In Canada and the United States, people enjoy entertaining (请客) at home. They often invite friends over for a meal, a party, or just for coffee and conversation.
Here are the kinds of things people say when they invite someone to their home:
“ Would you like to come over for dinner on Saturday night? ”
“Hey, we're having a party on Friday. Can you come ? ”
To reply to an invitation, either say thank you and accept(接受), or say you're sorry and give an excuse(借口):
“Thanks, I'd love to. What time would you like me to come?” or “ Oh, sorry. I've tickets for a movie.” Sometimes, however, people use expressions(措辞)that sound like invitations, but which are not real invitations(邀请). For example:
“ Please come over for a drink sometime? ”
“ Why not get together for a party sometime? ”
“Why don't you come over and see us sometime soon?”
They are really just polite ways of ending a conversation. They are not real invitations because they don't tell time or date. They just show that the person is trying to be friendly. To reply to expressions like these, people just say: “Sure, that would be nice!” or “OK. Yes, thanks.” So next time when you hear what sounds like an invitation. Is it a real invitation or is the person just being friendly?Which of the following is a real invitation?
| A．"If you're free, let's go for a drink sometime." |
| B．"Please go to the cinema with me some day." |
| C．"Would you like to have a cup of tea with us sometime?" |
| D．"I've two tickets here. Can you go to the concert with me?" |
If people say "Let's get together for lunch some day", you just say“_______".
| A．That's great. I'll be there on time. |
| B．That would be nice |
| C．Oh, sorry. I'm very busy. |
| D．How about this weekend?. |
People use "not real invitation" to show that_______.
| A．they're trying to be friendly |
| B．they're trying to be helpful |
| C．they're trying to make friends with others |
| D．they haven't got ready for a party yet |
阅读理解
(2013济南)
Camilla Chomp was a strange little girl．She liked to spend her time alone eating chocolate．Her parents were worried，so they took all the chocolate away．
Camilla left her house to look for some chocolate．She found a small house full of bottles．Among the bottles，a blue bottle caught Camilla’s eye．It was full of chocolate．In the bottle there was also a card with the words“Change tears(眼泪)into chocolate”．
Camilla was very excited．She ran out of the house with the bottle to look for someone crying．First，she met a little boy crying h ard and collected his tears．The tears were quickly changed into chocolate．While Camilla was collecting the tears，she comforted the boy．Finally，the boy stopped crying and they had a good time together．
Later，Camilla met a woman and an old man crying．The woman had broken some bowls．And the old man’s dog had just died．Camilla collected their tears and made them happy again．
Soon，Camilla knew that making people happy was much more important than finding chocolate．So she stopped collecting tears and began to help sad people．As a result，she had many friends and had a happy life．Camilla liked to________．
| A．eat chocolate | B．read books | C．collect coins | D．eat fruit |
Camilla’s parents took away all the chocolate because they were________．
| A．happy | B．angry | C．worried | D．hungry |
What caught Camilla’s eye？
| A．A nice card． | B．A black dog． | C．A red cup． | D．A blue bottle． |
The old man was crying because________．
| A．he had broken some bottles |
| B．he couldn’t find his way home |
| C．he couldn’t find his daughter |
| D．his dog had just died |
How many people did Camilla help before she stopped collecting tears？
| A．One． | B．Two． | C．Three． | D．Four． |
阅读理解
(2014杭州)
How quickly can you count from one to ten？Do you use ten different words to do it？Can you do it in English，or do you have to use your first？language？Do you count on your fingers？Many
people think that numbers and math are the same all over the world．But scientists have discovered that it is not true．
People in different parts of the world use different ways to count on their fingers．In the United States，people begin counting with their first finger，which they extend or stick out．They then extend the rest of their fingers and finally the thumb(拇指)to count to five．Then they repeat this with the other hand to get to ten．In China，people count by using different finger positions．In this way，a Chinese person can easily count to ten on only one hand．
Besides ways of finger counting，scientists have found that cultures and languages are also different when it comes to numbers．Some languages have only a few words for numbers，and others have no words for numbers．A group of scientists studied aboriginal(土著的)people in Australia．There people don’t have hand movements to stand for numbers．They don’t even have words for numbers．However，they are still able to understand different ideas about numbers．
In a similar study，researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology discovered that people of the Piraha tribe(部落)in northwestern Brazil don’t have words for numbers such as“one”or“three”．They are not able to say“five trees”or“ten trees”but can say“some trees”．“more trees”．or“many trees”．Professor Edward Gibson said that most people believe that everyone knows how to count，“but here is a group that does not count．They could learn，but it’s not useful in their culture，so they’ve never picked it up．”
Although all humans are able to understand quantities(数量)，not all languages have numbers and not all people use counting．Number words in a certain language are a result of people needing numbers in their daily lives．Now we know that people have different ideas about numbers and math，too．The writer begins with the four questions in order to________．
| A．make a survey |
| B．interest readers |
| C．tell a story |
| D．solve math problems |
What do we learn from the difference in finger counting between the US and China？
| A．People from China count much faster than people from the US． |
| B．People from China need two hands to count from one to ten． |
| C．People of different cultures may use different ways of finger counting． |
| D．People of different cultures use the same way of finger counting． |
Which of the following is true about aboriginal Australians？
| A．They have only a few words for numbers． |
| B．They have hand movements to stand for numbers． |
| C．They can only count to five on their fingers． |
| D．They can understand different ideas about numbers． |
The study of the Piraha tribe shows that________．
| A．people all over the world know how to count |
| B．people of the tribe have words for numbers |
| C．some groups of people are not smart enough to count |
| D．counting is not useful in the culture of the tribe |
What is the main idea of the passage？
| A．People from different cultures have different ideas about numbers and math． |
| B．Chinese people can count more easily on their fingers than Americans． |
