When I crossed a small road on my first day in Kolkata, I was surprised because I heard a bell-not a horn (喇叭). It was a tiny man pulling a rickshaw(黄包车，人力车). He stopped and picked up two children from the front door of their house and pulled them to school. For many people, the rickshaw in Kolkata has many advantages, When the traffic is bad, rickshaws find a way through the traffic. If your miss your bus and there aren't any taxis, you can always find a rickshaw in Kolkata. Rickshaws are from your house to the market and waits for you. Then he loads (装载)all your things, drops you off outside your home and helps you unload, No other type of public transport offers this kind of service.
From June to September, Kolkata gets heavy rain. Sometimes it rains for 48 hours without a break. In some parts of the city, the roads flood (水淹), and anything with an engine(发动机) is useless, But the rickshaw drivers never stop working, even with water all around them.
But not everyone thinks rickshaws are a good thing. The local government want to ban rickshaws. They believe it is wrong for one man to pull another person when there is modern transport in the city. However, there is a problem with this plan. Many of the rickshaw drivers come from the countryside. The only job they can find in Kolkata is pulling a rickshaw, If the city bans rickshaws, these men won't have a job. So for the moment, the people of Kolkata still go by rickshaw.What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?
| A．The rickshaw drivers carry things for local people in Kolkata. |
| B．Parents need rickshaws for taking children to school in Kolkata. |
| C．Rickshaws can find a way through the bad traffic in Kolkata. |
| D．Rickshaws are very useful for the people's daily life in Kolkata. |
Which type of transport may you take when the roads flood in Kolkata?
| A．A bus. | B．A taxi. | C．A car. | D．A rickshaw. |
What does the underlined word "ban" mean?
| A．提倡 | B．增加 | C．禁止 | D．没收 |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The rickshaws in Kolkata have loud horns. |
| B．The rickshaw is still a part of public transport in Kolkata. |
| C．The local government offer many other jobs to the rickshaw driven. |
| D．The people in Kolkata are supposed to take rickshaws instead of cars |
Why are black cats bad?
November 17 is an important day for black cats in Italy. An animal rights group has named that day “Black Cat Day” to stop the killing of thousands of the cats. Why do people the animal so much? It is because people believe black cats bring bad luck if they walk across your path.
The black cat is just one of the of superstition(迷信）.You may already know that Western people don’t like the number 13. They also believe that walking under a ladder, opening an umbrella indoors and a mirror can also bring bad luck.
According to Andrew Macaskill, who works for Times , British people believe it is to see one magpie(喜鹊). But two bring good luck. “In Britain, people like to have a horseshoes over the door. They believe it can bring good luck,” Macaskill said. “But the horseshoe needs to be the right way up. The luck if it is upside down.”
In the US, people usually spit on a new baseball bat before using it for the first time. They think this can bring good luck. Also, it is believed that good spirits live in trees. So by knocking on anything made from wood, people can call upon those spirits for protection against misfortune. People in the US also believe there are evil（邪恶的） spirits in blooms（扫帚）. So lean a broom against a bed. The evil spirits will cast a spell on the bed.
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June 11,2013 was another big day for Chinese space exploration. Shenzhou X, China’s fifth manned spacecraft, was sent into space. Three astronauts, Nie Haisheng, 49, Zhang Xiaoguang, 47, and Wang Yaping, 33, stayed in space for 15 days.
Tiangong-1 is China’s first space module(舱). It was sent into space in 2011. It will be developed into a large space station around 2020. A space station is a lab for scientific studies.Shenzhou X performed its first docking（对接）with Tangong-1 on June 13. It docked twice during the 15 days.
The US, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe are working together on the International Space Station (ISS).China wanted to join the ISS but was refused by the US. China decided to build its own space station.
Shenzhou X flew around the Tianggong-1 lab for the first time. This was to make sure that spacecraft could dock from more than just one direction. The astronauts carried out repair work and did experiments on the Tiangong-1.
Teaching from space
Wang Yaping, China’s second woman astronaut, taught high school and primary school students about space science. Wang talked about how things move in a micro-gravity(微重量)environment. This helped the students better understand some physics ideas, like Newton’s Law. The lessons aimed to encourage more students to learn about the universe and science.
Life up in space
The three astronauts followed a work and rest schedule（作息时间）that is similar on the Earth. They had Chinese dishes, such as Kung Pao Chicken and fried rice. The food was kept in special bags. At the time of the Dragon Boat Festival, they had Zongzi. Shenzhou X, China’s fifth manned spacecraft was sent into space _______.
| A．on June 11, 2013 | B．on June 13, 2013 |
| C．on June 11, 2011 | D．on June 13, 2011 |
Among the three astronauts Nie Haisheng is _______.
| A．the youngest | B．the oldest |
| C．the tallest | D．the strongest |
Tiangong-1 is _______ which was sent into space in 2011.
| A．a space station | B．a manned spacecraft |
| C．a space module | D．a space lab |
China decided to build its own space station because________.
| A．China was very rich |
| B．the US refused China to join the ISS |
| C．Chinese scientists wanted to do experiment in space |
| D．the astronauts wanted to stay there |
Wang Yaping taught the lesson to encourage students to________.
| A．become the next Newton |
| B．experience micro-gravity |
| C．learn more about the universe and science |
| D．know more about the life of astronauts |
From the last paragraph, we can learn that the three astronauts _______.
| A．had a different time schedule in space |
| B．cooked Chinese food for dinner |
| C．celebrated Dragon Boat Festival by having Zongzi |
| D．slept in special sleeping bags |
There was a lovely vegetable patch (菜园). A large tree grew there. Both the patch and the tree gave the place a wonderful look, and they were the pride of the gardener. But no one knew that the vegetables and the tree couldn’t stand each other. The vegetables hated the tree’s shadow (阴影), because it left them only just enough light to live. The tree, on the other hand, hated the vegetables because they drank nearly all the water, leaving him just enough to live.
