I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles”（风格）of directions every time I ask “ How can I get to the post office?”
Foreign tourists are often confused（困惑的）in Japan because most streets there don’t have names. In Japan, people use landmarks（地标）in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “ Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat. In many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “ Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map. They measure distance in time, not miles. “ How far away is the post office?” you ask. “ Oh,” they answer, “ it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “ Yes, but how many miles is it?” They don’t know.
It’s true that a person doesn’t know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, “ Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “ I don’t know”. People in Yucatan believe that “I don’t know” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place, they usually _______ .
| A．describe the place carefully |
| B．show him a map of the place |
| C．tell him the names of the streets |
| D．refer to recognizable buildings and places |
What is the place where people measure distance in time?
| A．New York. | B．Los Angles |
| C．Kansas | D．Iowa |
People inYucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ________ .
| A．in order to save time | B．as a test |
| C．so as to be polite | D．for fun |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．It’s important for travelers to understand cultural differences. |
| B．It’s useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly. |
| C．People have similar understanding of politeness. |
| D．New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors. |
The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication means. Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest problems is pollution. To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.
Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place, man moved to another place. But this is no longer true.
Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.
Air pollution is still the most serious. It’s bad for all living things in the world, but it is not the only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us angry more easily.
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from putting dirty smoke into the air. Pollution by SO2 is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. We are sure that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.
The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must take care of the rise in pollution at the same time._______, our world is becoming much smaller.
| A．Because of the rise in pollution |
| B．Thanks to science development |
| C．Because the earth is being polluted day and night |
| D．Because the earth is blown away by the wind every year |
Hundreds of years ago, life was __________ it is today.
| A．much easier than | B．as easy as | C．much harder than | D．as hard as |
Pollution comes in many ways. We can even hear it. Here “it” means _______.
| A．rubbish（垃圾） | B．noise pollution | C．air pollution | D．water pollution |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. |
| B．The pollution of the earth grows as fast as the world population does. |
| C．The problem of pollution is not so serious because there are not so many people living on the earth. |
| D．If people could go to work by bus or bike instead of car or motorbike, it would be helpful in fighting against the problem of SO2. |
The expression “Go for it!” is a way of encouraging someone to try something.
“Go for it!” means you should not worry about failure or be too careful. You should take a chance, be brave, and act firmly.
“Go for it!” gets name from football. Not football as it is played in most countries such as England, Egypt or Japan, but the kind of football played in the United States and Canada.
One of the most exciting times in football comes when a team has failed, after three attempts, to move the ball forward ten yards. The team must make a critical decision.
The conservative choice is to kick the ball and accept temporary defeat in order to gain a good position for your team the next time it gets the ball. The more exciting choice, however, is to try a fourth and final time to gain the remaining yards needed.
In the nineteen eighties, people began using this expression in many kinds of situations to encourage someone to act bravely.
There is no guarantee(保证) that the action you “Go for it!” will succeed. But that is the chance you take when you decide to go for it. You put your fears behind. You choose courage over safety. You hold your breath and go for it.The expression “Go for it!” comes from______.
| A．English football | B．Egyptian football | C．Japanese football | D．American football |
According to the passage, when we decide to go for it, we only consider______.
| A．safety | B．action | C．result | D．situation |
In which of the following situations should we use the expression nowadays?
| A．We decide to avoid trouble or danger for the future. |
| B．We try to improve our English for better education. |
| C．We need to make a quick decision at the last moment. |
| D．We have to make a choice between success and failure. |
Most people think the first pies were made by early Romans. They may have learned about pie making from the Greeks. These pies were sometimes made in"reeds (芦苇叶)", which were used for the purpose of holding the filling (馅 ), and were not eaten.
The Romans spread the word about pies around Europe and the word"pie"became a popular word in the 14th century. The first pie recipe (食谱) was also published by the Romans.
Pies first appeared in England as early as the twelfth century. The early pies were mostly meat pies. There was actually more crust(皮)than filling. Often these pies were made from fowl ( 家禽) and the fowl's legs were left to hang over the side of the dish and used as handles. Fruit pies were probably first made in the 1500s. It is said that Queen Elizabeth I made the first cherry pie.
Pie came to America with the first English settlers. The early settlers cooked their pies in long narrow pans. As in the Roman times, the early American pie crusts were often not eaten, but simply used to hold the filling during baking(烘焙).
