33、Many children love to play with snow in winter. But Long Chuan has come to hate it.

This year his hometown suffered from snowstorms (遭受暴风雪) for nearly a month. The heavy snow stopped cars and trains, broke the electricity (电) tower and turned tap water to ice.

Every day Long Chuan had to walk several kilometers to carry drinking water. “I couldn’t ride a bike and it took me 3 hours to walk to school. I can’t remember how many times I slipped (滑倒) on the hard ice, ” said Long Chuan.

Long is not alone. This year millions of people in central and southern China had a freezing winter without enough water and electricity. The biggest snowstorms in 50 years killed more than 100 people. They also cost the country 111.1 billion yuan.

Experts (专家) say a special type of climate condition (气候条件), La Nina, caused the storms. During a La Nina, the water in the Pacific Ocean (太平洋) near the equator (赤道) becomes colder than usual. It changes the weather around the world.

Besides China, Canada, the US and Middle Eastern countries also met with heavy snowstorms this winter. The special climate caused the recent flooding (洪水) in Australia, too.

However, experts say that people have destroyed the environment (环境). Global warming (全球变暖) may be causing these terrible weather events to happen more and more often.

1. What took place in Long Chuan’s hometown last winter?

   A. Earthquake.       B. Flooding.         C. Traffic Accident.     D. Heavy snowstorms.

2. During the snowstorms this year, Long Chuan  __________.

   A. had to walk to carry drinking water   B. had to ride a bike to school

   C. couldn’t go to school on foot        D. couldn’t play with snow

3. The heavy snow ____________ this year.

A. killed millions of Chinese           B. cost China 111.1 billion yuan

C. used too much electricity           D. lasted more than three hours

4. We can tell from the story that __________ .

   A. China is the only country which suffered from the heavy snow

   B. La Nina is said to have caused the snowstorms

   C. La Nina also caused hot summer in Australia

   D. the snowstorms have nothing to do with global warming

5. The passage tells people around the world ___________.

   A. to wear more clothes in winter     B. to stop riding bikes on the hard ice

   C. to protect (保护) the environment    D. to save water and electricity

32、Tea bag drinking is most Westerns’ favorite way of drinking tea. Do you know how it came about?

The tea bag was invented in 1908 by Thomas Sullivan, an American tea seller. He was sending out free tea in silk (丝绸) bags for people to try. People put the bags together with the tea leaves into the cup and added hot water. The tea tasted good, and people thought it was easy to clean the cup. They were not happy when Sullivan started sending them loose (散的) tea again.

Sullivan realized that he had a hot new thing in his hands, and he built a machine to pack the bags. As tea bags became popular, they were changed from silk to gauze (薄纱) and later paper. In 1952, Lipton Tea made the tea bag even more popular with its invention of the four-sided tea bag. Tea bags were soon a hit in the UK, and today 85% of the tea in the UK is packed in paper bags.

However, many people still prefer loose-leaf tea. This is because some tea companies put not very good tea in their tea bags. But for most drinkers, tea bags are still the easy, tasty way to go.

1. Who invented the tea bag?

   A. An English tea seller.           B. Chinese.            C. Lipton.     D. Thomas Sullivan.

2. The tea in silk bags was welcome because ________.

   A. the tea in bags was free and very good

   B. the tea tasted good and the cup was easy to wash

   C. people were happy with the loose tea

   D. people didn’t know any better way to enjoy the tea

3. The material of the tea bags is usually __________ now.

   A. silk                          B. gauze                C. paper      D. plastic

4. The underlined sentence “Tea bags were soon a hit in the UK” probably means “__ in the UK”.

   A. Tea bags soon became popular

   B. Tea bags surprised everyone very much

   C. Tea bags kicked (踢) the loose-leaf tea out of the market 

   D. Tea bags weren’t allowed to be sold

5. The reading mainly talks about ___________.

   A. the invention of tea                B. the way of drinking tea

   C. the history of tea bags                D. people’s favorite tea in the world

31、   If you knew a bottle of water had been recycled from urine (尿), would you drink it? Astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS) may soon do so.

   NASA (美国航空航天局) said it would use a high-tech machine (高科技机器) to recycle wastewater at the ISS. The machine will recycle everything from sweat (汗), the water for washing hands, shower water, water used for brushing teeth, and even urine, to make drinking water.

   It will save NASA millions of dollars each year. At present, each ISS astronaut uses about 4.4 liters (升) of water every day. It costs about $24 million a year to transport water up to ISS. NASA says that a liter of water costs about $11,000.

