Each spring brings a new blossom of wildflowers in the ditches along the highway I travel daily to work.
There are some particular blue flowers that have always caught my eye. I’ve noticed that they bloom only in the morning hours and the afternoon sun is too warm for them. Every day for about two weeks, I see those beautiful flowers.
This spring, I started a wildflower garden in our yard. I can look out of the kitchen window while doing the dishes and see the flowers. I’ve often thought that those lovely blue flowers from the ditch would look great in that bed alongside other wildflowers. Every day I drove past the flowers thinking, “I’ll stop on my way home and dig them.” “Gee, I don’t want to get my good clothes dirty…” Whatever the reason, I never stopped to dig them. My husband even gave me a folding shovel（铲子）one year in my car to be used for that expressed purpose.
One day on my way home from work, I was shocked to see that the highway department had destroyed the ditches and the pretty blue flowers were gone. I thought to myself, “Way to go, you waited too long. You should have done it when you first saw them blooming this spring.” A week ago we were shocked and saddened to learn that my oldest sister has a terminal brain tumor（肿瘤）. She is 20 years older than me and unfortunately, because of age and distance, we haven’t been as close as we all would have liked. I couldn’t help but see the connection between the pretty blue flowers and the relationship between my sister and us. I do believe that God has given us some time left to plant some wonderful memories that will bloom every year for us.
And yes, if I see the blue flowers again, you can bet I’ll stop and transplant them to my wildflower garden. Why did those flowers the writer saw only bloom in the morning?
| A．Because it was hot in the afternoon. |
| B．Because someone picked them away. |
| C．Because someone took them into houses. |
| D．Because the writer passed them in the morning. |
Which of the following statements is right according to the passage?
| A．The writer’s sister died of lung tumor. |
| B．The writer was regretful when she heard her sister’s death. |
| C．The writer planned to dig the flowers to give them to her husband. |
| D．The writer’s husband planned to plant some flowers in the garden. |
The writer wrote the passage to tell us ________.
| A．to enjoy what we have now |
| B．to value now and not to lose chances |
| C．to protect the beautiful flowers we see |
| D．to love those who are your close relatives |
You can be proud of yourselves, even if you can only make one or two of these green changes. The goal here is to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which are closely connected to the big problem of global-warming (全球变暖).
WAY 1: Bring your own cup to Starbucks. You’ll get a 10-cent discount, and it’s one less paper cup to end up in a dustbin. The store won’t create more waste when they throw away a cup.
WAY 2: Turn off your computer. When in standby mode, your PC is still using energy. Turning off a monitor (显示器) for 40 hours a week may only save $5 amonth, but it reduces CO2 by 750 pounds.
WAY 3: Reuse plastic bags. Instead of throwing away 100 billion plastic bags a year, try and get a second, third, or tenth use out of them. Better yet, next time you shop, try a reusable bag. The amount of oil it would take to make just 14 plastic bags would run your car for one mile.
WAY 4: Use recycled paper in the bathroom. Most of the toilet paper we use is made fromtrees found in forests. If every family replaced(替换)one roll of toilet paper with a recycled one, 424,000 trees would still be standing.
WAY 5: Plant a tree. Adding green to your garden is beautiful and earth-pleasing. Just one tree will help make cleaner air and save the environment from 5, 000 pounds of hot carbon dioxide each year.How many ways are mentioned(提及) in the passage?
| A．Two. | B．Three. |
| C．Four. | D．Five. |
What will happen if our PC is turned off when it isn’t in use?
| A．It will help to save a large amount of money. |
| B．It will help to reduce a great deal of CO₂. |
| C．It will save the amount of oil that runs your car for a mile. |
| D．It will be like planting 1.7 million acres of new trees. |
Which ways suggest recycling or reusing of things?
| A．Ways 3 & 4. | B．Ways 2 & 3. |
| C．Ways 3 & 5. | D．Ways 2 & 4. |
How do these ways do good to our environment?
| A．They all help reduce the use of energy like electricity. |
| B．They all cut down the number of the use of paper. |
| C．They all produce less greenhouse gases as a result. |
| D．They all help protect our trees and forests. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Ways toSave Money | B．Waysto Be Earth-Friendly |
| C．Ways to End Global-Warming | D．Waysto Limit Carbon Dioxide |
| New books this month |
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| The Long Night This is David Reilly’s first book. David became a writer after teaching English for several years.  Maha is a nurse in northern Australia. She works in a small hospital. One day a baby is so ill that Maha has to drive all night to get her to the nearest big city. They have a lot of problems getting there and… |
Hard Work This exciting story is Joanna’s twentieth. Hard Work is about Sombat. He works with his father, a carpenter, in Thailand. They work long, hard hours making tables and chairs, but they do not have any money. Then one day a man dressed all in black buys the most beautiful table in the shop… |
Hospital or Cinema Marcie Jacome, who studies English in London, wrote this story earlier this year.Tina is a young Indian woman whose dream is to become a doctor. She goes to London to study English and medicine, but one day she meets a man who asks her to go to the USA with him to become a film star…What will Tina do? |
The Long Night was written by .
| A．David Reilly | B．Maha |
| C．Joanna | D．Marcie Jacome |
The story of Hard Work happened in .
| A．Australia | B．Thailand |
| C．India | D．England |
From the passage we can see Tina is ________.
| A．a doctor | B．a film star |
| C．a writer | D．a college student |
is about a difficult journey.
| A．Hospital or Cinema | B．Hard Work |
| C．The Long Night | D．Harry Potter |
The passage above is.
| A．an ad | B．a story |
| C．a novel | D．a diary |
Do you know you could get sick just by walking past a building? The bacteria(细菌) that cause Legionnaire's disease grow very fast in large modern buildings. They are carried by air through the buildings and outside. Legionnaire s disease is only one of the illnesses that are caused by "sick buildings".
