【改编】Mom’s birthday present? It may be a difficult thing for some people, but for me, it is an easy thing. Mom loved flowers, so every year I sent her flowers. Actually she had a bed of irises（鸢尾花）in the backyard of her small, Indiana farm. They were beautiful. “Take some,” she said, “Dig some up and plant them on the side of your own house.”
But in my yard they became lacking in energy. A year passed, then two, but not one flower appeared. I cut back all their green leaves. I was tired of seeing them so lonely. Finally, I dug the irises up and threw them away.
About that time Mom died unexpectedly. My sister and I sold the farm. I never went back to see the irises. I just couldn’t bear seeing another family living in our home—Mom’s home. Autumn came, then winter. The following spring, as Mom’s birthday approached, I struggled with the question of how to remember her. I stared out the window and saw a few stubborn irises in my side yard sprouting (发芽), —tall, thin but flowerless. Because of seeing them, I decided to order flowers as I always did on Mom’s birthday, and send them to my sister. I wished so badly I could still send flowers to Mom. But that was impossible.
In the morning of Mom’s birthday, I was in my car ready to work. Something in the yard caught my eye. The irises! One had bloomed with flowers, big, showy and purple, as lovely as they ever had been on Mom’s farm. I smiled and turned my eyes upward. I could no longer send flowers to Mom. But somehow, she’d been able to send them to me.From the first paragraph we know________.
| A．the writer doesn’t know what to buy for her mother on her birthday |
| B．some people have difficulty choosing birthday gift for their mother |
| C．Mother lived with the writer on the farm |
| D．Mother doesn’t like flowers including irises |
What happened to the irises that the author grew?
| A．They only grew green flowers. |
| B．They grew as well as those on her mother’s farm. |
| C．They were thrown away at last. |
| D．They ended up with beautiful flowers. |
Why didn’t the writer return to the farm after her mother died?
| A．Because she was too busy to go there. |
| B．Because her sister told her not to. |
| C．Because she lived far away from the farm. |
| D．Because she couldn’t stand the fact that her mother was no longer there. |
From the third paragraph we can know _____.
| A．not all the irises were dug out |
| B．the writer returned to her mother’s farm |
| C．the writer often sends flowers to his sister |
| D．the writer buys flowers in memory of his mother every year |
What is the writer’s purpose to write this passage?
| A．To introduce a kind of irises. |
| B．To memorize her mother. |
| C．To explain how to grow irises. |
| D．To praise the spirit of irises. |
Living in South Africa, I had always taken the wildlife pretty much for granted. Not to say that we were surrounded by it, but the accessibility of game parks and wildlife sanctuaries（避难所，庇护所） always made it seem like a natural part of the environment. For this reason, I suppose that the way my European friends used to talk to me, wasn’t so strange after all. They would ask me what I thought at the time were really silly questions which got on my nerves. They’d say things like ‘Do you have a pet baboon?’ or ‘Do you travel to school by elephant?’.
When Amanda, a friend of mine who was visiting from England, invited me to join her and a group of friends on a wildlife expedition, I was not filled with enthusiasm. However, from the moment we entered the gates of the Zaluzi game reserve, I knew that this was not going to be anything like I had expected. We had been traveling along the National Road when, suddenly, we turned onto a dirt track which seemed to be hidden in the middle of nowhere. Amazingly, the scenery changed dramatically. The civilized environment took on a wild, chaotic（混沌的；一片混乱的） aspect and continued to do so as we walked deeper into the bush.
After having a good night’s sleep at one of the reserve’s bungalows, we were woken at the crack of dawn. After a quick breakfast we piled into a jeep and set off. Our guide assured us that the early start was necessary in order to have the best chance of seeing what was really worthwhile. Armed with just a thermos of coffee, we set out towards the shore of a small lake where it was expected that we could see that animals that used it as their morning watering hole.
On the way to our destination, we topped a hill and there, against the emerging morning light, were a group of animals. It was a stunning sight. As we moved closer, the animals did not appear to be alarmed by our presence. Pet baboons aside, I had never before come within such close range of a pride of lions. It did cross my mind, however, that we might be in a certain amount of danger. When I asked Timothy, our game ranger, if we were actually in any danger, he replied straightforwardly that one is never entirely safe in the bush, but his knowledge and experience allowed him to anticipate any danger with reasonable accuracy.
