In 1638, John Harvard donated some money and about four hundred books to a new university. This was the beginning of the library at Harvard University. The gift was so important that the university was named for John Harvard.
Thomas Bray began the first free lending library in the late 1600s. He set up more than 30 or these libraries in the American colonies. However, the idea for this kind of free library ended when Bray died in 1730. In 1731, Benjamin Franklin and some friends started the first subscription library in the United States. In a subscription library people pay money to become members, but they may borrow the books without paying again.
In the United States, every child had a free education. This idea soon led to free libraries. One of the first libraries that used tax money to buy books was a library in Peterborough, New Hampshire. This library was set up in 1833.The main idea of paragraph 2 is________.
| A． Franklin started the first subscription library |
| B． in a subscription library people pay money to become members |
| C． Bray and Franklin were important in the history of public libraries |
| D． Bray died in 1730 and Franklin died in 1833 |
The underlined word “borrow” means_______.
| A．read and write with no help from another person |
| B．use for a short time and then return |
| C．like very much |
| D．lend |
The reading does not say it, but we can guess that_______.
| A．there were free schools in the United States before there were free libraries |
| B．free schools and free libraries in the United States began at about the same time |
| C．the library in New Hampshire also had a free school in it |
| D．there were free libraries in the United States before there were free schools |
Harvard University began_______.
| A．in 1731 | B．in 1730 | C．in 1833 | D．in 1638 |
At the library that Franklin started, ________.
| A．children could use books for no money at all |
| B．people paid a little money in the beginning but none after that |
| C．people paid a lot of money in the beginning but none after that |
| D．both A and B |
One day, a farmer was walking along a road with his son Thomas. The father said, "Look! There's a horseshoe. Pick it up and put it in your bag." Thomas said, “It isn't worth the trouble." His father said nothing but picked it up himself. When they got to a nearby town, they had a rest. There the farmer sold the horseshoe and with the few pennies he bought some cherries.
The father and the son continued their way. The sun was well up in the sky, and there wasn't a house or even a tree where they could have a rest. Thomas felt too thirsty to walk on, At this time, his father dropped a cherry on the ground and Thomas picked it up quickly and ate it.
After a while, his father dropped another cherry and once again, his son lost some time in picking it up and putting it in his mouth.
And so they went on. The old farmer dropped the cherries and the son picked them up. When Thomas had eaten up all the cherries, his father said to him, "My dear son, if you had bent down earlier to pick up that horseshoe, it would not have been necessary for you to bend so many times for the cherries. Always remember the lesson that anyone who does not worry about the little things will find that he cannot do the great things,The farmer bought _______with the money after he sold the horseshoe.
| A．some food | B．some water | C．some cherries | D．some pennies |
The father dropped the cherries one by one, because _______.
| A．he wanted his son to eat them all | B．he wanted his son to do more exercise |
| C．he wanted to teach his son a lesson | D．he wanted his son to pick them up |
From the story, we can learn that _______.
| A．cherries are so delicious that most of us like to eat them |
| B．a horseshoe is so expensive that it can bring us a lot of money |
| C．if the boy wants to eat cherries, he must pick up the horseshoe |
| D．if we want to do some great things, we should start with some small ones |
Many places in the world need more fresh water. Every country is trying to find ways to turn salt water into fresh. Why aren’t there many factories like the Symi factory?
In some places the sun is not hot enough. Or it does not shine every day.
In such places other ways of heating sea water can be used. These ways cost more money, but they work faster than the sun. By boiling sea water with high heat a lot of fresh water can be made quickly.
But heating is not the only way to get fresh water from salt water. Other ways are tried.
One way is freezing. The fresh part of salt water freezes first. To get fresh water, the bits of ice are taken out.
Which way is the best? The one that gives the most water for the least money. It may be a different way for each place.
Symi’s way seems very good for small, hot places. It does not make much water at a time. But the factory is easy to build and costs little.
