There are many amazing places to visit in England.

The first place that you shouldn’t miss in England is London. The British Museum, which you can visit free of charge, has millions of exhibits featuring ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman artifacts. Another popular free place is the British Library and its collection of original manuscripts (原稿). The Changing of the Guard takes place at all the Royal Palaces with the most famous one of course being Buckingham Palace. But if the crowd there is too huge, you can check out a smaller ceremony at St James’ s Palace. With all the money you’ve saved, why not take a ride on the London Eye for the finest views in all of London?

The Lake District is the mountainous, northwest realm of England. in this area, you’ll find some of England’s highest mountains and its deepest and longest lakes. Here you can reconnect with nature while spending nights camping under the stars. If you prefer a more leisurely pace, you can explore the area’s nature reserves and historic homes by yourself. For the cultural tourists, there are summer theater performances and creative arts festivals.

Oxford is best known for is university, one of the leading universities in the world. Oxford is also a vast architectural museum which dates back to the arrival of the Saxons. Begin your treasure hunt with a tour of the university. Many of his university’s 11th-entury buildings are open to visitors.

1. When you travel in London, what can you do there?

A. See many original manuscripts in Buckingham Palace.  

B. Enjoy ancient Roman artifacts in the British Library.

C. Take a ride on the London Eye for free.

D. Enter the British Museum for free.

2. The Lake District would attract those fond of      .

A. history             B. science            C. nature              D. language 

3. Oxford is a better place for tourists to      .

A. make a lot of money

B. enjoy natural beauty

C. experience country life

D. appreciate ancient buildings

It was Mother’s day morning last year and I was doing my shopping at our local supermarket with my five-year-old son, Tenyson. As we were leaving, we found that only minutes earlier an elderly woman had fallen over at the entrance and had hit her head on the concrete. Her husband was with her, but there was blood everywhere and the woman was embarrassed and clearly in shock. Walking towards the scene, Tenyson became very upset about what had happened to the couple. He said to me, “Mum, its not much fun falling over in front of everyone.”

    At the front of the supermarket a charity (慈善) group had set up a stand selling cooked sausages and flowers to raise funds. Tenyson suggested that we should buy the lady a flower. “It will make her feel better, “he said. I was amazed that he’d come up with such a sweet idea. So we went over to the flower seller and asked her if we could buy a flower for the lady to cheer her up. “Just take it,” she replied. “I can’t take your money for such a wonderful gesture.”

    By now paramedics (救援人员) had arrived, and were attending the injured woman. As we walked up to her, my son became intimidated by all the blood and medical equipment. He said he was just too scared to go up to her.

      Instead I gave the flower to the woman’s husband and told him, “My son was very upset for your wife and wanted to give her this flower to make her feel better.”

      At that, the old man started crying and said, “thank you so much, you have a wonderful son. Happy Mother’s Day to you.” The man then bent down and gave his wife the flower, telling her who it was from. Though badly hurt and shaken, the old lady looked up at Tenyson with love in her eyes and gave him a little smite.

1. What does the author intend to tell us.

A. One can never be too careful. 

B. Actions speak louder than words.

C. A small act of kindness brings a great joy.

D. Love begins with a little smile.

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

     A. The elderly woman was knocked down by Tenyson.

B. Tenyson’s idea of buying a flower gained his mother’s support.

C. Tenyson’s care for the elderly woman puzzled the flower seller.

D. The elderly woman was moved to tears by Tenyson’s gesture.

3. The underlined word intimidated in the third paragraph probably means “        ”

    A. frightened            B. astonished            C. struck                 D. excited

4. What would be the best title for the passage? 

A. Mothers Day   

B. Flower Power

C. An Accidental injury 

D. An Embarrassing Moment

“A good book might clarify something you knew little about, transform your world view, or move you in ways you didn’t think possible. The Soul of an Octopus (章鱼) delivers on all three,” the magazine New Scientist commented.

After writing about birds, pigs and tigers, US naturalist St Montgomery decided to choose these many-footed animals as the subject of her latest book, The Soul of an Octopus: a surprising exploration into the wonder of consciousness.

“Here is animal with poisonous liquid like a snake, a beak (喙) like a parrot, and ink like an old-fashioned pen. It can weigh as much as a man and extend as long as a car, yet it can pour its baggy; boneless body through an opening the size of all orange. It can change color and shape. It has a tongue covered with teeth. It can taste with its skin.” Montgomery explained to the National Geographic on why octopuses inspired her.

What Montgomery is able to show in The Soul of an Octopus is that octopuses are creatures who exhibit personality, intelligence and emotion, despite having nervous, systems completely different from our own. She uses different experiments to show that they possess consciousness as well as individual personalities. For example, based on her research, she finds out that Octavia, an octopus caught in the wild, is friendly and good at multi-tasking. And Kali, anther octopus, who has been living at the New England Aquarium, is playful and loves exploring.

