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An American shopper, Emma Mumford, who was named “the Coupon(优惠券) Queen” has spent just £350 on a luxury(奢侈) Christmas for her and her family—but got £2,500 worth of food, drink and presents thanks to coupons and offers.
Ms Mumford is a so-called “extreme coupon ” and spends hours hunting out the best deals and bargains. She has been preparing for this Christmas since the end of the last one. Ms Mumford made the huge savings by checking price comparison websites and as a result collected more presents than she needed for Christmas. After sorting out gifts for all of her family, she has even been able to donate £1,000 worth of presents to her local hospital.
“It has been so nice to have Christmas sorted and not having to worry about breaking the bank. I wanted to get high quality presents for my family and show that you can do it without spending a fortune. There is a misunderstanding that everyone who does couponing only gets value products but through my careful shopping I have managed to purchase designer perfumes(香水), a high-end coffee machine .”she explained.
She said “What started as a hobby to help me save money has turned into my life and I am able to run a business helping people save money. I know what it feels like to struggle as my ex-partner had a lot of debt which I took on for him. We were in a poor situation where every penny counted. That’s what really inspired me.”
She has now turned her bargain-hunting addiction into a business where she searches for the best deals and offer tips to the general public through video blogging and her Facebook Page.
“I try and show people that it is just a little bit of work in the beginning but it will eventually pay off. One of the best things to do is just to be a bit forward thinking and save throughout the year.”
1.How did Emma make the huge savings?
A. She compared prices through websites.
B. She hunted out bargains in real shops.
C. She used coupons and offers worth £2,500.
D. She collected more Christmas presents than needed.
2.What does “breaking the bank” in the third paragraph mean?
A. Buying presents of low quality.
B. Spending more money than you have.
C. Breaking into the bank.
D. Taking out money from the bank.
3.What really inspired Emma to help people save money?
A. Her addiction to bargain-hunting.
B. The financial difficulties she shared with her ex-partner.
C. The poor situation people around her were going through.
D. Her experience of running an unsuccessful business.
4.Which of the following can best describe Emma?
A. Ambitious and stubborn.
B. Sensitive and determined.
C. Brave and lucky.
D. Careful and caring.
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A British shopper, Emma Mumford, who was named “the Coupon(优惠券) Queen” has spent just £350 on a luxury(奢侈) Christmas for her and her family—but got £2,500 worth of food, drink and presents thanks to coupons and offers.
Ms Mumford is a so-called “extreme couponer” and spends hours hunting out the best deals and bargains. She has been preparing for this Christmas since the end of the last one. Ms Mumford made the huge savings by checking price comparison websites and as a result collected more presents than she needed for Christmas. After sorting out gifts for all of her family, she has even been able to donate £1,000 worth of presents to her local hospital.
“It has been so nice to have Christmas sorted and not having to worry about breaking the bank. I wanted to get high quality presents for my family and show that you can do it without spending a fortune. There is a misconception that everyone who does couponing only gets value products but through my careful shopping I have managed to purchase designer perfumes(香水), a high-end coffee machine.” she explained.
She said “What started as a hobby to help me save money has turned into my life and I am able to run a business helping people save money. I know what it feels like to struggle as my ex-partner had a lot of debt which I took on for him. We were in a poor situation where every penny counted. That’s what really inspired me.”
She has now turned her bargain-hunting addiction into a business where she searches for the best deals and offers tips to the general public through video blogging and her Facebook Page.
“I try and show people that it is just a little bit of work in the beginning but it will eventually pay off. One of the best things to do is just to be a bit forward thinking and save throughout the year.”
1.What does “breaking the bank” in the third paragraph mean?
A. Buying presents of low quality.
B. Breaking into the bank.
C. Spending more money than you have.
D. Taking out money from the bank.
2.What really inspired Emma to help people save money?
A. Her addiction to bargain-hunting.
B. The financial difficulties she shared with her ex-partner.
C. The poor situation people around her were going through.
D. Her experience of running an unsuccessful business.
3.Which of the following can best describe Emma?
A. Ambitious and creative.
B. Sensitive and determined.
C. Brave and lucky.
D. Careful and caring.
4.How did Emma make the huge savings?
A. She compared prices through websites.
B. She hunted out bargains in real shops.
C. She used coupons and offers worth £3,500.
D. She collected more Christmas presents than needed.
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A British shopper, Emma Mumford, who was named “the Coupon(优惠券) Queen” has spent just £350 on a luxury(奢侈) Christmas for her and her family-but got £2,500 worth of food, drink and presents thanks to coupons and offers.
