Paula and Rory have fives kids, three dogs, and a rabbit. When the house is very noisy, Megan, one of the children, is quietly inventing. A year ago, the 10-year-old had to design an anti-smoking poster, she came up with the idea of creating something that shows the average amount of tar(尼古丁) a smoker collects from just four packs of cigarettes.
“I like people to play with things more than read and write,” she says. So she researched her idea on the Internet, found a company in China that could make it, saved up her pocket money and got her idea made.
Paula says her daughter “think differently”: Ideas jump into her mind. After she got sunburnt on holiday, Megan invented a small plastic bracelet(手镯) that changes colors in the sun, telling you when to put on sunscreen(防晒霜). Several sunscreen companies have expressed an interest in the idea. She also came up with an idea to make a ball filled with water to stop the dog from feeling thirsty. “But we didn’t do anything with it,” says Paula.
Then she pulls out a picture of a special fishing rod(钓鱼竿) she had designed. “There is a camera on the hook(钩),” she explains, “and the screen is on the handle, and it shows if you’ve caught a fish or not.”
Megan doesn’t want to go to university. She keeps her pink-and -cream bedroom tidy. Paula is amazed and a bit confused by her daughter. “Everything has to be in a certain order,” Paula says. “Her brothers and sisters go with the flow, but with Megan, it’s ‘What time will that be happening?’ or ‘Where am I being picked up from today?’”From Paragraph 2, we can infer that Megan .
| A．is not willing to go to school | B．likes to play with her brothers and sisters |
| C．prefers making something by herself | D．is good at reading and writing |
What did Megan invent after she got sunburnt on vacation?
| A．The anti-smoking poster |
| B．The ball providing water for thirsty dogs |
| C．The fishing rod telling whether you’ve caught a fish |
| D．The bracelet telling when to put on sunscreen |
The underlined phrase “go with the flow” probably means “ .”
| A．do what the most people usually do | B．follow the fashion closely |
| C．set an example to others | D．do something differently from others |
According to the passage, which of the following about Megan is true?
| A．She has fives kids, three dogs, and a rabbit. |
| B．She designed an anti-smoking poster when she was nine. |
| C．She founded a company in China to get her idea made. |
| D．She invented a small plastic bracelet to change the color of sunscreen. |
The passage is mainly about .
| A．how Megan helps people give up smoking |
| B．a little girl’s dream to be a world-famous inventor |
| C．a 10-year-old inventor’s story |
| D．Megan’s relationship with her family members |
Below is a housing guide for students going to London.
University accommodation (住所)offices
Many university accommodation offices have their own list of registered landlords (房东). Others also provide information on accommodation agencies and other housing organizations. The advantage of using your university accommodation office is that you can get some support if you have a problem. The disadvantage is that they are unlikely to have enough registered landlords to houses all their students.
Property papers: Loot and Renting
Loot is an important source (来源) of information about private housing for co-renters. The offers are from private landlords, agencies and individuals looking for other co-renters. They also have a website: www.loot.com. The advantage of using Loot is that there are some excellent bargains. The disadvantage is that there is no quality control over the offers.
Renting is another useful paper. The offers in this paper are mainly from accommodation agencies. Their website is at www.renting.co.uk.
Accommodation agencies
The majority of rented accommodation in London is probably advertised through accommodation agencies. The advantage of using accommodation agencies is that: you will have access to a large number of accommodations. A good agent will listen to your requirements and can save you time in looking for the right accommodation. The disadvantage is that they will make a range of charges to potential renters.
Noticeboards
Around the universities you will find a number of noticeboards where offers of accommodation will be posted. These will either be from landlords or from students. Some universities will also have online noticeboards where students can advertise to other students. Advertisements from students can be an excellent way to find accommodation. However, advertisements from landlords can be problematic.
Word of mouth
Some of the best housing in London is never advertised but is passed on from one group of students to another by word of mouth. It might be that you can find out about good offers from final year students. However, don’t suppose that just because you have found out about housing from a friend it is necessarily going to be better than that found through any other source.
