David Beckham was born on 2nd May, 1975, in the suburbs of London, at a place called Leytonstone. When he was a young boy, his greatest passion was football. He played it whenever he had the chance. Sometimes he would go and watch a game with his friends. When David Beckham was 12 years old, he won the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skills award. This was an important step forward for this young boy, and it led to him going for a visit to a football training camp in Spain. As a boy at secondary school he played for tile schools of Essex and also for his country team.
On 8th July, 1991, he became a trainee with Manchester United. This meant that he could practice football as much as he wanted to and play for the highly successful Manchester United Youth Cup team and Under-21 team. On 2nd April, 1995, he played his first major football league game against Leeds United. During 1995 and 1996, David became a regular member of the team and Manchester United won in both seasons, with David scoring many goals.
His goals made him a household name. In the first game of the 1996 — 1997 season, he scored an amazing goal from beyond the halfway line. Seeing the goalkeeper a little way out of his goal, David sent the ball over the goalkeeper’s head and into the goal. It was a Wonderful goal and Beckham became famous overnight. He continued to score astonishing goals, especially from free-kicks. The speed of one of his shots was timed at 157kph. He also had the ability to make the ball curl from left to right, or right to left, whenever he chose. He could made it glide high through the air, or dive down steeply. Goalkeepers were never sure where the ball was going, and it regularly ended up in the goal. When David Beckham was young ______.
| A．he played football all the time |
| B．his main interest was football |
| C．one of his interests was football |
| D．he watched football whenever he had the chance |
During the 1995 and 1996 seasons, Beckham ______.
| A．was normally a member of the Manchester United team |
| B．played all the time |
| C．won most of the matches for Manchester United |
| D．was the winner in both years |
Beckham became famous because he showed that he had the ability ______.
| A．to move the ball in any direction in the air |
| B．to trick the goalkeepers and score goals |
| C．to swing the ball through the air and score goals |
| D．to kick the ball very hard and score goals |
“His goals made him a household name” probably means ______.
| A．he became very famous because of his goals |
| B．his family became very popular |
| C．many people started to come to see the house where he lived |
| D．his name became popular in England |
Have you ever thought about developing your kids’interests in a positive manner? Have you thought about using music to help them focus their energies on a wonderful pursuit (追求)? Do you realize that by doing so, you will better equip them in life? Your little child will love you all his or her life for the first music lessons that you may give.
Most kids have an interest in music. The only thing to do for you is to give direction to their interests so that they can focus on learning the fine art. Music teaches children to be persistent and disciplined. It also teaches them to try towards perfection and be a good team player. All this helps them not only in their studies but also in facing the challenges of life. Thus music at home and home recording are the first lessons you can present to your children.
How to maintain the interests of kids in various kinds of music and instruments? To solve this problem, it is important that at the beginning you bring home something that can hold the child’s interest for quite some time. This would include instruments such as electric guitar or drums. Encourage them to download music which is free over the Internet.
Another thing to remember is that no one becomes an expert overnight. Have patience with your child. No point in fussing over his skills too much. A few words of appreciation will mean the world to them. Ask for their opinions and stick to the choice for quite some time. Be generous in praise.
Music is the perfect gift you can present to your kids. It is never too late and the sooner you start, the better.The author uses three questions at the beginning of the passage to _____.
| A．test readers’ knowledge of music |
| B．show the effect of music on children |
| C．draw readers’ attention to the topic |
| D．ask readers to answer them |
The intended readers of the passage are _____.
| A．teachers | B．musicians | C．children | D．parents |
This passage is mainly about _____.
| A．how to direct children to pursue their interests |
| B．how to make children creative |
| C．how to draw children’s attention to music |
| D．how music affects children’s studies |
Many ESL (English as a Second Language) students in the United States enroll in (注册学习) academic preparation programs and are in their late teens or early twenties. This is often a time when students are looking back on childhood in a different way. Their childhood memories and their viewpoint on those memories can be very useful for the production of wonderfully creative writing.
For this project, the students began in class by closing their eyes and trying to return to their childhood years in order to bring early memories to their mind. After imagining for a few minutes, they began to tell each other what they remembered about those years and tried to describe a particular incident that stood out in their memories.
That evening they wrote in their journals about the incident, embellishing (润饰) the story as much as possible. The next day, they read the story to a different partner and got feedback (反馈意见). The partner’s job was to: ask more questions to bring back the writer’s memory; help the writer make sure that past tense verbs were used correctly, focusing on the difference between those things that were still true and needed present tense and those things that belonged specifically to the past. Two days later, students made necessary changes or additions and turned in a typed copy of their story. I then made my own comments about their work and asked them to revise their work. The third draft (稿子) produced some very good work.The author’s purpose of writing this passage is to _____.
| A．show readers the difficulty he had in his work |
| B．explain his idea of English learning |
| C．show readers how ESL students live and study |
| D． tell readers how he taught his ESL students to write |
What did the author ask his students to write about?
| A．What they saw around them. |
| B．Their predictions for the future. |
| C．Their childhood memories. |
| D．Their opinions of the United States. |
In what order do the students write their compositions according to the passage?
a. share their writing with their classmates
b. exchange their memories
c. write their stories
d. ask for others’ feedback
e. make some changes to their compositions and have them typed
f. corrected by the teacher
g. recall their stories
| A．g-b-c-a-d-e-f | B．g-c-a-d-b-f-e |
| C．e-f-b-c-a-g-d | D．d-e-f-g-a-c-b |
A partner may help do the following things EXCEPT _____.
| A．make the memory more complete |
| B．find spelling mistakes |
| C．check the tense of the verbs |
| D．give some feedback |
There was once a farmer. His land was hilly and the soil was not the best. He had a cow that wasn’t giving much milk and he had chickens who were laying few eggs. The place looked run-down (破败的) and the barn and fences (篱笆) needed repair. The farmer and his wife felt dejected.
