A young man once went into town and bought himself a pair of trousers. When he got home, he went upstairs to his bedroom and put them on. He found that they were about two inches (英尺) longer.
He went downstairs to the kitchen. His mother and two sisters were washing up the tea-things there. “The new trousers are too long,” he said. “They need shortening（缩短）by about two inches.
Could one of you do it for me, please?” His mother and sisters were busy and none of them said anything. But when his mother finished washing up, she went quietly upstairs to her son’s bedroom and shortened the trousers by two inches. She came downstairs without saying anything to her daughters.
Later on, after supper, the elder sister remembered her brother’ s trousers. She was a kind girl,so she went quietly upstairs withoutsaying anything to anyone, and shortened the trousers by two inches. The younger sister went to the cinema, but when she came home she,too, remembered her brothers trousers. So she ran upstairs and did as her mother and sister had done. You can imagine（想象）the look on the young man’s face when he put the trousers on the next morning. .What were the young man’s new trousers like at first?
| A．They were a bit too long. |
| B．They were just suitable. |
| C．They were too short for him. |
| D．There were about two inches shorter. |
Why didn’t the young man’s mother and sisters answer him in the kitchen?
| A．Because they were very busy. |
| B．Because they didn’t hear him. |
| C．Because they didn’t like him. |
| D．Because they couldn’t do that. |
When did his elder sister shortened the trousers?
| A．In the evening. |
| B．Before she finished the washing. |
| C．After lunch. |
| D．After she came back from the cinema. |
What did the young man find about the trousers the next morning?
He found that the trousers were ______ inches too short for him.
| A．two | B．four | C．six | D．eight |
How did the young man feel when he put the trousers on the next morning?
| A．Pleasant. | B．Thankful. | C．Surprised. | D．Bored. |
Last Monday we asked our students about how often they do the housework in Beishan Middle School. Here are the results.
Most students do the housework twice or three times a week. They often clean their rooms. Some students do the housework five times a week. They often clean the floor(地板). Some students help their parents on the farm. They think their parents are too busy, so they help them.
The results for “wash clothes” are interesting. Some students wash clothes once or twice a week. They often wash clothes on Saturdays or Sundays. Some students wash clothes three to four times a week. They only wash their own（自己的） clothes. But most students wash their clothes once a week. And they wash clothes on Sundays.
Liu Ying, a girl in Class 6, Grade 8 has lots of housework to do. She washes the dishes and cleans the floor every day. She often cooks. Sometimes three times a day. She says, “My mother isn’t healthy. My father works in another city. So I have to do most of the housework at home.”Some students help their parents on the farm because .
| A．they think they are old enough |
| B．they think their parents are too busy |
| C．they don’t have too much homework |
| D．it is fun |
How often do most students wash their clothes?
| A．Once a week. | B．Twice a week. |
| C．Three to four times a week. | D．never |
From the passage we know that .
| A．Liu Ying is not a healthy student |
| B．Liu Ying is good at housework |
| C．Liu Ying doesn’t want to do housework. |
| D．Liu Ying has to do much housework. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Most students don’t do the housework. |
| B．Liu Ying is a student from Class 6, Grade 8. |
| C．Liu Ying cooks three times a day sometimes. |
| D．Liu Ying washes the dishes and cleans the floor every day. |
Sophie is a middle school student. Her mother is a dentist and her father is a writer. Sophie wants to be a cook. Sophie went to take part in（参加） a cake（蛋糕） making competition yesterday.
Everyone began to make a cake. But Sophie hadn’t decided what kind of cake to make.
There was only half an hour left. Sophie had not even begun. So she began to panic (恐慌). Then she got an idea. She ran out and came to a cake shop. She gave fifty dollars to the shop keeper and said, “Please give me a chocolate cake.”
Then Sophie came back and put the chocolate cake on the table. But a little boy saw her do that.
When the judges (裁判员) were just about to taste Sophie’s cake, the little boy said to the judges, “Please don’t taste her cake. She didn’t make it and she bought it from a cake shop.”
The judges were angry and said, “That was terrible, Sophie.”
