Around the world there are some festivals that for some of us may sound bizarre.
In England they celebrate the rolling cheese race, which occurs every year during the last Monday in May. This festival’s characteristic is a contest where an official rolls cheese down a steep hill and festival- goers go chasing after it. The winner is the first one to reach and catch the cheese.
Another festival celebrated in England is the world championship of grimaces (鬼脸). It is a celebration that dates back to 1297 and is celebrated during the month of September. The task is to perform the best grimace using anything you can to win.
The worldwide championship of wife lifting is celebrated in Finland. The game is based on Viking traditions where a man should carry away his neighbor’s wife. According to the rules, any woman above 17 is considered as a wife, so if you are within this age, take care while visiting this country during the month of July.
Many of you have watched Pirates of the Caribbean and have known something about pirates. The 19th of September has been declared worldwide as the day to talk like a pirate. Plenty of people have celebrated it thanks to the publicity (宣传) on the Internet.
First staged in 1998, the Boryeong Mud Festival is an attraction that pulls more than a million visitors to the South Korean City. As you all know, the town is said to be rich in minerals, so there is no shortage of mud. Mud is trucked onto Daecheon Beach for tourists and locals to enjoy the festival to their best.
The Monkey Buffet Festival is held in Thailand to develop tourism. It’s an unusual feast held for about 600 monkeys. The Monkey Buffet Festival is held in honor of the Hindu gods Ram and Hanuman and involves 3,000 kilograms of vegetables and fruits being laid out for monkeys to stuff themselves.What does the underlined word “bizarre” in Paragraph1 probably mean?
| A．Dangerous | B．Strange | C．terrible | D．Familiar |
If a participant wants to win in the rolling cheese race, he / she should __________.
| A．roll as much cheese down the hill as possible |
| B．find the largest piece of cheese rolling downhill |
| C．perform the best grimace when chasing the cheese |
| D．be the first one to catch the cheese rolling downhill |
According to the writer, a girl above 17 should be careful when enjoying __________.
| A．the worldwide championship of wife lifting |
| B．the world championship of grimaces |
| C．the Boryeong Mud Festival |
| D．the Monkey Buffet Festival |
It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently. My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I’m so glad I did.
On the road to the harbor we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbor itself was in fairly good shape. After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big humps(脊背) in the distance.
On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn’t believe it — there aren’t any whales along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.
The little baby whale — actually as big as our boat — was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools(漩涡) and waves. “She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side,” my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, some-times rising from the water right beside us to breathe — and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.
In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.The author says “I’m so glad I did.” (in Para.2) because __________.
| A．he spent the weekend with his family |
| B．be witnessed the whole process of fishing |
| C．he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea |
| D．he experienced the rescue of the whales |
The harbor survived the storm owing to __________.
| A．the long coast line | B．the shape of the harbor |
| C．the arms of the bay | D．the still water in the channel |
The mother whale failed to help her baby because __________.
| A．the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction |
| B．she had stayed in the polluted water for too long |
| C．the whirlpools she had made were not big enough |
| D．she had no other whales around to turn to for help |
What is the theme of the story?
| A．It’s vital to protect the environment |
| B．Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness |
| C．Fishing provides excitement for children |
| D．It’s necessary to live in harmony with animals |
Paloalto, California— “Turning off the television may help prevent children from getting fatter—even if they do not change their diet,” US researchers said last week.
A study of 192 third and fourth graders, generally aged eight and nine found that children who cut the number of hours spent watching television increased nearly two pounds (0.91kg) less over a one-year period than those who did not change their television diet.
“The findings are important because they show that weight loss can only be the result of a reduction in television viewing and not any other activity,” said Thomas Robinson, a pediatrician (儿科专家) at Stanford University. “American children spend an average of more than four hours per day watching television and videos or playing video games. And rates of childhood being very fat have doubled over the past 20 years,” Robinsin said.
In the study presented this week to the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in San Francisco, the researchers persuaded about 100 of the students to reduce their television viewing by one-quarter to one-third. Children watching fewer hours of television showed a much smaller increase in waist (腰) size and had less body fat than other students who continued their normal television viewing, even though neither group ate a special diet nor took part in any extra exercise.
“One explanation for the weight loss could be the children unstuck to the television may simply have been moving around more and burning off calories,” Robinson said. “Another reason might be eating fewer meals in front of the television. Some studies have suggested that eating in front of the TV encourages people to eat more,” Robinson said. The report tells us that children will get fatter if they ________.
| A．eat in front of the TV | B．change their diet |
| C．do special exercises | D．spend much time watching TV |
According to the report, the time American children usually spend on watching TV and videos or playing video games ________.
| A．is four hours a day or more | B．is less than four hours a day |
| C．has doubled in the last 20 years | D．has been reduced to one-quarter |
The time some children were persuaded to spend on TV viewing every day was less than ____.
| A．one hour | B．two hours | C．three hours | D．four hours |
Watching TV will increase kid’s weight because ________.
| A．they usually eat more and move less |
| B．they no longer take part in outdoor activities |
| C．they will not burn off calories |
| D．they will enjoy having meals in front of the television |
New York: When the first plane struck 1 World Trade Center at 8:48 am on Tuesday, the people in 2 World Trade Center who saw the instant (瞬间的) damage to the other tower realized clearly what they, too, must do: get out fast.
