．reduced as much as possible |
| C．made good use of |
| D．took little notice |
What can we conclude from the article?
| A．The London Olympics cost less than the other Olympics ever held. |
| B．London has possessed the most advanced techniques to deal with waste. |
| C．Public transport is made good use of in London during the Olympic games. |
| D．The anti-doping result in the London Olympics turned out to be dissatisfactory. |
Which of the following best shows the structure of the text?
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．How to deal with the anti-doping |
| B．How to use recycled materials |
| C．London’s green games |
| D．London’s public transport |
Growing up, I remember my father as a silent, serious man not the sort of person around whom one could laugh. As a teenager arriving in America, knowing nothing, I wanted a father who could explain the human journey. In college, when friends called home for advice, 1 would sink into deep depression for what I did not have.
Today. at twenty-seven, I have come to rediscover them in ways that my teenage mind would not allow — as adults and as friends with their own faults and weaknesses.
One night after my move back home, I overheard my father on the telephone. There was some trouble. Later, Dad shared the problem with me. Apparently my legal training had earned me some privileges in his eyes. I talked through the problem with Dad. analyzing the purposes of the people involved and offering several negotiation strategies. He listened patiently before finally admitting, “I can’t think like that. I am a simple man.”
Dad is a brilliant scientist who can deconstruct (解构) the building blocks of nature. Yet human nature is a mystery to him. That night I realized that he was simply not skilled at dealing with people, much less the trouble of a conflicted teenager. It’s not in his nature to understand human desires.
And so, there it was — it was no one’s fault that my father held no interest in human lives while 1 placed great importance in them. We are at times born more sensitive, wide-eyed, and dreamy than our parents and become more curious and idealistic than them. Dad perhaps never expected me for a child. And I, who knew Dad as an intelligent man, had never understood that his intelligence did not cover all of my feelings.
It has saved me years of questioning and confusion. I now see my parents as people who have other relationships than just Father and Mother. I now overlook their many faults and weaknesses, which once annoyed me.
I now know my parents as friends: people who ask me for advice; people who need my support and understanding. And I’ve come to see my past clearly.What was the author’s impression of her father when she was a teenager?
| A．Friendly but irresponsible. |
| B．Intelligent but severe. |
| C．Cold and aggressive. |
| D．Caring and communicative. |
Why did the author feel depressed when her friends called home?
| A．She did not have a phone to a1l home. |
| B．Her father did not care about her human journey. |
| C．Her father was too busy to answer her phone. |
| D．Her father couldn’t give her appropriate advice. |
After the author overheard her father on the telephone.
| A．he blamed her for impoliteness |
| B．he rediscovered human nature |
| C．he consulted with her about his problem |
| D．he changed his attitude towards the author |
The author realized that ______.
| A．her father had too many faults and weaknesses |
| B．her father was not as intelligent as she had thought |
| C．her father was not good at interpersonal relationships |
| D．her father placed too much importance in social activities |
Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
| A．My Parents as Friends |
| B．My Parents as Advisors |
| C．My Father — a Serious Man |
| D．My Father — an Intelligent Scientist |
We know that sugary sodas aren’t good for our bodies. Now it turns out that they may not be good for our minds, either. A new study of more than 260,000 people has found a link between sweetened soft-drinks and depression, and diet sodas may be making matters worse.
Americans drink far more sodas than people in other countries— as much as 170 liters per person per year. But the impact of this study isn’t limited to the United States. “Sweetened drinks, coffee and tea are commonly consumed worldwide and have important physical consequences. And they may have important mental-health consequences as well,” study author Dr Honglei Chen said in a statement.
The study studied 263,925 people between the ages of 50 and 71. Researchers followed their consumption of drinks like soda, tea coffee, and other soft drinks from 1995 to 1996 and then. 10 years later, asked them if they had been diagnosed with depression since the year 2000. More than 11,3000 of them had.
Participants who drank more than four servings of sodas per day were 30 percent more likely to develop depression than participants who did not drink sodas at all. People who stuck with fruit punch(鸡尾酒), had a 38 percent higher risk than people who didn’t drink sweetened drinks. And all that extra sugar isn’t the actual problem. Researchers say that the artificial sweetener aspartame may be to blame.
