At present time, roller skating (滑旱冰) is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making instruments (工具). In his free time he liked to play the violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think. He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin had an idea. He thought that he would attract much attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll (滚动). Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skate shoes. Merlin was very proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be very surprised.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyone was really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise.
Nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that.The first paragraph tells us that people began to skate on wheels from 1750 because (of ) _______.
| A．it is very easy | B．it is very exciting |
| C．Joseph Merlin’s instruments | D．it is very popular |
People called Merlin a dreamer because ___________.
| A．he slept and dreamed a lot |
| B．he was full of different ideas and dreams |
| C．he invented the first roller skates |
| D．he always made people’s dreams come true |
___________ made Merlin think of skating on wheels.
| A．Merlin’s work | B．Merlin’s violin | C．A huge mirror | D．An important party |
What was Merlin’s problem after he rolled into the room?
| A．He couldn’t stop his roller-skating. |
| B．He couldn’t attract a lot of attention. |
| C．Everyone was surprised at him. |
| D．He couldn’t play the violin while rolling. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Joseph Merlin’s Story |
| B．How Roller Skating Was Invented |
| C．A Surprising Entrance to the Party |
| D．Violin and roller skating |
Old tennis balls are being used in an unusual way to help us learn more about one of the rarest mammals (哺乳动物)in the country.
Harvest mice are only about 2 inches ( 5 cm) long. This spring and summer, wildlife experts are encouraging people to report sightings of harvest mice so that records can be built up about numbers and locations.
Meadows and grassland are animals' traditional homes but as farming methods change over time, the habitats are being lost and numbers are thought to be declining.
Old tennis balls, complete with penny-sized holes, make a strong and popular choice of home for the mice and around 200 are available for surveyors to distribute and monitor, after being donated by a local tennis club.
The project, supported by the Leicestershire County Council, is thought to be the biggest of its kind ever run in Leicestershire.
County Council wildlife expert, Helen O'Brien; said, “ Little is known about the creature's present situation locally so we need people to look in tall grass and fields and send in their information. The information will help us track numbers and tell us where we need to focus our attention to safeguard(保障)their future. ”
Anyone interested in getting involved (参与), can pick up tips and learn more about harvest mice on a training day. This is taking place between 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm on Monday, 14th June at the County Council's Environmental Resource Centre in Birstall. People living in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland can get involved with the survey or book a place on the training day by calling Gareth Price at 0116-267-1950. The underlined word" declining" in Para. 3 is closest in meaning to __________.
| A．dropping |
| B．increasing |
| C．keeping |
| D．moving |
According to the passage, old tennis balls are __________.
| A．seriously polluting harvest mice's homes |
| B．being used to kill harmful animals in the fields |
| C．being provided for harvest mice as homes |
| D．being collected to raise money to save animals |
The County Council needs local people to __________.
| A．donate food for harvest mice |
| B．keep harvest mice as pets at home |
| C．raise more cats to kill harvest mice |
| D．collect information about harvest mice |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Harvest mice like old tennis balls |
| B．The importance of tennis balls |
| C．The rarest animal ：harvest mice |
| D．Harvest mice's homes are being lost |
Edward Nino Hernandez is 24 years old. In many ways，he is a traditional Colombian (哥伦比亚的)man. He loves to dance, dreams of owning a fast car and wants to see the world. However, he has just been officially certified as the world's shortest living man by Guinness World Records with a height of 27 inches( ≈0. 7m).
Although he has cataracts (白内障)in both of his eyes that require an operation that the family can't afford, he said, “ I feel happy because I'm special. ” He also said he has a girlfriend. Nino works part time as a dancer. Recently, he has won a part in a new film, playing a drug thief. Nino said there are some disadvantages of being the world's smallest man. “It bothers me that people are always touching me and picking me up,"he said.
Nino's mother, Noemi Hernandez，has 5 children and Nino is the oldest. She said, “ He hasn't grown since he was 2 years old. ” She added that doctors could not explain why Nino was so small. She said Nino weighed just 3. 3 lb( 1. 5kg) when he was born and was just 15 inches long. Doctors at first wondered why he was so small and studied him until he was three years old, but then" lost interest" . She and her husband lost a daughter who was born similarly small in 1992. Their youngest child, Miguel Augel, 11, stands 37 inches tall. The other three boys are of normal height and appearance. Nino had to repeat several years of school before dropping out (退学)when he was about 13. His mother said he loves to travel, though he hasn't been outside Colombia.
