Being organized is an important skill for school and life.When you’re well organized，you can stay focused，instead of spending time hunting things down and getting sidetracked.What does it mean to be organized？For schoolwork，it means having one notebook or place where you store all your assignments，so you know what you have to do and when.Keeping clearly labeled binders or folders for handouts and keeping all your schoolwork neat and in a specific place—these are the main parts of organization.
For home stuff，being organized means having a place to put your things and putting them back as you go.It means hanging your coat up instead of dropping it on the floor or throwing it on a chair.It means keeping your schoolbag，your shoes，and your clean underwear in the same places so you always know where to find them.
Planning is part of being organized，too.Planning means deciding what you will do and when you will do it.Calendars，lists，and schedules can help you plan.You can buy or draw a calendar and keep it near your workplace.Making a schedule or a “todo” list for yourself is a good idea.Looking at your list helps you keep track of what you need to do.Add new things as you get assignments，and check off things when you’ve done them.Use your list to help you decide which thing is the most important to work on first.
It takes some extra efforts to organize yourself and your stuff.But once you’re organized，you feel great.The less time you spend hunting around for things or panicking about homework，the more time you have for better things，like reading a good book or playing.According to the first paragraph，“being organized” probably means “________”．
| A．looking for something with others here and there |
| B．doing something according to the plan made ahead of time |
| C．getting together every now and then |
| D．telling you what you have to do every day |
If you are well organized at home，you will________.
| A．leave all the things as they are |
| B．hang your coat on a chair |
| C．know where your clean underwear is |
| D．ask your mom where your shoes are |
Which one of the following is the right order of being organized?
a．Deciding what you have to do and when.
b．Finding a notebook where you can write down your “todo” list.
c．Getting rid of the things that have been done in the list.
d．Making a “todo” list for yourself.
| A．b，a，d，c | B．a，d，c，b |
| C．c，b，a，d | D．d，c，b，a |
What may be the best title for this passage?
| A．Planning Is Part of Being Organized |
| B．A Good Beginning Is Half Done |
| C．Being Organized—an Important Skill |
| D．Where There Is a Will There Is a Way |
As the new semester begins，millions of college students across the country are trying hard to remember how best to write a paper-or，more likely，how best to delay that paper．
Procrastination is the thief of time and a lot of students suffer from it．They can spend whole days in the library doing nothing but staring into space，eating snacks，surfing the Internet，watching videos and looking at their pretty peers sitting around them，who，most likely，are doing nothing either．
Paralyzed by their habit to procrastinate，they write micro blogs about their fears，asking their online friends if they sometimes have the same issue．But this does nothing to solve their problems．
According to a recent report by the BBC，95 percent of us procrastinate at some point and 20 percent of the world’s population are procrastinators，complicating their lives with their continual delaying of tasks．
Procrastinators like to find excuses to justify their behavior，but BBC columnist Rowan Pelling says they are all wrong．Many procrastinators tell themselves they are perfectionists who work best under pressure．Pelling says this is nonsense，as work done at the last minute is more likely to have mistakes than work done on time．
She says the behavior of procrastinators often makes them feel flustered and ashamed，inconveniences others，and annoys loved ones．
Fortunately，social seientists have made tireless efforts to understand this behavioral shortcoming and offer strategies to control it．Piers Steel，a Canadian social scientist and author of The Procrastination Equation，believes humankind is“designed”to procrastinate．Nevertheless，he suggests a couple of good ways to get through the task at hand．
The first one is obvious：Break the task down into small pieces and work your way through them methodically．
The second is clever：Give a trusted friend a sum of money and tell them that if you don’t complete the task you have undertaken by a specific time，they can keep it or donate it to a cause you hate.What does the underlined word“Procrastination” in the second paragraph refer to?
| A．A bad habit of putting work or tasks off． |
| B．A thief who steals time and money in college. |
| C．A college student who learns nothing． |
| D．A study way of doing nothing in the library. |
Which of the following statements is true according to the text?
| A．College students can have their papers written if they delay them． |
| B．Many students don’t know what to do in the library． |
| C．Students can’t solve their procrastination by writing micro blogs． |
| D．20％of the procrastinators make their life complicated． |
According to Rowan Pelling，we can learn that procrastinators .
| A．can find reasonable excuses for their behavior |
| B．are able to work best under pressure |
| C．are more likely to avoid mistakes at work[] |
| D．may upset themselves and their loved ones more frequently |
Which of the following may Piers Steel support?