| C．In some aboriginal cultures，people don’t even know how to count． |
| D．Some languages don’t have number words because people don’t need numbers． |
阅读理解
(2014山西)
Are you bored with your daily routine？Here are some things you should try before you are 18，because after that it’s too late！
| Learn to swim Actually．this is so important it could save your life．If you can’t swim well，you won’t be able to do water sports like waterskiing，surfing and diving．Even taking a boat trio will not be safe for you．Make sure you do it． |
| Collect something Be of the best hobbies for under－18s is collecting things．You could collect Chinese stamps．or youcould collect things that make you．remember what you’ve done，like cinema tickets for films．The best way to collect is to have a special album to put your collection in and to write what each thing means to you．That way you won’t forget． |
| Try at least one kind of team sport Being a good team player is an important skillin life．You can’t just think of yourself，but have to work well with other people．Other advantages of team sports like asketball，football and baseball ale that’they keep you fit and healthy，and they ale also great fun．Teams usually have a good social life too—you’ll go to lots of parties and make many friends． |
| Write your family tree When you are young，get to know．all the older people in our family an lln out as much as you can about when they were young．Draw a family tree and make noies abofit each person so that you won’not forget． |
According to the passage，we should learn to swim because it could________．
A．save our lives
B．keep us fit and healthy
C．make us work well with othersThe best way to collect things is________．
A．to have a special album
B．to buy more stamps and tickets
C．to exchange them with your friendsBeing a good team player can help you________．
A．think of yourself
B．have a good social skill
C．become a ball game starIn order not to forget the older people in your family，you should________．
A．go to lots of family parties
B．find something that they used
C．draw a family tree and make notesThe passage mainly tells us that________．
A．hobbies play an important role in everyone’s growth
B．you are supposed to try some things before you’re 18
C．everyone should get into good habits when they are young
阅读理解(2014黄冈)
A recent research shows that physical activity(体育活动)may help students do better in their classes．The research comes because educators in some countries are reducing time for activities like P．E．class．
Researchers go over the results of fourteen studies．Twelve were from the United States，one from Canada and one from South Africa．The studies appeared between 2009 and 2013．They included more than 55，000 children，aged six to eighteen．
Thomas Singh，one of the researchers，says the studies showed a relationship between physical activity and scores on subjects such as math，English and reading．Mr．Singh offers some possible explanations(解释)：
There are，first，physiological(生理的)explanations，like more blood flow，and so more oxygen(氧气)to the brain．Being physically active means there are more hormones(荷尔蒙)produced，like endorphins(脑内啡)．And endorphins make your stress level lower and your mood improved，which means you will perform better in class．Also，students who take part in organized sports learn rules and how to follow them．This could improve their classroom behavior and help them know what they should do．
All in all，the finding tells us that physically active kids are more likely to do better in school．Mr．Singh says schools should consider the finding before they cut physical education programs．What led the researchers to do the studies？
| A．Schools’cutting physical activity． |
| B．Their interest in physical activity． |
| C．The tests including about 55，000 children． |
| D．Kids’unsatisfying schooling performance． |
How many countries took part in the studies？
| A．14． | B．12． | C．2． | D．3． |
Which of the following is NOT one of the advantages of physical activity according to the passage？
| A．Getting more blood flow． |
| B．Better classroom behavior． |
| C．Feeling relaxed and refreshed． |
| D．Greater ability to organize activities． |
阅读理解
(2013温州)
It is widely agreed that the overuse of fossil fuels，such as coal and oil has caused serious environmental problems．Scientists are trying to find new clean energies that do not pollute the air，the water or the ground．Solar power is one of them．
Solar power is a kind of electricity which is produced by taking energy from the sun，using solar panels．The solar panels are usually fixed on the roofs of houses and buildings．It is the family solar power system．Some countries are even beginning to build solar power plants by setting thousands of solar panels in the places where there is enough sunshine．Solar power has many advantages．The power is easy to get and will never be used up．Whenever it is sunny，there is the power．The power is clean and renewable．It helps to reduce waste and pollution，which is great for the environment．In the areas that are too far away to send electricity to or not easy to build electric power plants，solar power is especially necessary．It enables the people there to use lights，TVs，computers，washing machines，fridges and many other things．
Therefore，more and more countries，such as China，the USA，Japan and India，encourage scientists to develop practical technology to put solar power to use．However，the power is not as widely used as expected．
One of the challenges is that a solar power system needs sunshine．Countries or areas with a lot of rain，like the UK，are not suitable to develop such power systems．Secondly，a solar power plant requires a very large site to fix enough solar panels to collect sunlight and change it into electricity．Maybe an area in the desert would be one of the perfect places for such a plant to build．What’s more，solar panels are expensive at present though the energy itself doesn’t cost anything．
Today scientists are working hard to develop more practical and cheaper solar power systems．Maybe one day solar power will be one of the most important clean energies in our life．Solar power is a kind of energy taken from________．
| A．the air |
| B．the sun |
| C．the water |
| D．the ground |
The underlined word“reduce”probably means________．
| A．to make something less |
| B．to make something better |
| C．to make something more |
| D．to make something cleaner |
What is the fourth paragraph of the passage mainly about？
| A．The ways to use solar power． |
| B．The advantages of solar power． |
| C．The places to build the solar power plants． |
| D．The difficulties of putting solar power to use widely． |
What can we learn from the passage？
| A．Solar energy itself is expensive． |
| B．Solar power will be used up very soon． |
| C．Solar power is a kind of clean and useful energy． |
| D．Solar power is much better than the other energies． |