The English proficiency of Chinese women is much better than that of men, according to a study released in Shanghai yesterday, Chinese women scored three points higher than men in the English Proficiency Index(英语水平指数) released by EF Education, a language training company, mainly English. Worldside, women scored one point higher than men on average.
“This shows that Chinese women are more used to the Chinese education mode, the report said. Chinese women use their gift of language to gain success.”
However, Chinese mainlanders English proficiency ranked second to last in Asia, despite the great time and effort that many people invest in learning the language, the report said, China’s mainland is ranked the 36th in the index of 54 countries and regions where English is not the native language. That’s down by seven places comparing with that last year. The Chinese mainland belongs to the low-proficiency tier(低水平层次) and is ranked just above Thailand in Asia. This year’s index has increased the weight of listening tests, while decreasing the importance of grammar and vocabulary exams, which partly caused the ranking change, researchers said. Moreover, test-oriented(以考试为目的) and rote-based(死记硬背)learning methods often used in China hurt the language skills of Chinese students, education experts said.
The study compared test scores of more than 1.7 million adults in the 54 countries and regions. Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands have the best command of English, while Libya has the lowest English proficiency level. European countries generally performed well. But Italy, Spain and Portugal, some of the countries at the heart of the euro zone crisis, are being dragged down by poor English, according to the report. Singapore is 12th, the best in Asia, followed by Malaysia and India, South Korea; at 21st, and Japan, at 22nd, performed disappointingly low despite their focus on education; the report said.
One in every four people frequently uses English at work on China’s mainland, nevertheless nearly 15 percent said they never use English, lower than the world average level, according to the study.What is EF Education?
| A．It is a language test organization |
| B．It is an English teaching school. |
| C．It is a language training company. |
| D．It is an organization studying human. |
By what do Chinese women gain success in English learning?
| A．Cheating. | B．Gift. |
| C．Learning by heart. | D．Asking for help. |
What can we learn from paragraph 3?
| A．Chinese mainlanders’ English proficiency ranked second in the index of 54 countries and regions. |
| B．Chinese mainlanders’ English proficiency ranked 29th last year. |
| C．The Chinese mainland belongs to the midproficiency tier. |
| D．This year’s index has increased the weight of grammar and vocabulary exams. |
Which of the following order is TRUE in the ranking of the English Proficiency Index?
| A．Denmark > India > Japan > Singapore > Libya |
| B．Denmark > Japan > Singapore > India > Libya |
| C．India>Japan > Denmark > Singapore > Libya |
| D．Denmark > Singapore > India > Japan > Libya |
Everyone has got two personalities(个性)—one shown to the world and the other secret and real. You don't show your secret personality when you are awake because you can control your behavior, but when you are asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, people frequently change their position. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in.
If you go to sleep on your back, you are a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don't like to upset people, so you never express your real feeling. You are quiet, shy and you aren’t very confident.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive person. You worry a lot and you are always easily upset. You're very stubborn(顽固的), but you aren’t very ambitious(有野心的). You usually live for today, not tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good time.
If you sleep curled(卷曲) up, you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself, so you are often defensive. You are shy and you don't normally like meeting people. You prefer to be on your own. You are easily hurt.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced(通情达理的) personality. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You are usually careful. You have a confident personality. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don't often get depressed(沮丧的). You always say what you think even if it annoys people.What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Two personalities. |
| B．Proper sleeping positions. |
| C．Sleeping positions and personalities. |
| D．Ways to tell your real personalities. |
According to the text, you naturally show your secret personality when_____.
| A．you are awake |
| B．you are asleep |
| C．you can't control your behaviour |
| D．you change your sleeping position |
Tom is used to sleeping on his side. Which of the following can NOT describe him?
| A．Well-balanced. | B．Careful. |
| C．Selfish. | D．Anxious sometimes. |
If you are shy and often defensive, you are used to sleeping____.
| A．on your back | B．curled up |
| C．on your stomach | D．on your side |
Obama Still Smokes in Secret
US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers．He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry．The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products．
At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18 th birthday．
Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hadn’t completely kicked the habit．Every now and then he still smokes in secret．
“As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time．Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes．Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No．” Obama said at a news conference．
“I don' t do it in front of my lads．I don’t do it in front of my family．I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up, " he said．
"Once you go down this path, it' s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important．The new law is not about me, it' s about the next generation of kids coming up．What we don ' t want is kids going down that path," he said．
Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases．The new law makes life difficult for．
| A．Obama | B．tobacco industry |
| C．White House | D．US Food and Drug Administration |
What do we know about Obama?
| A．He no longer smokes． |
| B．He still smokes as usual． |
| C．He began to smoke at eighteen． |
| D．He is trying hard to give up smoking． |
According to the passage, Obama is most concerned about ．
| A．children | B．officials | C．his family | D．businessmen |
The Body Temperature
The temperature of your body should be always just the same, no matter whether the weather is hot or cold. That is why the doctor uses his thermometer （温度计）when your are sick.
The body keeps the same temperature all the time ,because it balances the heat it produces and it gives off. It is always burning up food and , producing heat. It can produce heat faster when it needs to give off heat than when it becomes too warm. Let’s see how this happen.