Ms Mumford is a so-called “extreme couponer” and spends hours hunting out the best deals and bargains. She has been preparing for this Christmas since the end of the last one. Ms Mumford made the huge savings by checking price comparison websites and as a result collected more presents than she needed for Christmas. After sorting out gifts for all of her family, she has even been able to donate £1,000 worth of presents to her local hospital.
“It has been so nice to have Christmas sorted and not having to worry about breaking the bank. I wanted to get high quality presents for my family and show that you can do it without spending a fortune. There is a misconception that everyone who does couponing only gets value products but through my careful shopping I have managed to purchase designer perfumes(香水), a high-end coffee machine.” she explained.
She said “What started as a hobby to help me save money has turned into my life and I am able to run a business helping people save money. I know what it feels like to struggle as my ex-partner had a lot of debt which I took on for him. We were in a poor situation where every penny counted. That’s what really inspired me.”
She has now turned her bargain-hunting addiction into a business where she searches for the best deals and offer tips to the general public through video blogging and her Facebook Page.
“I try and show people that it is just a little bit of work in the beginning but it will eventually pay off. One of the best things to do is just to be a bit forward thinking and save throughout the year.”
1.How did Emma make the huge savings?
She compared prices through websites.
She hunted out bargains in real shops.
She used coupons and offers worth £2,500.
She collected more Christmas presents than needed.
2.What does “breaking the bank” in the third paragraph mean?
A. Buying presents of low quality.
B. Spending more money than you have.
C. Breaking into the bank.
D. Taking out money from the bank.
3.What really inspired Emma to help people save money?
A. Her addiction to bargain-hunting.
B. The financial difficulties she shared with her ex-partner.
C. The poor situation people around her were going through.
D. Her experience of running an unsuccessful business.
4.Which of the following can best describe Emma?
A. Ambitious and creative.
B. Sensitive and determined.
C. Brave and lucky.
D. Careful and caring.
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An African-American man named John Henry was the hero of former slaves and the people who built the railroads in the US in the 19th century.
John Henry was born a slave. He was known for his strength. Many people say he represents the spirit of growth in America during that period.
John Henry grew up in a world that did not let children stay children for long. Before he was six years old, he was carrying stones for workers building a nearby railroad. By the time John Henry was a young man, he was one of the best railroad workers in the country.
John Henry was asked to lead workers on a hard project, creating a tunnel through a mountain. The project required about 1,000 laborers and lasted three years. Hundreds of men became sick as a result of the hot weather and tiredness. John Henry was the strongest and fastest man. Concerned his friends might lose their jobs, he picked up their hammers and began doing their work. He worked day and night, rarely stopping to have a rest.
One day, a salesman came to the work area with a new drilling machine powered by steam. He said it could drill holes faster than twelve men working together.
John Henry looked at the machine and saw images of the future. He saw machines taking the place of America’s best laborers. He saw himself and his friends unemployed and sanding by a road, asking for food. He decided he would never let the machine take their jobs. Therefore, a competition between a man and a machine began .At first, the steam-powered drill worked twice faster. Then, John Henry started working with a hammer in each hand. He worked faster and faster. People cheered when the machine broke down and was pulled away. But they were sad to find John Henry fall to the ground, with blood spilling all around, and still holding a hammer in one of his hands.“I beat them,”he said. Then he took his last breath.
1.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?
A. Many children in those days starved to death.
B. Children at that time grew much faster.
C. Children in those days had to work like adults.
D. Children at that time couldn’t stay together.
2.Why did hundreds of workers become sick?
A. Because they had to work long hours.
B. Because the weather was hot and they were tired.
C. Because the project was too hard.
D. Because they didn’t have time to eat.
3.John Henry helped do his friends’ work________.
A. because he was the strongest and fastest man
B. for fear that his friends would lose their jobs
C. so that they could regain their strength
D. in order be the hero of the railroad workers
4.Which of the following best describes John Henry?
A. Kind and determined. B. Cautious and considerate.
C. Brave and strict. D. Hardworking and stubborn.
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El Nino, a Spanish term for “the Christ child”, was named by South American fisherman who noticed that the global weather pattern, which happens every two to seven years, reduced the amount of fishes caught around Christmas. El Nino sees warm water, collected over several years in the western Pacific, flow back eastwards when winds that normally blow westwards weaken, or sometimes the other way round.
The weather effects both good and bad, are felt in many places. Rich countries gain more from powerful Nino, on balance, than they lose. A study found that a strong Nino in 1997-98 helped American’s economy grow by 15 billion, partly because of better agricultural harvests: farmers in the Midwest gained from extra rain. The total rise in agricultural incomes in rich countries is greater than the fall in poor ones.
