It was at least two months before Christmas when nine-year-old Almie Rose told her father and me that she wanted a new bicycle. As Christmas drew nearer, her desire for a bicycle seemed to fade（消退）, or so we thought. We bought her a lovely doll, and a doll house. Then, much to our surprise, on December 23rd, she said that she “really wanted a bike more than anything else.” But it was just too late. With such a lot of preparations to do for the Christmas dinner we did not have the time to buy our little girl a bike. So, here we were Christmas Eve around 9:00 p.m., with Almie and her six-year-old brother, Dylan, sleeping in their beds. Now we could only think of the bicycle and the disappointment of our child. “What if I make a little bicycle out of clay (泥) and write a note that she could trade（交易，交换） the clay bike in for a real bike?” her dad asked. So he spent the next four hours making a tiny clay bike. On Christmas morning, we were excited for Almie to open the little gift box with the beautiful red and white clay bike and the note. Finally, she opened it and read the note aloud. “Does this mean that I can trade in this bike that Daddy made me for a real one?” I said, “Yes.” Almie had tears in her eyes when she replied, “I could never trade in this beautiful bicycle that Daddy made me. I'd rather keep this than get a real bike.” At that moment, we would have moved heaven and earth to buy her every bicycle in the world!
1.Choose the right time order of the following events.
a. The girl asked for a new bike.
b. The girl opened the little gift box.
c. The parents bought the girl a modern and popular doll.
d. The father made the girl a bike with clay.
e. The girl would rather keep the clay bike than get a real one .
A．a, b, c, e, d B．a, c, d, b, e
C．a, c, b, d, e D．a, b, d, c, e
2.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A．The parents wanted the girl to have the clay bike for ever.
B．Tears were in the girl's eyes because she didn't like the present at all.
C．The girl never lost her desire for a bike.
D．The parents paid little attention to the daughter's desire for a bike.
3.Why did Dad make the clay bicycle?
A．He wanted his daughter to buy a real one . B．He didn't want to disappoint his daughter.
C．He thought his daughter would like it . D．He wanted to give his daughter a surprise.
4.What can we know from the last sentence?
A．The parents were sad and encouraged.
B．The parents felt neverous and shy.
C．The parents were moved and felt proud of the girl
D．The parents felt unhappy for the girl.
5. Which do you think is the best title （标题）for the story?
A. A lovely little girl B. A great and serious father
C. A clay bike D. Christmas shopping
life comes in a package. this package includes happiness and sorrow, failure and success, hope and despair. life is a learning process. experiences in life teach us new lessons and make us a better person. with each passing day we learn to handle various situations.
love
love plays a pivotal role on out life. love makes you feel wanted. without love a person could go hayward and also become cruel and ferocious. in the early stage of our life, our parents are the ones who shower us with unconditional love and care, they teach us about what is right and wrong, good and bad. but we always tend to take this for granted. it is only after marriage and having kids that a person understands and becomes sensitive to others feelings. kids make a person responsible and mature and help us to understand life better.
happiness and sorrow
materialistic happiness is short-lived, but happiness achieved by bringing a smile on others face gives a certain level of fulfillment. peace of mind is the main link to happiness. no mind is happy without peace. we realize the true worth of happiness when we are in sorrow. sorrow is basically due to death of a loved one, failure and despair. but these things are temporary and pass away.
failure and success
failure is the path to success. it helps us to touch the sky, teaches us to survive and shows us a specific way. success brings in money, fame, pride and self-respect. here it becomes very important to keep our head on out shoulder. the only way to show our gratitude to god for bestowing success on us is by being humble, modest, courteous and respectful to the less fortunate ones.
hope and despair
hope is what keeps life going. parents always hope their children will do well. hope makes us dream. hope builds in patience. life teaches us not to despair even in the darkest hour, because after every night there is a day. nothing remains the same we have only one choice keep moving on in life and be hopeful.
life teaches us not to regret over yesterday, for it has passed and is beyond our control. tomorrow is unknown, for it could either be bright or dull. so the only alternative is work hard today, so that we will enjoy a better tomorrow.In the passage, the author compares life to ________.
| A．a package |
| B．joy and sorrow |
| C．failure and success |
| D．hope and despair |
In which section can readers probably read the passage?
| A．Opinions. |
| B．Politics. |
| C．Educatuon. |
| D．Lifestyles. |
How is the passage organized?
| A．In order of rules. |
| B．In order of frequency. |
| C．By making comparision. |
| D．In order of importance. |
What’s the general meaning of the last sentence of the whole passage?
| A．If you work hard, you’ll have a better life in the future. |
| B．When choosing between “today”and“tomorrow”,you’d better enjoy tomorrow. |
| C．What you only can choose is to work hard today rather than tomorrow. |
| D．Enjoying a better tomorrow is your only choice. |
What’s the purpose of the passage?
| A．To encourage people to love each other. |
| B．To tell people how to deal with happiness and sorrow. |
| C．To remind people of keeping having a beautiful dream. |
| D．To give readers some information about life. |
Schools are almost all connected to the Internet. But some have more technology, and use it more, than others. For example, some schools use computers for activities like video conferencing, to bring the world into the classroom.