One stormy evening, a poorly-dressed man knocked on their door, asking if he could get shelter for the night. They shared the food that had been prepared, while they talked a great deal about the farm.
When the stranger left the following morning, he thanked the farmer and his wife and pulled a little bag of gold pieces out of his pocket. He said that maybe this would help them. He added that he’d come by next year with hopes of finding a revived farm.
After this, the farmer and his wife often talked about whether they should buy a more promising cow. Other times they considered whether they should buy chickens who laid more eggs. However, every conversation ended with the farmer trusting the farm would improve as he found himself fixing the barn and the fences, caring for the animals, preparing food for themselves and their animals.
The farmer beamed (眉开眼笑) when the stranger did come by again a year later. Everything looked so much better. The stranger asked, “What did you use the gold for?”
The farmer said, “We hid the gold under a kitchen tile (地砖) and, while we often thought of it, we never did think of anything we needed the gold for.”
Then the farmer added thoughtfully, “I do thank you, though, ever so much. You gave us what we really needed to keep going — you lifted our spirits.”
Saying that, the farmer removed the tile and cheerfully returned the gold to the stranger. The underlined word “dejected” in Paragraph 1 probably means “_____”.
| A．kind and generous |
| B．surprised and delighted |
| C．disappointed and unhappy |
| D．strong and fearless |
One year later, the stranger visited the farmer to _____.
| A．get his gold pieces back |
| B．see if the farm had improved |
| C．get shelter for the night |
| D．give the farmer more money |
From the passage, we can conclude that what the farmer really needed was _____.
| A．land rich enough to farm on |
| B．something to keep their spirits up |
| C．scientific knowledge of agriculture |
| D．money to improve his farm |
Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers (青少年). But last summer , Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son : suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents . “ The door to his room is always shut .” Joanna noticed .
Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter . “She used to cuddle up (蜷伏)with me on the sofa and talk ,” said Mark . “Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something . Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady . The problem is figuring out which time is which .”
Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds . “In fact , parents are first on the list .” said Michael Riera, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers . “This completely changes during the teen years .” Riera explained . “They talk to their friends first , then maybe their teachers , and their parents last .”
Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are in the best position to help them . To break down the wall of silence , parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say , and try to find ways to talk and write to them . And they must give their children a mental break , for children also need freedom , though young . Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend , not a manager , with their children is a better way to know them . “The door to his room is always shut” suggests that the son __.
| A．is always busy with his studies | B．doesn’t want to be disturbed |
| C．keeps himself away from his parents | D．begins to dislike his parents |
What troubles Tina and Mark most is that __.
| A．their daughter isn’t as lovely as before |
| B．they can’t read their daughter’s mind exactly |
| C．they don’t know what to say to their daughter |
| D．their daughter talks with them only when she needs help |
Which of the following best explains “ the wall of silence” in the last paragraph ?
| A．Teenagers talk a lot with their friends . |
| B．Teenagers do not want to understand their parents . |
| C．Teenagers do not talk much with their parents . |
| D．Teenagers talk little about their own lives . |
What can be learned from the passage ?
| A．Parents are unhappy with their growing children . |
| B．Parents have suitable ways to talk with their teenagers . |
| C．Parents should be patients with their silent teenagers . |
| D．Parents should try to understand their teenagers . |
A few years ago, an Englishman called Roy Jones went on holiday to a small seaside town in the west of England. He was swimming in the sea one day when, as he opened his mouth, his false teeth fell out and floated away. The following year, Mr. Jones returned to the same town. As he was having dinner in a local café one evening, he mentioned the story of his lost teeth to the manager. The manager looked surprised. He explained that he had found a set of false teeth on the beach last month. Then he asked Roy Jones if he wanted to try them on. “OK”, said Mr. Jones. “I suppose it won’t do any harm.” When the manager brought him the teeth, Mr. Jones put them into his mouth, and laughed and laughed. They were his.
In 1987, an American couple called Jane and Robert Bentley went for a picnic on a beach in California. When they returned home, Mrs. Bentley realized that she had lost her wedding ring. It wasn’t a lot of money but it was valuable to Jane Bentley. The Bentleys drove straight back to the beach, and searched for the ring for three hours, but could not find it. A few months later, Mr. Bentley went fishing off the same beach. As he pulled a large crab out of the sea, he noticed that there was something attached to one of its claws. It was his wife’s wedding ring!
At the end of the 19th century, a young woman called Rose Harcourt was on her honeymoon in Barmouth, North Wales, when she lost a gold bracelet her husband had given her as a wedding gift. Feeling very upset, she went straight to the police stations and asked if anyone had found her bracelet. Unfortunately, no one had. Twenty-five years later, the Harcourts returned to Barmouth to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They were sitting on the beach one day when Mrs. Harcourt noticed something gold in the sand by the edge of the sea. She walked down to see what it was, and discovered her gold bracelet that had been missing for 25 years. Roy Jones lost his false teeth __________ .
| A．when he opened his mouth to have some food |
| B．when he opened his mouth as he was swimming |
| C．The moment he got into the sea to start swimming |
| D．when he was having his holiday at the sea side |
Jane Bentley’s wedding ring was missing for __________ before it was found.
| A．three hours | B．almost a year | C．several months | D．25 years |
From the story of the Harcourts we may understand the underlined “to celebrate their wedding anniversary” may be close in meaning to __________ .
| A．having a wedding again | B．experiencing their honeymoon feelings again |
| C．having a honeymoon again | D．joining in the local celebrations |