I first went to Harrow in the summer term.The school had the biggest swimming pool I had ever seen.It was a good joke to come up behind a naked boy,and push him into the pool.I made quite a habit of this with boys of my own size or less.
One day I saw a boy wrapped in a towel on the side of the pool.He was no bigger than I was,so I thought him a fair game.Coming secretly behind,I pushed him in,holding on to his towel so that it would not get wet,I was surprised to see an angry face come out from the water,and a being of great strength making its way by fierce strokes(猛力地划) to the shore.I fled,but in vain.He overtook me,seized me violently,and threw me into the deepest part of the pool.I soon climbed out on the other side,and found myself surrounded by a crowd of younger boys.“Do you know what you have done?”they said.“It’s Amery;he is in Grade Six.He is champion at gym;he has got his football honor.”
I was frightened and felt ashamed.How could I tell his position when he was wrapped in a bath towel and so small?I decided to apologize immediately.“I am sorry,”I said,“I mistook you for a Grade Four boy.You are so small.”He didn’t seem pleased at all,so I added in a most brilliant word.“My father,who is a great man,is also small.”At this he laughed,and after some general words about my rude behavior and how I had better be careful in the future,signified the incident was closed.The writer thought Amery “a fair game” because the boy______.
| A．looked like an animal |
| B．was fond of games |
| C．was of similar size |
| D．was good at sports |
The writer felt “ashamed” because______.
| A．he was laughed at by other boys |
| B．Amery turned out to be in the same grade |
| C．he pushed Amery hard and hurt him |
| D．he played a joke on an outstanding athlete |
By saying “My father,who is a great man,is also small”,the writer_______.
| A．tried to please Amery |
| B．challenged Amery |
| C．threatened Amery |
| D．admired his father |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The writer could run faster than Amery. |
| B．The writer liked playing jokes on boy of all sizes. |
| C．Amery was a student in Grade Four. |
| D．Amery forgave the writer for his rude behavior. |
Daniel Hillel developed drip irrigation (滴灌) techniques. The techniques make farming possible in places where there is not enough water. Because of this, he won this year’s World Food Prize.
Hillel is using the techniques in his orchards (果园) near his home in Israel.
Irrigating drop by drop — called drip irrigation — has changed agriculture by greatly reducing the amount of water needed.
Farmers now rely on it in places from Spain, to Africa, to America. “We in California grow about 50 percent of the fruits and vegetables of the continental United States,” says Jan Hopmans from University of California at Davis. “And these drip irrigation techniques make it possible.”
Hillel got his start in dry land farming in Israel’s Negev Desert in the 1950s. “The key was making good use of water,” he says. “There’s much land. Water is limited.” These farmers did not have the advantage of running irrigation water through channels (水渠) to their crops. So Hillel and others gave plants just what they needed and just where they needed it.
“The idea is to use water little by little,” Hillel says. It worked so well that Hillel was soon traveling around the world, showing others how to do it. Experts say drip irrigation’s importance is growing, as climate change and rising population make water supplies become few in many parts of the world.
“This is where water use, climate change and crop production all meet at one point,” Hillel says. “And this has been really the essence (本质) of my career.”
A career whose importance can be measured drop by drop.What’s the main idea of Paragraph 4?
| A．Daniel Hillel is becoming popular worldwide. |
| B．Drip irrigation has greatly affected agriculture. |
| C．Jan Hopmans takes pride in American agriculture. |
| D．Drip irrigation plays a key role in American agriculture. |
Drip irrigation is popular because .
| A．it can make the most use of water |
| B．it can be used all around the world |
| C．it can provide plants with what is needed |
| D．it is more advanced than channel irrigation |
What makes drip irrigation seem increasingly important?
| A．Dry land farming. | B．Environmental pollution. |
| C．Food shortages. | D．Water shortages. |
The writer considers Daniel Hillel’s career to be .
| A．worthy of respect | B．worthy of understanding |
| C．brief | D．hard |
Are you the type of person who always says yes? However, it’s OK to say no! People are still going to like you. They may even respect you more because they know you are honest.
