“Dad! He took a book without paying!” I yelled .
My father looked surprised. Before the boy could say anything, his mother grabbed his arm and shook it. “Is it true? You stole? Tell me!”
Everyone was quiet. The boy began to cry, and he nodded his head. He pulled out the comic book (漫画书) from under his shirt.
“Oh, Mr. Kim. I am sorry! My Ted made a big mistake!” Mrs. Diaz told my father. She tried to take the comic book, but Ted wouldn’t let go.
“It’s OK. He can keep it,” my father said with a smile.
“Oh no,” Mrs. Diaz said. “Let me pay right now ...” She dug in her purse. “How much?”
“Three seventy-five.”
Mrs. Diaz’s eyes widened, and she dug deeper. I saw her mouth make a small line. “Three seventy-five?” she asked.
“It’s OK. You can pay later,” my father said.
“No,” Mrs. Diaz said. She kept looking in her purse. “I have money here.”
I felt bad for yelling, for I realized that Ted had tried to steal the comic book because he didn’t have the money. Maybe the boy could have a job, I thought.
I had an idea.
“What if he worked with me?” I asked. They turned to me.
I said, “He can work with me to pay for the comic book.”
“Good,” my father said smiling at me. Mrs. Diaz nodded. She turned to her son, “You hear? You will work and buy the comic book!”
“Yes, Mama,” Ted said, hanging his head.
As they left, Ted looked back, and though he still seemed sad, he stuck out (伸出) his tongue at me.
Ted has been working here for two weeks. He has paid for the comic book, but my father says he is such a good worker that he can work with me as long as he wants. We are friends now. Where did the story most probably take place?
| A．In a classroom. | B．In a supermarket. |
| C．At a bookstore. | D．At a library. |
By saying “but Ted wouldn’t let go” in Paragraph 4, the author means Ted ______.
| A．took the book by mistake | B．wanted to keep the book |
| C．didn’t want to go home | D．didn’t think he was wrong |
From the underlined sentences in the eighth paragraph, we may infer that Mrs. Diaz ______.
| A．didn’t think her son stole the book |
| B．had been out of work for a long time |
| C．forgot to take money with her that day |
| D．couldn’t afford to pay for the book |
In the last paragraph, what does the author mainly tell?
| A．His idea was successful. | B．Ted didn’t like the job. |
| C．He liked Ted very much. | D．Ted was a naughty boy. |
A small boy sat on the street with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: “ I am blind, please help”. There were only a few coins in the hat.
A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.
The boy recognized his footsteps and asked :“Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?” The man said: “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.”
What he had written was: “Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.”
Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing? Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind.
The first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind.
There are at least two lessons we can learn from this simple story.
The first is: Be thankful for what you have. Someone else has less. Help where you can.
The second is：Be creative. Think differently. There is always a better way! What was the boy doing on the street?
| A．He was selling his old hat. |
| B．He was busy counting coins. |
| C．He was begging for money. |
| D．He was showing his handwriting. |
How did the man help the blind boy?
| A．He took the boy's sign away. |
| B．He only gave the boy some money. |
| C．He changed the words on the sign. |
| D．He asked others to help the blind boy. |
The blind boy recognized the kind man by his ______ .
| A．words | B．smell | C．voice | D．Footsteps |
Moving to a new neighborhood，town，state，or even country can be a pretty scary experience. All you know is that things will be different and chances are you won’t know the kids at your new school.
The experiences that go with moving make many kids feel nervous and worried. This is perfectly normal but don’t let these emotions overrun your thoughts! You will soon get used to your surroundings and find new friends at your new school.
Leaving old friends and familiar places behind can be difficult. However，as you begin the moving process，keep in mind that saying goodbye to your old house，school，and friends does not mean that you have to forget them or that your farewell is permanent！If you’re moving to a new state or even a different country and won’t see your friends for a long time，don’t despair.
Make sure to ask everyone for their address so you can write them letters. Also，thanks to the Internet，it is very easy to stay in touch through email or instant messaging technologies. With your parent’s permission，you can even create a blog or web page to chronicle（记载） all of your new experiences. Include your thoughts，tales of your new adventures，even pictures of new friends，your new house，and new town. Your old friends will love seeing what you are busy with.
