Some scientists say that animals in the ocean are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings. The noise that affect sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.
Decibels（分贝）measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety-five would have the same effect.
Some scientists have proposed setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in oceans. They have observed that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales.
A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that loud noises can seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales’ ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected.
Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds object to a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.
Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.According to the passage, which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea creatures?
| A．The man-made noises. |
| B．The noises made by themselves. |
| C．The sound of earthquakes. |
| D．The sound of the ice-breaking. |
As to the influence of noises on whales, which of the following statements is true?
| A．They are deaf to noises. |
| B．Noises at a certain level may hurt them. |
| C．They are easily confused by noises. |
| D．Noises will limit their ability to reproduce. |
We can know from the passage that many scientists think that the noise limit of one hundred twenty decibels would______.
| A．prevent them from doing their research work |
| B．benefit them a lot in their research work |
| C．do good to their health |
| D．increase the industrial output |
According to the passage, what will scientists most probably do in the future?
| A．They will try their best to decrease noise. |
| B．They will work hard to cut down noise pollution. |
| C．They will study the effect of different noises. |
| D．They will protect animals from harmful noises. |
Friends play a very important part in everyone’s life. Friendship usually develops during childhood. New friends are made when you progress through school. Those friends that you make as a student can usually last long. Friends influence (影响) your development, maturity (成熟) and sense of responsibility. A familiar expression is “You can tell a lot about a person by knowing who his friends are.” Friendship is based on common interests. If you like sports, most of your friends are likely to be athletic (竞技的). If you enjoy reading and shopping, most of your friends do the same.
Some people call you their friends for the wrong reasons. These people are not really friends. They are superficial(表面上的) only “friends” on the outside, not the inside where it counts. Superficial friends only want to be your friends if it is to their advantage. True friends are there if you are rich or poor. It is easy to have many so-called “friends” if you are rich. By this time you should be able to separate your friends into the real or the “phoney”.
True friends are most special. They are also difficult to find. You can consider yourself very lucky if you have one true friend. This friend is eager to help you whenever necessary. He or she knows you would do the same for them. A true friend is someone you can talk to about any subject or problem. You and your true friend have good understanding of each other. True friends support you, take your side, and build up your confidence. The first paragraph tells us _____.
| A．how to make a true friend |
| B．we should make friend in our childhood |
| C．what is friendship based on |
| D．friends play a very important part in our life |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．What you value above anything is the friendship developing during childhood. |
| B．The friendship developing during your school days will be with you for a long time. |
| C．Only through your friends’ influence will you take the responsibility for your task. |
| D．If you have no music in you, none of your friends will be a music lover. |
“So-called” friends in paragraph 2 refer to _____.
| A．someone who only wants to be your friend when you are successful |
| B．those who want to benefit from you |
| C．the friends who are on the surface only |
| D．all the above |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE?
| A．You should tell true friends from phoneys. |
| B．True friendship is too difficult to find. |
| C．You can share your joys and sorrows with a true friend. |
| D．A true friend will stand by you whatever happens. |
Once there was a piano player in a bar. People came just to hear him play. But one night, a lady asked him to sing a song.
"I don't sing." said the man.
But the lady told the waiter, "I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing!"
The waiter shouted across the room, " Hey, friend! If you want to get paid, sing a song!"
So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung so beautifully!
He had talent (天赋）he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.
You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel that your talent is great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills skills can be improved. Besides, you may have no success at all if you just sit on your talent.The lady asked the player to sing a song because .
| A．she had paid him for this | B．she knew him very well |
| C．she wanted to have a change | D．she enjoyed his singsing |
Nat King Cole successed because .
| A．the lady helped him a lot | B．he caught the chance |
| C．he continued to play in the bar | D．he stopped playing the piano |
From the story we know if you have some talent, you should .
| A．hide it and wait | B．ask others or help |
| C．pay no attention to it | D．work hard to improve yourself |
Which could be the best title for the passage?
| A．Sing in the Bar | B．Achieve Success in Life |
| C．Never Lose Heart | D．Find Your Hidden Talent |
Schools and parents in Shenzhen City have been asked to take better care of children’s eyesight as 45 percent of them, were found to be shortsighted. Too much reading, poor lighting and too much TV are blamed. Of the city’s high school graduates who applied to attend college this summer, two-thirds had to have their choices limited because of poor eyesight, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily said.This piece of news was reported by____ .
| A．People’s Daily | B．Shenzhen Special Zone Daily |
| C．school in Shenzhen City | D．parents in Shenzhen City |
The purpose of this passage is to _____ .
| A．criticize children who are shortsighted |
| B．blame parents and schools for children’s being shortsighted |
| C．ask the high school graduates to pay attention to their eyesight |
| D．draw people’s special attention to eye hygiene(卫生) |
Only____ of the children in Shenzhen City have good eyesight.
| A．55 percent | B．less than half | C．45 percent | D．two—thirds |
Because of being shortsighted many school graduates_____ .
| A．weren’t allowed to enter college |
| B．couldn’t graduate from high school |
| C．couldn’t choose to study what they liked best |
| D．lost their limited time |
Boys’ schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions and involve them in activities such as art, dance and music.
