It was a village in India. The people were poor but they were happy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.
This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were useless to the villagers. What they had to do was to catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. The villagers were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn’t last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops weren’t doing so well. More worry was that the children fell ill more often, and there were more insects around lately. The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides (杀剂) and medicine. Soon there was no money left.
The people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn’t been useless. They had been doing an important job--- eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.
Now, the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.From Paragraph l, we learn that the villagers_______.
| A．worked very hard for centuries |
| B．dreamed of having a better life |
| C．were poor but somewhat happy |
| D．lived a different life from their forefathers |
Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs?
| A．The frogs were easy money. |
| B．They needed money to buy medicine. |
| C．They wanted to please the visitors. |
| D．The frogs made too much noise. |
What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?
| A．The crops didn’t do well. | B．There were too many insects. |
| C．The visitors brought in diseases. | D．The pesticides were overused. |
What is meaning of the last sentence of the article?
| A．Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country. |
| B．Money is important. |
| C．The harmony between man and nature is important. |
| D．Good old days will never be forgotten. |
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Naim, from Turkey(土耳其), is a great Olympic weightlifting hero. He was the first weightlifter to win a gold medal in three Olympic Games. In 1996, when he won his third gold medal, he lifted a total of 335 kilograms and set a world record. |
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Patty is the world’s top aerobatic(特技) flyer in the USA. She entered her first flying competition in 1984. She became the first woman to win the title of US National Aerobatic Champion in 1991. And she did the same again in 1992 and 1993. |
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Ahmed is an Egypt’s champion. He is one of the best tennis players in the world today. In 1992 he entered the world rankings(排名). Four years later, he became an international sports superstar. Millions of people were amazed by his speed and skill. |
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Lai-Shan, Hong Kong’s greatest sports hero, started windsurfing at the age of 15. She competed in the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, but came in eleventh place. When she competed a second time in the Olympics, in 1996, she won a gold medal. |
Ahmed was famous for __________.
| A．windsurfing | B．weightlifting | C．flying | D．playing tennis |
Patty was a champion in_________.
| A．the USA | B．Turkey | C．China | D．Egypt |
Both Lai-Shan and Naim succeed at the Olympics _________.
| A．In 1988 | B．In 1992 | C．In 1996 | D．In 2000 |
Winners Club
Winners Club is a bank account (账户) specially for teenagers. It has been sep up to help you better manage your money. The club is a bank account where you receive a key-card, so you can enjoy dealing with your money 24/7 — that’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
Here are the features (特点) of the club.
? No account keeping fees (费用)!
You’re not a rich man, so we don’t expect you to pay large fees. In fact, it’s free for all the service!
? Excellent interest rates (利率)!
You want your money to grow, right? If you put money into the club without taking it out for a year, the club will give you a good rate of interest.
? Convenient (方便)！
Teenagers are busy — we get that. You may never need to come to a bank at all. With the club you can choose to use handy tellers and to bank from home using the phone and the Internet. This could be your pocket money or your pay from your part-time job!
? A free magazine included！
Besides your account report, you will receive a free magazine full of good ideas about making more money. There are also other fantastic offers only for the club members.
? Easy to be a member！
It is so easy to join. Simply fill in an application form (申请表). By the way, one of your parents must agree on it. Then you can become a member of the club.
Now you see the club is a great choice for teenagers. We can’t wait to have you as a Winners Club member. Is Winners Club specially for teenagers?
How many features of Winners Club are mentioned in the passage?
How do you make your money in Winners Club grow?
What ideas can the club members read on the magazine?
What does the writer mainly tell teenagers?
Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost mention recycling, which is the process (过程) of treating used things, such as paper or steel so that they can be used again. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more things than we need. We are now dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the possible greenest way, but it would be far better if we did not bring so many things home in the first place.
Here is an example. In the UK, the total of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a household’s waste. In many supermarkets, foods are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging causes serious environmental problems. The UK is running out of different kinds of ways for dealing with this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect (效果). Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The best way of avoiding this problem is to stop producing such unnecessary things in the first place. Food waste is another serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers (消费者) to buy more than they need. They seldom encourage customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to connect packaging with quality (质量). We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. Is it true for all the products? In fact, more and more companies realized the importance of protecting the environment. They try to package what really should be packaged, including products in good quality.
