I once knew an old man whose bad memory made him famous. John Smith was so forgetful that he sometimes forgot what he was talking about in the middle of a sentence. His wife had to constantly remind him about his meetings, his classes — even his meals. Once he forgot he ate breakfast twice, at home and at school. His wife liked to remind her neighbors, “If John didn’t have his head tied on, he would forget that too!” Since Smith was a professor at a well-known university, his forgetfulness was often an embarrassment. It wasn’t that he was not clever, as some critical people tended to say, just very, very absent minded. One hot summer day, Professor Smith decided to take his children to a seaside town about a three-hour train ride away. To make the trip more interesting for his young children, he kept the name of the town a secret. However, by the time they arrived at the station, Smith forgot the name of the town he was planning to visit. Luckily, a friend of his happened to be in the station. He offered to take care of the children while Smith hurried back home to find out where he was going.

The professor’s wife was surprised to see him again so soon. “Oh, my dear, I forgot the name of the town.” “What? You forgot the name? May be one day you will forget my name! Now I’ll write the name of that town on a piece of paper, and you put it in your pocket and please, please don’t forget where you put it.”

Satisfied that she had solved the problem, she sent her husband off again. Ten minutes later she was astonished to see him outside the house for the third time.

“What is the matter now?”

“As you told me, I didn’t forget where I put the name of that town, but I forgot where I left our children!”

1. In the opinion of the writer of this passage, the professor is ________.

A. forgetful                 B. critical                      C. foolish            D. careless 

2. The underlined word “embarrassment” in the first paragraph may mean ________.

A. amusement           B. satisfaction          C. fun           D. discomfort

3. From the end of the story, we know Mrs Smith would probably be very_______.

A. satisfied                   B. angry                       C.    sorry              D. funny

4. He kept the name of the town a secret because _______.

A. he wanted to give the children a surprise.

B. he forgot it.

C. he didn’t know where to go.

D. his wife didn’t put the address in his pocket.

Sarah Williams went to a boarding school. Here is one of the letters she wrote to her parents from the school:

Wentworth Girls’ school

Beachside

July 20th

Dearest Mom and Dad,

I’m afraid I have some very bad news for you. I have been very naughty and the school principal is very angry with me. She is going to write to you. You must come and take me away from here. She does not want me in the school any longer.

The trouble started last night when I was smoking in bed. This is against the rules, of course. We are not supposed to smoke at all.

As I was smoking, I heard footsteps coming towards the room. I did not want a teacher to catch me smoking, so I threw the cigarette away.

Unfortunately, the cigarette fell into the waste-paper bas­ket, which caught fire.

There was a curtain near the waste-paper basket which caught fire, too. Soon the whole room was burning.

The principal phoned for the fire department. The school is a long way from the town and by the time the fire depart­ment arrived, the whole school was in flames. Many of the girls are in the hospital.

The principal says that the fire was all my fault and you must pay for the damage. She will send you a bill for about a million dollars.

I’m very sorry about this.

Much love,

Sarah

P. S. None of the above is true, but I have failed my ex­ams. I just want you to know how bad things could have been!

1. Why did Sarah write home?

A. To tell her parents about the fire.

B. To ask for a lot of money.

C. To tell her parents she had failed her exams.

D. To tell her parents she had to leave school.

2. Why did Sarah tell her parents the story about the fire?

A. She wanted to worry them.

B. She wanted to make them laugh.

C. She wanted to make them less angry at the real news.

D. She wanted to warn them about what the principal was going to do.

3. The letter before the P. S. was ________.

A. mostly true              B. partly true         C. all true                     D. completely untrue

4. Sarah said the principal was angry because ________.

A. she had failed her exams                       B. it was her fault that had caused the fire

C. she had not made the phone call in time   D. she had been caught smoking in bed

We now think of chocolate as sweet, but once it was bitter. We think of it as a candy, but once it was a medicine. Today, chocolate can be a hot drink, a frozen dessert, or just a snack. Sometimes it’s an ingredient(配料) in the main course of a meal. Mexicans make a hot chocolate sauce called mole and pour it over chicken. The Mexicans also eat chocolate with spices(香料) like chili peppers.

Chocolate is a product of the tropical cacao tree. The beans taste so bitter that even the monkeys say “Ugh!” and run away. Workers must first dry and then roast the beans. This removes the bitter taste.

The word “chocolate” comes from a Mayan word. The Mayas were an ancient people who once lived in Mexico. They valued the cacao tree. Some used the beans for money, while others crushed them to make a drink.

When the Spaniards came to Mexico in the sixteenth century, they started drinking cacao too. Because the drink was strong and bitter, they thought it was a medicine. No one had the idea of adding sugar. The Spaniards took some beans back to Europe and opened cafes. Wealthy people drank cacao and said it was good for the digestion.

In the 1800s, the owner of a chocolate factory in England discovered that sugar removed the bitter taste of cacao. It quickly became a cheap and popular drink. Soon afterwards, a factory made the first solid block of sweetened chocolate. Later on, another factory mixed milk and chocolate together. People liked the taste of milk chocolate even better.

Besides the chocolate candy bar, one of the most popular American snacks is the chocolate chip cookie. Favorite desserts are chocolate cream pie and, of course, an ice cream sundae with hot fudge sauce.

