I walked alongside my father, clutching his right hand．All my clothes were new: the black shoes, the green school uniform, and the red cap．They did not make me happy, however, as tins was the day I was to be thrown into school for the first time．I tried in vain lo convince him that I did nothing wrong all the way, but it didn’t help．
When we．arrived at the sate we could see the courtyard, vast and full of boys and girls．I hesitated and clung to his hand, but he gently pushed me from him．"Be a man, "he said．"today you truly begin your life．You will find me waiting for you when it’s time to leave．"
I took a few steps．Then the faces of the boys and girls came into view．I did not know a single one of them, and none of them knew me．I felt I was a stranger who had lost his way．But then some boys began to glance at me in curiosity, and one of them came over and asked, " Who brought you? "
"My father," I whispered．
’’My father’s dead, " he said simply．
I did not know what to say．The gate was now closed．Some of the children burst into tears．The bell rang．A lady came along, followed by a group of men．The men began soiling us into ranks．We were formed into an intricate pattern in the great courtyard surrounded by high buildings．
Well, it seemed that my misgivings had had no basis．From the first moments I made many friends and fell in love with many girls．I had never imagined school would have this rich variety of experiences．
We played all sorts, of games．In the music room we sang our first songs．We also had our first introduction to language．We saw a globe of Earth, which revolved and showed the various continents and countries．We started lean-line numbers, and we were told the story of the Creator of the universe．We ate delicious food, took a little nap, and woke up to go on with friendship and love, playing and learning．
Our path, however, was not totally sweet and unclouded．We had to be observant and patient．It was not all a matter of playing and fooling around． Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred or give rise to fighting．And while the lady would sometimes smile, she would often yell and scold．Even more frequently
she would resort to physical punishment．
The bell rang, announcing the passing of the day and the end of work．The children rushed toward the gate, which was opened again．I said goodbye to friends and sweethearts and passed through the gate．I looked around but found no trace of my father, who had promised to be there．I stepped aside to wait.The writer hesitated and clung to his father’s hand when they got to the school gate because ____．
| A．he loved his father and didn’t want to leave his father |
| B．he had thought attending school meant being punished |
| C．he was afraid of the punishment given by teachers |
| D．he did not want to leave his mother and his rather alone at home |
What happened to him first during his first day at school?
| A．He was moved to tears by a sad story told by a girl． |
| B．He together without other students was grouped． |
| C．He learnt music and other courses and had a good time． |
| D．He got punished by die woman teacher because of his impatience． |
Which of the following subjects did he not probably have?
| A．Cooking． | B．Math． | C．Music． | D．Geography． |
From the last but one paragraph we can learn that ______.
| A．they got on well with one another all the time |
| B．they had a good time at school without being scolded |
| C．their teacher was more kind to them than strict with them |
| D．more often than not they experienced physical punishment |
The writer stepped aside after he got out of the school gate because .
| A．he was polite to let other students go before him |
| B．he left something behind in his classroom |
| C．he wanted to say goodbye to his teacher |
| D．his father has promised to wait for him |
When you practice reading with passages shorter than book length, do not try to take in each word separately, one after the other. It is much more difficult to grasp the broad theme of the passage this way, and you will also get the stuck on individual words which may not be absolutely essential to a general understanding of the passage. It is a good idea to skim through the passage very quickly first to get the general idea of each paragraph. Titles, paragraph headings and emphasized words can be a great help in getting this skeleton outline of the passage. It is surprising how many people do not read titles, introductions or paragraph headings. Can you, without looking back, remember the title of this passage and the heading of this paragraph?
Most paragraphs of a passage or chapter have a 'topic sentence' which expresses the central idea. The remaining sentences expand or support that idea. It has been estimated that between 50% and 90% of all expositive（说明的）paragraphs in English have the topic sentence first. Always pay special attention to the first sentence of a paragraph, it is most likely to give you the main idea.
Sometimes, though, the first sentence in the paragraph does not have the feel of 'main idea' sentence. It does not seem to give us enough new information to justify a paragraph. The next most likely place to look for the topic sentence is the last sentence of the paragraph.
