There was once a beautiful nymph called Echo. But Echo had one failing; she was fond of talking, and whether in chat or argument, would have the last word. As she was good company, she and Zeus became good friends. However, Zeus’ wife, Hera, became jealous. She followed Zeus to the earth to find out what he was doing and Zeus asked Echo to distract Hera until he could escape. Later when Hera discovered she had been tricked, she became very angry. She turned on Echo and said, “You shall lose the use of your tongue because you cheated me. You’ll have the last word, bur no longer have the power to speak first.” So from that moment on, Beautiful Echo was hardly able to hold a conversation because she could only repeat the last words of those around her. She became very embarrassed and hid herself deep in the woods.
One day a handsome young man called Narcissus came into the woods. He had been hunting deer and lost his way. However, the moment Echo saw him, she fell in love with him. She followed him, wishing to tell him but unable to begin a conversation. Oh, how she wished she could speak first. Unfortunately, Narcissus was far too busy worrying about where his companions might be and how he could find his way home.
Eventually Narcissus, with Echo following behind along, came to a pool of water in the middle of the woods. Feeling thirsty, Narcissus bent down to drink. As he did so, he saw a beautiful creature in the water staring up at him. He immediately bent over and said to him, “I love you!” Echo, nearby, and seeing her chance, immediately responded “…. I love you!” But it was too late. Narcissus was already in love, with himself.
The stranger seemed to rise up closer to Narcissus who was so involved that he entirely failed to notice Echo. “I want to stay and look at this beautiful sight forever,” he whispered dreamily to himself.”… Forever,” repeated Echo sadly. “Come here,” called Narcissus to his reflection as he moved his head and the creature seemed to move away. “…Here.” responded Echo. Narcissus bent back down to see his reflection more clearly. “So beautiful! I’ve never seen anything so beautiful!” “….So beautiful!” responded Echo truthfully.
Narcissus remained by the water refusing all Echo’s silent offers of food and drink until he died. Where he had been, a flower grew in his place, as beautiful as Narcissus himself. As for Echo, from that time forward, she also didn’t eat or drink till she turned to rocks and all that was left was her voice. Even now you can still hear Echo trying to attract Narcissus’ attention by repeating his words and still see Narcissus as a beautiful flower growing near a pool.
1.Why was Echo unable to let Narcissus know she loved him?
A. Because she had lost the ability to speak.
B. Because she was too shy to speak first.
C. Because Narcissus took no notice of her.
D. Because Hera had taken away her ability to speak first.
2.“The stranger” in paragraph 4 refers to ______.
A. Echo
B. Hera.
C. Narcissus himself.
D. a fairy in the woods.
3.Which of the following kinds of person can be described as a “Narcissus”?
A. A person who loves and admires himself or herself.
B. A person who loves to admire beautiful water flowers.
C. A person who is too shy to have a chat with other people.
D. A person who’s afraid of being separated from companions.
4.What’s the best title of this passage?
A. Echo’s sacrifice. B. Echo and Hera.
C. Echo and Narcissus. D. Narcissus’s self-love.
Below is a selection from a popular science book.
If blood is red, why are veins(静脉) blue?
Actually, veins are not blue at all. They are more of a clear, yellowish colour. Although blood looks red when it's outside the body, when it's sitting in a vein near the surface of the skin, it's more of a dark reddish purple colour. At the right depth, these blood-filled veins reflect less red light than the surrounding skin, making them look blue by comparison.
Which works harder, your heart or your brain?
This question depends on whether you're busy thinking or busy exercising. Your heart works up to three times harder during exercise, and shifts enough blood over a lifetime to fill a supertanker. But, in the long run, your brain probably tips it, because even when you're sitting still your brain is using twice as much energy as your heart, and it takes four to five times as much blood to feed it.
Do old people shrink as they age?
Yes and no. Many people do get shorter as they age. But, when they do, it isn't because they're shrinking all over. They simply lose height as their spine(脊柱) becomes shorter and more curved due to disuse and the effects of gravity(重力). Many (but not all) men and women do lose height as they get older. Men lose an average of 3－4 cm in height as they age, while women may lose 5 cm or more. If you live to be 200 years old, would you keep shrinking till you were, like 60 cm tall, like a little boy again？No, because old people don't really shrink！It is not that they are growing backwards—their legs, arms and backbones getting shorter. When they do get shorter, it's because the spine has shortened a little. Or, more often, become more bent and curved.
Why does spinning make you dizzy(眩晕的)?
Because your brain gets confused between what you're seeing and what you're feeling. The brain senses that you're spinning using special gravity and motion sensing organs in your inner ear, which work together with your eyes to keep your vision and balance stable. But when you suddenly stop spinning , the system goes out of control, and your brain thinks you're moving while you're not!
