CWhy are so many coin banks shaped like pigs? Why not dogs or cats or elephants?

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C
Why are so many coin banks shaped like pigs? Why not dogs or cats or elephants?
Coin banks weren"t always made to look like pigs. In fact, the name "piggy bank" may have come from a kind of clay and not from the animal at all.
The history of the piggy bank goes back to the Middle ages. At that time in Western Europe, metals were expensive, so a cheap orange clay known as pygg was used for everyday items such as dishes and jars. In fact something made from pygg clay was often just called a pygg. The first piggy bank may well have been a pygg in which a person put a few extra pennies to buy a treat on market day.
People have always had a hobby of saving pennies, and using a pygg as a coin bank became common practice. Potters (陶工) began making jars specially for saving coins, and eventually these jars took a pig-like shape. Modeling a bank to look like a pig may have been influenced by the name of the clay. The earliest Roman coin bank ever found was decorated with a pig. Because it was considered as a valuable farm animal in many countries, the pig was an appropriate symbol of wealth and prosperity.
These early clay banks were fragile and easily broken. As time passed, mining became less expensive. Iron, copper, and silver gradually replaced pygg clay in the production of household items. Although pygg clay lost its popularity, the habit of saving pennies did not. Today piggy "banks are made of every material imaginable.
The familiar saying "A penny saved is a penny earned" is as old as the clearly piggy banks. Marry a child received his or her first coin bank accompanied by this wise advice. The modern-day piggy bank may have changed in sine, shape, and spelling, but it saves our pennies just as well as the first pygg did countries ago.
64. In the Middle ages, people used pygg to make dishes because ________.
A. it was precious                             B. it stood for wealth
C. it had a beautiful color                           D. it was cheaper than other materials
65. What do we know about the pygg bank?
A. Its name might come from an animal.                   B. The first pygg bank looked like a pig.
C. It was designed for children at the beginning.         D. The early piggy banks were easily damaged.
66. Why did pygg day lose its popularity?
A. Other cheap and solid materials appeared.    B. It was inconvenient to carry it to the market.
C. It couldn"t be made into other shapes.          D. People had run out of this kind of material.
67. In the last paragraph, the author intends to tell us ________.
A. piggy banks nowadays are not practical          B. piggy banks still play a part in our daily lives
C. piggy banks today are mainly made of iron
D. most children don" t have the habit of saving money

答案

64---67 DDAB

解析

64．D(解析：细节题。根据第三段可知答案为D。)
65．D(解析：细节题。根据"These early clay banks were fragile and easily broken"可知答案为D。)
66．A(解析：细节题。根据倒数第二段可知答案为A。)
67．B(解析：主旨大意题。根据意思选B。)

举一反三

The first newspaper were handwritten sheets which were posted in pubic places. The earliest recorded newspaper was started in Rom in 59 BC. In the 700’s the world’s first printed newspaper was developed in China. The paper was printed from carved(雕刻的) wooden blocks and sent out among the citizens. Europe didn’t have a regularly(定期的) published newspaper until 1609, when one was started in Germany.
The fist regularly published newspaper in the English language was printed in 1620. In 1621, an English newspaper was started in London and was published weekly. The first daily English newspaper was the Daily Courant, which didn’t appear until March 1702.
In 1690, Benjamin Harris printed the first American newspaper in Boston. But the local(当地的) government soon stopped its publication. In 1704, John Campbell started The Boston News-letter, the first newspaper to be published daily in America. By 1760, the whole America had more than thirty daily newspapers. There are now about 1800 daily papers in the United States.
Today, as a group, English language newspapers have the largest circulation(发行量) in the world. The largest circulation for a newspaper, however, is that of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, which sells over eleven million copies every day.
71.In Europe, the newspaper was first regularly published_____.
A.in England                B.in Germany
C.in France                 D.in London
72.The first English newspaper printed and sold every day appeared _________.
A.in 1620                B.in 1609
C.at the end of the 17th century
D.at the beginning of the 18th century.
73.How many years earlier was the newspaper printed in China than in America?
A.9 or 10 centuries.     B.More than 1000 years.
C.700 years or so       D.Less than 800 years.
74.As suggested by the article, which of the following newspapers have the largest umber of readers in the world?
A.Italian language newspapers.
B.German language newspapers.
C.English language newspapers.
D.Japanese language newspapers.
75.Which title best gives the main idea of the passage?
A.The World’s First Newspaper.
B.History of Newspaper.
C.The First Daily Newspaper in American.
D.A Remarkable Man-Benjamin Harris.

