Nearly all the tourists who come to southeast France make a tour to Monaco(摩纳哥), too. Lying near the French-Italian border, Monaco is not part of France, but a separate principality(公国), though it is surrounded by its greatest neighbour.
Monaco became a principality in the 16th century after being owned by a family member of a certain Italian king. The French and Italians, however, soon came to “protect” it one after another, until 1861, when it became its own master again.
Facing the blue Mediterranean(地中海), Monaco is mainly made up of two cities, Monaco, where the palace of the prince(王子)stands, and Monte Carlo(蒙特卡洛), which is a wonderful place for tourists. Every year, around half a million people from all parts of the world come to Monaco, nearly 25 times as much as its population.
Believe it or not, Monaco has no soldiers or policemen of its own. Law and order is kept by French police, and French stands for it in its foreign affairs, even the money used in Monaco is franc, too. Monaco is .
| A．another name for Monte Carlo |
| B．mostly visited by French tourists |
| C．surrounded by France |
| D．more related to Italy than to France |
Monaco has a population of .
| A．over 20, 000 | B．20, 000 or so |
| C．more than 25, 000 | D．no more than 20, 000 |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The national income of Monaco depends mainly on France. |
| B．Monaco is famous for having no soldiers or policemen of its own. |
| C．Monaco does not have a seat in the UN because it is too small a country. |
| D．Monte Carlo City seems more important for the existence of this principality. |
The Head of Monaco is .
| A．the King |
| B．the President of France |
| C．a member of the royal family |
| D．the Emperor |
Empathy(同情心) lets us feel another person’s pain and drives us to help. Do any other animals feel empathy? Scientists recently found that rats(老鼠) do, too.
Most people don’t like rats. In many people’s eyes, rats are only bad. But Jean Decety and his partners at the University of Chicago did an experiment. It showed that rats are kind, warm-hearted animals. They can feel each other’s pain.
Scientists placed pairs of rats in plastic cages(笼子) for two weeks. During this time they got to know each other. Then they put one of the rats from each pair into a small container(容器) in the cages. The small container had a door. It was so designed as to fall to the side when the free rat touched it. Many of the trapped(困住的) rats squeaked(吱吱叫) to show their discomfort. The other rats of the pairs could see their suffering(受苦的) friends clearly.
In most pairs, the free rats would become very worried about their friends. They kept trying to save their friends again and again throughout the month. Scientists put the rats’ favorite chocolate in the cages, but the rats didn’t eat it until they had saved their friends successfully. Scientists also found that female rats seemed to act more empathetic than male rats.
“The results are the first to show that rats take action in response to another’s trouble,” Decety said. “Monkeys and chimpanzees have similar behavior. But unlike those animals, rats can be ready used in laboratory studies. They will help us to learn which parts of the brain lead to empathy and helping behavior and whether empathy is natural.” A person with empathy is often _____.
| A．kind-hearted | B．clever | C．active | D．strong |
Why didn’t the free rats eat the chocolate at first?
| A．Because they were not hungry at that time. |
| B．Because chocolate was not their favorite food. |
| C．Because they wanted to save the trapped rats first. |
| D．Because they were afraid that the chocolate was bad. |
Which of the following animals were NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Monkeys. | B．Chimpanzees. | C．Rats. | D．Cats. |
What does the passage mainly tell us?
| A．Rats can feel other animals’ pain. |
| B．Chocolate is rats’ favorite food. |
| C．Rats are empathetic and can feel each other’s pain. |
| D．Female rats are more empathetic than male rats. |
A capsule inn is a kind of cheap and small hotel where people just sleep in rectangular containers(容器). After experiencing popularity in Japan for more than 30 years, capsule inns have now entered the Chinese market. This new style is becoming popular with many visitors, but some are less than what they expected. The capsule inn covers an area of more than 300 square meters, with 68 very small bedrooms for guests to rest. Each room is 2.2 meters long and about 1 meter wide.
As small as the capsules are, they provide more than enough daily necessities(必需品) for visitors. They do have plenty of functions. Each includes independent power sockets, clocks, lights, and flat screen televisions. People can also enjoy wireless Internet service. The basic fee(费用) for each capsule is 28 yuan, and guests will be asked to pay an extra 4 yuan every hour. The highest cost could reach 88 yuan per day.
