The crowd cheered and cheered. The man with the horn（号）waved and smiled his great smile. “More! More!” cried the crowd. And Louis Armstrong took his horn and began to play again.
Here he was in England. Now a famous man, he was rich. He knew many important people. Wherever he went, people knew his name. They wanted to hear his music. As he played the sad, slow songs, Louis thought of his home in New Orleans. He lived there as a boy. It was a busy, exciting city. But Louis’s family was very poor. He went to work to help his mother. He also went to school. One of Louis’s teachers asked him to join the school band. “This horn is yours until you leave our school,” his teacher said. Louis’s music was jazz a
nd he loved it. He remembered all the music he heard. He didn’t learn to read music until he was a man.
When he left school, he played on many bands. He loved his work and people loved him. They knew that he had a wonderful talent. Louis played in little towns and in big cities. Armstrong’s horn had as many sounds as ten horns—sometimes slow and sometimes sweet; sometimes fast and hot, high and low. His music was always strong and exciting. “He does make wonderful music,” said the man who listened happily. “Yes,” said another man, “he makes that horn speak. ”
The music ended and the crowd cheered. Louis Armstrong spoke with tears in his eyes, “I think, my friends, you can listen to as much jazz as I can play. I thought jazz was my music; but now I understand it is ours. It is beautiful that music brings us together. ”Louis went to work when he was _______.
| A．a schoolboy | B．a musician | C．famous | D．a man |
Louis was very smart but he didn’t learn to read music until ______.
| A．he left school. | B．he was in the the school band. |
| C．he became a grown-up. | D．he became famous. |
He was famous for ______.
| A．his horn | B．his sad songs |
| C．his wonderful jazz music | D．his love for music |
Which of the following is the best title for this story ?.
| A．Musician | B．A beautiful horn. |
| C．The man with the horn. | D．Sweet smiles. |
At present, in many American cities expecially, many teachers in the public schools say they are underpaid. They point to jobs such as secretary or truck driver, which often pay more to start than that of a teacher. In many other fields, such as law, medicine, computer science, a beginning worker may make more than a teacher who has taught for several years.
Teaching has never been a profession that attracted people interested in high salaries. It is by history a profession that has provided rewards in addition to money—the satisfaction of sharing knowledge, of influencing others, of guiding young people. But in the past several years, there are more difficulties in teaching, for many, than there are rewards.
Unruly students, especially in big cities, large classes and a lack of support from the public in terms of money and understanding have led many public school teachers to leave the profession.
As a result, many of the best students, who would have chosen teaching as their life career in the past, are going into other fields.
Another reason for this change in teacher candidates is the changing status of women in the United States. Until the late 1960s and 1970s, one of the most popular choices for women was teaching. But as other professions, such as law and medicine opened up to women, women stopped pouring into teacher training programs. Thus, a major pool of excellent candidates for the teaching profession dwindled.
Bit by bit government officials and others realized that the status of the teacher had suffered. They talked about change. But the change in a vast society like the United States is not easy. People’s attitudes have formed over many years, and sometimes change takes many years.
1．The underlined word “that” in Paragraph 1 refers to “_________”.
A．money B．job C．secretary D．truck driver
2．What is the present situation of the teaching?
A．Teachers work harder and get underpaid.
B．Teahcers have no opportunities to work in other fields.
C．Teaching can attract best students to work as a teacher.
D．Teaching can provide rewards as well as high salaries.
3．Many public school teachers turn to other professions because_________.
A．the government doesn’t finacially support them
B．they have to work longer hours than a lawyer
C．their students refuse to listen to them
D．they are not fairly treated
4．The author believes that change in teachers’ status in the United States_________.
A．is not great B．is impossible
C．influences people’s attitude D．needs time
At the middle school level, there are many academic clubs in which students can participate. Students can choose clubs that focus on an area of interest.
Mathcounts Club
Mathcounts tries to increase excitement towards mathematic achievement. It hopes to provide students with the foundation for success in science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers. Schools select individuals and teams to participate in competitions. Local competitions are held in February with winners progressing to state competitions and then on to the national level. Mathcounts works to challenge student math skills, develop self-confidence and give rewards for their achievements.
Envirothon
The Envirothon program focuses on natural resources knowledge and exposes students to diverse environmental issues, ecosystems, and topography. The ecology field competition for five-member middle school teams offers competitions in wildlife, soils, forestry, current environmental issues and aquatics. Students work and learn in middle school clubs and can compete at the local and state level.
Future Problem Solvers
Future Problem Solvers is an academic club that uses a six-step process to solve problems that may happen in the future. Students who are in the talented and gifted program, who like to “think out of the box,” or who enjoy thinking about futuristic problems may like this club. Teams comprised of four students read future scenes and write up solutions in a booklet using the six-step process. Teams that score high enough can go to the state competition and then to the international competition.
Builders Club
Builders Club is open to any middle school student who wishes to perform community service. Each Builders Club is co-sponsored by a Kiwanis club and the middle school. The members learn by doing, and they learn organization, teamwork, and leadership. Builders Clubs can sponsor a "Teacher of the Year" program, provide a recycling collection point, organize canned food and clothing drives to support local shelters, adopt a resident at a local senior citizens home, adopt a highway, tutor, etc.
Middle school academic clubs offer students a place to explore interests or talents. The clubs they join in middle school can help guide choices in high school and beyond.
1．The students who are not interested in competitions woudld like to choose_________.
A．Mathecounts Club B．Builders Club
C．Future Problem Solvers D．Envirothon
2．Why do some of the students choose Mathcounts Club?
A．To be successful in science careers.
B．To enjoy solving future problems.
