In a recent class I was asked “What is a short story?” My first answer was that it was something that could be read in one sitting and brought an illumination（启示）to the reader, sudden and golden like sunlight cracking(破裂, 砸开) through a heavy cloud. I went on to say that in my opinion a “real” short story was closer to poetry than to a novel.
Here are some definitions of the short story. My favorite is Benet’s: “something that can be read in an hour and remembered for a lifetime”. One writer said, “The theme of a novel won’t fit into the framework of a short story; It’s like trying to squeeze a large painting done on a wall into the frame of a miniature （微型画）。 And as in a miniature painting, the details need to be sharp. ”
The short story is an example of one aspect of human nature. Often a character undergoes some event, something that offers him or her change. This is why it’s said that short stories usually “say something ”， often a small something, but sometimes delivered with such accuracy that the effect is strongly felt, even a life-moment for some readers, something similar to a religious experience or to witnessing a never-to-be-repeated scene in nature.
Ok, let’s form a definition here: A short story is an account, rarely over 10, 000 words or below 500 words-more commonly 1, 500 to 5, 000 words-a single-sitting read, but with enough time and weight to move the reader. It is narrow and focused to produce an effect through the story, most commonly through events affecting some change in an individual.
Writer Isabelle Allende once wrote: “Novels are, for me, adding up details, just work, work, work, then you’re done. Short stories are more difficult-they have to be perfect, complete in themselves. ”The writer of the passage is probably a ______.
| A．poet | B．painter | C．teacher | D．student |
What should the ideal short story be in length?
| A．at most 10, 000 words | B．below 500 words | C．over 5, 000words | D．around 2, 000 words |
The underlined word “undergoes ” in the third paragraph probably means “________ ”。
| A．experiences | B．discovers | C．discusses | D．appreciates |
What’s the difference between novels and short stories?
| A．Novels are too long for us to read. |
| B．Short stories are too short for us to read. |
| C．Short stories have more details than novels. |
| D．Short stories are more perfect and difficult than novels. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．How Do You Write a Short Story? | B．What Exactly Is a Short Story? |
| C．Is a Short Story Similar to Poetry? | D．Are Short Stories Perfect and Complete? |
Education is not an end, but a means to an end. In other words, we do not educate children only for the purpose of educating them. Our purpose is to fit them for life.
In some modern countries it has for some time been fashionable to think that by free education for all whether rich or poor, clever or stupid, one can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation. But we can already see that free education for all is not enough: we find in such countries a far larger number of people with university degrees; they refuse to do what they think “low” work; and in fact, work with hands is thought to be dirty and shameful. But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of a professor; we can live without education, but we die if we have no food. If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we would get terrible diseases in our towns.
In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life, it means that we are educated in such a way that, firstly, each of us can do whatever work suited to his brains and ability, and secondly, that we realize that all jobs are necessary to society, and that it is very bad to be ashamed of one’s work. Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society.The writer of this passage thinks that________.
| A．free education for all probably leads to a perfect world |
| B．free education can solve all of the world’s problems |
| C．free education won’t help to solve social problems |
| D．all the social problems can’t be solved by free education |
The writer wants to prove that ___________.
| A．a farmer is more important than a professor |
| B．our society needs all kinds of jobs |
| C．our society needs free education for all |
| D．people with university degrees earn more money |
According to the passage, ____________.
| A．work with hands is low work |
| B．work with hands is dirty and shameful |
| C．work with hands is the most important |
| D．we can’t regard work with hands as low work |
The purpose of education is ___________.
| A．to choose a system of education |
| B．to let everyone receive education |
| C．to prepare children for their future life |
| D．to prepare children for well-paid jobs |
Did you know that a turtle（乌龟）can lay 12 eggs in one minute? A large sea turtle lays around 150 eggs at a time. She lays all these eggs in just a few minutes..
Large sea turtles live in the warm seas of the world. Except for when they lay their eggs, they spend their whole lives in the water. When it is time to lay their eggs, the females swim to land..
They usually return to the place where they themselves were born. How they find their way back there is unknown. When they reach shore, the big, heavy turtles crawl slowly up to the high water mark. Using their flippers（脚蹼）, they pull themselves along the sand. They must struggle like mountain climbers. When they finally reach dry sand, they rest before beginning the difficult task of laying eggs.
The turtles lay the eggs in deep holes and cover them with warm sand. The sand protects the eggs from harm. Then the females leave them. After a few weeks, if you happened to be walking along the beach, you might see the sand begin to shake. You may see tiny black balls coming out of the sand. The tiny heads of baby turtles!The first sentence lets us know that this passage is about _____.
