People in the United states honor their parents with two special days: Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June.
Mother’s Day was proclaimed （宣告） a day for national observance by President Woodrow Wilson in 1915. Ann Jarvis from Grafton, West Virginia, had started the idea to have a day to honor mothers. She was the one who chose the second Sunday in May and also began the custom of wearing a carnation （康乃馨）.
In 1909, Mrs. Dodd from Spokane, Washington, thought of the idea of a day to honor fathers. She wanted to honor her own father, William Smart. After her mother died, he had the responsibility of raising a family of five sons and a daughter. In 1910, the first Father’s Day was observed in Spokane. Senator Margaret Chase Smith helped to establish Father’s day as a national commemorative day, in 1972.
These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes (象征) a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery (墓地). On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues( 烧烤) for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.According to the passage, which of the following about the second Sunday in May is NOT true?
| A．It is a day to show love to mothers. |
| B．It is a day to wea carnations. |
| C．It is a day for people to visit the cemetery. |
| D．It is a day for many people to attend religious services. |
Choose the right time order of the following events.
a. The first Father’s Day was observed.
b. Mother’s Day was proclaimed a day for national observance.
c. Father’s Day was proclaimed a day for national observance.
d. The idea of honoring fathers was 1909.
| A．a,b,c,d | B．d,a,b,c |
| C．b,a,c,d | D．d,a,c,b |
Who plays the most important role in Father’s Day becoming a national commemorative day?
| A．Mrs. Dodd. | B．Margaret Chase Smith. |
| C．Ann Jarvis. | D．Woodrow Wilson. |
From the passage, we know in the US .
| A．one should wear a red carnation if one’s mother pass away |
| B．on Mother’s Day, families often go out to have barbecues |
| C．on Father’s Day, people often stay at home to celebrate the special day |
| D．the purpose to have these two special days is to show love to parents. |
The author’s purpose of writing this passage is to .
| A．call on people to love and respect their parents |
| B．introduce Mother’s Day and Fathers’ Day |
| C．tell the difference between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day |
| D．show how important fathers and mothers are |
Before Alaska became part of the U.S., it had been owned by Russia. Trading posts and small settlements were scattered along the coast. The rest of land was left unexplored. The Russians were mainly interested in the wealth of furs from the vast herds of seals they found there.
By the mid-1800’s, most of the seal herds had been wiped out, and Russia no longer wanted to keep Alaska. William Seward, Secretary of State for President Johnson, believed the United States should buy Alaska from Russia. President Johnson wasn’t so sure it was a wise way to spend U.S. money, but he agreed to let Seward discuss it with the Russians. Acting quickly, Seward made a deal. On March 30, 1867, he signed an agreement for the U.S. to pay seven million dollars for the land.
Many people thought it was a foolish waste of America’s money. They called the deal “Seward’s folly”. Then gold was discovered in Alaska and public opinion changed quickly.
Seward did not live to see the true value of Alaska. He died in 1872, five years after making the purchase (购买). Each year, Alaska’s natural resources have brought in many times the $7,000,000 paid for it. Natural gas, coal, oil, lumber, seafood and other minerals, besides the gold first found, have made it a valuable addition to the United States. In 1959, Alaska became the 49th state of the United States. The Russians wanted to sell Alaska because ______.
| A．they thought it wasn’t a good place |
| B．they thought it didn’t belong to Russia |
| C．they couldn’t find enough seals there |
| D．they wanted to earn more money from the U.S. |
When Seward signed the agreement, many people thought ______.
| A．he wasted U.S. money | B．it had its true value |
| C．it was a successful deal | D．he was clever |
Which of the following things was found first in Alaska?
| A．Gas. | B．Coal. | C．Oil. | D．Gold. |
Before 1959, the United States had ______.
| A．37 states | B．48 states | C．49 states | D．50 states |
The best title for this passage would probably be ______.
| A．Alaska, a beautiful place | B．Alaska with natural resources |
| C．Alaska, home to seals | D．Alaska, the 49th state of the U.S. |
The Peppered Moth, a kind of insect(昆虫), is found in England. It is light brown in colour and likes to settle(栖息) on trees which are also light brown. This makes the moth difficult to be seen and birds are less likely to notice and eat it.
