ElizabethandIare18now,andabout-优题课

Strange stones of Costa Rica
One of the strangest mysteries in archaeology was discovered in the Diquis River Delta, in southern Costa Rica. Since the 1930s, hundreds of stone balls have been found. They range in size from a few centimeters to over two meters in diameter.
Who made these perfect spheres(球体) and how they made them remains a mystery. Some researchers believe the stones were made by extreme heating followed by cooling. People could have polished the spheres with sand or leather. The ancient Costa Ricans had no written language so there is no written record of just how they made the spheres.
Almost all are made of granite (花岗岩), a hard stone created by volcanoes. The granite quarries(采石场) were 25 to 30 miles away from the largest stones, which weigh more than 10 tons each. Nobody knows how people moved them.
Many of the stones have been found near the remains of houses or graves. Some believed that the stones contained hidden treasures and a few have been smashed but nothing has been found inside. Despite these losses, the National Museum of Costa Rica has recorded 130 spheres. However, many stones are not included because they have been removed from their original sites and used as ornaments(装饰) in homes, gardens and churches. Clearly, there are also many stones that lie undiscovered.
The stones were discovered ___ .

A．near the volcanoes

B．in southern Costa Rica

C．in a grave

D．in churches

The writer ___ in the passage.

A．admires the spheres very much

B．doesn’t believe the spheres were once made by humans

C．tells us a discovery

D．thinks highly of the spheres

The underlined word “polished” refers to “___”.

A．buried

B．wrapped

C．made shining

D．made big

According to the passage, which of the following is true?

A．The stone balls found in the Diquis River Delta are all very huge.

B．The stone balls were unearthed from the graves.

C．The local people show great interest in the stone balls.

D．There are a lot of treasures in the stone balls.

The passage mainly tells us ___ .

A．the stones are of great value.

B．the stones proved to be made by non-humans.

C．the stones are mystery.

D．the stone are ornaments.

Many animal and plant species have become extinct and many more are in critical danger. Finding ways to protect the earth’s wildlife and protect the natural world they inhabit is now more important than ever.
Now many animals remain threatened with extinction as a result of human activity.
The dodo is a classic example of how humans caused damage to the earth’s wildlife. The flightless dodo was native to the Island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. It lived off fallen fruit from the island’s trees and lived safely until humans arrived in 1505. The easily controlled bird became a source of food for sailors and was attacked by animals introduced to the island by humans such as pigs and monkeys. The population of dodos rapidly decreased and the last one was killed in 1681.
The rhino(犀牛) horn is a highly prized item for Asian medicine. This has led to the animal being hunted in its natural habitat. Once widespread in Africa, Europe and Asia, most rhinos now live in protected natural parks and reserves. Their numbers have rapidly decreased in the last 50 years, and the animal remains constantly threatened by hunters.
The last 100years has seen a 95% reduction in the numbers of remaining tigers to between 5,000 and 7,000 and the Bali, Javan, and Daspian tigers are already extinct. The South China tiger is close to disappearing, with only 20 to 30 still alive. Like the rhino horn, tigers’ bones and organs are sought after for traditional Chinese medicine. These items are traded illegally along with tiger skins.
The World Wildlife Fund is actively involved in many areas of the world fighting to protect the natural habitats of endangered animals from further damage and curb the activities of hunters. Our own efforts at home and in the workplace can also make a difference. By reducing waste and pollution, saving water, wood, and energy, and reusing and recycling whenever possible, we can reduce the possibility of even more animals being lost, never to return.
The purpose of this passage is to ___.

A．call on us to protect the earth’s wildlife

B．let us know about the animal world

C．tell us many animals are in great danger

D．tell us why many animals are becoming extinct

The common reason why many animals are facing extinction is that ___ .

A．they are too easily controlled by humans

B．they can be made into highly prized medicine

C．they can provide people with delicious meal

D．humans kill them for their own interests

Which of the following statements about the dodo is TRUE according to the passage?

A．It was native to the Island of Mauritius and could fly very well.

B．It struggled to survive until human arrived in 1505.

C．Its population decreased only because pigs and monkeys were introduced.

D．It was possible for humans to find a dodo before 1681.

The underlined word “curb” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “___”.

A．improve

B．limit

C．cancel

D．criticize

The Internet has come a long way in the last couple of decades, and we’re seeing some noticeable generational trends. For instance, one of my friend’s aunts ”friended me” on Facebook, and I noticed that she had three times the number of Facebook friends as her nephew, despite the fact that she has only recently started to spend more time on the Internet. She spends more time on Facebook than he does. Yet he is part of the younger generation that grew up using the Internet.
The beauty of Facebook is in the packaging of the service. Almost every facet of Facebook is technology that existed from years before: e-mail, instant messaging, photo galleries, personal Web pages, RSS, etc. Facebook has taken these functions, which young people have been able to do for the past decade, and made them more user-friendly, more accessible—for young and older generation alike.
Facebook is the second act in the people’s Internet Revolution; the first being America Online, which spurred the adoption of the Internet in the homes of ordinary Americans. In a similar fashion, Facebook is spurring the adoption of Internet use in demographics that have been dismissed as the non-Internet users. It gives people a reason to be online in a way that simply checking e-mail, the 1996 equivalent, did not. Facebook is active in a way that the general population may find more rewarding.
The ability to communicate (or not communicate) with your friends in different ways also heightens the ‘stickiness’ of the service. For example, it tells you who else is using Facebook right now. You can then exchange instant messages with any of them. There’s always one more thing to check, see, or do on Facebook. It’s like a never-ending dinner party and all your friends and family are invited.
Compared with the aunt, the nephew ___.

