Passage 4 ( 2015江蘇泰州靖江，C)

     Text messaging, or “texting ”，which allows people to send and receive messages on mobile phones, becomes very popular today.

    The advantages of texting are obvious. Texting helps to save money. If you have a few words to greet your family and friends on their birthdays or on some important festivals,sending messages can be cheaper than phone calling. Texting helps to save time.ICven if you want to send a message to 100 people,you can do il in one second.Texting helps you to ^talk^ to someone when he is too busy to answer the phone.Texting can also help you to “talk” to someone secretly if you don^ want others to hear what you are talking on the phone.These advantages are so amazing that many people are crazy about it. They hold mobile phones in hands all day long,send dozens of messages each day,and even text while driving or walking. However,texting has its disadvantage.Junk messages may come into your mobile phone box now and then. When your phone box gets too lull,you can't receive any more messages. You may therefore miss some important information.

    What's more,if you don't do texting properly,for example,texting while driving or walking,it can be dangerous.lt can cause in?juries and even death.lt was reported that about 6 ,000 people were killed and half a million were injured for this reason each year. In Fort Lee,a small town in New Jersey,theUSA. three people died be?cause they walked into traffic while texting in 2013.Two researchers at Stony Brook University,New York found that texters are 60% more probably to have an accident than others. When people are texting,they don^ notice other people or things around them.To reduce traffic accidents,all drivers of the UN are now not allowed to text while driving. About 32 countries have passed laws restricting (限制) the use of mobile phones while driving.

    Texting is a wonderful way of communication. However,only when we use it properly,can we fully enjoy the fun il brings.

1. How many advantages of texting are mentioned in the passage?

   A. Two. B. Three. C. Four.  D . Five.

2. What did the researchers at Stony Brook University find?

  A. Texters are easier to have an accident.

  B. Texting is a good way of communication.

  C. 6,000 people were killed and injured.

  D. Many people text to greet family and friends.

3. The umderlined word “injuries” probably means    .

   A. 事故   B. 傷害   C. 爭執(zhí)   D. 死亡

4. Which of the following statements is wrong according to the pas?sage?

  A. Texting while driving or walking is dangerous.

  B. To reduce traffic accidents,all drivers of the UN are now not al?lowed to text while driving.

  C. Texting has more advantages than disadvantages,so we can use it any time.

  D. If you don't want others to hear what you are talking on the phone,you can text.

5. The passage is written to tell us that    .

  A. we should do less texting 

  B. texting has many advantages 

  C. texting is better than phone calling 

  D. we should do texting properly

Passage 3 (2015江蘇蘇州工業(yè)園區(qū)，A) 

     Have you ever woken up feeling that something was wrong?

    It was a day like that for me.

    I sat up in bed.

    A little while later I opened the curtains.

    It was terrible weather——the rain was pouring down.

    Then I looked down into the yard.

    Yes!There it was—the motorcycle.

    It was just as broken as last night.

    And my leg was starting to hurt.

1. Something had happened to the person in the story the night before. What was it?

  A. The bad weather had broken the motorcycle.

  B. The bad weather had stopped the person from going outside.

  C. The person had bought a new motorcycle.

  D. The person had been in a motorcycle accident.

2.“It was a day like that for me." What kind of day did this turn out to be?

  A. A good day.

  B. A bad day.

  C. An exciting day.

  D. A boring day.

3. Why does the writer begin the story with a question?

  A. Because the writer wants to know the answer.

  B. To make the readers interested in the story.

  C. Because the question is hard to answer.

Passage 2 ( 2015江蘇蘇州市區(qū)聯(lián)考，D) 

    There was one thing that I found rather strange on my first day as a housekeeper at Monk's House.The floors in the house were very thin.The bathroom was right above the kitchen,and when Mrs.Woolf was having her bath before breakfast,! could hear her talking to her- self.On and on she went,talk,talk,and talk,asking questions and giving herself the answers. I thought there must he two or three people there with her. When Mr. Woolf saw lhat I looked surprised,he told me that Mrs. Woolf always said out loud the sentences that she had written during the night. She needed to know if they sounded right and the bathroom was a good place for trying them out.

