The day was Thankful Thursday. It's a weekly tradition that my two little girls and I began years ago. Thursday has become our day to go out and make a positive contribution. On this particular Thursday, we had no idea exactly what we were going to do. At noon, I drove to a McDonald’s with my daughters because they kept complaining that they hadn’t had enough to eat at breakfast. There we saw some homeless people in the street and we bought lunch for them.
We were about to complete when we found a small woman standing at the corner, asking for change. We handed her some food, and then started to head home. Suddenly from the mirror of the car, I saw the woman waving at us, so I had to turn around and stopped where the small woman stood. She walked to our car, and said, "Thank you, lady! No one has ever done anything like this for me before." I replied, "Well, I'm glad that we were the first." Feeling uneasy, and wanting to move the conversation along, I asked, "So, when do you think you'll eat your lunch?"
She just looked at me with her huge, tired brown eyes and said, "Oh honey, I'm not going to eat this lunch." I was confused, but before I could say anything, she continued. "You see, I have a little girl of my own at home and she just loves McDonald's, but I can never buy it for her because I just don't have the money. But you know what…tonight she is going to have McDonald's!"
I don't know if the kids noticed the tears in my eyes. So many times I had questioned whether our Acts of Kindness were too small to have effect on those poor people. Yet at that moment, I realized the truth of Mother Teresa's words: "We cannot do great things — only small things with great love."
According to this passage, the small woman was ______.
| A．too happy to stand at the corner |
| B．too eager to ask for more food |
| C．too poor to buy McDonald’s |
| D．too busy to care for her daughter |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．The author finally realized what she did was of use to the poor. |
| B．The author would stop doing her acts of kindness to the poor. |
| C．The author’s daughters found their mother cried at the end of the day. |
| D．The author’s daughters would make friends with the woman’s daughter. |
What would be the best title of the passage?
| A．No Pains No Gains |
| B．No Pleasure Without Pain |
| C．No Small Act of Kindness |
| D．No Sweet Without Sweat |
Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing or whistle when you are happy.
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However, they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
Do you know what a “territory” is ? A territory is an area that an animal , usually the male , claims as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and your friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout, Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost anytime, especially at nesting season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs. You can see that birds have a language of all their own . Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.Some scientists believe that most of the time birds’ singing is actually_____.
| A．an expression of happiness | B．a way of warning |
| C．an expression of anger | D．a way of greeting |
What is a bird’s “territory”?
| A．A place where families of other species are not accepted |
| B．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice. |
| C．An area for which birds fight against each other |
| D．An area which a bird considers to be its own |
Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?
| A．Because they want to invite more friends . |
| B．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away. |
| C．Because they want to find outsiders around. |
| D．Because their singing helps get rid of their fears. |
Fading beauty
She is widely seen as proof that good looks can last for ever. But, at nearly 500 years of age, time is catching up with the Mona Lisa.
The health of the famous picture, painted by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1505, is getting worse by the year, according to the Louvre Museum (卢浮宫博物馆) where it is housed.
“The thin, wooden panel on which the Mona Lisa is painted in oil has changed shape since experts checked it two years ago,” the museum said. Visitors have noticed changes but repairing the world’s most famous painting is not easy. Experts are not sure about the materials the Italian artist used and their current chemical state (状态).
Nearly 6 million people go to see the Mona Lisa every year, many attracted by the mystery of her smile. “It is very interesting that when you’re not looking at her, she seems to be smiling, and then you look at her and she stops,” said Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University. “It’s because direct vision (视觉) is excellent at picking up detail, but less suited to looking at shadows. Da Vinci painted the smile in shadows.”
However, the actual history of the Mona Lisa is just as mysterious as the smile. Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always carried it with him, until it was eventually sold to France’s King Francis I in 1519.
In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre by a former employee, who took it out of the museum hidden under his coat. He said he planned to return it to Italy. The painting was sent back to France two years later.
During World War II, French hid the painting in small towns to keep it out of the hands of German forces.
Like many old ladies, the Mona Lisa has some interesting stories to tell.What does the writer mean by “time is catching up with the Mona Lisa”?
| A．The painted woman is not so beautiful any more. |
| B．Ageing is something that affects us all. |
| C．The painting needs repairing. |
| D．At such an old age, she is no longer popular. |
What makes the repair work difficult?
| A．The wooden panel is thin and old. |
| B．No one knows exactly what materials were used to create the painting and how it might respond to treatment. |
| C．The health of the painting is suffering |
| D．Experts can’t agree on how to carry out repairs. |
What makes her smile so mysterious according to Professor Livingston?
| A．The materials the Italian artist used. | B．The way she smiles. |
| C．The way Da Vinci painted the smile. | D．It plays a trick upon the human mind. |
Every year thousands of tourists visit Pompeii, Italy. They see the sights that Pompeii is famous for ― its stadium (露天大型运动场) and theatres, its shops and restaurants. The tourists do not, however, see Pompeii’s people. They do not see them because Pompeii has no people. No one has lived in Pompeii for almost 2000 years. Once, Pompeii was a busy city of 22000 people. It lay at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, a grass-covered volcano . Mount Vesuvius had not erupted for centuries, so the people of Pompeii felt safe. But they were not.
In August of AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted. The entire top of the mountain exploded, and a huge black cloud rose into the air. Soon stones and hot ash began to fall on Pompeii. When the eruption ended two days later, Pompeii was buried under 20 feet of stones and ashes. Almost all of its people were dead.
