Where did that number come from?
Eleven and Twelve
The reason behind the change in number naming is that eleven comes from the German term ainlif, which translates to “one left”. Twelve follows the same rule. It comes from twalif—“two left”. Why teen is used instead of lif for 13 through 19? There is something sadly lost in history.
911 for US Emergency (急救) Calls
Early phones didn’t use phone numbers—the operator had to connect your call by hand—and this led to the need for an emergency code (信号). But later phone numbers became popular, that changed. In 1967, 911 was chosen as the nationwide emergency call because it was easy to remember and could be quickly dialed (拨) on the phone.
26.2 Miles in a Marathon (马拉松)
The story began with an ancient Greek soldier carrying message from a battlefield (战场) in Marathon to Athens. The modern marathon was born as a flagship event in the first Olympic Games, in 1896, with a distance (距离) of about 25 miles (40 km), as long as the distance from Marathon to Athens. But race organizers for the 1908 Olympic Games in London wanted to add something special. The race began at Windsor Castle and ended at White City Stadium, with runners finishing only after passing the royal (皇室的) box. The distance was 26.2 miles (42.1 km). And since 1924 this distance has been kept in marathon.
28 Days in February
Before using the Gregorian calendar that we use today, one of the first Roman calendars had only 304 days and ten months (March through December), with six months of 30 days and four of 31 days. The second king of Rome improved the old calendar. He added 50 days for January and February. To make the new months longer, he took one day from each of the 30-day months, making 56 days to divide between January and February (or 28 days each). Later January was given one more day to add up to 355 days a year, but February still had 28 days. That’s how it became the shortest month and it stayed that way ever since.Which language do eleven and twelve come from?
| A．English. | B．German. | C．French. | D．Russian. |
When was the number 911 chosen for US emergency calls?
| A．In 1896. | B．In 1908. | C．In 1924. | D．In 1967. |
The marathon distance was made longer at London Olympic Games because ______.
| A．the British was a little weak in maths |
| B．the British didn’t like the Greek story |
| C．the British loved the royal family very much |
| D．the British wanted to make the race different |
How many days were there in each month after the king improved the old calendar?
| A．28, 29 or 31. | B．28, 30 or 31. |
| C．28, 29 or 30. | D．29, 30 or 31. |
You want to know about my staying in America, right? Well, to tell you the truth, it is really an eye-opening experience here.
In China, I had English classes five times a week since fifth grade. However, I didn’t know how different textbook English could be from everyday English until I came to Hotchkiss School, Conmecticut.
When I first studied English, I was told to say “I am fine” when people say “How are you?” But in the US, I found that people say “I am good” or “I’m tired.”
One day, someone greeted me with “What’s up?” It made me confused (困惑的). I thought for a moment and then smiled because I didn’t know what to say.
Since then, I have discovered more and more differences between Chinese and US cultures.
To my surprise, US girls spend a lot of time in the burning sun to get a tan. However, in China, girls try every possible way to get their skin paler, or “whiter”.
I’m also surprised by how hard-working US students are. In China, schoolwork is almost everything, so we study hard. But here, a “good” student gets good grades, does a lot for the public and plays sports or music.
The kids here are so talented. I am starting to be sorry that I gave up playing the piano at an early age and that I have never thought about sports.According to the writer, textbook English is everyday English.
| A．quite different from | B．the same as |
| C．more difficult than | D．similar to |
What does the underline word “tan” in the sixth paragraph mean in Chinese?
| A．晒黑 | B．晒白 | C．能量 | D．美貌 |
A good US student spends his/her time .
| A．only in doing homework |
| B．only on sports or music |
| C．on studies, sports or music, and public work |
| D．on getting good grades |
阅读表达 阅读短文，按要求完成短文后的各项任务。(10分)
Chris is not a traditional explorer（探险者）----he usually works in an office for a large organization. Yet his job can sometimes be just as exciting and dangerous as being an explorer.
Chris works for MSF, an organization also known as Doctors Without Borders (无国界医生). MSF sends trained doctors all over the world to help people after a war or a disaster. Chris is a doctor from France who has travelled to many places to organize programmes that help people.
At the moment, there are over 27,000 trained medical staff taking part in MSF projects and tasks. The organization received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. All kinds of doctors can volunteer for MSF. They need to be prepared to go almost anywhere in the world and, of course, they should expect difficult conditions. Doctors with experience in tropical（热带的）diseases are especially useful because most of MSF’s work is in Africa. When MSF accepts a doctor for a task, he has to go for at least six months. When doctors have completed a few tasks, they might be sent on an emergency（紧急的） task following a disaster, such as an earthquake.
But why would a doctor leave a comfortable life and a good salary（工资） to join MSF? According to Chris, the experience you get is a great help in your career. Besides, just like the explorers of the past, you need to keep an open mind and learn to mix well with the people you meet. Most importantly, at the end of each task, you have made a real difference to people’s lives.Does Chris work for a large organization?
When does MSF send trained doctors all over the world to help people?
How many medical staff are taking part in MSF projects and tasks?
What kind of doctors are greatly needed in Africa?
According to Chris, why is his work important to other people?
