Candy corn is one of the simple pleasures of Halloween. Around since the 1880s, these white, yellow and orange striped candies are made with sugar, corn syrup（糖浆）and other ingredients.
Of course, you can enjoy candy corn by the handful. But we came up with 5 fun ways to celebrate and enjoy this seasonal treat.
Fill your sugar bowl with candy corn. Use spoonfuls of the colorful candies to sweeten your coffee, tea or other hot drinks. The sugary candies will dissolve（溶解）in the hot liquid.
Make ice cream sandwiches perfect for Halloween by decorating the creamy edges with candy corn. Purchase ready-made ice cream sandwiches and roll the edges in a plateful of the corn. Or make your own by first spooning your favorite flavor of softened ice cream between two sugar cookies or chocolate cookies. Roll the ice cream side in candy corn. Wrap in plastic wrap or foil and freeze at least 6 hours until firm. Let stand about 10 minutes before eating.
Use them as decoration on the chocolate icing atop a cake, cupcakes or brownies (the colors look great against brown).
Make a seasonal party mix by combining 4 cups cereal（麦片）and 1/3 cup melted butter. Toss（拌）to coat. Add 1 cup raisins, 1 cup candy corn and 1 (12-ounce) jar dry-roasted peanuts. Toss to mix. Store in an airtight（密封的）container.
Make attractive candy corn cookies. Make your favorite sugar cookie recipe, roll it out, cut the dough with about a 1 1/2-inch triangular cookie cutter and bake then cool. Then using a fondant（软糖）rolling pin, roll out yellow fondant on paper until it is 1/8-inch thick. Cut the fondant into 1/2-inch-thick strips and set aside. Repeat with white and orange fondants. Place the strips side by side on the paper and roll until the strips become one piece. Cut out a candy corn shape from the fondant sheet with your triangular cutter. Press light corn syrup on the top of your cookies and place fondant sheets on the cookies. Let dry at least 1 hour.For how long have people enjoyed the pleasures from candy corn?
| A．About thirty years. |
| B．Less than one hundred years. |
| C．About one hundred and thirty years. |
| D．Over one hundred and fifty years. |
How can we make ice cream sandwiches perfect for Halloween?
| A．By decorating the creamy edges with candy corn. |
| B．By dissolving candy corn in the ice cream. |
| C．By making sweet cakes on the ice cream. |
| D．By putting corn syrup on the ice cream. |
What is the right order to make a seasonal party mix?
①Add 1 cup raisins, 1 cup candy corn and 1 jar dry-roasted peanuts.
②Toss to mix.
③Toss to coat.
④Store in an airtight container.
⑤Combine 4 cups cereal and cup melted butter.
| A．⑤①②③④ |
| B．①②③④⑤ |
| C．③④⑤①② |
| D．⑤③①②④ |
Where can the article be used?
| A．News column. |
| B．Social activity column. |
| C．Life column. |
| D．Science column. |
D
Mars was the first planet that humans attempted to get to. Since the 1960’s, scientists have been working to learn more information about the Mars’ past, We now know that Mars was once a warm, wet place with great oceans and deep rivers. We also know that about 3.7 billion years ago, all that water disappeared when the planet lost its air. But why did the atmosphere on Mars change so greatly?
NASA had launched the MAVEN spacecraft in the hope of answering that very question. MAVEN will study the remains of Mars’ air and help scientists figure out what became of the rest of it．
The spacecraft was launched on Monday, November 18, 2013, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The trip to Mars takes about 10 months. and MAVEN is scheduled to go into orbit in September 2014. It is the first spacecraft created with the purpose of studying Mars’ atmosphere. Its wings measures 37.5 feet not quite the length of a school bus, and it weighs 1991 pounds about the same amount as a small car. MAVEN is equipped with eight different tools to measure and study the planet’s atmosphere. To collect information, it will fly in orbit as fast as 3278 miles per hour, and as slow as 93 miles per hour.
