Once Effendi had a joke with the Prime Minister（宰相）. He said that the Minister would die the next day. The next day, the Minister fell to the ground from the horse and really died. When the king learned this, he got angry and sent his men to catch Effendi at once.
When Effendi was brought to him, the king shouted angrily, “Effendi, since you knew when my Minister would die, you must know the date of your own death. Say it out, or you’ll die today.”
Effendi looked at the king for a while. Then he answered, “But how can I know? I’ll die two days earlier than you.” The king was afraid that if he killed Effendi, he himself would die after that. He thought he must keep Effendi alive as long as possible, so he let Effendi go.This story tells us __________.
| A．how Effendi fooled the king | B．when the king would die |
| C．why the Minister died | D．Effendi knew the date of everyone’s death |
The Prime Minister died because __________.
| A．Effendi killed him | B．Effendi said he would die |
C．he wa s badly ill |
D．he fell off the horse |
Why did the king ask Effendi to tell him the date of Effendi’s own death?
| A．Because the king wanted to know when he himself would die. |
| B．Because the king wanted to find an excuse to kill Effendi. |
| C．Because he himself had known the date of Effendi’s death. |
| D．Because he wanted to know when Effendi would die. |
The king let Effendi go because __________.
| A．he hoped to live a long life | B．he was afraid of Effendi |
| C．he didn’t believe Effendi’s words | D．he knew the would die two days later |
Which of the following is not true?
| A．Effendi played a joke on the Minister. |
| B．The king was afraid of death. |
| C．Effendi didn’t know when the king would die |
| D．If the king killed Effendi, he himself would die two days later. |
阅读表达 阅读短文，按要求完成短文后的各项任务。(10分)
Chris is not a traditional explorer（探险者）----he usually works in an office for a large organization. Yet his job can sometimes be just as exciting and dangerous as being an explorer.
Chris works for MSF, an organization also known as Doctors Without Borders (无国界医生). MSF sends trained doctors all over the world to help people after a war or a disaster. Chris is a doctor from France who has travelled to many places to organize programmes that help people.
At the moment, there are over 27,000 trained medical staff taking part in MSF projects and tasks. The organization received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. All kinds of doctors can volunteer for MSF. They need to be prepared to go almost anywhere in the world and, of course, they should expect difficult conditions. Doctors with experience in tropical（热带的）diseases are especially useful because most of MSF’s work is in Africa. When MSF accepts a doctor for a task, he has to go for at least six months. When doctors have completed a few tasks, they might be sent on an emergency（紧急的） task following a disaster, such as an earthquake.
But why would a doctor leave a comfortable life and a good salary（工资） to join MSF? According to Chris, the experience you get is a great help in your career. Besides, just like the explorers of the past, you need to keep an open mind and learn to mix well with the people you meet. Most importantly, at the end of each task, you have made a real difference to people’s lives.Does Chris work for a large organization?
When does MSF send trained doctors all over the world to help people?
How many medical staff are taking part in MSF projects and tasks?
What kind of doctors are greatly needed in Africa?
According to Chris, why is his work important to other people?
任务型阅读阅读短文，按要求完成短文后的各项任务。请将答案写在题后方框内。（每空一词）（计10分）
Mistakes are great teachers
Mistakes are great teachers. Success comes to those who are willing to risk making mistakes to achieve their goals and wishes, and who are able to learn from those mistakes. And in order to learn from mistakes you must be willing to pay for them.
Mistakes can be very valuable, but when you try to get others to pay for your mistakes, then you lose the chance to learn from them. When something goes wrong, it’s usually very easy to find someone else’s mistakes, but is that useful ? Of course not.
Much of the value of mistakes comes from the fact that they need to cost that must be paid. The person who learns the most from a mistake is the one who pays the price for that mistake.
When you make a mistake, what you shouldn’t do is run away from it. You need to accept it because you can learn a lot from it. The mistake has been made, so make the most of it. Pay the price, learn the lesson, and grow that much stronger.
When you make a mistake, don’t look back at it long. Remember the reason for it, and then look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. The post cannot be changed. The present is still in your power. Make full use of your mistakes to achieve your goals and wishes.
| Mistakes are great teachers |
|
| Who can |
Success comes to those not only achieve their goals and wishes at the risk of |
| When you make mistakes |
Don’t |
| The value of mistakes |
You can learn a lot from mistakes and grow stronger by _ |
| Offer some __ |
When you make mistakes, remember |
Some people have to use public transport, some dislike it and still some love it. If everyone has a car and drives anywhere they want to go, there will be serious traffic problems on the road. Luckily, trains are a good form of public transport.
British people use trains a lot. This is especially so for people who are travelling from London to Paris. Every day about 20 trains leave London. They travel at a very high speed and people feel glad that the trains take only 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach Paris. It's much faster to travel by train than by bus or by car. This is because people have to drive cars or buses very carefully and lowly for many reasons, such as speed limits and traffic jams. However, when you are travelling by train, the speed is almost the same and there is no traffic jam for a train.
Besides, Londoners think taking a train is one of the safest ways of travelling on the ground. Trains take quite a number of quality tests while they are made. More importantly, they have to take many safety checks before they are used on the rail track.
