Why was Bastille important to the citizens of Paris? The building of the Bastille had been started in 1370 under Charles V. By the seventeenth century, it had stopped to be important for defense. Cardinal Richelieu turned it into a prison. It was not an ordinary prison to punish common crimes. Its huge doors closed only on enemies of the King. The Bastille's workings were secret. Prisoners were taken to it in closed vehicles. Soldiers on guard duty had to stand with their faces to the wall. No talking was allowed. Worst of all, a prisoner never knew if he would be there a day, a week, a year, or forever. Only the King's letter could set him free.
Over the years, the number of arrests by King's letter had become fewer. By the time of its fall, most of the prisoners were writers who had written against the corruptions(贪污腐败) of the government. Voltaire, the famous French writer, spent a year there in 1717-1718, and another 12 days in 1726.
For those who believed in free speech and free thinking, the Bastille stood for everything evil. The day it was captured, only seven prisoners were found inside. Still, the Bastille was hated by the people. It was a symbol of the King's complete power.
1. The Bastille had been a prison ______.
A. since the time of Charles V
B. since 1370
C. since the time of Cardinal Richelieu
D. before the seventeenth century
2. According to the passage, which of the following statements is FALSE?
A. Voltaire was twice put in the Bastille.
B. The Bastille was only for those who were opposed to the King.
C. Things done in the Bastille were hardly known to people outside.
D. Anyone who did something wrong could find himself suddenly in the Bastille.
3.At the time of its fall, the Bastille housed ______.
A. only a few prisoners
B. a lot of writers who had been against the government
C. a large number of prisoners
D. some dozens of people who believed in free speech and free thinking
4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. All prisoners in the Bastille had to stay there for life.
B. Over the years the number of prisoners in the Bastille was getting more and more.
C. The King could put people in, or let them go out, as he wanted.
D. At the time it was captured, there were so few prisoners in it that it meant little to the people.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
(Reuters) --- A stampede（蜂拥） killed at least 36 people during New Year's Eve celebrations in Shanghai, authorities said, but the police denied reports that it was caused by people rushing to pick up fake money thrown from a building overlooking the city's famous waterfront.
It was the worst disaster in the modern city since 58 died in an apartment building fire in 2010.
The cause of the crush has still to be confirmed, though state media and some witnesses have said it was at least partly aroused when people rushed to pick up coupons that looked like bank notes.
A man named Wu said the fake money had been thrown down from a bar above the street as part of the celebrations.
"This incident happened after the stampede," police said in a brief statement, without saying what the real cause was.
Another witness said there had been a problem away from the area where the fake bills were thrown, with people trying to get on to a raised platform overlooking the river.
Xinhua news agency said that people had been trampled on after falling down on the steps up to the platform.
Authorities had shown some concern about crowd control in the days leading up to New Year's Eve. They recently canceled an annual 3D laser（激光器） show on the Bund, which last year attracted as many as 300,000 people.
On New Year's Eve, Beijing also canceled a countdown event in the central business district, Chinese media said, due to police fears about overcrowding.
The Shanghai government said on its official microblog that an inquiry had begun, and that all other New Year events had been canceled.
In 2004, 37 people died in a stampede in northern Beijing, on a bridge at a scenic spot, during the Lunar New Year holiday.
1.According to the passage, why did people go to the Bund?
A. To meet their old friends and relatives.
B. To watch an annual 3D laser show.
C. To celebrate the New Year’s Eve.
D. To pick up bank notes.
2.What can be inferred according to the passage?
A. People like 3D laser show better than any other events.
B. Some possible measures had been taken by authorities.
C. The local government had shown their worry about overcrowding.
D. The celebrations in Beijing were influenced by this stampede.
3.What’s the passage about?
A. A stampede on New Year’s Eve in Shanghai.
B. A laser show on the Bund.
C. An apartment fire in Shanghai.
D.A countdown event in Beijing.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
In New York, Ma witnessed the Alibaba Group opening on the New York stock exchange with the largest initial public offering (IPO，新股发行) in American history. “Alibaba, the world’s largest Internet commerce（贸易） company makes China equal to the US in the rapidly increasing global competition for technological innovation (创新) and economic transformation ” commented（评论） the South China Morning Post.
It has also made Ma China’s richest man with a fortune of around $25 billion (153 billion yuan), reported Reuters.
