“How are you?” is a nice question. It’s a friendly question that people in the U.S.A use to greet each other. But “How are you?” is also a very unusual question. The person who asks “How are you?” hopes to hear the answer “Fine”, even if the person’s friend isn’t fine. The reason is that “How are you?” isn’t really a question and “Fine” isn’t really an answer. They are simply other ways of saying “Hello” or “Hi”.
Sometimes, people also don’t say exactly what they mean. For example, when someone asks “Do you agree?” the other person might think, “No, I disagree. I think you’re wrong...”But it isn’t very polite to disagree so strongly, so the other person might say “I’m not sure.” It’s a nicer way to say that you don’t agree with someone.
People also don’t say exactly what they are thinking when they finish talking with other people. For example, many talks over the phone finish when one person say “I’ve to go now.” Often, the person who wants to hang up gives an excuse: “Someone’s at the door.” “Something is burning on the stove.” The excuses might be real, or not. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn’t want to talk any more, but it isn’t polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn’t hurt the other person.
When they are greeting each other, talking about an idea or finishing a talk, people don’t say exactly what they are thinking. They are trying to be nice to each other, and it’s part of the game of language.When a person in America asks “How are you?”, he or she wants to hear “_____”.
| A．How are you? | B．Hello |
| C．I don’t know | D．Fine |
When a person disagrees with someone, it is polite to say “_____”
| A．I think you are wrong. | B．I’m not sure. |
| C．I agree | D．No, I disagree. |
When a person says “I’ve to go now. Someone is at the door.” he or she may be _____.
| A．giving an excuse | B．ill |
| C．hurting someone’s feeling | D．asking a question |
The rule of the game of language is probably _____.
| A．“Always say what you mean” |
| B．“Don’t disagree with others” |
| C．“Never ask questions ” |
| D．“Be polite” |
Jilin is a good place. It is in the north-east of China. On the north of it is Heilongjiang, the south is Liaoning, the west is Inner Mongolia and the east is North Korea(朝鲜).
It has a long and snowy winter. Usually the winter here starts from October and lasts(持续) for six months. Every year people come here for the Ice Lantern Festival and the winter sports.
Changbai Shan is the first mountain in the north-east of China. There is a lot of snow on the main mountain-"Baitou Shan" all the year, so it is named "Changbai Shan". It has great forests on it. There are tigers, deer, black bears and many other animals in the forests and there are a lot of hot springs (泉) and more than l,500 kinds of plants. On the very top of the mountain is Tianchi. If you come to the lake, you might see the monster(水怪) in it.There is also a great waterfall(瀑布) where the Songhua River comes from.
Another place in Jilin is Xianghai in Tongyu County(县). There are more than 100 pieces of wetlands here. And they are of different sizes. There are 170 kinds of birds, some fish that we can't often see and over 250 different herbal(草药) plants and trees here.Which is the right map?
Winter in Jilin is from _______ to _______.
| A．January; April | B．September; December |
| C．October; April | D．November; May. |
The writer doesn't tell us _______ in the passage.
| A．the neighbors of Jilin |
| B．the temperature in winter in Jilin |
| C．the famous mountain in Jilin |
| D．where there are herbal plants in Jilin |
Life is full of surprises and you never know how things will turn out .Sir John Gurdon is a good example of this. As a boy, he was told he was hopeless at science and finished bottom of his class. Now, aged 79, the very same Gurdon shared the 2012 Nobe Prize in Medicine with Japanese stem cell(干细胞) researcher Shinya Yamanaka.
Like so many scientists, Gurdon shows us where the power of curiosity and perseverance (坚持不懈)can lead.
At the age of 15 in 1948, Gurdon ranked last out of the 250 boys at his high school in biology and every other science subject. Gurdon’s high school science teacher even said that his dream of becoming a scientist was“quite ridiculous”.
In spite of his teacher s criticisms，Gurdon followed his curiosity and kept working hard. He went to the lab early and left later than anyone else. He experienced thousands of failures.
“My own belief is that we will, in the end, understand everything about how cells actually work,” Gurdon said.
In 1962, Gurdon took a cell from an adult frog and moved its genetic(基因的）information into an egg cell. The egg cell then grew into a clone(克隆) of the adult frog. This technique later helped to create Dolly the sheep in 1996, the first cloned mammal(哺乳动物）in the world.
In 2006，Gurdon’s work was developed by Yamanaka to show that a sample(样本）of a person’s skin can be used to create stem cells. Using this technique, doctors can repair a patient’s heart after a heart attack.
Luck favors the prepared mind Gurdon told the Nobel Prize Organization. “Ninety percent of the time things don’t work，but when they do，you have to seize(抓住）the chance.” Who won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine?
| A．Sir John Gurdon |
| B．Shiny a Yamanaka. |
| C．Sir John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka |
| D．Gurdon’s science teacher. |
In what order are the followings mentioned in the passage?
a. create the sheep Dolly
b. take a cell from an adult frog
c. use a person’s skin to create stem cells
d. move a frog’s genetic information into an egg cell
e. grow into a clone of a frog
| A．b—a—c—d—e | B．b—d—e—a—c |
| C．b—d—a—p—e | D．b—c—d—a—c |
What does the underlined word “ridiculous” mean?
| A．无知的 | B．无畏的 | C．荒废的 | D．荒谬的 |
According to the passage, which statement is true?
| A．As a boy, he was told he was hopeful. |
| B．He ranked first at his high school in biology. |
| C．It’s impossible for the doctors to repair a patient’s heart after a heart attack. |
| D．In spite of-his teacher's criticisms, he kept working hard. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Ninety percent of the time things don’t work. |
| B．Luck favors the prepared mind |
| C．Life is full of surprises. |
| D．How to know cells actually work. |
Bears are found in Asia, Africa and America. They are very strong, with short tails and thick legs. Bears eat almost everything. They seem to enjoy meat, vegetables, fruit, milk and rice.