1. It was ________that discovered sugar could remove the bitter taste of cacao.

A. The workers in the chocolate factory      B. The Spaniards

C. The people in England                                   D. The owner of a chocolate factory

2. According to the passage which of the following statements is true?

A. Nobody had the idea of adding sugar until the sixteenth century.

B. The word “chocolate” comes from a Mexican word.

C. The beans taste so bitter that even the monkeys like them.

D. Workers must dry and roast the beans to remove the bitter taste.

3. The Spaniards think that cacao was a medicine because________

A. it was strong and bitter.    B. it was good for digestion.

C. it cured man’s diseases.    D. it was a kind of drink for good health.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A. chocolate can be a hot drink, a frozen dessert, or a candy bar

B. Mexicans like chocolate very much

C. chocolate is a product of the cacao tree

D. people liked the taste of chocolate mixed with milk

Rules for the University Entrance Examination

●You must be at the examination center ten minutes before the examination starts. If you are more than ten minutes late, you may not enter the examination center. The examination takes place at the same time in different states.

●You must have proof of your name and grade as well as official examination number. Show these when you come to the examination center.

●Depending on which examination you are taking, you may bring certain items into the examination center. Mathematics examinations may allow you to use electronic calculators (计算器). Other sub­jects may allow you to use dictionaries and other reference material. Please read the notes sent with your timetable carefully.

●You must bring your own pencils. None will be provided for you. The following items are not allowed in the examination center: walkmans and radios, head sets, any food or drink, schoolbags, electronic equipment (unless specifically permitted for various subjects), and mobile phones.

●Once in the center, you must sit at the desk with your examination number on it. When you sit down, place your examination number at the top corner of your desk.

●You must remain silent during the examination. You must not disturb other people who are taking the test.

●If you need a drink or toilet break, you should raise your hand and wait for the supervisor (监督者) to speak to you. You will be given water or the supervisor will take you to the bathroom. You are not allowed to talk with anyone during the break.

●You must write your answers in the official answer sheet. Your supervisor will provide extra paper if you wish to make notes.

●You may leave the examination room at any time if you do not plan to return. If you finish early and want to leave, please move well away from the examination center.

●The supervisor will warn you fifteen minutes, five minutes and one minute before the end of the ex­amination. When the supervisor says that the time is up, you must put down your pencil and wait at your desk until you paper is collected.

1. What kind of examination are these rules probably for?

A. A local exam.    B. A final exam.    C. A college exam.        D. A national exam.

2. What are you allowed to have with you when you take mathematics examination?

A. Related material. B. Proof of yourself.C. A cell phone.      D. A dictionary.

3. What should you do if you finish the test early and want to get a better result?

A. Take some notes carefully.                    B. Leave the room immediately.

C. Remain in your seat and check again.      D. Raise your hand to inform your teacher.

4. What can be provided for you during the exam?

A. Pencils.             B. Food and drink.               C. Extra paper.             D. Calculators.

Parts of Africa are covered by a dark cloud. But this is no rain cloud. It is a living cloud made of billions of locusts (蝗虫) that are traveling across the continent eating everything in their path.

And now in the battle to stop this disaster, a radio station in Senegal, West Africa, is offering listeners 50 kilograms of rice if they can catch and kill 50 kilograms of locusts.  “We think this idea will get more people to take part in the war on the locusts,” said Abdoulaye Ba, from Sud-Fm, a radio station in one of Senegal’s worst affected areas.

This is West Africa’s biggest locust disaster in 15 years, and it is moving east, causing huge damage to crops. As they move they produce young and increase their number and will soon threaten (威胁) Sudan in the northeast of Africa. Some say it could reach Asia.

Experts say the harmful effect on crops in areas already suf­fering from food shortage and war could cause many people to go hungry. Governments in the areas are not well equipped to fight the pest.

Although leaders of 12 countries have agreed on a plan, it is not expected to be enough. “We are now treating 6,000 hectares (公顷) per day with pesticide (杀虫剂), but we need to treat 20,000 hectares per day in order to have any hope of controlling this disaster,” said Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Babah, director of locust control in Mauritania.

Requests are being made for international aid, which is the only way to limit the disaster, the UN’s Food and Agricul­ture Organization warned.

1. By using “dark cloud” to describe locusts in the first para­graph, the author of the article ________.

A. showed the size and speed of the mass of locusts

B. suggested the great damage that locusts have caused

C. warned that locusts would sweep the continent like rain clouds

D. required the people to fight against the locusts

2. The story is mainly about ________.

A. a struggle to fight against a disaster brought by locusts in West Africa

B. the difficulty in controlling locusts

C. how locusts caused great damage to West Africa

D. West Africa’s united effort in fighting a disaster

3. The locust disaster ________.

A. would be even more serious in Asia  

B. was out of control

C. affected only the warning areas

D. can not be stopped unless twice as much pesticide is provided for the affected areas

4. Which of the following is WRONG?

A. Sud-Fm offered a reward for fighting locusts so that more people would join in the effort.

B. Senegal is to the southwest of Africa.

C. The passage doesn’t mention why the locusts can cause such damage in West Africa.

D. 12 countries affected by locusts have united but still lack pesticide.

 0  34425  34433  34439  34443  34449  34451  34455  34461  34463  34469  34475  34479  34481  34485  34491  34493  34499  34503  34505  34509  34511  34515  34517  34519  34520  34521  34523  34524  34525  34527  34529  34533  34535  34539  34541  34545  34551  34553  34559  34563  34565  34569  34575  34581  34583  34589  34593  34595  34601  34605  34611  34619  151629 

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网