The United Kingdom，officially known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland，is a state located at north﹣west Europe．The United Kingdom has four countries：England，Scotland，Wales and Northern Ireland．
It is one of the most powerful，and richest countries in the world．It is an amazing piece of land that is rich in history and facts，some of which are yet to be discovered．From the natural beauty to the people，technological advancement（科技进步）and sports，no one can ever have enough of the UK．To learn more about the country，you should read the facts below．
The English drink the most tea in the world．They drink over 163 million cups of tea daily，about 20 times the number of cups drunk by Americans．
Although Britain has been involved in many wars lasting for many years，it has also been involved in the shortest war．The Anglo﹣Zanzibar War fought in 1896 lasted only 45 minutes，just the time for a class．
The UK has the highest rate（比率）of being very fat in the world．Almost 25% of the British duets are very fat．
The UK has the third﹣highest rate of heart disease in Europe．It ranks（排位）just below Ireland and Finland．
Of all countries that celebrate Independence Day，58 are independent of the UK，the highest by any country．
Almost 25% of all women in the UK were named Mary in 1811．
According to history，the London Bridge had indeed fallen down according to the old rhyme，when the Saxons had tom it down using ropes and boats．The Thames has over 200 bridges and tunnels along its course．
（1）The first paragraph introduces the of the UK．
A．people
B．countries
C．weather
（2）What do the English drink the most？
A．Coffee．
B．Cola．
C．Tea．
（3）When did the Anglo﹣Zanzibar War happen？
A．In 1896．
B．In 1811．
C．In 1800．
（4）What did the writer use most to tell the truth？
A．Stories．
B．Examples．
C．Numbers．
（5）What can be the best title of the passage？
A．The Culture of the UK．
B．The Fun Facts of the UK．
C．The Science of the UK．
For a long time, humans have used technology (科技) to study the world around us, and Mars is the latest place we’re using machines to explore. Besides the earth, the “red planet” is seen, as the one place in our solar system most likely to have life.
Early last month, the first American robot, Spirit, landed on Mars without any problem. Opportunity, the second robot, landed on the planet more than a week ago. Scientists are very excited about these machines’ safe landing on Mars. It means that now we have an excellent chance to look for water and other signs of life. So far, the robots have found some stones that could show Mars was once a wet and warm planet.
But the trips made by Spirit and Opportunity were dangerous. Mars is often called the “death planet”, because in the past its environment has been unfriendly to the robot explorers. Before Spirit and Opportunity, nearly forty spaceships had been sent to Mars since the 1960s. Two-thirds of them failed. The first spaceship, Korabl, sent in 1962 by Russia was among them. It broke apart (分裂) near the earth.For a long time humans think ________.
| A．they can surely find life on Mars |
| B．there may be life on Mars |
| C．it’s too late for them to explore Mars now |
| D．Mars is the only planet that has life on it |
The two robots ________.
| A．have found out that it is warm and wet on Mars |
| B．were sent to Mars to find some stones |
| C．were the first two American robots that landed on Mars |
| D．are the only machines that have landed on Mars so far |
The third paragraph mainly tell us ________.
| A．it’s a very hard and dangerous trip for spaceships to Mars |
| B．two-thirds of the spaceships sent to Mars have failed |
| C．Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars successfully |
| D．Mars is called the “death planet” |
I found out one time that doing a favor (关心)for someone could get you into a lot of trouble. I was in the eighth grade at the time, and we were having a final test. During the test, the girl sitting next to me whispered something, but I didn’t understand. So I leaned(倾斜)over her way and found out that she was trying to ask me if I had an extra pen. She showed me that hers was out of ink and would not write. I happened to have an extra one, so I took it out of my pocket and put it on her desk.
Later, after the test papers had been turned in, the teacher asked me to stay in the room when all the other students were dismissed. As soon as we were alone she began to talk to me about what it meant to grow up; she talked about how important it was to stand on your own two feet and be responsible for your own acts. For a long time, she talked about honesty and emphasized（强调）the fact that when people do something dishonest, they are really cheating themselves. She made me promise that I would think seriously about all the things she had said, and then she told me I could leave. I walked out of the room wondering why she had chosen to talk to me about all those things.
Later on, I found out that she thought I had cheated on the test. When she saw me lean over to talk to the girl next to me, it looked as if I was copying answers from the girl’s test paper. I tried to explain about the pen, but all she could say was it seemed very strange to her that I hadn’t talked of anything about the pen the day she talked to me right after the test. Even if I tried to explain that I was just doing the girl a favor by letting her use my pen, I am sure she continued to believe that I had cheated on the test.The story took place exactly .
| A．in the teacher’s office | B．in an exam room |
| C．in the school library | D．in the language lab |
The thing(s) emphasized in the teacher’s talk was (were) .
| A．honesty | B．sense of duty | C．seriousness | D．all of the above |
The boy knew everything .