    1 was not allowed to make coffee at. Monk s House Mr. and Mrs. Woolf were very particular (挑剔的) about coffee ami always made it themselves—so Mr. Woolf came into the kitchen at eiglit o'clock evei"y morning to make it. When we carried breakfast to Mrs. Woolfs room,l noticed that she had always been working during the night.There were pencils and paper beside her bed so that when she woke up,she could work,and sometimes il seemed as though she had had very little sleep.

    Mrs. Woolfs bedroom was outside the house in the garden. I used to think how inconvenient.(不方便的) it must be to have to go out in the rain to go to bed.Her bedroom had been connected to the back of the house ： the door faced the garden and a window at the side opened out on to a field. Because ihe writing-room was small,Mr. Woolf had built a large one for her at the end of the garden against the church wall.

    I can always remember her coming to the house each day from the writing-room when 1 rang the bell for lunch at one o ’clock. She used to come in,smoking one of her favourite cigarettes,which were bought by Mr. Woolf for her in London.She was tall and thin and very pretty.She had large eyes and a wide mouth.She wore long skirts— usually blue or brown—in the fashion of the day,and silk jackets of the same colour.Mrs.Woolf wor^ clothes that suited her well.! ironed them for her and did any sewing that was neressai7—she was not able to sew,although sometimes she liked to try.There was one thing in the kitchen that Mrs.Woolf was very good at doing;she could make beautiful bread.

1. What was very unusual about Monk's House?

  A. Mrs.Woolfs bedroom door opened on to the garden.

  B. The kitchen window looked out over fields.

  C.The breakfast room was upstairs.

  D. The bathroom was right above the kitchen.

  A. designed for her personally

  B. suitable for country life

  C. in different colours

  D. very ugly and unattractive

3. Mr. Woolf seemed to be that  .

  A. he found her strange ways difficult to accept

  B. he lived a very different life

  C. he watched over her all the time

  D. he did what he could for her

4. According to the article,Mrs. Woolf.

  A. was much too busy to do any housework

  B. showed no interest in doing any housework

  C. was really bad at doing housework

Passage1 (2015江蘇蘇州局新區(qū)，D)

      My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent,! tried to do my best to talk to him,bul the more 1 tried,the more he pulled back. When his report card arrived during his junior year,it said that he had been absent 95  times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. In this case he would never graduate.I sent him to the school adviser,and I even begged (乞求) him.Nothing worked.

    One night 1 felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and begged for help.“Please God,I can't do anything more for my son.I'm at the end of my rope.I'm giving the whole thing up to you.

    I was at work when I got a phone call.A man introduced himself as the headmaster.“I want to talk to you about Karl's absences." Be?fore he could say another word,I choked up (噴咽) and all my disap- pointment (失望) and sadness over Karl came pouring out inlo theears of this stranger.1 love my son but I just don t know what to do. IVe tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked.Ifs out of my hands For a moment there was silence on the other end of the line.The headmaster seriously saidThank you for your time." and hung up.

    Kar’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades.Finally,he was even on the list of the best students at school. In his fourth year,I attended a parent-teacher meeting wilh Karl. I noticed that his teachers were surprised at the way he had turned himself around.

    After the meeting,Karl said,^u Mum,remember lhat call from the headmaster last year?” 1 nodded. “That was me.I thought I'd play a joke but when 1 heard what you said,it really hit me how much 1 was hurting you.Thafs when I knew I had to make you proud."

1. By saying  Karl became withdrawn,the writer means the boy changed completely and    .

  A. preferred to stay alone at home 

  B. lost interest in his studies 

  C. refused to talk to others 

  D.began to dislike his mother 

2. There was silence on the other end of the line because the speaker  .

  A. was too moved to say anything to ihe mother 

  B. waited for the mother to finish speaking 

  C. didn't want the mother to know who he was 

  D. didn't want to say to the mother

3. The phrase at the end of my rope means in Chinese.

   A. 心如刀割   B. 心灰意冷   C. 失魂落魄   D. 山窮水盡

4.What does this passage mainly tell us?

  A．Children in single-parent families often have mental problems.

  B．Mother’s love plays" an important role in teenagers’ life.

  C．Being understood by parents is very important to teenagers.

  D．School education doesn’t work without full support from parents.

mind.

5.The best title for the passage is .

