Many of us don’t like what we see around us but the last thing we do is to change it. I think that is the beginning of failure and that is why what we hate remains around us. If you don’t want to see things around you, don’t just hope it’ll change.
We have such an amazing power of creativity inside us to change the way things work around us. Only lazy people go about and say that is the way things have been working. I’ve come to discover that things around us depend on our actions and inactions. What I mean is that the circumstances that we like depend only on the things we do and the things we don’t do.
Do you want your country to change? Start by changing the small things around you. Before you think too far about any small thing to change, your habit should be the first thing to change. Change what you think about and talk about. Can you remember how difficult it was for you to break a habit that you desired to break some years back? If so, then you must accept that things aren’t just going to change by a magic thought. If it isn’t so easy to change yourself when you want to, it isn’t going to be so easy to change the people around you.
I think the best way I’ve changed people around me is that I changed myself. When you change, they’ll change. Just change yourself and see how many people will tell you later that you are the one who changes them. That’s one simple way young people can change their nations. According to the text, why do we fail to change what we don’t like? _______
| A．Because we lack the power of creativity. |
| B．Because we never plan to change them. |
| C．Because they cannot be changed. |
| D．Because we don’t have the ability. |
The author can change people around him because he has realized that .
| A．things around us decide what we do |
| B．the further you think, the better |
| C．his actions can affect things around him |
| D．he has to change the nation first |
The third paragraph aims at .
| A．telling readers one of the author’s interesting experiences |
| B．giving an example to show how to change things around us |
| C．showing readers how to change a nation |
| D．asking us to remember to change our nation |
What can we learn from the text? ________
| A．Circumstance creates a person. |
| B．It is never too late to change your habits. |
| C．A long journey begins with the first step. |
| D．Changing ourselves means changing others. |
NEW YORK— The band Atomic Tom has scored an Internet hit with its self-created video to the song Take Me Out. In the video, the band members ride a New York City subway while performing entirely on iPhones, with applications linked with broadcasters(播送设备) for each instrument.
Singer Luck White says the production was a top-secret operation. “We didn’t tell anyone about this. It was completely top-secret from our family, from our friends, from management, from everybody. So the first time that people saw this video was last Friday when we put it on YouTube,”explained White.
It has been watched by more than 2 million on YouTube since debuting(首次露面) last week. “All I’ve wanted to do for the past few days is just stare at the YouTube page and keep refreshing(刷新) it to see how far it will go,” said Espiritu, the lead guitarist of the band.
“The Internet changed everything,” Espiritu said. “ It's kind of an exciting time because it forces everyone to be creative and find new ways to get your name out there.”
The idea for the video came from Espiritu’s 24-year-old brother Benjamin, who’s hoping to go to film school. “I've seen a lot of these music applications, and they’re fascinating to me,” Benjamin Espiritu said, “I thought: What would happen if iPhones took over the world? If there could actually be a band that played straight through with iPhones, what would that look like?” So they shot(拍摄) the video —with iPhones also serving as video cameras. The band also tried Union Square but were stopped during playing because they didn't have a permit.
“The YouTube views are translating into album(唱片) sales.” Espiritu said, “We’ve seen the jump.” Their album has been in the top 10 albums on iTunes.
Will their fans start cheering for iPhone-only performances? “We’ve gotten the most exposure(曝光)and the most fans that we’ve ever gotten through this, so I wouldn’t be surprised if fans are going to want to see that.” Espritu said.Who first saw the band’s video to the song Take Me Out?
| A．Their friends | B．Their family |
| C．The people online | D．Their management. |
What did Espiritu mean by saying “The YouTube views are translating into album sales”?
| A．The YouTube views make the album sales increase. |
| B．The band has translated the video on the YouTube. |
| C．People need to pay for the video if they view it on the YouTube. |
| D．People who have viewed the video on the YouTube should buy an album. |
What would be the best title for this text?