But with the development of industry(工业) , smoke from factories began to reach the trees where the moth settled. It made the trees blacker. Then something very strange took place: in industrial areas, the Peppered Moth began to change colour. It became darker as well. Though the change took several years, some scientists soon notice that newly-born moths were a little darker than usual.
A scientist with the name Kettlewell decided to make a careful study of this phenomenon(现象). He marked some of the light moths and some of the darker ones, and set them free in the woods near Bermingham, an industrial city. Later, he recaptured(重新捕获) as many as the marked moths as possible. The results were as follows.
| light moths |
darker moths |
|
| Moths set free |
201 |
601 |
| moths recaptured |
34(16%) |
206(34%) |
Kettlewell's research (研究) was done in the early 1950s. Soon afterwards Britain introduced new laws to reduce smoke and factory pollution.
Can you imagine what would happen to the Peppered Moth as the air became cleaner again?The Peppered Moth began to change its colour in industrial areas because .
| A．it itself liked to |
| B．it could be like the colour of its living-place |
| C．it had to keep the balance of nature |
| D．it was usually dark brown |
From the results of Kettlewell's research, we can see that .
| A．many more of the light moths were killed or eaten |
| B．more than one-fifth of the light moths was not killed |
| C．three times as many dark moths were kept safe as light ones |
| D．more dark moths were killed in industrial areas |
As the air became cleaner, .
| A．the number of the light moths became larger |
| B．the total number of the light moths remained unchanged |
| C．there were more of the darker moths and fewer of the light ones |
| D．the darker moths changed into the light ones suddenly |
Welcome to Franklin Hotel. To make you stay as enjoyable as possible, we hope you will use our facilities(设施) to the full.
Dining Room: Breakfast is served in the dining room from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Also the room staff(服务员)may bring breakfast to your room at any time after 7 a.m. If this happens, please fill out a card and hang outside your door when you go to bed. Lunch is from 12 to 2:30 p. m. Dinner is from 7:30 to 9 p. m.
Room Service: This operates 24 hours a day; phone the Reception desk(总台), and your message will be passed on to the staff.
Telephones: To make a phone call, dial(拨) 0 for Reception and ask to be connected. We apologized for delays(拖延) if the lines are very busy. There are also public telephones near the Reception desk. Tell Reception if early calls are needed.
Shop: The hotel shop is open for presents, gifts and goods from 9 a. m. to 5:30 p. m.
Laundry : We have a laundry in the building, and will wash, iron(烫) and return your clothes within 24 hours, ask the room staff to collect them.
Bar(酒吧): The hotel bar is open from 12 to 2 p. m. and 7 p. m. to 1 a. m.
Banking : The Reception staff will cash cheques and exchange(兑换) any foreign money for you.You would see this notice .
| A．in a hotel bar |
| B．in a hotel dining room |
| C．in a bedroom of a large international hotel |
| D．at the entrance of a small family hotel |
You have arrived at the hotel at 2 a. m. and want a quick meal. What should you do?
| A．Go to the hotel shop. |
| B．Go to the hotel bar. |
| C．Hang a message outside your door. |
| D．Phone the Reception desk. |
Your phone is powered off and the Reception desk is busy. The quickest way to make an urgent call is to.
| A．go to your room and phone from there. |
| B．use one of the phones in the entrance hall |
| C．ask the Reception desk to help you |
| D．go out and look for a public phone box |
The underlined word “laundry” (in Paragraph 6) probably means ________.
| A．phone box | B．shopping centre | C．clothes shop | D．washhouse |
The text tells us that .
| A．the hotel offers at least seven kinds of services |
| B．it's too difficult to stay up in this hotel |
| C．you can shop at any time inside the hotel |
| D．you'll have trouble without the money of the country where the hotel lies |
In 1955, a man named Raymond Kroc entered a partnership with two brothers named Mcdonald. They operated a popular restaurant in California which sold food that was easy to prepare and serve quickly. Hamburgers, French fries, and cold drinks were the main foods on the limited menu. Kroc opened similar eating places under the same name, “McDonald’s” and they were a quick success. He later took over the company and today it is one of the most famous and successful “fast-food” chains(连锁店) in America and the world.
