Animals are not always animals. Some of them will try to cheat or cow some others in the way the human beings often do. Here is a fairy tale from Aesop for you to enjoy.
An eagle（鹰）made her nest at the top of a high tree while a cat, having found a convenient hole, moved into the middle of the trunk, and at the same time a wild pig, with her young took shelter in a hollow at its foot. The cat then decided to make all serve her in her wise way.
To carry out her design, she climbed to the nest of the eagle, saying, "Destruction is preparing for you and for me too, unfortunately. The wild pig, whom you see daily digging up the earth, wishes to uproot the tree, so she may on its fall seize our families as food for her young."
Having thus frightened the eagle out of her senses, she crept down to the cave of the pig, saying, "Your children are in great danger, for as soon as you go out to find food, the eagle is prepared to jump upon one of your little pigs."
Having filled these fears into the pig, she went and pretended to hide herself in the hollow of the tree. When night came she went out silently and obtained food for herself and her children, but pretending to be afraid, she kept a lookout all through the day. Meanwhile, the eagle, full of fear of the pig, sat still on the branches, and the pig, terrified by the eagle, did not dare to go out from her cave. Thus they both, along with their families, starved from hunger, and afforded good food for the cat and her children.What was the eagle afraid of?
| A．Her home would be destroyed. |
| B．Her children would get lost. |
| C．She would be taken as the cat’s food. |
| D．Her family would be eaten by the wild pig. |
What was the pig frightened of?
| A．The eagle would kill her young child. |
| B．The eagle would cheat her away. |
| C．The cat was telling the true story. |
| D．She could not find enough food. |
How did the cat get what she wanted?
| A．By running here and there. |
| B．By cheating both the eagle and the pig. |
| C．By waiting and catching the chance. |
| D．By fighting against the eagle and the pig. |
Which of the following might be the best title of the above passage?
| A．Believe it or not. | B．Animal stories. |
| C．How one can be successful. | D．Don’t be afraid. |
SALT LAKE CITY—The Utah Jazz basketball team signed a 5-year-old．Free-agent player to a one-day contract for a special performance in October．The Utah Jazz has just made his dream come true．The boy has suffered from blood cancer since 2012．
JP Gibson，who was diagnosed with severe blood cancer，signed his contract with Jazz President Randy Rigby before joining the team for the pre-season training play at Utah Jazz’s sport center．JP was joined by his parents，Josh and Megan，and his 2-year-old sister，Elsie．
The activity was hosted by the Jazz and photographer Jon Diaz’s“Anything Can Be”project，which provides support and hope to families like the Gibsons．Jon Diaz asks children with cancer what their dreams and wishes are，and he writes their stories in a book．
JP，wearing a No．1 shirt，even got to play in the play．He passed the ball，and Rudy obert，a player of Utah Jazz，lifted him up so he could dunk(扣篮)and shake hands with some players as fans were cheerful．
“JP loves most sports，but basketball is absolutely his favorite，” Megan Gibson said in a statement released by the Jazz．“When he was just over one year old，he would sit with my husband，Josh，watching games．He started insisting on shooting hoops(投篮)for an hour each night before bedtime when he was just 15 months old．He knows he has to be 6 before he can play Junior Jazz，and he reminds us all the time that he can’t wait until he’s 6．”Utah Jazz signs a 5-year-old JP Gibson just to _____________．
| A．make the team more famous |
| B．realize the dream of JP Gibson |
| C．satisfy the taste of the fans |
| D．promote the“Anything Can Be” project |
“Anything Can Be”project ____________．
| A．raises money to help the development of NBA |
| B．provides support and hope to kids loving basketball |
| C．has kids with cancer write their stories in a book |
| D．offers assistance to those who are in misfortune |
According to the passage，JP Gibson _____________．
| A．will play on Utah Jazz team when he grows up |
| B．can earn much money by signing Utah Jazz |
| C．has been a basketball lover since very young age |
| D．won’t live long due to his severe blood cancer |
B
This is a true story about a boy who, the world might say, was a terrible underachiever. While in the eighth grade, he failed subjects repeatedly. High school wasn’t much better; he flunked Latin, algebra, English, and received a grade of zero in physics. The boy managed to make the school golf team, but he lost the most important golf match of the season.
