My five brothers, my sister and I lived in Toronto with our parents. My father worked in a factory, and my mother stayed at home. Each year my father would dress up as Santa Claus and go through the streets sharing joy and candies with the children there. He loved it as much as they did!
But around Christmas in 1970, my father was out of work. In fact, there was no money for Christmas and my parents weren’t sure how they’d provide for us.
That Christmas Eve, however, as usual, my father left the house dressed as Santa Claus. He knew that even though our Christmas would be hard, he could not make the other kids in the neighborhood disappointed.
As my father left the house and went downstairs, another Santa Claus was walking up, with a great bag of gifts for us! He said nothing, only smiled a sweet smile at my father, and wished him a merry Christmas. The jolly man handed the bag and walked away down the block.
We never knew who showed us great kindness on the snowy Christmas night. We do know, however, that without him we would have had nothing under the tree. His kindness gave my parents hope and showed us in a very real way the true meaning of Christmas.
Our family has never forgotten this kind stranger and his generosity(慷慨). Each year we tell the story of the mysterious(神秘的) Santa Claus and try to repay his gifts by giving help to others in need.According to the passage, the writer’s father is ______on Christmas.
| A．brave | B．lonely | C．serious | D．generous |
The underlined word “jolly” in the passage probably means “______”.
| A．handsome | B．strong | C．happy | D．silly |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The family showed thanks to the Santa Claus and helped others in need. |
| B．The bag from the other Santa Claus was filled with gifts and money. |
| C．Santa Claus that helped the family lived a rich life in the same community. |
| D．The writer’s father arranged another Santa Claus to take the place of him. |
What does a Korean father look like? Strict, cold and focused （集中）only on his job. Well, yes, this is the popular image (形象) of Korean fathers. However, this image does not tell the whole story. Across the country, more and more fathers are looking for the answer to the question: what does it mean to be a good father today? And they choose to attend Father School.
Set up in 1995, Father School began in Seoul. It was to help Korean men show love to their families. Most of the students are from 30 to 70 years old. They are asked to write letters to their kids as homework and to practice saying “I love you” to all family members.
Like many students in Father School, Edmond Rhim never wanted to come. “I’m not a bad father,” he said. “But it was just difficult for me to communicate with my two teenage kids.” He began to show up in class, and things got better. When he graduated from the school among 70 other men, he no longer felt awkward (尴尬的) when hugging his wife and kids.Why do Korean fathers attend Father School?
| A．They want to know how to teach their children. |
| B．They want to know what it means to be a good father today. |
| C．They want to make friends with other fathers. |
| D．They want to be strict fathers. |
What does Father School do?
| A．It helps mother to show love to her children. |
| B．It helps children to communicate with parents. |
| C．It helps father to show love to his parents. |
| D．It helps father to show love to the family. |
Fathers learn to do all the following things at Father School except .
| A．help kids finish their homework |
| B．hug their kids |
| C．say “ I love you” to family members |
| D．write letters to kids |
What is true about Edmond Rhim according to the passage?
| A．Edmond Rhim was a bad father. |
| B．Edmond Rhim seldom hugged his wife or kids before he went to Father School. |
| C．There were 70 men in Edmond Rhim’s class. |
| D．It was easy for Edmond Rhim to communicate with his kids before he attended Father School. |
Ye Xiaogang is known as one of the most famous modern Chinese composers．
He learned to play the piano at the age of four．His father was a composer who wrote a lot of music for films．But when his father was sent to a farm to work．Ye was only 11 at that time．
Ye had to work on another farm for a year before entering a factory．He worked in the factory for six years until he was 22．
The workers in the factory were friendly and helped him a lot，but he could not play the piano any more．No matter(不论)how hard he worked on the farm or in the factory，he never left music．He just waited for chances．He dreamed of becoming a pianist．
When Ye could play the piano again．he practiced hard every day in order to go to the Central Conservatory of Music in 1978．but the school would not recruit(招收)piano students that year．In the end.Ye chose composition(作曲)as his major(专业)．although he was not familiar with it．
In 1980．he studied at Cambridge University．Then he went to a famous school of music in the US in 1987 to take more courses．
As a famous composer in China．Ye worked for many organizations．
He wrote many symphonies(交响乐)．He also wrote film and TV music．which traditional composers hardly ever worked on．From the fourth paragraph．we can 1earn that Ye Xiaogang_________．
| A．didn’t get along well with the workers in the factory |
| B．often practiced playing the piano after work |
| C．never gave up his dream |
| D．wanted to be a composer |
Why didn’t Ye Xiaogang choose the piano as his major at the Central Conservatory of Music?
| A．Because the school was more famous for the major of composition． |
| B．Because the school wouldn’t recruit piano students that year． |
| C．Because his father wanted him to study composition。 |
| D．Because he was more familiar with composition。 |
The writer mainly tells us _________．
| A．how to learn the piano |
| B．how to realize our dreams |
| C．the history of a famous music school |
| D．the experiences of a famous musician |
William Shakespeare was a writer of plays and poems. Some of his most famous plays are Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth. He wrote thirty-seven plays in all. They are still popular today.
