Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea. People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like, mainly because tea was very expensive. It could not be bought in shops. People had it sent from Holland. And even those people who could afford it did so only because of curiosity. Some of them were not sure how to use it. They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves. Then they served them mixed with butter and salt. They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches.
Tea remained very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century. During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.
At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea. Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it, but one day a French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added. She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk. Because she was so famous a lady that people liked to copy everything she did, they also drank their tea with milk in it. Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk.
At first, tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening. No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess （公爵夫人） found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o'clock stopped her getting “a sinking feeling” as she called it. She invited her friends to have this new meal with her and so, tea-time was born.The word “curiosity” in the first paragraph probably means ________.
| A．好奇 | B．臆测 | C．迷恋 | D．决心 |
Which of the following is true of tea-drinking in Britain?
| A．The British people got expensive tea from India. |
| B．The habit of tea-drinking reached Britain from France. |
| C．The British people were much slower in getting the habit. |
| D．People in Britain began drinking tea one thousand years ago. |
Some people cooked tea leaves because ______
| A．most children liked to have them |
| B．they were very good vegetables |
| C．they didn’t know how to use them |
| D．sandwiches needed mixing with them |
People in Britain like to drink tea with milk because of the influence of _______.
| A．a famous French lady |
| B．people in Holland |
| C．the upper social class |
| D．the ancient Chinese |
This passage mainly discusses _______.
| A．how tea-time was born in history |
| B．the history of tea-drinking in Britain |
| C．the habit of drinking tea with milk in it |
| D．differences about tea-drinking Europe |
We are all called upon to make a speech at some point in life, but most of us don't do a very good job. This article gives some suggestions on how to give an effective speech.
So, you have to give a speech and you're terrified. You get nervous, you forget what you want to say, you stumble over words, you talk too long and you bore your audience. Later you think, “Thank goodness, it's over. I'm just no good at public speaking. I hope I never have to do that again.”
Cheer up! It doesn't have to be that bad. Here are some simple steps to take the pain out of speech making. Ask yourself the purpose of your speech. What is the occasion? Why are you speaking? Then, gather as many facts as you can on your subject. Spend plenty of time doing your research. Then spend plenty of time organizing your material so that your speech is clear and easy to follow. Use as many examples as possible and use pictures, charts and graphs if they will help you make your points more clearly. Never forget your audience. Don't talk over their heads and don't talk down to them. Treat your audience with respect. They will appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Just remember: Be prepared. Know your subject, your audience and the occasion. Be brief. Say what you have to say and then stop. And be yourself. Let your personality come through so that you make person-to-person contact with your audience.
If you follow these simple steps, you'll see that you don't have to be afraid of public speaking. In fact, you may find the experience so enjoyable that you volunteer to make more speeches! You're not convinced yet. Give it a try and see what happens. We can conclude from Paragraph 2 that many people.
| A．talk too long in a speech |
| B．are happy to give a speech |
| C．are afraid of giving a speech |
| D．do not prepare for a speech |
All of the following statements are true except that.
| A．a lecturer does not need to organize his speech |
| B．few people know how to make good speeches |
| C．research is important in preparing a speech |
| D．there are simple steps to improve your speaking |
The underlined expression “talk over their heads” means “”.
| A．speak too loudly | B．look at the ceiling |
| C．look down upon them | D．use difficult words and ideas |
The main idea of the passage is that
| A．you can improve your speaking ability |
| B．a poor speaker can never change |
| C．it's easy to make a short speech |
| D．it is hard to make a speech |
The London Marathon is an annual event and of the thousands of runners who take part, many of them have a story to tell as to why they are running the 26.2 mile (42.2 km) course around London.
The men's race was won by Kenyan, Martin Lel, who finished the race in just two hours and five minutes, a personal best time for him. Irina Mikitenko was the winner of the women's race and this was astonishingly only her second race at marathon distance!
There was also a group of 24 runners who have competed in every single one of the 28 London marathons. Jeff Aston is one of them and at 60 years old, he finished in just over three and a half hours.
A lot of the 
non-competitive runners take part in the marathon to raise mon
ey for charity. Jeff estimates he has raised about ￡25,000 (350,000 RMB) over the 28 years he has been running.
Jane Tomlinson is a well-known name in the UK. She raised millions for charity doing long cycle rides, marathons and triathlons while struggling against terminal cancer, a battle she sadly lost last year. In honor of Jane, her husband and daughter took part in the marathon. They managed to raise ￡20,000 (280,000 RMB) for a charity set up in Jane's name.
Another astonishing one was blind runner Dave Heeley completing the marathon. As if that wasn't enough, this was his seventh marathon in seven days, as he took part in a special challenge which took him to seven countries.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．A Variety of Athletic Runners | B．London Marathon |
| C．Inspirational Event | D．Astonishing Marathon Stories |
What do we know from the passage?
| A．The London Marathon is held every year to raise money for charity. |
B．Jane Tomlinson together with her husband too k part in the marathon. |
| C．Dave Heeley is an inspiring marathon runner. |
| D．Kenyan, Martin Lel won the men's race just over three and a half hours. |
The underlined word “triathlons” in the fifth paragraph probably refers to.
| A．a formal meeting | B．a special challenge |
| C．a kind of disease | D．an athletic competition |
Two thieves came to a house to steal something. They dug a hole in the wall of the house. One of them crawled into the house while the other waited outside.