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PART THREE: READING COMPREHENSION (30分)
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.
A
At dawn on Friday, May 19, 1780, farmers in New England stopped to wonder at the pink color of the sun. By noon the sky had darkened to midnight blackness, causing Americans, still in the painful struggle of a prolonged war of independence, to light candles and tremble at thoughts of the Last Judgment. As the birds quieted and no storm accompanied the darkness, men and women crowded into churches, where one minister commented that “The people were very attentive.” John Greenleaf Whittier later wrote that “Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp . . .”
A recent study of researchers, led by Richard Guyette from the University of Missouri’s Tree Ring Laboratory, has shown that vast forest fires in the Algonquin Highlands of southern Ontario and elsewhere in Canada brought this event upon New England. The scientists have discovered “fire scars” on the rings for that year, left when the heat of a wildfire has killed a part of a tree’s cambium (形成层). Evidence collected also points to a drought that year. An easterly wind and low barometric pressure (低气压) helped force smoke into the upper atmosphere. “The record fits pretty close,” says Guyette. “We had the right fuel, the drought. The conditions were all there.”
Lacking the ability to communicate quickly over long distances, Americans in 1780 remained in the dark about the event, which had disappeared by the next day. Over the next several months, the papers carried heated debates about what brought the darkness. Some were the voices of angry prediction, such as one Massachusetts farmer who wrote, “Oh! Backsliding New-England, attend now to the things which belong to your peace before they are forever hid from your eyes.” Others gave different answers. One stated that a “flaming star” had passed between the earth and the sun. Ash, argued another commentator. The debate, carried on throughout New England, where there were no scientific journals or academies yet, reflected an unfolding culture of scientific enquiry already sweeping the Western world, a revolution nearly as influential as the war for independence from the English.
New Englanders would not soon forget that dark day; it lived on in folklore, poems, and sermons for generations.
56. New Englanders crowded into churches because they were frightened by         .
A. the pink color of the sun      B. the darkened sky at daytime
C. the Last Judgment on Friday    D. the American War of Independence
57. What can we infer about the event in New England on May 19, 1780?
A. Prayers remained silent and attentive.
B. Night birds no longer came out to sing.
C. People’s ears became sharper than usual.
D. Midday meals were served by candlelight.
58. According to the researchers, the origin of the event was         .
A. an east wind                B. a severe drought
C. some burning fuel            D. low barometric pressure
59. What can we know about the debates after the dark day?
A. They focused on causes of the event.
B. They swept throughout the Western world.
C. They were organized by scientific institutions.
D. They improved Americans’ ability to communicate.
60. What can be the best title for the text?
A. New England’s dark day. B. Voices of angry prediction.
C. There is no smoke without fire.       D. Tree rings and scientific discovery.

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Kataria is the founder of the worldwide

laughter movement. The celebration of world
Laughter Day is a positive activity for world peace
and is intended to build up a global sense of
brotherhood and friendship through laughter. The
first “World Laughter Day” gathering took place
in Mumbai, India, on 11th January 1998. 12,000
members from India and international Laughter
Clubs attended it. Now there are over 5,000 Laughter Clubs worldwide on all 5 continents.
“HAPPY-DEMIC” was the first World Laughter Day gathering outside India. It took place on 9th January 2000. In Copenhagen, Denmark , more than 10,000 people gathered at Town Hall Square. The event went into Guinness Book of World records. “World Laughter Day” is now organized on the first Sunday of May every year. Hundreds of people gather worldwide on that day to laugh together.
Today, many people fear widespread international terrorism. The world has never faced so much unrest before. People are at war within themselves. Laughter is a universal language, which has the ability to unite humanity without religion. Laughter can build a common connection between various religions and create a new world order. The idea may sound over-ambitious (野心太大的), and maybe it is. But maybe it is not. It is our deep belief that laughter and only laughter can unite the world, building up a global sense of brotherhood and friendship.
Studies also say that laughter helps your body do the following: lower blood pressure; lighten depression; reduce stress; work out the heart, especially for those who are unable to perform physical exercise. So in life, when you can laugh, you should laugh loudly and with your entire body—because it’s good for you.
56．The purpose of celebrating World Laughter Day is            .
A．to build up a global sense of brotherhood and friendship through laughter
B．to build a common connection between various religions
C．to reduce stress and lighten depression
D．to lower blood pressure
57．The first World Laughter Day gathering outside India took place _         _．
A．on llth January 1998           B．on the first Sunday of May
C．on 9th January 1996           D．on 9th January 2000
58．The author"s attitude towards laughter movement is    .
A．positive      B．negative    C．uninterested D．objective
59．The passage is mainly about ____．
A．World Laughter Day and its significance
B．the worldwide laughter movement
C．a universal language
D．laughter

