It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day, some visitors from the city arrived. They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog’s legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.
This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a better future. But the dream didn’t last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and, there seemed to be more insects around lately.
The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides(杀虫剂) and medicines. Soon there was no money left.
Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn’t been useless. They had been doing an important job—eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.
Now, the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.From paragraph 1 we learn that the villagers __________.
| A．worked very hard for centuries |
| B．were poor but somewhat content (满足的) |
| C．dreamed of having a better life |
| D．lived a different life from their forefathers |
Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs ?
| A．The frogs were easy money. |
| B．They needed money to buy medicine. |
| C．They wanted to please the visitors. |
| D．The frogs made too much noise. |
What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?
| A．The crops didn't do well. |
| B．There were too many insects. |
| C．The visitors brought in diseases. |
| D．The pesticides were overused. |
What can we infer推断 from the last sentence of the text ?
| A．Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country. |
| B．Health is more important than money. |
| C．The harmony(和谐) between man and nature is important. |
| D．Good old days will never be forgotten. |
In the past, the affairs happening inside one country had little influence on other countries, even the neighboring ones. Therefore, incidents of food safety only affected and spread within one country, one city, one island or one village. However, with globalization, goods and products can almost flow freely between countries, regions, and continents. So the food safety problem is therefore no longer a national or regional issue, but rather a global one．
In 1997, Avian Influenza caused widespread panic in Hong Kong．It is said that the Avian Influenza originated from Shenzhen. Some Hong Kong people blamed the chicken farm staff on the mainland for the outbreak. The staff was accused of not thoroughly checking the health condition of the chicks under their care. It resulted in Hong Kong people's anger towards chicken farm staff in Shenzhen, whose supposed negligence(疏忽)contributed to the later spread of Avian Influenza in Hong Kong．
Worse still, in Germany, people have been warned not to eat cucumbers until tests can identify the source of a deadly E. coli outbreak. The scare has spread across Europe, with 16 people so far having been killed．In many people's minds, European countries have the strictest standards and checking procedures on their food safety. But the E. coli cucumber incident brought home the reality that it was not an effective defense against such an outbreak．
These diverse food safety issues from various parts of the world are enough evidence that food safety problem is not endemic in China. In fact, food safety is not even directly related to the development level of a place, thanks, no doubt, to the connectivity of our age. If we do not maintain our vigilance(警惕), people's confidence in food safety can be destroyed instantly—even in a developed countryWhich of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Nowadays, food safety incidents spread inside one country |
| B．In 1997, Avian Influenza caused great fear in Hong Kong |
| C．16 Germans died of deadly E. coli after eating cucumbers |
| D．Food safety is only related to the developing countries |
The underlined word "endemic" in the last paragraph most probably means "______"
| A．serious | B．common | C．urgent | D．unique |
We can infer from the passage that ______
| A．food safety problems spread from one country to another |
| B．the staff of a Shenzhen chicken farm caught Avian Influenza |
| C．the strictest standards protected European people from getting E. coli |
| D．China is a country where food safety problem is related to people's age |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Food Safety Problem Is a Global Issue |
| B．Cucumbers Are Popular in European Countries |
| C．Avian Influenza Originated from Shenzhen |
| D．Food Safety Issues Are Various from Country to Country |
Turns out we aren’t good at walking and talking at the same time, according to a study of pedestrians （行人） on their cell phones．
Nearly one-third of pedestrians （29．8% ） were distracted （分散注意力） by their mobile devices while crossing the street, say researchers of a study published online in the journal Injury Prevention．
Just as drivers who text, talk on cell phones, or adjust MP3 players increase their risk of losing control of their vehicles, pedestrians distracted by their conversations or their devices also put themselves at higher risk of getting into an accident．
During the summer of 2012, scientists in Seattle, Wash． , studied 1,102 pedestrians at 20 crossroads seeing the city * s highest number of pedestrian injuries over the past few years．
They watched how pedestrians crossed the street @ whether they looked both ways or obeyed the crossroad signal @ and also recorded how long it took pedestrians to do so．Distractions included listening to music with headphones, using a cell phone or earpiece to talk on a cell phone, text messaging, and talking with another person．
Overall, researchers found the most common distraction among pedestrians was listening to music （11．2%）, followed by text messaging （7．3%）, and using a handheld phone（6．2%）． But the most absorbing distraction was texting． Compared to pedestrians who were not distracted, those who were texting took 1．87 seconds longer to cross and were four times more likely to not look where they were going, disobey traffic lights, or cross outside of the crosswalk． While the study did not track injuries related to these trends, previous studies have linked such activities to a higher risk of being injured while crossing the street．
Combined with the rise in the use of mobile devices, especially smart phones, the results raise concerns that multi-tasking while walking may be a rising concern for pedestrians． And that danger may only climb, as the number of wireless devices has already exceeded the population of the United States． Last year, roughly 1,152 people wound up in the emergency room to treat injuries caused by using a cell phone or electronic device, the Consumer Product Safety Commission told the Associated Press in July． Those numbers may be underestimated, however, because patients may not always admit that they were using their phones along with other activities such as walking or driving when they were hurt．The scientists did their study at the 20 crossroads in order to _____．
| A．attract more attention | B．see more injuries |
| C．record more samples | D．find more pedestrians |
According to the research, while crossing the street the most dangerous activity for apedestrian is _____．
| A．talking on a phone | B．texting messages |
| C．listening to music | D．disobeying traffic lights |
The underlined word "exceeded" is closest in meaning to "____"．
| A．gone beyond | B．greatly influenced |
| C．accelerated the increase of | D．drawn the attention of |
Which might be the best title of the passage?
