How would you like an easy way to earn $2,500? All you have to do is to sit around and wait for your meals. There’s a catch, however. You have to stay in a chicken cage with a stranger for a whole week. There are no books or television or radio for a whole week. There are no books or television or radio for amusement. You can’t leave until the week is up. And a camera will be recording your every move.
Two people actually took the job. The idea came from Rob Thompson, a video artist. He wanted to make a film about the way animals are treated. His goal was to raise people’s awareness (认识) of the living conditions of animals that are raised for food. He decided to pay $5,000 out of his own savings to two people who were willing to live like chickens for a week.
To Rob’s surprise, quite a few people answered his advertisement. He had interviews and selected Eric, a 24-year-old restaurant worker, and Pam, a 27-year-old chemist. The plan was for them to spend seven days together in a chicken cage that was six feet long and three feet wide. A camera would record their experience, which would take place in an art museum.
The week was long and difficult. They slept on a hard wooden floor. They couldn’t stand up without banging their heads. They ate mash(a kind of food for animals) and drink water from a garden pipe. Their only privacy (隐私) was a toilet surrounded by a curtain. There were no sinks, mirrors, or toothbrushes in the cage. Visitors who came here were warned, “Do not feed the humans.”
Finally it was over, and Pam and Eric came out of the cage. They had survived the week, and they each had a $2,500 check in their hands. When Rob Thompson opened the cage, Eric came out, changed into clean clothes, and ate a chocolate bar right away. “It’s great for me to be able to stand up.” he said. Pam just changed her clothes and left. After a week of visitors and reporters watching her, she didn’t want to talk to anyone.
1.The underlined word “catch”(in Paragraph 1) probably means _______.
A. unsolved problem B. surprising wonder
C. unbelievable condition D. hidden difficulty
2.What made it the most difficult for the two to stay in the cage?
A. That they had nothing for fun.
B. That they didn’t have meat to eat.
C. That they couldn’t lie down to sleep in the cage.
D. That they had to do almost everything in public.
3.Rob Thompson offered the job in order to___________.
A. Make a film about humans and animals
B. Advertise for his experiment about animals
C. Show how terribly some animals are treated
D. Experiment on how long a human can live in a cage
4.What would be the best title for this passage?
A. An Easy Way to Earn $2,500
B. Do Not Treat Animals Badly
C. Living Like a Chicken
D. Getting Along Well Anyway
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Of all the things that will make life entirely happy, the greatest is the possession of friendship. One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives. Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed.
On the first Sunday in August, it’s time to recognize your friends and their contribution to your life. The first Sunday in August was fixed as National Friendship Day by the U.S. Congress in 1935, and remains a tradition in many countries and cultures. In 1997, the United Nations named Winnie the Pooh as the world’s Ambassador of Friendship.
Obviously, there are several friendship holidays, all of which fall on fixed dates.
National Friendship Day is on the first Sunday in August
Women’s Friendship Day is on the third Sunday in September
International Friendship Month is February
Old Friends, New Friends Week is the third week of May
People show their appreciation for friendship in various ways. Some expressions may be practical ones, such as flowers, particularly the pink friendship roses, cookies, chocolates, souvenirs from their vacations, a tape of favorite songs, farewell dinners, and welcome balloons.
Recipe for Friendship 2 cups of patience, 1 heart full of love, 2 handfuls of generosity, 2 cups of loyalty, 1 cup of understanding, with some laughter. Mix them all well. Spray (喷洒) generously over a lifetime and serve everyone you meet.
Friendship helps to bring peace and positive things to the globe, another great reason to celebrate! Although our friends certainly deserve thanks on more than just one day of the year, what better day to honor them than Friendship Day!!
1.Which of the following proverbs supports the main idea of the first paragraph?
A. Friendship cannot stand always on one side.
B. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
C. A friend without faults will never be found.
D. A life without a friend is a life without a sun.
2.Which of the holidays happens first in a year?
A. National Friendship Day.
B. Women’s Friendship Day.
C. International Friendship Month.
D. Old Friends, New Friends Week.
3.What is most needed to make friendship grow, develop and last?
A. Inviting your friends over for a party.
B. Looking on your friends as relatives.
C. Honoring your friends on Friendship Day.
D. Being loyal and generous to your friends.
4.“Recipe for Friendship” here actually means ______________.
