A little girl lived in a small, very simple, poor house on a hill and as she grew she would play in the small garden. There, she was able to see over the garden fence and across the valley to a wonderful house high on the hill. This house had golden windows, so golden and shining that the little girl would dream of how magic it would be to grow up and live in a house with golden windows instead of an ordinary house like hers. Although she loved her parents and her family, she yearned to live in such a golden house and dreamed all day about how wonderful and exciting it must feel to live there.
When she got to an age when she gained enough skill and sensibility to go outside her garden fence, she asked her mother if she could go for a bike ride outside the gate and down the lane. After pleading with her, her mother finally allowed her to go, insisting that she should keep close to the house and not wander too far. The day was beautiful and the little girl knew exactly where she was heading! Down the lane and across the valley, she rode her bike until she got to the gate of the golden house across on the other hill.
As she dismounted her bike and leaned it against the gate post, she focused on the path that led to the house and then on the house itself. She was so disappointed as she realized all the windows were plain and rather dirty, reflecting nothing other than the sad neglect of the house that was derelict.
So sad she didn't go any further and turned, and heart broken as she remounted her bike. As she glanced up she saw a sight to amaze her. There across the way on her side of the valley was a little house and its windows glistened golden as the sun shone on her little home.
She realized that she had been living in her golden house and all the love and care she found there was what made her home the 'golden house'. Everything she dreamed was right there in front ofher nose!Why did the girl long for the house on the hill?
| A． Because there was a small garden. | B．Because it’s magic. |
| C． Because it’s ordinary. | D．Because its windows looked golden. |
Which statement is True according to Paragraph 2 and 3?
| A． The girl’s mother finally allowed her to go to the golden house alone. |
| B． The golden house was on the hill where the girl lived. |
| C．What disappointed the little girl was that the house was locked. |
| D．Actually , the windows of the golden house were common and covered with dirt. |
What amazed the girl was that_____
| A． Her home was another golden house |
| B． There was no golden house indeed |
| C． She could see the golden house only when she looked up |
| D． The golden house disappeared when the sun shone on it |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A． The mother thought that she needn’t keep an eye on her daughter. |
| B． The girl was determined to go to the golden house at the beginning. |
| C． The girl had no idea where she was heading after leaving home. |
| D． The girl didn’t love or care for her parents . |
The passage is intended to tell us that_____.
| A． girls often have amazing imagination |
| B．not all dreams will come true |
| C． what we dream of may be just around us |
| D．nothing is impossible to a willing heart |
It was Thanksgiving morning. I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling together on the top step.
“Any old papers, lady?” asked one of them.
I was busy. I wanted to say “no” until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin little sandals （凉鞋）, wet with heavy snow.
“Come in and I’ll make you a cup of hot cocoa.”
They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I saved them cocoa and bread to fight against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started cooking.
The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, “Lady, are you rich?”
“Am I rich? Pity, no!”
I looked at my worn-out slipcovers （椅套）. The girl put her cup back in its saucer （茶碟）carefully and said, “Your cups match your saucers.” They left after that, holding their papers against the wind. They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful.
Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they matched.
I tasted the potatoes and stirred the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my man with a regular job, these matched, too.
I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy marks of little sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to forget how rich I am. The writer let the two children come in and served them well because ______.
| A．she wanted to sell old papers to them |
| B．she wanted to give them some presents |
| C．she showed great pity and care on them |
| D．she wanted to show her thanks to them |
The writer left the muddy marks of little sandals on the floor for a while to _______.
| A．show that she was a kind-hearted lady |
| B．remind her she shouldn’t forget how rich she was |
| C．leave room for readers to think about what being rich is |
| D．call up her memories of the good old days |
It can be inferred from the text that whether you are rich depends on _______.
| A．how much money you have made |
| B．what attitude you have had toward life |
| C．the way you help others |
| D．your social relationship |
For the first time, researchers have discovered that some plants can kill insects in order to get additional nutrients. New research shows that they catch and kill small insects with their own sticky hairs near the roots and then absorb nutrients through their roots when the insects are killed and fall to the ground.