It’s not that his peers(同龄人) disliked this boy; it’s just that they never really seemed to notice him much. Even “Hellos” in the hall were a rarity. Out of all the failures in his life, there was something that did hold great importance to this boy, his love of drawing. Although in high school, the cartoons he submitted to the yearbook were rejected, once out of school, the boy was so sure of his artistic talent that he approached Walt Disney Studios with drawing works. I wish I could say the studios loved his work and immediately hired him, but such was not the case; another huge rejection.
Despite his lack of successes, this boy did not give up. He then decided to write his own autobiography in cartoons, about a little boy who was regarded as a loser and a nobody.
The name of this boy was Charles Schulz, the creator of the famous Charlie Brown and comic dog Snoopy.
In life, it is sometimes easy to feel like a nobody. We pass hundreds of people on the street on our way to work, or walk through a faceless crowd in a mall, and no one seems to notice or care. Deep inside, we may know we are special and unique and have lots to offer, but unless someone takes the time to look our way and give us a chance, we may feel worthless, just like Charlie Brown who couldn’t even manage to fly a kite or kick a football properly.
Just as Charles Schulz had faith in his artistic talent, so too, we must realize that nobody is a nobody. We all have special gifts and talents, and every human being is deserving and capable of being loved and appreciated.The underlined word “flunked” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________.
| A．failed | B．learned |
| C．achieved | D．misunderstood |
What can we infer about the boy in Paragraph 2?
| A．He was hated by his peers. |
| B．He achieved great success in drawing in high school. |
| C．His work was refused by Walt Disney Studios. |
| D．He earned the praise from Walt Disney Studios. |
When the boy suffered many defeats, he ________.
| A．gave up his dream finally |
| B．wrote some articles in magazines |
| C．he turned to others for help |
| D．he wrote himself as a loser in cartoons |
In the last two paragraphs, we are advised _______.
| A．to open up our eyes |
| B．to believe we can make some difference |
| C．to learn more skills for development |
| D．to ask for more appreciation and love |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A．Nobody Is a Nobody. |
| B．A Hard-working Boy Is Successful. |
| C．We Should Turn Failure into Success. |
| D．One Cannot Succeed without Talents. |
Zoe, Damacela, 19, didn't have nice clothes when she was young. It wasn't easy for Zoe’s hard-working single mother to make ends meet. They moved in and out of homeless shelters.
Everything changed for Zoe in grade nine. At that time, she heard about a sewing (缝纫) class at her school. She signed up and couldn't wait to turn her designs into clothes. The color of the first dress she made was white-black strips. Soon the clothes she wore were all made by her. Other girls at school loved her designs too. They asked her if they could buy dresses from her. Zoe sold her first dress for $13. Unfortunately, it cost her $25 to make the dress. “I had the creativity in designs," says Zoe. “But I really had no idea about business.”
Zoe kept selling the clothes she designed. Her business was booming, and even the girls who had ever teased her became her customers. In the eleventh grade, Zoe took a business class. She learned how to price her clothes so that she could be sure to make a fair profit.
Her business teacher suggested she take part in a contest for teenaged entrepreneurs (企业家). The contest was for teens from all over the United States. Zoe sent in her business plan, which explained how she planned to make her pany grow. She won the second prize in the end. Zoe ’s success became a news item. Supermodel Tyra Banks heard about it and she invited Zoe to take part in her TV show. “Being recognized I felt really unreal,” says Zoe. Zoe has advice for teens who want to start their own business. “If you really work hard on it, you will be able to make it happen,” she says. “If I can do it, anyone else can.”We can learn that_____________ when she was in grade nine.
| A．Zoe had no interest in designing clothes |
| B．Zoe seldom wore her self-made clothes |
| C．Zoe didn' t know how to make money |
| D．Zoe attended a business course |
After winning the contest, Zoe _____________.
| A．considered it a reward | B．expected to be known |
| C．was proud of her own gift | D．could hardly believe it |
Zoe advised the teens_____________.
| A．to make efforts to achieve their dreams |
| B．to design and make their own clothes |
| C．to try every means to bee famous |
| D．to do whatever they would like to |
In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to withdraw from college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopted and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic---and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed son No. 3. In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.
