24. What did Tim want to do after learning about Imagination Library?
A. Give out brochures.
B. Do something similar. D. Retire from being a teacher.
C. Write books for children
25.According to the text, Dollly Parton is . A. a well-known surgeon
B. a mother of a four-year-old D. a best-selling author
C. a singer born in Tennessee
26.Why did the Richters go to Dollywood?
A. To avoid signing up online. B. To meet Dollywood board members. C. To make sure the books were the newest. D. To see if the books were of good quality.
27. What can we learn from Tim’s words in the last paragraph?
A. He considers his efforts worthwhile. B. He wonders why some people are so busy. C. He tries to save those waiting to die. D. He needs more money to help the children.
C
As an Asian country, Singapore has a reputation for being highly westernized, with English among the country’s four official languages, but a couple of signs found on local buses that have recently become a hit online may say otherwise.
Quite different from English we know, the sign read, for example, “Here cannot go in” instead of “No entry”, and Here can charge phone instead of Charge phone here. This language that resembles English is called Singaporean English or Singlish.
The New York Times calls Singlish “patchwork” because Singapore consists of migrants from several countries including China, India and Malaysia, and they all speak their own versions of “English”.
“Everyone who speaks it shapes it,” wrote the newspaper.
For example, in Singlish, you can easily recognize influences from Chinese, including vocabulary such as “Mee Siam” and “da bao”. Sentence structures like “toilet where” instead of “where’s the toilet” also come from Chinese.
Interesting and diverse as it may seem, the trend for Singlish is worrying Singapore’s government. It is concerned that the dialect is lowering the country’s English standard and may affect its relationship with visitors.It even started the Speak Good English Movement.
Unfortunately, the problem was not solved. Instead, Singlish has boomed, especially among young people who think of it as a sign of being cool and a way of identifying themselves as Singaporean.
But this does not mean that standard English is being abandoned by young people. In fact, they are much more capable than the government gives credit--they can speak both.
“We are a nation good at code switching-- we know that the way we speak to friends or drivers must be different from how act at work or school,” wrote Cheryl, a Singaporean author, in Time magazine, “To actively urge us to give up a language that speaks to the very heart of who we are, which so beautifully represents the melting pot of Chinese, Indians, Malaysians and Eurasians that we are, is shortsighted, surely.”
28 Why does Singapore have many different versions of English?
A It is affected by official languages. C It is influenced by Chinese.
B It is highly westernized.
D It is made up of migrants.
29 What is the purpose of starting the Speak Good English Movement?
A To stop the new trend.
B To better the relationship. D To give the government credit.
C To keep the English standard.
30. What do the young people think of Singlish?
A It’s interesting.
B It’s their identity. D It’s a way of code-switching.
C It’s a sign of status.
31. What can we learn from what Cheryl said?
A Different people speak different styles of Singlish B Singlish is a more beautiful language than others. C People speaks Singlish only to friends and drivers. D People can use Singlish to express themselves well.
D
Scientists have solved the mystery of why the
overwhelming majority of mammoth fossils are male.
Much like wild elephants today, young male Ice Age mammoths probably travelled around alone and more often got themselves into risky situations where they were swept into rivers, or fell through ice or into mud, lakes or sinkholes that preserved their bones for thousands of years, scientists say.
Females, on the other hand, travelled in groups led by an older matriarch who knew the landscape and directed her group away from danger.
\much higher risk of dying in natural traps such as mud holes, rock cracks and lakes, \co-author Love Dalen of the Swedish Museum of Natural History in a report published on Thursday in the journal Current Biology.
The study used genetic data to determine the sex of 98 woolly mammoth fossils in Siberia Researchers found that 69% of the samples were male, a heavily unbalanced sex ratio, assuming that the sexes were fairly even at birth.
\were very surprised because there was no reason to expect a sex bias in the fossil record,\
Therefore, researchers believe that something about the way they lived influenced the way they died.
Most bones, tusks, and teeth from mammoths and other Ice Age animals haven't survived,\explained Dalen.
\because they have been buried, and thus protected from weathering.\
These giant, tusked plant eaters disappeared about 4,000 years ago. While there is no scientific agreement about the causes of their disappearance from the planet, most believe that climate change, excessive hunting by humans and the spread of other animals into mammoth feeding grounds were influential factors.
32. The underlined word \
A. female leader
B. figure head
D. mature mammoth
C. experienced animal
33. Why do the majority of mammoth fossils come from male animals?
A. Scientists find it easier to study male fossilised bones. B. There were more male mammoths in comparison to females
C Male mammoths were better able to adapt to the changing circumstances. D. Male mammoths more frequently died in places where fossils could form. 34. Which of the following is suggested as a reason for mammoths dying out?
A. The increasing competition for food. B. The cooling of the earth's temperature. C. The disappearance of male mammoths. D The risky behaviour of younger mammoths. 35. What is the type of the passage?
A. An academic essay. C. A historical description.
B. A newspaper article. D. A science fiction story.
第二节 (共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分)
根据短文内容，从短文后的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。
How Laughing at Yourself Makes You Attractive
Have you ever embarrassed yourself in public and got laughed at for it? 36 And it's okay-- we should even have a laugh about them.
●Laughing at yourself means accepting who you really are. You may feel bad about yourself because of past misfortune. However, it's normal to be imperfect. What's important is that you should be honest with yourself about who you are. 37 You won’t be able to laugh at yourself without self-acceptance.
●Laughing at yourself helps increase your confidence. When you're able to stay optimistic and laugh at yourself, you are likely to be more successful in life. 38 More importantly, it helps you realize your own weaknesses, so you know which areas to do better in.
● 39 Laughing at someone else may hurt their feelings even if you didn't intend to, while laughing at yourself does not.--You might even bring a smile to their faces. People will like it, because it shows that you have the courage to do so and you're being real about your imperfections.
Just remember that humans all make mistakes. So instead of blaming yourself, try to think of
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