Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making instruments. In his free time he liked to play the violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called him a dreamer.

  One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think. He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin had an idea. He thought that he would attract 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 skate shoes. Merlin was very proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be very surprised.

  On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyone was really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise.

  Nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that.

The story tells us that people began to enjoy roller-skating _______.           .

 A. before the year 1750                                          B. before the invitation

 C. because of Joseph Merlin                            D. because it was dangerous

People called Merlin a dreamer because ___________.         .

 A. he slept and dreamed a lot                  

 B. he was full of different ideas

 C. he invented the first roller skates          

 D. he always made people’s dreams come true

What was Merlin’s problem after he rolled into the room?

   A. He couldn’t stop his roller-skating.          

 B. He couldn’t attract a lot of attention.

 C. Everyone was surprised at him.                   

 D. He couldn’t play the violin while rolling.

What’s the best title for the passage?

   A. Joseph Merlin’s Story                                     B. How Roller Skating Was Invented

   C. A Surprising Entrance to the Party                          D. Roller Skating

Even facts “forgotten” by people during a busy day may be retrieved if this is followed by a good night’s sleep.

Researchers from the University of Chicago asked volunteers to remember simple words.Many found their memories letting them down towards the end of the day, but the following morning, those who had slept well could recall much more.

Researchers, writing in the journal Nature, said the brain could “rescue” lost memories during the night.

When the brain is first asked to remember something that memory is laid down in an “unstable” state, meaning that it is possible that it could be lost.At some point, the brain consolidates those it deems important into a “stable”, more permanent state.However, the Chicago researchers suggested that it was possible for a “stable” memory to be made “unstable” again.This would mean that memories could be modified then filed away again in the face of new experiences.

The 12 volunteers tested in the experiment were played words created through a speech synthesizer which were purposely difficult to understand.Initially, the written version of the word  from the audio version only.Tests revealed that the ability to recall the right word tended to tail off as the day ended.

However, when the volunteers were retested after a good night’s sleep, they were able to recall some words that they had “ forgotten” the previous evening.

Dr Daniel, one of the study authors, said: “Sleep consolidates memories, protecting them against subsequent interference or decay.Sleep also appears to “recover” or restore memories.” He said: “If performance is reduced by decay, sleep might actively recover what has been lost.”

Dr Karim Nader, from the Department of Psychology in McGill University in Montreal, said: “Memory research is undergoing a transformation---no longer is memory thought to be a hard-writing of the brain, instead it seems to be a process of storage and restorage.”

Sleep helps some memories “mature” and also prunes out unimportant memories.

What does the first paragraph implies?

       A.A busy day makes people forget things easily.

       B.People need a good night’s sleep after a busy day.

       C.A good night’s sleep helps memories.

       D.A good night’s sleep helps people forget a busy day.

The words the 12 volunteers played in the experiment were not ____

       A.created through a speech synthesizer

       B.hard to understand

       C.available at the beginning

       D.designed to test people’s ability of understanding

According to the passage, memory_____

       A.is a hard-writing of the brain

       B.is not a process of storage

       C.is not a process of restorage

       D.will be mature with the help of sleep

Which of the following is NOT true?

       A.When people first remember something, the memory is in an “unstable state”.

       B.The brain will change those important unstable memories into stable.

       C.Once the memory become stable, it will never become unstable again.

       D.Sleep can protect memories from being harmed.


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 grand 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 astonished 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 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 took Merlin for a fool.
C.Merlin succeeded beyond expectation.       
D.Merlin got himself into trouble.

Around the world there are some festivals that for some of us may sound bizarre.

In England they celebrate the rolling cheese race, which occurs every year during the last Monday in May. This festival’s characteristic is a contest where an official rolls cheese down a steep hill and festival- goers go chasing after it. The winner is the first one to reach and catch the cheese.

Another festival celebrated in England is the world championship of grimaces (鬼脸). It is a celebration that dates back to 1297 and is celebrated during the month of September. The task is to perform the best grimace using anything you can to win.

The worldwide championship of wife lifting is celebrated in Finland. The game is based on Viking traditions where a man should carry away his neighbor’s wife. According to the rules, any woman above 17 is considered as a wife, so if you are within this age, take care while visiting this country during the month of July.

