Uncle Li and Uncle Wang are good friends. They live next to each other and their farms are both at the foot of the mountain. So they can help each other. But neither of them likes to use his head. They work hard but they are both poor. Most villagers have built new houses, but they still live in the low and broken houses. They never find out why.
Once Uncle Li went to town to buy some medicine for his wife. In the town he heard the apples in a city were expensive. He told Uncle Wang about it as soon as he went back. They decided to carry some apples to the city. They borrowed some money from their friends and bought nearly 1,000 kilograms of apples in the villages and carried them to the city on a tractor(拖拉机). Bad luck! A lot of apples were in the city when they arrived. A few days later they had to sell them at a low price. They felt unhappy and returned to their village.
"I can't understand why we sustained (蒙受) losses(损失) in business while others always profit (盈利)" Uncle Li asked one day.
"The tractor was too small" Uncle Wang said without thinking. "We'll carry more apples on a truck next time!"
"I agree!" said Uncle Li. "How foolish we were!"Uncle Li and Uncle Wang live in the low and broken houses because ______.
| A．they hope to save money |
| B．they're both poor |
| C．their farms are at the foot of the mountain |
| D．they're not far from their farms |
The two farmers carried the apples to the city to _________.
| A．make a journey | B．visit some places of interest |
| C．meet their friends | D．make a profit |
The two farmers had to sell their apples at a low price because ________.
| A．theirs weren't as good as the others' |
| B．theirs were much less than the others' |
| C．a lot of apples were in the city |
| D．they forgot to carry them on a truck |
Uncle Li and Uncle Wang were unhappy because _________.
| A．they had sustained losses in business |
| B．they had lost some money in the city |
| C．something was wrong with the tractor |
| D．other people profited in the city |
Which of the following is true?
| A．The two farmers found out why they were poor. |
| B．The two farmers will soon get rich. |
| C．Neither of the farmers is clever. |
| D．The two farmers decided to buy a truck. |
Shyness can be an unhappy feeling． But the good news is， you're not alone． Scientists say that more than 40 percent of teenagers and adults consider themselves shy． Shyness is feeling a little nervous or as if you want to hide when you're around other people or in a new situation．
Scientists say such things as genetics （遗传基因）， life experiences， and environment can influence whether a person is shy． For example，in some families， everybody seems to be shy．
What happens if you are shy？ Well， being shy may cause you to avoid or miss opportunities you would enjoy．
How do people overcome（克服） shyness？ This is what Gilbert tells us． " When I started off trying to get over being shy， I decided to do little steps at a time， including practicing smiling and saying hi to people． And it worked for me．"
But shyness is not the kind of thing that most people can get over overnight．Overcoming shyness takes time and needs practice．
Here are some tips given by scientists．
Think of what to talk about before you leave home． Prepare things to talk about before you're in a social situation．For example， if you know your classmates are interested in an upcoming event， learn about it so you can join in the conversations．
Let people know you're shy． If you're shy， just show it． Instead of letting people guess， tell them the truth．Explain that you are shy and feel nervous but enjoy talking to people．
Make things easy for the other person． Remember， you're not the only shy person around． Do what you think might help others feel good﹣﹣ for example， say hello or smile．
Pick one social skill to practice at a time． Start simply． For example， smile or be the first person to say hi．Choose skills you feel comfortable enough with to practice for a day， a week， a month， or even a year．
（1）Which of the following can be put in the blank in Paragraph 2 ？
A．What is shyness？
B．What makes people shy？
C．Can shyness be good for us？
D． Can we overcome shyness？
（2）The example of Gilbert in Paragraph 4 is given to ．
A．show how people overcome shyness
B．introduce a shy girl called Gilbert
C． tell the right time to practice smiling
D．explain the steps of overcoming shyness．
（3）What does the underlined word "overnight" in Paragraph 5 most probably mean ？
A． Correctly．
B． Suddenly．
C． Slowly．
D． Finally．
（4）Which of the following is the right way to overcome shyness ？
A．Don't let others know that you are shy．
B．Wait for others to say hello to you first．
C．Choose several skills to practice at a time．
D．Get ready before you join in a social situation．
Understanding Graphics （图表）
When we are reading，we often see one or two graphics in a text． Have you ever thought about these questions ： Why are they there？ What information do they give？ Do they help with our reading and understanding？
Graphics are things like pictures， maps， charts and tables． They give information to readers． Very often，we can see different kinds of graphics in books， magazines and newspapers． Writers use graphics to get the readers' attention and give them some particular （特别的） information． Graphics help to understand the given information in a text． And graphics put the information in a particular order so that it's easy to understand when we take a quick look．
It is not always true that a picture is worth a thousand words． But many things are easier to show than to tell and they may also be easier to understand． Graphics are just the right things that give a great deal of information but it doesn't take much time to read and understand．
The right way to read and understand a graphic is to look at the picture and the words together． In a graphic， only a few words are used to explain what the picture shows you． Sometimes， numbers and percentages （百分比） are also given to go with the words to explain things．
Now look at the graphic on the right． It is how a researcher used a graphic to show the number of hours spent sleeping by British teenagers each day．Can you understand it？
（1）Which of the following is mentioned as a graphic ？
A． A letter．
B． A poem．
C． A map．
D．A name card．
（2）The writer thinks graphics are important because ．
A． less space is taken on a page
B．a picture is worth a thousand words
