Today anyone will accept money in exchange for goods and services.People use money to buy food, furniture,books,bicycles and hundreds of other things they need or want. When they work, they usually get paid in money.
Most of the money today is made of metal(金属) or paper. But people used to use all kinds of things as money. One of the first kinds of money was shells.
Shells were not the only things used as money. In China , cloth and knives were used. In the Phillipine Islands, rice was used as money for a long time. Elephant tusks,monkey tails and salt were used as money in parts of Africa.
The first metal coins were made in China. They were round and had a square hole in the centre.People strung(串联)them together and carried them from place to place.
Different countries have used different metals and designs for their money. The first coins in England were made of tin(锡).Sweden and Russia used copper(铜)to make their money. Later some countries began to make coins of gold and silver.
But even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive. Again the Chinese thought of a way to improve money. They began to use paper money. The first paper money looked more like note from one person to another than the paper money used today.
Money has had an interesting history from the days of shell money until today.The main use of money is that _________.
| A．people use it to buy things to eat |
| B．people accept money only in exchange for clothes |
| C．people accept money in exchange for goods and service |
| D．people will accept money for giving our goods to others |
What did the first Chinese metal coins look like?
| A．They had square hole in the centre. |
| B．They were just like shells. |
| C．They were round like the moon. |
| D．They were round with a square hole in the centre. |
Who thought of a way to use paper money first?
| A．The Chinese | B．The Russian |
| C．The Sweden | D．The English men |
The best title of this passage should be ________.
| A．The Chinese money | B．The history of money |
| C．Some things about money | D．What is money |
The Diet Zone: A Dangerous Place
Diet Coke, diet Pepsi, diet pills, no-fat diet, vegetable diet…We are surrounded by the word “diet” everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically and physically。
Diet products significantly weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing our brains to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption of fatty, high—calorie, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale(秤) instead. All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word “diet” in food labels.
On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero—calorie drink, we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don’t have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance and struggle.
The danger of diet products lies not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients. Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products may not be nutritional, and the chemicals that go into diet products are potentially dangerous.
Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals .Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological and physical harm that comes from using them. From Paragraph 1, we learn that __________.
| A．diet products are misleading people |
| B．people have difficulty in choosing diet products |
| C．diet products fail to bring out people’s possibility |
| D．people are fed up with diet products |
One psychological effect of diet products is that people tend to ______.
| A．try out a variety of diet foods | B．watch their weight rather than their diet |
| C．pay attention to their own eating habits | D．hesitate before they enjoy diet foods |
In Paragraph 3, “gain comes without pain” probably means ________.
| A．diet products bring no pain | B．it costs a lot to lose weight |
| C．losing weight is effortless | D．diet products are free from calories |
Diet products indirectly harm people physically because such products ______.
| A．are over-consumed | B．provide too much energy |
| C．are short of chemicals | D．lack basic nutrients |
阅读理解（20题，共40分）
Farmer John and Farmer Bob were neighbours. For more than 30 years, they had been getting along very well.
Then their good relationship broke. It began with a small thing, then bitter words, and then weeks of silence. One morning Farmer John woke up to find a stream between the two farms. “It must be Bob,” John thought.
Then one day there was a knock on John’s door. He opened it to find a carpenter standing at the doorway.
“I’m looking for a few days’ work,” the carpenter said.
“I do have a job for you,” John said. “Look across the stream at that farm. That’s my neighbor Bob. He dug a stream between the two farms. I want you to build a fence—an 8-foot fence. I don’t want to see his place or his face any more. I don’t have such a neighbor!”
The carpenter said, “I think I know what to do, sir, and I’ll be able to do a job that plea
ses you.”
Farmer John helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day.
About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer’s eyes opened wide. There was no fence there at all!
It was a bridge! And the neighbor, Bob, was coming across, with his hand outstretched(伸出). “Hi, John! You’re quite a fellow to build this bridge!”
Then they met in the middle, taking each other’s hands. “I’m terribly sorry for what I have said and done. We should be good to each other.” said Farmer Bob.
Then they turned to see the carpenter, who was ready to go. “No, wait! Stay a few days. I have a lot of other jobs for you,” said Farmer John. “I’d love to stay,” the carpenter said, “but I have more bridges to build.” Just before the carpenter came, John and Bob each other.
| A．often fought with | B．were friendly to |
| C．didn’t speak to | D．never had bitter words with |
Farmer John asked the carpenter to build a fence because .
| A．he wouldn’t like to see Bob | B．he didn’t want to do it himself |
| C．he wanted to protect his farm | D．he wanted to find him something to do |
What does the sentence “You’re quite a fellow to build this bridge!” mean?
| A．John should build the bridge earlier |
| B．John was not good at building bridges. |
| C．John was foolish to build such a bridge. |
| D．] John was great to build this bridge. |
What do you think of the carpenter?
| A．Shy. | B．Careless. | C．Proud. | D．Wise |
Researches show what we already suspected: Three out of four babies who died of SIDS(婴儿猝死) involved co-sleeping. We’ll say it again. The safest course is not to sleep with babies.
We know the argument: Bad parenting, not co-sleeping, is to blame for the dozens of babies’ deaths. Some parents stick to co-sleeping because it helps them bond with their newborns. They say those who give co-sleeping a bad name either had been drinking, used drugs or were too tired to notice that they rolled over on their children.
But, most of the cases did not involve drugs or alcohol. There’s a “but” 
here, however. Submitting to a test for drugs or alcohol in these cases is voluntary, so it’s difficult to know with certainty.
Organizations like the Black Health Coalition and others have explained the safe way to co-sleep. While we understand those arguments, we also know that mistakes can happen and that it only takes one time for something to go terribly wrong. The risk outweighs the benefit.