Where do feelings and emotions come from?
Mostly from an ancient part of the brain called the limbic system. All mammals have this brain area—from mice to dogs, cats, and humans. So all mammals feel basic emotions like fear, pain and pleasure. But since human feelings also involve other newer bits of the brain, we feel more complex emotions than any other animal on the planet.
1.What is the colour of blood in a vein near the surface of the skin?
A. Blue. B. Light yellow.
C. Red. D. Dark reddish purple.
2.Why do some old people look a little shrunken as they age?
A. Their spine is in active use.
B. They are more easily affected by gravity.
C. They keep growing backwards.
D. Their spine becomes more bent.
3.Which of the following statements about our brain is TRUE?
A. In the long run, our brain probably works harder than our heart.
B. When our brain senses the spinning, we will feel dizzy.
C. The brains of the other mammals are as complex as those of humans.
D. Our feelings and emotions come from the most developed area in our brain.
4.What is the main purpose of the selection?
A. To give advice on how to stay healthy.
B. To provide information about our body.
C. To challenge new findings in medical research.
D. To report the latest discoveries in medical science.
Italian Lakes and Greek Islands (12 Days)
Prices starting from $1,999
Your tour begins in Milan, Italy, and moves on to the pretty Italian Lake District and the attractive resort of Stresa, your home for two nights. Collette Vacations has carefully chosen the Costa Victoria as your home away from home for your 7-night journey along the waterways of the Mediterranean. The cruise ship is filled with the warmth and culture of Italy and is richly designed with entertainment areas and very good living conditions. It will take you to the places of your dreams.
You'll spend 4 days touring Greek cities you've always heard about. In Katakolon, you will have the only unguided tour to nearby Olympia on the whole journey. Then with a local guide you will visit the Greek islands of Santorini, which is often related to the story of the lost city of Atlantis, and Mykonos, a wonderful island with beautiful beaches.
Your journey ends in Verona, home of the love story Romeo and Juliet, with a fun-filled farewell dinner--a perfect ending to a pleasant journey.
12 Days, 25Meals: 10 Breakfasts, 6 Lunches, 9 Dinners
Day 1------Overnight flight to Italy
Days 2—3------Regina Palace, Stresa, Italy
Days 4—10------Costa Victoria (Costa cruises)
Day 11------Hotel Leopardi, Verona, Italy
Day12------Leave for home
Please Note:
Leaving date Price for one person
April 7 $2,099
June 2 $2,199
October 6 $2,099
November 3 $1,999
1.What does the underlined part "the Costa Victoria" most probably refer to?
A. A famous hotel. B. A beautiful resort.
C. A comfortable ship. D. A long-distance bus.
2.Tourists will travel on their own in ___________.
A. Stresa B. Olympia C. Mykonos D. Verona
3.How is the journey planned?
A. It starts and ends in Italy.
B. It starts and ends in Greece.
C. It starts in Italy and ends in Greece.
D. It starts in Greece and ends in Italy.
4.What we can learn about the travel plan?
A. The price is the highest in summer.
B. The prices include three meals a day.
C. The prices include entertainment service.
D. The price may get lower than those in the plan.
How Many Lies Do the Children Tell You?
Mothers who feel their children don’t appreciate them can add another grievance to the list: half the time, their children are lying to them. A study designed to expose the truth about lying shows that undergraduates lie to their mothers in 46% of their conversations. Still, mums should feel better than total strangers, who are told lies an astonishing 77 % of the time.
Bella Depaulo and a team of psychologists from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, asked 77 undergraduates to keep a record of all their conversations for a week, and write down whether they lied at any time. DePaulo named lying broadly, as "when you intentionally try to mislead someone", so she would catch the smallest of lies.
The students told an average of two lies a day. They said they had been studying when they had been out drinking. One told his parents that a textbook cost $50 rather than $20 so that they would send him extra money. Female students constantly told their plain-looking roommates that they were pretty. "They are everyday lies," says DePaulo.
DePaulo and her colleagues conclude that people tend to tell fewer lies to those they feel closest to. College students lied to their best friends 28% of the time but lied to acquaintances 48% of the time. In close relationships, people were more likely to tell "kind-hearted" lies, designed to protect feelings, rather than self-serving lies.
Romantic（浪漫的）partners lie somewhere between close friends and acquaintances. Students lied to romantic partners about a third of the time. DePaulo thinks that unmarried lovers can expect less honesty than best friends because of the insecurity that comes with romance.
Mothers can take heart from one other finding. They may have been lied to, but at least their children talked to them. The students were recorded telling few lies to their fathers because they had little interaction with them.
