Billy’s favorite color is orange. But he can’t see what orange looks like. Billy is blind.
A month after he was born, his mother noticed that his eyes weren’t quite as big as a normal baby’s.”Billy would never be able to see.” the doctor told his mother. After that Billy’s mother began talking to him, describing things she saw outside the window. She described everything to him.
Billy does not only depend on his mother’s descriptions to learn about the world around him. He sees with his cars and his hands, too. He has perfect hearing. When people make phone calls, he can tell the numbers they dial(拨).
Billy loves computer science. He began teaching himself computer programming when he was just seven years old. His dream school would be Stanford University. He gets top grades in his classes, making that a real possibility.
“You can’t let excuses get in the way of your dreams, and if you do that you can’t move forward and reach your goals, “said Billy.From the passage, we know that_____________.
| A．Billy can’t hear. | B．Billy can’t see. |
| C．Billy can’t walk. | D．Billy can’t talk. |
How did Billy’s mother help him?
| A．By teaching him how to draw. |
| B．By asking teacher for advice. |
| C．By describing everything to him. |
| D．By sending him to his dream school. |
When did Billy begin teaching himself computer programming?
| A．When he was 7 years old. | B．When he was in Grade 5. |
| C．When he was high school. | D．When he was at university. |
At last, the mid-term exams are over. You’ve done the hard work, but you can’t relax. You have to prepare for the next exams. Do you hate exams? If you do, you are not alone. Students in other countries hate them as well.
Luckily for them, British students have fewer exams than Chinese students. And they only have them once a year. Every summer they take a test in each subject. Each test lasts about an hour. These exams don’t count for much, even if a student does really badly they still progress to the next grade. When the results come out, they are then placed in an end-of-year report. The report is sent to the child’s parents. It describes how the student studied at school.
This report is private, so only the teacher, the student and his or her parents see it. This means that the students don’t know how other students scored(得分) in the test. Some students choose to tell each other, but others keep it secret.
Parents’ meetings are held twice a year, at the end of winter term and then at the end of the summer term. Children go along with their parents to meet their teachers privately and discuss their performance at school.For British students, the school life is than that of Chinese students.
| A．more relaxing | B．much tenser | C．more boring | D．much harder |
The underlined phrase “don’t count for much” means
| A．难以计数 | B．不太重要 | C．期望不多 | D．难度不大 |
Which of the following is NOT true for British students?
| A．They have exams once a year. |
| B．They don’t know their classmates’ scores. |
| C．Parents’ meetings are held at the end of the terms. |
| D．They like to tell each other their scores |
You might have noticed that the cost of food has gone up.In fact the price of wheat and rice has nearly doubled in the past few years.It’s thought that right now，850 million people—that’s more than 10 times the population of the UK—are short of food because it’s too expensive or there’s not enough of it.
The price of basic food such as wheat and corn has stayed the same for quite a long time，about 30 years.But as the world’s population is getting bigger，there’s more pressure to feed more people，plus there’s less land and water to go round.
Another reason is climate（气候）change.Droughts and floods make it hard to grow crops like rice and grain.The price of oil has gone up and that makes it more expensive for farmers to run their tractors and to transport the food they make.And lots of fields are being used to grow crops to make other things that can’t be eaten—which is bad news for hungry people.
The main losers are poor people who live in cities in poor countries，who are facing higher prices for food.Some people are doing well out of the food crisis（危机） though.Farmers in rich countries like the US，Canada and Australia are getting record prices for their harvests.
World leaders are meeting in the Italian capital Rome to talk about the problem of rising food prices.Some countries are helping out with the cost of foods and international aid agencies have called for more money for food production in poor countries.The price of food goes up because all of the following EXCEPT _____.
| A．there are more and more people in the world. |
| B．American farmers are getting richer and richer. |
| C．many farm lands are used to make other things rather than food. |
| D．climate change makes it harder to grow food. |
Who lose the most because of the food crisis?
| A．Farmers in rich countries. |
| B．Farmers in developed countries. |
| C．Poor people in cities in poor countries. |
| D．Poor people in cities in developed countries. |
What does the food crisis mean to farmers in Canada?
| A．They can get a lot of money from the government. |
| B．They have to save a lot of money. |
| C．They can make more money from the high price. |
| D．They are losing a lot of money. |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Why is the Price of Food Going Up？ |
| B．How Many People are Short of Food? |
| C．What Can We Learn from the Food Crisis? |
| D．Who Can Benefit（受益） from the Food Crisis? |
（By CCTV correspondent Vanessa Duffy 04/28/2013 08:36）
It’s been eight days since a 7.0-magnitude strong earthquake hit China’s Lushan Ya’an Sichuan Province.How the earthquake has affected one of Sichuan Province’s special residents（居民）—pandas.How are the animals living? And do they have enough food to eat?
