【题目】阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项 （A 、B 、C 和 D ）中 ，选出最佳选项。
D
Taxpayers(纳税人) in America pay less in income tax than many Europeans, according to a Pew Research Center report. Belgium has the highest income tax rate, at nearly 56 percent of income, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD. Taxpayers in the U.S. pay less than 36 percent of their incomes into the national treasury. Taxes pay for services provided by the government. The U.S. ranks 25 of the 34 developed countries polled in the report.
An unmarried person with no children was used as an example in the report. In America, an unmarried person, with no children, making the average wage of $50, 000 in 2014 paid 24.8 percent of their income in federal (联邦的) income tax and payroll taxes (工资税). A similar person living in Belgium would pay 42.3 percent of their income. The average among the 39 countries in the poll was 27.3 percent income tax.
The deadline to pay taxes in America is usually April 15. This year, the deadline is April 18. American taxpayers complain that wealthy people and large companies pay too little tax, according to a Pew Research Center poll from 2015.
Americans pay tax to fund programs like Social Security and Medicaid, according to the Pew Research Center. Last year, American taxes paid for $888 billion in Social Security benefits. Social Security pays the elderly an income after they stop working. The government also paid more than $546 billion in Medicaid and Medicare benefits. Those programs pay for health and medical care to people who cannot afford it, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
（1）According to the article, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.The income tax rate of America ranks 25 of the world.
B.No countries in the world have a higher income tax than that in Belgium.
C.Taxpayers in America pay more in income tax than many Europeans.
D.The deadline to pay taxes in America is usually between April 15 and April 18
（2）The majority of people benefiting from the taxes in America are ________.
A.wealthy people and corporations
B.unmarried people
C.married couples
D.the elderly retirees
（3）How is Passage 2 mainly developed?
A.By showing differences.
B.By analyzing causes.
C.By describing process.
D.By explanations.
（4）The author mainly wants to tell us ________.
A.how Americans use their taxes
B.how much do Americans pay their taxes
C.that Americans pay less income tax than many others
D.that many people are complaining about the taxes

Smart phones give you access to a wealth of information and media, but most networks put a limit on the amount of data you can use each month. A typical phone contract includes a data allowance of between 500MB and 10GB per month. 【1】 You see, your usage can mount up surprisingly quickly — watching a film on the phone is about 700MB in SD, an hour of streaming TV is around 500MB or 60-140MB for the same of radio, chatting on Skype for an hour is around 40MB. 【2】

·If possible, wait until you can connect to free Wi-Fi before using your phone’s data features.

·When you are on the road, use your car’s GPS, not your phone, to find the way.【3】 But maps are preloaded in a GPS, making this free to use.

·【4】 Many of these are funded by ads that pop up on your screen. Every ad has to download through your network, using up your data allowance.

·If you regularly need to use a lot of data on your phone, consider a data-compressing(压缩) app, such as Onavo(www.onavo.com).【5】 So you use less of your monthly allowance. You may have to subscribe to such compression services, so you’ll need to weigh up whether it’s worth the cost.

A. The more data, the higher the monthly cost.

B. Remember to use free Wi-Fi anywhere you go.

C. Try these tips to better manage your data use.

D. It compresses data before it is fed to your phone.

E. But you might end up paying more than expected.

F. The phone has to download map data as you move.

G. Be careful of how many “free” games you play on the phone.

要求：词数120左右。

【题目】假如你是李华，你的英国朋友Edward正在学习汉语，希望你推荐一个适合他学习汉语的网站。请你根据以下内容，给他回复邮件。
推荐网站：www.edchinese.com
网站内容：
1. 网络课程：中文情景对话、中国风俗、成语；
2. 其它：中文电影、中文歌曲、唐诗等；

3. 有在线教师答疑解惑。

费用：全部免费
注意： 1. 词数100左右;

