We were doing the best to control the fire of the burning garage (车库). Outside, I heard the sounds of cats crying. I couldn’t stop—I would have to look for the cats after the fire was put out.
It took a long time to finally bring the big fire under control. No one inside was hurt. At that point I was free to find out where the cat noises were from. There was still a lot of smoke and heat coming from the building. I followed the meowing to the sidewalk in front of the garage. There, crying and huddled (挤作一团) together, were five frightened kittens (小猫). They must have been inside the building, as their fur was badly hurt.
I wanted to find the mother cat. It was clear that she had gone into the burning garage and carried out all her babies, one by one—unbelievable.
We finally found her. Her paws and face were blackened, and her fur was burned all over. You could even see her reddened skin under the burned fur. She could hardly move. I picked her up, and she relaxed in my arms as much as her pain would allow. I decided to save this brave little cat and her family.
The vet told me they would watch the kittens and their mother for the night, but they weren’t confident about the mother’s chances.
About a week later, I found out she was going to live. We named her Scarlet because of her reddened skin.
I was happy to see Scarlet get together with the kittens again. She touched each of them, nose to nose. She had been in danger for five times and it had paid off. All of her babies had survived.
As a fireman, I see heroic acts every day. But what Scarlet showed me that day was the kind of bravery that can only come from a mother’s love.Which of the following is TRUE according to the story?
| A．The writer went to look for the cats as soon as he heard them crying. |
| B．The firefighters put out the fire quickly and no one was hurt. |
| C．The writer didn’t find the cats until the smoke and heat were gone. |
| D．The mother cat moved all her babies out of the fire to a safe place. |
Why did the writer decide to save the cats?
| A．Because he was amazed at the mother cat’s courage. |
| B．Because the cats attracted many people’s attention. |
| C．Because he didn’t want to see any living things die. |
| D．Because it had taken him much time and effort to save them. |
The writer talks about the cat’s story to show that ________________.
| A．animals should be taken good care of |
| B．mother’s love can be great and brave |
| C．it is meaningful to help others |
| D．a cat always has nine lives |
Eighth-grader Victoria Bills is talking about money with her classmates. She is worried that a company’s stock (股票) price could fall. It may be an unusual topic of conversation for a 13-year-old. But at Bills’ school in Chicago, US, you hear it all the time.
The Chicago school’s 420 students learn about economic(经济学). They also get a chance to make money. Each 1st grade and 5th grade, students learn the basics of economics and investing(投资).
Then in 6th grade, they put what they’ve learned to work. Students join a junior group that manages the $20,000. The group, made up of 12 to 14 students, decides which stocks to buy.
After graduating, students pass on $20,000 to the next 1st grade class. They keep half of the rest of the money; the other half goes toward improving the school. They can choose to put their money in a college-savings program or take the cash.
In 2007, Bills suggested that her class buy the stock of the Apple computer company. This was just before the iPhone came out. “We bought stock just at the right time,” she says. The kids bought Google stock as it reached $400 a share. It is now worth over $500. “It was a good buy,” says Myles Gate, 13. He hopes to be a banker one day. The school’s two graduating classes of 2005 and 2006 have each earned about $10,000 in profits(利润).At Bills’ school, students can’t .
| A．learn the basics of economics |
| B．learn how to invest money |
| C．get a chance to make money |
| D．share all the money they make |
Who manages the $20,000 in the class?
| A．The teachers. | B．The school. |
| C．The students. | D．The parents. |
According to Paragraph 5, we know that .
| A．Bills’ class bought the Apple stock after the iphone came out |
| B．it was a mistake for the class to buy Google stock |
| C．the students get some investing experience in the school |
| D．the class bought the two kinds of stocks at the same time |
What’s the passage mainly about?
| A．How students make money in the US. |
| B．Students learn economics and investing at school. |
| C．Myles Gage hopes to be a banker one day. |
| D．What US students hope to do after graduation. |
I had just gone to bed after a very hard day when the phone rang. It was an eccentric(怪癖的) farmer. I had never met him before although I had often heard people talk about him. He sounded quite nervous and he had been talking for a minute or so before I understood anything. Even then I could make out that someone called Milly had had a very bad accident. I hadn’t the slightest(轻微的) idea who she was but I obviously had to go.
It had been snowing so heavily that I didn’t know the way. I had been driving for at least an hour when I finally found his place. He was standing there, waiting for me. It seemed Milly had died. “She meant more to me than anyone… even my own wife!” he said. I could see that he had been crying. I thought something terrible had taken place, a possible scandal (丑闻) . I was even more shocked when he told me he had put her in the barn. “I wouldn’t leave her out in the cold!” he said.
