＃117: Some people like to have friends who are different from them. Others like to have friends who are similar to them. What kind of friends do you want for yourself?
Kate Join Date: March, 2011 Location: the United Kingdom	I like to have friends who are like me. Both my best friend Vades and I like traveling. We went to Italy last month and stayed there for a week. Next month we want to go to Paris. However, Vades is more athletic than me.
Ditlady Join Date: April, 2011 Location: Canada	I like to have friends who are like me. It can be very helpful. I’m a little quiet and my good friend Libby is quiet, too. Sometimes I don’t know what to do with my problems and she can tell me what I should do, because she knows about me better than people who are different from me.
Harbinger Join Date: May, 2011	Hi, everyone! I went to see the dentist last week and just got here. In my opinion, it is important to have both kinds of friends. That makes your life more interesting.

(　 )51. Where is Kate going next month?

　 A. To the USA.　　　　 B. To the UK.　　　 C. To Italy.　　　　　 D. To France.

(　 )52. What’s Libby like?

　 A. She’s as beautiful as Ditlady.　　　　 B. She’s more outgoing than Ditlady.

　 C. She’s as quiet as Ditlady.　　　　　　 D. She’s more athletic than Ditlady.

(　 )53. What was the matter with Harbinger last week?

　 A. He had a cold.　　　　　　　　　　　 B. He had a headache.

　 C. He had a fever.　　　　　　　　　　　 D. He had a toothache.

(　 )54. What kind of friends does Harbinger like to have?

A. Those who are different from him.　　　 B. Those who are the same as him.

C. He doesn’t like to make friends. D. He likes to have both kinds of friends.

(　 )55. What does the underlined word “similar” mean?

A. 一致的　　　　 B. 相似的　　　　 C. 友好的　　　　　 D. 简单的

Is the whale the world’s largest fish? No. It looks like a fish, but it is really a mammal (哺乳动物). Then what’s the world’s largest fish? It’s the whale shark.

Although the whale shark is our biggest fish and lives in many oceans around the world, few people have ever heard of it. Scientists have not been studying whale sharks for very long. Much more needs to be learned about them.

A whale shark is sometimes called a “gentle giant (温柔的巨人)”. It likes to be alone and doesn’t care a bit about divers or humans. The biggest whale shark weighed 24,250 pounds and was nearly 40 feet long. This makes it heavier and longer than a school bus.

Inside its huge mouth are great numbers of very small teeth. To count all of them, you’ll need to do some math. The whale shark’s teeth are arranged in rows. There are between eleven and thirteen rows on each jaw (颚) and around three hundred teeth in each row.

However, the whale shark rarely uses its teeth. It does not chew or bite its food. Large amounts of water are pulled into its mouth and then pushed out through its gills (鳃).

For a few months every year, a group of whale sharks comes to Ningaloo Reef, off Western Australia. This gives scientists a wonderful chance to study the large fish. Whale sharks do live in other oceans of the world, but no one knows their population. It is possible that our biggest fish may need protecting. It is one of the reasons why scientists continue to learn all they can about these gentle giants.

51. Little is known about whale sharks because scientists _____.

A. are not interested in learning about them

B. find them too difficult to catch

C. do not know the best places to find them

D. have studied them for a short time

52. Which sentence can tell us that whale sharks are gentle?

A. They have large mouths.

B. They leave divers alone.

C. They have small eyes.

D. They live in many oceans.

53. How does the writer help us know what the whale shark’s mouth looks like?

A. By giving reasons.

B. By describing colors.

C. By comparing sizes.

D. By using numbers.

54. The fifth paragraph is mainly about _____.

A. how a whale shark eats

B. what a whale shark eats

C. how different fish use their gills

D. what’s inside a whale shark’s mouth

55. Which of the following is the best title for the article?

A. Gentle Giants                                         B. The Diary of a Sailor

C. The Largest Animal                                 D. My Life on the Sea

To go to college, Daniela came to the United States. At the beginning she was satisfied with the little bit she had. “When I arrived in Arizona I thought that if I had to go back, at least I knew something about the United States,” she said. But after the first day in the United States, she missed her parents a lot. “I really needed support from them,” she said. “I wanted someone who was there when I needed support.”

Now, to be here in the United States she feels how much she has grown without her parents. She thinks that now she is a stronger person. “I have learned to value what I have and this has helped me to mature,” Daniela said.

At the same time she has to be far from her parents now and she repents(悔过) many things and she values her parents even more. Her father was trying to give her a better future even though it was not enough for her family to live. “I can tell now how much my father worked for me,” she said.

Now Daniela’s goal is to graduate from high school and be able to get a college degree. She knows that the way is long and the struggles she has gone through are just the beginning. But she also believes that the difficult life she has now will help provide a better future.

(   ) 51. Why did Daniela go to the United States alone?

A. To have a holiday                         B. To visit her uncle      

C. To go to college                          D. To do research work

(   ) 52. How did Daniela feel when she just got to the United States?

A. Satisfied          B. Lonely             C. Happy             D. Sad

(   ) 53. The underlined word “mature” in the passage means “_______” in Chinese.

A.孤独                B.发酵                C.独立                       D.成熟

(   ) 54. What does Daniela want to do now?

A. She wants to see her parents                  B. She wants to repent many things

C. She wants to get a college degree.           D. She wants to go through the struggles

(   ) 55. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. When you’re not with your parents, you’ll miss them a lot

B. the struggles and difficulties will help provide a better future for you.

C. Sometimes you can’t tell how much your father worked for you

D. Daniela’s way is long and the struggles she has gone through are just the beginning.