Last night’s meteor(流星)shower left many people in the community dissatisfied and demanding answers. According to Gabe Rothschild, Emerald Valley’s mayor, people gathered in the suburbs of the city, carrying heavy telescopes, expecting to watch the brightly burning meteors passing through the sky. What they found instead was a sky so brightened by the city’s lights that it darkened the light of the meteors passing overhead.
“My family was so frustrated, ”admitted town resident Duane Cosby. “We wanted to make this an unforgettable family outing, but it turned out to be a huge disappointment.”
Astronomers—scientists who study stars and planets—have been complaining about this problem for decades. They say that light pollution prevents them from seeing objects in the sky that they could see quite easily in the past. They call on people and the government to take measures to fight against it.
There is yet a population besides professional and amateur star observers that suffers even more from light pollution. This population consists of birds, bats, frogs, snakes, etc. For example, outdoor lighting severely affects migrating birds. According to the International Dark-Sky Association.“100 million birds a year throughout North America die in crashes with lighted buildings and towers.”
Countless more animal casualties(伤亡)result from the use of artificial lighting. Clearly, people enjoy the benefits of lighting their evenings, but some scientists think it can be harmful for humans, too. They worry that exposure to light while sleeping can increase a person’s chances of getting cancer.
Emerald Valley is only one community that is becoming aware of the negative effects of light pollution. For years, Flagstaff, Arizona, has enforced lighting regulations in its city in order to assist astronomers at the Lowell Observatory. Similar efforts have been made worldwide, and a movement is underway to remind us to turn off lights when we are not using them, so that other creatures can share the night.
It happened last night that .
| A．the city’s lights affected the meteor watching |
| B．the meteors flew past before being noticed |
| C．the city light show attracted many people |
| D．the meteor watching ended up a social outing |
What do the astronomers complain about?
| A．Meteor showers occur less often than before. |
| B．Their observation equipment is in poor repair. |
| C．Light pollution has remained unsolved for years. |
| D．Their eyesight is falling due to artificial lighting. |
What is the author concerned about according to Paragraph 4?
| A．Birds may take other migration paths. |
| B．Animals’ living habits may change suddenly. |
| C．Varieties of animals will become sharply reduced. |
| D．Animals’ survival is threatened by outdoor lighting. |
What message does the author most want to give us?
| A．Saving wildlife is saving ourselves. |
| B．Great efforts should be made to save energy. |
| C．Human activities should be environmentally friendly. |
| D．New equipment should be introduced for space study. |
Based on Sue Monk Kidd’s best-selling novel, The Secret Life of Bees is a movie of hope and faith for even the unloved and oppressed(受压迫的). Just as in the book, young Lily’s thoughts sound and read like poetry, from the first moment when her room fills with bees.
The movie tells the story of the young white girl who runs away from her cruel father. Lily convinces Rosaleen, the black housekeeper to escape with her, after Rosaleen is beaten when she attempts to vote. When Lily asks Rosaleen why she risked her life standing up to the angry men who wanted to kill her, she hears“Giving in to them would be just another way of dying”.
That’s Lily’s story, too. She finally stands up to her father. They come to Tiburon, a town whose name is written on a label(标签)from a jar belonging to her mother before her death.
In Tiburon, there is no place where Rosaleen can eat or stay, despite the fact that President Johnson just signed the Civil Rights act in 1964. (It’s still just a piece of paper, Rosaleen says. )So Lily goes in to buy food for them, and sees the jar on sale. When Lily finds out it’s made right there in a farmhouse, they go there and ask for help.
The goodhearted August who runs a successful company, offers them the honey house to live in. From August, Lily learns honey business and a life lesson from the bees. She sees a world where intelligence, independence and culture are honored and rewarded. She watches Rosaleen begin to understand that the dream of freedom from oppression she gave up when she was beaten is now possible for her. It is August who helps Lily see that love is all around her and all the others. The story of the Lily is mainly developed by _______.
| A．time |
| B．space |
| C．examples |
| D．comparison |
Which is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The movie is adapted from a novel. |
| B．Lily’s father treats Rosaleen cruelly. |
| C．Lily’s mother writes the label for her. |
| D．In fact, Lily’s mother is August. |
What does Rosaleen really want to get?
