Dinner customs are different around the world. If you are a guest in Ghana( 加納), this information will help you a lot.
In Ghana, dinner is usually from four in the afternoon to six in the evening. But there are no strict rules about time. Whenever a guest arrives, a family offers food. When you go to a home, the person who receives guests takes you to the living room first. At this time everyone welcomes you. Then you go to the dinning room. There you wash your hands in a bowl of water. All the food is on the table.
In Ghana you usually eat with your fingers. You eat from the same dish as everyone else .But you eat from one side of the dish only. It is not polite to get food from the other side of the dish. After dinner, you wash your hands again in a bowl of water.
Most meals in Ghana have a dish called fufu. People in Ghana make fufu from the powder(粉末) of some plants. Sometimes they cut the fufu with a saw(鋸子) because it is very hard. You must chew(咀嚼) fufu well, or you may get sick. You eat fufu with the fingers of your right hand only.
【小題1】From the passage we know that in Ghana ______________.

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，判斷正(T)誤(F)。
Do you live in a city? Do you know how cities began? Long long ago, the world had only a few thousand people. These people moved from one place to another. They moved over the land, hunting animals for food.
No one knows how or when these people learned about growing food. But when they did, their life changed. They did not have to look for food any longer. They could stay in one place and grow it.
People began to live near one another, so the first village was established (建立). Many people came to live in the villages, and these villages became even larger.
When machines appeared, life in the villages changed again. People built factories. More and more people lived near the factories. The cities began.
Today, it’s strange that some people are moving back to small villages. Can you tell me why?
【小題1】People moved from place to place to hunt animals.
【小題2】The story says,“No one knows how or when these people learned about growing food. But when they did, their life changed.” In this sentence, the word “they” means people.
【小題3】When machines appeared, life in the villages changed again.
【小題4】All people like to live only in big cities.
【小題5】People built factories after the cities grew big.

.Chris is not a traditional explorer(探險家)—he usually works in an office for a large organization. However, Chris’ job can be just as exciting and dangerous as being an explorer.
Chris works for MSF, an organization also known as Doctors Without Border(國界). Since 1971, MFS has sent trained doctors all over the world to help people who have suffered from disasters, such as wars and illnesses. Chris is a doctor from France who has traveled to many places to organize programs that help people.
At the moment, over 27,000 trained doctors have taken part in MSF projects. The organization received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. All kinds of doctors can volunteer for MSF. They need to be ready to go almost anywhere in the world and, of course, they should face difficulties. Most of MSF’s work is in Africa. When MSF chooses a doctor for a task, they have to go for at least six months. When doctors have completed a few tasks, they might be sent on an emergency(緊急的) task following a disaster, such as an earthquake.
But why would doctors leave a comfortable life and a good pay to join MSF? According to Chris, the experience they have is a great help in their life. What’s more, just like the explorers of the past, they need to keep an open mind and learn to get on well with the people they meet. One thing that they can say at the end of any task is that they have made a real difference to people’s lives.
【小題1】What may MSF’s work be like?

The centerpiece of curling(冰壺)is the curling stone. Kays of Scotland has been making curling stones since 1851, when William Kay and his sons Andrew and Thomas set up a workshop in Mauchline, Ayrshire, in southwest Scotland. Kays is still owned by the relatives of the founder, and today it is the only curling stone maker left in Scotland.
Used in a highly competitive sport, the curling stones are made to exact standards. First, stones are sliced and then into round “cheeses”. Finally, the cheeses are shaped and polished into curling stones in a series of steps.
Each stone must weigh 44 pounds. Each must have a maximum diameter (直徑) of 36 inches. Polishing is done by hand on a wheel using water, diamond-talcum power, and felt. Finishing the stone’s “running edge” is done entirely by hand with a special kind of paper and a digital measure and magnifying glass (放大鏡). Lastly, a handle(把手) is fitted into holes on the top of the stone. Stones are computer-matched into pairs. Sixteen stones----8 pairs----are needed for a game, and since curling game field usually have 6 lanes, each game field needs 96 matched stones!
Kays is a small company, employing less than ten skilled workers. Master craftsman and co-owner James Wyllie is skilled at all phases of curling stone making and is also an enthusiastic curler, as well as active member of Mauchline’s Burns Club, which meets regularly to honor well-known Mauchline residents.
【小題1】What is true about Kays?

