Which country grows the most tea? The answer is India. It grows three times as much as China. Which country drinks the most tea? It’s neither China nor Japan. It’s Great Britain.
In the wild, tea plants may be 30 feet tall. But a plant grown for market is pruned. Pruning keeps the plant only three or four feet tall. This is an easy height for tea picking. Only the two top leaves and bud of each new shoot are picked. So to make money, tea plantations must be huge.
In general, there are two kinds of tea. Black tea and green tea. Black tea is fermented. In the process, the tea loses nearly all of its healthy qualities. Green tea is steamed right after the leaves are picked. Green tea retains its healthy qualities. For example, it may prevent heart disease.
How did we get tea bag? The answer: by accident. Tea merchants used to send samples in tin boxes. This was costly. One merchant thought of a cheaper way. He sent samples in small silk bags. Customers would cut open the bag. They would brew the leaves as usual. One customer put the bag into a pot. Then he just poured hot water over it. And the tea bag was born.
Shen Nong was the first to drink tea. (Shen was a Chinese emperor.) This was about 2737 B.C. Shen had bad digestion. So he drank several cups of hot water daily. One day something happened. Leaves from a wild tea tree fell into the hot water pot. The next cup was poured. The water was now colored. Shen sipped it. He liked it. He drank it all. Shen was proud of his new drink. He served it to his guests. Word spread. People thought this way. Tea is good enough for the Emperor. So it must be good enough for the people. Tea became the drink of China.The best title for this passage should be ________________.
| A．Black Tea | B．Tea Plant |
| C．About Tea | D．Tea Bag |
One difference between green tea and black tea is that green tea __________.
| A．must be pruned | B．has a better taste |
| C．is fermented | D．is healthier |
What does the underlined word “retains” mean?
| A．Keeps. | B．Makes. |
| C．Produces. | D．Loses. |
We can know from this passage that __________.
| A．tea bag was invented by a merchant |
| B．tea is better than any other drink |
| C．tea is popular in many countries |
| D．tea only grows in warm climates |
A group of swans flew down to a beach where a crow(乌鸦) was jumping around. The crow watched them with disdain(鄙视).
“You have no flying skills at all!” he said to the swans. “All you can do is to move your wings. Can you turn over in the air? No, that’s beyond you. Let’s have a flying competition. I’ll show you what real flying is!”
One of the swans, a strong young male, took up the challenge. The crow flew up and began to show his skills. He flew in circles, performed other flying tricks, and then came down and looked proudly at the swan.
Now it was the swan’s turn. He flew up, and began flying over the sea. The crow flew after him, making all kinds of comments(评价) about his flying. They flew on and on till they couldn’t see the land and there was nothing but water on all sides. The crow was making fewer and fewer comments. He was now so exhausted that he found it hard to stay in the air, and had to struggle to keep himself from falling into the water.
The swan pretended(假装) not to notice, and said, “Why do you keep touching the water, brother? Is that another trick?”
“No,” said the crow. He knew he had lost the competition. “I’m in trouble because of my pride! If you don’t help me, I’ll lose my life…”
The swan took pity on him, and took him on his shoulders and flew back to the beach.What’s the correct order of the following events?
a. The crow showed off its flying skills.
b. The swan felt pity for the crow and saved it.
c. The crow laughed at the swan’s flying.
d. The crow followed the swan and got into trouble.
e. The crow challenged the swans and a strong young swan accepted it.
| A．e, c, d, a, b | B．a, e, c, d, b |
| C．c, e, a, d, b | D．e, a, d, c, b |
What does the underlined word “exhausted” in Paragraph 4 mean?
| A．Tired. | B．Angry. |
| C．Frightened. | D．Regretful. |
Why did the crow keep touching the water?
| A．It was showing another flying skill. |
| B．It was struggling to keep itself from falling into the water. |
| C．It was thirsty and wanted to drink some water. |
| D．It was enjoying itself by doing so. |
What can we infer(推断) from the passage?
| A．The crow didn’t know flying. |
| B．Flying skills were useless. |
| C．The swan saved the crow because they were good friends. |
| D．The swan was better at long-distance flying than the crow. |
What does the story tell us?
| A．No pains, no gains. |
| B．The early bird catches the worm. |
| C．Pride goes before a fall. |
| D．Practice makes perfect. |
No Car Day was first started by 34 cities in France on September 22, 1998. It was started to protect the environment. By now, more than 1,000 cities around the world have had a No Car Day.
The first No Car Day in China was in Chengdu in 2001. Other cities, including Taipai, Shanghai and Wuhan, also support the day.
In Beijing, more and more people are joining the campaign. It asks drivers to leave their cars at home for one day each month and walk or ride a bike to work. It also calls on Beijingers not to use cars on June 5(World Environment Day). The slogan for the day is, “If we drive for one less day, we can have one more nice day.”
