Pyramids
    If you go to Egypt, you'll see a lot of pyramids (金字塔). The biggest of all is the Great Pyramid; it is
about 137 meters high and made of 2,300,000 big stones. Each stone weighs about two and a half tons
(吨).The biggest ones even weigh fifteen tons. It took more than 100,000 men twenty years to build it.
Nobody can tell just how the men cut, carried and lifted (举) the huge (巨大) stones without our modern
machines.
    The Egyptian kings (国王) had the pyramids built for them-selves. They thought they had tombs strong
enough to keep their bodies well until they came back to life. But they never thought that about 5,000 years
later their bodies would be on show in museums.

1. Where is the Pyramid?

A. China
B. Japan
C. Egypt
D. England

2. A pyramid is ______.

A. a tomb
B. a huge stone
C. a king's tomb
D. the name of a museum

3. The Great pyramid is about ______ and made of ______ huge stones.

A. 137metres high; 100,000
B. 137highmetres; 2,300,000
C. 137metres; 2,300,000
D. 137 meters high; 2,300,000

4. Pyramids are built for           .

A. the kings
B. the queens (皇后)
C. the king's teachers
D. people

5. The kings had the pyramids built to keep their bodies until ______.

A. they came home
B. they became alive
C. they die
D. they were on show in museums

       Every country has its own (自己的) way of cooking. American people have their way of cooking.
       Most people in the United States like fast food, but if you think that American people don't like cooking, you
are wrong. It's true (真实的) that most Americans eat fast food for their breakfast and lunch, but they also think
cooking is interesting. Parents see the importance of teaching their children how to cook, and most Americans
say that home-cooked meals are the best.
       Americans have their own way of cooking. For example, baking (烘烤) is the most popular way of cooking
in America. Most American families have ovens (烤炉). American cooks (厨师) pay attention to (注意) the
balance of food. In planning a big meal, they try to cook meat, a few vegetables, some bread and often some
sweet food. They also like to make the meal look beautiful. There are many kinds of food of different colors, so
the meal is healthy and looks beautiful, too.

1. Most Americans _______.

A. like fast food
B. like having a picnic (野炊)
C. don't like cooking
D. cook food in the morning

2. _______ is the most popular way of cooking in the USA.

A. Cutting
B. Baking
C. Frying
D. Peeling

3. From this passage, we know _______.

A. most Americans like to eat fast food for dinner.
B. most Americans don't have breakfast or lunch.
C. most Americans have fast food for their breakfast or lunch.
D. most Americans don't eat fast food for their breakfast or lunch.

4. How does an American cook balance different kinds of food?

A. He makes the food delicious.
B. He cooks a lot of meat for a big meal.
C. He cooks a lot of vegetables for a big meal.
D. He cooks meat, vegetables, bread and sweet food for a big meal.

5. Which of the following is RIGHT according to (根据) the passage?

A. The meal looks beautiful because the food is in different colors.
B. American parents do not like to teach their children how to cook.
C. American people do not like to cook food at home.
D. Most people in the United States don't like fast food at all.

       In most languages, people often start small talk after a greeting. Small talk means the little things we talk
about at the start of a conversation. In English-speaking countries people often make small talk about the
weather: "Nice day, isn't it?" "Terrible weather, isn't it?" But there is something special about small talk. It must
be about something that both people have the same opinion about. The purpose (目的) of small talk is to let both
people agree on something. This makes meeting people easier and more comfortable. People usually agree about
the weather, so it is a safe topic for small talk. But people often disagree about religion (宗教) or politics (政治),
so these are not suitable topics for small talk. The topics for small talk also depend on where the conversation is
taking place. At football matches, people make small talk about the game they are watching: "Great game, isn't
it?" At bus stops, people may comment about the transport system: "The bus service is terrible, isn't it?" Small
talk is an important part of conversation in any language. People in different countries start small talk in different
ways. This shows that when we learn a language, we should learn the vocabulary and the grammar as well as
the social behavior of the people who speak it.

1. Small talk              .

A. is a kind of conversation with short words
B. is a greeting when people meet each other
C. is to let people disagree about something
D. is a polite friendly conversation on unimportant topics

2. The favorite topic of small talk is about              .

A. the weather
B. politics
C. games
D. languages

3. The passage suggests that when we learn a language,              .

A. we should learn about the transport system of the country
B. we should only learn the grammar and the vocabulary
C. we should know the culture about the country
D. we should know the importance of the language

4. When we say "Great game, isn't it?", we in fact            .

A. ask a question
B. agree with the other
C. greet each other
D. start small talk

5. What we learn from the passage is that             .

A. different languages have different grammars
B. small talk is an important part in a language
C. small talk depends on the purpose of the conversation
D. we can talk about religion and politics in small talk

    Many years before the United States was founded (建立), Americans had already invented barbecues.
But the first barbecues, in fact, were the invention of the Taino Indians of Haiti, who dried their meat on
raised frames (架子)of sticks over fires. Spanish explorers spelled the Taino word as barbacoa, and as
time passed, English settlers along the Atlantic coat had their own barbecues.
    One summer day in 1773, Benjamin Lynde, a citizen of Massachusetts, wrote in his diary, "Fair and
hot; Browne; hack overset." That is, on a bright and hot day he went to the Brownes to attedn a barbecue,
and his carriage (马车) fell over. It shows that the barbecue had its social occasion by that time. Large
animals would be roasted whole on frames over hot fires, and neighbours would be invited to dinner.
    In later centuries, as settlers moved to the west, the barbecue went along with it, reaching an especially
large size in Texas, where a pit (坑) for fuels (燃料) such as tree branches might be over ten feet deep.
Today, the barbecue grills (烧烤架) which are fueled by charcoal (木炭) or electricity are likely to be small
and easy to move, and can cook only parts of an animal at a time, but people still have barbecues out of
doors and always invite their neighbours or friends over.

