A Christina from Spain
On the last day of the year, the 31st of December, people wait till 12 pm. Everybody must have 12 grapes(葡萄) to eat at midnight. At each sound of the clock, we must eat a group. But we can’t ever finish eating the grapes on time! Usually when people still have some grapes in their mouths, they look at each other and start to laugh. This tradition started in Spain long ago. One year, when there were a lot of grapes, the king of Spain decided to give grapes to everybody to eat on New Year’s Eve.
B Cordon from Britain
On New Year’s Day in Britain, people have parties. At 12 o’clock, the music stops, and we listen to the radio. On the radio we hear Big Ben, the famous clock in London. Then everybody sings a song about friendship and kisses their friends. We say “Happy New Year” to each other. It’s lucky if a tall man with dark hair is the first person to come to the house in the new year. So I go and visit as many friends as I can. They all give me a drink.
C Angela from Brazil
In all cities in Brazil, we have a big party on New Year’s Eve, especially in Rio de Janeiro. People in this city go to the beaches to watch fireworks(焰火)。We put flowers in the sea and think about things we want for ourselves or others. We usually wear white clothes for good luck during the New Year.Picture___________ is about paragraph 1.
Who have parties on New Year’s Day?
A. People in Spain. B. People in Britain.
C. People in Brazil. D. Both B and C.From the 2nd paragraph, we can infer (推断)that___________.
| A．People listen to the radio at home. |
| B．Cordon can’t drink much. |
| C．Cordon is a tall man with dark hair. |
| D．there are no people near Big Ben. |
On New Year’s Day, Brazilians usually wear white clothes because_________.
| A．that reminds them of their happy life |
| B．they hope that can bring them good luck |
| C．they think that they look beautiful in white |
| D．that’s what they have to do during the New Year |
This article mainly tells us ________________.
| A．what people in Britain do on New Year’s Day |
| B．when and where people have New Year parties |
| C．why people in different countries like the New Year |
| D．what people around the world do on New Year’s Day |
I had mixed feelings today， nervous， worried， happy， excited… My heart went down when Miss Chan， our head teacher， said that Matthew and Beth， two students from England， would spend three months with us! I was worried that I had to speak English so much! But at the end of the school day， I was happier than I thought: the morning with them today was more enjoyable than I expected.
Today is the most unforgettable first day I have had! Matthew is fantastic ! His English is clearer and easier to listen to than I thought. The other English student， Beth， is the most helpful girl I’ve ever met. There were lots of things to do on the first day. Beth offered to help Miss Chan put up all the notices. Of course， some of the credit (功劳) should also go to ME because I translated some of the notices for her. Miss Chan praised us!
We finished all the preparations 10 minutes earlier than expected， then Beth and I talked for a while， Matthew sang several English so ngs and did some stand-up comedy (单人喜剧表演) at the party. We all praised him. When the bell rang to end the first school day， none of us wanted to leave.
When I went back home， I had a little headache. I have probably spoken more English today than the whole of last year. It was really a happy day! I hope our friendship can continue， even after they gone back to England!
| A．excited | B．angry |
| C．fantastic | D．worried |
| A．comedy | B．speeches |
| C．notices | D．translation |
| A．had a talk | B．r ang the bell |
| C．sang several songs | D．made a preparation |
| A．spoke much Chinese |
| B．got l ots of praise |
| C．had a little headache |
| D．forgot to leave the school |
| A．caught a bad cold that day |
| B．went back home with Beth |
| C．expects to travel to England |
| D．likes the two English students |
A student is studying British English. He wonders: Can I have a talk with Americans? Can they catch me? Learners of English often ask--what are the differences between British English and American English? How important are these differences?
Certainly， there are some differences between British English and American English. There are a few differences in grammar（语法）. For example， speakers of British English say “in hospital” and “Have you a pen?” Americans “in the hospital” and “Do you have a pen?” Pronunciation (发音) is sometimes
different. Americans usually sound the “r” in words like “car”and “farm”. Some speakers of British English do not sound the “r” in these words. There are differences between British English and American English in spelling and vocabulary. For example， “colour”and “honour” are British English spellings. “Color” and "honor” are American English spellings.
