All the housewives who went to the new supermarket had one great ambition: to be the lucky customer who did not have to pay for her shopping．For this was what the notice just inside the entrance promised．It said: “Remember, once a week, one of our customers gets free goods．This May Be Your Lucky Day!”
For several weeks Mrs. Edwards hoped, like many of her friends, to be the lucky customer．Unlike her friends, she never gave up hoping．The cupboards in kitchen were full of things which she did not need．Her husband tried to advise her against buying things but failed．She dreamed of the day when the manager of the supermarket would approach her and say: “Madam, this is Your Lucky Day．Everything in your basket is free．”
One Friday morning, after she had finished her shopping and had taken it to her car, she found that she had forgotten to buy any tea．She dashed back to the supermarket, got the tea and went towards the cash-desk．As she did so, she saw the manager of the supermarket approach her．“Madam,” he said, holding out his hand, “I want to congratulate you! You are our lucky customer and everything you have in your basket is free!”The housewives learnt about the free goods _______．
| A．on TV | B．at the supermarket |
| C．from the manager | D．from the newspaper |
Mrs. Edwards ________．
| A．is always very lucky |
| B．had no friends |
| C．hoped to get free shopping |
| D．gets disappointed easily |
Mrs. Edwards’s husband tried to ________．
| A．make her unhappy | B．cheer her up |
| C．buy things with her | D．stop her buying things |
Mrs. Edwards went back to the supermarket quickly because she had to _______．
| A．buy another thing | B．talk to the manager |
| C．pay for her shopping | D．find her shopping |
Mrs. Edwards must have been ________．
| A．pleased | B．delighted |
| C．proud | D．disappointed |
The Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England, is the best place in Europe for discovering dinosaur bones. Dinosaur Farm Museum was established in 1993. Since then, the museum has introduced the study of old bones to many more people.
What we offer
Visitors can enjoy our displays, or watch us cleaning dinosaur bones and other fossils found on the island’s beaches.
The museum has a variety of different fossils, many of them never displayed to the public before. As more are discovered all the time, you can be sure of seeing something new each time you visit.
We have a free Fossil Identification Service, so you can bring in any fossils you have and find out what they are. In addition, we have a reasonably-priced Museum Shop, where you can buy a souvenir of your visit. You could also bring a picnic and relax in our special picnic area.
Activities
Fossil hunts are organized from the museum and run all year round. Groups of up to 25 are guided on a local beach where they can search for fossils. All these hunts are fully licensed and insured, and guides can help to identify any fossils found and point out things of interest.
Due to the popularity of these hunts, all trips must be booked by a personal visit to Dinosaur Farm Museum.
Did you know…?
The BBC programme “Live from Dinosaur Island” was filmed along the coast here, and Dinosaur Farm Museum was the base for the television crew.
Find out more
Check out our website at www.isleofwight/dinosaurfarm to learn in detail how we dig for dinosaurs. You can also read about the many different kinds of dinosaurs which lived in this area, which was connected to Europe 120 million years ago.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The Isle of Wight is the best place in the world for discovering dinosaur bones. |
| B．There is a special picnic area for vistors. |
| C．The museum has a variety of different fossils which have been displayed to the public before. |
| D．Vistors can also find many different kinds of dinosaurs that live there. |
One can book a fossil hunt ______.
| A．through a BBC program |
| B．through the museum’s website |
| C．by making a call to the museum |
| D．by visiting the museum personally |
Which of the following is free of charge at the museum?
| A．Food for a picnic. |
| B．Attending fossil hunts. |
| C．A souvenir of the museum. |
| D．Having fossils identified. |
The passage is most probably taken from ______.
| A．a conference interview |
| B．a travel magazine |
| C．a history book |
| D．a science fiction |
Soccer is played by millions of people all over the world, but there have only been few players who were truly great. How did these players get that way---was it through training and practice, or are great players “born, not made”? First, these players came from places that have had famous stars in the past---players that a young boy can look up to and try to imitate. In the history of soccer, only seven countries have ever won the World Cup---three from South America and four from Western Europe. There has never been a great national team---or a really great player---from North America or from Asia. Second, these players have all had years of practice in the game. Alfredo Di Stefano was the son of a soccer player, as was Pele. Most players begin playing the game at the age of three or four.
Finally, many great players come from the same kind of neighborhood---a poor, crowded area where a boy’s dream is not to be a doctor, lawyer, or businessman, but to become a rich, famous athlete or entertainer. For example, Liverpool, which produced the Beatles, had one of the best English soccer teams in recent years. Pele practiced in the street with a “ball” made of rags. And George Best learned the tricks that made him famous by bouncing the ball off a wall in the slums(贫民窟) of Belfast.
All great players have a lot in common, but that doesn’t explain why they are great. Hundreds of boys played in those Brazilian streets, but only one became Pele. The greatest players are born with some unique quality that sets them apart from all the others.According to the writer, which of the following statements is true?
| A．Soccer is popular all over the world, but truly great players are few. |
| B．Millions of people all over the world are playing soccer, but only seven countries have ever had famous stars. |
| C．Only seven countries from South America and Western Europe have ever had national teams. |
| D．Soccer seems the least popular in North America and Asia. |
The world “tricks” at the end of Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．experience | B．training |
| C．skills | D．cheating |
The Brazilian streets are mentioned to show that ______.
| A．a great soccer player may be born in a slum area |
| B．people in poor areas are born with some unique quality |
| C．children in poor areas start playing football at the age of three or four |
| D．famous soccer players live in slum areas |
The writer mentions all the factors that may affect a soccer player’s success except ______.
| A．his family background | B．his neighborhood |
| C．his character | D．his practice |
Every year in America, high-school students who want to go to college take a national examination called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT in a shortened way. Their score is an important factor in determining which colleges will admit them. The Scholastic Aptitude Test measures one’s mathematical ability and use of the English language. Traditionally, the English part involved grammatical questions and paragraphs that test reading comprehension.