1. Who invented the barbecues first in history?

A. American people.
B. Taino Indians.
C. Spanish explorers.
D. English settlers.

2. The second paragraph mainly tells us that the barbecue ______.

A. is only held on a hot sunny day
B. welcomes people who keep diaries
C. is held both indoors and outdoors
D. has its social occasion for over 200 years

3. The underlined expression "social occasion" can be best translated into ______.

A. 社交功能
B. 社会福利
C. 社会地位
D. 社会背景

4. The following are all the barbecue ways EXCEPT ______.

A. drying meat on raised frames of sticks over fires
B. roasting a whole animal over a pit full of burning tree branches
C. cooking parts of animals over fires on grills fueled by charcoal
D. heating meat in the bright and hot daylight

    What is your favorite color? Ask famous persons like Cate Blanchett, Scarlett Johnson, and Bono (singer
for the band U2), and maybe they will say "green." That's not because these artists like the color green best.
Instead, they are interested in green fashion.
    Green fashion is about making (and wearing) clothes that are good for humans, animals, and the Earth.
In the past, green fashion made people think of ugly clothes. But today, green fashion is different. It is about
looking good and caring about the Earth and other people. You can have interesting clothes and be green.
    Around the world, green fashion is becoming popular. For example, the U.K. company People Tree sells
men's and women's clothing and accessories (配搭物). They are made from natural fabrics (织物) like
cotton and wool. Workers who make the clothes are from countries like Kenya (肯尼亚), and Bangladesh
(孟加拉国). People Tree pays the men and women good money for the clothes they make.
     Singer Bono and his wife also started a clothing company called EDUN. When the clothes sell, EDUN
uses most of the money to help people around the world.

1. From this passage, we know that "green fashion" means ______.

A. putting green color on your face
B. making clothes from green trees
C. wearing the color green all the time
D. wearing clothes that are good for the Earth

2. Today, green fashion is ______.

A. the same as it was in the past
B. making people work harder
C. more popular and interesting
D. mostly popular with famous persons

3. Which sentence about green clothing companies is true?

A. They are all in Africa.
B. They do not pay their workers well.
C. They make clothes only for women.
D. They use natural fabrics to make clothes.

4. What does EDUN do?

A. It teaches people to make clothes.
B. It makes interesting clothes for teenagers.
C. It sells clothes and uses the money to help people.
D. It pays people good money for the clothes they make.

    On February 3rd, 1949, New York Harbor (港) was an exciting place. Many people were there to greet a
ship from France. On the ship were 49 French railroad boxcars (火车车厢) filled with gifts from the people
of France to the people of America. These boxcars were from the famous Merci Train (Merci: a French word
meaning "thank you"). 
     After World War II (二战), a lot of factories,roads and farms in France had been destroyed. Many French
people had no jobs or money and had little to wear and little to eat. In the winter of 1947, a train was sent
across the United States, stopping in cities and towns along the way. At every stop, people gave whatever they
could. Factories gave clothing and medicine. Farmers gave food. Families gave money. Even school children
gave away their pocket money (零用钱). All the things were then taken to France by ship. 
     By 1949, the French had begun to recover (恢复) from the war. The Merci Train was their way of saying
"thank you" to America. French people had filled the boxcars with gifts. Most of them were personal, like
hand-made toys, children's drawings,or postcards. But the boxcars themselves were perhaps the most
meaningful of the gifts. On each car, the French people had painted the pictures of all their 40 provinces with
an American eagle on the front. The boxcars were taken to each state of America, where they were warmly
greeted.
     Now many of the states still keep their boxcars. Gifts sent by the French people can still be seen in some
museums. The Merci Train came out of the war, but it now reminds the world that countries can also work
together in peace (和平).

1．Many people crowded at New York Harbor on February 3rd, 1949 to            . 

A．welcome the Merci Train
B．meet their families
C．have a big party
D．start a trip by ship

2．In 1947,a train stopped in cities across America in order to            .

A．give away clothing and food
B．get more soldiers for the war
C．collect things to help French people
D．show exhibitions from the museums

3．The underlined word "them" in Paragraph 3 refors to (指)            . 

A．the American people
B．the French people
C．the boxcars
D．the gifts

4．The French people painted their 40 provinces and an American eagle on each boxcar because            . 

A．they thought France was stronger than America
B．it could show the friendship between the two countries
C．the boxcars would be more beautiful
D．they were very good at painting pictures

5．The passage is mainly about            .

A．the story of the Merci Train
B．American museums where the boxcars kept
C．gifts that American people liked
D．World War II