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The black robin is one of the world’s rarest birds. It is a small, wild bird, and it lives only on the island of Little Mangere, off the coast of New Zealand. In 1967 there were about fifty black robins; in 1977 there were fewer than ten. These are the only black robins left in the world. The island has many other birds, of different kinds, large and small; these seem to multiply very happily.
Energetic steps are being taken to preserve the black robin. Detailed studies are going on, and a public appeal for money has bee made. The idea is to buy another island nearby as a special home, a “reserve”, for threatened wild life, including black robins. The organizers say that Little Mangere should then be supplied with the robin’s food—it eats only one kind of seed. Thousands of the required plants are at present being cultivated in new Zealand. The public appeal is aimed at the conscience of mankind, so that the wild black robin will not die out and disappear form the earth in our time at least.
Is all this concern a waste of human effort? Is it any business of ours whether the black robin survives or dies out? Are we losing our sense of what is reasonable and what is unreasonable?
In the earth’s long, long past, hundreds, of kinds of creatures have evolved, risen to a degree of success—and died out. In the long, long future, there will be many new and different forms of life. Those creatures that adapt themselves successfully to what the earth offers will survive for a long time. Those that fail to meet the challenges will disappear early. This is nature’s proven method of operation.
The rule of selection—“the survival of the fittest”—is the one by which human beings have themselves arrived on the scene. We, being one of the most adaptable creatures the earth has yet produced, may last longer than most. You may take it as another rule that when, at last, human beings show signs of dying out, no other creature will extend a paw to put off our departure. On the contrary, we will be hurried out. For nature, tough fair, is a hard-hearted mistress. She has no favorites.
Life seems to have grown too tough for black robins. I leave you to judge whether we should try to do something about it.
57．The black robin is dying out mainly because        .
A．people have been very careless about its survival
B．its only food supply is far from enough on Little Mangere
C．the other birds on the island have destroyed it
D．the appeal for money has come at the wrong time
58．In Paragraph 3, the writer puts forward three questions to        .
A．make a comparison B．make an argument
C．introduce a topic             D．present his own idea
59．As for selection and survival, the decisive factor seems to be        .
A．the ability to adapt to changed or changing conditions
B．the number of wild life reserves that are available
C．the concern and generosity of the public
D．the size of the home, or the amount of space one has to live in
60．The writer’s attitude towards the protection of the black robins is         .
A．active       B．passive     C．unconcerned     D．optimistic

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Throughout time, people have loved music for its ability to transport them into a world of rhythm and melody. Recently more and more hospitals and clinics have been tapping into the power of music - not only to comfort patients, but to help them heal as well. Welcome to the world of music therapy.
After each of the two world wars, musicians visited hospitals and played instruments for injured soldiers suffering from emotional and physical pain. Today’s music therapists continue this practice, playing instruments such as guitars and harps to bring comfort to their audiences.
Therapist Eric Mammen encourages his patients at a children’s hospital to participate with him as he plays. During visits with 13-year-old cancer patient Lawrence Garcia, Mammen encourages Garcia to beat on electric drums while he plays the guitar. The therapy won’t cure his cancer, but it does, according to Garcia’s mom, take away much of the boy’s depression.
Music therapy can elevate patients’ moods and ease the symptoms of depression according to the American Music Therapy Association. Other benefits include relieving pain, calming tension, aiding sleep, counteracting worry or fear, and easing muscle tension.
Jose Haro personally experienced the benefits of music therapy when he was recovering from heart surgery. During his recovery, he played a piano whose keys lit up, indicating which keys to touch to play along with the background music. Soon, he was playing tunes and noticing something strange. “I was searching for my pain.” He says of his experience, “but it was gone.”
While Haro’s experience provides an evidence of the power of music to relieve pain, scientific research has proven music also helps patients with Alzheimer’s disease and arthritis.
In addition, music therapy helps premature (早产的) babies. Doctors are tapping into a powerful way to teach premature babies that haven’t yet learned how to suck. Doctors use a device that comforts the babies by playing music when they suck on a pacifier (奶嘴). Soon, the babies learn to suck in return for music, gaining weight faster and going home earlier than those who don’t use the device.
Even perfectly healthy people are discovering the power of music to calm and heal. Drum circles attract people who find stress relief in pounding out rhythms. While music isn’t a cure-all, it does make life a little easier.
68.   In the first paragraph, the underlined phrase “tapping into” can be replaced by “________”.
A. discussing on                                                      B. looking for
C. showing interest in                                           D. making use of
69.   According to the passage, Jose Haro ________.
A. went through an obvious effect of music on his recovery
B. recovered from heart disease completely
C. felt no pain in his surgery
D. was asked to play the piano by his doctors
70.   From the passage, we know ________.
A. musicians cured many soldiers after each of the two world wars
B. Garcia found much comfort in music according to his mom
C. music can prevent people from suffering from arthritis
D. the more music they listen to, the faster premature babies gain weight
71.   What is the best title for this passage?
A. Music Is Becoming Popular in Most Hospitals
B. Music Helps Patients Recover
C. Musicians Work with Doctors
D. People’s Life Benefits from Music

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