For Sparky, school was all but impossible. He failed every subject in the eighth grade. He didn’t do much better in sports. Although he played for the school’s golf team, he lost the only important match of the season.
Sparky was a loser. He, his classmates…everyone knew it. Sparky never asked a classmate to go out in high school. He was too afraid of being refused.
However, one thing was important to Sparky – drawing. He was proud of his artwork. Of course, no one else appreciated it. In his senior year of high school, he sent some cartoons to the editors of the Yearbook. Although the cartoons were turned down, Sparky was so confident about his ability that he decided to become an artist.
After completing high school, he wrote a letter to Walt Disney Studios. He was told to send some samples of his artwork, and the subject for a cartoon was suggested. Sparky spent a great deal of time on it. Finally, the reply came from Disney Studios. He had been rejected(拒绝)once again. Another loss for the loser.
So Sparky decided to write his own autobiography(自传)in cartoons. He described his childhood – a little boy loser and underachiever. The cartoon character would soon become famous worldwide. For Sparky, the boy who had little success in school and whose work was rejected again and again was Charles Schulz. He created the Peanuts comic strip(连环漫画)and little cartoon character – Charlie Brown. We can know that Sparky was ________ from the first paragraph.
A.a top student | B.an artist | C.a good player | D.a failure |
Sparky never asked a classmate to go out because he ______.
A.had never been invited |
B.didn’t like making friends |
C.didn’t want to be refused |
D.was afraid of making mistakes |
What’s Sparky’s success according to the passage?
A.He was good at golf playing. |
B.He wrote a letter to Walt Disney Studios. |
C.He drew some cartoons for the Yearbook. |
D.His Peanuts comic strip became world famous. |
John Brown and Anna are Alan’s _______ .
A.parents |
B.grandparents |
C.brother and sister |
D.uncle and aunt |
Mary is Sally’s _______.
A.aunt | B.mother |
C.sister | D.friend |
Ann is John Brown’s _______.
A.Son |
B.granddaughter |
C.daughter |
D.grandson |
Tom and Kate are Ann’s ______.
A.Cousins |
B.uncle and aunt |
C.brother and sister |
D.father and mother |
From the family tree(家谱图), we know Sally has ______cousins .
A.two | B.three | C.four | D.five |
David eats well every day. For breakfast, he has bread, eggs and milk. At school, he has vegetables and rice for lunch. After lunch, he eats an apple. In the evening, he has chicken and fruit salad at home. David dislikes milk, but Mom says it is healthy. So he drinks it every day. After eight in the evening, he doesn’t have food. Every day, David does some sports to be healthy. He plays tennis in the morning and plays basketball after school.
根据短文内容,选择正确答案。David has ________ for lunch.
A.bread | B.vegetables |
C.chicken | D.salad |
划线单词dislike的汉语意思是“________”。
A.不喜欢 | B.不讨厌 |
C.不了解 | D.不在意 |
David doesn’t eat food after ________ in the evening.
A.7 | B.8 | C.9 | D.10 |
David plays ________ after school.
A.tennis | B.ping-pong |
C.soccer | D.basketball |
Which of the following is TRUE?
A.David is not healthy. |
B.David has a pear after lunch. |
C.David plays sports every day. |
D.David can’t play tennis. |
Cause and effect is one way to explain things that happen around us. Many things happen because something caused or influenced them to happen. Sometimes it is hard to look at a cause and find out what causes the effect. It may help you to start with the effect and use your reasoning (推理的) skills. Think about all the things you know that could be reasons for the effect you can see.
For example,you may see someone putting on a heavy jacket. This is the effect. To look for a cause, think to yourself, “What would make someone put on a heavy jacket?” Maybe the person is going outside into very cold weather. Maybe the person works in the penguin pen (企鹅圈养地) at Sea World. Maybe the person is going to visit an ice skating rink where the air is kept very cold. All of these things could be a cause for putting on a heavy jacket.
Now, think about a second example. The effect is a boy named Tony has to go to the head teacher’s office. What are the possible causes? Maybe he fought with another student. Maybe he is just being picked up early. Maybe he is being given a prize!
