Today，people all over the world are moving out of small villages in the country to go and live in big，noisy cities.They are moving from the peaceful hills，mountains，fields，rivers and streams of the countryside to the busy world of streets，buildings，traffic and crowds.This movement from rural areas to urban_areas has been going on for over two hundred years.
In many countries，the main reason why people come to live in towns and cities is work.After one or two large factories have been built in or near a town，people come to find work，and soon an industrial area begins to grow.There is usually a residential area nearby，where the factory workers can live.The families of these workers need schools，hospitals and shops，so more people come to live in the area to provide these services and a city grows.
In every major city in the world，there is a business district where the big companies have their main offices.In the United States，this area is usually in the city centre.It is here that you can see the huge skyscraper office blocks.The people who work here often travel a long way to work each day.Many of them live in the suburbs of the city，far away from the industrial area and the city centre.Some suburbs are very pleasant，with nice houses and big gardens.There are usually parks for children to play in and large department stores where you can buy all you need.
But what is the future of the big cities? Will they continue to get bigger? Perhaps not.Some major cities have actually become smaller in the last ten years，and it is quite possible that one day we will see people moving out of the major cities and back into smaller towns and villages.We can easily know that the underlined phrase “urban areas” means________.
| A．areas of the countryside |
| B．areas of a town or city |
| C．areas near the countryside |
| D．areas near a town or city |
Why do people move to live in cities or towns?
| A．Because they can live more comfortably there. |
| B．Because they prefer a noisy life to a peaceful life. |
| C．Because they want to find work. |
| D．Because they are sure of having a better life there. |
In a residential area，you can see________.
| A．rows of houses，schools and shops |
| B．many offices and factories |
| C．a lot of factories and farms |
| D．many houses with offices and factories |
In the United States many people work in the centre of a big city________.
| A．while living on the faraway edge of the city |
| B．and live there |
| C．but live in another city |
| D．but live far away out of the city |
My wife passed away seven and a half years ago, and I went through a huge depression (消沉), the worst time in my life. I even wanted to end my life. I continued to work as a small-town doctor at my medical clinic in Kilauea, Hawaii. My kids had gone to live on the mainland, and I was alone. On a family trip, we turned on the TV and saw the second plane crash into the World Trade Center. I said to my kids, “I’m going to Afghanistan.” International Medical Corps sent me to set up 20 clinics in some provinces where people had no health care. Eventually, the clinics were serving 27,000 patients a month. I had such a sense of accomplishment, a sense of purpose. My depression went completely away.
I go wherever disasters strike: Indonesia after the tsunami, Pakistan after the earthquake. I was just in Kenya. After their presidential election, at least a thousand people were killed and hundreds of thousands were forced out. We set up mobile clinics in an area with 19,000 refugees (难民).Measles broke out, one of the biggest killers of kids in refugee camps, and it spread like wildfire. Water and medical equipment were also problems.
When my wife passed away, I thought my life was done. But really, it was just getting started. At the end of her life, my wife fell into a coma (昏迷). I held her head in my hands and told her of all the places we would visit, the exciting adventures we would have. I think about this moment many times during my “adventures”. I did not know then how prophetic (先知的) those words would be. She is with me still. The first country where the author provided people with medical care is _____
| A．Indonesia | B．Pakistan | C．Kenya | D．Afghanistan |
The underlined word “Measles” in Paragraph 2 probably refers to ____
| A．a kind of fire | B．a kind of polluted water | C．a kind of medicine | D．a kind of disease |
The author and his wife ______.
| A．experienced a lot of exciting adventures |
| B．loved each other very much |
| C．lived on the mainland |
| D．would travel to many places together |
From this passage we know that the author _____
| A．is a famous doctor | B．got over his wife’s death |
| C．is always in depression | D．experienced many disasters |
Which of the following word can best describe the story in this passage?
| A．Sad. | B．Exciting. | C．Inspiring. | D．Disastrous. |
Before Alaska became part of the U.S., it had been owned by Russia. Trading posts and small settlements were scattered along the coast. The rest of land was left unexplored. The Russians were mainly interested in the wealth of furs from the vast herds of seals they found there.
By the mid-1800’s, most of the seal herds had been wiped out, and Russia no longer wanted to keep Alaska. William Seward, Secretary of State for President Johnson, believed the United States should buy Alaska from Russia. President Johnson wasn’t so sure it was a wise way to spend U.S. money, but he agreed to let Seward discuss it with the Russians. Acting quickly, Seward made a deal. On March 30, 1867, he signed an agreement for the U.S. to pay seven million dollars for the land.
Many people thought it was a foolish waste of America’s money. They called the deal “Seward’s folly”. Then gold was discovered in Alaska and public opinion changed quickly.
Seward did not live to see the true value of Alaska. He died in 1872, five years after making the purchase (购买). Each year, Alaska’s natural resources(资源) have brought in many times the $7,000,000 paid for it. Natural gas, coal, oil, lumber, seafood and other minerals, besides the gold first found, have made it a valuable addition to the United States. In 1959, Alaska became the 49th state of the United States. The Russians wanted to sell Alaska because ______.
| A．they thought it wasn’t a good place |
| B．they thought it didn’t belong to Russia |
| C．they couldn’t find enough seals there |
| D．they wanted to earn more money from the U.S. |
When Seward signed the agreement, many people thought ______.
| A．it was a successful deal | B．it had its true value |
| C．he wasted U.S. money | D．he was clever |
Which of the following things was found first in Alaska?
| A．Gas. | B．Coal. | C．Oil. | D．Gold. |
Before 1959, the United States had ______.
| A．37 states | B．48 states | C．49 states | D．50 states |
The best title for this passage would probably be ______.
| A．Alaska, a beautiful place | B．Alaska with natural resources |
| C．Alaska, the 49th state of the U.S. | D．Alaska, home to seals |
The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September 1666 ．In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city , where most of the houses were wooden and close together ．Over one hundred people became homeless , but only a few lost their lives .
