It may be hard to believe，but the American Revolution（革命）﹣the war that freed the American states from British control﹣began over a cup of tea．Tea was not the only thing that caused the war，of course，but it played a very big part．
The British people's love of tea is well﹣known．When the British won control over mush of North America in the early 1700s，they brought their tea﹣drinking habits with them．Tea quickly became the continents most popular drink．As tea could not be grown locally，just as in Britain，it was shipped into the country﹣mostly from India．
In the early 1700s，the Britain government made a special deal with the East India Company，as an English trading company．They agreed that no other company was allowed to bring tea to Britain or any country controlled by Britain，including America．It was a great deal for the East India Company，since it meant that the company could decide whatever price it wanted for its products．And it always decided on a high price!
In North America，the local people did not like having to pay such high prices．Instead of overpaying for tea from the British，they turned to Dutch traders，who secretly brought tea to the country that was just as good﹣and much less expensive．Although this broke the law，the American people didn't care．They got the same cup of tea at a much lower price．
The East India Company，however，didn't like this at all．By the 1760s，they were losing millions of pounds each year to Dutch traders﹣a huge amount of money in a time when￡60a year was considered a good income．Instead of reducing their prices to compete with the Dutch，the company asked the British government for help and the government agreed．
In 1767，the British introduced new law that increased the prices of all goods which were brought into America．These laws helped make the East India Company even richer and forced local people to pay much more for everything．The American leaders asked the British government not to do so，but the British refused to listen．These unfair laws increased Americans'anger about British rule and the rest，as they say，is history．
31．In the early 1700s where did most tea drunk in America come from？
| A． |
China |
| B． |
India |
| C． |
America |
| D． |
Britain |
32．The underlined word"it"in Paragraph 3refers to ．
| A． |
the tea maker |
| B． |
the American government |
| C． |
the British government |
| D． |
the East India Company |
33．Why did may Americans begin to buy tea from the Dutch traderfs？
| A． |
The tea was much cheaper． |
| B． |
The tea was a lot healthier． |
| C． |
They could buy it more easily． |
| D． |
They didn't want to support the British． |
34．What did the East India Company do to stop losing money？
| A． |
It reduced the price of its tea． |
| B． |
It improved the taste of its tea． |
| C． |
It introduced a new kind of tea． |
| D． |
It asked the British government for help． |
35．What is the passage mainly about？
| A． |
Tea trade in eighteenth﹣century America． |
| B． |
The relationship between America and Britain． |
| C． |
A reason for the start of the American Revolutionary War． |
| D． |
The introduction of British tea﹣drinking habits into America． |
April will bring a new product – the Apple Watch – into the market. Last week, the watch was firstly introduced by Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. The price of the watch will differ from $349 to $1,099, depending on its size, strap and whether it is a sports or regular version.
Apple engineers and designers have put in a lot of thought and hard work into creating this "small screen" on your wrist(手腕). The "sensor" on the screen not only detects your finger, but knows the difference between when you are tapping, and when you are pressing harder.
The watch also has “haptic feedback(触觉反馈)”. You can send personal messages to your friend - such as drawing a star or a special sign with your fingers, or tapping the watch, say 3 times, and your friend will receive those taps on their wrist.
Besides telling the time, the watch will use 'bluetooth' to connect with your iPhone and show calls or text messages that come in.
According to Tim Cook, the watch may open up a whole new area of applications that we had never thought of. Some car factories like BMW have developed an app that allows its car owners to open their cars with the watch. A 'Hotels' app may allow you to open the door to your hotel room without worrying about losing the smart-card. And finally, even airlines are jumping in - passengers may be able to simply wave their wrist to check into their flight.
The biggest use of the watch, however, is as your personal fitness coach. The watch can measure your pulse (heartbeat) using a sensor at the bottom of the watch. It also has the same "accelerometer" as your iPhone, so it knows when you are moving, and also how much you are walking or running. It will remind you if you have been sitting for too long without much activity.
Many stores are planning to stop selling the Nike, Jawbone and FitBit devices(设备) to welcome the Apple Watch. Will Apple Watch really replace these devices and make fitness much more fun?
