Stanley Yelnats was given a choice. The judge said, “You may go to prison, or you may go to Camp Green Lake.” Stanley was from a poor family. He had never been to camp before. So, Stanley Yelnats seems set to serve an easy sentence, which is only fair because he is as innocent as you or me. But Stanley is not going where he thinks he is.
Camp Green Lake is like no other camp anywhere. It is a place that has no lake and nothing green. Nor is it a camp, at least not the kind of camp kids look forward to in the summertime. It is only a desert wasteland, dotted with countless holes dug by the boys who live at the camp.
The trouble started when Stanley was accused of stealing a pair of shoes donated by basketball great Clyde “Sweetfeet” Livingston to a celebrity auction (名流拍卖会). In court, the judge doesn’t believe Stanley’s explanation that the shoes fell from the sky onto his head. And yet, that’s exactly what happened. Strangely, though, Stanley doesn’t blame the judge for falsely convicting (宣告有罪) him. Instead, he blames the whole thing on his “no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-
stealing-great-great-grandfather.” Thanks to this distant relative, the Yelnats family had been cursed (诅咒) for generations. For Stanley, his current troubles are just a natural part of being a Yelnats.
At Camp Green Lake, the warden (看守) makes the boys “build character” by spending all day, every day, digging holes: five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn’t take long for Stanley to realize there’s more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is searching for something, and before long Stanley begins his own search — for the truth. Fate is to find a solution to it all — the family curse, the mystery of the holes. The great wheel of justice has ground slowly for generations, but now it is about to reveal its verdict (裁决).Stanley Yelnats went to Camp Green Lake to__________________.
| A．enjoy the summertime | B．show his innocence |
| C．Serve his sentence | D．make a choice |
We can learn from the passage that Stanley__________________.
| A．stole the shoes for his relative |
| B．got the shoes by accident |
| C．donated the shoes to an auction |
| D．blamed the judge for the sentence |
In fact，the warden made the boys dig holes to________________.
| A．kill the time | B．build character |
| C．break the family curse | D．look for something |
In which section of a newspaper does this passage probably appear?
| A．Law． | B．Geography． |
| C．News． | D．Literature． |
Computers are very important to modern life. Many people think that in the future computers will be used in lots of everyday life. It is thought that we won’t have to go shopping because we will be able to get most things which are sold in shops on the Internet. There will be no more books because we will be able to get all texts from computers. The Internet will be used to play games, see films and buy food. Most telephone calls will be made by computers, too.
Some people are glad about these new ways of shopping and communicating. Others do not think that computers will replace our old ways.
Let’s look at books, for example. Some people think that one day we will not read books made of paper. Instead, we will buy and read books using computers. We will read texts on small pocket computers. The computers will keep many different books in them at the same time. We won’t need to turn lots of pages and paper will be saved. Computerized(计算机化) books will be used more and more.
Is Internet shopping such a pleasure as going to the shop? Many people say it is not. It is a pleasure to go into shops and look at things you want to buy. It is also unlikely that many people will want to read large texts on our computers. Because paper books will perhaps be more friendly. Maybe computers won’t change these two habits.In paragraph 1 it is thought people will use computers for ___.
| A．playing games, shopping and making telephone calls |
| B．making telephone calls, having meals and seeing films |
| C．seeing films, buying food, and going for holidays |
| D．playing games, making telephone calls and seeing the doctor |
Which reason for using computerizes books is NOT said in the passage?
| A．Computerized books won’t be very expensive. |
| B．Computers can keep many different books in them. |
| C．We won’t have lots of pages. |
| D．We won’t need any paper. |
Paragraph 4 tells ___.
| A．about the old and new ways of shopping and communicating |
| B．if the Internet will change our habits |
| C．about computerized books |
| D．about future uses of computers |
The title for this passage is ___ .
| A．Computers will replace shops and books |
| B．Computers are the future |
| C．Computers will do everything for man |
| D．How computers change our habits |
Strange stones of Costa Rica
One of the strangest mysteries in archacology was discovered in the Diquis River Delta, in southern Costa Rica. Since the 1930s, hundreds of stone balls have been found. They range in size from a few centimeters to over two metres in diameter.
