初中英语说明文阅读理解

阅读短文，完成下列表格。
I have many pen pals in many countries. Do you know the girl on the bike in the photo? She is one of my pen pals. Her name is Reiko. She is a Japanese student. We are the same(相同的) age - 13 years old. She lives in Tokyo. She has two brothers. They live with their parents.
I like Reiko very much. But I don’t know Japanese, and Reiko doesn’t know Chinese, either(也). But we know English. So we write letters in English. Sometimes(有时) we talk on the phone. My favorite subject is math. Her favorite subject is music. We have the same hobbies. We like seeing comedies, playing volleyball and eating hamburgers.
My pen pal

1. Name: _________________________________

2. Age:  _________________________________

3. From: _________________________________

4. Languages:_____________________________

5. City: _________________________________

6. Family members:________________________

7. Favorite sport:________________________

8. Favorite kind of movies: ______________

9. Favorite subject:______________________

10. Favorite food:________________________

Many young people like playing football very much. In China we can often see children playing football on the playground. In China and England, people call British soccer football. They don’t call it soccer.
A British soccer ball is round. There are eleven players in a team. But an American football is not round. It’s like an egg. They also have eleven players on the field in one team.
American football is very popular（流行的）in the USA. Players can catch the ball with their hands. But in a British soccer team, only the goalkeeper（守门员）can pick up the ball with his hands.
Playing ball games is good for you. It can make you happy and healthy.
In China, a lot of people like playing football.
The British soccer and the American football are the same games.
There are twelve players in a American football team.
Players can catch the ball with their hands in a British soccer game.
Playing football can make you happy and healthy.

Have you ever been in a meeting while someone was making a speech and realized suddenly that your mind was a million miles away? You probably felt sorry and decided to pay attention and never have daydreaming again. Most of us have been told from earliest school days that daydreaming is a waste of time.
L. Giambra, a psychologist（心理学家）, says,” On the contrary , daydreaming is quite necessary. Without it, the mind couldn’t do all the thinking that it has to do during a normal day. You can’t possibly do all your thinking with a conscious （神志清醒的）mind. Instead, your unconscious mind is working out problems all the time. Daydreaming may be one way that the unconscious and conscious states （状态）of mind have silent conversations .”
Early psychologists paid no attention to the importance of daydreams or even thought they were harmful. At one time people thought that some psychological illness caused day dreaming. They did not have a better understanding of daydreams until the late 1980s. Eric Klinges, a professor, is the writer of the book Daydreaming. Klinges says, “We know now that daydreaming is one of the main ways that we organize our lives, learn from our experiences, and plan for our futures. Daydreams really are a window on the things that we fear and the things we long for (渴望) in life.”
Daydreams are usually very simple and direct（直接）, quite unlike sleep dreams. Sleep dreams may be hard to understand. It’s easier to get a deep understanding of your life by paying close attention to your daydreams than by trying to examine (分析)your sleep dreams carefully. Daydreams help you know the difficult situations（情况）in your life and found out a possible way of dealing with them.
Daydreams cannot be predicted（预言）: they move off in unexpected directions which may be creative and full of useful ideas. For many famous artists and scientists, daydreams were and are a main source of creative energy.
The passage is mainly about _______ .

A．winter sleeps

B．sleep dreams

C．daydreaming

D．predictions

The underlined phrase On the contrary  means _________ .

A．总之

B．相反

C．毕竟

D．因此

The writer of this passage thinks daydreams are__________.

A．hard to understand	B．important and helpful
C．harmful and unimportant	D．the same as sleep dreams

Psychologists now believe that ________.

A．daydreams are usually very simple and can be predicted

B．daydreams are usually difficult to understand

C．daydreams cause some psychological illness

D．daydreams may be creative and full of useful ideas

The writer quoted  (引用 )L. Giambra  and Eric Klinges  to ________.

A．list out two different ideas

B．point out the wrong ideas of early experts

C．support his own ideas

D．report the latest research on daydreams

A desert is a very dry land where there is hardly any rain. In the day, it can be so hot that you could fry an egg on the ground. But during the night it is sometimes so could that water would turn into ice.