In ancient China, the State of Wu made an attack on the State of Yue. The king of Wu was badly hurt and soon died. His son Fu Chai became the new king. Fu was very sad and angry and he decided to fight back for his father’s death. He trained his army strictly until it was very strong. Three years later, he led his army against the State of Yue and caught its king Gou Jian, who was taken to the State of Wu.
Gou Jian was put into a small black stone house which was full of terrible smell and was made to raise(飼養(yǎng)) horses. Gou worked hard and tried to keep himself quiet, but he never forgot his pain. Many years later, he was set free. Gou secretly trained his army after he went back to his own state. In order to make himself strong-minded he slept on firewood and ate a gall bladder before having dinner and going to bed every night. After a few years, his country became strong once more. Then Gou took hold of a golden chance to fight against Wu and won the war in the end.
If one voluntarily(自愿) works very hard and voluntarily stands up to pains and difficulties in order to succeed, we might call him a“Gou Jian”, and his story, a“Gou Jian’s story”.
【小題1】 Three years later _______ was caught and taken to the state of Wu.

The Mayan（瑪雅的）Indians lived in Mexico for thousands of years before the Spanish arrived in the 1500s. The Mayan achievements were many. They had farms, beautiful palaces, and cities with many buildings. The Mayan people knew a lot about nature and the world around them. This knowledge helped them to live a better life than most people of that time, because they could use it to make their lives more comfortable and rewarding（值得的）. Knowledge about tools and farming, for example, made their work easier and more productive.
The Maya believed in many gods, including rain gods, sun gods, and corn gods. The people built large temples to honor the Mayan gods. Skillful workers built cities around these temples. It was difficult for them to build these cities, because they had no horses to carry the heavy stone they used to build with. Workers had to carry all of the building materials themselves. Today, many of these ancient Mayan cities and temples are still standing.
Although the cities that the Maya built were beautiful, and the people worked hard to build them, very few of the people lived in them. Usually, only the priests（牧師）lived in the cities.
The other people lived in small villages in the forests. Their houses were much simpler than the elaborate buildings in the cities. They lived in small huts（小屋）with no windows. The walls were made of poles covered with dried mud, and the roof was made of grass or leaves. Most Maya lived a simple life close to nature.
The Mayan priests studied the Sun, the Moon, stars, and planets. They made a calendar from what they learned. The year was divided into 18 months of 20 days each with five days left over. The Mayan calendar was far more exact than the European calendars of the time.
Around the year 800, the Maya left their villages and beautiful cities, never to return. No one knows why this happened. They may have died from some disease. They may have left because the soil could no longer grow crops. Archaeologists（考古學(xué)家）are still trying to find the lost secrets of the Maya.
【小題1】What does the underlined word “elaborate’’ mean?

In 1901, the citizens of Colorado Springs in the USA decided to collect everyday items and to seal (封�。﹖hem in a special box. The box was marked “To be opened after midnight, December 31^st, AD 2000”，and was kept in the Colorado College Library.
One hundred years later, on the appointed (約定）day, 300 people gathered to watch the opening of the box. Many in the crowd were the descendants (后代）of people who had placed things inside the box.
When the box was opened after midnight, the things inside the box were in very good condition. There were newspapers, photos, diaries, name cards, family trees, books and lots of letters, including one written by Theodore Roosevelt, who became the President of the USA later that year. One of Roosevelt’s friends lived in Colorado Springs at that time.
Many of the letters were written to their descendants. They describe the hopes that the people of 1901 had for the people of the next century. At that time, Colorado Springs had just a few thousand people. Now nearly half a million people live there.
Colorado College Library has scanned the materials and put them on a website. Cecil Muller, whose grandfather had placed a collection of postcards in the box, said that the time capsule was a great treasure. “This is a wonderful educational resource(資源）.  We can learn so much about our history,”he said. “I never knew my grandfather, but now I feel very close to him. ”
【小題1】According to the passage, “time capsule” means ______.

