A long time ago, there lived a poor man whose real name has been forgotten. He was little and old and his face was wrinkled, and that was why his friends called him Mr. Vinegar. His wife was also little and old, and they lived in a little old cottage at the back of a little old field.
"John," said Mrs. Vinegar, "you must go to town and buy a cow. I will milk her and churn(搅拌) butter and we shall never want for anything."
"That is a good plan," said Mr. Vinegar, so he started off to town while his wife waited by the roadside.
Mr. Vinegar walked up and down the street of the town looking for a cow. After a time, a farmer came that way, leading one that was very pretty and fat.
"Oh, if I only had that cow," said Mr. Vinegar, "I would be the happiest man in the world!"
"She's a very good cow," said the farmer.
"Well," said Mr. Vinegar, "I'll give you these 50 gold pieces for her."
The farmer smiled and held out his hand for the money, "You may have her," he said, "I always like to oblige(施恩惠) , my friends!"
Mr. Vinegar took hold of the cow's halter and led her up and down the street. "I am the luckiest man in the world," he said, "for only see how all the people are looking at me and my cow!"
But at one end of the street, he met a man playing bagpipes(风笛) . He stopped and listened -- Tweedle Dee Tweedle Dee.
"Oh, that is the sweetest music I ever heard," he said, "and just see how all the children crowd around the man and give him pennies! If I only had those bagpipes, I would be the happiest man in the world!!"
"I'll sell them to you," said the piper.
"Will you? Well then, since I have no money, I will give you this cow for them."
"You may have them," answered the piper, "I always like to oblige a friend."
Mr. Vinegar took the bagpipes and the piper led the cow away.
"Now we will have some music," said Mr. Vinegar, but try as hard as he might, he could not play a tune. He could get nothing out of the bagpipes but "squeak, squeak". The children instead of giving him pennies laughed at him.
The day was chilly and in trying to play the pipes, his fingers grew very cold. He wished he had kept the cow.
He just started for home when he met a man who had warm gloves on his hands. "Oh, if I only had those pretty gloves," he said, "I would be the happiest man in the world."
"How much will you give for them?" asked the man.
"Oh, I have no money, but I will give you these bagpipes," answered Mr. Vinegar.
"Well," said the man, "you may have them for I always like to oblige a friend."
Mr. Vinegar gave him the bagpipes and drew the gloves on over his half frozen fingers. "How lucky I am," he said as he trudged(跋涉) homeward. His hands were soon quite warm, but the road was rough and the walking hard. He was very tired when he came to the foot of the steep hill. "How shall I ever get to the top?" he said. Just then he met a man who was walking the other way. He had a stick in his hand which he used as a cane to help him along.
"My friend," said Mr. Vinegar, "if only I had that stick of yours to help me up this hill, I would be the happiest man in the world!"
"How much will you give me for it?" asked the man.
"Well, I have no money, but I will give you this pair of warm gloves," said Mr. Vinegar.
"Well," said the man, "you may have it for I always like to oblige a friend."
Mr. Vinegar's hands were now quite warm, so he gave the gloves to the man and took the stout(结实的) stick to help him along. "How lucky I am!'' he said as he toiled upward.
At the top of the hill he stopped to rest. But as he was thinking of all his good luck that day, he heard someone calling his name. He looked up and saw only a green parrot sitting in a tree.
"Mr. Vinegar, Mr. Vinegar," it cried.
"What now?" said Mr. Vinegar.
"You're a dunce(傻瓜) , you're a dunce!'' answered the bird, "you went to seek your fortune and you found it, then you gave it for a cow, and the cow for some bagpipes, and the bagpipes for some gloves, and the gloves for a stick which you might of cut by the roadside. He He He, you're a dunce! You're a dunce!''
This made Mr. Vinegar very angry. He threw the stick at the bird with all his might. But the bird only answered, "You're a dunce! You're a dunce!" And the stick lodged in the tree where he could not get it again.
Mr. Vinegar went on slowly for he had many things to think about. His wife was standing by the roadside and as soon as she saw him, she cried out, "Where's the cow? Where's the cow?" "Well, I just don't know where the cow is," said Mr. Vinegar. And then he told her the whole story.What’s the meaning of the underlined word in the passage?
