Sicily, an island of Italy, is home to beautiful beaches, outstanding food, and a bit of Italian history on every corner. It’s located just southwest of the Italian mainland and it’s the largest Mediterranean island. Controlled by many armies over the centuries, it became the site of Roman and Greek colonies(殖民地). Those cultures remain to this day.
As part of the Year of Italy in China, an exhibition of Sicilian culture is being held at the National Museum of China from April 29 to June 27. Although they have a rich culture and history, Sicilian people lead a simple life. Living on land with fertile (肥沃的) soil, most of them work in agriculture, fishing and of course tourism.
In Sicily, most stores and businesses are closed from one to four in the afternoon. Streets become crowded around five as people start to go out and engage in a variety of activities. They may take a walk to the shops, enjoy a pastry (糕点)or just meet up with friends.
Food is one of the great pleasures of Sicilian people. There is an old Sicilian saying: “With a contented stomach, your heart is forgiving. With an empty stomach you forgive nothing.”
People will go miles out their way to eat fresh seafood, such as tuna(金枪鱼), swordfish(箭鱼) and sardines(沙丁鱼).
Pasta (意大利面)is the main food. Each region has its seasonal pasta dishes, and every family cook their own specialty. Bread is common too. As another Sicilian saying goes, “A table without bread is like a day without sunshine.” In Sicily, bread is always freshly baked or bought, and usually twice a day.What can be learned from the passage?
| A．Sicily is the only island in Italy. |
| B．It is easy to do shopping in the afternoon. |
| C．Sicily was controlled by several countries. |
| D．Sicilian people seldom take part in activities. |
The local people work in several fields EXCEPT .
| A．fishing | B．mining | C．tourism | D．agriculture |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph is used to show .
| A．bread is a must for Sicilians |
| B．food is a great pleasure for them |
| C．bread should be cooked every day |
| D．Sicilians have nothing to eat but bread |
The best title of this passage might be______.
| A．Italian people |
| B．Italian culture |
| C．A Sicilian exhibition |
| D．Sicily—an Island of Italy |
Can dogs and cats live in perfect harmony in the same home? People who are thinking about adopting a dog as a friend for their cat are worried that they will fight. A recent research has found a new recipe of success. According to the study, if the cat is adopted before the dog, and if they are introduced when still young (less than 6 months for cats, a year for dogs), it is highly probable that the two pets will get along swimmingly. Two-thirds of the homes interviewed reported a positive relationship between their cat and dog.
However, it wasn’t all sweetness and light. There was a reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25% of the homes, while aggression(侵略，攻击性) and fighting were observed in 10% of the homes. One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals were just opposite. For example, when a cat turns its head away , it signals aggression , while a dog doing the same signals submission(屈服，顺从).
In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully, researchers observed a surprising behavior. They are learning how to talk each other’s language. It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk ‘Dog’, and dogs can learn how to talk ‘Cat’.
What’s interesting is that both cats and dogs have appeared to develop their intelligence. They can learn how to read each other’s body signals, suggesting that the two may have more in common than we previously suspected. Once familiar with each other’s presence and body language, cats and dogs can play together, greet each other nose to nose, and enjoy sleeping together on the sofa. They can easily share the same water bowl and in some cases groom (梳理) each other.
The significance of the research on cats and dogs may go beyond pets ─ to people who don’t get along, including neighbors, colleagues at work, and even world superpowers. If cats and dogs can learn to get along, surely people have a good chance.
| A．early | B．sweetly |
| C．quickly | D．smoothly |
| A．they are cold to each other |
| B．they look away from each other |
| C．they misunderstood each other's signals |
| D．they are introduced at an early age |
| A．They eat and sleep each other. |
| B．They observe each other's behaviors. |
| C．They learn to speak each other's language. |
| D．They know something from each other's voices. |
| A．We should learn to live in harmony. |
| B．We should know more about animals. |
| C．We should live in peace with animals. |
| D．We should learn more body languages |
Shyness equals losing opportunities, less pleasure and fewer social connections, but there are ways to make it a thing of the past.
When I was fifteen, I was shy. I remember an attractive girl trying to talk with me. My shyness made me focus on me instead of her. I heard my own voice but not hers and I thought about what I was trying to say instead of what she was trying to say.
To overcome shyness you need to learn to relax. This gives you the space to practice certain conversational skills. Relaxed socializing (社交) is so pleasurable. To start reducing your own shyness, I want you to absorb the following tips and ideas and start to put them into practice.
Focus your attention away from yourself. Notice what other people are wearing and make a mental note, listen to their conversation, imagine where they might live, and make a point of remembering names. Not only does this give you more to talk about, it also reduces social anxiety, leaving you feeling calmer.
