February 29th comes up on the calendar only every four years．A year with a February 29th might be good news if you are paid by the day or the week．But it might be bad news if you were born on a February 29th．You have to wait three years in between birthdays!
American English has an expression for the unusual situation． February 29th is called a leap day． And the year with a February 29th in it is called a leap year． This year， 2020， is such a year．
As a verb，the word "leap" means to jump， or to move quickly．"Leap" can also be a noun，meaning a jump， or a sudden move．
In a leap year， the dates jump over one day of the week． Let me explain． In 2017，the last day of the year， December 31st ， fell on a Sunday． In 2018， it fell on a Monday． In 2019， it fell on a Tuesday． But in 2020， December 31st will fall on a Thursday． It jumps right over Wednesday．
The reason for a leap day or a leap year is because our calendar does not follow the earth's orbit（轨道）around the sun exactly． Each year， we have a little time left over． So every four years，we put all that time together into an extra（额外的） day．
Some people choose to marry on February 29th because it is an unusual date．But some ancient peoples would likely tell couples not to do it． Leap years were believed to be difficult， and leap days were unlucky．To be honest， these have no scientific basis（依据）．
（1）A 20﹣year﹣old person has birthdays if he/she was born on a February 29th．
A．20
B．15
C．10
D．5
（2）A leap year means on more is added in the calendar of the year．
A． month
B． year
C．day
D． week
（3）The last day of 2021 will fall on according to this article．
A． Saturday
B． Friday
C． Sunday
D． Monday
（4）Some people choose to marry on February 29th because ．
A． it's quite a special date
B． it's quite an unlucky day
C． it can save more money
D． it's a traditional custom
（5）Which of the following sentences is not true according to this article？
A． Scientists tell couples not to marry on a leap day．
B． The leap year or leap day comes once every four years．
C． Some ancient peoples believed that leap days were unlucky．
D． We have a little time left each year before a leap year comes．
An old scientist recently made several tests with different animals to find out which was cleverer than other animals.
In one test the old scientist put a monkey in a room where there were several boxes. Some boxes were inside other boxes. One small box had some food in it. The scientist wanted to watch the monkey and to find out how long it would take the monkey to find the food. The scientist left the room. He waited a few minutes outside the door. Then he got down on his knees and put his eyes to the keyhole(锁孔). What did he see? To his surprise, he found himself looking into the eye of the monkey. The monkey was on the other side of the door and looked at the scientist through the keyhole.The scientist did the test to see ____________.
| A．if the monkey would steal (偷) the food |
| B．if the monkey would look for the food |
| C．if the monkey was cleverer than other animals |
| D．if some boxes were inside other boxes |
In one test the scientist put a monkey __________.
| A．into a small box |
| B．into several small boxes |
| C．into a box where there was some food |
| D．in a room |
After the scientist left the room, the monkey_________.
| A．began to eat food |
| B．began to look for food |
| C．looked at the scientist through the keyhole |
| D．came into the boxes one after another |
The scientist_______________.
| A．got down on his knees and waited outside the door |
| B．got down on his knees and heard with his ears |
| C．left the room for a long time |
| D．looked at the monkey through the keyhole with his eyes |
To the scientist’s surprise ______________.
| A．the monkey got down on its knees |
| B．the monkey came out of the room |
| C．the monkey looked at the scientist through the window |
| D．the monkey put its eye to the keyhole |
| J&M Music Store • Rock, pop and country music • Buy CDs new or used • Listen before you buy • Guitar lessons offered |
Peth Market • Fresh fruit and vegetables • Open Friday to Sunday mornings • Free ice cream for children under 12 |
| Times Coffee Shop • The best coffee in town • Sandwiches, cakes, pies •Open 10:00a.m__11:00 p.m.daily •Jazz music( Wednesday to Sunday) |
Macon's B&B • Feel like home when you're away from • We have different kinds of rooms • Delicious homemade breakfast |
You can________ at J&M Music Store.
| A．receive guitar lessons | B．borrow new or used CDs |
| C．learn pop music history | D．buy all kinds of music books |
You can go to Times Coffee Shop to have coffee and pies at_______.
| A．8:30 a.m. | B．9:30 a.m. |
| C．10:30 p.m. | D．11:30 p.m. |
If your friend is coming for a visit, where will he stay for a night?
A. In J&M Music Store.B. In Peth Market
C. At Times Coffee Shop.D. At Macon's B&B.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．There is no breakfast at Macon's B& |
| B．You can't listen to the CD before you buy it. |
| C．Times Coffee Shop offers Jazz music every day. |
| D．Kids under 12 can get free ice cream in Peth Market |
Where is the passage probably from?
| A．dictionary. | B．A newspaper. |
| C．A story book. | D．A science report. |
As Keira climbed into bed, she thought about tomorrow’s field trip. Her class was going to a presentation by a West African traditional storyteller. Keira was excited because she was of West African descent. Her great-grandmother had come to the United States from Senegal, a country in West Africa. Until now, Keira hadn’t thought much about her roots(根源).
Early the next morning, Keira looked everywhere for something to show her West African roots. She dug through every drawer, but she couldn’t find anything that really stood out. Finally, she put on a white shirt and jeans. Although she wore ordinary clothes, she hoped that her interest in her West African roots would not go unnoticed.
At the community center, Keira was lucky enough to get a front-row seat. The first speaker talked about African writers and how they often use traditional stories with traditional characters, such as the Tortoise and the Spider. The speaker mentioned writers her mother and grandmother liked! Also, Tortoise was a favorite character in Keira’s bedtime stories. Finally, the speaker mentioned Doudou N’Diaye Rose. He was Keira’s favorite drummer. He was from Senegal. She began to realise just how much her West African roots influenced her American life.
Finally, the storyteller came up. He told a story that explained how the chameleon, a small lizard(蜥蜴), changed its colors. Then he introduced the Spider and Tortoise. It was known that they appeared to be generous but in fact they wanted to keep everything for themselves. Some of the stories made these characters seem poor as they fought for every last piece. However, they were simply naughty(调皮的). They certainly did learn their lessons!
Keira couldn’t keep her mind from thinking about all the different stories her mother had told. Her memory was pouring out again! She knew about everything the storyteller said.
After the presentation, the class talked to the storyteller. Keira told about how her great-grandmother had moved to the United States from Senegal. Her great-grandmother left her village because of a famine, a time of hunger. She had explained to Keira’s grandmother that the villagers spent days begging for food. Her great-grandmother finally came to the United States. Keira told the storyteller about those of her bedtime stories.
When Keira was finished, the storyteller pointed out that she had just done his job. She had described her family and the stories they told. Keira could hardly wait to tell her mother and grandmother the news!
Keria was ________ about the presentation on the evening of the day before.
| A．nervous | B．excited |
| C．surprised | D．unhappy |
Keria wore ordinary clothes that day because ________.
| A．the clothes made her stand out |
| B．they were her favourite clothes |
| C．she didn’t find anything with West African roots |
| D．she didn’t want to show others her West African roots |
________ was a favourite character in Keria’s West African traditional stories.
| A．Tortoise | B．Spider | C．Lizard | D．Chamelon |
The underlined word “famine” in Paragraph 5 most probably means a time short of ________.
| A．money | B．food | C．water | D．job |
From the passage, we can learn ________.
| A．culture can’t go without certain kinds of clothes |
| B．one can’t find his roots without going to his own country |
| C．culture not only appears in something material like clothes |
| D．culture will die soon after you live far away from your place |
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 |