Hundreds of years ago, news was carried from place to place by people on foot or by horse. It took days, weeks and sometimes months for people to receive news. Now it is possible to send words and pictures around the world in seconds. Billions of people learn about news stories of their own country and all over the world every day, either by watching TV or reading newspapers.
Newspapers have been an important part of everyday life since the 18th century. Many countries have hundreds of different newspapers. How do newspaper editors decide which news stories to print? Why do they print some stories and not others? What makes a good newspaper story?
Firstly, it is important to report news stories. TV stations can report news much faster than newspapers. Yet, newspapers give more about the same story. They may also look at the story in another way, or they may print completely different stories to those on TV.
Secondly, a news story has to be interesting and unusual. People don’t want to read stories about everyday life. As a result, many stories are about some kind of danger and seem to be “bad” news. For example, newspapers never print stories about planes landing safely; instead they print stories about plane accidents.
Another factor (因素) is also very important in many news stories. Many people are interested in news in foreign countries, but more prefer to read stories about people, places and events in their own country. So the stories on the front page in Chinese newspapers are usually very different from the ones in British, French and American newspapers.
1.According to the passage, how do people learn about news stories in the world now?
A. They carry news stories and tell others from place to place on foot or by horse.
B. They tell each other what they have seen with their eyes.
C. They watch TV or read newspapers.
D. They listen to the radio every day.
2.The difference between newspaper stories and TV news reports is that _______ .
A. people can learn more about the same news story from a newspaper
B. people can read the news story more quickly in a newspaper
C. people can read news stories in other countries
D. people can read news stories about their own country
3.To make a good newspaper story, how many factors does the passage talk about?
A. Two. B. Three. C. Five. D. Six.
4.According to the passage, which of the following can you most possibly watch on TV?
A. You often play football with your friends after school.
B. Your teacher has got a cold.
C. A tiger in the city zoo has run out and hasn’t been caught.
D. The bike in front of your house is lost.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
When I walk through the streets, I pass strange rooms where people are doing strange things. Some are biking madly. Others are holding metal bars to keep them from dropping down. Still others are jumping around while someone is shouting at them. It looks like something out of Dante’s Inferno (但丁《神曲》中的《地狱篇》). But what is the most amazing is that people pay for these sufferings!
The strange rooms are gyms. It is reported that some 41 million Americans are gym members. 12% of the memberships are born in January, as they are determined to knock off (使减少) the holiday fat. Maybe it is good to exercise in the gym. However, should they know they can keep in good shape, spending little money, would they still agree with its necessity?
At the age of 23, I joined a gym. I lifted weights twice a week in Muscle’s Gym. I paid as little as $200 per year. You can’t find such gyms in every city any more. Too often, the gym is fancy (花哨的) with lots of equipment. If you ask how much it costs to join it, the person at the front desk often won’t tell you straight. Instead, he’ll let you meet with a fitness consultant (健身顾问), who will provide you with a great number of reasons and suggestions, such as losing weight and getting healthier, just in order to put pressure on you to spend much money joining the gym and becoming a member there.
Working out with the help of equipment at home has problems, too. In the early 2000’s, I bought a spinning bike at a cost of $700 for home use. I tried a few times only to find that it brought me a neck problem.
Now I’m back to my old way. I do Yoga（瑜伽）every morning and evening. Total cost: $60 for an exercise mat (垫子) . I’m enjoying fitness.
1.The strange rooms are places where people _________.
A. do strange things B. suffer from great pains
C. play Dante’s Inferno D. take physical exercise
2.In the author’s opinion, joining a gym nowadays is __________.
A. exciting B. inexpensive C. unnecessary D. helpful
3.The author wrote something about Muscle’s Gym to __________.
A. tell us he was fat when he was young
B. suggest a new way of losing weight
C. provide us with an example of gyms
D. compare it with the gyms of today
4.From the text we can infer that _________.
A. many Americans put on weight after Christmas and New Year’s Day
B. the author and his family had spent a lot of money exercising in gyms
C. 12% of the American people are members of gyms
D. spinning bikes are good equipment for exercise
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Years ago, I owned the very best dog in the world. I was a child when we got her. She grew up with me, and was always there when I needed her. She died during one of my college vacations. My heart broke then, and I knew that there would never be another dog like her.
