阅读理解。
South Africa hosted the fifth BRICS Summit in March 2013，which completed the first cycle of BRICS summits，BRICS is an acronym for the powerful grouping of the world's leading up-and-coming economies，namely Brazil，Russia，India，China and South Africa．The BRICS aims to achieve peace，security，development and cooperation．It also seeks to contribute to the development of humanity and build a more stable and fairer world．
The industry leaders from the business communities of the five countries agreed that the BRICS countries will actively support industrialization on the African continent in order to contribute significantly to its development and to expand trade links between Africa and BRICS．The global economic situation，though improving，continues to remain uncertain with the Euro-crisis a major concern．The task ahead is to build on these developments and BRICS countries remain committed to the cause of promoting sustainable growth．Greater economic cooperation among BRICS countries can be significantly important，which will prove beneficial for global economic growth．
According to Dr．Rob Davies，South African Minister of Trade and Industry，the African continent is recognized as the second fastest growing continent after Asia．There are four drivers of the economic growth in African continent．These are the boom in mineral products in the African continent，the development of the service industries，the benefit of not having the financial crisis，and infrastructure(基础设施）development．Davies also adds that other BRICS countries have advantage of large populations providing big home markets for their products．The South African population is small compared to other BRICS countries，but if you add up numbers on continent then you have a critical mass that can support the new industrial wave in Africa：That is why the South African needs to create large trading blocks across large parts of African continent．
1.“BRICS” refers to______．
A． the most active economy group in today’s world
B． the most powerful economies in western world
C． leading countries with fast development of humanity
D． the most stable and secure countries in the world
2.From the text we know that industrialization in Africa will______．
A．give financial supports to all African countries
B create trade opportunities for both Africa and BRICS
C make significant development in the powerful groups
D．expand sustainable economic cooperation in different continents
3.The author believes greater cooperation among BRICS will______，
A．promote global economic growth
B．bring more challenges
C．narrow the gap of development
D．solve Europe’s economic crisis
4.Which of the following is the driver of the economic growth in Africa？______．
A． The development of business industry
B． Protective exploration in mineral products
C． The recovery of the infrastructure
D． The benefits of having no financial crisis
阅读理解。
About 21，000 young people in 17 American states do not attend classes in school buildings．
Instead，they receive their elementary and high school education by working at home on computers．The Center for Education Reform says the United States has 67 public “cyberschools．” and that is about twice as many as two years ago．
The money for students to attend a cyberschool comes from the governments of the states where they live．Some educators say cyberschools receive money that should support traditional public schools．They also say it is difficult to know if students are learning well．
Other educators praise this new form of education for letting students work at their own speed．These people say cyberschools help students who were unhappy or unsuccessful in traditional schools．They say learning at home by computer ends long bus rides for children who live far from school．
Whatever the judgement of cyberschools，they are getting more and more popular．For example，a new cyberschool called Commonwealth Connections Academy will take in students this fall．It will serve children in the state of Pennsylvania from ages five through thirteen．
Children get free equipment for their online education．This includes a computer，a printer，books and technical services．Parents and students talk with teachers by telephone or by sending emails through their computers when necessary．
Students at cyberschools usually do not know one another．But 56 such students who finished studies at Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School recently met for the first time．They were guests of honor at their graduation．
1.What do we know from the text about students of a cyberschool？
A．They have to take long bus rides to school．
B．They study at home rather than in classrooms．
C．They receive money from traditional public schools．
D．They do well in traditional school programs．
2.What is a problem with cyberschools？
A．Their equipment costs a lot of money．
B．They get little support from the state government．
