The Rugby (英式橄榄球) World Cup is currently being held in New Zealand. The tournament, due to finish on October 23, is living up to the famous English saying, “Rugby is a thug's (暴徒) game played by gentlemen. ”
The games are physically aggressive; the tackles (冲撞) on the pitch are brutal; but the end of each match is a civilized affair. Players shake hands and applaud each other. Of course, the other side to this saying is: "Football is a gentleman's game played by thugs. " Indeed, unlike soccer players, rugby players don't often question the referee's (裁判员) decisions or pretend to be injured when they are not.
“Football could learn a lot from rugby," said Brian Moore, a former England rugby player "The wonderful spirit of rugby is: there is a gentlemanly code to it. You play hard on the pitch, but you always respect your opponent..
Rugby is mainly played in Europe. Australia, New Zealand and parts of Africa. "It is more enjoyable to play than soccer because you are always involved in the game," said Peter, a Welsh rugby coach. "Rugby is also a far superior test of strength, stamina (耐力) and determination. "
Most professional rugby players are large, strong and weigh over 90 kilograms. People who play the sport need to be tough and be prepared to get hurt. Black eyes, broken bones, lost teeth and being knocked unconscious—all these are common injuries. Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is blind in one eye thanks to a rugby accident at school.
In England, children begin playing the game at school at the age of 8. When they enter high school, many begin to play full contact rugby. Children are taught to play for around one hour a week during their PE lessons. Most schools have a rugby team. Children who play for the school team are usually the sportiest kids, and are seen as brave and athletic.What can be concluded from the first three paragraphs?
| A．Football players are not real gentlemen. |
| B．There is a better spirit in playing rugby than football. |
| C．Football players are not as athletic as rugby players. |
| D．Brian Moore thinks that rules should be stricter in football. |
According to the passage, Peter thinks ______.
| A．rugby players pretend to be injured when they are not |
| B．rugby is not very popular in America and Asia |
| C．rugby makes people enjoy sports better than soccer |
| D．rugby needs players' strong will rather than strength |
The example of Gordon Brown is mentioned in order to .
| A．prove that playing rugby can earn people fame |
| B．explain why Gordon Brown is blind in one eye |
| C．support the point that rugby players often get hurt |
| D．warn teenagers against playing rugby at school |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Teenagers will lose interest in football. |
| B．English children have a talent for rugby. |
| C．Playing rugby doesn't involve skills. |
| D．Rugby is not suitable for everyone. |
When I started a degree in English language, I hadn’t intended to study abroad, not to mention starting learning German. But having recently returned from my year abroad in Germany, I can say that making the effort to learn the language really enriched my experience.
With language translation technology advancing all the time, it’s convenient to rely on Google Translate and smartphone apps without having to learn the language. But a second language shouldn’t be a luxury(奢侈品). Researchers have discovered that much language learning can increase the size of your brain in as little as three months. From my own experience, learning the language lets you travel beyond the well-known tourist paths, gain a real student experience and widen your social network beyond the international circle.
The process of learning German abroad was completely different from my language course at university, where students sat quietly and stumbled(结巴) through spoken exercises. Instead, language learning abroad was energetic and part of my lifestyle – from chatting with sales assistants to preparing speeches with course mates. It meant being part of the local area.
Visiting language exchange cafés – where international and German students meet to improve their European language – was a great way to practice in a relaxed space and meet a wide range of people. Not being afraid to make mistakes is important to learn a language. By giving up that comfortable phrase “Ich spreche nur ein bisschen Deutsch!” (I speak only a little German), I made progress and it was praised by friends and locals alike.
Germany has a lively theater scene and learning the language meant I was able to get more entertainment and an understanding of German culture.
Even when it comes to eating out, knowing the language works to your advantage. In more than a few traditional German restaurants, the English menus didn’t contain all the dishes listed on the German menus.
Learning the language has saved me from getting on the wrong train, after last-minute platform changes were announced in German.
