Is it a tree? Is it a bear? If you’re looking at a tree in the shape of a bear, it’s a topiary(林木雕塑). A topiary is a tree or a bush(灌木) that is trained into a shape. Growing a topiary garden takes both time and skills. 
A topiary gardener should make a drawing first. The drawing shows the final shape that the gardener likes. The gardener then chooses a bush for the topiary. It may be one that just planted or one that is already in place.
In June of the plant’s first year, the gardener looks for new leaves. When the leaves grow, it’s time to shape(给……造型) the bottom of the bush. It needs about five years. The top is not trimmed during this time. In the fifth year, the bush grows tall enough for shaping. Then the gardener begins to shape the whole bush.
Once a topiary has been starte
d, it needs care all year. In the summer it must be cut many times to keep its shape. This cutting also helps the bush grow. In the winter the bushes don’t grow. The gardeners have to brush snow of the plants, or snow may hurt some parts of them.
Topiary gardening is very old art. The Romans did it in the first Century. In the sixteenth century, people in Europe like topiaries too. By the late 1600s, topiaries were also grown in America. Today it’s popular in many parts of the world. Put the following in the right order according to the passage.
a. The gardener chooses a bush for the topiary.
b. The whole bush grows tall enough for shaping.
c. The gardener begins to shape the bottom of the bush.
d. The gardener draws the shape of a topiary.
| A．d→a→b→c | B．b→c→a→d | C．a→d→c→b | D．d→a→c→b |
In which part of the world did the topiary gardening begin first?
| A．In Rome. | B．In Europe. | C．In America. | D．In Africa. |
【江苏省常州市2015年中考英语试题】阅读表达（共5小题;每小题1分，满分5分)
阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词
注意:请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。每个空格里只填一个单词。
Any time of the day you can devote to exercising is a good time for getting active,but if you want to make a healthy fitness plan, it may be helpful to keep several points in mind and find out the best time to exercise.
First, try to know what kind of person you are. Especially, are you an early bird who always wakes up early in the morning, or a night owl(猫头鹰)who almost never goes to bed before midnight? Once you are generally aware of what your sleep characteristics are,you will understand better when your body needs exercise, either early in the morning,sometime during the day, or later on in the evening.
Second, consider your daily plan. When do you seem to be most busy, and when do you plan your most important tasks? Try to fit in your exercise before or at least around these events if possible, so that you can keep exercising and your life won't be affected(影响)as well.
Third, think about when you feel you have the most energy. For most people, that time is usually in the morning after a good night's rest, or after a long day of work. After a busy or much stressful day, exercising can reduce your working stress from hard work.
Lastly, find out the place you plan to do exercise. Your house provides exercise at any time if you own fitness equipment(设备)，but if there is a gym(健身房)down the street or along the way home from work, it will make it more suitable for you to exercise.
More importantly, you need to make a plan and try sticking to it for one week. If you do so and can get through the exercise without being pulled in another direction, make it a habit. And once you have set up your fitness plan, don't make any great changes to it unless your doctor allows you to.
| Introduction |
__ |
| Main Points |
.Know your sleep characteristics and you will have a better__ .Make your daily Plan well 50 that you can keep exercising____ .Think about when you are most energetic.Exercising after work can make___ .Find out where to do exercise，and it will make it more suitable for you. |
| Suggestions |
.Stick to your time table and never give up for one week.Then a habit may formed. .Don”change your plan unless you and your doc，Or reach a(n)____ |
【湖南省张家界市2015年中考英语试题】 问答题（共5小题，满分15分）根据短文内容回答问题。 Honesty of American students
When I first arrived in America,I was surprised by the honesty of my classmates.Over my first month at school,I didn’t see or hear anyone cheating.I found two reasons for this.
First,if any student cheats,he or she will get punished.My school has a rule called the Honor Code.It asks students not to steal,lie or cheat.If someone goes against the code,he or she will have to leave the school.During my first year in the school,seven students left the school because of cheating.
Second,American students don’t care about scores as much as Chinese students do.They know that colleges will look at their all-round abilities instead of only scores.So they have fewer reasons to cheat.The writer didn’t see or hear anyone cheating when she first arrived in America, did she?
What is the Honor Code about?
What will happen if students go against the code?
Who does the writer think care more about scores, American students or Chinese students?
Do American colleges think all-round abilities are important for students?
