500 years ago in Britain, the burning of coal (煤) was increasing in cities like London. Coal was used in factories and also used to heat homes. Coal, when burnt makes a lot of smoke, which makes the air very dirty.
About 200 years ago, the Industrial Revolution (工业革命) began in Britain. Factories were built, and even more coal was burnt. Air pollution was becoming a really big problem.
Smoke and fog together make smog (烟雾). Smog was a big problem in London's winter. Because of the cold weather, more coal was burnt to warm houses and this made more smoke.
When smog stayed over a city, it became really hard to breathe and see clearly. In 1952, the Great London Smog happened and more than 4,000 people died because of the smog.
New laws (法律) were made in 1956 and 1968 to stop such sad things from happening again. These laws were called the Clean Air Acts.
These laws were made so that air would become cleaner. The laws encouraged people to use less coal or switch to other fuels such as gas. Factories started using tall chimneys (烟囱) so that the smoke would go high up in the sky and no longer cover cities, and new factories were built in the countryside. Smog appeared less often and the air became cleaner.
【小题1】From the passage, we learn that smog was a big problem in ______ in London.

A．spring

B．summer

C．autumn

D．winter

【小题2】The underlined words "switch to" mean "______"  in Chinese.

A．发明

B．换用

C．拒绝

D．节省

【小题3】Which was NOT a way people in Britain used to make the air cleaner, according to the passage?

A．Factories built higher chimneys.

B．People began to use less coal.

C．More People began to ride bikes.

D．New factories were built outside cities.

【小题4】Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Air Pollution in Britain in the Past.

B．How to Make the Air Cleaner.

C．Smog Is Bad for the Environment.

D．New Laws to Stop Air Pollution.

500 years ago in Britain, the burning of coal (煤) was increasing in cities like London. Coal was used in factories and also used to heat homes. Coal, when burnt makes a lot of smoke, which makes the air very dirty.

About 200 years ago, the Industrial Revolution (工业革命) began in Britain. Factories were built, and even more coal was burnt. Air pollution was becoming a really big problem.

Smoke and fog together make smog (烟雾). Smog was a big problem in London's winter. Because of the cold weather, more coal was burnt to warm houses and this made more smoke.

When smog stayed over a city, it became really hard to breathe and see clearly. In 1952, the Great London Smog happened and more than 4,000 people died because of the smog.

New laws (法律) were made in 1956 and 1968 to stop such sad things from happening again. These laws were called the Clean Air Acts.

These laws were made so that air would become cleaner. The laws encouraged people to use less coal or switch to other fuels such as gas. Factories started using tall chimneys (烟囱) so that the smoke would go high up in the sky and no longer cover cities, and new factories were built in the countryside. Smog appeared less often and the air became cleaner.

1.From the passage, we learn that smog was a big problem in ______ in London.

A．spring            B．summer           C．autumn           D．winter

2.The underlined words "switch to" mean "______"  in Chinese.

A．发明             B．换用             C．拒绝             D．节省

3.Which was NOT a way people in Britain used to make the air cleaner, according to the passage?

A．Factories built higher chimneys.

B．People began to use less coal.

C．More People began to ride bikes.

D．New factories were built outside cities.

4.Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Air Pollution in Britain in the Past.

B．How to Make the Air Cleaner.

C．Smog Is Bad for the Environment.

D．New Laws to Stop Air Pollution.

 

The class teacher thought that hobbies were important for children. So she encouraged all her students to have one, and sometimes she arranged hobby shows for their parents to see as a result.

One morning the teacher told the class to have a holiday and get their hobby things to school before 5p.m. A hobby show would be held the following afternoon.

So in the afternoon, the students with nothing to show did their lessons at school as usual, while the lucky ones had a holiday to go home for their hobby works.

When the afternoon lessons began, the teacher was surprised to see that Tommy was not there. “I don’t believe Tommy has a hobby,” she thought. However, at a quarter to five, Tommy arrived with a beautiful collection of butterflies in glass cases. The teacher liked the samples(标本) very much and put them on a desk in the classroom. But, to her surprise, Tommy picked them up again and began to leave.

“What are you doing, Tommy?” she asked. “Those things must stay here until tomorrow afternoon. That’s when the parents are coming to see them.”

“I know that,” answered Tommy, “and I will bring them back tomorrow, but my big brother doesn’t want them to be out of our house at night.”

“But, aren’t the butterflies yours?” asked the teacher.

“No,” answered Tommy. “They are my brother’s”

“But Tommy, you should show your own hobby here, not somebody else’s”

“I know that,” answered Tommy. What surprised her most was the answer, “My hobby is watching my brother collecting butterflies.”

1.What did the class teacher think of hobbies for children?