From that day on, Sophie never cheated. Sophie wants to be a .
| A．teacher | B．writer | C．cook | D．dentist |
Sophie began to panic because .
| A．she was too tired | B．she didn’t begin to make her cake |
| C．she didn’t have money | D．her cake tasted bad |
Sophie spent on the chocolate cake.
| A．$5 | B．$10 | C．$15 | D．$50 |
The underlined word “cheat” means “ ” in Chinese.
| A．作弊 | B．前进 | C．承诺 | D．解决 |
We have a terrible school trip last weekend. Some students were late. Then we waited half an hour for the school bus, but it didn’t arrive. Finally, our teacher took us to take the subway. It took us about an hour. After we got off the subway, we walked and got lost. When we finally arrived at the zoo, we were tired and hungry. We wanted to see dolphins, but there weren’t any. There were some really smart seals, but we didn’t see the show because we arrived too late. We left our camera at school, so we didn’t take any photos. Then it started to rain, and no one had an umbrella. So we went for lunch. My friends had some ice cream. But I didn’t have any, because I don’t like it. We didn’t see many animals because of the rain. Finally we went back to school. We were wet, tired and stressed out(紧张). I didn’t enjoy my school trip at all.What did the writer think of the school trip?
| A．Terrible | B．Great | C．Fun | D．Exciting |
The students werewhen they arrived at the zoo.
| A．excited | B．tired | C．happy | D．lucky |
How was the weather?
| A．Sunny | B．Cloudy | C．Windy | D．Rainy |
Everyone should work hard more and succeed but it is not wise to get success at the cost of family and health.
There was once a hard-working father. He tried his best to support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings attending classes, hoping to improve himself so that he could one day find a better-paid job. He hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to ①his family ①the best things that money could buy.
Whenever the family complained, he said that he was doing all this for them. But he often wished to spend more time with his family.
②The day came when the father was offered a good job. It paid quite well.
However, the family still did not get to see the father for most of the week. He went on working hard, hoping to get the position(职位) of manager.
The father’s hard work paid off and he was promoted(提升). Excitedly, he decided to hire a maid(女仆) so his wife did not have to do the housework any more. He also felt that their three-room house was no longer big enough. It would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the comfort of a large house. The father decided to further his studies.
As expected, the father’s hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful house. He told his family that he had decided not to work so hard. From then on he was going to devote more time to his family.
The next day, the father did not wake up.
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Making sense of how the US shows humor
Living in a new country gives me many surprises. The first surprise was the way that the US people speak.
One day I saw someone was having a public speech in a square. I thought it would be a serious speech. But I soon found it became a kind of entertainment show.
The speaker told the audience to protect the environment with humorous words. Later he said some people’s behavior didn’t go with their words. He took the example of Taylor Swift’s song We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
He said that since Swift doesn’t want to be with the boy any more, she doesn’t need to speak it aloud, she doesn’t need to sing unless she still keeps in touch with that guy. It sounds like she is a hypocrite.
Then he sang the song in a funny way. The audience laughed out loudly. I felt a little angry because Swift is my favourite star. I couldn’t understand why they laughed at Swift.
As time goes on, I find many US people make fun of others. But they don’t mean to hurt them. They do that to show closeness and humour. And people who are laughed at seldom get angry. Now I understand the speaker at the square. Now I’ve got used to the way the US people speak.
It’s easy to find culture shock when you’re in a new place. But everyone should learn to understand different cultures and customs.
| A．teaching people how to give a speech |
| B．calling on people to protect the environment |
| C．giving a singing show in public |
| D．criticizing the US government |
| A．会唱歌的人 | B．真诚的人 | C．虚伪的人 | D．爱护环境的人 |
| A．many US people like to laugh at others |
| B．many US people are friendly and humorous |
| C．the US people get angry at others easily |
| D．the writer doesn’t like the way the US people speak |
| A．The writer went to America and protect the environment. |
| B．Americans show humour in a different way from China. |
| C．It’s easy to find culture shock when you are in a new place. |
| D．Tailor Swift is an American famous singer. |
| A．Differences between the Chinese and the US people. |
| B．In what way the US people speak in public. |
| C．How to get used to life in the US. |
| D．A Chinese girl’s culture shock experience in the US. |