There lived many mice in the house. The woman in the moonlight saw a mouse crawl into the house. “look! In comes one.” She said to the man in the house. Te thief was so frightened that he hurriedly crawled out of the house and said to the one waiting outside, “She found me when I was just in.” But the thief outside didn’t belie
ve him, so he said, “Let us two try to crawl into the house together.” At that time, two mice happened to crawl into the house too. The woman saw the mice and shouted, “In come two. Catch them!” the two thieves were terribly frightened. The man in he house said, “You saw them come in but where are they?” I will catch them tonight.” The two thieves started to run aw
ay at once.
The two thieves wanted to make it clear whether they had been found or not the night before. The next day they acted as men sellin
g sweet potatoes and came before the house. The man and the woman were ploughing in their fields. The rope broke and the woman came home for one. She saw two men selling sweet potatoes and wanted to buy some. She picked out two which looked like mice. At the time the man couldn’t wait of her any longer and he ran back from the fields to hurry her up. The woman showed the sweet potatoes to the man and said, “How they look like the two of last night.” The man said, “ I asked you to fetch a rope. Why don’t you hurry for it?” the two thieves ran away very qui
ckly without their sweet potatoesThe two thieves failed to steal anything from the house because ________.
| A．they were found out |
| B．they were frightened by what they had heard in the house |
| C．they didn’t work together well with each other |
| D．mice stopped them from doing so |
From the last paragraph we know that __________.
| A．the two thieves were farmer selling potatoes. |
| B．The woman recognized the two thieves |
| C．The woman pretended to know nothing about the two thieves and mad fun of them |
| D．The two thieves didn’t know that they were not found at all |
When the woman said “How thy look like the two of last night”___________.
| A．she referred to the two thieves | B．she meant nothing |
| C．she said it on purpose | D．she referred to the two mice |
“__________” is the title for this passage.
| A．Two Clever Thieves | B．Terrible Mice |
C． Hit the Mark by a Fluke |
D．A Clever Couple |
Which of the following statements is false?
| A．The two thieves not only failed to steal things but also lost their sweet potatoes. |
| B．Whenever thy found mice, the people in the house would try to catch them. |
| C．The two thieves ran away at once because they thought the woman had seen them. |
| D．The man let the woman go home for a rope, which would be used for catching the thieves. |
Modern zoos are different from those built fifty years ago. Those zoos were places where people could go to see animals from many parts of the world. The animals lived in cages with iron bars. Although the zoo keepers took good care of them, many of the animals did not feel comfortable, and they often felt ill.
In modern zoos, people can see animals in more natural conditions. The animals are given more freedom 
in nature. Even the appearance of zoos has changed. Trees and grass grow in cages, and water flows through the places the animal live in. there are few bars; instead, there is often a deep ditch, filled with water, which surrounds a space where several sorts of animals live toge
ther as they world naturally. In an American zoo, the visitor can walk through a huge special cage that is filled with trees, some small animals and many birds, and large enough for birds
to live naturally. In a 
zoo in New York, with the us of special night, people can observe certain animals that are active only at night, when most zoos are closed. Some zoos have special places for visitors to watch animals that live in the desert or under water.
Modern zoos not only show animals to visitors, but also keep and save rare animals. For this reason, fifty years from now, the grandchildren of today’s visitors will still be able to enjoy watching these animalsIt seems that ______ is something most important for animals.
A eating good food B. living in cages
C. living with other animals D. living in natural co
nditionsIn modern zoos __________.
A．different kinds of animals are kept separately. |
| B．Animals are no longer taken good care of. |
| C．Animals have more freedom |
| D．visitors can walk where they live |
In modern zoos ___________ feel comfortable.
| A．the animals, the zoos keepers | B．the visitors, not the animals |
| C．neither visitors nor animals | D．both visitors and the animals |
In some zoos people can ____________.
| A．walk through huge special cages to watch all sots of animals |
| B．see animals which live in special conditions |
| C．during the day observe animals that are active at night. |
| D．Watch all rare animals that may ot be seen in the future |
The main idea of the passage is that __________.
| A．zoos are now places where animals can live naturally |
| B．zoos are places where people can see animals from all over the world |
| C．there should be old and modern zoos alike |
| D．rare animals may soon die out |
A kind of little cars may some day take the place of today’s ones. If everyone drives such cars in the future, there will be less pollution in the air. There will al
so be more space for parking cars in cities, and the streets will be less crowded. Three such cars can fit in the space now needed for one car of the usual size.
The little cars will cost much less to own and to drive. Driving will be safer, too, as these little cars can go only 65 kilometers an hour.
The cars of the future will be fine for getting around the city, but they will not be useful for long trips. Little cars will go 450 kilometers before needing to stop for more gasoline.
If big cars are still used along with the small ones, two sets of roads will be needed in the future. Some roads will be used for the gig, fast cars and other roads will be needed for the slower small ones.There is much pollution in the air today because ___________.
| A．people drive big cars |
| B．people drive little cars |
| C．the cars go 65 kilometers an hour |
| D．the cars can go 450 kilometers an hour |
The usual size of cars today is _______ that of the future cars.
A．much smaller than |
B．much the same as |
| C．three times as large as | D．a little larger than |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Big cars cost more to own and to drive |
| B．Big cars are not useful for long trips |
| C．The cars of the future will be smaller than today’s cars. |
| D．Small cars are slower than big cars. |
The street will be less crowded because ______________.
A there will be fewer cars in the future
B. driving future cars will be safer
C. there will be fewer passengers in the street
D. future cars will be much smaller Two sets of roads may be needed in the future because_________.
| A．there will be too many cars in the future |
B．more and more people will get around a c ity |
| C．bit cars and little cars may be used along with each other |
| D．it looks more beautiful to have two sets of roads |