Montgomery is a good storyteller. Through her study of, and communication with the extraordinary creatures she shares what she learns from both science and her experiences. Her skillful writing presents facts together with personal description, which makes the book very informative but easy to read.

1. Why is The Soul of an Octopus thought highly of?

A. it is themed with a many-footed animal. 

B. It mainly explores consciousness and wonders.

C. It compares octopuses with birds, pigs and tigers.

D. if offers new knowledge and changes your viewpoints.

2. Octopuses impress Montgomery greatly because        

A. they have unique physical functioning 

B. their liquid can be used as good ink

C. they behave more like shakes and parrots 

D. their body can be shrunk to the size of a orange

3. What does Montgomery think of octopuses according to Paragraph 4?

A. They are friendly with each other.

B. They are similar to humans in a way.

C. They communicate with humans well. 

D. They have different nature from humans.

4. Which of the following best describes the book?

A. Vivid but unreal.

B. Scientific and readable.

C. Boring and ridiculous 

D. Interesting but fictional.

There is a popular saying in the English: “language: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Well, that is not true. Unkind words, name-calling of even the so-called “the silent treatment” can hurt children as much as being physically hit sometimes even more so.  
       A recent study of middle school children showed that verbal (言语的) abuse by other children can harm development in  the brain. The study was a project of researchers at Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts.Researcher 

Martin Teicher and his team studied young adults, aged 18 to 25. These young men and women had not ever been treated in a cruel or violent way by their parents. The researchers asked the young people to rate their childhood exposure to verbal abuse from both parents and other children. Then the researchers performed imaging tests on the brains of the subjects.
       The images showed that the people who reported suffering verbal abuse from peers in middle school had underdeveloped connections between the left and right side of the brain. The two sides of the brain are connected by a large bundle of connecting fibers called the corpus callosum. This was the area that was underdeveloped.
       The middle school years are a time when these brain connections are developing. So, unkind, hurtful comments from children or adults during this period have the greatest effect. The researchers tested the mental and emotional condition of all the young people in the study. The tests showed that this same group of people had higher levels of fear, depression, anger and drug abuse than others in the study. The researchers published their findings online on the American Journal of Psychiatry’s website. Parents cannot control what other people say to their children, but they can prepare their children.

1. Why does the author use the popular saying at the beginning?

A. To show the power of words. 

B. To introduce an opposite view.

C. To prove the author’s argument. 

D. To show ancient people’s wisdom.

2. What did the subjects have in common?

A.They were hurt by unkind words.

B. They performed poorly in imaging tests.

C. They had their brain slightly damaged.

D. They experienced no physical abuse at home.

3. What will be discussed in the next paragraph?

A. Comments on the findings.

B. Approaches to further studies.

C. Suggestions to parents.

D. Different opinions on the matter.

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. The way we speak matter.

B. Verbal violence should be stopped

C. Unkind words hurt the brain.

D, Words are worse than sticks and stones.

根据短文内容， 从短文后的7个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Water -- To Your Health!

Study after study shows that drinking enough water defends against problems from head to toe. Water is a basic need for cell health.    1   . So pour yourself a nice big glass, sit back, and take a look at the many benefits being well hydrated (保持充足的水分) can bring to your health.

You’ll have lots of energy

  2   . When you’re dehydrated, cells wont function well enough and the flow is not so smooth affecting your physical and mental performance and making you feel sluggish (迟钝的), according to a review of hydration research conducted by scientists at the University of North Carolina.

You might lose weight

A new study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign involving more than 18,000 adults found that when people increased their daily water intake by one to three 8-ounce cups (on top of the four they already drank on average), they ate less.    3   .

Your memory may improve

Your brain is hugely dependent on fluid-all those brain cells need liquid to fire properly. According to a review published in the journal Nutrients, studies have consistently found that memory and attention improve in children after they take a drink of water.     4   .

Your skin will grow
       According to research, skin is at least 30 percent water. If your skin cells don’t get the water they need, they’ll start to wither and shrink. But if you drink enough water, you skin cells will become larger, softer and rounder, minimizing the appearance of wrinkles.
       5   .
       When women in a small study from the University of Connecticut lost just 1.36 percent of their body mass through sweat (and didn’t drink enough water to replace it, their moods soured and they were more likely to experience headaches and exhaustion.

A. You’ll be in higher spirits
B. You’ll feel strong when you work out
C. It can have a magic power to your mind and body
D. Their food intake dropped by as much as 205 calories a day

E.    Water helps keep up a steady flow of nutrients into your cells
F. That means your cells need more fluid to keep up with the demands

G. The research is less clear on whether this patent holds true for adults