Many desserts are covered in sand. But some have mountains, rocks, or lakes that have dried up in the heat. The Great American Dessert has cliffs(悬崖) that have been made into amazing and beautiful shapes by the wind. The Sahara Desert in Africa is mostly sand. The Australian Desert has red sand.
Sometimes it does not rain for a whole year in the desert. But there is water deep under the ground and some plants have roots that go very deep to find it. Other plants have roots that spread out(延伸) a long way so they can suck up the rain as soon as it falls.
One desert plant is the cactus, which has long, spreading roots. The cactus stores water inside its hard skin. This skin protects it from heat and cold.
Camels are a bit like cactus plants! They store water too—inside their bodies. They have special fur which protects them from the sun during the day and keeps them warm at night.
Some other animals live in deserts, too. They have to be very good at seeing and hearing because most of them only come out at night. This is why many desert animals have extra big eyes or ears.
A desert fox has bigger ears than a normal for. A gerbil has huge eye, so that it can see at night. It stays cool in the day by staying underground, like most desert animals.
Some people live in the desert but they always make their homes near an oasis. An oasis is where water comes from an underground river. Near an oasis, people can grow lots of plants and keep animals.
Life is hard in the desert, for people, animals and plants. But desert people like to live there.
A desert is very dry because__________.

A．it is sandy	B．there is so little rain
C．the wind is strong	D．there is no water deep under the ground

What does the underlined phrase"suck up"in paragraph 3 mean_________?

A．围堵

B．讨好

C．释放

D．吸收

Some desert animals have extra big eyes or ears because__________.

A．the sunlight is too strong in the day	B．they need to see and hear well at night
C．it is very cold at nigh	D．they store water in them.

Most desert animals stay cool in the day by_________.

A．storing water in side their bodies	B．drinking water as much as they can
C．staying underground	D．growing lots of plants

Which of the following is true?

A．Desert people like to live in the desert though life is hard.

B．People in the desert usually fry eggs on the ground.

C．Camels have special fur to store water.

D．All the deserts are covered in sand.

Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa. It is also the second largest lake in the world. It is an important lake because it is one of the sources(源头) for the longest river in the world, the Nile River. Lake Victoria provides a source of water, food, and power(电力) for several African countries. Lake Victoria is a big part of African life.
Unfortunately, Lake Victoria has a problem. It is shrinking. There are several power stations at Lake Victoria in Uganda. These are on the Nile River, and besides producing power, they keep the water of the lake at a certain level. For the past forty years, that level has been 11.9 meters. Over the last several years, the water level has dropped by about 2.5 meters. There seem to be several reasons for this drop.
One possible reason is drought(干旱). Drought has been very bad in the area since 2000. Lake Victoria gets all of its water from rain, so the drought means less water in the lake.
However, some environmentalists believe that the real problem is the power plants(工厂) on Lake Victoria. Uganda depends on those power plants for most of its power, and they made the power plants larger in 2000. Many people believe the power plants have been taking too much water off Lake Victoria. As a result, they have been asked to use less water until Lake Victoria goes back to its old level.
Whether the low water level is caused by drought or power plants, the result is the same. This is already a poor area of Africa, where many people live a really hard life. People, animals and plants around Lake Victoria will suffer even more from low water levels on the lake. Many people need Lake Victoria for fishing or growing food. Fish need the water to live, and animals need it for water. Plants around the lake will die without the water, and then more animals and people will suffer. Unless the lake fills soon, many people will suffer and die.
Lake Victoria is __________.

A．an important lake in Africa

B．the largest lake in the world

C．the source of water, food and power for America

D．the only source for the Nile River

What does “It is shrinking” most probably mean?

A．It is becoming larger.

B．It is becoming more beautiful.

C．It is becoming smaller.

D．It is becoming more useful.

The water level of Lake Victoria is now __________.

A．2.5 meters

B．11.9 meters

C．14.4 meters

D．9.4 meters

Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Rain water is the only source for the lake.
B. There has been little rain in the lake area since 2000.
C. The power plants in Uganda provide water for the lake.
D The power plants in Uganda were made larger in 2000.
According to the passage, how can we solve the problems around Lake Victoria?

A．People must build more power plants.

B．More sources of water must be found.

C．Every country should offer some money to Africa.

D．All the people living in the area should move to another place.

On the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar（农历）, which is Wednesday this year, all Chinese celebrate one of their traditional festivals, the Dagon Boat Festival, or Dragon Boat Festival. Their celebrations include eating zongzi, rice wrapped in bamboo leaves in the shape of a pyramid, racing dragon boats and sticking mugwort leaves on their doors.  
In 2007, the central government decided to add the Dragon Boat Festival, together with two other traditional festivals - Tomb Sweeping Day (清明节) and Mid Autumn Festival - to the list of public holidays
According to tradition, our ancestors（长辈） believed the hot weather in midsummer might cause different kinds of diseases (疾病). So, to keep off diseases and drive out evil were the main purposes of the Dragon Boat Festival. Parents used colorful threads to make necklaces and bracelets （手镯） for children, gave them beautiful embroidered bags（荷包）, painted the Chinese character for "king" (wang) on their foreheads to drive away bad luck. The Dragon Boat Festival was also called "kids festival" in some places. Spending such happy hours with parents, young children began to understand the festival as well as the traditions and culture behind it. Repeating the customs year by year makes it possible for kids to learn the traditions, accept it and pass it on when they become adults.
How do people celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival?

