In Britain,Boxing Day is usually celebrated on December 26th(61) This means it's not a working day in the whole of Britain.When Boxing Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday,the following Monday is the public holiday.
(62) One of the thoughts is that during the Middle Ages,when great sailing ships were setting off to discover new land,a Christmas Box was placed by a priest(神父) on each ship.Those sailors who wanted a safe return would drop money into the box.(63)
One more thought is about the"Alms Box"placed in every church on Christmas Day.Worshippers (做礼拜的人)put gifts for the poor into it.These boxes were always opened the day after Christmas.(64) Today,many businesses,organizations and families try to keep the traditional spirit of Boxing Day alive by giving away money to Food Banks,providing gifts for the poor,or helping families in need. (65)
A.That is why that day became known as Boxing Day.
B.It was sealed up (密封) and kept on board until the ship came home safely.
C.Like Christmas Day,Boxing Day is a public holiday.
D.Besides,spending time with family and shopping are necessary activities on Boxing Day now.
E.The exact origin (起源) of the holiday is unclear.
Luca Gramberini has been scuba diving(戴水肺潜水) since he was a kid.His family owns a scuba company.For the past three summers,Luca has added gardening to his underwater activities.He helps run Nemo's Garden,a project to grow plants in the sea.
From May through September,Luca and other divers are working on Nemo's Garden in the Mediterranean Sea,150feet from the coast of Noli,Italy.Five large balloon﹣like objects,called biospheres(生物圈),hold plants such as beans and strawberries.The biospheres are filled with air and placed 20feet below the surface."My father came up with the idea because he loves gardening very much,"Luca said.
According to Luca,the sea is a good place to grow plants because underwater temperatures remain stable,changing little from day to night.The biospheres act like greenhouses.Inside the air﹣filled biospheres,fresh water keeps evaporating(蒸发),providing the plants with a good environment to grow in."We have already seen the plants,grow faster and better,"Luca says."And there are fewer storms that can knock down the biospheres during the summer."
Luca hopes Nemo's Garden will provide a new way of growing crops."There is not enough land on the Earth,"he says."And in many developing countries,bad conditions make it difficult for crops to grow."
Though the project has just started,Nemo's Garden has achieved success and is moving to different areas."We're going to try growing other plants."Luca says."We hope to set up biospheres in other countries.There are many possibilities."
34.Nemo's Garden is a project to .
A.do scuba diving in the sea
B.stop storms in the sea
C.make fresh water from the sea
D.grow plants under the water
35.The underlined word "stable" in paragraph 3 means in Chinese.
A.平衡的
B.正常的
C.稳定的
D.合适的
36.The passage is probably taken from the part of a newspaper.
A.travel
B.science
C.health
D.sports
37.The best title for this passage is .
A.Gardens in the sea
B.Projects for summer activities
C.Plants in greenhouses
D.Conditions for crop growing.
Leon was a postman.Every day Leon would wake up and feed his 37 cats.Leon didn't really want 37cats,but one by one they had appeared on his doorstep,and Leon had taken them in.
Every day,after feeding the cats,Leon would collect the mail from the red postboxes in the village and take it home."If only I had 37helpers instead of 37cats,my job would be so much easier,"Leon thought.Just then,the cats started meowing for their dinner.That gave Leon an idea.That night,Leon worked late making 37cat﹣sized postal backpacks.Then,he went around to each postbox,putting up signs that read:Postbox closed! Please use the postal cat service.
The next day,Leon put a backpack on each cat and dropped off the cats around the village.Leon knew that the cats would be happy walking around all day.He also knew that they would always come home for dinner.Leon spent the day relaxing,waiting for his helpers to return.Leon was right.The cats did return,but they did not bring home many letters.Some got the letters wet.Some bit off the corners of the letters.Some even lost their backpacks.""Cats are just too unreliable(不可靠的),"Leon thought.
Just then,a strange sound came from the outside of Leon's door.A dirty dog was waiting to be invited inside.That gave Leon an idea.
31.In Paragraph 2,Leon that night.
A.made postal backpacks
B.put up a sign on each cat
C.had dinner with the cats
D.collected letters in the village
32.According to the last paragraph,we can infer(推断) that Leon would .
A.let the dog take a shower
B.invite the dog to dinner
C.make the dog work for him
D.walk the dog around the village
33.From the passage we know Leon was .
A.honest
B.brave
C.strict
D.funny.