A. a prescription (处方) for curing friends
B. a method of keeping a friendship
C. the pleasure of having friends
D. the importance of friendship
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Foxes and farmers have never got on well. These small dog-like animals have long been accused (控告)of killing farm animals. They are officially considered as harmful and farmers try to keep their numbers down by shooting or poisoning them.
Farmers can do call on the services of their local hunt to control the fox population . Hunting consists of hunting a fox across the countryside, with a group of specially trained dogs, followed by men and women riding horses. When the dogs eventually catch the fox , they kill it or a hunter shoots it.
People who take part in hunting think of it as a sport ; they wear a special uniform of red coats and white trousers , and follow strict codes of behavior. But owning a horse and hunting regularly is expensive, so most hunters are wealthy.
It is estimated (估计) that up to 100,000 people watch or take part in fox hunting . But over the last couple of decades the number of people against fox hunting , because they think it is cruel, has risen sharply. Nowadays it is rare for a hunt to succeed without some kind of confrontation between hunters and hunt saboteurs（阻拦者）. Sometimes these incidents lead to violence, but mostly saboteurs fight with the hunt by misleading riders and disturbing the search of the fox’s smell, which the dogs follow.
Noisy confrontations between hunters and saboteurs have become so common that they are almost as much a part of hunting as the hunting of foxes itself. But this year supporters of fox hunting face a much bigger threat to their sport. A Labour Party Member of the Parliament, Mike Foster, is trying to get Parliament to pass a new law which will make the hunting of wild animals with dogs illegal. If the law is passed, wild animals like foxes will be protected under the ban in Britain.
1.What is special about fox hunting in Britain?
A. It involves the use of a deadly poison.
B. It is a costly event which rarely happens.
C. The hunters have set rules to follow.
D. The hunters have to go through strict training.
2.A new law may be passed by the British Parliament to ________
A. keep farmers from hunting foxes.
B. forbid hunting foxes with dogs.
C. stop hunting wild animals in the countryside
D. prevent fox hunting in large numbers
3.Which can replace the underlined word in paragraph 4?
A. reunion(联合) B. conversation(对话)
C. conflict(冲突) D. relationship
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。
Getting your children to study can be a little like getting them to eat their vegetables.
1. Make a study time and have it at the same time every day. This will help your kids to learn to schedule their day and will give them a sense of control over how they spend their time.
Allow them to study in blocks of time，such as for half an hour with a five-minute break in the middle.
2.Ideal (理想的) study times are after dinner or right after school before dinner.
Never allow your children to study in front of the television，as that will encourage passive activity. 3. 。
You’ll also need to help your kids find the right place to study. After you’ve set up a good study time for little learners，set up a good place where they can get those creative juices flowing.
4. Make sure there is a table or a desk and a comfortable chair.
5. This includes helping them out with their homework sometimes and being there for them with the answers to any questions. The input you give your children during study periods will help form a bond and help make studying enjoyable.
A. Pick a place where your children can study properly.
B. Hold them to the schedule they create for themselves.
C. Finally, spend time with your kids when they're studying.
D. Keep the atmosphere light and offer lots of encouragement, too.
E. Instead，use TV as a treat or a reward when the homework is completed.
F. Try to stop this bad habit by offering some sort of reward.
G. One of the best ways to form good study habits for your kids is to design a schedule that they keep to.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
完型填空
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给出的四个选项（A．B．C．D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
Once I went to a railway station near New York. I ________ to take the night train there. ________ of people were pushing into the ________ train. I found a railway official and asked him if I could get a place in a sleeping car, ________he said sharply, “No, you can’t. The train is full. Don’t ________ me any more.”
I was very ________ indeed. I said to the friend who was with me, “ He talked to me like this ________he doesn’t know that I am a famous writer. If he knew…”But before I could ________ my sentence, my friend said, “Don’t be ________ . How could that help you? Whoever you are, there are no ________ seats on the train.” I was ________he was wrong, so I went up to the same official again and told him that I was Mark Twain. But he only relied, “I told you not to trouble me any more.”
Just then I ________a young porter in a sleeping car looking at me. He whispered (低语) something to the train conductor, and that conductor came over to me and said very ________, “ Can I help you, sir?” “ I ________ do.” I answered.
The porter took our boxes and we got onto the train. When the porter saw we were comfortably ________ in our places, he said, “Now. Is there anything you want, sir? Because you can have whatever you ________ .”
