Growers around the world are using new methods to grow grapes to make wine. They use natural and organic methods to control harmful insects and weeds instead of using chemicals. Now, a winery in Canada has adopted a natural way to control its grapevines (葡萄藤). The Featherstone Winery is in southern Ontario. The grapevines, like other plants, need to be cut every year.

Cutting grapevines must be done very carefully. Only a targeted area of leaves is removed from the lower part of the vines to help the grapes grow better. But at the Featherstone Winery, no man or machine does the cutting. Instead, the job is done by 40 little wooly lambs.

David Johnson owns the vineyard (葡萄園). He says he learned about using lambs while visiting wineries in New Zealand. The young lambs are perfectly designed to do the job. They eat the grape leaves on the lower parts of the vine. But they are not tall enough to reach the grapes. They only weigh about 22 kilograms, so they do not beat down the soil. And their waste makes good organic fertilizer. In addition, using the lambs costs much less than hiring workers to cut the vines for seven weeks in summer. And when the cutting is done in August, the lambs become tasty dishes.

Mr. Johnson says he had a difficult time finding enough lambs to do the job. There are about 50 million lambs in New Zealand. But there are not nearly as many in Ontario. Also, some organic pesticides (殺蟲劑) are harmful to lambs. And the lambs must be watched to make sure they do not eat too much of the grapevines.

David Johnson says the lambs help him carry out his environmental ideas about farming. They are lovely and peaceful and he likes having them in his vineyard. People visiting the vineyard also enjoy watching the lambs do their job.

1.Farmers who grow grapes with natural and organic methods ________.

A．don't cut grapevines every year

B．don't use chemicals to control harmful insects and weeds

C．don't need to control harmful insects and weeds

D．don't use organic fertilizer

2.In order to help the grapes grow better, growers ________.

A．only have to remove the dead leaves

B．need to remove a specific area of leaves

C．shouldn't remove any part of the plants

D．should let little lambs do the cutting

3.Paragraph 4 is mainly about ________.

A．the future of getting lambs to do the cutting

B．the worries about using organic pesticides

C．the ways to get lambs to do the cutting

D．the problems related to lambs doing the cutting

4.We can infer from the passage that David Johnson ________.

A．owns several wineries in Canada

B．buys lambs from New Zealand

C．is concerned about protecting the environment

D．loves keeping lambs instead of farming

According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, we might all be braggarts(大話王) in this competitive society addicted to social networking.

Take a close look at your social­networking sites. Do you like to post photos of yourself in restaurants to show others what an exciting life you have? Or do you like to write about how happily in love you are? Or perhaps you are of the subtle type who constantly complain about jobs but really just want to impress others with your important position.

According to the results of a series of experiments conducted by Harvard University neuroscientists(神經(jīng)科學家), the reward areas of our brain——the same areas that respond to “primary rewards” such as food ——are activated when we talk about ourselves. We devote between 30 to 40 percent of our conversation time to doing just that. Unfortunately, Bernstein says, some people can't tell the difference between sharing positive information that others might actually want to know and direct bragging. She suggests that bragging involves comparison, whether stated or implied.

“We are expected to be perfect all the time. The result is that more and more people are carefully managing their online images”. says Elizabeth Bernstein, a columnist with the Wall Street Journal.

But the issue is not limited to the Internet. In a fiercely competitive job market we must sell ourselves on multiple platforms and show that we are better than others. In fact, we have become so accustomed to bragging that we don't even realize we are doing it, says Bernstein. This is harmful to our relationships and puts people off.

Bernstein talked to some experts who said that people brag for all sorts of reasons: to appear worthy of attention; to prove to ourselves we are doing fine and that people who said we would fail are wrong; or simply because we're excited when good things happen to us.

“Feel sorry for them, because they're doing this unconscious, destructive thing that won't help them in the long run，” said Professor Simian Valier, a research psychologist at Washington University.

1.The underlined word “subtle” in Para.2 is closest in meaning to “________”．

A．hidden B．a(chǎn)pparent

C．outstanding D．simple

2.Which of the following is one of the features of braggarts?

A．They control conversation and only talk about themselves.

B．They know well how to share positive information.

C．They self­promote to stand out in their career.

D．They don't pay much attention to their online image.

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A．Braggarts make a good first impression but the effect decreases over time.

B．People who like bragging know what they are doing.

C．Braggarts always adopt comparison directly to show they are excellent.

D．They care much about the feelings of others when talking.

