Every year thousands of young people in England finish school and then take a year off before they start work or go to university. Some young people go to other countries and work as volunteers. Volunteers give their time to help people. For example, they work in schools or hospitals, or they do something helpful for the environment.
Pauline Jones, 18, lives in Cardiff, Wales. Next year she wants to go to university to study Chinese, but now she’s living in Belize. Pauline says, “I’m working with other people here to save the coral reefs (珊瑚礁) in the sea near Belize. The reefs here are beautiful, but if the sea water is very polluted (污染), the coral dies. I’m helping to do research on the coral and the fish that live around the reefs. All over the world, coral reefs are dying. We need to do something about the problem before it’s too late.”
“I’m staying with a family here and I help do some housework. I don’t get any money, but
that’s OK. I love my work here, and I’m learning a lot about the people of Belize—and myself!
When I finish my work, I want to stay here for another three months. I want to travel around
Belize and Central America.”Some young people from England _______ after they finish school.
| A．go to university abroad(在国外) |
| B．spend one year abroad as volunteers |
| C．go to work for money |
| D．start work in schools or hospitals |
Pauline Jones, an eighteen-year-old girl, is living in _______ now.
| A．England | B．China | C．Belize | D．Cardiff |
Pauline Jones is _______ with other people.
| A．studying Chinese in a university |
| B．working to save the coral reefs |
| C．helping do some housework |
| D．doing some research in Wales |
From the passage, we know that the coral reefs ______.
| A．will die because of the pollution |
| B．are not as beautiful as before |
| C．cannot live without fish in the sea |
| D．will probably be sold for money |
Pauline Jones wants to after she finishes her work as a volunteer.
| A．stay there for another year |
| B．go back home to start work |
| C．learn about the people home |
| D．travel around Central America |
Improvements in technology often happen overnight. Some gadgets get smaller and faster. Others are replaced (代替) by newer things like smartphones. They can do hundreds of things. Here are some old gadgets that people used to use.
①________
Do you have a landline at home? These are phones that people plug (插入) into their living room walls. Mobile phones didn’t use to be so common at that time, so most families had a landline. But landlines only worked at home. What did people do when they were outside and needed to call someone? They looked for a pay phone! Then, most people had their own mobile phones and many homes no longer had landlines.
②________
People today store plenty of information online, or on SD cards. But in the 1980s and 1990s, people used to use floppy disks. The first floppy disks were large, expensive, and not very useful — each disk could store just 175 KB of information! Later, floppy disks got smaller and better. But even the best ones could only hold 1.44 MB. You would need three or four disks just for one song, and about 22,000 disks to match the storage (储存空间) available on a 32 GB phone!
③________
It’s easy to take photos today. People often have thousands just on their phones! But photos used to be expensive, and people took fewer of them. To take a photo, you had to buy a roll of film. This allowed you to take about 30 photos. After finishing the roll, you left it at a shop. The shop developed the photos to make them be seen, which you could collect after a few days.
Technology changes all the time, and the gadgets we use today will one day be old. What do you think will be next to disappear?
(1). What does the underlined word “gadgets” mean in Paragraph 1?
| A． |
Toys. |
B． |
Tools. |
C． |
Games. |
D． |
Phones. |
(2). Match the title with each paragraph.
a. Goodbye Disks b. Music to My Ears c. Picture This d. Call Me e. Film Development
| A． |
①-d, ②-b, ③-e |
B． |
①-d, ②-a, ③-c |
C． |
①-c, ②-a, ③-b |
D． |
①-c, ②-b, ③-e |
(3). What were the first floppy disks like?
| A． |
They could store much. |
B． |
They were very useful. |
| C． |
They cost a lot of money. |
D． |
They were easy to carry. |
(4). What can we get from the passage?
| A． |
It was convenient to take photos with film. |
| B． |
People outside used landlines to call someone. |
| C． |
Improvements in technology change people’s life. |
| D． |
For a time, many people had pay phones at home. |
(5). What would be the best title for the passage?
| A． |
The Changing Phones. |
B． |
The Products of Tomorrow. |
| C． |
Old Things We Use Today. |
D． |
The Things We Used to Use. |
Indonesians love to celebrate. They believe that celebrating and eating together brings good luck. Let’s party Indonesia-style.
Would you be surprised to find a New Year’s Day in March? Indonesians on the island of Bali are getting ready to ring in Nyepi, their New Year. It falls in March or April on the night of the new moon and is a symbol of a fresh start for the people and the island of Bali. On the eve of Nyepi, families and friends get together in the market. They carry a huge monster which is made of wood and other materials around the village three times. After that, people set it on fire, hoping to drive out evil (邪恶的) spirits.
After Nyepi, a Turun tanah ceremony begins in honor of a child’s first steps. At the Turun Tanah, parents invite friends and family to a party to introduce the baby. They put different objects such as a bracelet (手镯), pen, mirror or toy computer around their baby. If the baby picks up a pen, he or she may be a writer. A child who picks up a gold bracelet may be rich.
While Turun tanah celebrates the future of a family. Galungan celebrates its past. Ancestors who have died return ‘home’ during this ten-day celebration. And living relatives do their best to make them happy. Tall bamboo poles line the street. People attend the ceremonies and visit their family and village temples. Actors and dancers give performances that tell stories of good fighting against evil.
A year of festivals has come to an end. Don’t worry: next year, Indonesia will be buzzing (发出嗡嗡声) again with celebrations, so welcome to the party!
(1). What’s the theme (主题) of the passage?
| A． |
Celebrations. |
B． |
Feelings. |
C． |
Family. |
D． |
Health. |
(2). What do people do during Galungan? Check and choose the right answer.
①Watch performances. ②Discuss new babies’ future.
