题目内容

CANYOUIMAGINEHOWHARDITWOULDBETOREADSENTENCESLIKETHIS? Every one of us gets so used to punctuation marks that not many of us give them a second thought. Actually, the ancient Greeks wrote this way. The lack of punctuation marks probably didn’t bother good readers, though. As they read, they just put pauses where they fit best. Also at this time, sentences switched directions. A sentence read from left to right. The next one read right to left, and then left to right again, etc. The ancient Romans sometimes punctuated like this: They • put • something • that • can • separate • words • in • a • sentence. The word punctuation actually comes from this idea and the Latin word punctum, which means a dot.

When the 5th century arrived, there were just two punctuation marks: spaces and points. The spaces separated words while the points showed pauses in reading. Then in the 13th century, a printer named Aldus Manutius tried to standardize punctuation. He always used a period for a complete stop at the end of a sentence. He used a slash (/) to indicate a short pause. Over time, that slash was shortened and curled, and it became the modern comma (逗号).

Since that time, other marks have enlarged the punctuation family. The exclamation mark (感叹号) comes from the Latin word io. It means “exclamation of joy.” The question mark originally started out as the Latin word questio, meaning question. Eventually, scholars put it at the end of a sentence to show a question.

Punctuation even keeps changing nowadays. New marks are coming into existence, and old punctuation marks are used in new ways. Take for example the “interrobang”. This 1962 invention combines the question mark and exclamation mark for times when writers want both. For example, “She did what?” or “How much did you pay for that dress?” Obviously, the interrobang is not widely used or recognized yet, but its invention shows that English is not yet finished with its punctuation.

1.From the first paragraph, we can know that _______.

A. good readers had trouble reading without punctuation marks

B. a sentence always read from left to right in ancient Greece

C. ancient Greeks switched the direction of punctuation marks

D. the use of punctuation marks can date back to ancient times

2. The passage is developed _______.

A. by time B. by space

C. by comparison D. by importance

3. We can learn from the passage that _______.

A. ancient Romans didn’t use any punctuation marks

B. exclamation and question marks came from Latin

C. spaces and slashes were already used before the 5th century

D. Aldus Manutius first started to use commas

4. What can be concluded from the last paragraph?

A. The combination of two marks will not work.

B. It takes time for people to accept new punctuation marks.

C. Old punctuation marks need to be standardized.

D. Punctuation marks are still changing today.

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----There won’t be anywhere to park.

----Oh, _______. Let’s try the subway.

A. that’s a real bargain B. that’s a good point

C. that’s really something D. that’s all settled

Ever since Canadian psychiatrist Michael R. Phillips, who works in China, released his report saying China’s suicide rate from 1995 to 1999 reached 0.023 percent, the country has been ranked among those with the highest suicide rates in the world. But Jing Jun, a professor of sociology in Tsinghua University, challenges that view and presents the true picture through his nationwide research.

Jing and his students took one year to set up the first national database on suicide rate to grasp the overall trend of suicides in China. They collected data from the Health Statistics Annuals of the World Health Organization (sample size 10 million), and the country’s Health Statistics Annuals (which cover 100 million people). The database covers 23 years, from 1987 to 2009. Jing calculates the suicide rate in China based on these data. Though the suicide rate was comparatively high in the early years, his study shows it has dropped in recent years, as opposed to the ascending trend in the rest of the world.

According to Jing’s calculation, China’s suicide rate had dropped to about 0.01 percent in 2004. In 2009, the figure dropped further to 0.007 percent, which is rather low compared with the global rate of 0.016 percent. Even if the “missing” suicides were added, China’s suicide rate in 2009 would still be below 0.008 percent.

Jing has found that one of the main reasons why the suicide rate has dropped was the steady and big decline in the number of suicides committed by rural women. In the early years, researchers generally agreed that the suicide rate among Chinese women was higher than among men, which is pretty rare in the rest the world. But the suicide rate among Chinese women, especially in rural areas, has declined remarkably in recent years. In fact, it is almost equal to that of Chinese men.

As a sociologist, Jing regards suicide as a social issue, and believes improvement of social policies will reduce the suicide rate even further. More people’s lives can be saved if the authorities adjust to social environment for the better, he concludes.

1.From Jing’s search, we can see ________.

A. China has been ranked among those with the highest suicide rates in the world

B. in the rest of the world suicide rate has been rising quickly in the last few years

C. different from Michael R. Philip’s idea, the trend of suicides in China is declining

D. the suicide rate among Chinese women is lower than that of men

2.The data in Para. 2 is mainly to prove that ________.

A. the result from Jing’s research is believable

B. Jing’s research is more complicated than Michael R. Phillip’s

C. Jing has made great efforts to make the research

D. China’s suicide rate was comparatively low all the time

3.Why has the suicide rate in China dropped steadily according to Jing Jun?

