Animals are not always animals. Some of them will try to cheat or cow some others in the way the human beings often do. Here is a fairy tale from Aesop for you to enjoy.
An eagle（鹰）made her nest at the top of a high tree while a cat, having found a convenient hole, moved into the middle of the trunk, and at the same time a wild pig, with her young took shelter in a hollow at its foot. The cat then decided to make all serve her in her wise way.
To carry out her design, she climbed to the nest of the eagle, saying, "Destruction is preparing for you and for me too, unfortunately. The wild pig, whom you see daily digging up the earth, wishes to uproot the tree, so she may on its fall seize our families as food for her young."
Having thus frightened the eagle out of her senses, she crept down to the cave of the pig, saying, "Your children are in great danger, for as soon as you go out to find food, the eagle is prepared to jump upon one of your little pigs."
Having filled these fears into the pig, she went and pretended to hide herself in the hollow of the tree. When night came she went out silently and obtained food for herself and her children, but pretending to be afraid, she kept a lookout all through the day. Meanwhile, the eagle, full of fear of the pig, sat still on the branches, and the pig, terrified by the eagle, did not dare to go out from her cave. Thus they both, along with their families, starved from hunger, and afforded good food for the cat and her children.What was the eagle afraid of?
| A．Her home would be destroyed. |
| B．Her children would get lost. |
| C．She would be taken as the cat’s food. |
| D．Her family would be eaten by the wild pig. |
What was the pig frightened of?
| A．The eagle would kill her young child. |
| B．The eagle would cheat her away. |
| C．The cat was telling the true story. |
| D．She could not find enough food. |
How did the cat get what she wanted?
| A．By running here and there. |
| B．By cheating both the eagle and the pig. |
| C．By waiting and catching the chance. |
| D．By fighting against the eagle and the pig. |
Which of the following might be the best title of the above passage?
| A．Believe it or not. | B．Animal stories. |
| C．How one can be successful. | D．Don’t be afraid. |
TOKYO, Japan (AP) – Japan is very serious about robotics (机器人技术). If the droids are going to fit in, they probably need to learn the Japanese custom of serving tea. Fortunately, researchers at the University of Tokyo are exploring just that. In a show this week, a humanoid（有人特点的）with camera eyes made by Kawada Industries Inc. poured tea from a bottle into a cup. Then another robot on wheels delivered the cup of tea in an experimental room that has sensors embedded in the floor and sofa as well as cameras on the ceiling, to simulate（模仿）life with robot technology.
“A human being may be faster, but you’d have to say ‘Thank you,’” said University of Tokyo professor Tomomasa Sato. “That’s the best part about a robot. You don’t have to feel bad about asking it to do things.”
Sato believes Japan, a rapidly aging society where more than a fifth of the population is 65 or older, will lead the world in designing robots to care for the elderly, sick and bedridden（卧床不起的）.
Already, monitoring technologies, such as sensors that automatically turn on lights when people enter a room, are becoming widespread in Japan.
The walking, child–size Asimo from Honda Motor Co. greets people at showrooms. NEC Corp. has developed a smaller companion robot–on –wheels called Papero. A seal robot available since 2004 can entertain the elderly and others in need of fuzzy companionship.
Sato says his experimental room is raising awareness about privacy questions that may arise when electronic devices（设备）monitor a person’s movements down to the smallest detail.
On the bright side, the tea – pouring humanoid has been programmed to do the dishes.The underlined word “embedded” in the first paragraph probably means .
| A．rooted | B．settled | C．fixed | D．established |
According to Professor Sato, .
| A．the robot serves tea much faster than a human being |
| B．the robot does anything like human beings |
| C．tea – serving robot helps to form laziness of the aging society |
| D．tea – serving robot doesn’t need any reward for the service |
We can infer from the passage that .
| A．people are afraid of being monitored by robots. |
| B．robots can completely take the place of human beings. |
| C．the technology of robots has been highlighted in Japan. |
| D．people’s privacy should be strictly protected |
What is the best title of this passage?
