The Dead Sea
At 430 meters below sea level， the Dead Sea is Earth's lowest point on land． It is popular for its wonderful buoyancy（浮力）． The high salt content﹣more than 34 percent ﹣ makes swimming more like floating．
Now the Dead Sea is actually dying． People are using water from the Jordan River， which takes water away from the Dead Sea． Since 1930， its surf area has reduced by almost 40 percent．
Venice， Italy
With waterways instead of streets． This "Floating City" has attracted visitors for centuries． But no visit to Venice is complete without a ride on one of its famous gondolas， human powered water taxis． Water creates Venice． But water will also kill the city．
Built on soft earth， Venice has slowly been sinking （下沉） for centuries． Now， with rising sea levels caused by human activities， it's sinking faster． According to US﹣based magazine Architectural Digest， the city may disappear in the next 100 years． Better book your gondola soon!
Great Barrier Reef， Australia
Covering more than 2，300 kilometers of Australia's northeast coast， Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest reef ecosystem， and an ideal place for scuba divers （水肺潜水者）．Thousands of colorful coral （珊瑚） and fish make homes in the blue sea water． It's like a big underwater party!
Sadly， the party might be over soon． The reef is dying． Human activities are changing the weather． Warming ocean， water kills the coral， and this causes problems up the food chain． The New York Times reported that large parts are already dead， and the reef system might be gone by 2030．
（1）What can be the best title of the passage？
A． Disappearing Watery Wonders
B． Amazing Man﹣made Wonders on the Sea
C． Lost Watery Wonders on the Sea
D． Last Watery Wonders in the World
（2）Which of the following is the shared cause of the problems all the three places are facing？
A． Water loss．
B． Sea pollution．
C． Warming seas．
D． Human activities．
（3）If Tom wants to visit all the following places before they are gone， and he can only afford one in the next 15 years， where must he go？
A． The Dead Sea．
B． Venice．
C． Italy．
D． Great Barrier Reef．
| The history of Talk Like a Pirate Day John Baur and Mark Summers started the holiday in 1995. The idea came to them when one of them got hurt (受伤) in a game and cried out “Arrrr!”. They thought it would be fun if people talked like pirates (海盗) in a whole day. They chose September 19th because it was Mark’s wife’s birthday and he thought it would be easy for him to remember. At first it was just something they did for fun. In 2002, the columnist (专栏作家) Dave Berry wrote something about it and the day became famous. Now a lot of people celebrate the day because it’s fun. |
| How to talk like a pirate You need to speak a lot of words loudly with a scowl (怒容) on your face. Say “Arrrrr!” every now and then. Here are some pirate words you can use on that day: ◆ Ahoy! ～ Hello ◆Aye! ～ Yes ◆Colors ～ Flag ◆Matey ～ Friends ◆Avast! ～ Stop ◆Savvy? ～ Do you understand? ◆Yo-ho-ho ～ Feel good ◆Ye ～ Use this instead of “you” ◆Aft ～ The back of the ship ◆Bilge ～ Bottom of the ship ◆Fore ～ Front of the ship ◆Port ～ Left side of the ship |
John and Mark started the holiday years ago.
| A．7 | B．10 | C．15 | D．17 |
To celebrate the holiday, people need to .
| A．learn some pirate words | B．learn to sail on the sea |
| C．dress up like pirates | D．have their own ships |
The holiday became famous because of .
| A．a game | B．a pirate | C．a song | D．an article |
If a pirate shouts “Yo-ho-ho”, it means he is .
| A．angry | B．happy | C．surprised | D．sad |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Mark’s wife was born on September 19th. |
| B．John and Mark started the holiday because it was fun. |
| C．“Bilge is broken” means there’s something wrong with the front of the ship. |
| D．If you want to say hello to your friends on the day, you can say “Ahoy, matey! |
Most children don’t enjoy doing housework. They like playing computer games rather than cleaning the rooms. But in Australia, Jim and Robert’s mother, Mrs Black, has good and proper methods to get their children to do housework.
Here is an example.
“Mum, have you worked out next week’s housework? Let Jim and me choose the cards I can’t wait. It’s fun!”
