HAVE you noticed that the moon is becoming rounder and brighter day after day? That’s because Sept 8 is the Mid-Autumn Festival.
For Chinese people, a full moon means that family members can get together on that day. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, people get together and enjoy the round moon . They also send wishes for family members not with them.
There are many stories about the moon to make the tradition more interesting. In China, Chang’e flying to the moon is a well-known legend(传说). Hou Yi and Chang’e were husband and wife in old times. At the time, there were 10 suns in the sky. Hou yi, a brave man, shot (射) down nine suns. People see Hou Yi as a great hero.
Besides China, many other countries have beautiful stories about the moon. In Greek legend (希腊传说), Artemis is the goddess of the moon. She takes care of the hunt (狩猎) and wild animals. Artemis also looks after young children and women in childbirth (分娩).
In India, the god of the moon is Soma. He has four hands and rides through the sky in a chariot (战车). If a baby is born on a full moon day, Indian people believe he or she is lucky. Paragraph 2 tells us that _____.
| A．the Mid-Autumn Festival is a day for family members to get together. |
| B．the Mid-Autumn Festival has a short history |
| C．Chinese people like to look at the moon |
| D．family members are not that important for Chinese people |
From the Chang’e story, we can learn the following EXCEPT _____.
| A．Hou Yi and Chang’e were husband and wife |
| B．there were 10 suns in the sky at that time |
| C．Hou Yi shot down nine suns |
| D．Hou Yi and Chang’e both flew to the moon |
According to the article, Artemis _____.
| A．is the goddess of the moon in Greek myth |
| B．is the goddess of the moon in Indian myth |
| C．has four hands and rides through the sky on a chariot |
| D．had a baby who was born on a full moon day |
What does the article mainly talk about?
| A．How Chinese people celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. |
| B．The story about Hou Yi and Chang’e. |
| C．Stories about the moon in different countries. |
| D．Who the god or goddess of the moon is in different countries. |
One weekend in May 2015, over 48 centimeters of rain fell in Houston, Texas, USA. Soon the city was covered with water. The rising water rushed into the cars on the roads. There were 16 deaths that weekend.
Changing Weather
The weather is changing. Over the last few years, heavy rains have caused floods (洪灾) in Brazil, Pakistan, and Thailand. Droughts (干旱) have struck Russia and Australia. Heat waves have killed thousands in Europe. There are more different kinds of terrible wild weather all over the world. In 2011 alone, the bad weather caused the world to lose 150 billion dollars.
Warmer and Wetter
As more wild weather events happen, a worried world is beginning to ask questions like: What is going on with the weather? And why? Many also want to know: Is this natural, or are we to blame (责怪)?
The answer seems to be: a little of both. Wild weather is natural. This global (全球的) warming makes heat waves more likely to happen. The higher temperatures also cause more water to enter the air. This causes much more rain. Some scientists also believe global warming makes some storms stronger.
This means we’re likely to see more wild weather. “But we don’t have to just stand there and take it,” says Scientist Michael Oppenheimer. He and other scientists say we need to stop the Earth from getting warmer. We also need to be prepared, to do things that will help save lives.What is the purpose of the second paragraph?
| A．To give examples of wild weather events. |
| B．To guess how the weather will change. |
| C．To explain why the weather is changing. |
| D．To describe the weather events in 2011. |
Which of the following can be put in the blank in Paragraph 4?
| A．And wild weather happens more and more. |
| B．And nature also influences human activity. |
| C．But humans have already paid enough attention to the wild weather. |
| D．But most scientists agree human activity has made the Earth warmer. |
Which of the following would Oppenheimer probably agree with?
| A．It is too late to stop global warming. |
| B．Humans have nothing to do with global warming. |
| C．The weather will get better if we can stop global warming. |
| D．To find ways to keep our things safe is the most important. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
A. In May 2015, there was a deadly flood in Houston, Texas, USA.
B. There are more kinds of terrible wild weather all over the world.
C. Many scientists believe global warming makes some storms stronger.
D. Global warming causes wild weather events and that makes people worried.
He was an old man who fished alone in a small boat on the sea and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been with him. But after forty days without a fish, the boy’s parents had told him that the old man was now salao, which is the worst form of unlucky, and the boy had gone with another boat which caught three good fish the first week. It made the boy sad to see the old man come in each day with his boat empty. The sail looked like the flag of failure forever.
The old man was thin with deep wrinkles (皱纹) in the back of his neck. His face was terribly brown because of the strong sunlight on the sea every day and his hands had the deep scars (伤疤) from dealing with heavy fish on the lines. But none of these scars were fresh. Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful.
“Santiago,” the boy said to him as they climbed the bank from the sea. “I could go with you again. We’ve made some money.”
The old man had taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him.
“No,” the old man said. “You’re with a lucky boat. Stay with them.”
“But remember how you went eighty-seven days without fish and then we caught big ones every day for three weeks.”
“I remember,” the old man said.
“It was papa who made me leave. I am a boy and I must follow him.”
“I know,” the old man said. “It is quite normal.”
“He hasn’t much faith (信心).”
“No,” the old man said. “But we have. Haven’t we?”
“Yes,” the boy said. “Can I offer you a beer on the Terrace?”
