One day an old woman was traveling alone in the mountains. Suddenly she saw something shining in the stream. When she came close, she found it was a precious stone. She put the stone into her bag and went on with her trip.
The next day the old woman met a young man, who was also a traveler in the mountains. The young man looked very hungry, so the old woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked carefully, “The stone is beautiful. Would you like to give it to me?”
“Sure. Why not?” the woman said, and handed the stone to him.
The young man left happily with the stone. He knew it was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the woman.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said. “I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back and hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within your bag.”
The woman opened her bag. It was almost empty. She looked at the young man and smiled, “I have nothing special in my bag, but I do have something precious — the joy of giving!” The young man felt ashamed and left silently. How did the young man find the precious stone?
| A．He found it in his food. |
| B．He dug it out in a valley. |
| C．He saw it in the woman’s bag. |
| D．He noticed it shining in the stream. |
What does the underlined word “security” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．Money. | B．Worry. | C．Health. | D．Trouble. |
The man returned the stone to the woman because ______.
| A．he found the stone was not precious |
| B．he understood the real meaning of joy |
| C．he felt embarrassed at taking away the stone |
| D．he wanted to get something even more precious |
Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
| A．A special stone |
| B．The joy of giving |
| C．A woman and a young man |
| D．An experience in the mountains |
Scientists are trying to make the deserts into good land again． They want to bring water to the deserts， so people can live and grow food． They are learning a lot about the deserts． But more and more of the earth is becoming desert all the time． Scientists may not be able to change the desert in time．
Why is more and more land becoming desert？ Scientists think that people make deserts． People are doing bad things to the earth．
Some places on the earth don't get much rain． But they still don't become deserts． This is because some green plants are growing there． Small green plants and grass are very important to dry places． Plants don't let the sun make the earth even drier． Plants do not let the wind blow the dirt away． When a bit of rain falls， the plants hold the water． Without plants， the land can become desert more easily． Deserts＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ ．
| A．never have any plants or animals in them | |
| B．can all be turned into good land before long | |
| C．are becoming smaller and smaller | D．get very little rain |
Small green plants are very important to dry places because＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ ．
| A．they don't let the sun make the earth even drier | |
| B．they don't let the wind blow the soil away | |
| C．they hold water | D．All of the above． |
Land is becoming desert little by little because ＿＿＿＿＿＿．
| A．plants can't grow there | B．there is not enough rain |
| C．people haven't done what scientists wish them to do | |
| D．scientists know little about the deserts |
Which is the main idea of the first paragraph？
| A．Scientists know how to change desert into good land． |
| B．Land is becoming desert faster than scientists can change it back into good land． |
| C．If scientists can bring water to desert， people can live and grow food there． |
| D．More and more places are becoming deserts all the time． |
In Canada you can find dogs， cats， horses， etc． in almost every family． These are their pets． People love these pets and have them as their good friends． Before they keep them in their houses， they take them to animal hospitals to give them injections（注射） so that they won't carry disease． They have special animal food stores， though they can get animal food in almost every kind of store． Some people spend around two hundred Canadian dollars a month on animal food． When you visit people's houses， they would be very glad to show you their pets and they are very proud of them． You will also find that almost every family has a bird feeder in their garden． All kinds of birds are welcomed to come and have a good meal． They are free to come and go and nobody is allowed to kill any animal in Canada． They have a law against killing wild animals． If you killed an animal，you would be punished． If an animal happened to get run over by a car， people would be very sad about it．
People in Canada have many reasons to like animals． One of them might be：Their family ties are not as close as ours． When children grow up， they leave their parents and start their own life． Then the old will feel lonely． But pets can solve this problem． They can be good friends and never leave them alone． The passage mainly talks about ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ ．
| A．how to keep disease from pets | B．pets in Canada |
| C．how to take good care of pets | D．life of the old in Canada |
They give their pets injections before keeping them at their houses because ＿＿＿ ．
| A．the pets are sick |
| B．the pets are wild |
| C．they want to stop them from carrying disease |
| D．they want them to sleep on the way home |
This passage shows that Canadians＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ ．
| A．hate animals | B．often kill animals |
| C．love animals | D．don't keep pets inside houses |
In Canada， children leave their parents when they grow up because＿＿＿＿＿ ．
| A．they don't love their parents any more |
| B．they can only find jobs far from their parents |
| C．their parents' houses are too small |
| D．they wouldn't depend on their parents any more |
More American people take their troubles with them on holiday, according to a new survey. Although 40 percent said that the main reason for going away is to escape pressure (压力) from work, almost all said they worry more than they do at home. Only four in every 100 said that they are happy and free of care.
The most common worry is burglary ( 入室盗窃) , with four out of 10 worrying about their homes being broken into while they’re abroad．More than a quarter fear they will feel crazy with some other noisy and rough holiday-makers and 22 percent worry they may be attacked or their possessions will be missing. One in five think the car may break down; and the same number worry about the chances of bad weather.