We can learn from the passage that the Apple Watch ________.
| A．is designed by Tim Cook |
| B．was brought into the market last week |
| C．sells at different prices for different colours |
| D．will come into the market this coming April |
With apple watch, you can ________.
| A．develop your own personal app |
| B．connect your iphone with your ipad |
| C．receive personal messages from your friends’ iphone |
| D．send personal messages to your friends’ apple watches |
Many businesses help push for the uses of apple watch EXCEPT ________.
| A．hospitals | B．hotels |
| C．airlines | D．car factories |
Many stores are planning to stop selling FitBit devices because ________.
| A．all of the devices are sold out |
| B．they cannot make fitness fun |
| C．they want to welcome the Apple Watch |
| D．Apple Watch can replace FitBit devices completely |
The young turtle has been swimming for three months now in the same warm shallow bay, dreaming of calm water and plenty of food. But as the days begin to shorten and the night comes earlier and earlier, the water grows colder. It drops to fifty degrees Fahrenheit(华氏). Swimming is harder. Its heartbeat slows—and almost stops. The young turtle is in danger of losing its life.
Ten days before Thanksgiving, Max Nolan, a ten-year-old boy, and his mother begin their patrol. The Nolans are among volunteers who walk Cape Cod’s beaches during November and December to search for turtles who are often cold and trapped and seem dead—turtles whose lives they may be able to save.
Max and his mother and the other volunteers do an important job. All sea turtles are threatened or endangered. Among them Kemp’s ridleys are the most endangered. Right now on our planet there are fewer than eight thousand Kemp’s ridley turtles left.
Max is far in front of his mother when he sees a turtle washed up by the surf. He runs up to it and shouts to his mom, “Got one!” The turtle is cold. Its eyes are open, but the turtle is not moving at all. It might be dead or still alive.
Max remembers the instructions given to all the volunteers. He picks up the turtle, which weighs about five pounds, and moves it above the high-tide mark to keep it from washing out to sea. Then he runs to find seaweed to protect it from the wind. He finds a stick to mark where it is, and next, he and his mother go to the nearest telephone and call the sea-turtle hot line for help.The young turtle is in danger of losing its life because ________.
| A．it has been swimming for three months |
| B．it dreams of calm water and plenty of food |
| C．the water drops to fifty degrees Fahrenheit |
| D．the days get longer and the nights come earlier |
The underlined word “Patrol” in Paragraph 2 probably means ________.
| A．swimming in the sea |
| B．travelling to the seaside |
| C．enjoying Thanksgiving with others |
| D．walking along the beaches for turtles |
In order to prevent the turtle from washing out to sea, Max ________.
| A．runs to find seaweed |
| B．calls the sea-turtle hot line |
| C．finds a stick to mark where it is |
| D．moves it above the high-tide mark |
My best buddy is ________.
| A．a dog with long ears |
| B．a girl with long hair |
| C．a rabbit with long ears |
| D．a boy with a round pink body |
I had a good time doing the following with my buddy EXCEPT________.
| A．running through the green grass |
| B．playing hide-and-seek |
| C．swimming in the swimming pool |
| D．sharing my happiest days |
I first met my buddy ________.
| A．eight months ago |
| B．when I was seven years old |
| C．in the green grass |
| D．at a stranger’s house |
Winston Churchill was born on 30 November 1874, in Blenheim Palace near Oxford. He was Britain’s prime minister for most of World War II. He was famous for his speeches. He never gave up even when things were going badly. People all over the world remember Churchill as a war leader. He loved history and in his life he made history.
Wars and adventures
In order to be a soldier in the cavalry (装甲部队), Winston went to the army college at Sandhurst in 1893. 1895 was a sad year. His father died. Winston went to America and Cuba. He started writing for newspapers about his adventures (冒险经历). In 1898, he went as a newspaper reporter to South Africa. He came home as a hero. In 1900, he was chosen as a member of Parliament (议会). In 1911 he became the chief leader of the Royal Navy. At this time, Britain had the world’s biggest navy.
In 1914, World War I began. But in 1915 his plan for an attack on Turkey went badly wrong. Churchill himself decided to fight in France as a soldier.
