Joan worked in a hospital as a nurse. One evening there was a big dance at the hospital. Most of the doctors and nurses would be there, but of course somebody had to be left to look after the sick children, and Joan was not of the lucky ones. She liked dancing very much, so when she had to start work that evening while her friends were getting ready to go to the dance, she felt very sorry for herself.
She went to each sick child one after another and said good-night, until she came to one little boy, Nick. He was eleven years old, but he was already able to talk like an adult. Poor Nick was badly ill, and now he was not able to move any part of his body except his hands. Joan knew he would never get any better, but he was always happy and always thinking about other people instead of about himself.
Nick knew that Joan loved dancing, so now when she came to say good-night to him, he greeted her with the words, “I’m very sorry that you have to miss the dance because of us. But we are going to have a party for you. If you look in my drawer, you’ll find a piece of cake. I saved it from my supper today, so it’s quite fresh. And there is also a dollar there, you can buy something to drink with that. And I’d get up and dance with you myself if I was able to.”
Suddenly the hospital dance seemed very far away and not at all important to Joan.Joan felt unlucky that evening mainly because______.
| A．there was a dance ball at the hospital |
| B．of her unpleasant job |
| C．she was left to look after the sick children |
| D．she would lose the chance to go to the big party at the hospital |
. Poor Nick______.
| A．was no more than a boy of eleven | B．fell serious ill |
| C．was a clever at talking though he was very young | D．all the above |
Nick was lovely because_____
| A．he was a nice, kind, boy of eleven. |
| B．he was always thinking about others more than himself. |
| C．he saved a piece of cake for his nurse. |
| D．he could know that he would never get any better. |
. At that party arranged (安排)for Joan, Nick_____.
| A．got up and danced with her |
| B．gave Joan a piece of cake he had saved |
| C．brought her something to drink |
| D．lost the dollar which he was going to give Joan |
. From the passage, we can infer____.
| A．Joan felt very sad at last | B．Joan felt very happy at last |
| C．Joan felt very sorry at last | D．Joan felt very angry at last |
Named after the "quest for heavenly truth"，Tianwen 1，China's first Mars probe（探测器），has given us impressive pictures of the red planet.The first high﹣resolution（高分辨率的）pictures of Mars taken by Tianwen 1 were made public by the China National Space Administration（CNSA）on March 4.
"These are the first close﹣up pictures of Mars' surface taken by China， " said Bao Weimin，a scientist of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The pictures were taken at different distances from Mars.The two black﹣and﹣white pictures were taken by the high﹣resolution camera on Tianwen 1 when the probe was about 330﹣350 kilometers above the Martian surface.As for the color picture，it was taken by Tianwen 1's medium﹣resolution（中分辨率的）camera when the probe was about 5，000 kilometers above the red planet. Itshows Mars' North Pole.
The high﹣resolution camera can take both color and panchromatic（全色的）pictures.Panchromatic pictures，which are black and white，are the clearest，having the largest amount of data for scientific study，said Liu Tongjie.The medium﹣resolution camera，can only produce lesser clear pictures.Scientists put the panchromatic and color pictures together to form a clear and beautiful color picture，Liu added.
Tianwen 1，the country's first independent Mars task，was sent up on July 23，kicking off the nation's planetary exploration program.The probe entered its preset orbit above Mars on Feb 24 and is looking for a landing site on the planet's largest plain.The probe is expected to land on the red planet sometime between May and June.
（1）When were the first high﹣resolution photos of Mars made public by CNSA？
| A． |
On Feb 24. |
| B． |
On March 4. |
| C． |
On July 23. |
（2）What does the word " It" refer to in paragraph 3？
| A． |
The color picture. |
| B． |
The black﹣and﹣white picture. |
| C． |
The clear and beautiful picture. |
（3）What do we know about the pictures according to the text？
| A． |
The first close﹣up pictures of Mars' surface were taken at different distances from Mars. |
| B． |
The color pictures have the largest amount of data for scientific study. |
| C． |
The clearest pictures were taken by the medium﹣resolution camera. |
（4）What will be most probably discussed next？
| A． |
Tianwen 1 will take more pictures of Mars. |
| B． |
Tianwen 1 will land on the red planet，Mars. |
| C． |
Tianwen 1 will do some scientific research on Mars. |
If you're riding in a "lift" or an "elevator"，or eating "chips" versus "fries"，these words all depend on whether you're in the UK or US.Although the，both speak English，there are many phrases and idioms that differ between the cultures.
For example，have you ever just not been in the mood to go out with friends？In the US you might say you don't feel like doing that activity，but in the UK you would say， "I can't be asked. "
Maybe you're about to take a test and feel a little anxious.In the US，you might say you are nervous，but in the UK，one could say they are "having kittens".If someone in the UK were feeling they were under pressure，they might say they are '"under the cosh".
Even many native English speakers are often confused by the meanings of these terms.Stephanie Stone，a US native，recalls her experience studying in the UK. "People would ask， 'You all right？' For months I thought I looked unwell until I realized it just meant 'How's it going？ ".
If you want to know more about US and UK idioms，you'd better " have a butcher's hook" at some phrase books.It can be quite interesting to find，the equivalent（对应的）phrases in your own language.
（1）What would you say in America if you are unwilling to go out with friends？
| A． |
I can't be asked. |
| B． |
I'm under the cosh. |
| C． |
I don't feel like doing that. |
（2）How might Stephanie Stone feel at first when asked 'You all right？' in the UK？
| A． |
Surprised. |
| B． |
Pleased. |
| C． |
Tired. |
（3）What does the phrase " have a butcher's hook" in the last paragraph mean？
| A． |
Get many skills. |
| B． |
Have a look. |
| C． |
Find some words. |
（4）What is the text mainly about？
| A． |
The meanings of phrases and idioms in the UK and US. |
| B． |
The history of phrases and idioms in the UK and US. |
| C． |
The differences of phrases and idioms in the UK and US. |
Dogs may be man's best friends，but for Sisu，a stray dog，the unicorn（独角兽）is his best friend.
