When I was a kid in Minnesota, watermelons were expensive. One of my father's friends, Bernie, was a rich businessman, who owned a large store in St. Paul.
Every summer, when the first watermelons arrived, Bernie would call. Dad and I would go to Bernie's place. We’d sit on the edge of the dock (码头), feet dangling (摇晃), and got ready for a big meal. Bernie would take his knife, cut our first watermelon, hand us both a big piece and sit down next to us. Then we'd bury our faces in watermelon, eating only the heart—the reddest, juiciest, firmest, sweetest, and most seed-free part — and throw away the rest.
Bernie was my father's ideal of a rich man. I always thought it was because he was such a successful businessman. Years later, I realized that it was not Bernie's wealth itself but his way of dealing with it that my father liked. Bernie knew how to stop working, get together with friends and eat only the heart of the watermelon.
What I learned from Bernie is that being rich is a state of mind. Some of us, no matter how much money we have, will never be free enough to eat only the heart of the watermelon. If you don't take the time to dangle your feet over the dock and enjoy life’s small pleasure, your work is probably hurting your life.
For many years, I forgot that lesson I'd learned as a kid on the loading dock. I was too busy making all the money I could.
Well, I've relearned it. I hope I have time left to enjoy the success of others and to take pleasure in the day. That's the heart of the watermelon. I have learned again to throw the rest away.We learn from the second paragraph the writer and his father were feeling_____.
| A．hungry | B．worried | C．relaxed | D．proud |
How did the writer and his father eat the watermelon?
| A．They ate it in a polite way. |
| B．They only ate its best part. |
| C．They ate every part of it. |
| D．They shared only one piece. |
In the eyes of the writer's father, Bernie ________.
| A．was just a rich businessman |
| B．worked hard all the time |
| C．lived a rich but healthy life |
| D．knew how to make money |
The underlined part "the heart of the watermelon" in the last paragraph refers to ______.
| A．the writer's hope of enjoying life |
| B．the writer's busy life |
| C．the writer's decision of making money |
| D．the best part of the watermelon |
It can be learned from the passage that ______.
| A．one has to work hard to reach his goal |
| B．a friend in need is a friend in deed |
| C．watermelon is the healthiest fruit |
| D．one should keep work-life balance |
Everyone has worries. How do you deal with your worries? There is always something you can do to help yourself feel less worried. Sitting there worrying is no fun and it won't solve your problems.
Grades at school are often a top worry for kids, If you worry most about grades, ask yourself these questions:
●Why are grades important? What do grades mean to me?
●How do I get ready for class? Do I go over my notes even when there isn't a test?
●Do I have a good place to do my homework?
●Have I tried different ways of studying?
If your worry is about a fight you had with your friend, you might write down ail the things you could do-write a note to him or her, invite him or her to watch a basketball game, say sorry to him or her and so on. Once you have a list of things you could do, you can choose one thing that could get your friend back.
You can ask for help when you're worried. You can find someone to talk to, such as your parents, friends, and teachers,What do kids often worry most about?
| A．Their hobbies. | B．Their homework. |
| C．Their marks at school. | D．A fight with their friends. |
According to the passage, when you're worried, you'd better _______.
| A．work hard | B．talk to someone |
| C．get ready for class | D．write down your worries |
What does the passage mainly tell us?
| A．Who is often worried. | B．When people are worried. |
| C．How to deal with worries, | D．What kinds of worries people have. |
One day, a farmer was walking along a road with his son Thomas. The father said, "Look! There's a horseshoe. Pick it up and put it in your bag." Thomas said, “It isn't worth the trouble." His father said nothing but picked it up himself. When they got to a nearby town, they had a rest. There the farmer sold the horseshoe and with the few pennies he bought some cherries.
The father and the son continued their way. The sun was well up in the sky, and there wasn't a house or even a tree where they could have a rest. Thomas felt too thirsty to walk on, At this time, his father dropped a cherry on the ground and Thomas picked it up quickly and ate it.
After a while, his father dropped another cherry and once again, his son lost some time in picking it up and putting it in his mouth.
And so they went on. The old farmer dropped the cherries and the son picked them up. When Thomas had eaten up all the cherries, his father said to him, "My dear son, if you had bent down earlier to pick up that horseshoe, it would not have been necessary for you to bend so many times for the cherries. Always remember the lesson that anyone who does not worry about the little things will find that he cannot do the great things,The farmer bought _______with the money after he sold the horseshoe.
| A．some food | B．some water | C．some cherries | D．some pennies |
The father dropped the cherries one by one, because _______.
| A．he wanted his son to eat them all | B．he wanted his son to do more exercise |
| C．he wanted to teach his son a lesson | D．he wanted his son to pick them up |
From the story, we can learn that _______.
| A．cherries are so delicious that most of us like to eat them |
| B．a horseshoe is so expensive that it can bring us a lot of money |
| C．if the boy wants to eat cherries, he must pick up the horseshoe |
| D．if we want to do some great things, we should start with some small ones |
Many places in the world need more fresh water. Every country is trying to find ways to turn salt water into fresh. Why aren’t there many factories like the Symi factory?
