No one can change the weather. Nobody can control the weather. But if we read correctly the signs around us, we can tell what the more important changes in the weather will be. This way of telling what the weather will be like on the following day or two is called weather forecasting(天气预报).

For many centuries and in all countries, people have studied the weather and tried to make weather forecasting. Rings around the sun are a sign of coming rain. That many people feel their joints(关节) hurt is a sign of wet weather. Some birds fly high if fine weather is coming, but they fly near the ground if rainy or stormy weather is on the way. If you see a rainbow during rainy weather, this is a sign that the weather will become clear and fine. Such rainbows come in the evening. If the stars twinkle clearly at night, then fine weather will continue. If a fog appears in the morning just above a river, then the day will be warm. If the sunset is mostly red in colour, then the following day will be fine. If a rainbow appears in the morning, rainy weather will probably come.

Most of the above sayings have been made by the people who have used their eyes and brains to make weather forecasting.

1.Which of the following can be used here to replace(取代) the underlined phrase “on the way”?

A．away.

B．gone.

C．disappearing.

D．coming.

2.When you see the stars twinkle clearly at night, the weather will be _______.

A．warm

B．rainy

C．clear and fine

D．cold

3.Which of the following signs can tell the weather will probably be rainy?

A．A rainbow appears in the morning.

B．Some birds fly high.

C．The stars twinkle clearly at night.

D．Fogs appear in the morning just above a river.

 

No one can change the weather. Nobody can control the weather. But if we read correctly the signs around us, we can tell what the more important changes in the weather will be. This way of telling what the weather will be like on the following day or two is called weather forecasting.

For many centuries and in all countries, people have studied the weather and tried to make weather forecasting. Rings around the sun are a sign of coming rain. That many people feel their joints(关节) hurt is a sign of wet weather. Some birds fly high if the weather is fine, but they fly near the ground if rainy or stormy weather is on the way. If you see a rainbow during rainy weather, this is a sign that the weather will become clear and fine. Such rainbows come in the evening. If the stars twinkle clearly at night, then fine weather will continue. If a fog appears in the morning just above a river, then the day will be warm. If the sunset is mostly red in colour, then the following day will be fine. If a rainbow appears in the morning, rainy weather will probably come.

Most of the above sayings have been made by the people who have used their eyes and brains to make weather forecasting.

1.Which is true about weather forecasting?

A．Weather forecasting is a way of telling what the weather will be like.

B．Weather forecasting is a report about the weather.

C．Weather forecasting is a sign of coming rain.

D．People can change the weather forecasting.

2.Which of the following can be used here to replace the underlined phrase “on the way”?

A．continuing         B．reducing.          C．coming.           D．disappearing.

3.Which of the following signs can tell the weather will probably be rainy?

A．Some birds fly high.

B．A rainbow appears in the morning.

C．The sunset is mostly red in colour.

D．Fogs appear in the morning just above a river.

4.The best title of the passage is _______.

A．Weather forecasting plays an important role in our life

B．Weather forecasting can bring people some signs of weather

C．Weather is forecasted only by eyes and brains.

D．People can predict weather by experience in daily life

 

There once lived a rich businessman who had a lazy son. The businessman wanted his son to realize the value of labour and said: “Today, I want you to go out and earn something, failing which you won’t have your meals tonight.”
He went crying straight to his mother. Her heart melted at her son’s eyes. She gave him a gold coin. When the father asked his son what he had earned, the son presented him the gold coin. The father asked him to throw it into a well.
The next day, he asked his son to earn something. This time he went crying to his sister who gave him a coin. When he showed it to his father he again asked him to throw it in a well. Then the father asked him to earn more money.
This time since there was no one to help him, the son was forced to go to the market. One shopkeeper told him he would pay him two coins if he carried his trunk to his house. He did so and sweated plenty. As he returned home he was asked to do the same. The son almost cried out. He could not imagine throwing his hard-earned money like this. He cried, “My entire body is aching. You are asking me to throw the money into the well.”
At this moment, the businessman told him one feels the pain only when the fruits of hard labour are wasted. On the earlier two occasions he was helped and therefore had no pain in throwing the coins into the well. The son had now realized the value of hard work. He promised never to be lazy and to safely keep the father’s wealth. The father handed over the keys of his shop to the son and promised to guide him through the rest of the life.
【小题1】Which of the following is TRUE?

A．At first the son was hard-working and responsible.

B．The father taught his son a lesson in a good way.

C．The father didn’t like his son at all.

D．The businessman was a little lazy.

【小题2】According to the passage, the father wanted his son to realize ______.

A．the importance of helping others

B．the importance of money

C．the value of hard labour

D．the value of money

【小题3】It can be inferred from the passage that ______.

A．the mother was very generous

B．the sister was very warm-hearted

C．the father was very strict

D．the shopkeeper was very cruel

【小题4】According to the last paragraph, we can guess the boy was likely to ______.

A．look for a good job

B．use up his father’s wealth

C．become a successful guide

D．follow his father’s career

 

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给的四个选项（A、B、C 和 D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Steve Wayne, 16, who worked this summer as a lifeguard and swim teacher in Idaho Falls, was thrilled to see an extra $ 20 in his paycheck when the federal minimum wage increased in July.

“When you’re getting paid minimum wage, anything helps,” Wayne said.

Wayne is one of several hundred thousand American teenagers who earn the minimum wage. The last of three recent increases took the minimum from $5.15 an hour in 2007 to $7.25.

US Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis says the minimum-wage increase will pump an extra $ 5.5 billion into the economy over the next year, which is helpful at a time when the economy is hurting.

“You’re giving people who spend money a raise,” said Kai Filion of the Economic Policy Institute. “Those people will go out and spend that money, and it will circulate through the economy.”

But other economists say raising the wage actually hurts the very people it’s designed to help. A higher hourly minimum, they say, could force businesses to cut workers’ hours, or even lay people off.

“What matters for people earning minimum wage is how much money they take home in total,” explained Rajeev of Georgia State University’s Economic Forecasting Center. “Their hourly rate may go up, but their number of hours may come down, so it’s not an overall increase.”

Business owners also say that raising the minimum wage exerts (施加) upward pressure on other wages. “If the minimum wage is $ 7 and I have to pay $ 8 or $ 9 to hire a dishwasher, then the cooks are going to say they want more,” said Cleveland restaurant owner Rick. “How much can I charge for that hamburger?”

Another argument is that it makes it more expensive for businesses to hire new workers. For many businesses already struggling to make ends meet in these tough times, it will be simply too expensive to keep them or to hire new people.

1. Steve Wayne was excited that ______.

A. his hard work had paid off

B. he had received a big wage increase

C. he has more money due to an increase in minimum wage

D. the wages of American teenage workers have been increased

2. According to the text, the US federal government has increased minimum wage with the aim of ______.

A. decreasing unemployment                             B. promoting economic recovery

C. increasing American teenagers’ wage        D. narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor

3. What matters most to people in need of help is ______.

A. a higher hourly minimum                  B. more working hours

C. a minimum-wage increase                D. an increase in total income

4. Some are against the increase in minimum wage because they say ______.

A. only very few workers will be helped

B. they have to cut down working hours

C. many business owners can’t afford to employ new workers

D. minimum wage workers will expect more pay rises in the future