题目内容

Most musicians agree that the best violins were made in Cremona, Italy, about 200 years ago. They even sound better than violins made today. Violin makers and scientists try to make instruments like the old Italian violins. But they aren’t the same. Why are these old Italian violins so special? Many people think they have an answer.

Some people think it is the age of the violins. But there is a problem here. Not all old violins sound wonderful. Only those from Cremona are special. So age cannot be the answer.

Other people think the secret to those violins is the wood. It must be from certain kinds of trees. It must not be too young or too old. Perhaps the violin makers of Cremons knew something special about wood for violins.

But the kind of wood may not be so important. It may be more important to cut the wood in a special way. Wood for a violin must be cut into the right size and shape. The smallest difference will change the sound of the violin. Musicians sometimes think that this is the secret of the Italians.

Size and shape may not be the answer either. Scientists make new violins that are exactly the same size and shape. But the new ones still do not sound as good as the old ones. Some scientists think the secret may be the varnish (清漆), which covers the wood of the violin and makes it look shiny. It also helps the sound of the instrument. Since no one knows what the Italian violin makers used in their varnish, no one can make the same varnish today.

There may never be other violins like the violins of Cremona. And there are not many of the old violins left. So these old violins are becoming more and more precious.

1.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. The Secrets of Cremona Violins

B. The History of Italian Violins

C. Special Musical Instruments

D. How to Make the Best Violins

2.The main purpose of the first paragraph is to _______.

A. list some facts B. raise a question

C. give an opinion D. offer an answer

3.What is still unclear about Cremona violins according to the writer?

A. The shape. B. The size.

C. The wood. D. The varnish.

4.What can we learn from this passage?

A. Modern things are always better than ancient ones.

B. Ancient things are always better than modern ones.

C. Once a cultural relic is lost, it can never be recovered.

D. Varnish for violins will become more and more precious.

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Every day we are exposed to images, videos, music and news．In this age of visual and aural hyper stimulation, the medium of radio is making a great comeback.

“We’re at the beginning of a golden age of audio,” said US based podcaster Alex Blumberg in an article in The Sydney Morning Herald．In the last month alone, 15 percent of US adults listened to a radio podcast (播客)．These statistics, released by Edison Research, show the successful evolution of traditional radio broadcasts to the present day’s digital podcast format．The term “podcast” was invented in 2004, but the trend only started gaining mainstream popularity in recent years．With the sharp increase in consumer demand for smartphones and tablets, podcast sales have jumped.

The appeal of the podcast partly lies in its multiplatform delivery and on demand capabilities (功能)．You can listen during those extra minutes of the day when you’re walking to the shops, waiting in a queue or riding the subway．Similar to television shows, podcasts are generally free to download and most offer new content every week.

Donna Jackson, 22, Sydney University media graduate, listens to podcasts two or three times a week, via iTurns．“I listen while I’m wandering around the house doing something else．It makes completing a boring task much more enjoyable… And it’s an easy way of keeping in touch with what’s going on in the rest of the world,” she said, “I mainly listen to BBC podcasts, but recently I’ve also been listening to This American Life and Serial．They have a special skill to really draw you in.”

Unlike television and music, the audio format has the potential to create a deep impression on readers．Blumberg says this owes to the podcast’s ability “to create close relationship and emotional connection.” Sydney University undergraduate Hazel Proust, majoring in social work and arts, agrees．“When you’re listening, it feels as if the voice of the podcast’s storyteller is talking directly to you．It’s comforting, ” said Proust.

It seems the age old tradition of verbal storytelling is very much alive and well.

1.From the first two paragraphs, we can learn that ________.

A．traditional broadcast has come back

B．Americans love listening to the radio

C．podcasts have become very popular today

D．smartphones sell well because of podcasts

2.The writer mentions Donna Jackson mainly to ________.

A．tell how young people relax themselves

B．explain why young people like podcasts

C．introduce what programs podcasts are presenting

D．show how popular podcasts are presenting

3.Paragraph 5 is mainly about ________.

A．the influence of radios

B．the advantage of podcasts

C．readers’ impression on radios

D．people’s reaction to the medium

4.What is probably the best title of the passage?

