Two years after the First World War (1914-1918), a small group of soldiers left the army and returned to their hometown in France. Most of them lived well, but one of them was poor. His name was Clinton. Once a year they had supper in Barton’s house. Barton was very rich.
One evening Barton showed his friends a large gold coin at the supper table. The coin was passed around and praised by everyone. At the same time they were talking and talking. They soon forgot about the coin. After supper, Barton asked for his coin, but nobody could tell where it was. It was lost. One man said that everyone must be searched. One by one they turned their pockets inside out. Only Clinton refused, however.“I didn’t steal the coin, and I will not be searched,” he said.After that, people turned their heads away from Clinton when they met him. He grew poorer. Soon his wife died.
A few years later, Barton had his house repaired. The lost coin was found under the floor. Barton felt sorry and went to Clinton to apologize. “But,” he asked, “you knew the coin was not in your pocket. Why did you refuse to be searched?” “Because I was a thief,” Clinton answered. “My pockets were full of food at that time. I had taken some food from the table to carry to my hungry wife and children.” The story took place ________.
| A．in 1920 | B．after 1945 | C．in 1950 | D．1916 |
The coin was passed and praised because ________.
| A．Clinton was rich | B．the supper was good |
| C．it was a large gold coin | D．they were happy |
Everyone was to be searched because _________.
| A．they were thieves | B．the gold coin was lost |
| C．Clinton stole the gold coin | D．they stole the gold coin |
Clinton refused to be searched because _________.
| A．he was afraid to be found that there was some food in his pockets |
| B．he didn’t steal the coin |
| C．he was poor enough |
| D．the gold coin was in his pocket |
“After that, people turned their heads away from Clinton when they met him.” From the sentence we know that _____.
| A．people thought of him as a beggar |
| B．people took no notice of him |
| C．people look down upon him |
| D．Clinton refused to see his friends |
Throughout history, people have been interested in knowing how language first began, but no one knows exactly where or how this happened. However, we do know a lot about languages, the languages of today and also the languages of earlier times. There are probably about three thousand languages in the world today. Chinese is the language with the most speakers. English, Russian and Spanish are also spoken by many millions of people. On the other hand, some languages in the world have less than one hundred speakers.
There are several important families of languages in the world. For example, most of the languages of Europe are in one large family called Indo-European. The original (最初的) language of this family was spoken about 4,500 years ago. Many of the present day languages of Europe and India are modern forms of the language of 4,500 years ago.
Languages are always changing. The English of today is very different from the English of 500 years ago. In time some even die out completely. About 1,000 years ago English was a little -known relative of German spoken on one of the borders（边界）of Europe.
If a language has a lot of speakers or if it is very old, there may be differences in the way it is spoken in different areas. That is, the language may have several dialects. Chinese is a good example of dialect differences. Chinese has been spoken for thousands of years by many millions of speakers. The differences between the dialects of Chinese are so great that speakers of Chinese from some parts of China cannot understand speakers from other parts.The first paragraph mainly tells us that_______.
| A．most people in the world speak Chinese |
| B．there are thousands of languages in the world today |
| C．man has much knowledge about languages |
| D．some people know several languages |
Many European and Indian languages ______.
| A．will soon die out completely |
| B．were once a relative of English |
| C．are the same as before |
| D．come from the same family |
____ seems to have changed a lot
| A．Chinese | B．English | C．Spanish | D．German |
The best title of this passage is .
| A．English | B．Changes of English |
| C．Chinese | D．Knowledge of Language |
Today anyone will accept money in exchange for goods and services.People use money to buy food, furniture,books,bicycles and hundreds of other things they need or want. When they work, they usually get paid in money.
Most of the money today is made of metal(金属) or paper. But people used to use all kinds of things as money. One of the first kinds of money was shells.
Shells were not the only things used as money. In China , cloth and knives were used. In the Phillipine Islands, rice was used as money for a long time. Elephant tusks,monkey tails and salt were used as money in parts of Africa.
The first metal coins were made in China. They were round and had a square hole in the centre.People strung(串联)them together and carried them from place to place.
Different countries have used different metals and designs for their money. The first coins in England were made of tin(锡).Sweden and Russia used copper(铜)to make their money. Later some countries began to make coins of gold and silver.
