According to some predictions, human beings will die out in 2012. Nearly all people think it’s impossible, but there are some more earthquakes in recent years.
Animals can predict the weather or other natural events. It may sound strange, but farmers living in the countryside think so. For hundreds of years , they have observed animals.
“Animals ’ behavior can be connected to future weather conditions or events.” They say. For example, if cows lie down, a rainstorm is coming. There are many traditional stories connecting animals and natural events. Many people think that these stories don’t have scientific evidence( 根据 ) at all. Scientists, however, are beginning to take another look at some of these ideas.
A Japanese earthquake researcher named Kiyoshi Shimamura noticed an increase in dog bites a short time before earthquake hit. Then he did research on twelve public health centers in Kobe, Japan. These health centers treated people after the 1995 earthquake . He got some interesting information about the month before the big earthquake: treatment for animals’ bites had increased . In fact, aggressive(侵略的)behavior in dogs, such as biting and barking loudly , jumped 60 percent.
There are also other changes in animals’ behavior before the earthquake. For example, fish began swimming together in large groups , but only in the middle of the water and not near the edges. Birds flew away from their nests for many days, leaving their eggs unprotected . These animals’ behavior suggests that animals may be able to predict natural events better than people.What would cows behave before a rainstorm?
| A．Running | B．Biting | C．Lying down | D．Sleeping |
What do dogs begin to do just before an earthquake?
| A．They leave their homes. | B．They hurt people. |
| C．They lie down in grass. | D．They stay together in large groups. |
Which of the following animals behave strangely before an earthquake according to this passage?
| A．Fish | B．Cows | C．Pigs | D．All of the above. |
In Kiyoshi Shimamura’s investigation(调查)，before the big earthquake, treatment for animals’ bites had _________.
| A．disappeared | B．increased | C．been the same as before. | D．never changed. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Natural events and animals’ actions. |
| B．What animals do during earthquakes |
| C．Many earthquakes of Japan. |
| D．Some stories about animals. |
One day, my father and I were in line to buy tickets for the circus(马戏表演). And a family was standing in front of us.
The family had eight children. Their clothes were not expensive but clean．The children talked about the clowns(小 丑), elephants, monkeys and other things excitedly. It was their first time to go to the circus.
The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly answered, “I want eight children’s tickets and two adults’ tickets, so I can take my family to the circus.”
The ticket lady said the price. The man's wife lowered her head and there was no smile on th e man's face. He quietly asked, “How much did you say?”
The ticket lady said the price again. The man didn’t have enough money. How could he tell his eight kids the bad news? My dad put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground．(In fact, we were not rich!) Then my dad said, “Excuse me, sir, this dropped out of your pocket.”
The man knew what was going on. He looked into my dad’s eyes, held my dad’s hand in his, and took the $20 bill. “Thank you, sir, thank you. This really means a lot to me and my family.”
My father and I went back home. We didn’t go to see the circus that night, but we didn’t care.What can children see in the circus?
| A．clowns | B．elephants | C．monkeys | D．all of them |
The father wanted to buy _________ tickets.
| A．four | B．six | C．eight | D．ten |
The underlined words “lower” might mean __________ in the passage.
| A．低头 | B．抬头 | C．跳上 | D．跳下 |
Who saw the circus that night?
| A．The man’s family | B．The writer’s family |
| C．None of them | D．All of them |
We can infer(推测)that the writer’s father is a ________ person.
| A．young | B．handsome | C．lucky | D．kind |
Frank Brown doesn’ t have a soccer ball, but his brother Alan does. They go to the same school and they love soccer. They play it at school with their friends. They think it’s relaxing.
Gina Smith has two soccer balls, three volleyballs, four basketballs and five baseballs and bats. She loves sports, but she doesn’t play them—she only watches them on TV!
Wang Wei doesn’t have a soccer. He thinks soccer is difficult. He likes ping-pong. It’s not difficult for him. He has three ping-pong balls and two ping-pong bats. After class, he plays ping-pong with his classmates.Who doesn’t have a soccer?
| A．Frank Brown | B．Gina Smith |
| C．Alan | D．Frank Brown and Wang Wei |
Alan thinks it’s_________ for him to play soccer at school with his friends.
| A．difficult | B．relaxing |
| C．not difficult | D．fun |
How many balls does Gina Smith have?
| A．Three | B．Four | C．Five | D．Fourteen |
Wang Wei has ________, but he doesn’t have ________.
| A．soccer balls; baseballs |
| B．basketballs; volleyballs |
| C．ping-pong balls; soccer balls |
| D．soccer balls; ping-pong balls |
Who does Wang Wei play ping-pong with after class?
| A．Frank Brown | B．Gina Smith |
| C．Alan | D．His classmates |
Jack is 10 years old, and I am his pencil. I’m Jack’s helper(助手).
Jack’s pencil box is my home. I have some friends here. They are seven crayons, a ruler, a pencil-sharpener and an eraser. Because Jack loves me, I’m the king(国王) in the pencil box. My friends and I are happy every day.
Today, I am not happy because a pen comes in. It’s new and nice. It’s a music pen. It can write and sing. But I’m old and I can only help Jack to write. Jack likes it very much! The new pen is his helper now. It’s the new king. What can I do now? Shall I go to a new home?Who is the king now?
| A．The pencil. | B．The pen. |
| C．Jack. | D．The pencil box. |
How many friends does the pencil have?
| A．Four. | B．One. |
| C．Seven. | D．Ten. |
According to the passage, Jack is probably(很可能) a ________.
| A．student | B．pencil-case |
| C．school bag | D．pencil |
We can know from the passage that ________.
| A．the old king is not happy now |
| B．our pencils aren’t our helpers |
| C．Jack doesn’t need the pencil now |
| D．the pen is old but nice |
Mr and Mrs Brown are from America. They are now teaching English in Beijing .Their son Jack is with them. Jack speaks English. They want him to learn some Chinese. Jack is in Grade Three in a Chinese school .He likes to play with(玩耍) Chinese children every day. He listens to Chinese, speaks Chinese, reads books in Chinese and writes in Chinese. He is good at his Chinese.Where are Mr and Mrs Brown from ?
| A．Beijing. | B．China. | C．America. | D．England |
What is Jack’s job(职业)?
| A．A teacher. | B．A student. |
| C．A worker. | D．A doctor |
Who does Jack like to play with ?
| A．His Chinese teacher. | B．Chinese children |
| C．English children | D．Mr and Mrs Brown |
Hello! I’m an American girl. My first name is Lucy. My last name is White. I’m in No.12 Middle School. My father and mother are in No.12 Middle School, too. They are English teachers. My brother is in Nankai University(大学). His name is Tony. I have a Chinese teacher. Her name is Wang Yan. She can speak (说)very good English. She is a good teacher.My name is __________.
| A．White Lucy | B．Lucy White |
| C．Tony White | D．Tony White |
Tony is my __________.
| A．English teacher | B．Chinese teacher |
| C．father | D．brother |
Wang Yan is __________ .
| A．a Chinese teacher | B．my aunt |
| C．a student | D．my mother. |