It’s reported that Ma’s rags-to-riches journey is just as spectacular as his Internet empire. Ma failed the national college entrance exams twice before he was finally in Hangzhou Normal University on his third attempt and failed in finding a suitable job several times. Also, Mr. Ma is a big believer in perseverance, which was proved in his English study experience.
However, it was his vision and goals that launched his career.
During a short trip to the US as an interpreter in 1995, Ma first experienced the Internet. He believed in the Internet’s business potential when few other Chinese people did. He started Alibaba in his Hangzhou apartment, with 17 friends and $60,000 of funds. At the time, when e-commerce was unheard of in China, “I called myself a blind man riding on the back of blind tigers,” he once said, according to The Guardian. His unusual ideas earned him the nickname “Crazy Jack Ma”.
Indeed, Ma is different. Although he is very thin and about 160cm tall, “Ma is yet animated and forceful, said The Guardian. “He is funny, creative, and a compelling (引人注目的) speaker.
Ma told Time magazine that he was “old for the Internet”. He started to slow down and looked around. According to The Wall Street Journal, Ma “plans to open a tai chi club with the actor Jet Li, build an entrepreneur (企业家) university in Hangzhou and continue to work on several environmental projects.”
1.What made him into e-commerce industry?
A. His belief in perseverance.
B. His English learning experience.
C. His foresight and ambitions.
D. His 17 friends and $60,000 funds.
2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 mean?
A. Ma knew little about e-commerce.
B. Ma had no confidence in his business future.
C. Ma is a blind man riding on a blind tiger.
D. Ma had not enough money at that time.
3. What’s the personality of Ma Yun according to the passage?
A. Funny and competitive.
B. Attractive and believable
C. Rich and different.
D. Determined and creative.
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A.The Development of Alibaba Group
B． Ma Yun’s Crazy Success.
C. Ma Yun’s Personal Life
D. E-commerce in China
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
In the summer of 1978 an English farmer was driving his tractor through a field of wheat when he discovered that some of his wheat was lying flat on the ground. The flattened wheat formed a circle about six meters across. Around this circle were four smaller circles of flattened wheat. The five circles were in a formation（结构） like five dots. During the following years, farmers in England found the strange circles in their fields more and more often.
The circles are called “crop circles” because they appear in the fields of grain ― usually wheat or corn. The grain in the circles lies flat on the ground but is never broken; it continues to grow, and farmers can later harvest it. Farmers always discover the crop circles in the morning, so the circles probably form at night. They appear only in the months from May to September.
At first, people thought that the circles were a hoax. Probably young people were making them as a joke, or farmers were making them to attract tourists. To prove that the circles were a hoax, people tried to make circles exactly like the ones that farmers had found. They couldn’t do it. They couldn’t enter a field of grain without leaving tracks, and they couldn’t flatten the grain without breaking it.
Many people believe that beings from outer space are making the circles to communicate with us from far away and that the crop circles are messages from them.
Scientists who have studied the crop circles suggested several possibilities. Some scientists say that a downward rush of wind leads to the formation of the circles — the same downward lash of air that sometimes causes an airplane to crash. Other scientists say that forces within the earth cause the circles to appear. There is one problem with all these scientific explanations: crop circles often appear in formations, like the five-dot formation. It is hard to believe that any natural force could form those.
1.In the summer of 1978, an English farmer discovered in his field that ______.
A. some of his wheat had fallen onto the ground
B. some of his wheat had been damaged
C. his grain was growing up in circles
D. his grain was moved into several circles
2.The underlined word "hoax" in Paragraph 3 is probably ______.
A. a research on the force of winds
B. an attempt made to fool people
C. an experiment for the protection of crops
D. a special way to plant crops
3.Which of the following may prove that the crop circles are not made by man?
A. The farmers couldn’t step out of the field.
B. The farmers couldn’t leave without footprints.
C. The farmers couldn’t make the circles round.
D. The farmers couldn’t keep the wheat straight up.
4.One explanation given by scientists for the crop circles is that they are made by _____.
A. air movement B. airplane crashes
C. unknown flying objects D. new farming techniques
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余
选项。
1.__ They provide him wood and other products; they give him shade; and they help to prevent drought and floods.
2.___ In his eagerness to draw quick profit from the trees, he has cut them down in large numbers.
Two thousand years ago, a rich and powerful country cut down its trees to build warships, with which to gain itself an empire. It gained the empire but, without its trees, its soil became bare and poor. When the empire fell to pieces, the country found itself faced by floods and starvation.