In all likelihood, parents will continue to co-sleep, and some will do so without ever having an incident, but babies are too vulnerable(易受伤的) for parents to take such chances. Therefore, the best place for babies to sleep is in their own beds, on their backs, with no pillows, blankets or toys. No parent wants a tragedy(悲剧) to occur. The best way to make sure the tragedy doesn’t happen is to allow babies to sleep alone in their own cribs(摇篮).According to the author, most of the SIDS cases happened because of ________.
| A．drugs |
| B．co-sleeping |
| C．drinking |
| D．bad parenting |
Some parents think sleeping with their babies can ________.
| A．keep the babies healthy |
| B．give co-sleeping a good name |
| C．prevent themselves from drinking |
| D．develop a good relation with their babies |
The author holds the opinion that ________.
| A．parents can sleep with babies, but cautiously |
| B．co-sleep helps to bring babies closer to parents |
| C．parents can’t take chances to sleep with their babies |
| D．accidents only happen to those careless parents |
Which of the following best describes the structure of the text?
| A．① | B．①② | C．① | D．① |
↙↘ ↓↙↓↘ ↙↓↓↘
②③④③④②③④②③④⑤
↘↙ ↓↘↓↙
⑤⑤⑤
The “Sepik Spirit”, constructed in 1989, is built specially to suit the demands of a shallow riverboat for guiding inland waterways. Its shallow draft allows passengers into distant corners of the Sepik Region and areas not otherwise accessible to larger boats. It was refurbished(装修) in early 2006 to ensure that the Sepik Spirit meets the expectations of the modern travellers. The refurbishment includes new interior and improved noise resistance.
The Sepik Spirit holds 18 passengers in 9 twin bedrooms each with private bathroom. Onboard facilities include a dining room, living room, bar, video and covered upper observatory deck(甲板). The entire boat is air-conditioned. Because the Sepik Spirit
is designed to operate in this unique environment, she is the ideal size for exploration. This, combined with small passenger numbers, allows the travellers an excellent experience to little visited areas.
Day trips from the Sepik Spirit are done in an 18-seater riverboat, also designed for the operation. Their open-air design gives the travellers a sense of place, a feeling for the river and its people.
Areas that the Sepik Spirit and her guests may visit are the Karawari River, Blackwater Lakes, Chambri Lakes, the Middle Sepik and the Upper Sepik. The river banks where the boat operates are dotted with many large traditional villages each with its own unique “Haus Tambaran” or spirit house decorated with ancestral figures. Mix with the friendly people and experience a culture that meets very few outsiders.
Please E-Mail if you want to know more about us.
Please note that private touring and transfers are not available on the Sepik Spirit.
Please note that Sepik Spirit departure and termination(终结，终点) points sometimes change without notice.
AIR TRANSFER COST: US$375.00 one wayThe “Sepik Spirit” is a riverboat ________.
| A．specially designed and built for the local transportation |
| B．built and refurbished in 1989 |
| C．providing good conditions for a small number of tourists |
| D．traveling in the day only |
The Sepik Spirit boat is most possibly named after ________.
| A．a person |
| B．an animal |
| C．a building |
| D．a river |
A passenger chooses to travel on the Sepik Spirit most possibly because
he is interested in ________.
| A．boat making |
| B．river traveling |
| C．the unique scenery and culture in this area |
| D．the excellent conditions and service of the boat |
Which of the following factors about taking the Sepik Spirit is right?
| A．You can send an E-mail for further information. |
| B．You can rent the boat for yourself if you please. |
| C．The schedule of the boat trip will be strictly followed. |
| D．A Sepik Spirit trip will cost you US$375.00 one way. |
I have to admit: I don’t flush(冲) the toilet every time I go to the bathroom. In fact, I firmly believe “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.”
I’m sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I work at home. Alone (well, except for the cats and dog). All day. And I drink a lot of water, which makes for many trips to the bathroom.
Another thing I have to admit: I also try to use very little toilet paper. I wash my hands after, though. Every time. (So maybe the water I don’t use flushing makes up for the water used to wash my hands?)
Ironically, my husband, who only uses toilet paper when necessary, always flushes. But he doesn’t seem to mind that I don’t flush every time. Or, at least not enough to file for divorce. Yet.
Posted by Juliet Farmer
Jun 14, 2010 at 10:21 PM
Comments (2)
When I’m at home alone I do not flush every time I pee(小便). My husband hates that, though, so when he’s home, I flush a little more often. I grew up doing that because I had a family that lived with huge tanks and you have to do it that way because it’s easier on the system, so it doesn’t bother me. I do flush when I’m out in public, at people’s houses that don’t have big tanks and when we have company!
CherBearCM, Jun 15, 2010 at 4:21 PM
Not always. But I have 4 children who are always hanging from the door knob（球形捏手） while I pee anyway. So I’m lucky I have time to wash my hands after. The average toilet uses 8 gallons of water per flush! Much less than what it takes to wash my hands after. (just saying)
luvbnmomnwife, Jun 15, 2010 at 4:32 PM CherBearCM doesn’t flush the toilet every time she pees ________.
| A．because she can’t afford so much water |
| B．because her husband doesn’t like that |
| C．when she is with her friends |
| D．when she is alone |
luvbnmomnwife seems to enjoy ________.
| A．washing hands after using the toilet |
| B．taking care of her four children |
| C．peeing with her kids watching |
| D．flushing the toilet after peeing |
The text is taken from ________.
| A．a newspaper |
| B．a website |
| C．a magazine |
| D．a handbook |
Which of the following titles best suits the text?
| A．Stop flushing your toilet! |
| B．Do you flush the toilet every time? |
| C．Don’t forget to flush the toilet after peeing! |
| D．Do you realize the importance of saving water? |