I had just gone to bed after a very hard day when the phone rang. It was an eccentric(怪僻的)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 all I could make out was that someone called Milly had had a very bad accident. I had not the slightest idea who she was but I obviously had to go.
It had been snowing heavily that day and I did not 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 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(厩). “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 |
Before he arrived at the farmer's house, the writer expected to see Milly lying _____.
| A．on the ground of a barn | B．on the floor of a room |
| C．in bed in a room | D．in bed in a barn |
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 |
I never saw my father home from work late or ill, nor did I ever see my father take a” night out with the boys.” He had no hobbies but just take care of his family.
For 22 years, since I left home for college, my father called me every Sunday at 9:00am. He was interested in my life--how my family was doing. The calls even came when he and my mother in Australia, England or Florida.
Nine years ago when I bought my first house, my father, 67 years old, spent eight hours for three days, painting my house. He would not allow me to pay someone to have it done. All he asked was a glass of iced tea, and that I hold a paintbrush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy, and I could not take the time to hold the paintbrush, or talk to my father.
Five years ago, my 71-year-old father spent five hours putting together a swing set(秋千) for my daughter. Again, all he asked was that I get him a glass of iced tea, and talk to him. But again, I had laundry(要洗的衣服)to do, and the house to clean. The morning on Sunday, January 16, 1996, my father telephoned me as usual, this time he had seemed to have forgotten something we had discussed the week before .I had to get to church, and I cut the conversation short.
The call came at 4:40 a.m. That day my father was sent to hospital in Florida. I got on a plane immediately, and I vowed (发誓)that when I arrived , I would make up for the lost time ,and have a nice long talk with him and really get to know him. I arrived in Florida at 1:00 a.m., but my father had passed away at 9:12 p.m. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me.
In the years since his death I have learnt much about my father and even more about myself. As a father, he never asked me for anything but my time. Now he has all my attention, every single day.We know from the reading that the father__________________.
| A．liked to paint houses |
| B．had no friends around him |
| C．was not healthy in his youth |
| D．thought of his family as his all |
When her father painted her first house, the daughter____________.
| A．could only afford a glass of iced tea |
| B．was too busy to talk to her father |
| C．could do nothing but hold a paintbrush |
| D．spent eight hours a day working with his father |
In the reading the underlined phrase “get to know him” most probably means_____________.
| A．get him to know her | B．know more about him |
| C．get him to know himself | D．make him well-known |
Which is the best title of the reading?
| A．Painting Houses | B．Daughter’s Family |
| C．Father and I | D．Father’s phone calls |
Today I went to Sam's school in the UK. It was really different from my school in China.
Girls wore grey skirts and white shirts, boys wore grey trousers, and everyone wore the school tie.
Some of Sam’s lessons were a bit strange for me. We were reading Shakespeare in the English lesson, and there were quite some old words like “thou” and “thee” to mean “you”. In history we studied 20th Century China. It was strange hearing a foreign side of history—and hearing English people trying to say all our Chinese names!
Classes were also a lot more relaxing than in China. Teachers were called “sir” or “miss”, everyone shouted answers and raised their hands in classes. It was more like a debate than a class. A bell rang at the end of each lesson and everyone jumped up to go to the next class.
At break we bought potato chips and cookies in the dining room. Lunch was later than in China at 1 o’clock. We had big plates of pie with carrots. For dessert there was hot sweet rice called rice pudding.
It was good that I'd had an excellent lunch, because at Sam’s school, Monday afternoons are taken up with sports.
I played my first game of netball—a bit like basketball, but with some differences. Fortunately(幸运的是), I’d had a quick look in the rule book before I tried to join in the game. Paragraph 2 shows that ________.
| A．They wear uniforms in Sam's school |
| B．lessons are different between schools in China and the UK |
| C．there is a break of 30 minutes every day in the school |
| D．sports take up much lime in Sam's school |
The underlined word “debate” in Paragraph 4 means ________.
| A．fight | B．exam | C．discussion | D．suggestion |
What class does Sam have on Monday afternoon?
| A．Maths | B．History | C．PE | D．Music |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Relaxed classes in the UK |
| B．Clothes, food and sports in a UK school |
| C．Strange lessons in Sam’s school |
| D．A day in Sam’s school |
| Do you like fruit salad? Do you want to make fruit salad by yourself? Then you can follow the steps: Step 1: Prepare some fresh fruit, such as strawberries, bananas, apples and oranges. Yogurt is very important. It can make your fruit salad more tasty. Don’t forget salad. You may choose different salad as you wish. Step 2: Wash the fruit carefully. Make sure they are clean enough. Step 3: Cut them in different shapes if you like. Anyway, cut them into pieces. Step 4: Put all your fruit into the plate and sprinkle some yogurt and salad. Mix and stir. Now, your delicious fruit salad is coming. Prepare your forks and your mouth! Enjoy yourself! |
_______ can make your fruit salad more tasty.
| A．Fruit | B．Salad | C．Yogurt | D．Sugar |
_______ isn’t mentioned (提及) in the instruction.
| A．Strawberries | B．Pears | C．Apples | D．Oranges |
Your fruit can be in _______.
| A．the same shapes and pieces |
| B．the same shapes and halves |
| C．different shapes and pieces |
| D．different shapes and halves |
If you could see a movie of your life before you lived it, would you want to live it? Probably not. The excitement of living is that you don’t know what’s coming.
