【小题1】I had a very happy day today because we had no school though it is Tuesday today. I played football with my friends on the playground in our school. Then we had a big dinner with a lot of our friends.
【小题2】Today was a special day. After the bell rang for the lesson, we all sat up straight, waiting for our maths teacher. Today in former years we would place something on the top of the door so that when someone entered, it would fall onto that person. But this year, we put nothing on the top of the door. But as our maths teacher was entering, we all shouted “Take care”. The teacher got a surprise and raised his head but saw nothing. We all laughed and said “April fool”.
【小题3】Early this morning I got up and woke up my sister Jane. Together we went from door to door to call on my friends. It was a day for us to play. We gathered on the square of the town with our New Year’s gift. We exchanged our gifts and played all kinds of games on the square. How happy we were!
【小题4】This evening we had a Halloween party in the open. We were all dressed in witch’s outfit and wore masks. We sang and danced happily. We couldn’t figure out who was who though we were all such close friends or neighbors.
【小题5】Today I gave a kiss to the girl I love most in front of all my classmates. I didn’t say anything before. But today I was brave enough to kiss her on the face with my classmates and my history teacher near at hand.

A．Near Year’s Day It falls on the first day of the year. The year should begin happily, they say, so that it will end happily. And on the first morning of the New Year, children in Scotland, Wales and the English border countries rise early so that they may make the round of their friends and neighbors. “On January 1st,” writes a 13-year-old Scottish girl, “I always go New Year’s Gifting with my sister and friends, about four of us. I get up about 7 o’clock and call for my friends and go round the houses and farms.”

B．Shrove Tuesday For centuries Shrove Tuesday has been a day of high festival for apprentices (学徒) and schoolchildren. It has been a day of feasting, and cock fighting, a day for football , and rowdiness (吵闹). And it is pleasing to find that it is still a special day for children in some parts of England, where “Pancake Day (薄煎饼日),” as they call it, is kept as a school holiday.

C．Kissing Friday A teacher writing to the Yorkshire Post tells how after Ash Wednesday, comes Kissing Friday. A few days ago, when she arrived at a country school and was taking a mixed class of 13-year-old children in country dancing, she saw the leading boy suddenly lean across and kiss his partner, who showed no sign of embarrassment. When, as teacher, she expressed her surprise, the boy said, “It’s all right, Miss. You see, it’s Kissing Friday”. And he explained that on Friday following Shrove Tuesday any boy had the right to kiss any girl without being resisted.

D．April Fool’s Day

The first day of April ranks amongst the most joyous days in the juvenile (青少年) calendar. It is a day when you hoax (愚弄) friends of yours with jokes like sending them to the shop for some pigeon’s milk, or telling them to dig a hole because the dog has died; when they come back and ask where the dead dog is, you say “April fool” and laugh at them.
E. May Day
On the first of May, in country districts, young maidens (少女) rise early and go out into the dawn, as they have done for centuries, to wash their faces in the May dew (露水). In Somerset children call this “kissing the dew”. In most places, the girls do so to ensure that they shall have a beautiful complexion (肤色) for the rest of the year.
F. Halloween
It falls on October 31. Many children attend Halloween parties. “The best thing about the party is that you should go in fancy dress, ” says a girl. The most popular dress is a Witch’s outfit, or something to do with lucky charms. It is said that one of the luckiest things at a Halloween party is for a person to come in with a lump (块) of coal.

       Running like the wind, roaring （咆哮） like thunder, tigers have long been feared and respected as a king of the animal world．But last week a report said that there are no more than 30 wild tigers left in south China．

       This was the conclusion of a team of scientists from China's State Forestry Administration and the World Nature Fund．

       The South China tiger, also known as the Chinese tiger, is native to southern China．In the 1950's, there were over 4000 tigers found in mountain forests in the country．But due to the destruction of their natural habitat （栖息地） and uncontrolled hunting, it has been pushed on to the list of the world's top ten most endangered species．

       Sixty-six of the big cats can be found in the cages of a dozen zoos around China．But they are nothing like their wild cousins．They have lost their natural skills such as hunting and killing．If they were set free they could not look after themselves．

       "Breeding has damaged the quality of the species", said Pei Enle, deputy director of the Shanghai Zoo．

       To reintroduce the species into the wild, the country started a programme to send five to ten young tigers to South Africa．Four of them have already arrived．Progress has been made as two elder tigers have recovered some of their instincts（本能） and can hunt wild animals by themselves at the African base．

       " South Africans are very experienced in reintroducing big animals to the wild．The country has very good natural conditions for the tigers to learn in", said Lu Jun, office director of the National Wildlife Research and Development Center．" We tried in Fujian Province, but it was not successful as there was not a complete eco-chain（生物链） and there was a lack of space．"

The tigers should return to China in 2007 when the reservations in Fujian are ready．

What is the main reason for the South China tiger becoming one of the world's top ten most endangered species?