Who made these perfect spheres(球体) and how they made them remains a mystery. Some researchers believe the stones were made by extreme heating followed by cooling. People could have polished the spheres with sand or leather. The ancient Costa Ricans had no written language so there is no written record of just how they made the spheres.
Almost all are made of granite (花岗岩), a hard stone created by volcanoes. The granite quarries(采石场) were 25 to 30 miles away from the largest stones, which weigh more than 10 tons each. Nobody knows how people moved them..
Many of the stones have been found near the remains of houses or graves. Some believed that the stones contained hidden treasures and a few have been smashed but nothing has been found inside. Despite these losses, the National Museum of Costa Rica has recorded 130 spheres. However, many stones are not included because they have been removed from their original sites and used as ornaments(装饰) in homes, gardens and churches. Clearly, there are also many stones that lie undiscovered.The stones were discovered ___ .
| A．near the volcanoes |
| B．in southern Costa Rica |
| C．in a grave |
| D．in churches |
The writer ___ in the passage.
| A．admires the spheres very much |
| B．doesn’ t believe the spheres were once made by humans |
| C．tells us a discovery |
| D．thinks highly of the spheres |
The underlined word ”polished” refers to “___”.
| A．buried |
| B．wrapped |
| C．made shining |
| D．made big |
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
| A．The stone balls found in the Diquis River Delta are all very huge. |
| B．The stone balls were unearthed from the graves. |
| C．The local people show great interest in the stone balls. |
| D．There are a lot of treasures in the stone balls. |
The passage mainly tells us ___ .
| A．the stones are of great value. |
| B．the stones proved to be made by non-humans. |
| C．the stones are mystery. |
| D．the stone are ornaments. |
Homework can put you in a bad mood, but that might actually be a good thing.New research suggests that, in some cases, being too happy can hurt your performance on certain kinds of tasks.To test whether it is true, researchers performed two learning experiments with children.
The first experiment included 30 children, aged 10 and 11.Each child was given 20 problems in which a houselike shape was hidden inside a different, larger image.The children had to find the small shape while sitting in a room.Either positive or sad classical music was played in the background.
As a measure of mood,the scientists asked the children to point to ont of five faces,ranging from happy to sad.Children listening to the positive music tended to point to the smiling faces.Children surrounded by sad music pointed instead to the frowns(皱眉).The researchers found that sad children took at least to find the small shapes and also correctly found on average three or four more shapes.
In the second experiment,61 children,aged 6 and 7,faced the same type of problems.They watched one of three scenes.One scene was happy.One was neutral(中立的).One was sad.And just like in the first experiment; kids who felt sad or neutral performed better on the tests.They solved on average two or three more problems.
The researchers think that feeling down causes people more likely to fix their attention on a problem or difficult situation.However, other studies suggest that people who feel happy are better able to fix their attention on details.Some researchers insist that the new studies have flaws.It’s possible that the lively music in the first experiment took children’s attention away from their task of finding shapes.
While scientists continue to work on finding the answers,it will might be worth adapting your tasks for your mood.What did the researchers want to find out the experiments?
| A．What determines success in children’s study |
| B．How to train children to keep a happy mood |
| C．Whether and how children’s moods affect their performance |
| D．Whether too much homework affects children’s moods |
What did the two experiments have in common?
| A．Children were divided into happy and sad groups |
| B．Children were asked to find hidden shapes |
| C．Children in a sad moon were considered much cleverer |
| D．Researchers used music to measure children’s moods |
Through the two experiments, researchers think that sadness cause people to___.
| A．perform better in some cases |
| B．become cleverer than before |
| C．pay more attention to details |
| D．be more likely to be influenced by music |
Gregory Anderson, a specialist on endangered languages, once said, "Language is in many ways a window to the mind. What these languages contain are all kinds of ways that we organize the world. Languages reflect a different historical contact with other groups. And, for people who have no written history, language can be one of the ways to get the history just by looking carefully at the different parts in the language."
However, over half of the world's seven thousand languages are in danger of disappearing, and every two weeks one language disappears. One of the most endangered languages is called Siletz Dee-ni, a language from the northwestern part of the United States.
It was spoken on the Siletz reservation (居留地), where the tribe lives on a protected area within the state of Oregon. The reservation was created in the 19th century to hold people from 27 different native groups. The groups spoke different languages, so they developed Chinook Jargon. With its increased use as well as the use of English, the number of people speaking their native languages became smaller. Today, only one person on the reservation speaks Siletz Dee-ni.
