In Victorian times, certain flowers expressed meanings because the flower selection was limited. Therefore, flower as a gift was an effective tool in social communication. With so many choices today, we have no rules in flower choosing. However, people tend to give a certain flower their own personal meaning--- maybe it can remind them of some particular friends or events. Here I would introduce the traditional meanings of some gift flowers as a reference for your flower choosing.

Carnation（康乃馨） is a good gift for your female teacher or mother, but not all kinds of carnations mean respect and love. Different colours have different meanings. Generally, carnation means “fascination and woman love”. Specifically, pink carnation means “I’ll never forget you” and red carnation says “I admire you”. But some carnations have very negative meanings. If you want to say goodbye to your girlfriend, you can send her a bunch of striped carnations or yellow ones, because it means “Sorry I can’t be with you. You disappointed me.”

Rose is no doubt the best gift for girls in love. Basically, it relates to the love between men and women, but roses with different colours stand for different stages of love. Red rose is man’s best friend when he wants to show his love to a girl. In the peak of his love, pink rose is more suitable because it means “perfect happiness and please believe me”. While the love gets into trouble, yellow rose seems to be the best symbol. It means “the decrease of love and jealousy”.

Though you are free to choose any kind of flower as long as it is beautiful, I think this brief introduction can help you avoid making mistakes. Besides, the receivers must be happier if he or she gets to know the good will you convey in flowers.

1. Why do we choose certain flowers as gifts?

A. Because they are the best gifts for you. 

B. Because flowers all look beautiful

C. Because different flowers smell good.  

D. Because they can express specific meanings.

2. In different stages of love, ________.

A. roses of different colours show love to a girl.

B. you can choose red rose at any occasion

C. yellow rose is the best symbol for your love

D. pink rose implies that your love comes to maturity(成熟).

3. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. Carnation is better than rose            B. Like the carnation, like the rose

C. Different flowers have different meanings  D. Flowers of different colours

Below is a selection from a popular science book.
If blood is red, why are veins（静脉） blue?
Actually, veins are not blue at all. They are more of a clear, yellowish color. Although blood looks red when it’s outside the body, when it’s sitting in the vein near the surface of the skin, it’s more of a dark reddish purple color. At the right depth, these blood-filled veins reflect less red light than the surrounding skin, making them look blue by comparison.
Which works harder, you heart or your brain?
That kind of depends on whether you’re busy thinking or busy exercising. Your heart works up to three times harder during exercise, and shifts enough blood over a lifetime to fill a supertanker. But in the long run, your brain probably tips it, because even when you’re sitting still your brain is using twice as much energy as your heart, and it takes four to five times as much blood to feed it.
Why do teeth fall out, and why don’t they grow back in grown-ups?
Baby (or “milk”) teeth do not last long; they fall out to make bigger room for bigger, stronger adult teeth later on. Adult teeth fall our when they become damaged, decayed and infected by bacteria. Once this second set of teeth has grown in, you’re done. When they’re gone, they are gone. This is because nature figures you’re set for life, and what controls regrowth of your teeth switches off.
Do old people shrink as they age?
Yes and no. Many people do get shorter as they age. But, when they do, it isn’t because they’re shrinking all over. They lose height as their spine（脊柱） becomes shorter and more curved due to disuse and the effect of gravity(重力). Many (but not all) men and women do lose height as they get older. Men lose and average of 3-4 cm in height as they age, while women may lose 5 cm or more. If you live to be 200 years old, would you keep shrinking till you were, like 60 cm tall, like a little boy again? No, because old people don’t really shrink! It is not that they are growing backwards ----- their legs, arms and backbones getting shorter. When they do get shorter, it’s because the spine has shortened a little. Or, more often, become more bent and curved.
Why does spinning make you dizzy（眩晕的）?
Because your brain gets confused between what you’re seeing and what you’re feeling. The brain senses that you’re spinning using special gravity-and-motion-sensing organs in your inner ear, which work together with your eyes to keep your vision balance stable. But when you suddenly stop spinning the system goes out of control, and your brain thinks you’removing while you’re not.
Where do feelings and emotions come from?
Mostly from an ancient part of the brain called the limbic system. All mammals have this brain area ----- from mice to dogs, cats, and humans. So all mammals feel basic emotions like fear, pain and pleasure. But since human feelings also involve other, newer bits of the brain, we feel more complex emotions than any other animal on this planet.
If exercise wears you out, how can it be good for you?
Because our bodies adapt to everything we do to them. And as far as your body is concerned, it’s “use it, or lose it”! It’s not that exercise makes you healthy, it’s more that a lack of exercise leaves your body weak and easily affected by disease
【小题1】What is the color of blood in a vein near the surface of the skin?