But even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive. Again the Chinese thought of a way to improve money. They began to use paper money. The first paper money looked more like note from one person to another than the paper money used today.
Money has had an interesting history from the days of shell money until today.The main use of money is that _________.
| A．people use it to buy things to eat |
| B．people accept money only in exchange for clothes |
| C．people accept money in exchange for goods and service |
| D．people will accept money for giving our goods to others |
What did the first Chinese metal coins look like?
| A．They had square hole in the centre. |
| B．They were just like shells. |
| C．They were round like the moon. |
| D．They were round with a square hole in the centre. |
Who thought of a way to use paper money first?
| A．The Chinese | B．The Russian |
| C．The Sweden | D．The English men |
The best title of this passage should be ________.
| A．The Chinese money | B．The history of money |
| C．Some things about money | D．What is money |
Getting rid of dirt, in the opinion of most people, is a good thing. However, there is nothing fixed about attitudes to dirt.
In the early 16th century, people thought that dirt on the skin was a means to block out disease, as medical opinion had it that washing off dirt with hot water could open up the skin and let ills in. A particular danger was thought to lie in public baths. By 1538, the French king had closed the bath houses in his kingdom. So did the king of England in 1546. Thus began a long time when the rich and the poor in Europe lived with dirt in a friendly way. Henry IV, King of France, was famously dirty. Upon learning that a nobleman had taken a bath, the king ordered that, to avoid the attack of disease, the nobleman should not go out.
Though the belief in the merit of dirt was long-lived, dirt has no longer been regarded as a nice neighbor ever since the 18th century. Scientifically speaking, cleaning away dirt is good to health. Clean water supply and hand washing are practical means of preventing disease. Yet, it seems that standards of cleanliness have moved beyond science since World War Ⅱ. Advertisements repeatedly sell the idea; clothes need to be whiter than white, cloths ever softer, surfaces to shine. Has the hate for dirt, however, gone too far?
Attitudes to dirt still differ hugely nowadays. Many first-time parents nervously try to warn their children off touching dirt, which might be responsible for the spread of disease. On the contrary, Mary Ruebush, an American immunologist(免疫学家)，encourages children to play in the dirt to build up a strong immune system. And the latter position is gaining some ground.The kings of France and England in the 16th century closed bath houses because.
| A．they lived healthily in a dirty environment |
| B．they thought bath houses were to dirty to stay in |
| C．they believed disease could be spread in public baths |
| D．they considered bathing as the cause of skin disease |
Which of the following best describes Henry IV’s attitude to bathing?________.
| A．Afraid | B．Curious | C．Approving | D．Uninterested |
The underlined sentence in paragraph one is closest in meaning to __________.
| A．Attitudes to dirt are different in different times |
| B．Nothing is fixed for the attitudes to dirt |
| C．Attitudes to dirt never change |
| D．There isn’t anything fixed for attitudes to dirt |
How does the passage mainly develop?____________.
| A．By providing examples | B．By making comparisons |
| C．By following the order of time | D．By following the order of importance |
What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?___________.
| A．To stress the role of dirt |
| B．To introduce the history of dirt |
| C．To call attention to the danger of dirt |
| D．To present the change of views on dirt |
It’s our hope that the calculator will promote action, awareness and empowerment by showing you that one person can make a difference and help stop global warming.
There are many simple things you can do in your daily life—what you eat, what you drive, how you build your home—that can have an effect on your immediate surroundings, and on places as far away as Antarctica. Here is a list of things that you can do to make a difference.
Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
Replace 3 frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Save 300lbs (pounds) of carbon dioxide and $60 per year.
Use Recycled Paper
Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper. Save 5lbs of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.
Take Shorter Showers
Showers account for 2/3 of all water heating costs. Save 350 lbs of carbon dioxide and $99 per year.
Buy Products Locally
Buy locally and reduce the amount of energy required to drive your products to your home.
Carpool When You Can
Own a big vehicle？Carpooling with friends and co-workers saves fuel. Save 790 lbs of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.
