A Book Review—The Snake-Stone by Berlie Doherty
The setting: Urban England (the cities), but also rural England (the countryside) including remote English villages．
The theme: The main theme is a teenage research of self-discovery, in this case the search for a mother from whom the hero was separated at an early age．Its other concerns are love, getting on with others, being persistent and courageous and trying to deal with doubts, troubles and worries．As the book moves to a close, James’ swimming coach says to him: “You are not like a kid obeying instructions any more．You are diving like a young man who knows where he is going．”
The characters: James is the hero of the story．He is a championship diver, and has a comfortable life with his foster parents (养父母)．Yet he also has the qualities to take him on a long journey to find his birth mother．The other characters in The Snake-Stone, James’ parents, his diving instructor, best friend, the villagers, people he meets on his journey, are pictured realistically．
The turning point: The turning point in the story comes while James’ foster parents are away in London, and he wonders about the identity of his birth mother．The only clue he has is a fossil, “the snake stone” which she left behind along with a note on which she had written: “Take good care of Sammie．It was written on a torn envelope with parts of an address still there．
The journey: Instead of going to London, James decides to find his birth mother．With help from his geography teacher, James sets out for the remote country village where his mother might be found．James has painful, challenging, but also humorous and happy travels．The mother he finally meets, Anne, has a minor yet powerful voice in the novel．He comes to understand why she left him at a stranger’s door fifteen years before．Although the meeting is not long, it leaves him with a feeling of completeness．As a journey of self-discovery The Snake-Stone also provides its readers with a happy ending．Its hero says, on returning to his foster parents, “I was home．”What is the main theme of the novel?
| A．A journey of self-discovery． |
| B．Life in the world of diving． |
| C．Life with foster parents． |
| D．A travel around the country． |
What do the coach’s words in Paragraph 2 suggest?
| A．James is a successful diver． |
| B．James is an independent young man． |
| C．James is an outgoing young man． |
| D．James is a hopeful swimmer． |
The snake stone in the novel is ．
| A．a stone with an address on it |
| B．a gift from the swimming coach |
| C．a clue left by the birth mother |
| D．a fossil left by the foster parents |
Which of the following is true about the novel?
| A．The story has a sad ending． |
| B．The story takes place in the city of London． |
| C．The characters are vividly described． |
| D．The turning point comes after the hero meets his birth mother． |
It can be concluded that James’ journey is _________．
| A．disappointing | B．boring | C．comfortable | D．worthwhile |
The year is 2094. It has been announced that a comet （彗星）is heading towards the earth. Most of it will miss our planet, but two pieces will probably hit the southern half of the earth.
On 17 July, a piece of 4 kilometers wide comet enters the Earth’s atmosphere with a massive explosion（爆炸）. About half of the piece is destroyed, but the remaining part hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the speed of sound. The sea boils and a huge hole is made in the seabed. Huge waves are created and spread outwards form the hole. The wall of water, a kilometer high, rushes towards southern Africa at 800 kilometers an hour. Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and millions of people are drowned（淹死）.
Before the waves reach South America, the second piece of the comet lands in Argentina. Earthquakes and volcanoes ash set off in the Andes Mountains. The shock waves move north into California and all around the Pacific Ocean. The cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Tokyo are completely destroyed by earthquakes. Millions of people in the southern half of the earth are already dead, but the north won’t escape for long. Because of the explosions, the sun is hidden by clouds of dust, temperatures around the world fall to almost zero. Crops are ruined. The sun won’t be seen again for many years. Wars break out as countries fight for food. A year later, no more than 10 million people remain alive.
Could it really happen? In fact, it has already happened more than once in the history of the earth. The dinosaurs were on the Earth for over 160 million years. Then 65 million years ago they suddenly disappeared. Many scientists believe that the Earth was hit by a piece of object in space. The dinosaurs couldn’t live through the cold climate that followed and they died out. Will we meet the same end? What is mainly described in the passage?
| A．A historic discovery. |
| B．An event in imagination. |
| C．A research on space. |
| D．A scientific adventure. |
When the first piece hits the South Atlantic, it causes________.
| A．an earthquake |
| B．hunger |
| C．an Earth explosion |
| D．huge waves |
Why can’t the northern half of the earth escape for long?
| A．Because the land is covered with water. |
| B．Because the light and heat form the sun cannot reach the earth. |
| C．Because people there cannot live at the temperature of zero. |
| D．Because wars break out among countries. |
By giving the example of dinosaurs, the author tries to prove_________.
| A．animals could not live in the cold climate |
| B．what happened 65 million years ago was an invented story |
| C．the human beings will die out in 2094 |
| D．the Earth could be hit by other objects in space |
It's time to be water efficient!
