The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard-working was he that at times he would make the sparks(火星) fly from his hammer.
The son of Mr.Smith, a rich neighbour, used to come to see the blacksmith every day and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself watching how the tradesman worked.
“ Young man, why don’t you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks (钉) , even if it is only to pass the time ? ” said the blacksmith. “ Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you .”
The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.
Old Mr. Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to live in another country. It so happened that in this village there were many shoemakers who were spending a lot of money buying tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers’ shoes.
Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in the workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.
“ How funny it seems, ” he used to say, “ even making tacks can make money. My trade is more useful to me than all my former riches.”The young man learnt to make shoe tacks because ___________.
| A．his father told him to | B．he wanted to learn a skill |
| C．Jones encouraged him to | D．he just wanted to pass his time |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage ?
| A．Old Mr. Smith enjoyed making the shoe tacks. |
| B．The blacksmith had predicted the young man would be in need of the skill. |
| C．The higher prices they paid, the more tacks the shoemakers would get. |
| D．The young man earned his living by his skills learnt when he was young. |
What can we learn from the story ?
| A．Practice makes perfect. |
| B．Skill makes life easy. |
| C．A good beginning makes good ending. |
| D．Every man has his gift. |
The 92-year-old, thin, calm and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, even though she is nearly blind, moved to a nursing home today.
Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the hall of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.
As she walked slowly to lift, I provided a true description of her tiny room, including the old sheets(床单) that had been hung on her window. “I love it.” She said with the happiness.
“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room…. Just wait..” “That doesn’t matter.” She replied. “ Happiness is something you decide ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged. It is how I arrange my mind, I have already decided to lobe it. It is a decision I make every morning when I wake up. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I will focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away.” She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account(帐户). You put what you have in. So, my advice to you would be to put in a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories. Thank you for your part in filling my memory bank.” And with a smile, she said, “All my memories are happy ones.”
Mr. Jones was always happy in the nursing home and she died at the age of 108. We can infer from the passage that the writer_____________.
| A．is one of Mrs. Jones children |
| B．is a relative of Mrs. Jones |
| C．works in the nursing home |
| D．is the owner of the nursing house |
The room in which the old lady will live ____________.
| A．isn’t in good condition |
| B．is fairly big |
| C．is very comfortable |
| D．is equipped with new furniture |
Which of the following words can best describe Mrs. Jones?
| A．Proud | B．Pleasant |
| C．Loyal | D．Honest |
The author intends to tell us_________________.
| A．why the lonely woman was happy |
| B．what a nursing home was alike |
| C．how to live a long life |
| D．how to lead a happy life |
Matt grows the best vegetables in the village. He grows fruit too – big, sweet apples and oranges. And what else? Well, the biggest and the prettiest flowers.
Things grow in Matt’s garden all through the year. He cuts some flowers for his sitting room table; and of course , he eats some fruit and vegetables. But he sells everything else in the market. Matt is not a poor man.
He knows a few other gardens; but he does not have any friends. You might ask, “What is that?” Why doesn’t he have friends. I will tell you. People do not understand him. And they do not understand his garden. “Why not?” You will ask. “It is a very good garden, isn’t it?” It is a wonderful garden. Matt plants things in spring, summer, autumn and winter. After that he does very little work. He sits in the garden with his small radio. And everything grows.
People ask, “How does Matt grow these wonderful things? He waters the plants sometimes, but he doesn’t do anything else. He just sits under an orange tree with his radio. He listens to music nearly all day!” and that is all quite true. People cannot understand it, and so they don’t like it very much.
Matt likes music. But what about the garden? Who does the work? I will tell you another true thing: the music does the work. All plants love music; and Matt knows that.
Do you want big vegetables and the loveliest flowers? Well, just give your plants a lot of music.There are not only vegetables and flowers, but also ________ in Matt’s garden.
| A．plants | B．fruit trees | C．ants | D．crops |
Matt makes a living by ___________
| A．selling his vegetables, fruit and flowers | B．growing trees in his garden |
| C．working in the market | D．helping other people growing plants |
Everything in Matt’s garden grows well because ______
| A．he has a good garden |
| B．he is good at growing things and likes listening to the radio |
| C．music helps his plants a lot |
| D．he is very hardworking |
People don’t like Matt because ____________
| A．he doesn’t give them any vegetables or fruit | B．he listens to the radio too much |
| C．they don’t understand him | D．Matt doesn’t let them listen to his radio |
If we observe carefully, we van find that most of the flowers in nature are red, orange and yellow. If we have seen a black flower, it’s a chance in million. People have made a census(普查)to colours of more than four thousand kinds of flowers and discovered that only eight of them are black. Why?
