When Flora Kahlo’s paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “a ribbon around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kahlo had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City, Kahlo suffered from polio(小儿麻痹症 )at the age of seven. Her spine(脊柱) became bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but nothing was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kahlo taught herself to paint.
In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influences on Kahlo’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.
Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and 1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953. For more than a decade after her death in 1954, Kahlo’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last.What does the phrase “a much bigger name” in Paragraph 1 most probably mean? ______
| A．a far better artist |
| B．a much more famous person |
| C．a much stronger person |
| D．a far more gifted artist |
The terrible pain Kahlo suffered was caused by ______.
| A．back injuries | B．her bent spine |
| C．polio | D．the operations she had |
Kahlo’s style had become increasingly independent since the _________.
| A．1930s | B．1970s |
| C．1950s | D．1940s |
What is the author’s attitude toward Kahlo? ______
| A．Devotion | B．Encouragement |
| C．Ironic | D．Sympathy |
English is an important global language, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to learn. Many experts have tried to make English easier for students to learn―but they weren’t always successful.
In 1930, Professor CK Ogden of Cambridge University invented Basic English. It had only 850 words (and just eighteen verbs) and Ogden said most people could learn it in just thirty hours. The problem was that people who learned Basic English could write and say simple messages, but they couldn’t understand the answers in “real” English! It was also impossible to explain a word if it wasn’t in the Basic English word list. For example, if you wanted a watermelon, you asked for “a large green fruit with the form of an egg, which has a sweet red inside and a good taste”!
RE Zachrisson, a university professor in Sweden, decided that the biggest problem for learners of English was spelling, so he invented a language called Anglic. Anglic was similar to English, but with much simpler spelling. “Father” became “faadher”, “new” became “nue’ and “years” became “yeerz”. Unfortunately for some students of English, Anglic never became popular.
Even easier is the language which ships’ captains use: it’s called “Seaspeak”. Seaspeak uses a few simple phrases for every possible situation. In Seaspeak, for example, you don’t say, “I’m sorry what did you say?” or “I didn’t understand, can you repeat that?” It’s just “Say again.” No more grammar!
In the age of international communication through the Internet who knows? ... a new form of English might appear. A large number of the world’s e-mails are in English and include examples of “NetLingo” like OIC (Oh, I see) and TTYL (Talk to you later). In another fifty years, English might not exist ... we will probably all speak fluent Internetish!The best title for the passage would be ______.
| A．Seaspeak | B．Basic English |
| C．Internetish | D．Easy English |
It will take a person about ______ weeks to learn Basic English if he spends two hours
learning it every day.
| A．six | B．four | C．two | D．three |
According to Professor Zachrisson, what was the biggest problem for learners of English?
| A．Grammar. | B．Vocabulary. |
| C．Speaking. | D．Spelling. |
Which of the following is likely to be Anglic?
| A．IOU | B．A graet batl. |
| C．Long time no see. | D．Two five, no lights. |
What might happen to English in another fifty years?
| A．It might be replaced by Internetish. |
| B．It might become a global language. |
| C．It might take the place of all other languages. |
| D．It might become more and more difficult. |
Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important, of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging has increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household's waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for burying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But it is also applied to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realize just how much unnecessary materials are collected. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.What does the underlined phrase "over-consumption" refer to?
| A．Using too much packaging. |
| B．Recycling too many wastes. |
| C．Having more material than is needed. |
| D．Making more products than necessary. |
The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show_______.
| A．the tendency of cutting household waste |
| B．the increase of packaging recycling |
| C．the fact of packaging overuse |
| D．the rapid growth of supermarkets |
According to the text, recycling_________.
| A．means burning packaging for energy |
| B．helps control the greenhouse effect |
| C．is the solution to gas shortage |
| D．leads to a waste of land |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
| A．Unpackaged products are of bad quality. |
| B．Supermarkets care more about packaging. |
| C．Other products are better packaged than food. |
| D．It is improper to judge quality by packaging. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Needless material is mostly recycled. |
| B．Fighting wastefulness is difficult. |
| C．People like collecting recyclable wastes. |
| D．The author is proud of their consumer culture. |
The day when the jobs were handed out was one of the most exciting moments for all the children in the class. It took place during the first week of the term. Every kid was given a job for which they would be responsible for the rest of that school year.
Some jobs were more interesting than others, and the children were eager to be given one of the best ones. When giving them out, the teacher took into account which pupils had been most responsible during the previous year. During the previous year Rita had carried out the teacher’s instructions perfectly. All the children knew Rita would be given the best job.
But there was a big surprise. Each child received a normal job. But Rita’s job was very different. She was given a little box containing some sand and one ant. Though the teacher insisted that this ant was very special, Rita felt disappointed. Most of her classmates felt sorry for her. Even her father became very angry with the teacher and he encouraged Rita to pay no attention to this insignificant pet. However, Rita preferred to show the teacher her error by doing something special with that job of little interest.
Rita started investigating all about her little ant and gave the ant the best food, and it grew quite a bit bigger.
One day, a man, who looked very important, came into their classroom and declared, “Your class has been chosen to accompany me, this summer, on a journey to the tropical rainforest, where we will investigate all kinds of insects. Among all the schools of this region, your class has best cared for the little ant.”