In some places the sun is not hot enough. Or it does not shine every day.
In such places other ways of heating sea water can be used. These ways cost more money, but they work faster than the sun. By boiling sea water with high heat a lot of fresh water can be made quickly.
But heating is not the only way to get fresh water from salt water. Other ways are tried.
One way is freezing. The fresh part of salt water freezes first. To get fresh water, the bits of ice are taken out.
Which way is the best? The one that gives the most water for the least money. It may be a different way for each place.
Symi’s way seems very good for small, hot places. It does not make much water at a time. But the factory is easy to build and costs little.
That is why people in many dry places talk about Symi.From the passage we know that fresh water _____________.
| A．is needed in many countries | B．is needed in every country |
| C．can be used in many ways | D．is very important for factories |
The Symi factory __________.
| A．turns salt water into fresh | B．can be built everywhere |
| C．can make much fresh water at a time | D．doesn’t need sunshine every day |
Which is the best way for small and hot places to get fresh water?
| A．Boiling the sea water. | B．Heating the sea water. |
| C．The Symi’s way. | D．Freezing the sea water. |
What fact doesn’t the passage mention (提到)?
| A．New ways of getting fresh water. |
| B．A lot of fresh water can be made quickly by heating. |
| C．The best way is to get the freshest water with the least money. |
| D．The Symi’s way doesn’t work in dry places. |
The Symi’s way is not suitable for _________ places according to the passage.
| A．small | B．hot | C．cool | D．dry |
Mr. Brown was going away for a week. Before he left, he said to his son, "if anyone asks for me, you can tell him that your father has been out for doing something, and will be back in a week, then be sure to ask him to sit down for a cup of tea."
"OK, Dad," said his son. But he was afraid his son couldn’t remember this, he wrote these words down on a piece of paper and gave it to him. His son put it into his small pocket, took it out and looked at it every now and then.
Four days passed, but no one came to see his father. The boy thought that there was no man to come and that the piece of paper was of no more use for him, so he burnt it that evening.
The next afternoon, someone knocked at the door. The boy opened it. A man was standing at the door and said, "Where is your father?" The boy put his hand into his pocket at once and looked for the piece of paper. He could not find it. He suddenly remembered he had burnt it, so he shouted, "No more."
The man was very surprised. He asked, "No more? I met your father last week. When did it happen?" "Burnt yesterday evening."Mr. Brown told his son that _____.
| A．he would be away from home for four days |
| B．he would be back in seven days |
| C．he would be back in a month |
| D．he liked a cup of tea |
Mr. Brown wrote the words down on ________.
| A．the wall | B．the door | C．a piece of paper | D．his son’s pocket |
A man came to visit the boy’s father on ________.
| A．the second day | B．the third day | C．the fourth day | D．the fifth day |
The man was very surprised because _________.
| A．he thought the child’s father was dead | B．the child didn’t ask him to sit down |
| C．the child gave him a cup of tea | D．he couldn’t find that piece of paper |
What was burnt? ___________.
| A．The piece of paper. | B．Mr. Smith. | C．The visitor. | D．The boy. |
Joyce was born in a poor family. Next Friday would be her mother’s birthday. Joyce wanted to buy something for her mother, but she had no money. As an 8-year-old girl, she couldn’t do part-time jobs. What could she do to make enough money for her mother’s birthday present?
Suddenly she had an idea. Usually, she would go straight to school, but this morning, she didn’t. She walked along the streets, picking up cardboard（纸板）, plastic（塑料）bottles and cans（易拉罐）. When it was time for school, she hid them in the backyard and ran to school as quickly as possible.
Eight days later, she decided to sell all the things she had collected because the next day was her mother’s birthday. She had to sell them and buy a birthday present for her mother. In the shop, she bought a beautiful hair pin for her mother.
When her mother got the present, she said with tears in her eyes,“This is the best present I’ve ever received.”How old was Joyce?
A. Seven. B. Eight. C. Nine.Why couldn’t Joyce buy a present for her mother at first?
A. Because she had no money.
B. Because she didn’t know what her mother liked.
C. Because she didn’t love her mother at all.What was Joyce’s idea?
A. Doing part-time jobs.
B. Collecting waste things and selling them.
C. Asking her best friend for help.How long did Joyce collect the waste things?
A. A week. B. A month. C. More than a week. How did Joyce’s mother feel when she got the present?
A. Very sad. B. Very happy and moved. C. Very surprised.