Bears are not quite dangerous as people imagine them to be. Like most animals, they will try to stay away from human beings. However, bears are not weak animals. Sometimes they kill hunters, for they can be very dangerous.
Bears have a good sense of smell but they have poor eyesight. They are also hard of hearing but they are very clever. They feed mainly on roots, frogs, fish and also small insects. They will sometimes kill deer and other large animals, but they seem to like small animals better.
In the cold area, bears hibernate, or go to sleep from October to April. Before they start to hibernate, they eat a lot and store fat. The mother bear has its babies, usually two, towards the end of hibernation. A large bear is much cleverer than a cat and most other animals. You may notice at the zoo how cleverly they ask for food. They sit up and hold out their paws. You would have to teach a dog such a trick but the bears learn this by themselves. Like most animals, bears try to_______.
| A．kill hunters |
| B．store fat after hibernation |
| C．stay away from people |
| D．be friendly with people |
People imagine bears to be_______.
| A．quite harmless | B．very dangerous |
| C．very safe | D．very clever |
A mother bear usually gives birth to_______.
| A．many babies | B．only one |
| C．some of babies | D．two babies |
Which of the following not true?
| A．Bears never kill large animals. |
| B．Bears are found in many places. |
| C．Bears have to hibernate in the winter. |
| D．Bears didn't need to be taught to ask for food |
"They are also hard of hearing." means they__________.
| A．have big ears | B．cannot see |
| C．cannot hear well | D．can hear even weak noise |
Let’s Explore (探索)The Nature!
Are you interested in animals and nature? Want to enjoy your summer holiday and learn something interesting and useful?
Here comes your chance! Youth Explore has prepared you with a THREE-DAY SUMMER PROGRAM! You can take part in many activities and meet with live animals, such as giraffes, pandas, tigers, and so on! More information about the program is as follows:
Age: Students aged 8~16
Groups: There are 2 programs for you to choose from. Each program needs at most 15 students.
| Program A Dates: 14 ~ 16 July, 2014 Days: Monday to Wednesday Time: 10:00 a.m. ~ 4:00 p.m. |
Program B Dates: 5 ~ 7 August, 2014 Days: Tuesday to Thursday Time: 10:00 a.m. ~ 4:00 p.m. |
Program cost: $230 for members; $250 for non-members
How to do: Simply come to our centre to get an application form. Send your completed form on or before 11th July, 2014 (Friday).
Notes:
1. No free lunches are provided because of personal food differences. You may either bring a lunch-box or pay for lunch at our restaurants.
2. Both programs will start 1 day later if there is a warning of rainstorms.
COME AND JOIN US NOW! DON’T MISS THE CHANCE! ________can join the three-day summer program.
| A．A kid of 7 | B．A boy of 14 |
| C．A girl of 17 | D．A man of 26 |
If there is a rainstorm on 14th July, program A will start on _________.
| A．Sunday | B．Monday | C．Tuesday | D．Wednesday |
Two members and one non-member should pay ______ for the program.
| A．$690 | B．$710 | C．$730 | D．$750 |
Free lunches aren’t provided because ______.
| A．the lunches cost too much |
| B．people have different tastes |
| C．there are many restaurants |
| D．they may bring lunch-boxes |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．Youth Explore is the name of the program. |
| B．More than 15 students are in each program. |
| C．We can see three kinds of animals in the program. |
| D．You need to hand in an application form for the program. |
If you are not happy with China’s high Internet fees (费用) and slow speed, you are not alone. So is Premier Li Keqiang. On April 14, he said in a meeting that the government should speed up the Internet and lower the fees.
“The first question people ask at a new place is ‘Is there WI-FI’ because Internet service fees are so high,” said Premier Li. According to a recent survey by CCTV, the average cost(平均费用) of 1GB mobile Internet data per month（每月） in China is 100 Yuan, while it is only 60 Yuan in the US and 40 in Japan.
However, high prices don’t necessarily mean good service. The average Internet speed in China was 4.25Mbps（兆比特每秒）in 2014. South Korea had the fastest average Internet speed-25.3 Mbps. People can download a 1 GB movie within 6 minutes in South Koreas, but in China it would take half an hour.
To improve Internet services, the key is to build more fiber(光纤) networks. Through them we can send text, pictures and videos globally（全球地） in less than a second（秒）, which offer high speed Internet. Besides, the lack of （缺少）market competition is another problem. Having more operators（运营商）besides China Unicom and China Telecom may lower the prices. Why do people always ask for WI-FI at a new place in China?
| A．Because they can’t use Internet without WI-FI. |
| B．Because they can communicate with their families. |
| C．Because they want to download movies. |
| D．Because Internet service fees are too high. |
In 2014, ____ had the fastest average Internet speed.
| A．China | B．USA | C．Japan | D．South Korea |
What is the key to improve Internet services?
| A．To increase Internet service fees. |
| B．To build more fiber networks. |
| C．To learn from South Korea. |
| D．To make the government know the situation. |