D
Legends about the development of coffee are varied and interesting, involving chance occurrences, political tricks, and the pursuit of wealth and power.
According to one story, a sheepherder named Kaldi, as he tended his sheep, noticed the effect of coffee beans. He noticed that the sheep became excited after eating the red “cherries" from a certain plant when they changed pastures (牧场). He tried it himself, and was soon as overactive as his sheep. Another story relates that a monk happened to discover that this fruit from the shiny green plant could help him stay awake.
Another legend gives us the name for coffee, “mocha”. Omar, an Arabian was thrown to the desert with his followers to die of starvation. In desperation, Omar had his friends boil and eat the fruit from an unknown plant. Not only did the soup save the group, but the residents of the nearest town, Mocha, took their survival as a religious sign. The plant and its beverage (饮料) were named Mocha to honor this event.
Coffee was introduced much later to countries beyond Arabia, whose inhabitants believed it to be a tasty thing and guarded its secret as if they were top secret military plans. The government forbade transportation of the plant out of the Moslem nations. The actual spread of coffee was started illegally. One Arab named Baba Budan smuggled (走私) beans to some mountains near Mysore, India, and started a farm there. Early in this century, some of those original plants were found still growing fruitfully in the region.
Coffee today is grown and enjoyed worldwide, and is one of the few crops that small farmers in third-world countries can profitably export.What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?
A.A sheepherder used coffee beans to keep sheep excited. |
B.Coffee was a special kind of red cherry from a certain plant. |
C.A sheepherder and a monk accidently discovered coffee’s effect. |
D.Sheep ate a lot of coffee beans while they changed pastures. |
Which of the following involves political tricks?
A.Kaldi’s story. | B.The monk’s story. |
C.Omar’s story. | D.Baba Budan’s story. |
Mocha is originally the name of ______.
A.a town | B.an Arabian |
C.a kind of coffee | D.a sheepherder |
What can be the best title for the text?
A.The Secret of Coffee |
B.The Tales of Coffee |
C.People’s Love for Coffee |
D.The Function of Coffee |
The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert (警觉). Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze(凝视) starts to lose its focus — until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?
Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise (同样地) when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s__.
A.sense of hearing | B.sense of sight |
C.sense of touch | D.sense of smell |
Babies are sensitive to the change in______.
A.the size of cards | B.the colour of pictures |
C.the shape of patterns | D.the number of objects |
Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?
A.To reduce the difficulty of the experiment. |
B.To see how babies recognize sounds. |
C.To carry their experiment further. |
D.To keep the babies’ interest. |
Where does this text probably come from?
A.Science fiction. | B.Children’s literature. |
C.An advertisement. | D.A science report. |
Some people will do just about anything to save money. And I am one of them. Take my family’s last vacation. It was my six-year-old son’s winter break form school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a weeklong trip. The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits to give up our seats and leave the next day. I had meetings in New York,So I had to get back. But that didn't mean my husband and my son couldn't stay. I took my nine-month-old and took off for home.
The next day, my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight. Yes, I encouraged—okay, ordered—them to wait it out at the airport, to "earn" more Delta Dollars. Our total take: $1,600. Not bad, huh?
Now some people may think I'm a bad mother and not such a great wife either. But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar. And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up.
I've made living looking for the best deals and exposing (揭露) the worst tricks. I have been the consumer reporter of NBC's Today show for over a decade. I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide. And I really do what I believe in.
I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money’s worth. I’m also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants. But I wouldn't hesitate to spend on a good haircut. It keeps its shape longer, and it's the first thing people notice. And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture. Quality lasts.Why did Delta give the author's family credits?
A.They took a later flight. |
B.They had early bookings. |
C.Their flight had been delayed. |
D.Their flight had been cancelled. |
What can we learn about the author?
A.She rarely misses a good deal. |
B.She seldom makes a compromise. |
C.She is very strict with her children. |
D.She is interested in cheap products. |
What does the author do?
A.She's a teacher. | B.She's a housewife. |
C.She's a media person. | D.She's a businesswoman. |
What does the author want to tell us?
A.How to expose bad tricks. |
B.How to reserve airline seats. |
C.How to spend money wisely. |
D.How to make a business deal. |
Knowing the best way to study will help you to be a best student.By using your time properly,you can do your homework more quickly. Learning to study is not difficult.