These differences are in grammar， pronunciation， spelling and vocabulary. However， they are not important. For the most part， British English and American English are the same language.
| A．Have you a new book |
| B．Do you have a new book |
| C．Are you have a new book |
| D．Can you to have a new book |
| A．poor | B．different |
| C．high | D．short |
| A．favoruite | B．favurite |
| C．favorite | D．favrite |
| A．at the hospital | B．in the hospital |
| C．by hospital | D．to hospital |
| A．there are no differences between British English and American English |
| B．British English and American English are two different languages |
| C．speakers of British English and American English speak the same language |
| D．we shouldn't speak English |
The next time you take medicine when you’re ill, you may eat a cone snail(芋螺). At least that’s what some scientists are hoping. Scientists have found that cone snails can help with backache, as well as toothache and other body problems.
There are over 600 different kinds of cone snails. This family is especially found in warm and hot waters in the oceans. They catch and eat small fish and even other cone snails. The snails have venom that they’ll give out and use to kill small animals they have caught because cone snails are slow-moving. Sometimes the venom can even kill people. But some scientists have discovered that the venom can also be used as medicine.
The shells of cone snils are often brightly colored, and have interesting shapes, many people think the shells are so beautiful that people kill them, collect lots of shells, and sell them around the world. The environment is also very dangerous for them because of fishing and boating.
Scientists want to help save the cone snails. They hope to make new rules to stop them from dying. If they die out, scientists may never discover what kinds of medicines they can give us.
We can find a cone snail in ________ .
| A．a warm river | B．in a hot ocean |
| C．a cold ocean | D．a lake |
What does the underline(下划线) word “venom” mean in the second paragraph ? ________.
| A．盔甲 | B．毒液 | C．螺纹 | D．鳞片 |
People kill the cone snails in order to ________ .
| A．sell their shells | B．study their venom |
| C．save the environment | D．kill animals |
The best title of the passage may be ________ .
| A．A Special Medicine | B．Great Venom |
| C．Cone Snails | D．Saving the Cone Snails |
When I was a kid, I never had any problems watching some cartoons. It was so much fun and a great education(教育) too. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Tom and Jerry were my idols(偶像). Even now I really feel that they are worth watching at any age.
The problem I’ve found is the cartoons at present. Some of them contain something ugly. Most of the time, they show such many terrible characters with violence(暴力)that you wonder what they really mean. Cartoons are supposed to be funny but they aren’t. If you are expecting to teach your kids good manners and behavior, then they are the worst for your kids to watch.
Kids often imitate what they seee in cartoons. If your kid is a fan of such cartoons, he or she will follow his or her favorite cartoon character and try to do something extremely dangerous.
Therefore, try not to let your kids watch too many today’s cartoons. Make sure to keep an eye on what they are watching. When the writer was a kid, he thought that the cartoons then were ________.
| A．ugly and terrible | B．funny but terrible |
| C．ugly and dangerous | D．funny and educational |
The writer doesn’t like the cartoons at present because ________.
| A．he is no longer a kid |
| B．they are bad for kids’ education |
| C．they are long and boring |
| D．they have ugly characters in them |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Everyone should only watch the past cartoon. |
| B．A large number of kids are crazy about cartoons now. |
| C．All the cartoons are bad for kids to grow healthily today. |
| D．Parents should stop their kids watching too many today’s cartoons. |
| Country |
Soviet Union |
The USA |
China |
| Date |
12 April, 1961 |
5 May, 1961 |
15 October, 2003 |
| Astronaut（宇航员） |
Yuri Gagarin |
Alan Shepherd |
Yang Liwei |
| Age |
27 |
38 |
38 |
| Spaceship |
Vostok 1 |
Mercury 3 |
Shenzhou 5 |
| Time |
1 hour 48 minutes |
15 minutes |
21 hours |
| Height |
327 kilometers |
185 kilometers |
343 kilometers |
| Circles around the Earth |
1 |
0 |
14 |
The form above shows us________.
| A．three journeys into space |
| B．daily life of three famous people |
| C．differences between three spaceships |
| D．something about three famous astronauts |
________went into space first.
| A．China | B．The USA |
| C．Soviet Union | D．The UK |
The Chinese astronaut stayed in space for________.
| A．1 hour 48 minutes | B．only 15 minutes |
| C．the shortest time | D．the longest time |