Many schools have an orientation（培训） program where a student already established at the school shows a new student around for their first week. This can help you to find your way around the school and to make new friends faster.
While moving is tough on kids of any age，high school counselor Karen Turner says moves can be particularly difficult for teens .“I think moving during adolescents is an extremely stressful experience，especially if you are into your junior high or senior year. Students tend to have established a very strong peer network during that period in their lives. Often this has more influence on them even than their families in some cases，and when they are torn from that there’s often resentment(怨气)．”However，Turner adds that while moving isn’t easy，there are things that your parents and the school can do to help you deal with the change.Who are the intended readers of the passage?
| A．Education experts. | B．School teachers. |
| C．Parents. | D．Students. |
Which of the following is mainly suggested in Paragraph 3?
| A．Staying in contact with old friends. |
| B．Expressing yourself when it is possible. |
| C．Forming good habits at school. |
| D．Keeping positive about your new school. |
According to the passage，Karen Turner may agree that________．
| A．many parents seem to care little about their children |
| B．teens can easily be attached to their friends |
| C．parents should communicate with the school teachers |
| D．teens tend to behave rudely in a new school |
If this passage continues，what would the author further discuss?
| A．What a new school is like. |
| B．Why parents move with their children. |
| C．How parents and the school can help the children. |
| D．How children can express their anxiety. |
Success is often measured by the ability to overcome adversity. But, it is often the belief of others that gives us the courage to try.
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series，began writing at the age of 6. In her biography, she remembers with great fondness when her good friend Sean, whom she met in secondary school, became the first person to encourage her and help build the confidence that one day she would be a very good writer.
“He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition to be a writer. He was also the only person who thought I was bound to be a success at it, which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time.”
Despite many setbacks, Rowling persevered in her writing, particularly fantasy stories. But it wasn't until 1990 that she first conceived the idea about Harry Potter. As she recalls，it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into her head.“To my immense frustration (沮丧), I didn't have a functioning pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I think, now, that this was probably a good thing, because I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain, and this scrawny, blackhaired, bespectacled(戴眼镜的) boy who didn’t know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.”
That same year, her mother passed away after a tenyear battle with multiple sclerosis, which deeply affected her writing. She went on to marry and had a daughter, but separated from her husband shortly afterwards.
During this time, Rowling was diagnosed with clinical depression. Unemployed, she completed her first novel in area cafes, where she could get her daughter to fall asleep. After being rejected by 12 publishing houses, the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house.
Now with seven books that have sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages, J. K. Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history. And it all began with her commitment to writing that was fostered by the confidence of a friend !Rowling first came up with the idea about Harry Potter________.
| A．at the age of 6 |
| B．on a train journey |
| C．after her mother’s death |
| D．in her secondary school |
It can be concluded from Paragraph 5 and 6 that Rowling is________.
| A．openminded | B．warmhearted |
| C．goodnatured | D．strongwilled |
The text mainly tells us________.
| A．hardship makes a good novelist |
| B．the courage to try is a special ability |
| C．you can have a wonderful idea everywhere |
| D．encouragement contributes to one’s success |
WHAT’S the most important thing of life?
People’s answers vary greatly. For British scientist Robert Edwards，the answer is having a child.“Nothing is more special than a child，”he told the BBC.
Edwards，the inventor of the In Vitro Fertilization(IVF)technology—more commonly known as“testtube(试管)baby”technology—passed away on April 10 ,2013 at the age of 87.
Edwards changed the lives of millions of ordinary people who now rejoice(充满喜悦)in the gift of their own child，”said Peter Braude，professor at King’s College London.“He leaves the world a much better place.”
Edwards started his experiments as early as the 1950s，when he had just finished his PhD in genetics. At that time，much of the public viewed test-tube babies as“scary”，according to Mark Sauer，professor at Columbia University，US.
Edwards and his colleague Patrick Steptoe faced opposition from churches，governments and media，not to mention attacks from many of their fellow scientists.“People said that we should not play God and we should not interfere with nature，”Edwards once told Times. He said that he felt “quite alone” at the time.
