Train-spotting
Many people around the world have seen Danny Boyle’s movie Train spotting starring Ewan McGregor, but how many of us really know what train-spotting is all about? Now this is not considered cool in town and the word “train-spotter” in Britain is related to “geek” or “nerd” (someone who seems very ridiculous). But is this reputation really deserved?
First of all, let’s see what train-spotting is. It is said that there are some 100,000 train spotters in the UK. Exactly as the title suggests, they spot trains, that is, they stand in train stations, look at the number of each train that leaves and arrives and write it down. The eventual aim is to have seen every train in the country.
Being crazy about railways and trains is not modern and it dates back to 1804. As the number of trains grew and they got faster and faster, so did the interest in them grow? Is this any stranger than people who love cars?
So, what do you need to be a train-spotter? Well, all you really need is a pen or pencil and a notebook to write down the train numbers. Other equipment(装备) includes hot tea in a thermos, a camera and some sandwiches for those long afternoons spent on train platforms when you don’t want to risk the delights of railway station food.
It’s interesting to note that despite the “bad name” of train-spotting, there have been famous railway lovers in history, such as Alfred Hitchcock, who filmed them regularly, especially The 39 Steps. There is evidence, too, that being a train-spotter is not necessarily a strange phenomenon（现象）in Britain.
One glance at the US train stations should be enough to convince you that train-spotters there are alive and well. In America, they try to call rail lovers “train-fans” and talk of “train-fanning”. Don’t let this fool you—these people are train spotters and there are a lot of them. Each month, two million pages are visited on the website TrainWeb.org.
340wordsWhat is train-spotting according to the passage?
| A．A kind of hobby. | B．A type of sport. |
| C．A strange phenomenon. | D．A special job. |
Which of the following about train-spotters is true according to the passage?
| A．They number each train they see. |
| B．They keep a careful path of every train. |
| C．They count the trains passing in front of them. |
| D．They produce films about trains with video cameras. |
The writer writes the passage to .
| A．introduce some famous train-spotters |
| B．encourage readers to do more train-spotting |
| C．try to present a true picture of train-spotting |
| D．describe the necessary equipment in train-spotting |
What do we learn from the passage?
| A．Train-spotters in the UK want to fool people. |
| B．Train-spotting is more acceptable in America. |
| C．Train-spotters are much stranger than car lovers. |
| D．Train-spotting relates to（与…有关）a dangerous lifestyle. |
Barbara was driving her six-year-old son, Benjamin, to his piano lesson. They were late. There was always so much to do, and Barbara, a night-duty nurse at the local hospital, had recently worked extra hours. She was tired.
“Mom!” Ben cried. “Look!” Just ahead, a car had lost control (控制) on the icy road and wildly rolled over, and then crashed (撞) into a telephone pole. Barbara went over. Thank goodness she was a nurse — she might be able to help these unfortunate passengers. Then she stopped. What about Ben? She couldn’t take him with her. Little boys shouldn’t see scenes (场面) like this one. But was it safe to leave him alone?
For a little moment Barbara thought of going on her way. Someone else was sure to come along. No! “Ben, honey, promise me you’ll stay in the car!” “I will, Mommy,” he said as she ran.
Two girls of high school age were in the car. One was dead and the driver was still breathing. But if help came soon, the girl would live.
A trucker had pulled up and was calling for help on his cell phone. Soon Barbara heard the ambulance sirens (救护车汽笛).
Later, Barbara was able to meet the families of the victims (受害人). They expressed their gratitude (感谢) for the help she had provided.What did Barbara do? _________
| A．A doctor. | B．A nurse. |
| C．A piano teacher. | D．A bus driver. |
What was the weather probably like that day? _________
| A．Rainy. | B．Sunny. |
| C．Snowy. | D．Windy. |
How many people were killed in the car accident? _________
| A．Two. | B．One. |
| C．Three. | D．Four. |
What’s the best title of the passage? _________
| A．An unforgettable experience. |
| B．Be careful when you drive. |
| C．Young girls shouldn’t drive alone. |
| D．Little children should help others. |
It’s three thirty in the afternoon at Raynham Primary School in London. Students are ready for their after-school math lesson. Thousands of kilometers away, their math tutors are also arriving for class. Each pupil gets an online tutor. The students work on their computer screen and wear a headset (耳机) to talk to their tutor.
Their classroom teacher, Altus, says he has seen an improvement in results. Nine-year-old Samia says she enjoys the online lessons. She said, “It helps me because sometimes when we’re doing it in class, I don’t hear the teacher very much and I don’t understand, but online is better.”
Tom Hooper started the company. It provides the online tutoring. The company is called Bright Spark Education.
Children today feel very confident(有信心的)online, so they enjoy their learning. Online tutoring costs between twenty and twenty-five dollars an hour. An online tutor is about half the cost of traditional face-to-face tutoring.
Bright Spark Education says the online tutoring is used only as an addition to the regular teaching. The company says its service doesn’t threat the teachers’ jobs in Britain.