③Visit their family and village temples. ④Put the bamboo poles along the street.
⑤Carry a huge monster around the village.
| A． |
①②⑤ |
B． |
①③④ |
C． |
②③④ |
D． |
③④⑤ |
(3). Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A． |
The baby who picks up a pen may be a writer. |
| B． |
Nyepi usually comes after Turun tanah in Bali. |
| C． |
New Year’s Day in Indonesia begins in February. |
| D． |
People fire bamboo poles to drive away the monster. |
(4). Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?
| A． |
|
B． |
|
C． |
|
D． |
|
(5). What is the writer’s purpose according to the passage?
| A． |
To welcome us to the festivals. |
B． |
To show us how to treat the ancestors. |
| C． |
To tell us how to hold the party. |
D． |
To teach us how to fight against the evil. |
Why is the sea salt? Long before we discovered scientific ways of thinking about it, we explained it in a story. Even though the answer isn’t scientific, it holds some other truth in it — especially about the human heart.
Long ago, a poor old couple lived on the coast. One day, an old storyteller came to their village. The old couple gave him a meal. In return, he gave them a coffee mill (磨粉机) and said, “Say, ‘Mill, please grind (磨粉)’,” and it’ll make whatever you want, to stop it, say ‘Mill, please cease (停止) grinding’.”
Soon the old couple had a much better life. They’d been happy people, and they didn’t need much more. But the young couple next door were never satisfied. When they saw the old couple wearing good clothes and buying good food, they burnt with envy (羡慕). So one day, the young husband went to the old couple’s house secretly and heard, “Mill, please grind hot chocolate!” He was surprised to see it coming out.
Then the young couple stole the mill from the old couple. With it, they rode a horse and set off down the coast, where no one would know them. Along the way, the husband showed proudly and asked, “What do you want it to make?” “Oh. I don’t know. Why not salt?” the wife said. “Mill, please grind salt!” he said. “It works!” the wife shouted. But then they noticed the salt went everywhere. “Make it stop,” the wife said. But the husband didn’t know how. “Mill, please stop grinding! Please, no more!” His words didn’t work. The mill kept grinding. Finally, the young husband threw the mill into the sea as far as he could.
And there it’s been, for hundreds of years, endlessly grinding salt. That’s why the sea is salt.
(1). The passage is probably a(n) ________.
| A． |
folk story |
B． |
instruction |
C． |
science fiction |
D． |
science report |
(2). Put the things happened to the mill in correct order.
a. It began to produce salt. b. The young husband threw it.
c. The young couple stole it. d. The old couple got it.
| A． |
b-d-a-c |
B． |
b-a-d-c |
C． |
d-a-c-b |
D． |
d-c-a-b |
(3). What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
| A． |
The coffee. |
B． |
The horse. |
C． |
The mill. |
D． |
The chocolate. |
(4). How did the young husband’s feelings change?
| A． |
sorry — sad — excited |
B． |
thirsty — excited — afraid |
| C． |
happy — nervous — proud |
D． |
surprised — thankful — happy |
(5). What does the word “truth” in Paragraph 1 imply (暗指)?
| A． |
Being patient. |
B． |
Working properly. |
C． |
Being satisfied. |
D． |
Listening carefully. |
|
●Gift shop Open Daily 10:00 a.m.—5:30 p.m. ●Children’s playground and activity area ●Visitors may adopt (领养) a rescued animal for free!
Admission: Adults: ＄7 Children (up to 16): ＄5 Children (3 & under): Free Family (2 adults & 2 children): ＄20 FREE CAR AND COACH PARK. TOILET FOR THE DISABLED AND WHEELCHAIR ACCESS (通道) IN ALL AREAS. |
(1). When can the visitors buy the gifts?
| A． |
At 9:30 a.m. |
B． |
At 11:00 a.m. |
C． |
At 6:00 p.m. |
D． |
At 10:00 p.m. |
(2). How much is a ticket for a 15-year-old boy?
| A． |
＄5. |
B． |
＄7. |
C． |
＄12. |
D． |
＄20. |
(3). What do we know about the museum?
| A． |
It doesn’t provide a free parking lot. |
B． |
The animals there can’t be adopted. |
| C． |
It offers the disabled special service. |
D． |
Children under 3 are not welcome there. |
阅读下面短文，根据短文内容回答问题。
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Message Dear Wang, Great to hear you are coming to the USA! I do hope you can stop by and visit us in the Big Apple — a popular name for New York City. There are so many things to see and do here. It would take a lifetime to list them all: Chinatown, Wall Street, Central Park, to name only a few. But knowing you as I do, I’d suggest walking through Midtown Manhattan. It is very popular in the USA and just can’t be missed! People often say that no visit to New York City is complete without a trip to Broadway! Broadway with its cafés, street performers（表演者）and colorful signs really represents New York’s loud spirit! As Broadway is the heart of the American theater industry, it’s at night when it truly comes alive. Broadway is well-known for its big theaters. They show Shakespeare, modern plays, dance shows or musicals — take your pick! With your love of singing and interest in drama（戏剧）, I’d recommend（推荐）a musical. It’s a great and moving experience that I’m sure you would love — a bit like Peking opera! Many musicals are based on classic stories like Les Miserables or Peter Pan, and they might even inspire（激发）you to read the books, too! My big news is that I am going to China on vacation this winter. I am looking for places of interest in China. Can you recommend some to me? See you soon! Leslie |
(1). What is New York City also called?
__________________________________________
(2). Is Broadway famous for its big theaters?
__________________________________________
(3). What are many musicals based on?
__________________________________________
(4). When is Leslie going to China on vacation?
__________________________________________
(5). Which place of interest in China will you recommend to Leslie?
__________________________________________
