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Most American teenagers can’t wait
to get rid of their “mental mouth” nickname(绰号). They count down the days they can finally take their braces （牙箍）off. However, trendy teenagers in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand can’t wait to get them on, even if they don’t need them.Braces are the latest teenage fashion trend in Southeast Asia. Having a mouthful of metal has become so popular with Asian teens that there have been reports of man
y teens wearing fake （假冒的）braces. Many Asian beauty shops are now offering to put in cheap fake braces. There are even cheaper do-it-yourself braces such as “ Hello Kitty,” Mickey Mouse” or others for a price of around $100.Braces are considered a sign of wealth in Southeast Asia. A real set of braces in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, for example, will cost around $ 1,200, which is a large amount for the country with a GDP（国内生产总值）of $345 billion ( a billion is 1,000 million), compared to the US which had a GDP of $1,506 Trillion ( a Trillion is 1,000 billion) last year.
While Asian teens may think that their colorful fake braces are cool, experts say that these trendy fashion braces can cause illness and can even lead to death. According to the New York Daily News, fake fashion braces have already been linked to the deaths of two teens in Thailand.A 17-year-old in the northeast city of Khon Kaen died from heart failure caused by a thyroid infection （甲状腺感染）from a pair of fake fashion braces. Police also linked the death of another 14-year-old girl in Chonburi to a pair of fashion braces she had brought from an illegal shop.
Although the government is giving warnings about fake braces, the trend has been going strong for at least four years. What’s worse, the trend for fake braces shows no sign of slowing down.
1.In general, US teens consider braces _____________.
A.Comfortable B. interesting
C. useless D. ugly
2.Te
ens in Southeast Asia wear fake braces mainly to _______.A. follow fashion B.protect their teeth
C.show their DIY ability D.Prove their social position
3.Why does the author compare Thailand’s GDP with that of the US?
A. To explain the importance of the GDP.
B. To show the high cost of Braces in Thailand.
C. To describe the development of Thailand.
D. To introduce the capital city of Thailand.
4.According to Paragraph 4, fake braces_______.
A.are very dangerous. B. need to be improved
C. can treat tooth diseases. D. cost as much as real ones.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Some people were killed when a huge explosion hit an industrial area of China, injuring hundreds of people. The explosion is believed to have come from a shipment of explosive inside a warehouse at about 11:30 pm local time (5:30pm in Britain) in the north-eastern city of Tianjin.
Videos of the accident showed fires lighting up the night sky, raising dust dozens of feet into the air, and people nearby said the explosion had broken windows. Tianjin resident Zhang Siyu, who lives several miles away from the accident site, said, “I thought it was an earthquake, so I rushed downstairs without my shoes on. Only once I was outside did I realize it was an explosion. There was the huge fireball in the sky with thick clouds. Everybody could see it.”
Post on Chinese social network Weibo showed a fireball shooting into the air and as least two separate explosions, while photos showed people in the street apparently covered in blood. Others image showed children being carried in blankets to safety.
It was reported that the two explosions happened within 30 seconds of each other and about 100 fire trucks were sent to the scene, with most of the injuries caused by broken glass and stones. The firm running the warehouse was named by local media as Ruihai Logistics. The company says on its website that it was set up in 2011. It says it handles one million tons of cargos（货物） per year.
The National Earthquake Bureau reported two major explosion before midnight local time---the first with an amount of 3 tons of TNT（三硝基甲苯）, and the second with an amount of 21 tons. Six thousand firefighters brought the terrible fire under control, although it was still buring . It was reported that the firefighters were combing （梳理）the neighborhood for the possible injured.
1.When did the fire break out by Beijing time?
A. At 11:30 am B. At 11:30 pm
C. At 5:30 pm D. At 5:30 am
2.What did Zhang Siyu do first when hearing the explosion?
A. He recorded videos of the big accident.
B. He posted what he saw online as soon as possible.
C. He called the firefighters when he went out.
D. He ran downstairs as soon as possible.
3.How might most people know the accident first?
A. In the newspaper. B. By the radio.
C. From the Internet. D. In the textbook.
4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.Thousands of firefighters worked hard to save people.
