The size and shape（外形）of your ears show your character（性格）more than any other part of the face. Other parts of the face change shapes as we get older，but ears do not change their shapes. They only change in size.

Reading people’s character from their ears is a very old science. In the past people thought that a person’s ears with colour was dangerous. They also thought that the shape of the ears showed if a person was musical or not. Today，too，many people believe that the size and shape of the ears help you know if a person is musical.

Ears are all different，and each different thing has a meaning. Next time you look at a person，see if his or her ears are large，medium-size，or small. Look at the lobes（耳垂）.Do they stick to the face? Ears that are always red mean that a person may get angry easily. Ears that are always cold and  nearly white colour mean that a person has a nervous（神经质）character.

1. Reading people’s character from their ears is____________ .

A．only for music      B．an old idea   C．very new     D．a good way to talk with others

2. When a baby is born,___________ .

A．his / her ears are red               B．his / her ears will not change all the life

C．his / her ears will not change in shape  D．he / she will get large ears

3. When one’s ears are red，it means_____________ .

A．he is a kind man                B．he is very happy

C．he may get angry easily              D．he drinks too much

4. Which may be the best title of the article?___________.

A.Looking at a person in the right way.    B.Ears and colours.

C.The change of ears.                   D.Ears and characters

5.If you look at someone’s ears，the right way is____________  .

A．to look at his face，ears and nose     

B．to look at the size，colour，and shape

C．to look at his mouth，eyes and nose                

D．to look at the hair，eyes and colour[

 

In Chicago, a computerized system has been developed that controls(管理)traffic on the city’s 235 miles of seven expressways. Now one—a controller—can follow the movement of Chicago’s traffic by looking at a set of lights. The system uses electric sensors(感应器) that are built into each expressway, every half a mile. Several times a second, the computer receives information from each sensor and translates it into green, yellow or red lights on a map in the control room. A green light means traffic is moving forty-five miles an hour, yellow means thirty to forty-five miles an hour, and red means heavy traffic—cars standing still or moving less than thirty miles an hour.

  “See that red light near Austin Avenue?”the controller asked a visitor.“That’s a repair truck fixing the road, and the traffic has to go around it.”At the Roosevelt Road entrance to the expressway, the light kept changing from green to red and back to green again.“A lot of trucks get on the expressway there,”the controller explained.“They can’t speed up as fast as cars.”The sensors show immediately where an accident or a stopped car is blocking the traffic, and a truck is sent by radio to clear the road. The system has lowered the number of accidents by 18 percent. There are now 1.4 deaths on Chicago’s expressway for each one hundred million miles traveled, while in other parts of the county there are 2.6.

  Traffic experts say that the Chicago system is the “coming thing”.Systems like Chicago’s are already in use on some expressways in Los Angeles and Houston.“Chicago has taken the lead,”said New York City’s traffic director and he added,“Chicago’s a good example.”

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并在答题卡上按要求作答。

1.The passage is mainly about ________ on expressways in Chicago.

  A. the traffic control system                  B. the movement of the traffic

  C. the electric sensors                       D. the traffic lights

2.When the cars move under 30 miles an hour, ________ on the map in the control room.

A. the red light appears                      B. the red light turns yellow

C. the yellow light appears                   D. the green light turns red

3. According to the passage, we may learn __________.

  A. some visitors are traveling on the expressway

  B. there is no heavy traffic on Chicago’s expressways

  C. the traffic on Chicago’s expressways is well managed

  D. the number of accidents in the US has dropped by 18%

4.In Paragraph 2 the underlined word “it” refers to ___________.

  A. the red light                       B. the truck that needs repairing

  C. the traffic                         D. the truck that is fixing the road

5.The writer writes the article mainly by _________.

  A. giving reasons and results           B. giving examples and explaining them

  C. describing what he thinks          D. asking and answering questions

 

There are about fifteen hundred languages in the world. But only a few of them are very important. English is one of them. Many, many people use it, not only in England and the USA, but also in other parts of the world. About 200,000,000 people speak it as their own language. It is difficult to say how many people are learning it as a foreign language. Many millions of people are trying to do so. Is it easy or difficult to learn English? Different people may have different answers. Have you ever noticed ads(广告) of this kind in the newspapers or magazines? “Learn English in six weeks, or give your money back…” “Easy and funny…” “Our records and tapes help you master English in a month”. Of course, it never happened quite like that.

The only language that seems easy to learn is the mother tongue. We should remember that we all learned our own language well when we were children. If we could learn English in the same way, it would not seem so difficult. Think of what a small child does. He listens to what people say. He tries what he hears.

