In the summer of 1978 an English farmer was driving his tractor through a field of wheat when he discovered that some of his wheat was lying flat on the ground. The flattened (变平的) wheat formed a circle about six meters across. Around this circle were four smaller circles of flattened wheat. The five circles were in a formation like five dots (点). During the following years, farmers in England found the strange circles in their fields more and more often.

The circles are called “crop circles” because they appear in the fields of grain—usually wheat or corn. The grain in the circles lies flat on the ground but is never broken; it continues to grow, and farmers can later harvest it. Farmers always discover the crop circles in the morning, so the circles probably form at night. They appear only in the months from May to September.

At first, people thought that the circles were a hoax. Probably young people were making them as a joke, or farmers were making them to attract tourists. To prove that the circles were a hoax, people tried to make circles exactly like the ones that farmers had found. They could not do it. They couldn’t enter a field of grain without leaving tracks, and they couldn’t flatten the grain without breaking it.

Many people believe that beings from outer space are making the circles to communicate（交流）with us from far away and that the crop circles are messages from them.

Scientists who have studied the crop circles suggested several possibilities. Some scientists say that a downward rush of wind leads to the formation of the circles—the same downward rush of air that sometimes causes an airplane to crash (坠毁). Other scientists say that forces within the earth cause the circles to appear. There is one problem with all these scientific explanations: crop circles often appear in formations, like the five-dot formation. It is hard to believe that any natural force could form those.

21．In the summer of 1978, an English farmer discovered in his field that ________.

A. some of his wheat had been damaged

B. his grain was growing up in circles

C. his grain was moved into several circles

D. some of his wheat had fallen onto the ground

22．According to the text, the underlined part “a hoax” (line 1, para. 3 ) probably means ________.

A. an action made to fool people

B. a special way to plant crops

C. a research on the force of winds

D. an experiment for the protection of crops

23．Which of the following may prove that the crop circles are not made by man？

A. The farmers couldn’t step out of the field.

B. The farmers couldn’t make the circles round.

C. The farmers couldn’t leave without footprints.

D. The farmers couldn’t keep the wheat straight up.

  The next time you eat a piece of chocolate, be sure to enjoy it, because according to two of the world’s largest chocolate makers—Mars Inc and Barry Callebaut, the treat may soon be in short supply. The problem? We are consuming the candy at a faster pace than farmers can grow cocoa. The manufacturers say that in 2013, people consumed 70,000 tons more cocoa than was produced. Experts say that this is the worst supply-demand imbalance they have experienced in more than 50 years.

Parts of the reason for the condition is the large reduction in supply, caused by a continuous drought in the west African countries of Ivory Coast and Ghana, where more than 70 percent of the world’s cocoa is produced. Additionally, a certain disease known as frosty pod has destroyed 30 to 40 percent of global cocoa production. As a result, many farmers have turned to more profitable and easier grown crops like corn. This means that even if conditions improve, cocoa production may never get back to normal.

Meanwhile, the world is only getting hungrier for chocolate. The biggest increase in demand is from the residents of emerging market countries like India. Though their consumption is nowhere close to the amount European devour, their newly acquired amount for the treat , is making a huge dent(凹痕) in an already tight market.

There is also the growing desire for dark chocolate, which contains more than 70 percent cocoa compared to normal chocolates. Experts believe that if consumption continue at this pace, cocoa deficits (差额) could swell to one million tons by 2020 and to an even more worrisome, two million tons, by 2030.

Not surprisingly, cocoa prices have risen by 60% since 2012, a cost that manufacturers have offset by raising the prices of everyone’s favorite candy. As the situation worsens, the price of chocolate can only rise—so be sure to enjoy piece of the sweet treat, like it is your last!

24. The underlined phrase “supply—demand imbalance” probably means         .

A. People consume more chocolate than production

B. Farmers grow more cocoa than people’s demand

C. More and more people like eating chocolates now

D. Chocolates are becoming more and more expensive

25. It is hard to raise cocoa production probably because        .

A. The weather is changeable in the west Africa

B. A certain disease spread around the world

C. Many farmers don’t grow any longer

D. It is impossible for conditions to be improved

26. Where has the demand of chocolate been increasing greatly according to the passage?

A. In Asia       B. In Africa        C. In Europe        D. In America

27. According to the author’s prediction, we can know that         .

A. Chocolate will become cheap sooner or later

B. The farmers will produce more cocoa in 2030

C. The price of chocolate will be going up all the way

D. Dark chocolate will be more popular than common one

In my mind, there is a moving story about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart.

Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had. But being half the size of the other boys,he got absolutely  nowhere. Despite his hard training at all the games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played.

This teenager lived alone with his father, and the relationship between the two of them was very special. Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game. This young man was still the smallest of the class when he entered high school. But his father continued to encourage him.

The young man loved football and was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he’d get to play when he became a senior. All through high school he never missed a practice nor a game but remained a benchwarmer. Besides, his faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him. When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a"walk-on". Everyone firmly believed that he could never make the cut, but he did.

The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father. His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games. This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but actually he never got the real chance to play in a game.

It was at the end of his senior football season that the coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he became totally silent. Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach,"My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?"The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said,"Take the rest of the week off, son. And don’t even plan to come back to the game on Saturday."

Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines(边线), the coach and his players were surprised to see their faithful teammate back so soon."Coach, please let me play. I’ve just got to play today,"said the young man. The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close play-off game. But the young man insisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in."All right,"he said."You can go in."Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before, was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, passed, blocked, and tackled like a star. His team began to succeed. The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid got a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown.

Finally, after the stands had emptied, the coach noticed that this young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone. The coach came to him and said,"Kid, you were unbelievably fantastic! Tell me what got into you? How did you do it?"

He looked at the coach, tears in his eyes, and said,"Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?"The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile,"Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could make it!"

28．What’s the writer’s attitude toward the young boy in this passage?

A.Appreciative.              B.Critical.              C.Grateful.              D.Negative.

29．From the passage, we can infer that　　　.

A.the young man’s coach played an important role in his growth

B.the young man’s father had a great positive influence on him

C.not until his father passed away did the young man train hard

D.the young man’s road to success in football was always smooth

30．Why did the young man return to the match on Saturday?

A.He hoped his dead father could be proud of his performance.

B.He thought he was much better than other players in his team.

C.He wanted to defeat the opposing team in this significant game.

D.He planned to make money to cure his father of his blindness.

31．What’s the best title of the passage?

A.A thrilling football match        B.Determined father and son

C.The power of dreams              D.The encouragement of a coach

  After much thought，I came up with a brilliant plan．I worked out a way for Rich to meet my mother and win her over．In fact，I arranged it so my mother would want to cook a meal especially for him．

  Rich was not only not Chinese and he was a few years younger than I was．And unfortunately，he looked much younger with his curly red hair，smooth pale skin，and the splash of orange freckles（雀斑） across his nose．He was a bit on the short side，compactly built．In his dark business suits，he looked nice but easily forgettable，which was why I didn't notice him the first year we worked together at the firm．But my mother noticed everything．

  "So what do you think of Rich？"I finally asked，holding my breath．

  She tossed the eggplant in the hot oil，angry hissing sound．"So many spots on his face，"she said．

  "They are freckles．Freckles are good luck．"I said a bit too heatedly in trying to raise my voice above the noise of the kitchen．

  "Oh？"She said innocently．

  "Yes，the more spots the better．"

  She considered this a moment and then smiled and spoke in Chinese："When you were young，you got the chicken pox．So many spots，you had to stay home for ten days．So lucky，you thought．"

  I couldn't save Rich in the kitchen．And I couldn't save him later at the dinner table．

  When I offered Rich a fork，he insisted on using the slippery ivory chopsticks．Halfway between his plate and his open mouth，a large chunk of red cooked eggplant fell on his brand new white shirt．

  And then he helped himself to big portions of the shrimp and snow peas，not realizing he should have taken only a polite spoonful．

  He declined the new greens，the tender and expensive leaves of bean plants．He thought he was being polite by refusing seconds，when he should have followed my father's example，who made a big show of taking small portions of seconds，thirds and even fourths，always saying he couldn't resist another bite and then groaning he was so full he thought he would burst．

  But the worst was when Rich criticized my mother's cooking and he didn't even know what he had done．As is the Chinese cook's custom，my mother always made modest remarks about her own cooking．That night she chose to direct it toward her famous steamed pork and preserved vegetable dish，which she always served with special pride．

