初三英语首字母填空(难).doc

——————————————————————————————————————______Wesley

首字母填空——能力提升训练
Passage 1
The White House of America
The White House is one of the world’s most famous b 1 . For more than two hundred years, the White House has been more than just the home of the Presidents and their families. It has stood as a s 2 of being President, of the United States g 3 , and of the American people. At various times in history, the White House has been k 4 as the “President’s Palace”, the “President’s House”, and the “Executive Mansion”(行政官邸). President Theodore Roosevelt officially gave the White House its current name in 1901.
The White House includes special sections for public visits and p 5 family sections that are just for the family. The president’s office, for example, is in the West Wing of the building. Above the Oval(椭圆的)Office are the private family sections, where the present President Obama and his family have dinner t 6 nearly every night.
Each year about 15 million people visit the White House. As a v 7 , you can walk on the White House lawns, go through its halls and even sample(品尝) a meal from its kitchen! With five full-time cooks, the White House kitchen is able to serve dinner to as many as 140 g 8 .
It takes a lot of people to keep the White House running—about 1,700 to be exact! These employees do everything f 9 cooking to answering phones to taking photos to arranging flowers to decorating the place for Christmas each year. There are official White House electricians(电工), servants, cooks, secretaries and even librarians.
For recreation（娱乐）, the White House has a variety of facilities available to people,
i 10 a tennis court, a swimming pool, a movie theater, and so on.
Help: executive mansion n. 行政官邸 oval adj. 椭圆的 sample v. 品尝 facility n. 设备
True or false:
1. In America, people are not allowed to visit the White House.
2. The White House is only the home of the Presidents of America.
Key: 1. F 2. F
1. buildings 2. symbol 3. government 4. known 5. private 6. together 7. visitor 8. guests 9. from 10. including

Passage 2
So many twins
Walk around Kodinji village and you’ll think that you have double vision. N 1 knows why there are so many twins in the village of over 5,000 people.
In fact with about 35-45 twins per 1,000 live birth, this village in North Kerala, India, has four times more twins than normal. B 2 on door-to-door surveys, there are probably now around 230 sets of twins in the village, locals said. That number doesn’t include five women pregnant (怀孕的) with twins.
The twins of 60 are the oldest twins in the village, while the youngest were born on June 10 this year. Being a twin is not always easy. Pathummakutty, a middle-aged woman, recalls how her family struggled for a l 3 when she was a child. But she also remembers good times such as l 4 after she was mixed up with her twin sister. At the local school, 15-year-old Salmabi said teachers often c 5 her for her twin sister and she was once scolded for something that her twin sister did.
Scientists are still trying to uncover the m 6 of why there are so many twins in the village. “Based on scientific facts, we feel something in the e 7 is causing this. It could be something in the water,” said a local doctor, M.K. Sribiju. The locals also believe it is to do with the water. Kodinji is surrounded by clear water in the small river.
As scientists try to find the r 8 for the large numbers of twins in the village, the parents are busy trying to tell their children apart. While parents lightheartedly（自由自在地；无忧无虑地） point out that their twins even seem to fall sick together but not all traits (特性) are
s 9 . The twins Anu and Abhi prefer different film stars and one of the boys likes to play tennis, w 10 the other prefers kicking a soccer ball.
1. nobody 2. Based 3. living 4. laughter 5. confused 6. mystery 7. environment 8. reason 9. shared 10. while

Passage 3
One of the best tourist destination-Cape Town
Cape Town （开普敦，南非西南部港市）is making great efforts to strengthen its travel i 1 to make sure that it is ready to entertain all the t 2 who will travel to South Africa for the international football event, the World Cup in 2010. As Cape Town began to grow, the world started to really discover the true potential of this beautiful tourist d 3. Whether for pure pleasure or business opportunities, the number of people traveling to South Africa, and especially Cape Town, has increased g 4.
A truly i 5 aspect（方面） that helped the growth of Cape Town’s travel industry was Cape Town’s architecture（农业） that combines（结合） different architectural styles from all over the world including such countries as Britain, France and Holland. Cape Town’s architecture is considered to have the largest number of buildings built in Cape Dutch style. Cape Town’s travel industry also benefits from the annual Cape Town Minstrel Carnival（吟游诗人嘉年华会）, which is h 6 on January 2nd and has a lot of music and beautiful displays that are sure to entertain anyone visiting or p 7 through Cape Town.
To really make your vacation to Cape Town unforgettable, make sure that you rent a car from one of the many car rental companies in Cape Town. Apart from the local car rental companies, there are a lot of i 8 car rental companies that benefit from the growing Cape Town travel industry. There is surely a car rental company that has the v 9 to suit each and every one of your needs. Some companies offer full insurance（保险）, some do not, so be careful before c 10 . The most important factors you need to think about when making your pick from the large variety of car rental companies are insurance against theft, and insurance against accidents. Other than this concern, we are sure you will have a great time in Cape Town.
Notes：Minstrel Carnival n. 吟游诗人嘉年华会 rent v. 租赁 theft n. 偷窃
1. industry 2. tourists 3. destination 4. greatly 5. important 6. held 7. passing 8. international 9. vehicle 10. choosing

