Ole Bull was a very famous violinist from Norway. He really liked to play the violin. But his father thought that playing the violin was not useful. So his father sent him to university to study. However, playing the violin was his dream. He didn’t want to give up his dream. So he left university before he finished his studies and spent all his time and energy practicing the violin. Unfortunately, his violin teacher was not very good. So when it was time for him to start his concert tour, he still couldn’t play the violin very well.
Therefore, a Milan newspaper critic1 criticized him and said that he was an untrained violinist. The critic said, “If he is gold, he is not ready to shine2 yet.”
When facing this kind of problem, some people may become very angry and some people try to learn from it. Fortunately, Ole Bull belonged to the second group. He went to the newspaper office and found the critic. Instead of being angry, he talked about his mistakes with the man and listened to the man’s advice.
After he met the critic, he gave up the rest of his concerts. Then he went back to practice the violin with the help of good teachers. In the end, he got great success when he was only 26. He also became one of the most famous violinists in the world.Why didn’t Ole Bull’s father like him to play the piano?
| A．Because he thought playing the violin was useless. |
| B．Because his father thought playing the violin would cost lots of money. |
| C．Because his father thought he couldn’t play the violin well. |
| D．Because his father thought he couldn’t make his dream come true. |
What does the underlined part "If he is gold, he is not ready to shine yet." mean?
| A．Gold always shines no matter where it is. |
| B．He is an excellent violinist. |
| C．He doesn’t play the violin very well. |
| D．If he sells gold, he will make a lot of money. |
What was Ole Bull’s attitude towards the critic’s article?
| A．Angry. | B．Excited. | C．Modest. | D．Worried. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Without a good teacher, one can’t succeed. |
| B．The critic’s advice helped Ole Bull a lot. |
| C．Ole Bull got success after many years’ hard practice at last. |
| D．The critic helped Ole Bull find a famous teacher. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Becoming a violinist can make a lot of money. |
| B．When we meet problems, we should learn to face them. |
| C．Old Bull was a famous American pianist. |
| D．You can be famous easily if you play the violin. |
I came to study in the United States a year ago .Yet I did not know the real American society until I was hurt in a car accident because after the accident I had to see a doctor and go to court（法院）.
After the accident , my roommate called a doctor for me. I was very grateful and decided to repay him one day. But the next day, he asked me to pay him $200 for what he had done. I was amazed. He had good reason to charge me, he said. And if I wanted to collect money from the person who was responsible for my accident, I’d have to have a good lawyer. And only a good doctor can help me get a good lawyer .Now that he had helped me find a good doctor, it was only fair that I should pay him.
But every day I went to see the doctor, I had to wait about 50 minutes. He would see two or three patients at the same time, and often stop treating one so as to see another. Yet he charged me $115 each time .The final examination report consisted of ten lines, and it cost me $215.
My lawyer was all smiles the first time we met. But after that he avoided seeing me at all. He knew very well the other party was responsible for the accident, yet he hardly did anything. He simply waited to collect his money. He was so irresponsible that I decided to refuse his help. And he made me pay him $770.
Now I had to act as my own lawyer. Due to my inexperience（缺少经验）, I told the insurance（保险） company the date I was leaving America. Knowing that, they played for time and I left without getting a cent.The author’s roommate offered to help him because________.
| A．he felt sorry for the author |
| B．he thought it was a chance to make some money |
| C．he knew the doctor was a very good one |
| D．he wanted the author to have a good lawyer |
The word“charge”in the third paragraph means_________ .
| A．ask for a price | B．stop paying | C．pay instead of | D．give some help to |
A good lawyer is important for the writer to _________________.
| A．be well treated by the doctor |
| B．talk with the person responsible for the accident |
| C．get what he should for his injury |
| D．get well before he leaves that country. |
Both the doctor and the lawyer in this passage are very__________.
| A．friendly | B．selfish(自私的) | C．professional | D．busy |
We have two daughters: Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four．Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner．I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang．Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests’ coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom．
The guests arrived．I introduced my two daughters to each of them．The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids．
Each of the guests paid too much attention to Kelly, the younger one, admiring her dress, her hair and her smile．They said she was a remarkable girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age．
I thought to myself that we adults usually make a big “to do” over the younger one because she’s the one who seems more easily hurt．We do it with the best of intention（意图）．
But we seldom think of how it might affect the other child．I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was being outshined （使逊色）．I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes．I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying．
I said, “What are you doing, my dear?”