Don’t Idle in Your Car
Idling wastes money and gas, and generates pollution and global warming causing emissions. Except when in traffic, turn your engine off in you must wait for more than 30 seconds.
Buy Organic food
The chemicals used in modern agriculture pollute the water supply, and require energy to produce.
Turn Off Your Computer
Shut off your computer when not in use, and save 200 lbs of carbon dioxide. Conserve energy by using your computer’s “sleep mode” instead of a screensaver.
With a Stop Global Warming calculator which costs you only $50 in hand, you will find what you do does count. The Stop Global Warming calculator can serve the following purposes EXCEPT __________.
| A．introducing the ways of saving carbon dioxide |
| B．Telling how to save money in your daily life |
| C．promoting action, awareness and empowerment and helping stop global warming |
| D．introducing how global warming is formed |
How many tips are related to cars?__________.
| A．1 | B．2 | C．3 | D．4 |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the list of tips? ___________.
| A．Using a screensaver instead of the computer’s “sleep mode” |
| B．Buying products in the neighborhood |
| C．Using recycled printer paper |
| D．Replacing frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs |
What does the underlined word “carpooling” mean according to the passage?____.
| A．Changing your big vehicle into a small one with your friends and co-workers to save fuel |
| B．Going to the pool with your friends and co-workers by car |
| C．Trying to share a big vehicle with your friends to save fuel |
| D．Washing the car in a pool by yourself instead of having it washed by your |
friends and co-workers What is the purpose of the author writing this passage?___________.
| A．Giving people tips on how to save money in life |
| B．Telling people how to be environment-friendly |
| C．Promoting the product “Stop Global Warming calculator” |
| D．Telling people how to prevent carbon dioxide from being released |
He lived his whole life as a poor man. His art and talent were recognized by almost no one. He suffered from a mental（精神的）illness that led him to cut off part of his left ear in 1888 and to shoot himself two years later. But after his death, he achieved world fame. Today, Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh is recognized as one of
the leading artists of all time.
Now, 150 years after his birth on March 30, 1853, Zundert, the town of his birth, has made 2003 “The van Gogh Year”in his honor. And the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, home to the biggest collection of his masterpieces, is marking the anniversary（周年纪念）with exhibitions throughout the year. The museum draws around 1.3 million visitors every year. Some people enjoy the art and then learn about his life. Others are first interested in his life, which then helps them understand his art.
Van Gogh was the son of a pastor（牧师）. He left school when he was just 15. By the age of 27, he had already tried many jobs including an art gallery（画廊）salesman and a French teacher. Finally in 1880, he decided to begin his studies in art.
Van Gogh is famed for his ability to put his own emotions into his paintings and show his feelings about a scene. His style is marked by short, broad brush strokes（笔画）.“Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I have before my eyes, I use color more freely, in order to express myself more forcibly,” he wrote in a letter to his brother in 1888.
Van Gogh sold only one painting during his short life. He relied heavily on the support from his brother, an art dealer who lived in Paris. But now his works are sold for millions of dollars. His portrait of Dr. Gacher sold for $89.5 million in 1990. It is the highest price ever paid for a painting. “I think his paintings are powerful and the brilliant colors in them are attractive to people,” said a Van Gogh’s fan. All through his life, Van Gogh __________.
| A．depended on his brother | B．worked hard on art studies |
| C．was not recognized by people | D．expressed himself in paintings |
Van Gogh killed himself because of ___________.
| A．the poor life | B．his illness |
| C．his pain from left ear | D．the objections from the artists of his time |
One of the characteristics of Van Gogh’s paintings is ______________.
| A．the likeness between his paintings and the reality |
| B．the short time for him to complete a painting |
| C．the various styles mixed together |
| D．the special strokes he made |
The selling of his paintings is considered to be the most successful because ________.
| A．more and more people like his paintings |
| B．people can understand him through his paintings |
| C．1.3 million people visit his painting museum every year |
| D．Zundert has made 2003 “The Van Gogh Year” in his honor |
We can infer from the passage that _______.
| A．his powerful art came from his poor life |
| B．his fellow townsmen regret treating him unfairly |
| C．all his paintings were drawn in the last 10 years of his life |
| D．most of his paintings are kept in the museum of his hometown |