Here is another example for you to think about its cause and effect. Carol,13,was trying to fall asleep when her 8-year-old brother, Doug, came into her room. He looked around a bit,but seemed really out of it. Then Doug went back into the hallway and stood there looking straight up at the hall light for quite a while. Little brothers can be very strange,but this was really much too strange. Carol didn’t know what to do. Just then, Carol’s father appeared and explained that Doug was sleepwalking. What’s the cause and effect, could you tell?According to the second paragraph,which of the following is an effect?
A.Someone puts on a heavy jacket. |
B.Someone works in the penguin pen. |
C.Someone will go outside into cold weather. |
D.Someone will go to visit an ice skating rink. |
Tony has to go to the head teacher’s office. Which of the following isn’t the possible cause?
A.He fought with another student. | B.He is going shopping. |
C.He is being picked up early. | D.He is being given a prize. |
What was Doug doing when his sister Carol tried to fall asleep?
A.He was going outside. | B.He was reading a story. |
C.He was sleepwalking. | D.He was looking for his dad. |
Which of the following is cause and effect?
A.Tony got up and had a glass of water. |
B.We came home and found him sleeping. |
C.The ball was lost and a window was broken. |
D.Tim was late again and his teacher got angry. |
A couple from Miami, Bill and Simone Butler, spent sixty-six days in a life-raft(救生艇) in the seas of Central America after their boat sank.
Twenty-one days after they left Panama in their boat, Simony, they met some whales. “They started to hit the side of the boat,” said Bill, “and then suddenly we heard water.” Two minutes later, the boat was sinking. They jumped into the life-raft and watched the boat go under the water.
For twenty days they had tins of food, biscuits, and bottles of water. They also had a fishing-line and a machine to make salt water into drinking water — two things which saved their lives. They caught eight to ten fish a day and ate them raw(生的). Then the line broke. “So we had no more fish until something very strange happened. Some sharks came to feed, and the fish under the raft were afraid and came to the surface. I caught them with my hands.”
About twenty ships passed them, but no one saw them. After fifty days at sea their life-raft was beginning to break up. Then suddenly it was all over. A fishing boat saw them and picked them up. They couldn’t stand up.
So the captain carried them onto his boat and took them to Costa Rica. Their two months at sea was over.Bill and Simone were traveling _______ when they met some whales.
A.in a life-raft | B.in Miami |
C.in Simony | D.in Panama |
The whales hit the side of the boat, and then _______.
A.they brought in a lot of water |
B.they broke the side of the boat |
C.they pulled the boat |
D.they went under the water |
During their days at sea, _______ saved their lives.
A.tins of food and bottles of water |
B.a fishing-line and a machine |
C.whales and sharks |
D.Twenty passing ships |
When they saw the fishing boat which later picked them up, _______.
A.they were too happy to stand up |
B.they couldn’t wait to climb onto the boat |
C.their life-raft was beginning to break up |
D.they knew their two months at sea would be over |
The Round Bird is not like any other birds. He has a big round body but with little wings. He can not fly but he expects to play with other birds in the sky. Every day and in many ways, he tries to fly. And he tries again and again. But nothing works. Then he thinks it will be better use the tree. It is very hard for a little bird to do so, but he climbs up the tree! The Round Bird really wants to learn to fly. A few minutes later, he sits on a branch and gets ready to jump and flap his wings. He practices many times and flap some more, but they don’t work! In the end, he climbs down the tree and starts thinking seriously.
After thinking for a long time, he knows that although he really wants to fly and tries hard, there are some birds are not able to do. He can’t fly because of his body and his little wings. But he knows that there are still some things he is able to. Then the only job for the Round Bird is to find those special things that only special birds like him can do.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.The Round Bird has little wings |
B.The Round Bird can fly with other birds. |
C.The Round Bird can fly if he tries hard. |
D.The Round Bird can not climb up the tree. |
What’s the Round Bird like?
A.Beautiful and friendly. |
B.Lazy but funny. |
C.Hard-working and good at thinking. |
D.Smart but lazy. |
Which of the words had the same meaning as “flap”?
A.Swing. | B.Break. | C.Nod | D.Show. |
What can we learn from the passage?
A.Every bird can fly. |
B.We can make our dream come true if we try hard. |
C.We should think twice before we do something. |
D.We should find the most suitable (适合) things for us to do. |