What’s delicious to eat and comes in a variety of colors? Eggplant! And no, it has nothing to do with chickens! This strangely named vegetable is, however, as versatile as an egg．It can be steamed, fried, and baked．It can be eaten by itself or combined with meats and other vegetables．
Eggplant was first grown in India in the 5th century BC．Its popularity soon spread to China and then throughout Asia．Finally, during the Middle Ages the vegetable made its way to Europe．At that time, eggplant was not the shiny purple vegetable most people know today．Instead, it’s like a white egg．Due to this egg - like appearance, eggplant got its name．In its early days, the vegetable was so bitter that people often called it a “mad apple.” This nickname started because people believed its bitterness was bad for one' s health．People actually thought eggplant could cause madness and cancer．
Fortunately today people know that eggplant doesn't cause insanity or cancer．In fact eggplant is so healthy that it may prevent cancer．In addition, the brain and the heart benefit from this super vegetable．Since it's high in fibre, eggplant can improve digestion．
Italy, Turkey, Egypt, China and Japan are the leading growers of eggplant in the world today．Depending on its location, eggplant may be purple, green, orange or yellow - white．And it can be as small as a tomato or as large as a cucumber．Dish varieties range from simple to complex, with all of them being delicious．
Today, thousands of people gather in Loomis, Calif, for the annual Loomis Eggplant Festival．The main activity at the festival is eating delicious eggplant dishes．There is plenty more to do and see, though．Recipe contests, arts and crafts, performers, races and children's activities all “egg – cite” festival - goers．Most people at the festival would agree—eggplant is an “egg—cellent” vegetable．Eggplant got its name because of its _____．
| A．appearance | B．taste | C．color | D．value |
Which of the following does NOT belong to the qualities of eggplant?
| A．It can be cooked in various ways． |
| B．It is easy to digest． |
| C．It can prevent cancer． |
| D．It is valuable and priceless． |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Eggplant can be eaten to cure cancer |
| B．Eggplant used to taste bitter． |
| C．India produce the most eggplant in the world today． |
| D．Eggplant has a history of nearly 1,000 years． |
Most people come to the Loomis Eggplant Festival to_____．
| A．see arts and crafts |
| B．enjoy food with eggplants |
| C．take part in recipe contests |
| D．promote eggplant |
How many people have I met who have told me about the book that they have been planning to write but have never yet found the time? Far too many .This is Life, all right, but we do treat it like a rehearsal（排演）and, unhappily, we do miss so many of its best moments .
We take jobs to stay alive and provide homes for our families, always making ourselves believe that this style of life is merely a temporary state of affairs along the road to what we really want to do. Then, at 60 or 65, we are suddenly presented with a clock and several grandchildren and we look back and realize that all those years waiting for Real Life to come along were in fact real life .
In America they have a saying much laughed at by the English：“Have a nice day!” They speak slowly and seriously in their shops, hotels and sandwich bars. I think it is a wonderful phrase, reminding us to enjoy the moment: to value this very day .How often do we say to ourselves, "I'll take up horse-riding（or golf, or sailing）as soon as I get a higher position," only to do none of those things when I do get the higher position .
When I first became a reporter, I knew a man who gave up a very well paid respectable job at the Daily Telegraph to go and edit a small weekly newspaper. At the time I was astonished by what appeared to me to be his completely abnormal（反常的）mental state. How could anyone turn his back on Fleet Street in central London for a small local area？I wanted to know .
Now I am a little older and possibly wiser, I see the sense in it. In Fleet Street the man was under continual pressure .He lived in an unattractive London suburb and he spent much of his life sitting on Southern Region trains .The first paragraph of the passage tells us that________.
| A．we always try to find some time to write a book |
| B．we always make plans but seldom fulfill them |
| C．we always enjoy many of life's best moments |
| D．we always do what we really want to do |
The man （in paragraph 6）left his first job partly because he was_________.
| A．in an abnormal state | B．under too much pressure |
| C．not well paid | D．not respected |
What is probably the best title for the passage?
| A．Provide Homes For Our Family | B．Take Up Horse-riding |
| C．Value This Very Day | D．Stay Alive |
Mr. Knight was the manager of a hotel. One weekend all of the hotels in the city were full because there was a large meeting. On Friday, three men came into the hotel and asked for rooms. Mr. Knight said there were no rooms ready because of the meeting. The men were unhappy.
