King Akbar was in the habit of putting riddles and puzzles to his people. He often asked ___36___ which were strange. His people had to use words in a ___37___ way to answer these questions.
Once Akbar asked a very strange question. He looked at his people. ___38___ he looked, one by one the heads began to hang low in search of an answer. It was at this moment that Bridal entered the palace. Birbal ___39___ the habit of the king. He understood the ___40___ at once and asked, “May I know the question so that I can ____41___ for an answer?”
Akbar said, “How many crows(乌鸦) are there in the city?”
___42___ even a moment’s thought, Birbal replied, “There are fifty thousand five hundred and eighty nine crows, My Lord.”
“How can you be so ___43____?” asked Akbar.
Birbal said, “Make your men ___44___, My Lord. If you find more crows it means some have come to visit their relatives(亲戚) here. If you find ___45___ crows it means some have gone to visit their relatives somewhere else.”
Akbar was pleased very much by Birbal’s wise answer.

小题1:	A．questions B．help C．promises D．advice

小题2:	A．common B．friendly C．clever D．silent

小题3:	A．Though B．Because C．If D．As

小题4:	A．knew B．developed C．hated D．doubted

小题5:	A．order B．information C．danger D．situation

小题6:	A．ask B．wait C．try D．reach

小题7:	A．before B．without C．Through D．In

小题8:	A．smart B．brave C．funny D．sure

小题9:	A．catch B．discuss C．count D．visit

小题10:

A．fewer B．larger C．faster D．older

Imagine the situation. You are driving along a desert or on a mountain. You have no idea where you are. You passed the last house two hours ago. Then your car breaks down. It is night and it is cold. You have no mobile phone. What do you do? Well, next time take a GPS with you. This invention may be able to help you. It is a device(装置) which uses satellites (卫星) to find the user’s position(位置). It can find your position to within 20 metres. A GPS cannot start your car, but at least you will know where you are.
GPS, which means Global Positioning System, is a small radio receiver. It looks like a mobile phone. You can hold it in your hand, or put in your pocket. It is sometimes put into a watch or a telephone. We also find GPS devices in cars, planes, or boats. Some of these devices have electronic maps, so you know where you are. For example, in a city they can tell you the name of the street.
There are three parts to the Global Positioning System. The first part is the receiver. You can hold it in your hand, or have it fixed into your car, plane, etc. The second part is a group of satellites orbiting the Earth. The receiver contacts at least four of the satellites and calculates(计算) its position. The third part of the system is a network of ground stations. They are all over the world. They control the satellites and make sure they are working well.
Some people think that in the future the GPS will be as common as the mobile. They are becoming cheaper and more and more accurate(精确的). There are also new uses for the GPS. Perhaps they will become like watches. Everyone will have one and you will never be lost again.
小题1:According to the passage, with the help of the GPS, people __________.

A．can’t be lost in a new city

B．can’t find their way in different countries

C．can learn about the culture of an unknown place

D．can spend the least time getting to another place

小题2:We can learn from the passage that ____________.

A．there are three parts to the GPS

B．a GPS can’t be put into a watch

C．a GPS can help you start your car

D．the GPS are becoming more and more expensive

小题3:The underlined word “They” in paragraph 3 means “____________”.

A．Receivers

B．GPS devices

C．Satellites

D．Ground stations

小题4:The passage is mainly about _______________.

A．the history of the GPS	B．the introduction of the GPS
C．the shape of the GPS	D．the three parts of the GPS

小题5:What can we infer(推断) from the passage?

A．All GPS devices have electronic maps.

B．People in many countries will use the GPS for free.

C．The receiver of the GPS contacts at least five of the satellites.

D．The GPS will become more and more common in everyday life.

Everything that humans hear is in the form of waves (波).Just as the eye sees light wares in the form of colors, the ear and the eye Curs these different waves into signals that the brain (大脑) can make sense of.
The ears and brain have an Amazing amities to recognize（识别）particular sounds. For example, a mother often can tell when her baby is crying even if there are other crying babies in the same room. This is because the sound of her baby’s cry has special meaning to her and the brain has recorded is importance.
The ability to recognize sounds improves with experiences. As the brain receives information about sounds from day to day, it stores the information in its memory. When the brain hears new sounds, it gives meaning to them based on the information already in the memory. This is why certain words or songs can make a person happy. Often it is not the words or songs themselves that cause this feeling. The sounds are connected to happy memories for that person.
After hearing process controlled by the brain is to decide where a sound is coming from. One ear is usually closer to the source (来源) of a sound than the other ear is. Sound waves are stronger when they reach the ear that is closer. They also reach the closer ear first. The brain recognizes these differences and uses them to decide the location of the source of the sound.
小题1:Which of the following shows the normal hearing process of a mother hearing her baby crying?
a. The ears receive the sound waves.
b. The mother recognizes her baby’s cry.
c. The ears turn the sound waves into signals.
d. The baby’s cry ravels in the form of sound waves
e. The brain connects the signals to the information in me memory.