But in Indonesia extremely dry forests are in flames. A multi-year drought (干旱) in south-east Brazil is becoming worse. Though heavy rains brought about by El Nino may relieve the drought in California, they are likely to cause surface flooding and other disasters
The most recent powerful Nino, in 1997-98, killed around 21,000 people and caused damage worth $36 billion around the globe. But such Ninos come with months of warning, and so much is known about how they happen that governments can prepare. According to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), however, just 12% of disaster-relief funding in the past two decades has gone on reducing risks in advance, rather than recovery and rebuilding afterwards. This is despite evidence that a dollar spent on risk-reduction saves at least two on reconstruction.
Simple improvements to infrastructure (基础设施) can reduce the spread of disease. Better sewers (下水道) make it less likely that heavy rain is followed by an outbreak of the disease of bad stomach. Stronger bridges mean villages are less likely to be left without food and medicine after floods. According to a paper in 2011 by Mr Hsiang and co-authors, civil conflict is related to El Nino’s harmful effects—and the poorer the country, the stronger the link. Though the relationship may not be causal, helping divided communities to prepare for disasters would at least reduce the risk that those disasters are followed by killing and wounding people. Since the poorest are least likely to make up for their losses from disasters linked to El Nino, reducing their losses needs to be the priority.
1.What can we learn about El Nino in Paragraph 1?
A. It sees the changes of water flow direction in the ocean.
B. It takes place almost every year all over the world.
C. It forces fishermen to stop catching fish around Christmas.
D. It is named after a South American fisherman.
2.What may El Ninos bring about to the countries affected?
A. Agricultural harvests in rich countries fall.
B. Droughts become more harmful than floods.
C. Poor countries suffer less from droughts economically.
D. Rich countries’ gains are greater than their losses.
3.The data provided by ODI in Paragraph 4 suggest that ________.
A. victims of El Nino deserve more compensation
B. governments of poor countries need more aid
C. more investment should go to risk reduction
D. recovery and reconstruction should come first
4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A. To introduce El Nino and its origin.
B. To explain the consequences of El Nino.
C. To show ways of fighting against El Nino.
D. To urge people to prepare for El Nino.
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El Nino, a Spanish term for ＂the Christ child＂, was named by South American fisherman who noticed that the global weather pattern, which happens every two to seven years, reduced the amount of fishes caught around Christmas. El Nino sees warm water, collected over several years in the western Pacific, flow back eastwards when winds that normally blow westwards weaken, or sometimes the other way round.
The weather effects, both good and bad, are felt in many places. Rich countries gain more from powerful Nino, on balance, than they lose. A study found that a strong Nino in 1997-98 helped American’s economy grow by $15 billion, partly because of better agricultural harvest, farmers in the Midwest gained from extra rain. The total rise in agricultural in rich countries in growth than the fall in poor ones.
But in Indonesia extremely dry forests are in flames. A multi-year drought(干旱) in south-east Brazil is becoming worse. Though heavy rains brought about by El Nino may relieve the drought in California, they are likely to cause surface flooding and other disasters.
The most recent powerful Nino, in 1997-98, killed around 21,000 people and caused damage worth $36 billion around the globe. But such Ninos come with months of warning, and so much is known about how they happen that governments can prepare. According to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), however, just 12% of disaster-relief funding in the past two decades has gone on reducing risks in advance, rather than recovery and rebuilding afterwards. This is despite evidence that a dollar spent on risk-reduction saves at least two on reconstruction.
Simple improvements to infrastructure(基础设施) can reduce the spread of disease. Better sewers(下水道) make it less likely that heavy rain is followed by an outbreak of the disease of bad stomach. Stronger bridges mean villages are less likely to be left without food and medicine after floods. According to a paper in 2011 by Mr Hsiang and co-authors, civil conflict is related to El Nino’s harmful effects—and the poorer the country, the stronger the link. Though the relationship may not be causal, helping divided communities to prepare for disasters would at least reduce the risk that those disasters are followed by killing and wounding people. Since the poorest are least likely to make up for their losses from disasters linked to El Nino, reducing their losses needs to be the priority.
1.What can we learn about El Nino in Paragraph 1?
A. It is named after a South American fisherman.
B. It takes place almost every year all over the world.
C. It forces fishermen to stop catching fish around Christmas.
D. It sees the changes of water flow direction in the ocean.
2.What may El Ninos bring about to the countries affected?
