A turkey named Courage gave thanks to President Obama for saving his life on the day before Thanksgiving. Honouring a 62-year-old tradition, the President pardoned(赦免)the bird on Thanksgiving eve.
The tradition of a turkey pardon at Thanksgiving began with President Truman in 1947. Courage comes from Ellsworth, Iowa. The name Courage was chosen by voters (投票人)who took part in a survey posted on the White House website. The lucky turkey walked on the lawn of the Rose Garden and posed for the cameras at the presidential podium(讲台).
The dinner that has become known as the First Thanksgiving was actually a harvest festival celebrated in December of 1621. That’s when English settlers in Plymouth, Massachusetts, gave thanks for the progress they had made after a hard winter in their new country. As America grew, Thanksgiving customs also spread and got bigger. George Washington declared that the first national Thanksgiving would be on November 26, 1789. In the decades to follow, however, people celebrated Thanksgiving locally, with no official date. President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November 1863 a national day of Thanksgiving. It stayed that way until 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it one week earlier. He wanted to lengthen the shopping period before Christmas to encourage gift-buyers and to help businesses. So Congress（议会） ruled that, after 1941, Thanksgiving would be an official federal holiday falling on the fourth Thursday of November.
This year we celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday, November. Millions of Americans got together to give thanks with friends and family. The lucky turkey, Courage, was one of them. After his pardon, Courage would be sent to Disneyland Resort in California, where he would be the grand assemble of Disney’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.【小题1】That the turkey Courage was pardoned was decided by ________.
| A．George Bush | B．Congress |
| C．President Truman | D．the public |
【小题2】 The first Thanksgiving Day was held to ________.| A．celebrate the harvest of British settlers |
| B．celebrate the progress of Americans |
| C．encourage the struggle with British settlers |
| D．celebrate the joy of all Americans after a hard winter |
【小题3】 We can infer(推断)from the passage that ________.| A．President Obama pardoned a turkey before Thanksgiving because of the economic crisis |
| B．the turkey named Courage was pardoned by President Roosevelt before Thanksgiving |
| C．the pardoned turkey walked on the lawn of the Rose Garden on Thanksgiving eve |
| D．the pardoned turkey will appear in a celebrating parade of Thanksgiving Day |
科目：初中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Teens Enjoy Reading
According to a survey on reading conducted by the U.S. National Education Association (NEA), young Americans say reading is important—more important than computers and science. Over 50% of the twelve to eighteen years old children interviewed said they enjoy reading a lot. Seventy-nine percent find it stimulating and interesting, and 87% think it is relaxing. Most of those surveyed (68%) disagree with the opinion that reading is boring, or old-fashioned.
Teens Read Variety of Material
Over half the teenagers interviewed said they read more than ten books a year. The results also showed that middle school students read more books than high school students. Most teens (66%) like to read fiction, such as novels and stories. Only 26% were interested in non-fiction, such as biographies and history books. Sixty-four percent of students liked reading ‘stories about people of my own age’ as their favorite topic. Mysteries and detective stories came second on the list at 53%. Just under 50% said they were interested in reading about their own culture and heritage.
Other Interests
Of the teenagers who took part in the survey, 49% said that libraries are where they get most of their books. However, many complained that their school libraries do not have enough up-to-date, interesting books and magazines. Even though many teenagers in the U.S. enjoy reading, they still have other interests. When asked which activity would be the most difficult to give up for a week, 48% said listening to music. TV would be difficult to give up for 25% of those surveyed.
____
Another survey which is published by www. SmartGirl.com studied the differences between teenage boys’ and girls’ reading habits. According to the report, more girls than boys read for fun. Many more girls (77%) than boys (6%) read fashion and beauty magazines. More boys (47%) than girls (7%) read magazines about video games, but an equal number of each like to read adventure stories and newspapers. Girls also read more material about celebrities and social issues such as crime, drugs, or poverty. Boys, on the other hand, read more about sports.
【小题1】Most teens enjoy reading______.
| A．history books | B．novels and stories |
| C．about their own culture | D．about science |
| A．reading books | B．watching TV |
| C．reading magazines | D．listening to music |
| A．Teens’ Reading Habit | B．Another Survey about Teens |
| C．Boys’ and Girls’ Interests | D．Boys’ and Girls’ Habits Differ |
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科目：初中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Astronauts, people who fly into space, need special training. First they go to Houston, Texas. That is the home of the Johnson Space Centre. There they are tested to see how strong and smart they are.
One of the first tests is for the heart. The people walk or run, then the space doctors see how fast their hearts are beating.
Another important test is performed. In this test the person must curl（蜷曲）his body up in a ball. When he is in that position, he is put into a round cloth bag. The doctors give him no idea how long he will have to stay in the bag. If a spaceship broke down in space, the astronauts would get into bags like this. Then they would have to wait and curl up in darkness, until help could arrive. You can see that an astronaut must not be afraid of tight space or darkness.
After the tests, only the best people are chosen to start astronaut training in a training centre. The astronauts in training learn many other things. They learn how to jump out of a moving airplane. They learn to how to blow up a lifeboat and get into it while they are in the ocean. The astronauts also have to learn how to get lifted out of the ocean by helicopter（直升机）. That may look fun, but it can be dangerous.
After they finish training, the astronauts continue to work. They stay in good shape by running and doing exercise. They read about their special jobs. In that way they can learn new facts about space travel.
Then the big day comes. The astronaut is told to go to work on a flight into space. The crew members（全体船员）get to know each other first. Then they can learn which job each will do.