The situation became so serious that the vegetables decided to use up all the water in the ground so that the tree would die. The tree answered back by not protecting the vegetables from the hot sun, so they began to dry up. Soon the vegetables were really weak, and the tree was drying up.
The gardener wondered why and stopped watering them. When he did that, both the tree and the vegetables realized that it was better to help each other. They learned how to live in harmony with those around them. So they decided to work together, using both the shade and the water to grow well. After seeing how well they were doing, the gardener gave the best care to his vegetable patch, watering and fertilizing (施肥) it better than any other patch for miles around.
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并在答题卡上按要求作答。Why didn’t the vegetables and the tree get on well with each other?
| A．Because the vegetables wanted more light. |
| B．Because the tree drank almost all the water. |
| C．Because the vegetables weren’t the pride of the gardener. |
| D．Because the vegetables didn’t look as wonderful as the tree. |
From the passage we know .
| A．The vegetables were sorry to see the tree drying up |
| B．The gardener was very angry with the vegetables and the tree |
| C．The gardener didn’t know what was happening in the patch at first |
| D．The tree didn’t know how important the sun was to the vegetables |
The underlined phrase “in harmony” means “ ” in Chinese..
| A．长久地 | B．小心地 |
| C．有效地 | D．和谐地 |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．The tree and the vegetables. | B．The tree and the patch. |
| C．The gardener and his patch. | D．Sunlight and water. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．We should take good care of trees and vegetables. |
| B．One can live alone without any help. |
| C．We should get on well with others around us. |
| D．Both trees and vegetables harmed each other. |
London used to be “foggy” for the same reason that cities like Beijing or Chongqing are “foggy” today. The “fog” was in fact smog, a mixture of smoke and fog. In other words, it was made by air pollution. In London, some of this pollution came from factories, but much of it came from the coal(煤)that people burnt in their houses to keep warm during the winter. By the 1950s, London’s smog problem had become so bad that the government decided to do something to clean the air. A new law was made and nobody could burn coal in any British city. Within a few years, the air became much cleaner. There were no more “pea-soupers”.
Many Chinese cities now face the same sort of problem with air pollution that London faced 40 or 50 years ago. However, this problem is more difficult for Chinese cities to solve. One reason is that more of the pollution comes from the factories, rather than from coal burnt in people’s houses. If these factories were closed, this would harm the economy and lots of people would lose their jobs. Another reason is that changing from coal to cleaner fuel(燃料), like gas, is quite expensive.
However, the air in many Chinese cities is becoming cleaner and cleaner, as the government and people pay more and more attention to cutting down pollution. As a result, there are fewer “pea-soupers” in Beijing than there used to be.
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并在答题卡上按要求作答。What was the main reason for air pollution in London?
| A．There was too much smoke in the sky. |
| B．There were too many factories in the city. |
| C．People burnt too much coal in the houses. |
| D．The city was too big for the cleaners to clean. |
How did the air in London become much cleaner?
| A．There was not so much fog in the winter later. |
| B．A law was made to keep people from burning coal in their houses. |
| C．Many factories in the city were closed. |
| D．People paid more attention to cleaning their city. |
What does the underlined word “pea-soupers” refer to?
| A．Smog | B．Smoke | C．Gas | D．Coal |
The problem of air pollution is more difficult for Chinese cities to solve because of _____ reasons.
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
What do you think the government will do with the air pollution?
| A．The government will ask people to burn coal. |
| B．The government will ask people always use gas instead of coal. |
| C．The government will close all the factories in China. |
| D．The government will pay more and more attention to cutting down pollution. |
Singapore’s public transport system (公共交通系统) is one of the best in the world, so you should have no problem finding your way around like a local. There are three main forms of public transport here that you would find in any other big city--trains, buses and taxis.
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TRAINS Trains run from 6 a.m. to midnight. Single trip tickets start at 80 cents. If you buy an EZ-Link card for $15, you can take the trains and buses as you like. If you need more information, just call Transit Link at 18007674333. |
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| BUSES There are several bus services in Singapore and fares（车费）start at 80 cents. Be sure to always ask the driver the cost of your ticket as he cannot give you changes. If you need help, just call Transit Link at 18007674333. |
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TAXIS There are three main taxi companies--City Cab（65522222），Comfort（65521111）and Tibs（65528888）.Booking can also be made easily by calling the number above. |
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| RENTAL（租）CARS Driving in Singapore is a pleasure and if you like to travel as you like, renting a car is a good choice. Renting takes away the trouble of getting to places around Singapore. Just sit back and enjoy the city. It also means you’ll get to see a lot more than a train or a bus won’t let you see. For car rental, call Avis on 6567371668. |
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根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并在答题卡上按要求作答。 Buy an EZ-Link card, and you can take __________.
| A．both buses and trains | B．only trains |
| C．both buses and taxis | D．only rental cars |
What is a good choice if you want to travel freely in Singapore?
| A．To take a bus. | B．To take a train. |
| C．To rent a car. | D．To take a taxi. |
If you need to rent a car, you may call __________.
| A．65528888 | B．6567371668 |
| C．18007674333 | D．65522222 |
The passage mainly talks about __________ in Singapore.
| A．how to rent a car | B．how to take a bus |
| C．3 taxi companies | D．public transport system |
From the passage, which sentence is true?
| A．A local has some trouble finding his way around. |
| B．It’s much cheaper to go around by bus than by train. |
| C．You can see a lot more in Singapore only by renting a car. |
| D．It’s easy and convenient for visitors to travel in Singapore. |