阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

It is one of the most annoying words in the English language and it seems there is no escaping it. The word “huh?” is in worldwide use, a study found.

Researchers discovered that languages spoken in countries from Ghana and Laos to Iceland and Italy all include “huh?”, or something that sounds very like it. They said that while the study may sound silly, the word is an absolutely necessary part of speech. Without it and similar words, it would be impossible to show that we haven’t heard or understood what had been said and this would lead to constant misunderstandings.

But while other words used in the same context, such as “sorry” or “what”, vary widely across languages, “huh?” remains unchanged.

The Dutch researchers carefully studied ten languages from around the world, including Siwu, which is spoken in Ghana, and an Australian Aboriginal language, as well as Italian, Spanish, Dutch and Mandarin Chinese.

They analysed tapes of recorded conversations for words that sounded like “huh?” and were used to request that whatever had just been said be repeated. All contained a version of “huh?”. The word was also found in another 21 languages. While there were subtle differences in each country, all sounded basically the same.

This is surprising because normally unrelated languages will use very different words to describe the same thing. For instance, the Japanese for “dog” is “inu”, while the French is “chien”. It is thought that languages around the world have developed their own version of “huh?” because the sound is quick and simple to form, as well as being easily understood.

The researchers, said that it might seem unimportant to carry out scientific research into a word like “huh?” but in fact this little word is an essential tool in human communication. They also have an answer for those who claim that “huh?” isn’t a word. They say that it qualifies because of the small differences in its pronunciation in different languages. It also can be considered a word because it’s something we learn to say, rather than a grunt or cry that we are born knowing how to make.

1.According to researchers, the word “huh?” is very important in speech because of ________.

A. its stable meaning in language development

B. its important function in communication

C. its simple and easy sound and spelling

D. its popularity in every language

2.What is the natural response if you hear the lady you’re speaking to say “huh?”?

A. You should ask her to repeat what she says before that.

B. You should apologize to her for speaking in a low voice.

C. You should invite her to share her different views politely.

D. You should try to repeat what you’ve just said in a clearer way.

3.The main method used in the research of “huh?” was ________.

A. interviewing language experts in universities

B. talking with people from ten different countries

C. analyzing the recorded conversations in different languages

D. comparing different words with the same meaning in different languages

4.According to researchers, “huh?” should be considered a word rather than a sound because ________.

A. it is listed in most dictionaries

B. it is something humans learn to say

C. there is a clear and consistent spelling of the word

D. there is a big difference in the way it pronounces in different languages

5.What is the purpose of the passage?

A. To inform readers about research on the worldwide used word “huh?”.

B. To argue that “huh?” is the most important word in every language.

C. To entertain readers by relating similar idioms in different languages.

D. To instruct readers of the differences of “huh?” in different languages.

阅读理解。

Ever wonder how this season’s celebrations affect the environment? Guest blogger Krista Fairles takes an amusing look at this very topic:

The holidays are a wonderful, cheerful time when most people wait for Santa to bring them presents. But I’m not like most people. I spend my time wondering just what the environmental impacts of Santa Claus and his reindeer are, and more importantly, how I can calculate those impacts.

Lately I’ve been particularly curious as to whether Santa’s old sled is a clean green flying machine, or if he should be replacing his 8 reindeer with an environmentally-friendly car.

I should mention that, surprisingly, I was unable to find statistics specific to Santa’s magical flying reindeer, so these calculations use numbers from various sources and may not represent actual pollution caused by Santa and his animals. In other words, don’t complain to the government about the damage Santa is causing the environment based on this article.

Santa’s yearly trip around the globe is 44,000km long, twice the average of a North American driver. If we assume that the magic provides the altitude for this trip, then reindeer power only needs to push Santa’s sled forward. To complete the trip in 12 hours, I estimate they must travel at a speed of about 3100km/h. To travel at this speed, for this length of time, the reindeer need to eat an incredible 980 million calories each!!

So the next question is: how much food is in 980 million calories? Well, if they’re eating corn, they’d need to eat 16,500 lbs each — or 1.6 acres of food. Growing 12.8 acres of corn has its own implications for the environment that we’ll leave for another calculation.

We now need to consider that during the global trip the reindeer are “letting out” some of that corn in the form of methane (甲烷，沼气). A resting cow produces 110 kg of methane per year, so flying reindeer would each let out about 4.8 tons. With methane causing 20 times the global warming damage of CO2, and the altitude increasing that damage by 1000% that another 20 times, we can put Santa’s round-trip emissions at 15,488 tons. This is much more than the 100 tons an environmentally-friendly car would release on the same trip!