| A．Human beings are not born to be procrastinators． |
| B．Complete your tasks or work step by step． |
| C．Give your trusted friend money and ask him to help you finish your tasks． |
| D．You can’t control procrastination but you can avoid it． |
What’she best title of the text?
| A．Who steals my time? |
| B．The solutions to procrastination |
| C．I’ll do it tomorrow，I swear! |
| D．Don’t do nothing! |
In Singapore，most of us love window-shopping while some others enjoy having a picnic at East Coast Park or Changi Beach on sunny days．Singaporeans are never bothered by the occasional thunderstorm．However，we know that if it rains for long continuous periods，there will be more serious effects．Just recently the main shopping street of Orchard Road was flooded and some part of Bukit Timah was impassable(不能通行的)to traffic．People reacted by writing in to the newspaper to complain about this! We forget that other countries suffer much worse effects.
Elsewhere，heavy tropical(热带的)storms often result in floods that ruin crops especially in Thailand and Malaysia．This in turn usually means that the price of rice and vegetables here in Singapore will rise because we import these products from them．If there is a typhoon or tsunami，thousands of lives are lost too．This happened in Indonesia and Phuket in Thailand in 2004 and It serves to remind us of how Mother Nature can cause great damage．
Weather patterns in general have changed dramatically in recent years．Scientists believe that global warming and the resulting melting of the polar ice-cap has caused the level of the ocean to rise．This in turn causes flooding of low-lying areas in countries where the land is rather flat and some parts of which is below water level．It is believed that human activities have caused Mother Nature to show her extreme anger，so it is now important that we really work together to cut down on harmful activities，for example，illegal logging(伐木)or irresponsible forest-burning to clear land for farming．From Paragraph 1，we can see that most Singaporeans love ．
| A．making complaints |
| B．going out for picnics |
| C．doing window-shopping |
| D．traveling along the coast |
What will happen in Singapore if there are floods in its neighboring countries?
| A．Heavy tropical storms will follow shortly． |
| B．The price of rice and vegetables will go up． |
| C．Many people will write in to the newspaper． |
| D．More rice and vegetables will be imported． |
The underlined word“it”in Paragraph 2 refers to ．
| A．the arrival of heavy tropical storms |
| B．the import of rice and vegetables |
| C．the rising price of rice and vegetables |
| D．the loss of lives in natural disasters |
What’s the right order of the following events?
a．global warming b．the rise in ocean level
c．harmful human activities d．the flooding of low-lying areas
e．the melting of the polar ice-cap
| A．c→a→e→b→d | B．a→c→e→b→d |
| C．c→a→b→e→d | D．d→a→c→b→e |
What should we do in order not to make Mother Nature angry?
| A．Clear more land for farming． |
| B．Reduce harmful human activities． |
| C．Bring down the price of food． |
| D．Improve the quality of weather． |
On March 15．Dunes View Middle School held a contest for school bands．
Student bands tried out for the opportunity to perform at the school picnic，which will be held at the end of June．The winner of the contest was the band called Four Square.
“We’re very proud that we won the contest and are excited to perform at the picnic，” says Peter Zandt，who plays guitar in the band．“And since we hope to perform someday at other local places，like restaurants and parks，this will be a great first step.”
The contest was the creation of music teacher Mr．Lopez and drama teacher Ms．Cho. The two thought of the idea while discussing recent years' school picnics．“The picnic is one of the biggest events of the year，but it has become a bit formulaic，"said Ms．Cho．“The activities are the same every year .We thought that a performance by a student band would make the school picnic more interesting and fun．”
Mr．Lopez，Ms．Cho，and three other teachers judged the contest，which took place in the gym. To see if the bands could present a wide range of musical skills，the teachers asked them each to prepare two songs：one song with original words，and another in which students played instrumental music only．The judges finally chose the band Four Square as the winner of the contest．Four Square is a rock band with an unusual twist：it includes a violin player! The members of Four Square write their own songs and practice three times a week after schoo1．
Students and teachers agreed that the band competition was：a big success．All are looking forward to the school picnic in June．What can be the best title for the article?
| A．Famous Band Visits Schoo1． |
| B．Teachers Give Music Lessons． |
| C．Students Have Fun at School Picnic． |
| D．School Holds Student Band Contest． |
The underlined word“formulaic”in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ____________．
| A．expensive | B．dull | C．1ong | D．uncertain |
Why did the teachers ask each band to play two songs?
