“Indeed，” George Washington wrote in his diary in 1985, “some kind of fly, or bug, had begun to eat the leaves before I left home.” But the father of America was not the father of bug. When Washington wrote that, Englishmen had been referring to insects as bugs for more than a century, and Americans had already created lighining-bug(萤火虫)。But the English were soon to stop using the bugs in their language, leaving it to the Americans to call a bug a bug in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The American bug could also be a person, referring to someone who was crazy about a particular activity. Althoug fan became the usual term. sports fans used to be called racing bugs, baseballbugs, and the like.
Or the bug could be a small machine or object, for example, a bug-shaped car. The bug could also be a burglar alarm, from which comes the expression to bug, that is, “to install (安装) an alarm”. Now it means a small piece of equipment that people use for listening secretly to others’ conversation. Since the 1840s, to bug has long meant “to cheat”, and since the 1940s it has been annoying.
We also know the bug as a flaw in a computer program or other design. That meaning dates back to the time of Thomas Edison. In 1878 he explained bugs as “little problems and difficulties” that required months of study and labor to overcome in developing a successful product. In 1889 it was recorded that Edison “had been up the two previous nights discovering ‘a bug’ in his invented record player.”We learn from Paragraph 1 that ___________.
| A．Americans had difficulty in learning to use the word bug |
| B．George Washington was the first person to call an insect a bug |
| C．the word bug was still popularly used in English in the nineteenth century |
| D．both Englishmen and Americans used the word bug in the eighteenth century |
What does the word “flaw” in the last paragraph probably mean?
| A．Explanation. | B．Finding. | C．Origin. | D．Fault. |
The passage is mainly concerned with__________.
| A．the misunderstanding of the word bug |
| B．the development of the word bug |
| C．the public views of the word bug |
| D．the special characteristics of the word bug |
Anne Sanders was practicing soccer moves, which was not normal. Usually, Anne only plays basketball. She wins every basketball game she plays, and she loses at any other game. "Anne", I waved to her. "Why are you playing soccer?"
"Well, the gym teacher is doing something different," she said. "There are teams of four and partners of two.We get to pick our partners, and I want someone to pick me. "Anne held up a list.
"It looks like I'm on a team with you, Stacey, and Paul," I said. "Stacey is my best friend.Maybe we can be together: " Just then, Stacey and Paul came over. They had heard of the teams.
"Do you want to be partners, Stacey?" I asked.
"Well, I was going to be partners with Paul," she claimed. I didn't blame her. Paul was as fast as a rocket, and my nickname was "Snail". "But we are best friends," said Stacey. “So I guess I'II be with you. "
It was our first game. Stacey went to talk to some other friends afterwards, and Paul and Anne were talking about winning their game. I was sipping on my water, when I overheard Stacey, "She's worse than I thought; if I played the team alone,, I would have won easily. She's worse than a snail. She's more like a statue. "
That night, I felt terrible for losing and mad at Stacey for calling me a statue. After all, she was my best friend and my only friend. Anyway, the phone rang, and it was Stacey. At first, I thought she might apologize, but no such luck.
“Allison, the game tomorrow is canceled, " she said.
"Okay," I replied. "Sorry about the game today", Stacey hung up on me.
The next day, I went over to the soccer field. I knew the game was canceled, but maybe I could help clean up.But instead of a mess, I saw a soccer game in progress. Stacey and were playing, and Anne was hiding in the corner. "Paul made me pretend to be sick, " she whispered. “He wants to play with Stacey because she's so fast. "
So Anne and I went to get ice cream. Even if I lost Stacey ,I just created a lifelong friendship.Why did Anne practice playing soccer?
| A．Because she wanted to win in all games. |
| B．Because she didn't want to be left out. |
| C．Because she intended to be a normal student. |
| D．Because she hoped to do something different. |
What did Stacey complain about Allison?
