Did anyone find the names of “Great Britain”, “the United Kingdom”, “England” and “the British commonwealth” which have the same meaning? Strictly speaking, these names all refer to something different. None of them are exactly the same as any of the others.
The British isles refer to the main islands and several thousand small ones as well, which you can see on the map. Great Britain, or Britain, refers to the larger of the two main islands. But the word “Britain” is often used as a short form for the United Kingdom or you call it the UK .
Now as for England, it refers simply to the largest of the three countries on the island of Great Britain. The United Kingdom is the name of the state and the official name of the country, which many people popularly refer to England.
Finally, the Britain commonwealth is the usual name for what is left of the British Empire. This change shows the weakening of British Empire and the rising of the national liberation movements throughout the world today.
1.According to the passage, we know that ____ .
A. Great Britain has the same meaning as Britain
B. the United Kingdom has the same meaning as Britain or England
C. all the names in the first paragraph have the same meaning
D. all the names refer to England
2.It is clear that the British isles refer to ____ .
A. Britain, England and the UK.
B. the two main islands and thousands of small ones
C. three countries and several islands
D. Great Britain or the United Kingdom
3.Which of the following shows the right relationship (关系) between the British isles (BI), Britain (B) and England (E)?
A. B>BI>E B. BI>E>B C. E>B>BI D. BI>B>E
4.If you want to write to someone in Edinburgh that lies in Scotland, you should write the address as ____.
A. Edinburgh, England
B. Edinburgh, Great Britain
C. Scotland, Edinburgh, England
D. Great Britain, Scotland, Edinburgh
Family traditions were important in our house, and one was more appreciated than our annual trip to the woods for the perfect Christmas tree.
“Dad, can we watch when you trim(修剪) it?” my eldest son ,John ,asked on the way home.
“I won’t be cutting this year,” my husband said.” You and your brother Dan are old enough to measure things, fit the tree to the stand and do it by yourselves. Think you boys can handle it?”
They seemed to grow six inches in their chairs at the thought of such an amazing responsibility. “We can handle it,” Dan promised. We won’t let you down.”
A few days before Christmas, Dan and John rushed in after school. They gathered the tools they’d need and brought them out of yard, where the tree waited. I left the older boys to their work and brought David inside for his early supper. A moment later I heard the happy sounds as the boys carried the trees into the living room. Then I heard the sound become dead silence. I hurried out to them. The tree was too short. John crossed his arm tight across his chest. His eyes were filled with angry tears.
The tree was central to our holiday, but it was not what I worried about. I didn’t want the boys to feel ashamed every time they looked at it. We had a terrible problem on our hands. I couldn’t lower the ceiling, and I couldn’t raise the floor either. There was no way to repair the damage. If I couldn’t fix the problem, maybe I could get creative with it. A thought came to my mind, which turned to the solution.
I followed them back into the living room.. “We can’t make the tree taller,” I said. “But we can put it on a higher position.” Dan turned his head sideways, measuring the distance with his eyes . “We can put it on the coffee table and put the lights and decorations on before we lift it up . Thus, we won’t need a ladder. It just might work! Let’s try it!”
When my husband got home and looked at the big tree on top of the coffee table, Dan and John held their breath.
“What a good idea!” he declared, as if the boys had gone beyond all his expectations. “Why didn’t I ever think of such a thing ?”
John broke into a grin. Dan’s chest swelled with pride. David squealed.
1.Who trimmed the Christmas trees this year?
A. David B. The writer
C. The children D. The writer’s husband
2.By “ grow six inches” ( Paragraph4), the writer means that the children might feel _____.
A. excited B. nervous C. terrible D. worried
3.What was the writer worried about according to Paragraph 6?
A.The Christmas tree B. The husband’s health
C. The holiday D. The boys’ pride
4.How was the short tree turned into a perfect one?
A. By making it taller B. By lowering the ceiling
C. By placing it on a table D. By raising the floor
5.What the writer’s husband said in the end shows that ________.
A. he expected too much of the children
B. he was satisfied with what the children had done
C. it was stupid of the children to think of such an idea.
D.the children shouldn’t have given up the responsibility
If you dream of going to someplace warm to escape the cold winter weather, a trip to a recently discovered planet would certainly warm you right up. The planet, named OCLE-TR-56b, has temperatures of more than 3,000 °F. “This is the hottest planet we know about,” says Dr. Dimitar Sasselov, a scientist who led the discovery team, “It is hot enough to have an iron fog and to rain hot iron droplets（细沫）”
The new planet is 30 times farther away than any planet discovered by scientists before. It is in the Milky Way（银河）but it is not in our solar（太阳的）system The new planet moves around a star much like our sun, however. Scientists discovered the planet by using a new planet-searching method, called“transit technique” They were able to catch sight of the planet when it moved in front of its star, causing the star’s light to dim（变暗）.Scientists compare the method to discovering the shadow of a bee flying in front of a searchlight 200 miles away. “We believe the door has been opened wide to go and discover planets like Earth,” says Sasedlov.