The first thing to remember is that you must be willing to learn.It doesn’t mean that you must always like the subject.It does mean,however,that you must be willing to do whatever is necessary to learn. Try to understand why it is important and how it will help you now and later to do and learn other things.Knowing mathematics facts will be useful in your whole life. Knowing how to spell makes any kind of writing easier.Sometimes,the subject that you think is going to be uninteresting will be exciting when you begin to work at it and understand it more clearly. Learning things can be fun if you are willing to work with them.
Here is some advice for you: have a certain time each day and a quiet place with good lighting for study,so that you can concentrate on your study without interruptions; have everything ready before you sit down to study, a dictionary,paper,a pen and books; be sure you understand what you should learn before you start; read carefully and pay special attention to the most important things; when memorizing,first find out the main parts and recite the whole thing, check your homework after you finish it; never forget the importance of review and preview.
Don’t try to spend a lot of time researching learning methods.There are many students who know many good learning methods but don’t study well. They forget that the most important useful learning method is to study hard.The main purpose of the article is to ________.
A.prove that learning is not difficult |
B.make parents interested in study |
C.tell the importance of self-teaching |
D.tell the students how to study well. |
The first thing to remember in study is that you must________
A.like the subject | B.follow the teacher |
C.enjoy learning | D.study hard |
The following advice is given in the article EXCEPT__________
A.to put a pen,paper and books beside you before study. |
B.to study at any possible time and place. |
C.to review and preview. |
D.to pay attention to the most important things. |
If there is one person who has left a deep impression on me, it’s my teacher Mrs. Pathak who was my class teacher for three years. In my childhood, how I wished I had a mother or a sister like her. One moment she could be tough (严厉的) and strict, another moment caring and compassionate (富有同情心的).
She always encouraged us to tell the truth. For instance, if one had not done the homework, he need not lie. She allowed us to make mistakes, saying we couldn’t be perfect all the time, but we should try.
Another thing she taught me early on was punctuality. She set a good example with her own behaviour. She was always on time, so we students tried our best to be on time.
She surprised us with her sense of humour. Her classroom teaching was always humorous. After class, she talked to us and told us jokes.
We really felt free to ask questions and Mrs. Pathak would give the answers. If she did not know — there had been some occasions (场合) — she would say so. We all then tried to find out the answers. Whoever came up with the answer was appreciated and given the due credit (应有的称赞). Now I sometimes wonder whether Mrs. Pathak was pretending just to encourage us to explore and find answers by ourselves.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT suitable for describing Mrs. Pathak?
A.Tough. | B.Humorous. |
C.Compassionate. | D.Careful. |
The underlined word “so” in the last paragraph means that _____.
A.the answers were not right |
B.she didn’t know the answers |
C.the answers were correct |
D.she would give the answers |
In the author’s opinion, why didn’t Mrs. Pathak give the answers to the questions sometimes?
A.Because she didn’t like answering the questions. |
B.Because she didn’t know the answers to the questions. |
C.Because she wanted the students to find them out by themselves. |
D.Because she thought the students knew the answers already. |
Many teenagers(青少年) feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends.They believe that their family members don’t know them as well as their friends do.In large families, it is quite often for brothers and sisters to fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for some ideas.
It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or a group of friends.Even when they are not with their friends, they usually spend a lot of time talking among themselves on the phone.This communication is very important in children’s growing up, because friends can discuss something.These things are difficult to tell their family members.
However, parents often try to choose their children’s friends for them.Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends.Have you ever thought of the following questions?
Who chooses your friends?
Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you?
Have you got a good friend your parents don’t like?
Your answers are welcome.Many teenagers think that ____ can understand them better.
A.friends | B.brothers | C.sisters | D.parents |
When teenagers have something difficult to tell their parents, they usually____.
A.stay alone at home |
B.fight with their parents |
C.discuss it with their friends |
D.go to their brothers and sisters for help |
The sentence (句子) “Your answers are welcome.” means _______.
A.You are welcome to discuss the questions with us |
B.We’ve got no idea, so your answers are welcome |
C.Your answers are always right |
D.You can give us all the right answers |
Part of the purpose of this passage is to ___.
A.give information for the parents to make their own judgment (判断) |
B.give advice to children who want to choose their friends |
C.help parents to find better friends for their children |
D.get some information from many readers |