For a while, my neighborhood was taken over by an army of joggers(慢跑者). They were there all the time: early morning, noon, and evening. There were little old ladies in gray sweats, young couples in Adidas shoes, middle-aged men with red faces.
“Come on!” My friend Alex encouraged me to join him as he jogged by my house every morning. “You’ll feel great.”
Well, I had nothing against feeling great and if Alex could jog every day, anyone could. So I took up jogging seriously and gave it a good two months of my life, and not a day more. Based on my experience, jogging is the most overvalued form of exercise around, and judging from the number of the people who left our neighborhood hogging army. I’m alone in my opinion.
First of all, jogging is very hard on the body. Your legs and feet take a real pounding(重击)running down a road for two or three miles. I developed foot, leg, and back problems. Then I read about a nationally famous jogger who died of a heart attack while jogging, and I had something else to worry about. Jogging doesn’t kill hundreds of people, but if you have any physical weaknesses, jogging will surely bring them out, as they did with me.
Secondly, I got no enjoyment out of jogging. Putting one foot in front of the other for forty-five minutes isn’t my idea of fun. Jogging is also a lonely pastime. Some joggers say, “I love being out there with just my thoughts.” Well, my thoughts began to bore me, and most of them were on how much my legs hurt.
And how could I enjoy something that brought me pain? And that wasn’t just the first week; it was practically every day for two months. I never got past the pain level, and pain isn’t fun. What a cruel way to do it! So many other exercises, including walking, lead to almost the same results painlessly, so why jog?
I don’t jog any more, and I don’t think I ever will. I’m walking two miles three times a week at a fast pace, and that feels good. I bicycle to work when the weather is good. I’m getting exercise, and I’m enjoying it at the same time. I could never say the same for jogging, and I’ve found a lot of better ways to stay in shape.What was the writer’s attitude towards jogging in the beginning?
He felt it was worth a try.
He was very fond of it.
He was strongly against it.
He thought it must be painful.From the first paragraph, we learn that in the writer’s neighborhood _____.
jogging became very popular
people jogged only during the daytime
Alex organized an army of joggers
Jogging provided a chance to get togetherThe underlined word “them” (paragraph 4) most probably refers to _____.
| A．heart attacks |
| B．back problems |
| C．famous joggers |
| D．physical weaknesses |
Why did the writer give up jogging two months later?
He dislikes doing exercise outdoors.
He found it neither healthy nor interesting.
He was afraid of having a heart attack.
He was worried about being left alone.From the writer’s experience, we can conclude that _____.
not everyone enjoys jogging
he is the only person who hates jogging
nothing other than jogging can help people keep fit
jogging makes people feel greater than any other sport
I can’t think of a better way of appreciating a new culture than by taking part in one of its festivals. Some festivals are celebrated by an entire country, while others many be unique to a single city. Festivals play an important role in a certain culture. Just enjoy them!
Batalla del Vino—Haro, Spain
For many years, June 29th is a good day to visit Haro, Spain. Bring a bottle of wine and prepare to be washed in red wine in the heart of Spain’s grape-growing area. After a church ceremony, crowds flock（集结）to the hills for the battle, where white shirts will be made bright purple by the end of the morning.
Bay to Breakers—San Francisco, California
Created after the terrible 1906 earthquake as a way of encouraging people, the race has become one of the region’s most important events. Held every year on the third Sunday of May, the race runs through the city from the Bay to the Pacific Breakers. The real highlight, however, is the thousands of people dressed up in a show.
Pillow Fight Day—Worldwide
These events are organized mainly through the Internet. Tens of thousands of people participated in the 4th annual International Pillow Fight Day on April 2,2013. From London to Vancouver to many other cities, the festivals were held in more than 100 countries. So just bring a soft pillow in early April, and watch feathers flying.
Koninginnedag— The Netherlands
Although their Queen’s birthday is really during the winter, she celebrates it on April 30th — the country’s official “Queen’s Day” since 1949.
