Family traditions were important in our house, and none was more appreciated than the perfect Christmas tree
"Dad, can we watch when you trim(修剪)the tree?" My eldest son. Dan, nine, and his seven -year-old brother John, asked
"I won't be cutting this year," my husband Bob said. "Dan, you and John are old enough to measure things. Do it all by yourselves. Think you boys can handle it?
Dan and John seemed to grow six inches in their chairs at the thought of such an amazing responsibility. "We can handle it." Dan promised. "We won't let you down." .
A few days before Christmas. Dan and John rushed in after school. They gathered the tools they'd need and brought them out to the yard .where the tree waited. I was cooking when I heard the happy sounds as the boys carried the tree into the lying room. Then I heard the sound that every mother knows is trouble: dead silence I hurried out to them. The tree was cut too short. John crossed his arms tight across his chest. His eyes filled with angry tears.
I felt worried The tree was central to our holiday. I didn't want the boys to feel ashamed every tune they looked at it. I couldn't lower the ceiling, and I couldn't raise the floor either. There was no way to undo the damage done. Suddenly, a thought came to my mind, which turned the problem into the solution. www..com
“We can't make the tree taller." I said. "But we can put it on a higher position"
Dan nodded his head sideways. "We could put it on the coffee table. It just might work! Let's try it!“
When Bob got home and looked at the big tree on top of the coffee table, Dan and John held their breath.
"What a good idea!" he declared "Why didn't I ever think of such a thing?"
John broke into a grin Dan's chest swelled with pride.Who trimmed the Christmas tree this year?
| A.The writer | B.Bob | C.Dan and John | D.The whole family |
The underlined part "grow six inches" (Para. 4) implies the brothers felt ______.
| A.proud | B.nervous | C.worried | D.scared |
What happened after the brothers moved the Christmas tree into the living room?
A. They rushed into school.
B They began to decorate the tree.
C. They got angry with each other
D. They found the tree was cut shortWhat the writer's husband said in the end showed________.
| A.he expected too much of the brothers_ |
| B.he should not have given the brothers the task to trim the Christmas |
| C.he was too stupid to think of such an idea_ |
| D.he really appreciated what the brothers had done. |
第二部分:阅读理解(第一节20小题;第二节共5小题;每小题2分,满分50分)
第一节:阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。
A
Fat and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team.“Football,tennis,cricket—anything with a round ball,I was useless,”he says now with a laugh.But back then be was the one always made fun of in school gym classes in Devonshire, England.
It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him.At first he went biking alone in a nearby forest.Then he began to ride the bike along with a runner friend.Gradually,Saunders set his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed and strength.At the age of 18,he ran his first marathon.
The following year, he met John Ridgway and was hired as an instructor at Ridgway’s School of Adventure in Scotland, where he learned about Ridgway’s cold-water exploits.Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers, and adventures, then decided that this would be his future.
In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition(探险) towards the North Pole.It took unbelievable energy.He suffered frostbite(冻疮), ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his supply-loaded sled(雪橇) up and over rocky ice.
Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the North Pole by himself than any other British man.His old playmates would not believe the change.
Next October, Saunders,27, heads south from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back, a 2900-kilometre journey that has never been completed on skis.
1.What change happened toSaunders after he was 15 years old?
A.He became good at most sports. B.He began to build up his body.
C.He joined a sports team. D.He made friends with a runner.
2.The underlined word “exploits”(Paragraph 3) is closest in meaning to ______.
A.journeys B.researches C.adventures D.operations
3.Which of the following is the correct order of the events that happened to Saunders?
a.He ran his first marathon. b.He skied along in the North Pole.
c.He rode his bike in a forest. d.He planned an adventure to the South Pole.
A.acdb B.cdab C.acbd D.cabd
4.What does the story mainly tell us about Saunders?
A.He is a success in sports. B.He is the best British skier.
C.He is Ridgway’s favorite student. D.He is a good instructor at school.
