The Cambridge Science Festival Curiosity Challenge
Dare to Take the Curiosity Challenge!
The Cambridge Science Festival (CSF) is pleased to inform you of the sixth annual Curiosity Challenge. The challenge invites, even dares school students between the ages of 5 and 14 to create artwork or a piece of writing that shows their curiosity and how it inspires them to explore their world.
Students are being dared to draw a picture, write an article, take a photo or write a poem that shows what they are curious about. To enter the challenge, all artwork or pieces of writing should be sent to the Cambridge Science Festival, MIT Museum, 265 Mass Avenue. Cambridge 02139 by Friday, February 8th.
Students who enter the Curiosity Challenge and are selected as winners will be honored at a special ceremony during the CSF on Sunday, April 21st. Guest speaker will also present prizes to the students. Winning entries will be published in a book. Student entries will be exhibit and prizes will be given. Families of those who take part will be included in the celebration and brunch will be served.
Between March 10th and March 15th, each winner will be given the specifics of the closing ceremony and the Curiosity Challenge celebration. The program guidelines and other related information are available at: http://cambridgesciencefestival.org.Who can take in the Curiosity Challenge?
| A．School students. |
| B．Cambridge locals. |
| C．CSF winners. |
| D．MIT artists. |
When will the prize-giving ceremony be held?
| A．On February 8th. |
| B．On March 10th |
| C．On March 15th.. |
| D．On April 21st. |
What type of writing is this text?
| A．An exhibition guide. |
| B．An art show review. |
| C．An announcement. |
| D．An official report. |
Very few people were coming to eat at the White Rose Restaurant, and its owner did not know what to do. The price was reasonable and the food was of good quality, but nobody seemed to want to eat there.
Then he did something that changed all that, and in a few weeks his restaurant is always full of men with their lady friends. Whenever a gentleman came in with a lady, a smiling waiter gave each of them a menu(菜单), The menu looked exactly the same on the outside, but there was an important difference inside. The menu that the waiter gave to the man supplied the correct price for each dish and each bottle of wine. while the menu that he gave to the lady supplied a much higher price! So when the man calmly ordered dish after dish and wine after wine, the lady thought he was much more generous(慷慨) than he really was.
31. Why didn’t people come to the White Rose Restaurant to eat at first?
A. Because the price was high. B. Because the food was too cheap.
C. Because the food was not good. D. The passage didn’t mention.
32. According to the passage we can conclude that the people who eat at this restaurant are mostly _______________.
A. poor old people B. rich young people
C. men with their girl friends D. parents with their children
33. The difference between the two kinds of menu lie in ______________.
A. the color B. the shape
C. the price D. the food
34. According to the passage we can infer that when men with their girl friends eat at this restaurant, the food was paid ___________________.
A. always by the ladies only B. always by the men only
C. sometimes by the ladies D. either by the men or by the ladies
35. According to the passage we can know that, generally speaking, ____________.
A. men are more generous than women B. women are more generous than men
C. men like their lady friends to be generous.
D. women like their men friends to be generous
Ⅱ阅读(共两节，满分50分)
第一节：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
In Europe, people hold the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right throughout the meal, a system that is generally agreed to be more efficient than the American zigzag（曲折的）method. Americans hold both the fork and the knife in their right hands throughout the meal, so they continually change their forks to the left hand when they have to cut their meat. It seems to be funny for the Europeans to see Americans busy changing their dinner sets, making a lot of noises.
A few explanations for this American style are as follows:
(1) Americans are practical and efficient. Since most of us are right-handed, it is reasonable to keep our working tools at all times in the right hand that can use them most efficiently.
(2) Americans, the master of the New World are rebels（叛逆者）.They use the zigzag method to break the rules in the Old World and in this way they are thumbing their nose at Mother England. Americans are a restless kind. They do not like to sit in one spot for very long when dining.
(3) Forced to do so, they respond by “playing” with the silver.
Whatever the reason for the practice, it is now certainly as American as apple pie. Europeans recognize this and are quick to attack it as evidence of American innocence（无知）of form. Arguments against the zigzag method rest not only on grounds of efficiency but also on those of tradition. In Old World dining, the knife is held in the right hand continually because it can serve as an instant defense against the uninvited intruders（入侵者）.However, such alertness（警觉） is out of place in the New World, as every American believes that this is the home of the brave. Americans juggle their silverware, perhaps, to show that they are not afraid and that one of them holding a fork is worth any number of them holding blades（刀）.
26 Americans use _______ to hold their fork to pick up the salad.
A. the right hand B. the left hand
C. both hands D. either of the two hands
27. As the masters of the New World, Americans use a different cutting method from that in the Old World to _________________.
A. show their independence of Mother England
B. show their disrespect to Mother England
C. add a new tradition to those in Mother England
D. show off their creativeness to Mother England
28. In the sentence, the word “juggle” probably means ____________.
A. hold B. play with C. pick up D. lay down
29. Also in the last sentence, the two “them” refer to ____________.
A. Americans B. Europeans
C. Americans and Europeans separately
D. Europeans and Americans separately
30. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. European people hold the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right hand.
