As you grow older, you’ll be faced with some challenging decisions—like whether to cut class or try cigarettes. Making decisions on your own is hard enough, but when other people get involved and try to pressure you one way or another it can be even harder. People who are your age, like your classmates, are called peers. When they try to influence how you act, to get you to do something, it’s called peer pressure.
Peers can have a positive influence on each other. Maybe another student in your science class taught you an easy way to remember the planets in the solar system. Maybe you got others excited about your new favorite book, and now everyone’s reading it. These are examples of how peers positively influence each other.
Sometimes peers influence each other in negative ways. For example, a few kids in school might try to get you to cut class with them; your soccer friend might try to convince you to be mean to another player and never pass him the ball.
It is tough to be the only one who says “no” to peer pressure, but you can do it. Paying attention to your own feelings and beliefs about what is right and wrong can help you know the right thing to do.
You’ve probably had a parent or teacher advising you to “choose your friends wisely.” Peer pressure is a big reason why they say this. If you choose friends who don’t cut class, smoke cigarettes, or lie to their parents, then you probably won’t do these things either, even if other kids do.
If you continue to face peer pressure and you’re finding it difficult to handle, talk to someone you trust. Don’t feel guilty if you’ve made a mistake or two.For whom is the passage most probably written?
| A．Students. | B．Parents. | C．Teachers. | D．Doctors. |
In the last three paragraphs, the author mainly_____.
| A．explains why friendship is so important |
| B．gives advice on how to deal with peer pressure |
| C．discusses how peers influence us |
| D．shows how to make more good friends |
Which of following may help handle peer pressure?
| A．Spending more time with classmates. |
| B．Taking up more relaxing hobbies. |
| C．Choosing friends with no bad habits. |
| D．Helping others who are in trouble. |
What is the topic of the passage?
| A．Friendship. | B．Making decisions | C．Self-confidence | D．Peer pressure |
Zoe Chambers was a successful PR (Public Relations) consultant and life was going well—she had a great job, a beautiful flat and a busy social life in London. Then one evening in June last year, she received a text message telling her she was out of work. The first two weeks were the most difficult to live through." she said. "After everything I'd done for the company, they dismissed me by text! I was so angry and I just didn't feel like looking for another job. I hated everything about the city and my life."
Then, Zoe received an invitation from an old school friend, Kathy, to come and stay. Kathy and her husband, Huw, had just bought a farm in north-west Wales. Zoe jumped at the chance to spend a weekend away from London, and now, ten months later, she is still on the farm.
"The moment I arrived at Kathy's farm, I loved it and I knew I wanted to stay." said Zoe. "Everything about my past life suddenly seemed meaningless."
Zoe has been working on the farm since October of last year and says she has no regrets. "It's a hard life, physically very tiring." she says. "In London 1 was stressed and often mentally exhausted. But this is a good, healthy tiredness. Here, all 1 need to put me in a good mood is a hot bath and one of Kathy's wonderful dinners."
Zoe says she has never felt bored on the farm. Every day brings a new experience. Kathy has been leaching her how to ride a horse and she has learnt to drive a tractor. Since Christmas, she has been helping with the lambing—watching a lamb being born is unbelievable, she says, "It's one of the most moving experiences I've ever had. I could never go back to city life now." （08上海卷）When working as a PR consultant in London, Zoe thought she lived a______life.
| A．satisfying | B．tough | C．meaningless | D．boring |
The most important reason why Zoe went to visit Kathy's farm is that______.
| A．Zoe lost her job as a PR consultant | |
| B．Kathy persuaded her to do so | |
| C．Zoe got tired of the city life | D．Zoe loved Wales more than London |
How docs Zoe feel about the country life according to the passage?
| A．Tiresome and troublesome. |
| B．Romantic and peaceful |
| C．Mentally exhausting but healthy |
| D．Physically tiring but rewarding. |
Which of the following is closest to the main idea of the passage?