   The machine will be sent to the ISS in October 2008. NASA hopes it will recycle about 93% of all water used on the station.

   Will the water be clean? Scientists say the wastewater will go through a very complicated process (复杂的过程). For example, different chemicals will be put in the wastewater; the water will be heated to 130℃ to get rid of bacteria (细菌). The recycled water is thousands of times better than the water from a city tap, scientists say.

1. NASA will use a high-tech machine to recycle wastewater at the ISS to __________.

   A. protect the ISS

   B. make astronauts at ISS work harder

   C. provide better water and food for ISS astronauts

   D. save the cost of transporting water up to the ISS

2. At present it costs NASA about _________ dollars to transport water up to an astronaut at the ISS a day.

   A. 4.4 thousand              B. 11 thousand     C. 48.4 thousand        D. 24 million

3. Scientists plan to get rid of bacteria in the wastewater by ___________.

   A. freezing           B. heating         C. shaking             D. precipitating (沉淀)

4. The reading mainly tells us something about ___________.

   A. water recycling                          B. the International Space Station

   C. a high-tech machine                  D. the cost of NASA

5. Which of the following sentences is true, according to the passage?

   A. The recycled water is much better than that from a city tap.

   B. The high-tech machine will recycle all the water used on the station.

   C. At present, each ISS astronaut uses more water than the people living on the earth.

   D. The high-tech machine can only recycle urine to make water at present.

29、       Summer School trips are planned every Wednesday afternoon. Some may last to the evening when we will go on a theatre trip. Weekends are planned for all-day trips and activities. All the trips are designed（设计）to introduce students to Scotland’s culture, exciting cities and beautiful scenery（风景）, while giving them a fun-filled break from timetabled classes.

On Wednesdays students can choose from:

l                     Glamis Castle（城堡）: Visit childhood home of Queen Elizabeth and one of Scotland’s most beautiful castles.

l                     Royal（皇家）research ship Discovery: Visit Captain Scott’s famous research ship Discovery.

l                     Elie Watersports: Go boating and sailing.

Saturday trips：

l                     Edinburgh: Visit Scotland’s beautiful capital. Discover Edinburgh Castle, walk along Princes Street, home to some of Edinburgh’s best shops, discover the city’s past.

l                     Glasgow: Experience Scotland’s city of culture and buildings, internationally famous for its Victorian buildings and wonderful museums. Visit Scotland’s best-loved museum.

Discover and experience Scotland: the best small country in the world. You will not be disappointed（失望）.

1. When will the students have their trips?

   A. On Sunday.                                                   B. On Wednesday morning.

   C. On Wednesday and Sunday.                            D. On Wednesday and Saturday.

2. Where did Queen Elizabeth live when she was young?

   A. Glasgow.                                                      B. Glamis Castle.          

   C. Elie Watersports.                                    D. Edinburgh Castle.

3. If you want to go shopping, the best place to go to is _______.

   A. Glasgow                                                       B. Edinburgh

   C. Elie Watersports                                            D. Discovery

4. What you have read is           .

   A. a travel diary  B. a news report    C. an advertisement  D. an introduction to Scotland

28、       A young lady was on holiday in Brighton. One day, she went into a bank to get some money. It had been sent there for her from the town where she lived.

       The clerk（职员）in the Brighton bank did not know her, so he said, “What proof（证明）have you got that you are really the lady who should get this money?”

       The young lady looked worried for a few moments and said, “I don’t think I’ve brought any proof with me,” but then she suddenly looked happy again. She opened her bag, took a photo of herself out of it and showed it to the clerk. “Here’s something,” she said.

       The clerk looked at the photo carefully and then looked at the young lady. “Yes, that’s you,” he said, and paid the money to her without any more trouble.

1. Where did the lady live?

   A. In a town.                  B. In Brighton.              C. In a bank.                 D. In a city.

2. Why did the lady feel worried when she was at the bank?

   A. Because she didn’t know the clerk.

   B. Because she was far way from home.

   C. Because she had spent all her money.

   D. Because she couldn’t prove who she was.

3. From the passage we can see that the clerk was _______.

   A. silly                           B. kind                         C. clever                      D. impolite

27、       A wise（有智慧的）woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a small river. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone in the wise woman’s bag, admired（羡慕）it, and asked the wise woman to give it to him. The wise woman did so happily.

The traveler left, excited with his good luck. He knew the stone was worth（值……）enough for him to live on for his whole life.