A．d-a-c-b-e

B．d-a-c-e-b

C．a-d-c-b-e

D．a-d-c-e-b

小题2: Certain words or songs can change tarpon’s moods mainly because of his         .

A．lifestyle

B．personality

C．experiences

D．hobbies

小题3:According to the last paragraph, It will be the most difficult for a person who has lost the hearing in one ear to tell         .

A．where the source of a sound is	B．how loud a sound is
C．when a sound starts to appear	D．what makes a sound

小题4:What is the best title for this passage?

A．Human Brain’s Amazing Facts

B．Human Hearing Characteristics

C．How to improve Hearing

D．How Do Humans Hear

When you look up into the sky at night, have you ever felt that your eyes are playing tricks on (捉弄) you? It seems that the stars are moving all the time.
Actually, there is nothing wrong with your eyes. This twinkling effect is called scintillation (交光). Scintillation happens because of air movements in the earth’s atmosphere (大气). Light is “bent (弯曲的)” when it travels through different parts of the earth’s atmosphere. As the air in the earth’s atmosphere is moving all the time, the light from the stars looks as if it is moving too.
The same thing also happens to things on the ground. On a very hot and shiny day, if you look at the road, the image in the distance is not clear and things move slightly. You can also see the same effect if you drop a rock into water. The rock appears a little unclear under the moving water.
This twinkling effect causes a lot of problems for astronomers (天文学家) since they cannot observe the stars clearly. A telescope (望远镜) was sent into space so that the air movements in the atmosphere could be avoided (避免). It took a long time to build the space telescope but finally in 1990, a huge space telescope called the Hubble Space Telescope was successfully sent into space. Since then, astronomers have many important observations that have helped people understand space better.
根据短文内容，选择最佳选项。 （10分）
小题1:What happens to the light from the stars we see when the air in the earth’s atmosphere is moving?

A．It looks even brighter.

B．It looks as if it is bent.

C．It looks as if it is moving.

D．It looks like drops of rain.

小题2:Scintillation also happens on 　　　　 according to the passage.

A．rainy days	B．shiny days
C．cloudy days	D．windy days

小题3:What can you see when you drop a rock into the water?

A．The rock gets broken.

B．The rock becomes unclear.

C．The water becomes much polluted.

D．The water does not move anymore.

小题4:The underlined word “observe” means “　　　　”.

A．watch

B．listen

C．draw

D．explain

小题5:Why is scintillation a problem for astronomers?

A．The stars never stay still.

B．It makes the stars too dark to see.

C．It makes astronomers feel too hot to work.

D．Astronomers cannot observe the stars clearly.

Should we be afraid of sharks? Maybe not. New research into the reasons for shark attacks (攻击) suggests that sharks don’t like the way humans taste! In fact, most people who are attacked by the shark are still alive after receiving only one bite (咬). Why is this?
There are many opinions to explain why sharks sometimes attack people. One opinion is that sharks are just curious (好奇的). We know that sharks are the strongest animals in their environment, so they are not afraid of anything. Naturally, that means they are curious when they meet something unusual. Because they don’t have hands or feet., the only way they can find out an object is to bite it! It is thought that sharks sometimes bite humans for this reason, and then swim away.
Scientists also say that sharks would not waste energy trying to eat a human, as we have a lot of bones (骨头). It is hard for a shark to eat us because sharks don’t have hands, and they can’t pull the meat off our bones. Maybe that’s why they only bite us once. Unluckily, one bite from a large shark is serious enough to hurt people greatly!
Another opinion is that sharks attack humans by mistake. Some sharks may sometimes mistake humans for a seal. An example of this is when a shark attack attacks a surfer. A surfer lying on a surfboard looks like a seal when seen from below. Sharks like seals because they have thick fat.
Whatever the reason for shark attacks on humans, sharks should be afraid of us. Sadly, we kill almost 40 million of them each year.
小题1:What happens to people attacked by sharks?

A．Most of them because blind.	B．Most of them because of deaf.
C．Most of them died.	D．Most of them are still alive.

小题2:How do sharks find out about an unusual object according to the passage?

A．By biting.	B．By smelling.
C．By touching.	D．By killing.

小题3:Which sentence about sharks is true?

A．Sharks pull meat off bones when they eat.

B．Sharks might mistake humans for seals.

C．Sharks like to attack surfers because of their thick fat.