All of us go through some difficult times as we approach teenage years. It's the age when we have to deal with the most ____ in our life. This transition (過渡) from childhood to adulthood is ____ for some, but rough for others. The most important thing about being a teenager is ____. When we are teenagers, we would get blamed or even punished for anything wrong we do.

It's all not so ___ about being a teenager though. We don't have to have our ____ take us to somewhere we want to go or we couldn't go before. We can have ____ with friends or even alone, which we couldn't have because we were too ___ to know what pleasure is! It's a very enjoyable time of life. During this age, we are old enough to ____ what is good for us, and make decisions without ____ others.

But like the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end, but all bad things can continue ___.” During this period, we are having much ____ for our studies. If we don't pass, we won't get jobs, and things will take a turn for the ____. With the present world economy in ___， we have to do really, really well in our ____ for a job. Adults say that their ____ is the hardest part of life. But I think the transition from a kid to an adult is much ____ than being already an adult. What we do in our teenage years will ____ what we become and how we lead our life in the future.

In conclusion, it is quite ____ that parents put much pressure on an already stressed out teenager. If they realized that, living condition for teenagers would be much better. ____ for the teens ourselves we should get to know what is best for us. What's more, we should understand the right ____ of life we choose at this age can make us happy for the rest of our existence.

1.A.chances B．changes

C．feelings D．expectations

2.A.smooth B．practical

C．demanding D．necessary

3.A.knowledge B．independence

C．confidence D．responsibility

4.A.easy B．strange

C．bad D．interesting

5.A.guides B．partners

C．parents D．friends

6.A.fun B．trouble

C．relation D．business

7.A.proud B．young

C．smart D．mature

8.A.predict B．remember

C．imagine D．understand

9.A.guiding B．helping

C．inviting D．consulting

10.A.occasionally B．briefly

C．forever D．naturally

11.A.pressure B．passion

C．motivation D．panic

12.A.better B．worse

C．fewer D．more

13.A.decline B．hope

C．increase D．debt

14.A.contribution B．education

C．a(chǎn)pplication D．qualification

15.A.promotion B．work

C．experience D．a(chǎn)ge

16.A.harder B．happier

C．easier D．lighter

17.A.reflect B．confirm

C．determine D．identify

18.A.vital B．urgent

C．common D．unnecessary

19.A.Or B．Otherwise

C．But D．Because

20.A.experience B．way

C．condition D．power

Google has been collecting tons of data about smartphone usage around the world. Here are some of the most surprising and interesting facts：

Android is most popular in Japan, with 55% of respondents(調(diào)查對象) using it, compared with 39% for iOS.Android is also number one in a few other countries, including New Zealand (41%), the US(40%), and China (38%)．

iOS is farthest ahead in Switzerland, with 52% usage vs 23% for Android.Other countries where iOS is far ahead include Australia (49% vs 25% Android), Canada (45% vs 23% Android and 23% Blackberry), and France (43% vs 25% Android)．

In Egypt, Windows Mobile is far more popular than iOS.13% of survey respondents use the Microsoft smartphone platform, behind Symbian (19%) and Android (14%). iOS is very far down at 4%.

Mobile social networking is biggest in Mexico and Argentina, where 74% and 73% of users visit a social network daily.But mobile­social is weak in Japan where 34% of users never visit a social network on their phone, and this figure rises to 41% in Brazil.

Watching video is most popular in Saudi Arabia, with 59% of respondents doing it daily.Number two is Egypt, with 41%.

Chinese users shop from their phones.59% of Chinese users do this, compared with only 41% in second­place Egypt.Chinese users also love to write reviews.41% of them write a review of a local business after looking it up on their smartphone.Number two, Japan, is far behind, with only 24% of respondents doing this.

。

1.Which of the following best describes the usage of the smartphone operating systems in Egypt?

A．Windows Mobile＞iOS＞Symbian＞Android

B．Android＞W(wǎng)indows Mobile＞iOS＞Symbian

C．iOS＞Android＞Symbian＞W(wǎng)indows Mobile

D．Symbian＞Android＞W(wǎng)indows Mobile＞iOS

2.In which of the following countries is mobile social networking least popular?

A．Brazil.　　　　 　　　B．Japan.

C．Mexico. D．Argentina.

3.In which section of a newspaper can we most probably read the passage?

A. Health. B. Environment.

C. Technology. D. Entertainment.

The first robot rover to land on the Moon in nearly 40 years, China's Jade Rabbit, has begun sending back photos, with shots of its lunar lander(登月飛行器). Jade Rabbit rolled down a ramp lowered by the lander and on to the volcanic plain known as Sinus Iridum at 04：35 Beijing time on Saturday (20：35 GMT)．It moved to a spot a few metres away, its historic short journey recorded by the lander. On Sunday evening the two machines began photographing each other. A Chinese flag is clearly visible on the Jade Rabbit as it stands deployed on the Moon's surface.

