A
“Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton（骨骼）in the closet（衣橱）?” Jeica asked.“A skeleton in the closet?” her mother paused thoughtfully.“Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about.For example, if in the past, someone in Dad’s family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be ‘a skeleton in his family’s closet’.He really wouldn’t want any neighbor to know about it.”
“Why pick on my family?” Jeica’s father said with anger.“Your family history isn’t so good, you know.Wasn’t your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?” “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unle your ancestors arrived as prisoners.” “Gosh, sorry I asked.I think I understand now,” Jeica cut iin before things grew worse.
After dinner, the house was very quiet.Jeica’s parents were still quite angry with each other.Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read.When she finished, she gathered the freshly preed clothes in her arms and walked to Jeica’s closet.Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor.Jeica’s mother sank in a faint（晕倒）, waking only when Jeica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead.She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.
“What happened? Where am I?” she asked.“You just destroyed the school’s skeleton, Mum,” explained Jeica.“I brought it home to help me with my health project.I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad.” Jeica looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly.“They’re both crazy,” she thought.
56.According to Jeica’s mother, “a skeleton in the close” means ______.
A.a family honorB.a family secret
C.a family storyD.a family treasure
57.What can we learn about some Australians’ ancestors form Paragraph 2?
A.They were brought to Australia as prisoners.
B.They were the earliest people living in Australia.
C.They were involved in some crimes in Australia.
D.They were not regarded as criminals in their days.
58.Jeica’s mother fell down into a faint because she was ______.
A.knockedB.frightenedC.injuredD.surprised
59.Why did Jeica bring a skeleton home?
A.She was curious about it.B.She planned to keep it for fun.
C.She needed it for her school task.D.She intended to scare her parents.
60.Jeica’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because ______.
A.they were crazy
B.they were over excited
C.they realized their misunderstanding
D.they both thought they had won the quarrel
B
Winners Club
You choose to be a winner!
The Winners Club is a bank account specially designed for teenagers.It has been made to help you better manage your money.The Winners Club is a transaction account（交易账户）where you receive a key-card so you can get to your money 24/7 – that’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
It’s a club with impreive features for teenagers:
No account keeping fees!
You’re no millionaire so we don’t expect you to pay large fees.In fact, there are no account keeping or transaction fees!
Excellent interest rates!
You want your money to grow.The Winners Club has a good rate of interest which gets even better if you make at least two deposits（储蓄）without taking them out in a month.
Convenient
Teenagers are busy – we get that.You may never need to come to a bank at all.With the Winners Club you can choose to use handy tellers and to bank from home using the phone and the Internet···You can have money directly deposited into your Winners Club account.This could be your pocket money or your pay from your part-time job!
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Along with your regular report, you will receive a FREE magazine full of good ideas to make even more of your money.There are also fantastic offers and competitions only for Winners Club members.
The Winners Club is a great choice for teenagers.And it is so easy to join.Simply fill in an application form.You can’t wait to hear from you.It’s the best way to choose to be a winner!
61.The Winners Club is a bank account intended for ________.
A.parentsB.teenagersC.winnersD.adults
62.Which of the following is TRUE about the Winners Club?
A.Special gifts are ready for parents.
B.The bank opens only on work days.
C.Services are convenient for its members.
D.Fees are neceary for the account keeping.
63.The Winners Club provides magazines which ________.
A.encourage spending
B.are free to all teenagers
C.are full of adventure stories
D.help to make more of your money
64.If you want to be a member of the Club, you must ________.
A.be an Internet userB.be permitted by your parent
C.have a big sum of moneyD.be in your twenties
65.What is the purpose of this text?
A.To set up a club.B.To provide part-time jobs.
C.To organize key-cards.D.To introduce a new banking service.C
The garden city was largely the invention of Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928).After immigrating form England to the USA, and an unsucceful attempt to make a living as a farmer, he moved to Chicago, where he saw the reconstruction of the city after the disastrous fire of 1871.In those days, it was nicknamed “the
Garden City”, almost certainly the source of Howard’s name for his later building plan of towns.Returning time, but creating a unique combination of designs.
