London: It’s well known that Charles Darwin’s famous theory of evolution annoyed many people because it was against the Biblical view of creation. But few know that it also created problems for Darwin at home with his deeply religious wife, Emma.
“Darwin held back the publication of On the Origin of Species to avoid offending (触怒) his wife,” says Ruth Padel, the naturalist’s great – great – granddaughter. “Emma told him that he seemed to be putting God further and further off”, Padel says in her north London home. “But they talked it through, and Emma once said, ‘Don’t change any of your ideas for fear of hurting me.’”
As the world celebrates the 200th birthday of the man who changed scientific thought forever and the 150th anniversary of his book today, even his opponents admitted he was a giant figure.
Though opposition to his theory continues, it is the elegant explanation of how species evolutes through natural selection that makes his 200th birthday such a major event.
More than 300 celebrations have been planned in Britain alone, where Darwin's face graces (使增光)the 10-pound bill along with that of Queen Elizabeth II.
Shrewsbury, the central England town where Darwin was born and raised, is holding a month-long festival for its most famous son. Down House, his former home near London, will hold a permanent exhibition recreating some of his most famous experiments.
Many more events have been planned all over the world.
What would he be doing if he were alive today? Padel thinks he would properly be studying DNA and the immune system.The main purpose of the author is .
| A．to say something about Darwin and his wife |
| B．to introduce Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution |
| C．to sing high praise for the book On the Origin of Species |
| D．to report some celebrations of Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of his books |
Which of the statements is NOT true based on the passage?
| A．Everyone agrees with Darwin now. |
| B．Darwin was brought up in Shrewsbury. |
| C．Emma was not really fond of his theory. |
| D．Darwin was very interested in living things. |
The underlined phrase “held back” in the second paragraph probably means .
| A．prevented from | B．kept a secret | C．cared about | D．put off |
It can be inferred that the passage is most probably .
| A．a scientific report | B．a news report |
| C．an English composition | D．a text |
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A 、B、 C 和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
While traveling abroad, Mr. Jackson Frank ran short of money. So he wrote to his brother, asking for $500. “Send the money by telegram,” he wrote, “to the Fisher Bank in P...”After a week he began calling at the Fisher Bank. He showed his passport. “ Nothing has come for you,” he was told. This went on for two weeks and Mr. Frank got very worried. He sent a telegram to his brother， but there was no reply. In the fourth week Mr. Frank was arrested for failing to pay his hotel bill. His passport was taken from him. He tried to explain the problem, but no one believed him. He was sent to prison for six days.
When he came out, he went immediately to the Fisher bank. The clerk he spoke to was a new man. “Have you received $500 for me?” he ask,” My name is Jackson Frank.” The clerk checked his books. “Yes, Jackson, it's here. It came by telegram.—let me see—oh, more than two months ago. We wondered where you were.” He showed Mr. Frank the order. The order read:” Pay Mr. Frank Jackson the sum of $500...” “ But my name is Jackson Frank, not Frank Jackson.” “ Oh, that's all right, sir. It was in our books under the letter ‘J', but it's your money.” The clerk laughed,” A human mistake, sir! We're all human beings, so we all make mistakes. A family name like Frank sounds strange to me.” Mr. Frank was silent. He really wanted to hit somebody. At last he said,” A human mistake—I think some humans need kicking.”
1. Jacksondidn’tjustgotohisbrotherandgetsomemoneybecause____.
A. hewasafraidtoseehisbrother
B. hewasinprisonandwasnotallowedtogoanywhere
C. hewastravelinginaforeigncountryandwasfarfromhisbrother
D. heknewthathisbrotherhadnomoney
2. Jacksonwasarrestedandsenttoprisonbecause____.
A. hisbrotherhadn’tsenthimanymoneyandhecouldn’tpayhishotelbill
B. hehadspentalmostallhismoneyandcouldn’tpayhishotelbill
C. hehadlostallhismoneyandcouldn’tpayhishotelbill
D. hisbrotherhadn’tsenthimasmuchmoneyasheaskedforandhecouldn’tpayhishotelbill
3.Whichofthefollowingstatementsistrue?
A. ThemoneydidnotreachtheFisherBank.
B. Themoneyreachedthewrongbank.
C. Themoneyreachedthebankafterhewasarrested.
D. Themoneyreachedthebankbeforehewasarrested.
4. Theclerksputhisnameunderthewrongletter____.
A. throughcarelessness. B. becausetheywerehumanbeings
C. becausehehadastrangename D. bypronouncinghisnameincorrectly
The Story of the Farmer and His Donkey (驴子)
One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried pitifully for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway and it just wasn’t worth to save the donkey. So, he decided to bury（埋） it!
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all took shovel（铲子）and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly, then slowly he quieted down till nothing more was heard.
A few shovels later, the farmer finally looked down into the well, and was surprised at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something wonderful—he would shake it off and take a step up!
As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was surprised as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and went off quickly!
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping, never giving up, shaking it off, and taking a step up!
1. The donkey quieted down, because ________.
A. it was dead B. it was tired
C. it had given up trying D. it had a good way to survive
2. We know from the story that ________.
A. all the donkeys in the world are clever
B. it is easy for donkeys to fall into a well
C. the neighbors helped bury the donkey
D. the owner pushed the donkey into the well
3. The writer of the passage is most probably ________.
A. an optimistic person B. a pet lover
C. an animal protector D. a cold-hearted man
4. The writer wants to tell us “________”.
A. A cat has 9 lives B. Facing difficulties, never give up
C. A friend in need is a friend indeed D. No pains, no gains
How can Omar’s class help?
