What’s going on under Liverpool?
A Rainy Day in Liverpool
Dark clouds appear over the River Mersey and a cold wind is blowing. A few rain drops are beginning to fall. We’re in the famous city of Liverpool and we’re going to spend this rainy day in the Williamson Tunnels.
An Interesting Life Story
Joseph Williamson was born into a poor family in 1769，but left home and went to work for a tobacco company aged 11. He began at the bottom, and finally became head of the business.
An Unsolved Mystery
Nobody knows why Williamson dug tunnels under most of Liverpool, but many think it was to create jobs. Perhaps half of Liverpool’s population worked for him. The industry of war had made enormous amounts of money, but now Liverpool was in a terrible financial situation.
The King of Edge Hill
I went on a guided tour starting close to where his empire began in Edge Hill. In the tunnels, the steps leading from rooms below ground to those buildings, which no longer exist, seem particularly ghostly.
Incredible Engineering
We go into the Double Tunnel. It’s just been discovered that it’s actually a triple tunnel - but nobody knows why the three tunnels were built on top of each other.
We finish the tour and decide we’ll have a coffee in the Williamson Tunnels Cafe Bar. There, I notice lots of flyers for bands and theater groups that are coming to play there.
Why Liverpool?
Apart from the obvious attractions like the football clubs, or anything to do with the Beatles, Liverpool has a lot to offer. Princes Park and Croxteth Park were royal hunting grounds and the trees are 200 years old. Renshaw Street displays are an unusual mix of architecture styles. The nightlife is exciting. If you want to experience a part of the British Isles with a character entirely different from London, you should definitely come to Liverpool.
1.Which of the following is TRUE about Joseph Williamson?
A. He was born in the early 1700s.
B. He left home when he turned 18.
C. He worked for a tobacco company when he was young.
D. He started his business by himself but ended up broke.
2.Where did Williamson start his business?
A. Princes Park. B. Edge Hill.
C. Croxteth Park. D. Renshaw Street.
3.What can you do in Liverpool?
a. Join football clubs.
b. Enjoy Beatles music.
c. Visit famous tourist spots.
d. Enjoy the beautiful beach.
A. abd B. bcd
C. acd D. abc
为庆祝6月5日“世界环境保护日”，某英文报社将举行一次英文作文竞赛，呼吁人们保护环境，提出有效的保护措施。请以下面的内容为参考，写一篇文章投稿。
1．回收利用有用物质，掩埋有害物质。
2．废水、废气要净化；
3．植树造林，保护环境；4．保护海洋，禁止过度捕鱼；5．充分利用自然资源。
注意：1．词数：120左右；
2．可适当发挥，但不要逐句翻译
重点词汇词组：garbage environment take some measures
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The National Park Service in the United States will mark its one hundredth anniversary in 2016. As it nears its second century, the Park Service plans to increase its educational programs for students and teachers.
The plans include transportation support for one hundred thousand students each year to visit national parks to learn about nature and history. Yellowstone is believed to have been the world’s first national park when it was established in 1872. Other students will get a chance to see parks in faraway places through Skype and other online programs.
The National Park Service also works with partners to provide education. One of its partners is a nonprofit organization called NatureBridge. NatureBridge is celebrating its fortieth anniversary and says one million young people have taken part in its programs. The organization works with students from kindergarten through twelfth grade and uses national parks as its classrooms. It provides field science programs at Yosemite National Park and four other locations in California and the northwestern state of Washington.
Now, NatureBridge is launching an East Coast center with a fourmilliondollar grant from Google. The program will begin in April at the Prince William Forest Park in Virginia. Students stay for three to five days in NatureBridge programs. The activities are aimed at developing their science skills. For example, they learn about different soils and study water quality under a microscope.
Jason Morris is executive vice president of NatureBridge. He says when they are not sleeping, eating or in a laboratory, the students spend their time outdoors. Julia Washburn is associate director of education and interpretation for the National Park Service. She says in a time of budget cuts, the agency has to find ways to still meet its goals. Ms. Washburn says one of the most important services that the Park Service provides every day is nature interpretation. Park rangers (公园管理员) try to make visiting the outdoors more meaningful. Interpretation is a form of informal education. Essentially, it is a word that we use for the people in parks that explain the park or help orient (确定方向) you. So park rangers are interpreters. They orient you to the place you are in and help you make connections, emotional and intellectual connections, with the place.
1.What’s the general idea of the passage?
