No one can change the weather. Nobody can control the weather. But if we read correctly the signs around us, we can tell what the more important changes in the weather will be. This way of telling what the weather will be like on the following day or two is called weather forecasting.
For many centuries and in all countries, people have studied the weather and tried to make weather forecasting. Rings around the sun are a sign of coming rain. That many people feel their joints(关节) hurt is a sign of wet weather. Some birds fly high if the weather is fine, but they fly near the ground if rainy or stormy weather is on the way. If you see a rainbow during rainy weather, this is a sign that the weather will become clear and fine. Such rainbows come in the evening. If the stars twinkle clearly at night, then fine weather will continue. If a fog appears in the morning just above a river, then the day will be warm. If the sunset is mostly red in colour, then the following day will be fine. If a rainbow appears in the morning, rainy weather will probably come.
Most of the above sayings have been made by the people who have used their eyes and brains to make weather forecasting.Which is true about weather forecasting?
| A．Weather forecasting is a way of telling what the weather will be like. |
| B．Weather forecasting is a report about the weather. |
| C．Weather forecasting is a sign of coming rain. |
| D．People can change the weather forecasting. |
Which of the following can be used here to replace the underlined phrase “on the way”?
| A．continuing | B．reducing. |
| C．coming. | D．disappearing. |
Which of the following signs can tell the weather will probably be rainy?
| A．Some birds fly high. |
| B．A rainbow appears in the morning. |
| C．The sunset is mostly red in colour. |
| D．Fogs appear in the morning just above a river. |
The best title of the passage is _______.
| A．Weather forecasting plays an important role in our life |
| B．Weather forecasting can bring people some signs of weather |
| C．Weather is forecasted only by eyes and brains. |
| D．People can predict weather by experience in daily life |
Throughout the world, clothing has many uses. It is used to provide protection from cold. It is also worn to prevent others from seeing specific parts of one’s body. However, the parts of the body that must be covered vary widely throughout the world. Some clothing is worn to provide supernatural protection. Wearing a lucky shirt to take an exam is calling for supernatural assistance.
People in all cultures use clothing and other forms of bodily decoration to communicate status(身份), intentions and other messages. In North America, we dress differently for business and various leisure activities. North American women usually are much more knowledgeable of little difference in messages communicated by clothes than men. At times, this leads to silly mistakes of understanding of female intentions on the part of men. Of course, clothing styles also are intended to communicate messages to members of the same gender（性别）.
Long before we are near enough to talk to someone, their appearance tells their gender, age, economic class, and often even intentions. We begin to recognize the important cultural clues at an early age. The vocabulary of dress that we learn includes not only items of clothing but also hairstyles, jewelry, and other body decoration. In most cultures, however, the same style of dress communicates different messages depending on the age, gender, and physical appearance of the individual wearing it.
Putting on certain types of clothing can change your behavior and the behavior of others towards you. This can be the case with a doctor’s white lab coat, or an army uniform. Most uniforms are clearly symbolic so that they can rapidly and unmistakably communicate status. For instance, the strange hairstyle and clothing of the English “punks” are essential aspects of their uniforms.
There are many forms of body decoration other than clothes that are used around the world to send messages. These include body and hair paint, and even body deformation. When doctors put braces on teeth, they are actually doing the same thing – deforming or reforming a part of the body to make it more attractive.Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
| A．Clothing and Culture |
| B．Ways of Sending Message |
| C．Clothing and Social Behavior |
| D．Communication through Clothing |
Some people wear lucky shirts to take an exam because they believe .
| A．clothes can hide their fear for the exam |
| B．clothes have extraordinary power |
| C．shirts can make them more comfortable |
| D．shirts provide protection against bad weather |
From the passage, it can be inferred that .
