A round of applause, please, for the Indian man who recently sang for 80 hours straight, setting a new Guinness world record. It’s an impressive feat, to be sure, but let’s just hope he still has a voice．According to Indian newspapers, Rajesh Burbure has been told to keep silent for several days so his vocal cords（声带）can heal．
It was reported that Burbure and his family are in a celebratory mood. "It's a proud moment for all of us," his wife told DNAIndia.com．
I, on the other hand, am unable to share their enthusiasm．Don't get me wrong: I hope the 35-year-old Burbure lives forever, sells a million records and becomes an international celebrity．But his record—singing for 80 hours straight—is about as meaningful as most of the other curious but crazy feats listed in the Guinness Book of World Records．
Granted, I'm not qualified to speak on the subject．I've got no world records to my name, and I never expect to have any．Then again, maybe I am qualified to speak for those of us who have better things to do than train for years to sing an 80-hour medley（集成曲）of pop songs．
But let’s not just pick on poor Burbure．He’s not the only person chasing meaningless accolades（荣誉）．The Guinness Book of World Records is full of the names of people who at one time grew the longest hair, or built the biggest bicycle, or baked the largest cheesecake．
To all of these enterprising souls I ask, simply, "What was it all for?"
Congratulations! For all of your painstaking effort, you became a footnote in a thick book that no one reads, except for you and the person who will eventually surpass you, with one more hour of singing, a few more centimeters of steel or a few more pounds of cheese．
After all, records are made to be broken．From the text, we can conclude that the author _________．
| A．thinks singing for 80 hours straight is completely meaningless |
| B．feels it a pity he was not invited to share the happiness with the Burbures |
| C．is quite worried about Burbure’s vocal cords |
| D．has no Guinness records, so he admires Burbures’ feat |
Before someone wins a Guinness record, he or she has to ________．
| A．become an international celebrity |
| B．know all about Guinness records |
| C．practice a great deal |
| D．bear great stress for fear of injury |
We can infer from the article that ________．
| A．after the 80 hours of singing, Burbure could no longer speak |
| B．Burbure’s wife didn’t support his attempt to make a Guinness record |
| C．many have criticized Burbure for his stupid behavior |
| D．challenging a Guinness record may be harmful to the health |
The author’s attitude to some Guinness world records is ________．
| A．positive | B．impressed | C．negative | D．touched |
In general, people talk about two groups of colors: warm colors and cool colors. Researchers in psychology think that there are also two groups of people: people who prefer warm colors and people who prefer cool colors.
The warm colors are red, orange and yellow. Where there are warm colors and a lot of light, people usually want to be active. People think that red, for example, is exciting. Sociable people, those who like to be with others, like red. The cool colors are green, blue and violet. These colors, unlike warm colors, are relaxing. Where there are cool colors, people are usually quiet. People who like to spend time alone often prefer blue.
Red may be exciting, but one researcher says that time seems to pass more slowly in a room with warm colors than in a room with cool colors. He suggests that a warm color, such as red or orange is a good color for a living room or restaurant. People who are relaxing or eating do not want time to pass quickly. Cool colors are better for offices or factories if the people who are working there want time to pass quickly.
Researchers do not know why people think some colors are warm and other colors are cool. How ever, almost everyone agrees that red, orange, and yellow are warm and that green, blue, and violet are cool. Perhaps warm colors remind people of warm days and the cool colors remind them of cool days. Because in the north the sun is higher during summer, the hot summer sunlight appears yellow.Which of the following colors belong to cool colors?
| A．Yellow, green. | B．Blue, violet. |
| C．Black, blue. | D．Brown, white. |
Which of the following statements is not true?
| A．Sociable people like warm colors. |
| B．Warm colors can make people excited. |
| C．People who like to be with others don't like red. |
| D．Where there are warm colors, people want to be active. |
Which is the right color for different rooms?
| A．Red or orange for offices. | B．Orange for dining-rooms. |
| C．Blue for bedrooms. | D．Red for studies. |
What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
| A．It shows the reason why people think some colors are warm and others are cool. |
| B．Warm colors remind people of warm days. |
| C．Cool colors remind people of cool days. |
| D．People have an agreeable opinion of warm colors and cool colors. |
Without the atmosphere there would be no weather, no wind, rain, snow, or clouds. Air is all around us; we live at the bottom of a great ocean of air. It is invisible, but we can feel it when it moves. There are miles of air above us, pressing down with great weight on the earth and everything on it. Because air presses down on us from all directions at the same time, and because we are able to bear (忍受) this weight, we do not seem to feel it. But scientists have proved that air has this weight, and that anything that has weight creates(产生) a force called pressure. As changes in air pressure take place, they, make air move.
Air is a gas that expands(膨胀) when heated, gets lighter, and moves upward. When air is cooled, it gets heavier, sinks close to the earth's surface, and flows like water in a great river. As warn air rises, cold air rushes in to take its place. 'Thus winds originate (起源). The winds that blow high above us are caused by the warmer air running away from colder air. The wind we feel near the earth's surface is the heavy colder air trying hard to catch the warmer air. Changes in temperature cause the air to move. And of course there are many changes, so air movements are taking place practically all the time.The first paragraph mainly tells us the causes of
| A．why we don't feel air | B．why atmosphere is important to us |
| C．why there is air surrounding us | D．why there is air pressure |
Air moves under such conditions that
| A．there is air pressure | B．the air is heavy |
| C．air pressure doesn't remain the same all the time | D．air comes up and down |
Which of the following pictures best tells the movements of warm air and cold air?