After the porter had ________ , my friend looked ashamed （羞愧）. He said. “I am________ I said those things to you just now…” Just then the porter came again and said. “ Oh. Sir, I ________ you immediately”. “Really?” I said happily, “of course”, he said. “I recognized you the ________ I saw you and told the conductor that you are Mr Smith, the mayor （市长） of New York City.”
1.A. managed B. failed C. used D. happened
2.A. Some B. Most C. Crowds D. Many
3.A. night B. busy C. full D. leaving
4.A. but B. and C. though D. where
5.A. ask B. trouble C. follow D. strike
6.A. nervous B. happy C. hurt D. busy
7.A. as if B. since C. suppose D. because
8.A. complete B. continue C. make D. speak
9.A. upset B. sad C. foolish D. discouraged
10.A. more B. enough C. comfortable D. empty
11.A. concerned B. sure C. told D. interested
12.A. met B. noticed C. remembered D. knew
13.A. loudly B. calmly C. politely D. slowly
14.A. totally B. immediately C. certainly D. eventually
15.A. taken B. settled C. laid D. hidden
16.A. take B. bring C. like D. buy
17.A. returned B. gone C. failed D. agreed
18.A. sorry B. lucky C. afraid D. sure
19.A. admired B. realized C. recognized D. respected
20.A. day B. place C. minute D. soon
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
语法填空
In Canada and the United States, people enjoy entertaining(请客) at home. They often invite friends over 1. a meal, a party, or just for coffee and conversation.
Here are the 2. (kind) of things people say when they invite someone to their home:
"Would you like to come over for dinner Saturday night?""Hey, we 3. (have) a party on Friday. Can you come?"
4. (reply) to an invitation, either say thank you and accept, or say you're sorry and give an excuse:"Thanks, I'd love to. What time would you like me to come?" 5. "Oh, sorry. I've tickets for a movie."
Sometimes, 6. ,people use expressions that sound like invitations but which are not real invitations. For example:"Please come over for a drink sometime.""Why not get together for 7. party sometime?" "Why don't you come over and see us sometime soon?"
They are really just polite ways of 8. (end) a conversation. They are not real invitations because they don't mention a specific(确定的) time or date. They just show that the person is trying to be 9. (friend).To reply to expressions like these, people just say "Sure, that would be great!" or "OK. Yes, thanks."
So next time when you hear 10. sounds like an invitation, listen carefully. Is it a real invitation or is the person just being friendly?
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面的句子，根据首字母或中文提示在空白处填入合适的单词
1.The species of apes(猿) may have been the last common a__________ of humans and all great apes living today.
2.It’s bad manners for the children to play a t___________ on their teacher.
3.I don’t think all the human beings like to see the pretty girls and h____________ boys.
4.If you do something wrong you should a________ to others.
5.Without my p________ anyone is not allowed to enter the room.
6.The central government has made a series of _________ (农业) policies to encourage farmers to work the land.
7.Britain, France and Germany are all developed _________ （欧洲）countries.
8.It was very _________(明显) that he showed no interest in our plan.
9.Hopefully Jane will understand and _________ (原谅) you, if she really loves you.
10.When the girl was saved up the shore, she was almost _________（淹死）.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
短文改错
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处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每次错误仅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(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，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。
Bertha was a very pretty girl. Quite a lot young men wanted to marry with her, but she was not satisfied with any of them. One day, one of the young man came to visit her and asked her to become his wife. She answered, “No, John, I don't marry you. I want to marry a man who is famous, who can play music instrument and can sing and dance very good, who can tell interested stories, who does not smoke or drink ,who stay at home in the evenings, who stops talking when I'm tired of listening.” The young man got up, took his coat and went to the door, however, before he left the house, he turned and said to Bertha, “It isn't a man you're looking for. It's a television set.”
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
书面表达
如今越来越多的人热衷于过西方的节日。你如何看待中国人过洋节？为此，你班上展开讨论，你将讨论结果寄给学校的英语刊物。
| 赞同 | 反对 |
| 1、是了解西方文化的好方式，可以认识世界、走近世界 2、与朋友一起分享快乐 | 1、忘记和漠视传统文化是极其可悲的 2、不懂西方节日的宗教和文化背景而盲目花钱花时间是愚蠢的 |
注意：1、必须包括所有内容要点，可适当发挥；
2、词数110左右；
难度: 中等查看答案及解析