I first went to Harrow in the summer term. The school had the biggest swimming pool I had ever seen. It was a good joke to come up behind a naked boy, and push him into the pool. I made quite a habit of this with boys of my own size or less.
One day I saw a boy wrapped in a towel on the side of the pool. He was no bigger than I was, so I thought him a fair game. Coming secretly behind, I pushed him in, holding on to his towel so that it would not get wet, I was surprised to see an angry face come out from the water, and a being of great strength making its way by face strokes (猛力地划)to the shore. I fled(逃跑), but in vain. He overtook me, seized me violently, and threw me into the deepest part of the pool. I soon climbed out on the other side, and found myself surrounded by a crowd of younger boys.” Do you know what you have done?” they said, “It’s Amery; he is in Grade Six. He is champion at gym; he has got his football honor.”
I was frightened and felt ashamed. “How could I tell his position when he was wrapped in a bath towel and so small.” He didn’t seem pleased at all, so I added in a most brilliant word, “My father, who is a great man, is also small.” Hearing that, he laughed, and after some general words about my rude behavior and how I had better be careful in the future, signified the incident was closed. The writer thought Amery” a fair game” because the boy .
A.looked like an animal | B.was fond of games |
C.was of similar size | D.was good at sports |
The writer felt” ashamed” because .
A.![]() |
B.Amery turned out to be in the same grade |
C.he pushed Amery hard and hurt him | D.he played a joke on an outstanding athlete |
By saying “My father, who is a great man, is also small”, the writer .
A.tried to please Amery | B.challenged Amery |
C.threatened Amery | D.admired his father |
Which of the following is TRUE?
A.The writer could run faster than Amery. |
B.The writer liked playing on boys of all sizes. |
C.Amery was a student in Grade Four. |
D.Amery forgave the writer for his rude behavior |
The rumors had been spreading for months but it still came as a shock when the hospital would be closing. It had served this poor neighborhood for nearly 100 years but it would close because of the health care crisis.
The day after the announcement co-workers found out that pretzels(椒盐饼干) had been eliminated. Soft pretzels are the lifeblood of this city. So losing access to soft pretzels is no small matter. I said, “I only have $6. I’m not sure how many pretzels I need. You see, I work at a hospital and it’s closing and they stopped selling pretzels.” The man’s smile disappeared. “What hospital?” “Oh, Northeastern Hospital.”
The guy looked deeply shocked. “I used to sell medical supplies and that was one of my hospitals.” Then he turned around and grabbed a box of 25 pretzels and slid them across the counter.
I was surprised by his generosity and started to reach for my wallet, “Oh I can pay. Please let me …” The guy smiled, “Just tell them Joe Sullivan said to do something nice for someone else.”
And so that day everyone in medical records was treated to a soft pretzel. Word spread fast as people came asking, “Is it really true?” It was as if I’d carried in a box of gold. It mattered to them that a stranger cared. The underlined word “eliminated” in Paragraph 2 means _____.
A.highly priced | B.added | C.overcooked | D.removed |
Why did the author decide to buy pretzels for his co-workers?
A.To show his generosity. | B.To make them feel less sad. |
C.To show his thanks to them. | D.To encourage them to work hard. |
To buy 25 pretzels, the author should pay ____.
A.$25 | B.$12.5 | C.$12 | D.$50 |
According to the passage, Joe Sullivan used to be a ____.
A.cook | B.doctor | C.shopkeeper | D.salesman |
What can be the best title of the passage?
A.A nice treat |
B.The rumor that came true |
C.Tell them Joe cared |
D.Northeastern Hospital is closing down |
·Basic Study Manual Hardcover: $ 37.50
Future success depends on the ability to learn. Here are the answers to the questions most often asked by parents, teachers, business trainers and by students themselves. Read this book and learn:
◎ What the three barriers to study are - and what to do about them
◎ What to do if you get tired of a subject you are studying
◎ Twenty-six simple drills to help you learn how to study easily, rapidly and with full understanding
◎ Buy and read the Basic Study Manual and use it to improve your ability to study.