Milly had clearly been a secret lover of his. I was about to tell him he could not expect me to cover anything up when he opened the barn door. He lifted his candle and I saw a dark figure on the ground. “She was such a good cow! I wouldn’t let anyone but a doctor touch her !” he said, and burst into tears again.The underlined phrase “make out” in the first paragraph means____.
| A．expect | B．understand |
| C．see clearly | D．hear clearly |
What do we know about Milly from the story?
| A．She had met with an accident | B．She had caused a scandal. |
| C．She was seriously ill. | D．She was hidden somewhere. |
The farmer wished that the writer might ____.
| A．look into the matter | B．bring Milly back to life |
| C．free him from a scandal | D．keep the whole thing a secret |
The person who told the story is probably a ____.
| A．farmer | B．policeman |
| C．country doctor | D．newspaper reporter |
It helps us understand the world better if we know a little geography and have some maps at hand. But with maps in Chinese only, misunderstanding is possible in studying world events. Chinese names are long, hard to pronounce and without meaning to a foreigner. For the opening of the country maps are important and helpful and needed badly.
I wish maps with various languages, like those used in the United Nations, would come out and be sold in all bookstores open to Chinese.The writer is mainly talking about ____.
| A．geography | B．maps |
| C．Chinese names | D．the opening of the country |
Knowing a little geography and having some maps in Chinese only, a foreigner ____.
| A．can study world events easily |
| B．can study world events without misunderstanding |
| C．can’t study world events without misunderstanding |
| D．will feel joy in studying world events |
What are the difficulties for a foreigner to use a map in Chinese?
| A．A foreigner has nowhere to buy a map |
| B．All the bookstores only open to Chinese. |
| C．The names of Chinese people are long, hard to pronounce and without meaning. |
| D．The names of places on a map in Chinese are long, hard to pronounce and without meaning. |
In the United Nations people use maps in ____.
| A．foreign languages only | B．Chinese only |
| C．various languages | D．English only |
Imagine that you are going on a trip to Ireland. The first three days of your trip are planned below. Read the schedule and use it to answer the questions below.
| Day 1 Morning: Your trip begins in the capital city, Dublin. There you will visit Temple Bar, an area famous for its brightly colored buildings, busy stores and restaurants. Stop by the outdoor market for some cheese and homemade bread. Afternoon: Walk to Dublin Castle(城堡). Visit the Throne Room to see the golden chair where the kings and queens from England once sat. Evening: Watch an Irish step-dance performance. |
| Day 2 Morning: Ride the train to the city of Limerick. Take a tour of King John’s Castle, which has built about 800 years ago. Afternoon: Ride a boat along the River Shannon. Evening: Enjoy a nice Irish meal. |
| Day 3 Morning: Ride the train to the city of Cork. Walk along St. Patrick’s Street, known for its many stores. Feel free to buy souvenirs. Afternoon: Take a bus to nearby Blarney Castle. Climb the tower to see the famous Blarney Stone, which is thought to give those who kiss it good luck. Then return to Cork. Evening: Watch a Gaelic football match. Rest for the next day’s horseback riding lesson. |
Where can the tourists see the golden chair?
| A．At Temple Bar. | B．In Dublin Castle |
| C．On St. Patrick’s Street | D．In Blarney Castle. |
What kind of transportation will the tourists use during the trip?
| A．Train, bus and boat. | B．Bus, train and plane. |
| C．Horse, bus and bike. | D．Boat, car and bus. |
How many days will the trip probably last?
| A．Only one day | B．No more than three days. |
| C．Exactly two days | D．At least four days |
E-book is short for electronic( 电子的) book. It is usually read on personal computers. Some mobile phones can also be used to read e-books.
Earlier e-books were written for a specific group of readers and were about only a few subjects. With the development of the internet, knowledge and answers to a lot of questions mainly come from e-books. This is why the e-book business is increasing quickly
E-books have many advantages. First, they save time. We don’t need to go to a bookstore to buy books, besides, we can find the topic we want to know about on the Internet, and then we can quickly get many e-books on similar topics. Second, e-books save money. Some e-books cost a little money, and there are millions of e-books on the Internet that we can get for free. Third, more trees are saved because e-books don’t need to be printed(印刷) on paper. Fourth, e-books make reading more convenient. You can carry a whole library of hundreds of books with you in a small computer or any e-book reader (电子阅读器) without worrying about their weight.
But e-books have certain disadvantages. They need a personal computer or an e-book reader and the information can be lost if its file format (文件格式) is not supported or changed in the reader’s computer.
However, e-books provide us with a new way of reading. That is good.
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。Why is the e-book business increasing quickly? Because _________.
| A．earlier e-books are about only a few subjects. |
| B．people don’t like to read any paper books any more. |
| C．most e-books have been written for a specific group of readers. |
| D．the development of the Internet makes e-books more useful. |
How many advantages do e-books have according to this article?
| A．Three | B．Four | C．Five | D．Six |
Which of the following is true according to this article？
| A．E-books can’t be red on mobile phones. |
| B．All the e-books on the Internet cost lots of money. |
| C．E-books can make reading more convenient. |
| D．You can’t read e-books without a personal computer. |
What is the disadvantage of the e-books?
| A．You’ll lose the information if its file format is not supported. |
| B．You can carry hundreds of books in an e-book reader. |
| C．You can buy cheap e-books anywhere. |
| D．You can read e-books at any time. |
The author mainly tells us __________.
| A．you don’t need to buy paper books in a bookstore if you read e-books. |
| B．the information can be lost if its file format is changed. |
| C．the development of e-books can help save the environment. |
| D．e-books provide us with a new way of reading. |