When you are little, it’s not hard to believe you can change the world. I remember my enthusiasm when, at the age of 12, I addressed delegates at the Rio Earth Summit. “I am only a child,” I told them .“Yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding environment answers, what a wonderful place this would be. In school you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not to be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the thing you tell us not to do ? You grown-ups say you love us, but I challenge you, please, to make your actions reflect your words.”
I spoke for six minutes and received a standing ovation. Some of the delegates even cried. I thought that maybe I had reached some of them, that my speech might actually spur(激励) action. Now, a decade from Rio, after I’ve sat through many more conferences, I’m not sure what has been accomplished. My confidence in the people in power and in the power of an individual’s voice to reach them has been deeply shaken.
When I was little, the world was simple. But as a young adult, I’m learning that as we have to make choices — education, career, lifestyle — life gets more and more complicated. We are beginning to feel pressure to produce and be successful. We are taught that economic growth is in progress, but aren’t taught how to pursue a happy, healthy or sustainable(可持续的) way of living. And we are learning that what we wanted for the future when we were 12 was ideal and innocent.
Today I’m no longer a child, but I’m worried about what kind of environment my children will grow up in. I know change is possible, because I am changing, still figuring out what I think. I am still deciding how to live my life. The challenges are great, but if we accept individual responsibility and make sustainable choices, we will rise to the challenges, and we will become part of the positive tide of change.The purpose of what the writer said at the age of 12 was to _____.
| A．end poverty and make school beautiful |
| B．find environmental answers and keep the words that they always told themselves |
| C．end poverty and solve the problems about environment |
| D．find a wonderful place and clean it up |
What does the underlined word “ovation” in the second paragraph refer to _____.
| A．a long period of laughing |
| B．a warm welcome |
| C．an expression used for greeting |
| D．a long period of clapping and applause |
It becomes clear that the writer is possibly _____ now.
| A．in his teens |
| B．in his twenties |
| C．in his thirties |
| D．in his forties |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．the writer thinks what he thought at the age of 12 is mature. |
| B．the writer’s children will certainly live in an ideal environment. |
| C．the writer’s confidence in the people in power has deeply shaken their voice. |
| D．the writer’s belief does not change when he grows up. |
Last year, around Labor Day, I read a “Happy Ad” in our local newspaper． There was a lady in a local nursing home, who was celebrating her 90th birthday and her family wanted everyone to know about it． It said that if you wanted to drop her a line, here was her address． So I did． I found a birthday card and dropped her a short note, wishing her a happy birthday．
A week or so later, someone knocked at my front door． I opened the door and found a middle-aged man standing on my doorstep． He introduced himself as the son of this woman to whom I had sent the card． He explained that he just wanted to drop by in person and thank me for sending such a nice card to his mom． Apparently, like many older folks, she did not receive much mail and was quite excited to receive mine． I just didn’t know what to say． I told him it was my pleasure and that I hoped his mom had enjoyed her birthday．
That year, I did not send out any Christmas cards, except to this lovely old lady in the nursing home． I just told her that I was thinking about her and hoped that she had a nice holiday． I sent her a Valentine and also a couple of notes in between． I just thought she might like to have someone write to her, to get some mail．
She passed away a couple of months ago． I never met this lady, but I did keep her and her family in my thoughts． I dropped them a line of sympathy． I hope that my few little notes were enough to brighten a couple of her days here on earth．The old lady’s address was given because ____________．
| A．her family wanted to make her well-known |
| B．the old lady wanted to receive a birthday card |
| C．the son of the old lady wanted to meet the author |
| D．her family wanted to give her a happy birthday |
Which of the following best describes the author?
| A．Brave． | B．Polite． | C．Caring． | D．Faithful． |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．A Kind Act | B．An Old Lady | C．A Happy Ad | D．A Considerate Son |
Language-learners who say they never or hardly ever use dictionaries often speak English well but usually write poorly, because they make many mistakes.
The students who use dictionaries most do not learn especially well either. The ones who look up every new word do not read fast. So they do not have time to read much. Those who use small two-language dictionaries have the worst problems. Their dictionaries often give only one or two words as translations (翻译) of English. But one English word often has many translations in a foreign language and one foreign word has many translations in English.