B. Thousands of firefighters had tried to put out the great fire.
C. There wetre thousands of people injured in the big accident.
D. There were thousands of cargo missing in the great disaster.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Over 40 years ago, a country music DJ convention(大会) was held every year in Nashville, Tennessee. Many country performers used to attend the convention to give their performances. Fans would go to Nashville hoping to see their favorite performers. In the end, so many fans began showing up in Nashville that a festival named Fan Fair was born.
The first Fan Fair was held in April 1972, in Nashville for four days. Some of the country music’s biggest stars attented. There were about fifty thousand fans. The first Fan Fair was so successful that planning began almost immediately for 1973. The date was changed to June, when the weather would be better. Over one hundred thousand fans attended the second Fan Fair.
Every year brought so many performers and fans to Fan Fair that, in 1982, it was moved to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. Fan Fair stayed at the fairgrounds for another nineteen years.
There was always the unexpected during the festival. In 1974, former Beatle Paul McCartney attended. In 1992, more than six hundred reporters cover the appearance of a popular star, Billy ray Cyrus, who had introduced a new country line dance. In 1996, Garth Brooks, who made a surprise appearance, signed autographs（签名） for 23 hours.
In 2001, Fan Fair returned to downtown Nashville as the world’s biggest country music festival. Now, over one hundred and twenty-five thousand country music fans go to Nashville every June. As you can imagine, those who want to attend Fan Fair must plan ahead. For example, they need to buy a ticket several months ahead of time. Of course, there’s much more to prepare.
1.According to the text, Fan Fair _______________.
A. has a history of more than 50 years.
B. lasts almost half a month every year.
C. Is a time when country music lovers get together
D. is the most important music festival in America
2.The second Fan Fair _____________.
A. was held in th
e spring of 1972B. was more popular than the first one.
C. was moved from Nashville to the fairgrounds.
D. was attended by former Beatle Paul McCartney
3.The purpose of the fourth paragraph is to ___________.
A. show why Fan Fair has been popular
B. introduce three famous musicians
C. explain how Fan Fair started
D. ask people to attend Fan fair
4.What will the author probably talk about next?
A. Education in Nashville. B. Music in America
C. Advice for fans. D. The future of country music.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Celebrating her first day as an adult on July, 12,2015, 18-year-old Nobel Peace Prize- winner Malala Yousafzai did the gift- giving---a girls’ school for Syrian refugees( 叙利亚难民) in Lebanon.
“ I call on leaders of all the countries all around the world that we must invest in books instead of bullets,” Malala Yousafzai said in a speech “ on behalf of the world’s children.” She made it an international conference. When she was 15 in the year 2012, Malala yousafzai was shot on school bus on her way home after school and seriously wounded by some gunmen of the Pakistani Taliban for advocating girls’ education. After recovering ,she continued her advocacy, which led last year to her becoming the youngest Nobel winner ever.
Malala told Reuters that she chose to open the school in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley “ because I believe that the voices of the Syrian refugees need to be heard, and they have been ignored for so long. We must help them to get education. It is my responsibility to set up some
schools for children there.”More than a quarter of the estimated 4 million on Syrians who have fled the country’s civil war are gathering in Lebanon, including about 500,000 school-age children. They have no oppo
rtunities to go to school.Malala Yousafzai set up Malala Fund shortly after she won the Nobel Peace Prize. Since then she has done a lot of work to raise money for the education of poor children all around the world. The school, near the Syrian border, can hold up to 200 girls aged14 to 18. The school was paid for by Yousafzai’s non-profit Malala Fund. On that day, all the students in the school shared the birthday cake and sang songs, bringing the Nobel winner to tears.
1.What do you know about Malala Yousafzai?
A. She is a middle school student.
B. She is a teacher in Lebanon.
C. She makes gifts for Syrian refugees.
D. She is a Nobel Prize winner.
2.What happened to Malala when she was 15?
A.She was shot by some gunmen.
B. She suffered from a terrible disease.
C. She made a speech in an international conference.
D. She set up her first school for girls.
3.What did Malala choose to do after she won the Nobel Peace Prize?
A. To fight in the civil war in Syria.
B. To protect Syrian refugees.
C. To open some schools for Syrian children
D. To teacher Syrian children in a school.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
to get rid of their “mental mouth” nickname(绰号). They count down the days they can finally take their braces （牙箍）off. However, trendy teenagers in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand can’t wait to get them on, even if they don’t need them.
e spring of 1972