       A．Because it has lost its natural instincts．

       B．Because there is not a complete eco-chain．

       C．Because there is no space for it．

       D．Because uncontrolled hunting has destroyed its natural living conditions．

How is the programme of sending several tigers to South Africa getting on?

       A．Its effect still remains to be seen．

       B．Two tigers can already compete with their wild cousins．

       C．Some of the tigers are already on the road to recovering their natural skills．

       D．The tigers should be able to recover their instincts completely by 2007．

By saying " but they are nothing like their wild cousins", the writer means that ______．

       A．they are no longer feared by other wild animals

       B．they don't know how to hunt or kill

       C．a complete change has resulted in the species because of breeding

       D．to reintroduce them into the wild has become an urgent task

What is the purpose of sending young tigers to South Africa?

       A．To help the tigers recover their ability to live in the wild．

       B．To provide them with a better environment．

       C．To get the tigers to go on a tour．

       D．To find a complete eco-chain for them．

Which one is not the reason for South Africa being chosen as the training place?

       A．Because the tigers can hunt wild animals by themselves at the African base．

       B．Because South Africans are skilled at dealing with the tigers．

       C．Because there is a complete eco-chain and enough space there．

       D．Because the country has good natural conditions for the tigers to learn in．

“You know, these cups bring to mind a tea quote(说法) I heard.” Mary’s aunt said.

She poured tea. There were four of them and there were four totally different cups on the table.

They took their tea cups.

“What quote?” Mary asked.

“Well, maybe I should rather say it is a story,” aunt said, “I heard that there was a wise teacher who took all his students for tea. They were surprised that all the cups on the table were different. Each of them took a cup and started drinking their tea, each looking at the cups of others. The teacher let them do that for a while and then said,‘ Do you notice your behavior? You are all looking at each other’s tea cup and I can see some of you with the broken ones are even envious(羡慕的) of the finer cups of others. Is this not so?’ ”

The students agreed, amused by their own behavior.

“You may have wondered why you all had different cups, but I put them here on purpose. You see they represent (代表) life itself. Life is like that tea and the cups are like the physical circumstances(状况) of your life. You all got the same thing in your cups — tea. And yet you can not truly enjoy it in your envy of another’s cup. It’s just the same with life. You forget to enjoy your own life when you concentrate on envying the circumstances of someone else’s life.

So now, close your eyes, and taste your own tea. Really taste it. And tell me — did it matter from which cup it came from?”

Aunt finished telling her short tea story and they all sat in silence for a while, tasting their tea. A sleepy fly buzzed(嗡嗡作响) past, a bird sang in the tree. And it really did not matter one bit from which tea cup they drank.

When the students found they had different tea cups, they_____________.

A. were satisfied with their own cup

B. were angry about the broken cups they had been given

C. asked the teacher to get new cups for them

D. were curious about the difference between the cups

From the text, we know that _____________.

A. the teacher prepared different tea cups for each student

B. the teacher should have given the students the same cups

C. the teacher made the tea cups different by mistake.

D. each student took their time to choose a cup they liked

According to the passage, by comparing the cups to the physical circumstances of people’s life, the teacher meant that people_______.

A. should try different ways of life

B. shouldn’t focus on envy others’ physical circumstances

C. can never change their physical circumstances

D. should work hard for a better life

In the passage the teacher’s message to the students was that _______.

A. life is hard and boring for everyone

B. it is strange to be envious of the lives of others

C. everyone should learn to enjoy his own life

D. people act differently in different circumstances

What can be the best title for the passage?

     A. More than tea in a cup                           B. The value of tea

       C. Tea vs cup                                            D. Enjoying tea with a broken cup

The traditional tent cities at festivals such as Glastonbury may never be the same again. In a victory of green business that is certain to appeal to environmentally-aware music-lovers, a design student is to receive financial support to produce eco-friendly tents made of cardboard that can be recycled after the bands and the crowds have gone home.

