Dragons are not real animals, but look like a combination (结合体) of many animals such as snakes, fish and deer. They have two horns (角) and a long moustache (胡子). With fantastic powers, they fly in the sky or swim in the sea. They can make rain, too. The Chinese dragon is a symbol of strength and good luck. The emperors of ancient China loved dragons. Their clothes were covered with pictures of dragons.
We are proud to call ourselves the "descendants (传人) of the dragon" In Chinese, "excellent" people are often called "dragons". A number of Chinese sayings and idioms talk about dragons, for example, “Hoping one's child will become a dragon," which means hoping he or she will be successful.
It is said that people born in the Year of the Dragon have certain characteristics. They are creative, confident, brave and quick-tempered. There are some famous "dragons" who have done excellent things, for example, the great man Deng Xiaoping, the famous businessman Li Jiacheng and the movie star Zhao Wei. They are all very successful.
There are also some traditional festivals about dragons in China, such as Dragon Head – Raising Day and Dragon Boat Festival. We have different kinds of activities to celebrate them. These two festivals come every year, but the Year of the Dragon comes every twelve years.
The dragon is very important in Chinese culture. As the "descendants of the dragon", it is necessary for us to know the views on dragons in our culture. It can help us understand why our parents always want us to be "dragons".
This year is the Year of the Dragon. Good luck to you!
| A．A combination of many animals. |
| B．Chinese sayings and idioms. |
| C．Traditional festivals. |
| D．Strength and good luck. |
| A．龙马精神 | B．龙飞凤舞 |
| C．望子成龙 | D．龙腾虎跃 |
They may be _______.
| A．creative, confident, brave and powerful |
| B．creative, confident, brave and quick-tempered |
| C．lovely, confident, brave and quick-tempered |
| D．lucky, confident, creative and successful |
| A．1988. | B．1998. |
| C．2008. | D．2018. |
| A．Dragons are real animals. |
| B．There are many Chinese sayings and idioms about dragons. |
| C．People born in the Year of the Dragon must be successful |
| D．The "descendants of the dragon" are often called "dragons". |
Jenny didn't know how her school dance team could pay for the travel to Florida for a national competition. It was difficult enough just to raise money for their dance costumes (服装). What were they going to do? As the team leader, Jenny felt she needed to come up with an idea. .
At lunch, Jenny found that a lot of students were throwing empty juice bottles in the rubbish. She remembered the school had a recycling (回收利用) program a few years ago, but it had ended. Nobody wanted to bring the bags of bottles to the recycling center.
Jenny saw a chance. She went to see the headmaster. "If members of our team pick up the recyclable bottles every few days, may we use the money we collect at the recycling center for our dance team?" asked Jenny.
"I think that's a great idea, Jenny," said Ms. Weaver. "But if another team wants to take over next season, I'll have to give them a chance, too. " Jenny agreed that it was fair. She ran to the dance team to give them the good news.
Jenny knew that the money raised from empty bottles might not be enough to get them all the way to Florida, but they were a lot closer. She would find more ways to raise money for the dance team.Jenny's team would go to Florida .
| A．to raise money |
| B．to have a trip there |
| C．to take part in a competition |
| D．to buy their dance costumes. |
If Jenny wanted to collect money by picking up bottles, she needed the support offirst.
| A．the headmaster | B．the dance team |
| C．another team | D．the recycling center |
which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Jenny found many ways to raise money. |
| B．Jenny could collect money at the recycling center. |
| C．The team could not pay for the train tickets to Florida. |
| D．Jenny collected enough money from the empty bottles. |
What's the best title for this passage?
| A．The ways to raise money. | B．The recycling bottles. |
| C．The dance team's costumes. | D．A closer dreaming. |
| Harry potter and the Deathly Hallows By J. K. Rowling Paperback, 784 pages. Publisher（出版商）： Arthur a Levine(06/05/2012) Reading level: Primary school students Price: $16.50 |
Deceptively Delicious By Jessica Seinfeld Hardcover, 204pages. Publisher: Collins(08/25/2014) Reading Level: Parents Price: $14.68 |
| Rich Dad, Poor Dad By Robert T. Kiyosaki Paperback, 266 pages Publisher: Business Plus(03/12/2013) Reading Level: Age 11-14 ce: $7.50 |
The Road By Cormac McCarthy Paperback, 304 pages. Publisher: Vintage Books (02/16/2015) Reading Level: Adults Price: $6.45 |
How many books are written for children among the books?
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．Four |
Which of the following books is the latest in print?
| A．Deceptively Delicious | B．The Road |
| C．Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows | D．Rich Dad, Poor Dad |
If Nancy buys 3 copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and 2 copy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, how much should she pay?
| A．$48.65. | B．$59.50. | C．$64.50. | D．$74.45. |
Most people agree that honesty is a good thing. But does Mother Nature agree? Animals can't talk, but can they lie in other ways? Can they lie with their bodies and behavior? Animal experts may not call it lying, but they do agree that many animals, from birds to chimpanzees, behave dishonestly to fool other animals. Why? Dishonesty often helps them survive.
Many kinds of birds are very successful at fooling other animals. For example, a bird called the plover sometimes pretends to be hurt in order to protect its young. When a predator（猎食动物）gets close to its nest, the plover leads the predator away from the nest. How? It pretends to have a broken wing. The predator follows the "hurt" adult, leaving the baby birds safe in the nest.
Another kind of bird, the scrub jay, buries its food so it always has something to eat. Scrub jays are also thieves. They watch where others bury their food and steal it. But clever scrub jays seem to know when a thief is watching them. So they go back later, unbury the food, and bury it again somewhere else.
