Music is an international language. The songs that are sung or played by instruments are beautiful to all people everywhere.
Popular music in America is what every student likes. Students carry small radios with earphones and listen to music before class, after class, and at lunch. Students with cars buy large speakers and play the music loudly as they drive on the street.
Adult drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work. They also listen to the news about sports, the weather, politics ，and activities of the American people.
Pop or popular music singers make much money. They make a CD or tape which radio stations use in every state. Once the popular singer is heard throughout the country, young people buy his or her tapes. Some of the money from these tapes comes to the singer. Wherever the singer goes, ail the young people want to meet him or her. Now the singer has become a national star.
There are other kinds of music that are important to Americans. One is called folk music. It tells stories about the common life of Americans. Another is called western or country music. This was started by cowboys who would sing at night to the cows they were watching. Today, any music about country life and the love between a country boy and his girl is called western or country music.
Serious music for the concert halls is called classical music. Music for instruments is called orchestra music，such as the symphonies of Beethoven. There is opera for singers. There is ballet (芭蕾舞剧)for dancers like the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai in China. What can we know about music and people in America?
| A．Student drivers carry small radios with earphones when they drive on the street. |
| B．Students listen to music before class, after class, and at lunch. |
| C．Adult drivers only listen to news except music when they drive to work. |
| D．Adult drivers never listen to music when they drive to work. |
How many kinds of music are mentioned in the passage?
| A．5. |
| B．6. |
| C．7. |
| D．8. |
Country music __________.
| A．is a kind of music that is important in America |
| B．is a kind of folk music |
| C．is only sung by cowboys |
| D．is serious music for the concert halls |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．All people in America like popular music. |
| B．Pop singers can get all the money from the tapes. |
| C．Now, western or country music is a little different from its beginning. |
| D．Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai is a kind of pop music. |
With only about 1 000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone the animal and save the endangered species . That’s a move similar to what a Texas A&M University researchers have been undertaking for the past five years in a project called “Noah’s Ark”.
Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos , semen and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen. If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A &M’s College of Vetreinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.
It is estimated that as many as 2 000 species of mammals, birds and reptiles will be come extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.
This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.
The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.
“The nuclear transfer of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available (capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy (having a baby). It takes a long time and it’s difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort,” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A&M, the first ever attempt at cloning a dog.
“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It’s a research that is very much needed.”The aim of “Noah’s Ark” project is to _____.
| A．make efforts to clone the endangered pandas |
| B．save endangered animals from dying out |
| C．collect DNA of endangered animals to study |
| D．transfer the nuclear of one animal to another |
According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of _____.
| A．available panda eggs | B．host animals |
| C．qualified researchers | D．enough money |
The best title for the passage may be _____.
| A．China’s Success in Pandas Cloning |
| B．The First Cloned Panda in the World |
| C．Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas |
| D．China—the Native Place of Pandas Forever |
From the passage we know that _____.
| A．Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a dog |
| B．scientists try to implant a panda’s egg into a rabbit |
| C．Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches |
| D．about two thousand species will probably die out in a century |
Here is something about Christmas. Every year just after Christmas the January Sales start. All the shops reduce their prices for two weeks, and they are full of people looking for bargains. My husband and I do not normally go to the sales as we don’t like crowds and are short of money as we have to buy lots of Christmas presents.
Last year, however, I took my husband with me to the sales at the large shop in the center of London. We both needed some new clothes and were hoping to find a television set. When we got to Oxford Street, it was so crowded that we decided to split up and meet again at the underground station. So I left my husband and started looking around the shops. Unfortunately all the clothes were in very large sizes and so were not suitable for me. But I did buy a television at a very low price, so I felt quite pleased with myself.
When I arrived at the station, my husband was not there. So I sat down in a nearby cafe to have a cup of tea. I quickly finished my tea when I saw my husband and went out to meet him. He looked very happy. Then I saw he was carrying a large and heavy cardboard box. “Oh, dear!” I thought. Yes, we had no new clothes but two televisions. We shall not go to the sales again.In January ________.
| A．lots of people go shopping for something cheaper |
| B．people have a lot of money to spend after Christmas |
| C．all the shops close for a two-week Christmas holiday |
| D．people don’t have enough money to buy new clothes |
The husband and the wife in the story ________.
| A．wished to buy a TV |
| B．went to the sales the year before |
| C．often went to the sales to buy clothes |
| D．were usually not short of money after Christmas |
The underlined phrase “split up” in the second paragraph probably means ________.
| A．break apart | B．cause to break |
| C．break into pieces | D．go in different directions |
After their day’s shopping, they ________.
| A．were happy with their bargains |
| B．had got everything they wanted |
| C．got more than they had hoped for |
| D．had to go back to the sales the next day |
Easy for one to learn a foreign language? When A student is learning to speak British English, he wonders: Can I communicate with Americans? Can they understand me? Learners of English often ask: What are the differences between British and American English? How important are these differences?
Certainly, there are some differences between British and American English. There are a few differences in grammar. For example, speakers of British English say “in hospital”and "Have you a pen?”, Americans say “in the hospital”and ‘Do you have a pen?’.Pronunciation is sometimes different. Americans usually sound theirs in words like “bird”and “hurt”. Speakers of British English do not sound theirs in these words. There are differences between British and American English in spelling and vocabulary. For example, “colour”and “honour”are British, “color” and “honor”are American.
