Some places in the world have strange laws. It’s important for you to know about them before going there.

   Whoever likes to chew gum(口香糖) may have to leave Singapore. The government really wants to keep the city clean and will fine you for chewing gum.

   Before you leave for the United Arab Emirates you’d better make sure you aren’t visiting during Ramadan(斋月). During that time you aren’t allowed to eat or drink in public. Tourists have been fined up to $275 for drinking in public.

   Lovers spend so much time kissing each other goodbye at train stations that trains often start late. This law — no kissing your lover goodbye at train stations – is rather old, and isn’t in use today in France.

   In Thailand it’s against the law to drive a car or motorcycle without a shirt on, no matter how hot it is. Punishments are different in different areas and can include warnings and tickets costing about $10. No joke -- the local police will stop you.

  Studies in Denmark have shown that cars with their headlights on are more noticeable by other drivers than those with their headlights off. Drivers there are required to leave their headlights on even during the day, or they may face a fine up to $100.

   Do you often buy things using coins? Don’t do it in Canada. The Currency Law of 1985 doesn’t allow using only coins to buy things. Even the use of the dollar-coin is limited (受限制的). The shop owner has the right to choose whether to take your coins or not.

   Make sure you know about these laws before your next trip. Better safe than sorry.

1.What is mainly talked about in the text?

A. How to make your trip around the world safe.

B. Why there are strange laws in the world.

C. Interesting places you can go to around the world.

D. Some strange laws you should know about for your trip.

2.If you are driving a car in Thailand, _____.

A. the police will play a joke on you

B. you should wear your shirt even though it’s hot

C. the police will give you tickets costing about $10

D. you should always keep your headlights on

3.What can we learn from the text?

A. Kissing goodbye at train stations isn’t allowed in France today.

B. The Singaporean government cares a lot about its environment.

C. Tourists in the United Arab Emirates shouldn’t eat in public.

D. You can turn your headlights off in daytime in Denmark.

4.What do we know about the strange law in Canada?

A. It is a newly invented law.           B. You aren’t allowed to use dollar-coins.

C. You will be fined if you use coins.     D. Shop owners can decide if you can use coins.

Whenever my kids have a party at school, I am the mom who always signs up to bring the juice boxes. It’s not because I’m   26  or that I don’t care if my kids have a good party. I am just not good at making homemade bread into holiday-themed shapes like other mothers.   27 , I’m happy to try, even though it’ll   28  me a long time to do it.
People say that housewives should have the   29  to make delicious meals, keep their houses clean, and   30  every minute of their child’s life. Their words used to   31  me a lot. I felt that I should also be able to do those things as a housewife. So   32  I couldn’t make the turkey-shaped cookies, I   33  feeling like a failure as a mom.
After many   34  attempts at baking, and many afternoons spent crying over my inabilities as a mother, I finally accepted the   35  that my lot(命运) in life is to be the juice box mom. I worked hard to be the   36  one in the elementary school. And after one of my daughter’s class parties, it   37 . Her teacher stopped me as I was leaving and said,＂Thank you so much for always bringing   38  drinks. Sometimes parents forget that other children will also   39  class parties, and they end up being left out because we don’t have enough   40  for everyone.＂
I just accepted her appreciation, rather than telling her that I brought extra drinks because I could   41  remember how many kids were in the class. But her   42  taught me an important lesson: I’m not a failure as a mom.
Not everyone is cut out to be a(n)   43  mom. I believe it’s okay to be the juice box mom. I may not bake cookies and decorate them beautifully, but I   44  something to drink. And I think that’s just as   45 .

Do you know why different animals or pests (昆虫) have their special colors? Colors in them seem to be used mainly to protect themselves.

　　Some birds like eating locusts (蝗虫), but birds cannot easily catch them. Why? It is because locusts change their colors together with the change of the colors of crops(庄稼). When crops are green, locusts look green. But as the harvest time comes, locusts change to the same brown color as crops have. Some other pests with different colors from plants are easily found and eaten by others. So they have to hide themselves for lives and appear only at night.

If you study the animal life, you’ll find the main use of coloring is to protect themselves. Bears, lions and other animals move quietly through forests. They cannot be easily seen by hunters (猎人). This is because they have the colors much like the trees.

Have you ever noticed an even stranger act? A kind of fish in the sea can send out a kind of very black liquid (液体)when it faces danger. While the liquid spreads over (散开), its enemies (敌人)cannot find it. And it immediately swims away. So it has lived up to now though it is not strong at all.

From the passage we learn that locusts________.

A. are small animals                  B. are easily found by birds

C. are dangerous to their enemies    D. change their colors to protect themselves

How can pests with different colors from plants keep out of danger?

A. They run away quickly.         

B. They have the colors much like their enemies.

C. They hide themselves by day and appear at night.      

D. They have to move quietly.

Bears and lions can keep safe because _________.

A. they have the colors much like the trees     B. they move quietly

C. they like brown and gray colors             D. they live in forests

Why can the kind of fish live up to now?

A. Because it is very and strong.     

B. Because the liquid it sends out can help it escape from its enemies.

C. Because the liquid it sends out can kill its enemies.

D. Because it swims faster than any other fish.

Which is the best title for this passage?

A. The Change of Colors for Animals and Pests　 　

B. Colors of Different Animals and Pests

C. The Main Use of Colors for Animals and Pests　　

D. Some Animals and Pests

What is great art? On the one hand, we can all see that great art is old art which is called great. But how do we know which art of our own times is great, and which will be forgotten? And who decides?

These are important questions, for the great art of the past often was not considered great during its own time. When Shakespeare and Charles Dickens were writing, for example, most critics considered them as hack (平庸的) writers with little or no literary ability.

Similarly, Van Gogh and many of the other Impressionist painters of the late nineteenth century were not allowed to participate in events involving what were thought to be the "real" painters of the time, and often they were very poor. Yet today their paintings often sell for millions of dollars, while those so-called "real" painters are now barely remembered.

So what makes great art? Can, for example, rock music be great art? Music videos? Cartoons and comics? Those who call themselves critics of the fine arts often have been the last to recognize great art in the past, and we can probably expect this to be the situation today.

Critics often don’t recognize great art because they tend to be prejudiced against what is popular. Popular works, whether they are novels, movies, or comics, are usually considered to be produced for the sake of money only, and not for the sake of art.

But popularity, it seems to me, is one of the three signs that a present-day work of art may come to be thought of as great. The other two are that it is groundbreaking, and that it is inherently (内在的) beautiful.

Many works have one or even two of these qualities of being popular, unusual, and beautiful. But having all the three often will mean that a work of art will someday be seen to be great, though it may take a good spoonful of time, such as a century or two, to know for sure.

1.The first paragraph is intended to__________.

2.The author used the examples of Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Van Gogh to prove _____.

3.According to the author, great works _______.

4.What can be inferred from the passage?

补全对话（共5小题，每小题1分，满分5分）

 Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always encourage such people, but I also explain that there's a big difference between "being a writer" and "writing".(61)________ "You've got to want to write," I say to them, "not want to be awriter."

The reality is that writing is a lonely, private and poorly-paid affair. (62)________ When I left a 20-year job in the US Coast Guard to become a writer, I had no hopes at all. (63)________ . It didn't even matter that it was cold and had no bathroom. I immediately bought a used typewriter and felt like a real writer.

After a year or so, however, I still hadn't gotten a break and began to doubt myself.(64)________ But I knew I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasn't going to be one of those people who die wondering "What if... ?" I would keep putting my dream to the test even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. (65)________ .