A. Agricultural harvests in rich countries fall.
B. Droughts become more harmful than floods.
C. Rich countries’ gains are greater than their losses.
D. Poor countries suffer less from droughts economically.
3.The data provided by ODI in Paragraph 4 suggest that _________.
A. more investment should go to risk reduction
B. governments of poor countries need more aid
C. victims of El Nino deserve more compensation
D. recovery and reconstruction should come first
4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A. To introduce El Nino and its origin.
B. To explain the consequences of El Nino.
C. To show ways of fighting against El Nino.
D. To urge people to prepare for El Nino.
-
El Nino, a Spanish term for＂the Christ child＂, was named by South American fisherman who noticed that the global weather pattern, which happens every two to seven years, reduced the amount of fishes caught around Christmas. El Nino sees warm water, collected over several years in the western Pacific, flow back eastwards when winds that normally blow westwards weaken, or sometimes the other way round.
The weather effects, both good and bad, are felt in many places. Rich countries gain more from powerful Nino, on balance, than they lose. A study found that a strong Nino in 1997-98 helped American’s economy grow by $15 billion, partly because of better agricultural harvests: farmers in the Midwest gained from extra rain. The total rise in agricultural incomes in rich countries is greater than the fall in poor ones.
But in Indonesia extremely dry forests are in flames. A multi-year drought(干旱) in south-east Brazil is becoming worse. Though heavy rains brought about by El Nino may relieve the drought in California, they are likely to cause surface flooding and other disasters.
The most recent powerful Nino, in 1997-98, killed around 21,000 people and caused damage worth $36 billion around the globe. But such Ninos come with months of warning, and so much is known about how they happen that governments can prepare. According to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), however, just 12% of disaster-relief funding in the past two decades has gone on reducing risks in advance, rather than recovery and rebuilding afterwards. This is in spite of evidence that a dollar spent on risk-reduction saves at least two on reconstruction.
Simple improvements to infrastructure(基础设施) can reduce the spread of disease. Better sewers(下水道) make it less likely that heavy rain is followed by an outbreak of the disease of bad stomach. Stronger bridges mean villages are less likely to be left without food and medicine after floods. According to a paper in 2011 by Mr Hsiang and co-authors, civil conflict is related to El Nino’s harmful effects—and the poorer the country, the stronger the link. Though the relationship may not be causal, helping divided communities to prepare for disasters would at least reduce the risk that those disasters are followed by killing and wounding people. Since the poorest are least likely to make up for their losses from disasters linked to El Nino, reducing their losses needs to be the priority.
1.What can we learn about El Nino in Paragraph 1?
A. It is named after a South American fisherman.
B. It sees the changes of water flow direction in the ocean.
C. It forces fishermen to stop catching fish around Christmas.
D. It takes place almost every year all over the world.
2.What may El Ninos bring about to the countries affected?
A. Agricultural harvests in rich countries fall.
B. Droughts become more harmful than floods.
C. Rich countries’ gains are greater than their losses.
D. Poor countries suffer less from droughts economically.
3.The data provided by ODI in Paragraph 4 suggest that _________.
A. more investment should go to risk reduction
B. governments of poor countries need more aid
C. victims of El Nino deserve more compensation
D. recovery and reconstruction should come first
4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A. To introduce El Nino and its origin.
B. To explain the consequences of El Nino.
C. To show ways of fighting against El Nino.
D. To urge people to prepare for El Nino.
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El Nifio, a Spanish term for “the Christ child”, was named by South American fisherman who noticed that the global weather pattern, which happens every two to seven years, reduced the amount of fishes caught around Christmas. El Nifio sees warm water, collected over several years in the western Pacific, flow back eastwards when winds that normally blow westwards weaken, or sometimes the other way round.
The weather effects both good and bad, are felt in many places. Rich countries gain more from powerful Nifio, on balance, than they lose. A study found that a strong Nifio in 1997 helped American’s economy grow by 15 billion, partly because of better agricultural harvest, farmers in the Midwest gained from extra rain. The total rise in agricultural in rich countries in growth than the fall in poor ones.
But in Indonesia extremely dry forests are in flames. A multi-year drought (干旱）in south-east Brazil is becoming worse. Though heavy rains brought about by El Nino may relieve the drought in California, they are likely to cause surface flooding and other disasters.
The most recent powerful Nino, in 1997-98, killed around 21,000 people and caused damage worth $36 billion around the globe. But such Ninos come with months of warning, and so much is known about how they happen that governments can prepare. According to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), however, just 12% of disaster-relief funding in the past two decades has gone on reducing risks in advance, rather than recovery and rebuilding afterwards. This is despite evidence that a dollar spent on risk-reduction saves at least two on reconstruction.
