What is your zodiac（生肖） animal? According to the Chinese lunar calendar（农历）, 12 animals mark 12 different years. It is the basis of the Chinese zodiac. Nowadays, Chinese zodiac animals have worldwide fame and are increasingly popular among western people.
The zodiac is an important part of Chinese culture. People believe that the characteristics of a zodiac animal influence the personality of every person born in that year. For example, people born in the Year of the Tiger are considered powerful and brave.
Zodiac animals also have some social functions. When people think it is not proper to ask: “How old are you”, they may change their question to “What is your zodiac animal?” With this question, you can figure out roughly which year someone was born and the person’s age.
Zodiac animals are not special to China. Many countries share a similar zodiac culture with China. For example, in the Japanese Zodiac, a wild boar（野猪）takes the place of a pig and the Vietnamese（越南的）zodiac has a cat instead of a rabbit.
But have you ever wondered how these 12 animals were chosen to represent each year? According to legend, the Jade Emperor（玉皇大帝）invited all the animals to join him for Chinese New Year. Only 12 animals went to see him. As a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. The ox would have been the first to arrive, but the rat sat on his back and jumped off just before they arrived to come in first place.
小题1:The characteristics of a zodiac animal may influence the _____ of every person born in that year.| A．appearance | B．personality | C．hobby | D．education |
小题2:“What is your zodiac animal?” is a question used to find out a person’s______.小题3:In the Japanese zodiac, we don’t see the zodiac animal：_______| A．wild boar | B．rabbit | C．dragon | D．pig |
小题4:According to the last paragraph, we know that ____ was the first animal to arrive. |
小题1:B
小题2:A
小题3:D
小题4:B |
试题分析：这篇短文主要介绍了十二生肖在中国以及一些其它国家的影响及社会作用，并介绍了十二生肖的来历。
小题1:根据第二段People believe that the characteristics of a zodiac animal influence the personality of every person born in that year. 描述，可知选B。
小题2:根据第三段“What is your zodiac animal?” With this question, you can figure out roughly which year someone was born and the person’s age.描述，可知选A。
小题3:根据For example, in the Japanese Zodiac, a wild boar（野猪）takes the place of a pig 描述，可知选D。
小题4:根据The ox would have been the first to arrive, but the rat sat on his back and jumped off just before they arrived to come in first place.描述，可知老鼠是第一个到达的动物，故选B。
点评：本文浅显易懂，各个小题都能在文中找到适当依据。只要认真阅读短文，注意前后联系，就能顺利完成阅读。文章所设试题主要考察细节查找，做题关键是找出原文的根据，认真核查小题和原文的异同。 |
核心考点
试题【What is your zodiac（生肖） animal? According to the Chinese lunar calendar（农历）, 12 】；主要考察你对
人物故事类等知识点的理解。
[详细]举一反三
Mr Bean, who is silly, awkward (笨拙的) 1 always funny and enjoyable, is a world-famous comedy character on TV and in movies. He makes people 2 through a series of simple and funny acts 3 body languages. Rowan Atkinson is the 4 who plays Mr Bean. Mr Atkinson is quite 5 for playing Mr Bean.
Rowan was born on January 6, 1955, and 6 his early years on the family farm with his mother, three older brothers and his strict father, who did not believe 7 the value of television. For a time, he attended the same school as Tony Blair, who was two years older than him. At the age of 13, he 8 at Newcastle University where he had the highest marks in his year. At Oxford he got his Master’s degree (硕士学位) in electrical engineering. He was particularly 9 fast cars, of which he has a large collection.
Rowan’s career change from an electrical engineer to a famous comedian was partly 10 some speaking problems he had in his childhood.
While he was still at primary school, Rowan had already shown great talent in 11 . Although his teachers predicted (预言) a career in acting, Rowan was not confident 12 he met a group of talented people at university, and he realized this could be a career for him. Another important event 13 . One day in 1976, he was playing around and making faces 14 . He realized something. “I discovered my face,” he said later. John Lloyd, who worked for the BBC, says, “When I watched Mr Atkinson act for the first time, I was 15 that he would be more famous than Chaplin.”