So why not learn the local language in your year abroad? It’ll improve your employability while letting you take part fully in local life.What is the purpose of writing this passage?
| A．To share his or her experience of learning a foreign language. |
| B．To tell the readers the advantages of knowing a foreign language. |
| C．To give the readers an understanding of German culture. |
| D．To advise the readers to learn a local language when abroad. |
What is the writer’s opinion about a second language?
| A．It is not popular any longer. |
| B．It costs a lot of money. |
| C．It is practical and useful. |
| D．It demands much brain to learn. |
When a person says “Ich spreche nur ein bisschen Deutsch!”, he feels_________.
| A．comfortable about the situation |
| B．afraid to make mistakes |
| C．satisfied with the progress |
| D．confident about himself |
How does the writer develop his or her argument?
| A．By explaining reasons and results. |
| B．By listing the advantages. |
| C．By comparing different methods. |
| D．By providing scientific discoveries. |
If you have seen or heard of the British TV series Downton Abbey, you have probably noticed an “upstairs-downstairs” class system in which the noble people are upstairs, worrying what clothes they should wear for dinner and the poor people are downstairs, working hard to make food and tea. So it’s not hard to tell that people are divided into different classes. British society has changed a lot since the days of Downton Abbey, but the division still exists and the funny accents do, too.
Nowadays, what divides Britons is the so-called “North-South divide”. As you make your way north from the south coast of England, the accent begins to change. The posh “How are you” in parts of the South becomes “Ahhdu” (how do you do) in the Midlands, “reeit” (are you all right) in the North West, “eyyup” (what’s up) in Yorkshire, and “hou’s it gaun” (how’s it going) in Scotland. Besides accents, the economy also changes. The rich southern city of London slowly becomes the North where people general have less money.
So where does the “South” stop being the “South” and the “North” start being the “North”? Well, depending on where someone comes from in Britain, you’ll get a different answer.
“Anywhere above London is ‘the North’,” you might hear a Londoner say. Or if you’re in Scotland, you might hear, “Southern softer!”, talking about a person from Lancashire or Yorkshire, who think of themselves as “hard (tough) Northerners”. “Anywhere south of Manchester is not northern,” you might hear a person from Manchester say.
Many stereotypes (成见) have come from the “North-South Divide”, too. Often, southerners are seen as being rude and snobbish (势利眼的) by northerners. And northerners are often seen as uneducated by southerners.
Today, the career you have and the person you marry don’t depend on where you were born or what class you are from. But as London is getting richer and people are moving to the South for work, the North-South divide is getting bigger. Yet for all that divides us, the truth is, we couldn’t live without each other!The first paragraph serves to _________.
| A．compare the lives of upstairs with those of downstairs |
| B．explain how the class system worked in the past |
| C．attack the unfair class division |
| D．introduce the topic of the passage |
People from North West greet each other by saying _________.
| A．“hou’s it gaun” | B．“reeit” |
| C．“eyyup” | D．“ahhdu” |
From Paragraph 4 we get to know _________.
| A．Scotlanders think Londoners are not strong enough |
| B．Manchester people think Scotland belongs to the South |
| C．Manchester people regard themselves as Northerners |
| D．there is no such thing as “North-South Divide” |
What is the passage mainly talking about?
| A．British accents are different from North to South. |
| B．Class division is getting smaller at present. |
| C．It is about the “North-South Division” and its influence. |
| D．Northerners and Southerners dislike each other in Britain. |
For most South Africans, Nelson Mandela is the father of their nation – many even called him "Tata", a local word for father. It was sometimes forgotten that he was also a real father of six, grandfather of 18, great-grandfather of eight, and husband to three women.
He earned a place in history just like another father of a nation, Mahatma Gandhi. But there was a fundamental difference between these beloved men. While Gandhi was thought to be a depressed family man, Mandela was a strong and loving family man. Even so, Mandela and his family paid dearly for his devotion to his country's freedom.
Mandela himself offered a glimpse into his personal war. "To be the father of a nation is a great honor, but to be the father of a family is a greater joy. But it was a joy I had far too little of." he said in April 1992, announcing his separation from Winnie.
In 1944, Nelson Mandela married Evelyn. "I could not give up my life in the struggle," Mandela explained in his autobiography(自传), Long Walk to Freedom, "and she (Evelyn) could not live with my devotion to something other than herself and her family... I never lost my admiration for her, but in the end we could not make our marriage work." They divorced in 1958.
When Evelyn died in 2004, Mandela stood at her graveside with his third wife, Graca. Winnie also attended the funeral.
Mandela married Winnie in 1958. But Winnie bore the hardship of life as Mandela, enduring her husband's 27-year imprisonment. From prison, Mandela wrote some of the greatest love letters to Winnie. "I dust it (your photo) carefully every morning – I even touch your nose with mine to regain the electric current that used to run through my blood whenever I did so."
For many South Africans, it was the end of a fairytale love story when their separation was made public in 1992. "Tensions" had arisen and they had agreed on a separation. The hurt in his words was clear: "Perhaps I was blinded to certain things because of the pain I felt for not being able to play my role as a husband to my wife and a father to my children."