A.成功 | B.财富 | C.幸福 | D.健康 |
How many exchanges happen in the passage?
A.1 | B.2 | C.3 | D.4 |
Why does the parrot think Mr.Vinegar foolish?
A.Because Mr.Vinegar married an old woman |
B.Because Mr.Vinegar gave his fortune for nothing |
C.Because Mr.Vinegar was little and old |
D.Because Mr.Vinegar did nothing but be angry |
What’s Mrs.Vinegar’s feeling after she knew the fact?
A.Sad | B.Calm | C.Happ | D.Angry |
On the evening of June 21, 1992, a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes entered the beautiful hall of the Bell Tower Hotel in Xi’an with his bicycle. The hotel workers received him and telephoned the manager, for they had never seen a bicycle in the hotel ball before though they lived in “the kingdom of bicycles.”
Robert Friedlander, an American, arrived in Xi’an on his bicycle trip across Asia which started last December in New Delhi, India.
When he was 11, he read the book Marco Polo and made up his mind to visit the Silk Road. Now, after 44 years , he was on the Silk Road in Xi’an and his early dreams were coming true.
Robert Friedlander’s next destinations (目的地) were Lanzhou, Dunhuang, Urumqi, etc. He will complete his trip in Pakistan.The best headline(标题) for this newspaper article would be _________. .
A.The Kingdom of Bicycles | B.A Beautiful Hotel in Xi’an |
C.Marco Polo and the Silk Road | D.An American Achieving His Aims |
The hotel workers told the manager about Friedlander coming to the hotel because________. .
A.he asked to see the manager |
B.he entered the hall with a bike |
C.the manager had to know about all foreign guests |
D.the manager knew about his trip and was expecting him |
What made Friedlander want to come to China?
A.The stories about Marco Polo . | B.The famous sights in Xi’an . |
C.His interest in Chinese silk. | D.His childhood dreams about bicycles . |
Friedlander can be said to be________.
A.clever | B.friendly | C.hardworking | D.strong—minded |
One day a few years ago a very funny thing happened to a neighbor of mine. He is a teacher at one of London’s big medical schools, He had finished his teaching for the summer term and was at the airport on his way to Russia to give a lecture.
He had put a few clothes and his lecture notes in his shoulder bag, but he had put Rupert, the skeleton (人体骨骼) to be used in his lecture, in a large brown suitcase (箱子). At the airport desk, he suddenly thought that he had forgotten to buy a newspaper. He left his suitcase near the desk and went over to the shop.
When he got back he discovered that someone had taken his suitcase by mistake. He often wonders what they said when they got home and found Rupert.Who wrote the story?
A.Rupert’s teacher. | B.The neighbour’s teacher. |
C.A medical school teacher. | D.The teacher’s neighbour. |
Why did the teacher put a skeleton in his suitcase?
A.He needed it for the summer term in London. |
B.He needed it for the lecture he was going to give. |
C.He wanted to take it to Russia for medical research. |
D.He wanted to take it home as he had finished his teaching. |
What happened at the airport?
A.The skeleton went missing . | B.The skeleton was stolen . |
C.The teacher forgot his suitcase. | D.The teacher took the wrong suitcase . |
Which of the following best tells the teacher’s feeling about the incident?
A.He is very angry . | B.He thinks it rather funny . |
C.He feels helpless without Rupert. | D.He feels good without Rupert . |
O. Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank, when some money went missing from the bank O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because simple as the tales were, they would finish with a sudden change at the end, to the reader’s surprise.People enjoyed reading O. Henry’s stories because___________.
A.they had surprise endings | B.they were easy to understand |
C.they showed his love for the poor | D.they were about New York City |
O. Henry went to prison because ____________. .
A.people thought he had stolen money from the newspaper |
B.he broke the law by not using his own name |
C.he wanted to write stories about prisoners |
D.people thought he had taken money that was not his |
Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?
