Earlier this year， China achieved a new milestone （里程碑） in space research． On January 3， 2019， Chang'e﹣4 became the first lunar probe （月球探测器） in history to successfully land on the far side of the moon．
The Earth's gravity （重力） slows the moon's rotation （自转）， matching it to the speed of its orbit （公转）． Therefore， the far side of the moon is almost "dark" and has never been seen． It's this sense of the unknown that makes the far side of the moon such an interesting place for scientific and space research． Being blown by solar （太阳的） winds， the far side may have the special minerals （矿物质 ）． For this reason， Chang'e﹣4 will study the effect of solar winds on the lunar surface and any mineral found by the spacecraft． Chang'e﹣4 is also carrying flower seeds， potatoes and silkworm eggs to see whether life is possible on the moon． If it is， then the moon will become a possible choice for space travel in the future．
However， research of the "dark" side isn't easy． As the far side is blocked（阻断） off from us， radio noise coming off Earth is also blocked． This is why China's relay satellite （中继卫星） Queqiao was sent up in May， 2018． Thanks to Queqiao， the communication problem between Earth and Chang'e﹣4 has been well solved．
Power supply （电源供应） is also a challenge to the task． Chang'e﹣4 gets energy from the sun through its solar panels． As we know， a lunar day has the length （长度） of 28 Earth days． After Chang'e﹣4 was sent up on December 8， 2018， it took the probe over 20 days to orbit the moon to be in a position to be able to land in moon daylight and use its solar panels．
Luckily， everything goes well， Chang'e﹣4 has worked on the "dark" side for over 5 months． It has sent back many photos of the far side of the moon and has been used to carry out some scientific experiments．
The New York Times used the word " groundbreaking" to praise the task and wrote that "it will offer help to the history and development of the moon"．
（1）When was Chang'e﹣4 sent up？
A． In May， 2018．
B． On December 8， 2018．
C． On January 3， 2019．
D． The passage doesn't tell us．
（2）The main tasks of Chang'e﹣4 don't include ．
A． studying if life is possible on the moon
B． studying the effect of solar winds on the lunar surface
C． solving the communication problem between Earth and other probes
D． researching any mineral found by the spacecraft
（3）The meaning of the underlined word "groundbreaking" in the last paragraph is the closest to " "．
A． harmful
B． unpredictable
C． risky
D． pioneering
（4）According to the passage， which of the following statements is NOT true？
A． Chang'e﹣4 has sent back many photos of the far side of the moon．
B． A lunar day has the length of 28 Earth days．
C． China's relay satellite Queqiao was sent up in order to offer power supply to probes．
D． Chang'e﹣4 is the first lunar probe in history that has successfully landed on the "dark" side of the moon．
My parents quarreled a lot, and I was really worried about it. I didn’t know who I should talk with about how I was feeling. So I asked Mom to allow me to stay the night at my best friend’s house. Though I knew I wouldn’t tell her about my parents’ situation, I was looking forward to getting out of the house. I was packing up my things when suddenly the power (电) went out in the neighborhood. Mom came to tell me that I should stay with my grandpa until the power came back on.
I was really disappointed(失望的) because I felt that we did not have much to talk about. But I knew he would be frightened alone in the dark. I went to his room and told him that I’d stay with him until the power was restored(恢复). He was quite happy and said.
“Great chance.”
“What is?” I asked.
“To talk, you and I,” he said. “To hold a one-to-one little meeting about what we’re going to do with your mom and dad, and what we’re going to do with ourselves and the situation we are in now.”
“But we can’t do anything about it, Grandpa,” I said, surprised that here was someone with whom I could share my feelings and someone who was in the same “boat” as I was.
And that is how the most amazing friendship between my grandfather and me started. Sitting there in the dark, we talked about our feelings and fears of life from how fast things change to how they sometimes don’t change fast enough. That night, because the power went out, I found a new friend, with whom I could safely talk about all my fears and pains, whatever they may be.
Suddenly, the lights all came back on. “Well,” he said, “I guess that means you’ll want to go now. I really like our talk. I hope the power will go out every few nights!”Why was Grandpa happy to see the writer?
| A．Because he felt quite lonely. |
| B．Because he could discuss the problem with him. |
| C．Because he was afraid of darkness. |
| D．Because he had not seen him for a long time. |
In which order(顺序) did the story happen?
a. The lights came back on.
b. The writer went to his grandpa’s room and stayed with him.
c. The power in the neighbourhood suddenly went out.
d. The writer worried about the parents’ disagreement and wanted to leave his home.
e. The writer had a talk with his grandpa and started the most amazing friendship between them.
| A．d-b-e-c-a | B．a-b-e-c-d |
| C．c-d-b-e-a | D．d-c-b-e-a |
What can be inferred(推断) from the story?
| A．The lights would go out again. |
| B．The writer wanted to leave very much. |
| C．They would have more chats. |
| D．It would no longer be dark. |
People often said Thomas Edison was the greatest genius(天才) of his age. There are only a few men in all of history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be pleased only because someone said he was a genius. “There is no such a thing as genius,” Edison said. He thought what people called genius was mostly hard work.
But Edison was a thinker as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. He tried to understand them, and then he tried to learn what he could usefully do with them.
Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people would do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking could give men enjoyment and pleasure.
Edison could not understand why anyone could not be interested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what idea he had about life. “Work,” he answered, “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work. What is genius according to Thomas Edison?
| A．Hard thinking. | B．Hard work. |
| C．Useful ideas. | D．Useful inventions. |
How did Edison always deal with the secrets of nature after exploring them?
| A．To write down what he had learned. |
| B．To carry out a new experiment. |
| C．To make them useful in life. |
| D．To share them with others. |
What does the last sentence in the passage mean?
| A．Edison was born to be a great inventor. |
| B．Edison was able to live another 100 years. |
| C．Edison was ready to make his 100th invention. |
| D．Life was too short for Edison to work for human beings. |
More and more people think it necessary to study in an English-speaking country and it didn’t take long at all for me to decide to come and study in UK.