Orange is the national color, and the streets become a sea of shining wigs（假发）and body paints, as crowds gather in the squares and on boats in the canals. Amsterdam is the center of this outdoor party, but nearly every town is alive with orange on this day.People celebrated Batalla del Vino by ____.
| A．wearing bright purple shirts |
| B．pouring wine onto others’ white shirts |
| C．flocking to the hills after a ceremony |
| D．holding a drinking wine competition |
The underlined word “highlight” in the passage means ____.
| A．the most exciting part | B．the brightest part |
| C．the highest part | D．the hardest part |
Which of the festivals has the shortest history?
| A．Batalla del Vino. | B．Bay to Breakers. |
| C．Pillow Fight Day. | D．Koninginnedag. |
Which of the statements is NOT true?
| A．June 29th is a good day to visit Haro, Spain. |
| B．The race is held every year to encourage people. |
| C．Pillow Fight Day is held in more than 100 countries. |
| D．The Queen of the Netherlands was born on April 30th. |
Education is another area where the presence of arts and crafts is more than welcome. If children realize the importance of art and creativity from a young age, they can grow up to be more confident, more creative, and definitely more mature. Schools are the breeding（孕育）grounds for future painters and movie makers, and these arts should be encouraged wholesomely in such an environment.
Sadly, many parents do not understand why art is important for children, and subconsciously（潜意识地）force them to follow career paths that are common and conformist（墨守成规的）in nature. This is fair enough in its own way, because the world does need some standard blue collar and white collar jobs to continue its existence; but this is a choice that children should be allowed to make for themselves. The doors to creativity and expression must not be shut in their faces, even if it comes at a cost of making more money.
To put it more scientifically, here are some benefits of kids’ art activities that give a suitable answer to the question “Why is art important in schools?”
1.Exposure to art, music and drawings at an early age improves the amount of brain activity in children.
2.It increases the span of knowledge in the minds of children, thus making them sharper and more educated.
3.It builds up the levels of self-confidence, self-esteem（自尊）, motivation, cooperation and communication in children.
4.It helps children understand other people’s opinions and points of view as well.
5.It helps them sharpen their problem-solving skills, decision-making and gives them the possibility of really exploring their imaginations.According to the passage, it is generally accepted that ____.
| A．art plays a very important role in education of children |
| B．children are expected to be blue-collar or white-collar workers |
| C．schools should encourage children to learn arts and crafts |
| D．children should be allowed to make choices for themselves |
The writer holds the view that ____.
| A．schools should only bring up future painters and movie makers |
| B．children grow up to be more confident and more creative in schools |
| C．children should be encouraged to learn art to develop their creativity |
| D．art activities can help children solve all the problems they meet with |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Arts and crafts lessons are very popular in schools. |
| B．Art is not paid enough attention to in schools now. |
| C．Art activities improve the amount of brain activity. |
| D．Art education builds up the levels of self-confidence. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Importance of Art in Schools. |
| B．Relation between Art and Creativity. |
| C．Importance of Education. |
| D．Future of Children. |
Paul Salopek is an old-fashioned explorer, setting out on foot to circle the world. He is also a modern-day explorer. On top of a few clothes, a small first-aid kit and notebooks, he is carrying a recorder, a video camera, a small computer and a satellite phone—a telephone that connects to a satellite and can be used in many places where cell-phones don’t work.
The journey is long 21,000 miles! It will take seven years to complete it.
Salopek was born in California and spent his childhood in Mexico. He says he has always liked to travel and doesn’t like to rush. At the age of fourteen, he climbed Moun. Whitney in California and crossed the state’s Sierra Nevada Mountains alone. When he was fifteen years, he walked the length of Death Valley. He once rode a mule 2,000 miles through mountains in Mexico.
A longtime reporter, Salopek has reported from Africa, Asia and Mexico. Now 51 years old, he plans to keep writing. As he travels around the world, he is writing stories about the people he meets and the way they live. He looks for how people find local solutions to big problems such as lack of food and water. He also records the sounds he hears and takes photos of the sky and the Earth’s surface.
The long walk started in the Rife Valley in Ethiopia in East Africa. Many consider East Africa to be home to the first humans, who lived 160,000 years ago.
