If you have a brother or sister, you already know you are different from each other. You live together in the same house and the same parents, but you have different personalities(性格).
Why is this? One possible reason is the way your parent treat you.
First –born children receive all the attention from their parents. Most families have twice as many photos of a first-born than any other child. Parents usually give first-born more responsibility and depend on them to take care of younger brothers and sisters. As a result, first -born are often responsible, hard-working, and jealous(嫉妒的). They often want to do well at school and work. There are more first-born American Presidents, for example, George Bush, George Washington, and Lyndon Baines Johnson than second or last-born children.
When a second child arrives, parents are more relaxed. The second child has to compete(媲美) with the first-born for the parents’ attention and love. Their children often choose different sports and hobbies to do well at school and work, but have to be creative to get their family’s attention. They are often friendly and cool. Many famous talk-show hosts were born last.The writer thinks that the second children are often ______.
| A．outgoing and jealous |
| B．cool and friendly |
| C．hard-working and serious |
| D．creative and responsible |
The underlined word “responsibility” means _______ in the passage.
| A．关注 | B．溺爱 |
| C．快乐 | D．责任感 |
______is usually the happiest in the family according to the passage.
| A．The eldest child | B．The second child |
| C．The youngest child | D．The father |
We can learn from the passage that ______.
| A．the second child is very similar to the first-born child |
| B．brothers and sisters usually have the same personalities |
| C．it’s easy for the second child to get his or her parents’ attention |
| D．there are more first-born successful people than second or last-born people |
The passage is mainly about ______.
| A．birth order and personalities |
| B．the personalities of the second child in a family |
| C．the personalities of the eldest child in a family |
| D．the personalities of the youngest child in a family |
The Garbage （垃圾） Project started at the University of Arizona in 1973． Since then， the students and teachers in it have studied the modern garbage in different cities．
To study the garbage， the students had to travel to landfills （填埋场） ， the places where cities bury （填埋） their garbage． While the students were studying the garbage they wore special clothes． Students were very careful when they opened bags of garbage．
One important thing the students have learned from studying the garbage is that the garbage in landfills disappears very slowly． That was surprising to both the students and many scientists who had thought that about 70% of the garbage in landfills would disappear quickly． Even in cities where it rains a lot， the students found newspapers from 1948， 40﹣year﹣old hot dogs， and vegetables from 1970． And the students also found many more empty bottles of cola than they expected．
How to dispose of our garbage well depends on what kind of garbage it is： regular（普通的） garbage， dangerous materials， or recyclable materials， such as newspapers and glass bottles． Regular garbage goes to regular landfills． Dangerous materials are harmful to people's health and the environment． They shouldn't go into regular landfills．
Homes are full of dangerous waste． One kind of the dangerous waste in homes is batteries． When batteries are buried directly（直接地）in a landfill， they often break open． The poison inside them moves through rain water to the bottom of the landfill． Then it can pollute the natural water in the ground．
Another dangerous waste from homes is motor oil． When people pour old motor oil on the ground or throw it in the garbage， it pollutes the environment．
Our garbage problem is not new， but as the world's population continues to grow， it will become a bigger and bigger problem．
（1）The Garbage Project started at the University of Arizona in ．
A． 1973
B． 1970
C． 1948
D． 1940
（2）To study the modern garbage， the students had to do many things except ．
A． Wearing special clothes
B． traveling to landfills
C． burying the garbage themselves
D． opening bags of garbage
（3）The underlined words "dispose of" in Paragraph 4 means ．
A． crash into
B． deal with
C． worry about
D． put up
（4）From the article， we know old motor oil ．
A． should go to regular landfills
B． isn't harmful garbage
