Europeans are being dug out from heavy snow after a week of very cold weather. The snowstorm is the harshest to hit Europe. Airports were shut down. And schools have been closed for a week.
Until Wednesday, at least 400 people across Europe had died because of the cold temperature. Several countries have said a state of emergency. In Ukraine, temperatures dropped as low as -33℉.
Although the situation is bad, at least one country is hoping the weather will last a little longer. In the Netherlands, the government is preparing for the country’s “11 Cities Tour”. The 125-mile ice-skating marathon will be held along a network which joins 11 towns and cities together in Friesland Province.
The ice along the way must be inches thick for the event. Up to 2 million people are thought to cheer on the race’s 16,000 competitors.
On Wednesday, Dutch soldiers joined in the preparations. They cleaned snow along the way. This will be the 16th time that the event has taken place since the first race in 1909. Dutch General Hans said his soldiers were happy to lend a hand. “We want to do our bit for this national party.” he said.What is “11 Cities Tour”?
| A．It’s a 125-mile ice skating marathon. |
| B．It’s a 11-mile ice skating marathon. |
| C．It’s a 16000-mile ice skating marathon. |
| D．It’s a 33-mile ice skating marathon. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Thousands of people across Europe died because of the weather. |
| B．The ice should be less than 6 inches thick for the event. |
| C．No country is glad to see the cold weather. |
| D．The first “11 Cities Tour” began in 1909. |
Who helped clean snow along the way?
| A．French soldiers | B．Dutch soldiers |
| C．Ukrainian soldiers | D．American soldiers |
The underlined word “harshest” means _______ in the passage.
| A．safest | B．most enjoyable | C．most serious | D．happiest |
The passage is mainly about______.
| A．the hard situation Europe faces |
| B．the European cold weather |
| C．preparations for a national party |
| D．the coldest season in Europe |
“High tech” and “state of the art” are two expressions that describe very modern technology. High tech is just a shorter way of saying high technology. And high technology describes any invention or system that uses the newest ideas or discoveries of science and engineering.
What is high tech? A computer is high tech. So is a communications satellite. A modern manufacturing (制造业的) system is surely high tech.
High tech became a popular expression in the United States during the early 1980’s. Because of improvements in technology, people could buy many new kinds of products in American stores, such as home computers, microwave ovens (微波炉), etc. “State of the art” is something that is as modern as possible. It is a product that is based on the very latest ways and technology. Something that is “state of the art” is the newest possible design or product of a business or industry. A state of the art television set, for example, uses the most modern electronic design and parts. It is the best that one can buy.
“State of the art” is not a new expression. Engineers have used it for years, to describe the best and most modern way of doing something.
Millions of Americans began to use the expression in the late 1970’s. The reason was the computer revolution（革命）. Every computer company claimed (声称) that its computers were “state of the art”.
Computer technology changes so fast that a state of the art computer today might be old tomorrow. The expression “state of the art” has become as common and popular as computers themselves. Now all kinds of products are said to be “state of the art”.What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To tell how “high tech” and “state of the art” have developed. |
| B．To give examples of high tech. |
| C．To tell what “high tech” and “state of the art” are. |
| D．To describe very modern technology. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．American stores could provide new kinds of products to the people. |
| B．“High tech” describes a technology that is not traditional. |
| C．“State of the art” became popular later than “high tech”. |
| D．A lantern out of a big orange pumpkin is “state of the art”. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Since the computer revolution, the expression “state of the art” has become popular. |
| B．“State of the art” means something that is the best one can buy. |
| C．With the development of computer technology, a state of the art computer may easily become unpopular. |
| D．All the producers claim that their products are “state of the art” nowadays. |
The best title for the passage is_____.
| A．Computer Technology |
| B．High Tech and State of the Art |
| C．Most Advanced Technology |
| D．Two New Expressions |
Hearing live music is one of the most pleasurable experiences available to human being. The music sounds great, it feels great, and you get to watch the players as they play it. No matter what kind of music you love, try listening to it live.
This guide focuses on classic music, a tradition that originated before recordings, radio, and the Internet, back when all music was live music. In those days live human beings performed for other live human beings, with everybody together in the same room. When heard in this way, classic music can have a special excitement. Hearing classic music in a concert can leave you feeling refreshed and energized. It can be fun. It can be romantic. It can be spiritual.
Classical music concerts can seem like snobby（高傲的）affairs full of foreign terms and unusual behavior. It can be hard to understand what’s going on . It can be hard to know how to act. But don’t worry. Concerts are no stranger than any other amusement, and the rules of behavior are much simpler and easier to understand than the stock market, football, or system software programs.