The former smallest man in the world was He Pingping of China ，who was 1. 5 inches taller than Nino and recognized by Guinness as the shortest man. He died in March. The underlined word" certified" in the first paragraph may mean
“__________”
| A．recognized |
| B．ignored |
| C．set |
| D．won |
Nino feels annoyed in his daily life because __________.
| A．he finds it difficult to talk with others |
| B．he is not high enough to carry heavy things |
| C．he is often made fun of by other people |
| D．nobody wants to pick him up |
What was the height of He Pingping?
| A．27 inches. |
| B．37 inches. |
| C．28. 5 inches. |
| D．38. 5 inches. |
From the text we can know __________.
| A．why Nino is so short |
| B．all Nino's family are very short |
| C．Nino didn't grow after the age of 2 |
| D．Nino finished school at the age of 12 |
Many people are upset when their flight is delayed. Not only do they have to change their schedule but, even worse, they have to wait in an airport! There's no need to be upset, though. Airports are much better places these days than most people think. Look at the following realities, and you may change your mind.
Belief 1 ： Airport food is bad—as bad as airplane food.
Reality ： Airports have fine international food and you can buy something to have for later—for example, cheese and seafood in Paris.
Belief 2 ：Shopping in airports is great，that is，if you need a T-shirt.Reality ： In Amsterdam，you can buy anything. In El Paso，Texas, you can buy old-fashioned knives or special art. The art is so interesting that some people fly to El Paso just to visit the airport gallery (画廊). And Singapore's airports are known for some of the best shopping in the world.
Belief 3 ： Airports make people uncomfortable and tense.
Reality ： The airport at Honolulu has peaceful gardens. Pittsburgh has a meditation (沉思)room ： when you walk in, you can hear relaxing music and see pictures of clouds painted on the walls. If you prefer exercise, hotels at the airports in Los Angeles, Dallas，and many other cities have fitness centers (健身中心)that anyone can use.
So, the next time you're waiting in an airport, have some fun!According to the passage, in which airport can you buy an interesting painting?
| A．El Paso. |
| B．Amsterdam. |
| C．Singapore. |
| D．Los Angeles. |
What can we know about the airport at Honolulu?
| A．Its food is world-famous. |
| B．It is known for its art gallery. |
| C．It has peaceful gardens for passengers to relax in. |
| D．Its fitness center is open to all passengers for free. |
Which of the following opinions does the author agree with?
| A．Airplane food is free of charge and delicious. |
| B．Things in airports are too expensive to buy. |
| C．It can be comfortable and relaxing in airports. |
| D．Airports are not so good as most people think. |
What does the underlined sentence means?
| A．You can buy anything in airports. |
| B．Airport shops sell great T-shirts. |
| C．Everything for sale in airports is great. |
| D．There is no T-shirt for sale in airports. |
Last December, I performed 30 shows in 11 days. I knew it would be a tiring tour before I set off, but I just wanted to be there to support our men and women.
From the minute I walked onstage the afternoon I arrived at the army, the soldiers were cheering， singing along at the top of their voices. I had done hundreds of concerts, but it was my first time to perform for troops. Looking at the smiling faces of these soldiers—some of them only teenagers—I felt great joy moving through me. They were the loveliest fans I had ever met. Then，from out of nowhere , words came into my head. “I want to play you something new. ”a song just came in my head minutes ago. It's called Here With Me, ” I told them. Cheers rang out. As I sang, I could see the tears in some of the soldiers' eyes. I finished to thunderous applause.
At the autograph (亲笔签名)part afterward，one of the soldiers took out a picture of a high school student. “This is my girl. You know, I miss her so much,”he said. “That new song you sang meant so much to me. Those were the words I've always wanted to tell her. ”
I realized that the song wasn't about me and that it was, in fact，a gift for these men and women. I played it in every concert after that, always with the same unbelievable reaction.
On the long plane ride home I kept thinking about the soldiers I'd met. They risked their lives every day to defend our country, yet they were grateful for a simple concert. I decided to record the new song to thank our men and women in uniform (制服). Which of the following words can best take the place of the word "troops"in the second paragraph?
| A．Officials. |
| B．Teenagers. |
| C．Soldiers. |
| D．Students. |
When the author performed on the stage, he felt __________.
| A．pleased |
| B．nervous |
| C．confident |
| D．worried |
What might be the topic of the new song?
| A．The tiring army life. |
| B．The danger of being a soldier. |
| C．The excitement of going to a concert. |
| D．The family one misses. |
They baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert (警觉)。Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots On it.She stares at it carefully . A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other,her gaze(凝视) starts to lose its focus - until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns；she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?
Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment,but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes.Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects(a comb,a key,an orange and so on),changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves.Could it be the pattern that two things make,as opposed to three? No again.Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses.Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two;likewist(同样地) when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s__.
| A．sense of hearing. | B．sense of sight. |
| C．sense of touch. | D．sense of smell. |
Babies are sensitive to the change in______.
| A．the size of cards. | B．the colour of pictures. |
| C．the shape of patterns. | D．the number of objects. |
Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?
| A．To reduce the difficulty of the experiment. |
| B．To see how babies recognize sounds. |
| C．To carry their experiment further. |
| D．To keep the babies’ interest. |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．Science fiction. | B．Children’s literature. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．A science report. |