Mo Yan, a well-known Chinese writer, won the Nobel Prize for literature(文学) in 2012. He was also the first Chinese writer who got this prize in history. When he was interviewed, he said he was only a normal person who could tell stories. He especially thanked his mother. He thought his mother had a strong influence on him.
Mo Yan was born in a poor family in China’s rural area. When he was young, he was a little bit shy because he thought he wasn’t good-looking. His classmates often played jokes on his look. That made him very upset. His mother encouraged him to face the fact bravely. She told him not to look down on himself. She said it didn’t matter if a person didn’t have a good look and it was important to work hard and never give up. She hoped that his son would be a useful person in society.
Mo Yan didn’t let her mother down. He worked hard at writing. He wrote many famous novels, such as Hong Gao Liang(《红高粱》)and Wa(《娃》). His success tells us a truth,“Nobody can beat you unless you beat yourself.”Hold on to your dream and your dream will come true in the end.
| A．In 2010. | B．Last year. | C．In 2013. | D．Last month. |
| A．to be interviewed about the Nobel Prize for Literature |
| B．to be a normal person who could tell stores |
| C．to win the Nobel Prize for literature |
| D．to be influenced strongly by his mother |
| A．Because he was poor. |
| B．Because he couldn’t tell stories. |
| C．Because his classmates often laughed at his look. |
| D．Because he didn’t work hard. |
| A．Working hard. | B．Money. | C．A good job. | D．A good look. |
| A．Mo Yan’s classmates were friendly to him. |
| B．Mo Yan was born in a rich family. |
| C．Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize for peace. |
| D．Mo Yan’s mother helped him a lot. |
Sophie is a middle school student. Her mother is a dentist and her father is a writer. Sophie wants to be a cook. Sophie went to take part in（参加） a cake（蛋糕） making competition yesterday.
Everyone began to make a cake. But Sophie hadn’t decided what kind of cake to make.
There was only half an hour left. Sophie had not even begun. So she began to panic (恐慌). Then she got an idea. She ran out and came to a cake shop. She gave fifty dollars to the shop keeper and said, “Please give me a chocolate cake.”
Then Sophie came back and put the chocolate cake on the table. But a little boy saw her do that.
When the judges (裁判员) were just about to taste Sophie’s cake, the little boy said to the judges, “Please don’t taste her cake. She didn’t make it and she bought it from a cake shop.”
The judges were angry and said, “That was terrible, Sophie.”
From that day on, Sophie never cheated. Sophie wants to be a .
| A．teacher | B．writer | C．cook | D．dentist |
Sophie began to panic because .
| A．she was too tired | B．she didn’t begin to make her cake |
| C．she didn’t have money | D．her cake tasted bad |
Sophie spent on the chocolate cake.
| A．$5 | B．$10 | C．$15 | D．$50 |
The underlined word “cheat” means “ ” in Chinese.
| A．作弊 | B．前进 | C．承诺 | D．解决 |
We have a terrible school trip last weekend. Some students were late. Then we waited half an hour for the school bus, but it didn’t arrive. Finally, our teacher took us to take the subway. It took us about an hour. After we got off the subway, we walked and got lost. When we finally arrived at the zoo, we were tired and hungry. We wanted to see dolphins, but there weren’t any. There were some really smart seals, but we didn’t see the show because we arrived too late. We left our camera at school, so we didn’t take any photos. Then it started to rain, and no one had an umbrella. So we went for lunch. My friends had some ice cream. But I didn’t have any, because I don’t like it. We didn’t see many animals because of the rain. Finally we went back to school. We were wet, tired and stressed out(紧张). I didn’t enjoy my school trip at all.What did the writer think of the school trip?
| A．Terrible | B．Great | C．Fun | D．Exciting |
The students werewhen they arrived at the zoo.
| A．excited | B．tired | C．happy | D．lucky |
How was the weather?
| A．Sunny | B．Cloudy | C．Windy | D．Rainy |
Everyone should work hard more and succeed but it is not wise to get success at the cost of family and health.
There was once a hard-working father. He tried his best to support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings attending classes, hoping to improve himself so that he could one day find a better-paid job. He hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to ①his family ①the best things that money could buy.
