Long long ago, there was a little girl living in a small poor house on a hill. When she played in her little garden, she could see a beautiful house high on the other hill. This house had golden windows. They were so nice that the little girl dreamed all day, “How fantastic it would be to grow up and live in a house with golden windows!”
When she was old enough to go outside her garden, she asked her mother if she could go for a walk outside the gate. Her mother agreed, telling her to keep close to the house and not to go too far. The day was beautiful and the little girl walked until (直到) she got to the gate of the house with golden windows.
As she looked at the house with golden windows, she was so disappointed (失望的). All the windows were common and very dirty.
So sad that she didn’t go any further and turned, heart broken. As she went back, she was surprised to see a little house with golden windows as the sun shone (照耀) on her own house.
She realized (意识到) that she had been living in the “house with golden windows” all the time. Everything she dreamed was right there under her nose!What did the girl dream of?
| A．Having a bigger garden. |
| B．Going outside her garden. |
| C．Having lots of gold in the house. |
| D．Living in a house with golden windows. |
Her mother told her ________ when the girl went out.
| A．to play in the garden | B．not to go too far |
| C．to clean the windows | D．not to go outside the garden |
How was the girl feeling when she reached the gate of the house on the other hill?
| A．Disappointed | B．Interested | C．Excited | D．Angry |
The underlined word “fantastic” in Paragraph 1 means ________.
| A．可怕的 | B．不切实际的 | C．极好的 | D．奇怪的 |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．The Little Girl’s Home |
| B．The Golden House on the Hill |
| C．The Little Girl’s Dream |
| D．The House with Golden Windows |
When we talk about stars, especially women stars，it seems that they are always young，pretty and own charming body shapes．But recently a Britain's Got Talent（英国达人）star Susan Boyle has changed our views absolutely．
Simon Cowell，one of the judges of the talent show spoke of his shock over Ms Boyle's voice．”This lady came up，and I'm thinking, ‘This will take five seconds and I can go to have a cup of tea.’ That changed when she began to sing I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables. She knew we were going to have that reaction and just to see that look of satisfaction on her face midway through —it was one of my favorite moments,” Cowell said.
The performance was posted online and before long，the 47-year-old Scottish woman has been famous all over the world．
Speaking from her home in Scotland．Ms. Boyle said that she hadn't thought of changing her appearance．She said that her friend helped her with make-up．“I mean，that's hardly a makeover．”she added．
Ms. Boyle also spoke of the reason she first began to explore her vocal talents．”I was kind of slow at school, so getting something like singing was a good way of hiding behind that and thus it built my confidence．’Susan Boyle is __________．
| A．a judge | B．a reporter |
| C．a beautiful lady | D．a Scottish woman |
Susan Boyle had a look of satisfaction on her face when she was singing because _________.
| A．she was confident of her singing |
| B．she was satisfied with the judges |
| C．she was pretty and in good shape |
| D．she sang the song，I Dreamed a Dream from Lea Miserables |
According to the passage，which is NOT true?
| A．It was the vocal talents that built Susan's confidence． |
| B．Susan Boyle was not good at her lessons when at school． |
| C．Susan Boyle became famous because of her appearance． |
| D．Simon Cowell didn't think Susan Boyle a good singer at the time sight． |
What can we learn from Susan Boyle's success?
| A．It's never too old to learn． |
| B．It's easier to succeed at the age of 47． |
| C．If you have a dream，try to make it come true! |
| D．If you are not able to study well，to be a singer instead． |
One midnight, a little girl woke up to pass water. She by herself got up and down her bed, walked to the bedroom door and opened it. She looked outside and walked back, for it was so dark in the hall that she feared.
Her mother said, “Don’t be afraid, honey. Take courage!”
“What’s courage?” she asked, running to her mother’s bed.
“Courage is the brave breath,” her mother answered.
“Mum, do you have courage?”
“Certainly.”
The girl held out her little hands, saying, “Mum, blow some of your breath of courage to me.”
After her mother blew out two mouthfuls of breath into her little cold hands, the little girl clenched her fists(握拳) nervously, afraid that the “breath of courage” would run away. Then with her fists clenched, she walked out of the bedroom towards the bathroom with nothing to fear.
Her mother said to herself, “It will be nice if someone can blow some kind of ‘breath’ to me. Then I can hold it in my hands too when I feel terrified or lost.”