“Unstable(不稳定的) personal lives seemed freedom fighters' destiny(命运),” he said. "When your life is the struggle, as mine was, there is little room left for family. That has always been my greatest regret, and the most painful aspect of the choice I made." The couple divorced in 1996.The author mentioned Mahatma Gandhi in the second paragraph in order to _________.
| A．show the character of Gandhi |
| B．prove Mandela is the great leader |
| C．draw attention to Mandela’s personal life |
| D．honour these two great fathers |
The underlined sentence in the third paragraph shows_________.
| A．Mandela felt regretful about his family life |
| B．Mandela got no joy from his family |
| C．Mandela was not satisfied with his wife Winne |
| D．Mandela preferred to be the father of the nation |
The first wife of Nelson Mandela is _________.
| A．Winnie | B．Evelyn |
| C．Graca | D．not mentioned |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Mandela: not just the father of the nation. |
| B．Mandela: a devoted leader of the nation. |
| C．Mandela: a freedom fighter with deep love. |
| D．Mandela: success and failure. |
The timing of school holidays has always had a lot to do with when a family goes on vacation. For many kids, summer holidays mean spending time outdoors and heading toward water- the local swimming pool, a lake, or the beach.
What people wear to go swimming or sunbathing has changed a great deal since the early 1990s. Do you know what early swimsuits(游泳衣） looked like and what they were made of? The earliest swimsuits covered most of the body and were called “bathing clothes”. They were often made of wool, which made them scratchy（扎人的） and very heavy when they got wet. Newer materials made it possible to make lighter swimsuits. Over time, swimsuits covered less and less of the body. In 1946, the bikini became popular among women.
Summer holidays don’t just mean going to the water. They can also mean going for a bike ride, or a picnic. It all depends how you want to spend your summer days.
If you live or spend your holiday near the water, then fishing, diving and boating are all good possibilities. In summertime, lots of people enjoy playing, picnicking, and just going out with friends on a long summer day until the sun goes down.
A famous song called Summertime from the opera Porgy and Bess describes life’s more relaxed pace in this season, “Summertime...and the living is easy. Fish are jumping...” Ask your parents and older relatives about their summertime memories.What does the first paragraph mainly talk about?
| A．Being near water is great in summer for kids. |
| B．It is great for kids to spend holidays with their family. |
| C．when you should prepare for summer holidays. |
| D．Where you can find water on summer holidays. |
From the passage we can know that_________.
| A．People with “bathing clothes” could swim easily |
| B．The earlier swimsuits were very comfortable to wear |
| C．There are other ways to enjoy summer holidays |
| D．It is easy for a family to arrange summer holidays |
What is summertime like according to the passage?
| A．It is busy | B．It is interesting |
| C．It is simple | D．It is hard |
If the crust （外壳） of the earth were not pretty solid （坚固的），it would be shaking about and moving up and down frequently. However，there are places in the rocks of the earth’s crust where it isn’t strongly held together—where faults exist. Along the faults，one rock might push against another with great force. The energy is changed to vibration in the rocks，so they begin to shake and we have an earthquake!
The most famous one in North America was the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Seven hundred people died and property（财产）damage amounted to about ＄425，000，000.The greatest destruction came from the fires that followed the quake.
One of the most famous earthquakes in Europe took place in Lisbon，Portugal，in 1755.The city was destroyed and at least thirty thousand people were killed. In 1908，in Calabria and Sicily，a quake killed about seventy-five thousand people. In 1915，in central Italy，hundreds of towns and villages were damaged and thirty thousand people were killed.
Two great earthquakes that caused great damage in Asia took place in Tokyo，Japan，and in Gansu Province in China. The Tokyo quake of 1923 killed more than one hundred thousand people and destroyed the city and the city of Yokohama，too. The Chinese quake in 1920 covered more than three hundred square miles and killed about two hundred thousand people.The first paragraph mainly tells us.
| A．where earthquakes happen |
| B．how earthquakes happen |
| C．the damage caused by earthquakes |
| D．famous earthquakes in the world |
Which of the following is the correct order of the years when the earthquakes happened?
①the San Francisco earthquake
②the earthquake in Lisbon，Portugal
③the earthquake in Calabria and Sicily
④the earthquake in central Italy
⑤the earthquake in Gansu Province
⑥the Tokyo quake
| A．③④⑤⑥②① | B．⑤⑥②①③④ |
| C．②①③④⑤⑥ | D．①③④②⑤⑥ |
According to the passage，the earthquake that killed the most people happened in.
| A．Portugal | B．Italy | C．Japan | D．China |