It was just three degrees above zero. “That’s cold,” thought Jane as she got ready to deliver her morning papers. Jane had 50 customers, and on cold mornings when she couldn’t ride her bicycle, it took her more than an hour to make her rounds. As she collected her papers and put them into a big canvas bag, Jane regretted that she hadn’t finished her math homework the night before. There was still time. She’d hurry with the papers and finish the math before breakfast.
Less than an hour later, Jane was nearly finished. She had only five customers to go. She could then head for home to complete her math while her room fixed breakfast. As she rounded the corner, she saw a car in the middle of the street. It was Mr. Zimmerman, the elder man, who walked with a walking stick. His car was out of gas.“I’d like to help Mr. Zimmerman,” thought Jane, “but if I do, I won’t have time to do my homework.” She hated to think what Mr. Roberts would say if she hadn’t completed her papers.
“It’s his own fault for running out of gas,” Jane talked to herself. “The station is only a half mile down the street. Surely Mr. Zimmerman can walk that far, even on a cold morning like this --- can’t he? ” As she walked down the street, Jane wondered what to do.Jane delivers her paper______.
| A．before she goes to school |
| B．on cold morning |
| C．with the help of Mr. Zimmerman’s car |
| D．on the way to school |
Mr. Zimmerman was old and_______.
| A．couldn’t drive well |
| B．would have nobody to help him |
| C．was not rich enough to buy gas |
| D．was not able to walk a long way |
We know from the reading that______.
| A．Jane couldn’t find any time to finish her homework |
| B．it took about an hour for Jane to send the papers |
| C．Jane would have her breakfast in the school |
| D．Jane likes to deliver papers on cold mornings |
The reading doesn’t say but we can infer(推断) that_____.
| A．Jane bought the gas for Mr. Zimmerman |
| B．usually Jane delivers papers by bike |
| C．Mr. Robert doesn’t like Jane at school |
| D．Mr. Zimmerman had to leave the car for Jane |
In life, people come across many experiences, which they remember all their lives. I had a similar experience, too.
It was the day of my last paper of the final exam. My uncle had invited me to spend my vacation with him. I was especially excited about the invitation that my uncle had given me to stay with him for a few days in Cambridge.
On that day we got into our classroom. The teacher quickly handed out the paper. The exam would last two hours and some of the expected questions came. I finished it almost forty-five minutes earlier. But since it was a rule not to collect the paper before the allotted（规定的）time. I had to sit till the teacher collected the paper. I checked my paper twice and corrected some of the mistakes in it. I started thinking about the place my friends and I had planned to go to after the exam. The time seemed to be endless. So I thought of drawing something on the paper and turned it overleaf. I was shocked to see that the page which I had supposed to be blank had four more questions on it which carried 20 marks and would take at least half an hour to complete. There were only 10 minutes left. I was so nervous that I could hardly write anything. They were the sub-questions（小题）of the last question. Suddenly our physics teacher came in and told all of us that in the last question, out of 6 sub-questions only 2 had to be solved. I felt very relieved.
From then on, I realized that my anxiousness and excitement could have cost me to lose 20 marks and decided never to make such a mistake again.Which of the following statements is true?
| A．The writer didn’t work hard at physics. |
| B．The writer lost 20 marks for the last question. |
| C．The writer made some mistakes during the exam. |
| D．The questions on the paper were difficult for the writer. |
The underlined word “relieved” means ________.
| A．less worried | B．less afraid |
| C．more surprised | D．more nervous |
We can infer（推断） from the passage that _____________.
| A．the writer did 2 sub-questions of the last question |
| B．the writer finished doing all the sub-questions |
| C．the writer spent 45 minutes finishing the paper |
| D．the writer got full marks in the physics exam |
We can learn from the passage that we should _____________.
| A．learn some exam skills |
| B．be careful not to make mistakes in the exam |
| C．try our best to do well in the exam |
| D．concentrate on what we are doing |
People often complain they face too many problems. Every day and everywhere there are problems. Many times we find it hard to stay happy. When one problem is solved, another one comes up.
People have money problems, work problems, family problems, health problems..... the list goes on. And we usually think that people who are happy and successful are having fewer problems than us. Look at the successful people we often mention. They have money they need, they have jobs they love, they have good friends, they have obedient(孝顺的) kids, they have the successful business, they have loving families etc. Everything goes well with them. That is why they are happy and successful. But in fact, the more successful you are, the more problems you have to face. More success means more challenges they have to face, and more success means more risks they have to take.
Young and old, rich and poor, successful and unsuccessful, educated and uneducated, all have problems. The difference is that their problems are different from each other. Rich and successful have big problems. Poor and unsuccessful have small problems. Still they all have problems which they can face. Successful people are successful just because they are ready to face challenges larger than ordinary people.
Winning the US elections(选举) makes Obama very happy. As a new US president, he has to face bigger challenges. He has to be more careful about his work he does, or he will lose his position(位置). Looking at him, we may say he is lucky, happy and successful. But, I think, as the US president, he has more pressure than an ordinary person. You will be a/an ______ person if you are afraid to face more challenges.
| A．ordinary | B．successful | C．famous | D．educated |
From this article we know that President Obama ______.
| A．has fewer problems | B．was born in a rich family |
| C．takes more risks | D．is a successful businessman |
The main idea of this article is _______.
| A．why poor people are always poor |
| B．how many problems people usually have to face |
| C．how lucky and happy President Obama is |
| D．how to deal with problems in life |
Americans use many expressions with the word dog. People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well.
Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs. They say if a person wants to be successful he has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.
Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills. Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks(手艺). They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.
Dog expressions are also used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. A rain in summer may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs.If a person without lots of money wants to buy a car, he or she has to ______.
| A．treat the dog well | B．live with lots of dogs |
| C．work like a dog | D．become sick as a dog |
The saying you can never teach an old dog new tricks tells us older people ______.
| A．have more ways to do things | B．do things more slowly |
| C．dislike to learn new things | D．know wonderful tricks |
Which of the following is NOT true according to this passage?
| A．Many dogs are loved and treated well by people in America. |
| B．“Every dog has its day” means dogs are the most successful animal. |
| C．“It rains cats and dogs” has the same meaning as “It rains heavily”. |
| D．There are many expressions with the word dog in English. |
Growing mushrooms（蘑菇）is probably the easiest thing you can do even if you are new to mushroom growing. It is becoming more common because restaurants are starting to create more dishes that include mushrooms.
Mushroom growing is easy. To start, you need to have a space where you are going to grow these mushrooms. It does not have to be a huge space but just enough for you to grow as many mushrooms as you need. When you have found the space perfect for you, you can start researching what kind of mushrooms you want to grow. There are a lot of mushrooms to choose from and not all of them are suitable to eat.
When you decide what kind of mushrooms you want to grow, you can start getting ready to plant the mushrooms. Sometimes you may want to hire some workers to help if you have a large mushroom farm, or if you are trying to start a professional mushroom growing business. Trying to have a business by yourself can be stressful. If you don’t have enough time to spend taking care of everything yourself, some helpers may be the best choice.
After you have started the mushroom growing, you should regularly check that your mushrooms grow properly and that they are not being attacked by any pesticides（农药）or any other animals or something that could be dangerous to them. That is the worst part of mushroom developing. Protect your mushroom farm well with a fence（围栏）or a gate so that only you and your workers can get in and out.
Mushroom growing is not difficult and it is easy to get stared in the world of farming. You will soon possibly be able to provide some of the great cooks of the world with high quality mushrooms that will be enjoyed by thousands of people all over the world. According to the passage, many people begin to plant mushrooms probably _________.
| A．because they are in great need. | B．because they look very beautiful |
| C．because they are healthy food | D．because they are very expensive |
Which of the following is the right order of planting mushrooms?
a. Choose suitable mushrooms. b. Protect your mushrooms well.
c. Find some workers to help you. d. Start to grow the mushrooms.
e. Find a place to plant your mushrooms.
| A．c—a—d—b—e | B．e—a—c—d—b | C．c—a—e—b—d | D．e—a—d—b—c |
It can be inferred（推断）from the passage that __________.
| A．pesticides can be used in mushroom growing |
| B．anyone can produce high quality mushrooms. |
| C．after starting, you should always take care of the mushrooms |
| D．having a mushroom business is not so difficult |
According to the passage, which sentence is NOT true?
| A．Although you don’t know much about growing mushrooms, you can do it easily. |
| B．you can choose a suitable space, just big enough for you to grow mushrooms. |
| C．All mushrooms aren’t suitable to eat. |
| D．The worst part of mushroom developing is to protect your mushrooms farm well with fence. |
The best title of the passage is __________.
| A．Healthy mushrooms | B．The value of mushrooms |
| C．How to choose mushrooms | D．Suggestions on growing mushrooms |
Thousands of years ago, people didn’t know that the Earth moved. They thought the sun really did move across the sky. The Greek god Helios was said to drive the sun around the sky with his chariot（战车）. But now, these ideas have all changed. Nowadays, it is the sun that drives our “chariot” around the sky.
So what does all this mean? Well, quite simply, there is now a plane （or “chariot”） that is powered by the sun. It has special parts in its wings. These parts absorb power from the sun. They absorb so much power that they can carry on flying at night. In the Greek myths（希腊神话）, Helios had to take a break at night. It seems we’re finally even more efficient than the gods themselves.
This plane is called Solar Impulse （“太阳驱动”号）. It will fly across the US in May. This is very important for the future of the world.
So why is solar energy so good for us? Well, other kinds of energy cause a few problems. If you live in China, you’ve probably noticed the pollution. This is caused by burning coal or gas to make energy. The heat and chemicals（化学制品）from this make things work. But if we use the heat from the sun, we don’t have to burn anything, and there’s no pollution.
Solar energy is not all there yet. It needs to be improved. But the best thing about it is that, unlike coal and gas, it doesn’t run out. Solar Impulse could keep flying forever. Well, actually, the sun will run out too, one day, but not for another 5 billion years. That’s a pretty long flight.What does “chariot” really refer to in the last sentence of Paragraph 1?
| A．The Earth. | B．The Greek god. | C．Solar Impulse. | D．Birds. |
Which of the following is TRUE of Solar Impulse?
| A．It can only fly at night. | B．It has already flown across the US. |
| C．It is powered by the sun. | D．It needs gas to work. |
In the passage, what is mentioned as the cause of pollution in China?
| A．Overpopulation. | B．Burning coal or gas. |
| C．Using solar energy. | D．Heavy traffic. |
What does the writer mean by “That’s a pretty long flight”?
| A．It takes a lot of time to get Solar Impulse going. |
| B．Solar Impulse moves very slowly. |
| C．Solar Impulse will be in use for a long time. |
| D．Solar Impulse has a long way to go to take the place of the sun. |
The passage is most probably taken from___________.
| A．a Greek myth | B．a science fiction | C．a story-book | D．a science magazine |