As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realize how many unnecessary things are being collected. We need to face the waste of our daily life. Although many people have taken action to recycle, we have a high mountain to climb.What does the underlined word “over-consumption” mean?
| A．Making the environment green. |
| B．Recycling as much as possible. |
| C．Making more products than necessary. |
| D．Having more things than being needed. |
What is the main purpose of the second paragraph?
| A．To show the facts of over-used packaging. |
| B．To talk about the possible greenest ways. |
| C．To teach people how to do recycling at home. |
| D．To express worries about environmental problems. |
What can be inferred from the fourth paragraph?
| A．Unpackaged products are of bad quality. |
| B．Other products are better packaged than food. |
| C．We can’t always connect quality with packaging. |
| D．Supermarkets should care more about packaging. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Supermarkets should recycle first. |
| B．Packaging causes serious problems. |
| C．Needless things are mostly recycled. |
| D．Recycling should be done in the first place. |
Why play games? Because they are fun, and we can learn even more while playing. Following the rules, planning your next move, acting as a team member — these are all “game” ideas that you will come across all through your life. They can help you in different ways.
Think about some of the games you played as a young child, such as rope-jumping and hide-and-seek. Such games are very interesting. But perhaps more importantly, they translate part of life into exciting games that teach children some of the basic rules they will be expected to follow the rest of their lives, such as taking turns and cooperating (合作).
Many children’s games have a practical side. Children around the world play games that prepare them for work they will do as grown-ups. For example, some Saudi Arabian children play a game called bones, which improves the hand-eye coordination (协调) needed in fishing.
The most famous games of all, the Olympic Games, bring athletes from around the world together to take part in friendly competitions. People who watch the event (比赛项目) know that a gold medal is a win for the whole country, not just the athlete who got it. For countries experiencing natural disasters (灾害) or wars, an Olympic win can mean so much.
Sports games are also an event that unites (团结) people. Football is the most popular sport in the world. People all over the world play it — some for fun and some for a living. Nicolette Iribarne, a Californian football player, has discovered a way to spread hope through football. He created a foundation (基金会) to provide poor children with not only soccer balls but also a bright future.
Next time you play your favorite game or sport, think about why you enjoy it, what skills are needed, and whether these skills will help you in other parts of your life. What are children expected to learn when they play games?
| A．To act as a team leader. | B．To follow the basic rules. |
| C．To train how to move fast. | D．To practice rope-jumping. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Games can help everybody to make much money. |
| B．Games can turn real-life experiences into a story. |
| C．Games can make skill learning more interesting. |
| D．Games can prevent all the countries from disasters. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Games can help people in different ways. |
| B．People are advised to play games for fun. |
| C．An Olympic win means a lot to every country. |
| D．Sports can get people all over the world together. |
In 50 years of traveling, Colin McCorpuodale has visited every country in the world except three. And everywhere he goes, he sends himself a postcard. He always chooses a postcard with beautiful scenery (风景). Usually he writes just a short message to himself. However, he wrote an interesting story on his latest one, from the Malians Island.
Mr. McCorpuodale lives in London. On one of the walls in his room, you can see a large map of the world. There are hundreds of little red pins (大头针) stuck in it. “These pins mean a lot to me.” says Mr. McCorpuodale, “I follow the rule. I’m allowed to stick one in only if I’ve been in a place for more than 24 hours.”
Naturally, Mr. McCorpuodale has his favorite places. New Zealand, he describes as “a wonderful country”. About China, he says, “This is the country in the world which is completely different. There is no European influence.”
Wherever he goes, Mr. McCorpuodale takes with him a photo of his wife, a candle, a shirt with a secret pocket and a pen.
So why does he do it? For the postcards or the travels? Mr. McCorpuodale laughs, “Neither. Only for the meaningful life.”What did Mr. McCorpuodale write about on his latest postcard?
| A．Malians Island. | B．An interesting story. |
| C．Beautiful scenery. | D．His favorite places. |
On a wall in Mr. McCorpuodale’s room, there is .
| A．a map of the world | B．a postcard to himself |
| C．a message to himself | D．a photo of his wife |
According to Mr. McCorpuodal, there’s no European influence .
| A．in New Zealand | B．in America | C．in Australia | D．in China |