A. speed B. turtles C. time D oceans.Turtles bury their eggs to protect them from _____.
| A．deep water | B．heat |
| C．danger | D．bad weather |
We can conclude from this passage that _____.
| A．many turtles die while swimming to shore |
| B．female turtles protect their babies |
| C．once turtles land, they never return to the sea |
| D．the job of laying eggs takes great strength |
The writer compares turtles to climbers _____.
| A．because they lay their eggs in mountain areas |
| B．to give you a picture of how hard they work |
| C．to tell you that they like to climb |
| D．to show that mountain climbers are as slow as turtles |
B
| Populations and Land (1987) |
||||
| Area in |
Percent |
Population |
Percent |
|
| Square miles |
Cultivated |
In millions |
forested |
|
| United States |
3615104 |
20 |
243.8 |
28 |
| Canada |
3851792 |
5 |
25.9 |
33 |
| United Kingdom |
94525 |
29 |
56.8 |
9 |
| Australia |
2967896 |
6 |
16.2 |
14 |
| India |
1269340 |
51 |
800.3 |
21 |
| China |
3705390 |
11 |
1062.0 |
14 |
Which two countries are the closest to each other in area?
| A．The US and Canada | B．The US and China |
| C．China and Canada | D．India and China |
_____ has the highest population density(密度), and _____ has the second highest.
| A．China, India | B．India, China |
| C．India, the US | D．China, the US |
Which two countries have the closest percentage of cultivated land?
| A．The US and the United Kingdom. |
| B．The US and China |
| C．Australia and Canada． |
| D．Australia and China |
There are _____ countries whose cultivated land percentage is larger than the forest percentage.
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
Good afternoon，and welcome to England. We hope that your visit here will be a pleasant one. Today，I would like to draw your attention to a few of our laws.
The first one is about drinking. Now，you may not buy alcohol in this country. If you are under 18 years of age，nor may your friends buy it for you.
Secondly，noise. Enjoy yourselves by all means，but please don’t make unnecessary noise，particularly at night. We ask you to respect other people who may wish to be quiet.
Thirdly，crossing the road. Be careful！The traffic moves on the left side of the road in this country. Use pedestrian crossings and do not take any chances when crossing the road.
My next point is about litter (throwing away waste material in a public place)．It is an offence (违法行为) to drop litter in the street. When you have something to throw away，please put it in your pocket and take it home，or put it in a litter bin.
Finally，as regards something，it is against the law to buy cigarettes or tobacco if you are under 16 years of age.
I’d like to finish by saying that if you require any sort of help or assistance，you should contact your local police，who will be pleased to help you.
Now，are there any questions?The main purpose of this speech would be to________.
| A．prepare people for international travel |
| B．declare the laws of different kinds |
| C．give advice to travelers to the country |
| D．inform people of the punishment for breaking laws |
The underlined word “contact” in the 7th paragraph means________.
| A．keep in touch with | B．join |
| C．report | D．get in touch with |
From the speech we learn that________.
| A．In this country，if you are under 18 years of age，you may not buy alcohol，but your friend can buy it for you |
| B．you may not buy cigarettes or tobacco unless you are above 16 years of age |
| C．because the traffic moves on the left side of the road，you must use pedestrian crossings when crossing the road |
| D．you can’t make noise except at night |
Have you ever complained why life is so tiring? Does the sky sometimes seem dark to you? Are your studies sometimes not successful? Well, friends, cheer up and smile all the time. If you see the world with your warm heart, you’ll find that the whole world smiles to you.
While in school, sometimes you are tired of your lessons, but have you ever noticed the happy smile on your teacher’s face when you did a good job?
One day it is fine. Just before you go out, it suddenly starts to rain. Maybe you would feel very sad and start to complain about the weather. But dear friends, why don’t you sit down and listen to the free concerts that the nature offers you? And with the timely rain, crops in the fields will grow better and better and farmers will have a good harvest.
Although everyone wants to succeed in what he tries to do, sometimes failure can’t be avoided. I think failure is not terrible, and the terrible thing is that we are afraid of it and give up hope. When we face failure, we must be confident in ourselves, draw a useful lesson from it and try our best to finish what we have decided to do. As a popular saying goes, “Failure is the mother of success”.
Attitude decides everything. With an optimistic attitude life is easy and pleasant. Let’s smile to whatever we meet and the whole world will smile to us.People sometimes complain _________.
| A．the sky is always dark |
| B．their studies are successful |
| C．they see the world with their heart |
| D．life is tiring |
When we face failure, we ___________.
| A．must be confident in ourselves |
| B．shouldn’t be afraid of it |
| C．shouldn’t give up hope |
| D．All of the above |
The best title for the passage is_______.
| A．Smile and the World Smiles to You |
| B．Complaining about Life |
| C．Failure is the Mother of Success |
| D．It is Very Hard to Succeed |