Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. He had little school education. In spite of this, he became the most famous writer of his time. He made millions of dollars by writing. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known all over the world as Mark Twain, his penname.
Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not expected to live through the first winter. But with his mother’s care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all his friends and neighbors. He didn’t like to go to school, and he often ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi(密西西比河). He was nearly drowned nine times.
After his father’s death, Mark Twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river-boat pilot and later joined the army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During this period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards he became a full time writer.
In 1870, Mark Twain got married. In the years that followed he wrote many books including Tom Sawyer in 1876, and Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him famous, and brought him great fortune.
Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts in bad investments(投资) and he had to write large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died, and then three of his children passed away.
At the age of 70, his hair was completely white. He bought many white suits and neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death on April 21, 1910.In his childhood, Mark Twain, ________.
A.learned a lot at school |
B.he often went swimming with other boys |
C.his mother often worried about his safety |
D.he often played games with other boys |
Which of the following shows the right order about Mark Twain?
a. He became a miner. b. He worked as a printer.
c. He got into debts. d. His father died.
e. He became a full-time writer. F. He joined the army.
A.a—d—b—c—e—f | B.d—b—f—a—e—c |
C.d—a—f—e—b—c | D.c—b—d—f—e—a |
In order to make a living, Mark Twain _______.
A.first worked as a printer | B.did many kinds of work |
C.wrote stories in the beginning | D.joined the army after he worked in a mine |
From the passage we can see that Mark Twain _______.
A.had a happy childhood |
B.was a good boy and always did what he was asked |
C.was very naughty when he was young |
D.lived a pleasant life |
Before his death, Mark Twain _______.
A.became a white man | B.was in low spirits |
C.liked to buy all kinds of clothes | D.had nothing on |
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 |
Paula and Rory have fives kids, three dogs, and a rabbit. When the house is very noisy, Megan, one of the children, is quietly inventing. A year ago, the 10-year-old had to design an anti-smoking poster, she came up with the idea of creating something that shows the average amount of tar(尼古丁) a smoker collects from just four packs of cigarettes.
“I like people to play with things more than read and write,” she says. So she researched her idea on the Internet, found a company in China that could make it, saved up her pocket money and got her idea made.
Paula says her daughter “think differently”: Ideas jump into her mind. After she got sunburnt on holiday, Megan invented a small plastic bracelet(手镯) that changes colors in the sun, telling you when to put on sunscreen(防晒霜). Several sunscreen companies have expressed an interest in the idea. She also came up with an idea to make a ball filled with water to stop the dog from feeling thirsty. “But we didn’t do anything with it,” says Paula.
Then she pulls out a picture of a special fishing rod(钓鱼竿) she had designed. “There is a camera on the hook(钩),” she explains, “and the screen is on the handle, and it shows if you’ve caught a fish or not.”
Megan doesn’t want to go to university. She keeps her pink-and -cream bedroom tidy. Paula is amazed and a bit confused by her daughter. “Everything has to be in a certain order,” Paula says. “Her brothers and sisters go with the flow, but with Megan, it’s ‘What time will that be happening?’ or ‘Where am I being picked up from today?’”From Paragraph 2, we can infer that Megan .
A.is not willing to go to school | B.likes to play with her brothers and sisters |
C.prefers making something by herself | D.is good at reading and writing |
What did Megan invent after she got sunburnt on vacation?
A.The anti-smoking poster |
B.The ball providing water for thirsty dogs |
C.The fishing rod telling whether you’ve caught a fish |
D.The bracelet telling when to put on sunscreen |
The underlined phrase “go with the flow” probably means “ .”
A.do what the most people usually do | B.follow the fashion closely |
C.set an example to others | D.do something differently from others |
According to the passage, which of the following about Megan is true?
A.She has fives kids, three dogs, and a rabbit. |
B.She designed an anti-smoking poster when she was nine. |
C.She founded a company in China to get her idea made. |
D.She invented a small plastic bracelet to change the color of sunscreen. |
The passage is mainly about .