And some classrooms are equipped with things like a Smart Board, a kind of interactive whiteboard. Interactive whiteboards are large displays for presentations. They connect to a computer and can operate by touch. They can be used for documents or writing or to project video.
Some teachers are trying creative new ways to teach with devices like iPods and mobile phones. But educators say the most important thing, as always, is the content.
Yet technology can have special importance in some cases. Cosmobot is a therapy robot. It stands about half a meter tall and has a blue body and a friendly face with big eyes.
One child who works with it is six-year-old Kevin Fitzgerald. Kevin has developmental dyspraxia; he has difficulty moving his mouth and tongue.
He works with Carole Semango-Sprouse as he interacts with the Cosmobot during therapy for his condition. Here, he uses a set of buttons attached to a computer to make the silent robot move forward, backward or around in circles.
Kevin’s mother thinks the robot has had a calming influence, helping her son get along better with his friends.
Cosmobot was developed by Anthro Tronix. Corinna Lathan started the company ten years ago to work with children with cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, autism and other developmental disabilities.
Children become friends with the robot, she says. That can have a big effect on their behavior, helping them work harder and longer in therapy sessions.
Corinna Lathan is currently working with a British company to develop other socially helpful robots. She says they are still considered research tools in the United States, and not used as much as in places like Britain and Japan. But she hopes to change that. It’s known from the text that ________.
| A．schools have easy access to the Internet today |
| B．new technology is seldom applied to teaching |
| C．the Internet is of equal importance in schools |
| D．using computers for activities is labor-saving |
Which of the following is NOT right about Smart Board?
| A．It’s a kind of teaching facility. |
| B．It can be used to project video. |
| C．It’s a display for presentation. |
| D．It’s not easy to be connected to computers. |
What’s “dyspraxia” according to the text?
| A．Speech barrier. |
| B．Movement disorder. |
| C．Visual impairment. |
| D．Loss of memory. |
Which of the following is RIGHT according to the text?
| A．Cosmobot is designed to play with. |
| B．Cosmobot is costly and not user-friendly. |
| C．Cosmobot can be controlled by a computer. |
| D．Anthro Tronix is a designer of a certain company. |
What can we learn from Corinna Lathan?
| A．She’s employed by a British company. |
| B．Cosmobot is popular around the world. |
| C．She wants to make previous products widespread. |
| D．IPods and mobile phones are valued in class. |
"Our aim is to take our art to the world and make people understand what it is to move," said David Belle, the founder of parkour (跑酷).
Do you love running? It is a good exercise, yet many people find it boring. But what if making your morning jog a creative one? Like jumping from walls and over gaps, and ground rolls? Just like the James Bond in the movie Casino Royale? Bond jumps down from a roof to a windowsill and then runs several blocks over obstacles on the way. It is just because of Bond's wonderful performances that the sport has become popular worldwide.
Yes, that's parkour, an extreme street sport aimed at moving from one point to another as quickly as possible, getting over all the obstacles in the path using only the abilities of the human body. Parkour is considered an extreme sport. As its participants dash around a city, they may jump over fences, run up walls and even move from rooftop to rooftop.
Parkour can be just as exciting and charming as it sounds, but its participants see parkour much morethan that.
Overcoming all the obstacles on the course and in life is part of the philosophy behind parkour. This is the same as life. You must determine your destination, go straight, jump over all the barriers as if in
parkour and never fall back from them in your life, to reach the destination successfully. A parkour lover said, "I love parkour because its philosophy has become my life, my way to do everything."
Another philosophy we've learnt from parkour is freedom. It can be done by anyone, at any time, anywhere in the world. It is a kind of expression of trust in yourself that you earn energy and confidence. Parkour has become popular throughout the world because of _______.
| A．its founder, David Belle |
| B．the film, Casino Royale |
| C．its risks and tricks |
| D．the varieties of participants |
The underlined word "obstacles" in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to"_______".
| A．streets |
| B．objects |
| C．barriers |
| D．roofs |
Which of the following is TRUE of parkour?
| A．It challenges human abilities. |
| B．It is a good but boring sport. |
| C．It needs special training. |
| D．It is a team sport. |
As its participants move around a city, ________.
| A．they can ask for help |
| B．they may choose to escape |
| C．they should run to extremes |
| D．they must learn to survive |
Which of the following is the philosophy of parkour?
| A．Sports and extremes. |
| B．Excitement and popularity. |
| C．Dreams and success. |
| D．Determination and freedom. |
Grace Kane hangs onto an Olympic dream of clinging to a granite(花岗岩)wall by her fingertips 70 feet from the ground.The fearless girl is only 10，but already has scaled great heights in the sport of rock climbing.