So far, more than 200,000 drivers have shown their support. “We can’t control(控制) the weather, but we can choose not to drive,” said Wu Zonghua, a car club chairman. Beijing is trying to have 238 blue sky days this year. In the first quarter of 2012, Beijing only had 52 blue sky days. This was 11 days less than the number for the same period the year before. Much of the dust comes from the desert, but cars cause most of the air pollution. We must do more for No Car Day.The first No Car Day fell on _______.
| A．February 2nd | B．June 5th |
| C．July 5th | D．September 22nd |
_______ was the first city to have No Car Day in China.
| A．Beijing | B．Chengdu | C．Shanghai | D．Wuhan |
What does the underlined word “slogan” in Paragraph 3 mean?
| A．目的 | B．原因 | C．意义 | D．口号 |
How many blue sky days did Beijing have in the first quarter of 2011?
| A．63. | B．52. | C．41. | D．238. |
Which of the following statements is True?
| A．China is the first country to start No Car Day. |
| B．No Car Day is World Environment Day. |
| C．No Car Day has been supported by over 1,000 cities around the world so far. |
| D．Much of the dust in the air comes from cars. |
For Children
Museum: Children’s Museum, Sundays, 89 North Street,
67641235
Story time: Children’s Library, 106 Green Street, Wednesdays
during 9:30a.m—5:00p.m. 66599624
Sports: Football Club, Tuesdays and Thursdays,
16 Yangtze Road, 96725643
Basketball Club, Wednesdays and Fridays, 79071632
Cinema: New films for children,
99 Brick Road, 69001354
Useful Phone Numbers
Fast Food Restaurant: 66387901
Hospital: 68787451
Visitor Information Center: 800-120-9847
Taxi: 79210583
Visitor Hotel(宾馆) Information: 800-739-7302
It’s Friday afternoon, you can go to________.
| A．visit the museum | B．play football |
| C．play basketball | D．read children’s stories |
If children want to watch new films, they should go to________.
| A．16 Yangtze Road | B．89 North Main Street |
| C．106 Green Street | D．99 Brick Road |
If you call 66387901, you can __________.
| A．ask for some hotel information |
| B．do some shopping |
| C．have a good story time |
| D．get fast food in a restaurant |
Lily’s father is ill, she should dial________.
| A．800-120-9847 | B．79210583 |
| C．68787451 | D．96725643 |
You can not get any information about________ from the poster．
| A．looking for a hotel | B．doing eye exercises |
| C．eating fast food | D．taking a taxi |
These days, a new kind of restaurant is becoming popular. People who go there can not only enjoy their meals, they can also enjoy playing computer games and have fun with their family and friends on the Internet. Sailor is the restaurant’s name. It is in Los Angeles, and it’s about fun and food.
In Sailor, there are no waiters or waitresses around you. The screens have replaced (取代) them. You can order the food you want by touching the screen in front of you and runners will bring it to the tables. You can also play video games with the people at the next table. The screens can show music videos, movies and so on. But mainly they are used to show video games.
It’s an interactive (互动的) restaurant where you will control your meal and your fun. The service is fast and the runners know clearly where to go. There will be no waiting for a waiter, and no misunderstanding in the kitchen. Different kinds of food are served at any time of day. Sailor is a place which hosts “room games”, where every table in the restaurant can have a video game competition at the same time.
The owner of the restaurant hopes that Sailor can make it easy for people to have fun and enjoy meals.Where is the restaurant Sailor?
___________________________________________How can you order the food in Sailor?
___________________________________________When is the food served in Sailor?
___________________________________________What does the owner of the restaurant hope?
___________________________________________How do you like this new kind of restaurant?(自拟作答)
___________________________________________
If you enjoy reading, don’t miss Shakespeare and Company when you visit the city of Paris. It is a famous English-language bookstore on the left bank of the river Seine. The first Shakespeare and Company in history was opened in 1919 by an American, Sylvia Beach. Ms. Beach did more than sell books. Her bookstore was also a library, and she even prepared beds for writers visiting there. Ms. Beach was not only kind to people but also good at choosing books, so her bookstore was often visited by writers like Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce. But in 1941, after the Germans took power in Paris, Ms. Beach was told to close her bookstore.
In 1951, another American, George Whitman, opened in Paris another English-language bookstore, Librairie Mistral. Since then, just as Ms. Beach did, Mr. Whitman has also made his bookstore a library for people to borrow books, and a free hotel for writers to stay in. To remember Ms. Beach, Mr. Whitman changed the name of his bookstore to Shakespeare and Company in 1964, two years after Ms. Beach died.
Next time when you are in Paris, don’t forget to visit this friendly bookstore, and see if you can spend a night there!When was Shakespeare and Company first opened？
| A．In 1919. | B．In 1941. | C．In 1951. | D．In 1964. |
What does Shakespeare and Company do?
a. It sells books. b. It lends books.
c. It offers food to readers. d. It prepares beds for writers.
| A．a, b, c | B．a, c, d | C．a, b, d | D．b, c, d |
Ms. Beach closed her business because _________.
| A．she died |
| B．she left Paris |
| C．she was made to do it |
| D．she didn’t manage it well |
What do we know about Mr. Whitman?
| A．He was Ms. Beach’s neighbor. |
| B．He used to work at Ms. Beach’s bookstore. |
| C．He opened a bookstore to remember Ms. Beach. |
| D．He has followed Ms. Beach’s ways of doing business. |