Birds called cuckoos have found a way to have babies without doing much work. How? They don't make nests. Instead, they get into other birds' nests secretly. Then they lay their eggs and fly away. When the baby birds come out, their adoptive parents feed them.
Chimpanzees, or chimps, can also be sneaky. After a fight, the losing chimp will give its hand to the other. When the winning chimp puts out its hand, too, the chimps are friendly again. But an animal expert once saw a losing chimp take the winner's hand and start fighting again.
Chimps are sneaky in other ways, too. When chimps find food that they love, such as bananas, it is natural for them to cry out. Then other chimps come running. But some clever chimps learn to cry very softly when they find food. That way, other chimps don't hear them, and they don't need to share their food.
As children, many of us learn the saying "You can't fool Mother Nature." But maybe you can't trust her, either. A plover protects its young from a predator by___________.
| A．getting closer to its young |
| B．driving away the adult predator |
| C．leaving its young in another nest |
| D．pretending to be injured |
By "Chimpanzees, or chimps, can also be sneaky" (paragraph 5), the author means_______.
| A．chimps are ready to attack others |
| B．chimps are sometimes dishonest |
| C．chimps are jealous of the winners |
| D．chimps can be selfish too |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Some chimps lower their cry to keep food away from others. |
| B．The losing chimp won the fight by taking the winner's hand. |
| C．Cuckoos fool their adoptive parents by making no nests. |
| D．Some clever scrub jays often steal their food back. |
Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
| A．Do animals lie? |
| B．Does Mother Nature fool animals? |
| C．How do animals learn to lie? |
| D．How does honesty help animals survive? |
The right name is important in the business world. All you have to do is think of the names for some of the products you buy every day and you’ll agree that the name and the product are connected in the everyone’s mind.
In many countries, successful trade or brand names are protected by law. This is so that other companies cannot make a product and, in fact, be buying something different. Businesses register a company or a product name with the government. In fact, more than 1,000 product and company names are registered every hour. Many companies spend a lot of money to find the right name for their products. A good example of this is in the car industry. Some successful names for cars have powerful associations （联系）.The Ford Mustang and the Jaguar are only two examples of choosing the names of animals that are fast and strong.
When a U. S company decides to sell its product in another country, it has to make sure that the product name translates properly. When Coca-Cola introduced its soft drink to China, it looked for the right name. It wanted a name that would do two things. One was to present its image（形象）in Chinese and the second was to be close to its first brand name—Coke. It took some efforts before finding the right word —which sounds similar and translates as “happiness in the mouth”. Asian company names are not new to the United States. The brand names of Samsung and Sony have been successful. Finding the right brand name is a big business. Asian companies that sell to foreign markets pay to find a name that will connect with its customers. There are even naming companies that specialize in inventing product names. These companies can charge （要价）up to $100,000 a word for their creations. But it’s worth it. Successful companies know how important the right brand names are for their development. Why are trade names protected by law in many countries?
| A．To make companies pay for naming service. |
| B．To help people choose the best products |
| C．To present good images of the products. |
| D．To prevent good images from being copied |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Many companies care about the cost of finding the right names |
| B．Creative trade names can help companies to have a larger sale |
| C．The government often does business with naming companies |
| D．It is considered necessary for cars to be names after animals |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．The Business of Names |
| B．The Development of Names |
| C．The Rules of Naming Business |
| D．The Methods of Choosing Names |
Where can you probably read this article?
| A．In an economic magazine. |
| B．In a storybook. |
| C．In a sports newspaper. |
| D．In a science book. |
Geoffrey Payne talks for the first time about the night his wife was killed. The judge thought it was he who killed his wife. Now he wrote to a magazine from the prison (监狱) about what happened on the night of 13 October 1999.
I had to stay late at the hospital that night to do an operation. I finally left at about 11 p. m. I drove home slowly because the weather was terrible—the wind was blowing and it was raining heavily, I was turning into our road when a man suddenly ran in front of my car. I almost hit him but I stopped just in time. I was frightened and the man looked frightened too. I got out of the car but he ran away before I could ask if he was all right. It was very strange.
When I got home, the lights were on but it was very quiet. I called to my wife but there was no answer. Then I remembered that she was out at a concert.
I was still very upset about what happened on the road, so I made myself a drink. Then I went upstairs to have a bath. I saw that the window in the bedroom was open. This was strange because my wife always locked the doors and windows before she went out. She was afraid of burglars. When I went to close it, I found Ellen. She was lying on the floor. There was blood everywhere. I rushed over and felt for her pulse but she was dead. I sat on the floor beside her body and was too frightened to do anything.
The next thing I knew, the sky was getting light. I can't remember a thing about that night. In the morning I phoned the police. They arrived about half an hour after I phoned them. But it seemed like hours. During that time I tried hard to remember anything I could about the night before. I couldn't stop thinking about the man in the road. What was he doing at that time of night in our quiet neighbourhood? Why did he look so frightened"! Why did he run away? Geoffrey Payne was a.
| A．doctor | B．policeman |
| C．judge | D．taxi driver |
After he found Ellen dead, Payne.
| A． called the police at once |
| B．called out for help |
| C．tried to find out who killed his wife |
| D．sat beside his wife's body without knowing what to do |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE?
| A．Payne called the police the next morning. |
| B．Payne could remember clearly what had happened. |
| C．The policemen arrived thirty minutes after Payne's call. |
| D．Payne wondered what the man was doing in his neighbourhood that night, |
In this passage Payne tried to.
| A．say something about his family |
| B．show he was very sorry for his wife’s death |
| C．tell why his wife was killed that night |
| D．make people believe the man in the road probably killed his wife |