Once it arrived at Mars, MAVEN will have plenty of company. The spacecraft Curiosity is still walking around the planet’s rocky surface, studying the geology, chemistry and possible biology there. NASA currently has a number of spacecrafts getting unique views of Mars with powerful cameras and telescopes. These missions are all slow, steady steps forward to discover Mars secret past. While the results may not be revealed for some time, an exciting exploration is on the way.We can learn from the first paragraph that________
| A．all the scientists wanted to live on Mars |
| B．people have had a better knowledge of Mars nowadays |
| C．spaceships have been sent up to Mars since 1960s |
| D．all the water on Mars has been gone for ten billion years |
The MAVEN spacecraft has been launched with the purpose of________
| A．analyzing the change of the atmosphere on Mars |
| B．assisting Curiosity in studying the surface of Mars. |
| C．analyzing what is contained in Mars’ air |
| D．checking whether water still exists on Mars |
It can be inferred from, the text that__________．
| A．many different tasks will be given to MAVEN when it lands on Mars |
| B．many spacecrafts are working around Mars to study its water |
| C．more wonderful things about Mars will be found in the future |
| D．more spacecraft will be sent up to help Curiosity |
What is the best title of this text?
| A．A new finding on Mars |
| B．A new spacecraft sent to Mars |
| C．The rapid development of Mars |
| D．The great change of the Mars’ atmosphere |
C
Free Fun Guides
What is new about this year’s Museum Day?
| A．People will get free tickets online. |
| B．Two museums offer free admission. |
| C．People must buy tickets for visiting a museum. |
| D．People can visit museums online and get a small gift. |
The main purpose of the passage is to___________.
| A．introduce ways to save money |
| B．help people who are very poor |
| C．give guidance on how to have some fun |
| D．provide information about free things to do |
How can kids get a free book?
| A．By reading eighty books at any Barnes & Noble. |
| B．By downloading and printing out a passport before October. |
| C．By signing up for a summer reading program and choosing one of the books they have read. |
| D．By signing up for a winter reading program and make a list of the books. |
Which of the following shows the similarity between Museum Day and Free Night of Theater?
| A．They last for the same length of time |
| B．The same number of free tickets is given away. |
| C．The tickets can be used in any U.S. city |
| D．They take place once a year. |
B
IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer, and the man behind it is Ingvar Kamprad, one of the world’s most successful businessmen. Born in Sweden in 1926, Kamprad was a natural businessman. As a child, he enjoyed selling things and made small profits from selling matches, seeds, and pencils in his community. When Kamprad was 17, his father gave him some money as a reward for his good grades. He used it to start up a business—IKEA.IKEA's name comes from Kamprad's initials (I.K.) and the place where he grew up ('E' and 'A').
IKEA first began to sell furniture through a mail-order book in 1947. The furniture was all designed and made by manufacturers near Kamprad’s home. Initial sales were very encouraging, so Kamprad expanded the product line．Furniture was such a successful aspect of the business that IKEA became a pure furniture company in 1951.
In 1956 Kamprad saw a man disassembling a table to make it easier to transport. Kamprad was inspired. The man had given him a great idea: flat packaging. Flat packaging would mean lower shipping costs for IKEA and lower prices for customers. IKEA tried it and sales boosted. The problem was that people had to assemble furniture themselves, but over time, even this grew into an advantage for IKEA. Nowadays, IKEA is often seen as having meanings of self-sufficiency. This image has done wonders for the company, leading to better sales and continued expansion．
Today there are over 200 stores in 32 countries. Amazingly, Ingvar Kamprad has managed to keep IKEA a privately-held company. In 2004 he was named the world’s richest man. He currently lives in Switzerland and is retired from the day-to-day operations of IKEA. IKEA itself, though, just keeps on growing.The author states in Paragraph 4 that flat packaging___________.
| A．needs large space to store furniture |
| B．is a business concept inspired by Kamprad |
| C．helps reduce transportation costs |
| D．makes the company self-sufficient |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Ingvar Kamprad established IKEA and succeeded. |
| B．IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer. |
| C．The advantages of IKEA’s furniture. |
| D．Ingvar Kamprad was a natural businessman. |
What can you learn about IKEA form the passage?
| A．The starter kept IKEA a company operated by a few people |
| B．The furniture was made by manufacturers in Kamprad’s home |
| C．The starter made a big fortune when he was a child |
| D．The goods sold in IKEA are limited and not welcomed |
The passage is written mainly in terms of ___________.
| A．examples that illustrate a problem |
| B．order of events |
| C．analysis of a process |
| D．comparison and contrast |
A
Once upon a time, a man was walking on a mountain when he found an incredible cave with all kinds of treasure inside it. So he gave up his job, his home, and his friends, and spent all his time guarding the cave.