So it is hard to say that learning English is easy. We must do a lot of practice. And practice needs great efforts and takes much time. Good teachers, record, tapes, books, and dictionaries will be helpful, but they cannot do the student’s work for him.

1.How many languages are very important in the world?

A．A few

B．Few

C．About 1500

D．Many

2.If we want to learn English well, what shall we do?

A．We should study it without any help.

B．We must do a lot of practice.

C．We need to get much money back.

D．We must live in England or America.

3.How does the writer like the ads in the newspapers or magazines?

A．He thinks the ads very expensive.

B．He thinks the ads are true.

C．It never happened quite like what the ads said.

D．He believes” Learn English in six weeks, or give your money back”.

4.Which language is easy to learn?

A．English	B．Chinese
C．Japanese	D．The mother language

5.Which countries use English as the mother tongue?

A．China and France	B．Japan and Italy
C．England the America	D．Germany and France

 

         Who hasn’t enjoyed eating peanuts? Did you know that although peanuts look like nuts and taste like nuts, they aren’t nuts at all? They belong to the pea family, so they are called peanuts. The peanut grows flowers above ground, but its “fruit” grows underground. It grows in more countries than most other “nuts”.
The peanut is a native South American plant. Scientists believe that it grew wild in Brazil long ago. They think that for several thousand years the early peoples of South America made it a part of their diet. These peoples were nomads who moved on when a natural food could no longer be found in one area. Along the way they probably let fall some peanuts, which got into the ground and grew. This is believed to be the way the plant reached the place where the Incas（印加人）lived. The Incas, from about 1100 to 1532, thought highly of peanuts. The peanuts were eaten in several forms and used as sacrificial offerings（祭品）to the Incan Sun God. Later in the 16^th century, European soldiers had brought peanuts to other parts of the world, including North America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Pacific Islands.
Although peanuts were found native in South America, they are now grown in almost every country that has warm weather. India produces the most peanuts. China’s production is next, followed by the United States.
The peanut is special in more ways than one. It can be eaten raw, boiled, roasted, or fried. Hundreds of widely different products have been made from it. Carver, an American scientist, set himself the task of discovering new uses for eating and for many other products.
Peanuts are very highly nutritious and are also high in protein （蛋白质）. Americans use about seven-tenths of their protein in the form of meat. In India, where the poor can’t pay for meat or milk, peanut meal and peanut milk have been produced. These have been a great help to the poor.
New products are continually being made from peanuts, among them peanut cheese and a powder that becomes peanut butter when water is added. The fact is that peanuts are so healthy that they were used by astronauts. The unusual nut that isn’t a nut is one of nature’s most amazing gifts.
【小题1】 Although we like eating peanuts, many of us don’t know peanuts belong to _______ family.

A．the pea

B．the nut

C．both the pea and the nut

D．neither the pea nor the nut

【小题2】 Which paragraph（段落）mainly talks about the history of the peanut?

A．Paragraph Four	B．Paragraph Three
C．Paragraph Two	D．Paragraph One

【小题3】What does the underlined word nutritious mean?

A．Helpful for staying healthy.	B．Helpful to the poor.
C．Delicious and tasty.	D．Rich in fat and oil.

【小题4】 Which of the following is TRUE according to the article?

A．Nomads always stayed in the same place.

B．The peanut was first found in South America.

C．Astronauts ate lots of peanuts to keep healthy.

D．China grows fewer peanuts than the US.

【小题5】What is the purpose of the article?

A．To show that peanuts belong to the pea family.

B．To advise us to use more peanut products.

C．To tell us some new uses of peanuts.

D．To let us know more about peanuts.

Wood-block printing was invented sometime between the 4th and the 7th c 【小题1】 in Chi­na. The earliest book that we have was p 【小题2】 in 868 and was found in a Dunhuang cave. Wood-block printing took a long time because a new block was needed for every p【小题3】 in z book. By the 1 Ith century printed books could be f 【小题4】all over China. They included books of Confucius' thoughts, dictionaries, and books on maths. In 1340, books could be printed u-sing two c  【小题5】 , black and red.
A 【小题6】 the Chinese learnt about printing so early, printing was not introduced in other parts of the world for hundreds of years. It is thought that when the great Italian traveler Marco Polo visited China in the 13th century, he s 【小题7】printed books. It is possible that Marco Po­lo brought that k 【小题8】 to Europe. But printed books did not come to Europe u 【小题9】1450 when a German called Johann Gutenberg i 【小题10】 a printing machine. Twenty-four years later, in 1474, an Englishman called William Caxton printed the first printed book in English. His second book was about the game of chess. Caxton printed about a hundred books, and some can still be found today in museums.