“Why not?” the old man said “Between fishermen.”In the story the old man was the boy’s _____.
| A．grandfather | B．friend | C．boss | D．host |
The word they in Paragraph 2 refers to (指的是) _____ of the old man.
| A．the hands | B．the scars |
| C．the eyes | D．the wrinkles |
The old man refused the boy to go fishing with him again because _____.
| A．he wanted to fish by himself |
| B．he could really understand his parents |
| C．the boy asked for some money |
| D．the boy had already learnt how to fish |
From the story we can know that _____.
| A．the old man was always full of hope |
| B．the boy’s parents believed in the old man |
| C．everyone laughed at the old man’s bad luck |
| D．the boy was worried about the old man’s health |
| 1. Posted by: Monica, Canada April 24 10.41 |
| Black bread with honey— A friend of mine stayed in a hotel in India and the manager gave this to her for stomachache. It really works. Just take a piece of bread and toast it until it’s black. Then put honey on the bread and eat it. It doesn’t look good, but it can really help. So if you get stomachache, try this remedy (治疗法). |
| 2. Posted by: Norma, USA April 24 9.25 |
| An onion—If you get a high temperature, use an onion. It sounds strange but it helps. Cut one large onion in half and tie the half an onion to the bottom of each of your feet. You shouldn’t wear socks of course! I use this on my kids and it works every time. The remedy came from a relative from down south. |
| 3. Posted by: Hell, Australia April 23 18.03 |
| A wet teabag—Here is my tip for toothache. You should put a wet teabag on the sore tooth. I always have a wet teabag in the fridge so it’s there when I need it. |
| 4. Posted by: Lameed, England April 23 16. 15 |
| Salt water—When I was a child, I got a lot of headaches and my grandmother always did this for me. Put a few drops of warm salt water in your ears. Don’t use really hot water. Do this three or four times for both ears. Then lie down and close your eyes for about ten minutes. |
The topic of the postings (帖子) is _____.
| A．school problems | B．home remedies |
| C．food and drink | D．outdoor sports |
_____ gave a tip for toothache.
| A．Hell from Australia | B．Norma ’s kids |
| C． A friend of Monica’s | D．Lameed’s grandmother |
According to the postings, you can _____ if you have a headache.
| A．tie half an onion to your feet |
| B．put a wet teabag on your head |
| C．eat a piece of bread with honey |
| D．drop warm salt water in your ears |
The story took place in a small town in winter. One day a man met an old lady standing by an expensive car. It was clear that her car broke down. So he stopped his old truck and got out. Although he was smiling, the old lady was worried. “Is he going to hurt me?”
The man could see that she was frightened, so in his friendliest voice he said, “I’m here to help you, madam. Why don’t you wait in the car to get warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.” It took Bryan about fifty minutes to fix the car. The lady felt quite thankful and she asked how much she should pay him.
But Bryan wanted no money. ①对他来说，帮助别人很正常。He said, “If you want to repay me, next time you see someone in need, just give out your friendly hand.”
After saying goodbye, the lady continued down the road till she reached a small café. She stopped for something to eat. As the pretty waitress stood next to her, the lady noticed she was nearly eight months pregnant (怀孕). ②Although she looked tired, she still served the customers with a smile on her face. As the old lady was going to pay the $10 bill, she remembered Bryan’s words.
The old lady paid one hundred-dollar bill. But when the waitress returned with the change, the lady was gone. On the table she saw a small note. Her eyes were filled with tears when she read it, “Somebody once helped me the way I’m helping you. If you want to pay me back, continue being kind to others. ” Under the note were nine more $100 bills.
Was the old lady an angel? The waitress was so excited that she called her husband to tell the story. “Bryan…Bryan Anderson my dear… you’re not going to believe what has happened… ”
Love needs to be passed on. Everyone can be an angel.
请根据短文内容完成下列任务。Did the old lady believe in Bryan at the beginning of the story? Why?
___________________________________________________________________________请将划线句子①翻译成英语。
___________________________________________________________________________请将划线句子②翻译成汉语。
___________________________________________________________________________请根据短文内容将句子补充完整, 使句子意思连贯。
The waitress found__________________________ and ___________________________on the table
when she returned with the change.What have you learned from the story? (with one sentence)
____________________________________________________________________________
Have you ever had the feeling that no one can understand you? Well, here comes “Pepper”, it could be about to change all that. Pepper is the first robot to read human feelings. Using its emotion recognition functions
(情感识别功能), Pepper can make jokes, dance and even sing to people when they are around it.
The robot looks like a lovely girl. It is four feet tall with a tablet computer in its chest. It has human-like hands, a girl-like body and baby-like voice. It was shown to attract people at stores on Friday.
Pepper can tell facial expressions, human voice and signs, then make an answer. Pepper is designed to be a family robot, but it isn’t like the household robot on the cartoon. Pepper is used at home or store, where we enjoy pleasure and entertainment.
At home, not only can it tell jokes, it also helps people in trouble. If a natural accident happens, it can encourage them, make them laugh and feel relaxed.
Pepper will be on sale at the price of $2,000 in August, 2015. At present, several Peppers are on show at stores for people to visit. Before selling Peppers, the creators want them to store more knowledge in order to get better along with human beings.
请根据短文内容完成所缺信息。
| Pepper—A Robot Of Human Wisdom |
|
| Basic feature (特征) |
◆The first robot to read |
| Description of appearance |
◆It’s four feet tall with a ◆It has human-like hands, girl-like body and baby-like voice. |
| Brief introduction |
◆The creators designed it to be used at ◆It can not only make an answer by telling facial expressions, human voice and signs, but also can help people who are |
| Preparations for sale |
◆Peppers are now still at stores for people to visit. ◆When |