Simple improvements to infrastructure (基础设施）can reduce the spread of disease. Better sewers (下水道）make it less likely that heavy rain is followed by an outbreak of the disease of bad stomach. Stronger bridges mean villages are less likely to be left without food and medicine after floods. According to a paper in 2011 by Mr Hsiang and co-authors, civil conflict is related to El Nino’s harmful effects—and the poorer the country, the stronger the link. Though the relationship may not be causal, helping divided communities to prepare for disasters would at least reduce the risk that those disasters are followed by killing and wounding people. Since the poorest are least likely to make up for their losses from disasters linked to El Nino, reducing their losses needs to be the priority.
1.What can we learn about El Nino in Paragraph 1?
A.It is named after a South American fisherman.
B.It takes place almost every year all over the world.
C.It forces fishermen to stop catching fish around Christmas.
D.It sees the changes of water flow direction in the ocean.
2.What may El Ninos bring about to the countries affected?
A.Agricultural harvests in rich countries fall.
B.Droughts become more harmful than floods.
C.Rich countries’ gains are greater than their losses.
D.Poor countries suffer less from droughts economically.
3.The data provided by ODI in Paragraph 4 suggest that_________.
A.more investment should go to risk reduction
B.governments of poor countries need more aid
C.victims of El Nino deserve more compensation
D.recovery and reconstruction should come first
4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A.To introduce El Nino and its origin.
B.To explain the consequences of El Nino.
C.To show ways of fighting against El Nino.
D.To urge people to prepare for El Nino.
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Rosa Parks was an African-American woman who began the civil rights movement by refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a bus . She stood up for what she believed was right , and her courage inspired countless others to do the same.
Born in Alabama in 1913 , Mrs. Parks grew up on a farm just outside Montgomery in a town called Pine Level . She was home-schooled until she was 11. She later attended the Industrial School for Girls in Montgomery. She briefly attended the Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes , but had to drop out to take care of her mother and grandmother when they became ill.
Mrs. Parks married Raymond Parks in 1932 . He encouraged her to finish her education . This was very uncommon at that time , especially for a woman. Less than 7 percent of African-Americans studied in a high school in the 1930s.
Mrs. Parks also succeeded in gaining the right to vote, which was very difficult for blacks under the segregation laws( 种族隔离制度 ) . In 1943, she began working as a secretary for the NAACP----National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Mrs. Parks made her historic decision on December 1,1955. She recalled in her autobiography(自传) ：
“When the driver saw me still sitting, he asked if I was going to stand up and I said , ‘ No, I’m not.’ Then he said , ‘ Well , if you don’t stand up , I’m going to have to call the police and have you arrested .’ I said , ‘ You may do that.’”
Mrs. Parks died on October 24,2005. “ She sat down in order that we might stand up,” said civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson. “ Her imprisonment opened the doors for our long journey to freedom.”
1. From the passage we can infer that in Rosa Parks’ time black people ______________.
A．were not allowed to take buses
B．only stood in the buses
C．were looked down upon
D．had no right at all
2.From the second paragraph we know that Rosa Parks ____________________.
A．began to learn at the age of 11
B．studied at home until she was 11
C．attended the Industrial School when she was 11
D．graduated from the Alabama State Teachers College
3. Rosa Parks didn’t give up her seat to a white person because ________________.
A．she was tired after a day’s work
B．there were empty seats on the bus
C．she didn’t want to stand on the bus
D．she wanted to be treated equally
4. In this passage the phrase “ stood up for ” in the first paragraph probably means “___________”.
A．acted to protect B．paid attention to
C．looked forward to D．gave up to
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O. Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank, when some money went missing from the bank O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the reader’s surprise.
1.In which order did O. Henry do the following things?
a. Lived in New York. b. Worked in a bank. c. Traveled to Texas.
d. Was put in prison. e. Had a newspaper Job. f. Learned to write stories.
A．c. e. b. d. f. a B．e. c. f. b. d. a
C．e. b. d. c. a. f. D．c. b. e. d. a f
2.People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because __________.
A．they had surprise endings
B．they were easy to understand
C．they showed his love for the poor
D．they were about New York City
3.O. Henry went to prison because_____________.
A．people thought he had stolen money that was not his
B．he broke the law by not using his own name
C．he wanted to write stories about prisoners
D．people thought he had taken money from the newspaper
4.What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?
A．He was well-educated. B．He was not serious about his work.
C．He was devoted to the poor. D．He was very good at learning.