A. Because the life level of Chinese people has improved a lot.

B. Because China’s government has adopted measures to reduce the suicide rate.

C. Because the number of Chinese women who commit suicide has declined.

D. Because the world environment affects the suicide rate in China.

4.In Jing’s opinion, what should be done to reduce the suicide?

A. Pay more attention to rural women.

B. Continue to improve social environment.

C. Set up more mental health centers.

D. Make policies to prevent suicides.

5.We can infer that the text is _______.

A. a news report

B. a research report

C. a description of suicides

D. an introduction to a professor

So touching_____ that I couldn’t hold my tears back when I heard it for the first time

A．the song sounds B．had the song sounded

C．the song sounded D．did the song sound

When the weather is fine, watching Korean TV plays or playing computer games all day at home is not a(n) _____ way to spend your free time.

A. necessary B. artificial

C. worthwhile D. Convenient

Every year seals would crowd ashore in Farne Island and give birth to their pups. Between early October and early December, 1,500 seal pups will be born. Almost half of them will not make it past the first three weeks of life.

“The pups have to stay out of the water for the first three weeks, when they have their white coat, which is not very waterproof,” explains the warden (监察员)，who spends nine months on the Island.

“But when you’re born in November on a rock in the North Sea, it’s a tough start to life,” he said. Storms often wash young pups into the water. And occasionally, young, inexperienced mothers abandon their pups and head out to sea.

“We lost 41% last year,” said David Steel, the National Trust’s head warden on the Farne Islands. “Mother Nature certainly keeps them in check.”

Despite the early challenges for every newborn seal, the population is healthily and slowly and steadily growing. There are almost 4,000 seals on a set of islands, which is named a Special Area of Conservation(SAC), meaning it is protected under EU regulations. This successful human safeguarding of the seals’ habitat is huge turnaround(转机).

Just a few decades ago, the seal population was deliberately decimated. The animals used to be thought of as a threat to local fish stocks. During the late 1960s and 1970s, thousands of seals were shot in a cull(剔除)that aimed to protect the local fishing industry. According to the National Trust, between 1962 and 1983 approximately 2,000 adult females and 3,000 pups were shot.

But, as the fishing industry collapsed, it was gradually replaced by tourism. Today, several companies use fishing boats to take groups of people to visit the islands and admire the scenery, seabirds and, of course, the seals that make their homes in this bleakly beautiful place.

1.In the first three weeks after they were born, almost half of the seal pups _______.

A. would be abandoned by their mothers

B. would be protected by the wardens

C. couldn’t live independently

D. would die mostly in the sea water.

2.According to David Steel, death of so many pups________.

A. is a normal and natural phenomenon

B. is mainly caused by farmers’ killing

C. can be prevented efficiently by man

D. will be controlled by Mother Nature

3.The underlined word “decimate” in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to ?____?.

A. increase B. kill C. reduce D. control

4.What’s the best title for the passage?

A. The Beautiful Farne Island

B. A Tough Beginning

C. How to Protect Grey Seals

D. Tourism or Fishing Industry

A report says 74 percent of women hope that the men’s income will be at least twice ______ of the women’s.

A. one B.that C.those D. it

信息匹配（共1小题）

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，选项中有两项为多余选项。

Public Speaking Training

Get a coach：

Whatever the presentation, public speaking is tough． 1. ．Since there are about a billion companies out there all ready to offer you public speaking training and courses, here are some things to look for when deciding the training that's right for you．

2. :

Any training you do to become more effective at public speaking should always focus on the positive aspects of what you already do well． 3. ．You already do lots of things well, so good public speaking training should develop those instead of telling you what you shouldn’t do．

Turn your back on too many rules:

If you find a public speaking course that looks as though it's going to give you lots of dos and don'ts, walk away! Your brain is so full of what you're going to be talking about．So trying to force a whole set of rules into it will just make things worse． 4. ．Your audience can be your friends．

You are a special person not a clone:

Most importantly, good public speaking training should treat you as a special one, with your own personal habits．You aren't like anybody else． 5. , not try to turn you into someone you're not．

A．Check the rules about dos and don'ts

B．So, get help

C．Focus on positives．

D．As far as we're concerned, there are basically no hard and fast rules about public speaking

E．Nothing can hurt confidence more than being told that you aren't doing well

F．Your training course should help you bring out your personality．

G．You should think highly of the Public Speaking Training．

书面表达（共1小题）

4月23日是“世界读书日”（World Reading Day），假如你是班长，请你起草一份倡仪书，号召全班同学以实际行动迎接“世界读书日”的到来，为创建“书香校园”，多读书、读好书，养成课外读书的好习惯。字数120左右。

倡仪书应包括以下内容：

1．现状（ 看电视、上网时间更多）

2．列举一些阅读的好处；(丰富知识，完善自我)

3．建议每位同学每学期至少读1—2本好书。

开头已给，不计入词数。

Good morning! Boys and girls

As we know，World Reading Day which falls on April 23rd is drawing near．The purpos of the global festival is to promote reading and publishing．

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