A．People celebrate this festival by eating eggs.

B．People celebrate this festival by eating zongzi, racing dragon boats.

C．People celebrate this festival by sending cards.

D．People celebrate this festival by singing and dancing.

What is the Chinese meaning of “mugwort leaves” in the second paragraph?

A．粽叶

B．红叶

C．艾叶

D．松叶

How many public holidays added by the central government in 2007?

A．2

B．3

C．4

D．only one

What is the main purpose of the Dragon Boat Festival according to tradition?

A．To keep off diseases and drive out evil and bad luck.

B．To spend happy time with parents.

C．To make necklaces and bracelets for children.

D．To have a long holiday with family members.

Just a Quick Nap 只要打个盹儿
Do you feel a little sleepy after lunch? Well, that’s normal. Your body naturally slows down then. What should you do about it? Don’t reach for a coffee! Instead, take a nap.
It’s good to have a daily nap. First of all , you are more efficient（有效的） after napping . You remember things better and make fewer mistakes. Also, you can learn things more easily after taking a nap. A nap may increase your self-confidence（自信） and make you more active . It may even cheer you up. But, there are some simple rules you should follow about taking a nap. First, take a nap in the middle of day, about eight hours after you wake up. Next, a 20-minute nap is best. If you sleep longer, you may fall into a deep sleep. After waking from a deep sleep, you will feel worse. Also, you should set an alarm clock. That way, you can fully relax during your nap. You won’t have to keep looking at the clock so you don’t oversleep.
Now，the next time you feel sleepy after lunch , don’t get stressed . Put your head down, close your eyes, and catch forty winks.
It is       to get sleepy for you at noon.
A. normal          B. strange         C. amazing
After taking a nap, you may feel more        .
A. stressed         B. confident        C. sleepy
The proper period（一段时间）of time for taking a nap is      .
A. as long as you like       B. eight hours     C. about twenty minutes
What can help you have a fully relaxing nap according to the passage?
A. A cup of coffee.         B. A quick meal.   C. An alarm clock.
What is the text mainly about?
A. Why and how to take a nap.
B. Rules to increase your self –confidence.
C. How to make your body slow down.

For Rent A big apartment（单元房） for a family of three people.￥650 a month. Call Mr. Zhang. Tel：[phone].

Wanted Looking for a quiet single room under $120 per month. Please call Harry at 138-7682-5856.

Lost ID card Name：Dick  Number：232324198804125510 Please call [phone].

Found A red bag with some books. Come to Room 402 in the evening or call White at [phone].

Please call            to rent a three-bedroom apartment.

A．[phone]	B．138-7682-5856
C．[phone]	D．[phone]

You can rent your single room to         for $120 per month.

A．Dick

B．Harry

C．White

D．Mr. Zhang

If you find an ID card, you can call            at [phone].

A．White

B．Harry

C．Dick

D．Mr. Zhang

If you can’t find your bag, you can            to get it back in the evening.

A．call [phone]	B．go to Room 402
C．call Harry	D．go to look for a single room

You want to rent a big apartment for your family for three months.You must take out         .

A．￥1 950

B．$1 950

C．￥650

D．$650

Chinese Restaurant We specialize in banquets and parties. Authentic(正宗) Chinese food. Special lunchtime dishes. licensed and BYO(bring your own) SUNDAY DIM SUM(点心）LUNCH Situated in Smithfield Shopping centre. Tel: [phone] Place: 589 Walkley Road, Smithfield	Hamburger Joe’s Dine in or take away 7 days a week. Friendly, polite waitress service. Pleasant, informal and air-conditioned surroundings. Time:  Mon. Noon—10pm Tues. Noon—11pm Wed.—Sat. Noon—Midnight Sun. Noon—9pm Place:  14 Jetty Road, Glenelg Tel:    [phone]
The Seafood Inn Licensed Café We offer lunch and dinner in a relaxed atmosphere（气氛）with indoor or outdoor seating. We have an interesting wine list and freshly prepared foods. Time:  Tuesday to Friday 12:00—3:00 pm  6:30—11:30 pm Tel:    [phone] Place:  482 Spring Street, Carlton	Peppi’s Italian Restaurant Pasta just like Mama used to make Italian or Australian wines or BYO Time: Open 7 days for lunch and dinner Car parking available Tel:    [phone] Place:  28 O’Connell ST CITV
Pizza Palace Pizza ·Beer ·Wine Fully Licensed Full take-away service Special children’s menu Everard Park, Glenelg City

If you’d like to order some dim sum, you should dial ______________.