He was born in England. At school he liked watching plays. He decided to be an actor when he finished school at the age of fourteen. In 1582,he married a farmer’s daughter. She was eight years older than he was. Their first child was a daughter. Later they had twins. In 1585,Shakespeare left his hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon. His wife and children stayed behind. No one knows why he left or what he did between 1585 and 1592.
At twenty-eight, he moved to London and joined a theatre company which opened the Globe Theatre in 1599.He became an actor, and he also wrote plays. He usually acted in his own plays. He made almost no money from his writing. But he made a lot of money from acting. With the money he bought a large house in his hometown.
At the age of forty-nine, Shakespeare retired（退休）and went to live in Stratford-upon-Avon. He died at the age of fifty-two in 1616. He left his money to his family. He left the genius（天才）to the world. You still see his plays in English and in many other languages. He is one of the most famous writers in the world.Shakespeare wrote many famous plays except .
| A．Hamlet | B．Macbeth |
| C．Romeo and Juliet | D．Man and Superman |
Shakespeare decided to be an actor in .
| A．1578 | B．1582 | C．1599 | D．1616 |
In 1585,Shakespeare left his hometown Stratford-upon-Avon .
| A．with his wife | B．with his daughter |
| C．with his wife and children | D．Alone |
There was an old pear tree in a man's garden. In the past, tie tree fruited every year, .so the man would get many pears. But now, the tree got old. There were no more pears for the man. So the ungrateful(忘恩负义的) man decided to cut the tree down. When he walked toward the tree with an axe(斧子) in his hand, the tree said to him, "Please don't cut me down. I had so many pears for you in the past years. Now I will die soon. I only have a short time to live. Please don't kill a dying tree that has done so much for you."
"I'm sorry. I have to do so," the man said, "because I need wood to make a chair." Then he began to wave(挥动) his axe. At that moment, a bird in the old tree shouted at him, "Don't cut it down! Every time you go out and your wife(妻子) feels lonely, she will come out to the garden and sit under the tree to enjoy its cool shade(树荫) , and I sing songs to make her happy. We give much joy to your wife when you are away from home."
The man didn't listen to the bird and drove it away. Just when he was about to cut the tree, some bees flew out of it and said, "Listen! If you agree not to kill this tree, we will give you nice honey(蜜) every day. Would you please leave the tree with us?"
The man got moved(感动). He said, "You are so kind to the tree, although(虽然) it has become old. Now I see that I shouldn't cut it down. It has done so much for me and my wife. Let the tree stay here, and let the bird continue its songs here." With these words, the man left. And the old tree lived there to its last day.Which can be the best title of the story?
| A．The Singing Bird | B．The Man's Wife |
| C．The Old Tree | D．The Kind Bees |
Which is the most important reason for the man to cut down the tree?
| A．The tree was getting old. |
| B．The man needed wood to' make a chair. |
| C．The tree didn't give any shade. |
| D．The man couldn't get any pears from it. |
In the story, the word "continue" means _______.
| A．start | B．go on | C．take | D．speak again |
What can we learn from the story?
| A．People should never be ungrateful. |
| B．Good wood comes from pear trees. |
| C．Old people are kind and friendly. |
| D．Birds and bees are always helpful. |
Jenny wanted to encourage(鼓励) students to read more famous books, so she decided to put an introduction to some interesting children’s story books in the school newspaper.
The Little Prince (《小王子》is a famous work written by French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. In the book, the little prince leaves his own planet to explore the universe (宇宙). In his journey, he finds that the adult world is really strange and boring. Finally, he goes back to his planet which is full of love. The book is really popular all over the world.
Charlotte’s Web (《夏洛特的网》is a famous children’s novel written by American author E. B. White. The novel tells the story of a pig named Wilbur and his friendship with a spider named Charlotte on a farm. When Wilbur is in danger of being killed for his meat by the farmer, Charlotte writes messages to praise Wilbur in her web and saves him. Wilbur becomes famous in the village and he is safe in the end. When it came out in 1952, the book was welcomed by both adults and children. And it is still very popular today.
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (《爱德华的奇妙之旅》is a 2006 novel written by Kate DiCamillo. The book is about an unusual journey of a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. He travels from one place to another, meeting many people. During his journey, he learns to love and finally finds love again. This book is popular nowadays and was mentioned many times in the famous South Korean TV series My love from the Star (《来自星星的你》. The warm and sweet story will surely make you understand more about love.Jenny introduced some interesting children’s story books to ________.
| A．encourage students to read more |
| B．encourage students to write more |
| C．show off the books she has read |
| D．make money by selling books |
The underlined word “praise” properly means “________” in Chinese.
| A．欺骗 | B．批评 | C．赞扬 | D．攻击 |
Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The three books mentioned in the passage are popular today. |
| B．The writers of the three books are all Americans. |
| C．When Charlotte’s Web came out, it was only popular with adults. |
| D．My Love from the Star is a famous Chinese TV series. |