London is the capital of the United Kingdom. It has about seven million people. The river Thames runs through London.
People from all over the world visit London to see Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London. There are many museums, theatres and parks in London, as well as offices and factories. London began as a Roman settlement called Londinium. The plague(瘟疫) came to London in the 1600s, followed by the Great Fire of 1666. The city was badly bombed in World War II.
London is very slowly sinking into its foundations and the level of the river Thames is slowly rising. As a result, extra-high tides could flood a large part of London. To prevent this happening, a great barrier（屏障）has been built across the Thames at Woolwich. If very high tides happen, the barrier can be raised and London will be safe.London is the capital of _________, which began as a __________ settlement.
| A．England; Norman | B．UK; Frenchman |
| C．Scotland; English | D．UK; Roman |
According to the passage, from 1600 to now, ________ great disasters have happened in London.
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
The reason why a great barrierhas been built across the Thames at Woolwich is that_________.
| A．London is very slowly sinking into its foundations |
| B．the level of the river Thames is slowly rising |
| C．extra-high tides could flood a large part of London |
| D．all of the above. |
You may not pay much attention to your daily elevator ride. Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it. But Lee Gray, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, US, has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport. He is known as the “Elevator Guy”.
“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette (礼仪) is sort of odd,” Gray told the BBC. “They are socially very interesting but often very awkward places.”
We walk in and usually turn around to face the door. If someone else comes in, we may have to move. And here, according to Gray, lift users unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements. He told the BBC what he had observed.
He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift, you can do whatever you want – it’s your own little box.
If there are two of you, you go into different corners, standing diagonally (对角线地) across from each other to create distance.
When a third person enters, you will unconsciously form a triangle. And when there is a fourth person it becomes a square, with someone in every corner. A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.
New entrants(新进入者) to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act decisively. Once in, for most people the rule is simple – look down, or look at your phone.
Why are we so awkward in lifts?
“You don’t have enough space,” Professor Babette Renneberg, a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin, told the BBC. “Usually when we meet other people we have about an arm’s length of distance between us. And that’s not possible in most elevators.”
In such a small, enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be construed (理解) as threatening or odd. “The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact,” she said.According to Gray, when people enter an elevator, they usually _____.
| A．try to keep a distance from other people |
| B．look around or examine their phone |
| C．make eye contact with those in the elevator |
| D．turn around and greet one another |
Which of the following describes how people usually stand when there are at least two people in an elevator?
The underlined phrase “size up” in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to _____.
| A．ignore | B．make the best of |
| C．put up with | D．judge |
According to the article, people feel awkward in lifts because of _____.
| A．someone’s odd behaviors |
| B．their unfamiliarity with one another |
| C．the lack of space |
| D．their eye contact with one another |
Modeled after US hot website Groupon.com, group buying websites are now popular in China. These websites use the power of group buying to get competitive discounts (打折)for a daily deal on some best stuff（物品，东西，活儿） to do, see, eat and buy in the cities across China. Discounts are available within just one click. Zhao lei, a software engineer in Beijing, loves the one-hour lunch break at noon, as it is the best time for him to check “today’s special” at his favorite group buying websites . Sometimes he searches for great deals at directory sites devoted to the new shopping space. Zhao spends around 800 yuan ($117.65) on group buying every month, mostly to buy food coupons (优惠劵)for eating at some nice restaurants and occasionally to find something fun to do. ‘‘I love group buying. In addition to the competitive discounts it offers, it helps me get something fun, exciting and new, and such surprises give me a reason to try something new,” he said. When he finds a really good bargain, he will send the link to friends or colleagues through MSN,QQ, or e-mail, or share the information at some social networking websites. In doing so, he often gets a certain cut off the price. At some sites, buyers are invited to leave notes about what they want to buy and the website will consider it if similar applications(申请)reach a certain number. That is how Zuo got her digital camera after waiting for two months. “It is cool. I want to buy a new digital camera for my trip to Switzerland this winter, but I never expected such cheap prices!” Zuo said.We can learn from the passage that________.
| A．China is the first country to start group buying |
| B．the price of group buying depends on the market |
| C．you can’t get the best you need through group buying |
| D．group buying is becoming popular in China |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Zhao Lei’s online purchasing life. |
| B．Group buying |
| C．The US hot websites |
| D．A new digital camera |
Zhao Lei succeeded in getting a certain cut off the price by__________.
| A．bargaining face to face |
| B．discussing with the sellers |
| C．providing the link to others |
| D．inviting others to talk about the price |
Respect your teachers
First of all, students should respect the teachers. They should pay attention in the classes. That means to salute him, to stand from his chair when the teacher enters the classroom etc. Attend any lesson attentively. In class of a certain subject or teacher you don’t like very much, if it’s total anarchy(混乱), how can we talk about respect?