Whenever the family complained, he said that he was doing all this for them. But he often wished to spend more time with his family.
②The day came when the father was offered a good job. It paid quite well.
However, the family still did not get to see the father for most of the week. He went on working hard, hoping to get the position(职位) of manager.
The father’s hard work paid off and he was promoted(提升). Excitedly, he decided to hire a maid(女仆) so his wife did not have to do the housework any more. He also felt that their three-room house was no longer big enough. It would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the comfort of a large house. The father decided to further his studies.
As expected, the father’s hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful house. He told his family that he had decided not to work so hard. From then on he was going to devote more time to his family.
The next day, the father did not wake up.
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Making sense of how the US shows humor
Living in a new country gives me many surprises. The first surprise was the way that the US people speak.
One day I saw someone was having a public speech in a square. I thought it would be a serious speech. But I soon found it became a kind of entertainment show.
The speaker told the audience to protect the environment with humorous words. Later he said some people’s behavior didn’t go with their words. He took the example of Taylor Swift’s song We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
He said that since Swift doesn’t want to be with the boy any more, she doesn’t need to speak it aloud, she doesn’t need to sing unless she still keeps in touch with that guy. It sounds like she is a hypocrite.
Then he sang the song in a funny way. The audience laughed out loudly. I felt a little angry because Swift is my favourite star. I couldn’t understand why they laughed at Swift.
As time goes on, I find many US people make fun of others. But they don’t mean to hurt them. They do that to show closeness and humour. And people who are laughed at seldom get angry. Now I understand the speaker at the square. Now I’ve got used to the way the US people speak.
It’s easy to find culture shock when you’re in a new place. But everyone should learn to understand different cultures and customs.
| A．teaching people how to give a speech |
| B．calling on people to protect the environment |
| C．giving a singing show in public |
| D．criticizing the US government |
| A．会唱歌的人 | B．真诚的人 | C．虚伪的人 | D．爱护环境的人 |
| A．many US people like to laugh at others |
| B．many US people are friendly and humorous |
| C．the US people get angry at others easily |
| D．the writer doesn’t like the way the US people speak |
| A．The writer went to America and protect the environment. |
| B．Americans show humour in a different way from China. |
| C．It’s easy to find culture shock when you are in a new place. |
| D．Tailor Swift is an American famous singer. |
| A．Differences between the Chinese and the US people. |
| B．In what way the US people speak in public. |
| C．How to get used to life in the US. |
| D．A Chinese girl’s culture shock experience in the US. |
We all have our own ways of sharing our life experiences with others.
Photographers use cameras, artists use brushes, musicians use songs and writers use stories.
Spencer Johnson’s story Who Moved My Cheese? shows changes exist in(存在于)our life. Life changes and so we do. We must change ourselves to face the changing environment, or we will fail.
Just look at the cycle(循环)of the seasons. Trees bud(发芽)in spring and in summer their leaves turn green. In autumn, their leaves start to fall onto the ground. When winter comes, there are no leaves on trees. Next spring the cycle begins again. Since we know there are cycles in nature, we can prepare for them. We know it is colder in winter and hotter in summer, so we can dress properly.
Since we accept the cycles of nature, we should also accept the changes in our life.
We can prepare ourselves for changes by becoming more flexible(灵活的). We can regard the changes in our life as chances. As we keep changing ourselves, we can keep up with the changes in our life.
| A．Stories. | B．Newspapers. | C．Basketballs. | D．Pianos. |
| A．changes exist in our life |
| B．we should move others’ things |
| C．we should use books to share our life experiences |
| D．there are difficulties in our life |
| A．we should wear warm clothes in winter |
| B．we should accept the changes in our life |
| C．we should prepare for the weather |
| D．leaves turn yellow in autumn |
| A．I have no chance to pass the test. |
| B．Exams are hard for me. |
| C．I have bad luck. |
| D．It’s good for me because I know there are more to learn. |
| A．Weather changes in different seasons. |
| B．Who Moved My Cheese? is a good book. |
| C．We should change ourselves when life changes. |
| D．We should not lose heart when we meet with difficulties. |