It is winter in many parts of the world. For some areas, that means snow. Maybe even lots of snow. If you don’t have to drive in it or remove it, snow can be very beautiful. When snow covers everything around you, the world looks like a “winter wonderland”. That is the name of a very popular song about winter. Richard Smith and Felix Bernard wrote the song back in 1934. There are hundreds of recordings of this happy song.
But winter is not always such a beautiful and happy time. It’s cold outside. You try hard to keep warm. The days are darker and shorter. The sun rarely shines. The leaves on the trees are brown. It isn’t surprising that some people are sad in winter. And some people dream about being somewhere else where it’s warm and pretty—like the state of California. The Mamas and the Papas recorded this famous song “California Dreaming”.
During the 1960s, many other famous rock groups released songs about winter. Here is a poetic song by Simon and Garfunkel called “A Hazy Shade of Winter”. They sing about life and hope and possibilities.
In 1968, the group Blood, Sweat and Tears recorded this gentle, sad song about winter. They sing about a lost love and forgotten memories in “Sometimes in Winter”.
In the early 1990s, Tori Amos wrote and recorded the beautiful song called “Winter”. She enjoyed singing about winter when she was a child.
Finally, on a happier note comes this song written and recorded by Fountains of Wayne in 2003. They sing about a snowstorm in a New England town. Nothing unusual there. But instead of being sad or tense about the snow, they write a song about it. The underlined sentence “For some areas, that means snow.” probably means
_____ .
| A．In some areas, when it’s winter, it must snow |
| B．In some areas, it often snows in winter |
| C．In some areas, it’s important to snow |
| D．In some areas, people like snow in winter |
According to the second paragraph, winter is _____ .
| A．beautiful and happy | B．happy and warm |
| C．lovely and hopeful | D．cold and sad |
Which of the songs can bring us hope of life?
| A．Winter Wonderland. | B．California Dreaming. |
| C．A Hazy Shade of Winter. | D．Sometimes in Winter. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Winter in different areas. | B．Different ideas about winter. |
| C．Songs about winter. | D．Winter is cold but happy. |
A large number of women in Western European countries wish that they were born men. The number is said as high as 60% in West Germany.
“Women often wish that they had the same chance as men have, and believe it is still men’s world,” said Dr James Holden, one of the scientists who did the study.
Anne Harper has a very good job for an international oil company. She also believes in “Women’ s Liberation(解放)”.
“I don’t wish that I were a man,” she says, “and I don’t think many women do. But I do wish that people would stop looking down upon us women. At work, for example, we often do the work that men do but get paid less. There are still a lot of jobs that are usually the best ones and open only to men. If you’re a man, you have a much better chance of leading an exciting life. How many women pilots are there ... or engineers or scientists?”What can we learn from the first paragraph?
| A．60% women in West Germany wish that they were born men. |
| B．Most women in Western European countries wish that their babies were all boys. |
| C．60% Western European women wish that they were born men. |
| D．60% Western European women who wish that they were born men are from West Germany. |
“It is still men’s world.” means “______.”
| A．There’re more men than women in the world |
| B．There’re more men scientists or engineers than women scientists or engineers in the world |
| C．Women have not been given the same chance as men |
| D．Women cannot live without men |
Anne Harper considers that women should ______.
| A．be well paid | B．live a better life than men |
| C．be really liberated | D．get better jobs than men |
Anne Harper doesn’t wish that she were a man because she ______.
| A．has got a very good job |
| B．isn’t looked down upon by anyone |
| C．does the work that a man can’t do |
| D．believes in “Women’s Liberation” |
Which is not true about Anne Harper?
| A．Anne Harper has a very good job for an international oil company |
| B．she is one of the scientists who did the study. |
| C．She believes in “Women’ s Liberation.” |
| D．She doesn’t want to be a man. |
For Children
Museum: Children’s Museum, Sundays, 89 North Street, 67641235
Story time: Children’s Library, 106 Green Street, Wednesdays during 9:30 a.m -5:00p.m. 66599624
Sports: Soccer Club, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 16 Yangtze Road, 96725643
Basketball Club, Wednesdays and Fridays, 79071632
Cinema: New films for children, 99 Brick Road, 69001354
Useful Phone Numbers
Fast Food Restaurant: 66387901
Hospital: 68787451
Visitor Information Center: 800-120-9847
Taxi: 79210583
Visitor Hotel Information: 800-739-7302It’s Friday afternoon，you can go to _______ .
| A．visit the museum | B．play soccer |
| C．read children’s stories | D．play basketball |
If children want to watch new films，they should go to ________.
| A．16 Yangtze Road | B．99 Brick Road |
| C．106 Green Street | D．89 North Main Street |
If you dial 66387901，you can __________.
| A．order fast food in a restaurant |
| B．do some shopping |
| C．have a good story time |
| D．ask for some hotel information |
Lily’s father is ill．She should dial ________.
| A．800-120-9847 | B．79210583 | C．6878745l | D．96725643 |
You can not get any information about ________ from the two notices．
| A．looking for a hotel | B．eating fast food |
| C．doing eye exercises | D．taking a taxi |
Yoga(瑜伽) is an ancient practice that helps create a sense of union in body, mind, and spirit. It brings us balance. I practice hatha yoga at least twice a week, but consider yoga to be part of my daily life because after a while you no longer just practice yoga — you live it.