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．A misfortune may turn out a blessing. |
| D．Kill two birds with one stone. |
On Saturday August 12, 2000, during Northern Fleet training exercises in the Barents Sea, the Russian nuclear submarine(潜水艇) Kursk sank in about 100 meters of water with some 118 sailors aboard. It's known later that several officers were also aboard, observing the training exercises. The Kursk is lying on the ocean floor in the Barents Sea. The Russian Navy said that it was listing 30 degrees to port. Other sources reported it was listing as much 60 as degrees. According to a Russian newspaper, when the submarine Kursk failed to make contact with the naval command at the right time later that day, Northern Fleet Commander Admiral Vyachesav Popov ordered rescue ships into the area. It took hours to find the submarine, as it didn't launch(发射) a marking buoy(浮) before sinking.
Russian Navy Chief insisted that the submarine Kursk had been involved(卷入) in a major collision(碰撞), but a great deal of information shows that this is not true. Up till now, it's believed that an explosion in the torpedo compartment(鱼雷舱) in the nose of the Kursk was the likely cause. Now Russian government officially asked Norway for help in recovering of sailors' bodies first of all, and Norway has agreed to offer all help. But Russian insisted that only Russians work inside the submarine Kursk and that the work last for about 10～18 working days. It is expected to recover only 25～35 bodies from the Kursk.
It was not until October 25, when a team of Russian divers entered the submarine Kursk, some 350 feet below the surface, that truth became clear. On November 7, in the morning, owing to(由于) the icy and the cold weather, a special rescue meeting held on Murmansk decided to stop the whole bodies recovering operation. From the text we can infer that _______ led to the sinking of the submarine Kursk.
| A．a small fighting with another foreign submarine |
| B．an explosion inside the submarine Kursk |
| C．a great collision inside the submarine Kursk |
| D．an attack from another foreign submarine |
After Kursk accident occurred, Northern Fleet Commander Popov _______.
| A．decided to recover all the sailors' bodies immediately |
| B．went to apply to Norway for help at once |
| C．decided to find out the real cause of sinking at once |
| D．sent several rescue ships into the Barents Sea |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the text?
A. The Norwegians were willing to offer all help.
A. If the rescue work did within 10～18 days, there would be about 30 sailors to be recovered.
B. It was not believed that there were many unclear weapons inside the Kursk.
C. A team of divers from Norway entered the submarine Kursk successfully on Oct. 25
D. It's reported that a major collision was unlikely to cause the sinking of the Kursk. Why did Russia insist that only Russian divers can work inside the submarine Kursk?
| A．Because the Barents Sea is very icy and the weather is too cold. |
| B．Because Russia feared that the top secrets inside the Kursk will be let out. |
| C．Because Russian divers are much more skilled than those from Norway. |
| D．Because Russian government wants to bring the cost down to the lowest degree. |
The underlined words “make contact with” in the first paragraph refers to the idea that the submarine Kursk can't_______.
| A．get in touch after much effort with the naval command |
| B．send up the nuclear weapons in the training exercises |
| C．get the naval officers to return to the Northern Fleet |
| D．get in touch after much effort with Russian government |
love charity(慈善) shops and so do lots of other people in Britain because you find quite a few of them on every high street. The charity shop is a British institution, selling everything from clothes to electric goods, all at very good prices. You can get things you won’t find in the shops anymore. The thing I like best about them is that your money is going to a good cause and not into the pockets of profit-driven companies, and you are not damaging the planet, but finding a new home for unwanted goods.
The first charity shop was opened in 1947 by Oxfam. The famous charity’s appeal to aid postwar Greece had been so successful it had been flooded with donations(捐赠物). They decided to set up a shop to sell some of these donations to raise money for that appeal. Now there are over 7,000 charity shops in the UK. My favourite charity shop in my hometown is the Red Cross shop, where I always find children’s books, all 10 or 20 pence each.
Most of the people working in the charity shops are volunteers, although there is often a manager who gets paid. Over 90% of the goods in the charity shops are donated by the public. Every morning you see bags of unwanted items outside the front of shops, although they don’t encourage this, rather ask people to bring things in when the shop is open.
