Do you know why different animals or pests (昆虫) have their special colors? Colors in them seem to be used mainly to protect themselves.
Some birds like eating locusts (蝗虫), but birds cannot easily catch them. Why? It is because locusts change their colors together with the change of the colors of crops(庄稼). When crops are green, locusts look green. But as the harvest time comes, locusts change to the same brown color as crops have. Some other pests with different colors from plants are easily found and eaten by others. So they have to hide themselves for lives and appear only at night.
If you study the animal life, you’ll find the main use of coloring is to protect themselves. Bears, lions and other animals move quietly through forests. They cannot be easily seen by hunters (猎人). This is because they have the colors much like the trees.
Have you ever noticed an even stranger act? A kind of fish in the sea can send out a kind of very black liquid (液体)when it faces danger. While the liquid spreads over (散开), its enemies (敌人)cannot find it. And it quickly swims away. So it has lived up to now though it is not strong at all.
| A．are small animals |
| B．are easily found by birds |
| C．are dangerous to their enemies |
| D．change their colors to protect themselves |
| A．they have the colors much like the trees |
| B．they move quietly |
| C．they like brown and gray colors |
| D．they live in forests |
| A．Because it is very and strong. |
| B．Because it can change the colors. |
| C．Because the liquid it sends out can kill its enemies. |
| D．Because it swims faster than any other fish. |
| A．The Change of Colors for Animals and Pests |
| B．Colors of Different Animals and Pests |
| C．The Main Use of Colors |
| D．Some Animals and Pests |
“One of my actors is sick! He has just one line and you’re the only one who fits his clothes!” One afternoon, the school drama director suddenly shouted to me. She seemed so nervous and worried that I felt sorry for her and said, “Ok”.
“You will be fine. It's easy!” She said. But it wasn’t easy at all. On the stage, four other actors and actresses spoke their lines, and I opened my mouth. Nothing came out. I couldn’t even breathe. I just wanted to leave. The next thing I knew, I was running off the stage.
As I was running off the stage, I accidentally knocked over a glass of grape juice that was on a table. The purple juice hit the girl next to me --- Andrea, the leading actress of the drama. She gave me a nasty look. I thought she was going to kill me!
But then, Andrea quickly said, “Darling, you’re so silly! Let's toast(干杯) to my darling’s silliness! Cheers!” She grabbed another glass of grape juice and drank it. The other actor quickly followed Andrea’s lead and saved the scene. The audience thought my mistake was part of the play!
I apologized to everyone after the play. To my surprise, they were not angry with me. They told me, “It’s all a part of being on stage.” I could be wrong, but I think I liked being on stage. I think I will try again.Which of the following was a problem in the story?
| A．Andrea was the leading actress of the drama. |
| B．Andrea drank the grape juice. |
| C．The writer had only one line. |
| D．The writer forgot his line. |
There were ___________ actors and actresses on the stage.
| A．three | B．four | C．five | D．six |
From the passage, we know that Andrea was a ________ leading actress.
| A．silly | B．pretty |
| C．quick-minded | D．warm-hearted |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The writer made Andrea’s dress dirty. |
| B．The audience knew something was wrong. |
| C．The school drama director asked the writer to play a role. |
| D．The writer said sorry to the drama club. |
The writer will most probably _________ in the future.
| A．join the drama club |
| B．dislike Andrea |
| C．stay away from the stage |
| D． help Andrea wash her clothes. |
That cold January night, it seemed I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco. There I was, walking home at one in the morning after a tiring practice at the theater. With opening night only a week away, I was still learning my lines. I was having trouble dealing with my part-time job at the bank and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about giving up both acting and San Francisco. City life had become too much for me.
As I walked down empty streets under tall buildings, I felt very small and cold. I began running, both to keep warm and to keep away any possible robbers(抢劫犯). Very few people were still out except a few sad-looking homeless people under blankets.
