I.阅读理解

A [2015 •河南八市重点高中教学质量监测] Around four years ago, I received a call from the princi?pal of our school as to the "Parents' View" talk the next morning. He asked me to speak to the group. After the call, my whole body became feverish and panicky. The time from his call to the next morning seemed like years. The whole night ? I could not sleep with many ominous apprehensions in mind. One of them was to call the principal with regret and tell him that I could not come. Finally, I gathered some cour?age. 1 thought, if I missed this opportunity, surely the school would never invite me again to any of their programmes.

   I reached the school in time. Before my turn came, my whole body was trembling. When my turn came, I started speaking, my heartbeat increased and my mouth went dry. I wasn't even able to read the written speech properly. I was not aware of where I was standing and what I was reading. That was the day when I realized my biggest weakness―pub?lic speaking.

    After my speech, I met with the principal and explained what had happened to me. He told me that this happened to everyone. Even great speakers faced the same thing when they started. He suggested that I come again next time.

 Around one month later, I was invited to refer to a topic on motivation. This time I was feeling comfortable. My speech was appreciated not only by the principal as well as by the teachers, because I was able to get my idea across to them. They encouraged and praised my efforts.

 After the speech was successfully delivered, I became more confident. I said to myself, "If I can speak in front of such a learned audience, like the principal who educates oth?ers, I can now speak in front of others, too."

I started delivering lectures in my plant, on various top?ics like self-motivation, personality development, personal excellence, spoken English and presentation skills. This has become a passion for me. I learned that everything is possible if we have the courage to take the first step.

  1. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A.Practice makes a man a better speech maker

B.Public speaking makes a man embarrassed

C.Principal provides the best chances

D.Spoken English develops in making speeches

 2.The author had bad feelings before the speech because

A. he disliked the idea of giving a lecture

B.he had got a high fever before that

C.he regretted accepting the invitation

D.he feared he couldn't perform it properly

 

3.What does the underlined part "ominous apprehensions" in the first paragraph mean?

 

A.Unlucky opportunities.

B.Negative ideas.

C.Curious views.

D.Happy comments.

 4. What can we conclude from the passage?

 

A.Nothing is to be got without pains but poverty.

B.Knowledge makes humble, while ignorance makes proud.

C.A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

D.Necessity is the mother of invention.

B  [2015 山东潍坊一模]

The poaching, or illegal killing, of rhinos (犀牛)in South Africa is growing worse each year. The government re?cently reported that a record number of rhinos were poached in 2014, a year which had more rhino killings in South Africa than ever before.

The World Wild Fund for Nature ( WWF) says about 20,000 rhinos live in South Africa. 丁hat is more than 80 per cent of the rhinos in the world. Edna Molewa, South Africa's environmental issues minister, says, "During 2014, we are sad to say this, 1 ,215 rhinos were killed. This is a rise in the number of poached rhinos from 1 ,004 in 2013. This is indeed very worrying.,,

The animals are hunted for their horns(角).Many peo?ple in Asia believe the horn has healing power, which drives poachers, at all costs, mad for more horns. But there is no scientific evidence for this belief. The horn is made of kera?tin. That is the same substance as human hair, fingernails and toenails.

Ms Molewa said 386 suspected poachers were arrested last year, an increase from the year before. But rhino protec?tion workers say poachers often go unpunished after arrest. South Africa's legal system is ineffective.

Ms Molewa said more needs to be done and South Africa is taking strong measures to protect rhinos. The efforts in?clude moving some of the animals to secret places in neigh?bouring countries. "Now approximately 100 rhinos have been moved to neighbouring states in the SADC region during 2014 and 200 more rhinos will be moved this year," Molewa said.

Jo Shaw, rhino programme manager at the WWF, said, "We're talking about a loss of a hundred rhinos a month, or more than three a day. We really need to see effective action not just on a national level but internationally. " She said offi?cials should find the criminal groups responsible for the poac?hing and punish them.

 Conservationists(自然环境保护主义者)and government officials are to meet in Botswana in March at the Intergovern?mental Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade. They will talk about ways to stop the trade in rhino horns. That may be the only way to stop the killing of rhinos.

4.What do we know about rhinos?

 

A.     Half of the rhinos live in South Africa.

B.     Less than 1,000 rhinos were killed in 2013.

C.     The killing reached the highest point in 2014.

D.     There are only 20,000 rhinos left in the world.

5.What is the main reason for people to hunt rhinos?

 

A.     To get more keratin.

B.     To protect the farmland.

C.     To use them for decoration.

D.     To make money from horns.

6.Jo Shaw thinks that____________ .