Mr. Knight wanted to help them. He remembered that Room 418, a small room, was empty. He asked them if they could share a room. The three men said they would. Mr. Knight said the room would be thirty dollars; ten dollars for each person. Each man gave him the money and then went up to the room.
Mr. Knight soon began to feel sorry. “Thirty dollars is a lot to ask as a price for that small room.” he thought. He called his assistant over and said, “Here is five dollars. Take it to the men in Room 418. I asked too much for their room.”
The assistant took the money. While he was on the way there, he started to think, “How can three men divide five dollars? I’ll give them each only one dollar and keep the two dollars for myself. The men will be happy to get something back. And Mr. Knight will never know.” So the assistant returned one dollar to each man.
Each man had at first paid ten dollars. After the assistant returned them one dollar each, each had actually(in fact) paid nine. There were three men. $9´3="$27." The assistant kept$2. $27+$2="$29." Where is the missing dollar?With the help of the manager, the three men___________.
| A．went to another hotel |
| B．each got a small room for the night |
| C．stayed together in a small room |
| D．got a small room Mr. Knight kept for himself |
At first___________.
| A．$27 was paid by the three men |
| B．$30 was paid by each of the three men |
| C．$25 was paid by the three men |
| D．$10 was paid by each of the three men |
The assistant___________.
| A．helped the men to divide the money |
| B．kept two dollars for himself |
| C．kept three dollars for himself |
| D．returned three dollars to the men and two to the manger |
Where is the missing dollar?
| A．It was taken by the assistant, too. |
| B．It was taken by Mr. Knight. |
| C．It was taken by the three men. |
| D．In fact, there wasn’t any missing dollar. |
Singing had always been an important part of Gloria Estefan’s life. “Since I was three years old, I sang. I sang everything,” Gloria said. “Cubans,” she added, “are a musical people”.
Gloria was born in Cuba in 1957. Her family left the country just before Fidel Castro came to power. In Miami, where the family settled, many people did not accept Cuban immigrants. In first grade, she spoke little English, but she worked hard to learn the language. Six months after she entered school, she won an award for reading in English!
When Gloria was ten, her father returned from the Vietnam War. Soon, the family realized he wasn’t well. They soon found out that he was badly ill. Her mother went back to teaching at school to support the family. Gloria cared for her father and her younger sister.
She still made the honor roll, and she still had her music, but Gloria was lonely. However, when the band leader Emilio Estefan came to speak at her high school, Gloria sang for him. He asked her to join his band. It was the beginning of the Miami Sound Machine.
Within a few months, the Miami Sound Machine was the top band in Miami. In 1978 Gloria and Emilio married.
At first, the Miami Sound Machine was known only in Miami. Then the band signed with CBS Records. Estefan and his band became stars.
Since then, the Miami Sound Machine has sold millions of records. Gloria has done more than just singing when Hurricane Andrew hit central Florida in 1992. She used only two weeks to organize an all-star concert that raised $2 million for the people who suffered in the hurricane. “We needed a party after that disaster,” she said.
Gloria said, “You have to stay true to the music you really love to do. There will always be people who will tell you, ‘that won’t work.’ You’ve got to be firm in spite of difficulties. Stick to it—that’s the main thing.”Gloria’s father was ill_________.
| A．when they settled down in Miami. |
| B．before they left their home country |
| C．after he returned from Vietnam War |
| D．as soon as she finished high school |
According to the passage, probably Gloria did the following excep________ .
| A．organizing an all-star concert for Hurricane victims |
| B．winning an award for reading in English |
| C．teaching at school to support the family |
| D．taking care of her father and sister |
The underlined word “disaster” in this passage refers to __________ .
| A．the concert | B．the celebration | C．the victims | D．the hurricane |
When we talk about stars ,especially women stars ,it seems that they are always young, pretty and own charming body shapes. But recently a Britain's Got Talent（英国达人）star Susan Boyle has changed our views absolutely.
