When you watch TV programs about wild animals, it is surprising to see how an antelope can escape a lion’s attack. In the wilderness, everyone has a stunt. Even plants have their own ways of fighting off enemies.
Over millions of years of evolution, plants have developed a unique defence system. Chemicals are wildly used for survival. By making their leaves, flowers, roots and fruits distasteful or poisonous(有毒的) to enemies, plants can fight back.
One such plant is the Golden Wattle tree. The British scientist David Cameron has found when an animal eats the tree’s leaves, the amount of poison increases in the other leaves. “It’s like the damaged leaves telephoning the others telling them to fight together against the enemy, ” he said.
The tree also sends defence messages to neighboring plants by giving out a special smell. Golden Wattle trees in the surrounding 45 meters will get the message and produce more poison within 10 minutes. Now, if an enemy eats too many of the trees’ leaves, it will die.
Every species of plant or tree is good at the production of a particular set of chemicals. A herbivore that can safely eat the leaves of one tree may be poisoned by its neighbor.
In this way, plants have developed not only individual defence system, but also shared it with others. This makes it impossible for a single animal to destroy even a small area of forest. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Plants Fight back with Poisons |
| B．Plants Can Kill Animals |
| C．Animals and Plants |
| D．Lions and Antelopes |
According to the study, if one Golden Wattle tree is attacked by animals, it can________.
| A．tell other trees to protect it |
| B．produce more poison within 10 minutes |
| C．send defence messages to the neighboring plants |
| D．kill the animals with its leaves |
In this passage the underlined word “herbivore” probably means animals which ________.
| A．live on both animals and plants | B．feed on smaller animals |
| C．live on trees | D．feed on plants or grass |
The last paragraph of the passage suggests that this kind of defence system________.
| A．does great harm to the animals | B．does good to the forests |
| C．is helpful to some animals | D．harms the forests |
In-line skating（滚轴溜冰）is a fun sport that everyone can enjoy. Follow these safety tips to keep skating safe and fun.
Step 1: Gear up!
Even before you put on your skates, put on all your safety gear（护具）.
Step 2: Buckle up!
Strap（绑紧）on your skates. Make sure they fit well and are snugly（紧贴）around your ankles. This helps your ankles stay strong and straight.
Step 3: Fall down!
You probably do not usually try to fall. But it is good to practice falling on skates. Fall forward onto your knee pads. Put out your hands and let your wrist guards hit the ground. See? Are you surprised that it doesn’t hurt?
Practice falling until it is easy to fall forward and get up again. If you are not afraid to fall, you will try new things. Knowing how to fall will help you be a better skater and find your balance. When you can stay balanced, you won’t fall as much.
Step 4: Stop!
Make sure you can stop on your skates. The quickest and safest is probably the brake stop. The brake is usually on the back of the right skate.
The brake stop:
Roll forward with your skates pointing the same way. Let your right skate roll a little forward. Bend your knees as if you are sitting down. Then press your right heel down hard. This will make your brake pad drag on the ground until you stop.
The T stop:
Roll forward with your skates pointing the same way. Then turn your right foot out so the toes are pointing to your right. Drag your right skate. Let the wheels drag on the ground until you come to a stop.
Another way to stop is to run or jump onto the grass.
Step 5: Roll around!
Find a flat, smooth place to practice. Do not skate in streets. Parks and playgrounds are good places to practice. Look for “No skating” signs to make sure you can skate there.According to the article, which of these steps are most important for a new skater?
| A．Learn to fall and stop safely. | B．Find a class and skate fast. |
| C．Relax and have fun. | D．Buy expensive gear and skates. |
In the step right after “Buckle up!” you should practice how to _____________.
| A．skate fast | B．brake | C．fall safely | D．put on gear |
How is the passage organized?
| A．It tells stories about skating. | B．It gives descriptions of skates. |
| C．It uses a question-and-answer form. | D．It gives step-by-step instructions. |
A new research has uncovered that culture is a determining factor when people interpret facial emotions (情感)．The study reveals that in cultures where emotional control is the standard，such as Japan，the focus is placed on the eyes to interpret emotions. Whereas in cultures where emotion is openly expressed，such as the United States，the focus is on the mouth to interpret emotions.
