Passage A

The Giraffe

The giraffe is the tallest modern land animal. It can be over 5. 5 meters tall. Its neck bone may be 1. 9 meters long. Yet the giraffe has only seven bones in its neck, the same number as in the human. Even a small bird has many more bones in its neck than in a tall giraffe. Each bone in a giraffe’s neck is very long, while the bones in a human’s neck are small. That makes the difference. A female giraffe gives birth to one baby at a time. The baby, called a calf, is about 1. 9 meters tall at birth. By the age of eight it is full-grown. The giraffe can live for 30 years; the giraffe is good at running; it can run 30 kilometers per hour. The giraffe likes to live together, usually 7-10 a group. The giraffe eats mostly leaves. Because it has a long neck, it can reach the leaves high up on the trees.

第1題：How long can a giraffe live?

A. 10 years. 　 B. 30 years. C. 8 years.　 D. 7 years.

第2題：The number of the bones in a bird’s neck is　　　　　.

A. as big as in a human’s neck

B. not so big as in a giraffe’s neck

C. much larger than in a human’s neck

D. much smaller than in a giraffe’s neck

第3題：Which of the following is TRUE according to this passage?

A. A giraffe has only seven bones.

B. The giraffe is the largest animal on land.

C. It takes eight years for a giraffe to grow up.

D. All the leaves on the trees will be eaten by giraffes if they live in that region.

第4題：The baby giraffe is about　　　　　at birth.

A. 5. 5 meters long B. 5. 5 meters tall

C. 1. 9 meters long D. 1. 9 meters tall

第5題：When a giraffe sees a tiger we can guess　　　　　.

A. it will run away as fast as possible

B. it will run to eat the tiger

C. it will make the tiger bring it something to eat

D. it will bring some small animals for the tiger to eat

Passage B

In choosing a friend, one should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fair-weather friends. They will be with you only if you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities of characteristic, especially understanding, honesty and reliability (可靠).

Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to give his opinion. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person's place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener.

At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults (過錯(cuò)) in others. He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me.

Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on (信賴) a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need help, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.

There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience (經(jīng)驗(yàn)) and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humour, too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.

When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I've found a friend!

第6題：Which of the following qualities the writer thinks is the most important in choosing a friend?

A. understanding.

B. honesty.

C. reliability.

D. a sense of humour.

第7題：If you have fair-weather friends, ______ .

A. they will give you all that they have when you need help

B. you will be refused when you get into trouble

C. you will become rich

D. you can be sure that you get real friends

第8題：Good friends need to ______.

A. always point out each others mistakes

B. be helped with money

C. understand each others feelings

D. have money or luck

第9題：This passage mainly discuss ______ .

A. the qualities of a friend

B. where to choose friends

C. how to get along with friends

D. the importance of having a friend

Passage C

I will never forget what my old headmaster taught me when I was only 15 years old.

It was a normal Monday morning, and he was making a speech to the students on important things in life and about devoting ourselves to what is important to us. This is how the story went:

An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years. His house was dirty, and the terrible smell came out of the house. The neighbors could not stand (忍受) the smell any more, so they asked the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.

The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire. They waited outside his house to tell the good news to him. When he arrived home that evening, he was met by one of the officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire. He said nothing at all. He went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, got into the train, and sat at the street corner and continued to beg. Obviously, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything important for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing.

第10題：The headmaster told the story to .

A. make the students relaxed in the lesson

B. inspire the students to think deeply

C. show how poor the old man was

D. encourage the students to become rich

第11題：After hearing what the officer said, the old man .

A. believed the officer was playing a joke on him.

B. didn’t know many people respected him a lot.

C. was very angry to find his house broken into.

D. was not so excited as the officer had expected.

第12題：What did the author learn from the story?

A. One should devote himself to his dream.

B. The old man was foolish not to stop begging.

C. What the headmaster taught was very important.

D. People must have a plan before taking action.

第13題：Which word can best describe the author’s attitude towards the old man?

A. Happiness. B. Disappointment. C. Respect. D. Anger.

第14題：We know from the passage that .

A. the author had a big dream at the age of 15.

B. the headmaster was popular with the students.

C. the old man begged every day without stopping.

D. the neighbors took great pity on the old man.

Passage D

Life will probably be very different in 2050. First of all, it seems that TV channels will have disappeared by 2050. Instead, people will choose a program from a “menu” and a computer will send the program directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away. By 2050, music, films, programs, newspapers and books will come to us in this way.

In many places, agriculture (農(nóng)業(yè)) is developing quickly and people are growing fruit and vegetables for export (出口). This uses a lot of water. Therefore, there could be serious shortages. Some scientists infer that water could be the cause of war if we don’t act now.

In future, cars will run on new, clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed of them and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are. By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Space planes will take people around the world in 4 hours. Today, the United States Space Plane can go into space and land on Earth again. By 2050, space planes will fly people from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.

Some big companies now prefer to use robots that do not ask for pay rises or go on strike, and work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere — in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.

Nowadays, Scientists have discovered how to control genes (基因). Scientists have already produced clones (克隆) of animals. By 2050, scientists will be able to produce clones of people, and decide how they look, how they behave and how much intelligence they have. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?

第15題：By 2050, people will get information mainly by .

A. turning to a website

B. reading newspapers

C. listening to the radio

D. watching TV

第16題：From the second paragraph, we learn that .

A. there can be no agriculture without enough water

B. future wars will lead to an increasing need for water

C. the need for water in the future will increase a lot

D. the population will reduce for lack of water

第17題：Which of the following is NOT a reality at present?

A. Scientists have found out how to control genes.

B. Cars have computers which tell drivers their positions.

C. People can learn about what has happened anywhere on the Internet.

D. Robots have completely replaced humans in some factories.

第18題：What will play the biggest part in the quality of future life?

A. medicine B. technology C. education D. agriculture

第19題：From the passage we can infer that by 2050 .

A. people will spend less time in studying

B. more and more people needn’t go to school

C. people will have more time to relax or rest

D. no patients will be found in the world