Why was his idea so successful? Probably the most important reason was that his timing was right. In the 1950s, most married women stayed home to keep house and take care of their children. During the 1960s, the movement for equality(平等) between men and women and an economy(经济) that needed more families to have two money-earners resulted in many women returning to the workplace. This meant that they had less time and energy to do housework, so they depended more on fast-food restaurants.
Single parents also have little time to spend in the kitchen. People living alone because of divorce(离婚) or a preference for a “single lifestyle” also depend on this type of food, since cooking for one is often more trouble than it is worth.
Fast food is not part of the diet of all Americans. Another of the 1960s was called back-to-nature movement. More and more Americans based their diets on natural foods. This preference for natural foods continues to this day. These products can now be found not only in the special health food store but also in many supermarkets.The passage is mainly about ____.
| A．how and why “McDonald’s” became successful |
| B．the effect social and economic changes have on people’s eating habits |
| C．why Americans prefer natural food |
| D．American eating habits |
Which of the following was NOT a reason for Raymond Kroc’s success?
| A．His partnership with the McDonald brothers. |
| B．A changing economy. |
| C．The back-to-nature movement. |
| D．Women’s equality movement. |
We can infer from the passage that ____.
| A．natural foods can also be found in McDonald’s |
| B．many married women in America returned to work in the 1960s |
| C．McDonald’s fast food is popular among the young |
| D．divorce caused people to change their eating habits |
The Cambodian government says more than 378 people died and hundreds more were injured in a stampede (踩踏) during the celebrations of the annual Water Festival late Monday in Phnom Penh.
Less than 24 hours after the tragedy(悲剧), Cambodia's most serious loss of life in decades(十年), the government founded an organization to investigate(调查) how so many died on what was meant to be one of the nation's most joyous occasions.
Most of the victims(牺牲品) were young people in their teens and twenties. They were some of the estimated(估计) two million who had flooded to Phnom Penh for the Water Festival, which marks the end of the rainy season.
Most suffocated on the bridge, which thousands of people were using to leave Diamond Island, an entertainment(娱乐) area in the middle of the river. Others drowned(溺水) after jumping from the bridge into the water.
Buot Panha, 19, said shortly after 9:30 on Monday evening he ended up trapped(围困) with his friends in the middle of the bridge, fighting to breathe while terrified people struggled all around him.
Being tall saved his life, since he could stretch(伸出) his neck to take in oxygen(氧气). Shorter people were unable to do that, he says, which may be why two-thirds of the victims were women.
He tried to help a woman who was trapped with two children near him. She was screaming for people to help. Being tall, Buot Panha grabbed(抓住) one child and pushed him above the crowd to help him breathe.
But then some of the young men were told to jump off the bridge into the river to make room. So he handed back the child, squirmed his way to the edge, and jumped.
Some like Buot Panha were fortunate, jumping into the river below and swimming for the shore. But many simply could not move, and died where they lay.
Buot Panha says his first Water Festival will be his last. He vows(发誓) never to come back.The passage is mainly about ________.
| A．Water Festival celebrations | B．a stampede in Cambodia |
| C．a teenager, Buot Panha | D．a woman and her children |
What is the main idea of Paragraph 2?
| A．It is the biggest tragedy in decades in Cambodia. |
| B．It is the most serious loss of life in decades in Cambodia. |
| C．The government ordered an investigation. |
| D．Water Festival is Cambodia’s most joyous occasion. |
The underlined word “suffocated” (in Paragraph 4) probably means ________.
| A．breathed in | B．felt uncomfortable |
| C．died from too little oxygen | D．left in a hurry |
Most of the deaths were caused as a result of _________.
| A．being unable to breathe | B．being drowned |
| C．violence | D．the rainy season |
Which of the following is TRUE about Buot Panha according to the passage?
| A．His being tall saved him in the river. |
| B．He struggled through the crowd to save one child. |
| C．It was his first time to attend the Water Festival alone. |
| D．He will never come back to Phnom Penh for the Water Festival. |