A story tells about an elder villager who led other villagers carrying salt day and night to a town in order to buy food for the winter. One night they camped in an open air with a starry sky above. The elder villager, following the tradition passed down from ancestors, took out three blocks(块) of salt and threw them into the campfire to tell the change of weather in the mountains.
All people waited for the old man's "weather report": if the salt in the fire produced crackling sound(爆裂声), they would have good weather; if no sound was produced, it then meant the good weather would soon end and a storm would come at any moment.
The elder villager looked serious. The salt in the campfire made no sound at all. He urged the whole team to set out immediately. A young man in the group thought it absurdly(荒谬地)superstitious(迷信的) to "forecast the weather by using salt".
It was not until the next afternoon, the weather suddenly changed, with cold winds blowing and a snowstorm coming. In fact, the method used by the elder man could be well explained by modern science: whether or not salt produces sound in campfire depends on air humidity(湿度).That is to say, when a snowstorm approaches, lead to high humidity, the salt blocks will not produce any sound in fire.
Young people often don’t mind the philosophy(哲学) of the old, regarding their ideas as out date and useless. To be honest, however, some beliefs in life are just like salt blocks that are distilled(蒸馏) from the sea: old as they are, they remain crystals(结晶), and carry with them deep memories of the sea.
根据材料内容选择最佳答案，将其标号填入题前括号内。Why did the villagers go to the town?
| A．They wanted to buy some salt and food |
| B．They wanted to sell the salt and buy some food. |
| C．They wanted to check the old belief. |
| D．They wanted to forecast the weather by using salt |
What will happen if it rains recently?
| A．The salt in the fire will produce crackling sound. |
| B．The salt in the fire will produce no sound. |
| C．The salt will remain crystals. |
| D．The elder people will give us the weather report. |
Why didn’t the young man think the “weather report” absurdly superstitious?
| A．The villagers were always superstitious, especially the old man. |
| B．He didn’t believe the god and only believe the modern science. |
| C．He didn’t believe the traditional way could forecast the weather by using salt. |
| D．He thought the salt could tell us the weather. |
What’s the meaning of the word “approach”?
| A．到达 | B．远离 | C．追逐 | D．消失 |
What’s the meaning of the last paragraph?
| A．Young people shouldn’t believe the philosophy of the old. They are superstitious. |
| B．Salt blocks can carry the memories of the deep sea, so it can forest the weather. |
| C．All the belief in life are useful and can give us suggestions in our lives. |
| D．Young people should learn from the old because they are knowledgeable and have much experience. |
A 90-year-old tortoise (乌龟) is going twice its usual speed after being equipped (装备) with a set of wheels. The animal, called Mrs T, was facing a terrible future after losing her two front legs in a mouse attack while she was sleeping in winter, but her owners glued the wheels onto her shell (外壳).
“She’s going double the speed she used to,” said the owner Jude Ryder, “She uses her back legs to push herself along and seems quite happy.”
The 58-year-old owner was surprised when she went to check on her loved pet last month and found her front legs had been eaten in the mouse attack. The local animal doctor tried his best to save Mrs T. But he was afraid that the tortoise would not survive without being mobile. After paying £1,000 for the treatment, Mrs Ryder turned to her son Dale for help. Dale designed the front wheels and used resin (树脂) to add them to the front of the shell. Mrs Ryder said: “She liked them immediately, but she must learn how to turn and stop. She can get a good speed up, much faster than before. Mrs T is still quite young for a tortoise. She could go on for another 50 years. All she needs is a new set of tyres (轮胎) sometimes.”
When Mrs T was sixty years old, she was bought as a pet for Dale, an 8-year-old boy. It liked running happily in Mrs Ryder’s garden in spring and summer. When winter came, Mrs T slept in the garden shelter. A mouse got in last month and chewed (咬) off both her front legs. Mrs Ryder said: “We were afraid she would be sure to die, but her new set of wheels have saved her life. She can run in the garden again and we can always find her because she leaves very strange footprints behind wherever she goes.”
Mice attacking tortoises is not uncommon around us—in 2013 Britain’s oldest tortoise died after a mouse attack. The tortoise called Thomas was 130 when he was bitten at his home in Guernsey. He spent five days on strong antibiotics (抗生素), but the wound became so infected (被感染的) that his owner had no choice but to have him put to sleep. After being equipped with a set of wheels, Mrs T can move by using .
| A．her back legs to push herself |
| B．her front legs to pull herself |
| C．her back wheels to pull herself |
| D．her front wheels to push herself |
According to the passage, Mrs Ryder’s son is about .
| A．8 years old | B．28 years old |
| C．38 years old | D．58 years old |
Which of the following shows the right order of the story?
a. A mouse chewed off Mrs T’s two front legs.
b. Mrs T’s owners glued the wheels onto her shell.
c. Mrs T learned how to turn and stop with equipped wheels.
d. The local animal doctor tried his best to treat Mrs T.
e. Mrs T was bought as a pet for Dale when she was sixty.
| A．e-a-b-c-d | B．a-b-c-d-e |
| C．a-e-b-c-d | D．e-a-d-b-c |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Mrs Ryder is able to move much faster than before. |
| B．Tortoises attacking mice is not uncommon around us. |
| C．The animal doctor added the front wheels to the shell. |
| D．Mrs T can go faster after being equipped with wheels. |
A public primary school in New York City has stopped giving its students homework.