Professor Mark Chase, of Kew and Queen Mary, University of London, said: “The cultivated (改良的) tomatoes and potatoes still have the hairs. Tomatoes in particular are covered with these sticky hairs. They do trap small insects on a regular basis. They do kill insects.”
The number of these carnivorous plants is thought to have came up to 50 percent and many of them have until now been wrongly regarded as among the most harmless plants. Among them are species of petunia（矮牵牛）, some special tobacco plants and cabbages, some varieties of potatoes and tomatoes, etc. Researchers at Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, which carried out the study, now believe there are hundreds more killer plants than previously realized.
It is thought that the technique was developed in the wild to get necessary nutrients in poor quality soil – and even various plants grown in your vegetable garden still have the ability.
The researchers, publishing their finding in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, said: “We may be surrounded by many more murderous plants than we think.” “We are accustomed to thinking of plants as being immobile and harmless, and there is something deeply frightening about the thought of meat-eating plants," they added.Tomatoes and potatoes kill insects to _____.
| A．get more sticky hairs |
| B．make themselves grow better |
| C．make their roots stronger |
| D．avoid falling down to the ground |
The word “carnivorous” in Paragraph 3 most probably means _____.
| A．fast-growing |
| B．harmless |
| C．insect-killing |
| D．nutritious |
The insect-killing technique of vegetables is developed most probably through _____.
| A．evolution of species |
| B．helps from other garden plants |
| C．artificial cultivation |
| D．nutrients preserved in rich soil |
The text is probably taken from _____.
| A．a student book |
| B．a science fiction |
| C．a scientific repot |
| D．a bulletin board |
This message is to inform all the children that Santa's post office in Himmelpfort, Germany, is open to receive your holiday wishes. That means you can mail your letters to Santa about 6 weeks sooner than that last year. Santa knows you've been good and wants to make sure he and his helpers receive your wish list earlier.
Eight post offices are organized across Germany to answer all letters children send. This year they plan to receive over 250,000 letters. Though the letters fly from over 80 different countries, Santa and his helpers can understand and make sure to answer all the letters.
In 1984, two children from Berlin sent their wish lists to Himmelpfort after spending vacation there. Their letters were answered by postal employees and later Himmelpfort increased its helpers to meet the needs of increased mail traffic. Year after year, Santa and his crew use an eco-friendly powered vehicle to collect the thousands of letters he receives from young boys and girls. The great news for this year is that if you come to the beautiful town of Himmelpfort, you can drop off your letter and visit Santa in person, from Tuesdays to Thursdays until Christmas Eve.
Santa does not currently have an e-mail, Twitter or a Facebook account. He believes in old-fashioned communication. So get out your paper and write your wish list. Just make sure your letter is clear so you can receive an official response, send your letters to:
Santa
Christmas Post Office
Himmelpfort, Germany 16798This year Santa and his helpers _____.
| A．are eager to receive more wishes |
| B．keep traveling around 80 countries |
| C．are able to receive kids’ letters earlier |
| D．answer most of the letters from kids |
From the 3rd paragraph, we know that _____.
| A．post offices send kids all the presents they ask for |
| B．children from Berlin like spending holidays in Himmelpfort |
| C．Santa uses a powered vehicle because of the heavy mail traffic |
| D．children can visit Santa in the flesh before Christmas Eve this year |
Santa doesn’t have social communications online probably because he _____.
| A．is not sure about the online security |
| B．trusts traditional ways of communication |
| C．prefers official and formal letters |
| D．thinks written letters are clearer than e-mails |
This text is intended for _____.
| A．tourists coming to Himmelpfort |
| B．teenagers preferring writing letters |
| C．parents preparing for Christmas |
| D．children planning to write to Santa |
More than half a century ago, there were 4, 000 drive-in movie theaters in the United States, and watching a movie from your car was a popular way to spend an evening. But with the number of drive-ins reduced to just a few hundred, outdoor movie has been popping up across the nation. Going to an open-air theater has become a modern summer pastime for an increasing number of movie fans.
