The deserts of the world are not all covered with sand. Many of them have surfaces of rock or clay or small stones. They are not flat, either. They often have high hills and deep valleys. There is some plants’ life in many parts of the desert. There is little rain in the desert, but it does fall often enough for most plants.
The deserts of the world are not uninhabited(not lived by people). People also live outside oases(绿洲), but these people are not farmers. They have camels, goats, donkeys, sheep, etc. These animals can live on the desert plants and do not need much water.
The people of the desert have to move constantly from place to place, they must always look for grass or desert plants for their animals. They usually live in tents. When there is no more food for their animals, they fold up their tents, pat them on their camels and donkeys, and move to another place. In good years, when there is enough food for their animals, they trade their skins and their goats and camel hairs with the people of oases for wheat and fruit. But in bad years, when there is not enough food for their animals, the people of the desert would attack the oases people. But they are also hospitable, no man in the desert would ever refuse to give a stranger food and water. According to the passage, deserts are mostly made up of _______.
| A．clay | B．rock |
| C．stones | D．sand |
The underlined word “hospitable” has the meaning of being _______.
| A．brave | B．cruel |
| C．strange | D．kind |
In the desert _______.
| A．it rains in spring only |
| B．there is some rain, but far from enough |
| C．it rains for a short time every month |
| D．the rainfall is just enough for the plants |
People live _______.
| A．only inside the oases |
| B．only outside the oases |
| C．both inside and outside the oases |
| D．in places with regular rainfalls |
From the passage we know that life _______.
| A．is hard in deserts | B．is happy in deserts |
| C．is impossible in deserts | D．in deserts is much better now |
The Brown Bear
My wife Laura and I were on the beach，with three of our children，taking pictures of shore birds near our home in Alaska when we spotted a bear. The bear was thin and small，moving aimlessly.
Just a few minutes later，I heard my daughter shouting，“Dad！The bear is right behind us！” An aggressive bear will usually rush forward to frighten away its enemy but would suddenly stop at the last minute. This one was silent and its ears pinned back—the sign(迹象) of an animal that is going in for the kill. And it was a cold April day. The bear behaved abnormally，probably because of hunger.
I held my camera tripod(三脚架) in both hands to form a barrier as the bear rushed into me. Its huge head was level with my chest and shoulders，and the tripod stuck across its mouth. It bit down and I found myself supporting its weight. I knew I would not be able to hold it for long.
Even so，this was a fight I had to win：I was all that stood between the bear and my family，who would stand little chance of running faster than a brown bear.
The bear hit at the camera，cutting it off the tripod. I raised my left arm to protect my face；the beast held tightly on the tripod and pressed it into my side. My arm could not move，and I sensed that my bones were going to break.
Drawing back my free hand，I struck the bear as hard as I could for five or six times. The bear opened its mouth and I grasped its fur，trying to push it away. I was actually wrestling(扭打) with the bear at this point. Then，as suddenly as it had begun，the fight ended. The bear moved back towards the forest，before returning for another attack—the first time I felt panic.
Apparently satisfied that we caused no further threat，the bear moved off，destroying a fence as it went. My arm was injured，but the outcome for us could hardly have been better. I’m proud that my family remained clearheaded when panic could have led to a very different outcome.The brown bear approached the family in order to .
| A．catch shore birds |
| B．start an attack |
| C．protect the children |
| D．set up a barrier for itself |
The bear finally went away after it .
| A．felt safe |
| B．got injured |
| C．found some food |
| D．took away the camera |
The writer and his family survived mainly due to their .