Salopek is retracing the paths our ancestors took as they left Africa and settled in parts of the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the Americas. As Salopek is walking, he is learning more about himself and all of humankind.The underlined phrase “on top of” in the first paragraph can be replaced by ____.
| A．in addition to | B．in the light of |
| C．in reference to | D．in the service of |
The author develops the third paragraph mainly by ____.
| A．providing examples |
| B．making comparisons |
| C．making a careful analysis |
| D．following the order of time |
According to the passage, Paul Salopek is a ____.
| A．doctor who likes carrying the small first-aid kit |
| B．writer who likes traveling, exploring and studying |
| C．journalist who likes traveling, exploring, writing and studying |
| D．photographer who is good at using satellite communication equipment |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Paul Salopek Reflecting People’s Real Lives |
| B．Paul Salopek Following Man’s First Footsteps |
| C．Paul Salopek Going for a Seven-year Study |
| D．Paul Salopek Looking back upon the Childhood |
Your best friend is possibly the most important person in your life. But sometimes friendship’s road is not always smooth, or it’s a total dead end. What do you do when this happens?
Scenario(设想) 1: Drifting Apart(渐行渐远)
You’ve found that your friend no longer wants to jog (慢跑)with you. She’d rather hit the chat rooms, or she’s become crazy about hanging with her new interest.
It’s a bummer when old friends start having less in common. But it might still be worth trying to get into your friend’s new interest, trying something new on your own, or meet some new folks who like doing the things you enjoy. Another thing to try is talking to your friend about it- in a non-this-is-your-fault(过错) way. The goal is telling how you feel, not “winning”.
Scenario 2: Fights
“Yes, he is.” “No, he isn’t.” the argument could continue forever.
No matter how sure you are that you’re right, friendship is based on RESPECT. Since you and your friend aren’t clones(克隆), you will disagree sometimes! Is it worth fighting over? If it is trivial(无价值的), why not give it up? Agree to disagree(保留不同意见) and get on well with life. Even if you’ll never agree, try to see the other person’s viewpoint. At least honor his right to have his own opinions. Never get physical. Violence can make a small problem into a disaster.
Scenario 3: End of the Road
Is the friendship over? If you are not the one ending it, it feels as if a knife cut your heart into pieces. But the thing is that you can’t force someone to be your friend. Give yourself time. But don’t freeze in a looking-back, holding pattern(模式). Be open to new friendship. You never know when the “best friend forever” will come along.The underlined word “bummer” in the third paragraph can be replaced by “________ thing”.
| A．normal | B．common |
| C．unpleased | D．guilty（负疚的） |
You are advised not ______ when your friend reduced communication with you.
| A．develop the same interest as our friend does |
| B．blame（责怪） your friend for not being as friendly to you as before |
| C．give in to the friend who has hurt your feeling deeply |
| D．stick to the friendship that was built up in the past |
In the writer’s opinion, showing disagreement ______________.
| A．will surely lead to the end of a long friendship |
| B．shows that you don’t respect your friend |
| C．is natural and normal behavior of human being |
| D．means you have nothing in common with your friend. |
The purpose of the passage is to teach you ________________.
| A．how to mend a broken friendship |
| B．how to keep a long friendship |
| C．what to do when a friendship changes |
| D．what to do to win new friends |
“Earthquake!” The word flashed in my brain. A roaring sound filled my ears. I tried to hide beneath my desk. The desk did a wild tap dance, slipping and sliding towards the center of the room. I twisted(扭曲) my body and grabbed at the windowsill(窗沿) behind me, somehow kicking free of my dancing chair. I tried to stand. My legs skated away as if on a bucking escalator(弯曲的自动扶梯).
My fingers shook, grasped and held the windowsill tightly. Somewhere through the roar sounded the terrified scream of some wounded animals. I looked behind me and tried to steady my gaze on the other kids but the scene was a dizzy nightmare. Some of the class were sitting in the middle of the room, surrounded by chairs and desks. One girl was screaming. A boy was trying to move across the floor to the door in a crazy overarm crawl(肩上爬行).
I cried aloud, “I’m going to die. I’m going to die. Save me, I’m not ready to die, I’m not ready!”
I moved forward on my knees and pressed my face against my clenched fingers(握紧拳头). Suddenly I realized that the rocking had stopped. Perhaps I wasn’t going to die.The roaring sound was made by ____________________.
| A．a wounded animal | B．people screaming |
| C．children running | D．an earthquake |
When the writer clenches his fingers he is ___________________.
| A．afraid | B．angry |
| C．injured | D．impatient |
Paragraph 2 describes the ________________________.
| A．injuries suffered by the writer |
| B．effects of a bad nightmare |
| C．disorder in the classroom |
| D．the writer’s fear of death |
At the end of the passage there is a feeling of ___________________.
| A．fear | B．hope | C．sorrow | D．excitement |