| A．Walk and don't Talk |
| B．Prevention of Distraction |
| C．Look both ways while crossing the street |
| D．Cell phones lead to injuries |
When Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, it was a revolution in communication． For the first time, people could talk to each other over great distances almost as clearly as if they were in the same room． Nowadays, though, we increasingly use Bell' s invention for taking photographs, accessing the internet, or watching video clips, rather than talking． Over the last two decades a new means of spoken communication has appeared: the mobile phone．
The first real mobile telephone call was made in 1973 by Dr Martin Cooper, the scientist who invented the modem mobile handset． Within a decade, mobile phones became available to the public． The streets of modem cities began to feature sharp-suited characters shouting into giant plastic bricks． In Britain the mobile phone quickly became the same with the "yuppie" , the new type of young urban professionals who carried the expensive handsets as status symbols． Around this time many of us said that we would never own a mobile phone．
But in the mid-90s, something happened． Cheaper handsets and cheaper calling rates meant that, almost overnight, it seemed that everyone had a mobile phone． And the giant plastic bricks of the 80s had changed into smooth little objects that fitted nicely into pockets and bags．
Moreover, people' s timekeeping changed． Younger readers will be amazed to know that, not long ago, people made spoken arrangements to meet at a certain place at a certain time． But later Meeting times became approximate under the new order of communication: the Short Message Service （SMS） or text message． Going to be late? Send a text message! It takes much less effort than arriving on time, and it' s much less awkward than explaining your lateness face to face and the text message has changed the way we write in English． Traditional rules of grammar and spelling are much less important when you' re sitting on the bus, hurriedly typing "Will B 15mm late - C U @ the bar． Sorry! - ）"．
Alexander Graham Bell would be amazed if he could see how far the science of telephony has progressed in less than 150 years．If he were around today, he might say "That' s gr8! But I' m v busy rite now．Will call U 2nite．"What does the underlined part in Para． 2 refer to?
| A．Houses of modern cities． | B．Sharp-suited characters． |
| C．New type of professionals． | D．Mobile phones． |
According to Paragraph 4, why did Meeting times become approximate?
| A．People were more likely to be late for their meeting． |
| B．SMS made it easier to inform each other． |
| C．Young people don' t like unchanging things． |
| D．Traditional customs were dying out． |
If you want to meet your friend at the school gate this evening, which of the following message can you send him?
| A．Call U@ SKUg8 2nite． | B．IM2BZ2CU 2nite． |
| C．CU@ the bar g8 2nite． | D．W84U@ SKUg8 2nite． |
What does the passage mainly tell us about?