Passage 4
The invention of paper in China
What makes a truly great invention? Must it be practical? Can it be beautiful? Must a great invention make a big d 1 to the lives of many or only a few people? There are many different ways to judge what makes a good invention.
Perhaps the g 2 invention is the one that not only has an influence on almost everyone living on the planet, but also allows people to have access（接近，进入） to more information and to advance civilization.
In today’s world, even with the d 3 of technology, it’s difficult to imagine a world without paper! Things like money, books, and ID cards would not be possible without the invention of paper.
The world would be very different today, indeed, without the c 4 of Cai Lun, a Chinese man who lived in the Eastern Han Dynasty in central China. Cai worked as a paperwork secretary under Emperor Hedi. D 5 that time, it was common to record something important in natural m 6 such as silk, bamboo or wood. Silk was very expensive, and it took a long time to make it. Bamboo was widely found, but carrying it around took lots of
s 7 . The pieces of wood took up too much room.
Cai revolutionized (变革) this practice by c 8 a type of writing material made from inexpensive materials such as tree bark(树 皮), and old cloth. He even put broken fishing nets into his papermaking. His work began to be known around China as “Cai Lun paper”. People praised the writing material for its strong but lightweight quality. It was inexpensive and could be mass-produced easily.
Because it was cheap, lightweight and easily t 9 , the new paper invented by Cai allowed scholars to record more and more stories of China’s long and well–known history. Furthermore, it helped s 10 the information to the world.
1. spread 2. greatest 3. development4. contributions 5. During
6. materials 7. strength 8. creating 9. transported 10. difference

Passage 5
Pop singer-Khalil Fong
Khalil Fong was b 1 in Hawaii and his family moved to Shanghai when he was 6. His father wanted him to learn more about Chinese culture. Six years later, they moved to Guangzhou and then moved to Hong Kong.
Khalil was a self-educated guitar player and pianist. When he was 16, he sent his demos (录音样带) to music producers. Four years later, Warner Music（华纳音乐） Hong Kong asked him to be their producer.
His first l 2 is English and he can also speak Mandarin（普通话）, Shanghainese and Cantonese. A 3 living in Hong Kong, he first became popular in Taiwan. This is because his songs are sung in Mandarin r 4 than Cantonese.
Khalil released (发行) his first album Soul Boy on September 18th, 2005. He has won a number of a 5 , including a silver award for New Male Artist at Commercial Radio. He released his s 6 album This Love in December, 2006. The popular song Love Love Love in it a 7 a lot of people.
Khalil’s fourth album Orange Moon was r 8 in December, 2008. He said this album is a more romantic (爱情的) album, and most of the songs are about l 9 .
Khalil released a cover album Timeless in August, 2009. If you want to learn more about Khalil Fong, please e 10 the songs yourself!
1. born 2. language 3. although 4. rather 5. awards 6. second 7. attracts 8. released 9. love10. enjoy

