The Taj Mahal
Shah Jahan finished building Taj Mahal in 1648. He was a rich and powerful emperor, and he built the Taj Mahal as a memorial for his wife. The word “taj” means crown, “Mahal” was the name of his wife. Twenty thousand people worked for 18 years to complete this beautiful domed(圆顶屋) building. A thousand elephants carried huge stones and jewels from all over India and central Asia to the Taj. Shah Jahan wanted this memorial to be a burial place for himself and his wife.
The Taj Mahal is on the Yamuna River in Agra in northern India. Its picture is in most travel books and brochures. It is open daily from sunrise to sunset. For about fifteen rupees (or about US$0.33), anyone can enter this peaceful and quiet place.
As you enter, you pass through beautiful, silent gardens. From the gardens, you cross a wide courtyard. Suddenly, you see the dome of the main building through a tall, red sandstone gate. At daybreak, the Taj Mahal’s white walls turn rose. At noon, they blaze（发光）white. At dusk, they become dark grey.
After you pass through the gate, you step onto a wide stone platform. You look over another garden with pools. Everything is arranged carefully in fours. The garden is divided into four parts. There are straight rows of colorful flowers and trees in each of the parts. At the four corners of the Taj Mahal, there are pointed tall towers. After the gardens, you go down stone steps towards the main building with the tomb and the graves of Shah Jahan and his wife.
After hundreds of years, the Taj Mahal remains a lovely and peaceful place.
| A．It was a monument of love. |
| B．Four is a special number in the Moslem religion. |
| C．Many people want to visit the Taj Mahal some day. |
| D．This beautiful building is truly a jewel for all people. |
E. The Taj Mahal is most beautiful by the light of the full moon.
F. To many people around the world, the Taj Mahal is a symbol of India.
G. From the cool, dark gates, the Taj Mahal seems to float between earth and sky.
Giving up smoking will most likely add seven years to one’s life. While many people try to give up and fail, it is not an impossible task. Follow these five tips, and you will be well on your way to giving up smoking.Success in all fields of life begins with firm determination. If you are weak in willpower, you can never do anything. However, if you make up your mind, once and for all, that you are giving up the habit, you have made the first step towards success.
If you sit around doing nothing, there is a higher chance that you will light up a cigarette and relax. Fill your spare time with sports and energetic activities. Try to feel how good it is to get your blood circulating and to breathe in air deeply. If you are not the athletic type, then walking will have the same benefit as other kinds of sports.
If going to a bar means that you are going to have a drink and then light up, maybe it is better to avoid that place for the time being. Once you have truly stopped smoking and you feel how good it is, you can go anywhere else But while you are in the transition phase, it is better to carefully choose where you will spend your spare time.
Whenever you get a desire to put a cigarette in your mouth, replace it with something that will help you rather than harm you. Drinking small amounts of water throughout the day is not only a good way to help you give up smoking, but it is also a great way to stay healthy. You should drink eight glasses of water per day, if you can. If you need to put something solid in your mouth, then have a piece of fruit in place
Tell people around you that you are giving up smoking for health reasons. They are likely to support you and not to offer you cigarettes. Your family and loved ones will similarly support your efforts and help you to avoid situations where you may feel you have to smoke because of social pressure.
| A．Learn how to resist the temptation（诱惑） |
| B．Do not make yourself less active |
| C．Escape from social pressure |
| D．Amuse yourself in proper places |
E. Get support from your friends and family
F. Promise not to smoke
G Drink more water instead of smoking a cigarette
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Have you ever seen any students whose trousers hang so low you can see their underwear? What do you think of that ? Fashionable? Some of today’s teenagers are big fans of such a look?
The headmaster of a school in central Italy has asked students to stop wearing low-rise jeans that expose underwear and parts of the body. His request came after a class trip. One day, he saw one boy’s baggy trousers slide to his feet. .