| A．Alexander Graham' s invention． |
| B．SMS @ a new way of communication． |
| C．New functions of the mobile telephone． |
| D．The development of the mobile phone． |
Edward Snowden—the fugitive （逃亡者） former U．S．intelligence employee —appears to be stuck in Moscow, unable to leave without a valid American passport, according to interviews Sunday with two men who had sought to aid him: WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange and Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa．
Snowden, 30, arrived at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport last weekend, after previously taking refuge in Hong Kong． Moscow was only supposed to be a stopover．WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy organization, had said Snowden was headed on to Ecuador—whose president has been critical of the United States — and that he would seek asylum there．
Now, however, both men said Snowden is unable to leave．
"The United States, by canceling his passport, has left him for the moment trapped in Russia," said Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, on ABC ' s " This Week With George Stephanopoulos"． The United States canceled Snowden' s passport last weekend． Assange criticized the United States, saying: " To take a passport from a young man in a difficult situation like that is a disgusting action．"
President Correa spoke to the Associated Press in Puerto Viejo, Ecuador． For now, he told the AP, Snowden was "under the care of the Russian authorities． "
"This is the decision of Russian authorities． He doesn't have a passport． I don't know the Russian laws, I don' t know if he can leave the airport, but I understand that he can' t," Correa said． He said that the case was now out of Ecuador' s hands． "If Snowden arrives at an Ecuadoran Embassy, we' 11 analyze his request for asylum．"
Snowden traveled from Hong Kong to Moscow on his U．S．passport． Although the U．S．had already revoked it, Hong Kong authorities said they hadn’t received the official request to cancel the passport before Snowden left．
An official at the Ecuadoran Embassy in London had also issued a letter of safe passage for Snowden． But Snowden apparently did not use it for his trip to Moscow．
And it doesn’t appear that the Ecuadoran government would make a similar gesture again．
On Sunday, Correa told the AP that an Ecuadoran official at that embassy had committed "a serious error" by issuing the first letter without consulting officials back home． Correa said the consul would be punished, although he didn’t specify how．
Correa' s tone seemed to have shifted after a conversation with Vice President Biden on Friday．Where Correa had earlier been aggressive and determined, he now voiced respect for U．S．legal procedures．Edward Snowden is a person who once worked in a federal department ______．
| A．to assist the governor of one state |
| B．to collect information secretly for the US |
| C．to organize overseas promotion campaign |
| D．to educate intelligence employees |
Which of the following word can take the place of the underlined word in Para．2 ?
| A．shelter． | B．praise． | C．position． | D．forgiveness． |
By what means did Edward Snowden leave Hong Kong for Moscow' s Sheremetyevo International Airport?
| A．A letter of safe passage from the Ecuadoran Embassy． |
| B．Permission from Chinese government |
| C．Invitation of the Russian authorities． |
| D．An American passport． |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．Edward Snowden will live in Moscow forever． |
| B．Ecuadoran government will provide Edward Snowden protection． |
| C．Through U．S．legal procedures Edward Snowden has been caught． |
| D．Correa hesitated to assist Edward Snowden． |
Being able to experience a different environment and custom will give us a new perspective on everything we thought we knew and understood． Maybe, going abroad is an opportunity to look again at not only the country and the people who live there but also ourselves．
I had never expected to visit Paris． The French culture didn' t interest me that much, and Paris seemed too big, too touristy, too much． But when I found myself standing next to the Opera National de Paris, completely alone and totally lost, I knew I was in for an interesting ride． I had decided to take a summer history class abroad, and Paris just happened to be where it was set． My teacher eventually found me and other jet-lagged students and walked us down to where we would be staying． Even then, tired, hungry, and feeling displaced, I was unable to keep myself from marveling at the beauty of the city．
The next day in the grocery store, trying to decide if the box I was holding contained butter or cream cheese, I suddenly realized I was a foreigner that didn’t speak the language．The cashier and I had a conversation completely with gestures． For the most part, it didn't seem to bother the French that I was utterly incompetent in speaking their language． In fact, from my first unclear "bonjour" , many of them would directly switch over to English．
Time Hew by． In the mornings we had class, and in the afternoons we were given a lot of freedom to do what we pleased． We explored everywhere in the city, becoming experts at using the Metro, and walking so much that our legs were sore every night．
Living in Paris was a huge change in my lifestyle． Everything I did was more relaxed． I stopped worrying about the future and instead focused on living in the present． I stopped wearing a watch because time didn’t matter．We ate when we were hungry, went to bed when we were tired and explored in between．I no longer mind that Paris is so big; it' s an old, beautiful metropolis full of culture and history．On one of my last days there, standing on top of the Arc du Triumph with a 360 degree view of Paris, I finally admitted something to myself．The city that I had never wanted to visit had turned into the city that I never wanted to leave．The writer came to Paris because ______．
| A．he wanted to have an interesting ride |
| B．he attended a course in summer |
| C．he admired its beautiful scenery |
| D．he was alone and lost his way |
On the first day in Paris, the writer felt _____．
| A．lonely in the big city | B．bored with his visit |
| C．surprised at its beauty | D．interested in its culture |
The example of the grocery store is used to illustrate _____．
| A．the little influence of language barrier |
| B．the big difficulty of living abroad |
| C．the great importance of gestures |
| D．the intelligence of French people |
By mentioning the uselessness of the watch, the author probably wants to prove ______
| A．time in Paris is not worth counting |
| B．he enjoys the time in Paris very much |
| C．life seems meaningful without time |
| D．he has to spend a long time to visit the big city |