Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English ruler tried to conquer Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English, Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two "Irelands". Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people will work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were "the greatest talkers since the Creeks". Since independence, Ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.
【小题1】What does the author tell us in paragraph 1?

A．How the Irish fought against the English.

B．How Ireland gained independence.

C．How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.

D．How two “Irelands” came into being.

【小题2】We learn from the text that in Ireland________.

A．food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population

B．people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside

C．it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker

D．different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments

【小题3】The last paragraph is mainly about________.

A．the Irish character	B．Irish culture
C．Irish musical instruments	D．a famous Irish writer

【小题4】What can be the best title for the text?

A．Life in Ireland	B．A very difficult history
C．Ireland, past and present	D．the independence of Ireland

The USA is a land of immigrants. Between 1815 and 1914, the world witnessed the greatest peaceful migration in its history: 35 million people, mostly Europeans, left their homelands to start new lives in America. Why did these people risk everything by leaving their homes and families?
First, what forced emigrants to make the decision to leave? One major cause for European farmers to leave was the rise in population which in turn led to land hunger. Another was politics. There was an increased taxation（税收）and the growth of armies, and many young men fled eastern Europe to avoid being forced to join the army.
Physical hunger provided another pressing reason. Following the collapse （衰退）of the economy of southern Italy in the 1860s, hundreds of thousands decided to start a new life in America. Religion also encouraged millions to leave the Old World.
In short, people chose to leave their homes for social, economic and religious reasons. As a result, by 1890 among a total population of 63 million, there were more than nine million foreign-born Americans.
But what were the attractions? First of all, there was the promise of land which was so scarce in Europe. Next, factories were calling for workers, and pay conditions were much better than back home. Men were needed to open up the West and build the long railroads, and new towns needed settlers to live in and to develop business. There was the space for religious people to practice their faith in peace.
This immigration meant that by around the 1850s Americans of non-English had started to be more than those of English. As we know, there were losers. To start with, there were those unwilling immigrants, the slaves who had been used as a source of cheap labour. Nor should we forget the equally unlucky American Indians. By 1860 there were 27 million free whites, four million slaves and a mere 488,000 free blacks.
Nowadays, the USA is still seen by millions as the Promised Land. As always, it remains an attractive place to those who think it will offer them a second chance.
【小题1】What is not the cause for people to leave their homeland?

A．The search for religious freedom.	B．The search for adventure.
C．Unwillingness to join the army.	D．Economics.

【小题2】Why was life of the 19th Century European farmers difficult?

A．There was no land.	B．There was no peace.
C．The population had gone down.	D．There were too many of them.

【小题3】 Which of the following was not an attraction of the USA?

A．Employment	B．A healthy life
C．freedom of religion	D．Business opportunities

【小题4】 What is the topic of this passage?

A．The USA is still seen by millions as the Promised Land.

B．The USA is a land of immigrants.

C．Religion encouraged millions to leave the Old World.

D．About one-eighth of non-native born Americans live in the USA in 1890.

【小题5】 The American Indians __________.

A．were as fortunate as the slaves

B．were more unfortunate than the slaves

C．were the most unfortunate

D．were as unfortunate as the slaves

Say you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.
Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, this story is about the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive (令人赞叹的) as the building itself.
First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Mad in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial (纪念物) to celebrate their love.
The heartbroken Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out, and more than 20,000 workers worked nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains under the center of the building.
Later, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Jehan lived the rest of his days, eight years, imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it until he was buried next to his wife.
Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange and sad story, people who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired its construction.
【小题1】The first two paragraphs were written mainly to show that ______.

A．the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building

B．India has some of the most famous buildings in the world

C．ancient Indian emperors were cruel

D．construction workers led a hard life in ancient India

【小题2】The Taj Mahal was first built as ______.

A．a memorial building	B．a tourist attraction
C．a prison	D．a gift to Mumtaz

【小题3】From the passage we can learn that Mumtaz probably died in ______.

A．1626

B．1653

C．1632

D．1634

【小题4】The underlined word “happiness” in the last paragraph refers to “______”.