As populations increase across Australia and the rest of the world, demand for water will also increase. If we don’t reduce each individual’s demand for water (both directly and through embodied water) the water situation will become dire.
It is obvious that we cannot increase demands for water much more without detrimental(有害的) effects to the environment, society and the economy.
It’s all too easy to blame someone else for the water situation –“if 70% of water is used for agriculture then that’s what we should target” – but it’s not that easy. We all depend on the food and resources that agriculture provides, and while there are definitely opportunities to increase water efficiency on the farm, the solution will take more than that.
We each share responsibility for the sustainable management of our water resources, which means using less water at home, in the workplace, at school, on holidays, on the farm, … everyone, everywhere, every time.
It's time to become water efficient! This involves reassessing our relationship with water, and learning to use it more sparingly. On the most basic level, it requires a behavioural（行动的） change, and assigning a value to water that truly reflects its worth.
We can also unlock economic benefits of being water efficient. There are many real world examples given in the case studies on this site.
Everybody has a responsibility to save water, if future generations are to enjoy a similar standard of living to the one we enjoy now. In fact, many of the impacts associated with water use are likely to have an effect on our own lives!
www.savewater.com.au has been designed to help you respond to the challenge to become water efficient. It acts as a central repository for relevant information and further advice, so that you can actually achieve significant savings. It also showcases those companies with products that will assist you in your goal.Can you infer where this passage is from?
| A．newspaper |
| B．TV programme |
| C．Radio broadcast |
| D．Internet |
What can we do to save water?
| A．find more water resources |
| B．use less water everywhere, every time |
| C．realize the importance of saving water |
| D．unlock economic benefits of being water efficient |
What is not the reason to save water?
| A．There are more and more people in the world. |
| B．The water resources are limited. |
| C．Agriculture needs more water. |
| D．The water is very important for us. |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Water is very important for the human. |
| B．Everybody has a responsibility to save water. |
| C．It's time to be water efficient. |
| D．Let’s save water for our future generations. |
The garden city was largely the invention of Ebenezer Howard (1850—1928). After immigrating from England to the USA, and an unsuccessful attempt to make a living as a farmer, he moved to Chicago, where he saw the reconstruction of the city after the disastrous fire of 1871. In those days, it was nicknamed “the Garden City ”, almost certainly the source of Howard's name for his later building plan of towns. Returning to London, Howard developed his design in the 1880s and 1890s, drawing on ideas that were popular at the time, but creating a unique combination of designs.
The nineteenth－century poor city was in many ways a terrible place, dirty and crowded; but it offered economic and social opportunities. At the same time, the British countryside was in fact equally unattractive: though it promised fresh air and nature, it suffered from agricultural depression(萧条) and it offered neither enough work and wages, nor much social life. Howard's idea was to combine the best of town and country in a new kind of settlement, the garden city. Howard's idea was that a group of people should set up a company, borrowing money to establish a garden city in the depressed countryside, far enough from existing cities to make sure that the land was bought at the bottom price.
Garden cities would provide a central public open space, radial avenues and connecting industries. They would be surrounded by a much larger area of green belt, also owned by the company, containing not merely farms but also some industrial institutions. As more and more people moved in, the garden city would reach its planned limit—Howard suggested 32, 000 people; then, another would be started a short distance away. Thus, over time, there would develop a vast planned house collection, extending almost without limit; within it, each garden city would offer a wide range of jobs and services, but each would also be connected to the others by a rapid transportation system, thus giving all the economic and social opportunities of a big city. How did Howard get the name for his building plan of garden cities?
| A．Through his observation of the country life. |
| B．Through the combination of different ideas. |
| C．By taking other people's advice. |
| D．By using the nickname of the reconstructed Chicago. |
The underlined phrase “drawing on” in Paragraph 1 probably means.
| A．making use of |
| B．making comments on |
| C．giving an explanation of |
| D．giving a description of |
According to Howard, garden cities should be built.
| A．as far as possible from existing cities |
| B．in the countryside where the land was cheap |
| C．in the countryside where agriculture was developed |
| D．near cities where employment opportunities already existed |
What can we learn about garden cities from the last paragraph?
| A．Their number would continue to rise. |
| B．Each one would continue to become larger. |
| C．People would live and work in the same place. |
| D．Each one would contain a certain type of business. |
What could be the best title for the passage?
| A．City and Countryside |
| B．The Invention of the Garden City |
| C．A New City in Chicago |
| D．A Famous Garden City in England |
When Christopher Columbus landed on the then unnamed Costa Rica in 1502, he saw many
Indians wearing gold earrings. So he thought the land must be rich in gold. He named the place
Costa Rica, which means "rich coast" in Spanish.