Ask people open questions. Many people like to talk about themselves and will find you interesting if you find them interesting. Ask questions that require more than a “yes” or “no” response such as “What do you like about this place?’ rather than “Do you like this place?” Once they have answered, you can use add-on (追加) questions connected with the first such as “What other places do you like in this city?” Next you can express your views. This is a great way to get the conversation going.
Now I love meeting new people and suspect that my current social confidence would be unrecognizable to my fifteen-year-old self.
| A．her voice was very low |
| B．he was shy and nervous |
| C．he was attracted by her appearance |
| D．he wasn’t interested in her topic |
| A．pay much attention to yourself |
| B．find a beautiful girl to talk with |
| C．learn to talk to others in a relaxed way |
| D．ask people some interesting questions |
| A．people will notice our appearance if we focus on their looks |
| B．shy people will have no friends unless they change themselves |
| C．shy people may suffer a great deal and may be less happy |
| D．girls like to show off their voices in front of boys |
| A．What a lovely day, isn’t it? |
| B．Do you like playing basketball? |
| C．Do you think he will pass the exam? |
| D．Why do you find that English is hard to learn? |
Not many years ago, a wealthy and rather strange old man named Johnson lived alone in a village in the south of England. He had made a lot of money in trading with foreign countries. When he was seventy – five, he gave $ 60,000 to the village school to buy land and equipment for a children’s ground.
As a result of his kindness, he became famous. Many people came to visit him. Among them was a newspaperman. During their talk, Johnson remarked that he was seventy-five and expected to live to be hundred. The newspaperman asked him how he managed to be healthy at seventy-five. Johnson had a sense of humor. He liked whisky and drank some each day. “I have an injection (注射) in my neck each evening,” he told the newspaperman, thinking of his evening glass of whisky.
The newspaperman did not understand what Johnson meant. In his newspaper he reported that Johnson was seventy-five and had daily injection in his neck. Within a week Johnson received thousands of letters from all over Britain, asking him for the secret of his daily injection.
| A．doing business | B．making whisky |
| C．cheating | D．buying and selling land |
| A．what kind of whisky he had |
| B．how to live longer |
| C．how to become wealthy |
| D．in which part of the neck to have an injection |
| A．he liked drinking a glass of whisky in the evening |
| B．he needn’t an injection in the neck |
| C．a daily injection in the evening would make him sleep well |
| D．there was something wrong with his neck |
Here are a few tips we’ve put together to help you learn English well.
Speak, speak, speak
Practise speaking as often as you can—even speaking to yourself is good practice.
Try recording yourself whenever you can. Compare your pronunciation with some famous persons’, see how you can do better and have another go. If you do this several times, you will find that each time is better than the last.
Why not learn with someone else?
It helps if you can learn with someone else. If you can persuade a friend or a family member to study with you, it will make you keep working.
Don’t get stuck by a word you don’t know.
Practise improvising（即兴的）ways of getting your meaning across when speaking spontaneously（本能地）, even if you don’t know the exact words or phrases. Think of things you might want to say whenever you have spare time. Use facial expressions, hand movements, anything to get your meaning across.
Language learning is also about intuition（直觉）.
Guesswork is an important way to learn a new language. When listening to recorded material, you aren’t expected to understand everything at once. If you play the same piece several times, you will most probably understand something new each time.
Build up your vocabulary.
A wide vocabulary is the key to successful language learning but don’t try to learn too much at once. It’s best to study often, for short periods of time. Take at most six or seven items of vocabulary and learn them. Put them into sentences to remember them in your mind, then come back to them later.
And above all, have fun!Why should one have himself recorded when practicing speaking?
| A．To improve his speaking. |
| B．To record his own progress. |
| C．To encourage others to start. |
| D．To become a famous person. |
It is implied(暗示) in the passage that _______ is helpful when you are learning English.
| A．a good dictionary | B．a good school |
| C．excellent pronunciation | D．body language |
According to the passage, one should ______ when you are learning English.
| A．always work with other people |
| B．be able to guess everything new |
| C．often review what he has learnt |
| D．take little notice of grammar |
In choosing a friend, one should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet“fair weather friends”. They will be with you if you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities (品质) of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability (可靠).
Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person's place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener. At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults (过错) in others. He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me.
Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on (信赖) a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.
There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humor (幽默), too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.
When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I've found a friend!Which of the following qualities the writer thinks is the most important in choosing a friend?
| A．understanding. | B．honesty. |
| C．reliability. | D．a sense of humor. |
If you have fair weather friends, ______ .
| A．they will give you all that they have when you need help |
| B．you will be refused when you get into trouble |
| C．you will become rich |
| D．you can be sure that you get real friends |
This passage mainly discuss ______ .
| A．the qualities of a friend |
| B．where to choose friends |
| C．how to get along with friends |
| D．the importance of having a friend |