C．It is hard to know students' progress in learning．
D．The students find it hard to make friends．
3.Cyberschools are getting popular became _______．
A．they are less expensive for students
B．their students can work at their own speed
C．their graduates are more successful in society
D．they serve students in a wider age range
4.We can infer that the author of the text is _______．
A．unprejudiced in his description of cyberschools
B．excited about the future of cyberschools
C．doubtful about the quality of cyberschoois
D．disappointed at the development of cyberschools
阅读理解。
Up，Up，and Away！
An adventurer who became the first person to fly across the English Channel on a cluster of balloons has launched a house into the sky just like in the hit movie Up-in reparation for a more ambitious journey and a new record．
Fearless Trappe，from North Carolina，stepped into the cartoon themed home before flying above the Leon International Balloon Festival in Mexico more than a week ago．
The 38-year-old Trappe was using the event as a warm-up for his planned trans-Atlantic flight scheduled for next summer．He aims to complete the 2，500-mile journey in a seven-foot lifeboat carried by 365 huge helium balloons．
The brave man is learning to sail a lifeboat，in case he needs to ditch into the ocean during the danger-filled adventure．
He still fly at between 18，000 feet and 25，000 feet，beating his previous world altitude record of 21，600 feet，and must fly uninterrupted a distance ten times longer than his previous world record of 230 miles in order to succeed．
The adventurer Trappe，who holds records for crossing the Alps，flying the most cluster balloons，and the longest distance，has spent his entire career，building up to this ambitious plan．
“I didn’t wake up one day and think：‘I’ going to fly across the Atlantic，’”he said．“Every attempt before this was prepared for this fight，I’ve been training for a long time”．
1.The adventurer flew across the English Channel to__________．
A．test the balloons B．launch a house
C．shoot a hit movie D．prepare for breaking a record
2.To finish the journey，he will fly a distance of__________．
A．2500 miles B．18，000 feet
C．25，000 feet D．230 miles
3.About the ambitious journey，which is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A．When he will fly B．How high he sill fly
C．How far he will fly D．How long it will take him
4.How many world records does Jonathan hold?
A．Two B．Three
C．Four D．Five
5.What does he last paragraph imply?
A．Trappe can’t sleep worrying about the adventure
B．Trappe was born to set world records
C．Trappe always keeps his ambition in mind
D．Trappe never thought of crossing the Atlantic before
阅读理解。
Five years ago, when I taught art at a school in Seattle, I used Tinkertoys as a test at the beginning of a term to find out something about my students. I put a small set of Tinkertoys in front of each student, and said: “Make something out of the Tinkertoys. You have 45 minutes today—and 45minutes each day for the rest of the week.”
A few students hesitated to start. They waited to see what the rest of the class would do. Several others checked the instructions and made something according to one of the model plans provided. Another group built something out of their own imaginations.
Once I had a boy who worked experimentally with Tinkertoys in his free time. His constructions filled a shelf in the art classroom and a good part of his bedroom at home. I was delighted at the presence of such a student. Here was an exceptionally creative mind at work. His presence meant that I had an unexpected teaching assistant in class whose creativity would infect(感染) other students.
Encouraging this kind of thinking has a downside. I ran the risk of losing those students who had a different style of thinking. Without fail one would declare, “But I’m just not creative.”
“Do you dream at night when you’re asleep?”
“Oh, sure.”
“So tell me one of your most interesting dreams.” The student would tell something wildly imaginative. Flying in the sky or in a time machine or growing three heads. “That’s pretty creative. Who does that for you?”
“Nobody. I do it.”
“Really—at night, when you’re asleep?”
“Sure.”
“Try doing it in the daytime, in class, okay?”
1. The teacher used Tinkertoys in class in order to ________.
A. know more about the students
B. make the lessons more exciting
C. raise the students’ interest in art
D. teach the students about toy design
2. What do we know about the boy mentioned in Paragraph 3?
A. He liked to help his teacher.
B. He preferred to study alone.
C. He was active in class.
D. He was imaginative.
3. Why did the teacher ask the students to talk about their dreams?
A. To help them to see their creativity.
B. To find out about their sleeping habits.
C. To help them to improve their memory.
D. To find out about their ways of thinking.
阅读理解。
Choose Your One-Day-Tours!