However, the following day there was some cause for alarm. Not having started out so early, we missed the sightings of the day before. We decided to drive around for a while, hoping to come across something of interest. Suddenly our tracker perched up on the back of our vehicle, signaled to the driver to halt and at the same moment I realized that this time we had stumbled right into a pride of lions. The driver promptly turned off the engine and in a low voice warned us to remain seated and not to make any abrupt movements. The lions were picking at what looked like the remains of a zebra. Timothy, later told us how much to our advantage this was. Had their bellies not been full, their reaction to us would surely have been otherwise. As the nearest lion was less than three meters away from the jeep, I considered that we had been very lucky indeed.
All in all, it was a wonderful trip. Our near miss with the lions was without a doubt the highlight, but what it taught me yet again was how easy it is to be indifferent to our surroundings and not to have a full appreciation of the beauty around us. How did the writer feel about the questions her European friends asked?
| A．ridiculous | B．annoyed | C．strange | D．embarrassed |
When did the writer’s attitude change about the expedition?
| A．When she was traveling along the dirt track. |
| B．When she received her invitation. |
| C．When she arrived at the game reserve. |
| D．When her friend arrived from England. |
What does the underlined word ‘It’ (in the fourth paragraph) refer to?
| A．the pride of lions | B．the destination |
| C．the top of the hill | D．the morning light |
Timothy’s experience as a game ranger was valuable because he ______________
| A．could supply a straightforward answer to any question. |
| B．knew how to frighten the animals. |
| C．knew the game reserve well. |
| D．could identify trouble in advance. |
What does the writer mean by the underlined sentence ‘we had been very lucky indeed’ in the fifth paragraph?
| A．They had seen the lions up close. | B．They hadn’t been attacked. |
| C．They had a good guide with them. | D．They had gone on a trip. |
What conclusion does the writer of the text come to?
| A．We often do not realize how attractive our environment really is. |
| B．It is not clever to unnecessarily put ourselves in dangerous situations. |
| C．We don’t respect wild animals enough. |
| D．We should protect our surroundings. |
Everybody cheats. Whether it’s the taxi driver who tricks a visitor and takes them the long way round, or the shop assistant who doesn’t give the correct change, or the police officer who accepts a bribe (贿赂) – everybody’s at it. Cheats in the nest include the scientist whose research was based on fake data, the game show competitors who worked with a friend in the audience or win a million pounds, and the doctor who made up his qualifications and wasn’t really a doctor at all. Everybody cheats; nobody’s playing the game.
Is cheating acceptable, a natural way of surviving and being successful? Or is it something that should be frowned on, and young people discouraged from doing? If it’s the latter how can we explain to children why so many bend the rules?
Take sport for example. The Word Cup was filled with cheating. Whether diving, pretending to be hurt or denying a handball, footballers will do anything for a free – kick or a penalty shot. France striker Henry denied cheating to win the free – kick which led to his side’s second goal in their 3 – 1 victory over Spain. Many footballers, however, are often putting it on. Whatever the nationality there’s one common ploy: the player rolls over holding their leg, ankle or head seeming to be in great pain. As a result a yellow card and / or free – kick is given for the foul and then, a few seconds later, the player is up and about as if nothing had happened ! The ref (裁判) may be taken in by it but youngsters watching the game aren’t. they also see their heroes getting away with it.
Of course it’s not just football. In 1998 the Tour de France, the world’s greatest cycling event, was hit by a drug – taking scandal (丑闻). The 40 bottles of forbidden drugs found with the Fustian team caused a massive investigation that almost caused the Tour to be abandoned. One rider, Veronique, was banned for 9 months. He claimed: “You have cheats in sport, just as you do in business – there will always be people trying to take a short cut. At least we’re not turning a blind eye to the problem, which other sports are.”
Is it all unavoidable? There’s huge pressure on all athletes to perform for their fans and for their sponsors. It’s success, money and power that rule professional sport rather than an honest at tempt to do the best one can.