| A．Better pay and honey business. |
| B．Equal rights and freedom. |
| C．The right to be voted as president. |
| D．Enough food and houses. |
We can conclude that the story of Lily happened _______.
| A．in modern America |
| B．in the 1960s in North America |
| C．when the black owned equal rights in America |
| D．before the independence of America |
The passage is written to _______.
| A．advertise a book |
| B．explain the secret of bees’ life |
| C．introduce a movie |
| D．tell about American politics |
Full of beauty, happiness and a healthy love of life, the Bulgarian (保加利亚人的) festivals and customs date back to old time when man tried to live in peace with nature. The merriest and richest festivals are
Christmas and the New Year, when the so-called. "sourvakari" makes the round of house with wishes for health and wealth. Other main festivals include "ladouvane"-a holiday for young girls on New Year's Day or
Midsummer Day (24th June), Shrovetide and Mummers' Games which mark the start of spring, and "lazrouvane"-a traditional festival for love and family, health and richness. And among them, the widely popular and typical Bulgarian customs and festivals are "martenitsas" and rose-picking.
Every year on March lst, the Bulgarians give each other "mar-tenitsas"-a small doll made of white and red strings, a symbol of the beginning of spring, health and happiness.
In late May and early June every year, the rose-picking season starts in the Valley of Roses which is between the Balkan Range and the Sredna Gora Mountains. Rose-picking starts at dawn, before sunrise and before the pleasant smell of the rose has disappeared. The Bulgarian rose produces 70 percent of the world's rose oil which is used by the very well-known perfume (香水) company as a basic element of its products.
This is the time of the Festival of Roses, celebrated with carnivals, happy activities, folk songs and dances in Karlovo and Kazanluk on the first Sunday in June. The passage is mainly about _____.
| A．Christmas and the New Year in Bulgaria |
| B．the origin of Bulgarian festivals and customs |
| C．rose-picking and perfume industry in Bulgaria |
| D．typical customs arid festivals of Bulgaria . |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．"Martenitsas"-the Beginning of Spring |
| B．Beauty, Happiness and Love |
| C．Bulgarian Festivals and Customs |
| D．Rose-picking and "Martenitsas" |
The author of this passage intends to _____.
| A．let us know some knowledge of Bulgarian culture |
| B．tell us the differences between customs and festivals |
| C．explain the connection between customs and industry |
| D．find the origin of the Bulgarian customs |
The second and the third paragraphs of the passage _____.
| A．tell us how popular rose-picking is |
| B．link two festivals with health and richness |
| C．show us two merriest and richest festivals |
| D．talk about two typical Bulgarian festivals |
People in the United States honour 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. 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 to their children. These two days offer an opportunity to think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with childcare.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother's Day people wear camations（康乃馨）. A red one symbolizes（象征） a living mother. A white one shows that mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honour their parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues(烤肉)for Father's Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make
them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are
valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of
the gift that is important, but it is "the thought that counts".
Greeting card stores, florists,candy makers, bakeries,
telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during
these holidays. Which is NOT a reason for children to show love and respectfor their parents?
| A．Their parents bring them up. |
| B．Their parents give love and care to them. |
| C．Their parents educate them to be good persons. |
| D．Their parents passed away before they grew up. |
What do you learn from the passage?
| A．Mother's Day and Father's Day are both in May. |
| B．Fewer women worked outside the home in the past. |
| C．Not all the children respect their parents. |
| D．Fathers are not as important as mothers at home. |
Which do you think is RIGHT about "carnation" ?
| A．It only has two kinds of colour. |
| B．It refers to the special clothes people wear on Mother's Dayor Father's Day. |
| C．It's a kind of flower showing love and best wishes. |
| D．People can wear carnations only on the second Sundayin May. |
The world’s astronomers came to their senses yesterday and approved a new definition of the word “planet” that would drop tiny Pluto from the club and relegate it instead to a lesser realm of “dwarf planets.” It was a welcome step away from a proposal that would have kept Pluto as a planet but meantime opened the door for dozens of small, icy bodies on the fringes of the solar system.
The important vote came after fierce debate at a meeting of the International Astronomical Union, which had been considering a proposal to define a planet as any object that orbits a star and is large enough for its own gravity to pull it into a spherical (球形的) shape. That definition was scientifically precise but led to results that offended common sense. An asteroid, a small moon, and another icy ball like Pluto would suddenly have risen to planet-hood, swelling the number of planets to 12, with many more icy rocks likely to qualify as more was learned about them.