“These findings go against the popular theory that the facial expressions of basic emotions can be universally recognized，” said University of Alberta researcher Dr.Takahiko Masuda.” A person’s culture plays a very strong role in determining how he will read emotions and needs to be considered when interpreting the facial expressions.”
These cultural differences are even noticeable in computer emoticons(情感符号)，which are used to convey a writer’s emotions by email and text message. The Japanese emotions for happiness and sadness vary in terms of how the eyes are drawn ，while the American emotions vary with the direction of the mouth. In the United States the emoticons∶)and∶) show a happy face，whereas the emoticons∶(and∶(show a sad face. However，the Japanese tend to use the symbol (‘‘) to indicate a happy face，and (；；) to indicate a sad face.
“We think it is quite interesting and appropriate that culture tends to mask its emotions. The Japanese would focus on a person’s eyes when detecting his or her emotions，as eyes tend to be quite subtle(微妙的)，”said Masuda. “In the United States，where an open emotion is quite common，it makes sense to focus on the mouth，which is the most expressive feature on a person’s face.”The text mainly tells us that ________.
| A．cultural differences are expressed in emotions |
| B．culture is a key to interpreting facial emotions |
| C．different emoticons are preferred in different cultures |
| D．people from different cultures express emotions differently |
Which emoticon is used by Americans to show a happy face?
| A．(；；) | B．∶) |
| C．∶( | D．∶( |
If a Japanese wants to detect whether a smile is true or false，he will probably________.
| A．read the whole face | B．focus on the mouth |
| C．look into the eyes | D．judge by the voice |
The computer emoticons used by Americans show that________.
| A．they express their feelings openly |
| B．they tend to control their emotions |
| C．they are good at conveying their emotions |
| D．they use simpler emotions to show their feelings |
Watson entered Mr. Smith’s office. The Boss was a hard man. He fired people who didn’t do well without giving them a second chance.
“Watson,” said Mr. Smith, “this past year your department hasn’t earned money. We’re going to drop that department. It’s finished. I’ m sorry, —but you’ll have to go.” “But, sir—if I just had a little more time. For the moment I need the job to keep my son at Riverside School.”
“What’s that!” said the Boss. “Riverside! I didn’t know you had a boy there. That’s an expensive school for a man with your salary.”
“I know, sir. But he likes it there so much! He’s a star trackman（田径运动员） and the best boxer in the school. The boys call him Champ（冠军） there.”
The Boss sat perfectly still for a long time—a faraway （恍惚的） look in his eyes. Then, suddenly, he said, “We’ve got to close your department, Watson. But you’ll take over a new job in another department. It means longer hours—maybe more pay. Now get out. You’re here for life.”
Watson got out, with surprise in his face. Then the Boss took a letter from the top drawer of his desk. It was Herbie’s last letter from Riverside School —written a few days before he died. He had read it over and over again with sick pain. The letter read: I can’t say the boys here are any nicer to me than the others were. I guess it’s the same everywhere when you’re a cripple (跛脚的人). But don’t worry about me, Dad. They’ve got a good chemistry department here. And there’s one boy here who is really great. He’s a track star and boxing champ and just tops in chemistry. The boys call him Champ. He made them stop throwing my books around. And he knocked a boy down who hit me. He is the best friend I ever had. Dad, when I grow up, I want to do something for Champ. Something big—that he won’t even know about.
Your son, HerbieThe underlined word “drop” in paragraph 2 could best be replaced by ________.
| A．fall | B．close | C．punish | D．sell |
It can be inferred from the text that Champ is_______.
| A．Watson’ s son | B．Mr Smith’ s son |
| C．a teacher of Mr Smith’s son | D．the son of Mr Smith’s friend |
From the text we know that Herbie_______.
| A．was a college student | B．didn’t live to grow up |
| C．made friends with many boys | D．died from a car accident |
Watson was given a second chance because_______.
| A．Mr Smith wanted to help Watson’s son |
| B．a man was needed in another department |
| C．Herbie told Mr Smith to do so in his letter |
| D．Mr Smith wanted to realize his son’s dream |
Microblogging is a broadcast medium in the form of blogging. A microblog differs from a traditional blog in that its content is typically much smaller, in both actual size and aggregate file size. Microblogs “allow users to exchange small elements of content such as short sentences, individual images, or video links”.