Family
Faced with the very high rents charged in London, some students and their parents will consider buying as an alternative. In some cases this might be a good choice.What is the advantage of using Loot?
| A．There are some good bargains. |
| B．It has more offers from accommodation agencies than Renting. |
| C．It gives you personal information about other co-renters. |
| D．Their website is designed mainly for students. |
A good agent can help you ____.
| A．know more people |
| B．find cheap accommodation |
| C．get the right accommodation quickly |
| D．get free information about most accommodations |
The information passed on by word of mouth is important because____.
| A．it is better than that found through any other source |
| B．the final year students always offer better information |
| C．the landlords have little valuable information |
| D．it helps you find some of the best housing never advertised. |
For students going to London for the first time, which of the following provides the most reliable information?
| A．University accommodation offices. | B．Loot and Renting |
| C．Noticeboards. | D．Family |
Why do Americans struggle with watching their weight, while the French, who consume rich food, continue to stay thin? Now a research by Cornell University suggests how life style and decisions about eating may affect weight. Researchers concluded that the French tend to stop eating when they feel full. However, Americans tend to stop when their plate is empty or their favorite TV show is over.
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, a health expert, the French see eating as an important part of their life style. They enjoy food and therefore spend a fairly long time at the table, while Americans see eating as something to be squeezed between the other daily activities. Mercola believes Americans lose the ability to sense when they are actually full. So they keep eating long after the French would have stopped. In addition, he points out that Americans drive to huge supermarkets to buy canned and frozen foods for the week. The French, instead, tend to shop daily, walking to small shops and farmers’ markets where they have a choice of fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs as well as high-quality meats for each meal.
After a visit to the United States, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, decided to write about the importance of knowing when to stop rather than suggesting how to avoid food. Today she continues to stay slim(苗条) and rarely goes to the gym.
In spite of all these differences, evidence shows that recent life style changes may be affecting French eating habits. Today the rate of obesity — or extreme overweight — among adults is only 6%. However, as American fast food gains acceptance and the young reject older traditions, the obesity rate among French children has reached 17% — and is growing.In what way are the French different from Americans according to Dr. Joseph Mercola?
| A．They go shopping at supermarkets more frequently. |
| B．They regard eating as a key part of their lifestyles. |
| C．They squeeze eating between the other daily activities. |
| D．They usually eat too much canned and frozen food. |
This text is mainly about the relationship between _________.
| A．Americans and the French |
| B．children and adults |
| C．fast food and overweight |
| D．life style and obesity |
The text is mainly developed __________.
| A．by contrast | B．by space |
| C．by process | D．by classification |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．A TV interview. | B．A health report |
| C．A food advertisement. | D．A book review. |
After nearly 50 years of separation，an elderly woman has been reunited with the family that she feared was lost to her forever.
Celestine Thompson left Mississippi when she was 14 years old and eventually settled in New York，where she spent more than 30 years of her life，according to WLOX 13News. After surviving a fire in 1992，Thompson was in a coma（昏迷）for two years and has since experienced memory loss. The 90-year-old found it difficult to recall details about her family.
But later she remembered the name of her nephew Clarence Woodway. Then another woman who knows Thompson in Mississippi was able to track Woodway down and help reunite Thompson with her large family.
“In our minds，my brother and I were talking that she wasn’t here anymore，because we hadn’t heard from her for a very long time，”Donald Davis，another one of Thompson’s nephews，told the media.“You know，we were overjoyed when we found out that we had gotten in contact with her.”
A few of Thompson’s relatives visited her in New York，and then arranged a larger reunion which was held this past Saturday in Gulfport，Mississippi，the Associated Press reported.
Thompson now lives in Greensboro，Alabama，with a caretaker，and，although she is yet to meet them all，she has regained quite a sizeable family of 23 nieces and nephews，64 grand nieces and nephews，66 great-grand nieces and nephews and 34 great-great-grand nieces and nephews，according to the Associated Press.What can we know about Thompson?
| A．She suffered memory loss and forgot everything about herself. |
| B．She lives with a caretaker and her relatives in Alabama at present. |
| C．She’s lost contact with her family since she left her hometown |
| D．She had a larger reunion with her family members in Mississippi. |
Who helped Thompson get contact with her family?
| A．A woman who knows her. |
| B．People from WLOX 13 News. |
| C．The Associated Press. |
| D．The caretaker she's living with. |
How many generations are there in Thompson’s large family?
| A．"Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
What can we learn from Thompson’s story?
| A．Great hopes make a great woman. |
| B．Time and tide wait for no man. |
| C．Life wonders can really take place. |
| D．Misfortune will tell what fortune is. |
A sun-starved Norwegian town has finally seen the light—by installing giant mirrors on the surrounding mountains to reflect rays onto its market square.