Over the years, pie has become what it is today --- "the most traditional American dessert". Pie has become so much a part of American culture that we now often use the phrase "as American as apple pie".Which people might probably first grasp the skill to make pies?
| A．The Romans. | B．The Greeks. | C．The Englishmen. | D．The Americans. |
Which of the following is NOT true about pies?
| A．English settlers brought pies to America. |
| B．Early Romans ate not only pies but also the crusts. |
| C．The Romans first published pie recipe. |
| D．The word “pie ” became popular because of the Romans` efforts. |
What can best show pies have become part of American culture?
| A．Americans use long narrow pans to cook pies. |
| B．People use "as American as apple pie" to show something about American characteristics. |
| C．Americans don't eat crusts but use them to hold the filling during baking. |
| D．Pies are the most traditional American dessert. |
The best title of this passage is "______________".
| A．The History of Pies | B．Pies, the Delicious Food |
| C．Pies, American Dessert | D．How to Make Pies |
World Health Day is celebrated on 7 April to mark the anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948. Each year a theme is selected for World Health Day that highlights a priority area of public health concern in the world.
The theme for 2013 is high blood pressure. High blood pressure increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes(中风). If left uncontrolled, high blood pressure can also cause blindness, irregularities of the heartbeat and heart failure. The risk of developing these complications is higher in the presence of other risk factors such as diabetes(糖尿病). One in three adults worldwide has high blood pressure and this increases with age, from 1 in 10 people in their 20s and 30s to 5 in 10 people in their 50s. High blood pressure is most common in some low-income countries in Africa, with over 40% of adults in many African countries thought to be affected.
However, high blood pressure is both preventable and treatable. In some developed countries, prevention and treatment of it has brought about a reduction in deaths from heart disease. The risk of developing high blood pressure can be reduced by: reducing salt intake; eating a balanced diet; avoiding harmful use of alcohol; taking regular physical activity; keeping a healthy body weight; and avoiding tobacco use.
The final and most important goal of World Health Day 2013 is to reduce heart attacks and strokes, which includes as follows:
1.to raise awareness of the causes and consequences of high blood pressure;
2.to provide information on how to prevent high blood pressure
3.to encourage adults to check their blood pressure and to follow the advice of health-care professionals.High blood pressure can cause medical problems like_____.
| A．heart diseases, strokes and blindness | B．strokes, heart failure and diabetes |
| C．heart attacks, blindness and diabetes | D．heart troubles,strokes and cancers |
Who are most likely to be affected by high blood pressure?
| A．Those who are in their 20s | B．Those who are in their 30s |
| C．Those who are in their 40s | D．Those who are in their 50s |
Which of the following can NOT reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure?
| A．Less salt intake | B．Putting on weight | C．Regular exercise | D．No smoking |
The text is mainly about______.
| A．the theme for World Health Day 2013 | B．the causes of high blood pressure |
| C．the treatment of heart attacks and strokes | D．how to reduce the risk of high blood pressure |
How could we have thought so wrongly of as banana peel that it always hits the garbage? Utility of anything seems to be in the eyes of the beholder. The banana peel hasn't been an exception.
What most of us looked at as waste was converted to a thing of utility by Prithwis Mukhopadlyay, a 14-year-old prodigy. This Bengali boy, nourished in the US, Lake Junior High in Woodbury, Minnesota, has come up with an idea to convert banana peels to biogas.(生物气).
It's well known that almost any organic waste can be converted to biogas. But why biogas from banana peel has hit the news is because it produced five times as much biogas as manure(粪), a commonly used source for producing biogas, in the experiments Prithwis conducted.
He filled two airtight containers, one with manure and the other with banana peels. Then he mixed each content with water and connected them to empty jars via pipes to collect the gas produced. He placed a heater next to each jar and measured the gas collected for 60 days. His studies proved that banana peels produced five times more biogas than manure.
This project titled 'Comparison analysis: Eco-friendly source of energy for the future,' earned him a spot in Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge. This weekend, the young whiz is to showcase his research work along with 40 other finalists at Washington. "Initially, I thought of doing a project that would reduce global warming. Things changed after I visited a biogas plant in a village in India during my summer vacations. It was an amazing experience," Prithwis says.Why could Prithwis's finding receive the attention of the media?
| A．Because he is a prodigy. |
| B．Because he is of Bengali descent. |
| C．Because he used an extremely rare organic waste to produce biogas. |
| D．Because his research proved that banana peels can produce more biogas. |
Where did Prithwis derive his inspiration from?
A.Lake Junior High. B Discovery Channel.
C. India. D.His laboratory at home.This article probably appeared in a _________ magazine.
| A．gourmet | B．science | C．computer | D．fashion |