| A．clothing plays an important role in social activities |
| B．words of dress are unable to communicate different messages |
| C．dress is better than language in communicating messages |
| D．messages communicated by clothes are the same in different cultures |
Group–buying in China
Modeled after US hot website Groupon.com, group buying websites are now popular in China. These websites use the power of group buying to get competitive discounts （打折）for a daily deal on some best stuff to do, see, eat and buy in the cities across China. Discounts are available within just one click. Zhao lei, a software engineer in Beijing, loves the one-hour lunch break at noon, as it is the best time for him to check “today’s special” at his favorite group buying websites . Sometimes he searches for great deals at directory sites devoted to the new shopping space. Zhao spends around 800 yuan ($117.65) on group buying every month, mostly to buy food coupons （优惠劵）for eating at some nice restaurants and occasionally to find something fun to do. ‘‘I love group buying. In addition to the competitive discounts it offers, it helps me get something fun, exciting and new, and such surprises give me a reason to try something new,” he said. When he finds a really good bargain, he will send the link to friends or colleagues through MSN,QQ, or e-mail, or share the information at some social networking websites. In doing so, he often gets a certain cut off the price. At some sites, buyers are invited to leave notes about what they want to buy and the website will consider it if similar applications（申请）reach a certain number. That is how Zuo got her digital camera after waiting for two months. “It is cool. I want to buy a new digital camera for my trip to Switzerland this winter, but I never expected such cheap prices!”Zuo said.We can learn from the passage that________.
| A．China is the first country to start group buying |
| B．the price of group buying depends on the market |
| C．you can’t get the best you need through group buying |
| D．group buying is becoming popular in China |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Zhao Lei has to spend about 800 yuan on group buying per month. |
| B．Zhao Lei never surfs at other directory sites for group buying. |
| C．Zhao Lei finds it easy to do group buying. |
| D．Zhao Lei can’t buy food coupons to eat at a nice restaurant. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Zhao Lei’s online purchasing life. |
| B．Group buying |
| C．The US hot websites |
| D．A new digital camera |
Zhao Lei succeeded in getting a certain cut off the price by__________.
| A．bargaining face to face |
| B．discussing with the sellers |
| C．providing the link to others |
| D．inviting others to talk about the price |
Today, nearly 400 animals are listed as threatened or endangered animals in the United States. Many are at risk of becoming extinct or disappearing permanently. Unless efforts to save these vulnerable(易受攻击的) animals succeed, many of the country's greatest creatures will be lost forever. From the facts listed, guess which animals are endangered. Click on the picture to find out more about each of these animals in trouble.
American Crocodile
●American crocodiles are about 12 feet long. They live on land and in shallow water, swamps and marshes.
●American crocodiles like to float in the water with only their eyes and noses above the water surface.
●American crocodiles eat mostly small animals, which they grab with their strong jaws and sharp teeth.
●American crocodiles lay eggs. They hide their eggs under twigs and leaves, or bury them in the sand.
●Some crocodiles help their young hatch, and then carry them to the water in their mouth.
Habitat
Southern Florida, Mexico, Central and South American, Caribbean islands.
Why It's Endangered
Overhunted for its skin and habitat destruction.
Peninsular Bighorn Sheep
●Bighorn sheep can weigh as much as 280 pounds and stand about 3 feet tall.
●They live in dry, desert mountain ranges, near rocky cliffs.
●Bighorn sheep eat grass, twigs and leaves.
●Male sheep are called rams and can be recognized by their huge, brown horns. The horns curl back over the ears, down，and up past the cheeks.
●They live in herds or groups. The male sheep with the biggest horns are usually in charge. Male horns can weigh as much as 30 pounds.
●Males will use their massive horns to fight. The fights can last as long as 24 hours.
●Females are called ewes. They are smaller than rams and have shorter, smaller horns.
Habitat
Nevada and California to west Texas and south into Mexico.