What's more, trains in Britain are comfortable and provide fine services for their users. When you are on a London train, you will find that the train has comfortable tables and seats where people can sit. They also provide food services and power plugs(电源插头) for personal computers or mobile phone.The main idea of the passage is that ________.
| A．British people enjoy public transport |
| B．it's fast to travel from London to Paris |
| C．trains in Britain provide fine services for their users |
| D．trains are a good form of public transport for Londoners |
In a traffic jams on the road, ________.
| A．drivers can drive fast |
| B．drivers can drive carelessly |
| C．cars are not moving fast |
| D．cars will stop working |
The 3rd paragraph of the passage mainly talks about the ________ of trains.
| A．speed | B．safety |
| C．services | D．problems |
Londoners often travel by train because trains are ________.
| A．old and slow | B．large, clean and powerful |
| C．fine and important | D．fast, safe and comfortable |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．We can travel from London to Paris in less than 2hours. |
| B．We can do our work with personal computers on the train. |
| C．We have to wait till we get off the train in order to have some food. |
| D．The trains are only checked for quality reasons before they are used. |
What do you think of black cats? Are they unluckier than cats of other colors? Many people in Western countries think so. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), did a study on cat colours and people’s understandings of cat personalities.
The study found that people do judge(判断) cat personalities by color. Scientists did a survey(调查) on the Internet. There were 49 statements (描述) matching five cat colorings with 10 personalities. People think orange and bi-coloured (双色的) cats are friendly, tri-coloured (三色的) cats are not generous, and white cats are calm, lazy and shy. As for black cats, people think they don’t have special personalities.
But why do so many people dislike keeping black cats as pets? People think black cats have less special personalities, which might be because of their bad reputation (口碑). They think black cats may bring bad luck, especially at Halloween. Movies and television shows also make people believe that.
Although people have these ideas, UC Berkeley scientists give another reason: people don’t think black cats are pretty enough. After all, nothing can show black cats are unluckier than other cats. “You can’t judge a cat by its colour, because it’s the personality of the cat, not the colour, that will let you know if the cat is right for you,” Cathy Marden, a scientist said.Many people in Western countries may think black cats are ______.
| A．lovely animals | B．a sign of bad luck |
| C．a sign of good luck | D．unfriendly animals |
The main idea of paragraph 2 is that ______.
| A．people often complain(抱怨) about black cats on the Internet |
| B．people think cats of different colours have different personalities |
| C．black cats are less popular than other cats |
| D．the study is a great success |
According to the study, people think that______.
| A．black cats have special personalities | B．orange and bi-coloured cats are generous |
| C．cats with three colours are friendly | D．white cats are calm, lazy and shy |
. People don’t like black cats for the following reasons EXCEPT ______.
| A．black cats often appear in TV shows |
| B．black cats bring bad luck to people |
| C．black cats have bad reputations |
| D．they don’t think black cats are beautiful |
The passage mainly talks about ______.
| A．why black cats are popular in movies |
| B．why people are not willing to keep black cats as pets |
| C．different colour cats have different personalities |
| D．different people have different ideas on black cats |
More than anything else in the world, Lion liked being King of the jungle. He walked around, showing off his power and pride.
Each day Lion took a long lazy sleep under the shade of his favourite tree. He always dreamed of weaker animals bowing(鞠躬) before him.
One day Mouse ran through the jungle and tripped over Lion’s huge paws. Lion woke up with a start.“How dare you wake me up!”he shouted angrily. Lion grabbed(抓住) Mouse with one paw.“On the second thought, I’m in the mood for the snack, and you’ll make a delicious meal.”he said.
Mouse cried out,“King Lion, please spare（饶恕） me! If you let me live, I’ll always remember your kindness. And, some day, I might be able to help you.”
“How could such a powerless little mouse ever help me?”That thought made Lion laugh so much that he decided to let Mouse go. A week later, Lion was walking through the jungle on the way to his favourite tree when he stepped onto a hunter’s net. The net scooped him up. No matter how he twisted (扭动) and turned, he couldn’t escape.
When Mouse heard Lion’s frightened shouts, he raced to help. Mouse quickly chewed（咬）through the ropes to make a hole in the net. Soon, Lion moved out and was free. Lion looked down at the little mouse.“Thank you for saving my life,”said Lion, smiling his widest smile. “I was mistaken. You are not a powerless little mouse. You are a great friend!”What did Lion do each day?
| A．He stepped onto a hunter’s net. |
| B．He bowed before weaker animals. |
| C．He showed kindness to animals in the jungle. |
| D．He had a good sleep under his favourite tree. |
. How did Mouse wake up Lion?
| A．He made a hole in the net. |
| B．He shouted at Lion angrily. |
| C．He tripped over Lion’s paws. |
| D．He prepared a delicious meal for Lion. |
Why did Lion let Mouse go?
| A．Because he was trapped in the net. |
| B．Because he took Mouse as his good friend. |
| C．Because he believed Mouse could save him. |
| D．Because he doubted if Mouse could be of any help. |
What do you think of Mouse?
| A．Clever and honest. | B．Silly and lazy |
| C．Humorous and stubborn | D．Proud and selfish. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Pride makes you lose what you have. |
| B．Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. |
| C．Even the small can show great strength. |
| D．When the cat’s away, the mice will play. |