July 21st. 2007 was a typical English summer’s day--it rained for 24 hours! As usual, I rushed home from work at midday to check on the house. Nothing was amiss. By the time I left work at 5p.m., however, the road into our village was flooded. Our house had never been flooded but, as I opened the front door, a wave of waters greeted me. Thank God! The kids weren’t with me, because the house was 5 feet deep in water. We lost everything downstairs. And the plaster had to be torn off the wall’s ceilings pulled down.
At first we tried to push on through. We didn’t want to move the children out of home. So we camped upstairs. We put a sheet of plastic across the floor to protect us from the damp. But after three months, we felt very sick, so we move to a wooden house in a park. The house was small, but at first we were all just delighted to be in a new place. Unfortunately, things took longer than expected and we were there for 10 months. The life there was inconvenient. What surprised me most was how much I missed being part of a community. We had lived in a friendly village with good neighbors, and I’d never thought how much I’d miss that.
Although our situation was very bad, it’s difficult to feel too sorry for yourself when you look at what’s happening elsewhere. I watched a news report about floods in Northern India and thought. “We didn’t have a straw hut(茅草房) that was swept away, and our house is still standing. We’re lucky.” We moved back home in August. With December coming, there’s reconstruction work to be done, so it’s difficult to prepare for Christmas. But I can’t wait--I’m going to throw a party for our friends in the village to say thanks for their support. This year, I won’t need any gifts--living away from home for months has made me realize how little we actually need or miss all our possessions. Although we are replacing things, there’s really no rush--we have our home back. And that’s the main thing.What does the underlined word “amiss” in the first paragraph mean?
| A．Found. | B．Missing. | C．Right. | D．Wrong. |
It can be inferred from the text that the author _________.
| A．cared much about her children |
| B．was sick of staying upstairs alone |
| C．could not stand living in a wooden house |
| D．did not deal well with her family affairs during the flood |
Why does the author say that they were lucky in the third paragraph?
| A．Because her situation was not serious. |
| B．Because some others suffered even more. |
| C．Because she had ever been to Northern India. |
| D．Because very few other places were also flooded. |
What does the author mainly want to express by telling her story?
| A．She realized she needed no more possession. |
| B．She valued human feelings more than before. |
| C．She found Christmas gifts no longer badly needed. |
| D．She thought her own home was the most important of all. |
Sharks are among the oldest animals on Earth. There are hundreds of kinds of sharks. Most are about two meters long. The dogfish shark, however, is less than twenty centimeters in length. A shark has an extremely good sense of smell. It can find small amounts of matters in water, such as blood, body liquids and chemicals produced by animals. These powerful senses help sharks find their food. Sharks eat fish, other sharks, and plants that live in the ocean.
Sharks grow slowly. About forty percent of all sharks lay eggs. The others give birth to live young. Some sharks carry their young inside their bodies as humans do. Some sharks are not able to reproduce until they are twenty years old. Most reproduce only every two years. And they give birth to fewer than ten young sharks. For this reason, over-fishing of sharks is of special danger to the future of the animal.
Sharks are important for the world’s oceans. They eat injured and diseased fish. Their hunting activities mean that the numbers of other fish in ocean waters do not become too large. This protects the plants and other forms of life that exist in the oceans.
People hunt sharks for sport, food, medicine and their skin. Experts say the international market for some kinds of sharks has increased because many parts of a shark are valuable. Collectors pay thousands of dollars for the jaws of a shark. Shark liver oil is a popular source of Vitamin A. The skin of a shark can be used like leather.
In Asia, people enjoy a kind of soup made from shark fins. Experts say a fisherman can earn a lot of money for even one kilogram of shark fins. Sharks are among the oldest animals on Earth, but some sharks are in danger of disappearing from Earth. If too many sharks in one area are killed, that group of sharks may never return to normal population levels.Which of the following words best describes the situation sharks are in?
| A．Good. | B．Expensive. | C．Powerful. | D．Endangered. |
Sharks eat other fish, __________.
| A．which is a threat to all other forms of life in the oceans |
| B．which is a protection for plants and other forms of life in the oceans |
| C．which helps prevent diseases from spreading |
| D．which helps the number of other fish to grow |
According to the passage, many parts of a shark are valuable EXCEPT ________.
| A．its jaws | B．its liver | C．shark fins | D．shark teeth |
The author thinks that______.
| A．sharks are valuable to us and we can make full use of them |
| B．oceans will become safer with fewer sharks swimming around |
| C．measures should be taken to protect sharks |
| D．the shark population is increasing slowly |
Lao Yang was born in a small town. He liked reading when he studied at school. He thought the writers were respected and could get a lot of money. He wrote a lot of stories and posted them to the editorial departments but didn't receive any answers.
Now he works in a factory. He's busy at work. When he's free, he always reads something. He always remembers he hoped to be a writer when he was young. One day, Xiao Ping, his ten-year-old daughter, came back. She looked worried and didn't eat anything. She said Miss GAO, her Chinese teacher, told them to write a solicit article "My Father" that evening. But she did not know what to write.
"That's easy," said Lao Yang. "Let me help you."
Then he sat down to write the solicit article at once. He easily finished it on time. He was sure Miss GAO would like it. But one afternoon he asked his daughter if the article had been chosen to post to the editorial department.
"My teacher said your article digressed from the subject," said the girl.
