Two Christmas traditions have come under attack in recent years from environmentalists: Christmas cards and Christmas trees.
Paper cards are seen as wasteful and, for some people, going card-free is another way of going green. They also argue that in a world of e-mail, Skype, Facebook and Twitter, people are in touch all the time anyway; they no longer need the yearly card that connects them with long lost friends. If you want to send Christmas greetings, there are free e-cards, which get the job done with no postage or wasted paper.
However, especially for people who didn’t grow up with e-mail, there is something missing from a Christmas e-mail. The first Christmas cards appeared in London in 1843 and were designed by the same man who had introduced the world’s first postage stamp three years earlier. His name was Sir Henry Cole.
They rose in popularity throughout the 20th century. Many people sent cards that were sold for charity. The most famous of these are the ones sold for UNICEF. In the UK this year, in the three weeks before Christmas, the post office expects to handle 100 million cards every day. Environmental awareness also means that nowadays many people recycle their cards; this helps raise money to plant more trees, as well as recreating more paper.
When we think of trees at Christmas, there is one that immediately springs(跃入)mind---the evergreen tree that people decorate with ornaments and place their presents under. The custom dates back almost a thousand years to Germany. Nowadays 33 to 36 million Christmas trees are produced in America and 50 to 60 million in Europe each year. Some trees are sold live with roots and soil so people can plant them later and reuse them next year.
Some people prefer artificial trees as they are reusable and much cheaper than their natural alternative. However, environmentalists point out that they are made from petroleum (石油) products and so have many pollution issues.What is the main idea of the article?
| A．To introduce the history of two typical Christmas traditions. |
| B．To explain the debate about some Christmas traditions. |
| C．To analyze how two Christmas traditions grew in popularity. |
| D．To point out the problems caused by celebrating Christmas. |
What does the underlined word “They” in the fourth paragraph probably mean?
| A．Many people | B．Christmas e-mails | C．Postage stamps | D．Christmas cards |
Some people suggest getting rid of paper cards because .
a. they cannot be recycled b. they are not environmentally friendly
c. they are mostly sold for charity d. the e-cards have many advantages over them
e. they are not as necessary as they used to be for people
| A．a, b, d | B．a, c, d | C．b, d, e | D．b, c, e |
What can we conclude from the article?
| A．The first Christmas cards were designed earlier than the world’s first stamps. |
| B．This year has seen a dramatic drop in Christmas card sales. |
| C．Environmentalists advise people to buy cards that are sold for charity. |
| D．Growing environmental awareness is encouraging people to recycle their cards. |
Which of the following statements in TRUE according to the article?
| A．There is always a wider Christmas tree market in America than in Europe. |
| B．The custom of decorating Christmas trees first appeared in Britain. |
| C．Some people prefer to buy live trees that can be reused next year. |
| D．Artificial trees are better than natural ones in all aspects. |
The 1900 house
The bowler family was one of more than 400 families who applied to 1900 house, a reality TV shout which took a typical family back a hundred years to se how people lived in the days before the internet, computer games and even electricity.
The bowler family spent three months in a London home without a telephone, computers, TV, or fast food. The bowlers wore clothes from 1900, are only food available in English at that time, and cooked their meals on a single stove. Paul bowler still went to work every day in a then uniform. The children changed their clothes on the way to and from school and their classmates didn’t know about then unusual home life. Joyce stayed at home, cooking and cleaning like a typical housewife of the time, though everything took three times as long.
So does Joyce think that people’s lives were better in the old days?
“I think people in the old days had just ad many troubles and worries,” Joyce said.
And I don’t think their life was better or worse, there were lots of things back then that
I’m happy I don’t have to deal with nowadays, but on the other hand life was simpler.” “We had a lot more time with our family, and it was hard being nice to each other all the time,” eleven-year-old Hilary said.
So what did the Bowler family miss most about modern life while living in the 1900 house?
Paul, 39:” telephone and a hot shower”
Joyce, 44:” a quick cup of tea from a kettle you could just turn on”
Hilary, 11:” rock CD”
Joseph, 9:” hamburger and computer games”While the Bowler family was living in 1900 house, _____.
A the mother spent more time on housework
B the two children wore the then clothes for school
C they prepared their meals together on a stove
D they ate simple foods they had never seen According to Paragraph 4, what’s Joyce’s opinion about life in 1900?