Europeans are being dug out from heavy snow after a week of very cold weather. The snowstorm is the harshest to hit Europe. Airports were shut down. And schools have been closed for a week.
Until Wednesday, at least 400 people across Europe had died because of the cold temperature. Several countries have said a state of emergency. In Ukraine, temperatures dropped as low as -33℉.
Although the situation is bad, at least one country is hoping the weather will last a little longer. In the Netherlands, the government is preparing for the country’s “11 Cities Tour”. The 125-mile ice-skating marathon will be held along a network which joins 11 towns and cities together in Friesland Province.
The ice along the way must be inches thick for the event. Up to 2 million people are thought to cheer on the race’s 16,000 competitors.
On Wednesday, Dutch soldiers joined in the preparations. They cleaned snow along the way. This will be the 16^th time that the event has taken place since the first race in 1909. Dutch General Hans said his soldiers were happy to lend a hand. “We want to do our bit for this national party.” he said.
【小題1】What is “11 Cities Tour”?

London’s Chinese community(社區(qū)) dates back to the 18^th century, when a small number of Chinese sailors moved to the city to work in Limhouse, east London. As time went on, other Chinese came to this area and Limhouse began to be known as “Chinatown”. However, London’s Chinese community remained every small for many years: at the start of the 20^th century, there were just 545 Chinese people in Britain.
After the Second World War, many farmers in Hong Kong lost their jobs and came to London. As Limhouse had been almost destroyed during the war, they settled (定居) in a different area—a port of central London near Leicester Square. This area is now what Londoners call Chinatown.
At first, the new immigrants found it difficult to get jobs. In the 1950s, however, a small Chinese restaurant opened in London. Many British people visited it and said that Chinese food was wonderful! Suddenly, Chinese restaurants and take-ways started opening in every part of the city. Instead of too little work, the new Chinese immigrants now found that they had too much! They worked as cooks, managers or waiters. Most of them enjoyed their lives and arranged their friends and relatives to join them from overseas.
As time went by, London’s Chinese community became more and more successful. The sons and daughters of the original restaurant workers studied and worked very hard. And most went on to get highly paid jobs. Many Chinese families left Chinatown and moved to more expensive outskirts. Chinatown, however, is still as lively as ever.
【小題1】When did the first Chinese immigrants come to London?
A. In the 1950s.
B. B. More than 200 years ago.
C. C. At the start of the 20 century.
【小題2】Why did many Chinese immigrants come to London in the 1950s?
A. Because it was easy for them to get jobs there.
B. Because many British people enjoyed Chinese food.
C. Because their children could study there and get highly paid jobs.
【小題3】In the 1950s, Chinese immigrants came to London and worked as _______.
A. sailors
B. sailors and farmers
C. restaurant workers
【小題4】Where is London’s Chinatown now?
A. In the east of London.
B. In Limhouse.
C. Not far from Leicester square.
【小題5】According to this passage, if people live in the outskirts of a city, they live ______.
A. in the center of the city
B. in the outer areas of the city
C.in the busiest part of the city.

Throughout history, people have been interested in knowing how language first began, but no one knows exactly where or how this happened. However, we do know a lot about languages, the language of today and also the languages of earlier times. There are probably about three thousand languages in the world today. Chinese is the language with the most speakers. English, Russian and Spanish are also spoken by millions of people. On the other hand, some languages in the world have less than one hundred speakers.
There are several important families of languages in the world. For example, most of the languages of Europe are in one large family called Indo-European. The original language of this family was spoken about 4,500 years ago. Many of the present-day languages of Europe and India are modern forms of the language of 4,500 years ago.
Languages are always changing. The English of today is very different from the English of 500 years ago. In time, some even die out completely. About 1,000 years ago, English was a little known relative of German spoken on one of the borders of Europe.
If a language has a number of speakers, or if it is very old, there may be differences in the way it is spoken in different areas. That is, the language may have several dialects. Chinese is a good example of dialect differences. Chinese has been spoken for thousands of years by many millions of people. The differences between the dialects of Chinese are so great that speakers of Chinese from some parts of China can’t understand speakers from other parts.
【小題1】The first paragraph mainly tells us that_______.