D．One bite from a shark is nothing serious.

小题4:What would the author write the passage mainly for?

A．To tell surfers to stay away from sharks.

B．To ask people to stop killing sharks.

C．To let us know the reasons for shark attacks on people.

D．To show that humans are much stronger than sharks.

The best thing to start your day is a good breakfast. There are different  36  of breakfasts around the world.
“Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper(穷人).”  37   the old saying tells us, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It   38  us with energy after a long night without food.
If people don’t have breakfast in the morning, they will feel tired and get angry easily. Breakfast helps children stay more focused in school. A study showed that children who eat breakfast regularly score   39  in most subjects.
Breakfast is also important for weight loss. If you have a balanced breakfast, you will eat
  40  throughout the day.
A healthy and   41  breakfast should include some protein(蛋白质) like eggs, milk or a little meat, which makes you energetic all day.
Carbohydrates(碳水化合物)like rice or bread can keep you active. Vegetables and fruit
  42  the vitamins that humans need.
  43  ,in China, breakfast is different from region to region. Porridge with pickles(咸菜),baozi, noodles, soybean milk and youtiao are common throughout the   44  country. Although Western culture has influenced China a lot, most people still  45  traditional Chinese breakfast. They think that porridge and noodles are not only easily digested(消化), but also can provide enough energy in the morning.

小题1:	A．ways B．types C．rules D．methods

小题2:	A．So B．Though C．As D．When

小题3:	A．provides B．gives C．offers D．has

小题4:	A．lower B．less C．higher D．more

小题5:	A．less B．fewer C．more D．much

小题6:	A．experienced B．balanced C．excited D．different

小题7:	A．has B．have C．is D．are

小题8:	A．Therefore B．Thus C．Because D．However

小题9:	A．all B．one C．whole D．total

小题10:

A．dislike B．know C．want D．prefer

It is true that people with better education are usually able to get better paying jobs. In other words, they have more chances to choose a good job while people with little or no education don’t. It seems that the purpose of education is to make people get jobs. But this isn’t accepted by all people.
Some people may think that a person should spend the best years of his life to get education only for a way of living. This was probably one of the earliest reasons of education. In fact, if education is just a way of making a living, people don’t need to spend so much time in school. People can get education for a living in a short time. Subjects like history and geography need not be taught to everyone. Even language and mathematics need not be taught in detail(详细地), either. Here it is clear that education is much more than teaching a man to get a way of living.
Education is well-rounded and it is mainly for improving a man. It is not only to teach him to speak, read and write, but also to develop his creative thinking and other abilities. After that, it is to make him a wise man and thankfully enjoy the achievements of human. Education is to make a man lead a better life. Educated people are expected to be able to listen to good music, read good books, watch plays and most of all take an interest in the world.
I would agree that making a good living is an important reason for education, but certainly not the most important or the main reason.
小题1:People with little education usually ____.

A．spend a long time in school	B．have a good chance to get a job
C．spend the best years to choose jobs	D．have fewer chances to get a good job

小题2:The earliest education was probably to ______.

A．make a man lead a better life	B．teach a man to write and think
C．make people get a way of living	D．teach people to read good books

小题3:The underlined word “well-rounded” in the passage means “_______” in Chinese.

A．圆满的

B．崭新的

C．公平的

D．全面的

小题4:It is expected that educated people will be able to _____.

A．accept education as a way of living

B．take an interest in the whole world

C．develop their abilities to make plays

D．learn subjects like language and math

小题5:The passage mainly tells us that _______.

A．education should make a man improve

B．people can get education in a short time

C．people should be able to get better paying jobs

D．all subjects are so important for a way of living

A group of swans flew down to a beach where a crow(乌鸦) was jumping around. The crow watched them with disdain(鄙视).
“You have no flying skills at all!” he said to the swans. “All you can do is to move your wings. Can you turn over in the air? No, that’s beyond you. Let’s have a flying competition. I’ll show you what real flying is!”
One of the swans, a strong young male, took up the challenge. The crow flew up and began to show his skills. He flew in circles, performed other flying tricks, and then came down and looked proudly at the swan.
Now it was the swan’s turn. He flew up, and began flying over the sea. The crow flew after him, making all kinds of comments(评价) about his flying. They flew on and on till they couldn’t see the land and there was nothing but water on all sides. The crow was making fewer and fewer comments. He was now so exhausted that he found it hard to stay in the air, and had to struggle to keep himself from falling into the water.
The swan pretended(假装) not to notice, and said, “Why do you keep touching the water, brother? Is that another trick?”
“No,” said the crow. He knew he had lost the competition. “I’m in trouble because of my pride! If you don’t help me, I’ll lose my life…”
The swan took pity on him, and took him on his shoulders and flew back to the beach.
小题1:What’s the correct order of the following events?
a. The crow showed off its flying skills.
b. The swan felt pity for the crow and saved it.
c. The crow laughed at the swan’s flying.
d. The crow followed the swan and got into trouble.
e. The crow challenged the swans and a strong young swan accepted it.