A There were fewer problems for the family
B Life was simpler but worse than it is now
C There were things she liked and disliked
D The family had more time to stay together What would Hilary expect most from modern life in the three months?
A To play computer games
B. To make phone calls
C To listen to music
D. To chat on the Internet
Brave Frenchman Found Half-way Around the World
(NEW YORK) A French tourist highly praised for rescuing a two-year-old girl in Manhattan said he didn’t think twice before diving into the freezing East River.
Tuesday’s Daily News said 29-year who left the spot quickly after the rescue last Saturday.
He lifted the little girl out of the water after she fell off the bank at the South Street Scaport museum. He handed the girl to her father, David Anderson, who had dive in after him.
“I didn’t think at all,” Duret told the Daily News. “It happened very fast. I reacted very fast.”
Duret, an engineer on vacation ,was walking with his girlfriend along the pier(码头)when he saw something falling into the water .He thought it was a doll, but realized it was a child when he approached the river. In an instant ,he took off his coat and jumped into the water.
When he reached the girl, she appeared lifeless, he said . Fortunately, when she was out of the water, she opened her eyes.
Anderson said his daughter slipped off the bank when he was adjusting his camera. An ambulance came later for her, said Duret, who was handed dry clothes from cookers. Duret caught a train with his girlfriend shortly after.
The rescue happened on the day before he left for France. Duret said he didn’t realize his tale of heroism he was leaving the next morning .
“I don’t really think I’m a hero,” said Duret. “Anyone would do the same ting.”Why was Duret in New York?
| A．To meet his girlfriend |
| B．To work as an engineer |
| C．To spend his holiday |
| D．To visit the Andersons. |
What did Duret do shortly after the ambulance came?
| A．He was interviewed by a newspaper |
| B．He asked his girlfriend for his dry clothes |
| C．He went to the hospital in the ambulance |
| D．He disappeared from the spot quickly |
Who divide after Duret into the river to save the little girl?
| A．David Anderson |
| B．A passer-by |
| C．His girlfriend |
| D．a taxi driver. |
When was duet most probably found to be the very hero?
| A．The day when he was leaving for home. |
| B．A couple of days after the girl was rescued |
| C．The first day when he was in New York |
| D．The same day when he was interviewed. |
Too many people want others to be their friends，but they don’t give friendship back.That is why some friendships don’t last long.To have a friend，you must learn to be one.You must learn to treat your friend the way you want your friend to treat you.Learning to be a good friend means learning three rules：be honest；be generous；be understanding.
Honesty is where a good friendship starts.Friends must be able to trust one another.If you do not tell the truth，people usually will find out.If a friend finds out that you haven’t been honest，you may lose the friend’s trust.Good friends always count on one another to speak and act honestly.
Generosity means sharing and sharing makes a friendship grow.You do not have to give your lunch money or your clothes.Naturally you will want to share your ideas and feelings.These can be very valuable to a friend.They tell your friend what is important to you.By sharing them，you help your friend know you better.
Sooner or later everyone needs understanding and helping with a problem.Something may go wrong at school.Talking about the problem can make it easier to solve.Turning to a friend can be the first step in solving the problem.So to be a friend you must listen and understand.You must try to put yourself in your friend’s place so you can understand the problem better.
No two friendships are ever exactly alike. But all true friendships have three things in common. If you plan to keep your friends，you must practice honesty，generosity and understanding. Some friendships don’t last very long because ________.
| A．there are too many people who want to make friends |
| B．some people receive friendship but don’t give friendship back |
| C．those who give others friendship receive friendship from others |
| D．they don’t know friendship is something serious |
According to the passage，honesty is ________.
| A．something countable |
| B．the base of friendship |
| C．as important as money |
| D．more important than anything else |
Which of the following isn’t mentioned in the passage?
| A．Always tell your friends the truth. |
| B．Sharing your mind with your friends is of great value. |
| C．Discussing your problems with your friends often helps to solve the problem. |
| D．A friend who gives you his lunch money is a true friend. |
The best title of this passage is_________.
| A．Honesty Is the Best Policy |
| B．A Friend in Need Is a Friend Indeed |
| C．How to Be Friends |
| D．Three Important Points in Life |
Young adult filmmakers all hope to show their works in international festivals like Sundance and Toronto. But what about really young filmmakers who aren’t in film school yet and aren’t, strictly speaking, even adults?