Recently，Sisu broke into a store in North Carolina five times，trying to steal the same purple unicorn toy.But every time he got it，a salesman would find him，take the toy away and put it back on the shelf.When it turned out that Sisu wouldn't give up，the salesman had to lock the door and not let Sisu in，and then called Duplin County Animal Services for help.
Samantha Lane，the officer who answered the call，was so moved by Sisu's love for the unicorn that she bought the ＄10 toy for the dog.
"The only thing we can think of is that he came from a family that had a similar toy or had children who had one， " said Joe Newbum，a director of Duplin County Animal Services.
"It's a nice dog，" Newbum added. "He likes to play and he is very smart.He sits，stays and shakes hands.He is very polite."
And whoever is lucky enough to adopt（收养）Sisu will get two best friends for the price of one.According to the Facebook post from Duplin County Animal Services，Sisu and his stuffed animal have already had an adopter.
（1）Why did Sisu break into the store in North Carolina？
| A． |
To meet his adopter. |
| B． |
To look for some food. |
| C． |
To get the unicorn freely. |
（2）What can we learn from Joe Newbum's words？
| A． |
The family had only one child. |
| B． |
The family owned many unicorns. |
| C． |
Joe Newbum thought highly of Sisu. |
（3）What is the right order according to the story？
a.Sisu was adopted at last.
b.Sisu broke into the store.
c.The salesman called for help.
d.The officer bought Sisu the unicorn.
| A． |
b﹣d﹣a﹣c |
| B． |
b﹣c﹣d﹣a |
| C． |
c﹣d﹣b﹣a |
（4）What can be a suitable title for the text？
| A． |
Brave for Love |
| B． |
Kind to Animals |
| C． |
Proper Feeding of Dogs |
The Arctic has always been an area of great beauty and mystery，where a lot of movies and TV shows are made.Here are three of our favorite Arctic movies.
Klaus（2019）
Klaus is a family holiday film about the origins of Santa Claus，many people's favorite old man at Christmas.Santa is said to live in the North Pole，but in Klaus，he lives in Smeerenburg，a Norwegian settlement on the island of Svalbard.There，a young postman convinces the town's kids to send letters to the lonely woodsman named Klaus，and in return he will reward them with toys.
Balto（1995）
Based on a true story，this animated movie takes place when a deadly disease hits the small town of Nome，Alaska，US，in 1925.A half﹣wolf dog named Balto must lead a sled﹣dog team across the snowy expanse to send life﹣saving medicine to the town's citizens hundreds of kilometers away.
Arctic（2019）
Is there a better place for a survival（生存）story than the Arctic？In the film Arctic，one man must survive in the icy landscape after his plane crashes.He must fish，find water，and build a makeshift camp to stay alive.The film，shot in the cold wilderness of Iceland，shows just how hard life can be in the Arctic.
（1）Which movie will you choose if you are interested in Christmas？
| A． |
Klaus（2019）. |
| B． |
Balto（1995）. |
| C． |
Arctic（2019）. |
（2）Which word best describes the half﹣wolf dog Balto？
| A． |
Lively. |
| B． |
Helpful. |
| C． |
Outgoing. |
（3）Where was the movie Arctic （2019）shot？
| A． |
In Smeerenburg. |
| B． |
In Alaska. |
| C． |
In Iceland. |
What time does your school start？Do you wish you could get up later every morning？You are not alone if your answer is "Yes." In the US，many middle school students have the same wish.
In America，many schools start before 7：30 am.But that may change soon.A new law has been passed in California.According to the law，middle schools should not start before 8：00 am.The government hopes school children will have longer time in bed.
Many scientific studies show that teenagers are more active in the afternoon and in the evening.Simply telling them to go to bed earlier doesn't work well.Most of them don't get enough sleep because of bad sleeping habits and early school starting time.They need more sleep in the morning.Scientists suggest middle schools should start at 8：00 am.or later.Students can get well ready to learn and they won't fall asleep in class.______The change can help improve students' grades.
While scientists are happy with the new law，many parents disagree with it.They won't be able to send their children to school before they go to work.They also fear that later school starting time will lead to later ending time.As a result，their children will have less time to take part in after﹣school activities.
It's good news that Chinese education experts have noticed the problem and made some rules about that.So what's your opinion？Do you expect China to pass a similar law？
（1）The schools shouldn't start according to the new law in California.
| A． |
before 7：30 a.m. |
| B． |
after 7：30 a.m. |
| C． |
after 8：00 a.m. |
| D． |
before 8：00 a.m. |
（2）Why don't most of the teenagers get enough sleep？
| A． |
Because their parents need them to do housework. |
| B． |
Because their sleeping habits are bad and schools start early. |
| C． |
Because they play computer games ill ate. |
| D． |
Because they have too much homework. |
（3）Which sentence do you think can be filled in the blank in paragraph 3？
| A． |
They can put on weight. |
| B． |
They will like their teachers. |
| C． |
They will join more clubs. |
| D． |
They will pay more attention to classes. |
（4）What can we know from the passage？
| A． |
The government of New York has passed a new law. |
| B． |
All the parents disagree with the law. |
| C． |
Later school starting time may lead to fewer after﹣school activities. |
| D． |
Teenagers are more active in the morning. |
（5）From the passage，we can infer（推断）that .
| A． |
students should have enough sleeping time in the writer's opinion |
| B． |
students in California will have less sleeping time |
| C． |
Chinese experts aren't worried about students' sleeping time |
| D． |
China has already passed a similar law |