In recent years, outdoor movie screenings have come up in parks, vacant lots and shopping malls around the nation. On average, about 1,000 people attend each movie night. It attracts a lot of young professionals, young workers and residents nearby. For some, the outdoor movies bring back the memories of the drive-in theaters of their youths. But for the majorities, they think it is comparable to the atmosphere of drive-ins, as they can bring friends, food, good wine, and watch the movie together.
The returning of Americans’ love affair with outdoor movies makes Stephen Bastas ever busier. His seven-member crew sets up screens in various locations mostly in the Washington area every day throughout the summer. They are doing pretty well and they hope to continue the trend. And it looks like they are going to. That’s because many fans say there is nothing like watching a movie on a breezy summer evening under the stars.In the first paragraph, the author tries to tell us _____.
| A．outdoor movies attracts more movie-lovers |
| B．summer brings back more drive-in movie fans |
| C．drive-in movie theaters have already disappeared |
| D．watching a movie from your car is becoming more popular |
Most people choose to go to an outdoor movie mainly because they can _____.
| A．have snacks before the movie |
| B．cheer up with young friends |
| C．bring back good old days |
| D．enjoy the casual atmosphere |
From the text, we can learn that Stephen Bastas is most probably _____.
| A．a movie maker |
| B．an outdoor movie fan |
| C．a movie director |
| D．an open-air theater operator |
How does Stephen Bastas feel about the future of outdoor movie?
| A．Optimistic. | B．Amazed |
| C．Worried. | D．Disappointed. |
Dogs and cats are not for students who live in the dormitory. Just think about the noise, the smell and all that wild behavior—chewing on whatever they can get their teeth on, or knocking over the trash can. But don’t feel sad. There are smaller and less destructive pets to make your dormitory life colorful.
Betta fish
They make great pets with their big personality and astonishing colors, ranging from bright red, dark blue to lemon yellow. Unlike many fish, most bettas react to their owner’s presence and become more active when they are nearby, which is unusual in the fish world.
Chinchillas
Without bad smell, about the size of a rabbit and with fur so dense that they can’t get pests such as fleas(跳蚤), the friendly creature originally from the Andes Mountains in South America makes an ideal indoor pet. Chinchillas are very social animals, so if you only have one, you will become its family. In cold winter days, in a glace at this fury pet in a dorm will bring you a lot of warmth.
Land hermit crabs
In a society where owners are often asked “Are they tasty?”, land hermit crabs are among the most unlucky animals commonly kept as pets. But they are easy to care for, inexpensive and fascinating to watch. And the fact that they don’t cause any allergic reactions makes them perfect for college dormitories.
Red-eared sliders
If you’re interested in a lifelong friend, a red-eared slider makes a wonderful pet. If well cared for, they can live for around 40 years. But there are a couple of things you should know. Red-eared can grow to an adult size of up to 30cm! So you may need a larger tank quickly. In addition, you will need to provide UV lighting, water heater, and a swimming area and a basking (晒太阳) area. Housing a red eared slider is not easy.All the dormitory pets mentioned in the text are _____.
| A．active and allergic |
| B．quiet and peaceful |
| C．colorful and tasty |
| D．small and smelly |
Which of the following is not true about these creatures?
| A．Bettas are active and rich in colors. |
| B．Chinchillas are originally mountain animals. |
| C．Land hermit crabs are allergic but tasty. |
| D．Red-eared sliders need more care from the owner. |
If you want to keep the pet as long as possible, you’d better choose _____.
| A．Betta fish |
| B．Chinchillas |
| C．Land hermit crabs |
| D．Red-eared sliders |
The text is mainly to _____.
| A．introduce the best way to keep pets |
| B．offer useful tips for choosing pets |
| C．inform students of lifestyle of pets |
| D．recommend some dormitory pets |