The study found a link but could not surely determine whether sodas and other sweet soft drinks cause depression. Still, the results “are consistent with a small but growing body of evidence suggesting that artificially sweetened beverages may be linked to poor health outcomes.”
But there’s a bright side for those who can’t live without their daily sodas. Adults who drank coffee had a 10 percent lower risk of depression compared to people who didn’t drink any coffee, according to the study. “Our research suggests that cutting out or down on sweetened diet drinks or replacing them with unsweetened coffee may naturally help lower your depression risk,” said Chen.What has the new study of more than 260,000 people found?
| A．Sugary sodas aren’t good for the physical health of old people. |
| B．Americans have a special tooth for sweet foods. |
| C．Sweetened soft-drinks may increase the risk of depression. |
| D．Sweetened soft-drinks have important physical consequences. |
What do we know about the process of the study?
| A．About twenty-six thousand people participated in it. |
| B．The oldest participants were below 80 when the study was over. |
| C．Most of the participants had depression when the study was over. |
| D．The study lasted more than ten years from the beginning to the end. |
We infer that the underlined word “aspartame” in Paragraph 4 refers to something that _____.
| A．can reduce the harm of sweetened drinks |
| B．is used to reduce the risk of depression |
| C．is mainly used to make fruit punch |
| D．is used to make something .sweet |
It is implied in the passage that ______.
| A．more research is needed to confirm the new findings |
| B．the new findings aren’t consistent with any previous findings |
| C．cutting one’s sodas intake will surely reduce one’s depression |
| D．the new findings won’t have an impact on people’s drinking habits |
What should you drink in order to reduce the risk of depression?
A. Sodas.
B: Unsweetened coffee.
C. Sugary coffee.
D. Fruit punch.
The China Daily newspaper group is looking for English-language senior business editors, senior copy editors, copy editors and graphic designers to strengthen its international team. We offer a competitive salary package, accommodation with furniture paid for 90 percent, medical reimbursement(报销). a seven-day paid leave, eleven -day public holidays and a return ticket to the country of residence.
Senior Business Editor
You must:
(1) Assist the business editor in setting goals and working on achieving them;
(2) Be an excellent team person who can generate ideas and think creatively and be able to rewrite totally if needed;
(3) Ideally have been working or have worked in a position of responsibility and understand what leadership intends;
(4) Have had at least five years’ editing experience working on editing the Business Desk and be familiar with industry software.
Senior Copy Editor
You must:
(1) Work on shifts in the Business Desk and usually have the last word before the page is sent to print;
(2) Edit or rewrite copy and give smart headlines and captions;
(3) Have had at least two years.’ editing experience working on editing desks and be familiar with industry software.
Copy Editor
You must:
(1) Be good at editing or rewriting copy and writing smart headlines and captions;
(2) Be able to work on shifts for different pages, and usually have the last word before the page is sent to print;
(3) Have two years of editing experience working on copy desks, and be familiar with industry software.
Graphic Designer
You must:
(1) Have excellent skills in information graphics;
(2) Be good at illustrations and freehand drawings;
(3) Be experienced in newspaper or magazine layouts;
(4) Have a good sense of typography(活版印刷术);
(5) Have good new judgment;
(6)Be fluent in English.
For enquiries or to apply, write to job @chinadaily.com.cn.What is the purpose of this passage?
| A．To describe the positions of the China Daily newspaper group. |
| B．To tell you how to become part of this group. |
| C．To describe the working conditions of the China Daily newspaper group. |
| D．To advertise for employing some good employees. |
What is not required about Graphic Designer?
| A．Be expert in Photoshop. |
| B．Writing smart headlines and captions. |
| C．Have excellent skills in information graphics. |
| D．Having a good sense of typography. |
How many positions need editing experience?
| A．Two. | B．One. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
Which can be the best title of the passage?
| A．China Daily: New Employees Wanted |
| B．China Daily: Newspaper |
| C．China Daily: An International Team |
| D．China Daily: The Best Working Condition |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The employees have the right to enjoy eleven-day public holidays. |
| B．The workers there can enjoy a seven day-leave without pay. |
| C．Free accommodations are available to the workers. |
| D．The senior business editor’s only job is to help the business editor to set goals. |