Scientists in Britain and the United States h...

Scientists in Britain and the United States have made a new kind of enzyme(酵素) that eats plastics (塑料). With its help, plastics can be turned into smaller parts and go away quickly. Scientists believe that, in the future, it could solve the problem of plastic pollution.

The enzyme is able to break down(分解) PET, a form of plastic. PET was first made in the 1940s and is now widely used to make plastic bottles. It can stay in the environment for many years and pollute large areas of land and water. So it has always been a headache to deal with the waste from PET and other plastics.

The researchers found it while examining the structure a natural enzyme in Japan. They found that the natural enzyme was helping to break down PET plastics. So, they decided to make small changes to the enzyme by adding some amino acids(氨基酸). It made the natural enzyme's plastic-eating abilities work faster and better.

John McGeehan, one of the lead researchers, said, "We have made an improved enzyme. It's better than the natural one. And we are trying to make more improvements to it." He went on, "the enzyme is not bad for humans or animals, and it is friendly to the environment. So we are thinking about putting it into wider use."

The team is now trying to make the enzyme break down PET in large quantities (大量的). “We’ll see that the plastic pollution may be stopped with this technology. However, there is still a long way to go," John McGeehan added.

1.According to the scientists, the enzyme may solve the problem of ______ pollution.

A.air B.water C.light D.plastic

2.The researchers found that a natural enzyme helped eat plastics ______.

A.in Britain B.in the US C.in Japan D.in China

3.Which of the following TRUE according to the passage?

A.The scientists are still trying to improve the enzyme.

B.The enzyme will pollute large areas of land and water.

C.The natural enzyme works better than the improved one.

D.The natural enzyme is bad for humans and animals.

4.The passage is written in a / an______ tone(语气).

A.sad B.hopeful C.angry D.crazy

八年级英语阅读单选困难题查看答案及解析

One spring day in 1950 in New Mexico, the United States, someone saw s　 1.　　 coming from a forest and called the fire station at once. The firemen saw a big fire on the ground between the trees, which was spreading(扩散)quickly because of a s　 2.　　 wind. Many people t　 3.　　 to fight the fire, but as soon as one area was under control, the fire spread to another area. S　　 4.　　 , a firemen saw a baby bear close to the fire. It was t　 5.　 in the bushes. The fireman bravely ran over and took it away from the f　　 6.　　 .

After the firemen put o　 7.　　 the fire, a farmer took the bear to his farm. A reporter wrote about this lucky bear in the newspaper and soon many people knew his story. Soon he was given a home at the National Zoo in Washington DC. People wanted to remind everyone in the USA about the dangers of forests fires so they put up big signs with p　 【 小题8】　 of the bear, which said, ‘Only you can p　 【 小题9】 forest fires from happening!’ The little bear became the most f　 8. animal in the country.

八年级英语单词拼写极难题查看答案及解析

Country music is very old. It came from the United States, Canada, Ireland, and Great Britain. Country music is a mixture of music from all of these places.

In the American West, cowboys had to take care of the cattle. They had to watch them all day and night because the cattle were nervous and sometimes ran away. A cowboy's life was lonely and dangerous. When he was alone in the desert with the cattle, he drank strong coffee with lots of caffeine to stay awake at night. He also sang music to the cattle to make them quiet. He sang about the stars and the moon, about his family and his friends. The cattle listened to the cowboy and went to sleep. They did not run away if he sang beautiful and peaceful music.

In the American South, many people came from Ireland, Scotland, and England. Other people came from France and Canada. They enjoyed their own kind of music. They used guitars, violins and harmonicas, too. They also added instruments from their homes, like bottles and spoons. When they visited their friends and families on holidays like Thanksgiving Day, they usually sang and played country music.

Country music describes life. It talks about love, jobs, home and money. It talks about friends and enemies, trucks and highways, farms and crops. People in many parts of the world like country music because everyone knows something about these ideas. Also, many country music fans wear Western clothes and dance together to country music. Many bands all over the world now perform country music.

根据短文内容，判断正 (T) 误 (F) 。

1.Country music came from the American West and the American South.

2.Many fans like to dance to country music.

3.Cowboys always stayed alone in the desert.

4.Country singers sing about unusual ideas.