Yoga becomes part of your physical life. Your body grows stronger, more toned, and more flexible as you move from one asana-or pose-to the other. I spent a week in Mexico at a yoga retreat, and it was the first vacation on which I lost weight. "Rather than building muscle, yoga builds muscle tone," says Shakta Kaur Khalsa, author of the K. I. S. S. Guide to Yoga. "Because yoga helps maintain a balanced metabolism (新陈代谢), it also helps to control weight. Additionally, yoga stretches muscles length-wise, causing fat to be eliminated around the cells, thus reducing cellulite(皮下脂肪团) . "
Do yoga poses throughout the day. After hours at my computer, I stretch my stiff shoulders and arms. When I need a boost of energy, I do energizing poses. When I am feeling exhausted at the end of the day, I do restorative poses.
Yoga becomes part of your mental life. Yoga teaches you to focus on breathing while you hold the poses. This attention to breath is calming; it dissolves stress and anxiety. I use yogic breathing on the tennis courts, in the dentist's chair, and when I'm stuck in traffic.
You should always leave a yoga practice feeling energized, not tired. If you feel tired after yoga, it means you spent the time "fighting" yourself, trying to force yourself into poses. In yoga, you "surrender" (放弃） to the pose by letting go of the tension.From the passage we know that _______.
| A．not all the people are fit to do yoga |
| B．yoga is part of everyone's life |
| C．yoga does good for our health |
| D．yoga has a short history |
According to the third paragraph, yoga can help ________.
| A．a person who wants a good job |
| B．a person who wants to lose weight |
| C．a person who wants to travel |
| D．a person who wants to make friends |
What will be talked about following this passage?
| A．Yoga becomes part of your spiritual life. |
| B．Yoga becomes popular all over the world. |
| C．The disadvantages of yoga. |
| D．Encouraging people to do yoga. |
What's the best title of this passage?
| A．What's Yoga? |
| B．How Do I. Do Yoga Poses? |
| C．The Benefits of Yoga |
| D．The Varieties of Yoga |
A cancer-stricken British teenage said Thursday she had been moved by messages of support from around the world after writing an online "Bucket List" of things she wanted to do before dying.
Alice Pyne, 15, created an Internet blog in which she described her fight against a cancer of the white blood cells. "I've been fighting cancer for almost four years and now I know that the cancer is gaining on me and it doesn't look like I'm going to win this one," she wrote.
For her list, at the site www.alicepyne.blogspot.com, she has included making everyone sign up to be a bone marrow donor(骨髓捐赠者), swimming with sharks, meeting the boy band Take That and getting a purple iPad computer.
Messages of support and offers of help quickly flooded her webpage and it became one of the most talked-about subjects on Twitter.
"Oh, dear and I thought that I was just doing a little blog for a few friends！" she wrote after her site attracted huge attention. "Thank you so much for all your lovely messages to me."
Pyne, who lives with her family in the northwest English town of Ulverston, revealed (透露) the management of Take That had arranged for her to see the band after reading her blog. A group of local lawmakers have also joined forces with the Anthony blood cancer charity to encourage people to join its stem cell register.What happened after Alice Pyne wrote her "Bucket List?
| A．People around the world sent messages to support her. |
| B．People sent gifts to her from all over the world. |
| C．A lot of people offered to donate bone marrow to her. |
| D．The media called on people to help her. |
Alice Pyne wrote her "Bucket List" to ____________.
| A．catch people's attention |
| B．say goodbye to a few friends |
| C．give comfort to two terminally ill men |
| D．express her last few wishes |
It can be inferred from the second paragraph that Alice Pyne _______.
| A．is unaware of her own conditions |
| B．is very sad to know that she will die |
| C．is calm to know that death is approaching |
| D．is still quite confident in fighting against cancer |
Which of the following is NOT on Alice Pyne's "Bucket List"?
| A．To ask people to donate bone marrow. |
| B．To get a cool computer. |
| C．To swim with sharks. |
| D．To meet a boy. |
"Take That" will arrange to _____
| A．meetPyne in person |
| B．helpPyne in any possible way |
| C．donate money to Pyne |
| D．invitePyne to join the band |
When Boris left school, he could not find a job. He tried hard and pestered (纠缠) his relatives, but they had problems of their own. He answered advertisements until he could not afford to buy any more stamps. Boris grew annoyed, then depressed, then a little hardened. Still he went on trying and still he failed. He began to think that he had no future at all.
"Why don't you start your own business?" one of his uncles told him. "The world is a money-locker. You'd better find a way of opening it. "
"But what can I do?"
"Get out and have a look round," advised his uncle in a vague sort of way. "See what people want; then give it to them, and they will pay for it."
Boris began to cycle around the town and found a suitable piece of waste ground in the end. Then he set up his business as a cycle repairer. He worked hard, made friends with his customers and gradually managed to build up his goodwill and profit. A few months later, he found that he had more work than he could deal with by himself. He found a number of empty shops but they were all no good: in the wrong position , too expensive or with some other snags(小障碍). But at long last, he managed to find an empty shop on a new estate where there were plenty of customers but no competition.
Boris and his assistant taught themselves how to repair scooters and motor-cycles. Slowly but surely the profits increased and the business developed. At last, Boris had managed to open the money-locker and found bank notes and gold coins inside. What's the passage mainly about?
| A．The key to success. |
| B．A story of a graduate from despair to success. |
| C．No education, no future. |
| D．Difficulty of starting a small business. |
Which of the following best describes Boris' job hunting experience?
| A．Surprising. |
| B．Encouraging. |
| C．Boring. |
| D．Disappointing. |
Boris started his career by _______.
| A．cycling around the town |
| B．developing a waste ground |
| C．repairing cycles |
| D．buying empty shops |
Boris finally chose an empty shop on a new estate because ______.
| A．it was not so expensive |
| B．he had a lot of old customers there |
| C．he could make good use of his skills there |
| D．there were good opportunities there |
We can infer from the last paragraph that Boris _______.
| A．still couldn't make good profits |
| B．succeeded in his career |
| C．found a lot of gold coins by accident |
| D．had great difficulty running his business |