I had a letter _1.___my sister yesterday. She lives in Nigeria. In her letter, she said that she would come __2.___ England next year. If she comes, she will get a surprise. We _3.___now living in a beautiful new house in the country. Work on it had begun___4._ my sister left. The house was completed five months ago. In my letter, I told her that she could stay with us. The house has many large rooms and there is a __5.____garden. It is a very modern house, so it looks strange to some people. It must be the only modern house in the district.
Mark began to introduce the guest speaker to the audience, but then he paused in horror._ 1._
Barbara hid her jewelry when she went on vacation. When she came back, she couldn't remember where she'd put it.
__2.__ Most people have. But memory can be developed.
First, relax. If you're overanxious about remembering something, you'll forget it._ 3.__ Take a deep breath and tell yourself that you have all the time in the world to remember.
Second, avoid being negative. If you keep telling yourself that your memory is bad, your mind will come to believe it and you won't remember things. When you forget something, don't say, “Gee, I need to have my brain rewired(重装电线)．”
To improve your memory, you'll need to take an active role. Like your body, your memory can be strengthened through exercise.__ 4.__ For example, if you're learning a language, try to actively remember irregular verbs.
You may also want to make associations, or links, between what you're trying to remember and things you already know. For example, if you need to catch a plane at 2：00 p．m., you can imagine a plane in your mind and notice that it has two wings.__ 5._
A．Don't worry.
B．He had forgotten her name.
C．Perhaps you've had experiences like these.
D．Look for opportunities to exercise your memory.
E．Jokes like this will have a negative effect on your memory.
F．You are now ten times more likely to remember the takeoff time.
G．Relaxing will help improve your awareness and ability to concentrate.
IF you lived by the sea, you’d know that typhoons are frequent（频繁的）visitors during summer .They bring Strong winds, heavy rain and flooding（洪水）But most of the time, when people stay indoors, they’re just all right.
This is what the people in the Philippines used to believe – until they met the “super typhoon”, Haiyan.
The typhoon hit the country on Nov 8, at around 5 am, when most people were still asleep. But being at home didn’t keep them safe, since few buildings remained standing once they were hit by wind as violent as 376 kilometers per hour, according to NBC News.
“This is at the top end of any tropical system that we’ve seen on our planet,” said Bryan Norcross, a weather scientist working for NBC. And so far, Haiyan has caused more than 3,600 deaths and left millions of people homeless.
.But where did Haiyan get its destructive power?
According to Brian McNoldy, a tropical weather expert at the University of Miami, US, Haiyan was so strong because “it had everything working for it”
“All typhoons feed off the warm ocean waters,” Colin Price, a weather researcher at Tel Aviv University in Israel, told National Geographic. Tropical storms are like giant engines（发动机），powered by the heat transferred（传导）from the ocean waters to the air above. However, because of climate change, the oceans have been warming up in recent decades. “Warmer oceans will result in more intense（强烈的）storms，” Price said.
Also, Haiyan started near the equator（赤道），where it was able to pick up more heat before heading to the Philippines. Moreover, the route（路线）it traveled was mostly along open ocean, which means no land prevented it from gathering steam（水蒸气）．
In addition, there happened to be very little “wind shear（风切变）in the area this time. Wind shear is a sudden change in wind speed or direction, which can tear apart developing storms. This is like when you stir（搅动） a glass of water with a chopstick: a swirl（漩涡）will form, ‘but if you move the chopstick in the opposite direction, the swirl will quickly disappear.”
“When all those things align in a certain way, you’re going to get something like‘Haiyan’.”Jim Kossin, a scientist with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told National Geographic.
1.Which of the following is TRUE about typhoons according to the article?
A. They mostly happen early in the morning.
B. They mostly do damage during winter.
C. During most typhoons people can keep safe just by staying at home.
D. This year, more intense storms have happened in the world,
2.Which of the following made Haiyan so powerful?
a, lts starting point was the equator
b, The frequency of other intense storms
c. More heat was transferred from the ocean waters to the air above,
d. There was a strong wind shear in the area
e. There was no land in its way
A. abc B．acd C．ace D. ade
3.The underlined word “alignin” the last paragraph is closest in meaning to_____
A. disappear B. affect each other
C. Arrive at the top D. Happen at the same time
4.The article mainly talks about
A. how destructive Haiyan was
B. Why Haiyan was so destructive
C. how typhoons like Haiyan form（形成）
D. ways to protect yourself when typhoons hit
One of China’s most popular folk arts is paper cutting（剪纸）. Archaeological(考古学的) finds trace the tradition back to the 6th century; it is supposed that the beginnings of paper cutting were even a few centuries earlier. Paper cuttings are used for religious(宗教的) purposes, for decoration (装饰)and as patterns(图案).
Today, paper cuttings are mainly used as decoration. They ornament walls, windows, doors, columns mirrors, lamps and lanterns in homes. They are also used for decoration on presents, and are given as presents themselves. They are of special importance at festivals. At the Spring Festival for example, entrances are decorated with paper cuttings which are supposed to bring good luck.