However, I was wrong. My next dog came into my life when I was married. My husband traveled for a living, and I was often lonely. This dog taught me to be patient. He always stayed at my side until the children were born, and then he became their guardian (保护者), too. When he passed away, my heart broke. I was sure I would never love another dog as much as I loved him.
I was wrong again. We got the next one when the children were little. When he played with the children, he made them laugh. These days he spends more time with me since the children aren’t around so much. He is, of course, the very best dog in the world.
I wonder if that’s part of the lessen: to teach us that love has a spirit that returns again and again and never really dies.
It’s amazing. They make room for one another. And they fit into our families, our lives, and our hearts, because they always have been and will be the best dogs in the world.
1.According to the story, the writer may agree with the opinion that __________.
A. love me, love my dog
B. love never really dies
C. a dog is necessary to a family
D. where there’s love, there’s a dog
2.What does the writer think about the third dog she owns?
A. He brings happiness to the children.
B. He is better than the other two dogs.
C. He loves to play with children rather than adults.
D. He is lonely since the children have left home.
3.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means__________.
A. they leave the room when the family needs a new one
B. each dog has a single room to live in
C. they leave the house when the family no longer needs them
D. they come into the writer’s life one after another
4.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The writer doesn’t keep a dog at the moment.
B. The writer was very sad every time the dog died.
C. The second dog stayed longer than the first one.
D. The writer’s husband doesn’t like dogs.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Recently, a scientist did some experiments．He left a group of 4-year-olds in a room with a bell and a candy．If they rang the bell, he would come back and they could eat the candy．If, however, they didn't ring the bell and waited for him to come back on his own, they could then have two candies.
In videos of the experiment, he can see the children kicking, hiding their eyes--trying to exercise self-control so they can wait and get two candies．The results are different．Some broke down and rang the bell within a minute．Others lasted 15 minutes.
The children who waited longer went on to get higher SAT scores．They got into better colleges and had better adult success．The children who rang the bell quickest were more likely to have received worse teacher and parental evaluations 10 years later and were more likely to have drug problems at age 32.
The experiments are worth noting because people spend a lot of time thinking about how to improve education, how to become rich．But when the result is not good, they will come back to ask "how do we get people to get the sort of self-control that leads to success?" This is to enter the world of human nature.
So these experiments along with everyday experience, tell us that self-control is most important．Young people who can sit through sometimes boring classes to get a degree can work hard in order to learn a language well．They can avoid drugs and alcohol．For people without self-control skills, however, school is a series of failed ordeals（煎熬）．No wonder they drop out and their later life is a group of foolish ideas, such as drug use, stealing and so on.
1.The scientist did some experiments to .
A. test children's self control and later success
B. test children's intelligence of ringing the bell
C. find good ways of training children to learn
D. prove that children's education is important
2.How long did the scientist's experiments last according to the text?
A. Just 15 minutes． B. Within 10 years.
C. Less than 14 years． D.More than 28 years.
3.What is the best title for this passage?
A. Ways of self-control training
B. Experiments on children's ringing the bell
C. Higher score, better achievements
D. Self-control is the key to success
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。
My mother is a kind woman. She is very busy from morning till night. As a teacher, she works hard. 1. Both my brother and I love her dearly as she loves us.
My mother has been teaching math at a middle school in my hometown. She goes to work early in the morning and does not return home until late in the afternoon. 2. She treats them with patience and teaches them well. For her excellent quality and very good teaching results, she has been elected as a model teacher several times.
3. Every day, when she comes back home from work, she sets about doing housework, sweeping the living room and bedrooms or cleaning the furniture, and putting everything in good order. She seems to be busy all the time. As she has been very busy working every day, she looks older than her age. But she looks as cheerful and happy as ever. Mother never buys expensive dresses for herself, but she often buys some expensive and high quality clothes for us. 4. She just eats a plain meal outside when she is too busy to cook herself. She lives a busy yet simple life, without any complaints.
Often she says to us, “work while you work, and play while you play. That is the way to be happy and gay. If you do not work, you will become lazy and be of no use to society”. What a piece of good advice this is! 5. This advice of hers will always serve as a guide to my behavior. My mother is great indeed, and I always feel proud of her.
