It was the first day of school. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a little old lady smiling at me.
She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?”
I laughed, enthusiastically responding, “Of course!” And she gave me a giant squeeze. “Why are you in college at such an age?” I asked.
“I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have children, and then retire and travel.”
“No seriously.”
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!”
We became instant friends. Over the course of the year, Rose made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she took great delight in the attention given to her from the other students. She was living it up. At the end of the term we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet (宴会) and I’ll never forget what she taught us.
As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her note card on the floor. A little embarrassed she simply said, “I’m sorry. This whiskey is killing me! I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.” As we laughed, she cleared her throat and began: “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing; There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You have got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. Anyone can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do.”
At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral(葬礼) to honor the wonderful woman.While meeting Rose at the college for the first time, the author was curious about
________.
| A．her age | B．her dream | C．her life | D．her motivation |
The underlined sentence “She was living it up” in the text most probably means
________.
| A．she did as well as she was expected |
| B．she spent much money in her college life |
| C．she did things that she enjoyed |
| D．she deserved(应得) praise due to her study |
In Rose’s opinion, one can learn to grow up by __________.
| A．getting new ideas |
| B．regretting his mistakes |
| C．gaining new knowledge every day |
| D．finding chances to do productive things |
What else did Rose most probably say at the football banquet?
| A．“It seems my young days are over.” |
| B．“The only people who fear death are those with regrets.” |
| C．“When we are old, we can’t do anything. So enjoy in time!” |
| D．“Have a good time and don’t do much in order to stay young.” |
The story of Rose in the text shows that __________.
| A．it is never too late to learn in your life. |
| B．it is good for old people to have friendship. |
| C．it is never too late to be all you can possibly be. |
| D．it is very important to have a healthy body when people are old. |
Hello Sandy,
We have just returned form our holiday. We went with our friends，Edward Smith and his wife Tina, to the Yorkshire Moors. It is a beautiful natural park. There are lots of places to walk on the tops of the hills，miles of grassland with no people，just sheep and birds.
Edward had just come out of hospital and he could not walk as far as before. However, this meant that we walked in the mornings, and then stopped at a restaurant for lunch each day before returning to the place we lived in. Edward and I slept in front of the fire all afternoon, while the ladies went for another walk. Very pleasant!
I took lots of photos from the place we lived in, across the valley (山谷）below us, of the morning sunrise, and the mist(迷雾）in the valley. Also, in England, the old steam-powered trains are very popular. I took many photos of the train.
Yesterday we had the first snow of this winter. It is very early. We usually have snow in January. It rained all day, then snowed in the evening .Today we have bright sunshine! Both Jenny and I are well. I don’t know if I told you, in the last e-mail , that Jenny is now working in a hotel. Although she has to work hard, people there are nice, and she is enjoying the work.
Please write to us to tell us your news.
Yours, VictorWhat can they see on the tops of the hills?
| A．Sheep and birds | B．Snow. |
| C．Many people. | D．Forests. |
Why couldn’t Edward walk very far?
| A．Because he didn’t like walking. |
| B．Because he was in hospital. |
| C．Because he was weak then. |
| D．Because his wife didn’t go. |
What’s the season now?
| A．Spring | B．Winter | C．Summer | D．Autumn |
Where does Jenny work now?
| A．In a computer company | B．In the hospital |
| C．In a restaurant | D．In a hotel |
Victor wrote to tell Sandy _____.
| A．he just came back from his holiday |
| B．Edward could not walk as far as before |
| C．they had the first snow of this winter |
| D．how things were going with the holiday. |
Last Friday, a Tibetan(藏族的) postman became the first woman postal worker to give a speech at the World Postal Meeting in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. She was Nima Lamu, a postwoman of Yunling Post office, Yunnan Province.
She said, “I had to cross the Lancang River along a steel wire. My younger brother nearly died in the river before. I felt so afraid when I was asked for the first time to cross the river. But when I reached the other side, I found that I was flying.”
Her area is locked in (封闭) two snowy mountains and three big rivers. She said, “:What worries me most is the snakes on the way. Sometimes, I throw little stones toward them and I often tell my self ‘Keep going’. ”
Ten years ago, it took Nima five days to finish each week’s mail. She had to face snowstorms, floods, snakes and loneliness on her 350-kilometer journey. Nima said, “The situation has developed a lot these years. Now we have a bridge that was built across the Lancang River in 2006.”
Nima never dreamed she would become famous one day when she first look up her job, 12 years ago. Changes have been seen in recent years as more tourists visit Nima’s hometown. But one thing remains unchanged: she is still the carrier of the villagers’ hopes and dreams.Nima was invited to the meeting in Bern because she was _________.
| A．the only Tibetan postman in China |
| B．the first postwoman in the world |
| C．doing a hard job as a postwoman |
| D．making her village famous overnight |
What happened to her brother according to Nima Lamu?
| A．he once fell into the river |
| B．He was killed by a snake. |
| C．He died when swimming in the river. |
| D．He got hurt when building the bridge. |
Which picture is TRUE about Nima’s crossing the river ten years ago?
