Since around the later part of the 1950s, society started to realize that tobacco cigarettes caused health problems. As research progressed along with increasing numbers of people that developed lung cancer, emphysema, and other smoking related illnesses, cigarette smoking has become less accepted and popular. Unfortunately, the nicotine contained in cigarettes is one of the most addictive substances on the planet and makes quitting smoking one of the hardest things to do. In 2003, Chinese pharmacist, Hon Lik invented the electronic cigarette as a safer, and cleaner way to breathe in nicotine after his father, a heavy smoker, passed away from lung cancer attributed to smoking tobacco cigarettes.
Hon Lik applied for his first patent on the electronic cigarette in 2003 and afterwards introduced e-cigs to the Chinese market in the following year through his employer, Golden Dragon Holdings. Golden Dragon Holdings later changed the company’s name to “Ruyan” in order to better match the company’s name(Ruyan means “almost like smoke”)to the new product. Since the renaming, the Ruyan company has continued e-cigarette development and grown to be one of the largest global e-cig manufactures.
Dr.Sam Han, CEO of Cixi E-CIG Technology, Inc, Ltd. also has a number of e-cig related inventions, including four patents in the United States and two in China that are electronic cigarette and e-liquid technology related. Similar to Hon Lik’s father. Dr. Han was a heavy smoker for more than 40 years before beginning to work on electronic cigarette technologies in order to help himself and others make the shift to vapor smoking. Dr.Han continues to market and conduct R&D in e-cig related techonologies to this date.
After the successful deployment of Ruyan and Cixi E-CIG electronic cigarettes in China and Asia, the products started to be sold in significant quantities on the Internet.How many years is it since the electronic cigarette was first invented according to the passage?
| A．About 5 years. | B．About 11 years. |
| C．About15 years. | D．About 20 years. |
What’s the direct reason why Hon Lik invented the electronic cigarette according to the passage ?
| A．Tobacco cigarettes caused health problems. |
| B．Tobacco cigarettes were too expensive for customers to buy. |
| C．Quitting smoking became one of the hardest things to do. |
| D．His father died from lung cancer due to smoking tobacco cigarettes. |
Since when have Chinese smokers have been able to buy Hon Lik’s electronic cigarettes according to the passage?
| A．2000. | B．2003. | C．2004. | D．2005. |
What’s the correct order of the following events according to the passage?
①Hon Lik applied for his first patent on the electronic cigarette.
②Hon Lik’s father died from lung cancer because of smoking tobacco cigarettes.
③Hon Lik’s electronic cigarettes were introduced to the Chinese market.
④The name of the company Golden Dragon Holdings was changed to “Ruyan”.
| A．①③②④ | B．①④②③ | C．②④①③ | D．②①③④ |
Long working hours,the fewest holidays and the high cost of living mean the big salaries on offer（可使用的）in the UK do not go as far as those earned in other countries,making Britain and Ireland the worst places to live in Europe．
France and Spain are the two countries topping the European Quality of Life Index（指数）out today,according to the place comparison website Switch．com．
The French enjoy longer lives,better healthcare,more holidays and cheaper prices．In contrast Britons work three years longer and die two years younger after paying above the European average for fuel,food,alcohol and cigarettes．The amount we spend on healthcare and education is below the European average．
Only Ireland and Poland spend less,but Ireland has more doctors and hospital beds and Poland has more beds than the UK．People in Germany,Spain,France,Italy,the Netherlands and Sweden all enjoy longer life expectancy than Britons．And while we may be giving up work earlier,the average age at which we retire is still the fourth highest in Europe——and the UK state retirement age is set to rise．
Ann Robinson,of Switch．com,said:“There’s more to good living than money and this report shows why so many Britons are giving up on （对……不再抱希望）the UK and heading to France and Spain．We earn substantially more than our European neighbors,but this level of income is needed just to keep a roof over our heads,food on the table and our homes warm” ． “It’s giving us a decent standard of living,but it’s not helping us achieve the quality of life that people in other countries enjoy．For too long the focus in the UK had been on standard of living rather than quality of life．”In Europe,to enjoy the best quality of life,you’d better live in _______．
| A．Britian and Ireland | B．Spain and France |
| C．Ireland and Poland | D．Britian and Italy |
Which of the following about the UK is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．People in the UK pay more than the European average for fuel,food,alcohol and cigarettes． |
| B．People in the UK enjoy the highest quality of life． |
| C．People in the UK spend most on the healthcare and education． |
| D．People in the UK die two years older than in France． |