       But a few days later he came back, searching for the wise woman. When he found her, he returned the stone and said, “I have been thinking. I know how valuable（有价值的）this stone is, but I give it back to you and hope that you can give me something much more precious. If you can, give me what you have within（在……里面）you that made you give me the stone.”

1. Where did the woman find the stone?

   A. In a bag.                                                       B. In a village.

   C. Under a tree.                                                 D. In a small river.

2. How did the man feel when he met the woman?

   A. He was sorry.                                                B. He was sad.

   C. He was hungry.                                             D. He was excited.

3. What does “precious” mean in this passage?

   A. 古老的                     B. 珍贵的                    C. 坚硬的                    D. 新奇的

4. We know from the passage that _______.

   A. the man lived happily since he got the stone

   B. the man got the stone after he paid a lot of money

   C. the man wanted to have the same good feeling as the woman

   D. the woman and the man were travelling together in the mountain

26、       As we know, there are differences between western culture and Chinese culture. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used. Let’s look at the words about animals and plants. Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example, “a homeless dog”, “a mad dog”, “a running dog” and “a dog catching a mouse”, have negative（消极的）meanings. But in western countries, dogs are thought to be honest and good friends of humans. In English, people use the dog to describe positive（积极的）actions. For example, “you are a lucky dog” means you are a lucky person. And “every dog has its day” means each person has good luck sometimes. To describe a person’s serious illness, they say “sick as a dog”. The word “dog-tired” means very tired. However, Chinese love cats very much. But in western culture, “cat” is often used to describe a woman who is cruel（冷酷的）. There are many other examples of how “cat” is used differently as well.

       The rose is regarded as a symbol（象征）of love in both China and some western countries. People think the rose stands for（代表）love, peace（和平）, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.

       The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used.

1. The word “dog” in Chinese usually _______.

   A. shows peace                                                 B. stands for friendship

   C. has a negative meaning                                   D. has a positive meaning

2. “Every dog has its day.” means “_______”.

   A. Everybody in the world is lucky.

   B. Each person lives his own way of life.

   C. If one works hard, he’s sure to succeed.

   D. Everybody has a time in life to be lucky.

3. Western people usually use “cat” to refer to（指代）“_______”.

   A. a tired person                                                B. a brave man

   C. a homeless person                                          D. an unkind woman

4. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

   A. Words show differences in culture.

   B. Chinese people prefer dogs to cats.

   C. Western people think cats to be good friends.

   D. Rose is the national flower of all western countries.

5. What’s the best title(标题) for the passage?

   A. Negative or Positive

   B. Different Countries Have Different Culture

   C. Rose Means the Same in Chinese and English

   D. What Dog and Cat Mean in English and Chinese

25、       A few minutes ago, walking back from lunch, I started to cross the street when I heard the sound of a coin dropping. It wasn’t much but, as I turned, my eyes caught the heads of several other people turning too. A woman had dropped what seemed to be a dime（十美分硬币）.

       The sound of a coin dropping on the street catches everybody’s attention. Whatever the coin is, no one ignores（忽视）the sound of it. It got me thinking about sounds again.

       There are so many sounds that catch the most attention. People in New York City seldom turn to look when they hear the siren（警报）of a police car or an ambulance（救护车）.

       When I’m in New York, I’m a New Yorker. I don’t turn either. I hardly hear a siren there.

       At home in my little town in Connecticut, it’s different. The faraway high sound of a police car, an ambulance or a fire siren brings me to my feet if I’m sitting and brings me to the window if I’m in bed.

       It’s the quietest sounds that catch our attention most easily, not the loudest. In the middle of the night, I can hear water dropping a hundred yards away through three closed doors. I’ve been hearing little creaking（吱嘎）noises and sounds in the middle of the night for twenty-five years in our house. Why do I never hear those sounds in the daytime?

1. The sound of a coin dropping made people _______.

   A. think of money                                              B. shout aloud

   C. pay attention to it                                    D. look at each other

2. People in New York _______.

   A. are used to sirens                                    B. don’t hear loud noises

   C. are interested in sounds                           D. don’t care about quiet sounds

3. The writer _______.

   A. has a bad hearing                                    B. stays up late at night

   C. comes from a little town                         D. sleeps next to the window

4. The last paragraph（段落）tells us that _______.

   A. the writer thinks a lot at night                   B. water should be turned off at night

   C. the sounds at night make the writer afraid  D. the quietest sounds at night are easily heard