The shops have very low running costs: all profits go to charity work. Charity shops raise more than ￡110 million a year, funding（资助）medical research, overseas aid, supporting sick and poor children, homeless and disabled people, and much more. What better place to spend your money? You get something special for a very good price and a good moral sense. You provide funds to a good cause and tread lightly on the environment. （08天津卷）The author loves the charity shop mainly because of _______.
| A．its convenient location |
| B．its great variety of goods |
| C．its spirit of goodwill |
| D．its nice shopping environment |
The first charity shop in the UK was set up to ____.
| A．sell cheap products |
| B．deal with unwanted things |
| C．raise money for patients |
| D．help a foreign country |
Which of the following is TRUE about charity shops?
| A．The operating costs are very low. |
| B．The staff are usually well paid. |
| C．90% of the donations are second-hand. |
| D．They are open twenty-four hours a day. |
Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?
| A．What to Buy a Charity Shops. |
| B．Charity Shop: Its Origin & Development. |
| C．Charity Shop: Where You Buy to Donate. |
| D．The Public’s Concern about Charity Shops. |
The Erie Canal was the first important national waterway built in the US. It crossed New York from Buffalo on Lake Erie Troy to Albany on the Hudson River. It joined the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. The canal served as a route over which industrial goods could flow into the west, and materials could pour into the east. The Erie Canal helped New York develop into the nation’s largest city.
The building of the canal was paid for entirely by the state of New York. It cost $ 7 143 789, but it soon gained its price many times over. Between 1825, when the canal was opened, and 1882, when toll charges(过运河费) were stopped, the state collected $121 461 891.
For a hundred years before the Erie was built, people had been talking about a canal which could join the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. The man who planned the Erie Canal and carried the plan through was De Witt Clinton. Those who were against the canal laughingly called it “Clinton’s Ditch(沟)”. Clinton talked and wrote about the canal and drew up plans for it. He and Governor Morris went to Washington in 1812 to ask for help for the canal, but they were unsuccessful.
Clinton became governor of New York in 1817, and shortly afterwards, on July 4, 1817, broke ground for the canal in Rome, N.Y. The first part of the canal was completed in 1820. As the canal grew, towns along its course developed fast. The length of the canal is 363 miles.We can see that the Erie Canal ________.
| A．joined the Great Lakes together |
| B．crossed New York from north to south |
| C．played an important part in developing New York City |
| D．was the first waterway built in the US |
It can be inferred that ________ into the Atlantic Ocean.
| A．the Great Lakes flow | B．the Hudson River flows |
| C．Lake Erie flows | D．the Erie Canal flows |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．The Erie Canal brought profits of over $114, 000, 000. |
| B．It’s 363 miles from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. |
| C．The West was more advanced than the East when the canal was built. |
| D．Many other states helped New York built the canal. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Clinton broke ground for the canal at both ends. |
| B．Clinton started building the canal before he became governor. |
| C．All parts of the canal were completed at the same time. |
| D．Construction of the canal took eight years. |
Death Valley is one of the most famous deserts in the United States, covering a wide area with its alkali sand. Almost 20 percent of this area is well below sea level, and Badwater, a salt water pool, is about 280 feet below sea level and the lowest point in the United States.
Long ago, the Panamint Indians called this place “Tomesha”— the land of fire. Death Valley’s present name dates back to 1849, when a group of miners coming across from Nevada became lost in its unpleasantness and hugeness and their adventure turned out to be a sad story. Today Death Valley has been declared a National Monument(纪念碑) and is crossed by several well-marked roads where good services can be found easily. Luckily the change created by human settlement has hardly ruined the special beauty of this place.
Here nature created a lot of surprising, almost like the sights on the moon, ever-changing as the frequent wind moves the sand about, showing the most unusual colors. One of the most astonishing and variable parts of Death Valley is the Devil’ s Golf Course, where it seems hard for one to tell reality from terrible dreams. Sand sculptures(沙雕) stand on a frightening ground, as evening shadows move and lengthen. _______ is the lowest place in the desert.
| A．Tomesha | B．Death Valley |
| C．Nevada | D．Badwater |
The name of the valley comes from _______.
| A．an Indian name | B．the death of the miners |
| C．the local people | D．a National Movement |
From the passage we can learn that _______.
| A．no one had ever known the desert before the miners |
| B．it’s still not easy to travel across the desert |
| C．people can find gas-stations, cafes and hotels in the desert |
| D．people have changed the natural sight of the desert |
Devil Golf Course is famous for _______.
| A．the frequent wind | B．the colors of the sand |
| C．dream-like sights | D．the sand sculptures |
From the passage we can see that the writer _______ the Death Valley.
| A．appreciates | B．is fearful of |
| C．dislikes | D．is tired of |