The underlined word“decent”in the last paragraph means “_______”
| A．good enough | B．bad enough | C．ordinary | D．neither bad nor good |
What do you think would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Money is a must to make you live a good life． |
| B．High standard of living means good quality of life． |
| C．High standard of living is one thing and good quality of life is another． |
| D．To live a good life,go to Britian． |
Charlotte’s Web by E．B． White is a children’s book．
As the story opens,eight-year-old farm girl Fern Arable stops her father from killing a baby pig who is weaker than his brothers and sisters．The little pig,Wilbur,becomes one of the main characters in the story．Later he will be treated as a friend by Charlotte,a wise and loving spider living on the same farm．Wilbur slowly realizes that the farmer will kill him for his meat in a few months ,and Charlotte decides to help him out．She tries many things to keep Wilbur alive．She writes words in her web describing how wonderful Wilbur is and this makes the farm famous．
White creates a sort of modern animal fable（寓言）,in which animals can speak both with each other and with Fern．Also there are many great characters in this book．
The society of animals has many lessons to teach children and adults:friendship,sacrifice（牺牲），hope,determination,love,duty,fairness,respect,and many more．
Part of this novel’s success is the fact that the author makes a heroine（女主角）out of a spider,a creature that many people probably dislike．Unlike a lovely little pig or other creatures,a spider is a creature greatly different from humans．White’s Charlotte is a truly wonderful character．He tells the story of Charlotte and her friends in a special way．This is a book that no one could ever dislike．It has much to offer to children as well as to older teens and adult readers．According to the descripion of the book,Charlotte ______．
| A．is a nice and clever spider |
| B．often teaches her friends good lessons |
| C．always sacrifices herself for her friends |
| D．is disliked by many animals around her |
According to the writer,which of the following is a factor in the success of the book?
| A．That there are many animals in the book． |
| B．That the author of the book is very famous． |
| C．That the author knows children very well． |
| D．That the author makes a heroine out of a spider． |
We learn from the passage that Charlitte’s Web ______．
A．is the most interesting book for children
B．is E．B． White’s only book written for children
C．is a good book not only for children but also for adults
D．is mainly about how animals get along with each otherWhat is the purpose of the writer in writing this passage?
| A．To introduce the book Charlitte’s Web |
| B．To discuss what kinds of books are good to read |
| C．To explain why Charlitte’s Web is a good book |
| D．To tell us the importance of friendship in our life |
That warm day was the only day of the week without rain．I opened the door,took a seat and began to enjoy the wonderful sunshine．Suddenly,I noticed that the house near mine had been sold．An elderly lady was in front of the door,with some beautiful flowers beside her．I walked to her．She looked to be in her early eighties and had the prettiest white hair．
“Hi！My name is Karmen,”I said smiling brightly at the old lady．She smiled back and said,“Hello,Karmen．I ’m Henrietta．”Her voice was very strong for someone at her age．Later，I learned she was alone and had no family or relatives to help her．From that day on,I often visited her and helped her with her housework and sometimes she gave me some delicious food．A year passed,and I considered Henrietta to be one of my best friends．
One day,I walked over for my morning visit and knocked on the door,but there was no answer．I knocked again,and she still didn’t turn up．So I let myself in,using the key she had given me．I checked her living room and then her kitchen．I finally went into her bedroom,and she was lying peacefully on her bed．Beside her there were two notes．One was her will（遗嘱）,which said all that she had would be given to me．The other was a thank-you note．I went to her bedside and cried sadly．
Though several years have gone by,I still miss her deeply．Whenever I look at the beautiful flowers in front of her house,I remember the wonderful friendship we had．The writer came out of the house to ______．
| A．look at an old lady | B．enjoy some flowers |
| C．enjoy the sunshine | D．clean the house nearby |
Through visiting the old lady,the writer learnt that the old lady ______．
| A．disliked all her relatives |
| B．had no one to look after her |
| C．didn’t want to live with her family |
| D．was looking for someone to look after her |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The old lady was not kind． |
| B．The writer didn’t have any good friends． |
| C．The old lady didn’t know how to make food． |
| D．The writer got along very well with the old lady． |
What does the underlined part “turn up”in Paragraph 3 mean?
| A．Appear | B．Leave | C．Try | D．Change |
It’s going to be a busy day at Betsy Ross house in Philadelphia on Thursday. She won’t be there, since she died in 1836, but hundreds of tourists will be going through her house.
