Most buildings are built to stand up straight, but these look as if they might fall over!
The church tower of Suurhusen
Built in 1450, the 27-meter-high church tower lies in Suurhusen, Germany. It was built in wet land on foundations of oak tree trunks (树干). When the land was drained (排水) later, the wood broke down, causing one side of the tower to be a little lower than the other. In 1975, the tower became a real hazard and people were not allowed to enter until the foundations were made strong again. The lean (倾斜) of the tower is now about five degrees.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
The work of building the tower began in 1173, and was finally completed in 1372. In fact, it began to lean after just a couple of floors were built. And this condition continued in the centuries after its completion. The tower was finally closed to the public in 1990 after people failed to stabilize (使稳固) its foundations. In 2001, it was reopened after engineers removed soil from underneath its raised side. Now it leans just an angle of 3.97 degrees.
Capital Gate of Abu Dhabi
Completed in 2011, the Capital Gate tower in Abu Dhabi was designed to lean eighteen degrees. The building stands next to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and contains, among other things, a fine hotel with wonderful views of the harbour. Also known as the leaning tower of Abu Dhabi, the tower is one of the tallest buildings in the city.
Big Ben of London
The building leans 0.26 degrees to the northwest. This is mainly caused by the engineering projects that have been carried out in the ground below it since the late 1800s. The tower, which has been continuously open since it was completed in 1858, has nowhere near the lean of the Tower of Pisa and is still completely safe to enter.
1.The underlined word “hazard” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_____”.
A. danger B. church C. castle D. treasure
2.What can we learn about the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
A. It didn’t lean until ten years after its completion.
B. It took almost two hundred years to complete.
C. It was built on foundations of oak tree trunks.
D. It has been open since it was completed.
3.Which of the following towers leans the most according to the text?
A. The church tower of Suurhusen.
B. The Leaning Tower of Pisa.
C. Capital Gate of Abu Dhabi.
D. Big Ben of London.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. The history of towers
B. The art of building a tower
C. The leaning towers of the world
D. Top four tallest towers in Europe
Some unwelcome visitors from North America have been turning up in the waters off the coast of Great Britain.
North American lobsters (龙虾) have been found in the North Sea (between Great Britain and Northwest Europe), far from their own habitat. The lobsters usually live along the eastern coast of Canada and the United States.
It is impossible that the lobsters could have made the 5,600-kilometre journey on their own. They were probably brought to Britain and then got away from containers. Some of the lobsters that were caught had elastic bands (松紧带) holding their legs shut, like lobsters that are kept in containers in stores or restaurants.
Many may have been “set free” from some ships passing through the area. Sometimes passengers order a live lobster from a tank in the dining room and then ask the waiter to throw it overboard instead of cooking it.
According to official records, 26 North American lobsters have been caught in waters off Great Britain since 1988. However, it is believed many more have been found but not reported.
It is against the law to let North American lobsters come into British waters. If they settle down in European waters, it would be bad for the local lobsters. The
two live in the same place and eat the same food. But North American lobsters are larger, stronger and more aggressive (好斗的) than European lobsters, and they produce young more quickly.
As a result, they could take food and space away from the local lobsters, and from other types of shellfish that live in the same area. These lobsters may also carry diseases that could harm the local lobsters.
1.Those unwelcome lobsters _____.
A. could travel 5,600 km a day on their own
B. used to live in waters off Great Britain
C. would soon disappear in British waters
D. might have escaped on the way to Britain
2.What can we learn about European lobsters?
A. They are growing too fast to be kept under control.
B. Shellfish often take away their food and space.
C. They are easily harmed by North American lobsters.
D. People become ill easily if they eat these lobsters.
3.The author's purpose of writing the text is most likely to _____.
A. discuss B. report
C. advertise D. introduce
Over 40 years ago, a country music DJ convention (大会) was held every year in Nashville, Tennessee. Many country performers used to attend (参加) the convention to give their performances. Fans would go to Nashville hoping to see their favorite performers. In the end, so many fans began showing up in Nashville that a festival named Fan Fair was born.
The first Fan Fair was held in April 1972, in Nashville for four days. Some of country music's biggest stars attended. There were about fifty thousand fans. The first Fan Fair was so successful that planning began almost immediately for 1973. The date was changed to June, when the weather would be better. Over one hundred thousand fans attended the second Fan Fair.
Every year brought so many performers and fans to Fan Fair that, in 1982, it was moved to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. Fan Fair stayed at the fairgrounds for another nineteen years.