5.The cattle became calm when they listened to the cowboy's songs.

八年级英语阅读判断中等难度题查看答案及解析

New York City isn’t the biggest city in the world, but it is the biggest city in the United States. Most Americans live in much smaller cities and towns, but almost 8million people live in New York City. Why did so many people come to live in one place?

A look at the city shows us that New York City has a good port（商埠）. The Dutch(荷兰) settlers (new comers) , wanted to use it for business. In 1626, the Dutch paid the Indians twenty-four dollars for the island of Manhattan. Its Dutch name was New Amsterdam. Then the British took the land in 1664 and changed its name to New York.

1.Which of the following is the biggest city in the United States?

A. New York　　 B. Washington　　 C. New Amsterdam　　 D. Chicago

2.More and more people from different countries in the world come into New York because _______.

A. New York has the largest population in the United States.

B. New York is as beautiful as a picture.

C. New York is a developing city.

D. they think it is a good place for business.

3.The underlined word “ took” in Paragraph means ________ in Chinese.

A. 花费　　 B. 耕耘　　 C. 占领　　 D. 测量

4.The United States became an independent country in ________.

A. the sixteenth century

B. the seventeenth century

C. the eighteenth century

D. the nineteenth century

5.From the passage, we can know _________.

A. much about Dutch

B. how the Dutch took New Amsterdam

C. some of the history of New York

D. how the people from different countries come to the USA

八年级英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

In the United States，boys and girls start school when they are five years old．In some states(州)they must stay in school until they are sixteen．Most students are seventeen or eighteen years old when they graduate(毕业)from secondary school．another name for high school．Most children go to public elementary and secondary schools(公立小学和中学)．The parents of public pupils do not have to pay for their children’s education(付学费)because taxes(税收)support the public schools．If a child goes to a private school(私立学校)，his parents have to pay for the child’s education．Today about half of the high school students go on to colleges and universities(大学)．Some colleges and universities receive money support from the government(政府)．A student at a state university does not have to pay very much if his parents live in that state．Private schools are expensive，however．Almost half of the college students in the USA work while studying．If a student’s family is not rich，he has to make money for part of his college expenses(费用)．

1.In American children_______ at the age of five．

A．begin to study

B．start school

C．graduate from elementary schools

D．must stay in school all the day．

2.High school is another way of saying______．

A．elementary school　　　　　　　　　　 B．secondary school

C．Public school　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．colleges and universities

3.Children who go to public school________．

A．must pay for their education

B．must study hard

C．don’t have to pay

D．must study for ten years

4._________support(s) some colleges and university．

A．Some children’s parents　　　　　　 B．Many teachers

C．A few secondary schools　　　　　　　 D．The government

5.In the USA almost half of the college students work while studying．This is because________．

A．their families aren’t rich enough

B．they don’t want to depend on their parents

C．they are interested in work

D．their parents don’t live in that state

八年级英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

In the United States, headmasters and teachers discipline students in several ways. The teacher often writes to or calls the students' parents. Sometimes students have to stay at school for one hour. If a student behaves (表现,) very badly, the headmaster can stop the student having class. When this happens, the student may be very happy. "A holiday!" He thinks. Mr. Lazares, the headmaster of a middle school in Ohio, doesn't like to do so.

One day, a boy was in Mr. Lazares' office. The boy didn't behave well in class. Mr. Lazares telephoned the boy's parents, "If you come to school with your son, I won't stop him having class," he said. The father came to school and went to every class with his son. Other Students looked at the boy and his father. The boy was embarrassed (尴尬). After that he behaved better. And, of course, other students behaved better, too.

Now headmasters all over the U.S.A. are trying Mr. Lazares' idea. They, too, think that students behave better when parents come to school.

1.What do headmasters usually do when students behave very badly?

A. Write to the students.

B. Let the students study in another class.

C. Visit the students' parents

D. Stop the students having class.

2.According to the first paragraph, some students are　　　　 missing classes.

A. happy about　　 B. worried about

C. angry about　　 D. afraid of

3. Other students behaved better, too, because they__________.

A. didn't like to have class with the boy' s father.

B. didn’t want their parents to come to school.

C. were afraid of their teacher.

D. were afraid of the boy' s father.

4.The boy felt　　　　 when he went to every class with his father.