He was so dedicated to it that he hardly ate or drank, and before long he fell ill. One day, when he could hardly move at all, he decided to share the treasure.
He crawled into the cave to get a handful of jewels, but discovered, to his horror, that it was empty except for a small diamond. The man took it and gave it to the first person to come by, a woman.
Then an old man came by. “What bad luck!” the man said. “Just a moment ago I gave a woman the last of the treasure I was guarding.”
“Are you sure there is nothing left?” the old man asked.
The man took him into the cave, where they found a box with jewels and some bags of gold. The man was shocked, and the old man explained to him, “At last! At last! At last someone has broken the curse of this cave. This is the Cave of Treasure, and you’re the first to have passed its great test. Many have devoted their lives to this cave, only to end up realizing there was nothing here …”
“And why does this happen?” the man asked.
“This magic cave has only as many riches as your own heart. When someone discovers it, the cave fills with the treasure they bring with them, but later, when they have devoted themselves to guarding the treasure, their hearts become empty, as does the cave. The only way to fill it is by filling your heart with all that is good, as you did by giving the woman that last jewel.”
From that day on, the man understood that it was better to share than to keep. Thanks to the cave and the old man, he became noble and generous.Why did the man give up his job, home and friends?
| A．Because he possessed a variety of treasure. |
| B．Because he had to guard the treasure cave. |
| C．Because he wanted to find the treasure cave. |
| D．Because he devoted himself to a great test. |
What did the man find when he showed his cave to the old man?
| A．All kinds of treasure. |
| B．A handful of jewels. |
| C．A small emerald. |
| D．A box with jewels and gold. |
What do we learn about the people who dedicated their lives to the cave before?
| A．They all filled the cave with the treasure they had. |
| B．They thought it was better to share than to enjoy the treasure alone. |
| C．They all found the cave empty at last. |
| D．The old man freed them from its spell. |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Giving makes people healthier and happier than owing. |
| B．Some people never learn what is really valuable. |
| C．Treasure only belongs to those who possess it. |
| D．Different people have different views. |
E
Speaking two languages can actually help offset(抵消) some effects of aging on the brain, a new study has found,
Researchers tested how long it took participants to switch from one cognitive(认知的) task to another, something that-s known to take longer for older adults, said lead researcher, Brian Gold, a neuroscientist at the University of Kentucky.
Gold’s team compared task-switching speeds for younger and older adults, knowing they would find slower speeds in the older population because of previous studies. However, they found that older adults who spoke two languages were able to switch mental activities faster than those didn’t . The study only looked at life long bilinguals(会说两种语言的人) defined in study as people speaking a second language daily since they were at least 10 years old.
Gold and his team asked 30 people, either bilingual or monolingual(只僮一种语言 人) , to have a series of tests. They found that bilingual people were not only able to switch tasks faster they had different brain activity than their monolingual peers.
Kristina called bilingualism "a beautiful natural experiment”, because people grow up speaking two languages,and studies have shown that they get certain cognitive benefits from switching between languages and determining which to respond with based on what's going on around them.
Gold said he grew up in Montreal, where he spoke French at school and English at home, prompting relatives to question whether his French language immersion would somehow hinder his ability to learn English.
"Until very recently, learning a second language in childhood was thought of as dangerous," he said. "Actually, it's beneficial. "What-s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Researchers found that speaking two languages is important. |
| B．Researchers found that bilingual people respond slowly. |
| C．Researchers found that bilingual people can slow down the speed or aging on the brain and respond fast. |
| D．Researchers found that bilingual people are great. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Older bilinguals can-t respond faster in mind. |
| B．Older adults speaking a second language daily since they were at least 10 years old can respond faster than those who don't |
| C．Young bilinguals can respond faster in mind than those monolinguals. |
| D．Bilingual children respond slower in mind than those monolinguals. |
Kristina called bilingualism "a beautif'ul natural experiment" because
| A．people grow up, benefiting from speaking two languages |
| B．people speaking two languages are natural |
| C．people speaking two languages are beautiful |
| D．people speaking two languages like the experiment |
We can learn from the last paragraph that learning a second language in childhood is________
| A．dangerous to children |
| B．not beneficial to children |
| C．dangerous but beneficial to children |
| D．not dangerous but beneficial to children |