There was always the unexpected during the festival. In 1974, former Beatle Paul McCartney attended. In 1992, more than six hundred reporters from Europe, Asia, and South America went to cover the appearance of a popular star, Billy Ray Cyrus, who had introduced a new country line dance. In 1996, Garth Brooks, who made a surprise appearance, signed autographs (签名) for 23 hours.
In 2001, Fan Fair returned to downtown Nashville as the world's biggest country music festival. Now, over one hundred and twenty-five thousand country music fans go to Nashville every June. As you can imagine, those who want to attend Fan Fair must plan ahead. For example, they need to buy a ticket several months ahead of time. Of course, there's much more to prepare.
1.According to the text, Fan Fair _____.
A. has a history of more than 50 years
B. lasts almost half a month every year
C. is the most important music festival in America
D. is a time when country music lovers get together
2.The second Fan Fair _____.
A. was held in the spring of 1972
B. was more popular than the first one
C. was moved from Nashville to the fairgrounds
D. was attended by former Beatle Paul McCartney
3.The purpose of the fourth paragraph is to _____.
A. show why Fan Fair has been popular
B. introduce three famous musicians
C. explain how Fan Fair started
D. ask people to attend Fan Fair
4.What will the author probably talk about next?
A. Advice for fans.
B. Music in America.
C. Education in Nashville.
D. The future of country music.
The pupils of Grangetown High have been busy getting to know their newest and tallest classmate — a 7-meter-tall giraffe outside their school.
The giraffe is a huge sculpture (雕像) made by a local artist. The school's headmaster noticed the sculpture in the artist's garden as he drove past one day, and thought it would be perfect for his school. “I knew everyone would love it,” he said, “because our basketball team is known as the Grangetown Giraffes, and they wear giraffes on their shirts. So I asked them to write a letter to the artist, asking how much it would cost to buy the giraffe. He was very kind and got it ready to deliver (递送) in six weeks — all for nothing! It was expected to arrive one Sunday morning, so that the pupils would see it when they got to school on Monday — at that time they had no idea that we were getting it.”
The artist, Tom Bennett, was a university professor (教授) of chemistry before he left that job in 2006 and only took up metalwork a couple of years ago. “I've always drawn pictures,” he said. “I can even remember doing it on my first day at school — I drew a horse. I wanted it to be the best horse picture ever, but I don't think I succeeded.” Tom's first metalwork was a bicycle for two that he and his wife could go cycling on together. “It was the most uncomfortable bike ever created,” he said, “so I gave up making bicycles and went into sculpture instead.”
Meanwhile the pupils at Grangetown High are very happy with their new classmate. “We're going to hold a competition to give it a proper name,” said one girl. “Everyone likes the expression on its face, so perhaps that will give us some ideas.”
1.According to the text, the giraffe _____.
A. was as tall as a basketball player
B. was given to Grangetown High for free
C. was sent to Grangetown High on Monday
D. was specially made for a basketball team
2.When the pupils got to school on Monday, they probably felt _____.
A. shy B. sad
C. excited D. confident
3.What can we learn about Tom Bennett?
A. He showed interest in art at an early age.
B. He was good at drawing, especially horses.
C. He visited Grangetown High as a professor.
D. He learned a lot about sculpture at university.
4.What's the main idea of the text?
A. It was a difficult job to name a giraffe.
B. Tom Bennett is well-known as a sculptor.
C. The Grangetown Giraffes is a strong team.
D. A metal giraffe arrived at Grangetown High.
李红移居新西兰已近30年，他最近给高中同学李华来信了解家乡当前的情况。请你根据提示替李华写一封英文回信。
内容包括：
1.30年前（村子小，房破旧，生活艰苦，物资匮乏，教育落后，通信不便）；
2.现在（美丽的小镇，舒适、漂亮的居所，丰衣足食，良好的教育，手机、网络普及）；
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.信的开头和结尾已写好。
Dear Li Hong:
I’m glad to hear from you yesterday. It’s about thirty years since we parted.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Best wishes!
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同学们交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加:在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧ ),并在其下面写出该加的词 .
刪除:把多余的同用斜线（\)划掉.
修改:在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词.
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分.
Two head are better than one.This proverb means we can make things are easier by working with others, who shows the significance of cooperation.
Take my experience as example.Once we were given quite a complicated physics problem by our teacher but we were expected to work it out in any possible way. Considering that I was very good at identifying physical principles and my friend Joe was better at performing complexly calculation, we decide to work together . Magically ,we solved a problem efficiently and even were better than the top student choose to work alone.
This experience really impressed myself a lot. So always keep it in mind that cooperation not only contributes greater working efficiency but also explores our potential.
