NamePersonalInformationNormanB-优题课

In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what "keeping up with the Joneses" is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant(仆人) and gave big parties for their new neighbors.
It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it "Keeping up with the Joneses" because "Jones" is a very common name in the United States. "Keeping up with the Joneses" came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand' s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are "Joneses" in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.
Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they _______.

A．want to be as rich as their neighbors

B．want others to know or to think that they are rich

C．don't want others to know they are rich

D．want to make themselves happy

It can be inferred（推断）from the story that rich people like to_______.

A．live outside New York City	B．live in New York city
C．live in apartments	D．have many neighbors

According to the writer, it is_______ to keep up with the Joneses.

A．correct

B．interesting

C．impossible

D．good

Which of the following activities probably does not belong to the rich people?

A．holding a race	B．riding horses
C．holding parties	D．hiring a servant

Taking part in charity is not just for adult people. Kids can do it too! Melvin Sheppard, 14, an American student, has done charity work for 8 years. He has also encouraged his classmates to join him.
Melvin studies at William Allen Middle School in Philadelphia. Recently, he collected $ 1,500 by himself and $487 from his classmates to donate to Cooper University Hospital.
Melvin was born nine weeks premature (早产的) in Cooper University Hospital, weighing 2.6kg. His father told him how Cooper saved his life, so he feels thankful to the hospital.
Melvin's classmates joined him once they found out about his kind behavior. Their teacher, Michael Bemer, also held a class with them about helping others. "It wasn't really about the money," Bemer said. "It was about the fact that they were doing something good."
"It feels great, helping someone that I know." said Jordan, Melvin' s classmate. Melvin's neighbors also helped out.
Since Melvin was 6, he and his parents have given money to Cooper University Hospital every year. This year, Gray E. Stahl, the head of Cooper's division of neonatology(新生儿科学部门), went to Melvin's school to accept the money.
The money goes to a part of the hospital that helps about 500 young patients every year.
"When they leave, we call them graduates," Stahl said, "my co - workers and I are pleased when our graduates and their families do well, like Melvin and his family."
When did Melvin start to do charity work?

A．When he was 14 years old.

B．When he was 8 years old.

C．When he was 6 years old.

D．When he was born.

Why did Melvin donate to Cooper University Hospital?

A．He was a doctor in Cooper University Hospital.

B．His father worked in Cooper University Hospital.

C．He was thankful to Cooper University Hospital.

D．He used to volunteer in Cooper University Hospital.

Where did Gray E. Stahl accept the money?

A．At Melvin's school.

B．At Melvin's house.

C．At Cooper University Hospital.

D．At Cooper's division of neonatology.

Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Many college graduates accept the money every year.

B．The money helps about 500 0ld patients every year.

C．Melvin does the charity work alone for many years.

D．Melvin's teacher thinks it is a great thing to learn to help others.

Alfred Nobel, a Swedish - born chemist, who died in 1896, at one time believed that his invention of explosives (炸药) could bring wars to an end, But later he found he was wrong.
Nobel was born in Sweden in 1833. With only one year of formal schooling, he became a chemist and inventor by age of 16.
He was also a linguist, speaking English, Russian, German and French besides Swedish. He wrote poetry(诗歌). He began his work with producing liquid nitroglycerin (硝酸甘油) for use in mining and construction. He then discovered that liquid nitroglycerin could be dried. He called it dynamite, after the Greek word dynamis, meaning "power". Then he became rich. When he died, his estate (财产) was worth about 89 million.
Nobel never married, and he left most of his estate to those who have been known as Nobel Prizes. The money is invested (投资) and the interest (利息) is given out as yearly prizes for persons who have done something special for mankind in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology, medicine, literature, and peace.
Prizes were first awarded in 1901. Over the years, many great people such as Albert Einstein in physics, Marie Curie in chemistry, Martin Luther King, Jr. for peace and Mo yan for literature got the awards.
From the passage we can guess the underlined word "linguist" is a person who_______.