She turned to me with a sad expression and said, “Mommy, why don’t people like me the way they like my sister? Is it because I’m not pretty? Is that why they don’t say nice things about me as much?”
I tried to explain to her, kissing and held her in arms to make her feel better．
Now, whenever I visit a friend’s home, I make it a point(特意做某事) to speak to the elder child first．The guests praised Kelly for carrying coats upstairs because of her ____．
| A．young age | B．lovely smile |
| C．pretty clothes | D．beautiful hair |
Kristen felt sad and cried because ____．
| A．the guest gave her more coats to carry |
| B．the guests praised her sister more than her |
| C．her mother didn’t introduce her to the guests |
| D．she didn’t look as pretty as Kelly |
From this experience ,the writer changed the way of ____．
| A．dressing her daughters | B．visiting friends |
| C．greeting the elder child | D．kissing. |
A PLANE crashed (坠机) in Libya on May 12, killing 103 people on board. The only survivor is a 10-year-old Dutch boy.
This is not the only example of a crash in which everyone but a child died. A 12-year-old girl was the only person to survive a 2009 air crash in the Indian Ocean. When a plane crashed over Sudan in 2003, only a 3-year-old boy survived.
It's a question that leaves safety experts puzzled. So farthere is not enoughhard evidence forthem to answer withany certainty.
Although unclear, there arereasons to suggestthat children maycope (应对) better than others.
Professor Ed Galea at the University of Greenwich, suggested children would be cocooned(被紧紧抱住) within their seat and therefore might be less probably to receive injuries.
"With an adult with their head above the seat and legs on the floor, they will receive some kind of injury landing on your head and legs," he told the BBC.
"It would be miraculous (奇迹的) to survive that, but there have been cases(情况) of people falling into trees. A smaller body would mean it's more possible the tree would break your fall," he explained.
Studies found other factors (因素), besides luck, influence the chances of surviving a crash.
One is seating. A study of plane crashed conducted by Poplar Mechanics found that people sitting toward the back of the plane were more probably to survive than those sitting toward the front. A survey conducted by researchers at the University of Greenwich in the UK found that what matters most is how close you are to an exit(出口). Sit in five rows(排) of an exit, and you've got better-than-even chances of surviving. Sit in six rows or more away, and your chances are less than 50-50.
Other factors for surviving a plane crash include wearing a seat belt, paying attention to flight instructions and staying alert(警觉) during taking off and landing. And of course, don't fly with airlines that are the most pobably to crash. 根据短文内容完成句子 (每空限填一个单词)
From Paragraph 1 we know only a 10-year-old Dutch boy _________ __________.根据短文内容完成句子 (每空限填一个单词)
From Paragraphs 1-2 we may ask if _________ are more possible to survive plane crashes than __________.根据短文内容完成句子 (每空限填一个单词)
According to paragraph 9, Sit six rows or more away, and you’ve got __________ _________of surviving.把短文中画底线的句子译成汉语。
____________________________________________________________________根据短文内容用一个完整的英语句子（限10个词以内）回答问题。
What’s the main idea of the passage?