That day the school was filled with joy and celebration. Everyone thanked Rita for having been so patient and responsible. And many children learnt that to be given the most important task you have to know how to be responsible even in what are the smallest tasks.What did the teacher base her decision on when giving out jobs to the children?
| A．Their ability of managing their accounts during the previous year. |
| B．Their characters and interests. |
| C．Their class performance during the previous year. |
| D．Their working performance during the previous year. |
What does the underlined sentence “But there was a big surprise.”mean?
| A．The most responsible student got the job of least interest. |
| B．Each child got an important job. |
| C．Each child got an interesting job. |
| D．The perfect student got the job of everyone’s preference． |
What is Rita’s attitude to her father’s suggestion?
| A．Acceptive. | B．Negative. |
| C．Uncertain. | D．Totally positive. |
We can infer that the man who made the declaration is a _________.
| A．principal | B．hunter |
| C．director | D．biologist |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Responsibility And Intelligence Bring Good Luck |
| B．Never Complain About Life |
| C．Small Tasks Can Lead To Fortunes |
| D．Men Are Best Known By Their Friends |
Starting high school means many changes in your life．Most teenagers look forward to the first day of high school，but still feel a little bit nervous．In order to make your high school life easier, you can follow these tips．
Learn all you can about your first day before the first day．Take part in some activities that are held at the school for new students to know the school better．If parents are invited to these activities, take yours with you．Carefully look over all the materials you receive．Be sure you know where the school’s buildings are．
Get the things you will need for class．Buy the things suggested on your teachers’ supply lists and place your materials for each class separately．
Keep up with your high school workload(工作量)．If you fmd you’re not doing well in a subject，make use of after-school study groups or ask your teacher to help you with your schoolwork．Consider private tutoring to get you through a difficult time．
There’re more extracurricular(课外的)activities in high school than in middle school，such as clubs，music and theater groups，student government，and sports teams． Make friends and be seen at such school activities．Join a club or other organizations to meet people and develop friendships．Ask someone in school activities if you don’t know how．This is a good time to do what you like doing and an opportunity to try new things．Whe said school has to be aH work and no play?
Since you’ll attend more activities in high school than in middle school，you’ll have to learn how to manage your time． The writer wrote this passage to .
| A．advise us to study hard in high school |
| B．tell us how to live an easier life in high school |
| C．show that we may live a hard life in high school |
| D．explain why there will be many changes in high school |
In Paragraph 2，the writer suggests that we should．
| A．ask our parents to walk us to school |
| B．ask other students about our high school |
| C．prepare all the things we need for our classes |
| D．1earn about our high school well before attending it |
According to Paragraph 4，what should we do if we are not doing well in a subject?
| A．We should get help from others． |
| B．We should stop going to activities． |
| C．We should spend most of our time on it． |
| D．We should give it up if it is not important． |
In Paragraph 5．the writer wants to tell us that．
| A．every coin has two sides |
| B．the early bird catches the worm |
| C．where there is a will, there is a way |
| D．all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy |
What will the Writer most probably talk about next?
| A．How to manage time well in high school． |
| B．Why we need to learn how to manage time． |
| C．How to attend more activities in high school． |
| D．Why middle school is difierent from high school． |
A newspaper reporter’s job can be very interesting．He meets all types of people and lives quite a busy life．He is on the rush for news all the time，then after several years he may get a desk job，and life becomes a bit more settled．Let’s look at his work a little more closely．In a day he may have to interview the prime minister of a foreign country, and the next day he may be writing about a football match．Sometimes he may be so busy that he hardly has any time to sleep．And at other times he may go on for days looking out for news materials yet return empty—handed．
In the beginning，a reporter has to cover a very wide field．After the early years he becomes more specialized in his work．For example，he may finaliy be asked to write only on court cases or politics or sports．Some reporters may become so specialized that they are asked only to write on a special thing：horse racing，for example．In most newspaper houses there is at least one special racing correspondent．Some newspapers have book reviews. Their job is delightful．They read the latest book and then write reviews on the ones they like．Then there are those who write on fdms，so they get to see them even before they are shown in the cinema．How lucky, you would say!
A reporter’s job can also be very dangerous．If there is a flood or a riot(暴乱)they may get hurt or even be killed．Three years ago there was a reporter whose camera was destroyed by a group of men，because they were angry with him for taking their picture．Dangerous or not，one thing is certain，and that is，their job is never dull! The underlined words“on the rush”in the Paragraph I mean“’’．
| A．on thebeach | B．in no time |
| C．in ahurry | D．on the spot |
Reporters who write on films are said to be lucky because they.
| A．can write anything they like |
| B．can see more film stars |
| C．can pay less than other people |
| D．can see the fdms before most people see them in the cinema |
Why did the men break the reporter’s camera?
| A．The reporter took their picture． |
| B．They did not like him at all． |
| C．They were afraid of his camera． |
| D．The camera was in the way． |
According to the passage，a reporter’s work becomes dangerous when .
| A．he is seeing a horror film |
| B．thereis afloodora riot |
| C．there is a football match |
| D．there is an interview with the prime minister |
What’s the passage mainly about?
| A．An introduction to a newspaper reporter’s job． |
| B．An interesting life of a newspaper reporter． |
| C．Something written by a newspaper reporter． |
| D．How to become a good newspaper reporter． |