You can imagine how fully occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 8. Our home was a complete zoo---a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant taking as few as one class each semester.
The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to quit, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree！
I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the midst of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process. Remember: little steps add up to big dreams.When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be __________.
| A．a writer | B．a teacher |
| C．a judge | D．a doctor |
Why did the author quit school in her second year of college?
| A．She wanted to study by herself. |
| B．She fell in love and got married. |
| C．She suffered from a serious illness. |
| D．She decided to look after her grandma. |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?
| A．She was busy yet happy with her family life. |
| B．She ignored her guilty feeling for her sons. |
| C．She wanted to remain a full-time housewife. |
| D．She was too confused to make a correct choice. |
What does the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?
| A．Failure is the mother of success. |
| B．Little by little, one goes far. |
| C．Every coin has two sides. |
| D．Well begun, half done. |
Which of the following can best describe the author?
| A．Caring and determined. |
| B．Honest and responsible. |
| C．Ambitious and sensitive. |
| D．Innocent and single-minded. |
Sports are all about change. A team gets better. A kid practices more and swims a personal best or learns a new move on the basketball court. In 2006, two things happened that got me thinking about change—in sports and in life.
One of them is tennis champion Andre Agassi, who retired in 2006. Agassi was a terrific player who won 60 titles, including eight major championships(冠军称号). But his greatest accomplishment（成就）might have been how much he changed during his career.
When he was young, Agassi was a show off who seemed to care only about himself. He didn't train very hard, but he won matches because of his tremendous（极大的） talent.
Eventually, though, injuries and his bad attitude caught up with him. He fell from No.1 in the world ranking to No.141.
So Agassi changed. He trained harder and became a world-class player again. More importantly, he changed as a person. He was nicer to fans and opponents（对手）. He stopped thinking just about himself and started thinking about others. Through his Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, he raised more than $60 million to help disadvantaged kids around his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada. He even started a school, the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, for at-risk kids.
At the start of a new year, lots of people promise themselves they will change. They might vow to get in good physical shape, do better in school or be nicer to others.
Changes such as those can be difficult. But they do happen. Just remember Andre Agassi: It wasn't easy, but he changed, and changed for the better.According to the writer, which of the following may be the greatest achievement for Agassi?
| A．He once ranked No.1 in the world rankings. |
| B．He won 60 titles. |
| C．He changed much during his career. |
| D．He won 8 major championships. |
What does the underlined work “vow” in the 6th paragraph probably mean?
| A．promise. | B．agree. | C．wish. | D．prove. |
What do you know about Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation?
| A．It is intended to help at-risk kids. |
| B．It is a charity school set up by Agassi. |
| C．Some disadvantaged kids can get help from it. |
| D．Agassi runs it with his prize money. |
What might be talked about in the paragraphs following this passage?
| A．What achievements Agassi has made after he changed for the better. |
| B．How we can change for the better. |
| C．Another thing happened in life that got the writer thinking about change. |
| D．Some assessments(评价) about Agassi from different people. |
Larry was on another of his underwater expeditions(探险)but this time, it was different. He decided to take his daughter along with him. She was only ten years old. This would be her first trip with her father on what he had always been famous for.
Larry first began diving when he was his daughter’s age. Similarly, his father had taken him along on one of his expeditions. Since then, he had never looked back. Larry started out by renting diving suits from the small diving shop just along the shore. He had hated them. They were either too big or too small. Then, there was the instructor. He gave him a short lesson before allowing him into the water with his father. He had made an exception. Larry would never have been able to go down without at least five hours of theory and another similar number of hours on practical lessons with a guide. Children at his age were not even allowed to dive.