【湖北省孝感市2015年中考英语试题】任务型阅读 阅读短文，按要求完成所给任务。（共8分， 每空2分）
The Sunday Mail magazine interviewed some parents about whether children should do chores at home. Different people have different opinions.
Ms Miller thinks that kids these days already have enough stress from school. They do not have time to study and do housework, too. Housework is a waste of their time. They should spend their time on schoolwork in order to get good grades and get into a good university. When kids get older, they will have to do housework. So there is no need for them to do it now. She thinks that doing chores is not so difficult.
However, Mr. Smith disagrees with her. He thinks it is important for children to learn how to do chores and help their parents with housework. It’s not enough to just get good grades at school. Children these days depend on their parents too much. Doing chores helps to develop children’s independence and teaches them how to look after themselves. It also helps them to understand the idea of fairness. Everyone should do their part in keeping the house clean and tidy. The earlier kids learn to be independent, the better it is for their future.任务一：请将文中划线句子翻译成汉语。
_____________________________________________________________________________任务二：请在文中找出与此句意思相同的句子。
If kids learn to be independent earlier, it is better for their future.
_____________________________________________________________________________任务三：请回答问题：What does Mr Smith think doing chores can help?
_____________________________________________________________________________任务四：What does the passage mainly talk about?
_____________________________________________________________________________
【湖北省黄冈市2015年中考英语试题】第二节任务型阅读（共 4 小题;每小题 2 分，满分 8 分）
（4）
Recently the students in our school all take part in sports. They fall into three groups.
The students who put much more stress on their study go to the playground. They just want to go back to their classrooms with a clearer and quicker mind. Most of them choose long-distance running. So they can be well regarded as study-oriented (倾向的) sports participants (参加者).
The students in the second group are real sports lovers. They put aside their studies for a match. They join in the sport that interests them most. They may be called fun-oriented sports participants.
The students in the third group want beauty from sports. Boys want to become strong; girls want to be slim and graceful. They are very careful in choosing the kind of exercise they do, and are afraid that certain sports may influence their body shapes. They may be beauty-oriented sports participants.
Now, if you look around the school yard, you can’t find the bookworms (书呆子) any more, and instead, there are healthy, strong, clever and modernized students everywhere.
阅读上面短文，根据短文内容，完成表格中的信息。
| Participants in our school |
||
| Groups |
Which sport to choose |
Why to do sports |
| Study-oriented sports participants |
They want to have a clearer and quicker mind. |
|
| Interesting sports |
They want to put aside their studies for a match. |
|
| Beauty-oriented sports participants |
The exercise that doesn’t influence their body shapes |
Boys want to become strong; girls want to |
| Result |
The healthy, strong, clever and modernized students are everywhere, and the bookworms |
【河北省2015年中考英语试题】任务型阅读（共5小题，每小题2分，计10分）
阅读短文，并按要求完成1~5题。
Many people believe that yellowing and wetness are the greatest enemy of stamps. In fact, stamps are afraid of not only wetness, but also light and dirty things. People protect their stamps in several different ways.
To protect stamps, we should never touch the stamps with our hands. This avoids moving dirty things onto them. Stamp tweezers (镊子) should be used in all conditions.
Stamps are printed things. The colour will slowly disappear if the stamps are put in the light for a long time. So we should not put stamps in the light for long. Direct sunlight must be avoided as well.
Wetness is an important problem for stamps. Some collectors will put stamps in separate plastic (塑料) bags. However, it is possible that some stamps have taken in some water from the air before they are put into the plastic bags. Stamps become yellow easily and rapidly after they take in wet air. To protect the stamps, some people also put the stamps into a special room which has a machine to keep the air cool and dry. However, not many people can afford that.
To keep stamps, stamp collectors usually put them under plastic covers. It is a common and simple way. This helps because the plastic cover keeps the stamps off the wet air. It also stops the fingersfrom touching te stamps.
Some collectors prefer to store stamps inside a plastic box with desiccants (干燥剂).However, we should take care not to let the stamps. touch the desiccants. On top of that, don't take your stamps out on a wet day.
1题完成句子；2~3题简略回答问题；4题找出并写下全文的主题句；5题将文中画线句子译成汉语。One way to protect stamps is that we should never touch them __________________.
What will disappear if we put the stamps in the light for long?
_______________________________________________________________When do stamps become yellow easily and rapidly?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________