Tour A - Bath &Stonehenge: including entrance fees to the ancient Roman bathrooms and Stonehenge -￡37 until 26 March and ￡39 thereafter.
Visit the city with over 2,000 years of history and Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent and the Costume Museum, Stonehenge is one of the world's most famous prehistoric monuments dating back over 5,000 years.
Tour B - Oxford & Startford including entrance fees to the University St Mary's Church Tower and Anne Hathaway's -￡32 until 12 March and ￡36 thereafter
Oxford: Includes a guided tour of England's oldest university city and colleges. Look over the "city of dreaming spires(尖顶）"from St Mary’s Church Tower. Stratford: Includes a guided tour exploring much of the Shakespeare wonder.
Tour C - Windsor Castle &Hampton Court including entrance fees to Hampton Court Palace -￡34 until 11 March and ￡37 thereafter.
Includes a guided tour of Windsor and Hampton Court, Henry VILL's favorite palace. Free time to visit Windsor Castle(entrance fees not included).With 500 years of history, Hampton Court was once the home of four Kings and one Queen. Now this former royal palace is open to the public as a major tourist attraction. Visit the palace and its various historic gardens, which include the famous maze(迷宫)where it is easy to get lost!
Tour D -Cambridge including entrance fees to the Tower of Saint Mary the Great -￡33 until 18 March and ￡37 thereafter.
Includes a guided tour of Cambridge, the famous university town, and the gardens of the 18th century.
1. Which tour will you choose if you want to see England’s oldest university city?
A. Tour A B. Tour B
C. Tour C D. Tour D
2. Which of the following tours charges the lowest fee on 17 March?
A. Windsor Castle & Hampton Court
B. Oxford & Stratford
C. Bath & Stonehenge
D. Cambridge
3. Why is Hampton Court a major tourist attraction?
A. It used to be the home of royal families
B. It used to be a well-known maze
C. It is the oldest palace in Britain
D. It is a world-famous castle
阅读理解。
Conflict is on the menu tonight at the café La Chope. This evening, as on every Thursday night, psychologist Maud Lehanne is leading two of France’s favorite pastimes, coffee drinking and the “talking cure”. Here they are learning to get in touch with their true feelings. It isn’t always easy. They customers - some thirty Parisians who pay just under $2 (plus drinks) per session - care quick to intellectualize (高谈阔论)，slow to open up and connect. “You are forbidden to say ‘one feels,’ or ‘people think’,” Lehane told them. “Say ‘I think,’ ‘Think me’.”
A café society where no intellectualizing is allowed? It couldn’t seem more un-French. But Lehanne’s psychology café is about more than knowing oneself: It’s trying to help the city’s troubled neighborhood cafes. Over the years, Parisian cafes have fallen victim to changes in the French lifestyle - longer working hours, a fast food boom and a younger generation’s desire to spend more time at home. Dozens of new theme cafes appear to change the situation. Cafes focused around psychology, history, and engineering are catching on, filling tables well into the evening.
The city’s psychology cafes, which offer great comfort, are among the most popular places. Middle-aged homemakers, retirees, and the unemployed come to such cafes to talk about love, anger, and dreams with a psychologist. And they come to Lehanne’s group just to learn to say what they feel. “There’s a strong need in Paris for communication,” says Maurice Frisch, a cafe La Chope regular who works as a religious instructor in a nearby church. “People have few real friends. And they need to open up.” Lehanne says she’d like to see psychology cafes all over France. “If people had normal lives, these cafes wouldn’t exist”, she says, “If life weren’t a battle, people wouldn’t need a special place just to speak.” But them, it wouldn’t be France.
1.What are people encouraged to do at the cafe La Chope?
A. Learn a new subject
B. Keep in touch with friends.
C. Show off their knowledge.
D. Express their true feelings.
2. How are cafes affected by French lifestyle changes?
A. They are less frequently visited.
B. They stay open for longer hours.
C. They have bigger night crowds.
D. They start to serve fast food.