Meanwhile companies around the world are losing billions of dollars to fake products. From cut price CDs and DVDs to sportswear, cheap fake products are everywhere. It has become socially acceptable to buy fake Gucci bags and illegal copies of films. If parents are doing this, their children will follow.
So perhaps it’s not surprising that around the world more pupils than ever are caught cheating during exams. In one case missing exam papers were put up for sale on the Internet. In another, widespread cheating took place by pupils using their mobile phones to receive tested answers. They blame the pressure put on them to do well in exams. It doesn’t help that their role models are also cheats. Surely we can’t complain when we’re setting such a bad example. According to the passage, in which way can a game show player cheat?
| A．By taking an indirect way. | B．By gaining aid from a friend. |
| C．By taking forbidden drugs. | D．By selling fake products. |
The phrase “be frowned on”(Paragraph 2) most probably means .
| A．to be disapproved of | B．to be pushed forward |
| C．to be taken the place of | D．to be stuck with |
The writer’s suppose for writing this passage is to .
| A．explain why people in almost every field cheat |
| B．complain about cheats in school education |
| C．persuade young people not to cheat in exams |
| D．blame the society for tolerating cheats |
The writer mentions the example of the World Cup in Paragraph 3 in order to .
| A．show cheating is a common phenomenon nowadays |
| B．discuss the relationship between sport and cheating |
| C．explore the nature of cheating in important events |
| D．warn coaches and athletes of the danger of cheating |
Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Exams are not a good way of testing children. |
| B．Children are natural cheats. |
| C．If adults cheat, children will cheat too. |
| D．Everyone including children cheats. |
Brief Introduction
(Adeline) Virginia Woolf (née Stephen; 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941) was an English novelist and essayist, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century.During the interwar period, Woolf was a significant figure in London literary society and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Her most famous works include the novels Mrs Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927) and Orlando (1928), and the book-length essay A Room of One's Own (1929), with its famous dictum, "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."
Main body
My dear，
'Dearest, I feel certain I am going mad again. I feel we can't go through another of those terrible times. And I shan't recover this time. I begin to hear voices, and I can't concentrate. So I am doing what seems the best thing to do. You have given me the greatest possible happiness. You have been in every way all that anyone could be. I don't think two people could have been happier till this terrible disease came. I can't fight any longer. I know that I am spoiling your life, that without me you could work. And you will I know. You see I can't even write this properly. I can't read. What I want to say is I owe all the happiness of my life to you. You have been entirely patient with me and incredibly good. I want to say that - everybody knows it. If anybody could have saved me it would have been you. Everything has gone from me but the certainty of your goodness. I can't go on spoiling your life any longer.
I don't think two people could have been happier than we have been...........................from the last letter of virginia woolfAccording to the first paragraphwe can infer that
| A．During the interwar period，virginia woolf was important for London people. |
| B．She has been living for 55 years |
| C．Her first the novels Mrs Dalloway in 1925 |
| D．She regarded as one of the foremost romanticism literary figures of the twentieth century |
what is form of The main body？
| A．letter of resignation | B．Letter of condolence |
| C．Letter of suicide | D．Letters of Apologies ; |
Where can I see this article？
| A．newspaper | B．biography |
| C．German Literature | D．television |
According to the main body, which of the following is not the reason of her Dutch act（自杀）？
| A．She can't go on spoiling your life any longer |
| B．I feel certain I am going mad again |
| C．She cannot bear her husband's interference |
| D．The approach of war makes her psychological problems aggravated |
As an experienced photojournalist in Nashville, Tennessee, I was hired by USA Today newspaper to photograph a spinal bifida (脊柱畸形) corrective surgical procedure. It was to be performed on a twenty-one week old fetus（胎儿）in uterus（子宫）at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. At that time, in 1999, twenty-one weeks in uterus was the earliest that the surgical team would consider for surgery. The worst possible outcome would be that the surgery would cause premature delivery, and no child born earlier than twenty-three weeks had survived.
The tension could be felt in the operating room as the surgery began. A typical C-section cut was made to access the uterus, which was then lifted out and laid at the junction of the mother’s thighs（大腿）. The entire procedure would take place within the uterus, and no part of the child was to breach the surgical opening. During the procedure, the position of the fetus was adjusted by gently moving the outside of the uterus. The entire surgical procedure on the child was completed in one hour and thirteen minutes. When it was over, the surgical team breathed a sigh of relief, as did I.