C． mustn't be poured on the ground
D． never pollutes the environment
（5）Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？
A． There are only two kinds of dangerous waste in homes．
B． Scientists thought about 70% of the garbage in landfills would disappear slowly．
C． The students found empty bottles of cola were not as many as they expected．
D． Batteries often break open when they are buried directly in a landfill．
Shawneen Mountain is a perfect place for skiing． Lifts（电梯）can help tourists get to the top of the mountain in 3 minutes． The following is the price table of the lift tickets．
|
LIFT TICKETS |
|||
|
Tourists |
Weekday （open to close） |
Weekend （open to close） |
Night （3 p．m． to 10 p．m． |
|
Adult*（Ages 19 to 60） |
﹩48 |
﹩55 |
﹩34 |
|
Young Man *（Ages 18&． under） |
﹩37 |
﹩41 |
﹩34 |
|
Child （46cm tall &． under） |
FREE |
FREE |
FREE |
|
College Student [College ID （证件 ） needed] |
﹩38 |
﹩49 |
﹩34 |
|
Soldier （Active Duty ID needed） |
﹩38 |
﹩49 |
﹩34 |
|
Elders*（ Ages 60 to 69） |
﹩38 |
﹩49 |
﹩34 |
|
Super Elders*（Ages 70+） |
FREE |
FREE |
FREE |
|
*proof （证明） of age needed |
|||
|
Lift Hours Monday ﹣﹣﹣ Friday： 9 a．m． ﹣ 10 p．m． Weekend： 8 a．m． ﹣ 10 p．m． Christmas Day： Noon ﹣ 5 p．m． |
|||
（1）Shawneen Mountain is a perfect place for ．
A． skiing
B． walking
C． climbing
D． riding
（2）If a child of 42cm tall takes the lift with his 18﹣year﹣old brother on Thursday morning， they will pay ．
A． ﹩41
B． ﹩48
C． ﹩37
D． ﹩74
（3）As a college student， you can buy a lift ticket at a lower price if you show your ．
A． college name
B． college ID
C． phone number
D． Active Duty ID
（4）Tourists take the lift at to the top of the mountain on Christmas Day．
A． 8 a．m．
B． 4 p．m．
C． 9 a．m．
D． 10 p．m．
（5）Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？
A． It takes 3 hours to get to the top of Shawneen Mountain by lift．
B． Tourists can't take the lift at 9： 30 a． m． on Sunday morning．
C． A soldier shouldn't pay ＄55 for the ticket at weekends with his Active Duty ID．
D． People aged over 70 are also welcome to Shawneen Mountain．
There were many plants in a forest． When spring came， a pine tree saw a red rose nearby and said， "What a beautiful flower! I wish I were that lovely． "
The rose proudly said， "It seems that I am the most beautiful flower in this forest． "Then the rose looked at a cactus （仙人掌） and said， "Look at that ugly plant full of thorns（刺）! "
"What a proud flower! " thought the trees．
As the days passed． the red rose often looked at the cactus and said bad words about it， like "This plant is useless． How sorry I am to be his neighbor ! "
The cactus never got angry and even tried to advise the rose， saying， "God did not create any form of life without a purpose． "
Spring passed， and the weather became very hot． As there was no rain， the red rose began to wilt（枯萎）．
One day the rose saw birds put their beaks （喙） into the cactus and then fly away． The red rose asked the pine tree what the birds were doing． The pine tree explained that the birds were getting water from the cactus．
"The cactus has water？" asked the rose．
Yes， you can also drink some from it． The birds can bring water to you if you ask the cactus for help． "
The red rose felt too ashamed to ask for water from the cactus． But finally it did ask for help． The cactus kindly agreed．
The rose learned a lesson and never judged （评价） anyone by their appearance again．
（1）At first， thought the cactus was ugly．
A． the rose
B． the pine tree
C． the birds
D． the thorns
（2）The red rose began to wilt because ．
A． the birds could fly
B． spring came
C． there was no rain
D． the cactus got angry
（3）The birds put their beaks into the cactus to ．
A． get water
B． eat food
C． offer help
D． tell secrets
（4）From the passage， we know the cactus was ．
A． rude
B． kind
C． selfish
D． careless
（5）From the story， we know ．
A． the pine tree didn't think the red rose was beautiful
B． the red rose never said bad words about others
C． the cactus refused to help the birds
D． the red rose realized she was wrong at last
When Major， the most respected pig， saw all the animals were present， he cleared his throat and began：
"Now， comrades （同志们） ， I don't think I shall be with you for many months． Before I die， let me ask you a question． What is the nature of this life of ours？ Let us face it： our lives are miserable and short． We are born， we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies， and those of us who are able to do it are forced to work to the last
