While elephants are respected by the people of Thailand, they are also used as beasts of burdens (驮兽). Today, these majestic animals are extensively used to help carry wood for the logging industry. It is therefore nice to hear that on National Elephant Day the mighty mammals are treated like a king, and served with meals fit for a king.
One of the biggest celebrations took place at the Pattaya Resort in Thailand’s Chonburi Province. Fifty-two elephants, some wearing beautiful clothes, arrived bright and early (大清早) for the big day. Each was first blessed with holy water by a professional elephant rider and then led to the grand feast, which served an unlimited supply of their favorite treats—bananas, dragon fruits (火龙果), pineapples, assorted melons, apples and the list went on and on! The elephants ate till they were satisfied before walking back with their owners for a good night’s rest.
Though called National Elephant Day, the celebrations that took place on March 13th this year stretched out for an entire week. Besides providing a well-deserved treat and break for the hard-working animals, the celebrations were also aimed to raise awareness about the mammal’s dwindling (减少的) population. One smart elephant even helped show the message by painting a dead elephant and the words “Don’t kill me”, right beside it .
And horrible as the message may sound, there is a sad ring of truth to it. Since the 1900s the number of elephants in Thailand has gone from over 100,000 to just 3,000-4,000 because of the destruction of their natural habitat and illegal killing. Asian elephants are not the only ones that are in trouble. African elephants are facing the same fate (命运). Hopefully, the public and officials are now working together to save these mighty animals from disappearing from the world.
1.Nowadays elephants in Thailand are
A. still used to help fight battles
B. never used as beasts of burdens
C. used to do tasks that need strength
D. less respected because of the development of the society
2.The celebrations held at the Pattaya Resort aimed to ______.
A. show visitors the elephants’ great performance
B. honor elephants for their devotion to the country
C. encourage people to play with elephants
D. show visitors the beautiful scenery in Thailand
3.The underlined word “it” (Para 3) probably refers to_______.
A. the elephant rider
B. the words “Don’t kill me”
C. the elephant that was painting
D. the dead elephant
4.What can we learn from the text?
A. Elephants are protected very well in Thailand.
B. Elephants also face the risk of being killed in Thailand.
C. The number of elephants is increasing gradually in Thailand.
D. Elephants could enjoy a grand feast every week in Thailand.
My father was born on a farm in Tipperary, Ireland. He was the fourth child out of eight children.
My father was the oldest boy so the majority of the responsibility fell upon his shoulders to complete the farm work. He attended school until the fourth grade; his father pulled him out of school to work on the farm permanently (永久地), though he hated it. Though supposed to inherit the farm, my father had other plans. At sixteen he left home for England.
He left without telling his parents anything. He eventually became very homesick and missed his mother greatly. He came back to Ireland and worked on the farm until he was eighteen. He got tired of the farm and left home for England again. He worked as a construction worker for five years, and then a part-time actor. But he couldn’t get a decent (体面的) job because he was Irish. Many times he would walk into an interview and read a sign saying, “The Irish need not apply.”
He was twenty years old with no family and limited friends in a foreign country that didn’t want him. Once he was able to work again my father decided to save money to move to Australia. He lived in a house with a fellow Irishman, a Swede, an Englishman, and an Austrian for five years becoming a successful salesman. He bought a beach house for himself in Sydney. He then traveled through Europe visiting his family in Ireland.
In 1975 my father came to America as an illegal immigrant (移民). My father with a friend of his drove across the country to Los Angeles with the dream of becoming Hollywood stars. My father lived in his car for the first few months in Los Angeles, and worked as a used car salesman. After two years of living in Los Angeles, he became documented. He met my mother and started a family. My parents have kept the family in Los Angeles, and just three years ago my father became a U.S. citizen.
1.The father dropped out of school mainly because .
A. he often ran away from home
B. he couldn’t get along well with others
C. he often performed badly in his school
D. he had to learn to keep the farm
2.The underlined word “inherit” in the second paragraph means “ ”.
A. take over B. escape from C. set up D. look through
3.Which of the following can show the track of the father’s struggle？
A. Australia—Europe—America.
B. England—Australia—America.
C. Ireland—America—England.
D. Australia—Sweden—England.
4.What’s the best title for this passage?
A. An Irishman travels abroad
B. How my father got a job in England
C. My father’s escape from his home
D. Experience of my father’s struggle
When I was a child, I loved to play a Chinese traditional game which was called Caught You! I remember playing it every spring and fall if we had good weather. We usually looked forward to this activity led by our teachers. At that time, we always asking our teachers when and where to play, and our teachers used to with a smile. They knew all of us were to play the game.
In this game, you a large group of people (about 20-30 people), a piece of , and a small ball. Our teachers us to a park with a large green lawn (草地), and then we sat down side by side in a large circle except for one person who was by our teachers and sat outside the circle of students.
To keep the game well, one of the teachers was a leader and judge, who always gave to make the game fair, reasonable and fun. At the beginning, we sat in the circle and one of us just sat a few feet away from the circle with his blindfolded (蒙住). That meant that he couldn’t see who was the small ball. This was a key point.
As soon as everybody was , the teacher declared a start. At that moment, we began to the small ball one by one around the circle, and the one who sat could shout “Stop!” at any time he wished.
When we heard “Stop!”, the student who had the ball in his hand had to and sing a song or tell a story. From time to time, we laughed loudly because the players made some funny and noise. The person outside the circle was every five minutes.
Now that I’m grown up, I this game because it was a lot of fun.
1.A. nearly B. clearly C. probably D. immediately
2.A. exciting B. puzzling C. direct D. quick
3.A. suggested B. considered C. enjoyed D. kept
4.A. stop B. help C. answer D. teach
5.A. careful B. possible C. lucky D. anxious
6.A. need B. instruct C. visit D. serve
7.A. paper B. cloth C. chalk D. information
8.A. introduced B. left C. took D. attached
9.A. paid B. selected C. trained D. welcomed
10.A. improving B. ending C. increasing D. going
11.A. medals B. materials C. orders D. presents
12.A. feet B. ears C. hands D. eyes
13.A. dropping B. watching C. holding D. playing
14.A. ready B. confident C. free D. well
15.A. pass B. kick C. catch D. play
16.A. still B. alone C. calmly D. politely
17.A. stand up B. turn up C. come back D. insist on
18.A. mistakes B. faces C. games D. reports
19.A. warned B. called C. praised D. replaced
20.A. attend B. continue C. miss D. finish
Our car _____ on the way; several villagers helped us push it to the nearest garage.
A. broke down B. broke up
C. broke off D. broke through
No one, no matter who he is, can _____with it if he breaks the law.
A. break away B. get away
C. keep away D. take away
Unluckily, some doctors are cold to patients, which causes many_____ between them.
A. collections B. descriptions
C. conflicts D. connections