A．Return of Radio

B．Opinions of Podcast

C．Features of Radio

D．Technology of Podcast

I had to knock on the taxi to get his attention．Finally，the driver，a man about 60，looked up from behind the wheel and apologized，“I’m sorry，but I was reading a letter．” He sounded as if he had a cold or a cough．

Since I was in no hurry，I told him to finish his letter．He shook his head，explaining that he had already read it several times and almost knew it by heart．Curious，I asked whether it was from a child or maybe a grandchild．“This isn’t family，”he replied．“though he might just as well have been a regular member of the family．Old Ed and I grew up together．”

They were always friends．But since he moved away from the neighborhood 30 years ago，it’d generally just been postcards at Christmas time between them．A couple of weeks ago，Ed died．“I should have kept in touch．” He repeated this，more to himself than to me．To comfort him，I said sometimes we just didn’t seem to find the time．“But we used to find the time，” he said．“Take a look．” He handed the letter over to me．

The first sentence “I’ve been meaning to write for some time，but I’ve always delayed it．” reminded me of myself．It went on to say that he often thought about the good times they had had together．When I read the part where it said “Your friendship really means a lot to me，more than I can say because I’m not good at saying things like that”，I found myself nodding in agreement．

We had gone several kilometers and were almost at my hotel, so I read the last paragraph: “So I thought you’d like to know that I was thinking of you.” And it was ended with “Your Old Friend, Tom.”

“I thought your friend’s name was Ed,” I said.

“I’m Tom,” he explained. “It’s a letter I wrote to Ed before I knew he’d died. I never put it in the mailbox. I guess I should have written it sooner.” His face was pale as he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief.

When I got to my hotel room I didn’t unpack right away．I had to write a letter and post it．

1.Who wrote the letter？

A．Tom

B．Old Ed．

C．The author．

D．The driver’s grandchild．

2.It can be inferred from the passage that the driver regretted_____．

A．missing Ed’s funeral

B．moving away from his neighborhood

C．forgetting to send Ed Christmas cards

D．not being able to keep in touch with Ed

3.From Paragraph 4，we learn that the author _______．

A．often fails to write to his friends

B．has no intention to write to his friends

C．had many great moments with his friends

D．was good at expressing his feelings to friends

4.What message does the passage probably try to convey？

A．Comfort your friends when they are feeling down．

B．Life is unpredictable so live each day as if it were your last．

C．Remember to always mail your letters after expressing your words．

D．Always make time to value and experience your lasting friendships．

Perseverance is a kind of quality, and that is ______ it takes to do everything well.

A. why B. that C. what D. which

Tour A--Bath & Stonehenge including entrance fees to the ancient Roman bathrooms and Stonehenge--￡37until 26 March and ￡39 thereafter.

Visit the city with over 2,000 years of history and Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent and the Costume Museum. Stonehenge is one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments dating back over 5,000 years.

Tour B--Oxford & Stratford including entrance fees to the University St Mary’s Church Tower and Anne Hathaway's house一￡32 until 12 March and ￡36 thereafter.

Oxford: Includes a guided tour of England’s oldest university city and colleges. Look over the “city of dreaming spires(尖顶)”form St Mary’s Church Tower. Stratford: Includes a guided tour exploring much of the Shakespeare wonder.

Tour C—Windsor Castle & Hampton Court including entrance fees to Hampton Court Palace--£34 until 11 March and £37 thereafter.

Includes a guided tour of Windsor and Hampton Court, HenryⅧ’s favourite palace. Free time to visit Windsor Castle（entrance fees not included）. With 500 years of history, Hampton Court was once the home of four Kings and one Queen. Now this former royal palace is open to the public as a major tourist attraction. Visit the palace and its various historic gardens, which include the famous maze(迷宫)where it is easy to get lost!

Tour D--Cambridge including entrance fees to the Tower of Saint Mary the Great--£33 until 18 March and £37 thereafter.

Includes a guided tour of Cambridge, the famous university town, and the gardens of the 18th century.[来

1.Which tour will you choose if you want to see England’s oldest university city?

A. Tour A B. Tour B C. Tour C D. Tour D

2.Which of the following tours charges the lowest fee on 17 March?

A. Windsor Castle & Hampton Court.

B. Oxford & Stratford

C. Bath &Stonehenge.

D. Cambridge.

3.Why is Hampton Court a major tourist attraction?