Ravi是保险(insurance)公司的一名业务员,公司安排他明天外出见一些客户.假设你是Ravi,请你根据公司要求和客户信息,对照市区地图设计合理的拜访路线,并把地名代号A﹣E填入46﹣50小题相应空格处.
Requirements:(1)Visiting time:9:00﹣17:00.(2)Each visit takes an hour including traveling time.
Notes about customers:
Ravi's visiting route(路线):Ravi's office→46. →47. →48. →49. →50. .
Aren't mobile phone,e﹣mail and voice mail supposed to help us communicate more easily?Sadly,that's not always the case.Take the other day for example,when I was walking through the park with my friend,suddenly his mobile phone rang and he answered it﹣﹣leaving me alone and cutting our conversation dead! In fact,the park was filled with people talking on their mobile phones.They were passing other people without even looking at them,or stopping to walk their dogs.Clearly,people preferred the voice on the mobile phone to human contact(联系).
Why is it that the more connected we get,the more disconnected I feel?Development in communication technology seems to keep people from human contact.With e﹣mail over the Internet,we can communicate without seeing or talking to one another.With voice mail,you can have conversations without even meeting that person.Even some food stores are using self﹣scanners(自助扫瞄仪)so that you can check yourself out.As the contact between human beings becomes automated(自动化的),my feeling of being disconnected gets stronger.Don't get me wrong.I'm not against machines.I also own a mobile phone,a voice mail system,and an e﹣mail account.Giving them up isn't a good idea,as they are useful to have around.It's just that when they keep us away from human contact,I begin to feel sad.More and more,I find myself answering e﹣mail instead of talking to people.The technology that was made to help keep us in contact with each other is,in fact making me feel more lonely.
What is to be done?Well,I've made myself a plan to use less technology:no e﹣mailing people who live near me,and no letting the voice mail pick up when I'm at home.
42.The example in Paragraph I shows that people now .
A.communicate more easily
B.dislike talking face to face at all
C.prefer talking on their mobile phones
D.are only good at using mobile phones
43.The underlined word disconnected in Paragraph 2 probably means .
A.lonely
B.satisfied
C.stupid
D.interested
44.It can be inferred(推断)from the passage that .
A.the writer is going to give up mobile phones
B.machines are now not useful to have around
C.machines actually keep people closer to each other
D.the writer decides not to phone others a lot when with friends
45.Which is the best title of the passage?
A.Technology and Human Life
B.The Importance of Technology
C.Technology and Human Contact
D.The Development of Technology.
Chip was in first grade when I arrived at his school as a counselor(辅导员).It was shocking to me that he was described as an angry,uncontrollable and evil(惹人厌的)boy.How could such a little boy,after being in school only one year,be considered "evil"?Over the next several months,I came to know Chip well enough to see that he was neither evil nor uncontrollable.
But,one day,Chip threw a chair at his teacher and was sent to my office.I asked him what made him do this.He replied that his teacher hated him.He felt there was no way to ever get her to like him.I asked him if he would tell his teacher this.He noded,and we called her into my office.
When the teacher came,________.He then said that he knew he was a very,very bad boy,and he didn't think anyone could ever like him.His teacher listened to him with heartfelt compassion.Then she gave him a big warm hug,telling him she didn't hate him at all and,actually,she cared very much about him.Only sometimes Chip's behavior really scared her.It was clear to both Chip and me that she really meant it.
I put my left arm on his shoulders and the right hand on his heart.I told him how wonderful and lovely I saw him to be.I praised how special and brave he was to express his hurt feelings.
As I was speaking to him,his whole body came to rest on my right hand next to his heart.It was a moment in time unlike anything I had experienced before.From then on,I'm pleased to see his behavior improved through the rest of school years.
A child's mind is clear and sensitive(敏感的).He receives whatever others say without protection.It is as easy to consider someone hopeless as it is to consider him able in his own special way.
38.The first paragraph mainly tells us .
A.Chip was very popular at school
B.the teacher didn't care about Chip at all
C.Chip had no way to get others to like him
D.the writer thought differently about Chip
39.Which of the following is the best sentence to fill in the bland in the passage?
A.she couldn't control her feelings
B.I advised her to be more patient
C.Chip became angry and crazy again
D.I encouraged Chip to express his feelings
40.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 shows that Chip .
A.accepted the writer
B.wanted a rest
C.was quite afraid
D.felt a little nervous
41.What can we learn from the passage?
A.No pains,no gains.
B.Love me,love my dog
C.Expect higher,act better.
D.Where there is a will,there is a way.