I was 15 months old, a happy and carefree kid, until the day I fell. It was a bad fall. I landed on a piece of glass that cut my eye badly. from then on, my injured, sightless, cloudy gray eye lived on with me. Sometimes people asked me embarrassing（使人难堪的）questions. Whenever kids played games, I was the "monster". I was always imagining that everyone looked down on（瞧不起）me.
Yet mum would say to me, "Hold your head up high and face the world." I began to depend on that saying.
As a child, I thought mun meant, "Be careful, or you will fall down or bump into something because you are not looking." As a teenager, I usually looked down to hide my shame. But I found that when I held my head up high, People liked me.
In high school I even became the class president, but on the inside I still felt like a monster. All I really wanted was to look like everyone else. When things got really bad, I would cry to my mun and she would look at me with loving eyes and say, “Hold your head up high and face the world. Let them see the beauty that is inside instead of your appearance（外貌）.”
My mum's love was the sunshine that made me bright. I had faced hard times, and learned not only to be confident（自信的） but also to have deep compassion（同情）for others.
“Hold your head up high” has been heard many times in my home. I say it to my children. The gift my mum gave me will live on.The underlined word “carefree” in the first line probably means“ ______” in Chinese.
| A．无忧无虑的 | B．无拘无束的 |
| C．小心翼翼的 | D．与众不同的 |
Why did the writer imagine that everyone looked down on her?
| A．She felt bad about her appearance. |
| B．She found it hard to act as a monster. |
| C．Kids refused to play games with her. |
| D．People always asked her embarrassing questions. |
Why did the writer's mum say “Hold your head up high”to her?
| A．To tell her to be careful. |
| B．To help her hide the shame. |
| C．To stop her from getting hurt. |
| D．To make her more confident. |
From the story, we can know that ______.
| A．the writer understood the saying very well as a child |
| B．the writer felt like everyone else in high school. |
| C．the writer is living with a warm and brave heart now |
| D．the writer has deep compassion for others all her life |
The passage is mainly about ______.
| A．what the writer experienced when she was 15 |
| B．what the writer did to show thanks for mum's gift |
| C．how the writer changed herself with mum's love |
| D．how the writer became confident with her great efforts |
More and more people think it necessary to study in an English-speaking country and it didn’t take long at all for me to decide to come and study in UK.
I have been used to school life since I came here two months ago, and I am starting to enjoy most of my time in here. School starts at 9 o’clock every morning, and every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we have long days, in which we have 9 lessons and school finishes at 4 o’clock. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we have short days, in which we have only 6 lessons and finish at 1 o’clock. After lessons, we have 2 hours of activity time, when you can choose from a number of activities, including many sports, such as rugby(英式橄榄球) , football, basketball and tennis.
As a boarder(寄宿者), the quality of food is something I consider very important, and Merchiston has not let me down. The school kitchens are run by a professional company, and the quality of food is excellent, and they are always trying to make the diet healthy. One of the obvious advantages of being a boarder is that we can have breakfast in the school, which means we don’t have to pull ourselves out of bed as early as the day pupils!How many lessons do the students have every week in this school?
| A．15 | B．45 | C．27 | D．18 |
The passage mainly tells us about __________________.
| A．the writer’s school life in the UK as a boarder |
| B．the writer’s opinion of the school life in the UK |
| C．the differences in school life between China and the UK |
| D．the boarder life in a British middle school |
Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined phrase “ let me down” in the passage?
| A．made me blue | B．cheered me up |
| C．encouraged me | D．made me surprised |
LONDON—Scientists have found an unusual way to prevent our planet from overheating: move it to a cooler spot. All you have to do is to send a few comets (彗星) in the direction of Earth, and its orbit (轨道) will be changed. Our world will then be sent moving into a safer older part of the solar system.
This idea for improving our climate comes from a group of US NASA (美国航空航天局) engineers and American astronomers. They say their plan could add another six billion years to the useful lifetime of our planet—hopefully doubling its working life.
The plan put forward by Dr. Laughlin, and his colleagues Don Korycansky and Fred Adams, needs carefully directing a comet or asteroid (小行星) so that it passes close by our planet and sends some of its gravitational energy (重力势能) to Earth.
“Earth’s orbital speed would increase as a result and we would move to a higher orbit away from the sun,” Laughlin said.
Engineers would then direct their comet so that it passed close to Jupiter (木星) or Saturn(土星). The comet would pick up energy from one of these giant planets. Later its orbit would bring it back to Earth, and the process would be repeated.
In the short term, the plan provides an ideal way to worldwide warming, although the team was actually worried about a much greater danger. The sun is certain to heat up in about a billion years and so “seriously compromise” our biosphere (生物圈)—by cooking us.
That’s why the group decided to try to save Earth.
The plan has one or two worrying sides, however. For a start, space engineers would have to be very careful about how they directed their asteroid or comet towards Earth. The smallest miscalculation (误算) in orbit could fire it straight at Earth—with deadly results.
There is also the question of the moon. As the present issue of Scientific American magazine points out, if Earth was pushed out of its present location, it is “most likely the moon would be stripped (剥离) away from Earth,” it states. This would greatly change our planet’s climate.What makes the scientists plan to move Earth?
| A．A few comets are moving to the direction of Earth. |
| B．Earth’s working life is coming to an end soon. |
| C．Earth will become too hot for mankind to keep alive. |
| D．The moon is moving farther and farther away from Earth. |
If the plan is successful, Earth will have a working life of ________ years.
| A．12 billion | B．6 billion | C．18 billion | D．24 billion |
What serious problems might the plan cause according to the passage?
| A．The comet might hit Earth and man might lose the moon. |
| B．Earth might be moved too far away and man might die because of the coldness. |
| C．The comet might hit Jupiter or Saturn and never return to Earth. |
| D．Earth’s working life might be greatly shortened. |
What does the underlined word “compromise” mean?
| A．provide | B．benefit (受益) | C．share | D．endanger |
It’s in the 2010s.You feel sick, so you go to the doctor. She checks your fever, looks at your throat, and asks what you’ve been thinking about lately. When you leave, she gives you some medicine, but also a list of thinking skills that you are supposed to practice daily. She says that the way you think is causing some of your illness.