· How to Use a Dictionary Picture Book for Children Hardcover: $34.90
In spite of billions of dollars spent on “educational research,” children are not taught the most basic skills of learning, even the most basic of these: how to use a dictionary. In fact, a search of educational books for children found not one that told them how to use a dictionary -or that one should. Written for children 8 to 12-year old, this fully illustrated book will teach your child:
◎ How to find words in a dictionary
◎ The different ways that words are used
◎ What the different marks and symbols that are used in a dictionary mean
◎ How to use a dictionary to correctly pronounce words
Includes a section for parents and teachers showing you how to use this book with children. Buy this book and give it to your children to unlock their education. What’s more, you’ll just pay 50% for it before May 1, 2009.Some of the four books were illustrated in order to _________.
A.help readers understand the book |
B.persuade readers to buy them |
C.reduce the cost of the books |
D.make the books suitable to different readers |
The purpose of the passage meant to _________
_.
A.introduce the four books to readers |
B.help children to learn English |
C.enrich students knowledge about nature |
D.sell the four books to readers |
In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is about, It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbours.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called 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. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighbourhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants. Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbours.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment(公寓房间) in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich life--style of their neighbours. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series (系列) of short stories, He called it ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ because ‘Jones’ is a very common name in the United States.’ Keeping up with the Joneses’ came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are ‘Jonses’ in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ______.
A.want to be as rich as their neighbours |
B.want others to know or to think that they are rich |
C.don’t want others to know they are rich |
D.want to be happy |
It can be inferred from the story that rich people like to ________.
A.live outs![]() |
B.live in New York City |
C.live in apartments | D.have many neighbours |
The underlined word neighbourhood in the second paragraph means ________.
A.a person who lives near another | B.people living in an area |
C.an area near the place referred to | D.an area in another town or city |
According to the writer, it is ________to keep up with the Joneses.
A.correct | B.interesting | C.impossible | D.good |
The actress bought a house in the centre of the city because _______.
A.she liked to live in the busiest place |
B.she didn’t like to live in the country |
C.her home was far away from where she worked |
D.she didn’t want to go back to her hometown any longer |
In order to make the painter work better for her, the actress ________.
A.gave him two tickets for her show |
B.sang and danced for him for hours |
C.paid him 3 pounds |
D.decided to pay him 15 shillings an hour |
The actress got the painter’s bill ______.
A.to ask for the money of his painting work |
B.to ask to pay for his watching her show |
C.in which he showed his thanks for the tickets |
D.in which he expressed his dissatisfaction |
It can be learned from the text that one pound is __________ shillings.
A.10 | B.12 | C.20 | D.15 |
What kind of man was the painter?
A.He was a careful man. |
B.He was a poor man. |
C.He was not friendly to others. |
D.He knew little about music and dances. |
One silly question I simply can’t stand is “How do you feel?” Usually the question is asked of a man in action—a man on the go, walking along the streets, or busily working at his desk. So what do you expect him to say? He’ll probably say, “Fine, I’m all right,” but you have put a bug in his ear —maybe now he’s not sure. If you are a good friend, you may have seen something in his face, or his walk that he overlooked that morning. It starts worrying him a little. First thing you know, he looks in a mirror to see if everything is all right, while you go merrily on your way asking someone else, “How do you feel?”
Every question has its time and place. It’s perfectly acceptable, for instance, to ask “How do you feel?” if you’re visiting a close friend in the hospital. But if the fellow is walking on both legs, hurrying to make a train, or sitting at his desk working, it’s no time to ask him that silly question.
When George Bernard Shaw, the famous writer of plays was in his eighties, someone asked him “How do you feel?” Shaw put him in his place. “When you reach my age,” he said, “either you feel all right or you’re dead.”The question “How do you feel?” seems to be correct and suitable when asked of_________.
A.a friend who is ill | B.a ma![]() |
C.a person having lost a close friend | D.a stranger who looks somewhat worried |
G
eorge Bernard Shaw’s reply in the passage shows his________.
A.cheerfulness | B.cleverness | C.ability | D.politeness |
The underlined ‘You’ve put a bug in his ear’ in the 1st paragraph means that you’ve _____.
A.made him laugh | B.shown concern for him |
C.made fun of him | D.given him some kind of warning |