They are at the heart of Wingspan Arts Kids Film Festival, tomorrow, in a setting any director might envy: Lincoln Center. Complete with “red carpet” interviews and various awards, the festival has much in common with events for more experienced moviemakers, except for the age of the participants: about 8 to 18.
“Whats really exciting is that its film for kids by kids,” said Cori Gardner, managing director of Wingspan Arts, a nonprofit organization offering youth arts programs in the New York area. This year the festival will include films not only from Wingspan but also from other city organizations and one from a middle school in Arlington, Virginia. “We want to make this a national event,” Ms. Gardner added.
The nine shorts to be shown range from a Claymation biography of B. B. King to a science fiction adventure set in the year 3005.“A lot of the material is really mature,” Ms. Gardner said, talking about films by the New York City branch of Global Action Project, a media arts and leadershiptraining group.“The Choice is about the history of a family and Master AntiSmoker is about the dangers of secondhand smoke.”Dream of the Invisibles describes young immigrants’（移民）feelings of both belonging and not belonging in their adopted country.
The festival will end with an open reception at which other films will be shown. These include a music video and a fulllength film whose title is Pressures. Wingspan Arts Kids Film Festival.
| A．is organized by a middle school |
| B．is as famous as the Toronto Festival |
| C．shows films made by children |
| D．offers awards to film school students |
Which of the following is true of Wingspan Arts?
| A．It helps young filmmakers to make money. |
| B．It provides arts projects for young people. |
| C．It’s a media arts and leadership-training group. |
| D．It-s a national organization for young people. |
The underlined word “shorts” in Paragraph 4 refers to .
| A．short trousers |
| B．short kids |
| C．short films |
| D．short stories |
Movies to be shown in the festival.
| A．cover different subjects |
| B．focus on kidslife |
| C．are produced by Global Action Project |
| D．are directed by Ms. Gardner |
At the end of this film festival, there will be.
| A．various awards |
| B．“red carpet” interviews |
| C．an open reception |
| D．a concert at Lincoln Center |
Most young architects—particularly those in big cities—can only dream about working in a building of their own. And making that dream come true often means finding a building no one else seems to want, which is exactly what happened to David Yocum and his partner, Brian Bell. Their building is a former automobile electrical-parts firm in Atlanta. From the outside, it looks too old, even something horrible, but open the door and you are in a wide, open courtyard, lined on three sides with rusting（生锈的） walls.
In 2000, Yocum and Bell found this building in the city’s West End. Built in 1947, the structure had been abandoned years earlier and the roof of the main building had fallen down. But the price was right, so Yocum bought it. He spent eight months of his offhours on demolition（拆除）,pulling rubbish out through the roof, because it was too dangerous to go inside the building. The demolition was hard work, but it gave him time to think about what he wanted to do, and “to treasure what was there—the walls, the rust, the light,” Yocum said. “Every season, more paint falls off the walls and more rust develops. It’s like an art installation（装置） in there—a slow-motion show.”
Since the back building had been constructed without windows, an allglass front was added to the building to give it a view of the courtyard, and skylights were installed in the roof. The back of the building is a working area and a living room for Yocum and his wife. A sort of buffer (缓冲) zone between the front and the back contains a bathroom, a kitchen and a mechanical room, and the walls that separate these zones have openings that allow views through to the front of the studio and the courtyard beyond.
Yocum and Bell, who have just completed an art gallery for the city, feel that the experience from the decoration of their building, focusing on the inside rather than the outside, has influenced their work. It has also given these architects a chance to show how they can make more out of less. According to the passage, it isfor most young architects in big cities to work in a building of their own.
| A．easy |
| B．unnecessary |
| C．unrealistic |
| D．common |
Yocum bought the old building because.
| A．it was a bargain to him |
| B．it was still in good condition |
| C．it was located in the city center |
| D．it looked attractive from the outside |
Working on the old building, Yocum and Bell.
| A．pulled rubbish out through the roof |
| B．removed the skylights from the bathroom |
| C．presented a slow-motion show in an art gallery |
| D．built a kitchen at the back part of the old building |
It can be inferred from the passage that Yocum and Bell.
| A．benefited a lot from pulling down the roof |
| B．turned more old buildings into art galleries |
| C．got inspiration from decorating their old building |
| D．paid more attention to the outside of the art gallery |
The main idea of the passage is that.
| A．people can learn a lot from their failures |
| B．it is worthwhile to spend money on an old building |
| C．people should not judge things by their appearance |
| D．creative people can make the best of what they have |