Saturday,March 24th We have arrived in the hot, wet city of Bangkok. This is our first trip to Thailand (泰国). All the different smells make us want to try the food. We are going to eat something special for dinner tonight. The hotel we are staying in is cheap and very clean. We plan to stay here for a few days, visit some places in the city, and then travel to Chiang Mai in the North. |
Tuesday, March 27th Bangkok is wonderful and surprising! The places are interesting. We visited the famous market which was on water, and saw a lot of fruits and vegetables. Everything is so colorful, and we have taken hundreds of photos already! Later today we will leave for Chiang Mai. We will take the train north, stay in Chiang Mai for two days, and then catch a bus to Chiang Rai. |
Friday,March 30th Our trip to Chiang Rai was long and boring. We visited a small village in the mountains. The village people here love the quiet life—no computers or phones. They are the kindest people I have ever met. They always smile and say “hello”. Kathy and I can only speak a few words of Thai, so smiling is the best way to show our kindness. I feel good here and hope to be able to come back next year. |
The diaries above show the writer’s ______ days in Thailand.
A.3 | B.7 | C.15 | D.30 |
It seems that visitors ______ in Bangkok.
A.can’t take any photos | B.often feel hungry |
C.can always find cheap things | D.can enjoy themselves |
Which of the following is TRUE?
A.The writer is traveling alone in Thailand. |
B.Chiang Rai is a boring city in the mountains. |
C.The writer left Chiang Mai for Chiang Rai by bus. |
D.Chiang Mai is a beautiful city in the south of Thailand. |
The people in the village _______.
A.are friendly to others |
B.are very weak |
C.hope to live in the cities |
D.like to speak English |
The best title of this article is_________.
A.My First Travel | B.The Outside World |
C.Traveling in Thailand | D.A Country on the Train |
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. |
Spam (垃圾邮件) mail is a fact of Internet life. Some of it carries bad things, but the main problem with spam is that it is unpleasant because it fills your mail box with pointless messages.
Most email programs have built-in filters (过滤器) that will discover unwanted messages and put them into a junk folder (垃圾文件夹). You can make the filter learn what you consider to be spam or block certain senders.
Avoid letting your email address appear on websites—spammers search the Internet for email addresses. Be careful who you give your email address to, and if you need to send out several copies of an email, use blind copy instead to cover the other people’s addresses.
Delete (删除) spam emails without opening them. Signs of possible spam are bad spelling in email headers, strange sender addresses, or emails sent at unusual hours. If you do open a spam mail, never reply to it or click on any pictures it may have.
If you receive an unexpected email pretending (伪装) to come from your bank, credit card company or other suppliers, be very careful. If the email asks you to reply, don’t do it! Instead, call up these places or visit their websites.
Consider setting up a second email address and keep one address for your personal use and another for your online communication.What is the main problem with spam?
A.It’s everywhere. | B.It carries bad things. |
C.It’s unpleasant. | D.It fills one’s mail box. |
How many suggestions are there in the passage?
A.Three. | B.Four. | C.Five. | D.Six. |
What should you do if you receive a spam email?
A.Reply to it quickly. | B.Delete it at once. |
C.Click its pictures. | D.Visit its website. |
Which of the following is the writer’s idea about spam emails?
A.Be careful with them. | B.Don’t be afraid of them. |
C.Find interest in them. | D.Try to fight against them. |
AWhat does the first advertisement ask us to do?
A.To send in some jokes. | B.To share our pets. |
C.To talk about kindness. | D.To tell a true story. |
Which of the four advertisements offers the most money?
A.Jokes. | B.Smart Animals. |
C.Kindness of Strangers. | D.My Story. |
How can we send our writing in?
A.By phone. | B.By post. |
C.By email. | D.By going there. |
China is the home of tea, which has more than 4000 years of history. People all over China drink tea daily. Of the three main drinks—tea, coffee and cocoa, tea is drunk by the largest number of people in the world. Tea from China, along with silk and porcelain (瓷器),began to be known by the world over a thousand years ago and has been an important Chinese export (出口商品) since then.
The world for tea in different languages came from the Chinese character, “cha”. The English word, “tea”, sounds similar to the pronunciation of it in Xiamen, Fujian Province. The Russians call it “chai’i”, which sounds like “chaye”(tea leaves) as it is pronounced in northern China. The Japanese character for tea is written exactly the same as it is in Chinese, though it is pronounced a little differently.
Tea leaves are produced mainly in the south of China, because of the mild (温和的) climate (气候) and rich soil (土壤) there. Longjing , Pu’er, Wulong and Tieguanyin are all famous tea. They’re produced in the provinces of Zhejiang, Yunnan and Fujian.
Over the past centuries, Chinese people have developed their unique (独特的) tea culture, which includes tea planting, tea-leaf picking, tea making, tea drinking, and so on. Tea is also a popular theme which is often mentioned in dances, songs, poems and novels.
根据短文内容,从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出正确选项,并将所选答案涂到答题卡的相应位置上。(共5小题;每小题2分,满分10分)Tea began to be known by the world _____________ ago.
A.over 1000 years | B.over a few centuries |
C.less than a few centuries | D.more than 4000 years |
What kind of drinks is drunk by the largest number of people in the world?
A.Coffee. | B.Cocoa. | C.Tea. | D.Milk. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A.Tea has been an important Chinese export since a thousand years ago. |
B.The English word “tea” sounds similar to the pronunciation of it in northern China. |
C.Longjing, Pu’er, Wulong and Tieguanyin are produced in the south of China. |
D.Tea is also a popular theme which is often mentioned in dances, songs, poems and novels. |
How many kinds of tea are mentioned in the passage?
A.One. | B.Two. | C.Three. | D.Four. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
A.China’s Long History of Tea | B.China’s Tea Culture |
C.Tea Drinking in China | D.All kinds of tea in China |
I had little in the way of money when I took this job in Ft. Lauderdale. One noon, I felt very hungry, so I sat outside at a little park and had a small piece of bread, ate half with a glass of water. I was OK with that. I thought about my work and enjoyed the sun, birds and people, taking out any problems I had.
A tall man walked to me who was not dressed well and began a conversation about little things. I always dressed clean and neat well. So he thought I had money. He said, “Could you please give me some money?”
I said, “I don’t have any.”
He kept on asking, and I said, “I really don’t have any.”
He then became sarcastic and said, “I know the persons like you, you wouldn’t give anybody anything.”
That made me mad. I became angry because he doubted me. I looked at him and gave my wallet to him, “Look in my wallet.”
He then said “sorry” to me and opened his wallet and said, “Here I will give you some.”
I looked at him in surprise and said, “No, thank you.” Then I walked away.
It’s good to remember that people can always surprise you.
根据短文内容,从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出正确选项,并将所选答案涂到答题卡的相应位置上。(共5小题;每小题2分,满分10分)The story happened ___________.
A.in the writer’s workplace | B.in the park |
C.in the factory | D.in the office |
The tall man came to the writer to ___________.
A.ask some money | B.have a conversation |
C.give him some money | D.laugh at him |
The underlined word “sarcastic” means ___________ in Chinese.
A.兴奋的 | B.犹豫的 |
C.知足的 | D.挖苦的 |
The writer was mad at the tall man because___________.
A.he wasn’t clean and neat |
B.he wasn’t dressed well |
C.he gave some money to him |
D.he doubted him |
From the passage, we know___________.
A.the tall man was very rich |
B.the writer was very rich |
C.men can not be judged (判断) by their looks |
D.the writer didn’t want to give any money to the tall man |