Even where a government realizes the importance of a plentiful supply of trees, it is difficult sometimes to make the people realize this. 3. __ So unless the government has a good system of control, or can educate the people, the forests slowly disappear.
4.__ The results are even more serious: for where there are trees, their roots break the soil up, allowing the rain to sink in, and also hold the soil. 5.___ But where there are no trees, the rainfalls on hard ground and flows away on the surface, and this causes floods and the rain carries away the rich topsoil in which crops grow. When all the topsoil is gone, nothing remains but worthless desert．
A. Trees are useful to man in three very important ways.
B. This does not only mean that there will be fewer trees.
C. They cut down the trees but are too careless to plant and look after new trees.
D. If there were no more trees, something terrible would happen.
E. This prevent the soil from being washed away.
F. However, a lot of trees are being cut down.
G. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, man has not realized the third of these services is the most important.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
My dad has been driving a truck for almost his entire life．He's usually all the weekdays and comes home only at weekends．Sometimes he stays for two weeks at a time. I don't get to see him as often as I wish, we remain very ．
My dad is the type of person who doesn't let you up anything that you start．When I was eleven, my father bought me a piano． At first I was so about it that I would spend hours and hours learning how to play． Then it got ．I was so tired of it that I asked if I could stop． Much as I tried, he me to go on．Now I have been playing for almost five years． I love it and I'm glad I my dad's advice．
My dad is talented, for he has been playing the guitar for over 20 years． Under his influence, I also like now． Sometimes my dad can be my biggest ． He makes me smile even when I lose in a talent show sometimes he can be my biggest critic（批评家）． He ignores the small mistakes I make． He encourages me never to lose because he thinks that all my efforts will one day．
My dad is generous． Every Thursday night, he to read to the children at a children's club． When he reads, their light up with curiosity about what will happen next． I feel of having a person in my family who cares enough to volunteer to .
I love my dad with all my heart． He's a hero in my heart and the most wonderful person in the world．
1.A. On B．out C． with D．in
2.A． away B． alone C．inside D．home
3.A． As if B． In case C．If only D．Even though
4.A． polite B． kind C．close D．different
5.A． put B． speed C．take D．give
6.A． nervous B． crazy C．familiar D．anxious
7.A． rough B． boring C．difficult D．disappointing
8.A． promised B． persuaded C．reminded D．suggested
9.A． receive B． took C．listened D．challenged
10.A． physically B． musically C．exactly D．typically
11.A． composing B． dancing C．writing D．drawing
12.A． director B． supporter C．scholar D．sponsor
13.A． however B． so C．and D．still
14.A． ever B． often C．never D．even
15.A． aim B． dream C．strength D．heart
16.A． come true B． take risks C． pay off D. let out
17.A． agrees B． likes C．intends D. offers
18.A． bodies B． arms C． hands D．faces
19.A． jealous B． optimistic C．proud D．happy
20.A． help B． read C．work D．drive
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Old age may not sound1._______ (excite).But recent findings provide good news for older people and for people worried about2. (get) older.
The findings came from3._______ survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States. The Gallup Organization questioned4.________ by telephone in 2008.At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five.
The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, 5._______(sad) and worry. They also asked about mental or emotional stress. The research team found that levels of stress were 6.________ (high) among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five. Stress levels dropped 7.______ (sharp) after people reached their fifties.
Happiness 8._______ highest among the youngest adults and those9.________ their early seventies. The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. 10.______ , woman at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共
有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(Λ)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：
1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Dear Kate,
How are you? Today I’ve got a wonderful news to tell you. I have offered a scholarship at a university in Australia for my further educations. One hundred and twenty students took exams for it, but only a few was chosen and I was one of them. However, my parents are not happy about it. They are strong against me going there. They say it is too far away that they will not see me for a whole year and they are afraid of I will feel lonely. They can’t imagine a girl so young live alone. They advise me study in the capital instead. Then I’ll be able to continue living with them. How can I persuade them to accept the fact I have grown up?
Yours,
Jane
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
《学英语》报要招聘校园小记者。假如你是李华，请根据广告内容的要求以及你自己的简要情况，写一封120～150词的英文求职信。
广告对应聘者的要求如下：
1．待人礼貌友好，容易相处；
2．性格外向，头脑灵活，善于与人交流；
难度: 中等查看答案及解析