Ta Zan, capsule inn Manager, said, “Capsule inns are similar to Internet cafes. When they first appeared more than 10 years ago, people thought they might not succeed. But now it’s a common thing in our lives.” He believes that more capsule inns will open around the nation very soon. He is sure about the future of his business.How much will you pay if you want to stay in a capsule inn for 12 hours?
| A．88 yuan | B．76 yuan | C．28 yuan | D．4 yuan. |
What does the underlined word “functions” mean in Chinese?
| A．价格 | B．功能 | C．方法 | D．需求 |
For whom, a capsule inn is a good choice while traveling around?
| A．A family who like to cook by themselves. |
| B．A young student who likes watching TV or surfing on the Internet. |
| C．An old man who would like to stay in a big house with his wife. |
| D．A business man who wants to have a meeting with others. |
Why does the manager compare(比较) his inn to Internet cafes?
| A．Because he thinks they are similar in shape. |
| B．Because he knows Internet cafes were popular 10 years ago. |
| C．Because he thinks capsule inns are a common thing in our lives. |
| D．Because he believes both will have good development. |
A great man married a woman and they had a little lovely girl.
When the little girl was growing up, the man usually hugged her and said, “I love you, little girl.” The Little girl would say, “I’m not a little girl any more.” Then the man would laugh, “But to me, you’ll always be my little girl.”
The little girl later left her home and went into the world. No matter where she was, the man would call her and say, “I love you, little girl.”
One day the little girl received an unexpected phone call. The great man became ill. He couldn’t talk, smile, walk, hug or dance.
So she went to the side of the great man. He looked at her and tried to speak, but he could not. She sat next to the great man, and drew her arms around his useless shoulders(肩膀). Her head on his chest(胸膛), she thought of many good memories. She felt sad as she couldn’t hear the words of love that had comforted her.
And then she heard from within the man, the beat of heart. The magic happened. She heard what she wanted to hear. His heart beat out the words that his mouth could no longer say… I love you, little girl… I love you, little girl.When the little girl said, “I’m not a little girl any more.” , the great man ______.
| A．felt sad | B．was happy | C．was angry | D．couldn’t stand |
What did the man do after the little girl left her home?
| A．He left her wife. |
| B．He learned to sing and dance |
| C．He left his home and went into the world. |
| D．He would call her and showed his love to her. |
The little girl went to her father because ______.
| A．he became ill |
| B．she missed her parents |
| C．she made lot of money outside |
| D．she didn’t get his father’s calls |
What can we learn from what the girl had done after seeing his father?
| A．She knew his father would die soon. |
| B．She felt sorry for leaving his father. |
| C．She loved her father deeply too. |
| D．She was sure his father would be well soon. |
| Lost Cat Please help me to find our cat. His name is Fluff and he’s a Persian cat. The photo is an old one—Fluff is bigger now. Fluff went missing from our home on Christmas Day of 2011. If you find him, please phone me at 91843568. I’m Jack Lim and my address is: 32 Lavender Lane, Singapore 532981. Reward for finding Fluff: $ 50.00 |
The name of the cat is ______.
| A．Persian | B．Fluff | C．Lavender | D．Jack |
If you find the cat, you can call its owner at ______.
| A．532981 | B．918435 | C．91843568 | D．84356891 |
This passage is most probably from a ______.
| A．map | B．dictionary | C．guidebook | D．newspaper |
Brenda Bongos was a happy, artistic girl. She had one big ambition—to play the drums in a band. But one big problem lay in her way. To be good enough to play in a band, Brenda had to practice a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people. Many of them are sick. She knew that the sound of beating drums would really get on their nerves. So, she had tried playing in the strangest places: a basement, a kitchen, and even in a shower. But there was always someone it would annoy.
One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there's no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a sort of musical astronaut.
With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble. This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out all the air inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit（成套设备） and a chair. Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble, turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child.
It wasn't long before Brenda Bongos came very famous. Many people came to see her play in her space bubble. Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts. Her fame spread so much that the government suggested that she be part of a unique space journey. Finally, Brenda was a real musical astronaut, and had gone far beyond her first ambition of playing drums in a band.
Years later, when asked how she had achieved all this, she thought for a moment, and said: ''If those old people next – door hadn't mattered so much to me, I wouldn't have found a solution, and none of this would have ever happened.''Why did Brenda try to play in the strangest places?
| A．Because she didn't want others to hear her play |
| B．Because she didn't mean to disturb others. |
| C．Because she didn't have her own room |
| D．Because she didn’t like her neighbors. |
Brenda started to give concerts _______.
| A．after she practiced in her space bubble |
| B．when she became part of the unique space journey |
| C．after she became a real musical astronaut |
| D．when people came to see her in the space bubble |
Brenda became famous because _______.
| A．she was good at music and science |
| B．she became a real musical astronaut |
| C．she invented a special way of practice |
| D．she played well and had a talent |
Which of the following can be used to describe Brenda?
| A．Kind, hardworking and clever |
| B．Brave, kind and hardworking. |
| C．Lovely, brave and kind |
| D．Nervous, kind and clever. |
It can be inferred from the text that: " _______".
| A．He laughs best who laughs last |
| B．It's never too old to learn |
| C．Two heads are better than one |
| D．One good turn deserves another |