Free On-line Short Stories For Kids: Trevor The Taxi
In this children's story, suited to younger children, we have an adventure with Trevor. He is a taxi. Trevor loves his life:
“Sometimes he takes patients to the nursing home, where they can get better after being ill, and sometimes he takes people home when they have been shopping, and Stan puts all their packages inside Trevor's boot, so they will not get wet or broken.”
The black cab, in this adventure, goes far beyond the call of duty whilst he achieves his wildest dreams! What could this be? Well you will just have to read this short story for yourself!
Free On-line Short Stories For Kids: The Girl Who Believed In Fairies
The fairy queen is upset and the elves just don't know what to do:
“Oh dear, oh dear," sobbed the queen, getting her hankie all wet with her constant crying. For the twelfth time that day, Elgie the chief elf took her hankie and wrung it out on to the carpet of grass that grew all around the palace.”
How will they manage to help the queen? Why was she so unhappy? There is only one person that can help! Can she do it? This is a lovely fairy tale that will glow the embers of your heart - only for young girls!
Free On-line Short Stories For Kids: The Envious Kings
This story is suitable for 6 years and upwards.
Unfolding in the story pages of this recommendation is a children's story about two kings who were competing with each other:
“In spite of the easy life that the two kings had, they were not happy, for each of them kept thinking that the other one had a bigger and better palace, or owned more horses, or had more jewels or even had creamier milk.”
They were both petty and, through their envy, they caused themselves much trouble. Who do you think saved the day? Well, you will just have to read the story to find out!
Free On-line Short Stories For Kids: The Wise Old Woman
This story is probably suited to the 8 years old age range and upwards, although would appeal to adults, alike.
Here I introduce you to one of my kids on-line stories listed on the writing and literature section of Hubpages. In this parable you will find a magical world of wisdom involving trees, people and someone very special.
“As she stood and watched, the knowledge melted into her and the sapling grew...The magical transition took her breath away and as she watched on with ore, she noticed something strange.”
So, what was this strangeness and magical transition? Let me leave you with wonderment ... and a click of the link!
Free On-line Short Stories For Kids: Unusual Stories - Faffenburger's Odyssey
This story is probably more suited to the older child. So who is Faffenburger? Well with one of these free on-line short stories for kids, we enter into a different realm. A world of nonsense as Faffenburger moves within alpha and omega. This is a rather unusual story as you will find out!
“My friend, Henry Faffenburger stomped down the long lane on his short stumpy legs, moonlight glancing off his bald-spot, which was a little surprising as there was no moon that night. As he rounded the bend, he saw a pair of headlights coming toward him. They drew level, and stopped. A small man with yellow eyes emerged from the darkness behind the lights, and enquired if Faffenburger would like a lift.
"Where are you going ?" asked my friend. "Wherever you want to go", replied the owner of the yellow eyes.”
So, the adventure begins! Where will they go? Alpha, Omega or just the middle? After all, it was a long summer - especially the middle! Take a closer look at this - you might find something a little more strange and a little more hidden that you have noticed before. Intrigued? Well you should be with Faffenburger's Odyssey!Which story is more well-received by young girls?
| A．Trevor The Taxi | B．Faffenburger's Odyssey |
| C．The Wise Old Woman | D．The Girl Who Believed In Fairys |
You can find the description of a night scene in _______?
| A．The Envious Kings | B．The Girl Who Believed In Fairies |
| C．The Wise Old Woman | D．Faffenburger's Odyssey |
According to the passage, the kings in “The Envious Kings” can be described as_______?
| A．Jealous | B．powerful | C．rude | D．ugly |
Who will most probably find the passage useful?
