The Story of the Farmer and His Donkey (驴子)
One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried pitifully for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway and it just wasn’t worth to save the donkey. So, he decided to bury（埋） it!
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all took shovel（铲子）and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly, then slowly he quieted down till nothing more was heard.
A few shovels later, the farmer finally looked down into the well, and was surprised at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something wonderful—he would shake it off and take a step up!
As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was surprised as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and went off quickly!
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping, never giving up, shaking it off, and taking a step up!
1. The donkey quieted down, because ________.
A. it was dead B. it was tired
C. it had given up trying D. it had a good way to survive
2. We know from the story that ________.
A. all the donkeys in the world are clever
B. it is easy for donkeys to fall into a well
C. the neighbors helped bury the donkey
D. the owner pushed the donkey into the well
3. The writer of the passage is most probably ________.
A. an optimistic person B. a pet lover
C. an animal protector D. a cold-hearted man
4. The writer wants to tell us “________”.
A. A cat has 9 lives B. Facing difficulties, never give up
C. A friend in need is a friend indeed D. No pains, no gains
What will man be like in the future — in 5,000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is relatively a short period of time, so we may suppose that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity(容量). As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and finally we shall need our brains more and more, and finally we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring a physical change too: the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald.
Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and motions similar to our own.The passage mainly tells us that __________.
| A．Man’s life will be different in the future |
| B．Future man will look quite different from us |
| C．Man is growing taller and uglier as time passes |
| D．Man’s organs’ functions will change |
What serves as the evidence that man is changing?
| A．Man has got stronger eyes now than he ever had. |
| B．Man’s hair is getting thinner and thinner. |
| C．Man’s arms and legs have become lighter and weaker. |
| D．Man has been growing taller over the past 500 years. |
The change in man’s size of the forehead is probably because __________.
| A．he makes use of only 20% of the brain’s capacity |
| B．his brain has grown larger over the past centuries |
| C．he will use his brain more and more as time goes on |
| D．the other 80% of his brain will grow in due time |
Which of the following is TRUE about a human being in the future?
| A．He is hairless because hair is no longer useful. |
| B．He has smaller eyes and wears better glasses. |
| C．His fingers grow weaker because he doesn’t have to make use of them. |
| D．He thinks and feels in a different way. |
It is implied that __________.
| A．human beings will become less attractive in the future |
| B．body organs will become poorer if they are not used often |
| C．human beings hope for a change in the future life |
| D．future life is always predictable |
When doctors urge overweight kids to pick up more activities，reading probably isn’t what they have in mind. Yet a new study by fatness researchers at Duke University finds that the simple act of reading—depending on the choice of material—can cause weight loss in teenage girls.
The study’s experimental group included 31 fat girls aged 9 to 13，who took part in the Healthy Lifestyles Program at Duke Children’s Hospital. The girls read a novel called Lake Rescue，whose protagonist (主人公) is an overweight teenager who struggles with low selfesteem，feelings of loneliness and teasing because of her size. A group of 33 girls read a different book called Charlotte in Paris，which did not have an overweight character，and another group of 17 girls read neither book.
At the end of the sixmonth experiment，all the girls who read books had lost weight，but the girls who read Lake Rescue lost more. They lowered their body mass index (BMI) by 0.71，compared with 0.33 in the Charlotte group，an average 0.05 increase among the nonreaders.
The idea behind the study，says Dr Sarah Armstrong，director of Healthy Lifestyles，was to find a way to encourage the girls without adopting the restrictive and often authoritative voice of so many other nutrition and diet programs. Lake Rescue was the perfect instrument，says Armstrong；it presents a likable character to whom the girls could relate and whom they could learn from. As the book progresses，its protagonist learns to make healthier lifestyle choices and finds an adviser to help keep her on track. Armstrong says，“She learns that she can become healthier，and the ‘I can do it’ feeling resonates (产生共鸣) with the teenage girls.”What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．There are different ways to help overweight kids lose weight. |
| B．Lifestyle is important for kids. |
| C．Lake Rescue is the perfect weightlosing instrument. |
| D．Reading can help kids lose weight. |
How many girls took part in the experiment?
| A．31. | B．33. | C．64. | D．81. |
What does the underlined word “She” in the last paragraph refer to?
| A．Armstrong. | B．The protagonist in Lake Rescue. |
| C．A character in Charlotte in Paris. | D．A girl in the first group. |
According to the passage we can know that ________.
| A．overweight girls are living unhappily |
| B．reading is the best way to lose weight |
| C．different reading materials play different roles in losing weight |
| D．people will become fat if they don’t read |
In which part of a newspaper can we read the above passage?
| A．Education. | B．Entertainment. | C．Health. | D．Advertisement. |
The expression “keeping up with the Joneses” was first used in 1913 by a young American Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself: he began earning $125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. Young Momand was very proud of his riches. He got married and moved with his wife to Long Island, outside New York City.
But just moving there was not enough. For when Momand and his wife saw that their neighbors belonged to a country club they too joined a club. And when he saw that rich people were expected to ride horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave grand parties for their new neighbors.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. Momand and his wife could not do that.
The race ended for them when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an inexpensive New York City apartment.
Momand later said that his experience had been a cruel awakening for him. However, he was able to see the funny side of it. He looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with their neighbors.
