Jesse Owens is recognized as a hero not just because he is fast. Some people might say that they know him for just that reason. However, there are lots of fast people who are not known. Jesse Owens is known because Chancellor Adolf Hitler did not shake the hand of Jesse Owens or even recognize his feat of winning four gold medals, because Owens was an African American.
Jesse Owens owed much of his success to his coach Charles Riley, who probably was the most important one making him have the career that he did. Owens came from a background that required him to work after school in a shoe shop. He couldn’t attend the regularly scheduled track practices organized by his school. However, Charles Riley saw the boy had both a passion(热情) and a talent for running, and so arranged for him to be able to practice before school instead.
Jesse Owens achieved this success despite(尽管) his racial background, which at the time was a huge limitation to him. He could only eat in certain restaurants and sleep in certain hotels, as could all African Americans of the time. He was also never offered a scholarship for school despite setting records for NCAA(美国全国大学生体育协会) championships.
The Berlin Olympics in 1936 is where his star rose as high as it would ever be able to. These Olympics were during the height of Hitler’s rule. It took courage to race in front of Hitler and many other racist(种族主义者). It took time, determination, and perseverance(坚持不懈) to race like him. He won four gold medals at those Olympics. It would take almost fifty years for someone else to walk away from the Olympics with four gold medals. He passed away at the age of 66 from lung cancer.The underlined word “feat” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to “ .”
| A．chance | B．happiness | C．success | D．hope |
We know from paragraph 2 that Jesse Owens .
| A．did not need to work after school |
| B．took part in the regular track practices |
| C．did not get along well with his coach |
| D．was arranged to practice before school |
Jesse Owens was well-known around the world mainly because he .
| A．sets records for NCAA championships |
| B．was brave enough to race in front of Adolf Hitler |
| C．didn’t want to shake hands with Hitler |
| D．is recognized as a hero of the white Americans |
According to the passage, which of the following about Jesse Owens is true?
| A．Hitler recognized his feat of winning four gold medals. |
| B．He was offered a scholarship for setting records for NCAA championships. |
| C．He could only eat in certain restaurants like many other African Americans. |
| D．It took him almost fifty years to walk away from the Olympics with four gold medals. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Sport hero ---- Jesse Owens | B．The Berlin Olympics in 1936 |
| C．Charles Riley ---- Jesse Owens’ s coach | D．Jesse Owens’s childhood |
Too many people want others to be their friends, but they don’t give friendship back. That is why some friendships do not last very long. To have a friend, you must learn to be one. You must learn to treat your friend the way you want your friend to treat you. Learning to be a good friend means learning three rules: be honest; be generous; be understanding.
Honesty is where a good friendship starts. Friends must be able to trust one another. If you do not tell the truth, people usually find out. If a friend finds out that you haven’t been honest, you may lose your friend’s trust. Good friends always trust one another to speak and act honestly.
Generosity (大度) means sharing and sharing makes a friendship grow. You do not have to give your lunch money or your clothes of course. Instead you have to learn how to share things you enjoy, like your hobbies and your interest. Naturally you will want to share your ideas and feelings. These can be very valuable to a friend.
Sooner or later everyone needs understanding and help with a problem. Something may go wrong at school. Talking about the problem can make it easier to solve. Turning to a friend can be a first step in solving the problem. So to be a friend you must listen and understand.
No two friendships are ever exactly alike. But all true friendships have three things in common. If you plan to keep your friends, you must practice honesty, generosity, and understanding.Some friendships don’t last very long because ____.
| A．there are too many people who want to make friends |
| B．they don’t know friendship is something serious |
| C．those who give others friendship receive friendship from others |
| D．some people receive friendship but don’t give friendship back |
The best title of this passage is _____.
| A．Honesty is the Best Policy |
| B．A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed |
| C．Three Important Points in Life |
| D．Three Important Points in Making Friends |
Which of the following isn’t mentioned in the passage?
| A．Always tell your friends the truth. |
| B．Sharing your mind with your friends is of great value. |
| C．Discussing your problems with your friend often helps to solve the problem. |
| D．A friend who gives you his lunch money is a true friend. |
One day an American called Simon went to London to visit his friend, Rick. Rick told him that his flat was on the first floor. When he arrived, Simon went straight to the first floor of the building. But he was told that there was no Rick on that floor. Do you know why?
In fact, the British call the first floor of a building the ground floor. The floor above the ground floor is the first floor, which Americans would call the second floor.
The story shows that there are a few culture differences between Britain and America, though the British and Americans both speak English.
The British usually hide their feelings. They seldom start a conversation with strangers. For example, on the train the British often spend their time reading newspapers or books. But Americans are quite different. They’re more active and easier to talk with.
The British and Americans may use different terms for many things. The British usually use football, eraser and mail while Americans prefer to use soccer, rubber and post.Simon went to London to ______.
| A．visit his friend | B．spend his holiday |
| C．study English | D．have a meeting |
Which picture shows us where Rick’s flat was? ______.
According to the passage, the British usually spend their time ______ on the train.
| A．playing cards | B．talking loudly |
| C．doing some reading | D．singing and dancing |
What does the underlined word “terms” mean in Chinese in the passage? ______.
| A．成果 | B．学期 | C．会议 | D．用语 |
Perhaps you think you could easily add to your happiness with more money. Strange as it may seem, if you’re unsatisfied, the issue is not a lack of means to meet your desires but a lack of desires—not that you cannot satisfy your tastes but that you don’t have enough tastes.
Real riches consist of well-developed and hearty capacities(能力)to enjoy life. Most people are already flooded with things. They eat, wear, go and talk too much. They live in too big a house with too many rooms, yet their house of life is a hut.
Your house of life ought to be a mansion(豪宅), a royal palace. Every new taste, every additional interest, every fresh enthusiasm adds a room. Here are several rooms your house of life should have.