I’m not saying that you should say no to someone who really needs your help. I’m talking about turning down the meeting that you really do not want to go to or the birthday party that you don’t want to be a guest at.
Think for a moment how you feel when you say yes to something that you really don’t want to do. If you’re like what I once was, you can’t sleep at night and you think about it too much. It weighs on your mind. You try to find ways out. If you really want to go, you will not have all of these thoughts.
So, why not just say no from the beginning? Maybe you think if you don’t show up at the meeting (by the way, it is not one you must go to), your boss isn’t going to like you or your co-workers won’t respect you. Maybe you feel as if your mom, dad or sisters won’t love you as much if you don’t do everything for them.
If these people are your true friends, family members, or a good boss, they will like or love you the same. People treat you the way you teach them to, and if you’re someone who always says yes then that’s what they’re expecting.
You need to do what is right for you. Of course we do have real obligations (责任) in life to meet, but we do not have to do everything others want us to do.In the writer’s opinion, .
| A．we must do what is right for other people |
| B．it is not always easy to win friends’ trust |
| C．saying yes is the best way to win others’ respect |
| D．learning to say no is very important in our life |
The underlined sentence “It weighs on your mind” in the third paragraph probably means “ ”.
| A．you are worried about it very much |
| B．you try to find excuses to refuse it |
| C．you are too busy to care about it |
| D．it fills your mind with good ideas |
According to the writer, if you always say yes, .
| A．your family members will love you more |
| B．your friends will soon get tired of you |
| C．people will expect you to do what they want you to do |
| D．you will have little chance of success in your life |
We can learn from the passage that the writer .
| A．seldom said no to people around him/her at one time |
| B．gets along badly with his/her boss and co-workers now |
| C．always makes his/her parents angry by refusing them |
| D．thinks it his/her own obligation to help those in need |
The high five (举手击掌) is very popular in today’s society. However, there was a time when people didn’t give it out to each other. The history of the high five isn’t very long. It’s even been said that the first high five was given out in a 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers game between Dusty Baker and Glen Burke as a way to celebrate Baker’s home run (本垒打).
After this first sighting of the high five in 1977, Derek Smith, a player on the 1980 Lousiville Cardinals basketball team, invented the actual “high five”, which the team used all throughout the season as a way to congratulate one another. After the Cardinals began to use the high five, more and more sports teams began to replace other popular celebratory gestures of the time, such as a pat on the back or the behind, with the high five.
As you can probably guess, it didn’t take long for the high five to make its way all across the sports scene and into the daily lives of every American who wanted a new and interesting way to congratulate or say hello to their friends, co-workers and family. The high five is here to stay and can be seen in more places and situations than ever before in history.
People use it in the bar, the gym, the office or sometimes on the street. No matter where you try to give a high five most people will happily give you a raised arm and a smile. But giving it in the right way is not easy. You need to have a basic understanding of the rules of giving the right high five.The high five had its origin in .
| A．a sports game | B．daily life |
| C．an exercise | D．a ceremony |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the second paragraph?
| A．Sports teams didn’t have celebratory gestures before 1977. |
| B．Derek Smith was the first to see the use of the high five. |
| C．The Cardinals helped make the high five popular. |
| D．Derek Smith was the captain of the Cardinals. |
What can we infer from the last but one paragraph?
| A．The high five means quite differently today. |
| B．The high five is mostly used among friends. |
| C．The high five may disappear in the future. |
| D．The high five is widely used today. |
What is most probably discussed in the paragraph that follows the passage?