C．a lot of time can be saved for writers
D．many things are easier to show than to tell
（3）When we read a graphic，we should ．
A． find out if there are any tables in it
B．put the information in the right order
C． count how many words there are in it
D． look at the picture and the words together
（4）The graphic given in the passage tells us that ．
A． 5 British teenagers sleep for 8～9 hours every day
B． Chinese 18﹣year﹣olds spend 5～6 hours sleeping every day
C． 17% of the British teenagers sleep for 3～4 hours each day
D． 42% of the Chinese teenagers spend 6～7 hours sleeping each day
Teenagers are known for being creative and full of new ideas． Let's have a look at these teenage inventions that might change the world．
（1）What is the passage mainly about ？
A．Popular ads．
B． Useful machines．
C． Strange pictures．
D． Teenage inventions．
（2）The earthworm robot by David Cohen can ．
A． make things stay fresh
B． help people wash clothes
C． go into the smallest places
D． take care of the old people
（3）Which of the following in TRUE ？
A． Plates and cups are made of fresh banana leaves．
B． Remya's washing machine can also keep people fit．
C． David Cohen is a middle school student from India．
D． Kenneth's wearable sensors will keep old people at home．
D
Every 14 days， another language dies． There are many reasons for this． Some people think more common languages have more economic（经济的） power． Because of this， young people choose to learn a common language as they think it is more useful． Another reason is that some languages aren't written down． Guujaaw is a leader of the Haida Nation， whose people have lived on the Queen Charlotte Islands， Canada， for more than 10，000 years． Their language is endangered． Traditionally， it wasn't written down， and， as a result， some people are worried that it will die one day． Guujaaw replies to this，" We talk to each other，listen， visit， and believe in the spoken word． Expressing yourself without writing is natural．" However， if Guujaaw's language and others like it are going to stay alive， writing may have to become part of their lives．
When a language dies， a lot of knowledge dies with it． To begin with， language is a huge part of the culture of the people who speak it． Language allows speakers to say certain things： words that describe a cultural idea may not translate exactly into another language． Furthermore， many endangered languages have rich spoken cultures． Stories， songs and histories are passed on from older people to younger generations （一代）． Elizabeth Lindsey， a language researcher， emphasizes（强调）this．" When an elder dies， a library is burned，" she says．
Also， language death affects our knowledge about nature． Local people often have a deep understanding of plants， animals， and the relationship between them． David Harrison， a researcher on endangered languages， reflects，"80% of plant and animal species（物种） have been undiscovered by science． But that doesn't mean they're unknown to humans．"
Many languages are endangered． However， it's not too late． Children often grow up speaking two languages．"No one…becomes richer by giving up…one language to learn another， "Harrison said． If children feel both languages are important， they will use both．
So， it is necessary that children realize how useful their local language is．
（1）How many reasons are mentioned for endangered languages in Paragraph 1？
A．2．
B．3．
C．4．
D．5．
（2）In Paragraph 2， the writer mainly tells us ．
A． how cultures are passed on
B． how cultures are discovered
C． why languages are written down
D． why languages are important to cultures
（3）The underlined word" affects" in the passage means" "．
A． waits for
B． depends on
C． is different from
D． has an influence on
（4）Which of the following is the writer's opinion ．
A． People need to use common languages more often．
B． The spoken word is more important than the written word．
C． Children are the hope to stop the local language from dying．
D． Many animals and plants are in danger because of dying languages．
C
When our son Bradley was ten， the new bicycle he had received earlier that year was stolen． Owning a bicycle was a big deal to our children when they were little． They spent hours and hours， day after day， on their bicycles， riding up and down the footpath， and at the front of the house． We also rode together as a family a lot． Bicycling was a great way to get the kids out of the house and into the fresh air without spending any money．
Bradley had discovered that his bicycle had been stolen from our backyard in Campbelltown， South Australia， when he and his sister went outside for a morning ride． He couldn't believe that someone would do this．
He got a large piece of cardboard， painted a sign begging for the bicycle to be returned， and tied the sign to the letterbox． The following morning， when I went out to collect the mail， I found a white envelope with the magical words， " Buy yourself a new bicycle"． There was a ＄100 banknote inside．
We were very touched that someone had the heart to do this． We've never been able to thank the person but we suspect（猜想）that it may have been one of our wonderful neighbours． Bradley painted a big" !" on the sign and we left it outside for a couple of weeks afterwards， hoping the kind stranger would drive down our street．
A delighted Bradley was able to buy a new bicycle． As the years went on， the bicycles became bigger and more expensive but remained just as important for those family bicycle rides． Now Bradley is 25． Sometimes I miss the days when receiving a bicycle was the best thing in the world to them．
All these years later we are still thankful for the stranger's kindness． We were a young family with three little children and it meant a lot to us． We still talk about it and， even now， wonder who the kind stranger was．
（1）According to the passage， Bradley often when he was a child．
A． rode a bike
B． made signs
C． took a walk
D． collected mails
（2）Which of the following is the best to fill in the blank in Paragraph 4？
A． Come back
B． Thank you
C． A new bicycle
D． A good boy
（3）From the action of the stranger， we can learn that ．
A． love builds a warm family
B． a special memory lasts long
C． happiness makes a better life
D． a kindness helps others a lot
（4）The best title for the passage can be ．
A． A rich stranger
B． A thankful mother
C． a bicycle for Bradley
D． a banknote for the family