About a block from my apartment, I heard a sound behind me. I turned quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. Still, the noise had made me nervous, so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I realize what the noise had been. It had been my wallet falling to the sidewalk.
Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to where I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk anxiously for fifteen minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found.
Just as I was about to give up the search, I heard the garbage truck(垃圾车) pull up to the sidewalk next to me. When a voice called from the inside, “Alisa Camacho?” I thought I was dreaming. How could this man know my name? The door opened, and out jumped a small red-haired man with an amused look in his eyes. “Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked, holding up a small square shape.
It was nearly 3 a.m. by the time I got into bed. I wouldn’t get much sleep that night, but I had got my wallet back. I also had got back some enjoyment of city life. I realized that the city couldn’t be a bad place as long as people were willing to help each other.How did the writer feel when she was walking home after work?
| A．Cold and sick |
| B．Lucky and hopeful |
| C．Satisfied and cheerful |
| D．Disappointed and helpless |
From the first paragraph (段落), we learn that the writer was busy_____.
| A．solving her problem at the bank |
| B．taking part in various city jobs |
| C．learning acting in an evening school |
| D．preparing for the first night show |
On her way home the writer_____
| A．lost her wallet unknowingly |
| B．was stopped by a garbage truck driver |
| C．was robbed of her wallet by a man with a knife |
| D．found some homeless people following her |
In the fifth paragraph, why did the writer say she was dreaming?
| A．Someone offered to take her back home |
| B．A red-haired man came to see her. |
| C．She heard someone call her name |
| D．Her wallet was found in a garbage truck |
From the text, we can infer that the writer_____
| A．would stop working at night |
| B．would stay on in San Francisco |
| C．would make friends with cleaners. |
| D．would give up her job at the bank |
The popular Disneyland has some deep, dark, and sometimes amusing secrets that you probably don't know. Read on to learn them.
General Main Street
By using a special method of construction(建筑), Disneyland created an effect that you don't notice until your tired family leaves the park. The next time you enter Disneyland, make note of the distance that it appears you have to travel to get to the “Partners” statue. Then look at the exit of the park from the statue. That's correct. The distance appears to be shorter entering the park than going out. The purpose was to keep guests from wanting to take the long walk out.
Birthday fun
If you visit Disneyland on your birthday, be sure to tell the person at the gate that it's your big day. You'll be sent to City Hall where you'll be presented with a special sticker by cast members, letting everyone know it's your birthday. You may also be able to score special items from other cast members throughout the park, so it's certainly worth a try!
The music never stops.
Visitors like the music and sounds in the park.. Did you know the music never stops at the park? Even when the park was closed, the music and sounds are kept on going. Some believe it cost too much for Disney to keep turning off the music and then restarting it each day. But the truth is that it helps some workers clean up after 2 a.m!
Club 33
“Club 33” is the only place in Disneyland that provides guests with alcoholic beverages(酒精饮料). Club 33 members and their guests get free entrance to Disneyland so long as they have a meal at Club 33 on the day of their visit.There are ________amusing secrets about Disneyland mentioned in this passage.
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．five |
________makes the distance going out of the park seem to be longer.
| A．The “partner’’ statue |
| B．The gate of the park |
| C．The construction along the street |
| D．the music in the park |
If you tell the staff it’s your birthday, you will___________.
| A．get free entrance to Disneyland |
| B．be given a special gift at the City Hall |
| C．be taken to Club 33 and have a meal |
| D．let everyone in the park know your name |
The music never stops at the park because __________.
| A．visitors like the music and the sounds very much |
| B．it’s difficult to shut off the music and the sounds |
| C．Disneyland has to pay a lot to restart the music every day |
| D．it may keep some late night workers awake and full of energy. |
The purpose of this passage is to__________.
| A．let the readers know the dark side of Disneyland Park. |
| B．help the readers better enjoy their visits in Disneyland Park |
| C．encourage the readers to go to visit Disneyland Park |
| D．make the readers be aware of the importance of Disneyland Park |
How do you like your school? Have you ever written to your headmaster to express your idea? Here are some letters written by students from different schools.