| A．parents with children | B．children who love to surf the Internet |
| C．teachers in high school | D．experts who concern children |
They are among the 250, 000 people under the age of 25 who are out of work in the Netherlands, a group that makes up 40 percent of the nation’s unemployed．A storm of anger boils up at the government-sponsored （政府资助的） youth center, even among those who are continuing their studies．
“We study for jobs that don’t exist,” Nicollets Steggerda, 23, said．
After thirty years of prosperity, unemployment among 10 member nations of the European Community has reached as much as 11 percent, affecting a total of 12．3 million people, and the number is climbing．
The bitter disappointment long expressed by British youths is spreading across the Continent．The title of a rock song “No Future” can now be seen written on the brick walls of closed factories in Belgium and France．
One form of protest（抗议） tends to put the responsibility for a country’s economic troubles on the large numbers of “guest workers” from Third World nations, people welcomed in Western Europe in the years of prosperity．
Young Europeans, brought up in an extended period of economic success and general stability, seem to be similar to Americans more than they do their own parents．Material enjoyment has given them a sense of expectation, even the right to a standard of living that they see around them．
“And so we pass the days at the discos, or meet people at the café, and sit and stare,” said Isabella Cault．"There is usually not much conversation．You look for happiness．Sometimes you even find it．”Unemployment in the Netherlands has affected _______
| A．one million people | B．250,000 people |
| C．1ess than half of the population | D．about 0.6 million people |
What Nicollete Steggerda said （Para．2） means that ________．
| A．the students cannot get work after graduation |
| B．what the students learn is more than necessary |
| C．the students’ aim in study is not clear |
| D．school education is not sufficient |
The underlined word ‘‘it” in the last paragraph most probably refers to ________．
| A．material enjoyment | B．a sense of expectation |
| C．happiness | D．a job |
With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills（泄露） on people, nature, and the environment．
Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil．Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea．
Of all of today’s environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious．Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material．In the end, it breaks down naturally．There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term．
Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible．In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Sicily Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean．If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened．
Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage．Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run!
We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil．Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power（太阳能）, electricity, hydrogen, and so on．Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal．
If the world’s millions of cars were 10% more efficient（高效的）— and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient — we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year．If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too．What is the passage mainly talking about?
| A．Oil tanker accidents． | B．Oil spills pollution． |
| C．What oil pollution is． | D．How to reduce oil pollution． |
How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?
| A．By giving a description． | B．By making an argument． |
| C．By giving an example． | D．By drawing a diagram． |
What does the underlined word “risk” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
| A．Transportation depending more on oil． |
| B．Poisonous oil breaking down naturally． |
| C．Millions of tons of oil spilling into the sea． |
| D．More environmental damage being caused． |
Which suggestion is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?
| A．We should develop new technologies to cut oil use |
| B．Tankers should not be allowed to sail near the coastlines． |
| C．We should build safer oil tankers in the near future． |
| D．Countries should build more oil pipelines under the sea． |
Volunteers, as an essential part of a successful world exposition, are a major channel for the public to participate in, serve and share the world exposition and a means to showcase the image of the host country and city．The following information is about the volunteer for the World Exposition 2010 Shanghai China．
I．Basic Requirements for Volunteers
Be willing to participate in voluntary services of Expo 2010;
Age limit: Expo Site volunteers must be born before April 30, 1992 and Expo City Voluntary Service Station volunteers before April 30, 1994;
Obey the laws and regulations of the PRC;
Be able to participate in training and relevant activities before the opening of Expo 2010;
Possess necessary knowledge and skills needed by the position;
Be in good health to meet the requirements of corresponding voluntary positions．
II．Further Information for Volunteers
Source
Residents of Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese, and foreigners can all apply to be the volunteers．
Signup methods
Applicants may log in onto the official websites for online signup．They may also consult or connect with the Expo Volunteer Stations．
Time
May 1 – December 31, 2009
III．Volunteer Training
Volunteer training includes general training, special training and position training．General training is carried out through the Internet, while special training and position training are provided through classroom lectures and field practice．
IV．Volunteer Types
Expo Site volunteers refer to those offering voluntary services to visitors and the Organizer in the Expo Site, mainly including information, visitor flow management, reception, translation and interpretation, assistance for the disabled, and assistance in media service, event and conference organization and volunteer management．
Information booth volunteers are stationed in the Expo’s information booths at key transportation centers, commercial outlets, tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels and cultural event places outside the Expo Site．They offer services including information, translation, interpretation and even first aid．What’s the purpose of this writing?