| A．pride |
| B．patience |
| C．calmness |
| D．cautiousness |
You may have experienced the frustration of receiving a parking fine or finding your car towed away （拖走）after leaving it parked for a couple of minutes．
But now a high tech car sticker could help motorists avoid such a situation by allowing a traffic warden（管理员）to get in touch with them．Car owners can buy the sticker and place it inside their car’s windscreen，having set it up with vital information，such as their phone number．The slim design will i nclude a sensor that will send a text message warning a driver about a coming fine when touched by a traffic warden．The message will ask them to move their car immediately．The driver could then type a reply for the warden us ing their smartphone，which will appear on the sticker’s screen．They may choose to write something along the lines of“back in two minutes”in a bid to avoid a fine．Frankfurt-based IT consultant，Daniel Kalliontzis，came up with the idea and is raising funds on Indiegogo to put his 54 sticker into production．
The smart sticker system will rely on the good will of traffic wardens and critically，a German law．The law states:“An officer has to choose the most e fficient and inexpensive way for the car owner to remove the vehicle．”It could be cheaper for the authorities to contact the driver than to tow his car．
At the time of writing，Mr Kalliontzis has raised just over 3，000 of his 50，000 goal on Indiegogo．If he manages to raise the money，the stickers will be shipped in June 2015．But it appears that car owners using the smart system could get some unnecessary warning messages，because anyone could touch the smart sticker．The first paragraph is intended to ________．
| A．highlight an awkward situation |
| B．complain about a parking fine |
| C．introduce the topic of the passage |
| D．remind motorists of the parking risk |
What may probably contribute to the application of the TowStop sticker in Germany？
| A．The sticker’s low cost． |
| B．The mass production． |
| C．The goodwill of motorists． |
| D．The law of the country． |
What can be concluded from the last paragraph about the TowStop Sticker？
| A．It takes time and efforts to put it to use． |
| B．Only traffic wardens can touch the sticker． |
| C．All car owners will use the sticker in 2015． |
| D．Kalliontzis is experienced in raising money． |
What’s the right order of the following statements according to the passage？
①A message is sent by the sensor．
②The sticker is put inside a car’s windscreen．
③A traffic warden touches the smart sticker．
④The sticker is set up with vital information．
⑤The motorist sends a message．
| A．②④⑤③① |
| B．④②③①⑤ |
| C．④②③⑤① |
| D．②④①③⑤ |
Answering the Community Needs of Our City
The Silver City Council recognizes that citizens have certain needs．To better meet your needs，we have made several changes to community facilities in 2014．The followings show how we have tried to make your life better．
Transport
☆Three stations for the suburbs have been added to the western train service．
☆20 new buses for the southern line were purchased in January．
☆50 per cent of city bus stops have been upgradeD．
Communication
☆Broadband cable is now av ailable to all parts of the city．
☆All of the new Government buildings are smart wired for better computer service！
Medical Facilities
☆The new state of the art Nightingale Hospital was opened in June．
☆To overcome a shortage of trained medical staff at Dover Hospital，10 doctors have been employed from overseas．
☆Some facilities at Station Street Hospital have been upgradeD．
Education
☆Textbooks will be free to all primary students in 2014！
☆Rental for private schools has been reduceD．
Protection and Security
☆Extra police now patrol（巡逻）the tourist areas．
☆50 new police officers graduated in July and have taken up duties in the city areA．
Entertainment / Recreation
☆The new Central Community Building opened in May．
☆5，000 new fiction books were bought for the Silver City Library．What is the purpose of the changes in Silver City？
A． To satisfy all the needs of the citizens．
B． To make public service improveD．
C． To better the citizens’life．
D． To meet the needs of the Silver City Council．What can we learn from the passage？
| A．Travel books are provided in the new library． |
| B．More bus lines and stops are bought in Silver City． |
| C．Free medical treatment is available at Station Street Hospital． |
| D．There are more police officers on duty now． |
The public notice is from _______．
| A．the community |
| B．the local government |
| C．the Silver City Library |
| D．a travel agency |
Shake Shack is a new kind of restaurant becoming more popular in the U．S．The restaurants are not“fast food”．They are known as“fast casual”．