Though little gold was found, Costa Rica today is indeed rich with coffee and bananas. Coffee
is the most important product in Costa Rica and most of it is exported (出口) to other countries
like America and West Germany. Bananas are the country's second most important export.
Costa Ricans also grow many other crops such as fruits, corn and beans for their own use. Costa
Ricans love colors and their houses are painted in bright colors.
Education is very important to the Costa Ricans. Almost every village has a school and education
is a must for children between seven and fourteen years of age. Boys and girls go to separate
(单独的) schools. Classes begin in March and end in November. The other three months of the
year are harvest time and the children have to help their parents to pick coffee beans. What's the main idea of the first paragraph?
| A．How Columbus found Costa Rica. |
| B．How Costa Rica got its name. |
| C．What the Costa Ricans wore. |
| D．What language the Costa Ricans spoke. |
The Costa Ricans may NOT paint their houses ______.
| A．pink and red |
| B．grey and black |
| C．blue and green |
| D．yellow and orange |
In Costa Rica, boys and girls between seven and fourteen ______.
| A．must go to school |
| B．study in the same school |
| C．do not have to go to school at all |
| D．can choose to stop schooling at any time |
From December to February, school children in Costa Rica______.
| A．have lessons every day |
| B．have their examinations |
| C．help their parents pick coffee beans |
| D．help their parents decorate their houses |
，
There is an English saying that goes, “ He who laughs last laughs the hardest.” High School Musical star and teen heartthrob Zac Efron is laughing a lot these days.
As a young boy, Efron was picked on in school because he was always the smallest in his class and teased（取笑） because he had a big space between his teeth. In sixth grade, Efron’s basketball team made it to the league championships. In double overtime (加时赛) , with three seconds Left, he rebounded the ball and passed it to the wrong team! They scored and his team lost the game.
But history ,as they say, is a thing of the past. Now at 21, Efron is one of People magazine’s l00 Most Beautiful People, graces（使增加光彩）the cover of Entertainment Weekly, Hollywood’s most influential magazine, and is travelling the world promoting the third High School Musical film Director Adam Shankman described Efron as “arguably biggest teen star in America right now”． Simply google “Zac Efron” and you get more than 14 million responses. Yes, it seems Efron has a lot to smile about these days.
Efron was born and raised in California. He took school seriously. He would flip out(发疯) if he got a B and not an A in school, and that he was a class clown It was his father who encouraged him to act. He took part in school performances and with a local theatre group, He also took singing lessons. He graduated high school in 2006 and was accepted by the University of Southem California to study film But he deferred（延缓） because he anted to know why to study movies and when could star in them.
Now he has signed on to Sin the romantic comedy Seventeen Again and to play in the remake of the hugely popular movie, Footloose. Efron is also earning more than $ 3 million for his role in High School Musical 3 , not bad for a 21-year-old youth. But Efron still remembers those bullies(侮辱，威胁).
“You always have to remember that bullies want to bring you down because you have something that they admire,” Efron said. ‘Also, when you get made fun of, when people point out your weaknesses, it’s an opportunity for you to rise above.”
Efron has risen all the way to the top of the movie business. And he can now laugh all the way to the bank.How do you understand the underlined sentence “But history, as they say, is a thing of the past. “ in Paragraph 3?
| A．History is a collection of the past. |
| B．Zac Efron’s history is wonderful, |
| C．Different from history, Efron is quite popular now, |
| D．History plays an important role in Zac Efron’s life. |
What did Zac Efron do when he was laughed at?
| A．He couldn’t accept the fact in the beginning, so he escaped. |
| B．He was so angry that shouted at the person who teased him． |
| C．He cried and told the whole matter to his father to get comfort. |
| D．He cheered himself up and used it as a motivation to move on |
What’s the main idea of Paragraph 3?
| A．It mainly talks about Zac Efron’s history. |
| B．It mainly focuses on how Zac Efron grew up. |
| C．It talks about how Zac Efron dealt with his business. |
| D．It rnainly talks about Zac Efron’s success in career, |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Zac Efron was laughed at because he was the most foolish guy in the class. |
| B．Zac Efron is promoting his fourth High School Musical film in the world. |
| C．He once helped the other team win a match when he was playing basketball. |
| D．In his growing process to be a famous actor, his mother played a key part. |