A．Unwelcome        B．Hopeless          C．Harmful           D．Important

2.What time did Tommy get back to school that afternoon?

3.What would NOT happen the following afternoon?

A．The parents would enjoy the show in the classroom

B．Tommy would bring the butterflies back

C．The teacher would encourage her students for hobbies

D．The butterflies would fly away

4.Which was the teacher’s greatest surprise?

A．Tommy was not at school as usual

B．Tommy picked the butterflies up again and began to leave

C．Tommy said his hobby was watching his brother collecting butterflies

D．Tommy came back to school before 5 that afternoon

5.What’s the best title for this passage?

A．Important Hobbies                      B．Tommy’s Hobby

C．Different Hobbies                       D．Collecting Butterflies

 

Even though global warming may have made the weather more mild, many animals are still hibernating（冬眠）. It’s too bad that humans can’t hibernate. In fact we almost did.
Apparently, at times in the past, farmers in France liked a semi-state of human hibernation. So writes Graham Robb, a British scholar who has studied the sleeping habits of the French farmers. As soon as the weather turned cold, people all over the France shut themselves away and practiced the forgotten art of doing nothing at all for months.
In line with this, Jeff Warren, a producer at CBC Radio’s The Current, tells us that the way we sleep has changed since the invention of lighting.
When historians began studying texts of the Middle Ages, they noticed something referred to as “first sleep”, which was not clarified, though. Now scientists are telling us our ancestors most likely slept in separate periods. The business of eight hours’ continuous sleep is a modern invention.
In the past, without the artificial light, humans went to sleep when it became dark and then woke themselves up around midnight. The late night period was known as “The Watch”. It was when people actually kept watch against wild animals, although many of them simply moved around or visited family and neighbors.
According to some sleep researchers, a short of insomnia（失眠）at midnight is not a disorder. It is normal. Humans can experience another state of consciousness（清醒状态）around their sleeping, which happens in the brief period before we fall asleep or wake ourselves in the morning. This period can be a creative time for some people.
Playing with your sleep rhythms（节奏）can be dangerous, as worry may set in. Medical science doesn’t help much in this case. It offers us medicines for a full night’s continuous sleep, which sounds natural; however, according to Warren’s theory, it is really the opposite of what we need.
【小题1】The late night was called “The Watch” because it was a time for people ______.

A．to set time to catch animals

B．to remind others of the time

C．to guard against possible dangers

D．to wake up their family and neighbors

【小题2】We can infer from the last paragraph that people should ______.

A．sleep in the way animals do

B．follow their natural sleep rhythms

C．keep to the eight-hour sleeping way

D．ask doctors for help if they can’t sleep

【小题3】What is the writer’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To throw new light on human sleep.

B．To encourage people to sleep less.

C．To give some suggestions on insomnia.

D．To find out people’s hibernating history.

Asia is home to more than half of the world's population and three of the four most crowded countries are in Asia. China, India, and Indonesia alone have more than 2.5 billion people.

Until recently, most Asian nations fell behind the western countries in many fields. Government reform(改革), however, has led to important progress in each of these Asian countries. Across the area, education systems have been improved and economies（经济） have been growing. Most Asian countries now have a system of compulsory(义务的) education. Many countries have recently allowed private universities to be built, which was not allowed before. There are more chances for students to go to university now.

However, in Asia, there are still not enough chances for students to get higher education and many people prefer to go abroad for further study. As a result, India, China, South Korea, Japan and other Asian countries send thousands of students to study in the United States and Europe each year.

Part of the people in Asian countries can speak English, and English has become the most important language for business across the area. The percentage(百分比) is the largest in Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, SriLanka and South Korea. Many people in China, India and Malaysia can also speak English. Some countries have made English part of the primary and secondary education program. In some countries, children begin to study English even at the age of 4 or 5.

1.The population of Asia is about__________         .

   A. 2.5 billion  B. half of the world's population

C. 1.3 billion   D. 6 billion

2.Most Asian countries __________ the western countries in many fields.

    A. are better than             B. are more powerful than

    C. get greater progress than.    D. are not as good as

3.In the past, __________ was not allowed in many Asian countries.

    A. speaking English             B. moving to other countries

    C. building private universities     D. building middle schools

4.Why do so many students in Asia go to study in the USA and Europe?

A. Because they are rich.

B. Because there are not enough chances for students to get higher education in Asia.

C. Because they don't want to work hard.

D. Because they can speak English very well.

5.Which of the following is NOT true?

  A. There're more than 2.5 billion people in China, India and Indonesia.

  B. The economies in Asian countries are becoming worse.

  C. Education in Asia has had great changes.

D. In some Asian countries, English has become very important for business