“But Edwards was a fighter，and he believed in what he was doing，”said Sauer. Without support from the government，the two struggled to raise funds to carry on. And in 1968 they finally developed a method to successfully fertilize human eggs outside the body.
The first test-tube baby was born on July 25，1978.Her name was Louise Brown. Despite people’s safety concerns，Brown was just as healthy as other children.
“IVF had moved from vision to reality and a new era in medicine had begun，”BBC commented.
Ever since then，public opinion has evolved considerably. Couples who were unable to have babies began thronging(蜂拥)to Edwards’ clinic. Nowadays，Reuters reports，some 4.3 million other“test-tube” children exist. Edwards received a Nobel Prize in 2010 and was knighted(封为爵士)by Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ the following year.
Before his death，Edwards was still in touch with Louise.“He is like a granddad to me，”she said in an interview with the Daily Mail.
He is a granddad to millions, in fact.What is the article mainly about?
| A．The first test-tube baby. |
| B．A new era in medicine. |
| C．The inventor of IVF technology. |
| D．The changes IVF technology has brought. |
The writer quoted Peter Braude to ________．
| A．show how difficult it was for Edwards to do his work |
| B．describe what kind of person Edwards was |
| C．explain why he is loved by all children |
| D．comment on his achievement |
The underlined word“opposition”in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to ________．
| A．attack | B．support |
| C．test | D．influence |
What is the CORRECT order of events in Edwards’ life?
a．He received a Nobel Prize.
b．He struggled to raise funds.
c．The first test-tube baby was born.
d．He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ.
e．He succeeded in fertilizing human eggs outside the body.
f．He started his experiments on IVF technology.
| A．f—e—b—c—a—d | B．f—b—e—c—d—a |
| C．f—b—e—c—a—d | D．f—e—d—a—c—b |
Stilton Cheese Rolling
May Day is a traditional day for celebrations, but the 2,000 English villagers of Stilton must be the only people in the world who include cheese rolling in their annual plans. Teams of four, dressed in a variety of strange and funny clothes , roll a complete cheese along a 50-metre course. On the way, they must not kick or throw their cheese, or go into their competitors' lane. Competition is fierce and the chief prize is a complete Stilton cheese weighing about four kilos (disappointingly, but understandably the cheeses used in the race are wooden ones). All the competitors arc served with beer or port wine, the traditional accompaniment for Stilton cheese.
Fiery Foods Festival—The Hottest Festival on Earth
Every year more than 10,000 people head for the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. They come from as far away as Australia, the Caribbean and China, but they all share a common addiction—food that is not just spicy ,but hot enough to make your mouth burn, your head spin and your eyes water. Their destination is the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival which is held over a period of three clays every March. You might like to try a chocolate-covered habanero pepper—officially the hottest pepper in the world—or any one of the thousands of products that are on show. But one thing's for sure—if you don't like the feeling of a burning tongue, this festival isn't for you!
La Tomatina—The World's Biggest Food Fight
On the last Wednesday of every August, the Spanish town of Bunol hosts Ea Tomatina—the world's largest food fight. A week-long celebration leads up to an exciting tomato battle as the highlight of the week's events. The early morning sees the arrival of large trucks with tomatoes—official fight-starters get things going by casting tomatoes at the crowd.
The battle lasts little more than half an hour, in which time around 50,000 kilograms of tomatoes have been thrown at anyone or anything that moves, runs, or fights back. Then everyone heads down to the river to make friends again—and for a much-needed wash!In the Stilton cheese rolling competition, competitors on each team must .
| A．wear various formal clothes |
| B．roll a wooden cheese in their own lane |
| C．kick or throw their cheese |
| D．use a real cheese weighing about four kilos |
Where is the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival held?
| A．In New Mexico. | B．In the Caribbean. |
| C．In Australia. | D．In China. |
The celebration of La Tomatina lasts .
| A．three days | B．seven days |
| C．less than three days | D．more than seven days |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The chief prize for the Stilton cheese rolling competition is beer or port wine. |
| B．More than 10,000 Chinese take pail in the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival. |
| C．Thousands of spicy foods are on show in the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival. |
| D．An exciting tomato battle takes place at the beginning of La Tomatina. |