How can we explain the popularity of neckties? For years, fashion historians have predicted that men would  45 wearing ties because they seemed to have little or no function. It may be that men to them because  ties As long as world and business. leaders continue to wear ties, the young businessmen will  46  them and ties will remain popular.  47 , neckties do have a different kind of appeal. Neckties cover the buttons of the shirt and emphasize the length of a man’s body. They also 48 color and adornment (装饰)to men’s clothing, which is often plain and serious.
Today, there are tens of thousands’ of designs of ties  49 . There are, ties for special  50 he. am for Valentine’s Day, fireworks for the Fourth of July, and Santa Claus for Christmas. There are ties that tell you about a man’s 51  pictures of tennis rackets, motorcycles, airplanes, fishing rods, or musical instruments, to name a few. There are even ties  for different occupations such as accountants, firefighter/s, and police officers. And 52 ties are becoming ever more popular. You can get ties covered with colorful frogs and bottles of beer.  53 you enjoy rock music, you can even find a tie in the shape of a guitar!
Funny or formal, wide or narrow, it’s  54 that ties are going to be around for a long time.

【小题1】

A．feat B．mind C．forget D．stop

【小题2】

A．help B．trust C．follow D．admire

【小题3】

A．Otherwise B．Therefore C．Instead D．However

【小题4】

A．add B．change C．expose D．deliver

【小题5】

A．valuable B．available C．alternative D．collective

【小题6】

A．places B．ceremonies C．occasions D．people

【小题7】

A．holidays B．images C．possessions D．hobbies

【小题8】

A．formal B．funny C．plain D．traditional

【小题9】

A．If B．Because C．Unless D．Though

【小题10】

You’ve just come home, after living abroad for a few years. Since you’ve been away, has this country changed for the better—or for the worse?

If you’ve just arrived back in the UK after a fortnight’s holiday, small changes have probably surprised you—anything from a local greengrocer suddenly being replaced by a mobile-phone shop to someone in your street moving house.

So how have things changed to people coming back to Britain after seven, ten or even 15 years living abroad? What changes in society can they see that the rest of us have hardly noticed—or now take for granted? To find out, we asked some people who recently returned.

Debi: When we left, Cheltenham, my home town, was a town of white, middle-class families—all very conservative (保守的). The town is now home to many eastern Europeans and lots of Australians, who come here mainly to work in hotels and tourism. There are even several shops only for foreigners.

Having been an immigrant (移民) myself, I admire people who go overseas to find a job. Maybe if I lived in an inner city where unemployment was high, I’d think differently, but I believe foreign settlers have improved this country because they’re more open-minded and often work harder than the natives.

Christine: As we flew home over Britain, both of us remarked how green everything looked. But the differences between the place we’d left behind and the one we returned to were brought sharply into focus as soon as we landed.

To see policemen with guns in the airport for the first time was frightening—in Cyprus, they’re very relaxed—and I got pulled over by customs officers just for taking a woolen sweater with some metal-made buttons out of my case in the arrivals hall. Everyone seemed to be on guard. Even the airport car-hire firm wanted a credit card rather than cash because they said their vehicles had been used by bank robbers.

But anyway, this is still a green, beautiful country. I just wish more people would appreciate what they’ve got. 

1.After a short overseas holiday, people tend to _______.

A．expect small changes

B．notice small changes

C．welcome small changes

D．exaggerate small changes

2.How does Debi look at the foreign settlers?

A．Cautiously.	B．Sceptically.
C．Positively.	D．Critically.

3.When arriving at the airport in Britain, Christine was shocked by _______.

A．the relaxed policemen	B．the messy arrivals hall
C．the bank robbers	D．the tight security

4.Which might be the best title for the passage?

A．Back in Britain.	B．Life in Britain.
C．Britain in Future.	D．Britain in Memory.

 

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

It’s summertime-time once again for mosquitoes to make their appearance. And once they appear, mosquitoes are a total pain. They land on you,  bite you, suck out some blood and leave behind an itchy welt（发痒的红肿）.

  1  Female mosquitoes must find blood in order to reproduce, so mosquitoes come equipped with finely tuned sensors to help them locate the blood they need.

Mosquitoes’ weapons

Mosquitoes have perfected three different types of sensors. First, mosquitoes can sense several different chemicals. Mosquitoes can smell carbon dioxide and lactic acid（乳酸）up to 100 feet away.   2 

Second, mosquitoes have very good eyesight. If you are wearing clothing that contrasts with the background, and if you move while wearing that clothing, mosquitoes can see you. It’s a good bet that anything moving is alive, and therefore full of blood.

Finally, mosquitoes come equipped with temperature sensors, so they can find warm-blood mammals and birds very easily.

  3  The female mosquito sticks her proboscis（喙）into you. She sucks about five microliters of your blood into her abdomen.

After she has bitten you, some saliva（唾液）remains in the wound.   4  The area swells and you tich. Eventually, the selling goes away, but the itch remains until your immune cells break down the saliva proteins.