What will Nima do if she finds a snake on the way?
| A．Kill it with stones. |
| B．Keep it off and go on. |
| C．Throw it away and leave. |
| D．turn around and run. |
What is RTUE about Nima?
| A．She is building a bridge across the Lancang River. |
| B．She has realized all the villagers’ dreams. |
| C．She got her job as a post woman before 2000. |
| D．She doesn’t need to do her work now. |
Mr. Whitcomb Judson was a really clever man. He invented a special train that was pushed along by air and in 1893 he invented something like a zip(拉链) that could be used to open and close clothes. It could be used on men’s trousers and on ladies’ dresses. He did not call his invention a ‘zip’ but everybody says that he was the ‘Father of the Zip’. Mr. Judson tried to sell his invention but no one wanted it because it did not work very well. A Canadian changed Mr. Judson’s invention and made it better. He made a zip that worked very well in 1913.This is the same zip we use today.Mr. Whitcomb Judson was a _____ man.
| A．kind | B．lazy |
| C．cler | D．foolish |
Mr. Whitcomb Judson invented ______ in 1893.
| A．a special train | B．something l p |
C．a washing machine | D．a special car |
A zip can be used to _______.
| A．open clothes | B．close clothes |
| C．open and close clothes | D．make clothes |
A _______ man changed Mr. Judson’s invention and made it better.
| A．Chinese | B．Canadian |
| C．German | D．Japanese |
_______ was called “Father of Zip”.
| A．Mr. Whitcomb Judson | B．The Canadian |
| C．Whitcomb’s father | D．Whitcomb’s son |
The young violin player Vanessa-Mae was the first musician to use dance and rock music in classical（古典的）music. Vanessa-Mae love pop music, and she was also a very good classical violinist, and she brought these kinds of music together.
Vanessa-Mae was born in Singapore on October 27,1978.She moved to London with her family when she was four.A year later,she started to learn the violin.When she was eight,she went to Beijing to study the violin.When she was ten,she played with a very famous group of classical musicians.But Vanessa-Mae doesn’t only play the violin.She learnt the piano before she started to play the violin.
She likes lots of different kinds of music, from Beethoven to the Beatles, and she wants to play the music she likes. Not only has she played in classical concerts all over the world, but she has also played in pop concerts with pop stars.
A lot of people don’t like the way she uses modern rhythms（节奏）, noisy drums and guitars in traditional（传统的）music. But Vanessa-Mae has done one important thing: she has brought many new fans to classical music. For the first time, many young people began to listen to classical music.Vanessa-Mae was a young woman.
| A．Chinese | B．English |
| C．Singaporean | D．French |
The type of music Vanessa-Mae likes is .
| A．traditional music | B．different kinds of music |
| C．classical music | D．rock and roll |
listen to classical music because they like Vanessa-Mae.
| A．Pop stars | B．Young people |
| C．Classical musicians | D．Old people |
was the first instrument（乐器）she learnt to play.
| A．The violin | B．The piano |
| C．The drums | D．The guitar |
Street Markets Around the World
There are many ways of shopping．You can shop by telephone，by post or through your home computer，but for many people，the most exciting way to shop is also the most traditional--at a street market．You can find market anywhere in the world．Here are four of them：
There are many “floating markets” in Asia；perhaps the most unusual is in Thailand（泰国），at a place called Damnoen Saduak．It's open from six in the morning to the noon every day．People sell fresh fruit from their boats．
Many Belgians（比利时人）say that the Grand Place is the most beautiful square in the world．It is the home of a colorful flower market．It's open every day except Monday．On Monday，instead of flowers，there's a wonderful bird market!
One of the world's most famous markets is in Mexico City--the Sonora Market．You can buy toys，birds，herbs and medicine．There are all kinds of things．It's open every day from early in the morning till late at night．
In England，every weekend，thousands of young people from all over London travel to the Camden Market--it's the place to go for street fashion，CDs and tapes．Many people also go there for fun．
根据短文内容，在表格中的横线上填写所缺的单词。
| Names |
Countries |
Features（特征） |
Things to Sell |
Open Time |
| The Damnoen Saduak |
Thailand |
unusual |
fresh |
Everyday |
| The Grand Place |
Belgium |
beautiful |
Every day except Monday |
|
| the Sonora Market |
Mexico |
all kinds ofthings |
Every day |
|
| the Camden Market |
fashion |
Fashion things |
Every |