A. National parks are used as outdoor classrooms for students.
B. Students are called on to be members of NatureBridge.
C. Some famous national parks in US are attractive to students.
D. Park rangers make visiting parks much more interesting.
2.Which of the following is the correct structure of the whole passage? (Para.＝Paragraph)
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
A study of older men in The Netherlands, known for its delicious chocolate, showed those who ate the same amount of one-third of a chocolate bar every day had lower blood pressure and a reduced risk of death.
The researchers say, however, it’s too early to conclude that it was the chocolate that led to better health. The men who ate more cocoa products could have eaten other food that made them healthier. Experts also point out that eating too much chocolate can make you fat — a risk for both heart disease and high blood pressure.
“It’s why too early to make recommendations about whether people should eat more cocoa or chocolate,” said Brian Buijsse, an expert for nutrition at Wageningen University in The Netherlands, who co-authored the study.
Still, the Dutch Study, supported by grants (拨款) from the Netherlands Prevention Foundation, appears to be the largest so far to document a health effect for cocoa beans. And it confirms findings of smaller, shorter-term studies that also linked chocolate with lower blood pressure.
Researchers examined the eating habits of 470 healthy men who were not taking blood pressure medicine. The men who ate the most products made from cocoa beans — including cocoa drinks, chocolate bars and chocolate pudding — had lower blood pressure and a 50 percent lower risk of death.
“This is a very important article providing epidemiological support for what many researchers have been observing is experimental models,” said Cesar Fraga of the University of California Davis, who does similar research but was not involved in the new study.
Could the study results apply to women?
“Our study consisted of elderly inch,” Buijsse said. “If you look at the other studies, you will see the same effects in men and women, younger people and older people. The findings may be generalizable to women, but you never know.”
1.We can infer from the last paragraph that ________.
A. It has been concluded that the findings are generalizable to women.
B. It needs confirming whether women can share the same effects.
C. The study results cannot apply to women.
D. The findings are applicable to both men and women.
2.Which of the following has the similar meaning to the underlined word “generalizable?”
A. useful B. popular
C. attractive D. important
3.What is the main purpose of the text?
A. To encourage us to eat as much chocolate as possible.
B. To prove to us that eating chocolate can reduce blood pressure.
C. To inform us of a study about the health benefits of chocolate.
D. To warn us not to eat cocoa products because they can make you fat.
As prices and building costs keep rising, the do-it-yourself'(DIY) trend（趋势） in the U.S. continues to grow.
“We needed furniture（家具）for our living room,” says John Ross, “and we just didn't have enough money to buy it. So we decided to try making a few tables and chairs.” John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high. The Rosses took a 2-week course for $280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house.
Jim Hatfield has three boys and his wife died. He has a full-time job at home as well as in a shoe making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for $420. “I was deeply upset (焦虑)about it. Now I've finished a car repair course（课程）, I should be able to fix the car by myself.”
John and Jim are not unusual people. Most families in the country are doing everything they can to save money so they can fight the high cost of living. If you want to become a “do-it-yourselfer”, you can go to DIY classes. And for those who don't have time to take a course, there are books that tell you how you can do things yourself.
1.We can learn from the text that many newly married people_______.
A. find it hard to pay for what they need
B. have to learn to make their own furniture
C. take DIY courses run by the government
D. seldom go to a department store to buy things
2.John and his wife went to evening classes to learn how to______.
A. run a DIY shop B. make or repair things
C. save time and money D. improve the quality of life
3.When the writer says that Jim has a full-time job at home, he means Jim___.
A. makes shoes in his home B. does extra work at night
C. does his own car and home repairs D. keeps house and looks after his children
4.Jim Hatfield decided to become a do-it-yourselfer when_______.
A. his car repairs cost too much B. the car repair class was not helpful
C. he could not possibly do two jobs D. he had to raise the children all by himself
5.What would be the best title for the text?
A. The Joy of DIY B. You Can Do It Too!
C. Welcome to Our DIY Course! D. Ross and Hatfield: Believers in DIY
Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn't easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn't exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin's work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball(化装舞会). He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a special entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin's grand entrance for a long time!
1.The text is mainly about ____________.
A. a strange man
B. an unusual party
C. how roller skating began
D. how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century
2.People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he__________.
A. often gave others surprises B. was a gifted（天才的）musician
C. invented the roller skates D. was full of imagination
3.Merlin put wheels under his shoes in order to________.
A. impress the party guests B. arrive at the party sooner
C. test his invention D. show his skill in walking on wheels
4.What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph?
A. The roller skates needed further improvement.
B. The party guests treated Merlin as a fool.
C. Merlin succeeded beyond expectation.
D. Merlin got himself into trouble.
5.It is clear that Merlin was a _______.
A. a dreamer B. a violin
C. a farmer D. a maker of musical instrument
