Have successful people ever felt sad? Do they have any “secrets” to success? The answers to these questions can be found in US president Barack Obama’s “back to school” speech. Here is an excerpt(摘录) from his speech.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense that you can be rich and successful without any hard work—that your ticket to success is through pop music or basketball or being a TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. Not all the homework will seem rather important to your life right this minute. And you may not succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures (the opposite of success). JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was turned down 12 times before it finally came out. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots (投篮) during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures beat(打败) you—you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time.
No one’s born being good at things. You become good at things through hard work.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to tell when you don’t know something, and to learn something new.
And even when you’re struggling(奋斗), even when you’re discouraged (泄气), and you feel other people have given up on you—don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.Why does Barack Obama mention (提到) JK Rowling and Michael Jordan in the third paragraph?
| A．To compare these two famous persons. |
| B．To explain that the more failures he has, the more successful he is. |
| C．If you want to be successful, you should fail first. |
| D．To show that failure is the mother of success. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．No one can be successful without working hard. |
| B．Failure can be good if you treat it in a right way. |
| C．Those who believe in themselves shouldn’t ask others for help. |
| D．One should try his best to make his dream come true. |
Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined sentence?
| A．One shouldn’t ask questions because it is a sign of strength. |
| B．One should believe in himself though he will face much difficulty. |
| C．One doesn’t have to work hard when he has failed several times. |
| D．One doesn’t have to ask for help because it is a sign of weakness. |
There are lots of popular writers in China, for example Han Han, FengJical, Tie Ning, Guo Jingming and so on. In my mind, Mo Yan is one of the most famous writers in China, because he is not only from Weifang but also good at writing.
Mo Yan was born in Gao Mi, Wei Fang. Now he is a 57-year-old writer. His real name is Guan Moye. Mo Yan is his pen name. It means “no speaking”. He began writing at the age of 26 and in 2011 his novel The Frog won the Mao Dun Prize in Literature. Since then, he has won lots of prizes.
In 2012, Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize in Literature. I’m proud of him, because I like writing. So I joined a writing workshop to improve my level of writing and I made lots of friends there.
Who is your favourite writer? Can you tell me?
How many writers are mentioned in this passage?
| A．5 | B．6 | C．4 | D．7 |
Where was Mo Yan born?
| A．In Jiangsu. | B．In Zhejiang. |
| C．In Gao Mi. | D．In Nobel. |
What does “Mo Yan” mean?
| A．Frog | B．Guan Moye | C．Mao Dun | D．No Speaking |
Why did the writer join a writing workshop?
| A．Because he likes Mo Yan. |
| B．Because he likes writing. |
| C．Because he likes some writers. |
| D．Because he wants to make some friends. |
Which one is not TRUE?
| A．Gao Mi is Mo Yan’s hometown. |
| B．Mo Yan began writing in 1981. |
| C．Mo Yan won Nobel Prize in Literature in 2011. |
| D．Mo Yan is the writer’s favourite writer. |
Many animals go on long and difficult journeys to find food or places for their young to start life. They often travel very far, sometimes even halfway around the world.
Some animals make one of these amazing journeys every year, while others make only one amazing journey in their lives. Some animals travel over land, some through water and others in the air.
Green turtles spend most of their lives in the sea, but they come to the shore to lay their eggs. Every two or three years, fully-grown female turtles swim a long way to the same beach where they were hatched (孵化) and lay their eggs there. Some turtles may travel over 1240 miles to reach the same beach. No one knows how these turtles are able to find the same beach again.
Monarch butterflies live in North America. At the end of summer, they fly south to Mexico. In spring, they fly back north. During this journey, the adults lay their eggs and then they die. When the young butterflies hatch, they continue the journey north. No one knows how the young butterflies know where to go.The journeys for these animals are usually_____________.
| A．long but easy | B．short but difficult |
| C．short and easy | D．long and difficult |
Monarch butterflies lay eggs______________.
| A．in North America |
| B．in Mexico |
| C．on the way from Mexico to North America |
| D．at the end of summer |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Some animals make the amazing journey once in a lifetime. |
| B．Some animals make the journey through water. |
| C．Female turtles lay eggs on the same beach where they were hatched. |
| D．Young monarch butterflies fly back to Mexico after they hatch. |
The main idea of this passage is ______________.
| A．about some animals’ looks |
| B．about some animals’ journeys to find food or lay eggs |
| C．why some animals lay eggs |
| D．when some animals find food |
Mr. Jones opened a shop in Aston to sell writing-paper, pencils and things like that. During the first month, very few people visited his shop. He sold little, and he could see that he was going to lose money. One night, Mr. Jones sat by the fire and was worried after another very bad day. Suddenly he got an idea. He found a piece of wood and wrote to the following notice on it in big letters：
“WHAT DO YOU THINK I GIVE AWAY PENCILS PAPER AND INK”
He put up the notice in front of the shop window before he went to bed. He slept better than usual that night.
