Americans have used colors to create many expressions they use every day.
We say you’re ‘in the pink’ when we are in good health. It is easy to understand how this expression was born. When my face has a nice fresh, pink color, it is a sign my health is good.
The color green is natural for trees, it is an unnatural color for humans. When someone doesn’t feel well, someone who is sick, for example, we say he ‘looks green’. When someone is angry because he doesn’t have what someone else has, we say he is ‘green with envy’.
Some people are ‘green with envy’ because someone else has more dollars, or ‘green backs’. Dollars are called ‘greenbacks’ because that’s the color of the backside of the money.
Blue is a cool color. The traditional blue music of American blacks is the opposite of red hot music. It is slow, sad and soulful ( 深情的 ). To be blue, of course, is to be sad.
The color black is often used in expressions. People describe a day in which everything grows wrong as a ‘black day’. A ‘black sheep’ is the member of a family or group who always seems to be in trouble. If someone meets a ‘black cat’, something unlucky might happen to him. Not all the ‘black’ expressions have bad meaning. A company ‘in the red’ is losing money. If someone tells you to put someone ‘in black and white’, they want you to write it down. After reading the passage, we can infer ( 推断 ) if someone ‘looks grey’, he _______.
| A．looks well | B．may need a doctor |
| C．is healthy | D．is ‘in the pink’ |
I was really _________ when I saw his nice new car.
| A．red | B．blue | C．green | D．black |
Which of the following is true?
| A．A company surely likes to be ‘in the red’. |
| B．All the color expressions in the passage come from Britain English. |
| C．Not all the ‘black’ expressions have bad meanings. |
| D．Dollars are called ‘greenbacks’ because they have trees on the backside. |
The label（标签）, Made in China, is one that is becoming increasing common in shopping centers all over the world.
In the United States, shoppers at Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer（零售商）, have a wide selection of products mostly produced in China. The large amount of Chinese imports have created a large selection of goods in other countries as people begin to buy more and more products made in China. These goods are even widely available in other Asian nations, where Chinese-made goods are quite popular. Chinese brand names are also becoming more well-known outside China.
When Chinese Americans visit family and friends in their homeland, gifts from the U.S. are a must. But TVs and fashionable clothes aren't rare any more, and anything 'Made in China' shouldn’t be considered in any case.
"When I decide to visit my family members in China, I will have a big headache. What should I buy for them? They may not all speak English, but everyone in China knows those three words," a Chinese American said. "When they see the label 'Made in China,' they will think, 'Why do you send me this?' "
The development of China has surprised the world with its growth. As a result, the other countries are beginning to try to reduce Chinese goods with the use of taxes（税）and import restrictions. However, the development on the Chinese economy still affects the world in many ways.Around the world, the products made in China are ________ in the shopping malls.
| A．unwelcome | B．expensive | C．popular | D．rare |
What is the Chinese meaning of the underlined word “brand” in the second paragraph?
| A．品牌 | B．明星 | C．生产地 | D．树枝 |
Why do Chinese Americans usually have a headache if they come back to China?
| A．Because their Chinese friends can not speak English. |
| B．Because their friends will be unhappy if the gifts are made in China. |
| C．Because they should give their friends rare gifts. |
| D．Because they should give their friends fashionable gifts. |
How do other countries try to reduce the Chinese goods in their own countries?
| A．By developing the qualities of their own products. |
| B．By telling their shoppers not to buy Chinese goods. |
| C．By importing more Chinese goods. |
| D．By using taxes and import restrictions. |
From the passage, we can know that________.
| A．products made in China are more and more popular all over the world |
| B．TVs and fashionable clothes are ideal gifts for Chinese people |
| C．everyone in China can speak English |
| D．the other governments don’t welcome any Chinese goods |
List of the 85th Oscar Award winners announced Sunday in Los Angeles, America:
| Awards |
Winners |
Films |
| Best Actor |
Daniel Day-Lewis |
Lincoln |
| Best Actress |
Jennifer Lawrence |
Silver Linings Playbook |
| Best Supporting Actor |
Christoph Waltz |
Django Unchained |
| Best Supporting Actress |
Anne Hathaway |
Les Miserables |
| Best Directing |
Ang Lee |
Life of Pi |
Where was the 85th Oscar Awards presentation held?
| A．In Nanjing | B．In New York | C．In Los Angeles | D．In London |
Which film was directed by the winner of this year’s Best Director?
| A．Lincoln | B．Life of Pi | C．Ang Lee | D．Les Miserables |
阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。
The iPhone 4S is a touchscreen-based smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fifth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 4, and was announced on October 4, 2011. Siri on iPhone 4S is like a person assistant. It lets you use your voice to do things on the iPhone. You can just talk to Siri as you talk to a person. Siri understands what you say, knows what you mean, and even talks back.
Say something like “Tell my wife I’m running late.” “Remind me to call the doctor.”“Any fast food restaurants around here?” Siri does what you say, finds the information you need, then answers you. It’s like you’re having a conversation with your assistant.
Siri not only understands what you say, but it’s also smart enough to know what you mean. So when you ask, “Any fast food restaurants around here?” Siri will reply, “I found a number of restaurants near you.” Then you can say, “Hmm. How about French fries?” Siri remembers that you just asked about restaurants for something to eat, so it will look for KFC restaurants in the neighborhood. And Siri is active, so it will question you until it finds what you’re looking for.