 

A.     many criminal groups are well organized

B.     new laws are needed to punish the killers

C.     rhino protection needs international cooperation

D.     conferences about protecting rhinos are to be held every year

7.What can we infer from the passage?

 

A.     Rhino protection has a long way to go.

B.     No one would like to buy horns in the future.

C.     The illegal killing of rhinos will soon disappear.

D.     Rhinos living in South Africa will be moved to other countries.

There’s a small town in the central part of England called Gotham. Some say it’s a town of fools. Others say all the villagers are wise. Let me tell you about the people of Gotham so you can decide for yourself.

Long ago, England was ruled by a cruel king named John. One day, the people of Gotham heard that King John and his men would soon be riding through their town.This worried the villagers, for they knew the greedy king would demand food and accommodation for his men. What’s more, if he saw anything to his liking, he would surely take it.

A town meeting was called. After much discussion, the townspeople decided to cut down a number of huge trees to block the roads leading into Gotham. When King John and his men reached the outskirts of the village, they could not pass. Angry, King John ordered his men to go into the town and punish the villagers.

When the king’s officers finally made their way over the trees, they found a village of fools. Some say that was because the people of Gotham had a plan—they had decided to act like fools since they had never heard of anyone being punished for being a noodlehead. Others say that’s just the way they were.

In the village, the king’s men encountered a man riding a donkey. The man was bent over because he carried a huge bag of grain on his own shoulders. He looked exhausted. One of the king’s men approached him and asked, “Why, in heaven’s name, are you carrying that bag? Why don’t you just put it behind you on your donkey’s back?”

“You see,” replied the man from Gotham, “my donkey is feeling poor today. It’s bad enough that she has to carry me, so I decided to lighten her burden by carrying the bag myself.”

The king’s men said, “But sir, don’t you see that if you’re riding on top of the donkey, she’s

still carrying the weight of the bag?” The man didn’t reply. He just looked at the king’s men as if they were crazy and went on his way. The king’s officers giggled at the foolishness of the man. Before long, they passed a pond where they found a number of villagers in the midst of a great argument. Two of them were holding a big eel. “Quiet down,” commanded one of the king’s men. “What’s the problem here?”

One of the villagers stepped forward and said, “Last year we took all the extra fish we [caught and put them in this pond so they would multiply. But this year when we came back, all we caught was this one huge eel. Obviously it has eaten all of our fish! Since then, we have argued long and hard over how to punish this bad eel. But we have finally agreed on the perfect punishment. We are just about to drown the eel in this very pond!” The king’s officers couldn’t believe their ears. Drown an eel whose home is in the water? These men were sillier than the first man they met!

Before long, they reached the center of the village, where they were in for another surprise. There they found the rest of the townspeople building a towering stone wall. When the soldiers inquired what was going on, one of the villagers replied, “Every spring a cuckoo comes to live in our village. It always brings warm weather. When it leaves, the cold weather returns. Last year we decided that if we could get the cuckoo to stay here all year, we would always have warm weather. We built this stone wall, but it obviously wasn’t high enough because the bird flew away. This year we’re determined to build it so high that the cuckoo can’t escape.”

The king’s officers had heard enough. They couldn’t bring themselves to punish such stupid people. They returned to King John and told him all about the fools of Gotham. Whether it’s fair or not, the people of Gotham have been known as fools ever since.

What do you think? Were the villagers of Gotham wise or foolish?

1.This story is most like___________.

A. a news article B. a folktale

C. realistic fiction D. historical fiction

2.The story is set in___________.

A. A city B. A forest

C. A royal palace D. A small village

3.Why do the townspeople cut down the trees?

A. To make room for their crops.

B. To block the roads to the village.

C. To create a gift for the king’s men.

D. To build accommodation for the king’s men.

4.The townspeople are worried about the king’s visit because he will___________.

A. laugh at them

B. cut down their trees

C. take anything he wants

D. want to move to their town

5.Based on the story, why might the townspeople be considered wise?

A. They trick the king’s men into thinking they are fools.

B. They think ahead by putting their extra fish into a pond.

C. They make sure their donkeys are healthy enough to work.

D. They realize the importance of warm weather to their crops.

It must be something that many American companies hold a baby contest.Of course, babies are wonderful, and many parents would be the first to agree.Companies really bring in much money.

Walgreens Baby contest

If you play the new Baby Milestones Challenge Contest by BabyCenter & Walgreens, you could win $1,000 in Walgreens & Beauty.com Gift Cards and Certificates.You can play the instant winner if you get a $25 Walgreen’s gift card, but you also have to write down your email address and receive all their sales and other information for the contest.