Our defense methods

Because mosquitoes are both a nuisance（讨厌的东西） and a danger, people prefer to stay away from mosquitoes. One way to do that is to use a chemical called DEET, which seems to black a mosquito’s chemical sensors.   5  In some cities there are even trucks that drive around town to spray for mosquitoes. Finally there are to traps. The most popular traps turn propane（丙烷） into carbon dioxide and warmth to attract mosquitoes. Over time, by catching large numbers of mosquitoes, these traps can cause the collapse of the mosquito population in the area.

A．Another way to control mosquitoes is with insecticides（杀虫剂） that kill them.

B．How mosquitoes work is unknown to most of us.

C．Once a mosquito lands on you, it is time to bite.

D．Some bites of mosquitoes are more serious than you thought.

E. Mammals and birds give off these gases as part of their normal breathing.

F. The proteins from the saliva create an immune response from your body.

G. But if you ignore the fact that mosquitoes are so annoying they really are amazing.

 

Do you know about a series of books that say they are “for dummies”？ These American self?help books have been translated into more than thirty nine languages including Chinese，Arabic，Russian，French，German，Greek and Spanish.

“Dummy” is a word for a stupid person.The dummies books are not really for stupid people.They are designed to show people how to do something they may never have tried before，like painting a house or learning a language.The books all say in a funny way that they are for dummies，such as World History for Dummies，Rabbits for Dummies，Chinese Cooking for Dummies，and Wedding Planning for Dummies.The first such book，DOS for Dummies，was published in 1991.It helped people learn how to use the DOS operating system for computers.Since then，more than one hundred fifty million dummies books have been sold.

The dummies.com website explains the idea behind the books.It says that they show people can be taught to do anything.First they can make fun of ideas that are difficult to understand.Then they show how the information can be interesting and easy.The publishers say that the books do not provide more information than necessary.They give readers just enough information to do what they want.They say that the dummies books give the best and easiest way to do something.And the books use simple and easy language.

There are more than one thousand different dummies books.A report in New York Times says that the top-selling dummies books are those that explain technology and personal finance.

The publishers say that the best-selling dummies books are those providing information many people need－like information about diseases，education and cooking.People interested in opera，car repair and wine can also find dummies books to help them.And there are even more dummies books to come.The publishers say that they publish about two hundred new dummies books every year.

1.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A．Books for Dummies

B．The Easiest，the Best

C．Self-Help Books

D．New Ideas behind the Books

2.The dummies books have been popular because ________.

A．they provide just what is needed and are easy to understand

B．they provide abundant information on the concerning subject

C．people can learn to do anything with just one copy

D．people can save lots of money through self-teaching

3.According to New York Times，we know that books on ________ sell best.

A．technology and personal finance

B．opera and car repairing

C．diseases and education

D．cooking and world history

4.What can we learn from the passage?

A．The first dummies book was on Chinese cooking.

B．The dummies books will continue to be popular.

C．Fifty million different dummies books have been published.

D．The simple language was intended for child readers.

 

You’ve just come home, after living abroad for a few years. Since you’ve been away, has this country changed for the better—or for the worse?
If you’ve just arrived back in the UK after a fortnight’s holiday, small changes have probably surprised you—anything from a local greengrocer suddenly being replaced by a mobile-phone shop to someone in your street moving house.
So how have things changed to people coming back to Britain after seven, ten or even 15 years living abroad? What changes in society can they see that the rest of us have hardly noticed—or now take for granted? To find out, we asked some people who recently returned.
Debi: When we left, Cheltenham, my home town, was a town of white, middle-class families—all very conservative (保守的). The town is now home to many eastern Europeans and lots of Australians, who come here mainly to work in hotels and tourism. There are even several shops only for foreigners.
Having been an immigrant (移民) myself, I admire people who go overseas to find a job. Maybe if I lived in an inner city where unemployment was high, I’d think differently, but I believe foreign settlers have improved this country because they’re more open-minded and often work harder than the natives.
Christine: As we flew home over Britain, both of us remarked how green everything looked. But the differences between the place we’d left behind and the one we returned to were brought sharply into focus as soon as we landed.
To see policemen with guns in the airport for the first time was frightening—in Cyprus, they’re very relaxed—and I got pulled over by customs officers just for taking a woolen sweater with some metal-made buttons out of my case in the arrivals hall. Everyone seemed to be on guard. Even the airport car-hire firm wanted a credit card rather than cash because they said their vehicles had been used by bank robbers.
But anyway, this is still a green, beautiful country. I just wish more people would appreciate what they’ve got. 
【小题1】After a short overseas holiday, people tend to _______.

A．notice small changes

B．expect small changes

C．welcome small changes

D．exaggerate small changes

【小题2】 How does Debi look at the foreign settlers?

A．Cautiously.

B．Positively.

C．Sceptically.

D．Critically.

【小题3】When arriving at the airport in Britain, Christine was shocked by _______.

A．the relaxed policemen

B．the messy arrivals hall

C．the tight security

D．the bank robbers

【小题4】Which might be the best title for the passage?

A．Life in Britain.

B．Back in Britain.

C．Britain in Future.

D．Britain in Memory.