Shopping is not as simple as you may think! Much has to be done for the producers before putting the products on the shelf.
Color, for example, changes a lot according to what the producers are trying to sell. Health foods are packed in greens, yellows or browns because we think of these as healthy colors.
When some kind of medicine was brought out recently, researchers found that the color of the package(包装) caused the shoppers to lose interest because they made the product look ineffective(无效的). At last, it came on the market in dark blue and white—blue because we think of it as safe, and white as calm.
The size of a package can also attract(吸引) a shopper, although quite often a bottle doesn’t hold as much as it appears to.
It is said that the better-known companies spend about 40 percent of the cost of the product itself on packaging!
The most successful producers know that it’s not enough to have a good product. The head of Pears Soap, who for 25 years has used pretty little girls to sell their goods, came to the conclusion: “Any fool can make soap, but it takes a talent to sell it.” Health foods are usually packed in colors Except ________.
| A．green | B．black | C．yellow | D．brown |
Why did the shoppers lose interest in the medicine?
| A．Because of the size of the product. | B．Because of the color of the product. |
| C．Because of the color of the package. | D．Because of the cost of the product. |
If a new product costs $ 60, how much money may be spent on packaging?
| A．$ 24 | B．$ 36 | C．$ 40 | D．$ 60 |
Which of the following is the key to the success in product sales?
| A．The way to sell goods. | B．A good product. |
| C．The one who makes a product. | D．A nice color. |
The passage is mainly about ___________on shopping.
| A．advantages of products | B．the importance of packaging |
| C．choices of products | D．the cost of packaging |
In Britain．Boxing Day is usually celebrated on December 26 th，which is the following day after Christmas Day．However，strictly speaking．Boxing Day is the first weekday after Christmas．Like Christmas Day．Boxing Day sing a public holiday．This means it's a non﹣working day in the whole of Britain．When Boxing Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday，the following Monday is the public holiday．
The exact origin（起源）of the holiday is unclear．One of the thoughts is that during the Middle Ages，when great sailing ships were setting off to discover new land，a Christmas Box was placed by a priest （神父）on each ship．Those sailors who wanted to ensure a safe return would drop money into the box．It was sealed upand kept on board until the ship came home safely．Then the box was handed over to the priest in the exchange for the saying of a Mass of thanks for the success of the sailing．The priest wouldn't open it to share the contents with the poor until Christmas．
One more thought is about the"Alms Box"placed in every church on Christmas Day．Worshippers （做礼拜的人）put gifts for the poor into it．These boxes were always opened the day after Christmas，that is why that day became know as Boxing Day．
Today，many businesses，organizations and families try to keep the traditional spirit of Boxing Day alive by donating（捐赠）their time，services and money to aid Food Banks，providing gifts for the poor，or helping families in need．Besides，spending time with family and shopping are popular Boxing Day activities now．
（1）If Christmas Day is on a Saturday，Boxing Day will be celebrated on ．
| A． |
December 25 th |
| B． |
December 26 th |
| C． |
December 27 th |
| D． |
December 28 th |
（2）Sailors dropped money into the Christmas Box in order to
| A． |
save the poor |
| B． |
pay for the priest |
| C． |
discover new land |
| D． |
pray for sailing safely |
（3）What does the underlined phrase"sealed up"mean？
| A． |
密封 |
| B． |
悬挂 |
| C． |
归还 |
| D． |
传递 |
（4）The following activities can show the traditional spirit of Boxing Day EXCEPT ．
| A． |
offering gifts to the poor |
| B． |
supporting families in need |
| C． |
spending time with family |
| D． |
giving money to aid Food Banks |
（5）The purpose of the passage is ．
| A． |
to praise the kindness of priests |
| B． |
to introduce the origins of Boxing Day |
| C． |
to call on people to help the poor |
| D． |
to compare Boxing Day with Christmas Day |
Once upon a time，a hippo （河马）lived in a river next to a big tree．