Bad Santa.

1. Which aspect does the writer NOT include in her analyses about reindeer’s influence on environment?

A. Distance covered. B. Calories consumed.

C. Tons of waste let out. D. Money spent on food.

2.According to Paragraph 6, how many acres of corn would Santa need to feed 10 reindeer?

A. 1.6. B. 16.

C. 12.8. D. 128.

3.Which of the following statements would the writer most probably agree with?

A. Christmas celebrations are really a waste of money.

B. Vegetarians are more likely to survive than meat-eaters.

C. Raising animals has a negative influence on environment.

D. The car industry does less harm to environment than farming.

4.Which of the following words best describes the language style of the passage?

A. Humourous and concerned. B. Cheerful and friendly.

C. Academic and formal. D. Serious and boring.

5.Which of the following is the best title for this passage?

A. Is Santa driving clean and green?

B. Santa, watch where you’re going!

C. Santa Claus is coming to town!

D. Let’s reduce waste on Christmas celebrations!

根据短文内容, 从短文后的七个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。

1.You probably think you will never be a top student. This is not necessarily so. however. Anyone can become a better student if he or she wants to. Here is how：

Plan your time carefully. When planning your work, you should make a list of things that you have to do. After making this list. you should make a schedule of your time. First your time for eating, sleeping, dressing, etc. Then decide a good, regular time for studying. 2. A weekly schedule may not solve all your problems, but it will force you realize what is happening to your time.

Find a good place to study. Look around the house for a good study area. Keep this space, which may be a desk or simply a corner of your room, free of eeverything but study materials. No games, radios, or television. When you sit down to study, concentrate on the subject.

Make good use of your time in class. 3. Listening carefully in class means less work later. Taking notes will help you remember what the teacher says.

Study regularly. When you get home from school, go over your notes, review the important points that your teacher is going to discuss the next day, read that material. 4. If you do these things regularly, the material will become more meaningful, and you’ll remember it longer.

Develop a good attitude towards tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. They help you remember your new knowledge. The world won’t end if you don’t pass a test,so don, t be over worried.

5. You will probably discover many others after you have tried these.

A. There are other methods that might help you with your studying.

B. Don’t forget to set aside enough time for entertainment.

C. Take advantage of class time to listen to everything the teacher says.

D. No one can become a top student unless he or she works hard.

E. Maybe you are an average student.

F. Make full use of class time to take notes of what the teacher says in class.

G. This will help you understand the next class.

假定你是李芳，你的美国好友Jane数学学得不好，对自己失去了信心，产生了厌学情绪。请你给她发一封电子邮件开导她，要点如下：

1．没有必要过于伤心；

2．要振作起来，尽量减少焦虑心理：

3．和老师交流有助于你改善：

4．探索适合自己的有效学习方式。

注意：

l．词数100左右：

2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Jane，

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_________________________.

Yours，

Li Fang

The Enigma (谜）of Beauty

The search for beauty spans centuries and continents. Paintings of Egyptians dating back over 4, 000 years show both men and women painting their nails and wearing makeup. In 18th-century France, wealthy noblemen wore large wigs (假发）of long, white hair to make themselves attractive. Today, people continue to devote a lot of time and money to their appearance.

There is at least one good reason for the desire to be attractive: beauty is power. Studies suggest that good-looking people make more money, get called on more often in class, and are regarded as friendlier.

But what exactly is beauty? It's difficult to describe it clearly, and yet we know it when we see it. And our awareness of it may start at a very early age. In one set of studies, six-month-old babies were shown a series of photographs. The faces on the pictures had been rated for attractiveness by a group of college students. In the studies, the babies spent more time looking at the attractive faces than the unattractive ones.

The idea that even babies can judge appearance makes perfect sense to many researchers. In studies by psychologists, men consistently showed a preference for women with larger eyes, fuller lips, and a smaller nose and chin while women prefer men with large shoulders and a narrow waist. According to scientists, the mind unconsciously tells men and women that these traits —the full lips, clear skin, strong shoulders —equal health and genetic well-being.

Not everyone thinks the same way, however. “Our hardwiredness can be changed by all sorts of expectations — mostly cultural,” says C. Loring Brace, an anthropologist at the University of Michigan. What is considered attractive in one culture might not be in another. Look at most Western fashion magazines: the women on the pages are thin. But is this “perfect” body type for women worldwide? Scientists' answer is no; what is considered beautiful is subjective and varies around the world. They found native peoples in southeast Peru preferred shapes regarded overweight in Western cultures.

