One day, a farmer was walking along a road with his son Thomas. The father said, “Look! There's a horseshoe. Pick it up and put it in your bag.” Thomas said, “It isn't worth（值得） the trouble.” His father said nothing but picked it up himself. When they got to a nearby town, they had a rest. There the farmer sold the horseshoe and with the few pennies he bought some cherries.
The father and the son walked on. The sun was well up in the sky, and there wasn't a house or even a tree where they could have a rest. Thomas felt too thirsty to walk on. At this time, his father dropped a cherry on the ground and Thomas picked it up quickly and ate it. After a while, his father dropped another cherry and once again, his son lost some time in picking it up and putting it in his mouth.
And so they went on. The old farmer dropped the cherries and the son picked them up. When Thomas had eaten up all the cherries, his father said to him, "My dear son, if you had bent (弯身)down earlier to pick up that horseshoe, it would not have been necessary for you to bend so many times for the cherries. Always remember the lesson that anyone who does not worry about the little things will find that he cannot do the great things.Who picked up the horseshoe at last?
| A．Thomas. | B．The old father. |
| C．Both the father and the son. | D．Nobody |
When the son refused to pick up the horseshoe, the father _______.
| A．felt very happy | B．didn't say anything |
| C．beat the son | D．became a little angry |
The farmer bought _______ with the money after he sold the horseshoe.
| A．some food | B．some water |
| C．some cherries | D．some pennies |
The father dropped the cherries one by one, because _______.
| A．he wanted his son to eat them all |
| B．he wanted his son to do more exercise |
| C．he wanted to teach his son a lesson |
| D．he wanted his son to pick them up |
From the story, we can learn that _______.
| A．cherries are so delicious that most of us like to eat them |
| B．a horseshoe is so expensive that it can bring us a lot of money |
| C．if the boy wants to eat cherries, he must pick up the horseshoe |
| D．if we want to do some great things, we should start with some small ones |
We usually believe what our brain tells us, but there are some amazing facts which show that the brain tricks us. As a result, we think we can see something that is not actually there or we ignore（忽视）things that actually are there.
Scientists Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris have researched this phenomenon（现象）, which they call “change blindness”. Their experiments show how we sometimes just do not see what is in front of our eyes because .
Here is one of their most famous experiments. In this experiment, the participants（参与者）were shown a video of two groups of people (one group in white T-shirts and one group in black T-shirts) who passed basketballs around in a hallway. Each group had three members. Simons and Chabris asked the participants to count how many times the white team passed the ball. While the two teams were passing their balls around, a person dressed up as a big bear walked through the group and stopped to look at the camera. Simons and Chabris found that about half of the research participants did not notice the big bear.What do Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris do?
| A．Scientists. |
| B．Astronauts. |
| C．Engineers. |
| D．Directors. |
How many people did the experiment need in the video?
| A．Three. |
| B．Four. |
| C．Six. |
| D．Seven. |
What percentage of the participants noticed the big bear?
| A．Less than 25%. |
| B．About 50%. |
| C．About 75%. |
| D．Almost 100%. |
Which is the most suitable to complete the last sentence in the second paragraph?
| A．we are not interested in it |
| B．we are too confident to see it |
| C．we are depending on other people |
| D．we are paying attention to watching something else |
The day before yesterday, when Peter’s family were having dinner, Father raised an interesting question, “Was there anything in our past that we feel ashamed of, guilty about, or regretted? Maybe we can find ways to say sorry, or take some action to right any wrongdoing.” This seemed like a very private matter, but Peter thought about it carefully the whole night.
Peter remembered an incident from middle school. In his school, there was a worker, Neil Stone, who none of the kids liked. One night, Peter and two of his classmates decided to play a trick on him. They found a can of red paint, and wrote on the school main road in bright red: Neil Stone is a fool! The next day, the whole school saw these words. Within two hours, Neil had Peter and his two classmates in his office. His classmates said that they had done it but Peter lied,
denying the truth. No one ever talked about it.
This morning, Peter went back to his middle school. Neil Stone is still working there. “Sorry, Neil. Do you still remember what happened ten years ago? I want you to know that I did it.” “I knew it!’ Neil laughed. They had a good laugh and a lively discussion. Neil’s closing words were: “Peter, I always felt bad for you because your classmates got it off their mind, and I knew you were carrying it around all these years. I want to thank you for visiting me… for your sake.”