B. The zigzag eating method is related to American characteristics.
C. The zigzag eating method has become an American feature.
D. European people will use the American method because of its efficiency.
In jokes, the chicken only crosses the road. In Australia, cane toads (蔗蟾) use roads to travel.
A new study finds that Cane toads are using roads to spread across the continent. They take shelter overnight close to the open corridors (走廊), and then hit the road each evening in their damaging way.
Cane toads were brought into Australia from Hawaii in 1935 to control the spread of beetles (甲虫) that were destroying Australia's sugar cane crop. They are now moving into new places at the speed of 30 miles a year.
Toads can grow as large as dinner plates and can weigh up to 4.5 pounds. Their heads and backsides are covered with rows of warts (疣). They are known to kill snakes, lizards and other animals, including pet dogs. They have no natural enemy in Australia.
According to a research, toads make slower progress through thick plants than along open spaces and they hop (跳) alongside roads and fences whenever possible. Toads use long corridors that are well-suited for them to travel long distances.
Another study recently found that toads have evolved (进化形成) longer legs in recent years and that this is also helping them in their spread.
Efforts to kill toads have been largely unsuccessful, although scientists tried their best.
Another new finding suggests ways to slow down its population. For example, roadside borders can be changed to make them less attractive to toads, or allowing thick plants to grow along the sides of highways, thus forcing toads onto the road of themselves. Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Ways to kill cane toads in Australia. |
| B．Cane toads have evolved a lot in Australia. |
| C．Australian cane toads hit the road. |
| D．Worse environment forces toads to travel. |
At first, cane toads were brought to Australia to_______.
| A．kill snakes, lizards and other animals |
| B．stop pet dogs from spreading |
| C．protect the sugar cane crop |
| D．hate a scientific research |
According to the passage, the ways to slow down the population of toads are based on the fact that cane toads_________.
| A．move slower through thick plants |
| B．have no natural enemy in Australia |
| C．mainly live near the roadside |
| D．like traveling at night |
The underlined word "They" in Paragraph 3 refers to “________”.
| A．Beetles | B．Cane toads |
| C．Australia's sugar cane crop | D．New places |
Two Chinese living in South Africa were killed in a robbery (抢劫) on February 5, bringing the total number of Chinese killed in the country to four in less than a month.
Chen Jianqing, 35, from Southeast China's Fujian Province, who ran a shop with her husband in a small town 45 kilometers away from South African capital Johannesburg, was shot dead.
"One of her business, partners died later in the hospital," the Chinese consulate (领事馆) officials in Johannesburg said yesterday. "Local police are trying to find more information about the case. And we have told the victims' (遇难者的) relatives and are helping them come to Johannesburg,". consul Wu Gang told China Daily. Chen's husband was injured during the robbery but did not suffer seriously, said Wu.
The robbery happened at about 5:45 pm local time and the armed robbers ran away after taking more than 50,000 South African rand (US $8,200). and some jewellery, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The killing happened just three days after Chen Jingmin, a 23-year-old man from Qingdao, Shandong Province, was shot dead north outside Johannesburg by armed robbers. On January 10, a Hong Kong businessman was attacked and robbed at his home in Johannesburg and died the next day in the hospital. All these happened just in less than a month.
According to records, there were more than 40 robberies attacking Chinese in South Africa last year, in which eight were killed. More than 100,000 Chinese are doing various kinds of businesses in South Africa, according to a Chinese official in the country. An increasing number of them are becoming targets( 目标) of robbers after buying big houses or luxury cars, the official said.The passage is probably ______.
| A．a business story | B．a scientific article |
| C．a newspaper report | D．an official document |
Who were killed on February 5 in a small town near Johannesburg?
| A．Chen Jianqing and her husband. |
| B．Chen Jianqing and one of her partners. |
| C．Chen Jingmin and a Hong Kong businessman. |
| D．Chen Jingmin and one of his relatives. |
How many Chinese were killed in South Africa since January ?
| A．2 | B．4. | C．5. | D．8. |
______________ are more likely to be robbed in South Africa.
| A．Those Chinese who depend too much on local police |
| B．Those Chinese who live near the capital of South Africa |
| C．Those Chinese who open shops selling Chinese goods |
| D．Those Chinese who leave others the impression of being rich |
The ad most probably comes from the “_______”part of the newspaper.
| A．Education | B．Farming | C．Travel | D．History |
Which of the following ways can offer you enough information about the celebration in Plano?
| A．Calling 214-599-7733. |
| B．Visiting5445 Independence Pkwy. |
| C．Visiting 5445 Beltline Rd. |
| D．Calling 214-599-7783. |
The purpose of the ad is to _____
| A．tell readers what Walt Disney is |
| B．encourage readers to attend a Disney celebration |
| C．look for helpers for the celebration |
| D．announce a plan of a Disney celebration |
According to the ad, AAA Travel is_____________.
| A．the name of an agent |
| B．a way of traveling |
| C．a way of celebration |
| D．a kind of activity held by Disney |