Sure, it’s hard to see uncertainty(不确定) in such active light when you’re out of work, or when you feel like you’re failing. But uncertainty is really another word for chance.
When Allison graduated from Harvard, she had chances all over the place but had no idea what she wanted to do. She took a job in consulting（咨询）, but she knew she wouldn’t stay there. She took the GRE and scored so high that she was able to increase her income（收入）by teaching students. Still, she didn’t think she wanted to go to graduate school. Allison knew she wasn’t doing what she wanted, but she didn’t know what she wanted.
She worried. All her friends were going to graduate school or starting their own businesses. She was lost and felt that she would never find anything out. After six years, Allison, by having a plan in mind, got married, moved to the Midwest, and used her consulting experience to get a great job. Allison realized that she spent her years finding her way: time well spent, and time we must all take if we’re being honest with ourselves.
The only way to lead an interesting life is to face uncertainty and make a choice. Otherwise your life is not your own—it is a path someone else has chosen. Moments of uncertainty are when you create your life, when you become who you are. Uncertainty usually begins with a job hunt, but it doesn’t end there. Every new role we take on means another round of uncertainty. Instead of fearing it, you should find some ways to deal with uncertainty.From the first two paragraphs, we can learn that .
| A．being out of work is a sad thing |
| B．uncertainty is what makes life interesting |
| C．life in a film is more exciting than real life |
| D．chance never appears when we need it |
What troubles Allison after graduation?
| A．She couldn’t find a well-paid job. |
| B．She had no money to start a business. |
| C．She was not sure what to do. |
| D．She didn’t score high enough for graduate school. |
How did Allison feel about her six years’ working experience?
| A．Uncertain. | B．Amazed. |
| C．Sorry. | D．Satisfied. |
What may be discussed in the following paragraph?
| A．How to deal with uncertainty. |
| B．What role uncertainty plays in life. |
| C．Why people fear uncertainty. |
| D．Whom to go to when facing uncertainty. |
Saturday morning was bright and fresh. There was a song in every heart, cheer on every face, and a spring in every step.
Tom appeared with a bucket（桶）of white paint in one hand and a brush in the other. His Aunt Polly told him to paint the fence（篱笆）around the garden. It was ninety feet long and nine feet high. He felt very blue.
Then he had a wonderful idea. He picked up his brush and started to work.
Soon Ben came along the road. He was happily eating an apple. He stopped to look at Tom. Tom went on painting and pretended（假装）not to see Ben.
“I’m going swimming,” said Ben. “Do you want to go swimming, Tom? But I guess you can’t. You have to stay and work, don’t you?”
“Work?” Tom said. “This isn’t work. I’m enjoying myself. Does a boy get a chance to paint a fence like this every day?”
Ben thought about this. Tom continued painting carefully. Sometimes he stopped, stood back to look at the fence like an artist, and then added（增加）a bit more paint in just the right place. Ben was watching Tom paint with great interest. He was getting more and more eager（渴望的）to have a try himself.
After a while, Ben asked Tom if he would let him paint a little. Tom thought about it, and said, “No, Ben, I can’t. You see. Aunt Polly wants it to be done well. Aunt Polly said that I must paint it with great care.”
“Oh, please, Tom,” begged Ben. “I can do it. I’ll be really careful. Just let me try. I’ll give you half of my apple. Well, I’ll give you all of it!”
“Well, all right, Ben,” said Tom. “You must be very careful.”
He gave Ben his brush with worry on his face but joy in his heart. He sat down under the tree, and started to eat Ben’s apple. All day, boys came to make fun of Tom, but they ended up staying to paint. When Ben got tired, Billy was waiting. He gave Tom a kite for a chance to paint. Then Johnny offered him a basketball, and so on.
By late afternoon Tom had got all kinds of toys, and the fence had got three coats of paint. Later Aunt Polly came to look at the painted fence. She was so pleased with Tom’s work that she gave Tom a large cake!Why did Tom pretend not to see Ben when he came and watched him painting?
| A．He saw Ben eating an apple happily. |
| B．He tried to make Ben interested in it. |
| C．He didn’t want to go swimming with Ben at all. |
| D．He didn’t want Ben to share the chance to paint the fence. |
What does the underlined word “spring” probably mean in Chinese?
| A．春天 | B．弹簧 | C．泉 | D．活力 |
What do you think of Tom?
| A．Honest. | B．Smart. | C．Shy. | D．Stubborn. |