Thanksgiving Day is special holiday in the United States and Canada. Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessing.
Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. This is why it is celebrated in late fall, after the crops are in. But one of the first thanksgivings in America had nothing to do with a good harvest. On December 4, 1619, the Pilgrims from England landed near what is now Charles City, Virginia. They knelt down and thanked God for their safe journey across the Atlantic.
The first New England Thanksgiving did celebrate a rich harvest. The Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. They had a difficult time and the first winter was cruel. Many of the Pilgrims died. But the next year, they had a good harvest. So Governor Bradford declared a three-day feast. The Pilgrims invited Indian friends to join them for their special feast. Everyone brought food.
In time, other colonies（殖民地）began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. But it took years before there was a national Thanksgiving Day. During the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to do something about it. He proclaimed（宣布）the last Thursday of November 1863 as a day of thanksgiving. Today, Americans celebrate this happy harvest festival on the fourth Thursday in November. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day in much the same way as their American neighbours. But the Canadian thanks-giving Day falls on the second Monday in October.Thanksgiving Day is celebrated .
| A．in spring | B．in summer | C．in autumn | D．in winter |
The first to celebrate thanksgiving were .
| A．some people from England | B．the American Indians |
| C．Sarah Josepha Hale | D．Governor Bradford |
We can infer from the passage that New England must be .
A. in the U. S. A. B. in Great Britain C. in Canada D. on some island off the AtlanticThe passage mainly tells us .
A. how Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the U. S. A.
B. how Thanksgiving Day came into being and the different ways it is celebrated
C. that Thanksgiving Day is in fact a harvest holiday
D. how the way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day changed with the time and places
Internet use appears to cause a drop in psychological health, according to a research at Carnegie Mellon University.
Even people who spent just a few hours a week on the Internet experienced more depression(沮丧) and loneliness than those who used Internet less frequently, the two-year study showed. And it wasn’t that people who were already feeling bad spent more time on the Internet, but that using the Net actually appeared to cause the bad feeling.
Researchers are puzzled by the results, which were completely the opposite to their experiences. They expected that the Net would prove socially healthier than television, since the Net allows users to choose the information and to communicate with others.
The fact that Internet use reduces time available for family and friends may explain the drop in well-being, researchers supposed. Faceless, bodiless “virtual” communication may be less psychologically satisfying than actual conversation, and the relationships formed through it may be shallower. Another possibility is that knowing the wider world via the Net makes users less satisfied with their lives.
“But it’s important to remember this is not about the technology; it’s about how it is used,” says psychologist Christine Riley of Intel, one of the study founders. “It really points to the need for considering social factors in terms of how you design applications(应用) and services for technology.”The best title of the passage probably is .
| A．Internet May Cause Depression |
B．The Danger of Internet  |
| C．Communication with Others by Internet |
| D．Puzzled by the Results |
Why did the results of research puzzle the researchers?
| A．People could choose their information through Internet. |
| B．They had expected the opposite results. |
| C．People can communicate with others. |
| D．They had thought Internet was much healthier. |
Which of the following may be the cause of depression?
| A．Net users found their living conditions bad. |
| B．Net users already had mental problems. |
| C．Deep relationships were formed through Internet. |
| D．Net users had less time to communicate with other people. |
The writer’s attitude towards technology is .
| A．social factors must be considered while using technology |
| B．technology was to blame for depression |
| C．the problem doesn’t lie in technology |
| D．applications and services for technology must be designed |
I am a long distance runner. When I was thirty-one, I was in a serious car accident. The doctor told me that they would try to get me to walk “normally” but I would never run again—terrible news for someone who views running as the oxygen(氧气) she breathes. The doctors were right. For the next nine and a half years, I was unable to run more than twenty-five feet.
In 2006, I began self-training to take part in a 60-mile walk. Three months into preparing, I realized that walking 4-5 hours a day was too long. If only I could jog(慢跑) part of it—that would cost me less time. I started jogging without my knees aching. Slowly, I increased the distance. The doctor were proved wrong—it only took nine and a half years to do so.
While practicing, I suffered a loss—a dear friend suddenly died. His work had been to help women to accept themselves and reach their fullest potential(潜力). He believed that people should let nothing hold them back from achieving their goals. Soon after his death, a crazy thought entered my mind: what if I could run the LA Marathon? I knew that if I didn’t train to my fullest, the doctor would win. So I trained seven days a week. And I succeeded in crossing the finish line of the LA Marathons all over the United States to the astonishment of my doctors. They never believed that I would achieve that.
The aches and pains I experience while training and racing are nothing compared to the suffering people whom I respect must accept.What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 1?
| A．She didn’t believe what the doctor said. |
| B．She often felt it was hard to tolerate. |
| C．She loved running very much. |
| D．She lost heart after the accident. |
The author tried jogging because she wanted to ______.
| A．save some time | B．protect her feet |
| C．get more exercise | D．catch up with others |
Why did the author decide to join in the marathon?
| A．Because she was so sorry for the loss of a friend. |
| B．Because she was encouraged by her dead friend’s words. |
| C．Because she wanted to prove the doctors were wrong. |
| D．Because she wanted to make more friends. |
What does the underlined word “astonishment” in Paragraph 3 mean?
| A．Surprise. | B．Sadness. |
| C．Disappointment. | D．Anger. |
People who like travelling have their reasons. They believe that travelling can help them expand their field of view, especially in the geographical and historical sense. They also think that touring will give them more chances to enjoy different kinds of food and experience new things that would never be brought by other activities. But those who dislike travelling also have some reasons.
Travelling, in my opinion, does more good than harm. Most importantly, it broadens(扩大) our mind. We can get in touch with other civilizations(文明), culture, customs and ideas.