Why It's Endangered
Loss of habitat, hunting illegally, drought and disease.Where can the article be found according to the passage?
| A．Newspaper. | B．Website. |
| C．Student book. | D．Magazine. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the description about American crocodiles?
| A．American crocodiles live on land and in swamps and marshes. |
| B．American crocodiles hide their eggs under leaves, or bury them in the sand. |
| C．American crocodiles grab small animals with their strong jaws and sharp teeth. |
| D．American crocodiles like to float with their eyes and nose below the water surface. |
Where can we find both American crocodiles and Bighorn sheep according to the passage?
| A．Southern Florida. | B．California. |
| C．Mexico. | D．West Texas. |
Rams make use of their massive horns to ________.
| A．master the herds | B．show their beauty |
| C．fight with others | D．hunt for food |
An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old highly educated son.
Suddenly a crow（乌鸦）perched on the tree near their window.
The father asked his son, “What is this? ”
The son replied, “It is a crow.”
After a few minutes, the father asked his son the 2nd time, “What is this?”
The son said, “Father, I have just now told you It’s a crow’. ”
After a little while, the old father again asked his son the 3rd time, “What is this? ”
“It’s a crow, a crow, a crow.” said the son loudly.
A little after, the father again asked his son the 4th time, “What is this?”
This time the son shouted at his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again? ‘IT IS A CROW’. Are you not able to understand this?”
A little later the father went to his room and came back with an old diary, which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary:
“Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa when a crow was sitting on the window. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel annoyed; I rather felt affection for my innocent child. ”In what tone did the son say to his Father “It’s a crow, a crow, a crow.”?
| A．impatient | B．excited | C．hurried | D．surprised |
Why did the Father ask the same question again and again?
| A．Because he wanted to make his son angry. |
| B．Because he was too old to remember anything. |
| C．Because he couldn't understand what his son said. |
| D．Because he wanted to see how patient his son would be. |
How old was the old man when his son asked him 23 times “What is this”?
| A．35 years old. | B．38 years old. |
| C．45 years old. | D．80 years old. |
What is the most suitable title for the passage?
| A．A crow. | B．Father's love. |
| C．An old dairy. | D．An old man. |
A Cornell University sleep researcher has some advice for people who run high schools: Don’t start classes so early in the morning. It may not be that the students who nod off at their desks are lazy. And it may not be that their parents have failed to enforce(确保) bedtime. Instead, it may be that biologically these sleepyhead students aren’t used to the early hour.
“Maybe these kids are being asked to rise at the wrong time for their bodies,” says Mary Carskadon, a professor looking at problem of adolescent (青春期的)sleep at Cornell’s School of Medicine.
Carskadon is trying to understand more about the effects of early school time in adolescents. And, at a more basic level, she and her team are trying to learn more about how the biological changes of adolescence affect sleep needs and patterns(方式).
Carskadon says her work suggests that adolescents may need more sleep than they did at childhood, no less, as commonly thought.
Sleep patterns change during adolescence, as any parent of an adolescent can prove. Most adolescents prefer to stay up later at night and sleep later in the morning. But it’s not just a matter of choice—their bodies are going through a change of sleep patterns.
All of this makes the transfer(迁移)from middle school to high school—which may start one hour earlier in the morning—all the more difficult, Carskadon says. With their increased need for sleep and their biological clocks set on the “sleep late, rise late” pattern, adolescents are up against difficulties when they try to be up by 5 or 6 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m. first bell. A short sleep on a desktop may be their body’s way of saying. “I need a timeout.”Carskadon suggests that high schools should not start classes so early in the morning because______.
| A．students work so late at night that they can’t get up early |
| B．students are so lazy that they don’t like to go to school early |
| C．it is really tough for parents to enforce bedtime |
| D．it is biologically difficult for students to rise early |
The underlined phrase “nod off” most probably means “_______”.
| A．turn around | B．fall asleep |
| C．agree with others | D．refuse to work |
What is the test mainly about?
| A．Adolescent heath care. |
| B．Adolescent sleep difficulties. |
| C．Changes in adolescent sleep needs and patterns. |
| D．Problems in adolescent learning. |