By 1917 he was back in the government. He was excited by the new tanks. Tanks helped win the war by 1918.
World War II began in 1939. In May 1940, Winston Churchill became the British prime minister. Churchill used radio to tell the world Britain was not beaten. His speeches helped keep up people’s spirits. “We shall never give up,” he once said. Churchill led his people through the fight of Britain and the Blitz. Everywhere he went he gave the “V for Victory” sign. The war in Europe was over in May 1945. People cheered Churchill. He stood with the King and Queen.
Churchill’s last years
Churchill kept busy. He wrote books and made speeches. He went back to 10 Downing Street as a prime minister. At that time he was 76.
In 1953, Churchill was given the Nobel Prize for Literature, for his history books.
Churchill passed away on 24 January 1965. Many world leaders came to his state funeral (葬礼). People lined the streets and lots of them couldn’t stop crying. Many famous British people are buried in Westminster Abbey or St Paul’s Cathedral. But Churchill’s grave (坟墓) is in a country churchyard near Oxford.
| Winston Churchill —— a great British prime minister |
||
| General introduction |
● One of the most famous people in Britain. ● Be |
|
| Wars and adventures |
1893-1911 |
● In 1893, he studied at an army college because he ● In 1895, he began to write articles for ● In 1911, he was the leader of the world’s biggest navy. |
| During the World War I |
● His plan to attack Turkey ● Later he became a solider to fight in France. ● He led his country through the war because of |
|
| During the World War II |
● In 1940, he became a prime minister. ● He made speeches to ● The war in Europe |
|
| Churchill’s |
● He still kept busy and ● At the age of ninety-one, he passed away and left his people great |
I remembered Julie coming to the front of the classroom after class one autumn day in September 1976. While most of the other students hurriedly left to enjoy the pleasant weather or to relax at the student union, Julie remained to ask me questions about the next week’s exam. She had clearly already done some serious studying.
Julie never made it to the exam. The day after our conversation, she was hit by a large truck as she rode a bike through a crossroads. I was sad to hear that Julie lay unconscious (昏迷的) in a hospital across town from our university.
Nurses silently came and went from Julie’s room. Her parents stood nearby quietly. Then the doctor entered the room and said to Julie’s parents and two brothers, “Your Julie has only a few hours to live.” He continued to ask, “Would you think about donating some of Julie’s organs (器官)?”
At the same time in a neighboring city, a woman called Mary was trying to see better in her small living room. Her eyes followed every movement of her lively two-year-old baby. This mother was storing up memories when she could no longer see her child. Several cities away, a young father called John was reading to his two sons in the hospital. However, he was told to have only weeks to live. His only hope was a kidney transplant (肾脏移植).
The two parents looked at each other, the doctor could see tears in their eyes. “Yes. Julie had once said she wanted to donate her organs in the event of her death. Julie always gave to others while she was alive. She would like to give in death.”
Within twenty-four hours, Mary was told that she would receive one of Julie’s eyes, and John was told to start preparing for a kidney transplant. Julie’s other organs would give life to other waiting patients.
“Julie died right after her twentieth birthday. Nothing could possibly be as heartbreaking as the death of your child,” says Julie’s mother. She continues, “But Julie’s life was a gift to us. Knowing that in her death, she gave the gift of life and sight to others is comforting to us. ”Which word can best describe Julie according to Paragraph 1?
| A．Hard-working. | B．Helpful. | C．Clever. | D．Selfish |
According to the passage, we know that Julie ______.
| A．was a classmate of the writer’s |
| B．was the only child of her family |
| C．didn’t take the exam because of the accident |
| D．died immediately at the scene of the accident |
The underlined word “comforting ” in the last paragraph means “______”.
| A．安慰的 | B．有害的 | C．有益的 | D．明智的 |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Julie’s parents didn’t allow her to donate her organs. |
| B．Mary needed a kidney transplant to save her own life. |
| C．Julie prepared for the exam carefully before the accident. |
| D．John and Mary were patients in the same hospitals with Julie. |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．A girl’s whole life. |
| B．A family’s sad story. |
| C．The terrible truck accident. |
| D．The last gift in life. |