As my friend was passing some elephants，he suddenly stopped．He was confused by the fact that these huge animals were being held by nothing but a small rope．The rope was tied to their front legs． It was that the elephants could break away from the ropes at any time．But for some ，they did not．
My friend saw a trainer nearby and asked why these elephants just stood there and didn't to get away．
“Well，” he said，“when they are very and much smaller，we use the same size rope to tie them．At that age，it's enough to hold them．As they grow up，they are used to that they cannot break away．They believe the rope can hold them，so they never try to break free．”
My friend was amazed．These animals could at any time break free， because they believed they couldn't，they were stuck right where they were．
Like the elephants，how many of us go life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something，simply because we at it once before? How many of us are being held back by old，outdated that no longer serve us?
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Holmes rubbed his hands together excitedly. His eyes shone and he leant forward in his chair.
"Tell us your story," he said.
Miss Morstan began her story and we listened.
"My father," she began," was a captain in the army. When I was very young, he was sent to India My mother was dead and I had no other relatives in England. So, while my father was away, I was sent to school."
"When I was seventeen, I received a letter from my father. He said that he was leaving India and coming back to England. He gave me the address of a hotel in London. He asked me to meet him there."
"I was very happy and excited about seeing my dear father again, I went to London and arrived at the hotel. I asked for Captain Morstan, my father. But I was told by the hotel manager that my father was not there. He had gone out the night before and not returned."
"I waited all day and all night, but my father didn't come back to the hotel. Finally, I went to the police. They advertised for Captain Morstan in all the newspapers, but without success. I never saw my dear father again."
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"Four years after my father disappeared," continued Miss Morstan, "I saw an advertisement in the newspaper. The date was 4th May 1882. To my surprise, the advertisement asked for the address of Miss Mary Morstan, It said that ifl advertised my address, I would receive some very good news."
"What did you do?" asked Holmes.
"I advertised my address in the same newspaper. The next day, I received a small cardboard box. Inside the box was a lovely pearl（珍珠）． And I have received another five pearls since that day. They arrive every year on the same day. Look."
She opened a flat box and showed us six beautiful pearls.
"_______" asked Holmes.
"Nothing at all," replied Miss Morstan. Then she continued. "But the strangest thing of all happened this morning. That is why I came to see you. This morning, I received a letter. Please read it."
"Thank you," said Holmes. He took the letter and studied it carefully,
(From THE SIGN OF FOUR) Miss Morstan came to see Holmes mainly because_______.
| A．her father has just disappeared |
| B．she had got some lovely pearls |
| C．her father asked her to do so |
| D．she had received a strange letter |
We can guess from the last five paragraphs that Miss Morstan must be_______.
| A．excited | B．scared |
| C．angry | D．proud |
The right order of the story should be_______.
a. Miss Morstan saw an advertisement.
b. Miss Morstan came to see Holmes.
d. Miss Morstan received some pearls.
c. Miss Morstan received a letter from her father.
e. Captain Morstan disappeared.
| A．c-e-a-d-b | B．d-c-e-a-b |
| C．b-c-a-e-d | D．e-b-c-a-d |
Which question is the most suitable here?
| A．There was no letter with the pearls? |
| B．Did you meet anyone after that? |
| C．Who sent these beautiful pearls? |
| D．These pearls were your father's? |
A proverb is a simple saying that explains a general rule or feeling. Four people share their favorites:
Sarah /England
My favorite proverb would have to be "Don't judge (判断) a book by its' cover." I think it can be used in many daily situations. Obviously, when you meet new people, you always need to give someone a chance. So, I think that a chance is always good for someone, probably better than judging on first impressions (印象)．
Gareth / England
My favorite proverb is "Hear and I forget; see and I understand; I do and I know." I like it because it means until you actually do something, it's hard to really, truly know it. I believe that a lot of the times when you're learning by hearing, it's very difficult to get that knowledge. When you see something, it gets a little bit better, but when you do something, that's when you really truly know something.
Lindsay / United States
I really like the proverb, "The grass is always greener on the other side." I think that's really true, and I find that it's always like that. I always want what I can't have, and then when I get that, then I find out that it's not as great as I had hoped it would be. So, because of this, I try to always keep that in mind and be happy for what I have.
Warren / Canada
I think "What goes around, comes around " is what comes to mind for me. I think it is really true. Basically, if you do something good, good things will happen to you. And if you do bad things, bad things are going to happen to you, maybe not right away but after a long time.The underlined word "proverb" probably means_______.
Who thinks it is important to learn by doing?
| A．Sarah. | B．Gareth. |
| C．Lindsay. | D．Warren. |
Jill: My job is so boring. I wish I had my own business, like Katie does.
Jane: Katie probably wishes she had as much spare time as you do.
| A．Don't judge a book by its cover. |
| B．What goes around, comes around. |
| C．The grass is always greener on the other side. |
| D．Hear and I forget; see and I understand; I do and I know. |
Online with Linda
Sheila Posted 18-12-18.25
I’m very worried about my friend,Joleen.She’s thin but she thinks she is fat.She is always on a diet.She thinks it’s necessary for her to lose more weight.She wants to be model.She has photographs of thin models on her bedroom walls.I think she’s getting too thin,but if I talk to her about this,she get worried .How can I help her?