Through history, most people travelled because of necessity(必要性)—not for pleasure. People travelled just in order to remain alive. They searched for food to eat or places to live in. They sometimes ran away from enemies. This is not to say that no one ever travelled just for the fun of it. In ancient times, for example, rich Romans travelled all the way to Greece to take part in the Olympic Games, and festivals. Of course, some people decided to travel just out of curiosity(好奇心). They wanted to find out what it looked like beyond the horizon(地平线). Also, business travel has been going on for centuries.Traders could not only make money but also learn to speak several languages and be introduced to different cultures.
So travelling does enrich our mind and draw new ideas to us. There is no doubt that we can get much from it.The underlined word“expand”in Paragraph 1 can be replaced by “ __________”.
| A．decide | B．protect | C．widen | D．lose |
According to the passage, in the past most people travelled _____________.
| A．for knowledge | B．to make a living | C．to get experiences | D．for fun |
In the writer’s opinion, travelling can be ______________.
| A．tiring | B．funny | C．expensive | D．helpful |
There is a famous story about British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He was writing a poem when he was interrupted by a knock at the door.
This was an age before telephones. Someone was delivering a message. When Coleridge got back to his poem, he had lost his inspiration. His poetic mood had been broken by the knock on his door. His unfinished poem, which could otherwise have been a masterpiece, would now never be more than a fragment.
This story tells how unexpected communication can destroy an important thought, which bring us to the cellphone.
The most common complaint about cellphones is that people talk on them to the annoyance of people around them. But more damaging may be the cellphone’s interruption of our thoughts.
We have already entered a golden age of little white lies about our cellphones, and this is by and large（大体上）a healthy, protective development. “I didn’t hear it ring” or “I didn’t realize my phone had shut off” are among the lies we tell to give ourselves space where we’re beyond reach.
The notion of being unreachable is not a new concept—we have “Do Not Disturb” sign on the doors of hotel rooms. So why must we feel guilty when it comes to cellphones? Why must we apologize if we decide to shut off the phone for a while?
Now time alone, or a conversation with someone next to us which cannot be interrupted by a phone, is something to be cherished. Even cellphone devotees（信徒）, myself usually included, can’t help at times wanting to throw their phone away, or curse the day they were invented.
But we don’t and won’t, and there really is no need. All that’s required to take back our private time is a general social recognition that we have the right to it. In other words, we have to develop a healthy contempt(轻视) for the rings of our own phones.
A cellphone call deserves no greater priority(优先考虑的事) than a random(随机的) word from the person next to us，though the call on my cellphone may be the one-in-a-million from Steven Spielberg—who has finally read my novel and wants to make it his next movie. But most likely it is not, and I’m better off thinking about the idea I just had for a new story, or the slice of pizza I’ll eat for lunch.What is the point of the anecdote about the poet Coleridge in the first three paragraphs?
| A．To direct readers’ attention to the main topic. |
| B．To show how important inspiration is to a poet |
| C．To emphasize the disadvantage of not having a cellphone |
| D．To encourage readers to read the works of this poet. |
What does the writer think about people telling “white lies” about their cellphones?
| A．It is a way of signaling that you don’t like the caller. |
| B．It is natural to tell lies about small things |
| C．It is basically a good way to protect one’s privacy. |
| D．We should feel guilty when we can’t tell the truth. |
According to the author, what is the most annoying problem caused by cellphones?
| A．People get so obsessed(着迷) with the cellphone rings that they fail to notice anything else. |
| B．People feel guilty when they are not able to answer their cellphones. |
| C．Cellphones interrupt people’s private time. |
| D．With cellphones it is no longer possible to be unreachable. |
What does the last paragraph suggest?
| A．A person who calls us from afar deserves more of our attention |
| B．Steven Spielberg once called the author to talk about the author’s novel. |
| C．You should always finish your lunch before you answer a call on the cellphone. |
| D．Never let cellphones disturb your life too much. |
Animals can move from place to place, but plants cannot. When an animal is under attack, it can run away or fight back. Plants certainly cannot run away, and they lack teeth and claws. But plants can defend themselves by using both physical and chemical means.
Some plants have their own ways to keep animals away. For example, the leaves of the holly plant have sharp spines (刺) that discourage grass-eating animals. Holly leaves on lower branches have more spines than leaves on upper branches. This is because the lower leaves are easier for most animals to reach.
Some plants, such as the oak tree, have thick and hard leaves that are difficult for animals to eat. Some grasses may contain a sandy material; eating such grasses wears down the animal's teeth.
Many plants also have chemical defenses. Some plants produce chemicals that taste bitter or cause an unpleasant reaction. Some plants may fight against an attack by increasing the production of these chemicals. When a caterpillar (毛虫) bites a tobacco leaf, the leaf produces a chemical messenger. This messenger sends to the roots the information to produce more nicotine. The higher levels of nicotine discourage the caterpillar.
Many plants depend on both physical and chemical defenses. A certain plant in China, for instance, has prickly (多刺的) leaves, and each prickle contains poisonous venom (毒液). A single experience with this kind of plant will teach an animal to stay away from it in the future.The holly plant has more spines on the lower leaves because most animals________.
| A．are not tall enough | B．like the lower leaves only |
| C．are not clever enough | D．can get the lower leaves easily |
To defend themselves, oak trees use________.
| A．chemical means | B．physical means |
| C．bitter chemicals | D．sandy materials |
How does tobacco protect itself against an attack from a caterpillar?
| A．Its leaves fight against the attack by physical means. |
| B．Its roots send a messenger to discourage the caterpillar. |
| C．Its roots increase the production of nicotine when it is attacked. |
| D．Its leaves produce poisonous sand to drive the caterpillar away. |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Plants and Animals | B．How Plants Defend Themselves |
| C．Attacks and Defenses | D．How Animals Eat Plant Leaves |