| A．Allison called her nickname. |
| B．Allison was as fast as a rocket. |
| C．Allison didn't treat her as a best friend |
| D．Allison moved too slowly in the game. |
Stacey phoned Allison in order to
| A．get rid of Allison as a partner |
| B．apologize for calling Allison a statue |
| C．tell Allison there was no game tomorrow |
| D．encourage Allison to fight in the next game |
Allison went to the soccer field to________
| A．watch a soccer game |
| B．keep the soccer field clean |
| C．find out Why the game was cancelled |
| D．make preparations for another game |
What conclusion can we draw from this passage?
| A．Allison wanted to be partners with Anne. |
| B．Stacey called Allison to show real concern. |
| C．Allison and Anne would be friends forever. |
| D．Anne was hiding in the corner because she was sick. |
“Here is the Eight O’ Clock News.”
“Chinese people spent about 120 billion yuan during the first three days of the May Golden Week last year. This year it has increased to 140 billion yuan.”
“The children of Beijing No.2 Middle School sang with students from Toronto in Canada to celebrate the 20thanniversary. They had been sister schools since 1986. They spent about two weeks together in Beijing. They visited the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. They took a lot of photos in Beihai Park.”
“Have you ever got tired of heavy shopping bags? A new shopping assistant robot which was invented by Japanese company could be the answer. The helpful robot can follow you around and carry several bags. The robot was tested at a shopping center in February 2006. ”
“About 500 people from different countries were in the 2006 “Rock Paper Scissors(剪刀)” World Match in Canada. This event was founded in 1842. It is said playing this game is fun, and also a good way to solve problems among people.”
“And now it’s time for Morning Music.”The students from Canada and Beijing No. 2 Middle School didn’t ________.
| A．take photos | B．visit places of interest |
| C．sing songs | D．have a football match |
This year during the first three days of the May Golden Week, it cost Chinese people ___________ yuan more than that of last year.
| A．260,000,000,000 | B．120,000,000,000 |
| C．140,000,000,000 | D．20,000,000,000 |
Which of the following is not talked about in the news?
| A．The robot can help with shopping bags. |
| B．A Japanese company invented the robot. |
| C．The robot was tested at a shopping centre. |
| D．There are such robots in people’s homes now. |
The underlined word “anniversary” means .
| A．birthday | B．yearly return of the date of an event |
| C．university | D．the new beginning of something important |
Which of the following is a game?
| A．Rock Paper Scissors | B．May Golden Week |
| C．Shopping assistant robot | D．A visit to the school |
You can’t hide a natural disaster from children, so how do we prepare them for it? First of all, you should explain to them that acts of nature aren’t necessarily disasters but can become one. These may include floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, wild fires, and earthquakes. The way to prepare children for these disasters is to educate them about what each type is and then make it fun by making them “Disaster Masters” or whatever title you can think of.
Making them a Disaster Master won’t be easy. They must know what’s in a disaster emergency kit(工具箱) and why it’s included. You can get your friends involved, too. If your friends have children, they may want to be involved in your emergency preparations. Make it a group project. This is the opportunity for everyone to become familiar with the equipment.
We have to be aware of our conduct and the way we react to stress. The children will be easily influenced by your attitude and demeanor. The calmness, steady manner, and good humor of your spouse (配偶) and you will go a long way toward the easing or the reduction of stress.
Explain to them what they’re likely to encounter or see and describe how people may react. Disasters can come and go very quickly and generally don’t last long. If you must stay away from home, try to get into a routine quickly and encourage them to make new friends. Let them know they can look to their parents and other adults if they become scared or confused. And it’s important to let them know it’s OK to cry during a disaster.
It’s sometimes helpful to let the children draw pictures of what they’ve experienced. Encourage them to write what they learned and what could have been done better. Save the story. Make it part of a documented family history! This passage was written mainly to tell us about ______.
| A．the importance of mutual help in disaster preparation |
| B．tips for preparing children for a natural disaster |
| C．the importance of educating children about natural disasters |
| D．ways to raise children’s courage in natural disasters |
It is a must that a Disaster Master knows ______.
| A．when a natural disaster will come |
| B．why there are natural disasters |
| C．how to use a disaster emergency kit |
| D．how to teach others about emergency preparations |
The underlined word “demeanor” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by “______”.
| A．personality | B．lifestyle |
| C．emotion | D．behavior |
When they meet with a natural disaster, children ______.
| A．must write down what they see and how they feel |
| B．should believe that the disaster will never last long |
| C．can cry if they are frightened |
| D．should help other children despite the danger |
The author wrote the passage mainly for ______.
| A．parents | B．young children |
| C．teachers | D．college students |
Recently a Beijing father sent in a question at an Internet forum (论坛) asking what "PK" meant.