A．the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal

B．the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal

C．the married happiness of the emperor and his wife

D．the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power

The garden city was largely the invention of Ebenezer Howard (1850 – 1928). After immigrating from England to the USA, and an unsuccessful attempt to make a living as a farmer, he moved to Chicago, where he saw the reconstruction of the city after the disastrous fire of 1871. In those days, it was nicknamed "the Garden City", almost certainly the source of Howard's name for his later building plan of towns．Returning to London, Howard developed his design in the 1880s and 1890s, drawing on ideas that were popular at the time, but creating a unique combination of designs．
The nineteenth-century poor city was in many ways a terrible place, dirty and crowded; but it offered economic and social opportunities．At the same time, the British countryside was in fact equally unattractive: though it promised fresh air and nature, it suffered from agricultural depression（萧条）and it offered neither enough work and wages, nor much social life．Howard's idea was to combine the best of town and country in a new kind of settlement, the garden city．Howard's idea was that a group of people should set up a company, borrowing money to establish a garden city in the depressed countryside; far enough from existing cities to make sure that the land was bought at the bottom price．
Garden cities would provide a central public open space, radial avenues and connecting industries．They would be surrounded by a much larger area of green belt, also owned by the company, containing not merely farms but also some industrial institutions．As more and more people moved in, the garden city would reach its planned limit-Howard suggested 32,000 people; then, another would be started a short distance away．Thus, over time, there would develop a vast planned house collection, extending almost without limit; within it, each garden city would offer a wide rang of jobs and services, but each would also be connected to the others by a rapid transportation system, thus giving all the economic and social opportunities of a big city．
【小题1】How did Howard get the name for his building plan of garden cities?

A．By using the nickname of the reconstructed Chicago．

B．Through his observation of the country life．

C．Through the combination of different ideas．

D．By taking other people's advice．

【小题2】The underlined phrase "drawing on "in Paragraph 1 probably means______．

A．making comments on	B．giving an explanation of
C．giving a description of	D．making use of

【小题3】What can we learn about garden cities from the last paragraph?

A．Each one would continue to become larger

B．People would live and work in the same place

C．Their number would continue to rise

D．Each one would contain a certain type of business

【小题4】What could be the best title for the passage?

A．City and Countryside

B．The Invention of the Garden City

C．A New City in Chicago

D．A Famous Garden City in England

It’s going to be a busy day at Betsy Ross house in Philadelphia on Thursday. She won’t be there, since she died in 1836, but hundreds of tourists will be going through her house.
You see, Thursday is Flag Day in the United States. The unofficial holiday commemorates the adoption of the stars-and-stripes design of the American flag by the Continental Congress 235 years ago, on June 14, 1777. According to lore, the Ross House is the birthplace of the nation’s flag. That’s open to debate, but it’s a story that schoolbooks still tell. Betsy Ross was a seamstress, busy  sewing cushions for chairs in Philadelphia, which was the focus place of the American revolution against British rule. The Declaration of Independence by the colonists was signed there, and so was the new nation’s Constitution after independence was won.
Widowed when her husband, a member of the local militia, was killed in a gunpowder explosion, Betsy Ross often mended the clothes of the rebels’ leader and future U.S. president, George Washington.  According to what some say in history and others a stretch of what really happened, Washington asked Ross to design and sew the new nation’s flag. The story was promoted by Ross grandson, who wrote that Betsy Ross had “made with her hands the first flag.” She became a role model for girls - a shining example of women’s contributions to the nation’s history. Most research indicates that Ross did sew the first flag. She’s credited with substituting artful five-point white stars for six-pointed ones in the upper-left blue field. But many other accounts indicate George Washington brought the design to Ross and simply asked her to stitch it together.  
In a letter, Washington wrote: “We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her.  And the white stripes shall go down to posterity as representing liberty.”  
【小题1】People would like to go to Ross’s house in Philadelphia to _____.

A．ask Betsy Ross who created the first American flag

B．meet her grandson who wrote a book about flags

C．debate over who designed the first American flag

D．remember her as the creator of the first American flag

【小题2】Which statement is true according to the passage?

A．Betsy Ross was one of the people who signed The Declaration of Independence

B．All are in agreement that Ross designed the first American flag

C．It is almost certain that Ross did sew the first American flag

D．It is George Washington who designed the stars and stripes flag

【小题3】The underlined the word “seamstress” in Paragraph 2 probably means_____.

A．a person who designs flags	B．a person who makes a living by sewing
C．a person who takes part in revolution	D．a person who creates chairs

【小题4】What does the last paragraph imply according to the passage?