| A．the moment he was asked to stay behind |
| B．when the teacher started talking about honesty |
| C．only some time later |
| D．when he was walking out of the room |
| Sydney Tower Address: 100 Market St. Sydney Phone: 02 9333 9222 Fax: 02 9333 9208 Open time: 9:00 am to 10:30 pm (Saturdays to 11:30 pm) Ticket: $60 (for an adult) $30 (for a child) Website: www.sydneytower.com.au How to get there: train to Town Hall Station and a short walk along Market Street How to book tickets: by phone/ fax or through the web Attraction: Sydney’s best views are just beginning! Sydney Tower takes you to the highest point above Sydney for exciting 360°views of our beautiful city. |
Sydney Tower is ____________ in Sydney, Australia.
| A．the busiest street | B．the biggest station |
| C．the most beautiful park | D．the highest point |
Sydney Tower opens at ____________.
| A．8:00 am | B．9:00 am | C．10:30 pm | D．11:30 pm |
If an adult with two children goes to visit Sydney Tower, he has to pay ___________.
| A．$60 | B．$90 | C．$120 | D．$150 |
Tea bag drinking is most westerners’ favorite way of drinking tea. Do you know how it came about?
The tea bag was invented in 1908 by Thomas Sullivan, an American tea seller. He was sending out free tea in silk bags for people to try. People put the bags together with the tea leaves into the cup and added hot water. The tea tasted good, and people thought it was easy to clean the cup. They were not happy when Sullivan started sending them loose (散的) tea again.
Sullivan realized that he had a hot new thing in his hands, and he built a machine to pack the bags. As tea bags became popular, they were changed from silk to gauze (薄纱) and later paper. In 1952, Lipton Tea made the tea bag even more popular with its invention of the four-sided tea bag. Tea bags were soon a hit in the UK, and today 85% of the tea in the UK is packed in paper bags.
However, many people still prefer loose-leaf tea. This is because some tea companies put not very good tea in their tea bags. But for most drinkers, tea bags are still the easy, tasty way to go.Who invented the tea bag?
| A．An English tea seller. | B．Chinese. | C．Lipton. | D．Thomas Sullivan. |
The underlined sentence “Tea bags were soon a hit in the UK” probably means “________ in the UK”.
| A．Tea bags soon became popular |
| B．Tea bags surprised everyone very much |
| C．Tea bags kicked (踢) the loose-leaf tea out of the market |
| D．Tea bags weren’t allowed to be sold |
This sentence “today 85% of the tea in the UK is packed in paper bags.” tells us ________.
| A．Most drinkers in the UK prefer loose-leaf tea. |
| B．Most drinkers in the UK prefer tea bags. |
| C．A quarter of the drinkers in the UK prefer loose-leaf tea. |
| D．A quarter of the drinkers in the UK dislike tea bags. |
From the passage we can learn that Thomas Sullivan was very ________.
| A．clever | B．stupid | C．lazy | D．busy |
What can be the best title for this passage?
| A．The invention of tea |
| B．The way of drinking tea |
| C．The history of tea bags |
| D．People’s favorite tea in the world |
We have to accept the truth: Sometimes, we just want to shout out loud.
For example, we all have days like this: our dog has made a mess on the floor we just cleaned, or our friend called to tell us he or she couldn’t come at the last minute when we had cooked dinner for him or her. We may be really angry but we tried to bear things like those. According to ancient Chinese wisdom, we should shout in a loud voice instead of keeping silent. In fact, it’s good for our health.
“Chinese people have passed on the practice from ancient times to now as a part of traditional medicine,” said Mrs. Li, a 60-year-old woman from Hangzhou. “My parents taught me to do this. It’s a part of our folk（民间的）culture. ”
Mrs. Li is a member of a group of people who love shouting. Each morning, she and some of her friends climb to the top of a hill and let out loud shouts before starting their daily exercise. They believe that shouting is good exercise for their lungs（肺）and it brings them a lot of fun.
“Sometimes I shout out and other shout back,” said Mrs. Gu, another shouting lover. “It makes you happy. You laugh and then you feel very comfortable. ”
Dr. Peter Calafiura, an American doctor, agrees that shouting can have a positive influence on people’s health.
So, next time you start your morning run, why not try to shout out first? It will make you healthier. The underlined word “bear” in Paragraph 2 means “__________” in Chinese.
| A．纠正 | B．忍受 | C．铭记 | D．杜绝 |
Mrs. Li learnt to shout to make herself feel better from __________.
| A．her parents | B．her teacher | C．Mrs. Gu | D．Dr. Peter Calafiura |
Where does Mrs. Li shout every day?
| A．In a park. | B．At a square. | C．In her house. | D．On a hill. |
What does Dr. Peter Calafiura think of shouting?
| A．It’s great furl. | B．It’s good for people’s health. |
| C．It’s easy to learn. | D．It’s good exercise especially for kids. |
The passage is mainly about __________.
| A．a shouting 1over | B．a shouting club |
| C．the advantages of shouting | D．the history of shouting |