They are brothers, but they have nothing _____ common.

A. in 　 　 B. on　　 C. with 　 D. for

 

Are animal brains too simple for thoughts and choices? Stories about animal kindness have really changed my point of view. In fact, some stories are amazing, especially when animals are meeting with people. Here are two stories that interest me.

  James, a wildlife writer, told a story that an African woman had placed her baby in the shade of a tree while she was working. An elephant group walked by and saw the baby. Several elephants pulled leafy branches from the tree covered the sleeping baby. Flies can be a problem in Africa and the branches protected the baby from the flies. The elephants were so gentle and quiet that they did not even wake up the baby. Then the elephants walked away.

  An English magazine offers another story. Bill, a cat, stayed at home while its master was away on a trip, but the man was injured in a railway accident and died a few days later in a hospital. At the funeral, the Man’s brother was surprised to see that Bill was there. The faithful cat had traveled a long way to the hospital, looked at the coffin(棺材)， and then sadly returned home.

  Humans are only one part of the earth. The beautiful flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horses and the great eagles, these are our brothers. The sky and mountains, the cows and men, all belong to the same family. These stories, I hope, will inspire more people to treat animals as our friends rather than pets or our next meal.

57. What did the author used to believe?

A. people meet with animals often.

B. Animals brains are too simple to make choices.

C. We should change our old views about animals.

D. Animals stories have many amazing facts

58. What did the elephants do when they saw the baby?

A. they woke up the baby by pulling branches.

B. They helped to protect it from the flies.

C. They walked away by doing nothing.

D. They ate some branches and walked away.

59. Though it is a long way to travel, the faithful cat managed to ____?

A. appear at its master’s funeral.  B. catch up with his master on his trip

C. see its master’s brother.       D. see it master die in an accident.

60. Why does the author write this passage?

A. He wants to make animals become our sisters and brothers.

B. He wants to inspire more people to treat animals as friends.

C. He wants to warn people against having more food or pets.

D. He wants to make readers know the elephants and the cat.

It’s all hot air!

For hundreds of year, human beings have been deeply interested in the idea of flying, but it was only in the eighteenth century that a piece of practical equipment was designed to achieve this aim. The French brothers Montgolfier observed that paper bags filled with smoke tended to rise. From these small beginnings, they developed the first hot air balloon, and the first manned balloon flight took place at Versailles in 1783.

Almost at once, ballooning became very popular, but it was the gas balloon which became more widely used than the hot air balloon. The gas balloon in turn was replaced by the airship, which gave way to the more reliable aeroplane at the beginning of the twentieth century. But the hot air balloon never died out completely, and during the 1960’s, using new materials and a safer method of producing hot air, it actually took off again.

By the 1980’s, marketing managers had realized that balloons made wonderful advertising boards and soon the skies were full of brightly colored and excitingly shaped advertisements for everything from butter to shoes.

Ballooning is an uncertain activity. Take-off is entirely determined by the local weather conditions. “Safety first!” is the strict rule and pilots who ignore it have short flying careers. Preparing the balloon for flight needs teamwork. The same team will follow the balloon as it flies in order to get it back when it lands, and no one is sure where the balloon will land exactly. The pilot carries out a last-minute check before flying and briefs the passengers. Nothing should be forgotten, as important objects left on the ground are difficult to pick up from 300 meters.

The flight itself takes place silently, interrupted by the very loud noise from the gas burner as more hot air is put into the balloon envelope. Soon, even nervous passengers begin to enjoy the feeling of floating gently over the countryside, admiring the interesting patterns of roads and fields below. There is a feeling that problems have been left behind on the ground. There is a sense of freedom.

Landing can sometimes be uncomfortable, depending on wind speed and ground, but as long as the passengers hold on tight and stay in the basket, there is little danger of injury and every chance that they will want to repeat the experience.

1．Which of the following is correct according to the order of their appearance in history?

       A．hot air balloon, gas balloon, aircraft, airship

       B．hot air balloon, gas balloon, airship, aircraft

       C．gas balloon, hot air balloon, airship, aeroplane

       D．gas balloon, hot air balloon, aeroplane, airship

2．According to the article, balloons are used for ________.

       A．advertising and education                      B．competition and transporting goods

       C．entertainment and scientific research      D．entertainment and promoting products

3．What can we know from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4?

       A．People are not sure of where the balloon will land.

       B．It’s necessary to get well prepared before the flight.

       C．It’s important to take as few things as possible to fly.

       D．People should be informed how high the balloon will rise.

4．What does the author think of traveling in a hot air balloon?

       A．Dangerous.      B．Frightening.      C．Enjoyable. D．comfortable.

Why should I teach my children history? That sounds like a stupid question to even ask. But, as I hear different home schooling teachers discuss history, I get the idea that there may be different reasons for teaching history. Let me briefly explain the three good reasons for studying history and two bad reasons for studying history.

   The major reason I see for studying history is that we can learn from the past. I am convinced that the world would be a much better place if more people understood the successes and failures of the past and the things that made these successes and failures. However, as the unfortunately true statement goes "the one thing we seem to learn from history is that we don't seem to learn from history." Perhaps at least in teaching history, to my children I can do a small part in changing this.

   A second major reason for studying history is that it is hard to understand the current political climate in the absence of an understanding of its historical context. We can not even understand why we are and where we are without history, much less (更不必说) try to figure out where we are going or how we should get where we want to be.

   I teach my children history, for one more reason. I purchased a set of historical audio (录音机) tapes for our children. My seven-year-old son listened to them over and over. It was my hope that he would become inspired by the accomplishments of people like the Wright brothers to accomplish things by himself. I think that it is good that we celebrate the accomplishments of people like Martin Luther King Jr. if, in doing so, young people are called on to stand for the principles that he stood for and accomplish what he accomplished. I also think that by studying people like Adolph Hitler, people can learn to stand against the things that he stood for.

16. The main purpose of this passage is to __________.

   A. instruct the parents how to teach their children history

   B. show the importance of history in politics

   C. explain the reasons why children study history

   D. introduce the writer’s own way of teaching history

17. What’s the meaning of the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2?

   A. Many people aren't clever enough to learn well from the past.

   B. Many people fail to make good use of history and make the same mistakes.

   C. Many people feel it hard to understand history.

D. Many people have no interest in studying history.

18. Which of the following is not the reason for studying history according to the author?

   A. One can learn from history in order not to make the same mistakes.

   B. It can help us to understand the current political climate.

   C. Without history, one can be nothing but a fool in every aspect.

D. One can know the principle of doing something and not doing something.

19. Some positive historical figures are mentioned in the last paragraph to show __________.

   A. people can be inspired to do good, while also learning to fight against evil

   B. people may also learn from bad historical figures

   C. more celebrations should be held to honor their achievements

   D. today’s people can also achieve what they achieved

20. What would be talked about in the following paragraph?

   A. How to teach history effectively.

   B. Some negative reasons for studying history.

   C. How to get more people to study history.

   D. Some bad historical figures.