A.His life inside the prison. | B.The newspaper articles he wrote. |
C.The city and people of New York. | D.His exciting early life as a boy. |
根据所读内容在文章后图表中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。注意:每空1个单词。
Introduction to anger
Anger is a natural reaction which comes out when we feel that we have not been given a fair treatment. The positive side of this negative emotion is that it has helped us to evolve as humans and cope in a better manner with our surroundings. However, it tends to become a problem when we fail to control it. Many a time it happens that your anger has hurt others or has spoiled one of your relationships for which you regret later. It has some bad effects on the health, too.
We should control anger so that it does not cause harm to us or to those around us whom we love. One of the best ways to control anger is to get help from others. If you feel that you are unable to manage your anger, it can make you more upset. So tell someone that is close to you, a friend or a family member, about your problem. When you discuss a matter with others, there is a better chance of finding a solution to your problem. Besides, there are no better stress relievers than humor. When you feel that it is because of stress that your anger is becoming unmanageable, you can use humor. It can help you look at difficult things in a lighter way and you will feel better about the things around you.
Anger tends to make us have a lot of negative thoughts. Therefore, we have to change the negative thoughts into positive ones. For this you have to first refuse all the negative thoughts that are in your mind one by one. This can be done with a lot of practice. Once you are successful in that, you have to maintain your focus only on the positive things of life.
Meditation (冥想) is an excellent anger management technique. In addition, what we do is disconnect ourselves from the outer world and focus all our attention into the inner world. This helps us develop a sense of controlling our thoughts that tend to cause anger.
Anger is a natural reaction which comes out when we have been treated |
||
Positive sides |
﹡Help us evolve as humans. ﹡Help us deal with our surroundings |
|
﹡Hurt others. ﹡Spoil your ﹡Have some bad effects on your health. |
||
Some ways to |
Get help from others |
Discuss your problems with your friend or a |
Use |
It can help you see difficult things in a |
|
Think |
Refuse all the negative thoughts and focus only on positive things. |
|
Practice meditation |
Help us control our thoughts which tend to cause anger. |
Why do some people flush when they drink alcohol? This effect is a common reaction to alcohol among East Asians. It affects about 36 percent of Japanese, Chinese and Koreans.
For many, even a small amount of alcohol can cause unpleasant effects. Most commonly, their face, neck and sometimes their whole body turn red. People might also feel uncomfortable and sick to their stomach. They might experience a burning sensation, increased heart rate, shortness of breath and headaches.
The cause is a genetic difference that they are born with called an ALDH2 deficiency (缺乏). It prevents their bodies from treating alcohol the way other people do. But the effects might be more serious than just a red face. Researchers warn of a link between this condition and an increased risk of cancer of the esophagus (食道) from drinking alcohol.
The more alcohol people with this deficiency drink, the greater their risk is. In Japan and South Korea, for example, many people have the deficiency but still drink heavily. Researchers found that these drinkers develop a form of esophageal cancer six to ten times more often than those without the deficiency.
Esophageal cancer is one of the deadliest cancers. It can be treated when found early, but once it grows the chances of survival drop sharply. The researchers estimate that at least five hundred forty million people have the deficiency, about eight percent of the world’s population.
Philip Brooks is a researcher at the National Institute in the United States. He says it is important to educate people about the link between the alcohol flushing effect and esophageal cancer. He says doctors should ask East Asian patients about their experiences with facial flushing after drinking alcohol. Those with a history of it should be advised to limit their alcohol use. They should also be warned that cigarette smoking works with the alcohol in a way that further increases the risk of esophageal cancer.The underlined word “flush” in Paragraph 1 probably means “_________”.
A.walk unsteadily | B.appear unpleasant |
C.turn red in the face | D.talk more than usual |
The second paragraph is mainly about _________.
A.the cause of the effects of alcohol | B.unpleasant effects caused by alcohol |
C.the advantages of drinking alcohol | D.Asians and alcohol |
We can infer from the passage that _________.
A.the ALDH2 deficiency may be passed on from generation to generation |
B.about 36 percent of Japanese, Chinese and Koreans are heavy drinkers |
C.unpleasant effects occur only when people with this deficiency drink a lot |
D.only some East Asians have the ALDH2 deficiency |
Esophageal cancer is one of the deadliest cancers because _________.
A.it can’t be treated at all |
B.it is hard to be discovered early |
C.people are usually addicted to alcohol |
D.it is hard to cure once it has developed |