题目内容
Reading comprehension(阅读理解)
Happy New YearsToday is March 17th. About two and a half months ago, I said “Happy New Year!” to many of my friends. Just more than a month ago, I said the same thing to some other friends. In about four days, I'll repeat the same wishes to yet another group of friends. I'll do the same thing in July and also in September.
“How can that be?” you might be thinking. “Everyone knows that New Year's Day is in January!”
You might ask: “When is the New Year's Day exactly?” Different calendars(日历) give different answers to that question.
1．January 1st: New Year's Day on the Western/international calendar.
2．Between January 10th and February 19th: New Year's Day on the Chinese calendar(China, Korea, and a few other places).
3．March 21st: New Year's Day on the traditional Persian(波斯的) calendar(Iran伊朗).
4．Mid-July(usually the 16th): New Year's Day on the Islamic(伊斯兰教的) calendar.
5．September: New Year's Day on most Eastern Orthodox Church(东正教的) calendars(Central and Eastern Europe．and, usually, on the Jewish(犹太教的) calendar.
And these are just the New Year's Days that I know about! Actually, there are probably even more!
Choose the best answer(根据短文内容，选择最恰当的答案，用A、B、C或D表示)
1．The first time the writer said, “Happy New Year!” was around January 1st. The second time was on or before ________.
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2．The author will say “Happy New Year” around March 21st to some ________ friends.
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3．The author uses quotation marks(“”) in the second paragraph to show that the words inside the quotation marks are ________.
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4．The New Year's Day on most Eastern Orthodox Church calendars and the New Year's Day on the Jewish calendar are ________.
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A．probably on different dates
B．not always in September
C．probably on the same date
D．always September 1st
5．The Chinese calendar is used ________.
[ ]
A．only in China
B．in several different places
C．only in China and Korea
D．in all Asian countries
6．The word “Years” in the title of this short article ________.
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A．suggests that January 1.st is at different times on different calendars
B．is grammatically incorrect and should actually be New Year's
C．suggests that one has to say “Happy New Year!” many, many times in his whole life
D．was used because New Year's Day is at different times on different calendars
Dear Mr Heppell,
I am Sabrina Akhtar studying in a high school and I’ve noticed that forests are disappearing (消失).
You know, forest are disappearing around the world each year. This is because of many different reasons including, farming, tourism pollution(旅游污染), etc, If we stop doing these things, there will be a good future for people of tomorrow.
Now I’m writing to ask you to help stop forests from disappearing. You can help by getting shops to stop selling paper made from trees and changing to tree-free paper (paper not made from trees). This will help forests so much . There are many , many things we can do to help forests. If you would like to know more, please visit http://www.Rainforestweb.Org/. By changing the little things, we can make a big difference.
If you would like to contact ( 联系 ) me, please see the above address or e-mail me at shazadinol @ hotmail.co.uk. Thank you for taking your time in reading this letter.
Yours sincerely
Sabrina Akhtar
【小题1】 The writer of this letter is ______.
| A．a student | B．a teacher |
| C．an officer | D．a driver |
| A．Rain | B．Tourism pollution |
| C．Planting | D．Breathing |
| A．stop shops from using paper any more |
| B．use paper which is made from tress |
| C．stop shops selling paper made from trees |
| D．plant more and more trees in the future |
| A．By calling her | B．By interviewing her |
| C．By visiting her | D．By e-mailing her |
| A．To know more about Mr. Heppell |
| B．To make friends with Mr. Heppell |
| C．To ask Mr. Heppell to teach in the school |
| D．To ask Mr. Heppell to help protect forests |
The high school diploma (文凭) is losing its value quickly, as a growing number of students graduate (毕业) from school without the math and reading skills that colleges and companies require, according to a new report.
The high school graduation exams that most states (州) require students to pass before they graduate remain far too easy. Most of the exams generally test eighth-or ninth-grade level work.
Today, even high school graduates who are going to have blue-collar (蓝领) jobs need to study the math, research and writing courses. But in high school, only students who are going to college are now required to take these courses.
“If you want a good job with a good pay, it’s a high-skill job,” said Michael Cohen, a leading member of the America Diploma Project.
The project suggests that all graduates master a wide range (范围) of skills. “A high school diploma should mean something to a company and university,” said Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, who is Achieve’s co-chairman.
In Taft’s state, about 30% students who go directly to college from high school have to take remedial classes of English or math, he said. It’s easy to see that the present high-school graduating standards are not preparing students for college education.
And with high-skilled jobs increasingly headed overseas to places like India and Ireland, states need to act, he said.
To prove why math and reading skills matter, the report includes real-life examples of problems students meet in college and that workers must solve each day on the job. ?
Some states are taking actions to upgrade the high school diploma. In Texas, all high school students, starting with the 2008 graduating class, will have to take the college-prep curriculum (大学预备课程) - unless a parent agrees to an easier course load. Other states are planning similar moves.
The report includes examples of reading and math skills that high-school students should have. Project leaders say they hope parents will use those examples to judge (评定) the coursework at their kids’ high schools.
【小题1】Why is the high school diploma losing its value quickly?
| A．Because the number of high school students is growing fast. |
| B．Because high school students fail to reach the standards. |
| C．Because the graduation tests are easier than it should be. |
| D．Because difficult courses are not required in high schools. |
| A．for good learners to study quickly and better |
| B．for slower learners weak in the subject |
| C．for learners to be taught one by one |
| D．for learners to reach a higher standard |
| A．Colleges require higher math and reading skills than companies. |
| B．It is easier for companies to find high-skilled workers in India. |
| C．Math and reading skills help little for workers to solve daily problems. |
| D．Parents ask high schools to offer college-prep curriculum in Texas. |
| A．High School Diploma Means Little |
| B．Give Students More High-skill Jobs |
| C．Math and Reading Skills Really Matter |
| D．Judge Coursework at High Schools |
Who are the top students in the world, do you know? Last week the Organization for Economic Co-operation Development (经济合作与发展组织) picked the best students in the world. They are Finnish (芬兰的). The OECD gave a test to 280 000 15-year-old students from more than 40 countries and regions (地区) last year. The OECD wanted to know how well students were doing at school.
Finnish students were No. 1 in the reading test and second in maths after Hong Kong students. Those from Japan and Finland were top in science. In the problem solving, Finnish students came second to those from South Korea. The test also showed Finland had more top students than the other countries.
Finns (芬兰人) of your age have done a really good job but don't have a sense of envy. You can learn from them. Most Finnish students make good use of the Internet. Of course not for computer games, but for doing more exercises and finding out more information.
Libraries are also important. Finland spends a lot of money on them. Many students have a free card. They read for at least one or two hours a day.
What do you usually do on the Internet? How often do you go to libraries?
1.Students from which country or region did best in the reading test?
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A．South Korea. |
B．Hong Kong. |
C．Finland. |
D．Japan. |
2.Which of the following is NOT true?
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A．Hong Kong students were No. 1 in maths. |
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B．Finnish students were the first of all the tests. |
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C．Finnish students did well in the problem solving. |
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D．Japanese students were top in science. |
3.From this passage we know that_________.
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A．the test can make the students lose their interest in learning |
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B．the test is designed to find out good ways to use the Internet |
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C．it's hard to tell who the best students in the world are |
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D．Finnish students make better use of the Internet and libraries |