She is a cute, quiet girl. As a daughter, she has no secrets from her mother, who is very pleased with her. But recently she has become somewhat mysterious, not so open as before: what if she falls in love, which is too early for a girl of her age. After all, she is reaching the “dangerous stage”. These thoughts have caused trouble in the mother’s mind.
One weekend the girl came to tell her mother that she was going to the cinema with her schoolmates and would return late. This was the first time her mother had agreed, and she couldn’t help worrying because her daughter had never been away at night before. The mother waited till nine and her uneasiness(不安) got the upper hand over her. She decided to go out to meet her daughter. Just at that moment the noise of a car pulling up drew her to the window and ---there was her daughter, waving goodbye to a boy. Her heart missed a beat. When the girl came in, the mother was watching TV, pretending nothing had happened. “Mum, I’m back.” “Yeah.” “Sorry to be late. Still sitting up?” “Yes, Oh, that… Who’s that boy?” The daughter was stunned (发愣) for a moment. “Ah. It’s my monitor. He gave me a lift on his way home. Mum, I’m going to bed” “All right. Go to sleep early.”
Next morning, when the mother went to the daughter’s room to do some tidying, she found her diary left at her pillow. After a few minutes’ hesitation she finally opened it to the entry of the night before. It read: Mum, it was love that made you ask, but it would show your understanding of me if you hadn’t. Holding the diary, the mother fell in thought. Which of the following is TRUE according to the story?
A.The girl knew her mother would ask her the questions about the boy. |
B.What the girl did recently worried her mother. |
C.The mother was eager to read her daughter’ diary the next day. |
D.The girl’ diary was always unlocked. |
From the diary, we can see the girl _____________.
A.thanked her mother for asking her. |
B.thought her mother cared about her very much. |
C.thought it was her mother’s duty to asked her. |
D.thought understanding is better than simple love. |
The main purpose of this article is to show that parents should_______.
A.care about what their children really think and how they feel. |
B.not give much freedom to their children. |
C.Talk with their children about their early love. |
D.Keep silent about their children’s privacy. |
Which can be the best title for this story?
A.Mother’s True Love. | B.Early Love Between Students. |
C.To Ask or Not to Ask. | D.Dangerous Age. |
Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard.
“I’ll be the first millionaire in Coleford!” Richard used to boast.
“And you’ll be sorry you knew me,” George would reply “because I’ll be the best lawyer in the town!”
George never did become a lawyer and Richard never made any money. Instead both men opened bookshops on opposite sides of Coleford High Street. It was hard to make money from books, which made the competition between them worse.
Then Richard married a mysterious girl. The couple spent their honeymoon on the coast—but Richard never came back. The police found his wallet on a deserted beach but the body was never found. He must have drowned.
Now with only one bookshop in town, business was better for George. But sometimes he sat in his narrow, old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window, thinking about his formal rival(竞争对手). Perhaps he missed him?
George was very interested in old dictionaries. He’d recently found a collector in Australia who was selling a rare first edition. When the parcel arrived, the book was in perfect condition and George was delighted. But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in. He was astonished—the smiling face was older than he remembered but unmistakable! Trembling, George started reading.
“Bookends have bought ten bookstores from their rivals Dylans. The company, owned by multi-millionaire Richard Pike, is now the largest bookseller in Australia.”George and Richard were ______ at school.
A.roommates | B.good friends | C.competitors | D.booksellers |
How did George feel about Richard after his disappearance?
A.He envied Richard’s marriage. |
B.He thought of Richard from time to time. |
C.He felt lucky with no rival in town. |
D.He was guilty of Richard’s death. |
George got information about Richard from ______.
A.a dictionary collector in Australia |
B.the latter’s rivals Dylans |
C.a rare first edition of a dictionary |
D.the wrapping paper of a book |
What happened to George and Richard in the end?
A.Both George and Richard became millionaires. |
B.Both of them realized their original ambitions. |
C.George established a successful business while Richard was missing. |
D.Richard became a millionaire while George had no great success. |
The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were wooden and close together. Over one hundred people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives.
The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King’s baker(面包师)in Pudding Lane. The baker, with his wife and family, was able to get out through a window into the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery(面包房)into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
By eight o’ clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Pauls and the Guildhall among them.
Samuel Pepys, the famous writer, write about the fire, “People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat .”