The sandstorm has a bad effect on human beings, but it also brings some good results. There wouldn’t have been our Chinese nation if there had been no sandstorms. Sandstorms have existed for millions of years, while the written history of human beings has lasted only 5,000 years. The Loess Plateau(黄土高原) was formed by sandstorms over millions of years. The Yellow
River, while moving through the Loess Plateau, carries a great deal of sand and has formed the North China Plain. The Loess Plateau is regarded as the place where Chinese civilization(文明) began. If there had been no Loess Pla
teau, the North China Plain wouldn’t have existed, nor would have the Chinese civilization.
Sandstorms don’t bring only loess to human beings. When sandstorms move from central Asia to the Pacific regions, they carry some minerals into the a
ir, which will later fall into the ocean in the form of rain. The minerals will help some planktons(浮游生物) to survive. The planktons are eaten by small shellfish, and fish live on these small shellfish, and fish are eaten by humans. This forms a biological chain which shows a relation between humans and nature.
So it is unrealistic to say we should stop sandsto
rms. What we can possibly do is to reduce their bad influence as much as we can.
1. The underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably means _________.
A. there are many sandstorms in China
B. the land of China was made by sandstorms
C. sandstorms helped to form Chinese civilization
D. the history of sandstorms was longer than that of Chinese nation
2. Ho
w does the sandstorm help to form the biological chain?
A. The sandstorm carries lots of rain into the ocean.
B. The sandstorm helps some minerals fall into the ocean.
C. Some minerals directly fall into the ocean in the form of rain.
D. The sandstorm moves from central Asia to the Pacific regions.
3. The writer thinks that _______.
A. the sandstorm only has a bad effect on human beings
B. sandstorms bring about lots of trouble, but we can still make use of them
C. without sandstorms, there would be no Chinese civilization and human beings
D. sandstorms pla
y an active role in the Chinese civilization, so we should protect them
4. The text mainly talks about _______.
A. the history of sandstorms B. what the biological chain is
C. how the Loess Plateau formed
D. the good effects of sandstorms
The Florida Sea Base Programs
Diving Adventure
If you are a diver, this is your program. During the program you will be making as many as nine dives (weather permitting), including a night dive. We have open dates in June, July and August for the summer months and for fall we have opening in September, October, November and December. Check out the dates today. Click here!
Sea Exploring!
The name brings back the memory of pirates(海盗) sailing the high seas of the past. This adventure is for larger teams of 18 to 20 teammates. Sailing on a tall ship with your team, you will be making memories that you will share for the rest of your life with anyone who will listen. Be sure and check out the dates we have open. Click here! We can fit your timetable to meet your needs with these great dates.
Live Aboard Diving
The Florida Sea Base has the sailing and diving programs joined for one wonderful adventure! On this adventure, you will spend your days not only in diving, but also in sailing
around the Florida Keys. There are openings this fall and winter. Check now for open dates to spend your winter holidays in the keys. Click here! Fall dates are open now. Check them out today!
Just around the corner: the Christmas season in the keys! We have an opening for the Live Aboard program on December 26. Book today---it won’t last long!
Diving Certification(证书)
The Diving Certification program is designed for teammates who want to get a certification--- all who complete the week successfully will be offered PADI certification! Come and learn how to dive in the beautiful waters of the Florida Keys.
We have the following dates open: August 5, August 12, August 19, August 22 and August 26. We also have programs we offer in the fall: September 30, O
ctober 7, October 14, October 21, and many more dates. Check out the rest of the dates. Click here!
1. The text is most probably found _________.
A. in a newspaper B. on the Internet
C. in a science magazine D. in a book about Florida Sea
2. Colin wants to join in the Diving Adventure. He is supposed to have ______.
A. 9 dives B. 10 dives
C. 19 dives D. as many dives as he likes
3. According to this text, Live-Aboard Diving is special in that ____.
A. diving goes on during the sailing
B. it is an adventure at sea
C. there are diving programs in it
D. it is held in the Christmas season
4. The purpose of the text is mainly to ________.
A. teach B. introduce C. report D. advertise
Online shopping started not so long ago. Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1990. The first online bank opened in 1994. In 1995, Amazon started operating and is now one of the largest online shopping malls. Then in 1996, eBay started its online shopping site.