Paper cuttings are not produced by machine, but by hand. There are two kinds of paper cuttings; scissor (剪刀) cuttings and knife cuttings. Scissor cuttings are fashioned with scissors. Several pieces of paper--- up to eight pieces---are fastened together. The motif(图形) is then cut with sharp, pointed scissors.
Knife cuttings are fashioned by putting several layers (层) of paper on a relatively soft foundation consisting of a mixture of tallow (动物脂) and ashes. Following a pattern, the artist cuts the motif into the paper with a sharp knife which he usually holds vertically(垂直地). The advantage of knife cuttings is that considerably more paper cuttings can be made in one operation than scissor cuttings.
In the countryside, paper cuttings are usually made only by women and girls. This used to be one of the skills that every girl was to master and that were often used to judge brides(新娘). Professional paper cutting artists are, on the other hand, almost always men who have guaranteed (保证) incomes and work together in workshops.
1.Paper cuttings can be used for ______________.
A. decoration B. decoration on presents C. presents D. all of the above
2.The underlined word ornament means ______________.
A. to be added to and make something beautiful B. to be used as
C. to be cut in D. to be made on
3.Which is the best title of this passage?
A. The ways of paper cutting B. The reasons for paper cutting
C. The purposes of paper cutting D. Paper cutting
COME TO NEWYORK AND SEE THE WORLD
If you’re looking for the place that has everything, there’s only one place to visit, and that is New York. It’s a whole world in a city.
The World of Theatre: All of New York is a stage. And it begins with Broadway. Where else can you find so many hit shows in one place? Only in New York.
The World of Music: Spend an evening with Beethoven at Lincoln Centre. Swing to the great jazz of Greenwich Village. Or rock yourself silly at the hottest dance spots found anywhere.
The World of Art: From Rembrandt to Picasso. From Egyptian tombs to Indian teepees. Whatever kind of art you like, you will find it in New York.
The World of Fine Dining: Whether it’s roast Beijing duck in Chinatown, lasagna in Little Italy, or the finest French coq au vin found anywhere, there is a world of great taste waiting for you in New York.
The World of Sights: What other city has a Statue of Liberty? A Rockefeller Centre? Or a Bronx Zoo?
1.Which of the following program can a visitor have only in New York?
A. To enjoy roast Beijing duck. B. To taste the finest French coq au vin.
C. To spend an evening with Beethoven. D. To see the Statue of Liberty.
2.From the text we know that “Rembrandt” is most likely the name of a famous ____.
A. singer B. painting C. play D. painter
3.What the writer really wanted to do is to _____.
A. try to persuade reader to pay a visit to New York
B. give reader some information about New York
C. supply readers with some wonderful program in New York
D. help readers to get a better understanding of New York.
4.The passage above may be taken from ______.
A. a guidebook for foreigners B. a handbook for English learners
C. a pocketbook for visiting businessmen D. a storybook for native readers.
Chuck，unlike other frogs，didn't like catching flies himself. But he did love eating them.
Some frogs thought Chuck was lazy. Some believed he must think he was too good for them. Some thought Chuck was the strangest frog ever.
That didn't matter to Chuck. Each morning，Chuck jumped over and sat under the spider's web. Then when Lady Eightlegs went off to dip (浸) her feet in the pond，Chuck ate flies from her web.
One morning while Chuck was enjoying his fly breakfast，Lady Eightlegs returned and caught him.
“You're the one who keeps eating my flies！”she cried.
Chuck jumped away and into the pond. Now there was an idea！Why not spin (结) his own web?
He collected some vines (葡萄藤) from a nearby farm. Then he began to spin his web. He worked on his web for hours，until very late at night. And then he fell asleep.
When he woke up the next morning，he found that he got caught by the vines.
“Help！”he shouted.
Lady Eightlegs looked up from the edge of the pond. She hurried up to help Chuck out of the vine web.
“No matter how hard I try，I can't spin a spider's web，”Chuck said.
“Of course not，”Lady Eightlegs said. “You're a frog. Frogs can't spin spider's webs any better than spiders can swim，I guess.”
“But I always see you in the water，”Chuck said.
“I only wade in (蹚水) up to my knees，”Lady Eightlegs sighed. “How wonderful it would be to swim in the middle of the pond and float (漂浮) peacefully under the sun.”
Chuck smiled，“I have an idea.”
From that day forward，Chuck carried Lady Eightlegs out to the middle of the pond，where they floated and played together. When they returned to land，they shared a breakfast of flies from her spider's web.
It wasn't exactly an ordinary friendship. But Chuck was not an ordinary frog.
1.The second paragraph is written to show that Chuck ______.
A．was different from other frogs B．didn't get along well with other frogs
C．led a lonely life D．was a proud frog
2.What do we know about Chuck's web?
A．Lady Eightlegs helped Chuck spin it. B．It was successfully spun by Chuck.
C．It was spun far from the pond. D．Chuck failed to spin it himself.
3.It can be inferred from the text that ______.
A．Chuck had tried to catch Lady Eightlegs B．Chuck had difficulty collecting vines
C．Lady Eightlegs was very wise D．Lady Eightlegs swam well
4.What was Lady Eightlegs' attitude towards Chuck in the end?
A．Worried. B．Friendly. C．Doubtful. D．Cold.
