Can you imagine living in the desert for a whole year, watching the activities of a group of busy ants? Deborah Gordon did exactly that. She finally found out that there were four main groups of workers in the ant team: cleaners, haulers(搬运工), gatherers and security (安全) ants. Each group did their own job to finish the task of the whole team.
Cleaner ants carried waste food from inside the nest to outside. Hauler ants walked on the top of the nest and cleared rubbish. Gatherer ants went out to find food for the whole team and security ants fought against anyone who wanted to hurt the members of the team.
While she was watching the ants in the desert, Deborah found that the most interesting part was watching the ants dealing with difficulties, such as fighting against other insects that wanted to destroy their nest, or a big fire. At those moments, they would all stop what they were doing and go to help security ants to protect their home.
What do we do when people around us meet difficulties? What have we done to turn our world into a better place? It’s time to think. If there was a fire near their home, the groups of ants would________.
| A．just do their own job |
| B．run away at once |
| C．help to fight against the fire |
| D．go back into their nest |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Cleaner ants carried waste food from outside the nest to the inside. |
| B．Gatherer ants went out to find food for themselves. |
| C．Each group did their own job when meeting difficulties. |
| D．There were some other insects that wanted to destroy their nest. |
The writer mainly wants to tell us____________.
| A．everyone should help others when they meet difficulties |
| B．there were four groups of workers in the ant team |
| C．how Deborah Gordon lived in the desert |
| D．Deborah Gordon is a brave woman |
Foolish(silly) Freddie lived in a small village. The people of the village laughed at him. They liked to show visitors how silly Freddie was. They thought this was a funny thing to do.
One day, a visitor came to the village.
"Watch this", a villager said, and called to Freddie. "Come and play a game, Freddie, " he shouted. Freddie walked slowly towards him, a silly smile on his face.
"Look! Freddie, "the villager said, "I’ve got something for you." He showed Freddie a dollar coin and a much larger 50-cent coin."Which would you like?" he asked Freddie.
Freddie took the 50-cent coin at once.
The villager laughed."See how foolish he is," he said."He always does that. He’s too silly to learn anything." He walked away, leaving Freddie with the visitor.
The visitor felt sorry for Freddie and said to him, "Although the 50-cent coin is bigger than the＄1 coin, the＄1 coin is worth(值) much more.Two times as much."
"I know that," Freddie said."But once I take the＄1coin, they’ll stop playing the game."根据第一段The people of the village laughed at him. They liked to show visitors how silly Freddie was.描述,可知选D
根据第一段They liked to show visitors how silly Freddie was. 描述,可知选A
根据最后一段The visitor felt sorry for Freddie and said to him, "Although the 50-cent coin is bigger than the＄1 coin, the＄1 coin is worth(值) much more.描述,可知他认为弗雷迪不知道这些硬币的价值.故选D
根据短文最后一句话"I know that," Freddie said."But once I take the＄1coin, they’ll stop playing the game."可知弗雷迪这样做只是为了让人们不断地给他钱,故选C,他其实很聪明.
这篇短文主要描述了一个被村民们认为很傻的人,但是实际上这个人很聪明.故选B,foolish用引号括起来,表示相反的含义.
People laughed at Freddie because__________.
| A．he often made up jokes | B．he didn’t like money |
| C．he looked very funny | D．they thought he was a fool |
The villagers wanted to show the visitors___________.
| A．how silly Freddie was | B．how clever Freddie was |
| C．How kind people were to Freddie | D．that Freddie had much money |
The visitor felt sorry for Freddie because he though_________.
| A．Freddie did not know money was useful |
| B．the villager was not kind enough to the boy |
| C．Freddie did not get along well with the villagers |
| D．Freddie did not know the dollar coin was worth more |
From the story we know that Freddie was__________.
| A．poor | B．kind | C．clever | D．silly |
The best title for the passage should be __________.
