From the beginning of human history, wild animals provided food, clothing and sometimes medicine. We may not depend so much on wild animals now. But we hear about them every day. Americans use the names of animals in many ways. Automobile manufacturers (制造商) and gasoline companies especially like to use big cats to sell their products. They like lions, tigers and wildcats. When Americans say wildcat, they usually mean a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat. All these cats attack quickly and fiercely. So wildcats represent something fast and fierce.
An early American use of the word wildcat was quite different. It was used to describe members of Congress who declared war on Britain in 1812. A magazine of that year said the wildcat congressmen went home. It said they were unable to face the responsibility of having involved their country in an unnecessary war.
Wildcat also has been used as a name for money. At that time, some states permitted banks to make their own money. One bank in the state of Michigan offered paper money with a picture of a wildcat on it. Some banks, however, did not have enough gold to support all the paper money they offered. So the money had little or no value. It was called a wildcat bill or a wildcat bank note.
The banks which offered this money were called wildcat banks. A newspaper of the time said those were the days of wildcat money. It said a man might be rich in the morning and poor by night.
Wildcat then was used for an oil well or gold mine that had almost no oil or gold in it. Dishonest developers would buy such property. Then they would sell it and leave town with the money. The buyers were left with worthless holes in the ground. Today, wildcat oil wells are in areas that are not known to have oil.What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Wildcats and their stories. | B．Wildcats and their characters. |
| C．Varieties of animal species. | D．Relationship between animals and humans. |
From the passage we can know that ______.
| A．wildcats represent the state of Michigan. |
| B．the use of wildcats was not always the same |
| C．wildcats are the best friend of human beings |
| D．honest developers never buy wildcat oil wells |
The underlined words “a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat”in Paragraph 1 may refer to ______.
| A．gasoline companies | B．automobile manufacturers |
| C．names of wildcats | D．brands of automobile |
It can be inferred that during the days of wildcat money ______.
| A．people couldn’t buy anything with the money |
| B．people didn’t know how to save money |
| C．the rich invested too much on oil wells |
| D．people complained and suffered a lot |
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With help from a Mr. H, you can .
| A．stop using batteries |
| B．finish your homework on time |
| C．remember your teachers’ instructions |
| D．get your room tidied on your way home |
A PENGO WATCH CONTROL can help you to .
| A．repair your TV | B．organize your homework |
| C．be a James Bond | D．know what the weather is like |
Where would you be most likely to find the two texts?
| A．On a notice board. | B．In a company brochure. |
| C．On a teenage website. | D．In a college newspaper. |
Everyone needs friends. We all like to feel close to someone. It is nice to have a friend to talk, laugh and do things with. Sure, there are times when we need to be alone. We don’t always want people around. But we would feel lonely if we never had a friend.
Not two people are the same. Sometimes friends don’t get along well. That doesn’t mean they no longer like each other. Most of the time, they will go on being friends. Sometimes friends move away. Then we feel very sad. We miss them very much. But we can call them and write to them. Maybe we would never see them again. And we can make new friends. It is surprising to find out how much we like new people when we get to know them. Families sometimes name their children after a close friend. Many places are named after men and women, if they are friendly to people in the town. Some libraries are named in this way. So are some schools. We think of these people when we go to these places.
There is some good news for people, if they have friends. These people live longer than those people who don’t have friends. Why? It could be that they are happier. Being happy helps you stay well, or it could be just knowing that someone cares. If someone cares about you, you take better care of yourself.
Which of the following places people name their friendly people is NOT mentioned in the
passage?
| A．A room. | B．A school. |
| C．A library. | D．A town. |
Why do people who have friends live longer?
| A．They know more about the friendship. |
| B．They take less care of themselves. |
| C．They care more about their friends. |
| D．They feel happier and healthier. |
This passage mainly tells us ________.
| A．that people need friends |
| B．that people are all friends |
| C．how to get to know friends |
| D．how to name a place |
Students who date (约会) in middle school have significantly worse study skills, are four times more likely to drop out of school and report twice as much alcohol and tobacco use than their single classmates, according to new research from the University of Georgia.
“Romantic relationships are a symbol of adolescence（青春期）, but very few studies have examined how adolescents are different in the development of these relationships.” said Pamela Orpinas, study author and professor in the College of Public Health.
Orpinas followed a group of 624 students over a seven-year period from 6th to 12th grade. Each year, the group of students completed a survey indicating whether they had dated and reported the frequency of different behaviors, including the use of drugs and alcohol. Their teachers completed questionnaires (调查表) about the students' academic efforts. He found some students never or hardly ever reported dating from middle to high school, and these students had the best study skills according to their teachers. Other students dated infrequently in middle school but increased the frequency of dating in high school.
“At all points in time, teachers rated the students who reported the lowest frequency of dating as having the best study skills and the students with the highest dating as having the worst study skills,” according to the journal article. Study skills refer to behaviors that lead to academic success such as doing work for extra credit, being well organized, finishing homework, working hard and reading assigned chapters.
“Dating a classmate may have the same emotional complications of dating a co-worker,” Orpinas said, “When the couple break up, they have to continue to see each other in class and perhaps witness the ex-partner dating someone else. It is reasonable to think this could be linked to depression and divert (转移) attention from studying.”
