Here’s an unusual story: a diamond ring was recently found in an egg. The magician, Liu Qian, discovered it in front of an audience of millions at CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala. Liu’s magic tricks have made the centuries – old art of magic fashionable once again, and made him the hottest magician in China.
As a seasoned magician from Taiwan, Liu is popular worldwide for his magic shows. Countries he has performed in include the United States, Japan, South Korea and the UK. Witnessing something impossible happen right before your eyes is the root of people’s love for magic.
Liu is known for his interaction with his audiences. He has a unique understanding of showmanship(演出技巧)。“It’s actually thinking rather than one’s manipulation (处理) skills that is more important to achieving a successful magic show. We think carefully about how to design the shows creatively, to make them appear more interesting,” Liu said.
Liu Qian’s success dated back to his childhood. Born in 1976 in Taiwan, he found himself attracted to a magic toy in a shop when he was seven years old. At the age of 12, he won Taiwan’s Youth Magic Contest, which was judged by the great American magician, David Copperfield.
Yet, Liu never planned on becoming a professional magician. He studied Japanese literature at university and only hoped to be an amateur magician in his spare time. However, his failure to find a proper job after graduation pushed him towards magic as a career.
To refine his performing skills, he has performed on streets, roads and fields, for passersby, policemen and farmers.
“Street shows are the biggest challenge for us magicians. We have to deal with unexpected situations and tough crowds,” Liu said.The story is about ________.
| A．why people love magic |
| B．how Liu Qian became China’s hottest magician |
| C．how fashionable magic is |
| D．what magic tricks are |
People love to watch magic because ________.
| A．they love watching magicians make the impossible happen |
| B．it arouses their curiosity |
| C．they can’t figure out the secret of magic |
| D．it is a centuries – old art |
Which of the following is the key reason that Liu Qian decided to make magic his career?
| A．He was interested in magic when he was little. |
| B．He had won Taiwan’s Youth Magic Contest. |
| C．He couldn’t find an acceptable job after graduation. |
| D．He became an amateur magician in his spare time. |
What does the underlined word “seasoned” in Paragraph2 mean?
| A．experienced |
| B．freshman |
| C．amateur |
| D．unskillful |
From the story we know that______.
| A．Liu Qian competed in many magic competitions. |
| B．Liu Qian often invites audiences to be in his magic show. |
| C．Liu Qian does street show to make money. |
| D．Liu Qian performs on the streets in order to increase his fame. |
An African proverb says that a single hand cannot tie a bundle. Everyone needs companions to help them sail through the rough seas of life. Even the strongest and richest person still needs friends. Our money and strength would have no value if we had no friends to share with us. The best friendship is a give-and-take relationship. We need the support of our family, friends and the community. In turn we also give support to the society, our friends and our family.
The word “friend” has many meanings. It could be the bus driver who takes you to and from work every day. It could be a parent, a colleague, a wife or husband, a brother or sister, or even the unknown person who helped you just once when you could not find your way. Real friends share not only our happiness but our sorrows as well. This may explain why we have the expression “a friend in need is a friend indeed”.
Friendship is like the sunshine that keeps us warm. It is like the refreshing raindrops on the fields that give the farmers hope of a good planting season. Without friends our life would be like a desert where our only friend would be loneliness and sadness. The most fortunate person is the one who has friends from all levels in the society. A driver might find friends not only among his colleagues but among farmers, bankers, traders, students, politicians or teachers. We should never forget our old friends when we make new ones. We should treasure each of our friends whether poor or rich, beautiful or not. Each friend is unique in his or her own way. And all together, they enrich life and make it very colourful.What is the main topic of the passage?
| A．How to sail through the sea of life. |
| B．Friends and friendship. |
| C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| D．Never forget old friends when making new ones. |
What is the correct understanding of friends according to the writer?
| A．Friends who share our happiness are not real friends. |
| B．Friends will take us through rough seas. |
| C．Friends never expect anything from others. |
| D．Friends can be different people around us. |
An unknown person can be a friend as well when .
| A．he helps you with what you need |
| B．he is told how to find his way |
| C．he becomes one of your family |
| D．he is a driver taking you from and to work |
The underlined word “unique” in the last paragraph most probably means “ ”.
| A．special | B．poor | C．rich | D．valuable |
It’s summer movie time again. Check out our list of four films.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Release Date: November 4
Story: It’s the summer before Harry Potter’s third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A dangerous murderer, Sirius Black, has escaped from the Wizards’ Prison. And he was ordered to kill Harry Potter.
