Beautiful pictures of mountains and forests, clear skies, flying birds, wild animals, silly faces - you can
find them all in one place. 1 ? On a postcard! Have people always sent postcards? No! Before postcards,
people 2 sealed (密封的) letters.
The 3 for the first decorated (装饰的) postcard came to John P. Charlton in 1861. He thought a simple
card 4 a border would be a great way to send a note. Then in the late 1800s, postcards which had pictures
on them 5 . By law, people had to write their note on the front-on the picture! The back was 6 for the
address. Several years later, England allowed a divided-back (背面隔开的) postcard. Then people could write
their 7 on the back left side. And they put the address 8 . During the early 1900s, the golden age of postcards,
people around the world were more and more 9 picture postcards. In 1908, Americans alone mailed over
677 million postcards.
Today, postcards are the 10 most popular collection in the world after stamps and coins. You can always
see or get a lot of newly-designed postcards, especially on New Year"s Day. |
( )1. A. How
( )2. A. liked
( )3. A. advice
( )4. A. above
( )5. A. happened
( )6. A. even
( )7. A. note
( )8. A. on the front
( )9. A. surprised at
( )10. A. first | B. When
B. hated
B. picture
B. with
B. changed
B. only
B. word
B. on the back
B. interested in
B. second | C. Why
C. found
C. idea
C. under
C. ended
C. still
C. address
C. on the left
C. expected by
C. third | D. Where
D. lost
D. card
D. for
D. appeared
D. ever
D. letter
D. on the right
D. worried about
D. fourth | | 阅读理解。 |  | US Boy, 9, Plans to Take Balloon Flight Alone
ALBUQERQUE. New Mexico - Bobby Bradley is ready. He has been training for
about five years and learned from some of the most experienced and decorated pilots
in the sport of ballooning. |  | BENGHAZI, Libya - Muammar Gadhafi accepted an African Union (AU) plan to
end the Libyan civil war but the opposite said on Monday there could be no deal unless
he leaves office. |  | NEW YORK - A new book written by Amy Chua on her super-strict parenting-Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother has raised media (媒体) storm and strong arguments in the
US. Amy Chua is the mother of two teenage girls. In the book she describes her efforts
to give her children what she describes as a traditional, strict"Chinese" way of bringing
up children. |  | TOKYO - The operator of Japan"s quake-hit nuclear plant (受地震袭击的核电站)
said on Sunday it aims to reduce radiation leaks (辐射泄漏) in three months and
achieve a "cold shutdown" in six to nine months. |  | LOS ANGELES - Sunday night, the 83 annual (每年一度的) Academy Awards
took place in Los Angeles. Colin Firth won the Best Actor for his role in "The King"s
Speech", and Natalie Port man won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in "Black
Swan". | | 短文填空。 | Wood-block printing was invented sometime between the 4th and the 7th (1) c______ in China. The earliest
book that we have was (2) p______ in 868 and was found in a Dunhuang cave. Wood-block printing took a
long time because a new block was needed for every (3) p______ in z book. By the 1 Ith century printed books
could be (4) f______ all over China. They included books of Confucius" thoughts, dictionaries, and books on
maths. In 1340, books could be printed u-sing two (5) c______, black and red.
(6) A______ the Chinese learnt about printing so early, printing was not introduced in other parts of the
world for hundreds of years. It is thought that when the great Italian traveler Marco Polo visited China in the
13th century, he (7) s______ printed books. It is possible that Marco Po-lo brought that (8) k______ to Europe.
But printed books did not come to Europe (9) u______ 1450 when a German called Johann Gutenberg
(10) i______ a printing machine. Twenty-four years later, in 1474, an Englishman called William Caxton printed
the first printed book in English. His second book was about the game of chess. Caxton printed about a
hundred books, and some can still be found today in museums. | | 完形填空。 | Today some people call Amsterdam the “City of Bicycles” because it is a city which is flat and convenient
(方便的)for bicycles.
