Thousands of years ago, people didn’t know that the Earth moved. They thought the sun really did move across the sky. The Greek god Helios was said to drive the sun around the sky with his chariot（战车）. But now, these ideas have all changed. Nowadays, it is the sun that drives our “chariot” around the sky.
So what does all this mean? Well, quite simply, there is now a plane （or “chariot”） that is powered by the sun. It has special parts in its wings. These parts absorb power from the sun. They absorb so much power that they can carry on flying at night. In the Greek myths（希腊神话）, Helios had to take a break at night. It seems we’re finally even more efficient than the gods themselves.
This plane is called Solar Impulse （“太阳驱动”号）. It will fly across the US in May. This is very important for the future of the world.
So why is solar energy so good for us? Well, other kinds of energy cause a few problems. If you live in China, you’ve probably noticed the pollution. This is caused by burning coal or gas to make energy. The heat and chemicals（化学制品）from this make things work. But if we use the heat from the sun, we don’t have to burn anything, and there’s no pollution.
Solar energy is not all there yet. It needs to be improved. But the best thing about it is that, unlike coal and gas, it doesn’t run out. Solar Impulse could keep flying forever. Well, actually, the sun will run out too, one day, but not for another 5 billion years. That’s a pretty long flight.What does “chariot” really refer to in the last sentence of Paragraph 1?
| A．The Earth. | B．The Greek god. | C．Solar Impulse. | D．Birds. |
Which of the following is TRUE of Solar Impulse?
| A．It can only fly at night. | B．It has already flown across the US. |
| C．It is powered by the sun. | D．It needs gas to work. |
In the passage, what is mentioned as the cause of pollution in China?
| A．Overpopulation. | B．Burning coal or gas. |
| C．Using solar energy. | D．Heavy traffic. |
What does the writer mean by “That’s a pretty long flight”?
| A．It takes a lot of time to get Solar Impulse going. |
| B．Solar Impulse moves very slowly. |
| C．Solar Impulse will be in use for a long time. |
| D．Solar Impulse has a long way to go to take the place of the sun. |
The passage is most probably taken from___________.
| A．a Greek myth | B．a science fiction | C．a story-book | D．a science magazine |
Can you write down a Chinese word being read to you? It can be difficult, ewhen the word is not included in most dictionaries.
Lu Jialei, 14, from Hangzhou Foreign Language School, wthe CCTV Chinese Character (汉字) Spelling Contest on Oct 18, 2013.
About 160 people competed. The host read a word to the contestant (参赛选手), explained its meaning and gave sample sentences. The contestant was required to w________ down the word.
Winning the contest was a “surprise” to Lu Jialei. “I am not the smartest one,” she said. “But I pay ato details.”
To prepare for the contest, she and her teammates studied the Modern Chinese Dictionary for 10 days. There are more than 56,000 entries (词条) icharacters, phrases and words in it.
She also has a secret weapon (武器). She studied h______ Chinese characters were structured (构成). In the final, judges gave her the word wanluan and said it means graceful and
p.
“I’ve never h________ of that word!” said Lu.
But she made a good guess. “Characters meaning pretty often have ‘女’ in it, while many characters pronouncing luan have ‘亦’. So I wrote it down: ‘婉娈’,” she said.
This sweapon came from her good reading habits.
“L_____ to write Chinese characters is an important part of inheriting (传承) culture,” said Su Yunsheng, Lu’s Chinese teacher.
Su is happy to see students like Lu find the beauty of Chinese language.
Are you a gourmand(美食主义者)? Do you want to eat every delicious food in the world? Then do you watch the popular program?“A Bite of China(舌尖上的中国)” is a documentary on Chinese delicious food which has been broadcasted by Chinese central television. Is there any holiday that isn't celebrated with a special festival food? Here are several traditional Chinese foods:
Eggs hold a special meaning in many cultures, and China is no exception(例外). The Chinese believe eggs mean producing something new. After a baby is born, parents may hold a "red egg and ginger party," where they pass out eggs to announce the birth. In some areas of China the number of eggs represents the sex of the child, for example, an even number(1,3,5,---) for a girl, and an odd number(2,4,6---) if a boy has been born.
Noodles are a symbol of longlife in Chinese culture. They are as much a part of a Chinese birthday celebration as a birthday cake with lit candles is in many countries. Since noodles represent long life, it is considered very unlucky to cut it off.
Although westerners sometimes may be very sorry to see fish lying on a plate, in China a whole fish is a symbol of richness. In fact, at a party it is traditional to serve the whole fish last, pointed toward the valued guest. Fish also has a special meaning because the Chinese word for fish, yu, sounds like the word for richness or plenty, and it is believed that eating fish will help your wishes come true in the year to come.
A very popular dish during the Dragon Boat Festival is Zongzi. This tasty dish is made of rice dumplings with meat, peanut or other delicious food in bamboo leaves. The tradition of Zongzi is meant to remind us of a great man, Qu Yuan.
The 50-minute program tries to bring something new by presenting more cultural elements(元素),such as eating habits and the quality of eating.A bite of China is _______________.
| A．a book | B．a documentary |
| C．a guide book | D．a newspaper |
How many kinds of traditional food are mentioned in the passage?
| A．two | B．three |
| C．four | D．five |
A girl has been born in Mr. Li’s home. How many red eggs may he pass out to his friends according to Chinese tradition?
| A．two eggs | B．none |
| C．three eggs | D．six eggs |
Which of the following is RIGHT according to the passage?
| A．We can cut birthday noodles off in China if we think they are too long. |
| B．It is impolite to server a whole fish last at a party in China. |
| C．The program lasts for one hour. |
| D．There are many kinds of Zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival. |
What does the writer mean in the last paragraph?
| A．The writer thinks the program is too long. |
| B．The writer thinks the program has more meanings inside than the story itself. |
| C．The writer thinks everyone can have a good eating habit after watching the program. |
| D．The writer thinks the program has brought many kinds of delicious food to us. |
(Renee-a beautiful princess; Broo-a blue bear; Nahloo-a magical place)
When the Princess Renee heard about Broo, she came down from her castle. She found Broo while he was busy eating honey.