When you want to do something, just ask Siri to help you do it. Siri uses almost all the built-in apps on iPhone 4S. It writes texts and sends email messages. It searches the web for anything you need to know. It plays the songs you want to hear. It gives you directions and shows you around. It makes calls, plans meetings, helps you remember and wakes you up. In fact, ask Siri what it can do — it even speaks for itself.
Siri is easy to use and does so much. You’ll keep finding more and more ways to use it.When was iPhone 4S announced?
What is Siri on iPhone 4S like?
How can you use Siri to do things on the iPhone?
Why will Siri look for KFC restaurants in the neighborhood?
What does the writer want to tell us according to the passage?
Tony Buzan’s grades were going down at university. Disappointed with his low marks, he went to the library to find a book on how to use his brain. He was directed to the medical section. Confused, he said to the librarian, “I don’t want to take my brain out, I just want to learn how to use it.” Her reply was simple: “There’s no book on that.”
“I thought to myself,” says Buzan, “if I buy a little radio, I get an instruction manual (说明书). If I buy a microwave, I get an instruction manual. But for the most important machine in the world, no instruction manual?”
Fifty years later, Buzan has become the world’s leading speaker on the brain and learning. In the late 1960s, he invented the mind map, a visual representation of thought processes.
This kind of thinking has become a popular tool for planning, organizing, problem solving, and communicating across the world. He has since authored and co-authored over 100 books that have appeared in more than 30 languages.
“I think in most cases, people use less than 1 percent of their brains,” he says.
But how do you expand this 1 percent? How do you become the best student you can be?
According to Buzan, the answer is simple. You take a section of whatever it is that you are trying to learn, he says, and you read it for its essence (精髓、要素). Then you make a mind map of all the important details. For a truly effective mind map, you start with a colored image in the center of your page. Draw the first image that comes to mind on the topic you are mind mapping. Branch off from your central image and create one of your main ideas. From your main branches draw some sub-branches and from those sub-branches you can draw even more branches. He emphasizes that you should use plenty of images and colors as these help with memory recall and encourage creativity.
By using this visual format (形式), according to Buzan, your mind will begin to make associations that will help you remember more information for longer periods of time.
Buzan believes that traditional note-taking methods, such as lists and summaries, do not stimulate the brain’s recall capacity or ability in the same way. Because of this, students will often find themselves locked away in their rooms for hours, trying hard to memorize separate details. Buzan believes that for a more effective and lasting way of studying, you must first understand how your brain works.
“Everyone is born smart,” he says. “You just have to learn how to learn.”What is the main purpose of the first two paragraphs?
| A．To show that Tony Buzan was worried about his study. |
| B．To invite us to think about the importance of manuals. |
| C．To prove that the mind map is a useful tool for the brain. |
| D．To show why Tony Buzan studies the brain and learning. |
What does the word “stimulate” mean in the passage?
| A．Excite. | B．Improve. | C．Encourage. | D．Affect. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．If we learn the mind map, we will become the best student. |
| B．The mind map will help your brain connect separate details. |
| C．The mind map will be more effective if we put more details in it. |
| D．We will solve the problem if we make connections between ideas. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．How to make the mind map? |
| B．Is the mind map widely used? |
| C．Can your memory be mapped? |
| D．Is the mind map helpful in thinking? |
Stay as safe as possible during an earthquake. Be aware that some earthquakes are actually foreshocks(前震) and a larger earthquake might occur. Reduce your movements to a few steps to a nearby safe place.
If you are indoors, do “duck, cover and hold”. Duck or drop down to the floor, under something strong, such as a table or a desk, cover your head and face with your arms and hands and hold on to that table or desk so that it does not move away from you as the ground shakes. Do this until the shaking stops and it is safe to move. Stay inside to avoid being injured by falling glass or building parts. If there isn’t a table or desk near you, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch(蜷缩) in an inside corner of the building.
Stay clear of windows, fireplaces, and heavy furniture that may fall over. Stay inside until the shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries occur when people inside buildings attempt to move to a different location inside the building or try to leave.
If you are outside, get into the open and stay there. Move away from trees, buildings, signs and power lines. Once in the open, stay there until the shaking stops. The greatest danger exists directly outside buildings, at exits and alongside exterior walls. Ground movement during an earthquake is seldom the direct cause of death or injury. Most earthquake-related casualties（伤亡） result from collapsing walls, flying glass, and falling objects.
If you are driving, you may not realize what is going on at first because the car may feel like it is going to blow up. Stop the car in as clear and open an area as possible and stay in it until the shaking stops. If it is a really bad quake, turn on the radio to find an emergency channel to get information. Follow the directions of people directing traffic.
If you are in a mountainous area, watch out for falling rock and other debris that could be loosened by the earthquake.
If you are at the beach, move quickly to higher ground or several hundred yards inland.Which of the following pictures means “duck, cover and hold”?
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?
| A．Ground movement during an earthquake is the main reason of death. |
| B．You should keep your windows, fireplaces and heavy furniture clear. |
| C．Stop your car in the clear area and get out of it if an earthquake happens. |
| D．Run away from the beach as quickly as possible if an earthquake happens. |
The passage is mainly about ___________during the earthquake.
| A．ways of keeping you safe |
| B．the importance of keeping safe |
| C．ways of finding safe places |
| D．researches on how to keep safe |