Passage 6
Dogs — humans’ best friends
We all think that dogs are “humans’ best friends”. Dogs have earned the love and respect of humans. Many have given their own lives to s 1 people. Dogs are faithful and devoted. For example, Bobby, a Skye terrier(斯凯狗,一种苏格兰种长毛短腿猎犬）, went to the market with his Scottish m 2 every day. After his master died, Bobby would not move from his grave. He stayed there until he died, for about 10 years.
Dogs serve many useful f 3 . One type of dog is good at watching and herding sheep. Wherever sheep are raised, a sheep-herding dog is developed. For instance, there is the German Shepherd Dog. In Scotland, there is the Shetland Sheep-dog. They are both recognized breeds. Specially-trained dogs l 4 the blind. Such dogs are carefully selected. It takes about three to five months to train them. Guide dogs will refuse to cross a busy street u 5 the traffic has stopped.
One interesting type of dog is the St. Bernard. How did it get its name? It was developed by the monks(僧侣，修道士) of the St. Bernard Monastery which is l 6 in the Alps（阿尔卑斯山） of Switzerland. The dogs weigh from 140 to 220 pounds. This kind of dog is one of the h 7 dogs in the world.
St. Bernards are famous for rescuing travelers lost in the snow. They have a wonderful
s 8 of smell. They find people buried u 9 several feet of snow. A St. Bernard named Barry rescued 40 persons. This was over a period of years.
There is a popular misconception（误解，错解） a 10 these dogs. They do not carry flasks around their necks. Sir Edwin Landseer misrepresented（不如实描述） them this way in a painting.
1. save 2. master 3. functions 4. lead 5. unless 6. located 7. heaviest 8. sense 9. under 10. about
Passage 7
The phone you dial on your hand
If you’re sick of carrying your cell phone around with you, scientists could have come up with a s 1 : a phone that you dial on your arm!
It sounds c 2 but the experts have invented a device（装置） that projects (投影) your phone’s numbers onto your skin.
To make a c 3 you just dial the numbers where they appear on your arm and the “phone” will call your friends!
At the m 4 you have to carry a projector with you for the device to work.
The projector is strapped（绑 to your arm, and projects a keypad（键盘） on your skin. When you touch a key, the movement is picked up by a sensor（传感器） in the projector which sends a m 5 to the device telling it what to do.
The device is still being developed and won’t be in the shops for a while.
1. solution 2. crazy 3. call 4. moment 5. message
Passage 8
It's dangerous to drive when you're on the phone
A new study g 1 by the University of Utah(美国犹他大学) found that cell phones are more of a distraction（注意力分散） than anything else for drivers. Researchers found that the cell phone is a bigger distraction for the driver rather than a p 2 sitting and talking in their car. “The passenger adds a second set of eyes, and helps the driver notice and r 3 them where to go,” says David Strayer, a professor at the University of Utah and a co-author of the study.
The s 4 showed that hands-free（免提的） phones are just as distracting to drivers. They also discovered that when a younger adult talks on his cell phone w 5 driving, his reaction becomes as slow as a senior citizen’s reaction. They also found that drivers talking on cell phones are as sluggish（行动缓慢的，懒惰的） as someone with a 0.08 blood alcohol level.
“When you take a l 6 at the data, it turns out that a driver talking with a passenger is not so t 7 as a driver talking on a cell phone,” Strayer says. “You also find when there is a passenger in the car, almost everyone takes the exit. But half the people talking on the cell phone f 8 to take the exit.” “The d 9 is that the passenger is in the car and knows what the traffic conditions are like, and he helps the driver by reminding him,” says Strayer.
So, the next time you want to talk to your friend on the phone while you are driving, go pick them up instead and have the conversation in the car. Then you’re less l 10 to cause an accident.
1. given 2. passenger 3. reminds 4. study 5. while
6. look 7. terrible 8. fail 9. difference 10. likely

Passage 9
Man's food dosen't all suits dog

内容简介：
有一些人吃的食物对狗来说是有毒的。如果狗吃这些有毒的食物再去找兽医可能就太迟了。你最好知道哪些食物对狗有毒，以避免你的宠物狗误吃这些有毒的食物。

If your dog has eaten any of the following foods, which are p 1 , get your vet to help immediately or call the ASPCA Poison Hotline at [phone], but it may be too late. You should p 2 your dogs from eating the following foods.
Chocolate
Baker’s chocolate is the most d 3 : 2 ounces can poison a middle-sized dog, but it would take 20 ounces of milk chocolate to cause the same e 4 . A dog can consume milk chocolate and appear to be fine, because it is not concentrated, but it is still a kind of dangerous food.
Caffeine, coffee and tea
Drinks / Foods containing caffeine cause many of the same s 5 that chocolate causes. Warning signs i 6 the common reactions to toxicity (毒性): throwing up（呕吐）, diarrhea (腹泻) panting, thirst, fast hear