Remember that the opening and closing paragraphs of a passage or chapter are particularly important. The opening paragraph suggests the general direction and content of the piece, while the closing paragraph often summarizes the very essence（精髓）.It is a good idea to skim through a passage quickly first ____________.
| A．at about 315 w.p.m.（words per minute） |
| B．to get the general idea of each paragraph |
| C．so that you can take in each work separately |
| D．to make sure you get to the end at least once |
The topic sentence of an expository paragraph in English _____________.
| A．usually comes in the middle |
| B．is most likely to be found at the end |
| C．is most often at the beginning |
| D．is usually left out in expository writing |
Most expository paragraphs in English have a clearly defined topic sentence. In such paragraphs the topic sentence comes first ________.
A. in about 5% of cases B in about 80% of cases
C. in about 20% cases D. very rarelySometimes we know the first sentence is not the topic sentence because ____________.
| A．it does not seem to give us enough new information |
| B．it is not long enough |
| C．it does not come at the beginning |
| D．it does not make a complete sentence |
The closing paragraph of a piece of writing ____________.
| A．is not really very important |
| B．is often unnecessary repetition |
| C．often comes at the end |
| D．often summarizes the essence of the passage |
Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self- respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized as "honor" help you create this life of good feelings.
Here's an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.
Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk's mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.
Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?
In the first case, where we don't tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot lie trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk's attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.
There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it's easy to think and act honorably again when we're happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it's started, it's easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our___.
| A．friendly relationship | B．financial rewards |
| C．advertising ability | D．self-respect |
The author thinks that keeping silent about the uncharged item is equal to___.
| A．lying | B．cheating | C．stealing | D．advertising |
The phrase "bringing the error to the clerk's attention" (in para. 5) means___.
| A．asking the clerk to be more attentive |
| B．offering advice to the clerk |
| C．telling the truth to the clerk |
| D．reminding the clerk of the charged item |
Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?
| A．How to Live Truthfully |
| B．Importance of Peacefulness |
| C．Ways of Gaining Self-respect |
| D．Happiness through Honorable Actions |
Dogs wag(摇摆) their tails in different directions depending on whether they are excited and wanting to move forward or threatened and thinking of moving back, a study has found.
Researchers in Italy examined the tail wagging behaviour of 30 dogs, catching their responses to a range of stimuli(刺激物) with video camems. To conduct the study, they chose 15 male dogs and 15 female ones aged between one and six years. The dogs were all family pets whose owners had allowed them to take part in the experiment at Bari University. The dogs were placed in a large wooden box with an opening at the front to allow for them to view various stimuli. They were tested one at a time.
The researchers led by Professor Giorgio Vallortigara of the University of Trieste found that when the dogs were shown their owners —a positive experience— their tails wagged energetically to the right side. When they were shown an unfamiliar human they wagged to the right, but with somewhat less enthusiasm. The appearance of a cat again caused a right-hand side wag, although with less intensity again. The appearance of a large unfamiliar dog, similar to a German shepherd, changed the direction of tail wagging to the left. Researchers supposed the dog was thinking of moving back. When the dogs were not shown any stimuli, they tended to wag their tails to the left, suggesting they preferred company. While the changes in the tail wagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video, it was thought that the findings could help people judge the mood (心情) of dogs. Computer and video systems, for example, could be used by professional dog trainers to determine the mood of dogs that they were required to approach.The video cameras were used to catch the dogs’ response because______.
| A．The dogs wagged their tails in different directions when they were in different moods |
| B．they enabled the dogs’ owners to know about their dogs’ habit |
| C．It was easier to catch the dogs’ response change in tail wagging |
| D．The dog were put in the wooden boxes and tested one at a time |
The underlined word “intensity”in the passage means_______.
| A．surprise | B．worry | C．excitment | D．interest |
The underlined word “they” refers to _______.
| A．the dogs | B．the trainers | C．the systems | D．the researchers |
The purpose of doing the experiment is ________.
| A．to train dogs for their owners |
| B．to help dogs find company |
| C．to help people judge the mood of dogs |
| D．to help people choose their pet dogs |
For a while, my neighborhood was taken over by an army of joggers (慢跑者). They were there all the time: early morning, noon, and evening. There were little old ladies in gray sweats, young couples in Adidas shoes, middle-aged men with red faces. "Come on!" My friend Alex encouraged me to join him as he jogged by my house every evening. "You'll feel great."