Doctors and other scientists who study the human mind and try to explain why people act in the way that they do, called psychologists (心理学家), are starting to believe it. You know that your brain (脑) is connected to every part of your body through your nervous system (神经系统). Now scientists have proved that how you think and feel can have an influence on the health of your body.
Stress is caused whenever there is a problem or a change in your life. Of course, everybody has stress more or less; nobody’s life is perfect. In fact, stress is necessary. Without stress, we would never learn anything or grow or change. We would probably be bored to death. But too much stress can hurt you. It can weaken your body’s protection so that you are more likely to catch diseases. It can even make you more likely to have an accident.
When you feel stressed, your brain sends a message to your body to produce a chemical called adrenaline (肾上腺素). Adrenaline speeds up your breathing and your heartbeat. Today you have a different kind of stress. Problems like endless homework or troubles with your family are the kind of things you can’t fight or run away from, so you don’t use up all that adrenaline. It just stays bottled up inside you, and that’s what can do something bad to you.
What can you do about stress? First, you can try to find ways to change things so you aren’t under so much stress. You can set up a plan to finish homework or go to a doctor or a psychologist to try to work things out with your family or your friends. But sometimes you can’t change a stressful situation. Sometimes you don’t even want to. A big change might be a good change, but it will still be stressful.
The link (关联) between your body and brain works in two ways. Your body can help your mind deal with stress. If you are under stress, you need to take especially good care of your body. It’s important to get enough sleep and eat nutritious (有营养的) meals. Some people take a vitamin-mineral pill every day. Another thing that you can do is daily exercise. If you go walking or do aerobic dancing or work out at the gym (体育馆), you give your body a chance to burn up some of that adrenaline. Of course, a person who isn’t used to much physical activity should start slowly. Anyone with a continuing physical problem should check with a doctor before starting any exercise programs.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．You shouldn’t go to the gym if you are under stress. |
| B．One can do his homework to burn up adrenaline. |
| C．Disease and accidents are caused by stress. |
| D．Everyone needs stress to improve himself. |
From the last sentence of Paragraph 5 we can infer (推断) that _____________.
| A．it’s difficult to change a stressful situation |
| B．it’s not stressful when a good change takes place |
| C．a big change will cause another stressful situation |
| D．a stressful situation can’t be changed without any effort |
What is probably the best title for this passage?
| A．The Body-Brain Link | B．The Causes of Stress |
| C．The Advice on Health | D．The Nervous System |
Once there was a piano player in a bar (酒吧). People came just to hear him play. But one night, a lady asked him to sing a song.
“I don’t sing,” said the man.
But the lady told the waiter, “I’m tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing!”
The waiter shouted across the room, “Hey, friend! If you want to get paid, sing a song!”
So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung so beautifully!
He had talent he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.
You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel that your talent is great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved. Besides, you may have no success at all if you just sit on your talent.The lady asked the player to sing a song because _____________.
| A．she had paid him for this |
| B．she knew him very well |
| C．she wanted to have a change |
| D．she enjoyed his singing |
Nat King Cole succeeded because ____________.
| A．the lady helped him a lot |
| B．he caught the chance |
| C．he continued to play in the bar |
| D．he stopped playing the piano |
The underlined words “sitting on” in the passage probably mean ___________.
| A．fail to realize | B．forget to use |
| C．try to develop | D．manage to show |
| The Snowdonia Center The Snowdonia Center for young mountain climbers has a climbing lesson. The beginners’ costs are $57 for a week, including food and rooms. Equipment (设备) is included except walking shoes, which can be hired (租用) at a low cost. You must be in good health and prepared to go through body exercise. This could be the beginning of a lifetime of mountain climbing adventure (冒险). |
| Holiday News Vacations now and in the school holidays at a country hotel in Devon. This comfortable, friendly home-from-home hotel is near the beautiful quiet countryside, but just a drive away from the sea. The food is simple but good. Children and pets are welcome. Reduced prices are offered for low season. |
| The World Sea Trip of a Lifetime Our World Sea Trip of 2014 will be unlike any holiday that you have ever had before. You just go to bed in one country and wake up in another on the ship. But if you stay at one hotel after another as you traveled before, you’ll have to pack and unpack all your things, wait and travel during the tour. On the ship, you will be well taken care of. Every meal will be first-class and every cabin (房舱) will be like your home. During the trip, you can rest on deck (甲板), enjoy yourself in the game rooms and in the evening dance to our musical team and watch our wonderful play You will visit all the places most people only dream about---from Acapulco and Hawaii to Tokyo and Hong Kong. For a few thousand dollars, all the things can be yours. |
What can you do if you like to go on holidays with pets?
| A．Choose the holiday in Devon. |
| B．Go to the Snowdonia Center. |
| C．Join the World Sea Trip of 2014. |
| D．Visit Acapulco and Hawaii. |
In what way is the Snowdonia Center different from the other two holidays?
| A．It provides chances for families to get together. |
| B．It provides customers with good food. |
| C．It offers a climbing lesson. |
| D．It offers comfortable rooms. |
What is the most special about the World Sea Trip of 2014?
| A．You can have free meals on deck every day. |
| B．You can sleep on a ship and travel to many places. |
| C．You can dance to your own favourite music. |
| D．You have to pack and unpack your things. |