The survey also showed that the stay-at-home Americans are no more. Three out of every five want to have a holiday abroad, a great increase from the figures only three years ago. The hotel holiday is still a winner, with about one third of all Americana preferring to go on a self-catering ( 自助 ) holiday.The underlined word “survey” in the first paragraph most probably means ______.
| A．research | B．review | C．exhibition | D．examination |
According to the text, about ____ of people worry more on holiday than when they are at home.
| A．25% | B．40% | C．80% | D．95% |
The third most common worry of American holiday-makers is that they may ______.
| A．be attacked or lose their possessions |
| B．have problems with their cars on the road |
| C．have bad weather on holiday |
| D．get mixed with some rough fellow holiday-makers |
Where do American holiday-makers like to stay most?
| A．At a hotel. | B．In a quiet place. |
| C．At a friend's house. | D．Where they can cook for themselves. |
In the past industries had more freedom than they have now，and they did not need to be as careful as they must today. They did not need to worry a lot about the safety of the new products that they developed. They did not have to pay much attention to the health and safety of the people who worked for them. Often new products were dangerous for the people who used them；often conditions in the work place had very bad effects on the health of the workers.
Of course sometimes there were real disasters which attracted the attention of governments and which showed the need for changes．Also scientists who were doing research into the health of workers sometimes produced information which governments could not ignore．At such times， there were inquiries into the causes of the disasters or the problems. New safety rules were often introduced as a result of these inquiries；however, the new rules came too late to protect the people who died or who became seriously ill.
Today many governments have special departments which protect customers and workers. In the US, for example, there is a department which takes charge of new airplanes and gives warnings about possible problems. It also makes the rules that aircraft producers must follow. Another department controls the foods and drugs that companies sell．A third department looks at the places where people work，and then reports any companies that are breaking the laws which protect the health and safety of workers. Of course，new government departments and new laws cannot prevent every accident or illness，but they are having some good results. Our work places are safer and cleaner than before. The planes and cars which we use for travel are better. Producers are thinking more about the safety and health of the people who buy and use their products．The main topic of the passage is_________.
| A．conditions in the work place | B．the freedom of industries in the past |
| C．the safety and health of workers and customers | D．changes in industrial production |
It can be inferred from the passage that in the past_________.
| A．industries were as careful in management as they are today |
| B．companies were free to put out any products they wanted to |
| C．many people were killed by dangerous products |
| D．workers often got ill because of the poor working conditions |
It is implied in the passage that_________.
| A．in the past no safety laws were introduced by governments |
| B．governments paid little attention to the safety of products |
| C．government officials often did not listen to scientists |
| D．governments and companies had different opinions about the safety of products |
The special departments protect customers and workers in many ways EXCEPT by____.
| A．testing new products | B．designing new products |
| C．controlling the sale of products | D．inspecting work places |
In the West, advertisements are the fuel that makes mass media work. Many TV stations, newspapers, magazines, radio stations are privately owned. The government does not give them money. So where does the money come from? From advertisements. Without advertisements, there would not be these private businesses.
Have you ever asked yourself what advertising is? Through the years, people have given different answers to the question. For some time it was felt that advertising was a means of “Keeping your name before the public”. And some people thought that advertising was “truth well told”. Now more and more people consider it in this way: Advertising is the paid, non-personal, and usually persuasive presentation of goods, services and ideas by some certain sponsors (发起人) through various media.
First, advertising is usually paid for. Various sponsors pay for the advertisements we see, read, and hear over the various media. Second, advertising is non-personal. It is not face-to-face communication. Although you may feel that a message in a certain advertisement is aimed directly at you, in reality, it is directed at large groups of people. Third, advertising is usually persuasive. Directly or indirectly it asks people to do something. All advertisements try to make people believe that the product, idea, or service advertised can benefit them. Fourth, the sponsors of the advertisement must show their names. From the advertisement, we can see if the sponsor is a company, or a single person. Fifth, advertising reaches us through old and modern mass media. Included in the old media are newspapers. magazines, radio, television, and films. Modern media include emails, matchbox covers, and boards on top of buildings.The existence of the privately owned mass media depends on the support of_________.
| A．the government | B．advertisements |
| C．their owners’ families | D．the TV stations |
The passage seems to say that different ideas of advertising are given due to __________.
| A．the subject of the advertisements | B．the change of time |
| C．people's age difference | D．peoples’ different opinions |
Which of the following is considered modern mass media?
| A．Emails. | B． Newspapers | C．Magazines. | D．Films. |
According to the passage, which of the following statements about advertisements is NOT true?
| A．The sponsors are always mentioned. |
| B．Advertising is meant for large groups of people. |
| C．There is the description of things advertised |
| D．Advertising must be honest and humorous |