Peter knows that no matter how difficult the situation is, it is never too late to clear up the past and make a fresh start.What did Peter remember doing in middle school?
| A．Something fantastic. |
| B．Something unpleasant. |
| C．Something valuable. |
| D．Something useful. |
What colour were the words “Neil Stone is a fool!”?
| A．Dark blue. |
| B．Light green. |
| C．Pure white. |
| D．Bright red. |
What does the underlined word “denying” mean?
| A．夸大 | B．赞同 | C．否认 | D．承认 |
When did Neil know who wrote the words on the school main road?
| A．Ten years ago. |
| B．The day before yesterday. |
| C．This morning. |
| D．Not until Peter told him. |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Peter’s story. |
| B．An unforgettable lesson. |
| C．It’s never too late. |
| D．Every dog has its day. |
What is this?
| A．A notice. | B．An advertisement. |
| C．An application. | D．An interview. |
Who is this most probably written for?
| A．Parents. | B．Children. |
| C．Pupils. | D．Guides. |
What is NOT mentioned about the trip?
| A．Days of the trip. | B．Places to visit. |
| C．Price of the trip. | D．Meals during the trip. |
阅读下面短文, 然后根据短文内容补全答题卡上对应表格中所缺失的信息, 每空仅填一词。
language changes with the development of society. So does English. English words change all the time. People need new words for new ideas and new inventions. Different words come into use and older words are used in a new way. Here are some common ways.
English can change by borrowing words from other languages. The word “tomato” was borrowed from Mexico, and “tea” came from China and so on. Now new words are formed by joining two words together. “weekend” and “cookbook” are made up of two parts. A latest one “brunch” comes from breakfast and lunch. Do you have brunch every day? Sometimes new words are shorter forms of older words. For example, the word “photo” was made from “photograph” by cutting off the end of the longer word. “Plane” and “phone” were made by cutting off the front part of “aeroplane” and “telephone”. The names of people and products can also become new words. Our “sandwich” was named after a man called Sandwich who invented it and “cello” was a name given by the company that first made the product.
Can you find more examples for each of these ways to make new words”
| How English new words are born |
|
| Ways |
|
| Borrowing |
|
| Weekend, cookbook, brunch |
|
| Cutting off |
Photo, |
| Using |
Sandwich, cello |
Michael Rossi is the Internet favorite Dad right now.
Mr. Rossi, a father from Philadelphia, recently took his kids, Jack and Victoria, to Boston for three days during the school term. But Rydal Elementary School, one of the oldest schools in Boston, doesn’t accept family holidays as an excuse for their absence and give them a warming notice. So Mr. Rossi wrote a letter to the school, which has been shared by thousands of parents online.
Dear Mrs. Marbyry,
While I am thankful for your concern for our children and the best education our kids receive from you, I can promise you they’ve learned as much in the three days we were in Boston as they would in a whole year in school.
Although they missed an important test, they learned about something more important for them, especially for their future.
They experienced first –hand the love and support form thousands of other people with a common goal. At the marathon(马拉松) , which is known as the most difficult one in the world, they watched runners with disabilities work together to collect money for children in poor areas.
In addition, our children walked the Freedom Trail, visited the site of the Boston Tea Party and the graves of several great pioneers of America. These are thing they WILL learn in school a year or more from now.
We truly love our school and teachers. But I wouldn’t hesitate (犹豫) to pull them out of school again for an experience like the one they had this time.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Michael RossiWhat has made Michael famous online recently ?
| A．His kids’ poor performance in a test. |
| B．A letter to his kids’ school headmaster. |
| C．A three – day –trip to Boston with his kids. |
| D．A warming notice from his kids’ school. |
Why did the school get angry with Michael?
| A．He let his kids join the Boston Tea Party. |
| B．He didn’t allow his kids to take an important test. |
| C．He invited his young kids to watch a marathon race. |
| D．He pulled his kids out of school during the school time. |
Michael wrote back to ___________?
| A．beg the school not to punish his kids |
| B．say sorry to the headmaster, Mrs Marbyry |
| C．tell the school what they did in the three days |
| D．express his different understanding of education. |
Why did Michael take his kids to watch the disabled runners?
| A．He wanted them to be sports stars in the future. |
| B．He wanted them to pay more attention to PE at school. |
| C．He wanted them to learn to love and care for poor people. |
| D．He wanted them to learn from those great pioneers of America. |
What’s the most Important message in Michael’s letter ?
| A．Learning can take place outside the classroom. |
| B．Students are not supposed to take so many tests. |
| C．The school is a better place for students to learn . |
| D．Parents do better than teachers in teaching their kids. |