A. She enjoys listening to classic music.
B. As a mother, she takes good care of us and gives us every comfort.
C. She loves her students and cares for them.
D. She never goes to expensive restaurants to enjoy meals.
E. My mother is hard-working and never wastes money.
F. I never forget it and always bear it in my mind.
G. Can you tell us something about your mother？
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
完形填空
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项 （A, B, C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A few years ago when my daughter was about two years old, I went through a difficult time. My marriage was in trouble, and I didn’t have much ______. Looking back I think I was also a bit depressed (沮丧的) ______ I had to get on with taking care of my daughter as well as I could.
One day I thought I would ______ my daughter out for a nice day at a store and it was a nice, positive thing to do. I ______ to walk because the bus was ______, so it took us a long time to get there. When we ______ got there, immediately my daughter began to ______. She was cold, she was thirsty, and she wanted to go home. To be ______, I hadn’t been thinking straight (清楚地) as I had not ______ well. I didn’t ______ have any money to buy a drink or to take the bus back home. I was ______ sad and angry with myself that my dream of a nice time had ______.
I started ______ back home (it was nearly two miles), and my daughter would not ______ crying. I felt so bad and ______ with myself and my life that I started crying too.
At that point a car ______ and a gentleman gave us a lift. He took us home, and seemed really concerned --- he even ______ me all his change! The ______ of this stranger to a stranger like me really made me feel a lot ______. I never saw him again and I don’t know who he is but he really helped me out that day, so I just want to say “______”.
1.A. money B. time C. hope D. energy
2.A. so B. and C. but D. or
3.A. call B. send C. take D. bring
4.A. wanted B. tried C. liked D. decided
5.A. fast B. slow C. expensive D. cheap
6.A. first B. finally C. carefully D. soon
7.A. laugh B. cry C. smile D. run
8.A. friendly B. easy C. honest D. happy
9.A. prepared B. worked C. taught D. learned
10.A. yet B. even C. ever D. still
11.A. much B. too C. very D. so
12.A. passed B. lost C. come D. failed
13.A. walking B. riding C. driving D. phoning
14.A. enjoy B. stop C. forget D. keep
15.A. happy B. surprised C. eager D. angry
16.A. used up B. took up C. pulled up D. brought up
17.A. dropped B. offered C. showed D. threw
18.A. politeness B. friendship C. honesty D. kindness
19.A. better B. worse C. longer D. faster
20.A. My pleasure B. Excuse me C. Thank you D. I’m sorry
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
语法填空，阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卡的相应位置上。
W：People say this kind of fish tastes good, but I don’t know whether I cooked it ___1.___ (proper).
M: Very delicious. I like it very much. That’s why I have eaten a lot of fish today.
W: Let me help you with some _2.___ (much) fish if you like it.
M: No, thanks. I can eat no more.
W: What about other dishes? It took me several hours __3.___ (prepare) all these dishes.
M: Well, in _4.___ opinion, they are wonderful. You are really __5._ excellent cook.
W: Thank you. I’m glad you like the dishes.
M: When did you begin to learn to cook?
W: I began to learn to cook for my family __6.___ I was ten years old.
M: Er, that’s why you cook so well.
W: __7.__ not try some other dishes?
M: But I really _8.___(have) enough. Now I’d like to have some soup. It must be quite ___9.___ (taste)，too.
W: The soup has been cooked for several hours, so I think it should be delicious. Help ___10.__ to the soup.
M: Thank you.
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，请你修改你同桌写得以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，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（ ∧ ），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）不记分。
Last month while I was walking in the street, the foreigner came towards me. She seemed to be losing. She asked me if I could help him. I said yes, but when she started talking, I couldn’t understand that she said. I could only say “I don’t know”, and then slowly walk away. Though I have studied English for six years, but I still can’t understand English good enough. I know I’m not interested in English and I’ve also been very lazy to study it. Now I know the importances of learning English. I’ve decided change my attitude towards English and work hard on it.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
书面表达
某英文报社准备刊发一篇题为”Living in a City”有关城市生活利和弊的文章。根据下面提示写一篇英语短文。
优点：找工作容易；交通便利；有公园、饭店等休闲场所。
缺点：生活消费高；人口多，拥挤；空气污染，居住环境差。
要求：1. 覆盖以上全部内容，可适当发挥。
2. 词数100左右，标题已给出。
Living in a City
难度: 中等查看答案及解析