Omar’s class at school learned about taking care of our planet. Children in his class worked hard at collecting newspapers, cans, and bottles. Their teacher took what they collected to a company where the things would be recycled（回收）and used again. Omar hoped that doing his would make progress toward cleaning up our Earth. Omar wished that they could do more. Then Omar’s teacher gave the class this form.
| YOU can make a difference! |
||
| Help Clean Up Our Texas Beaches |
||
| Who? |
Children from all the schools in our city |
|
| When? |
Saturday, November 16 Buses will leave from the parking lot at City Park at 8:00 A.M. They will return at 3:00 P.M. |
|
| Where? |
Padre Island on the Texas coast |
|
| What should you bring? |
Lunch and something to drink; Work gloves (We will have gloves to give to children who do not have a pair.) |
|
| What should teachers bring? |
Empty bags and small shovels（铲子） |
|
| When to sign up? |
By Wednesday, November 13 |
|
| Where to sign up? |
Have a parent sign at the back of this form to show that your family will permit you to go. Return this form to your teacher. |
|
| Teachers and students will use small shovels and gloves to gather trash on the beach. Papers, cans, and bottles will each be put in different bags. Be sure to sort（分类）trash and put it in the proper bag. At the end of the day, each child will receive a T-shirt that says “I made a difference.” Children will also be treated to a pizza party at the Pizza Palace on the way back to City Park. Each school will receive a small oak tree to plant on the school’s grounds. Keeping our beaches clean is important. Please sign up. Parents who want to go should call 555-9753 and talk to Mr. Smith. |
1. After the cleanup, the children will ________.
A. report to Mr. SmithB. go to the Pizza Palace
C. join the Clean Earth Club D. buy an oak tree
2 “I made a difference” in the passage probably means “ ________”.
A. I was different from others
B. I became more interested than before
C. I did something for a friend
D. I made something better than it was
3. If you help in the cleanup, at the end of the day you will receive a ________.
A. pair of gloves B. breakfast C. small shovel D. T-shirt
4. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Schools organized a general cleaning. B. Children can help clean up our Earth.
C. More bottles are thrown away than cans. D. Recycling costs a lot of money.
The greatest cartoon-maker in cinema history was Walt Disney, who has often been quoted as saying, “…… it was all started by a mouse.” It was, and Mickey Mouse has gone on to become an international cartoon superstar. Without him, Disney could not have made his own dreams come true.
Mickey was created in 1928. It’s not clear if it was Disney or his business and animation（动画片制作）partner Ub Iwerks who designed the original mouse. But many credit(相信是) Iwerks, who animated all of the earliest cartoons.
The mouse’s original name was Mortimer but was changed to Mickey on the advice of Walt Disney’s wife Lillian. The first and second Mickey Mouse Cartoons were not a success with the public. It was only with the third cartoon, titled Steamboat Willy, that Mickey began to achieve wide recognition(认可). Since then, Mickey’s appearance and personality have changed. His body was changed a few times until they found the best shape for his head, body and ears. Until 1946, Walt Disney provided Mickey’s voice himself.
Mickey has starred in more than a hundred cartoons. He’s often joined by four other famous Disney characters, Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Pluto, who have also become children’s favourite cartoon characters all over the world
1.According to the passage, Disney’s early dream may probably be ________.
A. to create Mickey Mouse B. to marry his wife Lillian
C. to become a cartoon maker D. to become a superstar
2.Which of the following about Mickey Mouse is true?
A. Mickey became famous in his first cartoon.
B. The original mouse was designed by Disney’s wife.
C. Cartoons starred by Mickey are always very successful.
D. There have been some changes in Mickey’s name and body.
3.From the passage we know that ________.
A. Walt Disney was known as a great cartoon maker
B. less than 100 cartoons have been starred by Mickey
C. there are four Disney characters in Disney’s cartoons
D. Mickey’s voice has been provided by Walt Disney since 1946
4.The best title for this passage is ________.
A. Mickey Mouse — A Cartoon Hero B. Walt Disney — A Famous Cartoon Maker
C. Walt Disney and His Wife D. How Mickey Mouse Got His Name
It was reported today that in China, 56% of people who write blogs(博客) do so as a personal diary and 83% use their blogs for sending messages to friends. It was also found that there is a strong East- West difference. In places like the US, blogs that offer information on news attract more readers but in China, blogs are more likely to be about sharing personal feelings.
It seems that bloggers can be divided into three types: IT(信息技术) bloggers, bloggers who record their ordinary feelings and media（媒体） bloggers.
When blogging first started, the IT people had the technological advantage and they took the chance to put their thoughts on the web. Some of these IT people now have had over a million people read their blogs.
The next wave of bloggers did not have any training as writers or in IT and wrote about normal daily life. Media bloggers, however, are trained writers, such as journalists and editors. When the many media bloggers showed up, the everyday bloggers lost most of their readers. Media bloggers have the advantage of knowing how to communicate well through the written words.
However, the normal bloggers are still out there and increasing in number. It seems that blogging is the new way to express your feelings. People feel like the world is listening to, or rather reading, their problems, even if they are not.
1. From the passage we know that________.
A.56% of the Chinese write blogs
B. people in US like to read blogs for news
C. the Chinese share feelings with each other mainly through blogs
D. the way that Chinese use blogs is not different from the West
2. ________wrote more blogs at the very beginning and now have more readers than others.
A.IT bloggers B. Media bloggers C. Normal bloggers D. US bloggers
3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. There will be more and more normal bloggers.
B. Only bloggers express their feelings through the Internet.
C. All people in the world are listening to the bloggers’ voice.
D. Media bloggers have more readers because of their popularity.
4.The underlined expression in the passage can be best replaced by “________”.
A. increased. B. appeared . C. arrived. D. grew.