For better or worse, beauty plays a role in our lives. But it is extremely difficult to describe exactly what makes one person attractive to another. Although there do seem to be certain physical traits considered universally appealing, it is also true that beauty does not always keep to a single, uniform standard. Beauty really is, as the saying goes, in the eye of the beholder.

1.People's ideas about beauty ________.

A. have existed since ancient times

B. can be easily described

C. have little influence on a person's success

D. are based upon strict standard

2.In Paragraph 3, the babies in the study ________.

A. were rated for their appearance

B. were entered in a beauty contest

C. were shown photos of a group of college students

D. were able to tell attractive faces from unattractive ones

3.The underlined word “traits” in Paragraph 4 probably means ________.

A. qualities B. measurements

C. judgments D. standards

4.We can learn from the passage that ________.

A. the ideas of beauty vary as people grow up

B. the search for beauty is rooted in lack of confidence

C. the standards for beauty are based on scientific researches

D. the understanding of beauty depends on cultural backgrounds

In the Middle Ages in Europe, theater was an important part of civic, economic and religious life. During this period after the fall of Roman civilization, many cities were destroyed. Southern and Western Europe, famous for its agriculture, became increasingly more agricultural. After several hundred years, many towns appeared again. The Roman Catholic Church took over religion, education and politics. What remained of theater was mostly on the Greek and Roman performing arts.

Theater was reborn as liturgical（礼拜式的）dramas. It was written in Latin and dealing with biblical（圣经）stories which would be performed by church members. Then there came local dramas spoken in common language not Latin. They were more wonderful one-act dramas taking place in town squares or other parts of the city. There were three types of local dramas. Mystery or cycle plays were short dramas based on biblical stories organized into historical cycles. Miracle plays dealt with the lives of the great. Morality（道德的）plays taught a lesson through characters standing for good or bad qualities. Secular plays in this period existed, but religious drama in the Middle Ages is mostly remembered today. As the Middle Ages ended, the number of religious theatres became small as the church weakened and more secular qualities won over religious theaters.

1.According to the passage, what does "secular plays" mean here?

A. Plays that deal with the lives of the great.

B. Plays that taught a lesson.

C. Plays based on biblical stories.

D. Plays that are not connected with the church.

2.Why did religious theatres become less important as the Middle Ages came to an end?

A. People were not interested in them any longer.

B. The church was not as important as what it had been.

C. People liked new plays.

D. The stories of religious theatres were outdated.

3.According to the passage, why did religious theatres take over in the Middle Ages?

A. People preferred religious theatres to other ones.

B. There were no other types of theatres.

C. The church played an important part in people’s life.

D. The quality of religious theatres was better than that of other theatres.

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. European dramas

B. Religious dramas

C. Religious theatres in the Middle Ages

D. Secular dramas in the Middle Ages

There are two types of people in the world. Although they have equal degree of health and wealth and other comforts of life, one becomes happy and the other becomes unhappy. This arises from the different ways in which they consider things, persons, events and the resulting effects upon their minds.

People who are to be happy fix their attention on the convenience of things: the pleasant parts of conversation, the well prepared dishes, the goodness of the wine and the fine weather. They enjoy all the cheerful things. Those who are to be unhappy think and speak only of the opposite things. Therefore, they are continually dissatisfied. By their remarks, they sour the pleasure of society, hurt many people, and make themselves disagreeable everywhere. If this turn of mind was founded in nature, such unhappy persons would be the more to be pitied. The intention of criticizing and being disliked is perhaps taken up by imitation. It grows into a habit, unknown to its possessors. The habit may be strong, but it may be cured when those who have it realize its bad effects on their interests and tastes. I hope this little warning may be of service to them, and help them change this habit.

Although in fact it is chiefly an act of the imagination, it has serious results in life since it brings on deep sorrow and bad luck. Those people hurt many others; nobody loves them, and no one treats them with more than the most common politeness and respect. This frequently puts them in bad temper and draws them into arguments. If they aim at getting some advantages in social position or fortune, nobody wishes them success. Nor will anyone start a step or speak a word to favor their hopes. If they bring on themselves public objections, no one will defend or excuse them, and many will join to criticize their wrongdoings. These should change this bad habit and be pleased with what is pleasing, without worrying needlessly about themselves and others. If they do not, it will be good for others to avoid any contact with them. Otherwise, it can be disagreeable and sometimes very inconvenient, especially when one becomes mixed up in their quarrels.

1.People who are unhappy ________.

A. always consider things differently from others

B. always discover the unpleasant side of certain things

C. usually misunderstand what others think or say

D. usually are affected by the results of certain things

2.The phrase “sour the pleasure of society” most nearly means “________”.