A．It implies that the U.S. is independent from Britain

B．It implies that Washington liked Ross’s design of the flag

C．It implies that Washington might be the designer of the flag

D．It implies that Ross did have helped with the design of the flag

From the beginning of human history, wild animals provided food, clothing and sometimes medicine for man. We may not depend as much on wild animals now. But we hear about them every day. Americans use the names of animals in many ways. Automobile manufacturers and gasoline companies especially like to use big cats to sell their products. They like lions, tigers and wildcats. When Americans say wildcat, they usually mean a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat. All these cats attack quickly and fiercely. So wildcats represent something fast and fierce.  
An early American use of the word wildcat was quite different. It was used to describe members of Congress who declared war on Britain in 1812. A magazine of that year said the wildcat congressmen went home. It said they were unable to face the responsibility of having involved their country in an unnecessary war.
Wildcat also has been used as a name for money in the 1800s. At that time, some states permitted banks to make their own money. One bank in the state of Michigan offered paper money with a picture of a wildcat on it. Some banks, however, did not have enough gold to support all the paper money they offered. So the money had little or no value. It was called a wildcat bill or a wildcat banknote. The banks who offered this money were called wildcat banks. A newspaper of the time said those were the days of wildcat money. It said a man might be rich in the morning and poor by night.
Wildcat then was also used for an oil well or gold mine that had almost no oil or gold in it. Dishonest developers would buy such property. Then they would sell it and leave town with the money. The buyers were left with worthless holes in the ground. Today, wildcat oil wells are in areas that are not known to have oil.
【小题1】What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Wildcats and their stories.	B．Wildcats and their characters.
C．Varieties of animal species.	D．Relationship between animals and humans.

【小题2】 The underlined words "a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat" in Paragraph 1 may refer to "__________".

A．gasoline companies	B．automobile manufacturers
C．brands of automobile	D．names of wildcats

【小题3】Which of the following would people like to have or trust according to the passage?

A．Wildcat congressmen.	B．Wildcat oil wells.
C．Wildcat banks.	D．Wildcat cars.

【小题4】It can be inferred that during the days of wildcat money__________.

A．people couldn't buy anything with the money

B．people complained and suffered a lot

C．the rich invested too much on oil wells

D．people didn't know how to save money

Killer bees started in Brazil in 1957. A scientist in Sao Paulo wanted bees to make more honey. So he put forty-six African bees with some Brazilian bees. The bees bred and made a new kind of bee. But the new bees were a mistake. They did not want to make more honey. They wanted to attack. Then, by accident, twenty-six African bees escaped and bred with the Brazilian bees outside.
Scientists could not control the problem. The bees spread. They went from Brazil to Venezuela. Then they went to Central America. Now they are in North America. They travel about 390 miles a year. Each group of bees, or colony (群体), grows four times a year. This means one million new colonies every five years.
Why are people afraid of killer bees? People are afraid for two reasons. First, the bees sting (刺痛、蜇) many more times than a normal bee. Killer bees can sting sixty times a minute non-stop for two hours. Second, killer bees attack in groups. Four hundred bee stings can kill a person.
Already several hundred people are dead. Now killer bees are in Texas. In a few years they will spread all over the United States. People can do nothing but wait.
【小题1】A scientist in Brazil wanted bees ________.

A．to go to Central America

B．to grow four times a year

C．to make more honey

D．to breed with Brazilian bees outside

【小题2】The bees bred and made a new kind of bee. Here “bred” means ________.

A．attack

B．run away

C．died

D．produce young

【小题3】Killer bees can sting ________.

A．once two hours	B．400 times two hours
C．3600 times two hours	D．7200 times two hours

【小题4】Why are people afraid of killer bees?

A．Because they sting Brazilian bees.

B．Because they sting more and attack in groups.

C．Because they won’t make any honey.

D．Because each group of bees grows four times a year.

【小题5】 What will the people do with the killer bees?

A．People can do nothing but wait.

B．People will make another kind of bees.

C．Scientists could control the problem.

D．They will spread all over the world.

Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers fried to conquer (征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s ,the main crop, potatoes was affected by disease and about 750, 000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly, Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.
【小题1】What does the author tell us in Paragraph 1?

A．How the Irish fought against the English.

B．How Ireland gained independence.

C．How two “Irelands” came into being.

D．How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.

【小题2】The last paragraph is mainly about____.

A．the Irish character	B．Irish culture
C．Irish musical instruments	D．a famous Irish writer

【小题3】We learn from the text that in Ireland _____.

A．different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments

B．people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside

C．it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker

D．food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population

【小题4】What can be the best title for the text?