A. It used to be the home of royal families.

B.It used to be a well-known maze

C.It is the oldest palace in Britain

D. It is a world-famous castle.

The majority of astronauts（宇航员）from America have been men. At the start of the space programme there was strong resistance from some people against having women in space. However, some women were very keen to become astronauts and in the end they were successful. In 1978, NASA began the first training programme for women astronauts.

Judy Resnick and Christa McAuliffe were both astronauts and they were both women, but in many other ways they were very different. Both of them were on Flight STS-5L-L. Judy Resnick was born in 1949 and studied engineering at university and went on to obtain a PhD in 1977. She was a member of the first group of women selected for astronaut training in 1978, and in 1984, she became the second woman in space. During that flight, she helped to launch three new satellites and she carried out a programme of research. She was, in many ways, a professional astronaut whose whole life was devoted to space travel.

Christa McAuliffe was born in 1948 and she was an astronaut almost by accident. In 1984, NASA decided to find a teacher who could accompany astronauts into space. They hoped that she would be able to communicate with students from space and encourage every one of them to be interested in space travel. Christa was a secondary teacher in history and social studies. She was a gifted teacher and she was selected from over 11,000 applicants to go on flight STS-51-L. She was also a very good communicator and she immediately established a very good relationship with the news media(radio, television and newspapers）. It was partly because of this that there was a great deal of interest and excitement about the flight. Thousands of students in schools and universities all around the country were looking forward to communicating with Christa in space. Millions of people were watching her flight with great interest. It is partly because of the excitement over McAuliffe's place in the flight that the disaster in 1986 had such an effect on people.

1.We can learn from the first two paragraphs that ___________.

A. Judy was against the idea of having women in space at first

B. Judy was the first woman selected for astronaut training

C. Judy helped to launch three new satellites at the age of 35

D. Judy carried out a programme during her second space travel

2.Christa McAuliffe was chosen for training because _______.

A. she was popular with the news media

B. she expected to give history lessons in space

C. she was an excellent teacher and communicator

D. she made the students in space very excited

3.The reason why there was great interest in Flight STS-51-L is that ________.

A. both Christa and Judy got PhD degrees in the same year

B. a young secondary school teacher was on the flight

C. students were going to learn more about space travel

D. it was the first time for women to travel in space

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Two Astronauts B. Flight STS-51-L

C. Travelling in Space D. The Training Programme

D

Dear Guys,

I’d like to talk to you about the shame you subjected me to last night. Let me first refresh your memory: You, a group of fit, young men, were playing soccer on the field across from my apartment building. I, a better-than-average looking young woman, was walking along the sidewalk with my groceries. That’s when your ball came flying over the fence and landed in front of me.

One of you approached and asked politely if I would throw the ball back to you. Fighting the urge to drop my bags and run screaming down the street, I reluctantly (勉强地) agreed.

Before I continue, let me explain something that I didn’t have a chance to mention last night: I hate sports. More specifically, I hate sports involving balls. This results from my lack of natural ability when it comes to throwing, catching and hitting. I’m bad at aiming too. So you can understand why I’d be nervous at what I’m sure seemed to you like a laughably simple request.

However, wanting to appear agreeable, I put my bags down, picked up the ball and, eyes half-shut, and threw it as hard as I could.

It hit the middle of the fence and bounced back to me.

Trying to act casually, I said something about being out of practice, and then picked up the ball again. If you’ll remember, at your command, I agreed to try throwing underhand. While outwardly I was smiling, in my head, I was praying, oh God, oh please oh please oh please. I threw the ball upward with all my strength, terrified by what happened next.

The ball hit slightly higher up on the fence and bounced back to me.

This is the point where I start to take issue with you. Wouldn’t it have been a better use of your time, and mine, if you had just walked around the fence and took the ball then? I was clearly struggling; my smiles were more and more forced. And yet, you all just stood there, motionless.

Seeing that you weren’t going to let me out of the trouble, I became desperate. Memories of middle school softball came flooding back. I tried hard to throw the ball but it only went about eight feet, then I decided to pick it up and dash with ball in hand towards the baseline, while annoyed thirteen-year-old boys screamed at me that I was ruining their lives. Children are cruel.

Being a big girl now, I pushed those memories aside and picked up the soccer ball for the third time. I forced a good-natured laugh while crying inside as you patiently shouted words of support over the fence at me.