C．To perform community service.
D．To study wildlife and soils.
3．What is the common feature of the four clubs?
A．Competitions. B．Sponsorship.
C．Scientific researches. D．Teamwork.
4．The passage mainly talks about_________.
A．the state academic competitions B．middle school clubs
C．extra – curricular activities D．the gifted students
三、阅读理解（共两节，40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，共30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
One warm May day, two eighteen – year – old students from San Francisco State College decided to cool off with a swim at Bakers’ Beach. The two students were named Robert Kogler and Shirley O’Neill. They headed out to sea for a distance of 50 metres. Robert was in front.
“Suddenly, I heard him scream,” Shirley recalls. “I looked round and saw this great grey thing going up in the air. The water seemed to be alive.”
Robert sereamed again. “It’s a shark! Get out of here!”
An eye – witness, Army Sergeant Leo P. Day was on guard at the nearby army post. He saw exactly what happened next. “I could see this boy struggling with the shark in the water,” he said. “The sea was red with blood. He was shouting and signalling someone to go back, go back. Then I saw the girl. She was swimming towards him. She completely ignored his warning.”
Shirley reached Robert, and tried to take his hand.
“When I pulled, all I could see was his arm, handing by a thread,” she said.
So she put her arm about Robert’s back, and started to swim towards the shore. She kept praying “Don't’ let it attack again!” That journey to the shore seemed to last for hours. At last, as they neared the shore, a fisherman threw them a line, and pulled them both the rest of the way.
The young man had lost a lot of blood, and died two and a half hours later, From the teeth marks, experts identified the attacker as a Great White Shark.
For what Sergeant Day called “the greatest exhibition of bravery I have ever seen,” the President of the US gave Shirley a medal for bravery.
1．When Albert was attacked by a shark Shirley_________.
A．was swimming in the sea
B．was watching him on the shore
C．was on guard at the nearby army post
D．was shouting and struggling with a shark, too
2．Choose the right time order of the following events in the story.
a. Army Sergeant saw the girl swimming to the boy.
b. Shirley saw a great grey thing.
c. They headed out to sea.
d. Robert died.
e. A fisherman threw them a line.
f. He saw a boy struggling with a shark.
A．b,c,e,d,f,a B．c,a,f,d,e,b C．b,c,f,a,d,e D．c,b,f,a,e, d
3．We can learn from the passage that_________ .
A．the two students were brave and considerate
B．the fisherman was adventurous and helpful
C．the experts didn’t do much research on sharks
D．the Sergeant cared too much about his own life
Ma Lili’s parents are going to give a birthday party for her. She’s going to be fourteen years old. Ma Lili has a lot of friends. They are going to come to the party. They are girls from Ma Lili’s school. There are twenty-five of them. Ma Lili’s mother is making birthday cakes for the party. They are very nice cakes. Ma Lili says to her mother, “Mum, you’re very nice. Thank you for your nice cakes. ” Her father is going shopping. He buys a lot of apples, bananas, oranges and pears. It’s four o’clock in the afternoon. Now everything is ready. The party begins in thirty minutes.
1. Who is going to give Ma Lili a birthday party?A. Ma Lili B. Her friends C. Her teacher D. Her parents
2. How many people are coming to Ma Lili’s party?A. Two B. Twenty C. Twenty-one D. Twenty-five
3. Her mother _____ for her party. A. is making cakes B. is shopping C. is buying apples D. makes a cake
4. How old is Ma Lili going to be?A. 12 B. 13 C. 14 D. 205. What time does the party begin?A. At fourB. At half past fourC. After five o’clock D. At about six o’clock
In America, when people say “man’s best friend”, they don’t mean another person. Instead, they are talking about a lovely animal：A dog! These words show the friendship between people and animals. Dogs and other pets can give happiness to people’s lives. Some people think of their pets as their children. A few even leave all their money to their pets when they die!
Animals can help people, too. Dogs can be taught to become the “eyes” for a blind person or “ears” for a deaf people. Scientists have found that pets help people live longer! They make people happier, too. Because of that, animals are brought into hospitals for “visit”.
Americans hold “Be---Kind-to-Animals Week” in the first week of May.
Pets shows are held during the week. Even if you don’t live in America, you, too, can do this. How? First, think about how animals make your life richer. If you have a pet, take more time this week to play with it. Remember to give it delicious food. Also, be sure to keep your pet from those unwanted babies.
If you don’t have a pet, be kind to animals around you. For example, if you see a street dog, don’t kick it or throw things at it. Instead, just leave it alone, or better yet, make friends with it. If others around you do bad things to an animal, try to stop them. As people, we must protect animals who can’t speak for themselves.
1. “A few even leave all their money to their pets when they die!” means that__________
A. pets have the right to inherit (继承) money.
B. money can give pets happiness.
C. it’s the best way to spend money.
D. some pets are taken as children.
2. Why are dogs brought to hospitals?
A. Because they are ill and need to see doctors.
B. Because they can make the patients happier.
C. Because they can find out the problems of the patients.
D. Because doctors can do experiments on them.
3. What’s the most popular activity in the “Be-Kind-to-Animals Week”?
A. Holding a pet show in the week.
B. Playing with pets the whole week.
C. Cooking delicious food for pets.
D. Making friends with other people’s pets.
4. What’s the passage mainly about?
A. A lot of people are interested in dogs.
B. Dogs can help people do many things.
C. Pets are lovely and need care and protection.
D. We have done a lot of things for pets.
5. The words“man’s best friends”shows____________.
A. the friendship between people.
B. the friendship between people and animals.
C. the friendship between animals.
D. the friendship between men and women