"Why then do we continue in this miserable？ Because nearly the whole of the produce of our hard work is stolen from beings． There， comrades， is the answer to all our problems． It is summed up in a single word﹣ Man． Man is the only real enemy we have． Remove （消灭） Man from the scene， and the basic cause of hunger and overwork is ended for ever． "
"And now， comrades， I will sing an old song that came into my dream last night to you． I am sure， it was a song sung by the animals of long ago and have been lost to memory for marry years． It is called Animals of England．"
His voice was hoarse （沙哑的）， but he sang well enough to throw the animals into the wildest excitement． Almost before Major had reached the end， they had begun singing it for themselves．
Unluckily， the singing woke Mr． Jones， the farm owner， who jumped out of bed， thinking that there was a fox in the yard． He took the gun which always stood in a comer of his bedroom， and let fly 6 shots （射击） into the darkness． The pellets （子弹） flew into the wall of the yard and the meeting broke up hurriedly． Everyone ran to his own sleeping place． The birds jumped onto their trees， the animals settled down in the straw， and the whole farm was asleep in a moment．
（1）Why did Major make the speech？
A． To encourage the animals to fight against Man．
B． To teach the animals to sing an old song．
C． To say goodbye to the animals before death．
D． To complain about his personal miserable life．
（2）What does the underlined word " miserable" in the second paragraph most probably mean？
A． common
B． boring
C． lonely
D． painful
（3）Which of the following is true according to the passage？
A． The animals on the farm were brave．
B． Major's speech was nearly successful．
C． Major and Mr． Jones were friendly to each other．
D． Mr． Jones forced his animals to work from birth to death．
（4）Why did Mr． Jones fire his gun？
A． To break up the animals' meeting． ′
B． To kill the fox he saw in the yard．
C． To make sure his gun was in good condition．
D． To protect the animals he raised on his farm．
Nowadays， it never seems we have enough time to realize all of the reading goals （目标） that we set for ourselves． Luckily， we have mobile apps such as Latte Read and Get Abstract to provide abstracts （梗概） of a text． Abstracts are useful tools， especially for students， but like having a friend describe the main content of a story to you， you cannot experience the joy and excitement of reading the original （原来的） text of yourself．
I recently finished reading a thick book of W． Somerset Maugham's collected short stories． It took me around ten years to get through． Thomas Mann's difficult The Magic Mountain took me about six months to read； Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged made me very bored most of the time． Reading a book， whether it is good or bad， is a formative （建设性的） experience． There are plenty of books which I probably shouldn't have taken the time to read． But the challenge of living for a time in the thoughts and experiences of a different history or character makes even the worst book a valuable effort．
Whenever I finish the last line of a book and slowly close it， I like to sit there and think over its lines with a mix of nostalgia （怀旧之情） and pride． I then take the book in hand and find a place for it on my bookshelf． When I step back and look at the books on my shelf， it is as if I am looking at the history of the different lives that I have lived．
Abstracts are useful as a tool to an end， but reading the actual （真正的） book is something much richer． Reading， like anything else in life， is much more about the journey than it ever was the destination （目的地）．
（1）What does the writer mainly want to say？
A． Reading abstracts is a best short way to enjoy literature．
B． Reading abstracts cannot bring you the true feeling of actual reading．
C． Reading different kinds of books brings you many advantages．
D． The journey and the destination are equally important in our reading．
（2）What can we know about the writer from the second paragraph？
A． He prefers thick and difficult books to short stories．
B． A good book is better worth reading than a bad one to him．
C． He achieves a lot from reading some challenging books．
D． He is lucky enough never to have read a regrettable book．
（3）In the third paragraph the writer his main point of view （主要观点）．
A． explains the meaning of
B． provides further support for
C． makes a conclusion of
D． offers an opposite example for