| 小题2: | | A．laugh | B．sing | C．cry | D．dance |
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| 小题3: | | A．use | B．using | C．to use | D．to using |
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| 小题4: | | A．doctor | B．writer | C．actor | D．farmer |
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| 小题5: | | A．honest | B．friendly ` | C．helpful | D．famous |
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| 小题6: | | A．cost | B．took | C．paid | D．spent |
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| 小题8: | | A．worked | B．studied | C．played | D．helped |
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| 小题9: | | A．good at | B．amazed at | C．interested in | D．worried about |
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| 小题10: | | A．because | B．because of | C．so | D．since |
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| 小题11: | | A．swimming | B．driving | C．acting | D．singing |
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| 小题12: | | A．until | B．but | C．after | D．before |
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| 小题13: | | A．caused | B．missed | C．caught | D．occurred |
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| 小题14: | | A．in the mirror | B．in class | C．on the wall | D．in the playground |
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| 小题15: | | A．afraid | B．sure | C．worried | D．surprised |
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When we talk about stars, especially women stars, it seems that they are always young, pretty and own attractive body shapes. But recently a Britain’s Got Talent(英国达人) star Susan Boyle has changed our views completely.
Simon Cowell, one of the organizers of the talent show spoke of his surprise over Ms Boyle’s voice. “This lady came up, and I’m thinking, ‘This will take five seconds and I can go to have a cup of tea.’ That changed when she began to sing I Dreamed a Dream from Lea Miserables. She knew we were going to have that reaction(反应) and just to see that look of satisfaction on her face midway through — it was one of my favorite moments,” Cowell said.
The performance was posted online and before long, the 47-year-old Scottish woman has been famous all over the world.
Speaking from her home in Scotland, Ms Boyle said that she hadn’t thought of changing her appearance. She said that her friend helped her with make-up. “I mean, it’s meaningless.” She added.
Ms. Boyle also spoke of the reason she first began to explore her musical talents. “ I was kind of slow at school, so getting something like singing was a good way of hiding behind that and therefore it built my confidence.’’
小题1:Susan Boyle had a look of satisfaction on her face when she was singing because ________.| A．she was confident of her singing | | B．she was satisfied with the organizers | | C．she was pretty and in good shape | | D．she sang the song I Dreamed a Dream from Lea Miserables |
小题2:According to the passage, which is NOT true?| A．It was the musical talents that built Susan"s confidence. | | B．Susan Boyle was not good at her lessons when at school. | | C．Susan Boyle became famous because of her appearance. | | D．Simon Cowell didn"t think Susan Boyle a good singer at the first sight. |
小题3:What can we learn from Susan Boyle’s success?| A．It’s never too old to learn. | | B．It’s easier to succeed at the age of 47. | | C．If you have a dream, keep trying to make it come true! | | D．If you are not able to study well, to be a singer instead. |
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It was Friday. Andy Barton was in a bad mood . At six o’clock his __1__ programme, “Travel with us”, was on TV. Andy liked to get home in ___2___ for that. But then, just as he was leaving his office a little earlier , a customer (顾客) rang up with a few complaints for the next fifteen minutes. “I can ___3__ get home in time if I hurry,” Andy told himself as he___4___out of the office. As he drove off in his car, he ___5___ that he was almost out of petrol(汽油). “I’ll have to stop at Fenton’s”, Andy thought. He ___6___Fenton’s because it was a self-service petrol station. “You do all the work yourself, but you pay___7____for the petrol,” he used to complain. At Fenton’s, the pump (泵) was not working properly and it ___8__ much time to get petrol. So when Andy got home, it was already two minutes past six. Just then the phone rang. “Shall I answer it?” Andy thought. He tried to___9__ his attention on the programme and forget the phone. But it kept ringing and finally he picked it up.
“Mr Barton?”__10__said. “Fenton’s Garage here.”“Fenton’s?” Andy said. “Why, I was at your place only a few minutes ago, getting some petrol. Did I _11_ something behind or what?” “No, you didn’t, Mr Barton.” And the voice went on. “That’s just the __12__ ! You went off without paying for your petrol, you __13___！ Now normally, when that happens, we ring up the police. But Luckily I knew you and I know it was a _14__.” “I’m really very sorry,” Andy said. “Oh, that’s all right, Mr Barton. But could you __15__round now and pay for your petrol? And please hurry! We close at half past six!”