Major festivals such as Glastonbury throw away some 10,000 abandoned tents at the end of events each year. For his final year project at the University of the West of England, James Dunlop came up with a material that can be recycled. And to cope with the British summer, the cardboard has been made waterproof.

Taking inspiration from a Japanese architect, who has used cardboard to make big buildings including churches, Mr. Dunlop used cardboard material for his tents, which he called Myhabs.

The design won an award at the annual New Designers Exhibition after Mr. Dunlop graduated from his product design degree and he decided to try to turn it into a business

To raise money for the idea, he toured the city’s private companies which fund new business and found a supporter in the finance group Mint. He introduced his idea to four of Mint’s directors and won their support. Mint has committed around ??500,000 to MyHabs and taken a share of 30 per cent in Mr. Dunlop’s business. The first Myhabs should be tested at festivals this summer, before being marketed fully next year.

Mr. Dunlop said that the design, which accommodates two people, could have other uses, such as for disaster relief and housing for the London Olympics.

For music events, the cardboard houses will be ordered online and put up at the sites by the Myhabs team before the festival-goers arrive and removed by the company afterwards. They can be personalized and the company will offer reductions on the expense if people agree to sell exterior (外部的) advertising space. 

The biggest festivals attract tens of thousands of participants, with Glastonbury having some 150,000 each year. Altogether there are around 100 annual music festivals where people camp in the UK. The events are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious.

11. “Eco-friendly tents” in paragraph 1 refer to tents _______.

  A. economically desirable  B. favorable to the environment

  C. for holding music performances1   D. designed for disaster relief

12. Mr. Dunlop established his business        .

  A. independently with an interest-free loan from Mint

  B. with the approval of the City’s administration

  C. in partnership with a finance group

  D. with the help of a Japanese architect

13. It is implied in the passage that _______.

  A. the weather in the UK is changeable in summer 

  B. most performances at British festivals are given in the open air

  C. the cardboard tents produced by Mr. Dunlop can be user-tailored

D. cardboard tents can be easily put up and removed by users.

14. The passage is mainly concerned with        .

A. an attempt at developing recyclable tents

B. some efforts at making full use of cardboards

C. an unusual success of a graduation project

D. the effects of using cardboard tents on music festivals

15. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. Don’t Use Tents Again

B. The Advantages of Tents

C. How to Produce Tents

D. The Development of Recyclable Tents

I was sleeping in my room when my bed started shaking and a loud noise was heard. I woke up and my mom was screaming my name. Next moment I was running along with my younger sister, mom and dad. Before I ran out of the door, I realized my elder sister hadn’t come out yet. So I screamed her name at the top of my voice. My mom said she had gone to her class. Then the four of us, along with many others, were running on the staircase. We lived on the seventh floor, so I thought we would not be able to make it and the building would fall before we managed to reach even the fourth floor. My dad’s head was injured by something falling down. I did try to put my hand over his head. When we reached the sixth floor, the building split into two. We had no way to get down.

The next thing I remember is silence. There were around 30 people on the staircase and none could react. Five minutes later, someone opened the door of the sixth-floor flat. We all went in. We were wondering how would get down. From the balcony of the sixth-floor flat, I saw people standing on the ground floor. All eyes were stuck on us. I could see my elder sister crying.

Our first hope of surviving came when a worker climbed a rope to where we were. That was the first time we thought maybe we could get down. Half an hour passed and we were still trapped. Finally RSS people arrived with ropes. They got people down one by one. My biggest worry was how my dad would get down. Finally after two and a half hours, we all got down.

That day we saw the power of nature. It has taken more than two years to build the flats and it took just one and a half minutes to destroy the structure.

What is this passage mainly about?

       A. Ways to survive an earthquake.

       B. Reasons why earthquakes happen.

       C. The love of parents in an earthquake.

       D. The writer’s experience in an earthquake.

When the building split into two, the writer and his family ____________.

       A. were still sleeping                                       

B. were trapped on the sixth floor

       C. were looking for a family member                                                          

D. were running on the staircase of the seventh floor

The first time the writer thought they would probably survive was when            .

       A. he was encouraged by people on the ground floor

       B. someone opened the door of the sixth-floor flat

       C. a worker climbed up on a rope

       D. RSS people arrived with ropes

The earthquake made the writer realize that                       .

       A. there is always hope for people

       B. the power of nature is really great

       C. natural disasters can happen any time

       D. human beings are strong in natural disasters