That is why people in many dry places talk about Symi.From the passage we know that fresh water _____________.
| A．is needed in many countries | B．is needed in every country |
| C．can be used in many ways | D．is very important for factories |
The Symi factory __________.
| A．turns salt water into fresh | B．can be built everywhere |
| C．can make much fresh water at a time | D．doesn’t need sunshine every day |
Which is the best way for small and hot places to get fresh water?
| A．Boiling the sea water. | B．Heating the sea water. |
| C．The Symi’s way. | D．Freezing the sea water. |
What fact doesn’t the passage mention (提到)?
| A．New ways of getting fresh water. |
| B．A lot of fresh water can be made quickly by heating. |
| C．The best way is to get the freshest water with the least money. |
| D．The Symi’s way doesn’t work in dry places. |
The Symi’s way is not suitable for _________ places according to the passage.
| A．small | B．hot | C．cool | D．dry |
Mr. Brown was going away for a week. Before he left, he said to his son, "if anyone asks for me, you can tell him that your father has been out for doing something, and will be back in a week, then be sure to ask him to sit down for a cup of tea."
"OK, Dad," said his son. But he was afraid his son couldn’t remember this, he wrote these words down on a piece of paper and gave it to him. His son put it into his small pocket, took it out and looked at it every now and then.
Four days passed, but no one came to see his father. The boy thought that there was no man to come and that the piece of paper was of no more use for him, so he burnt it that evening.
The next afternoon, someone knocked at the door. The boy opened it. A man was standing at the door and said, "Where is your father?" The boy put his hand into his pocket at once and looked for the piece of paper. He could not find it. He suddenly remembered he had burnt it, so he shouted, "No more."
The man was very surprised. He asked, "No more? I met your father last week. When did it happen?" "Burnt yesterday evening."Mr. Brown told his son that _____.
| A．he would be away from home for four days |
| B．he would be back in seven days |
| C．he would be back in a month |
| D．he liked a cup of tea |
Mr. Brown wrote the words down on ________.
| A．the wall | B．the door | C．a piece of paper | D．his son’s pocket |
A man came to visit the boy’s father on ________.
| A．the second day | B．the third day | C．the fourth day | D．the fifth day |
The man was very surprised because _________.
| A．he thought the child’s father was dead | B．the child didn’t ask him to sit down |
| C．the child gave him a cup of tea | D．he couldn’t find that piece of paper |
What was burnt? ___________.
| A．The piece of paper. | B．Mr. Smith. | C．The visitor. | D．The boy. |
Joyce was born in a poor family. Next Friday would be her mother’s birthday. Joyce wanted to buy something for her mother, but she had no money. As an 8-year-old girl, she couldn’t do part-time jobs. What could she do to make enough money for her mother’s birthday present?
Suddenly she had an idea. Usually, she would go straight to school, but this morning, she didn’t. She walked along the streets, picking up cardboard（纸板）, plastic（塑料）bottles and cans（易拉罐）. When it was time for school, she hid them in the backyard and ran to school as quickly as possible.
Eight days later, she decided to sell all the things she had collected because the next day was her mother’s birthday. She had to sell them and buy a birthday present for her mother. In the shop, she bought a beautiful hair pin for her mother.
When her mother got the present, she said with tears in her eyes,“This is the best present I’ve ever received.”How old was Joyce?
A. Seven. B. Eight. C. Nine.Why couldn’t Joyce buy a present for her mother at first?
A. Because she had no money.
B. Because she didn’t know what her mother liked.
C. Because she didn’t love her mother at all.What was Joyce’s idea?
A. Doing part-time jobs.
B. Collecting waste things and selling them.
C. Asking her best friend for help.How long did Joyce collect the waste things?
A. A week. B. A month. C. More than a week. How did Joyce’s mother feel when she got the present?
A. Very sad. B. Very happy and moved. C. Very surprised.
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, begging(请求) 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 (虚弱) 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 last, they are able to work well in class.The 10-year-old boy begged 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 schoolIn 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 earlyIn this passage “early birds” means “persons who ______________”
A. get up earlyB. get up lateC. sleep less“Stay up late” here means “_____________”
A. study lateB. watch TV lateC. not go to bed until lateAccording 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.