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

【题目】阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项 （A 、B 、C 和 D ）中 ，选出最佳选项。
C
Anne LaBastille was born in New York City and grew up in New Jersey. Her first experience with the wilderness was in the Adirondacks in the northeast of New York, where she worked at a summer resort (度假胜地) to earn money for college tuition (学费) by caring for the horses, giving riding lessons, and working as a waitress. And she had many chances to begin her adventure in the Adirondack wilderness.
Anne returned to school in the fall, but she continued to spend as much time as she could in the Adirondacks. She grew to love her time alone in the mountains. Anne graduated from college with a bachelor's degree in conservation of natural resources (资源) and began working for the National Audubon Society in Florida as a wildlife tour leader.
Although Anne took great pleasure in showing people the animals living in t he Florida Keys and the Everglades National Park, she longed for the mountains in the northern parts of New York. Finally she decided to build a cabin near Black Bear Lake. Over the years, however, more and more tourists began hiking near her cabin. As a result, Anne decided to build another cabin deeper in the woods at Lily Pad Lake.
Anne lived in the woods for most of her life. She enjoyed living alone in the woods, and her life was far too busy for her to be lonely. When she was not writing books, she wrote articles for National Geographic, Reader's Digest, and other magazines. In her later years, Anne conducted research in Guatemala on an endangered bird called the grebe. She also lectured nationwide about ecology. Besides, Anne worked with a number of organizations dedicated to (致力于) conservation.
As a respected guide, author, and conservationist, Anne not only loved the land but also had found a way to become part of it.
（1）Anne's work at the summer resort .
A.showed her love for long tours
B.helped her to explore the wilderness
C.earned her high admiration in college
D.gave her a chance to learn horse riding
（2）Anne built her cabin at Lily Pad Lake in order to .
A.live in the mountains
B.enlarge her living space
C.settle in a more beautiful place
D.get away from increasing numbers of tourists
（3）We can conclude from the text that Anne .
A.felt very lonely living in the woods
B.made the wilderness a part of her life
C.tried to make more people aware of the grebe
D.longed to be an editor of National Geographic
（4）What's the main idea of the text?
A.A brief introduction to Anne's life.
B.Anne's achievements.
C.Anne's adventures in the wilderness.
D.Anne's pioneering work in wildlife ecology.

【题目】阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项 （A 、B 、C 和 D ）中 ，选出最佳选项。
B
Can dogs and cats live in perfect harmony in the same home? People who are thinking about adopting a dog as a friend for their cats are worried that they will fight. A recent research has found a new secret of success. According to the study, if the cat is adopted before the dog, and if they are introduced when still young (less than 6 months for cats, a year for dogs), it is highly likely that the two pets will get along swimmingly. Two—thirds of the homes interviewed reported a positive relationship between their cat and dog.
However, it wasn't all sweetness and light. There was a reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25% of the homes, while fighting were observed in 10% of the homes. One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals were just opposite. For example, when a cat turns its head away it signals attacking, while a dog doing the same signals giving in.
In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully, researchers observed a surprising behavior. They are learning how to talk each other's language. It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk “dog”，and dogs can learn how to talk “cat”.
What's interesting is that both cats and dogs have appeared to develop their intelligence. They can learn to read each other's body signals, suggesting that the two may have more in common than we previously thought. Once familiar with each other's presence and body language, cats and dogs can play together, greet each other nose to nose, and enjoy sleeping together on the sofa. They can easily share the same water bowl and in some cases groom (梳理) each other.
The meaning of this research on cats and dogs may go beyond pets—to people who don't get along, including neighbors, colleagues at work, and even world superpowers. If cats and dogs can learn to get along, surely people have a good chance.
（1）The underlined word “swimmingly” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to .
A.early
B.quickly
C.sweetly
D.violently
（2）Some cats and dogs may fight when .
A.they are cold to each other
B.they look away from each other
C.they are introduced at an early age
D.they misunderstand each other's signals
（3）It is suggested in Paragraph 4 that cats and dogs .
A.have common interests
B.are less different than what we thought
C.have a common body language
D.are less intelligent than what we expected
（4）What can we human beings learn from cats and dogs?
A.We should learn to live in harmony.
B.We should know more about animals.
C.We should live in peace with animals.
D.We should learn more body languages.

【1】(large) number of people.

China is the homeland of tea. Human cultivation of tea plants dates back to two thousand years ago. Tea from China, along【2】her silk and porcelain, began to be known to the world more than a thousand years ago and since then it 【3】(be) an important Chinese export.

At present more than forty countries in the world grow tea with Asian countries，【4】(produce) 90% of the world’s total output. All tea trees in other countries have their origin directly or indirectly in China. The word for tea leaves or tea as 【5】drink in many countries are derivatives(衍生物) from the Chinese character “cha”. The Russians call it “cha’i”, 【6】sounds like “chaye”(tea leaves) as it is pronounced in northern China, and the English word “tea” sounds similar to the pronunciation of【7】(it) counterpart（对应物） in Xiamen. The Japanese character for tea is written 【8】(exact) the same as it is in Chinese, though 【9】(pronounce) with a slight difference. The habit of tea drinking spread to Japan in the 6th century, but it was not introduced to Europe and America till the 17th and 18th centuries. Now the number of tea【10】(drink) in the world is still on the increase.

This comfortable cycle, in which the rhythms of the day helped shape the rhythms of the meals, gave rise to the custom of the large midday meal, eaten with the extended family. “Meals are the foundation of the family,” says Carole Couniban, a professor at Millersville University in Pennsylvania, “so there was a very important interconnection between eating together and strengthening family ties.”

