Big Ben is not the name of a man. It is the name of a big clock in London. London is the capital of England. This clock has four faces. So, no matter （无论）where you stand, you can read the time on the face of Big Ben. Each face is the size of a bus. The hands are about four meters long. It is about the size of two people standing on top each other. If you go to London, you may want to visit the Houses of Parliament. （国会大厦）In that place you will find Big Ben sits at the top of the clock tower in the Houses of Parliament. You will probably hear it and see it. The big clock makes such a loud noise. “Ding dong, ding dong.” It goes, every quarter of an hour. The name of Big Ben comes from a big builder. Big Ben is _____.
| A．a bus | B．a clock | C．the name of Ben | D．a house |
Big Ben is in _______.
| A．China | B．the USA | C．Japan | D．the UK |
The clock strikes (敲；打) every _______ minutes of an hour.
| A．ten | B．fifteen | C．thirty | D．forty-five |
You can read the time of Big Ben _______.
| A．at the top of the clock tower |
| B．in the Houses of Parliament |
| C．on the hands of the huge clock |
| D．on the four faces of the clock |
The underlined (划线部分) word “ hands” means ___ in Chinese.
| A．手 | B．标志 | C．指针 | D．发条 |
What does it mean to be green? Green is more than just a color. It also means taking special steps to protect the environment. Buying a green product is a small step everyone can take. Deciding whether a product is green, however, isn’t always easy. We need to consider the whole life cycle of the product even after it’s of no use. Here is what we may keep in mind.
The materials of a product are usually our first focus (关注). What is it made of? Are there any harmful chemicals in it? Green products are made of more natural materials which are free from harmful chemicals, so they can be good for our physical health.
Packaging is important. How is a product packaged? Is it over packaged? We’d better choose glass, metal and paper packaging, as these can be reused or more easily recycled (回收利用). We can also look for less packaging or even choose unbagged products whenever possible.
Location (地点) matters. Where was a product produced? Where are we buying it? Think about how much energy was used to get it to us try to choose local products. When it comes to food, it is a good idea to order directly from local farmer, shop at markets and buy fruits in season. Buying from stores near our houses is also a good choice, because we can go there without driving a car.
Look into what the company tells us about their product. It’s easy to say that a product is “green” or “all natural” but the words may be too good to be true. So, much of the information about a product should be taken with a grain of salt. After all, companies try to make us believe that their products are environmentally responsible.
The greenest thing is certainly the one we don’t buy. Things like food and clothing are necessary for life. But many others are not. Better than buying is choosing to leave an unnecessary product in the store and doing without. It sends a message to the producer, keeps money in our pockets, reduces (减少) waste and keeps the planet healthy.
(1). The writer would suggest choosing a product that is ________.
| A． |
over packaged |
B． |
delivered from abroad |
| C． |
C |
D． |
made of unnatural materials |
(2). The words “be taken with a grain of in salt” Paragraph 5 probably mean “________”.
| A． |
be easily understood |
B． |
not be completely believed |
| C． |
be widely spread |
D． |
not be quickly forgotten |
(3). Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A． |
Buying Green |
B． |
Recycling Waste |
| C． |
Keeping Healthy |
D． |
Reducing Energy Use |
I joined a band （乐队）as a drummer in my middle school. I thought it would be fun playing the drum and meeting new friends. At first it was easy, but a month later, it got difficult. I was the only one who couldn’t keep pace （节奏）with the other players.
Our teacher, Angie, singled me out to keep practicing while everyone else got to relax. I felt ashamed （羞愧的）as my teammates watched me fail so many times. Finally I got so tired of practicing that I didn’t care about doing it right.
“Are you giving up on me. Steve?” Angie asked.
“Yes, I am,” I shouted. Angie sent me inside the music room where I cried out. Then she came in and said. “Don’t be sad. I believe you can make it!” She told me never to give up. She left me alone and I realized Angie was right—by giving up, I was also giving up on the team and myself.
With her comfort, I decided to go on practicing. However, I still couldn’t play well. Knowing my difficulties, my teammates gave me a hand. They spent about three more hours practicing with me every week. Thanks to their support and help, I began to keep pace with them. Later, we performed wonderfully in an important show.
In the whole process, I was taught that although we each had our own job to do in a show, it would take all of us working together to make the show great. I felt accepted and made great progress. I love everyone in the band. I can’t imagine what my school life would be like without them.