【小题1】The astronauts don’t know how long they will stay in the bag in the test because ________________.
| A．the doctors need to know how strong they are |
| B．the astronauts need to show how smart they are |
| C．good astronauts mustn’t be afraid of darkness or tight space |
| D．nobody knows when help will come if the spaceship breaks down |
| A．walk or run in space | B．jump out of the moving plane |
| C．blow up a lifeboat | D．get lifted out of water by helicopter |
| A．a, b, c, d, e | B．d, a, e, b, c | C．b, a, d, c, e | D．c, d, e, b, a |
| A．After the tests, only the best people are chosen to start astronaut training in a training centre. |
| B．The crew members get to know each other after the tests. |
| C．One of the first tests is for the heart. |
| D．An astronaut must not be afraid of tight space or darkness. |
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科目：初中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
It is 40 meters long and 6 meters wide. This must be the biggest bus you have ever seen. It can carry 1,200 to 1,400 people.
It is China’s new Super Bus. It went for a test run in Beijing. Some other cities are also interested in running the Super Bus. They hope it can solve traffic problems.
The Super Bus runs along *fixed tracks. The bus sits on top of two2.2-meter-tall legs. The legs have wheels at one end. Small cars can drive under the bus, so the Super Bus does not take up road space.
The bus runs on *electricity and *solar power. It can travel up to 60 km every hour. Its creator, Song Youzhou, says it can reduce a lot of traffic *jams.
The Super Bus can do the work of 40 buses. In that way, it can save 860 tons of *fuel every year, according to Song.
‘ Building a Super Bus and its track costs less than building subways. Subways are nearly ten times more expensive to build. ’ Song says.
Some people worry that the Super Bus may not be safe. However, Song says there’s no need to worry about that. The Super Bus has *laser *scanners between its legs. The scanners make sure the cars keep a safe distance.
【小题1】The Super Bus can carry ___________people.
| A． 1,300 | B． 1,500 |
| C． 1,700 | D． 1,900 |
| A．Take the place of small cars |
| B．Solve traffic problems |
| C．Increase the speed |
| D．Reduce car accidents |
| A．The bus doesn’t take up road space |
| B．The bus can do the work of 40 buses |
| C．The bus is very easy to build and drive |
| D．The bus can save a lot of energy every year |
| A．the bus is tall enough |
| B．the road is wide enough |
| C．the bus travels up to 60 km per hour |
| D．there are laser scanners between its legs |
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科目：初中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Halloween falls on October 31st. It is one of the most favourite holidays for children in the USA. People dress up in costumes (化妆服装) like a witch (巫婆), a ghost （鬼）or a skeleton （枯髅）. The children go to houses to say “Trick or treat!” Long ago, if a child was not good, he or she would get a trick like having a stone in his or her bag instead of some candy. Nowdays, no one gets tricks. All the children receive lots and lots of candy. Parties are also popular in the evening. People go to parties in costumes and play different games. People also like listening to ghost stories and watching scary (恐怖的) movies.【小题1】 What do you know about Halloween?【小题2】 How do people celebrate Halloween?【小题3】 Who go to houses to say “Trick or treat!”【小题4】 Which do children receive nowadays, stone or candy?【小题5】 What else do people do besides going to parties and playing different games?
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科目：初中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Have you ever seen a horse with toes? Millions of years ago, horses had many toes. They had four toes on each front foot. They had three toes on each back foot. The horses were smaller than cats.
These small horses lived in the forest. Their many toes helped the horses run over the soft wet ground.
It was very hot in the forest. But the weather changed. It became cold. Many trees couldn’t live in cold weather. The trees died and fell. Forests became open field. The sun made the ground dry and hard. Horses began to change too. They began to get bigger. This took a long time. On the dry hard land, horses needed only their middle toes for running. At last their middle toes became hard.
【小题1】Long ago, the horse had four toes on each of its __________.
| A．back feet | B．front feet | C．right feet | D．left feet |
| A．as big as | B．smaller than | C．bigger than | D．as small as |
| A．many trees grew well in cold weather |
| B．animals began to change too |
| C．cats were older than the horses |
| D．horses were the same as they are |
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科目：初中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
【小题1】The people in needn’t go to work on Fridays.
| A．Canada | B．Scotland | C．Japan | D．Egypt |
| A．11:00a.m | B．2:00 p.m. | C．12:30 p.m. | D．4:00 a.m. |
| A．having lessons | B．sleeping | C．watching TV | D．playing games |
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科目：初中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
American schools begin in September after a long summer holiday.There are two terms in a school year,the first term is from September to January,and the second is from February to June.Most American children begin to go to school when they are five years old.Most students are seventeen or eighteen years old when they finish high school.
High school students take only four or five subjects(科目)each term.They usually go to the same class every day,and they have homework for every class.After class they do many interesting things.After high school,many students go to college.They can go to a small one or a large one.They usually have to give a lot of money.So many college students work after class to get the money for their studies.
【小题1】Most American children go to school when they are _________ years old
| A．four. | B．five . | C．six. | D．seven . |
| A．do a lot of homework. | B．do many interesting things. |
| C．often sing songs. | D．do lots of reading. |
| A．begin to work. | B．stay at home. | C．go to college. | D．visit their friends. |
| A．they want to get some money for their studies . |
| B．they don' t have anything to do . |
| C．their parents ask them for money. |
| D．their teachers ask them to do so . |
| A．January | B．September. | C．February | D．July |
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