By sitting at home you can now buy anything from knives to cars. The worry you may have about traveling and parking can be avoided while you shop online. With online shopping, you need not worry about the weather. Online shops have no holidays, closing times or any other problems. You can shop 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Some online shops also keep customers’ opinions about each product, so you can easily find out what other customers think about the product before buying it.
When you go for real-world shopping, you can actually touch and feel it, but in online shopping you can only see the pictures. Also if you are shopping online, you have to be careful with your credit cards.
The first step in online shopping is to search for what you want to buy. Once you find the required product, put it in a “shopping cart” and continue shopping. After you have got enough in your “shopping cart”, check out the product. You can add or take out the products in your shopping cart. The next step is to login(登录) using a username and a password. Enter the address where you want the product to be sent. Some sites even ask for your email, phone numbers, etc. Then wait for the confirmation(确认)of your order. You can also cancel the order if needed. Online shopping is a different experience and you can make shopping online easy when you get used to it.
1. When shopping online, you can _______.
A. buy anything wherever you go B. park your cars where you want to
C. touch anything you want to b
uy D. know what others think of the product
2. The second paragraph mainly tells us ______.
A. the things people can buy in online shops
B. people can know different opinions of customers
C. people can do online shopping at their own homes
D. t
he advantages people can have through online shopping
3. From
the text we can know that ______.
A. customers needn’t have a username to buy something online
B. customers must give their emails as well as their phone numbers
C. customers should be careful with their credit cards when shopping online
D. once customers put the products in their “shopping carts”, they can’t change them
4. If you want to buy a cup online, what is the right order of the following things you can do?
a. Enter the address
b. Search for a right cup
c. Wait for the confirmation of the order
d. Put the cup into your “shopping cart”
A. b
-c-d-a B. b-d-a-c C. a-b-c-d D. c-d-a-b
IV.阅读理解:(共32分,每小题2分)
Can you imagine your doctor warning that taking a bath could be unhealthy? In the early 1800s, many doctors thought that bathtubs(浴缸) could carry diseases, so they advised against their use. The advice wasn’t based on personal experience, because few of the doctors owned bathtubs. The White House did not even have a bathtub until 1851.
In the 19th century, only one home out of six had a bathroom. A child took only one bath a week. On Saturday nights, children all lined up for their turns to wash in a wooden bathtub in the kitchen. Mothers had to boil the water on the stove and carry it over to fill the bathtub. It’s no wonder that children could not jump into a bathtub as they do today.
When the first bathtubs were introduced, even their makers weren’t sure whether the new fashion would last. They advertised their products as water containers that “could be used as bathing tu
bs”.
The bathtub became popular in America shortly after World War I. By then most middle-class families had indoor taps. At first most bathtubs
were made of wood, but as the popularity of the product increased, so did the creativity of bathtub makers. Before porcelain(瓷) bathtubs there were rubber o
nes like the plastic swimming pools kids use today. In the past few years owners often invited guests to see them. They told their friends how wonderful baths in these bathtubs could be.
Now doctors no longer warn that bathtubs carry diseases. Instead, they tell their patients about the benefits of frequent bathing in the bathtubs. Maybe one of the best reasons why doctors
encourage frequent trips to the bathtub is that bathed patients smell better!
1. Many doctors in the past were against using bathtubs because ______.
A. they didn’t have their own bathtubs
B. they thought bathtubs could carry diseases.
C. the children might hurt themselves in the bathtubs
D. bathtubs were too expensive for the common families
2. Why couldn’t children jump into a tub in the 19th century as they do today?
A. It was unhealthy to do so. B. The bathtubs were not enough.
C. Mothers were always busy. D. The bathtubs were made of wood.
3 .Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. Some different materials can be used to make bathtubs.
B. In the 19th century only one home out of seven had a bathroom.
C. The bathtub became popular when they were introduced to the market.
D. Children prefer the bathtubs made of plastic to those made of porcelain.
4. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.
A. all the doctors have bathtubs in their homes
B. the doctors have realized the advantages of bathtubs
C. the doctors will make lots of money by advertising
bathtubs
D. the patients should take a bath before going to see a doctor