These differences in grammar, pronunciation, spelling and vocabulary are not important, however. For the most part, British and American English are the same language.According to this passage, we can guess a student who is learning to speak American English might be afraid that ________.
| A．British people cannot understand him |
| B．American people cannot understand him |
| C．the grammar is too hard for him |
| D．the spelling is too hard for him |
What is NOT talked about in the passage?
| A．Whether there are differences between British English and American English. |
| B．Whether British English and American English are one language or two. |
| C．How the differences between British English and American English came about. |
| D．How important the differences are. |
Most __________ say “Do you have a watch?”
| A．British people | B．Americans |
| C．children | D．teachers |
According to this passage, British people and Americans have __________ difficulty in understanding each other.
| A．little | B．much | C．some | D．great |
Too many people want others to be their friends, but they don’t give friendship back. That is why some friendships do not last very long. To have a friend, you must learn to be one. You must learn to treat your friend the way you want your friend to treat you. Learning to be a good friend means learning three rules: be honest; be generous; be understanding.
Honesty is where a good friendship starts. Friends must be able to trust one another. If you do not tell the truth, people usually find out. If a friend finds out that you haven’t been honest, you may lose your friend’s trust. Good friends always trust one another to speak and act honestly.
Generosity means sharing and sharing makes a friendship grow. You do not have to give your lunch money or your clothes of course. Instead you have to learn how to share things you enjoy, like your hobbies and your interest. Naturally you will want to share your ideas and feelings. These can be very valuable to a friend.
Sooner or later everyone needs understanding and help with a problem. Something may go wrong at school. Talking about the problem can make it easier to solve. Turning to a friend can be a first step in solving the problem. So to be a friend you must listen and understand.
No two friendships are ever exactly alike. But all true friendships have three things in common. If you plan to keep your friends, you must practice honesty, generosity, and understanding.Some friendships don’t last very long because ____.
| A．some people receive friendship but don’t give friendship back |
| B．they don’t know friendship is something serious |
| C．those who give others friendship receive friendship from others |
| D．there are too many people who want to make friends |
The best title of this passage is _____.
| A．Honesty is the Best Policy |
| B．A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed |
| C．Three Important Points in Life |
| D．Three Important Points in Making Friends |
Which of the following isn’t mentioned in the passage?
| A．Always tell your friends the truth. |
| B．Sharing your mind with your friends is of great value. |
| C．A friend who gives you his lunch money is a true friend. |
| D．Discussing your problems with your friend often helps to solve the problem. |
‘Well,’ began Enfield, ‘I was coming home about three o’clock on a black winter morning, when suddenly I saw two people. The first was a short man who was walking along the street, and the second was a little girl who was running as fast as she could. Well, the two bumped into each other and the child fell down. Then a terrible thing happened. The man calmly walked all over the child’s body with his heavy boots, and left her screaming on the ground. It was an inhuman thing to do. I ran after the man, caught him and fetched him back. There was already a small crowd around the screaming child. The man was perfectly cool, but he gave me a very evil look, which made me feel sick in my stomach. The child’s family then arrived, and also a doctor. The child had been sent to fetch the doctor for a sick neighbor, and was on her way home again.
‘“The child is more frightened than hurt,” said the doctor — and that, you would think, was the end of the story. But, you see, I had taken a violent dislike to the short man. So had the child’s family — that was only natural. But the doctor, who seemed a quiet, kind man, was also looking at our prisoner with murder in his eyes.
‘The doctor and I understood each other perfectly. Together we shouted at the man, and told him we would tell this story all over London so that his name would be hated.
‘He looked back at us with a proud, black look. “Name your price,” he said.
‘We made him agree to a hundred pounds for the child’s family. With another black look, the man led us to that door over there. He took out a key and let himself into the building. Presently he came out and handed us ten pounds in gold and a cheque for ninety pounds from Coutts’s Bank. The name on the cheque was a well-known one.
‘“See here,” said the doctor doubtfully, “it isn’t usual for a man to walk into an empty house at four in the morning and come out with another man’s cheque for nearly a hundred pounds.”
‘“Don’t worry,” said the man with an ugly look, “I’ll stay with you until the banks open, and change the cheque myself.”
‘So we all went off, the doctor and the prisoner and myself, and spent the rest of the night at my house. In the morning we went together to the bank. Sure enough, the cheque was good, and the money was passed to the child’s family.’Which of the following is true according to the passage above?
| A．The little girl was frightened as well as seriously hurt. |
| B．The doctor did not trust the short man and disliked him. |
| C．The short man willingly paid the little girl’s family a hundred pounds. |
| D．The doctor was present at the spot to see what was wrong with the little girl. |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “Presently” in the fifth paragraph?
| A．Instantly. | B．Constantly. |
| C．Consequently. | D．Merely. |
Which of the following makes Enfield, the narrator of the story, puzzled most?
| A．The doctor’s attitude towards the short man. |
| B．The validity of the cheque accepted by the bank. |
| C．The name on the cheque the short man produced. |
| D．The short man’s attitude towards what he had done. |
The cheque was written by ________.
| A．Mr. Utterson, an upright lawyer |
| B．Mr. Jekyll, a well-known doctor |
| C．Doctor Lanyon, Mr. Jekyll’s friend |
| D．Mr. Hyde, the short man mentioned in the passage above |