Simon Posted 18-12-19.00
Sometimes ,I’m concerned about the pressure I get from my frinds.For example,yesterday I was with a group of frinds.We saw a woman lying on the street.She looked very sick.My friends made some jokes about her and laughed,but I wanted to help her.However,my friends told me not to,and I listened to them.Now I feel ashamed.It was cruel of my friends to laugh at her but I wasn’t strong enough to say anything.
Dear Sheila,
You are right to be worried about friend,Joleen.This is a serious problem.She should not continue to be on a diet if she is very thin,she may have an illness called “anorexia”.Anorexia people are afraid of eating food.You must advise her to see a doctor soon. If she won’t do that,you should talk to her parents or to a teacher.
Dear Simon,
You feel ashamed because you should have helped the woman.You are right.Your friends were cruel to that woman.We all want our friend to like us.But we don’t have to follow our friends all the time.You’re a good boy.You should be strong enough to make up your own mind next time. Joleen's problem is that_______.
| A．she's worried about her weight | B．she is getting too fat |
| C．she is not able to eat any food | D．she wants to be a model |
Linda advises Simon_______.
| A．not to laugh at others | B．to be himself |
| C．to follow his friends | D．to leave his friends |
The text mainly talks about_______.
| A．the great pressure from our classmates |
| B．some teenagers' wrong behaviours at school |
| C．teenagers' problems of losing confidence |
| D．some teenage problems and certain suggestions |
Once a man had two daughters-in-law (儿媳妇). He wanted to know how clever they were. He said to the older one, "Go and see your parents. You can stay till the Mid-autumn Festival. But when you come back, please bring me the food I like to eat at that time and also a bit of wind on a bit of paper." To the other, he said, "You can stay till the New Year, but when you come back, don't forget to bring the food I like to eat at that time and also a bit of fire inside a bit of paper."
The daughters-in-law thought and thought, but they could not find a way out. SO they sat down and began to cry. Just then there came a girl. This girl sometimes came to their home to make clothes. They told her what their father-in-law wanted and asked her what to do.
The girl laughed and said," It's very easy. One of you must come back at the Mid--autumn Festival. The food for that time is mooncakes . And a bit of wind on a bit of paper means a paper fan. The other one must come back at the New Year, so she must bring some New Year cakes. And a bit of fire inside a bit of paper means a lantern."
Then the daughters-in-law knew what to do, and they went to their homes happily. When the
right time came, they brought back what their father-in-law wanted.
根据短文内容填空，每空填一词, At first the two women didn't know ______their father-in-law wanted, so they were very _______ .
With the girl's _________, the two women got the answers and went home ________ .
When the older daughter-in-law came back l she brought some ________ and a paper ________ .
The man wanted the younger daughter-in-law to _________ at the New Year with some cakes and a __________ .
At last l the man believed his daughters-in-law were very ________ and he was ________ with what they have done.
The Internet, mobile phones and iPads are part of our lives now. Technology is greatly affecting all ways of our lives, from the ways we work to the ways we play. And it even causes a number of social problems such as cloning humans.
We have had lots of technology and it has changed our lives a lot. There is no doubt that humans will continue to use more and more technology. Here are some examples of modern technology that will change our ideas and will affect our lives greatly.
Global Positioning System (GPS) (全球定位系统)
It’s a system that uses radio signals from satellites to show exact (精确的) information. It tells you where the user is on the earth in all weather conditions. It’s made up of three parts: satellites, control equipments (设备) on land and receivers.
Space Technology
Russian and American scientists have worked together for the International Space Station (ISS) for a long time. They hope the ISS will provide a long-lasting lab. Such a lab will bring humans limitless (无限的) advantages. It’s even hoped that one day space technology will take humans to their new houses in space.
Underwater Robot
Hercules is a kind of underwater robot with some high technology equipments. It will be used to search for ancient ships which were destroyed into the deep sea during their journey long ago.
The world is changing so quickly that it’s hard for us to catch up with all the new inventions because they seem to come out every month. It’s important for us to learn about new technology and the role that it plays in our lives. So we should be willing to accept modern technology, or we will fall behind the times.can tell you where the user is on the earth exactly.
| A．Satellites | B．Receivers |
| C．Global Positioning System | D．Underwater Robot |
According to the passage, which is NOT true about the ISS?
| A．It has carried people to other planets. |
| B．It will provide a long-lasting lab for us. |
| C．Russia and America are working for it. |
| D．Humans will get a lot of advantages from it. |
Hercules is used to .
| A．save lives in the sea |
| B．take pictures in the sea |
| C．repair the broken ships |
| D．look for the ancient ships in the sea |
From the passage, we know that .
| A．the use of GPS is affected by the weather conditions |
| B．it’s very important for us to learn about new technology |
| C．it’s easy for us to catch up with all the new inventions |
| D．technology brings us many advantages such as cloning humans |
．What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To help us study some new technology. |
| B．To tell us technology is changing the world. |
| C．To help solve the problems that technology causes. |
| D．To remind us the advantages of technology are limitless. |