He decided that this would make good stories for many papers across the country. He called it “Keeping up with the Joneses”, because “Jones” is a very common American name. “Keeping up with the Joneses” came to mean keeping up with the people around you. Momand’s stories appeared in different newspapers for over 28 years.
People never seem to tire of keeping up with the Joneses. That is one reason why they read the “right” books, go to the “right” universities and eat in the “right” restaurants. But no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.The writer of this passage means to tell us ___________.
| A．what Arthur Momand did to keep up with his neighbors |
| B．how the expression “keep up with the Joneses” came into being |
| C．what we should do to keep up with our neighbors |
| D．how we can live differently from others |
The reason Momand moved to Long Island is that ___________.
| A．he wanted to live in a rich neighborhood |
| B．there was a country club for him to join |
| C．it was outside the city and good for horseback riding |
| D．his wife came from that area |
By saying “It was like a race”(in Para 3), the writer means ____________.
| A．it was just a suitable place for the horse race |
| B．Momand and his wife kept themselves busy |
| C．Momand’s neighbors also gave parties one after another |
| D．Momand tried to compete with their neighbors in his way of life |
The funny side Momand saw in his experience was _________.
| A．he moved back to a cheap place |
| B．he was not alone in keeping up with his neighbors |
| C．he made a mistake in following other people’s examples |
| D．he cared too much about what others thought of him |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Momand earned a lot of money when he got married |
| B．Momand was always very interested in riding horses |
| C．Momand found there was something wrong with his way of life |
| D．Momand wrote stories for newspapers about himself and his neighbors |
Philip was a nine-year-old boy in a Sunday school class of 8-year-old girls and boys. Sometimes the third graders didn’t welcome Philip into their group and usually tricked him. This was not because he was older, but because he was “different”. You see, Philip suffered from a condition called Downs’s Syndrome. This made him “different”, with its facial characteristics, slow responses and mental problems.
One Sunday after Easter, the Sunday school teacher gathered some plastic eggs that pulled apart in the middle. The teacher gave one to each child. On that beautiful spring day, the children were to go out and discover for themselves some symbol of “new life” and place it inside the plastic eggs.
After the children returned to the classroom, the teacher opened their eggs one by one, asking each child to explain that symbol of “new life”. The first opened egg contained a flower. Everyone cheered. In another was a butterfly…. When the teacher opened the last egg, it was empty. “That’s stupid,” said someone. The teacher felt a pull at his shirt. It was Philip. Looking up, Philip said, “It’s mine. I did it. It’s empty. I have new life, because the tomb is empty.” Not a sound was heard in class at all. From that day on, Philip became a real part of the group. They welcomed him, and whatever made him different was never mentioned again.
Philip’s family knew he wouldn’t live a long life, for there were too many things wrong with him.The underlined word “condition” in the 1st paragraph probably means __________.
| A．grade | B．status | C．health | D．disease |
It can be inferred from the first paragraph that _______.
| A．the 8-year-olds were sometimes cruel. |
| B．The 8-year-olds were friendly to Philip. |
| C．Philip was really different in school. |
| D．Philip was older and more sensitive. |
The teacher gave each child one plastic egg to let them ______.
| A．play around on that beautiful spring day. |
| B．put some symbol of “new life” into it. |
| C．try to pull it apart in the middle. |
| D．go out and discover themselves. |
After Philip explained his new life, _________.
| A．the class thought he was clever. | B．The class fell silent. |
| C．He began to study in the class. | D．He felt dying. |
We learn from the passage that _________.
| A．the teacher used to have classes outdoors |
| B．Philip was healthy as a whole. |
| C．The Philip’s new life wish was empty |
| D．Philip was accepted by his classmates in the end |
In the competition of Olympic weightlifting，the athletes try to lift the maximum (最大的) weight they can. There are special conditions they have to meet in order to compete：body weight，height and strength.
The Olympic weightlifting mainly tests the limit of explosive strength (爆发力)．There are not many lifters who really like Olympic weightlifting and the explanation is very simple：they are short of explosive strength.
The weights used for Olympic weightlifting are added in kilograms. The order by which the athletes enter the competition is not general，but it is set depending on the event. Usually the athlete with the lowest weight begins. If he/she is not successful，he/she can try later. There is a maximum of three lifts allowed for every competition.
For many years Olympic weightlifting was only for men. However，now women also take part in Olympic weightlifting. It was at the beginning of the 21st century that women’s competitions entered an organized professional environment. For women，Olympic weightlifting is more difficult because of their different body structure. However，strength training techniques (技术) are widely and successfully used by women，too.
Lots of the athletes who’ve ended up in Olympic weightlifting competitions have started with strength training only to improve their muscle condition and their body power. However，the demarcation line (界线) is not still very clear between power training and Olympic weightlifting. This is how so many lifters have got into Olympic weightlifting competition，even if their purpose was different at the beginning.In the competition of Olympic weightlifting，athletes need to be all of the following EXCEPT________.
| A．the right age | B．the right height |
| C．the right weight | D．the right strength |
How many more times can a lifter try if he/she fails for the first time?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
According to the fourth paragraph，________.
| A．men often do better than women in weightlifting |
| B．women need to use different training techniques from men |
| C．men can learn the training techniques better than women |
| D．women used not to be allowed to compete in Olympic weightlifting |
According to the passage，many athletes began to practice weightlifting because they wanted to________.
| A．take part in the Olympics |
| B．get a reward in the competition |
| C．strengthen their body power |
| D．test the limit of explosive strength |