| A．How to ask for a high five. |
| B．How to give a right high five. |
| C．The right places to give a high five. |
| D．The right person to give a high five to. |
| Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O’Connor (Author), Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 3-6 Publisher (出版商): HarperCollins Summary: This year, Nancy is especially excited about decorating the Christmas tree. She bought a new tree topper with her own money and has been waiting for Christmas to come. But when things don’t turn out the way Nancy planned, will Christmas still be splendiferous? |
| Drummer Boy by Loren Long Reading level: Ages 3-8 Publisher: Philomel Summary: In a cold little town, a drummer boy appears on a child’s doorstep. And when it is still and quiet, the drummer boy plays, boom pum pum boom pum, and warms the child’s heart. But one day the drummer boy is knocked into the trash by accident, sending him on a journey he never imagined — a journey on which he continues to play his drum, warming the hearts of others. |
| The Biggest Christmas Tree Ever by Steven Kroll (Author), Jeni Bassett (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Publisher: Cartwheel Books Summary: It’s the day after Thanksgiving, and the town mouse Clayton and the country mouse Desmond feel the cold in the air. The cool weather makes them think of Christmas … and Christmas makes them think of Christmas trees! Who’ll find the biggest one? In the story, Clayton and Desmond team up to bring the spirit of Christmas to Mouseville — in a BIG way. |
| Merry Christmas Splat by Rob Scotton Reading level: Ages 4-7 Publisher: HarperCollins Summary: It’s the night before Christmas, and Splat wonders if he’s been a good enough cat this year to deserve a really big present. Just to make sure, he offers some last-minute help to his mom and, in typical (典型的) Splat fashion, he messes up completely! That night Splat stays awake hoping to see Santa Claus. But when Splat misses him, he’s sure his Christmas is ruined — along with his hope for a really big present… |
60.We can learn from the text that the drummer boy .
| A．enjoys his journey very much |
| B．plans his journey in advance |
| C．is warmed by the child |
| D．feels sad about being thrown away |
61. Which of the following two books share the same publisher?
| A．Drummer Boy and The Biggest Christmas Tree Ever. |
| B．Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas and Merry Christmas Splat. |
| C．The Biggest Christmas Tree Ever and Merry Christmas Splat. |
| D．Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas and Drummer Boy. |
62. Why does Splat think his Christmas is ruined?
| A．Because he doesn’t help his mother. |
| B．Because he always makes things a mess. |
| C．Because he doesn’t get a big present. |
| D．Because he doesn’t see Santa Claus. |
63. The writer writes this text in order to .
| A．teach kids to care about small animals |
| B．tell readers how to celebrate Christmas |
| C．introduce some kids’ books to readers |
| D．introduce some famous authors |
Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. One family between us and the ticket counter made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. Their clothes were clean. The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands.
The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly said, “Please let me buy eight children’s tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus.”
The ticket lady told him the price. The wife’s head dropped, and the man’s lip began to quiver (抖动). The father asked, “How much did you say?”
The ticket lady told him the price again.
The man didn’t have enough money.
Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground (We were not wealthy either). My father reached down, picked up the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket.”
The man knew what was going on. He wasn’t begging for money but certainly thanked the help in a difficult, embarrassing situation. He looked straight into my dad’s eyes, took my dad’s hand in both of his, and with a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied, “Thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family.”
My father and I went back to our car and drove home. We didn’t go to the circus that night, but we didn’t go without.Why was the writer impressed by the family?
| A．Because the family was very large. |
| B．Because the family was very happy. |
| C．Because the family was very noisy. |
| D．Because the family was very poor. |
When the ticket lady told them the price, the wife .
| A．hardly heard | B．felt disappointed |
| C．hardly understood | D．felt confused |
Which of the following words can be best used to describe the writer’s father?
| A．Patient. | B．Careful. | C．Honest. | D．Kind. |
What did the writer mean by saying “we didn’t go without”?
| A．They returned home with another kind of joy. |
| B．They were very happy to meet the family. |
| C．They wanted to go to the circus very much. |
| D．They had already seen the circus before. |