Many of you have watched Pirates of the Caribbean and have known something about pirates. The 19th of September has been declared worldwide as the day to talk like a pirate. Plenty of people have celebrated it thanks to the publicity (宣传) on the Internet.

First staged in 1998, the Boryeong Mud Festival is an attraction that pulls more than a million visitors to the South Korean City. As you all know, the town is said to be rich in minerals, so there is no shortage of mud. Mud is trucked onto Daecheon Beach for tourists and locals to enjoy the festival to their best.

The Monkey Buffet Festival is held in Thailand to develop tourism. It’s an unusual feast held for about 600 monkeys. The Monkey Buffet Festival is held in honor of the Hindu gods Ram and Hanuman and involves 3,000 kilograms of vegetables and fruits being laid out for monkeys to stuff themselves.

1.What does the underlined word “bizarre” in Paragraph1 probably mean?

A.Dangerous        B.Strange           C.terrible           D.Familiar

2.If a participant wants to win in the rolling cheese race, he / she should __________.

A.roll as much cheese down the hill as possible

B.find the largest piece of cheese rolling downhill

C.perform the best grimace when chasing the cheese

D.be the first one to catch the cheese rolling downhill

3.According to the writer, a girl above 17 should be careful when enjoying __________.

A.the worldwide championship of wife lifting

B.the world championship of grimaces

C.the Boryeong Mud Festival

D.the Monkey Buffet Festival

 

完型填空(共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分)

阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

LAST weekend, I helped my friend Alex get money for poor children at Crossroads Mall He  36  needed volunteers, especially of the female. I decided that this was a pretty good  37  , so the next day I got ready to go.

I arrived at Crossroads about five minutes  38  , and helped Alex and   39  of the volunteers. There were only three  40  at first, and we figured we might as well get started  41  just waiting for more to arrive. I held the   42  , and suddenly felt extremely shy. I did not  43  asking people for donations. In fact, I’m usually one of those people who try to   44  those boring stands and ask you for a little contribution. For heaven’s sake, I can contribute to a few,   45  I cannot alone  46  every single cause in the world!

I really didn’t like the idea of asking anyone for donations to our cause.   47  , I watched my friends speak to the strangers, and noticed that they were extra polite to everyone—no matter whether they  48  . I realized that   49  I wasn’t pushy(强求的), it would be okay, and my conscience could be  50  .

I pasted on a large smile, and started asking people passing by. My mouth tripped over words, and I continually said “um” while I thought of the correct terms.   51  I talked to more and more people. Not only improved, but also started noticing small  52  . Instead of saying “donate”, which made most people walk away  53  .I started suing the word “contribute”. I added the phrase “every little bit counts”, and people started to donate small amounts in larger quantities. As the day went on, I learned how to pull on the hearts of the   54  , and I became a successful fundraiser.

At the end of the day, we all gathered at Alex’s house and   55  how much money we raised. I was so surprised; We raised over $300! We celebrated, and went home tired, but satisfied that we helped a great cause.

1.A.every            B.much           C.desperately    D.too

2.A.cause            B.business       C.affair         D.career

3.A.earlier          B.early          C.later          D.late

4.A.the other        B.others         C.another        D.the rest

5.A.passers—by      B.teachers       C.volunteers     D.people

6.A.instead of       B.but            C.in spite of    D.in place of

7.A.signal           B.signature      C.sing           D.symbol

8.A.appreciate       B.like           C.want           D.need

9.A.annoy            B.flee           C.meet           D.avoid

10.A.and             B.but            C.or             D.so

11.A.do              B.support        C.make           D.create

12.A.What’s more    B.Besides        C.Whatever       D.However

13.A.donated         B.gave           C.came           D.passed

14.A.as soon as      B.as far as      C.as long as     D.as short as

15.A.at ease         B.with happiness C.in silence     D.in surprise

16.A.As              B.Before         C.Since          D.During

17.A.actions         B.hoopes         C.wishes         D.trends

18.A.slow            B.fast           C.slower         D.faster

19.A.goers           B.passers-by     C.students       D.strangers

20.A.thought         B.looked at      C.counted        D.decided

 

 

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