One day，a bird came and nested （筑巢）in the tree．The songs of the bird filled the hippo with so much envy （羡慕）that he couldn't think of anything else．Every day he would think why he wasn't born to be a bird even though the bird told him many times he was so lucky to be so big and such a good swimmer．
Finally，the hippo made up his mind that he would come out of the river，climb the tree and start singing．However，when he tried to climb the tree，it was very clear that the hippo didn't have wings，nor claws to climb with．
Realizing that he would never climb up the tree，he angrily hit the tree until it came crashing to the ground．Then he stepped onto the leaves of the fallen tree，and began singing．
Unfortunately，hippos can't sing，either．All that came from his mouth were terrible noises，and when the other animals heard this，they all came around to make fun of the hippo．
He was so ashamed by this．He also felt bad about having knocked the tree over．He used all his strength to raise the tree back up again，and look after it until it completely recovered．（康复）．
（1）The hippo envied the bird because ．
| A． |
he could fly high |
| B． |
he could build a nest |
| C． |
he could sing well |
| D． |
he could live in the tree |
（2）After reading this passage，we know ．
| A． |
the writer is telling us a true story |
| B． |
the story happened on an autumn day |
| C． |
the bird thought he was luckier than the hippo |
| D． |
the hippo tried to do something against his nature． |
（3）The hippo in this story ．
| A． |
was happy all the time |
| B． |
did not respect his friends |
| C． |
liked to talk a lot but did nothing |
| D． |
corrected his mistake when he realized it |
（4）From the passage，we can infer（推断） that the hippo would after such an experience．
| A． |
be a good singer |
| B． |
be good at climbing trees |
| C． |
stop envying the bird |
| D． |
not make friends with other animals |
（5）The best title of this passage may be" "．
| A． |
The hippo that wished to sing |
| B． |
The tree that was knocked over |
| C． |
The bird that wished to swim |
| D． |
The animals that were in high spirits |
What would it be like to be over 100 meters in the air？Besides taking a plane，there is a more interesting and relaxing way to experience it：having a ride on a Ferris wheel （摩天轮）．
London Eye，England
With a height of about 135 meters，the London Eye is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe．There are 32 cars（轿厢） and each can carry 25 people at most．On the ride，people can get a view of London Tower．Buckingham Palace and Big Ben．One turn takes 30 minutes．
High Roller US
It is the world's tallest Ferris wheel．It is 168 meters tall．High Roller first opened in Las Vegas on March 31 st，2014．A ride takes 30 minutes．You can also enjoy videos and music during the ride．
Tianjin Eye，China
Tianjin Eye is a 120﹣meter﹣tall Ferris wheel．It lies on a bridge over the Haihe River in Tianjin，China．It is the only Ferris wheel in the world to stand on a bridge．The wheel has 48 cars．Each can take eight passengers．People can get good views of the city during the 30﹣minute trip．
Roue decision Paris France
Roue decision Paris looks like all other Ferris wheels．It is about 60 meters tall and has 42 cars．But people can move it．Because of this，the big wheel has been to many other places like Manchester in the UK and Bangkok in Thailand．
51．There are cars in London Eye．
| A． |
25 |
| B． |
30 |
| C． |
32 |
| D． |
135 |
52．The tallest Ferris wheel in the world is in ．
| A． |
Paris |
| B． |
Tianjin |
| C． |
Las Vegas |
| D． |
London |
53．High Roller is meters taller than Tianjin Eye．
| A． |
33 |
| B． |
48 |
| C． |
60 |
| D． |
108 |
54． is the only one to lie on a bridge．
| A． |
London Eye |
| B． |
High Roller |
| C． |
Tianjin Eye |
| D． |
Roue de Paris |
55．Which of the following is TRUE？
| A． |
Tianjin Eye can bring you musical enjoyment |
| B． |
Roue de Paris can be moved to many other places． |
| C． |
London Eye can carry 384 passengers at most on one turn． |
| D． |
Having a ride on the four Ferris wheels needs the same time． |
A 108﹣year﹣old Message in a Bottle
On November 30，1906，George Bidder dropped a bottle from a boat into the North Sea．The weighted glass bottle sank almost to the sea floor，and then it move slowly for 108years and 138days．
Its journey ended when Marianne Winkler found the bottle in 2015．Winkler was then on vacation on Amrum Island．She picked up the bottle when it was washed up onto the beach．She saw a piece of paper inside，but didn't break it open．She could tell that the bottle was old．So she didn't want to damage it．
