Two weeks before Christmas, Mother told me we were going to my grandmother's house for the holiday. Grandma and Uncle Henry lived on a farm some 15 miles out of town They had no electricity or running water and _ what I considered the "good things" in life. They made no plans for Christmas When Christmas Eve arrived, Mom told me in her best "I-mean-it" voice to _ all the decorations from our tree. She packed those up all the materials for a _ turkey dinner.
Christmas morning perfectly with the sun shining brightly across a fresh blanket of snow. _ I was angry silently in the backseat of the car as we made our _ to grandma's. This was going to be the _ Christmas ever! Grandma was _ to see us as we walked up to her door. "What on earth are you doing here?" she said." We weren't expecting . It's Christmas, and I don't even have a turkey to cook for you." "I knew ." Mom said as we set boxes of goodies(好吃的) on the kitchen table. "That's _ we brought all with us." "We _ have a tree" Mom insisted. " what will we do with all these decorations?" Uncle Henry quickly caught Mom's spirit. He called me to join him, and we found a perfect Christmas tree in the woods. Soon the house _ fresh and piney as we decorated the pine tree, and the day a festive air . The turkey dinner was very good, too. I was actually beginning to enjoy this unusual Christmas day!
Dessert was almost forgotten _ Mom came out with the final surprise-a flaming (色彩鲜明的)pudding! "Merry Christmas, mother," Mom said. "Dear me!" Grandma said with her mouth wide open. "I haven't seen a flaming pudding since I left England before I was married." Tears of filled her eyes. I could not keep the tears . my eyes, either. I knew then that Mom had also given me the best Christmas present ever.
She had taught me what a beautiful thing it is to give.
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A. In short B Therefore C. However D. Or rather
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In Europe, many people make friends between their countries through town twinning. Town or city twinning means two towns in different countries agree and decide to become “twins” with a sister city relationship.
The people find pen friends in the twin town. They exchange newspapers and stamps. The school teachers discuss teaching methods with the teachers in the twin town. Officials visit the twin town for celebrations. Ordinary people travel to the twin town, too, but not very often if it is far away.
Sometimes, schools even exchange their classes for two or three weeks! For example, German middle school students study for a while at the school in their twin town in Britain, staying with British families. A few months later, their British friends come to study in Germany.
Many British towns are so pleased with the results of the twinning that they set out to find more than one twin town!
Tonbridge, a small town in Kent, for example, has twin town in both Germany and France. Richmond near London has relationships with Germany, France and even a town in a Balkan(巴尔干半岛的) country!
Town twinning can help make friends. It helps students improve their language skills, and also helps people to understand the differences between nations.Twin towns develop ______.
| A．between European countries and China |
| B．in the English-speaking countries only |
| C．in the same country |
| D．between different countries |
How many countries are mentioned in the passage?
| A．4 | B．5 | C．6 | D．7 |
One of the advantages of town twinning is _____.
| A．to earn more money |
| B．to set up schools |
| C．to improve students’ language skills |
| D．to develop industry and agriculture |
As you are students of English, it’s very possible that you’ll be interested in England. That’s where the language was first spoken. But England is often called by other names. This often confuses people and I wonder if you know what these names mean. So, now I would like to tell you about this matter of names. I believe that you have heard people use the names—England, Britain or Great Britain. Let’s see what each of these names means.
If you look at a map of Europe, you’ll see a group of islands--one larger island off the northwest coast, one smaller and many tiny ones. These make up what is called the British Isles. The largest island of the British Isles is Britain. It is also called Great Britain. The smaller island is Ireland.
Britain is divided into three parts: Scotland, Wales and England. But sometimes the word “England” is used instead of “Britain”. Why so?
In ancient times, what is Britain now used to be three different countries. People in these different countries spoke different languages. Over many years the three countries became one. England is the largest and richest of the three and it has the most people. So the English people take it for granted that their own name stands for the whole island.
There’s another thing that confuses people: sometimes you may hear people say “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. That is the official name of the country. Northern Ireland is only one sixth of the island of Ireland. The rest of the island is an independent state, called the Republic of Ireland. So we have the names of “England”, “Britain”, “Great Britain”, and “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. Now do you know what each of them means?English was first spoken in ____.
| A．Britain | B．England | C．Great Britain | D．Ireland |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
| A．Wales is the richest of the three. |
| B．Scotland is the largest of the three. |
| C．Sometimes England is used instead of Britain. |
| D．Britain is the only name of the largest island of British Isles. |
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is _____.
| A．part of Britain |
| B．part of British Isles |
| C．the official name of the whole country |
| D．the largest country of all mentioned in the passage |
Which of the following is the best title?
| A．Students of English |
| B．Different Names of England |
| C．Different Languages Spoken in England |
| D．The Republic of Ireland |
A community garden is a shared garden. A group of people get together and share a piece of land for their garden. This could be an empty place, or simply one at a neighbor's house.
Community gardens are not limited to urban locations. Many rural communities share garden space as well . Some communities will divide their garden into individual plots and others will work on the entire garden together. You may find some community gardens on rooftops. This provides a platform for city citizen, where they can communicate with nature even when there no yard space.
community garden can be used to grow flowers and other plants as well as produce. Some community gardeners choose to sell their homegrown goods. Others choose to use it themselves and some do a combination of both . Some community gardeners donate part of their produce to local food banks . Besides, homegrown produce is also much fresher and tastier.