When Robert shouted out, his mother had already put all the cards on their big table. On the cards, there are some words like these, “sweep the floor, clean your bedroom, help mum cook, wash vegetables, make beds, feed the fish, cut the wood, clean the bathroom” and many others, Jim and Robert chose two cards for each day from Monday to Friday. Then they would hang them on the week day task board. Jim likes to clean the bathroom, so he picked up the card “clean the bathroom”. Robert loves to make the bed so he picked up his favorite card. Jim again picked up “wash vegetables” and Robert chose “feed the fish”. Soon the two boys were happy to take away all the cards
To help the children do housework, their mother thought hard and came up with this idea. Of course, the parents did the housework on the weekends and left Jim and Robert two days free.From the passage we know that most children like .
| A．doing housework | B．playing computer games |
| C．playing cards | D．doing housework |
Jim and Robert chose card for the weekdays from Monday to Friday.
| A．two | B．four | C．eight | D．ten |
Jim likes to .
| A．clean the bathroom | B．make the bed |
| C．feel the fish | D．sweep the floor |
The underlined phrase “came up with” probably means “ ”.
| A．looked at | B．gave up |
| C．thought of | D．believed in |
Who did the housework on the weekends?
| A．Jim | B．Robert |
| C．The parents | D．The whole family |
There are four seasons(季节) in a year.They are spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Spring is a beautiful season. It is from March to May. In spring, the trees turn(变) green, and the flowers come out. Everything looks new.
Summer is a happy season. It is from June to August. In summer, we can swim and eat a lot of ice cream. Of course, we have a long holiday, summer holiday! At that time, we can join the summer camp. That’s great! Autumn is a colourful season. It lasts(持续) from September to November. In autumn, the leaves on the trees turn yellow. Sometimes they are yellow or red. The colors are beautiful.
Winter is a cold season. It’s from December to February. In winter, it begins to snow in most places of China. Snow is white, and everything looks white. The children like playing with snow.How many seasons are there in a year?
| A．Six. | B．Five. | C．Four. | D．Two. |
What’s the meaning(意思) of the underlined(划线的) words?
| A．鲜艳 | B．出版 | C．开放 | D．出来 |
Winter is from _____ in China.
| A．September to November | B．March to May |
| C．December to February | D．January to March |
In _____, everything looks new.
| A．winter | B．autumn | C．summer | D．spring |
Can the children play with snow in winter in most places of China?
| A．Yes, they can. | B．No, they aren’t. |
| C．No, they can’t. | D．Yes, they are. |
Tony:I like eating hamburgers and drinking cola. Yes, they are not healthy. But I eat hamburgers and drink cola every day.I don’t like vegetables. I hate tomatoes.
Cindy: My favourite food is chocolate and my favourite drink is milk. Milk can make me healthy. I drink milk every morning. I like fruit too. And my favourite fruit is oranges.
Zhang Qiang: I like meat. I eat beef and chicken, but my favourite is beef. So I’m strong and tall.
Liu Xin: I like candy and vegetables. I eat candy every day. But my mum says candy can make me fat. Now I’m fat so I do sports every day.Tony’s favourite drink is ________.
| A．Juice | B．Water | C．Milk | D．Cola |
_______ likes eating oranges.
| A．Liu Xin | B．Zhang Qiang | C．Tony | D．Cindy |
Zhang Qiang is a _______ boy.
| A．tall | B．short | C．fat | D．thin |
Liu Xin eats _______ every day.
| A．vegetables | B．beef | C．candy. | D．chicken |
______ is so fat so he/she does sports every day.
| A．Liu Xin | B．Zhang Qiang | C．Tony | D．Cindy |
阅读表达
Do you know Roma people？They were called Gypsies (吉普赛人) by Europeans. Because they thought they came from Egypt (a country in Africa)．About a thousand years ago, the Roma people left their homeland. They are known as nomads because for hundreds of years many of them have lived in large groups that travel from place to place. They have no real homeland.
Today, the Roma are now living all over the world._______________(他们保留了他们的语言和风俗) For example, it’s important for Roma to marry other Roma. It's also a custom for parents to choose the person their children will marry. Roma people get married when they are young, sometimes even as young as 14.
Romany is the language of the Roma people, which was written down only recently. Because the Roma are nomadic and have moved all over the world, their language has developed in many different ways. It is sometimes hard for Roma in one part of the world to understand Roma from another part.
Roma music is famous all over the world, because many Roma throughout history have been musicians. Their music has influenced many other kinds of music, like classical and jazz.
Roma don't usually assimilate (同化) into host countries. Over many centuries, governments have forbidden them to marry each other, travel or wear their traditional bright clothes. They have their gold taken away from them—treasures (财富) from their parents and grandparents. They have been taken as slaves (奴隶),and have been forced to change their names.
But today, the Roma are finding ways to live in peace with others while keeping the treasures of their culture.“There's a will within us to continue to live as a people,”says George Kaslov，whose family arrived in New York from Russia a hundred years ago.“All the other ethnic (种族) groups who came to America assimilate gradually with time going；they lose their customs and language. But not the Roma. We hold out.”Why were Roma people called Gypsies (吉普赛人) by Europeans?
把文中括号部分翻译成英语。_______________________________________________.
把文中划线部分翻译成汉语.________________________________________________.
Do Roma people have no real homeland?________________________
选出文章的最佳标题______
| A．Brave Roma Travelers |
| B．Famous Roma Music |
| C．The Roma：Past and Present |
| D．Changing Countries，Changing Cultures |