The small town of Rjukan sits deep in the narrow Vestfjord Valley，in the Telemark region south-west of Oslo. The towering peaks that surround it rise to almost 2,000 meters above sea level and block out the sunlight for half the year, meaning Rjukan residents live in a permanent shadow from September to March.
But all that changed this week, with the official launch of a project first proposed a century ago. Three high-tech mirrors，with a combined reflective surface of 50 square meters, have been put into operation on a ridge(山脊) on Gaustatoppen mountain，brightening up the previously gloomy town center by flooding it with up to 600 square meters of sunlight.
Twenty-first century technology has made the $850, 000 project possible, with heliostats—computer-powered mirrors—shifting every 10 seconds to track the movements of the sun during the day.
But the idea to lighten up the dark town actually dates back 100 years. Rjukan was originally founded as a company town for Norsk Hydro, which set up a fertilizer plant here to make use of the hydro power from the nearby 104 meter Rjukanfossen waterfall. The story goes that the aluminum(铝) and renewable energy company’s founder，Sam Eyde，wanted a way to brighten up the existence of his shadowed 1aborers--and also to make them work more effectively during the winter.
The local newspaper published a suggestion by local bookkeeper Oskar Kittelsen to use a mirror to reflect sunlight onto the town，and Eyde picked up on the idea. Technological limitations of the day meant the plan never came to fruition，however, and instead northern Europe’s first cable car was built in 1928 to give Rjukan residents sunlight exposure at the top of the mountain.Rjukan residents used to 1ive in a permanent shadow from September to March .
| A．because it sits near the ArcticCircle(北极圈) |
| B．because it is located in a deep valley |
| C．because the sunlight was stopped by peaks |
| D．because it 1ies to the southwest of Oslo |
The underlined word“flooding”in the third paragraph means .
| A．covering | B．counting |
| C．widening | D．viewing |
Norsk Hydro set up Rjukan because .
| A．there were quantities of cheaper labors |
| B．there existed large amounts of hydro power |
| C．it was very convenient to use water |
| D．there was rich aluminum and water resources |
Based on new analysis, we are rapidly approaching major climate change and the effects on society and the environment could be quite severe. Geographers predict that within the next eighty years, current world climate zones could shift and some could completely disappear. Polar regions will get colder while tropical regions will get even hotter, forcing animals to migrate (迁徙) north.
Climate changes like these could lead to the spread of diseases. Tropical storms and hurricanes will not only increase but may also become more intense. If the changes come too quickly, animal and plant species may not be able to adapt fast enough and could disappear.
According to Science Daily, a new study predicts that by the year 2100, many of today’s familiar climates will be replaced by climates unknown in today’s world. It is urgent that we reduce the risks of these far-reaching consequences for the whole world. The planet itself has been showing signs of change. In 2004, a serious tsunami created by a major earthquake killed thousands in Sumatra and in 2008, thousands died in China because of another severe earthquake. Egypt was hit in 2009 with a major earthquake and Haiti was devastated in 2010 by yet another massive earthquake.
Within just the last few months, new reports from around the world have been coming in and most agree that our climate situation is much worse than previously thought. At this point, it doesn’t matter what is causing it, but rather, what can be done about it. What’s more, our world is getting more and more unstable every year. There is war and threat of war everywhere. Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and serious.
However, other planets are experiencing global warming as well as our own and some scientists believe there may be some connection between this. No one knows anything for sure at this point because there is simply not enough data.Which of the following would be the best title for the Passage?
| A．Ways to protect our planet. |
| B．Solutions to climate change. |
| C．Be prepared for climate change. |
| D．Climate change and its effects. |
What is the author’s purpose in using the examples of earthquakes?
| A．To show the damage earthquakes caused. |
| B．To remind people to prevent future earthquakes. |
| C．To show major changes are taking place on the planet. |
| D．To tell us more earthquakes will happen in the future. |
What does the underlined word “devastated” in Paragraph 3 mean?
| A．Separated. | B．Destroyed. |
| C．Removed. | D．Affected. |
What can be inferred from the Passage?
| A．Animals and plants won’t die out as long as climate changes slowly. |
| B．There’s enough data for us to predict the future of climate change. |
| C．The world is getting more unstable because of animal migration. |
| D．The earth is not the only planet that is experiencing climate change. |