Every day we experience one of the wonders of the world around us without even realizing it．It is not the amazing complexity of television, nor the impressive technology of transport．The universal wonder we share and experience is our ability to make noise without mouths, and so transmit ideas and thoughts to each other’s minds．This ability comes so naturally that we tend to forget what a miracle （奇迹） it is．

       Obviously, the ability to talk is something that marks humans off from animal．Of course, some animals have powers just as amazing, Birds can fly thousands miles by observing positions of the stars in the sky in relation to the time of day and year．In Nature’s talent show, humans are a species of animal that have developed their own special act．If we reduce it to basic terms, it’s an ability for communicating information to others, by varying sounds we make as we breathe out．

       Not that we don’t have other powers of communication．Our facial expressions convey our emotions, such as anger, or joy, or disappointment．The way we hold our heads can indicate to others whether we are happy or sad．This is so-called “body language”．Bristling （直立的） fur is an unmistakable warning of attack among many animals．Similarly, the bowed head or drooping tail shows a readiness to take second place in any animal gathering．

       Such a means of communication is a basic mechanism that animals, including human beings, instinctively acquire and display．Is the ability to speak just another sort of instinct? If so, how did human beings acquire this amazing skills ? Biologist can readily indicate that particular area of our brain where speech mechanisms function, but this doesn’t tell us how that part of our bodies originated in our biological history．

According to the passage, the wonder we take for granted is         ．

       A．our ability to use language

       B．the miracle of technology

       C．the amazing power of nature

       D．our ability to make noises with mouth

What feature of “body language” mentioned in the passage is common to both human an animals?

       A．Lifting heads when sad．

       B．Keeping long faces when angry．

       C．Bristling hair when ready to attack．

       D．Bowing heads when willing to obey．

What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?

       A．Body language is unique to humans．

       B．Humans are no different from animals to some degree．

       C．Humans have other powers of communication．

       D．Animals express emotions just as humans do．

This passage is mainly about           ．

       A．the development of body language．

       B．the special role humans play in nature

       C．the power to convey information to others

       D．the difference between humans and animals in language use

Many people take it for granted that black is a color of bad things while white should always mean something good．This may be because, in their opinion, black is related to darkness and white to purity（纯洁）．

However, that is not always the case．Did you know that the same colour may mean differently in different places of the world?

In the English-speaking world, black is the colour of mourning（哀悼）．People wear black clothes at the funeral．Red is concerned with danger or bloodshed (流血)．Yellow is the word for fear．If you are afraid, you are yellow．Yet none of these sayings is true outside the English-speaking world．In China and Korea white is the colour of mourning．In Russia, China and some other countries, red stands for beauty, life and excellence．In Italy and Germany, you are yellow with anger, not with fear．

Even within the English-speaking area it is not difficult to find colour contradictions (矛盾)．A redcap in the United States is a porter in a railway station．In Britain, however, a redcap is a military policeman．Both names are logical because both men wear red caps．Similarly, the British term for an American white collar worker is sometimes called a black-coated worker．

One does not have to cross an area to find color differences．Would you rather be red-blooded? If we go back to the origin, we find that both terms are logical as both names suggest．The expression “blueblood” comes from Spain, where some noble（贵族）families proudly said that they had “blue blood”．But then why “blue” blood? Because they were fair-skinned, and it is only natural that their blood vessels (血管) stood out appearing blue．

Yellow is concerned with anger in ______.

      A．Russia     B．Britain     C．Germany D．China

Both Britain and America would probably agree that ______.

       A．black is the color of mourning       B．a black-coated worker is employed in an office

       C．red stands for beauty and excellence    D．a redcap is a porter in a station

The best title for this passage is ______.

       A．The Origin of Blue Blood          B．The Development of the Use of Colors

       C．Colors that Carry Bad Meanings     D．The Meaning Concerned With Certain Colors

When some Spanish called themselves “blueblood”, they actually meant ______.

A．they had heart trouble and their faces looked blue    B．they came from a noble family

C．they had blue blood in their vessels               D．they were fair-skinned

Wouldn’t it be ______ wonderful world if humans could live in ______ peace?

   A. a; the                  B. the; 不填          C. a; 不填                    D. the; the

— Is there anything you want to know?

   — I just wonder ____ that makes Jim so excited.