A．361 9042

B．306 2481

C．224 1086

D．295 7783

Pizza Palace is the best place for children to eat because ______________.

A．the waitress service is friendly and polite

B．there is a special children’s menu

C．there are indoor or outdoor seats

D．it’s close to Smithfield Shopping centre

How many hours a day is the Seafood Inn open from Tuesday to Friday?

A．3.

B．5.

C．8.

D．12.

The address of Hamburger Joe’s is ______________.

A．589 Walkley Road, Smithfield	B．14 Jetty Road, Glenelg
C．28 O’Connell ST CITV	D．482 Spring Street, Carlton

Which statement is wrong?.

A．Peppi’s Italian Restaurant allows you to bring your own drinks

B．You can’t buy breakfast at Hamburger Joe’s

C．You can enjoy authentic Chinese food in Chinese Restaurant

D．You can dine in or take away from Pizza Palace

______________
Song Zuying is the most famous soprano(女高音歌唱家) in China. In the eyes of the Chinese people, Song Zuying is the star of oriental art(东方艺术).She was born in a beautiful place–Guzhang County in West Hunan. In recent years, she has been awarded many highest prizes in various music contests. She loves her hometown and does a lot for the people there.
__________________
Wen Jiabao is the premier(总理) of the world’s most populous(人口众多的) country. But, millions of people would rather call him“grandpa”.Always in plain(朴素的) jackets, he seems an ordinary old man with a kind smile. But in the face of disasters he has the power to pull together the whole country.
_________________
Ding Cong, a famous cartoonist(漫画家) in China, died on May 26,2009.He started to draw cartoons more than seventy years ago, but he always called himself Xiao Ding of Little Ding.
He seemed to have a lot to learn in this world. His cartoons are humorous(幽默的) and interesting and loved by the old and the young in China.
_________________
An 18–meter high “Olympic torch(火炬)”made of more than 110,000 pots of flowers, the biggest “Olympic torch” in the world, is seen at the Liberation Park in Wuhan, Hubei Province. The “Olympic torch” was exhibited at the opening ceremony（开幕式） of the 2008 Wuhan Flower Expo(展览会) to express local people’s best wishes to this summer Olympic Games.
________________
Liu Qian is the only magician(魔术师) form Taiwan invited by Las Vegas and the Hollywood Magic Castle for performance(表演).When Liu Qian was 7 years old, he started to study magic. The first magic he performed was to put a coin into his mouth and then take is out from his hindbrain(后脑).Now Liu’s magic tricks have made the old art popular again, and made him the hottest magician in China.

A．The premier is our “grandpa”.

B．The most famous soprano in China.

C．The cartoonist who was loved by old and young.

D．The famous magician from Taiwan.

E. The biggest “Olympic torch” in the world.

Earthquakes happen without warning(前兆)．They can happen any time of a day，at any point during the year．But don’t worry because most are so weak that they cannot be felt． Only a few big ones hurt people． However，it’s important to know what to do when an earthquake is happening．
Do NOT go outside．You could get injured from falling glass or parts of buildings．If you are outside，stay away from buildings and power lines (输电线)．
Stay under a desk，table，or other strong furniture．Hold on to it．Or stay in a corner of the building．Cover your face and head with your arms and cover your mouth with a towel or clothing．Stay inside until shaking stops and it is safe to go outside．
Keep away from windows，pictures or advertisements on the wall or the building，and anything else that could fall and hurt you．Most people get injured by falling things during an earthquake，not by the shaking itself．
Also keep away from a fire．You could fall down and burn yourself on the fire．
If you are driving when an earthquake happens，stop the car if it’s safe．Stay inside your car until the earthquake stops，and don’t drive near bridges． Try not to stop by power lines or trees．These could fall and hurt you．
Most earthquakes are too          to hurt people．

A．strong	B．weak
C．dangerous	D．heavy

From the passage，when an earthquake is happening，we should          ．

A．stay under a big building	B．stay under a strong furniture
C．stand by windows	D．drive near a big bridge

It isn’t safe for you to          while the earthquake is happening．

A．run out of the building	B．stay in a corner of the building
C．cover your head with your arms	D．cover your mouth with a towel

This passage tells us           ．

A．how dangerous the earthquake is．

B．how to be safe in an earthquake．

C．we shouldn’t be afraid of the earthquake．

D．how the earthquake comes into being．

The best title for this passage should be“        ”．

A．How Earthquakes Happen	B．How to Drive a Car
C．What We Should Do in Earthquakes	D．Why Earthquakes Happen