Ma Xingrui, chief mander of China's lunar programme, declared the mission (任務(wù))a “plete success”. The first soft landing on the Moon since 1976 is the latest step in China's ambitious space programme, says BBC science reporter Paul Rincon.

The lander will operate there for a year, while the rover is expected to work for some three months. The Chang'e­3 mission landed some 12 days after being launched atop a Chinese­developed Long March 3B rocket from Xichang in the country's south. The official Xinhua news service reported that the lander began its descent(下降)on Saturday just after 13：00 GMT, touching down in Sinus Iridum (the Bay of Rainbows) 11 minutes later. “I was lucky enough to see a prototype rover(原型月球車) in Shanghai a few years ago ­ it's a wonderful technological achievement to have landed，” Prof Andrew Coates, from UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory, told BBC News.

Chang'e­3 is the third unmanned rover mission to touch down on the lunar surface, and the first to go there in more than 40 years. The last was an 840kg (1,900lb) Soviet vehicle known as Lunokhod­2, which was kept warm by polonium(釙)­210. But the six­wheeled Chinese vehicle carries a more sophisticated payload(復(fù)雜的有效負荷), including ground­penetrating radar which will gather measurements of the lunar soil and crust.

1.What does the text mainly talk about?

A．China's space and aeronautics industry develops quickly.

B．The importance of China's space and aeronautics industry.

C．China's Jade Rabbit Moon rover sends back first photos.

D．Chang'e­3 is the third unmanned rover mission to touch down on the lunar surface.

2.After ________ years' hard and scientific work, the first soft landing on the Moon has made such great progress.

A．nearly 40 B．37

C．64 D．more than 40

3.The purpose that the Chinese moon rover has visited the moon is to ________.

A．do some research about the moon

B．be the first settler on the moon

C．to plant the Chinese flag onto the moon

D．send a lovely jade rabbit onto the moon

4.From the text, we know that the lander began its descent on Saturday just after ________ Beijing time.

A．13：00 B．20：00

C．22：00 D．21：00

Brighton: It is a seaside resort on the English Channel. Only 50 miles from London, it offers a good variety of lively entertainment. It is a cheerful place, busy and crowded in the summer, but alive in every season of the year. Its royal pavilion(布萊頓皇宮)is a masterpiece of English architecture.

Durham: Whatever travelers see or don't see in England, they must see this city, in the northeast, just south of Newcastle­upon­Tyne. No one will forget the sight of its cathedral(教堂)and castle rising together on a steep hill overlooking a loop in the River Wear, which almost surrounds them. The cathedral itself is one of the great medieval(中世紀的，公元476～1500)buildings in Europe.

Liverpool: A port in the northwest of England which possesses a quality that is not found in quite the same way anywhere else in England: the quality of grandeur (壯觀). Liverpool has this grandeur in its site on the broad River Mersey (more than half a mile wide) with the houses rising near it; in its great dock buildings, its broad streets, and its two enormous cathedrals.

Edinburgh: It has long been the capital of Scotland. Edinburgh Castle is Edinburgh's important building, controlling the city from its perch on a rock over a hundred meters above sea level. Another important building is the Palace of Holyrood House, begun by James Ⅲ around 1500. Between the castle and the palace is the Royal Mile, which was the center of Edinburgh life before the 17th century and is fascinating to visit now.

1.Which is the suitable time to visit Brighton ?

A．Only summer B．All the year around

C．Holidays D．Weekdays

2.Which of the following place mentions both a castle and a cathedral ?

A．Brighton B．Durham

C．Liverpool0 D．Edinburgh

3.From this article, which of the following statements is WRONG?

A．Around the broad River Mersey you can enjoy the unique quality of Liverpool .

B．The sight of Durham's cathedral and castle is probably best seen from the banks of the Riverwear .

C．The Palace of Holyrood House is much older than the cathedral in Durham.

D．Edinburgh Castle was built over a hundred meters above sea level.

4.This article can be found in ________.

A．a(chǎn) travel magazine

B．a(chǎn) daily newspaper

C．a(chǎn) chapter of science fiction

D．a(chǎn) column in the financial press

For the first time, researchers have discovered that some plants can kill insects in order to get additional nutrients. New research shows that they catch and kill small insects with their own sticky hairs near the roots and then absorb nutrients through their roots when the insects are killed and fall to the ground.