But in Italy, a nation that takes fashion very seriously, the suggestion caused a debate among parents, teachers and students. The issue is whether the headmaster’s request will limit students’ freedom—or whether dress in Italian schools is too casual.“we do not want to kick fashion out,” the headmaster explained, “ but extremes (极端)of fashion like this are not right in school.” Many other schools have now requested that their students also stop wearing such trousers.
Ludovica Gaudio,14, wore extremely low trousers exposing orange underwear in class. It was cold, so she wore a matching orange scarf.
“ I don’t really feel comfortable in those sort of jeans,” said Sarah Lattanzi, “In winter , when dressed like that ,it’s quite cold and I am afraid my stomach will ache.”
| A．But recently this trend has been at the center of an argument in Italian middle schools. |
| B．A parents’ group praised the move in favor of good taste, while others advised schools to stop worry about fashion and fix up old school buildings. |
| C．He pointed out that this way of dressing is not suitable for school. |
| D．Most students have simply ignored the request. |
E.Another 14-year-old girl said she would probably respect the request, simply for practical reasons.
F.Let us see that Italian students react differently to schools’ requests.
G.Schools should pay attention to things more important than students’ clothes.
Jealous of the kids at school who are smarter than you and seem to learn more quickly? Don’t worry． However, according to a recent study, IQ can rise—not just by one or two points, but by as many as 21 points!
Scientists have found that IQ changes are linked to changes in part of the brain called gray matter, which was seen to grow and become denser （更加密集） in the brains of people whose IQs improved greatly．One is to train your short-term memory． Previous research has proven that short-term memory is the basis for intelligence, so trying to recognize or retell something that you have seen or heard can help raise your overall brain power．
A good night’s sleep will also help improve your concentration． It helps you stay focused for longer the next day．
Scientists have also found that exercise helps． Walking 30 minutes a day five times a week and doing exercise will help you become more knowledgeable—as well as healthier and fitter．
| A．There are several ways of increasing your brain’s gray matter． |
| B．Your brain deals more efficiently with things you truly like． |
| C．With a bit of brain training, the chances are that you can be as smart as they are． |
| D．So maybe it’s a good idea to get your brain in training right away． |
E．Getting enough sleep is like pushing the reset button in your brain．
F．The more you work on it, the better you will become．
G． People used to assume that a person’s IQ was unchangeable．
根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项．选项中有两项为多余选项．
Getting your children to study can be a little like getting them to eat their vegetables.
____ Make a study time and have it at the same time every day.This will help your kids to learn to schedule their day and will give them a sense of control over how they spend their time.
Allow them to study in blocks of time，such as for half an hour with a fiveminute break in the middle.____ Ideal(理想的) study times are after dinner or right after school before dinner.
Never allow your children to study in front of the television，as that will encourage passive activity（被动活动）.____
You'll also need to help your kids find the right place to study.After you've set up a good study time for little learners，set up a good place where they can get those creative juices flowing.
____ Make sure there is a table or a desk and a comfortable chair.
____ This includes helping them out with their homework sometimes and being there for them with the answers to any questions.The input（投入） you give your children during study periods will help form a bond（结合，联系） and help make studying enjoyable.
| A．Pick a place where your children can study properly. |
| B．Hold them to the schedule they create for themselves. |
| C．Finally，spend time with your kids when they're studying. |
| D．Keep the atmosphere（氛围） light and offer lots of encouragement，too. |
E．Instead，use TV as a treat or a reward when the homework is completed.
F．Try to stop this bad habit by offering some sort of reward.
G．One of the best ways to form good study habits for your kids is to design a schedule（计划） that they keep to.
阅读下面对话，从方框内7个选项中选择5个恰当的句子完成此对话，并将其番号填入题前括号内。
A: Where is Lucy?
B: ____.
A: ____?
B: Yes. She has been there once.
A: ____?
B: She went there last week.
A: ____?
B: She is going to stay there for a month.
A: Do you know ___?
B: She will be back at the end of October.
| A.Where have you been? B.Has she ever been there before? C.When she will be back? D.How long is she going to stay there? E.Why has China carried out one-child policy? F.When did she go there? G.She has gone to England. |