In the summer of 1978 an English farmer was driving his tractor through a field of wheat when he discovered that some of his wheat was lying flat on the ground. The fattened (压平的) wheat formed a circle about six meters across. Around this circle were four smaller circles of flattened wheat. The five circles were in a formation like five dots. During the following years, farmers in England found the strange circles in their fields more and more often.
The circles are called “crop circles” because they appear in the fields of grain - usually wheat or corn. The grain in the circles lies flat on the ground but never broken; it continues to grow, and farmers can later harvest it. Farmers always discover the crop circles in the morning, so the circles probably form at night. They appear only in the months from May to September.
At first, people thought that the circles were a hoax. Probably young people were making them as a joke, or farmers were making them to attract tourists. To prove that the circles were a hoax, people tried to make circles exactly like the ones that farmer had found. They couldn’t do it. They couldn’t enter a field of grain without leaving tracks(痕迹), and they couldn’t flatten the grain without breaking it.
Many people believe that beings from outer space are making the circle to communicate with us from far away and that the crop circles are messages from them.
Scientists who have studied the crop circles suggested several possibilities. Some scientists say that a downward rush of wind leads to the formation of the circles - the same downward rush of air that sometimes causes an airplane to crash. Other scientists say that forces within the earth cause the circles to appear. There is one problem with all these scientific explanations: crop circles often appear in formations, like the five-dot formation. It is hard to believe that any natural force could form those.
小题1:In the summer of 1978, an English farmer discovered in his field that __________.| A．some of his wheat had been damaged | | B．his grain was growing up in circles. | | C．his grain was moved into several circles | | D．some of his wheat had fallen onto the ground. |
小题2:According to the text, the underlined part “hoax” (in the 3rd paragraph) probably means __________.| A．an attempt made to fool people | | B．a special way to plant crops | | C．a research on the force of winds | | D．an experiment for the protection of crops. |
小题3:Which of the following may prove that the crop circles are not made by man?| A．The farmer couldn’t step out of the field. | | B．The farmers couldn’t make the circles round. | | C．The farmers couldn’t leave without footprints. | | D．The farmers couldn’t keep the wheat straight up. |
小题4:A proper title for this passage is ___________.| A．An Unsolved Mystery | | B．Strange Flying Objects | | C．The Power of Natural Forces | | D．The discovery of Strange Circles |
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小题1:D
小题2:A
小题3:C
小题4:A |
文章讲述的是世界未解之谜之一的麦田怪圈的事情。
小题1:事实细节题。根据第一段第二行可知。
小题2:事实细节题。根据第三段At first, people thought that the circles were a hoax. Probably young people were making them as a joke可知。
小题3:事实细节题。根据第三段第四行可知。
小题4:主旨大意题。 文章讲的是麦田怪圈的事情，到目前为止还没有准确的解释。D错在strange circle表达不到位。其他两个选项偏离太远。 |
核心考点
试题【In the summer of 1978 an English farmer was driving his tractor through a field 】；主要考察你对
题材分类等知识点的理解。
[详细]举一反三
This economy has really got a lot of people moving and not always by a choice they wanted to make. My wife and I now find ourselves among those unfortunates feeling that 1 .
At the end of last year, our customers just 2 . We had to make the painful decision to 3 our office and put our house up for 4 . We haven’t lived in it for two years yet and expected it would be the 5 one for a long time. How 6 this world economic mess is changing our lives!
As I get older, I find moving less adventurous and more 7 . This time, we’re in the process of moving without knowing where we’ll 8 next. Job searching has been thrown into the quagmire(困境) of an unsettled life. Both my wife and I had been feeling pretty 9 from all this. I’ve been challenged to find the positive in all this down that’s 10 us.
But then it happened while I watched my wife 11 things up. She’s an absolute whiz(能手) when it comes to packing. I took delight in watching her 12 just the right boxes for 13 in front of her and filling in the 14 with pillows and towels. I began feeling something like a wind lift me up and sail me through my own 15 of the packing and loading.
Some friends will be helping us with the 16 . I’ve told them that they’re not 17 friends but gaining some new vacation spots.
I have 18 that we’ll get through this transition finally. We all will always have work to do, by choice or 19 , and we can also consciously make the effort to create a sense of 20 in a new place.
| 小题1: | | A．pressure | B．pleasure | C．heat | D．chance |
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| 小题2: | | A．stayed up | B．turned up | C．dried up | D．came up |
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| 小题3: | | A．open | B．close | C．visit | D．paint |
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| 小题4: | | A．help | B．comparison | C．decoration | D．sale |
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| 小题5: | | A．last | B．next | C．only | D．special |
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| 小题6: | | A．little | B．quickly | C．frequently | D．well |
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| 小题7: | | A．dangerous | B．common | C．stressful | D．interesting |
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| 小题8: | | A．return | B．arrive | C．study | D．prepare |
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| 小题9: | | A．relaxed | B．excited | C．ashamed | D．depressed |
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| 小题10: | | A．improving | B．encouraging | C．beating | D．killing |
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| 小题11: | | A．packing | B．washing | C．pulling | D．dividing |
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| 小题12: | | A．bring up | B．keep up | C．size up | D．set up |
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| 小题13: | | A．others | B．nothing | C．another | D．everything |
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| 小题14: | | A．cars | B．gaps | C．tanks | D．holes |
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| 小题15: | | A．boat | B．share | C．wish | D．promise |
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| 小题16: | | A．settling | B．cooking | C．cleaning | D．moving |
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| 小题17: | | A．valuing | B．losing | C．inviting | D．making |
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| 小题18: | | A．idea | B．faith | C．feeling | D．opinion |
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| 小题19: | | A．otherwise | B．indeed | C．worse | D．rather |
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| 小题20: | | A．panic | B．connection | C．humor | D．home |
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The Ice Hotel
Are you going into skiing? Is winter your favorite time of year? If you like snow and ice, maybe you should stay at Ice Hotel in Quebec, Canada. But, you can only check in at this hotel during the winter. Why ? Because this hotel is built every December. It has 32 rooms and 80 people can stay there each night. The hotel even has a movie theatre, art gallery, and church. Of course, all of these parts of the hotel are made of ice. In fact, all the furniture, art, lights, and even plates and drinking glasses are made out of ice.
