On my eighth birthday, Dad bought me an accordion(手风琴） and said excitedly, "Once you learn to play, it’ll stay with you for life." But I didn’t want to play it. Ijust wanted to play games, But Dad asked me to take accordion lessons.
One day, I found a box in a corner. When I opened it, I saw a beautiful violin. "You’re your father’s," Mum said. "His parents bought it for him. I guess he got too busy on the farm to learn to play it."
I had to practice half an hour every day, and every day I tried to get out of it. But Dad didn’t allow. I asked why. He answered, "Because you can bring people joy. You can touch their hearts." He added softly, "Someday you’ll have the chance I never had: you’ll play beautiful music for your family. And you’ll understand why you’ve worked so hard." I was speechless.
The lessons stopped after I finished high school. When I grew up, I got married and moved into a new house. I put the accordion in the attic（阁楼）.
One afternoon, my two children found the accordion by accident (偶然). They got very excited. "Play it. Play it," they laughed and said. I started to play some simple songs. I was surprised I could still remember them. Soon the kids were dancing. Even my wife was laughing and clapping to the beat.
At that moment, my father’s words came back to me, "Someday you’ll have the chance I never had. And you’ll understand." I finally knew why Dad had asked me to practice hard. Dad never learnt to play his violin. But I told my family, "This is my father’s music."My father didn’t learn to play his violin when he was young because _______.
| A．he didn’t like to play the violin | B．he had to support his family |
| C．he wanted to play games | D．he didn’t keep on practicing |
How might the writer feel when he had to practice playing the accordion?
| A．Delighted. | B．Excited. | C．Bored. | D．Relaxed. |
"Dad didn’t allow" means "_______".
| A．Dad didn’t let me do it. | B．Dad didn’t stop me doing it. |
| C．Dad didn’t help me do it. | D．Dad didn’t see me do it. |
Dad asked me to learn to play the accordion so that _______.
| A．I could go to a better school | B．I could give myself much joy |
| C．I could be a useful man | D．I could make people happy |
Sports can help you keep fit and close to nature. However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should realize that sport you choose might have great influence on the environment.
Some sports are resource—hungry. Golf(高尔夫), as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also lots of water. Besides, huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses (球场) in good condition. This causes major environmental changes. For example, in the dry places of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for (为…承担责任) serious water shortage(短缺) in some local areas.
There are many environment—friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don’t need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes, and you don’t have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also help you stay healthy. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and keep thin.
Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment—friendly equipment and buying products(产品) made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be “green gyms.” They are better replacements(替代) for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms(体育，体育馆) play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership(会员身份). And best of all, it’s free. Which of following does the writer most probably support according to the passage?
| A．Bicycling around the lake. |
| B．Car racing on the road. |
| C．Playing basketball in a gym. |
| D．Swimming in a sports center. |
What does the phrase “resource—hungry” in this passage mean in Chinese?
| A．广为流行的 | B．亲近自然的 | C．低成本的 | D．耗费资源的 |
The writer uses power walking as an example mainly because________.
| A．it is an outdoor sport. |
| B．it is loved by many people. |
| C．it uses fewer recourses. |
| D．it is supported by experts. |
The writer writes the passage to __________.
| A．show us disadvantages of golf. |
| B．encourage us to take part in green sports. |
| C．explain the major sports influence of popular sports. |
| D．discuss different kinds of environment—friendly sport. |
Long, long ago a man went to India and he had never been there before. When he got there, he saw a lot of fruit, but much of it was expensive because they couldn’t grow much because there was little water. Finally he saw a big basket of some very red and long fruit. And it was the cheapest in the shop.
So he went up and asked, “How much each kilo?” and the shop keeper said, “Two rupees(卢比).”Two rupees in India was nothing. So he bought a whole kilogram of the fruit and started eating it. But after he ate some of it: oh, my god! His eyes watered, his mouth watered and burnt, and his face became red. He jumped up and down, saying, “Ah! Ah! Ah!”
But he still continued to eat the fruit! Some people who were looking at him shook their heads and said, “You’re crazy, man. Those are chilies(辣椒)!You can’t eat so many! People use them as a condiment, but only a little bit to put into food for taste. You can’t just eat them like that.” But the silly man said, “No, I can’t stop! I paid money for them, and now I’ll eat them up. It’s my money!”
And you think that man was silly, right? We sometimes do a lot of things like that. We spend money, time or effort doing something. And even though it’s been a long time, hard experience tells us it won’t work, and we know there’s no more hope, we still continue just because we’ve put money, time, effort and love in to it. Just like the man who ate the chilies and felt so bad but couldn’t stop because he didn’t want to waste the money he’d paid.