Play by the rules
If your teacher wants you to use wide-lined paper—do it! If she tells you to sharpen your pencils only before class starts, listen to her. If she doesn’t accept late homework, do yours on time. Sometimes classroom rules seem strict or even silly, but most teachers know what’s necessary to make things run smoothly, what it takes to let the learning begin. And the better the learning environment, the smarter you’ll be!
Expect her/him to like you.
Teachers are teachers because they like kids. Given the chance, most teachers want to be your friends too. Respect your teacher, but don’t be afraid of her/him. She/He wants you to have a great school year just as much as you want to have!
Put first things first.
Friends are a fun part of school. But they’re not the most important part. When your teacher is teaching, give her/him your full attention. Even when it’s hard to do -- recess will come soon enough, and that’s the time for playing with your friends.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Advice Before You Go to School |
| B．What You Should Do at School |
| C．How to Get Along With Your Teacher |
| D．How to Plan Your Time at School |
What do you think the title of the second paragraph “play by the rules” mean?
| A．Don’t play if you haven’t completed your homework. |
| B．Follow what the teacher says. |
| C．Work is work and play is play. |
| D．Make the learning environment as good as possible. |
According to the last paragraph, what do you think the first thing is?
| A．The teacher. | B．The teacher’s lecture. |
| C．The students | D．Friends. |
The underlined word “recess” most probably means “____”.
| A．break | B．play | C．parents | D．news |
What is language for? Some people seem to think it's for practicing grammar rules and earning lists of words—the longer the lists，the better．That's wrong．Language is for the exchange（交流）of ideas and information．It's meaningless knowing all about a language if you can't use it freely．Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can't speak correctly or fluently（流利地）．They are afraid of making mistakes．One shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language．Native speakers make mistakes and break rules, too．Bernard Shaw once wrote, "Foreigners often speak English too correctly．"But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make．They're English mistakes in the English language．And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule．What used to be wrong becomes right．People not only make history, they also make language．But a people can only make its own language．It can't make another people's language．So Chinese students of English should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn't overdo（做过头）it．They should put communication（交际）first.Language is used to ________.
A. express oneself
B. practise grammar rules
B. talk with foreigners only
D. learn lists of wordsGenerally, when an American or an Englishman speaks English, he ________.
| A．never makes mistakes | B．often makes mistakes |
| C．can't avoid making mistakes | D．always makes mistakes |
"Foreigners often speak English too correctly．"This sentence means that ________.
| A．foreigners speak correct English |
| B．foreigners speak incorrect English |
| C．foreigners speak English according to the grammar rules |
| D．foreigners never make mistakes when they speak English |
The values of artistic works, according to cultural relativism(相对主义), are simply reflections of local social and economic conditions. Such a view, however, fails to explain the ability of some works of art to excite the human mind across cultures and through centuries.
History has witnessed the endless productions of Shakespearean plays in every major language of the world. It is never rare to find that Mozart packs Japanese concert halls, as Japanese painter Hiroshige does Paris galleries, Unique works of this kind are different from today’s popular art, even if they began as works of popular art. They have set themselves apart in their timeless appeal and will probably be enjoyed for centuries into the future.
In a 1757 essay, the philosopher David Hume argued that because“the general principles of taste are uniform(不变的) in human nature,”the value of some works of art might be essentially permanent. He observed that Homer was still admired after two thousand years. Works of this type, he believed, spoke to deep and unvarying features of human nature and could continue to exist over centuries.
Now researchers are applying scientific methods to the study of the universality of art. For example, evolutionary psychology is being used by literary scholars to explain the long-lasting themes and plot devices in fiction. The structures of musical pieces are now open to experimental analysis as never before. Research findings seem to indicate that the creation by a great artist is as permanent an achievement as the discovery by a great scientist.According to the passage, what do we know about cultural relativism?
| A．It introduces different cultural values. |
| B．It explains the history of artistic works. |
| C．It relates artistic values to local conditions. |
| D．It excites the human mind throughout the world. |
In Paragraph 2, the artists are mentioned in order to show that _____ .
| A．great works of art can go beyond national boundaries |
| B．history gives art works special appeal to set them apart |
| C．popular arts are hardly distinguishable from great arts |
| D．great artists are skilled at combining various cultures |
According to Hume, some works of art can exist for centuries because_____ .
| A．they are results of scientific study |
| B．they establish some general principles of art |
| C．they are created by the world’s greatest artists |
| D．they appeal to unchanging features of human nature |
Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?
| A．Are Artistic Values Universal? |
| B．Are Popular Arts Permanent? |
| C．Is Human Nature Uniform? |
| D．Is Cultural Relativism Scientific? |