As we know, sunlight is formed by seven different kinds of coloured light. The wave length of each light changes, so the quantity of heat in each light changes, too. Flowers, especially their petals(花瓣), are very delicate(纤弱) and prone(易于) to the harm caused by high temperature. Black flowers can take in all the light waves, which cause the flowers to dry up in a high temperature. So black flowers can rarely survive sunlight. But red flowers, orange flowers and yellow flowers can protect themselves from sunlight by reflecting the red light, orange light and yellow light, each of which has a large quantity of heat.
That is why red, orange and yellow flowers are very common in nature while black flowers are so rare. We can hardly find black flowers because _____.
| A．they are so weak that it’s difficult for them to grow up |
| B．there are no black flowers in the world. |
| C．the petals of black flowers are very delicate |
| D．they can take in the light of all wave lengths, which make the flowers dry up |
Sunlight is formed by _____.
| A．many different kinds of coloured light |
| B．three different kinds of coloured light—red, orange and yellow |
| C．seven different kinds of coloured light |
| D．four thousand kinds of coloured light |
The red, orange or yellow light contains _____.
| A．less heat than the other lights | B．more heat than the other lights |
| C．a great deal of heat | D．a little heat |
“It is a chance in a million” means_____________
| A．it is common | B．it is extremely rare | C．it’s lucky | D．it’s impossible |
Winter-swimming has become popular in Beijing . Three years ago, few people would go swimming in the icy waters. But now there is a Winter-swimming Enthusiasts Club(冬泳爱好者协会) and it has more than 2,000 members. The oldest is 84 and the youngest is only 7. The members are from all walks of life. They may be workers, peasants, soldiers, teachers, students.
Though it is now the coldest part of the season and the water temperature in the city’s lakes is around 0℃, many winter-swimmers still swim in the icy waters, even when it is snowing. They enjoy themselves in the lake, while the people by the side of the lake are wearing heavy clothes.
Why are so many people interested in winter-swimming? Because winter-swimming can be good for one’s health.
Bei Sha is a good example. He is 69, and he once suffered from heart trouble for 26 years. After ten years of winter-swimming he is now in good health. Scientists are now studying the effects of winter-swimming on health.Among the winter- swimmers the oldest man is ________ years older than the youngest
| A．91 | B．84 | C．77 | D．7 |
Guess what “The members are from all walks of life” mean?
| A．The members do different jobs at different places |
| B．They come from all parts of Beijing. |
| C．They are persons of different ages. |
| D．They are man and woman, old and young. |
Winter-swimming has become popular in Beijing because_________________.
| A．more and more people like to swimming in Beijing |
| B．it is more interesting than swimming in summer |
| C．winter-swimmers are brave men |
| D．winter-swimming does a lot of good to one’s health |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．People Like Swimming in Winter |
| B．Winter-swimming- a Craze(狂热) in Beijing |
| C．People Benefit from Winter- swimming |
| D．Winter-swimmers are Brave Men |
阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Education for Japanese children is free for the first nine years and all children must go to school for six years of primary schooling and three years of secondary schooling. In the primary and secondary school, about 99.9% of school-age children are present. School usually begins at 8 o’clock in the morning and ends at 3 o’clock in the afternoon on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays. The school year begins in April and ends in March. There is a summer holiday in August and a winter holiday during the New Year season.
After nine years of schooling, students can enter the three-year high school by passing an examination and by paying a small charge each year. After high school, students can go on to study at different kinds of colleges, usually for four years. There are also two-year junior colleges. The passage mainly discusses _____________.
| A．colleges in Japan | B．free education in Japan |
| C．education in Japan | D．school time in Japan |
If you want to go to high school in Japan, you must ______________________.
| A．pay a small amount of money |
| B．study at primary and secondary school for 9 years |
| C．take part in the exam and pay a little money |
| D．pass the exam and pay a little money |
What is not mentioned in the passage?
| A．Types of colleges. | B．Times for schooling |
| C．The teaching staff(教职员工) | D．The number of children attending schools |
How many days do the Japanese students have to go to school every week?
| A．Two days | B．Four and a half days | C．Five days | D．Five and a half days |