   A. what it is                                               B. what he does    

C. how it is                                             D. why it does 

Ted will surely finish the job on time        he's left to do it in his own way．

  A．so that    B．so long as    C．in case  D．for fear that

阅读下面的文言文，完成下列各题。

孙权，字仲谋。兄策既定诸郡，时权年十五，以为阳羡长。郡察孝廉，州举茂才。（建安）五年，策薨，以事授权，权哭未及息，策长史张昭谓权曰：“孝廉，此宁哭时邪? 且周公立法而伯禽不师①，非欲违父，时不得行也。况今奸宄（奸臣）竞逐，豺狼满道。乃欲哀亲戚，顾礼制，是犹开门而揖盗，未可以为仁也。”乃改易权服，扶令上马，使出巡军。是时，惟有会稽、吴郡、丹杨、豫章、庐陵，然深险之地犹未尽从，而天下英豪布在州郡，宾旅寄寓之士以安危去就为意，未有君臣之固。张昭、周瑜等谓权可与共成大业，故委心而服事焉。曹公表权为讨虏将军，领会稽太守，屯吴，使丞之郡行文书事。待张昭以师傅之礼，而周瑜、程普、吕范等为将率。招延俊秀，聘求名士，鲁肃、诸葛瑾等始为宾客。分部诸将，镇抚山越，讨不从命。

（建安十三年）荆州牧刘表死，鲁肃乞奉命吊表二子，且以观变。肃未到，而曹公已临其境，表子琮举众以降。刘备欲南济江，肃与相见，因传权旨，为陈成败。备进住夏口，使诸葛亮诣权，权遣周瑜、程普等行。是时曹公新得表众，形势甚盛。诸议者皆望风畏惧，多劝权迎之。惟瑜、肃执拒之议，意与权同。瑜、普为左右督，各领万人，与备俱进，遇于赤壁，大破曹公军。公烧其余船引退，士卒饥疫，死者大半。备、瑜等复追至南郡。

十六年，权徙治秣陵。明年，城石头，改秣陵为建业。闻曹公将来侵，作濡须坞②。十八年正月，曹公攻濡须，权与相拒月余。曹公望权军，叹其齐肃，乃退。（《三国志??吴主传》）

注：①周公立法而伯禽不师：周公制定的礼法制度，他的儿子、受封于鲁国的伯禽却没有遵守。按照古人的解释，伯禽在服丧期间，徐戎（周代居住在今徐州一代的少数民族）作乱，伯禽就停止服丧而率兵讨伐，平定了徐戎。      ②濡须坞：修建在濡须口的堡坞，夹濡须水而筑。

对下列句子中加点的词语的解释，不正确的一项是   （    ）

A．权哭未及息                  息：停止

B．领会稽太守                  领：兼任

C．公烧其余船引退              引：拉

D．此宁哭时邪                  宁：难道

下列各组句子中，全都直接表现孙权励精图治的一组是（    ）

①策薨，以事授权   ②招延俊秀，聘求名士        ③乃改易权服，扶令上马

④公烧其余船引退   ⑤闻曹公将来侵，作濡须坞    ⑥权与相拒月余

A．①②④       B．①③⑥       C．③④⑤       D．②⑤⑥

下列对原文的叙述与分析不正确的一项是（    ）       

A．孙权继位之后，任用贤才，优礼士人，用对待师傅之礼事奉张昭、周瑜、鲁肃、诸葛瑾等人，一时间，孙权手下人才济济。

B．荆州牧刘表死后，其子刘琮投降曹操。此时的东吴内部分为主战、主和两派，孙权不顾主降派张昭等反对，联合刘备与曹操决战，取得赤壁之战的胜利。

C．孙权到秣陵（建业）后，曹操来犯，孙权与曹操大战于濡须坞，双方均不能获胜。看到孙权阵容齐整，曹操只好撤兵。

D．孙权作为一代英主，面对曹操的入侵，敢于抗击；经过赤壁之战，大败曹操，后又在濡须之战中取得胜利。

把文中画横线的句子翻译成现代汉语。

①郡察孝廉，州举茂才。

②乃欲哀亲戚，顾礼制，是犹开门而揖盗，未可以为仁也。

③是时曹公新得表众，形势甚盛。诸议者皆望风畏惧，多劝权迎之。

The Queen’s English is now sounding less upper-class, a scientific study of the Queen’s Christmas broadcasts has found. Researchers have studied each of her messages to the Commonwealth countries since 1952 to find out the change in her pronunciation from the noble Upper Received to the Standard Received.

Jonathan Harrington, a professor at Germany’s University of Munich, wanted to discover whether accent changes recorded over the past half century would take place within one person. “As far as I know, there just is nobody else for whom there is this sort of broadcast records,” he said.

  He said the noble way of pronouncing vowels (元音) had gradually lost ground as the noble upper-class accent over the past years. “Her accent sounds slightly less noble than it did 50 years ago. But these are very, very small and slow changes that we don’t notice from year to year.”

 “We may be able to relate it to changes in the social classes,” he told The Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper. “In 1952 she would have been heard saying ‘thet men in the bleck het’. Now it would be ‘that man in the black hat’. Similarly, she would have spoken of ‘the citay’ and ‘dutay’, rather than ‘citee’ and ‘dutee’, and ‘hame’ rather than ‘home’. In the 1950s she would have been ‘lorst’, but by the 1970s ‘lost’.”