Observers say Americans want more choices and fresh food when choosing where and what to eat．This trend is one reason why the fast food restaurant McDonald’s has struggled financially．In the last quarter of 2014，McDonald’s net income dropped by about $300 million．The January earnings report brought more bad news．Worldwide sales dropped for the eighth month in a row and even more than expecteD． Whi le McDonald’s is struggling to get their customers back，Shake．
Shack，is doing well in making money．The New York-based burger chain had a very successful IPO，or initial public offering，of shares at the end of January．On its first day of trading，Shake Shack went from $21 a share to just under $46 a share．Being part of the “fast casual ”trend has helped Shake Shack．Other fast casual restaurants in the U．S．include Chipotle and PanerA．
Bonnie Riggs，a restaurant expert with NPD has studied Americans’restaurant habits for almo st 30 years．She says one reason why Americans like fast casu al food is that it’s new．It’s creative，it’s something different and people like to try new things．Her study shows Americans made 61 billion visits to restaurants last year．Three out of four visits were to fast food restaurants，like McDonald’s．Fast casual is still a small percentage of restaurant visits，but it has developed fast．Just as Ms．Riggs says，“It’s growing by leaps and bounds，because they meet consumers’needs．They know it’s being prepared while they wait，it’s fresh，quality food，good tasting food at what they say are reasonable and affordable prices．”
Many Americans still like their fast fooD． They just are not going as often．They are finding other ways to have a meal．What’s the trouble with McDonald’s？
A ．Its share goes down to $21．
B． Shake Shack has taken its place．
C． It’s not popular with Americans．
D． Its sales and income have droppeD．We can learn from Bonnie Riggs that Americans ________．
| A．don’t like fast food any more |
| B．care only about the quality |
| C．like to try something new |
| D．pay more restaurant visits to fast casual |
What does the underlined phrase“by leaps and bounds”in ParA． 3 mean？
A． Steadily． B． Rapidly． C． Slowly． D． Normally．Which of the following best describes fast casual？
| A．Fresh-made and tasty． |
| B．High-quality and expensive． |
| C．Farm-to-table and traditional． |
| D．Time-consuming and special． |
Today we are going to talk about important transition words in English．We will focus on how to usetransition words to link ideas together．Some common transition words are and，furthermore，in addition to，not to mention，and in the same way．
We don’t always get a second chance to achieve our dreams．But some people are lucky，like Matthew McConaughey．Once almost unknown，the actor has recently found himself back on the list of the best actors in HollywooD． His new movie Interstellar is just another sign that his career reinvention has been an incredible success．“The film relies on McConaughey’s performance to hold together the emotional story of a father and his daughter against the background of space travel and the end of the world，”Forbes commenteD．
But only years ago，the Texas native was often the butt of jokes（笑柄）about being too handsome．In 1993，after meeting with director Richard Linklater，McConaughey starred in Dazed and ConfuseD． And a Hollywood career was born，mostly in romantic comedies．For a long time，the whole world believed McConaughey was just a handsome guy with comic talent．
But McConaughey stopped starring in that type of movie，and began to use his looks differently．Slowly he built up his reputation as a serious actor．In 2013，McConaughey was offered to play an AIDS activist in Dallas Buyers CluB． The role saw the normally muscular actor losing 50 pounds in order to appear sick．His performance won him an Oscar for Best Actor．
The actor gave thanks to someone he has always looked up to as a hero during his Oscar acceptance speech．When he was 15，the actor said，he decided that his hero would be himself in 10 years．But 10 years later，he pushed the deadline ahead another decade．Then 10 years later，another decade．“My hero’s always 10 years away，” he saiD． “I’m never going to attain that．That keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing．”Or perhaps constantly chasing the chance to be his own hero has given him a second chance to follow his dreams．Why was McConaughey often the butt of jokes in his early career？
| A．He was limited to handsome roles． |
| B．He was unknown to the audience． |
| C．He played in romantic comedies． |
| D．He was handsome and emotional． |
What role won Mc Conaughey an Oscar for Best Ac tor？
| A．A caring father． |
| B．An AIDS activist． |
| C．A serious buyer． |
| D．A strong hero． |
What can we learn about McConaughey？
A． He was born in HollywooD．
B． He has become a hero of his own．
C． He wasn’t famous until recently．
D． He isn’t content with his achievements．Which of the following can be the best title？
| A．McConaughey，a Romantic Comed ian |
| B．McConaughey，a Man Making a Hit |
| C．McConaug hey，a Man Daring to change |
| D．McConaughey，Handsome and Talented |