As a doctor asked me what speed of film I was using, out of the corner of my eye I saw the uterus shake, but no one’s hands were near it. It was shaking from within. Suddenly, an entire arm thrust out of the opening, then pulled back until just a little hand was showing. The doctor reached over and lifted the hand, which reacted and squeezed the doctor’s finger. As if testing for strength, the doctor shook the tiny fist. Samuel held firm. I took the picture! Wow! It happened so fast that the nurse standing next to me asked, “What happened?” “The child reached out,” I said. “Oh. They do that all the time,” she responded.
The surgical opening to the uterus was closed and the uterus was then put back into the mother and the C-section opening was closed.
It was ten days before I knew if the picture was even in focus(对焦). To ensure no digital manipulation(篡改) of images before they see them, USA Today requires that film be submitted unprocessed. When the photo editor finally phoned me he said, “It’s the most incredible picture I’ve ever seen.”What may be the best title for the passage?
| A．An Amazing Moment | B．A Pitiful Fetus |
| C．An Honorable Job as a Photographer | D．An Impressive Surgeon |
In 1999, people believed that it was ________.
| A．possible for a fetus 21 weeks born to survive |
| B．likely for a fetus born 21 weeks to become abnormal |
| C．right time for a fetus born 21 weeks to receive an operation |
| D．risky for a fetus 21 weeks in uterus to receive an operation |
From the second paragraph, we can see that the surgery was ________.
| A．challenging but successful | B．demanding and unsuccessful |
| C．simple and short | D．long-lasting and difficult |
The underlined “It” in paragraph 3 refers to ________.
| A．the uterus | B．the arm of the fetus |
| C．the picture | D．the head of the fetus |
From what the editor said in the last paragraph, we know he was very ________.
| A．disappointed | B．satisfied | C．confident | D．depressed |
Have you heard of the scandal that happened in one of Great Britain’s biggest supermarket chains called Tesco? The British love Tesco as it sells very cheap products and it can be found on almost every corner of a British city or town.
On January 15th 2013 food inspectors discovered 30 % horsemeat in a certain brand of frozen beefburgers that were mostly sold by Tesco in the UK and Ireland.
In times of social media like Facebook and Twitter the news has spread fast and customers have been very concerned about what the food they buy actually contains. Tesco said it had taken away the burgers from the shop shelves immediately, and apologized to their customers. They also promised that they would find out what exactly happened and that they would work harder than ever so this would never happen again.Customers are also able to return the beefburgers and get a refund, that is, their money back.
However, it will be hard for Tesco to get the people’s trust back. Just imagine buying lovely beefburgers that you fry at home and suddenly you find out that you have actually eaten horsemeat! In this case not only horse lovers will be upset!
By the way, why are British people so shocked about eating horsemeat? In history, horses have played great roles as working animals and as an important means of transport. When Britons of today think of horses, they think of majestic animals or cute pets rather than meat.
But this is not the only reason for the protest: Customers also want to be sure that the products they buy contain what it says on the label.Hopefully, supermarkets can avoid mistakes like that in the future. Maybe there should be stricter regulations and more controls of our food?Otherwise we will soon find ourselves eating panda meat instead of pork and parrot instead of chicken. So the next time you are in a supermarket maybe check the ingredients of your food before you buy it or you could get a nasty surprise …What is the scandal?
| A．Tesco’s products were much more expensive than they are supposed to be. |
| B．Tesco didn’t react immediately to a food quality issue. |
| C．Tesco sold expired food. |
| D．Horsemeat was found in burgers sold in Tesco. |
What didn’t Tesco do in response to the scandal?
| A．It withdrew the beefburgers. |
| B．It made an apology to the public. |
| C．It investigated and found out the cause and effect of the scandal. |
| D．It returned money to customers who bought the beefburgers. |
Which statement isn’t among the reasons why customers are furious?
| A．People trusted Tesco so much that they never expected a scandal like this. |
| B．Everyone can call himself or herself a horse lover in the UK. |
| C．Sellers shouldn’t cheat customers. |
| D．The horse is humans’ friend. |