The earth is about 4,600 million years old. Modern man has lived on the earth for only 35,000 years, but during that time, we have changed our planet in many ways. Many of the things that we have done are good, but more are not good for the earth.
Water pollution
A lot of people, birds and fish die each day because of water pollution. Factories have polluted the land and the water. As a result, many rivers and lakes are now dead.
Air pollution
In big cities, factories, as well as cars, trucks and buses are the main cause of air pollution. Many people in cities now have serious health problems. For example, Mexico city used to be a beautiful sunny capital, but today it is always covered by thick brown clouds.
Soil pollution
In order to have a good harvest, most of the farmers use chemicals too much in their fields. That’s bad for the soil. But this kind of pollution is difficult to stop.
Hope for the future
These problems are very serious for our future, so all of us should do something to improve our environment. If we can stop pollution, our planet will become more and more beautiful and our health will be better. Let’s be greener people!
根据短文内容，选择正确答案。_____ have made the earth change a lot.
| A．Human beings | B．Animals |
| C．Plants | D．People in other planets |
There are _____ kinds of pollution in this passage.
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．five |
Which sentence is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Most of things that we have done are good for our planet. |
| B．We must stop the factories from pouring waste water into the rivers and lakes. |
| C．Because of water pollution, many rivers and lakes are now dead. |
| D．Water pollution is very serious nowadays. |
Which sentence is TRUE?
| A．Though Mexico city is always covered by thick brown clouds, it’s still a beautiful sunny capital. |
| B．Air pollution can make people sick. |
| C．Now fewer farmers use chemicals in the fields. |
| D．Factories, cars, trucks and buses are the main cause of soil pollution. |
阅读下面短文，根据要求完成表格，每空一词。（共10空，每空1分，计10分）
Are people less happy or happier when they get older? If your answer is “happier”, then you are right, based on a study published five years ago. It found that people generally become happier and experience less worry after age fifty. In fact, it found that by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were at eighteen.
The findings came from a Gallup survey of more than three hundred and forty thousand adults in the United States in 2008. At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were the highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five. Stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.
Levels of happiness were the highest among the kids and those in their early seventies.
The survey also found that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men did.
So why would happiness increase with age? One theory is that, as people get older, they become more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
Title: Relationship Between Age and
| The elements of the survey |
Time: 2008 Place: in the United States Researcher: Arthur Stone and his Targets: 340,000 adults |
| The |
Generally people become happier and feel Adults between the ages of 22 and 25 have the The kids and those in their early Men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women feel sadder, more |
| Conclusion |
Happiness |
Mark Twain is someone Americans are taught to love. Older relatives, English teachers and the media always praise (表扬) him. But when you actually take the time to read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, you find that his work is more wonderful than you could ever imagine.
The novel describes a young boy named Tom Sawyer growing up in a small town along the Mississippi River. He explores the countryside on a riverboat with his friends, falls in love with girls, starts secret clubs and searches for treasure. Twain’s idea of childhood is magical – a time of imagination, wonder and, of course, adventure.
More importantly, through the eyes of Tom Sawyer, Twain cleverly makes fun of US culture. For example, Tom hates going to church, and Twain uses scenes of Tom there to mock religion and its old traditions.
Twain’s writing is full of these kinds of critical (批判的) points about culture and politics. That’s why he is so loved in the US – he wasn’t afraid to state his opinions, and he did so clearly.
He also believed strongly in women’s right to vote in elections and gave a famous speech on the subject, called “Votes for Women”, in 1901.
“Tom was a great hero once more – the pet of the old, the envy of the young,” Twain writes in Tom Sawyer. But he could just as well be describing himself.
According to the writer, after reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, you are likely to think _______.
| A．it’s not worth all the praise |
| B．it’s as wonderful as you imagined |
| C．it’s better to read it with teachers |
| D．it’s even better than you imagined |
What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
| A．A brief description of the novel. |
| B．Where Twain’s idea of childhood comes from. |
| C．How naughty and adventurous Tom Sawyer is. |
| D．What makes Tom Sawyer’s adventures so wonderful. |
What does the underlined word “mock” mean?
| A．make changes to | B．make fun of |
| C．give reasons for | D．give examples of |
Why is Twain so loved in the US according to the article?
| A．He supported women’s right to vote. |
| B．He wrote bad things about US wars abroad. |
| C．He criticized American culture and society clearly and cleverly. |
| D．He showed readers a magical childhood that everyone would love. |
Youth, friendship and love are the main themes of this year’s Chinese movies, such as So Young(《致青春》) and American Dreams in China(《中国合伙人》). Tiny Times(《小时代》), one of the most popular movies this summer, also has the same features.
The movie was based on author and director Guo Jingming’s novel of the same name. It tells a story about four girls who come from different backgrounds and of different personalities. Since it was shown on June 27, Tiny Times has made 483 million yuan at the box office. The sequel(续集) of it was shown on Aug 8 and it has also been a big box office hit.