Robots have been designed to do many things-play music，work in hospitals，but run a restaurant? There are two robot receptionists(接待员) and six robot waitresses and waiters in the Dalu Robot Restaurant in Jinan，Shandong．One hundred customers can eat in the restaurant at a time．Two of the robots serve drinks，while the other four serve the food． Not all the work in the restaurant is done by them．There are also people working there，especially in the kitchen．The cooks are humans because the robots don’t have the skills to cook．
Robots can play music．
Six robots work in the Dalu Robot Restaurant．
No people work in the kitchen．
Only a few customers can eat in the restaurant at a time．
The robots can’t cook delicious food．

If we find a bird nest (巢), we will have a good place of watching and knowing about birds. Birds sit on eggs and take care of their babies from April to June. Because the baby birds are too young to leave the nest, parents often go to look for food and come back in several minutes. So it is good to watch birds. When we watch birds, we'd better hide ourselves in a close place to the nest, and it's better to use binoculars (双筒望远镜).
But how do we make a bird nest? A good bird nest must be very fine, strong, thick and comfortable. If you want to make one, please follow these:
a) Each nest must have six boards (木板) for its cover and floor, for its left and right sides, and for its front and back sides. Don't make the boards too slippery (滑的).
b) Dig a small hole in the front of the nest as a "door". The "door" is big enough so birds can fly in or out easily.
c) Make sure the rainwater can't go into the nest.
d) One piece of the board should be easy to open.  
e) Don't forget to colour the nest.
We need ______ near a bird nest if we want to watch and know about birds.

A．a good place

B．some trees

C．to sit on eggs

D．to make a bird net

When we're watching birds, we have to ______.

A．look after the birds more often	B．use the binoculars to catch the birds
C．hide ourselves to make the birds do everything as usual	D．catch the birds at last

We should leave a hole in the front of the nest so that ______ easily.

A．we can clean the nest	B．birds can fly in or out
C．we can hang it	D．we can make it

According to the text, we can make a bird nest like Picture ______ with the boards.

Wancheng Language School Li Tong (pianist) 67 Wutong Road, Taiyuan 030001 Shanxi, China Tel：[phone] Fax：[phone] E-mail：[e-mail] WAITER WANTED Our restaurant needs some waiters. If you can work hard and work late, please call Wangfu Restaurant at 0351-2037204. Or you can also call the manager Li Fanhui at ，. The work time is from 4∶00 pm to 10∶00 pm SUMMER JOB 　　Our school magazine needs some reporters. Can you write stories? Are you interested in meeting different people? Please call Liu Hong (reporter) at 0351-5768900 or 13700430051 (mobile). You can also send e-mail to [e-mail]. Gao hui (driver) 135 Renmin Road, Linfen 041000 Shanxi, China E-mail：[e-mail] Tel：[phone]

根据表格内容，选择正确答案
If you want to take a taxi in Linfen very early in the morning, you can call    .
A、0351-6587701         B、0357-8765312         C、0351-2037204
You can send an e-mail to all of them except the       .
A、manager              B、pianist              C、driver
      can teach you to play the piano.
A、Liu Fanhui           B、Gao Hui              C、Li Tong
If you want to be a waiter, you can call      .
A、0351-5768900 or 13700430051
B、0351-2037204 or 13623016363
C、0351-6587703
Which of the following is wrong?
A、You can send an e-mail to [e-mail] if you want to work as a reporter.
B、We can’t call Li Tong by mobile phone.
C、Call 13623016363, you can get a taxi at any time.

Mascots(吉祥物) for the Olympic Games

(the first Olympic mascot)
20th	23rd	26th	27th	29th	30th
1972	1984	1996	2000	2008	2012
Munich(慕尼黑)	Los Angeles	Atlanta	Sydney	Beijing	London
Germany(德国)	America	America	Australia	China	the UK

阅读表格内容，选择最佳答案。
From the form(表格), we know the Olympic Games is held every ______ years.
A. 2           B. 3    C. 4
The mascot for the _______ Olympic Games was the first Olympic mascot in Olympic history.
A. 20th           B. 26th       C.  30th
From the form, we know the ______ Olympic Games had the most mascots.
A. 1984 Los Angeles
B. 2000 Sydney
C. 2008 Beijing
_______ held both the 23rd and the 26th Olympic Games.
A. Germany
B. America
C. Australia
Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Atlanta held the Olympic Games in 1996.
B. Sydney is one of the cities in Australia.
C. London Olympic Games had three mascots.