There are more than 80 pandas living here at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Base（繁育基地）.The quake was felt strongly in Chengdu.Fortunately，all of the pandas here were out on the grounds when the earthquake hit，so they were very safe.
Several days have passed and the earthquake seems to have made no negative（不利的） impact on the pandas.These two baby pandas Chengshuang and Chengdui are playfighting with each other and climbing trees.When they climbed too high，the breeders have to rescue them from the trees.
The quake zone is not only the home of these pandas，it’s also the source of their food.Fortunately，enough bamboo(竹子) has been stored away in five bamboo storehouses for the pandas，so there are no worries about food supplies.
Wu Kongju，Breeder，Chengdu Panda Breeding Base，said，“When the Wenchuan earthquake happened on May 12，2008，we were unprepared and had a shortage of bamboo.But we’ve been able to handle this earthquake event more smoothly.There are no problems with the food supply.”When did the 7.0-magnitude earthquake happen in Lushan Sichuan Province?
| A．On April 28，2013 |
| B．On May 12，2008 |
| C．On April 20，2013 |
| D．On May 20，2013 |
The underlined word “ rescue” in this passage means ______ in Chinese.
| A．保存 | B．阻止 | C．放任 | D．营救 |
How did the Panda Breeding Base deal with the food supply after the earthquake in Wenchan in 2008?
| A．They built 5 bamboo storehouses to store food for pandas. |
| B．They were unprepared and had a shortage of bamboo. |
| C．They handled this earthquake more smoothly. |
| D．They let pandas out on the grounds. |
My problems started after I went to a boarding（寄宿） school.I was only 14，and at first I missed my family a lot.I often called them and cried on the phone.But after two weeks，I found I enjoyed being with my classmates at school. I had many friends who were boys.I thought of them as my best friends-but only friends.I never guessed my friendships with boys would become a problem.
Then，three months later，my friends told me that some teachers and girls said I was hanging out with boys all day long in order to get attention from them.Seven months after that，the head teacher Mr.Wang asked the class to choose some students to join the Student Union（学生会）.I thought I could win for I was doing well in school.I’d already won prizes for the best math and English exams.A week later，the list came out and it didn’t include me.I was sad.
Mr.Wang came to me and said，“Don’t be sad.I know you’re excellent! Maybe you are a little distant（疏远的）from the girls in our class.They don’t know much about you，so some of them didn’t choose you.It doesn’t matter.Do your best to get along well with everyone and I think you’ll make it next time.”What was the writer’s problem when she first entered the boarding school?
| A．She didn’t like her new school. |
| B．She didn’t get along well with her classmates. |
| C．She missed her family very much. |
| D．She didn’t like her new teacher. |
Why did the writer fail to join the Student Union?
| A．Her teachers didn’t like her. |
| B．She was a poor student. |
| C．Some girls didn’t choose her. |
| D．She likes showing off herself. |
Which of the following is NOT true，according to the passage?
| A．The writer won prizes for the best science and English exams. |
| B．The writer didn’t realize that her friendships with boys would cause problems. |
| C．The writer was sad because she failed to join the Student Union. |
| D．The teacher thought she was an excellent student. |
| Title |
Time |
Event |
Grandmother Student |
today |
An 83—year—old great grandmother received a bachelor’s degree(学士学位) from South—Eastern University today, more than 50 years after she took her first college course. |
| Early Spring Storm |
last night |
An early spring heavy snow dumped 18 inches of snow on the city in less than six hours last night. |
| Two Men Win Freedom |
today |
Two men picked up for disorderly conduct(不法行为)won their freedom today when they helped police officers save 20 persons from burning North Side apartment building. |
| Henley Street Bridge Closed |
On Friday |
The Henley Street Bridge over the Tennessee will be closed at 8:00 on Friday, a State Highway official said today. |
| Husband Kills Wife |
today |
Just 15 minutes after he shot and killed his unfriendly wife , a 22-year –old truck driver jumped to his death from the State Street Bridge. |
From the first piece of news we know that ______.
| A．it took the old woman over 50 years to study at South-Eastern University. |
| B．the great grandmother was the oldest who received a bachelor’s degree. |
| C．the 83-year-old woman’s story surprised everyone. |
| D．the 83-year-old woman has a strong will. |
The underlined word “dumped” means____.
| A．fell | B．left | C．hit | D．lasted |
In the third piece of news, “picked up” means ______.
| A．given a ride | B．saved from danger | C．freed | D．caught |
Which of the following is right according to the last piece of news?
| A．The wife was a 22-year-old truck driver. |
| B．The wife was shot after her husband died. |
| C．Shortly after having shot his wife, the young truck driver finished himself. |
| D．The wife died, but the husband didn’t. |
Which is TRUE according to the news above?
| A．A person who is about 70 years old can get a bachelor’s degree. |
| B．It never snows heavily at night in spring. |
| C．There were only 20 persons living in North Side apartment building. |
| D．Maybe today is Wednesday. |