You see, Thursday is Flag Day in the United States. The unofficial holiday commemorates the adoption of the stars-and-stripes design of the American flag by the Continental Congress 235 years ago, on June 14, 1777. According to lore, the Ross House is the birthplace of the nation’s flag. That’s open to debate, but it’s a story that schoolbooks still tell. Betsy Ross was a seamstress, busy sewing cushions for chairs in Philadelphia, which was the focus place of the American revolution against British rule. The Declaration of Independence by the colonists was signed there, and so was the new nation’s Constitution after independence was won.
Widowed when her husband, a member of the local militia, was killed in a gunpowder explosion, Betsy Ross often mended the clothes of the rebels’ leader and future U.S. president, George Washington. According to what some say in history and others a stretch of what really happened, Washington asked Ross to design and sew the new nation’s flag. The story was promoted by Ross grandson, who wrote that Betsy Ross had “made with her hands the first flag.” She became a role model for girls - a shining example of women’s contributions to the nation’s history. Most research indicates that Ross did sew the first flag. She’s credited with substituting artful five-point white stars for six-pointed ones in the upper-left blue field. But many other accounts indicate George Washington brought the design to Ross and simply asked her to stitch it together.
In a letter, Washington wrote: “We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her. And the white stripes shall go down to posterity as representing liberty.” People would like to go to Ross’s house in Philadelphia to _____.
| A．ask Betsy Ross who created the first American flag |
| B．meet her grandson who wrote a book about flags |
| C．debate over who designed the first American flag |
| D．remember her as the creator of the first American flag |
Which statement is true according to the passage?
| A．Betsy Ross was one of the people who signed The Declaration of Independence |
| B．All are in agreement that Ross designed the first American flag |
| C．It is almost certain that Ross did sew the first American flag |
| D．It is George Washington who designed the stars and stripes flag |
The underlined the word “seamstress” in Paragraph 2 probably means_____.
| A．a person who designs flags |
| B．a person who makes a living by sewing |
| C．a person who takes part in revolution |
| D．a person who creates chairs |
What does the last paragraph imply according to the passage?
| A．It implies that the U.S. is independent from Britain |
| B．It implies that Washington liked Ross’s design of the flag |
| C．It implies that Washington might be the designer of the flag |
| D．It implies that Ross did have helped with the design of the flag |
From the beginning of human history, wild animals provided food, clothing and sometimes medicine for man. We may not depend as much on wild animals now. But we hear about them every day. Americans use the names of animals in many ways. Automobile manufacturers and gasoline companies especially like to use big cats to sell their products. They like lions, tigers and wildcats. When Americans say wildcat, they usually mean a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat. All these cats attack quickly and fiercely. So wildcats represent something fast and fierce.
An early American use of the word wildcat was quite different. It was used to describe members of Congress who declared war on Britain in 1812. A magazine of that year said the wildcat congressmen went home. It said they were unable to face the responsibility of having involved their country in an unnecessary war.
Wildcat also has been used as a name for money in the 1800s. At that time, some states permitted banks to make their own money. One bank in the state of Michigan offered paper money with a picture of a wildcat on it. Some banks, however, did not have enough gold to support all the paper money they offered. So the money had little or no value. It was called a wildcat bill or a wildcat banknote. The banks who offered this money were called wildcat banks. A newspaper of the time said those were the days of wildcat money. It said a man might be rich in the morning and poor by night.
Wildcat then was also used for an oil well or gold mine that had almost no oil or gold in it. Dishonest developers would buy such property. Then they would sell it and leave town with the money. The buyers were left with worthless holes in the ground. Today, wildcat oil wells are in areas that are not known to have oil.What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Wildcats and their stories. |
| B．Wildcats and their characters. |
| C．Varieties of animal species. |
| D．Relationship between animals and humans. |
The underlined words "a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat" in Paragraph 1 may refer to "__________".
| A．gasoline companies | B．automobile manufacturers |
| C．brands of automobile | D．names of wildcats |
Which of the following would people like to have or trust according to the passage?
| A．Wildcat congressmen. | B．Wildcat oil wells. |
| C．Wildcat banks. | D．Wildcat cars. |
It can be inferred that during the days of wildcat money__________.
| A．people couldn't buy anything with the money |
| B．people complained and suffered a lot |
| C．the rich invested too much on oil wells |
| D．people didn't know how to save money |