Scientists in Israel have discovered a new way to test for water pollution by “listening” to what the plants growing in water have to say.

By shining a laser beam (激光束) on the tiny pieces of algae floating in the water，the researchers said they hear sound waves that tell them the type and amount of contamination (致污物) in the water.

“It is a red light，telling us that something is beginning to go wrong with the quality of water，” said Zvy Dubinsky，an aquatic biologist at Israel’s Bar Ilan University.“Algae is the first thing to be affected by a change in water quality.”“The secret，” he said，“is to measure the rate of photosynthesis (光合作用) in the algae，meaning the plant’s ability to transform light into energy.” During photosynthesis，plants also release oxygen into the air.

Dubinsky’s technique is easy to perform because of the over?abundance of algae in the planet’s water.Most of the oxygen in the atmosphere comes from algae.A prototype tester that occupies about one square meter of a laboratory desktop，shoots a laser beam at water samples to stimulate photosynthesis in the algae.But not all of the laser’s heat is used.Depending on the condition of the algae and the rate of photosynthesis，some of the heat is shot back into the water，creating sound waves，Dubinsky said.With a special underwater microphone，researchers are able to analyze the strength of the sound waves and determine the health of the algae and the condition of the surrounding water.

“Algae suffering from lead poisoning，like waste discharged from battery and paint manufacturing plants，will produce a different sound than those suffering from lack of iron or exposure to other toxins，” said researcher Yulia Pinchasov.She said that testing algae photosynthesis can determine water quality more accurately and easily than labor?intensive methods now used like chemical and radioactive carbon testing.

1.The underlined word “algae” in Paragraph 2 probably refers to a kind of________.

A．instrument? B．plant

C．wood? D．pollutant

2.Why is the algae tested?

A．Because it floats on the water.

B．Because it can have photosynthesis.

C．Because it is the first to be polluted.

D．Because it can produce different sounds.

3.We can infer from the passage that________.

A．algae can produce a loud sound when polluted

B．algae can die easily from pollution

C．photosynthesis of the algae can only be caused by sunlight

D．photosynthesis of the algae is related to water quality

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

A．Scientists Listen to Plants to Find Water Pollution

B．A Prototype Tester Is Used to Determine Water Pollution

C．The Importance of Photosynthesis of the Algae

D．The Problem of Chemical and Radioactive Carbon Testing

---What about my idea?
---Very good! But not all people _______ the idea that money can bring everything.

    BBC: The Chinese culture is fascinating. During China’s Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, paper-cutting is one of China’s most popular and characteristic folk arts. The tradition goes back to the 6th century. After hundreds of years of development, it has now become a very popular way to decorate the house among country folk, especially women. During the Spring Festival, people paste(粘贴）some paper-cuttings on the entrance gates. They are supposed to bring good luck for the family.

    The main cutting tools are simple: paper and scissors or an engraving(雕刻）knife. Clever craftspeople are very good at cutting out a theme about daily life. When you look at works made in this method carefully, you will be amazed by the details in the faces of the people as well as the plants and animals. Although other art forms, like painting, can also show similar scenes paper-cutting still stands out for its charm. Though simple, the color appears charmingly bright.

    While it is easy to learn how to cut a piece of paper, mastering it is another thing. One must hold the knife in an upright fashion and press evenly on the paper with a little strength. Flexibility is required but the whole image will be damaged if you make one mistake. Engravers attempt to carve a circle like the moon, a straight line like a stem of wheat, a square like a brick, and many other forms, but not all of them can do them.

    People find hope and comfort in expressing wishes with paper-cuttings. For a wedding ceremony, red paper-cuttings are traditional and required decorations for the furniture. Patterns of plump children holding fish signify that they will be wealthy next year.

63. Where does the writer of this passage probably come from?

A. The USA.        B. Japan.

C. The UK.         D. France.

64. Usually, paper-cuttings can amaze and impress people by_______ .

A. bringing good luck

B. being true-to-life

C. appearing charmingly bright

D. being all hand-made

65. When you do paper-cutting, you should_______.

A. hold the knife or scissors as tight as you can

B. avoid any unnecessary change

C. bear all the set rules in your mind

D. always be confident and not stop

66. We can learn from the passage that _______.

A. mastering paper-cutting skills is different from cutting a piece of paper

B. paper-cutting is the most popular characteristic folk art

C. women are better at paper-cutting than men

D. paper-cutting can nearly bring people good luck