1.What is the meaning of the underlined word "grievance" in Paragraph 1?
A. Belief. B. Opinion.
C. Complaint. D. Difficulty.
2.According to the passage, college students felt closest to .
A. mothers. B. best friends
C. acquaintances D. romantic partners
3.Female students lied to their roommates to .
A. get money from them B. offer them the services
C. gain more security D. make them happy
4.What is the purpose of this article?
A. To present a fact. B. To argue an idea.
C. To tell a story. D. To explain a theory.
Last night I was driving from Harrisburg to Lewisburg, a distance of about eighty miles. It was late. Several times I got stuck behind a slow-moving truck on a narrow road with a solid white line on my left, and I became increasingly impatient.
At one point along an open road, I came to a crossing with a traffic light. I was alone on the road by now, but as I drove near the light, it turned red and I made a stop. I looked left, right and behind me. Nothing. Not a car, no suggestion of car lamps, but there I sat, waiting for the light to change, the only human being for at least a mile in any direction.
I started wondering why I refused to run the light. I was not afraid of being caught, because there was clearly no policeman around, and there certainly would have been no danger in going through it.
Much later that night, the question of why I'd stopped for that light came back to me. I think I stopped because it's part of a contract(契约) we all have with each other. It's not only the law, but it's an agreement we have, and we trust each other to honor it: we don't go through red lights.
Trust is our first inclination(倾向). Doubting others does not seem to be natural to us. The whole construction of our society depends on mutual(相互)trust, not distrust. We do what we say we'll do；we show up when we say we'll show up; and we pay when we say we'll pay. We trust each other in these matters, and we're angry or disappointed with the person or organization that breaks the trust we have in them.
I was so proud of myself for stopping for the red light that night.
1.Why did the author get impatient while driving?
A. He was lonely on the road.
B. He was slowed down by a truck.
C. He got tired of driving too long.
D. He came across too many traffic lights.
2.What was the author's immediate action when the traffic light turned red?
A. Stopping still.
B. Driving through it.
C. Looking around for other cars.
D. Checking out for traffic police.
3.The event made the author strongly believe that ________.
A. traffic rules may be unnecessary
B. doubting others is human nature
C. patience is important to drivers
D. a society needs mutual trust
4.Why was the author proud of himself?
A. He kept his promise.
B. He held back his anger.
C. He made a right decision.
D. He followed his inclination
Mardy, a special education teacher, wanted to build a playground for kids with disabilities. She knew it wouldn’t long to arouse（引起）interest in the project. But she expected that a third of the town would their sleeves to bring her vision to life!
“A lot of learning comes through play,” said Mardy, “But my students (with special needs) are too often left out because playgrounds will stop wheelchairs dead in their tracks.”
The city committee to mark out a piece of land for the playground.
The Kiwanis Club came through with $7,000 and that’s the grassroots movement really got started. Soon small businesses were giving some money. The local Pieper Foundation to donate half of the remaining $170,000 balance.
Finally Mardy a considerable sum of money that could the construction materials. And what Mardy was 500 volunteers work six 12-hour days.
On the first day of the construction, a lot of people came. Two women heard about the on the way to work and took the day to help. A couple drove the tool truck. Families brought pieces of wood for the fence and bricks for walkways.
“It was truly a(n) week, you know,” said Mardy very proudly. with construction experience became organizers. Those who could power tools formed a separate group. One team served donated from local churches, and another organized activities for children of volunteers.
Today the playground is one of most 3 destination in the area. There’s a rocking ship, a climbing wall, high and low rings, and monkey bars. All children play shoulder to shoulder on the same playground having whether they are able-bodied or disabled. It’s what Mardy imagined. You’ll love it.
1.A. release B. update C. take D. spare
2.A. always B. never C. even D. still
3.A. roll up B. bring up C. keep off D. cut off
4.A. dishonest B. disabled C. unpleasant D. unknown
5.A. reasonable B. convenient C. suitable D. traditional
6.A. failed B. agreed C. demanded D. expected
7.A. why B. where C. what D. when
8.A. refused B. demanded C. offered D. required
9.A. spent B. made C. raised D. saved
10.A. distribute B. cover C. import D. cost
11.A. needed B. predicted C. implied D. committed
12.A. business B. discussion C. experience D. project
13.A. away B. out C. off D. down
14.A. interesting B. attracting C. inviting D. amazing
15.A. Youths B. Children C. Volunteers D. Students
16.A. afford B. operate C. carry D. donate
17.A. meals B. fruits C. coffee D. water
18.A. complex B. casual C. permanent D. popular
19.A. fun B. money C. materials D. tracks
20.A. exactly B. accurately C. properly D. barely