A．e, c, d, a, b

B．a, e, c, d, b

C．c, e, a, d, b

D．e, a, d, c, b

小题2:What does the underlined word “exhausted” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Tired.

B．Angry.

C．Frightened.

D．Regretful.

小题3:Why did the crow keep touching the water?

A．It was showing another flying skill.

B．It was struggling to keep itself from falling into the water.

C．It was thirsty and wanted to drink some water.

D．It was enjoying itself by doing so.

小题4:What can we infer(推断) from the passage?

A．The crow didn’t know flying.

B．Flying skills were useless.

C．The swan saved the crow because they were good friends.

D．The swan was better at long-distance flying than the crow.

小题5:What does the story tell us?

A．No pains, no gains.	B．The early bird catches the worm.
C．Pride goes before a fall.	D．Practice makes perfect.

Televisions were among the most talked-about things at CES 2013—the 2013 International Consumer Electronic Show (国际消费类电子产品展销会) last week in Las Vegas, Nevada. They were bigger and better with some of the highest technology (技术). Some TVs used a new technology called OLED. They were bigger, thinner and lighter, offered better colour and were brighter than traditional TVs using LED.
Ultra High Definition TVs were also popular. Most of the TVs shown on the exhibition used 4k technology.
Smart TVs this year were smarter. Many offered technology that users have a more personalized （个性化的）experience. One such TV from TCL can know who is watching with the help of new technology. Then it can offer programmes according to the user’s usual interest. Another TV from Panasonic offers  a similar personalized user experience.
Size also played an important part in CES 2013. TVs changed in size from big to bigger, with at least two companies —Samsung and Hisense —showing TVs that are 110 inches large on the exhibition.
The yearly CES is the biggest technology show in North America and one of the biggest in the world.
It’s a meeting of the brightest minds and the top leaders from many industries and those who want to know about the future.
Digital health and fitness inventions were also big at CES 2013. There was even a fork that tells you when you are eating too fast.
The show had over 3,200 different companies showing more than 20,000new products in about 26 miles of exhibition space.
小题1:Which difference between OLED and LED is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．Weight

B．Colour

C．Size

D．Price

小题2:The writer takes TCL and Panasonic for example to tell us _________.

A．smart TVs were smarter at CES 2013

B．Ultra High Definition TVs were popular at CES 2013

C．size played an important part in CES 2013

D．digital health and fitness inventions were big at CES 2013

小题3:In which kind of the magazine can we probably read this passage?

A．Entertainment

B．Technology

C．Sports

D．Health

小题4:From the passage, we can know __________.

A．CES 2013 has not been held yet

B．TVs at CES 2013 were smaller than before

C．many companies attended CES 2013

D．no leaders from industries appeared at CES 2013

阅读下列短文，根据短文中的信息完成文后表格。在答题卡标有题号的横线上，写出空缺处所填单词的正确形式。（每空一词）
In classroom, your teachers will talk about topics that you are studying. The information they provide will be important for you to know when you take tests. So you must be able to take good written notes from what your teachers say.
Here are the three stages(阶段) of taking notes and what you should do during each stage.
Before Class
Review your notes you have taken before you come to class. This will be good for remembering what was covered. Get you ready to understand new information your teacher will provide.
During Class
Keep your attention on what your teacher is saying and “the signal words” that tell you what your teacher is going to say and it is important to write in your notes. Examples of signal words are “The most important point…” and “Remember that…”. Be sure to include in your notes information that your teacher repeats or writes on the blackboard. Write quickly so that you can include all the important information in your notes. Do this by writing abbreviations such as med for medicine, using symbols such as % for percent, and writing short sentences.
After Class
Rewrite your notes to make them more complete and accurate(准确的) by changing abbreviations into whole words, symbols into words, and shortened sentences into longer sentences. Use them to answer your questions. If necessary, ask your teacher for help.

Taking notes
小题1:	The information that is   小题2:  by the teachers about studying topics is useful for your tests, so it is necessary for you to learn take good notes.
Stages	小题3:  Class	Review the notes you have taken to  小题4: what was covered.  小题5: to understand new information.
	During Class	小题6: to your teacher carefully. Be sure to  小题7: the important points. Write them down   小题8:  .
	After Class	Make your notes more complete and accurate to  小题9: your questions. Ask for your  小题10: help.