26、If you have a brother or sister, you already know you are different from each other. You live together in the same house and with the same parents, but you have different personalities.

Why is this? One possible reason is the way your parents treat you.

    First–born children receive all the attention from their parents. Most families have twice as many photos of a first–born than any other child．Parents usually give first–borns more responsibility（责任）and depend on them to take care of younger brothers and sisters. As a result, first–borns are often responsible, hard–wording and serious. They often want to do well at school and work. There are more first–born American presidents than second or last-born children—for example, George W. Bush, George Washington, and Lyndon Baines Johnson.

When a second child arrives, parents are not so excited．The second child has to compete with the first–born for the parents’ attention and love. These children often choose different sports and hobbies to do well at school and work, but have to be creative to get their family’s attention. They are often friendly and cool. Many famous talk-show hosts were born last.

（　 ）1. The writer thinks that the second children are often _______.

A．outgoing and serious                     B．cool and friendly

C．hard-working and serious                D．creative and responsible

（　 ）2. The underlined word “personalities” means _______ in the passage.

A．友好                   B．冷静                 C．个性                 D．智商

（　 ）3. _______ is usually the happiest in the family according to the passage.

A．The eldest child                                       B．The second child

C．The youngest child                                  D．The father

（　 ）4. We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．the second child is very similar to the first-born child

B．brothers and sisters usually have the same personalities

C．it’s easy for the second child to get his or her parents’ attention

D．there are more first-born successful people than second or last-born people

（　 ）5. The passage is mainly about          .

A．birth order and personalities

B．the personalities of the second child in a family

C．the personalities of the eldest child in a family

D．the personalities of the youngest child in a family

25、

（　 ）1. If you like traveling by train, you can go to _______.

         A．Summer School in France                          B．Summer in Australia

C．British Study Tours                                 D．Holiday Program in Germany

（　 ）2. If you want to improve your English, which of the following will you choose?

         A．Holiday program in Germany and British Study Tours.

         B．Summer in Australia and Summer School in France.

         C．British Study Tours and Summer in Australia.

D．Summer School in France and Holiday Program in Germany.

（　 ）3. The difference between Summer School in France and the other three is that ______.

         A．you can go at any time of the year

B．you can stay with a local family

          C．you can do many kinds of sports

D．you can take part in many organized activities

（　 ）4. Which program offers study for all ages?

         A．Holiday Program in Germany.                     B．Summer in Australia.

         C．Summer School in France.                         D．British Study Tours.

（　 ）5. The passages were written to lead people to ______.

         A．have a holiday abroad                                B．join their programs

         C．study English                                            D．live in other countries

24、Today there are 6 billion people on the earth. By the year 2050, there may be 12.5 billion. There are a lot of people to feed．We need more food.

      One way to produce more food is by growing stronger plants. For thousands of years, farmers have made plants better. Every season, they pick the best plants for the next season. It works very slowly. Since 1983, scientists have been able to change plants more quickly by changing their genetic material（遗传物质）. Foods from plants grown in this way are called genetically modified foods（转基因食品）, or GM foods.

      By changing the genetic material of a plant, it is possible to make new plants. They make  plants which are strong against plant diseases. They can also help with our diseases: a kind of rice is being prepared, for example, which stops people from becoming blind.

    Rich countries produce GM foods because they are easy to grow and bring in more money. Poor countries are interested in them because they help produce more food.

    GM plants are not natural. No one knows how good or bad they are. Making GM foods is the only way of feeding people in 2050. There’re strong feelings against them, because they are unnatural. They may feed people, and then hurt them or their children later. But, both rich and poor countries are very interested in their use, and they are not going to go away. In 2050, we may think differently about them.

（　 ）1. GM foods are made by _______.

A．farmers          B．workers                  C．scientists                D．plants

（　 ）2. What are the good things about GM foods?

         A．They make plants strong against diseases.

B．They are unnatural.

C．They can help with human diseases.

D．Both A and C．

（　 ）3. GM foods _______.

         A．are a quick way to produce food                B．grow in the wild

C．are unsafe                                              D．are grown only in rich countries

（　 ）4. Why do some people dislike GM foods?

         A．They are not useful.                                  B．They are not helpful.

          C．They are not natural.                               D．They are not cheap.

（　 ）5. From the reading we know that _______.

         A．GM foods will disappear one day in the future

B．GM foods will not disappear in the future

         C．people will not be interested in GM foods

         D．People will have to stop using GM foods

22、Bob is _______ eleven-year-old boy, but he knows a lot about Internet.

A．an                          B．a                            C．the                         D．/

21、—Miss Lin teaches _______ English this term.

—You’re lucky. _______ is a very good teacher.

A．our, She                B．us, He                  C．us, She                  D．ours, He

20、The price of a cup of coffee is higher than _______ of a glass of cola.

A．it                            B．price                       C．that                        D．one

19、_______ our teacher’s help, we have made great progress in English.

A．Under                     B．With                C．Without                 D．In

18、Though they spent _______ time, they still didn’t finish the work.

A．many               B．a number of            C．little        D．lots of