P.S. 116 Principal Jane Hsu wrote a letter to parents last month, explaining that after more than a year of analyzing (分析) studies, the school had decided that students’ after-school time would be better spent on activities like reading at their own pace (步伐) and playing instead of working on homework.
Hsu’s letter says that many studies show that there is no connection between homework and academic (学业的) success. Some other studies also show that the connection between homework and success is dubious at the primary school level.
Harris Cooper, a social psychologist who researches education, found that doing homework makes students perform better in school as they grew older. In later grades, students who did homework performed increasingly better than students who did not. In 2006, Cooper published a study that analyzed 15 years’ worth of data on the influence of homework. He found that homework had a good influence on students as they aged.
Some parents are not happy with the decision to give up homework. “I think they should have homework. I want my daughter to have fun, but I also want her to be working towards a goal,” Daniel Tasman, the father of a second-grader at the school, said to the reporter.
“Students have to do homework in order to gain. Students have to do homework because they may not be able to understand everything in school,” Sharon Blake, a student’s grandmother told ABC news.
The passage is probably from a .
| A．newspaper | B．comedy | C．cartoon | D．novel |
Jane Hsu wrote a letter to parents to explain .
| A．how students should read at their own pace |
| B．what activities students could take at home |
| C．why the school gave up homework recently |
| D．how important the homework is for students |
The word “dubious” in Paragraph 3 probably means “not ”.
| A．clear | B．public | C．real | D．special |
What can we infer (推断) according to the passage?
| A．Cooper found homework had a bad influence on students as they aged. |
| B．Some parents are worried about their children if there is no homework. |
| C．Some students are not happy with the decision to give up school homework. |
| D．Daniel Tasman wanted his daughter to have fun instead of working to a goal. |
Nancy would like to take part in a fancy-dress party (化妆舞会). She had to go to the party with her friends because her husband has been to another city to go on a business trip. Later that night, she was busy in dressing up herself as a ghost, including putting on masks and some special costumes.
After finishing it, she went downstairs to look at herself in the mirror. Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door. She knew that it must be the baker (面包师). She had told him to come straight in if ever she failed to open the door and to leave the bread on the kitchen table. Not wanting to frighten (使惊吓) the poor man, Nancy quickly hid in the storeroom under the stairs.
To her surprise, it was her husband who changed his plan and came back home 2 days earlier. The husband called his wife’s name happily and looked for her all around. Nancy was so excited that she ran to her husband without realizing she was a ghost at that moment. But it was too late. Her husband let out a cry and jumped back several steps. Then he lost his sense and lay on the ground.At first, Nancy decided to go to the fancy-dress party with .
| A．her friends | B．the baker |
| C．some neighbors | D．her husband |
Nancy went to the storeroom under the stairs because she .
| A．wanted to look at herself in the mirror |
| B．wanted to give her husband a big surprise |
| C．did not want to make the baker feel scared |
| D．saw a burglar at home and protected herself |
What happened at the end of the story?
| A．Nancy went to the party with her husband happily. |
| B．Nancy’s husband was so scared that he lost his sense. |
| C．Nancy had a wonderful party to welcome her husband at home. |
| D．Nancy’s husband was angry with her and left home alone at once. |
What can be the best title for this passage?
| A．A happy husband. | B．A poor baker. |
| C．A short business trip. | D．A ghost at home. |
How often will the club have English activities?
| A．Once a month. | B．Once a week. |
| C．Twice a month. | D．Twice a week. |
After taking part in English activities in the club, you will .
| A．have activities every day |
| B．be a shining English star at once |
| C．have fun writing English |
| D．speak English better than before |
According to the poster, how can you join the Happy English Club?
| A．Send an email to the club. |
| B．Post a letter to the headmaster. |
| C．Tell your own English teacher. |
| D．Make a phone call to the club. |
Why is Denmark(丹麦) the “kingdom of fairy tales”? Because it was the home of famous writer Hans Christian Andersen. But there might be other reasons， says a new study.
Denmark is the happiest country in the world， according to the 2013 World Happiness Report by the United Nations (UN). The report ranks（排列）156 countries and regions (地区). All the top five happiest countries are from Europe， and three of them are from Scandinavia.
What makes people there happy? The UN considered several reasons.
Money is one. We are happy if we have money to cover our necessities. But extra (额外的) money cannot bring us more happiness. People in Northern Europe know this. From cars to mobile phones， from clothes to buildings， their designs are quite simple. Luxury (奢华) is not there.
Another reason is health. Nordic (北欧的) people have a healthy diet. They love fresh food. “There is not a big fast-food culture and no ready meals. We sit down with our families to eat our meals，” said Trina Hahnemann， a Danish cook.
A harmonious (和谐的) social life also makes us happy， according to the UN report. How about Nordic people? They live in harmony not only with people around， but also with nature. Night life is not popular in Scandinavia. People go home after work for some quality（高品质的） time with family members. Many families have a backyard. Father and child spend hours there each week， planting flowers and building swings.
Do you want to be happy? Think about the Nordic lifestyle， and happiness is in your own hands.
回答下面5个问题，每题答案不超过7个词。Where does Hans Christian Andersen come from?
How many countries of the top five happiest countries are from Scandinavia?
Do Nordic people love fresh food or ready meals?
What do father and child spend hours doing in their yard each week?
What can make people there happy according to the passage?