| A．To recruit（招募） the volunteers for the World Expo 2010 |
| B．To give some basic information of the World Expo 2010 |
| C．To praise the hard work of the volunteers |
| D．To attract people to visit the World Expo 2010 |
If you were born in April 1993, where can you be a volunteer?
| A．In the Expo Site． | B．In the host country． |
| C．In the Expo City． | D．In Chinese mainland． |
Shopping in the United States changes a lot．About ninety years ago most people shopped in small stores that were owned by one person or a family．Women went from the bakery to the butcher’s to the grocer and on to the fruit and vegetable seller in order to get their food for the week．Then, about sixty years ago, supermarkets were born．In a supermarket, people could get all the different kinds of food they needed without going to different stores．
The next big change in shopping in the United States was the shopping mall．A shopping mall is a group of stores under one roof．Because malls allowed people to shop without worrying about the weather, they soon became very popular．The mall became a place for people to socialize in addition to shopping．If you walk through a mall, you will see older people sitting, chatting and drinking coffee．Malls are places for teenagers to hang out．Many teens will often just “go to the mall” and spend time with their friends．
The recent change in American shopping was the superstore．Large chain stores such as Wal-Mart, Office Depot and Toys “R” Us have been built all across the United States．Because they are so large, they can buy goods at a great discount and sell them much cheaper than smaller stores．Sometimes, when they are built near small towns, many of the small town stores have to close．They just cannot compete with their giant neighbors．
And now, online shopping is becoming more and more popular all over the States．People are too busy to go to the physical stores, so they go shopping over the Internet．Online shopping has lots of advantages．For instance, online stores are usually available 24 hours a day．Searching or browsing online shops can be faster than browsing the physical stores．While, online shopping also has its disadvantages．People are at higher risk of being cheated on the part of the merchant than in a physical store．And privacy of personal information may be let out．Which of the following shows the right order of shopping development in the United States?
①small stores②superstores③shopping malls④shopping online ⑤supermarkets
| A．①②③④⑤ | B．①⑤③②④ | C．②③④①⑤ | D．①⑤②③④ |
Which is the place for people to spend time with others according to the passage?
| A．Small stores． | B．Supermarkets． | C．Shopping malls | D．Superstores． |
Why can the superstores sell products at much lower prices?
| A．Because they can buy goods at a reduction in price． |
| B．Because they are across the United States． |
| C．Because they sell all kinds of products people need． |
| D．Because they are built near small towns． |
What’s the disadvantage of online shopping according to the passage?
| A．Wasting time． | B．Fixed prices． |
| C．No chance to do physical activities. | D．Leaking personal information. |
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Holidays are often associated with no work and all play. People seek to enjoy their holidays in different ways. Vacation packages (一揽子交易) have been in existence for a long time. ----- So now people can choose from the different packages according to their own tastes.
Sky diving, hiking and many other extreme sports are packaged with hotel tours to attract the younger generation. Tour service providers enjoy the benefits of the increase in bookings from hotel tours. Holiday-makers enjoy the exciting experiences without making efforts to look for hotels. -----
----- These holiday-makers enjoy student discount and packages while learning about history and culture of different places.
Summer vacation packages have never fallen down the rankings. ----- Having a warm sunny day at the beach is one of the fast selling vacation packages in the leisure industry.
Safari (游猎) adventures have always attracted some of the modern adventurers. The animals of Africa continue to amaze crowds that have only seen these creatures on educational channels. Many activities like outdoor camping, safari day tours and hiking in protected parks are always welcomed by holiday-makers.
----- Alaways try something new or fun to do and your days of relaxation will be always exciting.
| A．Picking out a vacation package can keep yourself from boring vacations. |
| B．Everyone is in a winning situation. |
| C．You can’t miss vacation packages if you want to have a good vacation. |
| D．Educational vacation packages are quite suitable for students. |
E.They are one of the favorite choices for most holiday-makers who like sunny beaches.
F.They are continually being improved to meet people’s demands.
G. Vacation needs your plan.