"My family has been watching the 'Super Girl' singing competition TV programme. My little daughter asked me what 'PK' meant, but I had no idea," explained the puzzled father.
To a lot of Chinese young people who have been playing games online, it is impossible not to know this term. In such Internet games, "PK" is short for "Player Kill", in which two players fight until one ends the life of the other.
In the case of the "Super Girl" singing competition, "PK" was used to refer to the stage where two singers have to compete with each other for only one chance to go up in competition ranking.
Like this father, Chinese teachers at high schools have also been finding their students' compositions using Internet jargons which are difficult to understand. A high school teacher from Tianjin asked her students to write compositions with simple language, but they came up with a lot of Internet jargons that she didn't understand.
"My 'GG' came back this summer from college. He told me I've grown up to be a 'PLMM'. I loved to 'FB' with him together; he always took me to the 'KPM'," went one composition.
"GG" means Ge Ge (Chinese pinyin for brother). "PLMM" refers to Piao Liang Mei Mei (beautiful girl). "FB" means Fu Bai (corruption). "KPM" is short for KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald's.
Some specialists welcome Internet jargons as a new development in language.
If you do not even know what a Kong Long (dinosaur, referring to an ugly looking female) or a Qing Wa (frog, referring to an ugly looking male) is, you will possibly be regarded as a Cai Niao! By writing the article, the writer tries to ________ .
| A．explain some Internet language |
| B．suggest common Internet language |
| C．laugh at the Beijing father |
| D．draw our attention to Internet language |
What does the writer think about the term "PK"?
| A．Fathers can't possibly know it. |
| B．The daughter should understand it. |
| C．Online game players may know it. |
| D．"Super Girl" shouldn't have used it. |
The examples of the Beijing father and the Tianjin teacher are used to show that Internet jargons________ .
| A．are used not only online |
| B．can be understood very well |
| C．are welcomed by all the people |
| D．cause trouble to our mother tongue |
The underlined word "jargons" means " ________ " in Chinese.
| A．行话 | B．粗口 |
| C．歌词 | D．趋势 |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A puzzled father |
| B．Do you speak Internet-ish? |
| C．Keep away from Internet-ish |
| D．Kong Long or Qing Wa? |
February has long been a month of romance. With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines.
On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine’s Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest in the third century Rome. When the emperor (皇帝) decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn’t allow marriage.
But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death. While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today. Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint (圣徒), as well as becoming one of history’s most romantic characters.
Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is also popular among Chinese young people. Some students are planning to make Valentine’s cards for parents, teachers and friends. Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped cakes. The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St. Valentine.Why did the emperor in Rome not allow marriage in his country?
| A．Because there were few women in his country at that time. |
| B．Because he thought men without wives could be better soldiers. |
| C．Because there wasn’t enough food for so many people. |
| D．Because he wanted to control the birth rate. |
Valentine was put into prison because ______.
| A．he killed one of the soldiers |
| B．he stole a lot of food |
| C．he didn’t obey the emperor’s order |
| D．he didn’t want to be a soldier |
The last paragraph mainly tells us ______.
| A．students in China send cards to their teachers |
| B．it is a good idea to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China |
| C．it is interesting to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China |
| D．Valentine’s Day is also popular in China now |
People celebrate Valentine’s Day to _________.
| A．get gifts | B．honor a priest |
| C．enjoy romance | D．get married |
The best title for this passage should be ______.
| A．Valentine’s Day | B．A Brave Priest |
| C．Valentine’s Day in China | D．A Romantic Man |