A. makes others unhappy

B. has a good taste with social life

C. tend to scold others openly

D. enjoy the pleasure of life

3.We can conclude from the passage that ________.

A. we should pity all such unhappy people

B. such unhappy people are dangerous to social life

C. people can get rid of the habit of unhappiness

D. unhappy people can not understand happy persons

Time for Kids (TFK) gets the great news on the coolest toys for 2014 at the 111th American International Toy Fair.

What’s four days long, bigger than seven football fields, and filled with thousands of toys? It’s Toy Fair 2014!

Each year, hundreds of toy companies from across the country come together in New York City. All kinds of products are shown as a way to know what’s to come in the new year. This year’s trends include oversize toys. “In 2014, everything is really big and really out there,” says Adrienne Appell, a toy-trends expert.

Toy Fair is the largest toy trade show in the Western Hemisphere (西半球). Toy-store buyers go to the event to decide which toys they may want to sell during the holiday season. Members of the media, like TFK, go to the fair to report back on all the cool trends. Unfortunately, Toy Fair is not open to the public.

This year’s Toy Fair was the biggest in its 111-year history. More than 1,000 toy companies showed products from simple card games to high-tech robots. “Larger Than Life” was a Toy Fair favorite. This trend is all about big toys with a big play value.

Though it is all fun and games at Toy Fair, we saw lots of products making a push towards education, with STEAM. That stands for science, technology, engineering, art, and math. This trend includes word games. And of course, we saw some super cool, high-tech games. “Technology is always going to influence toys,” says Appell. “This year we saw lots of 3D games, and robots.”

To know more information about the event, click here to watch the video.

1.What can we infer from Toy Fair 2014?

A. Toys are becoming more educational than fun.

B. Robots are great favorites of buyers.

C. Big toys will be popular this year.

D. Simple card games will disappear on the market.

2.What’s special about Toy Fair 2014?

A. It is the largest.

B. It is the longest.

C. It sells all of its toys.

D. It’s held in New York City.

3.What’s the best title for the text?

A. Kids love toys

B. Toy-stores in New York City

C. Technology changes toys

D. Time for toys

4.The text is taken from a(n) ________.

A. websiteB. newspaperC. magazineD. Textbook

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。

Doctors say anger can be an extremely damaging emotion, unless you learn how to deal with it. They warn that anger can lead to heart disease, stomach problems, headaches, emotional problems and possibly cancer.

1.________ Some people express anger openly in a calm reasonable way. Others burst with anger, and scream and yell. But other people keep their anger inside. They can not or will not express it. This is called repressing anger.

For years many doctors thought that repressing anger was more dangerous to a person’s health than expressing it. They said that when a person is angry, the brain releases the same hormones (荷尔蒙). They speed the heart rate, raise blood pressure, or sugar into the blood, etc. 2.________

Some doctors say that both repressing and expressing anger can be dangerous. They believe that those who express anger violently may be more likely to develop heart disease, and they believe that those who keep anger inside may face a greater danger of high blood pressure.

3.________ They say the first step is to admit that you are angry and to recognize the real cause of the anger, then decide if the cause is serious enough to get angry about. If it is, they say, “4.________ Wait until your anger has cooled down and you are able to express yourself calmly and reasonably.”

Doctors say that a good way to deal with anger is to find humor in the situation that has made you angry. 5.________

A. In general the person feels excited and ready to act.

B. They said that laughter is much healthier than anger.

C. Expressing anger violently is more harmful than repressing it.

D. Anger may cause you a cancer.

E. Do not express your anger while angry.

F. Anger is a normal emotion that we all feel from time to time.

G. Doctors say the solution is learning how to deal with anger.

阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

When I agreed to stage-manage my school’ s production of Guys and Dolls, I had no idea of 1.________ a stage manager actually did. Still, I 2.________ (decide) that it would be a(n) 3.________ (interest) experience, and a way to get involved with theater. Besides, if there was already a director and some technicians to build the sets and run lights, how much could there be 4.________ (leave) for a stage manager to do? I figured that I would spend a lot of time 5.________ rehearsals and scripts（剧本）.

I was discouraged by the first rehearsal. I discovered that it was my 6.________ (responsible) to make sure that all of the cast actors were present, had scripts, and gave 7.________ (I) their schedules before leaving the room. It was not an easy thing. I found that it was impossible 8.________ (get) all twenty-five cast members together for a group scene, since actors kept 9.________ (call) me with emergency appointments, and last-minute family gatherings.

Finally, it was the opening night. I sat to the side of the stage, 10.________ my script open on a music stand in front of me. The lights came up, the show began, and I knew that it had all been worthwhile.