According to the passage, in same areas if farmers who grow grapes (葡萄) light fires in the early morning, that is because the farmers want to________________．
| A．drive away warm air | B．prevent cold air from coming to harm their plants |
| C．cause more wind | D．stop warm air running away |
I stood up to speak and my mind went blank .Has this ever happened to you? You may be nervous in front of an audience（观众）.You may be worried that you didn’t prepare enough, You may have forgotten some of your facts. What can you do? Sometimes people prepare too much and become terrified if they can’t remember the words they have practised. It is a good idea to bring some notes to help you organize, but don’t memorize your speech. If you “go blank”,begin by explaining the purpose of your speech, and the test will probably follow. “Go blank” here means
| A．to be absent-minded | B．to think too much suddenly |
| C．to be afraid of the audience | D．not knowing what to say at the moment |
Before the listeners, the speakers who have pre-pared enough
| A．never go bland | B．never feel afraid |
| C．may forget the prepared words | D．may forget the opening speech |
A good way to make to made a good speech is
| A．to memorize the speech | B．to organize the audience well |
| C．to have some brief motes at hand | D．to have the audience take notes |
The man who goes blank in front of the listeners should .
| A．begin with the purpose of his speech | B．cut off the rest of his speech |
| C．see his notes right away | D．find some way to draw the audience’s attention |
A little girl was given so many picture books on her seventh birthday that her father. Who should have run his office and let her mother run the home, thought his daughter should give one or two of her new books to a little neighbor boy named Robert, who had visited their home sometimes.
Now, taking books, or anything else, from a little girl is like taking sweets from a baby, but the father of the little girl had his way and Robert got a couple of her books. “After all, that leaves you with nine,” said the father, who thought he was a child psychologist（心理学家）,and couldn’t shout his big stupid mouth on the subject.
A few weeks later, the father went to his library to look up “father” in The Oxford English Dictionary, eager to enjoy the praise of fatherhood through the centuries, but he couldn’t find volume（册）F-G and then he discovered that others were missing too. A-B,L-M, V-Z. He looked everywhere for them, and learned what had happened to the four missing volumes.
“A man came to the door this morning” said the little daughter, “and he didn’t know how to get from here to Torrington or from Torrington to Wintec, and he was a kind man, much nicer than Robert, and so I gave him four of your books After all, there are thirteen volumes in the Oxford English Dictionary, and that leaves you with nine.According to the writer’s opinion,
| A．a mother should keep house and father educate the children |
| B．A father should run the home as well as his office |
| C．A father should run his office and leave his children to his wife |
| D．A father shouldn’t only run his office but educate his children |
“The father of the little girl has his way” means
A.the father went out to work in his office
B. the father decided to the girl a lesson
C. the father still did what he wanted to. Considering himself a psychologist, the father
A.couldn’t stop discussing the subject
B. couldn’t helping（禁不住）talking about the subject
B.couldn’t refuse to listen to the subject
D. couldn’t give an explanation of he subjectWhat’s still unclear to us in the story?
| A．The exact number of the picture books the girl had received. |
| B．How many volumes the Oxford English Dictionary includes. |
| C．Whether each volume of the dictionary includes entries beginning with two letters. |
| D．Whether the father knew his daughter’s mind well |
What do we know about the little girl?
| A．She liked Robert very much. | B．She liked reading dictionary |
| C．She dislikes what her father did to her picture books. | |
| D．She is a kind and helpful girl. |
According to the American Automobile（car）Association, since 1964 all cars sold in the United States have been equipped with seat belts（带子）(They are also called safety belts) Many studies of car accidents have shown that safety belts can save lives. One study showed that forty percent of those killed in car accidents could have been saved if they have been wearing seat belts.
Unfortunately seat belts are worn only by a small number of drivers and passengersabout fifteen percent in cities and only nine percent in small towns. And safety belt can not protect people who do not wear them.
In order to find out what kinds of people do wear seat belts, a study was made in several cities in of the United States. The following facts were learned about those who use their safety belts.
1. They do not smoke while driving.
2. They had more education than less educated people
3. They know some one who was hurt(but not killed) in an accident
Advertisements based on these facts have been printed in newspapers and magazines in order to teach people the importance of using seat belt. But these advertisements have not helped much. Some people believe there should be a law ordering drivers and passengers to use safety belts. In Australia, where there is such a law, death in car accidents have reduced to twenty-four percent. Seat belts
| A．are safe clothes car drivers usually wear when they drive. |
| B．Are belts that are used to tie drivers’ hands when they drive |
| C．Have been worn by all drivers in the united States since 1964 |
| D．Are something that protect drivers from injury in car accidents. |
“One study showed that…” Here “study” means
| A．lesson | B．exam | C．research | D．education |
Which of the following sentences is NOT true？
| A．More drivers in the country wear seat belts. |
| B．More educated people in the United States wear seat belts. |
| C．Much has been done to advise drivers to wear safety belts. |
| D．About three-twentieths of the drivers wear seat belts. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Most people who do wear seats smoke while driving. |
| B．When it is hot, people don’t have to wear their seat belts. |
| C．A law was made in Australia that only those who don’t smoke can drive a car |
| D．Some people agree that those who do not wear seat belts while driving should pay money for it. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Seat belts | B．Who wear seat belts |
| C．A study on seat belts | D．A law and safety belts |