The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.
After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect(建筑师), wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone. In fact, the streets are still narrow, but he did build more than fifty churches, among them the mew St Pauls.
The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.The fire began in_________ .
A.a hotel | B.the palace | C.Pudding Lane | D.Thames Street |
The underlined word “family” in the second paragraph means_________ .
A.home | B.children | C.wife and husband | D.wife and children |
Why did the writer cite(引用)Samuel Pepys?
A.Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire. |
B.Because Pepys also wrote about the fire. |
C.To show that poor people suffered most. |
D.To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire. |
How was the fire put out according to the text?
A.The soldiers came to help. |
B.All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed. |
C.People managed to get enough water from the river. |
D.Houses standing in the path of the fire were destroyed according to the King’s order. |
Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904. He was famous because of the books he wrote for children. They combine funny words, pictures, and social opinions.
Dr Seuss wrote his first book for children in 1937. It is called And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. A number of publishers refused to publish it. They said it was too different. A friend finally published it. Soon other successful books followed. Over the years, he wrote more than forty children’s books. They were fun to read. Yet his books sometimes dealt with serious subjects.
By the middle 1940s, Dr Seuss had become one of the best-loved and most successful writers of children’s books. He liked helping children. In 1954, Life magazine published a report about school children who could not read. The report said that many children’s books weren’t interesting. Dr Seuss decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read.
In 1957, Dr Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 225 words to write the book. This was about the number of words a six-year-old should be able to read.
The story is about a cat who tries to entertain two children on a rainy day while their mother is away from home. The cat is not like normal cats. It talks. The book was an immediate success. It was an interesting story and was easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it, too. Today many adults say it is still one of the stories they like best.What’s the best title for this passage?
A.Some of Dr Seuss’ books for children. |
B.What are Dr Seuss’s books mainly about? |
C.Dr Seuss — a famous writer of children’s books. |
D.Why are Dr Seuss’ books different? |
What do we know about Dr Seuss’s first book for children?
A.It was Dr Seuss’ worst book. |
B.It dealt with a very serious subject. |
C.Neither children nor adults like it. |
D.Many publishers didn’t accept his book at first. |
How did Dr Seuss help children according to Paragraph 3?
A.By asking others to help them in magazines. |
B.By writing interesting and simple books. |
C.By changing his old books into simpler ones. |
D.By giving them books for free. |
Adults most probably think that Dr Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat is _________
A.interesting | B.serious | C.difficult | D.boring |
Why does the writer introduce so many animals from different places to us?
A.To frighten us in the zoo. |
B.To make us lovely in the zoo. |
C.To attract us to the zoo. |
D.To show that animals can do everything. |
How much does Mr. Smith have to pay if he visits the zoo with his two-year-old son?
A.¥3. | B.¥4. | C.¥5. | D.¥6. |
At which of the following time can we visit the zoo?
A.8:30 a.m. Wednesday. | B.9:30 a.m. Friday. |
C.3:00 p.m. Sunday. | D.5:00 p.m. Tuesday. |
A Frenchman went to a small Italian town and was staying with his wife at the best hotel there. One night, he went out for a walk alone. It was late and the small street was dark and quiet. Suddenly he felt someone behind him. He turned his head and saw an Italian young man who quickly walked past him. The man was nearly out of sight when the Frenchman suddenly found that his watch was gone. He thought that it must be the Italian who had taken his watch. He decided to follow him and get back the watch.
Soon the Frenchman caught up with the Italian. Neither of them understood the other’s language. The Frenchman frightened the Italian with his fist(拳头) and pointed at the Italian’s watch. In the end the Italian gave up his watch to the Frenchman.
When he returned to the hotel, the Frenchman told his wife what had happened. He was greatly surprised when his wife pointed to the watch on the table. Now he realized that by mistake he had robbed the watch and it was the Italian’s.The Frenchman went to a small Italian town _______.
A.alone | B.with his wife | C.with his friend | D.with an Italian |
One night he went out for _______ alone.
A.a ride | B.a walk | C.a drink | D.rest |
Suddenly he found his_______ was gone.
A.watch | B.money | C.book | D.ring |
Who was robbed of the watch?
A.The Frenchman was. | B.The Italian was. |
C.Both of them was. | D.Neither of them was. |