Last week，Kane won a bronze in the 11 and younger sport class at the USA Climbing Youth National Championships in Atlanta.She was the only competitor of the 31 there with no climbing coach or topflight facilities in which to train.Climbing will become an exhibition at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil.The hope of enthusiasts is that the sport will gain full status in 2020.“I'm already training for that，” said Kane.“Climbing is my passion，my love，and I want to make something of it.”
Her dad took her to climb rocks on her fourth birthday for the first time and today he can't keep up with her.“It's the freedom to let loose，” she said.“When I'm up there，I'm so focused and don't hear anything.I always feel comforted knowing people are supporting me.”
The bronze in Atlanta qualified Kane for the USA team and November's International Championships in Ecuador.That's a trip she might have to miss because it's too expensive.
Kane held a backyard music concert—she played the guitar and the piano and wrote inspirational songs—and raised $600 for her $1,500 trip to Atlanta.She's also been sponsored by a shoe company，but must rely heavily on donations from family and friends for travel expenses.
Her mom Heather Kane said the family has chosen “to do whatever we need to help her achieve her goals”．One of Grace's biggest challenges is finding balance in her life.There's school，her music and church to fit around climbing.
“Climbing is going to mean sacrificing things other kids might pursue，” Grace said.“But it doesn't bother me.It's like playing the piano；you can't take a break or you'll lose your touch.”What would be the best title of the passage?
| A．Rock Climbing Gains Popularity |
| B．Grace Kane Likes Challenges |
| C．A Young Climber Follows Her Dream |
| D．An Amazing Victory for a Young Rock Climber |
We can learn from the second paragraph that rock climbing ______.
| A．is not an exhibition at the Olympics now |
| B．is an official event at the Olympics now |
| C．is not open to children |
| D．will gain full status in 2020 |
Which of the following is TRUE about Grace Kane?
| A．She is only interested in rock climbing. |
| B．She is a girl with many talents. |
| C．Rock climbing has affected her study. |
| D．She has won gold medals in several matches. |
One of Grace's biggest challenges is to ______.
| A．find a capable coach for her |
| B．get qualified for the USA team |
| C．raise enough money for International competitions |
| D．keep balance between rock climbing and other activities |
Is this a car? Is it a smart phone? Is it a gaming machine?
Yes to all three. The Toyota Fun-Vii is a pleasure palace on wheels.
If Toyota has its way, paint jobs could become a thing of the past, because it has introduced an amazing car that can change its whole look in an instant.
The Vii in Fun-Vii, which stands for “Vehicle,Interactive, Internet” It is a small three-seater car that looks like a smart phone, so it is called a smart phone on wheels．Inside and out, most aspects of the car can interact（互相作用） with the internet and be controlled by a smart phone．The magical car allows the owners to download pictures from their phones onto the outside, so that the look of the car could be changed instantly．The color inside could also be changed to reflect the owner’s mood．Just as the company president Akio Toyoda said, "A car must appeal to our emotions．If it’s not fun, it’s not a car．"
Its outside and inside are not made of solid paint but touch screens that can display pictures and videos．A network update function downloads all the latest software to make sure the car is always up-to-date, and it can provide the latest entertainment as well as information about its surroundings to the driver．As you drive around, the thoughtful car allows you to communicate with your friends in the nearby cars．It also helps you find your way from one place to another． It’s all because the car is networked with all the other cars on the road and drives itself． The smart car is a practical, family sized vehicle fuelled by hydrogen, and it is one of the futuristic concept cars under the theme of "fun to drive, again"．It heralds （预示） a not-too-distant future where people, cars and society are linked． Which of the following may not be a key word for the concept car?
| A．Fun． |
| B．Interactive． |
| C．High-speed． |
| D．Smart． |
According to the text, Toyota Fun-Vii is _____．
| A．a new concept car not powered by gas |
| B．an amazing car without any pollution |
| C．the latest software from network |
| D．a gaming machine with high speed |
The owners of the Fun-Vii can reflect their mood by _____．
| A．downloading images to change the outside |
| B．interacting with computers while driving |
| C．changing the color inside the car |
| D．changing the speed of the car |
What does Paragraph 4 mainly tell us?
| A．The ways of driving the Fun-vii． |
| B．How can you find your way in the Fun-Vii． |
| C．The unusual look of the Fun-Vii． |
| D．The new functions of the Fun-Vii． |