“Dating should not be considered a ceremony of growth in middle school.”Orpinas concluded.According to the passage, students who date in middle school may_____.
| A．have poorer academic performances |
| B．be more likely to hurt others |
| C．enjoy better school lives |
| D．are less likely to use alcohol and tobacco |
When doing his study, Orpinas _____.
| A．followed a group of students of 6th and 12th grade |
| B．found that the students' study skills have connection with their frequency of dating |
| C．completed questionnaires about the students' academic efforts |
| D．completed a survey and a report each year |
What can possibly happen to the school couples after they break up?
| A．They will miss their ex-partners sometimes. |
| B．They don't want to see each other any longer. |
| C．Their attention to studying will be affected. |
| D．They will think it's reasonable to get depressed. |
Orpinas’ attitude towards dating in middle school is _____.
| A．supportive | B．negative |
| C．indifferent | D．positive |
We don’t know how different our future will be in the future. We can only try to imagine it.
At first we think about human relationship. In the year 2050, we will use computers almost every day. We will be making new friends through the Internet----even our husbands or wives will be met in this way. It will be much faster and easier for us. On the other hand, our relationships with people won’t be as important as they are today----we will feel a little lonely.
Computers will also help us in many other activities in 2050. For example, they will be used by the children at school to make their learning easier. In addition, there will be much more other machines which will play a similar role as computers, like robots which will do the housework for us.
Spending holidays will also be completely different. Traveling to other planets or to the moon will be available for everyone. Means of transport will, of course, change, too. We will be using solar-powered cars, which will be much more environmentally friendly.
We could expect that the faster technological progress would lead to a more polluted environment. But it isn’t true. We will pay more attention to protecting the environment. And, scientists will probably find cures for many dangerous diseases, like cancer or AIDS. Therefore, our surroundings as well as our health will be in a better condition.
Although we can’t predict the exact changes which will be made in the world, we often think about them. We worry about our and our children’s future; we have expectations, hopes as well as fears. But I think we should be rather sanguine about our future. We should be happy and believe good things will happen.Why will people probably feel a little lonely in 2050?
| A．Because the number of people will become much smaller. |
| B．Because people won’t communicate with each other much often. |
| C．Because people won’t like making friends with each other. |
| D．Because there will be less face-to-face communication. |
According to the passage, which of the following will happen in 2050?
| A．It won’t be difficult for people to travel to other planets. |
| B．The way of spending holidays will be the same as that of today. |
| C．The relationship between people will be more important than today. |
| D．Our environment will be much more polluted with a growing number of cars. |
The underlined word “sanguine” in the last paragraph most probably means ______.
| A．disappointed | B．optimistic |
| C．curious | D．surprised |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．How people will communicate in the year 2050. |
| B．What high technology will appear in the year 2050. |
| C．How people will travel and spend their holiday in the year 2050. |
| D．What our life will be like in the year 2050. |
Gunman Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 children in two classes of Grade One in Sandy Hook Elementary School. The only survivor(幸存者) is a six-year-old girl. She escaped by lying on the floor pretending to be killed.
After the accident , she ran out of the school building covered from head to feet with blood (血). The first thing she said to her mother was, “ Mommy, I was OK, but all my friends were dead,” Pasrtor(牧师) Jim Solomon told the ABC news’s Lara Spencer this weekend , “I thought it was impossible for her to escape from being killed without others’ help. She could behave so calmly in such a dangerous and frightening situation. She has wisdom beyond her age, for sure.”
The girl, whose name is not being written out for special reasons, was the first student to run out of the accident place at Sandy Hook, Solomon said. He said the young girl described the gunman to her mother in a way that only a young child could. “Well, she saw someone who she felt was angry, and someone who she felt was mad,” Solomon said. “Somehow, at that moment, thank God, she was able to act as if she were already dead and saved herself. And that is very unusual and admirable (令人钦佩的) for so young a girl.” she said.
There were 20 students killed on Friday in Sandy Hook Elementary School, eight boys and 12 girls. Six teachers were also killed. “Her parents told me that they couldn’t stand the feeling of a survivor’s guilt（ 负罪）, because so many of their friends no longer have their children but they have theirs.” Solomon said.
“I think you can understand their feelings as well,” he said how the girl’s mother and father were feeling about the disaster. “I don’t know whether I would have the kind of feeling that they have if the same thing happened to me.”How did the six-year-old girl escape from being killed?
| A．By fighting against the killer |
| B．By pretending to be killed |
| C．By running away quickly |
| D．By getting protection from teachers |
According to the passage, which word can best show the quality of the girl?
| A．Strong | B．Friendly |
| C．Wise | D．Curious |
From the passage, we can know that___________________.
| A．all students in Sandy Hook were killed |
| B．Solomon didn’t remember the name of the girl |
| C．eight other children escaped the accident |
| D．people didn’t know the six-year-old girl’s name |
Why did the girl’s parents feel guilty?
| A．Because they had some relationship with the gunman. |
| B．Because they didn’t tell the skills of escaping to other children. |
| C．Because their daughter survived while their friends didn’t. |
| D．Because they didn’t report the terrible accident ahead of time. |