A.how Megan helps people give up smoking |
B.a little girl’s dream to be a world-famous inventor |
C.a 10-year-old inventor’s story |
D.Megan’s relationship with her family members |
Healthy Diet“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Similarly, if we drink a little more water ever day, we may find that we need to go to the doctor a lot less often. A healthy diet is made up of water and a great many different kinds of foods. We know that healthy foods like fruits, vegetables and fish, are important as they provide us with energy and fibre, without giving us too much fat and sugar. But why is water important?
The human body needs water to survive. Water is important as it carries poisons and waste out of our bodies. However, doctors advise us to drink plenty of water, much more than the small amount we need to stay alive.
Some doctors believe that water is important for our health in all kinds of ways. They believe that a great many illnesses and health problems stars as a result of dehydration—a lack(缺少) of water in the body. Most people are dehydrated at least some of time, although they probably don’t know it. It is surprising to learn that if we feel thirsty, we are already in the first stages of dehydration. In fact, we are advised to drink water before we feel thirsty.
These doctors think that health problems such as headaches, high blood pressure and asthma could be helped if people drink more water. They also believe that drinking more water can help people who are overweight. Water contains no calories so it will not make us put on weight. If we drink water, we will probably drink less sugary soft drinks such as Coca-cola. Doctors also believe that drinking more water may stop people from overeating. They say that many people think that they are hungry when they are, in fact, thirsty. Doctors suggest, therefore, that we eat less food and drink more water.
There are still many health problems that cannot be solved by drinking water, so we should not stop going to seeing the doctor completely. However, if we make a decision to drink water every day, we may find that we need to go to the doctor a lot less often.We need _____for a healthy diet.
A.fibre | B.food | C.water | D.Water and different foods |
From the text, we know water can carry_________.
A.energy and fibre in our bodies |
B.fruit, vegetables and fish in our bodies |
C.sugar and fat out of our bodies |
D.poisons and waste out of our bodies |
Some doctors think that________.
A.people eat too much sugar |
B.water is not important for our health |
C.we should go to the doctor less often |
D.some health problems are caused by a lack of water |
Lack of water caused people to put on weight too much because_______.
A.they think they are hungry and eat too much |
B.they think they are thirsty and eat less |
C.water has no calories |
D.it makes them hungry |
On a small farm in Mexico, there are no schools. A bus is the school! The driver of the bus is the teacher! It is a school bus, but it doesn’t take children to school. It just goes round from place to place, and sometimes it comes to this farm. The bus will stay here for three months. The farmers call it a school on wheels (车轮).
Every time the bus comes, the farmers come running to it, shouting and laughing. They warmly welcome the school bus!
When the bus is on the farm, in the morning, the teacher teaches the small children. In the afternoon, the bigger children come to have their lessons because they must work in the morning. At night, the fathers and mothers come to school. They want to learn, too. How the farmers hope that some day they can have a real school on their farm! The driver of the bus is ________.
A.the teacher | B.the student | C.the farmer | D.the school |
The bus school will ________.
A.take children to school | B.stay there for lunch |
C.go round from place to place | D.take the fathers and mothers to school |
When the school bus comes, the farmers________.
A.stop working | B.warmly welcome it | C.be happy | D.Both B and C |
Which one of the following is true?
A.A school bus is a real school for farmers’ children. |
B.The bus school has no teacher at all. |
C.The bus school has no students. |
D.The children and their parents on the farm all come to the bus school to learn. |
Sunny English ClubSunny English Club is for ______ .
A.nurses | B.policemen | C.businessmen | D.students |
You will pay _______ if you want to stay in the English club for half a year.
A.300 yuan | B.600 yuan | C.1200 yuan | D.2400 yuan |
You can visit Ocean Museum _______ .
A.on Saturday | B.on Wednesday | C.on Monday | D.anytime |
If you are interested in the life of fish, you should go to ______ .
A.Health Centre | B.Ocean Museum | C.Sunny English Club | D.16 Yong Le Street |