People in the United States honour their parents with two special days: Mother's Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father's Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care to their children. These two days offer an opportunity to think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with childcare.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother's Day people wear camations（康乃馨）. A red one symbolizes（象征） a living mother. A white one shows that mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honour their parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues(烤肉)for Father's Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make
them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are
valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of
the gift that is important, but it is "the thought that counts".
Greeting card stores, florists,candy makers, bakeries,
telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during
these holidays. Which is NOT a reason for children to show love and respectfor their parents?
| A．Their parents bring them up. |
| B．Their parents give love and care to them. |
| C．Their parents educate them to be good persons. |
| D．Their parents passed away before they grew up. |
What do you learn from the passage?
| A．Mother's Day and Father's Day are both in May. |
| B．Fewer women worked outside the home in the past. |
| C．Not all the children respect their parents. |
| D．Fathers are not as important as mothers at home. |
Which do you think is RIGHT about "carnation" ?
| A．It only has two kinds of colour. |
| B．It refers to the special clothes people wear on Mother's Dayor Father's Day. |
| C．It's a kind of flower showing love and best wishes. |
| D．People can wear carnations only on the second Sundayin May. |
My parents were in a huge argument, and I was really upset about it. I didn’t know who I should talk with about how I was feeling. So I asked Mom to allow me to stay the night at my best friend’s house. Though I knew I wouldn’t tell her about my parents’ situation, I was looking forward to getting out of the house. I was in the middle of packing up my things when suddenly the power went out in the neighborhood. Mom came to tell me that I should stay with my grandpa until the power came back on.
I was really disappointed because I felt that we did not have much to talk about. But I knew he would be frightened alone in the dark. I went to his room and told him that I’d stay with him until the power was restored. He was quite happy and said, “Great opportunity(机会)”
“ What is ?” I asked.
“ To talk, you and I,” he said. “To hold a private little meeting about what we’re going to do with your mom and dad, and what we’re going to do with ourselves now that we’re in the situation we are in.”
“But we can’t do anything about it, Grandpa,” I said, surprised that here was someone with whom I could share my feelings and someone who was in the same “boat” as I was.
And that’s how the most unbelievable friendship between my grandfather and me started. Sitting there in the dark, we talked about our feelings and fears of life—from how fast things change, to how they sometimes don’t change fast enough. That night, because the power went out, I found a new friend, with whom I could safely talk about all my fears and pains, whatever they may be.
Suddenly, the lights all came back on. “Well,” he said, “ I guess that means you’ll want to go now. I really like our talk. I hope the power will go out every few nights!” I wished to get out of the house because ______________
| A．I was angry about my parents’ quarrel（争吵） |
| B．I found nobody to share my feelings with |
| C．I wanted to escape from the dark house |
| D．I planned to tell my friend about my trouble |
Grandpa was happy to see me because _____________
| A．he could discuss the problem with me |
| B．he had not seen me for a long time |
| C．he was afraid of darkness |
| D．he felt quite lonely |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The grandchild was eager to leave. |
| B．They would have more chats. |
| C．The lights would go out again. |
| D．It would no longer be dark. |
Honey from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar, it is also delicious.
Most people, and many animals, like eating it. However, the only way for them to get that honey is to find a wild bees' nest and take the honey from it. Often, these nests are high up in trees, and it is difficult to find them. In parts of Africa, though, people and animals looking for honey have a strange and unexpected helper - a little bird called a honey guide.
The honey guide does not actually like honey, but it does like the wax in the beehives (蜂房). The little bird cannot reach this wax, which is deep inside the bees' nest. So, when it finds a suitable nest, it looks for someone to help it. The honey guide gives a loud cry that attracts the attention of both passing animals and people. Once it has their attention, it flies through the forest, waiting from time to time for the curious animal or person as it leads them to the nest. When they finally arrive at the nest, the follower reaches in to get at the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches. Some of the honey, and the wax, always fall to the ground, and this is when the honey guide takes its share.
Scientists do not know why the honey guide likes eating the wax, but it is very determined in its efforts to get it. The birds seem to be able to smell wax from a long distance away. They will quickly arrive whenever a beekeeper is taking honey from his beehives, and will even enter churches when beeswax candles are being lit.Why is it difficult to find a wild bees' nest?
| A．It's small in size. | B．It's hard to recognize. |
| C．It's covered with wax. | D．It's hidden in trees. |
What do the words "the follower" in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．A bee. | B．A honey seeker. | C．A bird. | D．A beekeeper. |
The honey guide is special in the way ________.
| A．it goes to church | B．it gets its food |
| C．it sings in the forest | D．it reaches into bees' nests |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A．Wild Bees | B．Wax and Honey |
| C．Beekeeping in Africa | D．Honey-Lover's Helper |
Welcome to one of the largest collections of footwear (鞋类) in the world that will make you green with envy. Here at the Footwear Museum you can see exhibits (展品) from all over the world. You can find out about shoes worn by everyone from the Ancient Egyptians to pop stars.