After the first expedition, Larry’s later diving adventures only got better and better. There was never a dull moment. In his black and blue suit and with an oxygen tank fastened on his back, Larry dived from boats into the middle of the ocean. Dangerous areas did not prevent him from continuing his search. Sometimes, he was limited to a cage underwater but that did not bother him. At least, he was still able to take photographs of the underwater creatures.
Larry’s first expedition without his father was in the Cayman Islands. There were numerous diving spots in the area and Larry was determined to visit all of them .Fortuna for him, a man offered to take him around the different spots for free. Larry didn’t even know what the time was, how many spots he dived into or how many photographs he had taken. The diving spots afforded such a wide range of fish and sea creatures that Larry saw more than thirty varieties of creatures.
Larry looked at his daughter. She looked as excited as he had been when he was her age. He hoped she would be able to continue the family tradition. Already, she looked like she was much braver than had been then. This was the key to a successful underwater expedition.In what way was this expedition different for Larry?
| A．His daughter had grown up. |
| B．He had become a famous diver. |
| C．His father would dive with him. |
| D．His daughter would dive with him. |
What can be inferred from Paragraph2?
| A．Larry had some privileges. |
| B．Larry liked the rented diving suits. |
| C．Divers had to buy diving equipment. |
| D．Ten-year-old children were permitted to dive. |
Why did Larry have to stay in a cage underwater sometimes?
| A．To protect himself from danger. |
| B．To dive into the deep water. |
| C．To admire the underwater view. |
| D．To take photo more conveniently. |
What can be learned from the underlined sentence?
| A．Larry didn’t wear a watch. |
| B．Larry was not good at math. |
| C．Larry had a poor memory. |
| D．Larry enjoyed the adventure. |
We are not rich by what we possess but rather by what we can do without.
——Immauel Kant
Many times my friend June would say, “If I ever get rich, I’m getting a completely new wardrobe （大衣柜）and moving into a bigger apartment.” I thought of her words and her chances of being rich are about as good as mine. But, to everyone’s surprise, a few years ago June did come to large inheritance（遗产）.
At first June said very little about the money. As the initial shock disappeared, she became excited, June is a great believer in making lists, so I was surprised to find her writing down all the ways she would spend her new wealth.
As time went on, she started revising the list. What had been midway down the list was now at the top. At last, I said to her, “You know, it isn’t necessary to spend all your inheritance at once. Take come time; think about it.” “I know, I know,” she answered with a little bit anger.
Then one morning June called, “I’ve decided how I want to use my new inheritance. I want to see what you think,” she said. This wasn’t something I looked forward to, but we had been friends so long.
As we sat, June spread a sheet of paper on the table. To my great surprise, she had written only two words: Charities, and Grandchildren-in that order. Though I had promised to keep quiet, I couldn’t keep from asking how she came to this decision.
“Well,” she said, “I took your advice and thought about it.” She added, “Helping others means a lot to me, so I’m hoping this gift will help people in need.”
I interrupted, “But what about this big apartment you most hope to have?”
“At first it was hard, but it doesn’t seem as important any more”, she answered with a smile.
Then June moved her hand, and I could see a few words written in tiny letters at the bottom of the page. After having a look at the small print, I burst into laughter. June had written: AND one new wardrobe.From the passage we can learn that the writer at first .
| A．was richer than her friend June |
| B．was no richer than her friend June |
| C．was poorer than her friend June |
| D．was interested in money as June |
When making a list of how to deal with her inheritance, June .
| A．didn’t change it at all |
| B．had a quarrel with the writer |
| C．kept it secret from the writer |
| D．made some changes to it |
When June called the writer to talk about her new decision, the writer .
| A．felt that June would do something meaningful |
| B．refused the invitation at first, but changed her mind later |
| C．had decided not to make any comments on June’s list |
| D．was eager to learn more about the new list |
What did the writer think of her friend’s new decision?
| A．She found it funny and wrong. |
| B．She found it unacceptable and unbelievable. |
| C．She found it surprising and meaningful. |
| D．She found it difficult and meaningless. |
Many young people tell me that they want to be writers. I always encourage such people, but I also explain that there is a big difference between being a writer and writing. In most cases these people are dreaming of wealth and being famous, not the long hours alone at the typewriter.