Bringing back endangered languages is not easy, but it is very important. One example of this is taking place in the American state of Hawaii. Hawaii became a part of the United States in 1898. English became the official language of Hawaii. Slowly, fewer and fewer young natives learned to speak Hawaiian fluently. The language began to disappear.
In 1986, fewer than fifty children in Hawaii could speak their native language. That same year, the language ban (禁令) was removed because of strong disagreements from native groups. The Hawaiian language began to be taught again in schools. Today, about 2,000 children speak Hawaiian. Also, families now speak Hawaiian with their children at home. Anyway, it is up to the children to keep the language alive.The author wrote the first paragraph to ________.
| A．tell us that many languages are disappearing |
| B．tell us the importance of language |
| C．encourage us to be interested in studying language |
| D．tell us the characteristics of language |
The underlined part "Chinook Jargon" in the third paragraph must be ________.
| A．a hand sign | B．a language |
| C．a language school | D．a language textbook |
After Hawaii became an American state, ________.
| A．its culture was completely mixed with the American culture |
| B．all Hawaiian people got interested in learning English |
| C．Hawaiian was forbidden to be taught in the local schools |
| D．Hawaiian people created another language of their own |
From the last paragraph we can infer that _________.
| A．Hawaiian will become the official language in Hawaii soon |
| B．protecting the Hawaiian language is the biggest concern of the local people |
| C．parents play the most important role in protecting the Hawaiian language |
| D．more Hawaiian people have realized the value of their own language |
Looking for cool gifts that inspire others? Here’s a collection of unusual gifts you can personalize （刻名字）and remember. Nothing speaks of wonderful gift suggestions more than having the receiver’s name or a little message written on the gift. A personalized item means so much. Take a look at these bestsellers. Remember to check out the sections For Her and For Him.
Personatized Bouquet Coffee Mug
Say it with flowers’ This pretty white rung features three colorful flowers that form a bunch, with plenty of room for your own special lines of personalization above and below the flowes. Both useful and strong, this ceramic (陶瓷的)15 ounce coffee mug is suitable for a variety or special occasions including hirthdays, anniversaries, Mother’s Day, or as a bridesmaid gift. Top line provides room for up to 15 characters while bottom line holds up to 10 characters.
Price: $ 17.84
8 oz. Leather Flask
He’ll be in high spirits as he carries his liquid libations-alcoholic or nonalcoholic-in this luxurious leather and silver flask, which holds 8 ounces of his favourite drink. Pocket-sized for purtabilly, it includes a special funnel so he can fill up with case. Personalized with two lines of up to 15 characters per line.
Price: $ 28.04
Personalized Esquire Swiss Army Knife
The Swiss Cross logo designates this stainless steel, multipurpose knife as a gift marked with the legendary Swiss creative design From the makes of the swiss Anny Knife, eacj Esquire features a small knife blade, nail file and scissors. Personalized with one line of up to 8 characters.
Price: $ 33.99.
Personalized Round Clock Key Chain
Classic horseshoe key chain has a handsome silver watch atrached. Makes a unique gift when engraved（雕刻）. Adding a personal touch. Persoralized with a three initial characters. See Rules of Engraving for correct format of first letters of the name. Packing free.
Price: $ 21.24.Who will be interested in the passage most?
| A．Someone who works in the office. |
| B．Someone whose friend will have a birthday |
| C．Someone who serves the patients |
| D．Someone who drives to his office |
If you want to send you mother a special gift, which of the following is most suitable?
| A．Personalized Bouquet coffee Mug |
| B．8 oz. Leather Flask |
| C．Personalized Esquire Swiss Anny Knife |
| D．Personalized Round Clock Key Chain |
If you want a gift which is packed free of charge, _____ is most suitable.
| A．Personalized Bouquet coffee Mug |
| B．8 oz. Leather Flask |
| C．Personalized Esquire Swiss Anny Knife |
| D．Personalized Round Clock Key Chain |
If you want to have a personalized item with more characters, you should choose ______.
| A．Personalized Bouquet coffee Mug |
| B．8 oz. Leather Flask |
| C．Personalized Esquire Swiss Anny Knife |
| D．Personalized Round Clock Key Chain |