| A．“Thank You” Will Never Be Needed in Japan |
| B．Monitoring Technologies Are Widespread in Japan |
| C．Robot Is Designed to Care for the Elderly. |
| D．Robot technologies are widespread in Japanese daily life. |
Tensions have erupted over some barren rocks in the Pacific that you may never have heard of, but stay tuned—this is a boundary dispute that could get ugly and some day have far-reaching consequences for China, Japan, Taiwan and the United States．
The islands in dispute are called the Senkaku chain by Japan, the Diaoyu islands by China, and the Diaoyutai by Taiwan．All three claim the islands, which are really just five small islands and three barren rocks northeast of Taiwan, 200 miles off the Chinese coast．
The latest conflict occurred when a Chinese fishing boat collided with two Japanese naval ships trying to stop it near the islands．The Japanese prevented the Chinese captain from leaving the place for questioning and the two countries have been exchanging angry protests．
The reason to worry is that nationalists in both China and Taiwan see the slands as unquestionably theirs and think that their government has been weak in claiming this authority．
So far, wiser heads have generally won the argument on each side, but at some point a weakened Chinese leader might try to gain the legal right with the public by pushing the issue and recovering the islands．It would be a dangerous game and would have a disastrous impact on China-Japan relations, but if successful it would raise the popularity of the Chinese government．
In reality, of course, there is zero chance that the U．S．will honor its treaty（条约） with Japan over a few barren rocks．We're not going to risk a nuclear conflict with China over some islands that may well be China's．But if we don't help, our security relationship with Japan will be at the breaking point．
So which country has a better claim to the islands? My feeling is that it's China, although the answer isn't clear-cut．Chinese navigational records show the islands as Chinese for many centuries, and a 1783 Japanese map shows them as Chinese as well．Japan purported to "discover" the islands only in 1884 and took control of them by force only in 1895 when it also grabbed Taiwan．
The best approach would be for China and Japan to agree to refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice, but realistically that won't happen．And since some believe that the area is rich with oil and gas reserves, the claims from each side have become more insistent．
As Chinese nationalism grows, as China's navy and ability to project power in the ocean gains, we could see some military conflicts over the islands．
Taken from NewYork TimesThe underlined word "purported" （in Para．5） is closest in meaning to "_____"．
| A．happened | B．claimed | C．pretended | D．intended |
The latest conflict referred to in the passage occurred because _____．
| A．the Japanese government has bought the Diaoyu Islands from the Liyuans |
| B．two Japanese naval ships sailed in the Chinese sea around the Diaoyu Islands |
| C．the Japanese kept the captain of a fishing boat from returning for questioning |
| D．A fishing boat collided with two Japanese naval ships by design in the Japanese sea |
Which of the following is the author's personal idea?
| A．It is the two Japanese naval ships that are to blame for the conflict． |
| B．It is the Chinese captain of a fishing boat that is to blame for the conflict． |
| C．It is the U．S．that will honor its treaty with Japan over a few barren rocks． |
| D．It is China that has a better claim to the islands because of its navigational records． |
Why does the author think neither China nor Japan will agree to refer the dispute to the international Court of justice?
| A．because the claim from both sides has become more insistent． |
| B．because Japan has navy and ability to power the Diaoyu Islands． |
| C．because China is developing so quickly that it will declare a war on Japan． |
| D．because the U．S．won't be involved in the dispute between China and Japan． |
People think what I do is so wonderful because I interview stars. And I have to admit that when I first started working at Sassy in 1987 I was excited about that part of my job for the first couple of months, anyway. Then I noticed how stars would fool me around for months. I could never get enough time with a star to find out anything interesting, and some acted just simply rudely. I started hating the way I was treated, and I was really disappointed to see that these people I had worshipped (崇拜）before were pretty ordinary. So I decided I would just tell the truth instead of keeping up their myths (神秘）.If the star was a bad guy, I would say so. If I thought anyone was stupid, I did not hold back that information.
I thought readers would appreciate that kind of honesty. Surprisingly, many of them hated me for it. I have gotten so many attacks on my character. In their eyes, being famous is everything, even more desirable than being truly creative and talented
Why do we need stars? In fact, the media created stars to satisfy our basic need for gossip (闲话）.Over time, talking about people we have never met and we are never likely to meet has become what we are crazy about. Thus, some people are more interested in the personal lives of the stars than in the lives of their own family and their own friends. That is why it is so ridiculous when a star wants to discuss only his or her work in an interview as we care. We want the dirt on their personal lives.
There is another reason we worship stars. As a whole, our society is not as religious as it once was. It seems that people need something to fulfill them the way religion once did. Star worship exists as an unfulfilling desire for true heroes.