A．can speak a foreign language

B．writes good poetry

C．knows several foreign language well

D．makes many inventions

Alfred Nobel believed_______.

A．he would become the richest person of the world

B．his invention could stop wars in the world

C．the Nobel Prizes could be world - famous

D．no one could use his invention to start wars

All the questions have been answered Except_______.

A．who chooses the Nobel Prize winners

B．when were Nobel Prizes first awarded

C．who could win Nobel Prizes

D．what else was Nobel interested in besides chemistry

Joe and his friends were on their way to the Red Cross Headquarters to take the test for the first- aid badge（徽章）.They had worked and practiced very hard the whole year and were confident that they would do well for their test.
On their way to the test place, they saw a hit - and - run accident. A taxi driver had sped through the red light and almost hit a schoolboy, However, he could not stop in time to avoid（避开）a motorcycle that had turned round the corner. The passenger at the back was thrown off the motorcycle and landed heavily on the ground. The taxi driver was frightened and drove off.
Everyone on the street was greatly surprised.
Joe realized that they should take action when he saw the victim（受害者）bled heavily. "Come on," he said to his friends and wanted them to follow him but they didn't move.
Joe knew what they were thinking. They would have to wait for another year if they were to miss the test. "Which is more important? A man's life or a badge?" Joe asked his friends.
The question made his friends feel small.
The victim had a deep cut on his head. Joe and his friends dressed his wound to stop the bleeding while waiting for the hospital car to arrive. This was what the Red Cross Society had trained them for.
Joe and his friends were on their way to the Red Cross Headquarters to_______.

A．take a test on first - aid badge

B．collect their first - aid badges

C．report a hit - and - run accident

D．help the victim of an accident

Who got hurt in the accident?

A．The passenger in the taxi.	B．The passenger on a motorcycle.
C．The taxi driver.	D．The motorcycle rider.

The test for the first - aid badge is held _______.

A．once a year	B．twice a year
C．once a term	D．twice a term

What did Joe and his friends do for the victim?

A．They took him to the hospital.

B．They stopped the bleeding for him.

C．They did nothing for him.

D．They made a phone call to his family.

In the morning, Mr. Martin comes into his garden. He sees too much snow in the garden. Mr Martin wants to take his car out, so he asks a cleaner to clean the road(路) from his garage(车库) to the gate. He says to the cleaner, “Don’t put any snow on the flowers or on the wall. And don’t put any into the street, or the policeman will come.” Then he goes out.
When he comes back, the road is clean. There is no snow on the flowers, on the wall or in the street. But when he opens the garage to get his car out, he sees: it is full of snow, the snow from the road, and his car is under the snow!
What is the weather like?___________

A．It’s very hot.

B．It’s raining.

C．It’s cold

D．It’s windy.

Who cleans the snow on the road? ___________

A．Mr Martin.

B．A policeman.

C．Mrs Martin.

D．A cleaner.

Why can’t the cleaner put any snow into the street? ___________

A．Because there’s too much snow, too.

B．Because the policeman will come.

C．Because there are flowers in the street.

D．Because there’s a car in the street.

Where is the snow after the cleaner cleans the road? ___________

A．On the flowers.	B．In the garage.
C．In the street.	D．We don’t know.

What does Mr Martin think of the cleaner? ___________

A．He is smart.	B．He does a right thing.
C．He does a wrong thing.	D．He helps Mr Martin.

Name	Personal Information
Norman Bethune	Born in 1890 in Canada. A doctor Came to China in 1938 Died in 1939 in China
Celine Dion	Born in Montreal, Canada A singing star In 1997, sang My Heart Will Go On for the film Titanic
Thomas Edison	Born in 1847, Kentucky, USA Made over 1,000 inventions Died in 1931
Bill Gates	Born in 1955 in the USA Wrote Business @ the Speed of Thought Owns Microsoft Company
Mark Twain	Born in 1835 in the USA A writer Wrote The Adventures of Tome Sawyer Died in 1910