  A. A lonely boy

  B. How to get on with a teenager

  C. A student who turned himself around

  D. A joking phone call

Passage10(2013江蘇揚州廣陵區(qū)，C) 

    Spring will soon be upon us and a new term is here. All over the world spring is the season of new life ： flowers bloom,baby animals are born,and the weather becomes warmer.During this time of year,people usually walk around with a spring in their steps and a feeling of fresh beginnings.However,for a fresh beginning it takes more than the bright colors and fresh air of spring.We need to look at ourselves,set new goals,and decide how to improve ourselves.

    In England people usually do this on the first day of the year. We look at the past year and think about what we’d like to change or improve in our lives,and we call this a New Year's resolution These can be anything from improving one^ health through exer?cise or cutting out bad habits,to studying harder for better grades or trying to find a good work or life balance.

    Luckily,we don't have to wait for the beginning of a new year to try and become better people. We can do this whenever we like. The milestone of a new term is just a good place to start.

    Sometimes it^’s difficult to take the first step in achieving newly set goals,hut an old saying is to begin is to be half-way there^，T.I agree with this because taking on a new task or changing habits can seem daunting at first,but once we begin,they get easier.For exam?ple,spending less time on QQ or playing video games and more time studying or communicating face-to-face can be difficult habits to change at first. But once we settle into the new routine and start to see the results,it's difficult not to wonder why we didn't do it sooner.

    The trick with deciding on a resolution for a new term is not to set unrealistic targets. If we do this,it's easy lo lose motivation because the end goal seems so far away.Try to make many siTiaH goals you want to reach on the way to your ultimate (最終的) goal.This way,you can see your progress easily.

l.In Paragraph One,the writer wants to tell us that spring is a time .

  A. to take a walk around outdoors 

  B. to enjoy fresh air and bright colors 

  C. to set goals for a fresh beginning for animals 

  D. to have babies

2. Which of the following might the writer agree with according to (根據(jù)) Paragraph Four?

  A. Be swift to hear,slow to speak.

  B. A11 that ends well is well.

  C. Well begun is half done.

  D. A11 roads lead to Rome.

3. What does the underlined word “daunting” probahly mean in Par- agraph Four?

  A. changeable    B. difficult   C.lovely D. dangerous 4. What does the writer want to tell us in the last paragraph?

 A. If you see no progress,youUl be sad.

 B. Whatever happens,stick to (堅持) your dreams.

 C. Never lose heart when meeting with difficulties.

 D. Your goals should be realistic and small.

Passage 9(2013江蘇無錫崇安區(qū)，B) 

    Apple's logo is one of the most familiaricons around the world.

    But what's the story about the Apple logo?The image of the apple is obvious,because that's the name of the company. What about the bite? The famous story is that the logo shows 6 respect (尊敬) and honour for Alan Turing.He was the father of computer science. He researched artificial intelligence (人 T.智能) and unlocked German wartime codes (密 碼） . However,after the war,he was put into prison because of his be?liefs. He could not stand the looking down and chose to bite a poisoned apple to end his life in the prison.

    However,Rob Janoff,who designed the famous Apple logo,said,It's not the truth,but only a legend (傳說) .The real reason why I designed it with a bite is very simple. I wanted people to get that it was an apple not a cherry.When I go to markets to buy apples,I always mistake apples for cherries.lt really has nothing to do with the scientist."

    Are you kidding? An apple is much bigger than a cherry. I’s very easy to tell.But if you use an apple to design a logo,some people may mistake it for a cherry.

1. Both the apple and the cherry are almost the same actually in    .

   A. shape   B. size   C. colour   D. weight 

2. Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word “ kidding” ？

   A. joking   B. a little child

   C. a kind of logo   D. nodding 

3. What's the purpose of writing the passage about the apple logo?

  A. To introduce its designer.

  B. To tell us a legend about it.

  C. To try to find the truth of it.

  D. To explain its market research.

Passage 8(2014江蘇南通如皋，B) 

    Have you ever trained your brain? Now there are some new sug?gestions,such as eating dark chocolate and having cold meat for breakfast. You should also avoid (避免) watching soap operas,spending time with people who complain or follow fat-free diets ,ac- cording to a new book on getting “brain-fit^” .

    Many of the suggestions in Teach Yourself to Train Your Brain are surprising.The book cays to read out loud while holding a baby.

Writers Terry Horne and Simon Wootton say their advice is from the latest research by experts around the world.

    “For years we have thought our brain capability (能力) is de?cided by our genes (基因 ) . But it's now dear that it depends on our lifestyle.What we eat and drink,how we learn at school and what type of feelings we have are all important,^” said Home.

