Four years ago my sweet mom went to be with her Lord. She did it her way.
I got the call at work, and I headed home quickly. Mom and Dad lived on a small farm that they had owned since I was seven. I hated going there every weekend. There was nothing for a young girl to do but watch the one station on the old TV set, if the weather allowed reception（接收）.
My mom, on the other hand, loved the peace and quiet of the land and loved to work in the garden among her flowers and vegetables. The place was simple, with no indoor plumbing or heat. We had a big wood stove in the kitchen that did its best to heat the little farmhouse, but it always seemed cold and too quiet to me.
In the evenings, my mom and I would sit for hours singing in the little kitchen. I sang the melody and Mom harmonized. Her favorite song was "Moon River" and we sang it over and over. Mom told me stories about how when I was a little girl, I could sing before I could talk. She loved to tell how my playpen（婴儿圈栏）sat in the kitchen next to the radio and there was one song I particularly loved called "Ivory Tower".
As time passed, I had my own children and went to visit the farm every week or two. The kids loved the farm and the tractor rides with my dad. Me, well, I still hated the silence of the farm. While my mom loved to sit at her kitchen table and look out at her garden and flowers and retell all the old stories, I missed the hustle and bustle（喧闹）of my life at home. But I sat there listening quietly as she reminisced.
Now, I sat back in the silence and the silence was deafening so I finally leaned over to turn on an old radio. Music always comforted me.
My heart skipped a beat. "Moon River" was playing on the radio. I sat there stunned, with a tear running down my cheek, as I listened to every familiar note.
Then the radio announcer of this oldie station came on. "Here's one we haven't heard in a while," and an unfamiliar song began. I began to cry harder as I heard the words sung over the airwaves. “Come down, come down from your Ivory Tower...”.The writer didn’t like staying in the farm for the following reasons EXCEPT that
________.
| A．it was too cold and quiet |
| B．she could only sing one song on the small farm |
| C．there was nothing more that could make her excited |
| D．The place was simple, with no indoor plumbing or heat |
From the first paragraph, we know that the writer’s mother ________.
| A．passed away four years ago |
| B．left the small farm with Lord |
| C．left for Lord to live her own way |
| D．preferred to be with Lord |
The underlined word reminisced in the fifth paragraph probably means ________.
| A．recalled | B．comforted | C．shouted | D．sighed |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage _______.
| A．The writer was able to sing before she could speak. |
| B．The writer preferred to live a busy life in the city. |
| C．The writer was still quite familiar with the song "Ivory Tower". |
| D．The writer treasured all her childhood memories in the small farmhouse. |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage? _______
| A．Cherish life | B．My happy childhood |
| C．Our small farmhouse | D．Mom’s music |
What will the future be like? What do you think of it? Here are some answers from some students.
Roy Burns: I think life in the future will be better. Most people in the world will use “green cars” by 2020, so there will be less pollution and people will live to be 200 years old. As for space travel, I would say, we will travel to Mars(火星) and some other stars in about fifty years.
Helen Lester: If we don’t take good care of the earth now, our children and grandchildren will be born into a world with too much pollution. There will be fewer trees and more buildings, because there will be more people.
Kitty Smith: I agree with Helen Lester. Things will be worse. The weather in the future will be much hotter. Human beings will have to look for another planet to live on. What are the students doing?
| A．They are talking about space travel. |
| B．They are predicting the future. |
| C．They are talking about pollution. |
| D．They are predicting the weather in the future. |
How many things does Roy Burns predict?
| A．Two | B．Three | C．Five | D．Six |
What does Helen Lester think life will be like in the future?
| A．People will live much longer. |
| B．People will have to live on the moon. |
| C．Everybody will drive a green car. |
| D．There will be more buildings and fewer trees. |
What does the underlined word “planet” mean in Chinese?
| A．太空站 | B．宇宙 | C．星球 | D．南极 |
Why does Kitty Smith think human beings will have to live on another planet?
| A．The earth will be too crowded for human beings to live on. |
| B．There will be too much pollution everywhere. |
| C．There will be too many people. |
| D．The earth will be too hot to live on. |
根据下面一篇短文的内容判断下列句子的正误，正确的用“A”来表示，错误的用“B”来表示。
A young man couldn’t sleep well every night. He was very worried. One day he went to see the doctor. The doctor looked him over carefully. But nothing was wrong with him. The doctor told him to count from 1 to 10 again and again. “Keep doing it until you fall asleep,” the doctor said.