Katherine Ilachinsiki, who had been knocked off her chair by the blast (一阵)of heat exploding from the neighboring tower, was one of those. Despite her 70 years of age, Mrs Ilachinsiki, an architect working on the 91st floor of 2 World Trade Center, the south tower, went for the stairs. Twelve floors above her, Judy Wein, an executive (经理), cried sharply and set off too.
But others up and down the 110 floors, many without seeing the damage across the way and thus unclear about what was happening, were not so sure. And the 18 minutes before the next plane would hit were ticking off.
Most people had no idea about what was the best thing to do, formal announcements inside the south tower asked people to stay put, assuring them that the building was sound and the threat was limited to the other tower.
Some left, others stayed. Some began to climb down and, when met with more announcements and other cautions (警告) to stop or return, went back up. The decisions made in those instants proved to be of great importance, because many who chose to stay were killed completely when the second plane crashed into the south tower.
One of those caught in indecision (犹豫不决) was the executive at Fuji Bank USA.
Richard Jacobs of Fuji Bank left the 79th floor with the other office workers, but on the 48th floor they heard the announcement that the situation was under control. Several got in the lifts and went back up, two minutes or so before the plane crashed into their floor.
“I just don’t know what happened to them,” Mr Jacobs said. From the passage, we know that the south tower was hit by the plane ________.
| A．at 8:30 | B．18 minutes earlier than the north tower |
| C．at around 9:06 | D．at 8:48 |
The underlined words “stay put” means ________.
| A．stay in the building | B．leave at once |
| C．put everything back and then leave | D．keep silent |
Which floor was hit by the second plane?
| A．The 91st floor | B．The 103rd floor | C．The 60th floor | D．The 79th floor |
Fewer people would have died if .
| A．more announcements had been made | B．people hadn’t used the lifts |
| C．the attack had happened on a weekend | D．the people had obeyed the office rules |
| Writer/ Time |
Topic: Who’s a better singer, Andy Lau (刘德华) or Jacky Cheung (张学友)? |
| Jim 8-15-2006 5:25 pm. |
Some people say Jacky is the best Chinese singer. I don’t think so! Andy is the best. I went to his concert last year. It was so wonderful, I almost cried! OK, I did cry, but that’s because Andy is so handsome! |
| Tom 9-3-2006 4:38 pm. |
I disagree with Jim. Andy sounds like every other singer. His voice is nothing special. On the other hand, Jacky’s voice is unique, and his songs are so romantic! |
| Linda 9-10-2006 8:54 pm. |
I think they’re about the same. But Andy is a better actor. I’ve seen almost all of his movies. Remember the one where he was an airplane pilot, and his plane crashed near a farm? I love that movie! |
| John 9-16-2006 10:25 pm. |
I also think Jacky is a better singer. I prefer his Cantonese (粤语) songs. Maybe they sound better because Cantonese is his first language. |
| Tom 10-2-2006 10:12 am. |
I agree. Jacky’s Cantonese songs are better than his Mandarin (华语) songs. (Though, I still like all his songs!) |
Who likes Andy Lau the best?.
| A．Jim | B．Tom | C．Linda | D．John |
Why did Jim cry? Because.
| A．she was sad at a concert. | B．she had a broken heart. |
| C．she was angry at Jacky Cheung | D．she thought Andy Lau was very good looking |
What’s Linda’s opinion?.
| A．Andy is a better singer. | B．Jacky is a better singer. |
| C．They both sing equally well. | D．Jacky is a better actor. |
Why does John think Jacky’s Cantonese songs sound the best? Because .
| A．Jacky has no experience singing in Mandarin. |
| B．it’s his native language |
| C．his mandarin pronunciation is bad |
| D．Jacky’s Mandarin songs are boring. |
Yesterday the police were joined by more than 20 volunteers in the continuing search for the two missing teenagers, Vicky Gray and Tom Hunter, and their guide, Gavin Jones. The police said that they had disappeared during an adventure tour of Cape York Peninsula.
This was the second day of the search and the police were now very worried about the safety of the three missing people.
The police said that the search had covered a wide area, but the rainforest was thick and their work was made harder by the recent rain. Later on Chief Inspector Roger Fleet said, “The travelers had a radio with them. If they had been in trouble, they would have called us.”
The three travelers left Cooktown very early on Saturday morning in a Toyota car. They took a small dirt road that runs down to the Daintree River, a dangerous river full of crocodiles (鳄鱼). Chief Inspector Roger Fleet said the tourists wouldn’t have got into trouble if they had stayed on the main road.
A photo of Vicky and Tom was found by a policeman under the “Be Careful about crocodiles” sign near the river. Why was the photo left behind? This is just one of the unanswered questions. Other questions are: Why was the photo left behind? Why was the Toyota parked and locked at the edge of the rainforest? The police said that the travelers had left a map of the area behind. Why? Why had someone drawn a cross on the point (地点) where the car is? Is this a sign? What does it mean? If anyone can give information or has seen these three young people, contact the local police in Cooktown.This article is probably taken from ___________
| A．a newspaper | B．a magazine | C．a storybook | D．a guidebook |
Which of the following things wasn’t found by the police?
| A．A touring map. | B．A photo of the travelers. |
| C．The travelers’ radio. | D．The travelers’ car |
All the following are unanswered questions except_____________.
| A．why they left a photo behind | B．why they came to this area |
| C．why their Toyota was parked in the place | D．why a cross was drawn on the map |
The article asks people to _____________.
| A．join the police in searching for the missing people |
| B．tell the police about the travelers’ ages and their appearance |
| C．learn the lesson and stop taking adventure tours |
| D．provide information about the missing people |