There is a special kind of hotel in Quebec, Canada. It has a bar, a church, a shop and a small theater. These things are not unusual. But this hotel is only open from January till March every year. Why? Because it is made of ice and snow! When the weather gets warm, the hotel melts(融化) and closes. Every winter, the hotel owners build the hotel again.
Everything in the Ice Hotel is made of ice and snow. All the furniture, such as the tables and chairs, is made of ice. Even the beds are made of ice! So people use special sleeping bags on the ice beds. Inside the ice hotel, the temperature is about 27°F(-3°C)
When people sleep, the sleeping bags keep them warm. In the morning, they can have a hot breakfast. After breakfast, people can enjoy winter activities. They can go skiing or ice fishing. Or they can go skating in the dining room. At the end of the day, people can relax at the bar. They can have drinks in glasses made of ice.
Many people enjoy the Ice Hotel every year. But they can only enjoy it for a short time before it melts again. Every year, this hotel is only open for
| A．four weeks | B．about three months | C．two seasons | D．about a year |
People can go in the dining room after breakfast.
| A．skiing. | B．skating. | C．fishing | D．swimming |
What's the best title of this passage?
A. An Unusual Hotel B. A Warm Hotel C. A Common Hotel D An Old Hotel
A
Bruno was a boy of eight. His father worked in a cinema and his mother worked in a shop. He lived not far from his school. He always walked there and walked home. On his way to school he had to pass a playground. It was very wet after it rained. One day, when he got home, his clothes were all wet. His mother became angry and said, “Don't play in the water on your way home from school!” On the next day Bruno came home with wet and dirty clothes. His mother became even angrier. “I 'll tell your father if you come back wet again.” said his mother. “He will punish you, you know.”
The third day the little boy was dry when he came home.
“You're a good boy today.” His mother said happily. “You didn’t play in the water.”
“No, ”the boy said unhappily. “There were too many older boys in the water when I got there this afternoon. There wasn’t any room for me at all.”Bruno went to school __________ every day.
| A．by bike | B．by bus |
| C．by car | D．on foot |
The playground was between ____________.
| A．two classrooms |
| B．the cinema and shop |
| C．Bruno’s house and school |
| D．the shop and Bruno’s |
The little boy liked to play on the playground ___________.
| A．when it snowed |
| B．when there was some water there |
| C．when the children played football there |
| D．When his father was busy with his work |
Bruno was afraid of ______________ the most.
| A．his father | B．his mother |
| C．his teacher | D．the older boys |
That afternoon, the boy’s clothes were dry because __________.
| A．nobody made room for him in the water. |
| B．there was no water on the playground |
| C．He took off his clothes before he played there. |
| D．He played in the water carefully. |
D
Reading Oliver James'Affluenza, I thought about what often happens at home. My 12-year-old daughter is in tears."I have so take a test tomorrow. I don't understand any of it," she cries out. After shouting and shutting her door, she calms down enough to go through her notes. The following dry I ask her how the test went and the just says "OK,I got a nine".
"Wow. well done!" I say, before she finishes with "But I never get a ten!"
According to James, this obsession with getting top marks has been a bad development, which encourages people to think of education in terms of work and money. To test this, I asked my daughter why she was so worried about her tests. She looked at me as if I was thick. "Well, if I don't get good grades, I won't be able to afford nice things like a car and stuff."
I was quite surprised, because I don't consider myself a pushy parent. But James suggests and it leaves students feeling failures even if they are very bright. He points to the Danish system（体制）of education as a better model. Creating happy citizens who have good social skills is seen as more important than high achievements at school or the needs of business.
For me, I cannot remember the last time I had to work out the area of a circle, recite a Shakespeare poem or grammar rules, yet I have lived a happy life. What I really needed to learn at school was how to make polite conversations, or how to avoid getting into debt or how to develop good personality.
This is in fact similar to what Oliver James really has in mind. And he is looking for schools where students are encouraged to find and follow their own interests, something more like Tongjon. Tongjon has been developed in some Korean private schools. It is quite different from the more rigid system of learning things by heart that is used in Korea, and indeed in many other school systems around the world.