A．had 3 times the number of friends

B．has spent more time on the Internet all the time

C．spends less time on Facebook

D．had the access to the Internet only when he grew up

What does the underlined word in the second paragraph refer to?

A．Young people

B．Old people

C．These functions

D．Young and old people

Which is true according to the third paragraph?

A．Facebook accelerated the adoption of the Internet in the ordinary families.

B．America Online was the first act in the Internet Revolution.

C．Facebook has spurred the application of the Internet use in demographics.

D．America Online spurred the ordinary use in all od the world families.

Using Facebook, you can ___.

A．communicate with whoever is using the Facebook right now

B．do one thing every time

C．have dinner together with your friends and families

D．tell you anyone who is not using the Facebook

What is the main idea of the passage?

A．The drawbacks and the strengths of the Facebook.

B．Facebook makes the communication more convenient for the old and the young.

C．People’s Internet Revolution: Facebook.

D．Facebook and America Online

Movie Music
Accustomed though we are to speaking of the films made before 1927 as “silent”, the film has never been, in the full sense of the word, silent. From the very beginning, music was regarded as an indispensable accompaniment; when the Lumiere films were shown at the first public film exhibition in the United States in February 1896, they were accompanied by piano improvisations on popular tunes. At first, the music played bore no special relationship to the films; an accompaniment of any kind was sufficient. Within a very short time, however, the incongruity of playing lively music to a solemn film became apparent, and film pianists began to take some care in matching their pieces to the mood of the film.
As movie theaters grew in number and importance, a violinist, and perhaps a cellist, would be added to the pianist in certain cases, and in the larger movie theaters small orchestras were formed. For a number of years the selection of music for each film program rested entirely in the hands of the conductor or leader of the orchestra, and very often the principal qualification for holding such a position was not skill or taste so much as the ownership of a large personal library of musical pieces. Since the conductor seldom saw the films until the night before they were to be shown(if indeed, the conductor was lucky enough to see them then), the musical arrangement was normally improvised in the greatest hurry.
To help meet this difficulty, film distributing companies started the practice of publishing suggestions for musical accompaniments. In 1909, for example, the Edison Company began issuing with their films such indications of mood as ”pleasant”, “sad”, “lively”. The suggestions became more explicit, and so emerged the musical cue sheet containing indications of mood, the titles of suitable pieces of music, and precise directions to show where on piece led into the next.
Certain films had music especially composed for them. The famous of these early special scores was that composed and arranged for D.W Griffith’s film Birth of a Nation, which was released in 1915.
When the Lumiere films were shown in the United States ___.

A．a band was playing there

B．a cellist was playing there

C．a pianist was playing there

D．a violinist was playing there

From the context of the passage we can know that with the development of films ___ and became more important.

A．the cinemas increased in number

B．the number of musicians grew

C．the time of concerts reduced

D．the conductor of a band was needed

The musical cue sheet was used for ___.

A．directing music accompaniments of silent movies

B．composing special music of a special movie

C．composing music for all kinds of concerts

D．showing directions how to get to a place

What can be inferred from the passage about the majority of films made after 1927?

A．They were truly “silent”.

B．They were accompanied by symphonic orchestras.

C．They incorporated the sound of the actors’ voices.

D．They corresponded to specific musical compositions.

My son is growing up and it scares me. My chances of decrease day by day. I fear that my influence will be by someone else. Still, I repeat the basics and the possible in life to him even though he doesn’t want to . And I keep my that my guidance will save of us.
I know that I haven’t lost him , not yet anyway, because of the he gave me the other day when I him off at school.
“I love you,” I said as always, as he took out his schoolbag. , he would say, “I love you, too. Bye.” But he didn’t this time, and I was OK with it. He’s fourteen; what can I ? Then he looked straight at me. “I love you,” he said . He looked into my eyes to see that I had heard him.
His and the expression in his eyes happened unexpectedly. I couldn’t even believe my ears. I know him than anyone else in the world. I could hear what he was not saying, “I love you, too, Mom. I wanted to say it back to you yo u said it, but there were some people walking by and they might me, and then teased(取笑) me. But I didn’t mean to your feelings, and I didn’t want you to leave without hearing it, because I do love you. Please .”
I do understand. I understand that I can’t be with him or him every second. Now, I have tried to prepare us both for the separation since he is growing up.
A. guidance B. meeting C. criticism D. care
A. repeated B. reminded C. replaced D. remained
A. problems B. answers C. mistakes D. employments
A. listen B. study C. work D. attempt
A. review B. belief C. promise D. decision
A. neither B. each C. either D. both
A. completely B. quickly C. party D. exactly
A. letter B. gift C. look D. smile
A. took B. put C. saw D. rang
A. UsuallyB. Rarely C. Sometimes D. Never
A. imagineB. expect C. suppose D. think
A. quietlyB. loudly C. proudly D. sadly
A. clevernessB. feelings C. happiness D. words
A. fewerB. worseC. less D. better
A. whenB. untilC. unless D. before
A. stare atB. laugh at C. hear D. praise
A. influenceB. show C. hurt D. ignore
A. hardlyB. really C. greatly D. often
A. realizeB. understand C. recognize D. know
A. preventB. protect C. teach D. reject