Some buildings can make you ill because their heating and air-conditioning(空调调节系统) are controlled(控制). Air from outside cannot get in through the closed windows; This indoor air pollution is a growing problem.
Legionnaire's disease may be the most serious result of sick buildings, but other unpleasant illnesses can appear.People who work in some buildings suffer （受苦）from tiredness, feeling sick and headaches. Their offices look bright and clean, but invisible(无形的) and dangerous bacteria are in the air around them.
There is an answer to the problem. The air-conditioning and heating can be tested for bacteria. Once the tests are finished, the sick buildings can be cured. This is expensive to do, but the results are good. The people in the buildings no longer get sick, and everybody is happier."Sick buildings" means _______.
| A．very old buildings |
| B．buildings that make people feel sick |
| C．buildings for sick people |
| D．buildings that are going to fall down |
The indoor air pollution is caused by _______.
| A．Legionnaire's disease | B．the air from outside |
| C．lack(缺乏) of fresh air | D．unpleasant illnesses |
We can tell that a building might be "sick" when _______.
| A．the windows are all closed |
| B．bacteria can be seen in the air |
| C．the air-conditioning and heating don't work well |
| D．people in it have got different kinds of diseases |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Legionnaire's disease is only one of the results of "sick buildings". |
| B．There is less and less indoor air pollution. |
| C．The bacteria are not dangerous if the offices look bright and clean. |
| D．If the tests for bacteria are expensive. the results are good. . |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means "As soon as the tests are finished, _______."
| A．bacteria will disappear by themselves |
| B．Legionnaire's disease won't kill people |
| C．people in the building will no longer get sick |
| D．something can be done to cure the sick building |
A friend of mine named Paul received a car from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a boy was walking around the shining car. "Is this your car, Paul?" he asked.
Paul answered, "Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was surprised. "You mean your brother gave it to you and it cost you nothing? Boy, I wish..."He hesitated.
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly.
"I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that." Paul looked at the boy in surprise. and then he said again, "Would you like to take a ride in my car?"
"Oh yes, I'd love to."
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, "Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?"
Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the boy wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car. But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked.
He ran up to the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled (残疾) brother. He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car.
"There he is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent. And someday I'm going to give you one just like that…then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas window that I've been trying to tell you about."
Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride.The boy was very surprised when _______.
| A．Paul received an expensive car | B．Paul told him about the car |
| C．he saw the shining car | D．he was walking around the car |
From the story we can see the boy _______.
| A．wished to give his brother a car |
| B．wanted Paul's brother to give him a car |
| C．wished he could have a brother like Paul's |
| D．wished Paul could be a brother like that |
We can infer (推断) from the story that _______.
| A．Paul couldn't understand the boy |
| B．the boy had a deep love for his brother |
| C．the boy wished to have a rich brother |
| D．the boy's wish came true in the end |
The best title(标题) of the story is .
| A．A Christmas Present | B．A Boy |
| C．A Brother Like That | D．An Unforgettable Holiday Ride |
This happened in London It was November and the weather was very wet and cold. A Frenchman had caught a very bad cold. He coughed day and night, so he decided to go and get some medicine for his cough. As he did not know much English, he took out his dictionary and looked up the word "cough". But the dictionary did not tell him how to pronounce(发音) the word. He thought it over and remembered that he had learned the word "plough". He remembered that it was pronounced[plav]. So he thought that c-o-u-g-h must be pronounced [kav].
Then he put on his coat and hat and went to a chemist's shop(药店).When the man in the shop asked him what he wanted, the Frenchman said, "I want something for my 'COW' , please." The man in the shop looked at him. Had he heard him correctly?
"I beg your pardon, sir?" he asked.
The Frenchman repeated, "I want some medicine for my 'COW'."
"For your cow?" asked the man, "are you a farmer?"
"A farmer?" said the Frenchman in surprise, "What makes you think I'm a farmer? I come from Paris. I'm not a farmer. "
"But where is your cow?"
"It's here!" answered the Frenchman. He put his hand on his chest(胸口) and began to cough. "Here it is, " he said, "I've a very bad 'cow' here."
Then the man in the shop understood what the Frenchman meant. He wanted some
medicine for his cough.The Frenchman said, "I want something for my 'cow', please." Here by the word "cow" he meant _______.
| A．cow | B．cough |
| C．medicine | D．cold |
What made the man in the shop think the Frenchman was a farmer?
| A．The Frenchman looked like a farmer. |
| B．The word "cough" was pronounced [kau] by him. |
| C．The Frenchman said he came from a farm in Paris. |
| D．We can't learn about it from the story. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The man in the shop had heard the Frenchman correctly. |
| B．The man in the shop didn't understand the Frenchman clearly at first. |
| C．The Frenchman told the man in the shop he had a very bad cow. |
| D．The Frenchman asked for some medicine for his cow. |