Around the World in 80 Days
Release Date: November 16
Story: This version of the classic novel set in 1872 focuses on Passepartout ( Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan), a Chinese thief who seeks refuge (庇护) with a strange London adventurer, Phileas Fogg. Passepartout uses his martial art skills(军事技能) to defend Fogg from danger as he travels around the world in 80 days.
Spider-Man 2
Release Date: November 30
Story: Peter Parker is still coming to accept his dual identity (双重身份) as the crime superhero Spider-Man. He wants to reveal his secret identity to Mary Jane, meanwhile, his Aunt May is in trouble. This is Dr Otto Octavius who has appeared to bring her a lot of troubles.
King Arthur
Release Date: November 7
Story: King Arthur is presented as a clever ruler who manages to unite all the knights in Britain. Under the guidance of Merlin and the beautiful, brave Guinevere, Arthur will struggle to realize his dreams.When can you see the film acted by Jackie Chan?
| A．November 4 | B．November 30 |
| C．November 16. | D．November 7. |
In Spider-Man 2, Aunt May’s trouble is caused by______.
| A．Spider-Man | B．Peter Parker |
| C．Mary Jane | D．Dr Otto Octavius |
What kind of article of this passage?
| A．A news report | B．A funny diary. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．A composition. |
With the development of the Internet, it has resulted in a huge increase in credit-card fraud. Your card information could even be for sale in an illegal web site.
Web sites offering cheap goods and services should be regarded with care.
On-line shoppers who enter their credit-card information may never receive the goods they thought they bought. The thieves then go shopping with your card number — or sell the information over the Internet. Computers hackers have broken down security systems, raising questions about the safety of cardholder information. Several months ago, 25, 000 customers of CD Universe , an on-line music retailer(零售商), were not lucky. Their names, addresses and credit-card numbers were posted on a Web site after the retailer refused to pay US $157, 828 to get back the information.
Credit-card firms are now fighting against on-line fraud. MasterCard is working on plans for Web — only credit card, with a lower credit limit. The card could be used only for shopping on-line. However, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated.
Ask about your credit-card firm’s on-line rules: Under British law, cardholders have to pay the first US $78 of any fraudulent(欺骗性的) spending.
And shop only at secure sites; Send your credit-card information only if the Web site offers advanced secure system.
If the security is in place, a letter will appear in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. The Website address may also start https: //—the extra “s” stands for secure. If in doubt, you’re your credit-card information over the telephone.
Keep your password safe: Most on-line sites require a user name and password before placing an order. Treat your passwords with care.What is the meaning of “fraud”?
| A．Safety. | B．Sale. | C．Payment. | D．Cheating. |
What do most people worry about the Internet according to this passage?
| A．Fraud on the Internet. |
| B．Many Web sites are destroyed. |
| C．Many illegal Web sites are on the Internet. |
| D．A lot of stolen credit-cards were sold on the Internet. |
How can the thieves get the information of the credit card?
| A．The customers give them the information. |
| B．The thieves steal the information from Web sites. |
| C．The customers sell the information to them. |
| D．The thieves buy the information from credit-card firms. |
You are shopping on the site: http: // www. Shopping. com, and you want to buy a TV set, what does this article suggest you do?
| A．Order the TV set at once. |
| B．Do not buy the TV set on this site. |
| C．E-mail the site your credit-card information. |
| D．Tell the site your password and buy the TV set for you. |
How many pieces of advice does the passage give to you?
| A．six. | B．three. | C．Five. | D．four. |
Nowadays, more and more teenagers use smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices more than ever before. And the amount of time they spend on these devices is only likely to increase in the future. But are all these changes good?