| A．To decide which songs to play at the picnic． |
| B．To see if the bands could play a variety of songs． |
| C．To make sure the contest did not go on too long． |
| D．To make the concert more enjoyable for students． |
According to the article，what is unusual about the band Four Square?
| A．It is named after a popular children’s game． |
| B．Its members practice several times a week． |
| C．It is a rock band with a violinist． |
| D．Its members all play guitar． |
According to the article，what does the band Four Square hope to do in the future?
| A．Perform at the school picnic every year． |
| B．Perform in many different places． |
| C．Buy new instruments． |
| D．Record an album． |
Most city parks are places where you can escape from big，ugly structures of metal and stone．The Manhattan High Line is different．Raised 25 feet above the ground，this massive metal structure once supported a rail line．The line opened in 1934 but it was hardly used after the 1960s，and much of it was torn down．However，one stretch remained in a region of Manhattan．The railway structure was ugly and everyone knew that at some time，it would have to be removed．
But the High Line was not destroyed．In fact．now the old rail line serves as one of the most peaceful places in the city．The idea to change the rail line into a park came from Joshua David and Robert Hammond．In 1999，they attended a community meeting to decide the fate of the High Line．David and Hammond were the only people at the meeting interested in saving the historical structure. Later on，when they asked railway officials to take them up to look at the High Line，they saw a mile and a half of wild flowers growing in the middle of the city，and they realized that the High Line had potential to become a park．There was growing interest in improving urban centers，and so the project quickly gathered funds for construction．
The first section of the High Line opened in 2009 and immediately became popular with tourists and locals alike．Each part of the park has a different atmosphere．Some areas are like balconies with wonderful city views．Other sections have wide lawns and walkways planted with wild flowers．Only the final section remains the way it has been for the last fifty years—a railway line overgrown with weeds．What is the text mainly about?
| A．A park． | B．A train line． |
| C．City transport． | D．A historical monument． |
Which of the following is NOT true about the High Line?
| A．It is above ground level． | B．Only part of the line remains. |
| C．It is now a popular park． | D．Trains still use the line. |
Why did David and Hammond want to save the High Line at first?
| A．They thought it would make a good park． |
| B．They wanted to reopen the train line． |
| C．They thought it had historical value． |
| D．They were interested in improving the city. |
Why were people easily persuaded by David and Hammond’s idea?
| A．They wanted to make cities nicer places． |
| B．They wanted to see the wild flowers too. |
| C．They realized the High Line was important. |
| D．They knew that funds were available． |
We can infer from the last paragraph that the park is ______________.
| A．popular with tourists | B．similar to what it used to be |
| C．various in its design | D．1ike natural countryside |
When another old cave is discovered in the south of France，it is not usual news．Rather，it is art ordinary event．Such discoveries are so frequent these days that hardly anybody pays heed to them．However，when the Lascaux cave complex was discovered in 1940，the world was amazed．Painted directly on its walls were hundreds of scenes showing how people lived thousands of years ago．The scenes show people hunting animals，such as bison or wild cats．Other images show birds and，most noticeably，horses，which appear in more than 300 wall images，by far outnumbering all other animals．
Early artists drawing these animals accomplished a monumental and difficult task．They did not limit themselves to the easily accessible walls but carried their painting materials to spaces that required climbing steep walls or crawling into narrow passages in the Lascaux complex．
Unfortunately，the paintings have been exposed to the destructive action of water and temperature changes，which easily wear the images away．Because the Lascaux caves have many entrances，air movement has also damaged the images inside．
Although they are not out in the open air, where natural light would have destroyed them long ago，many of the images have been destroyed and are barely recognizable．To prevent further damage，the site was closed to tourists in 1963，23 years after it was discovered．What can be the best title for the text?
| A．Wild Animals in Art | B．Hidden Prehistoric Paintings |
| C．Exploring Caves Respectfully | D．Determining the Age of French Caves |
The underlined phrase“pays heed to”in Paragraph 1 probably means _____________．
| A．discovers | B．watches | C．notices | D．buys |
According to the text，which animals appear most often on the cave walls?
| A．Birds | B．Bison | C．Horses | D．Wild cats |
Why was painting inside the Lascaux complex a difficult task?
| A．It was completely dark inside． |
| B．The caves were full of wild animals． |
| C．Painting materials were hard to find． |
| D．Many painting spaces were difficult to reach． |
According to the text，all of the following have caused damage to the paintings except________________.
| A．temperature changes | B．air movement |
| C．water | D．tourists |