Far from the traditional image of a culture of aggressive masculinity (阳刚), the absence of girls gives boys the chance to develop without pressure to conform to(符合、顺应) a stereotype（老套）, a US study says.
Boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness, rather than feeling they had to conform to the“boy code”of hiding their emotions to be a “real man”.
The findings of the study go against received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls.
Tony Little, headmaster of Eton, warned that boys were being faded by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls. He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls.
The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when their female peers do better earlier in speaking and reading skills.
But in single-sex schools teachers can tailor lessons to boys’ learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study’s author, Abigail James, of the University of Virginia.
Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with “boy-focused” approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them. Because boys generally have more acute vision learned best through touch, and are physically more active, they need to be given “hands-on” lessons where they are allowed to walk around. “Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine (女性的) and prefer the modern genre (类型) in which violence and sexism are major themes.” James wrote.
Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel they had to conform to a stereotype that men should be “masterful and in charge” in relationships. “ In mixed schools boys feel forced to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means.” the study reported. The author believes that a single-sex school would ____ .
| A．force boys to hide their emotions to be "real men" |
| B．help to cultivate masculine aggressiveness in boys |
| C．naturally strengthen the traditional image of a man in boys |
| D．encourage boys to express their emotions more freely |
It is commonly believed that in a mixed school boys _____ .
| A．behave more responsibly |
| B．grow up more healthily |
| C．perform relatively better |
| D．receive a better education |
What does Tony Little say about the British education system?
| A．It fails more boys than girls academically. |
| B．It focuses more on mixed school education. |
| C．It places more pressure on boys than on girls. |
| D．It fails to give boys the attention they need. |
According to Abigail James, one of the advantages of single-sex schools is ______.
| A．boys can focus on their lessons without being disturbed |
| B．teaching can be tailored to suit the characteristics of boys |
| C．boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in |
| D．teaching can be designed to promote boys’ team spirit |
According to Abigail James’ report, it can be inferred that boys tend to _____________________.
| A．have sharper vision. |
| B．conform to stereotypes. |
| C．enjoy being in charge. |
| D．be violent and sexist. |
Michelle Obama made a daring decision to return to the same designer who created her Inaugural (就职）Ball dress four years ago --- and the risk paid off.
The First Lady looked extremely attractive in a thin, sweeping, and ruby-colored dress by designer Jason Wu. She teamed the dramatic dress with heels by Jimmy Choo and a diamond ring by Kimberly McDonald.
She surprised the fashion establishment by returning to a Wu design which had been the custom made for her.
Four years ago at her first Inauguration Ball, Michelle shimmered（熠熠生辉）in an off-white, one-shouldered floor-length dress by the designer.
Wu, who was 26 at the time and had only been working in fashion for three years, saw his career take off after the First Lady's surprise decision to wear one of his dresses.
He said at the time that he was unaware she had chosen the dress and had been watching at home on his couch and eating pizza when she appeared.
After her 2013 decision, Wu told Women's Wear Daily: “Mrs Obama likes to keep her secrets. She fooled me again.”
Wu released a women's clothing and accessories（装饰品）collection at Target last year and continues to be popular with the First Lady for official engagements.
The sleeveless, cross-halter neck dress with low-cut back flattered（突出）49-year-old Michelle's arms and neat waist.
It had been created especially for her by Wu and was a departure from the dark and plain colour tone she stuck to at earlier inauguration events.
Mrs Obama's new hairstyle -- she had bangs（美发沙龙）cut on her birthday last week had been loosely tousled（蓬松的）for the special night.
Vice-President Joe Biden's wife Jill also looked attractive in a blue silk dress by Vera Wang at the Inauguration Ball.What does the passage mainly talk about？
| A．Michelle Obama’s inaugural ball dress. |
| B．Wu, a great designer. |
| C．The First Lady’s secrets. |
| D．Mrs Obama’s 2013 decision. |
Michelle Obama’s brave decision proved to be a_________.
| A．risk | B．danger |
| C． Surprise | D．success |
According to the passage, which of the following is correct?
| A．Mrs Obama’s inaugural dresses were made by the same designer. |
| B．Joe Biden’s wife Jill also had her dress created by Wu. |
| C．The colour tone at Michelle’s earlier inaugural events was not satifactory. |
| D．Mrs Obama had straight forehead hair as her new hairstyle for the special night. |
Which of the following best describes Jason Wu?
| A．Daring and gifted. |
| B．Unusual and cautious. |
| C．Careful and brave. |
| D．Talented and lucky. |
From the 6th and 7th paragraphs we know that________.
| A．Wu was aware that Mrs Obama had chosen his work again |
| B．Wu didn’t know Mrs Obama had chosen his creation again. |
| C．Mrs Obama told Wu to give away her secrets |
| D．Mrs Obama should have told Wu the truth |