The heat of your body is given off mainly through the skin. When you are cold, your skin is tight and shows “good flesh”. When you get chilly, you must dance around to keep warm or else you will shiver. Then your muscles begin to work, burn up fuel, and produce more heat. It is not pleasant to shiver, so you usually prefer to warm up by exercise, or put on more clothes to keep heat in.
When you are warm, the skin is loose and soft. It is so supplied with blood that heat is given off rapidly. If you get too warm, you begin to sweat ,and more body heat is used in evaporating the moisture（水蒸气） from your skin. You wear less clothing, too, in warm weather or warm room, so that warm can be given off freely. You feel less like exercising because your body is warm already, and the extra heat produced by exercise makes you uncomfortable.
You can see from the way you feel differently in different kinds of weather. In summer, when it is warm, you feel tired and lazy. You do not care to work or play, but enjoy lying and doing nothing. When you get out of doors in winter, the cold air makes you feel lively. You want to play.Which is another title suitable of the passage?
| A．The Patients’ Temperature |
| B．The Body Temperature Should Always Be the Same |
| C．The Body Temperature |
| D．The Temperature and Your Skin |
How does the body keep the same temperature all the time?
| A．It is always producing heat from food. |
| B．It gives off the heat produced in it. |
| C．It balances the heat it gets and loses. |
| D．It stops producing heat when necessary. |
When one feels chilly, which of the following will he do?
| A．His skin becomes tight in order to keep warm. |
| B．He does exercises to make his muscle produce more heat. |
| C．He puts on more clothes to keep heat in. |
| D．He keeps shivering to produce more heat. |
When in summer, people prefer to_____.
| A．work | B．play | C．do exercise | D．relax and do nothing |
If you are in a town in a western country, you'll often see people walking with their dogs. It is still true that a dog is the most useful animal in the world. But the reason why one keeps a dog has changed Once upon a time, a man met a dog and wanted it to help him in the fight against other animals, and he found that the dog listened to him and did what he told him to. Later people used dogs for hunting other animals, and the dogs didn't eat what they got until their master agreed. So dogs were used for driving sheep and guarding chicks. But now the people in the towns and cities do not need dogs to fight other animals. Of course they keep them to frighten thieves, but the most important reason is that people feel lonely in the city. For a child, a dog is his best friend when he has no friends to play with. For a young wife, a dog is her child when she doesn’t have her own. For old people, a dog is also a child when their real children have grown up and left. Now people do not have to use a dog, but they keep it as a friend, just like a member of the family._______are more useful than a dog in the world.
| A．No other animals | B．Some animals |
| C．Many animals | D．A few animals |
In the past, people kept dogs because dogs _________.
| A．could fight against other animals | B．met the people |
| C．did not eat other animals | D．helped and listened to people |
Now people keep dogs in the cities because dogs_____.
| A．fight other animals | B．are lonely |
| C．are like their friends | D．are afraid of the thieves |
A dog can be _____.
| A．a child's friend only | B．a young woman's son |
| C．old people's real child | D．everybody's friend |
阅读下面短文并回答问题，然后将答案写到答题卡相应的位置(请注意问题后的词数要求)。
【1】Who says you need super power to save the world? On April 22, more than a billion people worldwide celebrated Earth Day by taking part in green activities in their communities. However, you needn’t wait until Earth Day. You needn’t be an adult, either! Every day, young people across the globe are doing their part to keep the Earth healthy and green. These are just a few kid heroes for the planet.
Manatee (海牛) minder
【2】When she was in second grade, Stephanie Cohen read about a baby manatee hit by a boat off the coast of Florida. Biologists saved the manatee. But caring for the sea creature was expensive. Stephanie took up a collection and raised 27 dollars in one day. Now 18, Stephanie still raises money to help these "Gentle Giants".
Goodbye paper bags
【3】When Adrienne Smith, 15, was in sixth grade, she noticed that many of her classmates carried paper lunch bags. To help kid cut down on waste, she invented an eco-friendly lunch bag. It is partly made from recycled plastic bottles. "Kids like it because they can fold it up and put it in their backpacks," said Adrienne. She sells the bags at greenearbag.com. And some of the money goes to charity.
He's skiing to save the earth
【4】Parker Liantaud, 15, wanted to raise awareness about the effects of climate change on the polar regions. He set out to become one of the youngest people ever to ski the North Pole. Although the cruel conditions forced Parker and his guide to finish the last 15 miles of the journey by helicopter, Parker felt he met his goal to inspire others. "All young people have the power to make a change," he said.
He ______ the earth
【5】Every year, Max Kesselman, from Pennsylvania, USA, celebrates his birthday December 3 by cleaning up the Earth. When Max was 6, he noticed trash on the sides of the road. He wrote a letter to local leaders suggesting a cleanup day on his birthday.(words:353)What is the main idea of the passage? （no more than 8 words）
What does the word "it" (Line 3, Paragraph3) probably refer to? （no more than 5 words ）
Fill in the blanks of the title of Paragraph 5 with proper words． （no more than 5 words）
Why didn't Parker ski the North Pole all the way?（No more than 7 words）
Write out at least one other Green Activity you can take part in?（no more than 8 words）