"I don't think so," Lao Yang shouted angrily. "I described just my father!"Lao Yang wrote a lot of stories because _______.
| A．he likes reading | B．he learned much at school |
| C．he wanted to be a writer | D．he wanted to help others |
Lao Yang posted the stories to the editorial departments, _______.
| A．and he got a lot of money | B．and he became a famous man |
| C．and he was respected | D．but he failed |
As _______, Lao Yang decided to help his daughter.
| A．he was a writer | B．he was free |
| C．he wanted to realize his ideal | D．he wanted to make his daughter happy |
Lao Yang hoped _______.
| A．his article could surprise the teacher |
| B．his article could be chosen |
| C．the children could like his article |
| D．everyone could soon know him |
A Frenchman went to a small Italian town and was staying with his wife at the best hotel there. One night, he went out for a walk alone. It was late and the small street was dark and quiet. Suddenly he felt someone behind him. He turned his head and saw an Italian young man who quickly walked past him. The man was nearly out of sight when the Frenchman suddenly found that his watch was gone. He thought that it must be the Italian who had taken his watch. He decided to follow him and get back the watch.
Soon the Frenchman caught up with the Italian. Neither of them understood the other's language. The Frenchman frightened the Italian with his fist and pointed at the Italian's watch. In the end the Italian gave up his watch to the Frenchman.
When he returned to the hotel, the Frenchman told his wife what had happened. He was greatly surprised when his wife pointed to the watch on the table. Now he realized that by mistake he had robbed the watch and it was the Italian's.One night he went out for _______ alone.
| A．a ride | B．a walk | C．a drink | D．rest |
Suddenly he found his_______ was gone.
| A．watch | B．money | C．book | D．ring |
The Italian gave up his watch to him at last because ________.
| A．he had stolen the watch from the Frenchman. |
| B．he understood what the Frenchman wanted |
| C．he had picked up the watch on his way from work |
| D．he was afraid of the Frenchman |
Who was robbed of the watch on earth?
| A．The Frenchman was. | B．The Italian was. |
| C．Both of them was. | D．Neither of them was. |
Microsoft founder Bill Gates said that he planned to give away almost all of his fortune(财富)，largely to the cause of global health，during the course of his lifetime.With an estimated(估计)worth of more than $40 billion，according to Forbes，the project will be no small fate(功绩) for Gates.Having already provided the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with $24 billion to address global health issues，Gates said that finally his entire fortune will be put towards the cause except “a few percent left for the kids”.
So what has made the richest man in the world to channel his resources so heavily into one interest？Gates believes that “the equality of opportunity（机会）”in which Americans take such pride needs to extend to other nations around the world. Improving the health of the populations，he says，has proven to be an essential method in helping poor countries to be financially successful.“National borders allow inequalities，”said Gates.“We all need to take a more global view，rather than just saying my country is doing well.We have to step up these health issues，knowing how few resources are going into them.”
Gates said that both his parents set up an example for him as a child.His father，William H．Gates，was the head of the local Planned Parenthood，and his mother，Mary，volunteered for the United Way.As he gathered his fortune，Gates knew he would finally want to give back as well，but he didn’t expect to devote himself wholeheartedly to one project until he was about 60.
However，Gates,47，began to question his ability to wait that long.“It seemed there was a real time urgency，”Gates said.“I started to think how many lives I could save before then.”Bill Gates will give away his vast fortune to .
| A．improve the health of population all over the world |
| B．improve the health of population in America alone |
| C．avoid leaving his children too much money |
| D．spare the American government the burden of health care |
Bill Gates believes that one important way of developing poor countries is .
| A．to set up more foundations for them |
| B．to help them with natural resources |
| C．to put more efforts into the health issues in them |
| D．to help them take a more global view |
It can be learned from the passage that Bill Gates thinks .
| A．Americans can be worldfamous by giving away vast fortune |
| B．Americans should treat fellow citizens well |
| C．Americans should devote themselves to certain projects |
| D．Americans should care about people in other countries |
It has always been said that women are not good drivers, because they simply don’t have very good driving ability. On the other hand, most car accidents happen to men; very few happen to women.
From this, we can see that women are much more careful while driving. Another very interesting fact that we should point out is that in the past, women preferred to let their husbands be the only driver in the family rather than have a driving license. Somehow they were prevented from making this step in their lives, but nowadays there are many women that want to pass their driving tests from an early age.
However, we have to admit that men are more skillful drivers than women, but this does not mean that a woman cannot become a good driver by accumulating(积累) experience. So more and more teenagers and women around the age of thirty now want to pass their driving tests. While taking their driving lessons, they also have a number of special lessons with their parents or somebody in the family that has a driving license, this is just to improve their driving abilities and help them to pass the tests more easily.
To conclude, we can say that women are not such bad drivers. They just need more experience than men in order to be able to drive well. And on the other hand, there are a number of women that show better driving skills than the men around them.Compared with the past, nowadays many women ______.
| A．have more accidents while driving | B．prefer to have a driving license |
| C．are somehow prevented from driving | D．are the only driver in the family |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Teenage girls cannot take driving tests. |
| B．Men didn’t allow women to drive in the past. |
| C．Women can easily pass their tests by taking driving lessons. |
| D．With enough experience, women can become good drivers. |
The passage mainly talks about ______.
| A．why men are better drivers than women |
| B．men and their driving ability |
| C．women and their driving ability |
| D．why more women like to have a driving license |