“Throw it granny-style!” one of you said.

“Just back up a little and give it all you’ve got!” another offered.

And, most embarrassing of all, “You can do it!”

I know you thought you were being encouraging, but it only served to deepen the shame.

Anyway, I accepted your ball-throwing advice, backed up, rocked back and forth a little, took a deep breath and let it fly.

It hit the edge of the fence and bounced back to me.

I surprised myself—and I’m sure you as well—by letting out a cry, “DAMN IT!!!” I then willed myself to have a heart attack and pass out in front of you just so I’d be put out of my misery.

Alas, the heart attack didn’t happen, and you continued to look at me expectantly, like you were content to do this all night. I had become a sort of exhibition for you. I could feel your collective thoughts drifting through the chain-link: “Can she really not do it? But I mean, really?”

Unfortunately for you, I wasn’t really game to continue your experiment. Three failed attempts at a simple task in front of a group of people in a two-minute period were just enough blows for me for one night. I picked up the ball one last time, approached the fence and grumbled, “Please just come get the damn ball.”

And you did. And thanks to you, I decided at that very moment to never throw anything ever again, except disrespectful glances at people who play sports.

Sincerely, Jen Cordery

1.The writer agreed to throw the ball because ______.

A. she needed to have a relax carrying the heavy groceries

B. she wanted to refresh her childhood memories

C. she could not refuse the polite request from the young man

D. she had fallen in love with the young man at first sight

2.Which of the following is closet in meaning to the underlined word “game”?

A. anxious B. brave C. afraid D. curious

3.Why did the writer mention her middle school memory?

A. To explain why she failed the attempts to throw the ball back.

B. To complain that she had not mastered the ball throwing skills.

C. To show how cruel those 13-year-old boys were.

D. To express her dislike towards softball.

4.What the boys said before the writer’s third attempt actually made the writer ________.

A. inspired B. encouraged C. awkward D. depressed

5.What happened to the ball at last?

A. The writer managed to throw the ball back.

B. The boy got the ball back by himself.

C. The writer threw the ball away out of anger.

D. The boys got angry and left without the ball.

6.What’s the writer’s purpose in writing this open letter?

A. To express her regret over what she did the day before.

B. To announce that she would never play all games again.

C. To joke on her inability to throw the ball over the fence.

D. To criticize the young men for their cruelty to her dignity.

—Hi, Tom. The new iPad6 only cost me 150 dollars.

—Really? It was a real ______.

A. change B. bargain

C. trade D. business

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑

This is my third story. When I was 17, I read a quote(引述) that something like,”If you live each day it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right.” Since then, for the past thirty?three years，I've looked the mirror every morning and asked myself：“If today were the last day of my life，would I want to do what I am ____ to do today？”And whenever the answer has been ”No” for too many days in a row(连续)，I know I need to change something.

About a year ago I was with cancer. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should to live no longer than three to six months. They advised me to go home and get my in order，which is doctors' code for ”prepare to ”. Later that evening when the doctors the cells taken from my pancreas(胰腺)under a microscope，they started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is with surgery. I had the surgery and, , I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Death is the we all share. No one has escaped it. And that is it should be，because death is very likely the single invention of life. It's life's change agent. It clears out the old to make for the new. Your time is , so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma(信条)—which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to your heart and intuition(直觉). They already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

1.A. said B. described C. went D. expressed

2.A. unless B. as if C. even if D. as long as

3.A. in B. at C. through D. in

4.A. about B. off C. out D. of

5.A. connected B. infected C. affected D. diagnosed

6.A. want B. dream C. expect D. imagine

7.A. duties B. businesses C. affairs D. life

8.A. work B. start C. talk D. die

9.A. looked B. viewed C. realized D. noticed

10.A. curable B. possible C. acceptable D. suitable

11.A. carefully B. thankfully C. anxiously D. hopefully

12.A. possession B. destination C. expectation D. position

13.A. ever B. even C. never D. still

14.A. when B. while C. as D. since

15.A. better B. worst C. worse D. best

16.A. use B. a difference C. sense D. way

17.A. endless B. repeated C. countless D. limited

18.A. others' B. others C. anyone's D. some others

19.A. listen B. follow C. take D. accept

20.A. however B. whatever C. somehow D. somewhat

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