When I became a writer, I had no future. What I had was a friend called George. He found me a home. It was cold and had no bathroom. I could only afford a used typewriter. A year later, however, I still hadn’t received a break and began to doubt myself. But I knew I wanted to write. I would keep putting my dream to the test—even though it meant living with fear of failure. This is the shadow land (阴影) of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there. Then one day I got a call from a friend who asked me to be an assistant for $6,000 a year. As the dollars were dancing in my head, something brought me to my sense. “Thanks, but no,” I heard myself saying. After that, I walked around my little room and started to feel like a fool. I felt a little low.
Later, I gradually began to sell my articles. It was after 17 years of being a writer that Roots was published. At once I had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experienced. The shadows had turned into great sunlight. Before that, it was a long and slow climb out of the shadows.The second paragraph is mainly about ______.
| A．the job chance the author ever had |
| B．the difficulties before the author succeeded |
| C．the great help from the author’s friends |
| D．the important choices the author made |
The underlined word “something” in Paragraph 2 refers to _______.
| A．the author’s dream of being a writer |
| B．the author’s trouble in making money |
| C．the author’s hard life before success |
| D．the author’s wish to be successful |
How did the author feel after he refused the job offer?
| A．confident | B．angry |
| C．excited | D．Unhappy |
After nearly 50 years of separation，an elderly woman has been reunited with the family that she feared was lost to her forever.
Celestine Thompson left Mississippi when she was 14 years old and eventually settled in New York，where she spent more than 30 years of her life，according to WLOX 13News. After surviving a fire in 1992，Thompson was in a coma（昏迷）for two years and has since experienced memory loss. The 90-year-old found it difficult to recall details about her family.
But later she remembered the name of her nephew Clarence Woodway. Then another woman who knows Thompson in Mississippi was able to track Woodway down and help reunite Thompson with her large family.
“In our minds，my brother and I were talking that she wasn’t here anymore，because we hadn’t heard from her for a very long time，”Donald Davis，another one of Thompson’s nephews，told the media.“You know，we were overjoyed when we found out that we had gotten in contact with her.”
A few of Thompson’s relatives visited her in New York，and then arranged a larger reunion which was held this past Saturday in Gulfport，Mississippi，the Associated Press reported.
Thompson now lives in Greensboro，Alabama，with a caretaker，and，although she is yet to meet them all，she has regained quite a sizeable family of 23 nieces and nephews，64 grand nieces and nephews，66 great-grand nieces and nephews and 34 great-great-grand nieces and nephews，according to the Associated Press.What can we know about Thompson?
| A．She suffered memory loss and forgot everything about herself. |
| B．She lives with a caretaker and her relatives in Alabama at present. |
| C．She’s lost contact with her family since she left her hometown |
| D．She had a larger reunion with her family members in Mississippi. |
Who helped Thompson get contact with her family?
| A．A woman who knows her. |
| B．People from WLOX 13 News. |
| C．The Associated Press. |
| D．The caretaker she's living with. |
How many generations are there in Thompson’s large family?
| A．"Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
What can we learn from Thompson’s story?
| A．Great hopes make a great woman. |
| B．Time and tide wait for no man. |
| C．Life wonders can really take place. |
| D．Misfortune will tell what fortune is. |
Ray’s wedding had gone off smoothly. Everyone seemed to have had a good time. A few people had too good a time; they went home with designated (指派的) drivers. All evening, the gift table remained unguarded. Who would steal anything, Ray thought. He had never heard of such a thing happening at a wedding. But his best friend Aaron said there was a first time for everything. He walked out regularly from the inside festivities to check on the gift table, making sure no one doubtful was hanging around it.
Ray and Julia went on a 3-week honeymoon to Italy right after the wedding. When they got back, they opened all the gifts and sent out thank-you notes. But there was one problem. A married couple that used to be good friends had obviously given nothing. This surprised Julia, because Walt and Mary said they were excited to be invited. And, they actually seemed to have had a great time at the wedding. Frankly, Ray didn’t even care if they hadn’t given a gift. He just needed to know whether to send a thank-you note. Ray called Aaron. Aaron said maybe Walt had left an envelope on the gift table like Aaron had. “Yes, but we got your envelope with the cash inside,” Ray said.