____________________________________________________________________
My name is Wang Kun. Ever since middle school, my sister Wang Wei and I have dreamed about taking a great bike trip. Two years ago she bought an expensive mountain bike and then she persuaded me to buy one. Last year, she visited our cousins, Dao Wei and Yu Hang at their college in Kunming. They are Dai(傣族人) and grew up in western Yunnan Province near the Lancang River, the Chinese part of the river that is called the Mekong River in other countries. Wang Wei soon got them interested in bike riding too. After graduating from college, we finally got the chance to take a bike trip. I asked my sister, "Where are we going?" It was my sister who first had the idea to ride along the whole Mekong River from where it begins to where it ends. Now she is planning our schedule for the trip. 
My sister has one serious shortcoming(缺点). She can be really stubborn(固执的). Although she didn't know the best way of getting to places, she insisted(坚持) that she organize the trip properly. Now, I know that the proper way is always her way. I kept asking her, "When are we leaving and when are we coming back?" I asked her whether she had looked at a map yet. Of course, she hadn't; my sister doesn't care about details(细节). So I told her that the source (源头)of the Mekong River is in Qinghai Province. She gave me a determined look—the kind that said she would not change her mind. When I told her that our journey would begin at an altitude of more than 5,000 metres, she seemed to be excited about it. When I told her the air would be hard to breathe(呼吸) and it would be very cold, she said it would be an interesting experience. I know my sister well. Once she has made up her mind, nothing can change it. Finally, I had to give in.
Several months before our trip, Wang Wei and I went to the library. We found a large atlas with good maps that showed details of world geography. From it we could see that the Mekong River begins in a glacier on a mountain in Qinghai Province. At first the river is small and the water is clear and cold. Then it begins to move quickly. It becomes rapids as it passes through deep valleys, travelling across western Yunnan Province. Sometimes the river becomes a waterfall. We were both surprised to learn that half of the river is in China. After it leaves China, the Mekong becomes wide, brown and warm. As it enters Southeast Asia, its pace slows. At last, the river delta enters the South China Sea.Who planned the trip to the Mekong River?
| A．Wang Kun | B．Wang Wei | C．Dao Wei | D．Yu Hang |
The Mekong River begins from________.
| A．Kunming | B．western Yunnan Province | C．Qinghai Province | D．the South China Sea |
According to the passage, which of the following can you see when you travel along the Mekong River ?
| A．An island. | B．Taiwan. | C．Some lions. | D．A waterfall. |
Which of the following is NOT TURE according to the passage?
| A．Wang Kun and Wang Wei dreamed about taking a bike trip and finally they got the chance. |
| B．Wang Kun thought that it would be easy to start their trip in Qinghai. |
| C．Wang Kun had to stop arguing with Wang Wei and accept her idea finally. |
| D．Wang Kun and Wang Wei didn’t know that half of the river is in China before they went to the library. |
What do you think is the best title of the passage ?
| A．The Dream And The Plan | B．A Trip In The Mountain |
| C．The Mekong River | D．A Great Bike Trip |
When my family moved to America from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect (尊敬) elders(长辈). Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.
I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple（夫妻）, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect older people. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long talk about how sensitive(敏感) Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and said “sorry” to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.
In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.
However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem because “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect older people, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn’t want to hear.
After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don’t respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don’t show my feelings through words.
By JackJack brought the couple their food very fast because______.
| A．the manager asked him to do so |
| B．he respected the elderly |
| C．the couple wanted him to do so |
| D．he wanted more pay |
When Jack called the couple “older people”, they became ______.
| A．nervous | B．afraid | C．unhappy | D．excited |
After this experience, Jack ______.
| A．lost his job in the restaurant |
| B．made friends with the couple |
| C．no longer respected older people |
| D．changed his way with older people |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The more Jack explained, the angrier the couple got. |
| B．Jack wanted to show his feelings through words after his experience. |
| C．The manager went back to the table and said “sorry” to the couple. |
| D．From this experience, Jack learned more about American culture. |
Which is the best title for this passage?
| A．Different Countries, Different Customs |
| B．Old people, Old Customs |
| C．Different Restaurants, Different Services |
| D．Differences between Old and Young |