Simon Cowell ,one of the judges of the talent show spoke of his shock over Ms Boyle's voice. "This lady camp up ,and I'm thinking, 'This will take five seconds and I can go to have a cup of tea'. That changed when she began to sing I Dreamed to Dream from Les Miserables. She knew we were going to have that reaction and just to see that look of satisfaction on her face through -it was one of my favorite moments," Cowell said.
The performance was posted on line and before long, the 47-year-old Scottish woman has been famous all over the world.
Speaking from her home in Scotland, Ms Boyle said that she hasn't thought of changing her appearance. She said that her friend helped her with make-up. "I mean, that's hardly a makeover," she added.Ms Boyle also spoke of the reason she first began to explore her vocal talents, "I was kind of slow at school, so getting like singing was a good way of hiding behind that and thus it built my confidence."Susan Boyle is _________
| A．a judge | B．a reporter | C．a beautiful | D．a Scottish woman |
Susan Boyle had a look of satisfaction on her face when she was singing because______.
| A．she was confident of her singing |
| B．she was satisfied with the judges |
| C．she was pretty and in good shape |
| D．she sang the song I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables |
According to the passage, which is NOT true?
| A．It was the vocal talents that built Susan's confidence |
| B．Susan Boyle was not good at her lesson when at school. |
| C．Susan Boyle became famous because of her appearance. |
| D．Simon Cowell didn't think Susan Boyle a good singer at the first sight. |
What can we learn from Susan Boyle's success
| A．It's never too old to learn. |
| B．It's easier to succeed at the age of 47. |
| C．If you have a dream, try to make it come true! |
| D．If you are not able to study well, to be a singer instead. |
Dear Daughter,
As we drove off from Columbia, I wanted to write to tell you all that is on my mind. First, I want to tell you how proud we are. Getting into Columbia is a real testament (证明) of what a great well-rounded student you are. You should be as proud of yourself as we are.
Your college years will be the most important of your life. It is in college that you will discover what learning is about. This will be the period when you go from teacher taught to master inspired, after which you must become a self-learner. So do take each subject seriously, and even if what you learn is of no practical use in real life, the learning skills you get will be something you will value forever.
Follow your passion in college. Take courses you think you will enjoy, don't be bothered by what others think or say, but make up your own mind. Most importantly, make true friends and be happy. Don't worry about their hobbies, grades, looks, or even personalities.
Start planning early what you'd like to do. Where would you like to live? What would you like to learn? I think your plan to study fashion is good, and you should decide where you want to be, and get onto the right courses. I will always be there for you, but the time has come for you to be in the driver's seat-this is your life, and you need to be in control. Being in control feels great. Try it, and you'll love it!
So please treasure your college years - make the best use of your free time, become an independent thinker in control of your destiny, and learn through your successes and challenges.
May your years at Columbia be the happiest of your life, and may you grow into just what you dream to be.
Love
Dad & MomWe can read between the lines that ________.
| A．Dad has a strong love for his daughter |
| B．Dad is very strict with his daughter |
| C．Dad always worries about his daughter |
| D．Dad is much concerned about his daughter's health |
The underlined word "destiny" in the passage is the closest in meaning to "_______".
| A．weight | B．life | C．position | D．time |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Plan things before you do them. |
| B．Self－learning is very important in college. |
| C．Follow your passion and what other people say. |
| D．Leading a life is just like driving a car. |
The purpose of the author in writing the letter is to tell his daughter to ________.
| A．smile to her trouble in life |
| B．fight till she succeeds |
| C．be confident and happy |
| D．make the most of her college |