For centuries, Pompeii lay buried under stone and ash. Then, in the year 1861, an Italian scientist named Ginseppe began to uncover Pompeii. Slowly, carefully, Ginseppe and his men dug. The city looked almost the same as it had looked in AD 79. There were streets and fountains（喷泉）, houses and shops. There was a stadium with 20000 seats. Perhaps the most important of all, there were everyday objects, which tell us a great deal about the people who lived in Pompeii. Many glasses and jars had some dark blue colour in the bottom, so we know that the people of Pompeii liked wine. They liked bread, too; metal bread pans were in every bakery. In one bakery there were 81 round, flat loaves of bread ― a type of bread that is still sold in Italy today. Tiny boxes filled with a dark, shiny powder tell us that women liked to wear eye makeup.
Ginseppe has died, but his work continues. One-fourth has not been uncovered yet. Scientists are still digging, still making discoveries that draw the tourists to Pompeii.Why do large numbers of people come to Pompeii each year?
| A．To visit the volcano | B．To shop and eat there |
| C．To watch sports and plays | D．To watch how Pompeiians lived |
Why had so many Pompeiians remained by volcanic Mount Vesuvius?
| A．The city nearby offered all kinds of fun. |
| B．The area produced the finest wine in Italy. |
| C．Few people expected the volcano to erupt again. |
| D．The mountain was beautiful and covered with grass. |
Why did the city uncovered look almost the same as it had looked in AD 79?
| A．Because Ginseppe and his men dug it slowly and carefully. |
| B．Because the city was buried alive and remained untouched. |
| C．Because scientists successfully rebuilt the city with everyday objects. |
| D．Because nobody had lived in the city ever since the volcano erupted. |
What do we know about the Pompeiians who lived 2000 years ago?
| A．They lived more or less the same as Italians now do. |
| B．They liked women wearing all kinds of makeup. |
| C．They enjoyed a good life with drinking and eating. |
| D．They went back to Pompeii after the eruption in AD 79. |
A gentleman put an advertisement in a newspaper for a boy to work in his office. Out of the nearly fifty men who come to apply, the man selected one and dismissed the others.
“I should like to know,” said a friend, “the reason you preferred that boy, who brought not a single letter—not a recommendation (介绍信)，”
“You are wrong” said the gentleman. He had a great man. He wiped his feet at the door and closed the door after him, indicating that he was careful. He gave his seat immediately to that old man, showing that he was kind and thoughtful. He took off his cap when he came in and answered my questions, showing that he was polite and gentlemanly.
“ All the rest stepped over the book which I had purposely put on the floor.” He picked it up and placed it on the table; and he waited quietly for his turn instead of pushing and crowding.
When I asked to him, I noticed his tidy clothing, his neatly brushed hair, and his clean fingernails. “ Can’t you see that these things are excellent recommendations? I consider them more significant than letters.”A gentleman put an advertisement in a newspaper___________
| A．in order to hire an office boy |
| B．so as to dismiss the others |
| C．in order to select one among the fifty applicants |
| D．so as to select one and dismiss the others |
The underlined word “indicating” probably means ________.
| A．that is | B．and of course | C．so | D．suggesting |
___________ was the very person the gentleman preferred.
| A．He who has a great many letters |
| B．He who had no letters |
| C．He who wiped his feet before entering the room |
| D．he who was careful, kind , polite and thoughtful |
The gentleman dismissed the other boys because_________.
| A．they didn’t pick up the book lying on the floor |
| B．they pushed and crowded |
| C．they were impolite |
| D．all the above |
According to the passage, we know that the gentleman hired the boy______.
| A．not by his letters but by his good manners |
| B．by the relationship between them |
| C．by the feelings |
| D．by his letters |
Fear plays no part in this latest problem．“I’m not afraid I’ll lose my children．I won’t lose my children. We live together, and nothing, nothing,” she repeats, her voice rising when speaking to John’s lawyer, “will stop me from being with my children. A law? Yeah, right. Don’t disturb me when it comes to my children. You are never going to win. If John wants to see them, I cannot stop him. He’s their father—I want them to see him! However, his visit in his present condition will disturb the children’s stable (稳定的) life．”
John, who has spent much of his time in California, recently, has only hired a house for himself in Pennsylvania, according to his lawyer. "If he’d like to stick to a regular life, I’d be more than happy to do that，" Jane says. "The best thing for any child of a divorced (离婚的) parent is a stable life. I want nothing more than for him to set up a stable life for himself, so that he can be part of making our children’s lives more stable. "
While matters of money and care won’t be settled for weeks, Jane hardly puts her life on hold. Last week the ABC network announced that Jane would return with her own show, Twist of Jane, in which she gives advice to other moms．Jane and her eight children will also return to ABC in a series of Jane Plus 8 specials showing them on various adventures．It’s a rest for Jane, who insists that she needs her new，busy life to provide for her family．“I have to lead such a life, and I’m thankful that I’ve built it to the top where now I can support my children．”she says．
And whether a bellicose(好斗的)dance judge or a bellicose former wife, Jane plans to keep on facing attacks on her. “Some people try to knock me down—only to make me more fierce，more protective，more determined to do better，”she says．“Go ahead, take me on. This will just make me stronger．”According to Jane in the first paragraph, the law
| A．can’t take her children away from her |
| B．can’t do anything with the case |
| C．will best settle the problem |
| D．will disturb her children |
What does “to do that” refer to in the second paragraph?
| A．To live with John． |
| B．To hire a house for John． |
| C．To allow John to see the children |
| D．To ask John to set up a regular life. |
What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph mean?
| A．Jane’s life is very difficult． |
| B．Jane continues to live as usual． |
| C．Jane almost can’t control her lire |
| D．Jane works very hard to live a happy life． |
Which word can best describe Jane?
| A．Proud． |
| B．Fierce． |
| C．Determined． |
| D．Independent |