If you haven’t been to a live concert before, or if you’ve been confused by concerts, this guide will explain, so you can relax and enjoy the music. FromParagraph1,wecanseethatthewriterencouragesus_______.
| A．towatchthemusicianstomakemusic |
| B．toexperiencethespiritofclassicalmusic |
| C．toattendliveconcertsandenjoylivemusic |
| D．togetpleasurefromdifferentkindsofmusic |
Whichofthefollowingcanreplacetheunderlinedword“originated”inParagraph2?
| A．listened | B．started | C．performed | D．disappeared |
Thewriterconsidersthatliveclassicalmusic_______.
| A．isfullofforeignterms |
| B．istoodifficulttounderstand |
| C．isstrangerthanotheramusements |
| D．isexcitingtobothplayersandlisteners |
Students these days often have a lot of worries. Sometimes they have problems with their schoolwork, and sometimes with their friends. . Some people think the worst thing is to do nothing. Laura Mills, a teenager from Washington, agrees. “Problems and worries are normal in life,” says Laura. “But I think talking to someone helps a lot. If we don’t talk to someone, we’ll certainly feel worse.”
Laura once lost her purse, and worried for days. She was afraid to tell her parents about it. She even walked three miles to school each day because she didn’t have any money. She just kept thinking. “If I tell my parents, they’ll be angry!” But in the end, she talked to her parents and they were really understanding. Her dad said he sometimes made careless mistakes himself. They got her a new purse and asked her to be more careful. “I will always remember to share my problems in the future!” Laura says.
Robert Hunt advises students about common problems. He feels the same way as Laura. “It is best not to avoid our problems. We should always try to solve them.” He thinks that you can first find someone to talk to. This person doesn’t need to be an expert (专家) like himself. Students often forget that their parents have more experience than them, and are always there to help them.
In English, we say that sharing a problem is like cutting it in half. So you’re halfway to solving a problem if you talk to someone about it!Which of the following can be put in the blank in Paragraph One?
| A．What can they do about this? |
| B．Where do the problems come from? |
| C．When did they have these problems? |
| D．Why do they have so many problems? |
In Paragraph 2, the writer used the story of Laura to ______.
| A．answer a question | B．give an example |
| C．introduce his friend | D．share his experience |
According to the passage Robert Hunt might be ______.
| A．Laura’s teacher |
| B．the writer of the passage |
| C．a person with a problem |
| D．an expert on students’ problems |
SPECIAL EVENTS THIS WEEKEND
Captain Good Fellow
Do your children enjoy interesting stories, funny games, and exciting dances? Captain Good Fellow will be ready to teach all these things to children of all ages at the City Theatre on Saturday morning at 10:00, Free.
Walking Tour of the Town
Forget your worries on Saturday morning. Take a beautiful walk and learn about local history. Meet at the front entrance of City Hall at 9:30. Wear comfortable shoes!
Films at the Museum
Two European films will be shown on Saturday afternoon at the Museum Theatre. See Broken Window at 1:30. The workers will be at 3:45. For further information, call 4987898.
International Picnic
Are you tired of eating the same food every day? Come to Central Park on Saturday and enjoy food from all over the world. Delicious and not expensive. Noon to 5:00 pm.
Take Me out to the Ballgame
It’s October, and tonight is your last chance to see the Redbirds this year. Get your tickets at the gate. It might be cold; don’t forget sweaters and jackets.
Do You Want to Hear “The Zoo”
“The Zoo”, a popular rock group from Australia, will give their first US concert tomorrow night at 8:00 at Rose Hall, City College.You can probably eat Chinese, Italian, and Abra food ______.
| A．at Central Park on Saturday |
| B．at the ball game |
| C．at 5:00 pm |
| D．at the front entrance of City Hall |
If you are going on the Walking Tour, don’t forget _________.
| A．your worries |
| B．your beautiful walk |
| C．your learning about local history |
| D．your comfortable shoes |
“The zoo”is ________.
| A．a park with lots of animals |
| B．US concert |
| C．a music group |
| D．going to give the concert at 8：00 am |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while - then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending（延伸）sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality（好客） easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don't show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly cannot manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine（事务）. They will be likely to expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!The writer of this passage must be_______.
| A．an American | B．a Chinese | C．a visitor | D．a student |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
| B．Americans are usually more friendly than Chinese. |
| C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| D．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will be_______.
| A．warmly welcomed at the airport |
| B．offered a ride to his home |
| C．treated hospitably at his home |
| D．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
The underlined words "generous with our time" in Paragraph 3 mean_______.
| A．strict with time | B．willing to spend time |
| C．careful with time | D．free with time |