As with traditional blogging, microbloggers post about topics ranging from the simple, such as "what I'm doing right now," to the thematic(主题的), such as "sports cars.” Commercial microblogs also exist, to promote (促进) websites, services and/or products, and to promote collaboration within an organization.
Some microblogging services offer features such as privacy settings, which allow users to control who can read their microblogs, or other ways of publishing rights besides entering the web-based interface.(界面) These may include text messaging, E-mail, or digital audio.
The first microblogs were known as tumblelogs. The term was invented in a blog post on April 12, 2005. However, by 2006 and 2007, the term microblog came into greater usage for such services provided by Tumbler and Twitter. Other leading social networking websites Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and XING also have their own microblogging features, better known as status updates.
Several studies, especially by Harvard Business School have tried to analyze the usage behavior of Microblogging services. Many of these studies show that for services such as Twitter, there is a small group of active users contributing to most of the activity.
Twitter, Facebook and other microblogging services are also becoming a platform for marketing and public relations, with a sharp growth in the number of social media marketers. The Sysomos study shows that this specific group of marketers on Twitter is much more active than general user population, with 15% following more than 2,000 people.Why is a microblog different from a traditional blog?
| A．Because a microblog doesn’t include pictures, but a traditional blog does. |
| B．Because a microblog doesn’t include videos, but a traditional blog does. |
| C．Because a microblog has smaller contents than a traditional blog in actual and total file size. |
| D．Because a microblog can only be written on the cell-phones. |
Microblogging can protect the following privacy EXCEPT_______.
| A．deciding the readers of the microblogs |
| B．allowing readers to publish their views |
| C．readers’ deleting what a microblog says |
| D．deciding whether readers can enter it |
We can infer from the passage that______.
| A．microbloggers always post about the thematic topics instead of the simple ones |
| B．microblogging has developed so quickly and brought the owners more and more benefits. |
| C．microblogging protects both the owners’ and the readers’ privacy |
| D．the studies by Harvard Business School have analyzed the usage of microblogging services |
When a child is told he is "uncool", it can be very painful. He may say he doesn't care, and even act in ways that are opposite of cool on purpose. But ultimately, these are simply ways to handle sadness by pretending it's not there.
Helping a child feel better in school had to be careful. If you say, "Why are you worried about what other children think about you? It doesn't matter!" Children know that it does matter. Instead, an active way may be best. You could say, "I'm going to do a couple of things for you to help you feel better in school."
If a boy is having trouble making friends, the teacher can help him. The teacher can arrange things so that he has chances to use his abilities to contribute to class projects. This is how the other children learn how to value his good qualities and to like him. A teacher can also raise a child's popularity in the group by showing that he values that child. It even helps to put him in a seat next to a very popular child, or let him be a partner with that child in activities, etc.
There are things that parents can do at home, too. Be friendly when your child brings others home to play. Encourage him to invite friends to meals and then serve the dishes they consider "super". When you plan trips, picnics, movies, and other shows, invite another child with whom your child wants to be friends.
What you can do is to give him a chance to join a group that may be shutting him out. Then, if he has good qualities, he can start to build real friendship of his own.A child who has been informed of being "uncool" may ________.
| A．care nothing about it | B．develop a sense of anger |
| C．do something uncool purposely | D．pretend to get hurt very much |
A teacher can help an unpopular child by ________.
| A．seeing the child as the teacher's favourite |
| B．asking the child to do something for partners |
| C．forcing other children to make friends with the child |
| D．offering the child chances to show his good qualities |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Children don’t care others' comments on them. |
| B．It's only teacher's work to make children popular. |
| C．Parents should take their children out for picnic and shows more often. |
| D．Inviting children's friends to family activities is good for them to make friends. |
The passage mainly talks about ________.
| A．how to help an unpopular child |
| B．why some children are unpopular |
| C．who is responsible for unpopular children |
| D．how to find out good points of unpopular children |