We sometimes call children who are able to use mobile devices and technology easily digital natives. They can text, email, get Wi-Fi, and download. Some experts say that long periods of time spent chatting to friends online, playing video games and listening to mp3s, for example, may possibly change how their brains work.
Then there is the question of privacy. All this online activity creates a digital footprint. Every time we share a photo or a post on social media, and every time we search for something on the Internet, information about our activity is stored somewhere.
Our inability to control what happens to our children's digital footprint and their personal privacy has big possibilities. It might become normal for companies to ask their employees for their social media qualifications. We are also becoming more aware that companies and governments may be able to 'listen in' on our communications. So it is important to make our children aware of the possible results of over sharing.
Another area where the digital world may have a big effect is in education. One worry is that kids who spend a lot of time online at home are sometimes unable to socialize properly with other children when they are at school. Other experts point out that, when it comes to children and technology, the children are the experts, not the teachers. They say that we should stop seeing online as 'bad' and offline as 'good' and there is evidence of innovative work in some schools.
So, do we really need to rescue our children from the dangers of the digital world?Which of the following can summarize the main idea of the text?
| A．Do we need to rescue our kids from the digital world? |
| B．Should children learn to use digital technology? |
| C．Are there changes in children’s school life? |
| D．Should teachers accept changes in our life? |
According to the second paragraph, what is the possible effect of digital childhood?
| A．Children can grow up quickly. |
| B．Children can read texts fluently. |
| C．Children’s way of thinking may be changed. |
| D．Children may become mentally disabled. |
All the following may happen to our digital footprints EXCEPT________
| A．When surfing the Internet, our digital footprints are saved. |
| B．Some business societies may take advantage of the information. |
| C．Government may look into our communication through the Internet. |
| D．Digital pictures may be printed by our computer automatically. |
Why are many teachers doubtful about digital technology?
| A．Because some students can not do well in studies. |
| B．Because some teachers haven’t changed for years. |
| C．Because some students addicted to digital technology can not socialize well. |
| D．Because some teachers addicted to tradition technology cannot teach well. |
As we all know, millions of people worldwide cook their food over smoky fire every day. It is often difficult to find wood for the fire. People who do not have wood must spend large amounts of money on cooking fuel. However, there is a much easier way to cook food using energy from the sun.
Solar cooker, or ovens, have been used for centuries. A Swiss scientist made the first solar oven in seventeen sixty-seven. Today, people are using solar cookers in many countries around the world. People use solar ovens to cook food and to heat drinking water to kill bacteria and other harmful organisms.
There are three kinds of solar ovens. The first is a box cooker, It is designed with a special wall that shines or reflects sunlight into the box .Heat gets trapped under a piece of glass or plastic covering the top of the cooker. A box oven is effective for slow cooking of large amounts of food.
The second kind of solar oven is a panel cooker. It includes several flat walls or panels that directly reflect the sun’s light onto the food. The food is inside a separate container of plastic or glass that traps heat energy. People can build panel cookers quickly and with very few supplies. They do not cost much. In Kenya ,for example ,panel cookers are being manufactured for just two dollars.
The third kind of solar oven is a parabolic cooker. It has rounded walls that aim sunlight directly into the bottom of the oven .Food cooks quickly in parabolic ovens .However, these cookers are hard to make. They must be re-aimed often to follow the sun .Parabolic cookers can also cause burns and eye injuries if they are not used correctly.
You can make solar ovens from boxes or heavy paper. They will not catch fire. Paper burns at two hundred thirty-two degrees Celsius. A solar cooker never gets that hot. Solar ovens cook food at low temperatures over long periods of time. This permits people to leave food to cook while they do other things.If you have much food to cook , you’d better choose________ .
| A．a box cooker | B．a panel cooker |
| C．a parabolic cooker | D．a paper cooker |
According to the passage we can conclude that ______.
| A．panel cooker is easy to make |
| B．box cooker is easy to make |
| C．box cooker is the most effective oven |
| D．panel cooker is the cheapest oven of the three |
What is the main purpose of the author in writing the passage?
| A．To advertise the solar ovens. |
| B．To help readers to save cost on fuel. |
| C．To tell the readers how to make solar ovens. |
| D．To give the readers brief introduction of solar ovens. |