Professor Mark Chase, of Kew and Queen Mary, University of London, said: “The cultivated (改良的) tomatoes and potatoes still have the hairs. Tomatoes in particular are covered with these sticky hairs. They do trap small insects on a regular basis. They do kill insects.”

The number of these carnivorous plants is thought to have came up to 50 percent and many of them have until now been wrongly regarded as among the most harmless plants. Among them are species of petunia(矮牽牛), some special tobacco plants and cabbages, some varieties of potatoes and tomatoes, etc. Researchers at Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, which carried out the study, now believe there are hundreds more killer plants than previously realized.

It is thought that the technique was developed in the wild to get necessary nutrients in poor quality soil ­ and even various plants grown in your vegetable garden still have the ability.

The researchers, publishing their finding in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, said: “We may be surrounded by many more murderous plants than we think.” “We are accustomed to thinking of plants as being immobile and harmless, and there is something deeply frightening about the thought of meat­eating plants，” they added.

1.Tomatoes and potatoes kill insects to ________.

A．get more sticky hairs

B．make themselves grow better

C．make their roots stronger

D．a(chǎn)void falling down to the ground

2.The word “carnivorous” in Paragraph 3 most probably means ________.

A．fast­growing B．harmless

C．insect­killing D．nutritious

3.The insect­killing technique of vegetables is developed most probably through ________.

A．evolution of species

B．helps from other garden plants

C．a(chǎn)rtificial cultivation

D．nutrients preserved in rich soil

4.The text is probably taken from ________.

A．a(chǎn) student book B．a(chǎn) science fiction

C．a(chǎn) scientific repot D．a(chǎn) bulletin board

Last November, Nick heard a disorder at a party. A group of people had ____ outside, pointing at something floating in the Bay. As he ran to ____， he soon saw what was wrong: Two kids in a boat were caught in the ____ and being pulled out to sea.

Tim and Jack had climbed into a boat anchored nearby and had rowed out to ____ a football. Reaching beyond the calm waters, the ____ fitted to the boat caught the wind and pulled it into open water. They tried to row back. But they were no ____ for the wind and turned around in circles. Nick dashed to the farthest of land. The boat was already just a ____ on the sea. He knew that the ____ boat would soon be overtaken by the huge waves, and that it was 2 degrees. Nick jumped into the ____ cold water. Every 90 yards, he raised his head to assess his ____. At one point, he considered turning back before managing to yell to them, “Take down the umbrella！”

Tim battled with the ropes holding the umbrella. Finally he loosened the ropes and ____ the umbrella. Then Nick caught up, but soon waves crashed over the boat, which began to sink. Nick ____ it would be faster to pull them toward the nearest bank. They ____ wore life jackets , which Nick held in one hand, swimming ____.“Are we there？” they asked repeatedly. “Yes，” Nick ____ them each time. It was 30 minutes before they got to the bank and stayed as close as possible for ____. Worn out, Nick had hardly arrived when he ____.It was an hour later when he found himself in a hospital that he came to. Asked what it took him to make the ____ move, he replied:

It is ____ to step out of the comfort zone. Being an onlooker is a cautious existence, but ____ we should never be stuck in. Stand by or stand up.

1.A.played B．gathered

C．laughed D．cried

2.A.investigate B．find

C．a(chǎn)sk D．join

3.A.sands B．rain

C．waves D．sun

4.A.kick B．borrow

C．buy D．recover

5.A.life jacket B．umbrella

C．rope D．a(chǎn)nchor

6.A.match B．strength

C．power D．force

7.A.ball B．dot

C．line D．light

8.A.lost B．delicate

C．old D．damaged

9.A.bitterly B．a(chǎn)bsolutely

C．fairly D．helplessly

10.A.progress B．weather

C．strength D．energy

11.A.threw B．opened

C．closed D．freed

12.A.decided B．said

C．declared D．recognized

13.A.awkwardly B．carefully

C．slowly D．easily

14.A.hopefully B．cautiously

C．continuously D．desperately

15.A.told B．comforted

C．discouraged D．supported

16.A.food B．pleasure

C．warmth D．help

17.A.passed out B．passed away

C．passed off D．passed by

18.A.warm B．generous

C．proud D．brave

19.A.easy B．tough

C．interesting D．dull

20.A.which B．that

C．one D．it

Art robbery and art forgery (仿造) are both major themes in crime movies and literature.In the 2012 comedy movie Gambit, British actor Colin Firth plays an art curator who cheats his abusive boss into buying a fake Monet. In reality, art crimes are no less interesting and exciting.