| 小题1: | | A．favourite | B．funny | C．popular | D．lovely |
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| 小题2: | | A．chance | B．time | C．seat | D．spirit |
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| 小题3: | | A．surely | B．obviously | C．normally | D．still |
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| 小题4: | | A．stepped | B．climbed | C．looked | D．rushed |
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| 小题5: | | A．observed | B．noticed | C．thought | D．suggested |
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| 小题6: | | A．hated | B．liked | C．meant | D．promised |
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| 小题7: | | A．a little | B．the same | C．a lot | D．the bill |
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| 小题8: | | A．cost | B．spent | C．took | D．spared |
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| 小题10: | | A．a woman | B．a man | C．a recorder | D．a voice |
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| 小题11: | | A．lose | B．leave | C．forget | D．destroy |
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| 小题12: | | A．trouble | B．worry | C．excuse | D．reason |
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| 小题13: | | A．remember | B．see | C．do | D．drive |
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| 小题14: | | A．mistake | B．joke | C．trick | D．truth |
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I stood there listening to my father shout at top of his voice. The 1 on his face said that one of us had done something wrong.
“ 2 one of you did this? ”
We all stared down at the step. There was child’s handwriting in chalk there. I was very 3 . I hoped no one could see it. Would he guess it was me? I was so scared. When he asked me, I 4 , “Not me, Dad. ”
The others denied (否认) it as well. Of course, we all knew that one of us 5 have done it. But as the 6 and the smallest of the three, I just couldn’t find the courage to tell the 7 .
To find out who had written on the 8 , father gave us each a piece of paper and a pencil. “I want each of you to 9 exactly what you see on the step. ”
I tried my best to write the words 10 . I didn’t want Dad to be able to tell it was me.
He gathered up our pieces of paper and looked at them. “ Since 11 of you will
admit(承认) to have done it, then I will punish you all. ” I stood there and said 12 . The last thing I wanted was for Dad to punish me!
“ I 13 it. ” My sister stepped forward and said she had done something she hadn’t. She was punished for a month.
We didn’t talk 14 that day for many years. Not until we were all older and I knew it was safe to finally tell my dad it was really me. I always felt sorry 15 it. That was the last time I let anyone take the blame for me.
| 小题1: | | A．sound | B．taste | C．look | D．feeling |
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| 小题2: | | A．What | B．Which | C．Who | D．Where |
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| 小题3: | | A．unhappy | B．surprised | C．angry | D．frightened |
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| 小题4: | | A．lied | B．said | C．talked | D．told |
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| 小题6: | | A．oldest | B．kindest | C．youngest | D．healthiest |
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| 小题7: | | A．answer | B．story | C．truth | D．thing |
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| 小题8: | | A．step | B．ground | C．floor | D．door |
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| 小题9: | | A．write | B．draw | C．paint | D．print |
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| 小题10: | | A．carefully | B．differently | C．heavily | D．badly |
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| 小题11: | | A．all | B．none | C．neither | D．both |
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| 小题12: | | A．something | B．anything | C．everything | D．nothing |
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| 小题15: | | A．because | B．because of | C．though | D．except |
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Long long ago, a king had a big rock placed in the middle of a very busy road. Then he hid nearby to see if anyone would move the rock out of the way to make it convenient for others. Some of the king’s wealthiest supporters came past and simply walked around it. Many others complained about the rock and some blamed the king for the problem. To the king’s surprise, no one did anything about moving it out of the way.
Finally, a poor farmer came along, carrying a load of old vegetables. When he saw the rock, he put down his load, and tried to move the heavy rock to the side of the road. No one stopped to help him. Many laughed at him and made jokes as they walked past. Finally, after much pushing and straining, and with no help , the farmer managed(设法) to get the rock to the side of the road. As he bent down to pick up his vegetables, he noticed a small bag lying in the road, exactly where the rock had been. There was a lot of money and a note in the bag. The note was from the king saying that the money was for the person who moved the rock out of the way.
Taking responsibility(责任) is about solving hard problems. The farmer takes responsibility when no one else is prepared to. It does not always mean that you will get an instant reward, but it is a value that builds up a community, and makes life better for all of us.
小题1:The word “convenient” in Paragraph1 means in Chinese.小题2:Why did the king put a big rock in the middle of the road?| A．To see if anyone would move the rock away. | | B．To see who was the most powerful. | | C．To find out who was the most poorest. | | D．To see how people walked around it. |
小题3:Who moved the rock away？| A．The king | B．The king’s supporters. | | C．The wealthy | D．A poor farmer |
小题4:The story mainly tells us that .| A．everyone should learn to take responsibility | | B．nobody likes to solve hard problems | | C．taking responsibility always means getting a reward | | D．the poor always take more responsibility than the rich |
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