(1). One month after he joined the band, Steve felt playing the drum was _________.
| A． |
funny |
B． |
helpful |
C． |
noisy |
D． |
difficult |
(2). With Angie’s comfort, Steve decided to _________.
| A． |
have a good rest |
B． |
go on practicing |
| C． |
give others a hand |
D． |
start another band |
(3). From his experience, Steve learned about ________.
| A． |
the value of teamwork |
B． |
the effect of shows |
| C． |
the importance of hobbies |
D． |
the power of music |
WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL? WHY?
|
My role model is my neighbor Ms. Li. She is in her eighties now but she is still young at heart. I often see her riding her bike in the park and she also spends time doing volunteer work. She helps me understand that people won’t be old if they still have a great love for life. Adam |
I miss Mrs. White most after primary school. She was our math teacher and always patient with us. She helped us to work out the answers ourselves, no matter how difficult the questions were. So Mrs. White is my role model, and I want to be a teacher like her in the future. Betty |
|
Norman Bethune was a Canadian doctor. In 1938, Dr. Bethune came to China and helped treat the wounded. He often worked very hard without resting. Once, he managed to save over one hundred lives in sixty-nine hours. He is still remembered in both China and Canada today. So he is my role model. Peter |
Yuan Longping is my role model. He is one of the greatest agricultural (农业的) scientists of our time. He worked hard to grow better rice to solve the problems of food shortage. It is sad that Mr. Yuan has left us, but his dreams are carried by many plant and agricultural researches. Emma |
(1). Who is Emma’s role model?
| A． |
Ms. Li. |
B． |
Mrs. White. |
| C． |
Norman Bethune. |
D． |
Yuan Longping. |
(2). What does Betty want to be in the future?
| A． |
A teacher. |
B． |
A scientist. |
C． |
A doctor. |
D． |
A volunteer. |
(3). What do we know about Ms. Li?
| A． |
She worked in a hospital. |
| B． |
She solved the food problems. |
| C． |
She is old in age but young at heart. |
| D． |
She is very patient with her students. |
A father bought a kite for his son. The son couldn’t wait to fly it. So, on the next windy day, they took the kite to a park.
First, the father taught his son to fly the kite. Soon, the son was flying the kite high in the air. When it couldn’t go higher, the son realized something. “The string (线) is holding the kite down,” he said to himself. “If I cut it, it can fly higher.”
The son cut the string. After that, the kite flew up a little more. However, the kite didn’t rise for long. It slowly came down until it landed in a tree far away. The son was surprised.
“I thought the kite could fly higher without the string,” he said. “What happened?”
“The string wasn’t holding the kite down,” said the father. “It was helping it stay higher. After you cut the string, it didn’t have any support.”
Really, rules are like the string that seems to hold us down in our daily life. But, without them, we can’t fly high like the kite. We should never let go of them.
(1). Where did the son fly the kite? (不超过10个词)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
(2). Why did the son cut the string? (不超过10个词)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
(3). What can we learn from the story? (不超过10个词)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The night sky is our earliest library. There, we stored our knowledge, and passed it down around the fire, before we invented the written word.
I remember going to the local university for an astronomy (天文学) night when I was a child. That night, I saw Saturn, one of the planets, and its rings with my own eyes for the first time. The rings shone bright against the blackness of space and suddenly the universe (宇宙) wasn’t something that you only read about or imagined in your head. It was right there, and you were a part of it. That moment is priceless.
While starlight is good, light pollution here on Earth can be a real problem. For the past 200 years or so, we have used too much electricity (电) to make the night brighter. However, brighter doesn’t usually mean better, especially when a lot of that light shines up into the sky where no one needs it.
Luckily, some cities have taken actions, like setting up new downward-directing lights along the streets. I hope that more cities will join in and continue the practice of controlling unnecessary lighting, so that more of us can watch the night sky in a way humans have for thousands of years.
(1). What is the night sky compared to?
| A． |
A book. |
B． |
The earth. |
C． |
A library. |
D． |
The universe. |
(2). How did the writer find the astronomy night?
| A． |
It opened his eyes. |
B． |
It controlled his mind. |
| C． |
It was a real problem. |
D． |
It took him too much time. |
(3). What does the writer hope for?
| A． |
A brighter night. |
B． |
Less use of lighting. |
| C． |
More personal space. |
D． |
A better education. |
locally produced