    The book talks about the most up-to-date thinking in science about how diet,the environment,stress and other sides of modern life affect our brain capacity. It also offers advice and exercises. As the book comes out,more and more people are spending money on books,DVDs and computer g;ames,which can improve their brain's capability.

    Horne believes that people need to make changes to their lifes?tyles to increase their brain capacity.Happiness,confidence and an optimistic (樂觀的) nature help the brain,”he added.

     So mix with people who make you laugh,or share the same in- terests as you.And avoid people who complain ,” said Home.“People who are negative will make you sad,which means you won't achieve things."

1. According to the book,which of the following isn’t good for training your brain?

  A. Doing some brain games.

  B. Eating dark chocolate.

  C. Having cold meat for breakfast.

  D. Watching soap operas.

2. What's Home's attitude toward the brain capability?

  A. It depends on what our genes are like.

  B. lf’s decided by our lifestyle.

  C. It has nothing to do with schools.

  D. It should follow the type of our feelings.

3. What^,s the book Teach Yourself to Train Your Brain mainly about?

  A. How peopled brain capability works.

  B. Exercises to improve brain capability.

  C. Some scientific and healthy diets.

  D. How to improve people's brain capability.

4. From the underlined sentence,we can learn that  .

  A. more and more people are interested in reading 

  B. books can help people improve their brain capability   C. people are paying more attention to training their brain

  D. there are many ways to train people's brain

Passage 7(2014 江蘇鎮(zhèn)江，C)

    “In my day,we had to walk a mile to school—uphill,both ways." That may sound like an old joke.Today,only 13  percent of kids walk to school,down from 66 percent 30  years ago.

    Studies show that fewer children are walking and biking to school,and more children are at risk of becoming overweight. Changing behaviors of children and parents requires creative ways that are safe and fun.

    A walking school bus can be both.

    It works like a bus,picking up  passengers along the way at designated (指定的) “bus stops” except everyone is walking!

    The Walking School Bus works as a supervised group of children walking to and from school along a safe and enjoyable set route.There are at least two parents in a group.One parent “drives” at the front of the bus,while the other parent supervises at the back. The different supervisors go with the children to and from school. Ad- ditional (增加的) parents may be needed depending on the walking environment.

    The “bus” can go as often as parents want to “ drive” it and children want to use it.This means that it can even work as little as one morning or afternoon each week. All children are welcome to join the bus even if their parents cannot be drivers. And the service is free.

    Socially,it's great because the children meet other children;oth?erwise they would only know by sight.

    “ My children have formed some good friendships because of the Walking Bus.The parents get to know other parents too!" a parent said From our experience of the Walking Bus,it has only been a meaningful thing.lt gets all of us walking more and the children do not complain about walking like they used to.

    Some kids said compared to the Walking School Bus,it's boring in a car when they were asked why not get into a car.

    Besides these,it might have a good effect on heavy traffic.

1. How many students walked to school 30 years ago?

   A. 66 percent. B. 13 percent.

   C. 30 percent.  D.53 percent.

2. What does the underlined word “supervised” mean in the pas?sage?

   A. controlled   B. explored

   C. required   D. improved 

3. What can the Walking School Bus NOT do to help the children    .

  A. make more friends 

  B. reduce the risk of being overweight 

  C. exercise more

  D. complain about walking

4. The best title of this passage is   

  A. A new way to exercise

  B. A new school bus

  C. A walking school bus

  D. Parents’ driving school bus

Passage 6(2014江蘇蘇州昆山二模，B)

    I didn't think I had a passion (激情) .I would sit in front of the TV all day,thinking about nothing but the next show.It was not long ago that I first learned how important having a passion is to life.

    That day [ went with my mum to drive my sister to the gym. I was bored.Then,as my mum stopped at a red light,someone on the side of the road caught my eye. It was a man dressed in rags (衣衫襤褸) .He was homeless.That didn't interest me,for I had seen many like him before.

    Bui in some ways he was different. This man was not sitting down vvilh a sad expression. He had a radio in his hand and was dancing happily to the music.The radio seemed to be tiie most pre- cious (珍貴) thing he had.

    “Mum,why does that man have a radio even though (盡管) he's homeless?” I asked.