  "Ai!This dish not salty enough，no flavor，"she complained，after tasting a small bite．

  This was our family's cue to eat more and proclaim it the best she had ever made．But before we could do so，Rich said，"You know，all it needs is a little soy sauce．"And he proceeded to pour a riverful of the salty black stuff on the china plate，right before my mother's horrified eyes．

  And even though I was hoping throughout the dinner that my mother would somehow see Rich's kindness，his sense of humor and boyish charm．I knew he had failed miserably in her eyes．

  Rich obviously had a different opinion on how the evening had gone．When we got home，I was still shuddering，_remembering how Rich had firmly shaken both my parents'hands with that same easy familiarity he used with nervous new clients．"Linda，Tim，"he said，"we'll see you again．"My parents'names are Lindo and Tin Jong，and nobody except a few older family friends ever calls them by their first names．

  "What did she say when you told her？"I knew he was referring to our getting married．

  "I never had a chance，"I said，which was true．How could I have told my mother I was getting married，when at every possible moment we were alone，she seemed to remark on how pale and ill he looked．

  Rich was smiling．"How long does it take to say，Mom，Dad，I am getting married？"

  "You don't understand．You don't understand my mother．"

32．Which is NOT the reason why the author didn't tell her mother she was getting married？　 　

A．She didn't have a chance to tell her mother．

B．Her mother disliked Rich's freckled face．

C．Mother was impressed by his boyish charm and humor．

D．She was shocked by Rich's violation of cultural taboo．

33．Which of the following is NOT closely related to cultural differences in the story？　 　

A．"Ai!This dish not salty enough，no flavor，"she complained，after tasting a small bite．

B．Rich obviously had a different opinion on how the evening had gone

C..Halfway between his plate and his open mouth，a large chunk of redcooked eggplant fell on his brand new white shirt．

D．"Linda，Tim"，Rich said，"we'll see you again．"

34．What does the underlined part in the story really mean？　 　

A．Father made a big show of his preference for the dish by helping himself to the dishes more times，which Rich didn't follow．

B．Rich behaved politely by not following Father who kept having more servings of greens．

C．Father had a good appetite for more portions of greens while Rich had good table manners of having one serving．

D．Rich didn't appear polite because he didn't follow Father，who made a big show of his great appetite by eating more until he couldn't eat．

35．What can be the best title of the story？　 　

A．Rich Met My Mother      B．East VS West

C．Chinese Family Gathering  D．Of Table Manners

 The Internet has opened up a whole new online world for us to meet, chat and go where we’ve never been before.

But just as in face to face communication, there are some rules of behavior that should be followed when on line. 36  Imagine how you’d feel if you were in the other person’s shoes.

For anything you’re about to send: ask yourself, “Would I say this to the person’s face?” if the answer is no, rewrite and reread.  37 

If someone in the chat room is rude to you, your instinct (本能) is to fire back in the same manner. But try not to do so.  38 If it was caused by a disagreement with another member, try to fix the situation by politely discussing it. Remember to respect the beliefs and opinions of others in the chat room.

39   Offer advice when asked by newcomers, as they may not be sure what to do or how to communicate. When someone makes a mistake, whether it’s a stupid question or an unnecessarily long answer, be kind about it. If it’s a small mistake, you may not need to say anything. Even if you feel strongly about it, think twice before saying anything. Having good manners yourself doesn’t give you license to correct everyone else. 40   At the same time, if you find you are wrong, be sure to correct yourself and apologize to those that you have offended.

It is not polite to ask others personal questions such as their age, sex and income. Unless you know the person very well, and you are both comfortable with sharing personal information, don’t ask such questions.

A. It’s natural that there are some people who speak rudely or make mistakes online.

B. Repeat the process till you feel sure that you’d feel comfortable saying the words to the person’s face.

C. Everyone was new to the network once.

D. The basic rule is simple: treat others in the same way you would want to be treated.

E. When you send short messages to a person online, you must say something beautiful to hear.

F. You should either ignore the person, or use your chat software to block their messages.

G. If you do decide to tell someone about a mistake, point it out politely.