A. sad　　 B. angry　　 C. embarrassed　　 D. funny

八年级英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

任务型阅读。阅读短文，根据其内容完成表格。

People in the United States have a national vacation on Monday in most months. So people may have a vacation on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. During the vacation, people can rest, go to interesting places or do some other things with their families. There are three great days in the United States. They are New Year’s Day, Christmas Day and Thanksgiving Day. During the days, most businesses close. People can stay at home and have fun with their families.

People in the United States usually have more than 2 weeks of paid vacation(带薪休假) anytime in a year. This usually depends on how long people have been working or what their jobs are. Usually the more time they spend working, the more time they may get for vacation.

八年级英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Three people from different countries are having a three­-week English learning in the United States. In the first class, they are introducing themselves.

1.Who is a university student?

A.Li Mei. B.Oscar. C.Francis. D.Pinar.

2.Chongqing is ________.

A.a city in Turkey B.a city in Mexico

C.a big city in China D.an island in Turkey

3.Oscar is making a film about ________.

A.a capital city B.a family C.an airplane D.a pilot

4.What is Pinar's job?

A.She makes films. B.She flies airplanes.

C.She teaches in a university. D.She draws pictures for books.

八年级英语阅读单选中等难度题查看答案及解析

Many cultures have different ideas about why people catch colds. For example in the United States, some people think that you can catch a cold if your feet get cold. So, mothers tell small children to wear warm boots in the winter. In other places, including parts of the Middle East, some people believe that strong winds cause colds. So, on trains and buses, people usually don’t like to sit next to open windows. In parts of Europe, some people think that wearing wet clothes will give you a cold. They say that after you go swimming, you should quickly put on dry clothes. Today, scientists know that colds are caused by a virus（病毒）. But the old ideas are still very strong, and many people still follow them to avoid（避免）getting ill.

1.What is the main idea of this reading?

A．People still believe old ideas about why they catch colds.

B．Colds are the biggest health problem in the world.

C．Some people think that strong winds cause colds.

D．You should take good care of your health in winter.

2.Which is NOT a cause（成因）of colds in the reading?

A．bad food    B．wet clothes        C．a virus        D．strong winds

3.In "people still follow them to avoid getting ill", what does "them" mean?

A．scientists   B．old ideas    C．colds  D．dry clothes

4.According to the reading, which of the following is NOT true?

A．There are many different ideas about how people catch colds.

B．Scientists don’t know how people catch colds.

C．Some people think that wearing wet clothes gives you a cold.

D．In the U.S., many small children wear boots in winter.

5.Many people in different countries have ________ ideas about why people catch colds.

A．no       B．one    C．the same   D．different

八年级英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

The cost of medical care in the United States is very high. The time and money that doctors spend on their medical education is probably one reason for this problem.

A visit to a doctor's office costs from 15 to 50 dollars. It's so expensive. Many people in the United States think that doctors are overpaid. However, most doctors disagree. They say that they were asked to study medicine for a long time. Tuition for many years of medical education costs a lot of money. Doctors say that it is necessary for most medical students to borrow money from the bank to pay their tuition. Because their money must be repaid to the bank, young doctors need to receive a lot of money for their work. So they charge(收费)people high prices for medical care.

Therefore the cost of medical care in America is high. Because high tuition is one cause of high costs, one way to lower costs would be to have medical school that are free or have low tuition.

1.The underlined word "tuition" in the passage means “______”

A. eating at school                   B. studying the courses

C. money used for education           D. living at school

2.The main idea of the passage is that______.

A. a visit to a doctor's office may cost much in the USA

B. the cost of medical care is the only reason for the high costs in the USA

C. medical care in the USA costs a lot of money because doctors want to be rich

D. the high cost of tuition in medical schools is one reason for the high cost of medical care in the USA

3. The cost of medical care in the USA is very high. What does the writer think about it?

A. He agrees that doctors are overpaid.

B. He thinks it is a big problem and suggests (建议) solving (解决) it.

C. He doesn't think the medical students should borrow money from banks.

D. He doesn't think it necessary for the medical students to study for a long time.

八年级英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析