Well, I had nothing against feeling great and if Alex could jog every day, anyone could. So I took up joggingseriously and gave it a good two months of my life, and not a day more. Based on my experience, jogging isthe most overvalued form of exercise around, and judging from the number of the people who left ourneighborhood jogging army. I'm not alone in my opinion.
First of all, jogging is very hard on the body. Your legs and feet have a real pounding (追击) ruining down a road for two or three miles. I developed foot, leg, and back problems. Then I read about a nationally famous joggerwho died of a heart attack while jogging, and I had something else to worry about. Jogging doesn't kill hundreds of people, but if you have any physical weaknesses, jogging will surely bringthemout, as they did with me.
Secondly, I got no enjoyment out of jogging. Putting one foot in front of the other for forty-five minutes isn't my idea of fun. Jogging is also a lonely pastime. Some joggers say, "I love being out there with just mythoughts" Well, my thoughts began to bore me, and most of them were on how much my legs hurt.
And how could I enjoy something that brought me pain? And that wasn't just the first week: it waspractically every day for two months. I never got past the pain level, and pain isn't fun. What a cruel way to do it! So many other exercises, including walking, lead to almost the same results painlessly, so why jog?
I don't jog any more, and I don't think I ever will. I'm walking two miles three times a week at a fast pace,and that feels good. I bicycle to work when the weather is good. I'm getting exercise, and I'm enjoying it at the same time. I could never say the same for jogging, and I've found a lot of better ways to stay in shape.From the first paragraph, we learn that in the writer's neighborhood _____.
| A．people jogged only during the daytime |
| B．jogging became very popular |
| C．Alex organized an army of joggers |
| D．jogging provided a chance to get together |
What was the writer's attitude towards jogging in the beginning?
| A．He felt it was worth a try. |
| B．He was very fond of it. |
| C．He was strongly against it. |
| D．He thought it must be painful. |
Why did the writer give up jogging two months later?
| A．He found it neither healthy nor interesting. |
| B．He disliked doing ecercise outside. |
| C．He was afraid of having a heart attack. |
| D．He was worried about being left alone. |
From the writer's experience, we can conclude that _____.
| A．not everyone enjoys jogging |
| B．he is the only person who hates jogging |
| C．nothing other than jogging can help people keep fit |
| D．jogging makes people feel greater than any other sport. |
Teens don’t understand the big fuss (小题大做). As the first generation to grow up in a wired world, they hardly know a time when computers weren’t around, and they eagerly catch the chance to spend hours online, chatting with friends. So what?
But researchers nationwide are increasingly worried that teens are becoming isolated (孤寂), less skillful at person-to-person relationships , and perhaps numb (麻木) to the cheatings that are so much a part of the e-mail world . “And a teen’s sense of self and values may be changed in a world where personal connections can be limitless,” said Sherry Turkle .
Another researcher , Robert Kraut , said he’s worried about the “opportunity costs” (机会成本)of so much online time for youths . He found that teens who used computers, even just a few hours a week, showed increased signs of loneliness and social isolation. “Chatting online may be better than watching television , but it’s worse than hanging out (闲逛) with real friends,” he said .
Today’s teens, however, don’t see anything strange in the fact that the computer takes up a central place in their social lives. “School is busy and full of pressure. There’s almost no time to just hang out,” said Parker Rice, 17. “Talking online is just catch-up time.”
Teens say they feel good about what they say online or taking the time to think about a reply. Some teens admit that asking someone for a date, or breaking up, can be easier in message form, though they don’t want to do so. But they insist there’s no harm.The researchers argue that .
| A．nothing is wrong with teens’ chatting online |
| B．teens may develop a different sense of values |
| C．teens can manage their social connections |
| D．spending hours online does much good to teens |
The text mainly deals with .
| A．teens’ pleasant online experience |
| B．teen’s computer skills and school work |
| C．different opinions on teen’s chatting online |
| D．the effects of the computer world on teens |
Teens think that talking online can help them .
| A．use computers properly |
| B．improve their school work |
| C．develop an interest in social skills |
| D．reduce their mental pressures |
The purpose of the text is to .
| A．draw attention to teens’ computer habits |
| B．describe computer research results |
| C．suggest ways to deal with problem teens |
| D．discuss problems teens have at school |