Art should be a desire for you to develop simply because the world is full of beautiful things. If you only understood how to enjoy them and feed your spirit on them, they would make you as happy as to find plenty of ham and eggs when you’re hungry.
Literature, classic literature, is a beautiful, richly furnished room where you might find many an hour of rest and refreshment. To gain that love would go toward making you a rich person, for a rich person is not someone who has a library but who likes a library.
Music like Mozart’s and Bach’s shouldn’t be absent. Real riches are of the spirit. And when you’ve brought that spirit up to where classical music feeds it and makes you a little drunk, you have increased your thrills and bettered them. And life is a matter of thrills.
Whatever rooms you might add to your house of life, the secret of enjoying life is to keep adding.The author intends to tell us that________.
| A．true happiness lies in achieving wealth by fair means |
| B．big houses are people’s most valued possessions |
| C．big houses can in a sense bring richness of life |
| D．true happiness comes from spiritual riches |
The underlined sentence in the second paragraph probably implies that________.
| A．however materially rich, they never seem to be satisfied |
| B．however materially rich, they remain spiritually poor |
| C．though their house is big, they prefer a simple life |
| D．though their house is big, it seems to be a cage |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．House of Life | B．Secret of Wealth |
| C．Rest and Refreshment | D．Interest and Enthusiasm |
New research shows how kids’ brains reorganize as they learn math.
All the time you spent memorizing multiplication tables(乘法表)may have made you a better mathematician, according to a new study. A team of scientists from Stanford University, in California, have shown how the brain reorganizes itself as kids learn math.
After a certain amount of time spent practicing math, kids can put away the calculator(计算器). They don’t even need to count on their fingers. They simply know the answers to subtraction(减法), addition, and multiplication facts. The quicker kids can recall basic math facts, the easier it is for them to solve more complicated math problems.
The Stanford University researchers observed the brain activity of 28 students aged 7to 9 for the study. They took scans of the students’ brains as the students solved math calculations without the help of a calculator, pen or paper. A calculation—three plus four equals seven, for example—flashed on a screen. The students pushed a button to say if the answer was right or wrong. The scientists also recorded the response speed, and what parts of the brain became active as the kids pushed the button.
These observations showed a process called fact retrieval(事实检索). Rather than using their fingers to count, or writing out answers on a piece of paper, the students pulled the answers from memory. It’s as if the answers to basic math problems are kept in a long-term storage area in the brain, which was built from repetition. “Experience really does matter,” said Dr. Kathy Mann Koepeke.
Children make the shift(转换)from counting to fact retrieval when they are 8 to 9 years old, the study shows. This is the time when most students are learning basic addition and subtraction. When kids have basic math facts memorized, the brain has more free space to learn more complicated math.
This process has benefits for the future. The study shows as kids grow older, their answers rely more on memory and become quicker and more accurate. Less brain activity is devoted to counting. Some children make this shift quicker than others.What did the researchers do when students worked out the given problems?
| A．They recorded the students’ brain activities. |
| B．They pushed a button linked to the students. |
| C．They noticed whether they used a calculator. |
| D．They found out who responded most quickly. |
Fact retrieval is a process when the students________.
| A．calculate answers using pens |
| B．use their fingers to count out |
| C．repeat the answers they remember |
| D．find the answers from their memory |
What plays a key role in solving a math problem?
| A．Intelligence | B．Experience |
| C．Learning method | D．Constant practice |
What happens to kids when they are 8 to 9 years old?
| A．Their brains are more active than before. |
| B．They depend on fact retrieval for answers. |
| C．They become more interested in learning math. |
| D．They work out complicated problems more quickly. |
Last Saturday on the way to the mall, two children, a boy and a girl, came running towards me with bottles on their hands, asking if I wanted bottled water. It was a surprising gesture. I was wondering if they were doing fund-raising. I knelt and asked them where their parents were and how much a bottle of water cost. Then two adult women came up to me explaining what the children were doing. “We are teaching the children to give without anything in return. We are teaching people to accept without giving in return. ”
Two mothers had bought bottled water and placed a sticker(小贴纸)on all bottles with five different quotes(引述):
1. Smile at everyone. You’ll never know when someone may need it.
2. If Plan A does not work, there are 25 more letters in the alphabets.
3. Have a thirst for life. Every day is filled with possibilities.
4. In your thirst for knowledge, be sure you don’t drown in all the information.
5. Dig your well before you’re thirsty.
The bottle I have has quoted No.5. A sudden change of attitude opened up between me, the mothers and the children. We are no longer strangers to each other. We were having such a great time chatting and I ended up helping them give away the rest of the bottled water.
One young lady was so thankful that she happily accepted the water and said it was the best thing that happened to her all day since she had a bad day at work. A man refused and walked away saying “no thanks”. A couple kept on bowing to us in gratitude. When it was all done, the children and I were giving each other high-five. It was so much fun. I think I had more fun doing this than the mothers and the children.How did the author feel when he was offered bottled water?
| A．Embarrassed | B．Surprised |
| C．Excited | D．Disappointed |
Different quotes were placed on the bottles to ________.
| A．inspire others to think positively. |
| B．show how rich and colorful our life is. |
| C．encourage people to get more bottled water. |
| D．explain why at times abandonment is necessary facing trouble. |
What did the author do after chatting with them?
| A．Buy the rest of the bottled water. |
| B．Give away some money for charity. |
| C．Decide to meet with them regularly. |
| D．Join them in being kind to strangers. |
What do we know from the last paragraph?
| A．Children had more fun from this than adults. |
| B．This random act of kindness is warmly welcomed. |
| C．People responded quite differently to this activity. |
| D．The author learned a lot from this random act of kindness. |