Pure Brightness Festival, also known as Tomb-sweeping Day in China, falls on the 4^th or 5^th of April each year. It was started in the Han Dynasty. On this day, whole families, young and old, with flowers visit the graves of their ancestors to pay their respects. Following the custom, tomb sweepers clean and tidy the graves, decorate them with flowers. They burn paper money made for the dead, set off firecrackers and bow before their ancestors’ tombstones. On this day, they don’t cook. Only cold food is served.

　　 However, tomb sweeping is not the only activity during Pure Brightness Festival. This day is also a time for people to enjoy themselves. Other activities include spring outing, flying kites, planting trees, tasting tea and so on. In April, everything in nature takes on a new look. Trees turn green, flowers come out and the sun shines brightly. So it is a good time to be out to appreciate the beauty of nature. People fly kites not only in the daytime but at night. In the dark, some people fly kites with lanterns, which are called “God’s lanterns”. They plant trees because young trees which are planted during this period are easy to grow up. And they enjoy tea because the tea produced around the festival is said to have good quality.

56. The word “tomb” probably means the same as the word “______” in the passage.

A. grave　　　　　 B. tombstone　　　　 C. ancestor　　　　 D. custom

57. From the passage we can learn that Pure Brightness Festival in 2014 will be on ______.

　 A. April 4　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　 B. April 5

　 C. either April 4 or April 5　　　　　　　　 D. neither April 4 nor April 5

58. According to the passage, Pure Brightness Festival is ______.

　 A. a day full of sadness　　　　　　　　　 B. Tree Planting Day

　 C. a combination of sadness and happiness　 D. a time for people to have fun

59. _____ activities are talked about in the passage above.

　 A. Two　　　　　 B. Three　　　　　　 C. Four　　　　　 D. Five

60. Which of the following do you think is the best title for the passage ?

　 A. A Special Day　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Pure Brightness Festival in China

　 C. What the Chinese Do on Tomb-sweeping Day D.A Chinese Traditional Custom

In March 1964, Alaska began to shake. There was a great earthquake. It was the biggest earthquake the country ever had.

Shops and houses fell down. One street dropped 30 feet. One island rose about 11 metres into the air parts of the sea bottom became dry land. People felt the earthquake hundreds of kilometers away.

Each year there are many earthquakes. Most of them are small. They happen in different parts of the world. We are not sure what makes them. But if you are near, you can see the earth move. You may see a big crack(裂缝) in the ground. Sometimes the land drops on one side of the crack. It goes up on the other side of the crack. There is a new hill. The old world has a new shape.

(　 )36 The strongest earthquake in Alaska happened in __.

　　 A. April 1967　 B. June 1864　 C. March 1964 D. May 1867

(　 )37. The word “earthquake” in the story means __.

　　 A. a sudden dropping of the island.　　　

B. the making of a new hill

　　 C. a strong shaking or moving of the ground.

　　 D. the rising and falling of the sea bottom.

(　 )38. The story wants to tell us __.

　　 A. earthquake change the land B. houses fall down and streets are broken

C. Alaska shakes a lot　　　　 D. how the strongest earthquake happened

(　 )39.From the story we know earthquakes happen _________.

　　 A. in shops and other buildings　 B. only in big cities

　　 C. in small countries　　　　　 D. in different parts of the world

(　 )40. From this story we can see __.

A.earthquakes often do a lot of harm B. people are trying to stop earthquakes

C. the bottom of the sea is nearly dry D. most people are afraid of earthquakes

There are many wetlands（湿地）in China and some of them have become the world’s important wetlands. The Chinese Yellow Sea Wetlands are among them. They are in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. They are home for many different kinds of birds and animals. The world’s largest Milu Deer Nature Reserve（自然保护区） is in them. More than 700 mile deer live freely there. There are not many red-crowned cranes(丹顶鹤) in the world， but every winter you can see some in the Red-crowned Cranes Nature Reserve in the Yellow Sea Wetlands.

The temperature in the wetlands is usually neither too high nor too low. There is a lot of rain and sunshine，too. They are really good places for wildlife（野生生物）。 Offering food and home for some special kinds of animals and birds is not the only reason why we need to protect wetlands. Wetlands are important because they also prevent flood（水灾）. But some people want to change the wetlands to make more space for farms and buildings. This means there will be less and less space for wildlife.

Luckily，more and more people are beginning to realize the important of wetlands and wildlife. Every year，on February 2nd，many activities are held to tell people more about wetlands.

49. Usually the weather in the wetlands is _______.

　 A. hot　　　　　　　　　 B. pleasant　　　　 　C. cold　　　　　　　 D. dry

50. The World Wetlands Day is on _______.

　 A. April 22　　　　　 B. June 25　　　　 C. February 2　　　 D. March 22

51. We must protect wetlands because _______.

A. they are home for wildlife　　　　　　　　　　 B. they can prevent flood

C. they can offer food to the animals and birds D. all of the above

52. The best title for the passage is _______.

　 A. China’s Wetlands Have All Entered the World’s List

　 B. Wetlands—Home for Wildlife and Human Beings

　 C. Special Animals in the Chinese Yellow Sea Wetlands

D. Wetlands—Valuable Recourses（珍贵资源）of the land on the Earth

　　阅读理解

Study the following diagrams of the rainfall (mm) carefully and answer the questions below.

(1)Which city has the most rainfall?

[　　]

A. Harbin.

B. Beijing.

C. Wuhan.

D. Guangzhou.

(2) From the diagrams we know the rainfall is heavy from ________ to ________, covering 80％ of the year's amount(总量).

[　　]

A. April; August

B. June; October

C. May; September

D. March; September

(3) We know ________ from the diagrams.

[　　]

A. Beijing has the least rainfall

B. the north has much more rainfall

C. Guangzhou gets the most rainfall in June

D. the south has much more rainfall

(4) Beijing gets ________ rainfall than ________ .

[　　]

A. a little more; Guangzhou

B. less; Harbin

C. far more; Wuhan

D. less; Wuhan

(5)Which of the following is true according to the diagrams?

[　　]

A. The rainfall in Harbin and Beijing is the heaviest in July of the year.

B. The rainfall of Guangzhou in May is as heavy as in June.

C. The rainfall in Wuhan is about the same in May and July.

Travelling abroad can be expensive, but there are ways of visiting Britain cheaply! We hope that we can give you some good ideas.

If you don’t go there in the busy months-----July and August, your visit may be cheaper. There will be fewer visitors. British weather can be pleasant from April to the end of September. Of course, you can go there in winter, but it is often dark by 4 pm. Many places, such as large houses and castles are closed in winter. However, if you are interested in museums, art galleries or theaters, winter may be the good time to visit.

If you are a student, it’s a good idea to apply for an International Student Identity Card. With this card, you can save a lot of money. You can get the card from your local student travel office, and you can also call (44)08708 413224 to get it. To get the card, you need to show that you are a student, get a passport photo, and pay a little money.

57. If you want to enjoy pleasant weather and meet fewer people, you can visit Britain in________.

　　A. May　　　　　 B. July　　 　　　 C. August　　　 D. December

58. If you want to visit _________, it’s not a good idea to visit Britain in winter.

　 A. art galleries　　 B. museums　　 　 C. castles　　　 D. theatres

59. A student with an International Student Identity Card can ________ in Britain.

　 A. get a passport　　　　　　　　　　 B. get a little money

　 C. call (44) 08708 413224 for help　　　 D. spend less money

60. Which of the following is the best title?

　 A. When to travel in Britain.　　　　　　 B. How to travel in Britain.

　 C. How to have a cheaper trip in Britain.　 D. What to do in Britain.