The Queen’s broadcast is a personal message to the Commonwealth countries. Each  Christmas, the 10-minute broadcast is put on TV at 3 pm in Britain as many families are recovering from their traditional turkey lunch (传统火鸡午餐).

    The results were published (发表) in the Journal of Phonetics.

What is the text mainly about?

A. The relationship between accents and social classes.

B. The Queen’s Christmas speeches on TV.

C. The changes in a person’s accent.

D. The recent development of the English language.

The Queen’s broadcasts were chosen for the study mainly because ______.

A. she has been Queen for many years

B. she has a less upper-class accent now

C. her speeches are familiar to many people

D. her speeches have been recorded for 50 years

Which of the following is an example of a less noble accent in English?

A. “dutay”　　　　　B. “citee”　　　　　      C. “hame”　　　　　D. “lorst”

We may infer from the text that the Journal of Phonetics is a magazine on ______.

A. speech sounds         　　　　　　  B. Christmas customs

C. TV broadcasting       　　　　　      D. personal messages

To keep a trade______, they would have to sell less and buy more in the following months.

     A. pace         B. distance          C. balance   D. increase

Unbelievable view appealed to me by accident．Just then, I checked once again: the somewhat tiny wood was having a leaf．Could I trust my own eyes? Had the hot sun annoyed me? After all, it  as summer in Costa Rica, a country in Central America.

I left off, wiping sweat from my eyes．Then I moved the wood with my finger．It stopped．It looked up at me with big triangular eyes．Surprise! It was a mantid, a kind of insect, instead of a piece of wood．

The mantid was hanging upside down on a branch．Its wings made it look like a piece of tree bark．Then I noticed something else．The leaf wasn't a leaf at all．The hungry mantid was really eating another insect—a katydid．By now, all that was left of the katydid was a pair of wings．A few moments later, the wings dropped to the ground．The mantid folded its long legs．It sat still．Now it looked even more like a piece of wood than when I had first seen it．

I thought about how I had been fooled by these clever animals．Then I thought about how the two insects go about trying to trick each other．Both mantids and katydids are masters of make-up．Katydids are particularly good at it．Many look like something they are not．Katydids often look like plants．Many seem to be leaves．Others look like leaves of grass．All day, the bugs try to stay perfectly still．Because their bodies look like plants, most animals interested in killing them don't bother them while katydids eat plants．

What is the main topic of the text?

       A．An experience of watching insects．

       B．The fake image of mantids and katydids．

       C．The fight between mantids and katydids．

       D．The living habits of mantids and katydids．

What caused the author amazed at first?

       A．The hot sun in summer．'

       B．The quick moving of the wood．

       C．The sight of wood eating a leaf．

       D．The fight for food between mantids and katydids-

When the mantid was hanging upside down on a branch, it was ____．

       A．waiting for its other food          B．enjoying its food- katydid

       C．eating a leaf from the branch      D．having a break under the tree

Based on the passage, it can be inferred that the mantid ____．

       A．is a kind of meat-eafer              B．is easy to be found by a katydid

       C．looks more like a green leaf             D．mainly lives on the green leaves

Directions: Read the following passage, Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage．

Secret Santas

On Christmas morning, Linda wakes up, and tries to imagine the wide-eyed surprise of children in another household as they unwrap the presents she carefully chose for them．Linda has never met the children, but that’s all part of the joy of giving as secret Santas, she says．

"It's an amazing feeling to buy gifts on an anonymous （匿名的） basis," says Linda．"It brings a whole new meaning to the holidays．"

Linda and Tony are an American couple living in Toronto, Canada, and Linda did charitable work as a member of the American Women's Club of Toronto．As the name suggests, members are U．S．citizens living in Toronto, who join together for fellowship and community service．

To find her "adopted" family, Linda goes to the local schools and requests a wish list for a family that's struggling to survive．Last year she helped a single mother with three children．The mother works as a cleaning lady in a nursing home．

"The list is always heartbreaking．They have an opportunity to ask for anything and do just the opposite, asking for basic clothes or simple toys," she says．"We always buy the kids a new winter coat, hats, and gloves．" She also buys gifts for the parents．

Last year Linda asked the mother for a second wish list--one that didn't include the basics．"Every child should have a Christmas that sticks with them for a lifetime．" She purchased iPods for the two older children and a video game system for the youngest．"I have learned a very valuable lesson in all of this," says Linda．"Pay attention to what's going on in your own backyard--no matter where you live．"

The joy of giving as secret Santas is much sweeter when the gift is anonymous．

What reaction does Linda imagine the children will have? （No more than 5 words）

（2 marks）．

Why did Linda join the American Women's Club of Toronto?

（No more than 10 words）                                   （2 marks）

Why did Linda ask for a second wish list? （No more than 15words）

（3 marks）

What kind of people does "secret Santas" in the passage refer to?

（No more than 12 words）                                       （3 marks）