As the Russian poet Pushkin said," Inspiration(灵感）is needed in geometry(几何学）just as much as in poetry ",and inspiration does not come from endlessly revising for tests or getting worried about them .What does the writer probably think of his/her daughter?
| A．She sets herself a goal too high to reach. |
| B．She should be more polite to her parents. |
| C．She is hard-working but not very bright. |
| D．She takes her grades much too seriously. |
What does the word "obsession"in paragraph 3 mean?
| A．A plain and unavoidable fact. |
| B．A satisfied and very proud state. |
| C．A practical and widely-used way. |
| D．A fixed and often unreasonable idea. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Social skills are as important as high grades. |
| B．Interest in grades can shake self-confidence. |
| C．The writer regrets not having studied hard at school. |
| D．Danish educational system is for very smart students. |
The writer wants to tell us that____.
| A．learning happily is the key to self-development. |
| B．top marks may be helpful to increase one's interest. |
| C．tests should be improved to give children inspiration. |
| D．education should meet one's needs for word and money. |
C
Jack is a twenty-year-old young man. Two years ago, when he finished middle school, he found work in a shop. Usually he works until ten o'clock in the evening. He is very tired when he gets home. After a quick supper he goes to bed and soon falls asleep. His grandma lives downstairs. She is happy with him.
One day, on his way home, he met Mary. They were both happy. He asked the girl to his house, she agreed happily. He bought some fruit and drinks for her. And they talked about their school, teachers, classmates and their future . They talked for a long time.
"Have a look at your watch, please," said the girl. "What time is it now?"
"Sorry, something is wrong with my watch," said Jack. "Where's yours?"
"I left it at home."
Jack thought for a moment and found a way. He began to stamp his foot on the floor, "Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The sound woke his grandma up. The old woman shouted downstairs, "It's twelve o'clock in the night, Jack. Why are you still jumping upstairs?" Jack was ________ when he finished middle school.
| A．sixteen | B．eighteen |
| C．twenty | D．fifteen |
The old woman is happy with Jack because ________.
| A．he's her grandson | B．he's clever |
| C．he can keep quiet | D．he gets home on time |
The word "stamp" in the story means ______ in Chinese.
| A．盖印 | B．跺 | C．贴邮票 | D．承认 |
Jack stamped his foot on the floor in order (为了) ________.
| A．to wake his grandma up |
| B．to make his grandma angry |
| C．that his grandma was going to tell him the time |
| D．that his grandma was going to buy him a watch |
B
You probably know you should say “please” and “thank you” at restaurants. You probably know the rules of a library. You know you should respect and be nice to your classmates. But do you have music manners?
Keep It Down! You have to notice the volume of your music. You should not play your music so loud that everyone around you can hear it. Some people might even get angry. Usually, when you play the music loud on an MP3 player, other people can’t hear the words of the song. They just hear a loud sound. No one wants to listen to this. Very loud music can also be bad for your ears. So even if you are alone when listening to our MP3 players, you shouldn’t turn it up too high.
Take Them Off! You need to know when to turn your MP3 off and put it away. Libraries, and schools don’t allow MP3 players. There are other places, like museums, that don’t have rules, but it would be rude to have your MP3 player on. Sometimes, it doesn’t make sense to listen on your MP3 player at event. Why would you listen to music at a play, a movie or a sporting event? You would miss what is going on and others would wonder why you even came.
Take One Out! Once in a while it’s okay just to take out one earphone（耳机）and not the other. Imagine you are listening on your MP3 player when someone asks you the way. It would not be rude to take out one earphone, tell him the way, and put back the earphone and continue listening. You can also do this when you order food at a fast-food restaurant or when you answer the telephone and it’s not for you.The underlined word “volume” in Paragraph Two probably means “_______”
| A．the type of music |
| B．the amount of a sound |
| C．the length of a song |
| D．the colour of an MP3 player |
If we listen to our MP3 player at a play, ________.
| A．the theatre won’t allow it |
| B．the actors will get angry |
| C．others won’t hear the play well |
| D．we will miss part of the play |
It’s all right to use our MP3 player in __________.
| A．school | B．libraries |
| C．restaurants | D．museums |
What can be the best title of this passage? _________________
| A．Music lovers | B．Music manners |
| C．MP3 players | D．MP3 earphones |
A
The price of rice changes during the year.
It is useful for rice farmers to know how the price changes, then they can sell their rice when the price is high. But it was hard for farmers to guess how the price would change from month to month.
Last year, the price of rice was very low in November. This was a bad time for farmers to sell their rice. November, December, and January were all bad months. The best month for farmers to sell rice last year was April. July and August were also good times to sell rice.
Between August and November, the price of rice were down every month. During other parts of the year, the price went up and down.
The price of rice was the highest in________ last year.
| A．January | B．April |
| C．July | D．November |
The price of rice was the same in_________.
| A．April and May | B．February and December |
| C．July and August | D．March and September |
Which might be the best title of the reading?
| A．Farmers and Rice | B．Buying and Selling Rice |
| C．High Price of Rice | D．Changes in Price of Rice |