    He bought il,she replied. I was still unable to understand. But if he's homeless,why doesn’t he use the money to buy food or clothes? He wasted it on something he doesn’t need."

    Well,Sarah,sometimes food and clothes aren't the most impor?tant things.We need happiness,too.^

    The man must care too much about music to buy a radio instead of food and clothes. I soon realized that happiness is the key to life. Without it,there's nothing to look forward Lo.

    Since then Ive never spent a day without thinking of what’s truly important.A home,a meal,clothes—these things are only part of the picture. What often forgotten is that we all need a pleasure,a light in a dark day.We all need a passion.

1. How would Sarah spend her days long ago?

  A. She watched TV all day.

  B. She used to read a lot.

  C. She did nothing but thinking.

  D. She was always sleeping.

2. Why was the man different?

  A. He wore new clothes.

  B. He was sitting with a sad expression.

  C. He was homeless.

  D. He lived an active life though he was very poor.

3. What did Sarah do after she understood the fact?

  A. She thought all day without doing anything.

  B. She bought a radio just like the man's.

  C. She had a passion with everything from then on.

  D. She always danced to the music on the radio.

4. What can we learn from the passage?

   A. Sometimes food and clothes are the most important things in our life.

   B. Money is the most important thing for a person.

   C. Music is more important than food or clothes.

   D. Happiness is the key to life and it is what we are looking forward to.

Passage 5 (2015江蘇南京秦淮區(qū)一模，C) 

    In March 2014,Australiaopened junior high education to Chi?nese students,allowing them to study in Australian schools from sev?enth grade.

    “When more Chinese students are going to study abroad at a younger age,the opening of Australian junior high schools offers Chi?nese students and their parents one more gocxl choice,^?，Tian Litie,director of the Australian Department of Ghivast Education lnterna- tional，said at the China International Education Exhibition Tour over the weekend.

    Australia will see a rise in the number of Chinese junior and senior high school students studying in ihe country. Tian showed the reasons for h: lower admission (人學(xué)許可) requirements and low- cost education because of a favorable exchange rale (費率)Accord?ing to Tian,in public schools in Australia.， student should pay A $13,000 to A $15,000 ( $10,000 to $12,000) a year.

    Now the exchange rate of the Australian dollar to Renminbi is below five,which means the cost is lower than that of Chinese students studying at junior and senior high schools in many other hot places,such as Britain and the US said Tian.

    Lin Lina from Beijing planning to send her daughter to a senior high school inAustralia,was among them.

    My daughter is good at English and would like to study abroad early ,said Lin,whose daughter is now a ninth-grader in Beijing.  We came for more information after we learned that the environment and education inAustraliaare good.

    Eliza Chui,education officer for North Asia at the Australian Consulate-General in Shanghai,said that Australiais attractive not only because it provides an environment for learning English,but also because students are trained lo have critical (批判性的) thinking and be independent.

1.According to Tian Liiie,we know that —    .

  A. more and more Chinese students study abroad at a younger age 

  B. more and more Australian universities are open to     C. Chinese students Chinese students are only allowed to study inAustraliafrom sen?ior high school

  D. a student should pay A $ 10,000 to A $ 12,000 a year in [jublic schools inAustralia 

2. What does the word “it” in Paragraph 3 mean?

  A. Australia allows Chinese studenls to study in its schools.

  B. More and more Chinese students go abroad at a younger age.

  C. More Chinese junior and senior high school students will study inAustralia.

  D. Australian schools offer Chinese students and their parents one more good choice.

3. Lin Lina plans to send her daughter to Australia because  .

  A. her daughter has travelled toAustraliabefore

  B. she can't afford to send her daughler to other countries 

  C. her daughter is an independent student with critical thinking 

  D. she learned tha!the environment and education inAustraliaare good 

4. According to the article,which of ihe following is TRUE?

  A. The cost of studying in American schools is lower than inAus?tralia.

  B. The exchange rate of the Australian dollar is of advantage to Chi- nese studenls.

  C. lt’s more diffic ult for Chinese students to enter Australian junior high schools.

  D. Few students choose lo study inBritainor theUSbecause of too much money.

5. What is the passage mainly about?

  A. You should think twice before you decide to go abroad.

  B. More and more Chinese students choose to study abroad.

  C. Australian schools will attract more and more Chinese students.

  D. Australian schools have much more advantages than other schools in the world.