Luke, 14, from Jiangsu
I will give some suggestions about our school uniform. In our school, we students have to wear uniform every day. But the yellow and green sports kit（服装）looks really dark and old. It can’t stand for young and lively spirit. We can add some red or orange colors and make a new type of uniform. I hope our headmaster will think about it.
Danny, 14, from Zhejiang
I have two suggestions for my headmaster. First of all, I think we should have more hobby classes in science , such as plane model making class and computer programming class. It is really boring to study basic subjects all the time. And second, I hope we can have more PE lessons or more time for physical exercise. Lots of students now don’t have a strong enough body.
Sam, 15, from Shanxi
I’d like to say thank you to my headmaster. About one week ago, I got a bad cold after playing basketball. Our headmaster came to me after he knew about it. He took care of me until my parents came. I really want to thank him for that.
Helen, 14, from Shandong
In the letter I wrote, I want to talk about the possibility of personal（个性化的）classes. Now many middle schools are trying the “personal class” system. Students don’t have regular classes. They can choose lessons they want to take. I think it is more effective. And it is also good for exercise. We don’t have to stay in one classroom all the time.Luke gives some suggestions about ______ in his letter.
| A．hobby classes | B．personal classes |
| C．school uniform | D．basketball playing |
The reasons why Danny gives two suggestions are that ______.
| A．students have too few classes every day and they love sports |
| B．studying basic subjects only is boring and students are too weak |
| C．hobby classes are interesting and students have no PE lessons at all |
| D．students want to cancel the basic subjects and they want to have more sports lessons |
All the students except __ write to the headmaster to complain about something.
| A．Luke | B．Danny | C．Sam | D．Helen |
The underlined sentence “I think it is more effective” means “______”
| A．Regular classes will be more vivid and lively. |
| B．Regular classes will help students learn better. |
| C．Personal classes will be more vivid and lively. |
| D．Personal classes will help students learn better. |
According to the passage, most students write to their headmasters about ______.
| A．personal experiences |
| B．how to make schools better |
| C．spare time activities |
| D．how to deal with other students |
A linguist, who studies languages, is always listening, never off-duty. I invited a group of friends to my house, telling them that I was going to record their speech. I said I was interested in their regional accents (地方口音), and it would take only a few minutes to record it. Afterwards, one evening, three people came to my house and were shown into my sitting-room. In front of each chair there was a microphone (麦克风) at head height, connected to a recorder in the middle of the floor. They sat down rather nervously. I explained that all I wanted was for them to count from one to twenty, then we could relax and have a drink.
I turned on the recorder and they each in turn counted from one to twenty in their best accents. When it was over, I turned the recorder off and brought round the drinks. The rest of the evening was spent in complete relaxation. I talked and joked with them freely and left them for a telephone call which lasted some time.
You know, of course, the microphones were not connected to the recorder in the middle of the room at all but to another one in the bedroom. My friends, having seen the recorder before them turned off, paid no more attention to the microphones a few inches from their mouths, thus giving excellent sound quality (质量). It meant that I was able to get a piece of natural talk.
I should add, perhaps, that I did tell my friends what had happened to them after the recording was over, and asked them whether it should be destroyed. None of them wanted to – but for some years after that, it always seemed that when it came to buying drinks, I paid for them. Linguistic research can be a very expensive business.The underlined word "linguist" in Paragraph 1 probably means "".
| A．people who learn to speak languages. |
| B．people who do research on languages. |
| C．people who speak languages. |
| D．people who develop languages. |
The recording which the writer was able to make was.
| A．natural. | B．beautiful |
| C．unclear. | D．nervous. |
When the writer told his friends what he had done, they.
| A．wanted him to destroy records |
| B．didn't seem to mind much |
| C．seemed to have no response (反应) |
| D．made him buy them more drinks |