A．Life in Ireland

B．Ireland, Past and Present

C．A Very Difficult History

D．The Independence of Ireland

Once upon a time, on an isolated island in the Java sea, lived short people who dominated(支配, 占优势) the food chain. Standing no more than three and a half feet tall, these human ancestors hunted giant rats, lumbering lizards（笨拙的蜥蜴), and miniature elephants.  
It sounds a bit like a fairy tale, but it's true. Unearthed relics on the island uncovered the remains of a race of tiny human ancestors. Homo floresiensis, as the newly discovered species has been named, apparently could date back to 13,000 years ago. This means they have a lot in common with modern humans.
So how and why did these people get so small? Scientists suspect that it's due to the fact that this race lived on an isolated island with limited resources. Take the miniature elephants for example. When elephants first came to the island either by swimming or by some kind of natural land raft, they were probably close to full size. But since there wasn't much to eat, over time smaller elephants lived longer and better. The smaller the elephant was, the less it had to eat to stay strong and healthy.
Scientists call this the "island role", and it can apply to humans as well as animals. Given the island's sparse(稀少) food supply, it makes sense that the early humans living there would have evolved (进化) a body size requiring less food to survive. So bigger isn't always better. In the floresiensis, at least, getting smaller was the way to go.
【小题1】According to the passage, the fact Homo floresiensis are very small is based on________.

A．the islanders in the Java Sea	B．the human ancestors
C．a newspaper report	D．the unearthed relics

【小题2】The underlined word "miniature" in the first paragraph most probably means______.

A．tiny

B．active

C．rare

D．wild

【小题3】People on the island got so small because____________.

A．they gradually developed for lack of food.

B．they did not have enough food to eat.

C．they shared less food with elephants.

D．they remained alive as the elephants.

【小题4】What might be the most suitable title of the passage?

A．The history of short people	B．Short people on an isolated island
C．The proofs on short people	D．Short people from a fairy tale

【小题5】According to the passage, getting smaller can make people and animals ____

A．run quickly

B．live weaker

C．live longer

D．run slowly

ANIMALS have always been used to represent certain human characteristics. Countries also use animals as symbols. From eagles to lions, many countries use an animal to show its national spirit and character.
The image of an eagle is on the US President’s flag, and on the one-dollar bill. The bald eagle is a large, powerful, brown bird with a white head and tail. The term “bald” does not mean that this bird lacks feathers. Instead, it comes from the old word piebald, that menas, “marked with white”.
The US declared that the eagle was its national bird in 1782. It was chosen because of “its long life, great strength, and noble looks”.
A few eagles have even become American heroes. An eagle named “Old Abe”, the mascot of a Wisconsin troop of soldiers during the Civil War, traveled 14,000 miles with its men. He was often shot at by the enemy, but survived 42 battles.
But, one of the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin didn’t agree with the choice. “The bald eagle … is a bird of bad moral character, like those among men who live by robbing, he is generally poor, and often very messy,” he argued. Franklin wanted the turkey as the country’s national bird.
If Americans chose their national symbol deliberately, the symbol of England arose out of history.
King Herry Ⅰ(1068-1135) was a brave warrior but also wise. His appreciation for the rule of law earned him the nickname the Lion of Justice. He was the first English King to use a lion as a royal symbol, which is popularly known as the “king of the jungle”. By the year Richard Ⅰ, known as “The Lionheart” for his bravery, came to the throne in 1189, the famous Three Lions badge had been formed. Now it can be seen on the shirts of England’s sports teams.
Although people might not think of lions when they think of England, everyone knows about the Australian kangaroo. Legend has it that the kangaroo gets its name from an early meeting between local aborigines and white settlers. When asked by the Europeans what these strange-looking animals were, a native replied “kangaroo”, meaning “I don’t understand you.”
The kangaroo is an individualistic animal. Although it does gather in groups, the kangaroo is not a herd animal. If a group is attacked, individuals run off in different directions. Australians think the kangaroo represents positive values, such as individual responsibility and pride.
【小题1】The general idea of this passage should probably be __________ .

A．animals are friends of human beings

B．nearly all the countries have an animal as their national animal

C．animals’ good values are always used to show a country’s national spirit and character

D．certain human characteristics are the same as some animals, so some countries love animals

【小题2】Which is NOT true about the animal of the “bald eagle”?
A. It was Benjamin Franklin who made the bald eagle as the national animal of the USA.
B. The term “bald” means “marked with white”.
C. The bald eagle can show American national spirit and character.
D. “Old Abe” was even an American hero.
【小题3】The reason why the lion was made as the national animal of the United Kingdom was that ______ .

A．it could always be used to represent certain human characteristics of England

B．the Kings of England loved lions

C．there are many lions in England

D．lions are “king of the jungle”

【小题4】What good values can the kangaroo show as national spirits?

A．Group.	B．Respect of others.
C．Not understanding	D．Positive values.