After a few days, the young man came to the doctor again. But to his surprise, the doctor found the young man was even worse than before! “Didn’t you count as I told you?” the doctor asked. “Yes, I did,” the young man answered. “But every time when I reached eight, I couldn’t help jumping(跳) from bed.”
“But why?” the doctor wanted to know. The young man said, “I am a boxer.”(拳击运动员)The young man had a very terrible illness(疾病).
The doctor told him to count numbers from 1 to 1000 .
After a few days the young man was even worse.
The young man didn’t do the things that the doctor told him.
The young man was a boxer.
请仔细阅读，按信息表中的项目要求填写信息。
 Name: Chen Hua From: Beijing |
I have changed a lot over the years. For example, I used to be afraid of exams, but now, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest, and I used to spend time watching TV every day. But now, I have no time, I study all day. My mother used to take me to the concert often, but now, I hardly ever have time on it. I like running, and I used to run every day after class, but now I’m not allowed. My parents want me to study all day. They want me to become the top student in the class, and I don’t want to let them down. So I have to give up running. I used to have colorful time, but now I’m busy enough, and I’m always happy. As you can see, people sure change! |
 Name: Li Yun From: Guangzhou |
I’ve changed a lot over the years. I used to have lots of free time to play computer and watch TV. But now I work harder on studies. I don’t go to bed until 10: 30 because of my homework. I used to love toys because they are so interesting. However, I prefer to play basketball now and it really gives me so much fun! As for my daily life, I used to be afraid of the dark, so I couldn’t sleep with the light off. But I can sleep with the light off now. I think I am really changed now. Time goes by, it’s amazing how I’ve changed and I am never a child! |
Information card
阅读配对。左栏是对5个人阅读兴趣的描述，右栏是对7个新闻板块的介绍，请为每个人选择最适合阅读的新闻板块。
E.International News: Here are news about the events that happened all over the world. |
If you are sitting at a table with people you don’t know, it is impolite to smoke without first asking if it will disturb them. At American restaurants and coffee shops, cold water is usually served before you order. You may find the bread and the butter are free, and if you order coffee, you may get a free refill.
Most cities and towns have no rules about opening and closing time for stores and restaurants, though they usually do make rules for bars. Especially in big cities, stores may be open 24 hours a day. Serving in restaurants are often large. If you can’t finish the meal but would like to enjoy the food later, ask the waiter or the waitress for a “doggie bag”(剩菜袋). It may have a picture of a dog on it, but everybody knows you are taking the food for yourself. Tips are not usually added to check. You should leave a tip of about 15% on the table when you leave. In some restaurants, a waiter or waitress often brings your check on a plate, and you can put your money there. Then the waiter or the waitress brings you your changes.______is usually served before you order at American restaurants or coffee shops.
| A．bread | B．Butter | C．Coffee | D．Cold water |
American people always _____ when servings are too large for them.
| A．take the food home for their dogs |
| B．leave the food on the table and go away |
| C．take the food home in doggie bags for themselves. |
| D．ask the waiter or the waitress to keep the food for them. |
If you spend $120 for your meal, you’ll probably leave a tip of________.
| A．$10 | B．$18 | C．$30 | D．$50 |
How can you give tips in America?
| A．They are usually added to the check. |
| B．They are added to the price of the meal. |
| C．A tip is usually 1/5 of the price of the meal. |
| D．You can leave them on the table when you leave. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．It’s bad manners to smoke if the people who sit at the same table mind it. |
| B．At American restaurants and coffee shops, bread, butter and coffee are all free. |
| C．American people never sit with people they don’t know. |
| D．Few cities and towns make rules for bars in America. |