When you belong to a community garden it also gives you a chance to socialize with your neighbor. You'll develop a better sense of involvement and belonging. You'll be communicating with people of similar interests, as well as people with different ideas .Community gardening often leads to setting up other community projects.
It brings a sense of achievement to know that you've taken apiece of waste land and turned it into something beautiful .The entire neighborhood will enjoy the benefits of your bard work.
A community garden is an opportunity for education as well .You may learn from your fellow gardeners .You can also ask local children to join you .This gives them a way to show their creativity and keep them busy, and points them in the right direction.People can find a community garden________
| A．near the river |
| B．only in rural areas |
| C．only in urban locations |
| D．both in rural and urban communities |
Which of the following is NOT one of the benefits of the community garden?
| A．A sense of achievement. |
| B．A sense of involvement and belonging |
| C．An opportunity for education |
| D．A method to ease urban crowdedness |
According to the passage, a community garden_________
| A．will replace other community projects |
| B．is especially suitable for rural areas |
| C．can sometimes be on the top of a roof |
| D．can only be shared where there is no yard space |
What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk abort?
A. The produce of a community garden.
B. The location of a community garden.
C The definition of a community garden
D. The popularity of a community garden.It can be learned from the passage that a community garden can __________
A. make it unnecessary to go shopping
B improve your study a lot at school
C. make you richer and healthier
D. help you to avoid feeling lonely
This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers from all over the world will spend about ten months in US homes through an exchange program. They will attend US schools ,meet US teenagers, and form impressions of the real American teenagers . American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.
Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George's family . In turn, George's son, Mike, spent a year in Fred's home in America.
Fred, knew little German when he arrived, but after two month's study, the language began to come to him . School was completely different from what he had expected -much harder. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States.
"Back home ,you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time ,In Germany ,you walk ,but you soon learn to like it."
At the same time ,in America ,Mike ,a friendly German boy ,was also forming his idea ."I suppose I should criticize American schools ,"he says ."It is far too easy by our level .But I have to say that I like it very much .In Germany we do nothing but study . Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens .There ought to be some middle ground between the two."The whole exchange program is mainly to _________
| A．help teenagers in other countries know the real America |
| B．send students in America to travel in Germany |
| C．let students learn something about other countries |
| D．have teenagers learn new languages |
What did Fred and Mike agree on?
| A．America has better traffic. |
| B．German schools were harder than American schools. |
| C．Americans and Germans were both friendly |
| D．There were more cars on the streets in America. |
What is particular in American schools ?
| A．There is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings. |
| B．There are a lot of after-school activities. |
| C．Students usually take 14 subjects in all. |
| D．Students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car |
What did Mike think after experiencing the American school life?
| A．A better education should include something good from both America and Germany. |
| B．German schools trained students to be better citizens |
| C．American schools were not as good as German schools. |
| D．The easy life in the American school was more helpful to students. |
The underlined word “criticize” in the last paragraph can be replaced by"_________"
| A．praise | B．regret | C．ignore | D．accuse |
The Convention(公约)concerning the protection of world cultural and natural heritage appeared from a need to call for international cooperation to protect the world's natural and scenic areas and historic sites for present and the future generations.
In 1959 there was international concern over the flooding of the Abu Simbel temples, a treasure of ancient Egyptian civilization, to build the Aswan High Dam in Egypt. Through an international campaign by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) on the request of Egypt and Sudan, resources were found to move the temples to a new site. In 1965,a conference at the White House in Washington DC, USA called for a "World Heritage Trust" and international cooperation to protect "the world's superb natural and scenic areas and historic sites for the present and the future". In 1969, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) developed similar proposals for its members .Therefore, the Convention was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1972. By regarding heritage as both cultural and natural, the Convention reminds us of the ways in which people interact with nature , and of the basic need to keep the balance between the two.
The Convention identifies the natural or cultural sites on the World Heritage List, and sets out their role in protecting them .Although the emphasis has been on sites and natural features of "outstanding universal value", each country promises not only to conserve the World Heritage sites situated in its country, but also to protect and conserve its cultural and natural heritage.
There is also a "List of World Heritage in Danger" which are sites threatened by serious and specific dangers caused by changes in the use or ownership of the land , wars or natural disasters.What is the purpose of the World Heritage Convention according to the passage?
| A．To call for international cooperation to help poor people. |
| B．To protect the world's natural and cultural heritage. |
| C．To save the natural resouces for next generation in the world. |
| D．To raise money for the endangered heritage in the world. |
What can we infer from the second paragraph in the passage?
| A．The history of the UNESCO is very long. |
| B．The World Heritage Convention is not accepted by people. |
| C．The Abu Simbel temples in Egypt are moved to a new site. |
| D．The adoption of the World Heritage Convention takes al long time. |
The last two paragraphs mainly tell us __________.
| A．the detailed purpose of the World Heritage Convention |
| B．how to make a list of world heritage in danger |
| C．how to make a world heritage list |
| D．the importance of making two lists |
Which of the following has the same meaning as the underlined word "conserve"?
| A．Pretend. | B．Prevent. | C．Preserve. | D．Prepare. |
According to Paragraph 4, there are many sites in danger for reasons EXCEPT________.
| A．abuse of land | B．conflicts | C．lack of money | D．natural disasters |