Fortunately, the astronomers have now added another requirement to the definition. Planets must not only be large enough to be round, they must also have cleared out the neighborhood around their orbits. Pluto would not qualify — it orbits in a belt of icy debris on the edge of the solar system. Neither would an icy rock nicknamed Xena, which orbits in that same zone, nor Ceres, a big asteroid that marches in the company of other asteroids. Pluto’s moon, Charon, which had qualified under the first proposal, is also out of the running.
Pluto, with its small size and oddball orbit, should never have been deemed a planet in the first place. Henceforth there will be eight planets, at least three dwarf planets, and tens of thousands of “smaller solar system bodies,” like comets and asteroids. Our only regret is that the astronomers chose the name “dwarf planets” for Pluto’s new category instead of abandoning the word entirely when discussing these less-than-planetary bodies. We can know from the passage that the new definition of planet __________.
| A．has been welcomed by all walks of life |
| B．will kick the Pluto out of the planet group in the solar system |
| C．still makes the Pluto as a planet |
| D．will enlarge the number of planets in our solar system into permanently 12 |
After the new definition of “planet” was put forward, all of the following are regarded as planet except________.
| A．Venus |
| B．Ceres |
| C．Mars |
| D．Jupiter |
The writer’s attitudes towards the new definition of “planet” is________.
| A．welcome |
| B．indifferent |
| C．hostile |
| D．neutral |
If the original definition of “planet” had not been changed, there would be the following consequences except that ________.
| A．thousands of icy rocks in space will be classified as planets |
| B．some asteroids big enough to pull itself into a spherical shape will be regarded as planets. |
| C．the Pluto will be relegated to “dwarf planet” |
| D．there will be at least twelve or even more planets in the solar system. |
More and more English-educated Chinese Singaporean parents are realizing the importance for their children to be not only good at the all-important English language, but also at Chinese. China has become a great political and economic superpower and they want their children to become bilingual.
It is common knowledge that, to master any language, especially one’s mother tongue, one must begin from childhood. But there are challenges and barriers for children of English-speak ing homes to succeed in their journey towards bilingualism.
Take my family as an example. While my wife and I are products of English education, we had some foundation (基础) in Chinese which we kept up in our working life. But the language of communication in our home is mainly English.
We are glad that our three children had between 8 and 11 years’Chinese schooling before switching over to English schools. Their foundation in Chinese has become an advantage in their adult life. They can hold their own in the spoken language, but would find it hard to write a business letter in Chinese for lack of usage.
We have a grandson who will be two years old shortly. His parents have given my wife and I the unenviable task of making him bilingual. It is a very tough assignment, as we are with him only a couple of hours on most days. For the rest of the time, he is being surrounded by English sounds by his busy parents.
Fortunately, our perseverance is paying off. After eight months, he has been used to hearing Chinese sounds, and even he can now quite comfortably identify common everyday objects in Chinese. Why is it becoming necessary for some Chinese Singaporean children to learn Chinese?
| A．Because most of the Singaporeans come from China. |
| B．Because their parents are missing their motherland. |
| C．Because China has become a great political and economic superpower. |
| D．Because Chinese is the official language in the UN. |
The underlined word “bilingual”in Paragraph 1 probably means _______ .
| A．a person who knows English |
| B．a person who knows Chinese |
| C．a person who knows only one language |
| D．a person who knows two languages |
What do we know about the author and his children?
| A．He lives in China now. |
| B．His children hate learning English. |
| C．He usually speaks Engliah at home. |
| D．His three children master Chinese very much. |
The author uses the example of teaching his grandson mainly to prove that _______ .
| A．there are challenges for children of English-speaking homes to learn Chinese |
| B．his foundation in Chinese is a big advantage in teaching his grandson |
| C．he is quite good at teaching small children Chinese |
| D．learning Chinese is very popular in Singapore |
We learn from the passage that _______ .
| A．all the children in Singapore need to learn Chinese |
| B．understanding Chinese is becoming an advantage in Singapore |
| C．the author’s children know nothing about Cshinese |
| D．the author feels it easy to teach others Chinese |