“Maybe my envelope looked too thin, and some thief thought Walt’s envelope looked nice and fat.”
Aaron asked Ray if he had looked everywhere for Walt’s gift. Had he called up the wedding site to see if anything had been left behind? Ray said that he had looked everywhere and made a lot of calls that were fruitless.
Ray didn’t know what to do. If he sent Walt and Mary a thank-you note for a gift they hadn’t given, they would be insulted. If he didn’t send them a thank-you note for a gift they had given, they would get angry.
“What would you do?” Ray asked. Aaron said he would call Walt up and tell him the problem.
“You can’t go wrong with simply being honest,” Aaron said.
“Oh, yes, you can,” Ray contradicted (反驳) him. “Sometimes it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie.” But he thought about it, and finally decided that Aaron was right. He called Walt and told him the problem. Walt said that yes, he had given an envelope. In fact, the envelope contained $500 cash.
“$500?!” Ray asked. “That’s a lot of cash, Walt!” Walt admitted that it was, but he had gotten a fat raise early that year and Ray’s was the only wedding he’d been to in quite a while. Ray thanked him very much, and apologized sincerely for someone stealing Walt’s generous gift. Walt told him that it was “only money”.
When Ray told Aaron about Walt’s gift, Aaron laughed. “The only thief at the wedding was Walt! I stopped playing cards with him last year because I caught him cheating. And it was only a $10 pot! I’m sure I told you about that.”
“Yes, you did tell me,” Ray said. But, of course, he had to send Walt a thank-you note anyway.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Aaron looked on honesty as the best policy. |
| B．Walt had surely gotten a fat raise early that year. |
| C．Stealing had never happened at a wedding. |
| D．Nobody checked on the gift table all evening. |
The underlined word “insulted” in Paragraph 5 probably means ______.
| A．deeply impressed | B．much discouraged |
| C．badly hurt | D．greatly moved |
What kind of person is Ray?
| A．Friendly and optimistic. | B．Doubtful and experienced. |
| C．Outgoing and stubborn. | D．Thoughtful and polite. |
Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?
| A．A Wedding Party |
| B．The Wedding Gift |
| C．The Thief at the Wedding |
| D．A Secret at the Wedding |
A city child's summer is spent in the street in front of his home’, and all through the long summer vacations I sat on the edge of the street and watched enviously the other boys on the block play baseball. I was never asked to take part even when one team had a member missing—not out of special cruelty, but because they took it for granted, I would be no good at it. They were right, of course.
I would never forget the wonderful evening when something changed. The baseball ended about eight or eight thirty when it grew dark. Then it was the custom of the boys to retire to a little stoop(门廊) that stuck out from the candy store on the corner and that somehow had become theirs. No grownup ever sat there or attempted to. There the boys would sit，mostly talking about the games played during the day and of the game to be played tomorrow. Then long silences would fall and the boys would wander off one by one. It was just after one of those long silences that my life as an outsider changed. I can no longer remember which boy it was that summer evening who broke the silence with a question；but whoever he was, I nod to him gratefully now. “What's in those books you're always reading?” he asked casually. “Stories,” I answered. “What kind?” asked somebody else without much interest.
Nor do I know what drove me to behave as I did, for usually I just sat there in silence, glad enough to be allowed to remain among them; but instead of answering his question, I told them for two hours the story I was reading at the moment. The book was Sister Carrie. They listened bugeyed and breathless. I must have told it well, but I think there was another and deeper reason that made them so keen an audience. Listening to a tale being told in the dark is one of the most ancient of man's entertainments, but I was offering them as well, without being aware of doing it, a new and exciting experience.