But the SAT folks have added a single question, to be answered in an essay, handwritten on the spot. That’s an interesting way to test writing ability, but content aside, have you ever seen young people’s handwriting lately? Or anyone’s for that matter, in this age of computer keyboards? Students write numbers and sign their names on bank checks. They scribble class notes in what can generously be described as the written word.
Yet today’s kids are asked to write, thoughtfully and clearly, for several minutes on this SAT Test. Good luck to the text scorers who must work out difficultly the scrawl (潦草的笔迹)of young people who’ve been typing on computers since the age of three! Teachers insist that good handwriting can not only help one’s score on the SAT, but also, later on in life, impress potential employers. And don’t forget, we all have to turn to handwriting from time to time, as computers go down when power goes out.
Then how to improve the handwriting? Well, with a few simple steps you can improve your handwriting.
Position the pen. You should hold the pen between the forefinger and the thumb. You should then rest it near the first knuckle（指节）of the middle finger. The rest of your fingers should be curled （卷曲) under your hand and your hand should remain relaxed.
Evaluate your handwriting. What do you like and what you don’t like about the way you write? Make changes to your letters till you like how they look.
Take your time. Make sure that, while you are writing, you take your time. Speed is bound to make your writing messy- looking. If it is worth writing well, then take your time.
Practice. Practice it a lot; it’s not enough to do it once and hope for the best. It has to be something you work at to make great improvements.The SAT tests students on __________.
| A．math, English, reading and handwriting |
| B．math, grammar, reading and handwriting |
| C．math, foreign language and writing |
| D．math, foreign language and handwriting |
Which of the following should you avoid when improving your handwriting?
| A．Practice writing a lot. |
| B．Writing as fast as you can. |
| C．Relaxing your hand when holding the pen. |
| D．Changing your letters till you like how they look. |
The text is to present the fact that __________.
| A．writing seems to be very important in the SAT |
| B．those who will go to college have to take the SAT |
| C．students should practice handwriting more often |
| D．kids don’t know how to write in the computer age |
The largest land animal remaining on the earth, the African elephant is of much importance to African ecosystem. Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a giant plant-eater, it significantly shapes the forest-and-savanna (大草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore deciding the conditions of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.
It is the elephant’s great desire for food that makes it both a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and underbushes, as well as pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in not only deep tropical forests but also the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth, which attract a variety of other plant-eaters.
Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants create open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large-hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small-sized plant-eaters to obtain their food as well.
Scientists are worried now that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant dies out, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Disappearance of African elephants. |
| B．Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants. |
| C．The effect of African elephants' search for food. |
| D．The eating habit of African elephants. |
The African elephant influences the ecosystem in the following ways except that .
| A．it creates open areas in deep tropical forests as well as woodlands |
| B．it pulls off the branches and leaves, shutting out the sunshine |
| C．its eating habit can be made use of by large-hoofed and small-sized animals |
| D．it encourages some kinds of plants growing in an indirect way |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
| A．Numerous grown plants are the favorites of plant-eaters. |
| B．The extinction of the African elephant has nothing to do with the ecosystem. |
| C．Quantities of plants are consumed by African elephants, including branches and underbushes. |
| D．The forest floor in rain forests is scarcely dotted with new shoots. |
The passage is developed mainly by .
| A．presenting the changes in time order |
| B．making comparisons and giving examples |
| C．classifying similarities and differences |
| D．showing the effect and then explaining the reasons |
Windows 8, apart from Windows 95, is the biggest surprise and the only version of Microsoft’ s operating system that has been changed from the core（核心）when compared to its former one. However, a recent study has shown that under 20% of business owners would be willing to upgrade to the new version of Windows. The reason for this remains to be discussed and debated, and we will try to throw light on this research by providing you with some of the most common advantages and disadvantages of Windows 8.
Generally speaking, there are a great number of plus sides related to upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8.
Speed — This is the biggest advantage to mention. Boot time has been reported to be up to nine times shorter than that with Windows 7.
New passwords — Instead of typing your passwords, Windows 8 will let you use gestures on your favorite photos to enter your password. This is not only practical but also extremely cool!
Windows 8 experience — Apart from computers, Windows 8 will be used on all devices, including smart phones, tablet PC’s and so on. Also, owing to the fact that it has been specifically designed with touch screen users in mind, Windows 8, besides using keyboard and mouse, will offer a whole new user experience.
However, there are still some disadvantages.
The first one that has to be mentioned is that there is no Start Menu from Windows. Yes, there is no Start button in the lower left corner, and this might be a real puzzle of many Windows users. Also, many users have had a problem to get used to the new interface（界面）introduced by Windows 8. The biggest problem that is worth noticing is that Windows 8 was originally designed for touch screen users, and this may have a bad effect on desktop users who have gotten used to doing everything with the help of their keyboard and mouse.What does “plus sides” in Paragraph 2 probably refer to?
| A．Math symbols. | B．Strengths. |
| C．New rules. | D．Messages. |
The most attractive aspect of Windows 8 is its .
| A．fast rate | B．complex passwords |
| C．unique experience | D．new interface |
From the text we can learn that Windows 8 .
| A．no longer requires a password |
| B．was upgraded from windows 95 |
| C．will be popular with desktop users |
| D．can be used on more than computers |
Many Windows 8 users will face the problem that .
| A．they don’t get accustomed to the new interface |
| B．they have to use fingerprints instead of buttons |
| C．keyboard and mouse can’t be used any longer |
| D．Start Menu is hidden in the lower left corner |