Finally she got the piece of paper out of the bottle．She found that the paper was actually a postcard．On the back of the card there was this message：The Marine Biological Association（海洋生物学协会） would pay a shilling（先令） for the bottle．A shilling was a unit of money that was used in Great Britain before the early 1970s．
Winkler filled out the card and posted it．The association was surprised to get a postcard addressed to George Bidder，the president of the association from 1939to 1945．The workers of the association searched on the Internet to find a shilling．They found one and sent it to Winkler as a reward．
The message in the bottle was the oldest ever re﹣discovered．For this reason Marianne Winkler got a place in"Guinness World Records"（吉尼斯世界纪录）．She broke the record for the oldest message in a bottle．
Winkler's bottle was not the only one Bidder sent to sea．Between 1904and 1906，he spent away more than one thousand bottles．He placed postcards inside them．The bottles were part of a research project to map currents（洋流） in the North Sea．This was the best method at that time．But whether the association could get the bottles back depended on the people who found them．The association reported that about 55percent of the bottles were returned．They added that the experiment was a success as it showed the east﹣to﹣west flow of the North Sea's currents．
61．How long did the weighted glass bottle move in the sea？
62．Did Marianne Winkler find the bottle in 2015？
63．What was in the bottle？
64．Who was George Bidder？
65．Why did Bidder drop bottles into the sea？ ．
Should Children Be Allowed to Get Bored？
Children need time to stand and stare．They should be allowed to get bored so that they can develop their ability to be creative．
Children are expected by their parents to be reading a textbook all the time．However，research shows that it may hamperthe development of their imagination，while boredom can give them opportunities to develop creativity．
Boredom is often linked with loneliness，but a writer named Meera Syal said boredom had helped here in developing her mind．She told researchers about her childhood．Having few things to do，Syal often talked with her neighbors．She also tried to do things like learning to bake cakes．"But importantly，I thought and wrote a lot，because I was bored，"Syal said．She kept a diary，filling here time with short stories and poems she made up．
Grayson Perry，an artist，grew up in a family with little money．He enjoyed himself by making up stories，drawing pictures for his stories and reading many books in the library．Bored but free，he spent hours looking out of the window，watching the changing clouds and seasons．Perry filled up his free time with what he liked．He became creative，because he could think freely．
Dr．Belton is an expert on the effects of emotions on learning．"Boredom could be an uncomfortable feeling，"she said．"But some young people cannot deal with that boredom creatively．So sometimes they may break a classroom window，or drive a car out for a mad race．"
Usually，when children have nothing to do，they would turn on the TV，the computer，or the phone．Their time on these things has increased，yet they need to have time to think about their experiences through play or just watching the world around them．
It is this kind of thinking that can inspire the imagination．On the other hand，the TV or phone may cut short the thinking process．That can be harmful to the development of creativity．"For developing the ability to be creative，"Dr．Belton advised，"perhaps we need to stand and stare，and stay off﹣line from time to time．"
53．What does the word"hamper"in Paragraph 2probably mean？
| A． |
Slow down． |
| B． |
Keep up with． |
| C． |
Go beyond． |
| D． |
Give rise to． |
54．The writer talks about Syal and Perry to ．
| A． |
stress the great differences between them |
| B． |
introduce a popular writer and a famous artist |
| C． |
suggest good ways of going through boredom |
| D． |
show effects of boredom on developing creativity |
55．What can we learn from the passage？
| A． |
Boredom provides children with space to think freely． |
| B． |
It's much better for children to be busy than be bored． |
| C． |
Boredom helps children deal with difficulties properly． |
| D． |
It's boring for children to think about their experiences． |