The books they themselves read were the Rover Boys or Tom Swift or G．A. Henry. I had read them too, but at thirteen I had long since left them behind. Since I was much alone I had become an enthusiastic reader and I had gone through the booksforboys series. In those days there was no reading material between children's and grownups' books，or I could find none. I had gone right from Tom Swift and His Flying Machine to Theodore Dreiser and Sister Carrie. Dreiser had hit my young mind，and they listened to me tell the story with some of the wonder that I had in reading it.
The next night and many nights thereafter，a kind of unspoken ritual(仪式) took place. As it grew dark, I would take my place in the centre of the stoop and begin the evening's tale. Some nights, in order to taste my victory more completely, I cheated. I would stop at the most exciting part of a story by Jack London or Bret Harte, and without warning tell them that was as far as I had gone in the book and it would have to be continued the following evening. It was not true, of course; but I had to make certain of my newfound power and position. I enjoyed the long summer evenings until school began in the fall. Other words of mine have been listened to by larger and more fashionable audiences, but for that tough and athletic one that sat close on the stoop outside the candy store, I have an unreasoning love that will last forever.Watching the boys playing baseball, the writer must have felt ________.
| A．bitter and lonely | B．special and different |
| C．pleased and excited | D．disturbed and annoyed |
The writer feels grateful even now to the boy who asked the question because the boy ________.
| A．invited him to join in their game |
| B．liked the book that he was reading |
| C．broke the long silence of that summer evening |
| D．offered him an opportunity that changed his life |
According to Paragraph 3, storytelling was popular among the boys basically because ________.
| A．the story was from a children's book |
| B．listening to tales was an ageold practice |
| C．the boys had few entertainments after dark |
| D．the boys didn't read books by themselves |
Sometimes the writer stopped at the most exciting part of a story to ________.
| A．play a mean trick on the boys |
| B．add his own imagination to the story |
| C．experience more joy of achievement |
| D．help the boys understand the story better |
What is the message conveyed in the story?
| A．One can find his position in life in his own way. |
| B．Friendship is built upon respect for each other. |
| C．Reading is more important than playing games. |
| D．Adult habits are developed from childhood. |
Florence Nightingale was born in a rich family. When she was young she took lessons in music and drawing, and read great books. She also traveled a great deal with her mother and father.
As a child she felt that visiting sick people was both a duty and a pleasure. She enjoyed helping them.
At last mind was made up. “I’m going to be a nurse,” she decided.
“Nursing isn’t the right work for a lady,” her father told her.
“Then I will make it so”, she smiled. And she went to learn nursing in Germany and France.
When she returned to England, Florence started a nursing home. During the Crimean War in 1854 she went with a group of thirty eight nurses to the front hospitals. What they saw there was terrible. Dirt and death were everywhere to be seen — and smelled. The officer there did not want any woman to tell him how to run a hospital, either. But the brave nurse went to work.
Florence used her own money and some from friends to buy clothes, beds, medicine and food for the men. Her only pay was in smiles from the lips of dying soldiers. But they were more than enough for this kind woman.
After she returned to England, she was honored for her services by Queen Victoria. But Florence said that her work had just begun. She raised money to build the Nightingale Home for Nurses in London. She also wrote a book on public health, which was printed in several countries.
Florence Nightingale died at the age of ninety, still trying to serve others through her work as a nurse. Indeed, it is because of her that we honor nurses today.When she was a child, Florence _______.
| A．loved to travel very much |
| B．knew what her duty in life was |
| C．loved to help the sick people |
| D．want to learn music and drawing in the future |
During the Crimean War in 1854, Florence served in the front hospital where _______.
| A．she earned a little money |
| B．work was very difficult |
| C．few soldiers died because of her work |
| D．she didn’t have enough food or clothes |
Why was Florence honored by Queen Victoria?
| A．She built the Nightingale Home for Nurses. |
| B．She wrote a book on public health. |
| C．She worked as a nurse all her life. |
| D．She did a great deal of work during the Crimean War. |
The passage can best be described as _______.
| A．the life story of a famous woman |
| B．a description of the nursing work |
| C．an example of successful education |
| D．the history of nursing in England |
Sheldon Cooper is a scientific genius on the popular American TV show---The Big Bang Theory. He finally met his match last year: Stephen Hawking.