| A．Atomic Tom’s iPhone Subway Performance |
| B．Take Me Out—Atomic Tom’s New Song |
| C．A Band’s Performance through YouTube |
| D．A Band’s iPhone Song Take Me Out Hits Big |
The Cuban iguana(大蜥蜴) is a species of lizard（蜥蜴）of the iguana family. It is the largest of the West Indian rock iguanas, one of the most endangered groups of lizards. This species with red eyes and a thick tail is one of the largest lizards in the Caribbean．
The Cuban iguana is mainly herbivorous: 95% of its diet consists of the leaves, flowers and fruits from as many as 30 plant species, including the seaside rock bush and various grasses. However, Cuban iguanas occasionally eat animal matter, and individuals have been watched eating the dead flesh of birds, fish and crabs. The researchers wrote that quite a few people on Isla Magueyes could have caused this incident．
The Cuban iguana is living throughout the rocky southern coastal areas of mainland Cuba and its surrounding islands with a wild population growing rapidly on Isla Magueyes, Puerto Rico. It is also found on the Cayman Islands of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, where a separate subspecies occurs. Females guard their nest sites and often nest in sites half destroyed by Cuban crocodiles. To avoid the attack from them, the Cuban iguana often makes its home within or near prickly-pear cacti(仙人掌)．
In general the species is decreasing, more quickly on the mainland than on the outlying islands. One of the reasons for their decrease is habitat destruction caused by the over consuming of farm animals, housing development, and the building of tourist resorts(度假胜地) on the beaches where the animals prefer to build their nests. Although the wild population is decreasing, the numbers of iguanas have been sharply increased as a result of captive-breeding(圈养)and other protection programs． The underlined word “herbivorous”（Paragraph 2） probably means．
| A．dangerous | B．gentle |
| C．flesh-eating | D．plant-eating |
How many reasons are mentioned for the habitat destruction?
| A．Two． | B．Five． | C．Four． | D．Three． |
What’s the writer’s purpose of writing the text?
| A．To give us a brief introduction to the Cuban iguana． |
| B．To show he is concerned about the Cuban iguana． |
| C．To explain reasons for the Cuban iguana’s decrease． |
| D．To draw people’s attention to an endangered animal |
I have been using the Internet since I was five years old, when my dad first sat me down in front of a computer and connected me to the World Wide Web.
I’ve always felt like a master of the Internet world. MSN, Gmail, Facebook, My space -- I’ve got it all under control. I thought there was nothing more to it besides checking my e-mail and wasting my time, until I was introduced to electronic commerce(e-commerce): business on the Internet.
Some online businesses are run from one-room home offices. Others have hundreds of employees across the world. Have you ever heard of Amazon.com, Yahoo.com?
My friends often said they got cheap textbooks on Amazon.com, or had a good deal (交易) on Steve Madden shoes that were on sale at SteveMaden.com. Unfortunately for me, I continued my “e-commerceless” Web-surfing, not knowing about all the deals I was missing out on.
That is, of course, until my sister finally sold the idea to me.
“Why are all these packages arriving in the mail for you, Katy?”I asked her one day. Strange envelopes (信封) had been put on our doorstep for weeks now, each one always addressed to my sister; and we all know little sisters should never be getting more mail than their elders!
“Oh, it’s the things I ordered online!” she answered. I watched speechlessly as she opened them. There was no way our parents were letting her spend that much money- online or off!
“How much did all of this cost?”
“Oh, only about $15 in all!”She said excitedly.“Everything on eBay is on sale! It’s a way better than going to the store.”
I felt as if there had been a store right in my backyard that I had never walked into! That week, I ordered a used Spanish textbook for my summer course online for 10 percent of the publishing price. A few days later, I bought an iPod protector and a book or two via the wonderful eBay.com.From the first two paragraphs we can conclude that the writer___________.
| A．had no experience using computers |
| B．had no idea of what e-commerce is |
| C．only enjoyed checking e-mail on the Internet |
| D．thought surfing the Internet was a waste of time |
The writer didn’t find out about e-commerce until___________.
| A．he stopped web-surfing |
| B．he visited a store in his backyard |
| C．his sister explained the packages she got by mail |
| D．his friends told him about the online deals they made |
We can infer from the last paragraph that the writer____________________.
| A．never enjoyed shopping that much |
| B．loves the big store in his backyard |
| C．feels he is a true master of the Internet |
| D．has begun to enjoy online shopping |
What’s the purpose of the article?
| A．To tell the readers how he begins online shopping. |
| B．To do business on the Internet. |
| C．To make an online shopping advertisement. |
| D．To advise people not to do online shopping. |
If you want to attend the hottest events of 2014, don’t waste your time looking through dozens of hotel options(选择) or vacation packages. Instead, look to cruise ships（乘船游览） that can ferry you to and from the most expected holiday, sporting, and cultural events of the year.