The following day, many people came to the shop. Mr. Jones said good morning to them all with a bright smile and asked the first woman what she wanted.
She chose some writing paper and a pencil. As soon as he put them on her hands, she turned to leave the shop.
“That will be thirty cents, please,” he said.
“Why?” she asked in surprise.
“That’s the price of the paper and the pencil.”
“But your notice says it’s free,” she replied.
“Oh no,” he said, “how can I make any money if everything is free?”
She took him outside and showed him the notice “It is wrong, too,” she said. “where is the question mark after the world ‘think’?”
“There isn’t a question mark,” he said.
“But there should be one.”
“I’m afraid you’ve made a mistake,” Mr. Jones said.“You have read my notice in the wrong way.”
“Not at all,” said the woman. “It is quite easy to read. It says： What do you think? I give away pencils and
paper and ink!”
“No,” Mr. Jones said. “You should read it like this . And the answer to the question is： Certainly not! So you really have to pay me thirty cents, you see.”How did Mr. Jones most probably felt that night?
| A．Confident. | B．Afraid. | C．Unhappy. | D．Worried. |
Which of the following sentences is the most suitable for the blank in the last paragraph?
| A．What do you think? I give away pencils, paper and ink! |
| B．What? Do you think I give away pencils, paper and ink? |
| C．What do you think I give away? Pencils, paper and ink. |
| D．Ink, paper and pencils away give. I think you do what? |
What can we infer (推断) from the story?
| A．Mr. Jones agreed to let the shoppers get things for free that day. |
| B．People in the town considered Mr. Jones a smart and honest man. |
| C．The woman paid the money unwillingly and left the shop angrily. |
| D．Mr. Jones’s trick proved to be a longtime success and he got rich. |
You may know the English letters A, B and C. But do you know there are people called ABCs? Do you know there is such a thing as “a banana person”? How strange! ABC means American-born Chinese. An ABC is a Chinese, but was born in the United States. Sometimes, people call an ABC a “banana person”. A banana is yellow outside. So, when a person is a “banana”, he or she is white inside—thinking like a Westerner and yellow outside—looking like a Chinese.
Usually, ABCs know little about China or the Chinese language. Some of them don’t speak Chinese. But if ABCs cannot speak Chinese, can we still call them Chinese people? Yes, of course. They are overseas (海外的) Chinese. These people may be citizens (公民) of another country like the US, Canada or Singapore. But they have Chinese blood. Their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents were from China. They all have black eyes and black hair.
But they are not Chinese citizens. They are people of the People’s Republic of China. For example, we all know the famous scientist C. N. Yang (杨振宁) . He got the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1957. Chinese people love him. But he is an American citizen.“ABCs” in this passage means .
| A．three English letters |
| B．a kind of banana |
| C．Chinese born in America |
| D．Americans born in China |
Chinese in Western countries are called “banana persons” because .
| A．their bodies are white inside but yellow outside |
| B．they think like Westerners but look like Chinese |
| C．they were born in China but go to study in America |
| D．they like to eat bananas |
Which of the sentences is WRONG about ABCs?
| A．ABCs may know little about China. |
| B．They are overseas Chinese. |
| C．They may speak little Chinese. |
| D．They are Chinese citizens. |
任务型阅读
学校要举行一次劳动世纪实践活动，要求每组同学合作烹制一道菜。请阅读下列材料，根据五位同学的分工，为他们找到相应的任务。
| Tasks |
| A Cutting up the chicken Heating up the oil Putting in the chicken Adding some salt |
B 2kg of chicken 0.5kg of carrots 1 bottle of cooking oil 1 bottle of cooking wine |
C Taking pictures Doing interviews Making a report |
| D Starting a discussion Making decisions Telling group members what to do |
E Washing the dishes Cleaning the table Sweeping the floor Taking away the trash |