The most successful students are those who use large college edition dictionaries with about 100,000 words but do not use them too often. When they are reading, these students first try to get the general idea and understand new words from the context. Then they reread and use the dictionary to look up only key words that they still do not understand. They use dictionaries more for writing. If they are not sure how to spell a word, or divide it into syllables (音节), they always use a dictionary. Also, if they think a noun might have an unusual plural form, they check these in a dictionary.According to the passage, which of the following is right?
| A．Students who never use dictionary can speak well and write well. |
| B．Whatever new words you meet while reading, just look them up in the dictionary. |
| C．Small two-language dictionaries are bad for learning English. |
| D．An English word only has one translation. |
This passage mainly tells us .
| A．that students shouldn’t use small two-language dictionaries |
| B．what were the defects (缺点) of small two-language dictionaries |
| C．why students should use large college edition dictionaries |
| D．what dictionary students should choose and how to use it |
Which is not mentioned in this passage?
| A．How to make good use of a dictionary. |
| B．When to use a dictionary. |
| C．How to improve spoken English. |
| D．How to practice reading fast. |
At present time, roller skating (滑旱冰) is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making instruments (工具). In his free time he liked to play the violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think. He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin had an idea. He thought that he would attract a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll (滚动). Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skate shoes. Merlin was very proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be very surprised.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyone was really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise.
Nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that.The first paragraph tells us that people began to skate on wheels from 1750 because _______.
| A．it is very easy |
| B．it is very exciting |
| C．Joseph Merlin’s instruments |
| D．it is very popular |
People called Merlin a dreamer because ___________. .
| A．he slept and dreamed a lot |
| B．he was full of different ideas and dreams |
| C．he invented the first roller skates |
| D．he always made people’s dreams come true |
___________ made Merlin think of skating on wheels.
| A．Merlin’s work | B．Merlin’s violin |
| C．A huge mirror | D．An important party |
What was Merlin’s problem after he rolled into the room?
| A．He couldn’t stop his roller-skating. |
| B．He couldn’t attract a lot of attention. |
| C．Everyone was surprised at him. |
| D．He couldn’t play the violin while rolling. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Joseph Merlin’s Story |
| B．How Roller Skating Was Invented |
| C．A Surprising Entrance to the Party |
| D．Violin and roller skating |
When he was a boy, Tim was much influenced（影响） by the books about the sea, but in fact by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a dentist and as a result, Tim had the opportunity of meeting many doctors either at home or elsewhere. When he was fourteen he was already hanging around the clinic (诊所) of a local doctor where he was supposed to help to wrap up medicine bottles, but was actually trying to listen to the conversations（会议） taking place between the doctor and his patients in the next room.
During the war Tim served in the Navy (海军) as a surgeon (外科医生). “That was the happiest time of my life. I was dealing with very real suffering and on the whole making a success of it.” In California he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had proved his skills to himself and his ability to take decisions. Thus, while he was able to tell them what to do, he could feel he was saving them. After the war, he got married and chose to be a doctor in the countryside, working under an old doctor who was popular in the area, but who hated the sight of blood and believed that the secret of medicine was faith. This gave the young man many opportunities（机会） to go on working as a life-saver.Tim decided to be a doctor when he was________.
| A．fourteen | B．fifteen |
| C．serving in the Navy | D．working in clinic |
Tim decided to become a doctor mainly because________
| A．his father wanted him to be so. |
| B．his father was a surgeon. |
| C．he had read many books about medicine. |
| D．he had chances to know many doctors and know about what doctors did. |
Which of the following is not true?
| A．during the war, Tim was a surgeon in the Navy. |
| B．he taught the country people simple facts about medicine in California. |
| C．after the war, he married the old doctors’ daughter. |
| D．Tim worked as a life-saver after war. |
From the passage we can infer(推出) that Tim_________.
| A．was sent to Europe during the war. |
| B．was not afraid of blood. |
| C．decided to give up his doctor career. |
| D．regarded himself as a life-saver. |
In the early 1990s,the word” Internet” was strange to most people. But today, Internet has become a useful tool for people all over the world. Maybe Internet has been the greatest invention in the field of communication in the history of mankind（人类）.
Communicating with others on the Internet is much faster. We can chat with a person who is sitting in the other part of the world. We can e-mail our friends and they can read the e-mails within a minute. Giving all kinds of information is probably the biggest advantage of the Internet. We can use search engines to find the information we need. Just type in a keyword or keywords and the search engine will give us a list of suitable websites to look at.
We can enjoy a lot on the Internet by downloading games, visiting chat rooms or surfing （浏览）websites. There are some games for free. We can meet new and interesting people in the chat now. We can also listen to music and see films.
Now ,there is a lot of service on the Internet such as online banking ,job finding and ticket buying. We can also do shopping and find nearly all kinds of goods. Sometimes we can find something that is quite good but very cheap.How many main advantages of the Internet are talked about in the passage?
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
What fact doesn’t the passage provide?
| A．We can find almost anything we want to know on the Internet. |
| B．Some games on the Internet are free. |
| C．We can buy most things we need on the Internet. |
| D．Goods on the Internet are more expensive than those in real shops. |
Which title best gives the main idea of the passage?
| A．Online Shopping |
| B．Exchanging Information on the Internet |
| C．The Advantages of the Internet |
| D．Surfing the Websites on the Internet |