Cao Yuhan, 13, a high school student at Beijing Jianhua Experimental School, is a big fan of the movie. “I’m deeply touched by their friendship,” Cao said. “When Nan Xiwang is in trouble, the other three girls try their best to help her, even running barefoot （光脚）in the snow. However, not everyone has had good things to say. The people’s Daily said that the film went too far in encouraging youths to become materialistic(物质至上主义的). Film commentator Raymond Zhou wrote on his online blog that “Buying luxury goods (奢侈品)seems as a way to express love or friendship, and the word ‘money’ is repeated over and over again. Song Kexin, 14, a high school student at Zhida Middle School in Taiyuan, Shanxi, shows a typical example of a fan’s attitude(态度). And that’s to look for the positive value. “That movie is a little far from our daily life. My friends and I are not having parties every day,” Song said, “But I admire Tang Wanru’s optimistic attitude（乐观态度）. She’s always looking at the bright side of life. I should learn from her.”Which is NOT one of the main themes of this year’s Chinese movies?
| A．Youth | B．Love |
| C．War | D．Friendship |
According to the article, the movie Tiny Times ________.
| A．is more popular than the other two movies |
| B．was made from Guo Jingming’s novel |
| C．tells about four girls with similar personalities |
| D．opened in Chinese cinemas on August 8 |
What does film commentator Zhou Liming think of the movie?
| A．The four girls’ friendship is touching. |
| B．It encourages the young to work hard. |
| C．It has many advertisements for luxury goods. |
| D．It shows money expresses love or friendship. |
Song Kexin admires Tang Wanru because of Tang’s ________.
| A．optimistic attitude | B．rich family background |
| C．good looks | D．excellent grades at school |
This dog was born on Christmas Eve in 2002. He was different from other dogs because he was born with only two legs. The poor dog of course could not walk and even his mother Sarah did not want him. His first owner Michael Johnson also did not think that he could survive and he was thinking of killing him. But then, his present owner, Jude Stringfellow, met him and wanted to take care of him. She decided to teach and train this little dog to walk by himself. She called him “Faith”.
In the beginning, she put Faith on a surfboard (滑板) to let him feel the movement… Later she used peanut butter on a spoon as a lure (诱惑) and reward for him for standing up and jumping around. Even the other dog at home encouraged him to walk. Amazingly, after only six months, Faith learned to balance on his legs and jump to move forward. After further training in this snow, he could now walk like a person.
Faith loves to walk around now. Wherever he goes, he attracts people’s attention. He is fast becoming famous on the international scene and has appeared on various newspapers and TV shows. A book named With a Little Faith is now being published about him. He was even considered to appear in one of Harry Potter movies.
Jude Stringfellow, his present owner, has stopped working and plans to take him around the world to tell people “that even without a perfect body, one can have a strong will (意志)”.
Faith is a good example of the strong will and wonder of life. In life there are always unpleasant things. So, in order to feel better, you just need to look at life from another direction. I hope this message will bring fresh new ways of thinking to everyone and that everyone will appreciate and be thankful for each beautiful day.
Faith is different from other dogs because _______.
| A．he doesn’t have a tail |
| B．he has only two legs |
| C．he was born on Christmas Day |
| D．his mother loves him best |
Faith’s present owner is ________.
| A．Sarah | B．Michael Johnson |
| C．Harry Potter | D．Jude Stringfellow |
Which of the following is the correct order for Faith to learn to walk around like a person?
① jump to move forward
② train in the snow
③ feel the movement on a surfboard
④ balance on his legs
⑤ use peanut butter on a spoon as a reward
| A．③①④②⑤ | B．③⑤④①② |
| C．②⑤③①④ | D．④⑤①③② |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Faith’s mother can walk with two legs like a person. |
| B．If we don’t have a perfect body, we can’t be successful. |
| C．When we meet with difficulties, we should never give up. |
| D．When we have difficulties, we should wait for others’ help. |
Suppose you work in a big firm and find English very important for your job because you often deal with foreign businessmen. Now you are looking for a place where you can improve your English. Here are some advertisements about English language training from newspapers. You may find the information you need.
| Global English Center General English in all four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. * 3-month (700 yuan ), 6-month (1,200 yuan ) and one-year (2,000 yuan ) courses. * Choice of morning or evening classes, 3 hours per day, Mon. ~ Fri.. * Experienced college English teachers. Tel: 67605272 Add: 105 Zhongshan Road, 100082 |
| Modern Language School Special courses in English for business, travel, banking, hotel management and office skills. * Small classes ( 12~16 students ) on Sat. & Sun. from 2:00~5:00 p.m.. * Native English teachers from Canada and the USA. * Language lab and computers supplied. * 3-month course: 1,050 yuan; 6-month course: 1,850 yuan. Add: Modern Language School, 675 Park Road, 100056 Tel: 67353019 |
| The 21st Century English Training Center We specialize in effective teaching at all levels. * We offer morning or afternoon classes, both of which last three months and a half at a cost of 800 yuan. *Entrance exams: June 1 and Dec. 1. Call 67801642 for more information. |
| The International House of English A six-month English course for students of all levels at very low cost: 60 yuan for 12 hours per week. * Class hours: 9:00~12:00 a.m. and 2:00~5:00 p.m.. *Well trained Chinese and foreign teachers experienced in teaching English as a second/foreign language. Call 67353019 for further information. |
Mr. White works in the daytime every day and the place he will choose is ______.
| A．Global English Center |
| B．Modern Language School |
| C．The 21st Century English Training Center |
| D．The International House of English |
The 21st Century English Training Center is different from the other three. It ______.
| A．has a language lab and computers |
| B．has more experienced teachers |
| C．offers morning or afternoon classes |
| D．requires an entrance exam |
If you want to attend the course at the International House of English, you’ll pay about ______.
| A．1,200 yuan | B．60 yuan |
| C．1,500 yuan | D．1,800 yuan |