| A．Clever Villagers | B．"Foolish" Freddie |
| C．Freddie and a Visitor | D．A Visitor and the Villagers |
Monday, April 17
Dear Gramps,
I was so upset last week when somebody stole my Super Racer from the park by your house. I called up the toy company but they said they have only red, blue and green racers. Dad called Cobb’s Toy Store today and found out they might have purple ones. Can we go there when I come to visit you next week?You and I were only gone for a few minutes to the shop down the street to get ice-cream and cookies. Maybe the thief was watching us. Mum was surprised when I told her the racer was stolen. She said she used to leave things at the park all the time when she was young. Once she even left her bicycle for two days near the swimming pool.
Tell Grandma that I like the food she made last time. Ask Grandma if we can have pancakes with sugar for breakfast when I come this time. I have packed in my towel, comb and soap. Tell her this time I won’t forget to pack in my toothbrush.
Love
Toby This letter is written by________.
| A．Gramps | B．Toby | C．Toby’s Dad | D．Toby’s Mum |
The writer wants to have a________racer.
| A．red | B．blue | C．green | D．purple |
How long did the writer leave his Super Racer at the park?
| A．Two days. | B．Over a week | C．A few minutes | D．All the time |
From the letter, we know Supper Racer is__________.
| A．a toy | B．an ice-cream | C．a bicycle | D．a pancake |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the letter?
| A．The writer visited Gramps quite often. |
| B．Cobb’s Toy Store is far from Gramp’s house. |
| C．The writer took his toothbrush with him on his last visit. |
| D．There were lots of thieves when Tony’s mum was young. |
Most people around the world are right-handed. This also seems to be true in history. In 1799, scientists studied works(作品) of art made at different times from 1, 500 B. C. to the 1950s. Most of the people shown in these works are right-handed, so the scientists guessed that right-handedness has always been common through history. Today, only about 10% to 15% of the world’s population is left-handed.
Why are there more right-handed people than left-handed ones? Scientists now know that a person’s two hands each have their own jobs. For most people, the left hand is used to find things or hold things. The right hand is used to work with things. This is because of the different work of the two sides of the brain (大脑). The right side of the brain, which makes a person’s hands and eyes work together, controls(控制) the left hand. The left-side of the brain, which controls the right hand, is the centre for thinking and doing problems. These findings show that more artists should be left-handed, and studies have found that left-handedness is twice as common among artists than among people in other jobs.
No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed instead of left-handed. Scientists have found that almost 40% of the people become left-handed because their main brain is damaged(损害) when they are born. However, this doesn’t happen to everyone, so scientists guess there must be another reason (原因) why people become left-handed. One idea is that people usually get right-handed from their parents. If a person does not receive the gene (基因) for right-handedness, he/she may become either right-or left-handed according to the chance (偶然性) and the people they work or live with.
Though right-handedness is more common than left-handedness, people no longer think left-handed people are strange or unusual. A long time ago, left-handed children were made to use their right hands like other children, but today they don’t have to. After studying works of art made at different times in history, the scientists found .
A. the art began from 1, 500 B. C.
B. the works of art ended in the 1950s
C. most people shown in the works of art are right-handed
D. most people shown in the works of art are left-handed How many people in the world are left-handed now?
| A．Less than one sixth. |
| B．More than a half. |
| C．About 40%. |
| D．The passage doesn’t tell us. |
What is the left hand for most people used to do?
| A．It’s used to find or hold things. |
| B．It’s used to work with things. |
| C．It’s used to make a person’s eyes work together. |
| D．It’s the centre for thinking and doing problems. |
According to (根据) the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed. |
| B．Left-handedness is cleverer than right-handedness. |
| C．Today children are not made to use their right hands only. |
| D．Scientists think there must be some reason why people become left-handed. |
The best title(标题) for this passage is .
| A．Scientists’ New Inventions |
| B．Left-handed People |
| C．Which Hand |
| D．Different Brains, Different Hands. |
Bamboo (竹子) is one of nature’s (自然) most surprising plants. Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass.
Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist reported one bamboo plant which grew 1. 5 metres(4 feet) in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe. There are more than 1, 000 kinds of bamboo.
Not all bamboo looks the same. Some bamboo plants are very thin. They may only grow to be a few centimetres wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimetres (1 foot) across. This plant also comes in different colours, from yellow to black to green.
Bamboo has been used to make many things such as hats and kitchen tools( 厨房用具). Because it is strong, bamboo is also used to build buildings.
Many Asian countries have used bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use bamboo for buildings and supporting (支撑) new buildings and bridges while they are being built.
In Africa, poor farmers are taught how to find water using bamboo. These African countries need cheap way to find water because they have no money, and their fields often die from no rain and no water. Bamboo pipes( 管子) help poor farmers bring water to their thirsty fields without spending a lot of money. How is bamboo like grass?
| A．It grows quickly. | B．It’s wood. ` | C．it is easy to cut. | D．It is very thin. |
Though you can see bamboo everywhere, it doesn’t grow .
| A．in China | B．in Europe | C．on mountains | D．in Africa |
Why is bamboo used by African poor farmers? Because .
| A．it is cheap | B．it has different colours |
| C．it is strong | D．it has been used by Asians |
Bamboo pipes can .
| A．make money | B．be trees | C．grow quickly | D．carry water |
In Asia, bamboo has been used for .
| A．a short time |
| B．many thousands of years |
| C．many hundreds of years |
| D．about 100 years |
John sent his mother expensive presents on his mother’s birthday every year. He liked to show her how rich he was.
"I must find something wonderful for her, and it must be the only one in the whole world. "John thought.
He advertised (登广告) in the newspapers. " Wanted—the best present for the woman who has everything. "
For many days his telephone did not stop ringing. People phoned him from all over the world. They wanted to sell him "the best present". But they did not have anything that was the only one in the whole world.
Then less than a week before his mother’s birthday, a man came to his office. He was carrying a cage, and in the cage there was a large bird.
"This bird, "the man said, "can speak ten languages and sing any pop song. There is no other bird like it in the world. "
"I will listen to it, "John said. "If what you said is true, I will buy the bird from you. "
The man spoke to the bird. "Talk to me in French, " he said. The bird spoke to him in French. "Tell me a joke in Japanese, " he said. The bird told him a joke in Japanese. "Sing a famous pop song, "he said. The bird sang a famous pop song.
"I’ll buy it, "John said. "How much do you want?"
"One hundred thousand dollars, "the man said. This was a lot of money but John paid him. Then he sent the bird to his mother with a birthday card.
The day after his mother’s birthday he phoned her. "Well, mother, "he said, "Is the bird wonderful?"
"Oh, it was delicious, dear, "she said. Why did John send her mother expensive presents for her birthday every year?
| A．Because he loved his mother very much. |
| B．Because his mother needed these presents. |
| C．Because he wanted to show he had a lot of money. |
| D．Because he was the richest man in the world. |
How did people know John wanted the best present in the world?
| A．They rang John up. |
| B．They knew it from the newspapers. |
| C．John phoned them one by one. |
| D．They knew it on TV. |
When did the man with a bird come to visit John?
| A．Two weeks before John’s mother’s birthday. |
| B．On John’s mother’s birthday. |
| C．About five days before John’s mother’s birthday. |
| D．Less than a week after John’s mother’s birthday. |
Why did John pay the man a lot of money for the bird?
| A．Because it was such a beautiful bird. |
| B．Because he wanted to help the poor man with the bird. |
| C．Because the bird could look after his mother. |
| D． Because John thought the bird could make his mother happy. |
What does the sentence "It was delicious, "really mean in the story?
| A．His mother ate the bird. |
| B．His mother let the bird fly away. |
| C．His mother began to learn languages from the bird. |
| D． His mother thought it was the most expensive present in the world. |