In the 1960s,a group of cycling fans 1 an idea.They believed that it would be better for everybody
if only bicycles were allowed in the city centre. They were 2 that this would help to save energy,reduce
pollution and provide free public transport. The group painted hundreds of bicycles 3 and placed them
in public places around Amsterdam for people to use. 4 was allowed to take them and use them for short
journeys,whether he was a local or a foreigner. Wherever someone finished a journey,they would 5 the
bike there for someone else to use . The problem was that it didn"t work 6 took all the bicycles within
weeks!
7 , more than thirty years later,the “white bike” is back in town ---this time with a computer chip(芯片)
to 8 its every move!To take a bicycle,you have to put a special card inside.The new “white bike” is not
white any more but is an unusual 9 with bright colours. The bikes are parked at special parking places
and people who want to use them have to take them to another place that has enough room.
There is already less traffic in central Amsterdam, 10 both locals and tourists have been using the white
bikes.Thanks to the good ideas of lots of people, like the cycling fans in the 1960s, many people around the
world have been enjoying city centre streets without cars for many years. | ( )1. A.stole
( )2. A.thoughtful
( )3. A.black
( )4. A.Anyone
( )5. A.take
( )6. A.robbers
( )7. A.However
( )8. A.make
( )9. A.design
( )10. A.so | B.had
B.helpful
B.brown
B.Everyone
B.leave
B.shoplifters
B.Instead
B.mark
B.idea
B.because | C.refused
C.hopeful
C.blue
C.No one
C.carry
C.kidnappers
C.Therefore
C.record
C.size
C.but | D.dropped
D.thankful
D.white
D.Someone
D.send
D.thieves
D.Though
D.describe
D.experiment
D.while | | 阅读理解。 | In the United States, sixteen, eighteen and twenty-one are important ages in a person"s life. There are no
special celebrations for these birthdays, but each is a time when a person can do new things. That shows
how she is no longer a child and has made the transition to adulthood.
In the United States,after turning sixteen a person can work, get a driver"s license, and leave home.
Sometimes the laws don"t seem to make sense (表明): at eighteen people in the United States can have a vote
and join the army. But people are prohibited (禁止) from going into many nightclubs, buying drinks like beer
or wine until they are twenty-one.
In many Latin American countries, a young woman"s fifteenth birthday is important. At this age, she is no
longer considered to be a girl, but rather a woman. To mark this special day,families with fifteen-year-old
daughters have a celebration. The day begins with the young woman and her family going to church. Later,
there is a party and many guests are invited.
In Japan, boys and girls are considered to be adults at the age of twenty. At this age, they are allowed by
law to vote, drink wine, and smoke. The second Monday in January is a national holiday called "Coming of
Age Day". On this day, twenty-year-olds celebrate by first going to a shrine (神庙) with their families. Later,
they listen to speeches given by city and school leaders. After that, many get together with family late into the
night.
In some countries, birthday celebrations continue throughout adulthood. Some people celebrate their
fortieth and fiftieth birthdays, or the year when they retire, with a big party. | | 1. What does the word transition mean in Chinese? | A. 结束
B. 转变
C. 开始
D. 增加 | | 2. In the USA, at which age can a person be allowed to drink wine? | A. Sixteen.
B. Eighteen.
C. Twenty.
D. Twenty-one. | | 3. Where do people regard a 15-year-old girl as a woman? | A. In Latin America.
B. In Japan.
C. In the United States.
D. In Europe. | | 4. Which of the following activities is NOT mentioned on Coming of Age Day? | A. Going to a shrine.
B. Listening to speeches.
C. Going to church.
D. Getting together with family. | | 5. What"s the main idea of the passage? | A. The age of adulthood is too young in some places but too old in others.
B. All over the world, people celebrate their each birthday till they retire.
C. There are special celebrations for 16th, 18th and 21st birthdays in every country.
D. There are special ages and celebrations that show a person is growing older. |
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