| Room 1 The celebrity (名人) footwear section is probably the most popular in the entire museum. Stared in the 1950s there is a wide variety of shoes and boots belonging to everyone from queens and presidents to pop stars and actors! Most visitors find the celebrities’ choice of footwear extremely interesting. |
Room 2 Most of our visitors are amazed and shocked by the collection of “special purpose” shoes on exhibition here at the Museum of Footwear. For example, there are Chinese shoes made of Silk that were worn by women to tie their feet firmly to prevent them from growing too much! |
| Room 3 As well as shoes and boots, the museum also exhibits shoe shaped objects. The variety is unbelievable. For example, there is a metal lamp that resembles a pair of shoes, and Greek wine bottles that look like legs! |
The Footwear Library People come from all over the world to study in our excellent footwear library. Designers and researchers come here to look up information on anything and everything related to the subject of footwear. |
Where would you find a famous singer’s shoes?
| A．Room 1. | B．Room 2. |
| C．Room 3. | D．The Footwear Library. |
All exhibits in each room _____.
| A．share the same theme |
| B．have the same shape |
| C．are made of the same material |
| D．belong to the same social class |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．Room 2 is the most visited place in the museum. |
| B．Researchers come to the Footwear Library for data. |
| C．The oldest exhibits in Room 1 were made in the 1950s. |
| D．Room 3 has a richer variety of exhibits than the other two. |
The purpose of the text is to get more people to _____.
| A．do research | B．design shoes |
| C．visit the museum | D．follow celebrities |
Without proper planning, tourism can cause problems. For example, too many tourists can crowd public places that are also enjoyed by the inhabitants of a country. If tourists create too much traffic, the inhabitants become annoyed and unhappy. They begin to dislike tourists and to treat them impolitely. They forget how much tourism can help the country’s economy. It is important to think about the people of a destination country and how tourism affects them. Tourism should help a country keep the customs and beauty that attract tourists. Tourism should also advance the well-being (health and happiness) of local inhabitants.
Too much tourism can be a problem. If tourism grows too quickly people must leave other jobs to work in the tourism industry. This means that other parts of the country’s economy can suffer.
On the other hand, if there is not enough tourism, people can lose jobs. Businesses can also lose money. It costs a great deal of money to build large hotels, airports, air terminals, first-class roads and other support facilities needed by tourist attractions. For example, a major international-class tourism hotel can cost as much as 50 thousand dollars per room to build. If this room is not used most of the time, the owners of the hotel will lose money.
Building a hotel is just a beginning. There must be many support facilities as well, including roads to get to the hotel, electricity, sewers to handle waste, and water. All of these support facilities cost money. If they are not used because there are not enough tourists, jobs and money are lost. Which of the following has most probably been discussed in the paragraph that goes before the passage?
| A．It is extremely important to develop tourism. |
| B．Building roads and hotels is essential. |
| C．Support facilities are highly necessary. |
| D．Planning is of great importance to tourism. |
Too much tourism can cause all these problems EXCEPT.
| A．a bad impact on other industries |
| B．a change of tourists’ customs |
| C．over crowded of places of interest |
| D．pressure on traffic |
Not enough tourism can lead to.
| A．an increase of unemployment |
| B．a decrease in tourist attractions |
| C．the higher cost of support facilities |
| D．a rise in price and a fall in pay |
The word “handle” in the last paragraph most probably means.
| A．carry away | B．pick up | C．get in | D．take down |
About twenty of us had been fortunate enough to receive invitations to a film-studio（影棚）to take part in a crowd-scene. Although our "act" would last only for a short time, we could see quite a number of interesting things.
We all stood at the far end of the studio as workmen prepared the scene, setting up trees at the edge of a winding path. Very soon, bright lights were turned on and the big movie-camera was wheeled into position. The director shouted something to the camera operator and then went to speak to the two famous actors nearby. Since it was hot in the studio, it came as a surprise to us to see one of the actors put on a heavy overcoat and start walking along the path. A big fan began blowing tiny white feathers down on him, and soon the trees were covered in "snow". Two more fans were turned on, and a "strong wind" blew through the trees. The picture looked so real that it made us feel cold.
The next scene was a complete contrast (对比).The way it was filmed was quite unusual. Pictures taken on an island in the Pacific were shown on a glass screen. An actor and actress stood in front of the scene so that they looked as if they were at the water's edge on an island. By a simple trick like this, palm trees, sandy beaches, and blue, clear skies had been brought into the studio!
Since it was our turn next, we were left wondering what scene would be prepared for us. For a full three minutes in our lives we would be experiencing the excitement of being film “Stars”!Who is the author?
| A．A cameraman. | B．A film director. |
| C．A workman for scene setting | D．A crowd-scene actor |
What made the author feel cold?
| A．The heavy snowfall. | B．The film being shown. |
| C．The low temperature. | D．The man-made scene. |
What would happen in the "three minutes" mentioned, in the last paragraph?
| A．A new scene would be filmed. |
| B．More stars would act in the film. |
| C．The author would leave the studio. |
| D．The next scene would be prepared. |