So even if you’ve lost something, let it go and move on. That’s better than continuing to lose.The man chose to buy the red and long fruit only because .
| A．he hadn’t eaten it before | B．he was hungry |
| C．it was cheap | D．he hadn’t seen it before |
The underlined word “condiment” in Paragraph3 probably means_______.
| A．零食 | B．水果 | C．调料 | D．蔬菜 |
Which of the following sentence is TRUE?
| A．The man went to India to buy fruit. |
| B．The man didn’t want to waste money. |
| C．The man bought the fruit because it was expensive. |
| D．India can grow a lot of fruit. |
From the passage, we can learn that_________.
| A．we shouldn’t waste money |
| B．we shouldn’t eat chilies |
| C．we shouldn’t buy something cheap |
| D．letting something go is better than keeping on losing |
Expressions cover all parts of our life. They may be around your ears every day. You may know a lot of Chinese expressions that describe how you feel. Here are some English ones for your enjoyment.
Have Your Heart in Your Mouth
This expression means that you’re really afraid or anxious about something. When your heart starts beating so much that you can feel a thumping(怦怦跳) in your throat, it may feel like you “have your heart in your mouth”.
Have Butterflies in the Stomach
How did butterflies get in your stomach? Well, those really aren’t butterflies in there. It is a way of describing those nervous feelings you might get before a test or a very important decision.
These stomach flutters(跳动) are normal and happen to many people. Some people believe having a few butterflies might even help you perform better.
Sick as a Dog
If you’ve ever been very sick, you may have used this expression. Because dogs eat just about anything they find, they often get sick. So it’s all right to describe someone who’s not feeling well as being “sick as a dog” .
Under the Weather
When it’s rainy all day outside, how would you feel? This expression comes from the idea that bad weather might hurt a person’s health and mood .Someone believes ________ if you ‘have butterflies in the stomach” before a test.
| A．You’re sure to fail | B．You will forget everything |
| C．You might do better | D．You are sure to do better |
When somebody says “ under the weather” , he must feel __________ .
| A．upset | B．happy | C．calm | D．afraid |
All expressions discussed in the passage are about _________
| A．health | B．habits | C．feelings | D．Weather |
A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin（顽童） 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 didn’t cost you nothing ? Boy, I wish…”He hesitated.(犹豫)
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, then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car?”
“Oh yes, I’d love that.”
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 neighbours 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 she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent（美分）. And some day I’m going to give you one just like it …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.
根据短文内容，选择正确案。The street urchin was very surprised when ________.
A. Paul received an expensive car
B. Paul told him about the car
C. he saw the shining car From the story we can see the urchin ______.
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’sThe urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ____________
A. to show his neighbours the big car
B. to show he had a rich friend
C. to tell his brother about his wishWe can infer（推断） from the story that______.
A. Paul couldn’t understand the urchin
B. the urchin had a deep love for his brother
C. the urchin wished to have a rich brotherThe best name of the story is ________
A. A Christmas Present
B. A Street Urchin
C. A Brother Like That
Once there were two brothers. They were very good to each other. They were half brothers because the elder brother’s mother was dead, and then his father married again. The stepmother （继母）was not kind to the elder brother, but the younger brother loved him and often helped him.
One day, the mother gave each of the brothers a box of seeds(种子) and enough food for a few days. She said to them, “Take them. Go and plant them. One of you must plant them on the east hill, and the other on the west hill. Don’t come back if the seeds don’t come out. ” The mother gave very bad seeds to the elder brother, but the two brothers didn’t know this, and set out the next morning.
When they came to a bridge, they sat down to rest. After that, they got up to say good-bye to each other, but they took the wrong boxes of seeds!
Ten days later, the elder brother’s seeds began to grow and he came back. But the younger brother did not return home because his seeds didn’t grow. At last, he died on the hill.
根据短文内容，选择正确案。One day, the mother gave two boxes of seeds _________
| A．only to the elder son | B．only to the younger son |
| C．to their father | D．to the two sons |
The mother asked the two brothers to _________.
| A．plant the seeds on the west hill | B．come back soon after they planted the seeds |
| C．plant the seeds on two hills | D．take the trees and plant them. |
In fact the mother wanted __________
| A．the two brothers to plant trees | B．the two brothers to work hard |
| C．the elder brother to die | D．the younger brother to die |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The mother was not kind to the elder brother |
| B．The younger brother loved the elder brother |
| C．The younger brother had two mothers |
| D．The elder brother had two mothers |
The story tells us that ________.
| A．one mustn’t do bad things | B．one mustn’t take the wrong box |
| C．one must help others | D．one must use good seeds |