Heres a look at the some of the most popular:
Australian Open in Melbourne (January 1326, 2014)
Tennis fans worldwide are eager for the tickets to matches at any one of the four annual Grand Slam events: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. In January 2014, luxury(豪华的) cruise line Silversea will offer fans a three-night pre-cruise package to the 109th Australian Open in Melbourne. Silversea passengers will attend third round singles matches at Rod Laver Arena on January 17 and 18 before taking the 382-passenger Silver Shadow for a special 15-night Melbourne to Bali voyage.
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro (February 28March 4, 2014)
Rio de Janeiros Carnival is one of the most popular celebrations of its kind in the world, drawing two million visitors each and every day of the festivities that include parades, street fairs, and costume balls. Holland Americas Maasdam will spend three days in Rio during Carnival as part of its 26-day Amazon & Carnival Explorer journey.
2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil (June 12July 13, 2014)
If youre a soccer fan that came up empty in the search for a hotel room for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Rio de Janeiro, theres still hope. Book MSC Cruises 18-night Miami to Rio voyage aboard Divina. The ship departs Miami on May 24 and arrives in Rio just in time for the World Cup.
New Years Eve in Hong Kong (December 31, 2014)
Hong Kong is a magical destination and New Years Eve festivities and fireworks pull out all the stops to make a holiday trip to that city even more attractive. Crystal Cruises all-inclusive luxury ship, Symphony, will spend two nights in Hong Kong-- and celebrate New Years Eve Chinese-styleduring its 15-night holiday voyage that leaves Bangkok on December 21. This roundtrip voyage also calls on Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in Vietnam.According to the passage, which of the following ships will take the longest time of voyage?
| A．Silver Shadow. | B．Maasadam. | C．Divina. | D．Symphony. |
The events that will take place in Rio de Janeiro in 2014 are ___________.
| A．Carnival and FIFA World Cup |
| B．New Years Eve fireworks and Carnival |
| C．the Australian Open and Grand Slam events |
| D．New Year's Eve fireworks and FIFA |
Where does this passage probably come from?
| A．In a sports magazine. | B．In a textbook. |
| C．In a science report. | D．In a travel brochure. |
The main purpose of the passage is to ___________.
| A．give information about the hottest events of 2014 |
| B．introduce cruise ships to some big events of 2014 |
| C．describe the most popular tourist destinations in 2014 |
| D．persuade readers to take cruise ships for 2014 holiday |
“I’d be better off dead.” he said, without any hesitation（犹豫）. Hearing those words come out of my best friend’s mouth tore my heart apart. He has repeated that phrase more than once, and my mind continually plays it over like a voice recording.
I met him about three years ago. After knowing me for six months, he told me about his struggles with depression（压抑）. Sadness was not the only feeling that came over me; I was shocked. He seemed so outgoing and happy all the time. I soon learned that he was hurt physically and mentally as a young child, causing him to have the thought of killing himself.
He refuses to talk to others about his depression because he now distrusts adults, especially those in his family. However, he feels as if I understand him and that I know the right words to speak. Therefore, when it comes to helping him, convenience is not in my vocabulary. It does not matter where I am or what I am doing, for he always comes first.
Many students at his school laugh at him when they notice scars on his arms from cutting. As he sees it, other kids have every right to make fun of him. But no one holds such a right, so I encourage him to ignore the heartless kids who treat him badly. When he feels the weight of judging eyes or hateful voices, I always remind him that I care about him unconditionally. Just hearing me say I will always be his best friend seems to give him the safety he needs to keep on going.
My best friend once told me that if he had not had me, he would not be alive. He said that my encouraging words helped him not to take his life. Our friendship has taught me that a single kind word can influence someones life. Life is not easy for every one, which makes me strongly believe in the necessity of encouragement.According to the first paragraph, hearing his friends words, the author felt______.
| A．puzzled | B．painful |
| C．frightened | D．hopeless |
By saying convenience is not in my vocabulary, the author means ______.
| A．he is always ready to help his friend |
| B．he hardly spares time to help his friend |
| C．he has no good excuse for refusing his friend |
| D．he is not good at communicating with his friend |
The authors friend got into depression mainly because __________.
| A．he lived without his parents |
| B．he had poor health |
| C．he received little care at school |
| D．he had a terrible childhood |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．I enjoy friendship |
| B．My friend and I |
| C．I believe in encouragement |
| D．The story of my friend |