The nineteenth-century poor city was in many ways a terrible place, dirty and crowded; but it offered economic and social opportunities.At the same time, the British countryside was in fact equally unattractive: though it promised fresh air and nature, it suffered from agricultural depreion(萧条) and it offered neither enough work and wages, nor much social life.Howard’s idea was to combine the best of town and country in a new kind of settlement, the garden city.Howard’s idea was that a group of people should set up a company, borrowing money to establish a garden city in the depreed countryside; far enough from existing cities to make sure that the land was bought at the bottom price.
Garden cities would provide a central public open space, radial avenues and connecting industries.They would be surrounded by a much larger area of green belt, also owned by the company, containing not merely farms but also some industrial institutions.As more and more people moved in, the garden city would reach its planned limit-Howard suggested 32,000 people; then, another would be started a short distance away.Thus, over time, there would develop a vast planned house collection, extending almost without limit; within it, each garden city would offer a wide rang of jobs and services, but each would also be connected to the others by a rapid transportation system, thus giving all the economic and social opportunities of a big city.
66.How did Howard get the name for his building plan of garden cities?
A.Through his observation of the country life.
B.Through the combination of different ideas.
C.By taking other people’s advice.
D.By using the nickname of the reconstructed Chicago.
67.The underlined phrase “drawing on ”in Paragraph 1 probably means______.
A.making use ofB.making comments on
C.giving an explanation ofD.giving a description of
68.According to Howard, garden cities should be built______.
A.as far as poible from existing cities
B.in the countryside where the land was cheap
C.in the countryside where agriculture was developed
D.near cities where employment opportunities already existed
69.What can we learn about garden cities from the last paragraph?
A.Their number would continue to rise
B.Each one would continue to become larger
C.People would live and work in the same place
D.Each one would contain a certain type of busine
70.What could be the best title for the paage?
A.City and CountrysideB.The Invention of the Garden City
C.A New City in ChicagoD.A Famous Garden City in England
D
Why should mankind explore space? Why should money, time and effort be spent exploring and researching something with so few apparent benefits? Why should resources be spent on space rather than on conditions and people on Earth? These are questions that, understandably, are very often asked.
Perhaps the best answer lies in our genetic makeup(基因构成) as human beings.What drove our ancestors to move from the trees into the plains, and on into all poible areas and environments? The wider the spread of a species, the better its chance of survival.Perhaps the best reason for exploring space is this genetic tendency to expand wherever poible.
Nearly every succeful civilization has explored, because by doing so, any dangers in surrounding
areas can be identified and prepared for.Without knowledge, we may be completely destroyed by the danger.With knowledge, we can leen its effects.
Exploration also allows minerals and other potential (潜在的) resources to be found.Even if we have no immediate need of them, they will perhaps be useful later.Resources may be more than physical poeions.Knowledge or techniques have been acquired through exploration.The techniques may have medical applications which can improve the length or quality of our lives.We have already benefited from other spin-offs including improvements in earthquake prediction, in satellites for weather forecasting and in communications systems.Even non-stick pans and mirrored sunglaes are by-products (副产品)of technological developments in the space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist.
While many resources are spent on what seems a small return, the exploration of space allows creative, brave and intelligent members of our species to focus on what may serve to save us.While space may hold many wonders and explanations of how the universe was formed or how it works, it also holds dangers.The danger exists, but knowledge can help human being to survive.Without the ability to reach out acro space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist.
While Earth is the only planet known to support life, surely the adaptive ability of humans would allow us to live on other planets.It is true that the lifestyle would be different, but human life and cultures have adapted in the past and surely could in the future.
71.Why does the author mention the questions in Paragraph1?
A.To expre his doubts.
B.To compare different ideas.
C.To introduce points for discuion.
D.To describe the conditions on Earth.
72.What is the reason for exploring space based on Paragraph2?
A.Humans are nature-born to do so.
B.Humans have the tendency to fight.
C.Humans may find new sources of food.
D.Humans don’t like to stay in the same place.
73.The underlined word “spin-offs” in Paragraph 4 probably refers to______.
A.survival chancesB.potential resources
C.unexpected benefitsD.physical poeions
74.What makes it poible for humans to live on other planets?
A.Our genetic makeup.B.Resources on the earth..
C.The adaptive ability of humans.D.By-products in space exploration.
75.Which of the statements can best sum un the paage?
A.Space exploration has created many wonders.
B.Space exploration provided the best value for money.
C.Space exploration may help us avoid potential problems on Earth.