Some parents say they are pleased with the results. But some students still hate math. Even with the latest technology(技术) to teach it, math is still not everyone’s favorite subject.Why does Samia like to learn online? _________
| A．Because the tutor is only for her. |
| B．Because she likes playing on the screen. |
| C．Because it’s cool. |
| D．Because she can hear the tutor clearly. |
How much do you have to pay for learning for two hours online at least? ________
| A．50 dollars. | B．25 dollars. |
| C．20 dollars. | D．40 dollars |
What does the underlined word “threat” mean? _________
| A．促进 | B．威胁 | C．经营 | D．开发 |
What’s the main idea of the text? _________
| A．Each pupil gets an online tutor. |
| B．Children feel very confident online. |
| C．Students in London learn math online. |
| D．Math is not everyone’s favorite subject. |
Expert(专家) say that students usually need eight to ten hours’ sleep at night, but most Chinese students do not get enough sleep. Some Chinese parents are usually glad to see their children studying late. They will think their children work very hard, but not all parents are happy about this. Once a mother told us that every morning her 10-year-old boy put up one finger (手指)with his eyes still closed, asking for one more minute to sleep. Like thousands of students “ early birds” in China, he has to get up before six every morning.
A report shows that without a good night’s sleep, students seem to be weaker than they should be. Many students have fallen asleep during class at one time or another. Too much homework is not the only reason why students stay up late. Some watch TV or play the computer games late into the night.
Experts have ever said that the students should develop good study habits. So some clever students never study late, they are able to work well in class.The 10-year-old boy asked for more minute to sleep because__________
| A．he didn’t have enough sleep |
| B．it wasn’t time for him to get up |
| C．he didn’t want to go to school |
| D．he wanted his mother to wake him up |
In this passage we know if students don’t get enough sleep, they may________
| A．become too weak to sleep | B．not work well in class |
| C．go to bed early | D．be weak in English |
In this passage “early birds” means “persons who __________”
| A．get up early | B．get up late |
| C．sleep less | D．don’t want to sleep |
According to the passage, which of the following is right?_________
| A．If you want to study better, you must work hard at night. |
| B．Sleeping less means working hard. |
| C．Some clever students are able to work well in class because they have good study habits. |
| D．Students don’t have enough sleep because they have lots of homework to do. |
Mr Smith works in an office. He’s very busy and has no time to have a good rest. Every evening, when he comes back from his office, he’s always tired and wants to go to bed early. But his wife often tells him many interesting things after supper. It’s usually too late and Mr Smith has to get up in the morning when she is asleep.
One day the man felt terrible and couldn’t go to work. Mrs Smith went to hospital with him. Before her husband said what was wrong with him, the woman had told the doctor everything and the doctor understood why. He wrote out a prescription (药方). And when Mrs Smith brought the medicine back, the doctor said to her, “This is for your husband and the pills are for you.”
“For me?” the woman said in surprise. “I’m fine. I don’t need any medicine!”
“I don’t think so,” said the doctor. “They are sleeping pills. Your husband will soon be all right if you take them.”Why does Mr Smith have to get up in the morning when his wife is asleep?
| A．Because he must make breakfast for his wife. |
| B．Because he has to go to work. |
| C．Because he doesn’t want to sleep. |
| D．Because his wife asks him to get up. |
We can learn from the passage that Mr Smith will soon be all right if ______.
| A．he often goes to see the doctor |
| B．Mr Smith takes the pills |
| C．they don’t argue with each other |
| D．Mrs Smith stops talking too much in the evening |
Which is NOT talked about in this passage?
| A．Mr. Smith is very busy and tired. |
| B．Mr. Smith felt something wrong with himself. |
| C．Mrs. Smith felt something wrong with herself. |
| D．The Smiths went to see the doctor and talked a lot to him. |
When you wake up every day, once again to see this beautiful world, when your parents, teachers and friends give you help, will you know how to be （71）grateful? And when you feel unlucky and make mistakes, will you still be thankful?
Yu Dan, a professor at the Beijing Normal University, made a report about Gratitude Education（感恩教育）．It will affect Chinese people, especially the teenagers．
Nowadays, some teenagers only care about things outside．They often behave badly．For example, they fight each other, use phones in class, be rude to their parents and teachers and so on．Most of them don’t know love, respect and gratefulness．
Being grateful or thankful is very important．（73） It is impossible for anyone to be lucky and successful all the time as long as he lives in the world．We should learn how to face failure or bad luck bravely and to try to deal with it．As we know, “Life is a mirror．When you smile in front of it, it will also smile and so will it when you cry to it．” If you are grateful to life, it will bring you shining sunlight．If you always complain about everything, you may own nothing in the end．
I think the teenagers should be grateful to life even when we are unsuccessful or unlucky．We have many reasons for being grateful．For example, being grateful is a way to communicate with adults．And it is a way to sing for our life which comes just from our love and hope．
If each of us has an attitude of being grateful, we’ll lead a better and more beautiful life．So remember, being grateful forever．
在文中找出 “grateful” 的同义词。
__________________________________________________________How do some teenagers behave badly according to the passage?
__________________________________________________________请把 （73） 处画线的句子翻译成汉语。
__________________________________________________________List two reasons for being grateful when teenagers are unsuccessful or unlucky．
__________________________________________________________Give a title （标题） to the passage．
__________________________________________________________