In fact, mostly, what we are terrified of is nothing but the fear in our mind. Who we should defeat(战胜) is nobody but ourselves.We learn from the reading that ___________.
| A．the girl went to the bathroom by herself |
| B．the girl pretended to be terrified of nothing |
| C．the girl’s mother was able to blow brave breath |
| D．the girl’s mother was very proud of herself |
To stop “mother’s breath” from running away, the girl __________.
| A．held out her little hands |
| B．clenched her fists |
| C．talk to her mother |
| D．held her own breath |
The writer mainly wants to tell us that ___________.
| A．adults are always brave enough |
| B．children learn to be brave quickly |
| C．the fear in one’s mind is the real problem |
| D．the mother can deal with anything with breath |
Which is the best title of the passage?
| A．The Fearless Mother | B．One Lonely Girl |
| C．One midnight | D．The Breath of Courage |
Shawnee Mountain is a wonderful place for___________.
| A．staying | B．skiing | C．climbing | D．visiting |
Two parents and a child of 45cm tall will pay ___________for the lifts on weekend.
| A．$100 | B．$86 | C．$50 | D．$43 |
If a soldier goes to the mountain, ___________should be shown for a lift ticket.
| A．the proof of age | B．the college ID |
| C．the phone number | D．the active duty ID |
Once there was a piano player in a bar (酒吧). People came just to hear him play. But one night, a lady asked him to sing a song.
“I don’t sing,” said the man.
But the lady told the waiter, “I’m tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing!”
The waiter shouted across the room, “Hey, friend! If you want to get paid, sing a song!”
So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung so beautifully!
He had talent(天赋) he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.
You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel that your talent is great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved. Besides, you may have no success at all if you just sit on your talent.The lady asked the player to sing a song because ________.
| A．she had paid him for this |
| B．she knew him very well |
| C．she was tired of listening to the piano. |
| D．she enjoyed his singing |
Nat King Cole succeeded because ________.
| A．the lady helped him a lot |
| B．he caught the chance(机会) |
| C．he continued to play in the bar |
| D．he played the piano well |
The words “sit on” in the passage probably mean “________”.
| A．fail to realize | B．forget to use |
| C．try to develop | D．manage to show |
From the story we know if you have some talent, you should __________.
| A．hide it and wait |
| B．ask others for help |
| C．pay no attention to it |
| D．work hard to improve yourself |
Which could be the best title(标题) for the passage?
| A．Sing in the Bar |
| B．Achieve Success in Life |
| C．Never Lose Heart |
| D．Find Your Hidden（隐藏的） Talent |
American and British people use different greetings. In the USA the commonest greeting is “Hi”. In Britain it is “Hello!” or “How are you?” “Hi!” is creeping（不知不觉地进入）into British, too. When they are introduced to someone, the Americans say, “Glad to know you. ” The British say, “How do you do?” or “Pleased to meet you. ” When Americans say “Good-bye”, they nearly always add, “Have a good day. ” or “Have a good trip. ” etc. to friends and strangers alike. Britons are already beginning to use “Have a good day. ”
The British usually use “got” in the sense of “have”. The Americans hardly ever do. AmE: Do you have a car, room, etc. ? Yes, I do. BrE: Have you got a car, room, etc. ? Yes, I have.
There are a number of differences between American and British English in the spelling of words, e. g. check（US）/cheque（UK）. Many American words ending in “or”, e. g. honor, labor are spelt in British English with an “our,” e. g. honour, labour. Many verbs in American English with “ize” or “izing” forms, e. g. organize, realizing are spelt in BrE with “ise” or “ising”, e. g. organise, realising. In American English, “practice” is used both for the verb and noun. In BrE, the verb is spelt “practise”, and the noun “practice. ” In AmE, one writes “traveler,” while in BrE, one writes “traveller”.
It was once predicted that British and American English would become separate (各自的)languages finally. But the opposite has happened. The links（联系）between the two countries are so strong that linguistically（语言上）,and probably culturally（文化上）too, they are closer together than ever before.
AmE—— American English BrE——British EnglishThe Americans hardly say “_____”
| A．Good-bye. Have a good day! |
| B．Glad to know you! |
| C．Hi! |
| D．Have you got a car? |
What does the 3rd paragraph talk about?
| A．There are lots of differences in spelling between AmE and BrE. |
| B．Why do the Americans and the British use different spellings. |
| C．There are few differences in spelling between AmE and BrE. |
| D．The different usages of words in AmE and BrE. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The two languages will become separate languages. |
| B．American English will be used more and more. |
| C．The two languages will be closer and closer. |
| D．British English will be used more and more. |
The underlined word “predicted” means ______ in Chinese.
| A．解释 | B．预言 | C．考虑 | D．证明 |