“Mr. Bear,” the Princess said, “you are welcome in Nahloo. Here we share with each other. We don’t take things from each other.”
Broo thought about it for a moment and realized that he had made a mistake. “Well,” he said, “maybe drinking all that milk wasn’t the best idea.”
The Princess continued, “Mr. Bear, you can drink and eat, but you won’t feel good because you have never made any contribution to anyone else. I think you’ll find that it is better to be full in your heart, not just in your stomach.” After saying this, the Princess went back to the castle, leaving Broo alone.
One day, Broo was going to take lots of cookies from the rabbits, then he remembered what the Princess said to him. So Broo decided not to eat the cookies. The rabbits were surprised and said, “Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Bear. Now these cookies will taste sweeter because they are given by you, my friend. If you like, come back tomorrow and we can have the cookies together.”
Broo was filled with joy and went through the land. He gave back everything he had taken. In return, he received a promise from everyone to share their food with him. Broo was so delighted that he started dancing in the moonlight with the Princess as his partner.When the Princess Renee came down, Broo was _________.
| A．dancing with rabbits | B．eating honey |
| C．giving everything back | D．having cookies |
In Nahloo, ___________.
| A．the Princess Renee stayed with Broo all the time |
| B．everyone was happy to share with each other |
| C．Broo took a lot of cookies from rabbits |
| D．Broo never realized his mistake |
Broo felt _________ after he gave the cookies back to the rabbits.
| A．sad | B．surprised |
| C．happy | D．hungry |
The passage is probably from _______.
| A．an advertisement | B．a tour guide |
| C．an application | D．a story book |
What can we learn from the passage ?
| A．It’s better to give than to receive. |
| B．Every dog has its day. |
| C．The early bird catches the worm. |
| D．Many hands make light work. |
In Lynch, an American businessman, had been going on vacation to a small Mexican fishing village for a number of years. One morning while going for a walk along the beach, he saw his friend Pablo Perez, a local fisherman. Martin watched Pablo unload his boat and pack the fish in a box.
Martin noticed Pablo was smiling and looked very happy. He could also see several large fish in the boat. Martin greeted Pablo and asked how long it took to catch the fish. “Just a new hours,” replied Pablo. Martin asked, “Why didn’t you stay longer and catch more fish?” “I have enough for my family,” Pablo said. “And what do you do with the rest of your day ?” asked Martin. “I take a nap, play with my children, spend time with my wife, and go into the village to see my friends and play cards. I have a full and busy life.” Martin explained that if Pablo worked longer hours and caught more fish, he could make more money. With the extra money, Pablo could buy more boats and catch many more fish. By selling the fish, Pablo could open his own factory and sell direct to supermarkets.
“Then what?” asked Pablo. “Well, you would probably have to move to Mexico City to run the business. Finally, you would be able to sell your business and make millions of dollars,” replied Martin. “How long will that take ?” asked Pablo.
Martin thought for a while and said it would probably take at least 15 years.
“And then what?” asked Pablo.
“Well, that’s the best part,” Martin said. “You will be able to retire, buy a house near the ocean, sleep longer, play with your children, spend more time with your wife, see your friends, and play cards.”What is the story mainly about ?
| A．A businessman and a fisherman have become friends. |
| B．A businessman learns how to fish form a fisherman. |
| C．A fisherman wants to become a businessman. |
| D．A businessman gives advice to a fisherman. |
What makes the Mexican fisherman happy is _________.
| A．many friends to visit him |
| B．a full and busy life |
| C．more boats and more fish |
| D．the house near the ocean |
How can the fisherman make more money in the businessman’s view ?
| A．By buying a supermarket. |
| B．To move to Mexico City. |
| C．By selling his own business. |
| D．To work longer and catch more fish. |
The underlined word “unload” in the passage means _________.
| A．put…into… | B．take…away from |
| C．break down | D．set off |
We can infer from the passage that _______.
| A．the fisherman will stay the same with his life |
| B．the fisherman will leave the village for Mexico City |
| C．the businessman will buy the fisherman’s boat |
| D．it takes all day for the fisherman to catch large fish |
Did you sleep the day away on March 21? Well, you should have done that because it was World Sleeping Day. This is the one day of the year when people around the world care about their sleep and ask themselves a lot of questions about sleep.
Why do we need sleep? Nobody as yet can give a correct answer to this question. However, tests have shown that lack(缺少)of sleep over about four weeks leads to a strong drop in body temperature, great weight loss and finally sickness.
Different people need different amounts of sleep. Eight hours a night is considered the average amount of sleep. For teenagers the least number of sleeping hours advised by doctors are ten hours for primary school students, nine for junior highs and eight for senior highs.
Some people seem to get along just fine with very little sleep at night. Leading American scientist Thomas Edison said that sleep was a waste of time. He did, however, take naps during the day. On the other hand. Albert Einstein, another great scientist, said he needed at least ten hours' sleep a night.
Here are some of the most useful suggestions, for a good night's sleep:
Go to bed regularly.
Use your bed only to sleep.
Don't exercise in the evening.
Keep the bedroom dark and quiet．
Drink a glass of milk before sleep.
Stop looking at the watch while you can't sleep!
| Main idea：Having enough ___ |
|
| _ |
Nobody can answer it __ |
| How much sleep do people need? |
The amounts of sleep are__ |
| _ |
Go to bed at the _ |