任务型阅读阅读短文，按要求完成短文后的各项任务。请将答案写在题后方框内。（每空一词）（计10分）
Mistakes are great teachers
Mistakes are great teachers. Success comes to those who are willing to risk making mistakes to achieve their goals and wishes, and who are able to learn from those mistakes. And in order to learn from mistakes you must be willing to pay for them.
Mistakes can be very valuable, but when you try to get others to pay for your mistakes, then you lose the chance to learn from them. When something goes wrong, it’s usually very easy to find someone else’s mistakes, but is that useful ? Of course not.
Much of the value of mistakes comes from the fact that they need to cost that must be paid. The person who learns the most from a mistake is the one who pays the price for that mistake.
When you make a mistake, what you shouldn’t do is run away from it. You need to accept it because you can learn a lot from it. The mistake has been made, so make the most of it. Pay the price, learn the lesson, and grow that much stronger.
When you make a mistake, don’t look back at it long. Remember the reason for it, and then look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. The post cannot be changed. The present is still in your power. Make full use of your mistakes to achieve your goals and wishes.
| Mistakes are great teachers |
|
| Who can |
Success comes to those not only achieve their goals and wishes at the risk of |
| When you make mistakes |
Don’t |
| The value of mistakes |
You can learn a lot from mistakes and grow stronger by _ |
| Offer some __ |
When you make mistakes, remember |
Some people have to use public transport, some dislike it and still some love it. If everyone has a car and drives anywhere they want to go, there will be serious traffic problems on the road. Luckily, trains are a good form of public transport.
British people use trains a lot. This is especially so for people who are travelling from London to Paris. Every day about 20 trains leave London. They travel at a very high speed and people feel glad that the trains take only 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach Paris. It's much faster to travel by train than by bus or by car. This is because people have to drive cars or buses very carefully and lowly for many reasons, such as speed limits and traffic jams. However, when you are travelling by train, the speed is almost the same and there is no traffic jam for a train.
Besides, Londoners think taking a train is one of the safest ways of travelling on the ground. Trains take quite a number of quality tests while they are made. More importantly, they have to take many safety checks before they are used on the rail track.
What's more, trains in Britain are comfortable and provide fine services for their users. When you are on a London train, you will find that the train has comfortable tables and seats where people can sit. They also provide food services and power plugs(电源插头) for personal computers or mobile phone.The main idea of the passage is that ________.
| A．British people enjoy public transport |
| B．it's fast to travel from London to Paris |
| C．trains in Britain provide fine services for their users |
| D．trains are a good form of public transport for Londoners |
In a traffic jams on the road, ________.
| A．drivers can drive fast |
| B．drivers can drive carelessly |
| C．cars are not moving fast |
| D．cars will stop working |
The 3rd paragraph of the passage mainly talks about the ________ of trains.
| A．speed | B．safety |
| C．services | D．problems |
Londoners often travel by train because trains are ________.
| A．old and slow | B．large, clean and powerful |
| C．fine and important | D．fast, safe and comfortable |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．We can travel from London to Paris in less than 2hours. |
| B．We can do our work with personal computers on the train. |
| C．We have to wait till we get off the train in order to have some food. |
| D．The trains are only checked for quality reasons before they are used. |
What do you think of black cats? Are they unluckier than cats of other colors? Many people in Western countries think so. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), did a study on cat colours and people’s understandings of cat personalities.
The study found that people do judge(判断) cat personalities by color. Scientists did a survey(调查) on the Internet. There were 49 statements (描述) matching five cat colorings with 10 personalities. People think orange and bi-coloured (双色的) cats are friendly, tri-coloured (三色的) cats are not generous, and white cats are calm, lazy and shy. As for black cats, people think they don’t have special personalities.
But why do so many people dislike keeping black cats as pets? People think black cats have less special personalities, which might be because of their bad reputation (口碑). They think black cats may bring bad luck, especially at Halloween. Movies and television shows also make people believe that.
Although people have these ideas, UC Berkeley scientists give another reason: people don’t think black cats are pretty enough. After all, nothing can show black cats are unluckier than other cats. “You can’t judge a cat by its colour, because it’s the personality of the cat, not the colour, that will let you know if the cat is right for you,” Cathy Marden, a scientist said.Many people in Western countries may think black cats are ______.
| A．lovely animals | B．a sign of bad luck |
| C．a sign of good luck | D．unfriendly animals |
The main idea of paragraph 2 is that ______.
| A．people often complain(抱怨) about black cats on the Internet |
| B．people think cats of different colours have different personalities |
| C．black cats are less popular than other cats |
| D．the study is a great success |
According to the study, people think that______.
| A．black cats have special personalities | B．orange and bi-coloured cats are generous |
| C．cats with three colours are friendly | D．white cats are calm, lazy and shy |
. People don’t like black cats for the following reasons EXCEPT ______.
| A．black cats often appear in TV shows |
| B．black cats bring bad luck to people |
| C．black cats have bad reputations |
| D．they don’t think black cats are beautiful |
The passage mainly talks about ______.
| A．why black cats are popular in movies |
| B．why people are not willing to keep black cats as pets |
| C．different colour cats have different personalities |
| D．different people have different ideas on black cats |