According to The New York Times, over the past 15 years, Glafira Rosales fooled two local commercial art galleries into buying 63 false works of art for more than $30 million.She passed off fake paintings as works by 20th century modernist masters such as American artists Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock.But in fact, these so called “newly discovered works” were all produced by a single man, a Chinese immigrant named Qian Peishen.

The art world was shocked by Rosales' deception.But to the public, it was amusing and most satisfying to see wealthy people get tricked.

So what decides the value of a piece of art? Is it beauty? Is it the artist's talent and craftsmanship? Or is it just because the artist is famous?

We should take beauty out. If the buyers were buying paintings only for their beauty, they'll be content displaying good fakes on their walls. They wouldn't be so upset when a forgery is exposed.

The art market claims that great artists are inimitable, and that this inimitability justifies the absurd price of their works. We can't deny that most famous artists are good at what they do, but forgers like Qian show that their works are imitable.Otherwise, the difference between the original and the copycats would be obvious and Rosales would not be able to fool anyone.

According to an article in the Economist, expensive paintings are what economists call positional goods. They are valuable because other people can't have them. With other goods, a higher price reduces demand.But art turns down the laws of economics. “When the goods that is really being purchased is evidence that the buyer has paid a lot, price increases cause demand to boom，” explained the article.

That's why scarcity and authenticity are so important in the art market. Artists sometimes forget this.Demien Hirst, the British pop artist, is famous for his spot paintings. But they dropped in value when it became clear that they had been produced in quantities so vast that nobody knew how many were out there.The art market lost faith in these paintings because no one could be sure which of them were authentic and which were fake.

1.The first paragraph is meant to tell the readers that ________.

A．movies and literature will be popular with art involved in them

B．a(chǎn)rt crimes are as interesting and exciting in reality as in movies

C．Gambit is a good movie with art forgery as the major theme

D．real art crime in reality can be adapted into popular films

2.Who is amused and satisfied to see the rich buy forged works of art?

A．The public.

B．Glafira Rosales.

C．Qian Peishen.

D．Mark Rothlo and Jackson Pollock.

3.What kind of art buyers should not be unhappy with its high prices when a forgery is exposed according to the author?

A．Those who buy only for its beauty.

B．Those who buy for its inimitability.

C．Those who 'buy for its authenticity.

D．Those who buy for its scarcity.

4.What is the law of economics theory behind art goods according to the economists?

A．They are valuable goods.

B．High prices reduce the demand of art goods.

C．High prices increase the demand of art goods.

D．They are produced in quantities to satisfy people.

Nuclear power's danger to health, safety, and even life itself can be summed up in one word: radiation.

Nuclear radiation has a certain mystery about it, partly because it cannot be detected by human senses. It can't be seen or heard, or touched or tasted, even though it may be all around us. There are other things like that. For example, radio waves are all around us but we can't detect them, sense them, without a radio receiver. Similarly, we can't sense radioactivity without a radiation detector. But unlike common radio waves, nuclear radiation is not harmless to human beings and other living things.

At very high levels, radiation can kill an animal or human being immediately by killing masses of cells in vital organs. But even the lowest levels can do serious damage. There is no levels of radiation that is completely safe. If the radiation does not hit anything important, the damage may not be serious. This is the case when only a few cells are hit, and if they are killed immediately. Your body will replace the dead cells with healthy ones. But if the few cells are only damaged, and if they reproduce themselves, you may be in trouble. They can grow into cancer. Sometimes this does not show up for many years.

This is another reason for some of the mystery about nuclear radiation. Serious damage can be done without the victim being aware at the time that damage has occurred. A person can be irradiated(輻射)and feel fine, then die for cancer five, ten, or twenty years later as a result. Or a child can be born weak as a result of radiation absorbed by its grandparents.

Radiation can hurt us. We must know the truth.

1.Which of the following statements is true?

A．Nuclear radiation is just like common radio waves.

B．Nuclear radiation can cause cancer to human beings.

C．Nuclear radiation can be detected by human senses.

D．Nuclear radiation can be safe to human beings if its level is low.

2.How can nuclear radiation kill an animal?

A．By damaging its heart.

B．By killing a few cells.

C．By hitting any place in its body.

D．By killing many cells in important organs.

3.If a human being is hit by nuclear radiation, he may __________.

A．die of cancer after many years

B．die immediately

C．have a child who may be born weak

D．a(chǎn)ll of the above