Kids and Babies

Kids and Babies are accepting entries for May 2014 Free Photo Contest.Baby Photo Galley with theme albums and age group albums is moved to the new website Cute Baby Gallery.Check KidsandBibs.com for their Baby Photo Contest blog’s latest update.The grand prize is $25,000.The catch: Winners are decided by the visitors coming to the site and voting for their favorite babies, so you have to advertise their site for them.

Parents.com

Parents.com has a website only for their members, but if you are into baby photos, it is well worth surfing.You could receive offers on free samples, money-saving coupons (优惠券), and chances to win the latest contests.

Avon

Avon is another company that has a baby photo contest this spring.Avon is advertising their newest collection.It is Avon’s only collection for the photos of babies.Babies’ age: newborn to 2 years.Just go to TinyTillia.com and upload your recent baby’s photos.The first place baby will be featured in a Tiny Tillia Storybooks and win a $5,000 U.S.Savings Bond.Ten beautiful girls will win $300 worth of Tiny Tillia products.

The tip is to run a search engine for all the latest contests going on and start entering them today.You could be lucky and win enough to put your baby through college! Have fun!

1.What is the basic condition for you to play the instant winner in Walgreens & Beauty.com?

A.Getting a gift card.

B.Getting a certificate.

C.Winning 1,000 dollars.

D.Receiving information for the contest

2.If you want your baby to win the 2014 Free Photo Contest, you will _______.

A.have to spend $ 25,000

B.take your baby to the gallery in May

C.upload more photos of your baby

D.have to help to advertise their site

3.What can we learn from this passage?

A.Free Photo Contest will be held in March, 2014.

B.Avon is a website that will hold a baby photo contest.

C.Parents.com accepts the photos of all kinds of people’ babies.

D.Parents can upload their one-year-old baby’s photos to TinyTillia.com.

4.In the last paragraph, the author advises parents to _________ .

A.try their best to take good care of their baby

B.enter the contests as soon as possible

C.encourage their kids to go to college when they grow up

D.find more tips for winning the contests

To Whom It May Concern:

Your address was forwarded to us by How to Magazine.All of us here think The International Institute of Not Doing Much is the best organization in the world.You know how to avoid unnecessary activities!

As a matter of fact, we closely followed the advice in your article.First, we replaced all our telephones with carrier pigeons.Simply removing the jingle of telephones and replacing them with the pleasant sounds of birds has had a remarkable effect on everyone.Besides, birds are cheaper than telephone service.After all, we are a business.We have to think of the bottom line.As a side benefit, the birds also fertilize the lawn outside the new employees’ sauna(桑拿房).

Next, we sold the computers off to Stab, Grab, Grit, and Nasty, a firm of lawyers nearby.Our electricity bill went way down.Big savings! The boss is impressed.We have completely embraced paper technology.Now that we all use pencils, doodling is on the increase, and the quality of pencil woman ship is impressive, as you can tell from my handwriting in this letter.By the way, if you can, please send this letter back to us.We can erase and reuse it.Just tie it to Maggie’s leg and she’ll know where to take it.

Now it’s very calm and quiet here.You can notice the difference.No more loud chatter on the telephones! All we hear is the scratching of pencil on paper, the sound of pigeons, and the delivery of inter-office correspondence by paper airplane.

Wonderful! I’ve always wanted to work for an insurance company ever since I was a little girl.Now it’s perfect.

Sincerely yours,

Eleanor Lightly

Spokeswoman and Company Hair Stylist

ABC Activity Insurance: insure against overdoing it

1.Which of the following best describes the life the author is leading?

A.A simple, slow-paced life.

B.A life of hard work and security.

C.A religious, peasant-like life.

D.A life away from paper and pencils.

2.Where is Eleanor’s letter sent to?

A.How To Magazine.

B.ABC Activity Insurance Company.

C.Stab, Grab, Grit, and Nasty Law Firm.

D.The International Institute of Not Doing Much.

3.Which of the following is practiced in the author’s company?

A.Replacing the manual work system with modern technology.

B.Turning off lights in the daytime to save electricity.

C.Recycling paper resources whenever possible.

D.Buying birds and pets as company for the staff.

4.What is true about Maggie?

A.She works as a manager in the author’s company.

B.She sometimes helps fertilize the lawn outside the sauna.

C.She often helps with inter-office correspondence using e-mail.

D.Her handwriting has improved a lot after entering the company.

5.What is the purpose for the person to write this letter?

A.to show his dissatisfaction with the new environment.

B.to complain about the bad working condition.

C.to persuade people to live a simple life.

D.to express his gratitude for the good advice.

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