1.We can infer from the passage that_________.
A．there is iron on the new planet
B．we could go to the new planet in winter
C．the star could block our view of the new planet
D．scientists are studying the weather on the new planet
2.The “transit technique” can_________.
A．help dim the light of a star.
B．help scientists with a searchlight
C．help discover a bee on a planet
D．help find a planet moving before its star
3.Which is the best title for the passage?
A．New Planet-searching Technique
B．New Distant Discovery
C．Space Searching
D．Dream Planet
Driving In America
Keep Right
The traffic follows the “keep right rule”. While driving, drive on the right side of the road. On one-way, multiple lanes(车道) road, the right-most lane would be slowest and left-most lane is fastest.
Hand Signals
Though indicators(车的指示灯) are used for the purpose of showing which direction you are going, knowing some hand signals is very important and are usually always asked in a driving test. When you want to turn right, you can put your left hand out of the window and point upward. When you want to make a left turn, you can reach your left arm out of the window and point to the left. If you want to slow down or stop, you can just point downward.
School Buses
Yellow school buses have flashing red lights and stop signs that reach out from the driver’s side. The drivers use these warning signals when letting pupils on and off. No matter which side of the road you are traveling on, if you come upon a school bus with its lights flashing and a stop sign used, you must stop. It’s the law. Remain stopped until the lights stop flashing or the stop sign is removed.
Using the Horn
Using horns is not common in America. Actually they are very rarely used. You may use your horn to warn walkers or other drivers of possible trouble or to avoid accidents. Do not use your horn to express anger or complain about other drivers’ mistakes or to try to get a slow driver to move faster.
1. If Freddy is asked to go to Florida in the shortest time from Missouri, on which lane in the picture below should he drive his car according to Paragraph 1?
A. Lane ①. B. Lane ②. C. Lane ③. D. Lane ④.
2. What could a driver do in America when turning left?
A. Place left hand out of the window pointing upward.
B. Put left hand out of the window pointing downward.
C. Reach left arm out of the window pointing to the left.
D. Place left hand out of the window pointing backward.
3. According to the passage, which of the following is possibly accepted in America?
A. Use horns sometimes to warn passers-by of danger.
B. Drive on before the stop sign on a school bus is removed.
C. Use hand signals instead of indicators to show which direction you are going.
D. Do not use warning signals in the school bus until all the pupils get on the bus.
4.Who is the passage most probably written for?
A. Passers-by. B. Pupils.
C. Policemen. D. Drivers.
What’s your dream? I remember when I was a child, someone would always come up and ask, “What are you going to be when you grow up ?
Well, it started out as being a cowboy or super hero. Later it was a fireman or an artist. My dreams of the future ______ as I grew older. When, at last , I was in college, I had my heart set on becoming a computer programmer. So I studied and ______ for that life.
Now, I’m designing software full-time and I’m ____ that I’ve realized my dream. _____, there’s a “thief” which goes around stealing our dreams and _____ us of the necessary mental state to _____ our goals. Sometimes, it will come as a parent, a friend or a co-worker, but the ______ one is just ourselves.
We find ourselves just about reaching the pinnacle(顶点), and this “small” voice says, “ You’ll never _____ it. Very few have ever done this ______.” And on and on the “small” voice predicts some kind of _______.
Failure, though, is exactly how dreams are realized. It is one of the most important tools we have ____ it teaches us good lessons. And, when we learn these lessons well, we are ready for success, ______ is probably just around the corner.
There is no “overnight” success, but with perseverance(毅力), it will ______.
So be _____ to your dream, and don’t let anyone _____ it from you—especially yourself.
1.A. achieved B. disappeared C. changed D. combined
2.A. asked B. looked C. prepared D. waited
3.A. shocked B. curious C. puzzled D. content
4.A. However B. Therefore C. Besides D. Finally
5.A. reminding B. ridding C.robbing D. informing
6.A. record B. find C. set D. reach
7.A. cleverest B. greatest C. strangest D. bravest
8.A. make B. understand C. find D. support
9.A. successfully B. sincerely C. bravely D. happily
10.A. pity B. danger C. failure D. accident
11.A. when B. because C. before D. although
12.A. what B. which C. that D. it
13.A. develop B. stay C. come D. return
14.A. equal B. useful C. true D. polite
15.A. borrow B. steal C. separate D. expect
—What about talking with others while learning spoken English?
—In my opinion, .
A．it makes sense B．It’s out of the question
C．it’s up to you D．it’s hard to say