Since industrialization, maintaining such a slow cultural metabolism has been much harder, with the long midday meal shrinking to whatever could be stuffed into a lunch bucket or bought at a food stand. Certainly, there were benefits. Modern techniques for producing and shipping food led to greater variety and quantity, including a tremendous increase in the amount of animal protein and dairy products available, making us more energetic than our ancestors.

Yet plenty has been lost too, even in cultures that still live to eat. Take Italy. It’s no secret that the Mediterranean diet is healthy, but it was also a joy to prepare and eat. Italians, says Counihan, traditionally began the day with a small meal. The big meal came at around 1 p.m. In between the midday meal and a late, smaller dinner came a small snack. Today, when time zones have less and less meaning, there is little tolerance for offices’ closing for lunch, and worsening traffic in cities means workers can’t make it home and back fast enough anyway. So the formerly small supper after sundown becomes the big meal of the day, the only one at which the family has a chance to get together. “The evening meal carries the full burden that used to be spread over two meals,” says Counihan.

【1】What does Professor Carole Counihan say about pre-industrial European families eating meals together？

A. It was helpful to maintaining a nation’s tradition.

B. It brought family members closer to each other.

C. It was characteristic of the agrarian culture.

D. It enabled families to save a lot of money.

【2】What does “cultural metabolism”（Line 1, Para. 3) refer to？

A. Evolutionary adaptation. B. Changes in lifestyle.

C. Social progress. D. Pace of life.

【3】What does the author think of the food people eat today?

A. Its quality is usually guaranteed.

B. It is varied, abundant and nutritious.

C. It is more costly than what our ancestors ate.

D. Its production depends too much on technology.

【4】What does the author say about Italians of the old days?

A. They enjoyed cooking as well as eating.

B. They ate a big dinner late in the evening.

C. They ate three meals regularly every day.

D. They were expert at cooking meals.

【题目】阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。 With only about 1, 000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone（克隆） the animal and save the endangered species. That’s a move similar to what a Texas A& M University researcher has been undertaking for the past five years in a project called “Noah’s Ark”.
Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos（胚胎）, semen and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen. If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.
It is estimated that as many as 2, 000 species of mammals, birds and reptiles will become extinct over the next 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.
This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.
The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.
“The nuclear transfer（核子移植）of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available(capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy(having a baby). It takes a long time and it’s difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are cert ainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort,” adds Kraemer, who is one of the lead ers of the Project at Texas A&M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.
“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It’s a research that is very much needed.”
（1）The aim of “Noah’s Ark” project is to ______.
A.make efforts to clone the endangered pandas
B.save endangered animals from dying out
C.collect DNA of endangered animals to study
D.transfer the nuclear of one animal to another
（2）According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of ______.
A.available panda eggs
B.host animals
C.qualified researchers
D.enough money
（3）The best title for the passage may be ______.
A.China’s Success in Pandas Cloning
B.The First Cloned Panda in the World
C.Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas
D.China—the Native Place of Pandas Forever
（4）From the passage we know that ______.
A.Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a dog
B.scientists try to implant a panda’s egg into a rabbit
C.Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches
D.about two thousand of species will probably die out in a century

Water is central to the new technique. The liquid makes up more than half an adult human’s body weight. Our bodies break water down into hydrogen(氢) and oxygen. Atoms of these two elements end up in our tissues, fingernails, and hair.

But not all water is the same. Hydrogen and oxygen atoms can vary in how much they weigh. In the case of hydrogen, for example, there are three types according to their weights. Each type is called a hydrogen isotope(同位素). And depending on where you live, tap water contains different isotopes.

Can hair record this information? That’s what James R. Ehleringer, an environmental chemist at the University of Utah, wondered. To find it out, he and his colleagues collected hair from hair stylists in 65 cities across the United States. Even though people drink a lot of bottled water these days, the researchers have found that people’s hair has the same isotopes as found in local tap water. That’s probably because people usually cook their food with the local water.

Authorities can now use the information to analyze hair samples from criminals or crime victims and narrow their search for clues. For example, one hair sample used in Ehleringer’s study came from a man who had moved from San Francisco to Salt Lake City. As his hair grew, it reflected his change in location.

【1】What do we know about the hydrogen isotopes according to Paragraph 3?

A. They are classified by size.

B. Each type of them differs in weight.

C. They can improve the quality of tap water.

D. Some of them cannot combine with oxygen.

【2】Why is it possible to know where people are from by analyzing their hair?

A. People use the same bottled water.

B. People wash their hair in different ways.

C. People’s hair is affected by the weather of the places they stay.

D. People’s hair indicates the type of water in the places they stay.

【3】The last paragraph is mainly to show _______.

A. how to recognize criminals B. how to collect hair samples

C. the usefulness of hair analysis D. the process of Ehleringer’s study

【4】Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A. Water composition B. Change your hair

C. Hair detectives D. No way out