I have been used to school life since I came here two months ago, and I am starting to enjoy most of my time in here. School starts at 9 o’clock every morning, and every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we have long days, in which we have 9 lessons and school finishes at 4 o’clock. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we have short days, in which we have only 6 lessons and finish at 1 o’clock. After lessons, we have 2 hours of activity time, when you can choose from a number of activities, including many sports, such as rugby(英式橄榄球) , football, basketball and tennis.
As a boarder(寄宿者), the quality of food is something I consider very important, and Merchiston has not let me down. The school kitchens are run by a professional company, and the quality of food is excellent, and they are always trying to make the diet healthy. One of the obvious advantages of being a boarder is that we can have breakfast in the school, which means we don’t have to pull ourselves out of bed as early as the day pupils!How many lessons do the students have every week in this school?
| A．15 | B．45 | C．27 | D．18 |
The passage mainly tells us about __________________.
| A．the writer’s school life in the UK as a boarder |
| B．the writer’s opinion of the school life in the UK |
| C．the differences in school life between China and the UK |
| D．the boarder life in a British middle school |
Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined phrase “ let me down” in the passage?
| A．made me blue | B．cheered me up |
| C．encouraged me | D．made me surprised |
Celebrating New Year’s Day is one of the oldest and most exciting traditions around the world. Since this festival marks the beginning of the year， New Year’s Day is thought of as a perfect time for a “clean start”. People in the world decide to act better in the year just beginning than the year just ended.
No day has ever been celebrated in so many different ways. All over the world， countries have their own special beliefs about what the New Year means to them.
In Scotland， the New Year is called Hogmanay. In the villages of Scotland， barrels of tar (沥青) are set on fire. It represents that the old year is burned up and the new one is allowed to enter.
New Year’s Day is also the Festival of Saint Basil in Canada. Children leave their shoes by the fireside on New Year’s Day with the hope that Saint Basil， who is famous for his kindness， will come and fill their shoes with gifts.
The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah. It is an important time when Jews promise to do better in the future. Special services are held in the church， children are given new clothes and New Year bread is cooked to remind people of harvest time.
On New Year’s Day in Japan， everyone gets dressed in their new clothes and homes are decorated (装饰) with bamboos—symbols of long life.
In European countries such as Germany， France and Belgium， families start the New Year by first attending church services. Afterwards， they visit friends and relatives. In France， boys and girls receive gifts of money on New Year’s Day.
New Year celebrations around the
| Country/people |
Celebration activities |
Special beliefs |
Scotland |
People |
The old year is burned up and the new one is allowed to enter. |
Canada |
Children leave their |
Their shoes will be |
Jews |
It is a time for people to People |
|
Japan |
People Homes are decorated with bamboos. |
Symbols of |
| European |
People attend church services visiting friends and relatives. |
It is difficult to say exactly how the music we call “rock” or “rock and roll” began. Its roots (根源) go back to many different countries and many different kinds of music and many musicians.
Rock music developed mainly from the interaction (相互影响）of black African and white European music. The Europeans and the African slaves (奴隶）who came to America during the seventeenth century each had their own different kinds of music. Black Africans used heavy drumbeats，a rough singing voice，and the calling of a melody (旋律）and answer of a chorus. The white Europeans，mostly English and Scots，used a stronger melody，a less heavy beat，and instruments such as guitars，horns，and fiddles. The history of rock and roll is the history of how rock changed from these two traditions.
From the seventeenth to the twentieth century， musicians in the southern United States developed two new forms of music： the blues，usually played by blacks，and country music， played by whites. Black musicians sang the blues with a guitar. This music was similar to work songs：stories of troubles and pain， with lines that were repeated several times. The word “rock and roll” probably came from the black churches in the South， where people sang and danced to the strong rhythms， which they called “rocking and reeling”. At the same time， whites were playing country music， which was mostly traditional dancing music and slow songs that told sad stories. The singers played with string instruments such as fiddles and guitars.
During this time blues and country musicians had some influence on each other， but the influence grew stronger after phonograph records (留声机唱片)became popular in the late nineteenth century. The birth of the electric guitar changed country and blue music in the 1940s. The sound of the electric guitar would become the sound， of rock and roll. No one thinks of early rock and roll without thinking of Elvis Presley，the“King of Rock and Roll”.Rock music continues to develop and change， but the heart and soul of rock is the same heart and soul that Elvis expressed.What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Different Kinds of Music |
| B．The Beginning of Rock and Roll |
| C．Elvis’s Contribution (贡献）to Music |
| D．Rock and Roll Is Developing |
Which of the following doesn’t describe black Africans’ music style?
| A．They used heavy drumbeats. |
| B．They sang in a rough voice. |
| C．They used instruments such as guitars， horns， and fiddles. |
| D．They used the calling of a melody and answer of a chorus. |
Which of the following describes country music?
| A． Country music is usually played by blacks. |
| B．People sang spiritual music and danced to the strong rhythms， which they called “country music”. |
| C．Country music was traditional dancing music and slow songs that told sad stories. |
| D．Country music was similar to work songs. |
Which of the following NOT right according to the passage?
| A．In the seventeenth century， many visitors went to America from Europe and Africa. |
| B．Rock music developed mainly from the interaction of black African and white European music. |
| C．Musicians in the southern United States developed two new forms of music： the blues and country music from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. |
| D．Blues and country musicians had some influence on each other during a time in history. |