This is not the first time that the scientist has appeared on TV. He has also been on Star Trek (in 1987) and The Simpsons (in 1989). Each time, he played himself.
Hawking, 71, is perhaps the world’s most famous scientist after Albert Einstein. He has spent his whole life studying the beginning and the end of the universe, including the Big Bang theory.
The Big Bang theory explains the early development of the universe. According to the theory, about 13.7 billion years ago everything was all squeezed together in a tiny, tight little ball, and then the ball exploded. The results of that explosion are what we call the universe.
Hawking has always tried to make science more popular with people. His book: A Brief History of Time was published in 1988. In the book he shares his understanding of the universe in simple language. The book tries to explain many subjects about the universe to common readers, including the Big Bang, black holes and light cones (光锥).
Hawking’s achievements are even greater if you think about his disability. When he was 21, Hawking caught a bad illness that slowly stopped him from moving or talking. Now he sits on a wheelchair with a computer by his side. To communicate, he moves two fingers to control the computer’s mouse. He chooses his words from the screen, which are then spoken by a voice synthesizer (合成器).
Hawking also believes that there might be aliens in space. However, he believes they are probably very dangerous, so we should not look for them. “I imagine they might exist in very big ships ... having used up all the resources from their home planet,” Hawking said in a British documentary named Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking.What does the “two Bangs” in the title refer to?
| A．The director of the TV show and the founder of it. |
| B．The director and the actor of “The Big Bang Theory”. |
| C．The scientific genius on the TV show and the one in real life. |
| D．The founder of the “Big Bang” theory and Sheldon. |
The Big Bang theory mainly explains _____.
| A．how the universe started |
| B．what the universe is like |
| C．how old the universe is |
| D．how the universe exploded |
According to the passage, which of the following about Hawking is TRUE?
| A．He was born with a disability. |
| B．He played an artist in Star Trek. |
| C．He uses a computer to communicate. |
| D．He believes aliens are our friends. |
After a terrible electrical accident, which caused him to become both blind and deaf, the whole world became completely dark and quiet for Robert Edwards for almost ten years. The loss of sight and hearing threw him into such sorrow that he tried a few times to put an end to his life. His family, especially his wife, did their best to tend and comfort him and finally he regained the will to live.
One hot summer afternoon, he was taking a walk with a stick near his house when a thunderstorm started all at once. He stood under a large tree to avoid getting wet, but he was struck by the lightning. Witnesses thought he was dead but he woke up some 20 minutes later lying face down in muddy water at the base of the tree. He was trembling badly, but when he opened his eyes, he could hardly believe what he saw: a plough and a wall. When Mrs. Edwards came running up to him, shouting to their neighbors to call for help, he could see her and hear her voice for the first time in nearly ten years.
The news of Robert regaining his sight and hearing quickly spread, and many doctors came to examine him. Most of them said that he regained his sight and hearing from the shock he got from the lightning. However, none of them could give a convincing answer as to why this should have happened. The only reasonable explanation given by one doctor was that, since Robert lost his sight and hearing as a result of a sudden shock, perhaps, the only way for him to regain them was by another sudden shock.The reason for Robert’s attempts to kill himself was that _________.
| A．a terrible traffic accident happened to him |
| B．he had to live in a dark and silent world |
| C．he was struck by the lightning once more |
| D．nobody in the world cared about him |
What was Robert doing when he was struck by the lightning?
| A．Taking a walk with a stick. |
| B．Sheltering from the rain under a tree. |
| C．Driving a car. |
| D．Lying on the ground. |
We can infer from the text that ________.
| A．Robert’s wife sent for doctors immediately after the shock |
| B．many doctors came because Robert was badly injured |
| C．there was no exact explanation for Robert’s recovery |
| D．a sudden injury in the head led to Robert’s recovery |
What’s the best title of the whole passage?
| A．A Terrible Electrical Accident |
| B．Robert Edwards and His Wife |
| C．What a Sudden Shock |
| D．An Unforgettable Experience |
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