We make them stars, but then their reputation makes us feel unimportant, and we truly feel better about ourselves when they die. I am part of this whole process. No wonder I feel soiled at the end of workday.What are the stars like according to the author?
| A．They always treat others rudely. |
| B．They always talk about something dull. |
| C．They are actually ordinary people. |
| D．They are usually honest and polite. |
We worship stars because ______.
| A．we need true mental heroes to support us |
| B．we can learn something useful from famous stars |
| C．we concern about the stars’family and friends |
| D．we like talking about the stars’dressing styles |
When the author is writing this article, his tone sounds ______.
| A．excited | B．angry | C．worried | D．calm |
What is the main purpose of the author writing the passage?
| A．To show the disadvantages of working with stars. |
| B．To remind us not to worship famous stars blindly. |
| C．To laugh at the failures of stars he has interviewed. |
| D．To talk about the reasons why we worship stars. |
For the last couple of weeks, I had been stuck in front of my computer working on a project that was very important to me. My every waking hour was consumed by the project and although I imagined that I would feel happy after completing parts of the project, I was confused to find that instead, I was feeling rather depressed. I tried a range of methods to help cheer myself up. I had a relaxing bath, cooked a delicious meal to enjoy with my family and even watched a lighthearted movie, but to no avail. It was only when I turned to meditation(沉思)for a solution that the answer came to me: turn to nature!
The very next day, I grabbed my camera and a bottle of water and set off to spend a few hours walking in a nature reserve, even though it was pouring with rain. Within a couple of minutes I felt alive again. To be honest, I felt like a young school girl again and had to stop myself from hopping along the path singing, "I'm singing in the rain", a song I used to sing when I was a child. I think as adults we often try too hard to control our inner children and as a result we restrain(限制) our own spirits, which only leads to depression and stress.
Interestingly, it has been shown that people who spend 40 minutes walking in a nature reserve have a drop in their blood pressure levels, but this does not happen when they spend a similar amount of time walking in a busy city centre.
If you feel a little low in spirit and know that you have spent too much time indoors, relax completely, remove your shoes and let your inner child come out and play. The author felt depressed because she __________.
| A．couldn't consume her waking hour |
| B．had not seen a film for a long time. |
| C．had not finished her work on time |
| D．had worked on a hard job for too long |
The author walked in a nature reserve in the rain in order to__________.
| A．take photos |
| B．find a solution to the project |
| C．hop along the path |
| D．cheer herself up |
The underlined part "to no avail" in Paragraph 1 probably means " __________.".
| A．unsuccessful | B．unrelated |
| C．uninteresting | D．unexpected |
In the author's opinion, __________.
| A．a bath can make people relaxed |
| B．depression is usually caused by hard work |
| C．walking in a busy city centre harms people's health |
| D．adults should express their inner feelings freely |
The last paragraph mainly serves as a(n) __________.
| A．explanation | B．suggestion |
| C．introduction | D．reminder |
Wherever she goes, Molly leaves her mark. Without saying a word, she speaks to people with her kind eyes. Even when she walks away, she leaves an impression．Molly's mark is a smile, stamped into the ground by the horseshoe at the bottom of her false leg．
A few years ago, Molly was badly attacked by a dog．The dog bit all four or Molly’s legs and left large cuts in her face. Molly's owner, Kate Harris, took her to an animal hospital．Doctors there were able to save Molly’s life, but soon one of her legs became very infected(感染).
At first, doctors thought Molly would have to be put to sleep．But Molly changed their minds. This pony, doctors noticed, shifted her weight, and rested her good leg from time to time. Doctors knew t hat Molly had amazing intelligence, and that she wanted to live.
Several doctors operated on Molly, and removed her infected leg. A false leg was made for her. The leg was a hollow cast with a pole at the bottom for balance. Doctors gave Molly a special horseshoe at the bottom of the leg. This horseshoe she had had a stamp of a smile face in it!
After the operation, Molly walked around on all four legs, as if nothing had ever happened to her! Now, with every step she takes, she stamps a smile in the dirt．But she leaves her m ark in other ways, too.
Kaye Harris took Molly to the false leg center. There were children there who, like Molly, had artificial arms or legs. They were amazed to see a pony with a false leg. Molly made them smile and gave them hope. Soon, Molly began to visit schools, nursing homes, army bases and hospitals. A book was even written about Molly!Molly is the name of a__________.
| A．dog | B．horse | C．parent | D．child |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．Molly can speak to people in kind words. |
| B．Kay Harris took Molly to a children’s hospital after the attack. |
| C．In the beginning, doctors had planned to end Molly’s life. |
| D．Molly sometimes leaves smiling marks on people’s faces. |
What is unique about Molly?
| A．Molly has a false leg with a horseshoe shaped like a smiling face. |
| B．Molly ran a race and won the first prize. |
| C．Molly often visits places such as schools and parks. |
| D．Molly has become a symbol of hope for people of all ages. |