The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King’s baker（面包师）in Pudding Lane ．The baker , with his wife and family , was able to get out through a window into the roof ．A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery（面包房）into a small hotel next door ．Then it spread quickly into Thames Street ．That was the beginning.
By eight o’ clock three hundred houses were on fire ．On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames ．Tuesday was the worst day ．The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Paul’s and the Guildhall among them .
Samuel Pepys , the famous writer , writer about the fire , “People threw their things into the river ．Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment ．Birds fell out of the air because of the heat .”
The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire．With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.
After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect(建筑师), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone．In fact, the streets are still narrow, but he did build more than fifty churches, among them the new St Paul’s
The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.The fire began in .
| A．a hotel | B．the palace | C．Pudding Lane | D．Thames Street |
The underlined word‘family’in the second paragraph means .
| A．home | B．children | C．wife and husband | D．wife and children |
It seems that the writer fo the text was most sorry for the fact that ________.
| A．some people lost their lives |
| B．the birds in the sky were killed by the fire |
| C．many famous buildings were destroyed |
| D．the King’s bakery was burned down |
Why did the writer cite(引用)Samuel Pepys?
| A．Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire. |
| B．Because Pepys also wrote about the fire. |
| C．To show that poor people suffered most. |
| D．To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire. |
How was the fire put out according to the text?
| A．The King and his soldiers came to help. |
| B．All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed. |
| C．People managed to get enough water from the river. |
| D．Houses standing in the direction of the fire were pulled down. |
Without mutual(相互的)respect, any relationship will be an unhappy one . People who respect each other: a) value each other’s opinions, b) listen to each other, and c) disagree without screams or insults（侮辱）. And remember, your parents have lived longer than you—don’t discount their experience and knowledge.
Your parents want to know what’s going on in your life. If you don’t tell them they won’t know when you need their help or whether they can trust you. Tell them what you’re doing, share your thoughts and feelings with them, and ask for their advice for your problems( you don’t have to follow it). Communication builds closeness. Trust is your key to freedom. The way to build trust is through honesty and responsibility. Honesty means you don’t lie or manipulate(作假). Responsibility means that you are reliable(可依赖的) and make good choices to use good judgment. When your parents trust you, it’s a lot easier for them to say “Yes.”
These guidelines(指导方针) work both ways. If sometimes, your parents break any of these guidelines, talk to them about it. Pick a time when you are both calm and feeling good toward each other(never when you are angry). Then , explain to them what they did, how it makes you feel, and what you’d like them to do instead.
Unfortunately, these guidelines don’t always work. Since we can only control what we do, and not what our parents do, sometimes we just cannot change a bad relationship. If this is the case, try to use these guidelines to at least improve things a little, and talk with a trusted adult who may be able to help youWhat’s the probable meaning of the underlined word” discount” in the first paragraph?
| A．To think or say that something is not important or not true. |
| B．To disagree with somebody’s opinions. |
| C．To respect somebody’s opinions |
| D．To accept somebody suggestions. |
The main idea of the second paragraph is about_______
| A．feelings | B．advice | C．closeness | D．communication |
From this passage we know that the writer may be________.
| A．an editor | B．an expert | C．a doctor | D．a teacher |
The main purpose of the passage is_______.
| A．to show that your parents want to know what’s going on in your life. |
| B．to discuss how to have great relationship with your parents. |
| C．to discuss how to talk with a trusted adult who may be able to help you |
| D．to discuss how to respect your parents. |
Life gets noisier every day and very few people can be free from noise of some sort or another. It doesn’t matter where you live－ in the middle of a modern city, or a faraway village the chances that you will be disturbed by jet aeroplanes, transistor radios, oil-powered engines, etc, are almost everywhere. We seem to be getting used to noise, too. Some people feel quite lonely without background music while they are working.
Scientific tests have shown that total silence can be very frightening experience for human beings. However, some people enjoy listening to pop music which is very loud, and this can do harm to their eardrums(耳鼓). The noise level in some disco is far above the usual safety level for heavy industrial areas.
One recent report about noise and concentration(专心) suggested that although a lot of people say that any noise disturbs their concentration , what really affects their ability to concentrate is a change in the level of noise. It goes on to say that a background noise, which doesn’t change too much (music, for example ) may even help people to concentrate.The best title for this passage is________.
| A．Noisy Life | B．Background Noise |
| C．Disturbed Concentration | D．Changeable Noise |
From this passage, the pollution of noise__________.
| A．doesn’t matter much |
| B．has become worse everywhere |
| C．has become better in big cities |
| D．has become better in villages |
“Background music” in the passage means___________.
| A．music played in the concert |
| B．a kind of noise coming into your ears |
| C．music helps people to concentrate |
| D．music played while people are working |
Scientists have discovered that what prevents people from concentrating is _________.
| A．any kind of noise |
| B．great changes in level of noise |
| C．background noise |
| D．various background music |