Because this hotel is so unusual, it is becoming very popular. People from all over the world come to the Ice Hotel to look at the fantastic ice art, drink and eat from designed ice dishes and experience the unique atmosphere (独特的气氛). Some couples have even got married in the hotel"s ice church. But all these guests keep their winter coats on! Because of all the ice, the temperature inside the hotel is always between - 2ºC and - 5ºC. Surprisingly, sleeping is not a problem in the freezing cold hotel rooms. Every guest gets a special cold-weather sleeping bag and some fur blankets. These keep the room cozy and warm until morning.
小题1:What is the main idea of this reading? | A．How the Ice Hotel is built | | B．What makes the Ice Hotel special | | C．Why the Ice Hotel is made of ice | | D．The services of the Ice Hotel |
小题2:Why is sleeping NOT a problem in the hotel?| A．the rooms are warm | B．the temperature is -2ºC | | C．the sleeping bags are warm | D．the furniture is warm |
小题3:In which part of the hotel would you probably find "plates"?| A．the church | B．the restaurant | C．the rooms | D．the art gallery |
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One big difference between British and American English is in vocabulary. For example, the British use the word “autumn” 1. ________ the Americans use the word “fall”. In this case, the older word is “autumn”. However, about four hundred years ago, the word “autumn” was 2. ________ with “fall”. Later, the British returned to “autumn”, while the 3. ________ still use “fall”.
Of course, people from many different countries came to America and made their 4. ________ to American English. Indeed, in American English there are words from every major 5. ________ spoken on Earth. Many of these words are absent in British English.
6. ________ big distinction between American and British English is spelling. After the Americans defeated the British in 1781 and 7. ________ independence, they wanted to make their spelling of English words 8. ________. Therefore, Americans write “color” 9. ________ “colour”.
Finally, the pronunciations and accents are different. Both countries have slowly 10. ________ the way they say the same words, but in different ways. This process is continuing even today. |
You are mistaken if you think all Chinese people speak in the same way. Have you ever seen a person from Shanghai try talking to 1________ from Guangzhou? It is quite likely 2________ both of them may feel puzzled! The Chinese language, 3________ a whole, uses the same set of characters, but even the same characters can have 4________ pronunciations. That is 5_______ it is difficult for people to understand each other. Luckily, the widespread use of Putonghua in China has made a great contribution 6________ people’s communication, though people from different areas tend to speak with various accents.
People in Northern Europe are much luckier. Even though people from Sweden, Denmark and Norway have their own official languages, it is very convenient for them to communicate with one another. Do you know 7______? That is because their languages are quite similar, though not 8________ small distinctions. Thus, they can communicate easily in their mother tongues. |
India is traditionally a tea-drinking country. But, it is now gaining a new taste for coffee. This has led international coffee companies to consider opening businesses in the huge market. Local business people are also hoping to profit from the country’s tea-drinking habits. They want to open new stores that offer tea.
It is ten thirty in the morning in India. Two cafes are within meters of each other, near a college in New Delhi. And they are selling a lot of tea. Their main customers are undergraduate students.
“We have a lot of break between classes, so whenever we get time, we just go and we enjoy ourselves. It’s a lot of fun , especially when you are with people you enjoy spending time with.”
In the past ten years , cafes have become increasingly popular in India. The country’s huge young population have quickly taken to the coffee culture.
Coffee stores have spread from major cities like New Delhi and Mumbai to smaller towns. Coffee use has doubled in the last ten years . It is the success of this market that has gained the attention of companies like the American-based coffee chain Starbucks. The company will open its first store in India later this year. Other companies like Lavazza and Costa Coffee are already there.
Yet, the growth of coffee will not reduce the popularity of tea. Indians drink eight times more tea than coffee. They have been drinking tea for more than one hundred and fifty years. India is one of the world’s biggest producers of tea, which is known locally as “chai”. Outside homes and offices, it is mostly sold by small businesses on the street.
小题1:Why do international coffee companies consider opening businesses in India?| A．India consumes very little coffee. | B．India has a large population. | | C．People in India now prefer coffee to tea. | D．Indians come to like the taste of coffee. |
小题2:Which one is correct about undergraduate students?| A．They only have tea in the cafes. | | B．They are the main customers in the cafes. | | C．They like enjoying coffee with friends in cafes. | | D．They like to go to the cafes to escape lessons. |
小题3:What can we learn about coffee in India?| A．Coffee is consumed more than tea in India now. | | B．Coffee is much more welcomed by young Indians than tea. | | C．Coffee consumed today doubles that of ten years ago. | | D．The growth of coffee will reduce the consumption. |
小题4:Which statement is wrong according to the passage?| A．Coffee stores have spread to small towns in India. | | B．Some foreign coffee companies are trying to open Indian coffee market. | | C．Local people worry about losing profit on tea. | | D．Indians drink eight times more tea than coffee. |
小题5:What is the text mainly about?| A．Undergraduate students are main coffee consumers in India. | | B．Indians mainly consume both tea and coffee. | | C．India is traditionally a tea-drinking country. | | D．India is becoming a big new coffee consuming country. |
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