Sure. you know their names, possibly better than you know the name of the street you live on.
When the need comes, these names roll off our tongues like they were our own brothers. I am writing about the famous Webster s Dictionary and Roget s Thesaurus.
Webster s Dictionary. Many people can respond immediately: Noah Webster. We are aware that he is the father of the dictionary. But who was he? What did he do for a living? When did he live?
Noah was born in 1758, graduated from Yale University in 1778. and later graduated from law school He produced the first American dictionary in 1806 and published his influential work An American Dictionary of the English Language in l828. His interests led him to be a lexicographer (词典编纂者). textbook editor, author, Bible translator and spelling reformer. He also produced a large number of writings in medicine, mythology (神话), and the relationship of European and Asian languages. In addition, he .founded the first New York daily newspaper in 1793. He died in 1843.
Roget's Thesaurus. And it gives us The chance to learn about Roget, the man-Peter Mark Roget, And who? What? When?
Englishman Peter Roget, MD, was born in 1779. He studied medicine and mathematics at the University of Edinburgh. He is considered as the creator of the first-ever thesaurus (同义词典). It has been called one of the three most important books ever printed. along with the Bible and Webster s Dictionary. He began his work Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases in I 805 but did not publish it until 1852-47 years later. In his lifetime. he became a noted lecturer and writer on anatomy(解剖学 ). geology(地质学).bees，and more . When Roget died in 1869 at age 90. his son, John . took over the Thesaurus arid he gradually expanded it.
So now you know the two famous books. Not enough information? As well-known humourist James Thurber suggested in the title of his 1941 magazine short story about baseball, You Could Look It Up!The author states that "these names roll off our tongues" in order to show that people______.
| A．will learn from the two writers | B．have ignored the two writers |
| C．are familiar with the names | D．know a lot about the two |
According to the text. Noah Webster and Peter Roget are alike because they both______.
| A．had many interests | B．studied medicine |
| C．were professors | D．liked baseball |
The purpose of the last paragraph is to_______.
| A．attract more readers | B．come to a conclusion |
| C．encourage further research | D．provide background information |
Which of the following shows the structure of the whole text?
Sarah Williams went to a boarding school. Here is one of the
letters she wrote to her parents from the school.
Wentworth Girls' School
Beachside
July 20th
Dearest Mom and Dad,
I'm afraid I have some very bad news for you. I have been very naughty and the school principal is very angry with me. She is going to write to you. You must come and take me away from here. She does not want me in the school any longer.
The trouble started last night when I was smoking in bed. This is against the rules, of course. We are not supposed to smoke at all.
As I was smoking, I heard footsteps coming towards the room. I did not want a teacher to catch me smoking, so I threw the cigarette away.
Unfortunately, the cigarette fell into the waste-paper basket, which caught fire.
There was a curtain near the waste-paper basket which caught fire, too. Soon the whole room was burning.
The principal phoned for the fire department. The school is a long way from the town and by the time the fire department arrived, the whole school was in flames. Many of the girls are in the hospital.
The principal says that the fire was all my fault and you must pay for the damage. She will send you a bill for about a million dollars.
I’m very sorry about this.
Much love,
Sarah
P. S. None of the above is true, but I have failed my exams. I just want you to know how bad things could have been!Why did Sarah write home?
| A．To tell her parents about the fire. |
| B．To ask for a lot of money. |
| C．To tell her parents she had failed her exams. |
| D．To tell her parents she had to leave school. |
Why did Sarah tell her parents the story about the fire?
| A．She wanted to worry them. |
| B．She wanted to make them laugh. |
| C．She wanted to make them less angry at the real news. |
| D．She wanted to warn them about what the principal was going to do. |
The letter before the. P. S. was .
| A．mostly true | B．partly true |
| C．completely true | D．completely untrue |
Mr. and Mrs. Wu were fed up with their neighbor. He was always borrowing things from them.
“It’s not right.” Mr. Wu said to his wife one evening. “At some time or another that man has borrowed nearly everything we have. Almost every day he comes over to borrow something.”
“You are quite right,” his wife replied, “and most of the things he’s never returned.”
“What I want to know,” her husband said, “is why he can’t buy the things he needs like everyone else.”
“Because people like us are foolish enough to lend him what he needs.” she replied. “As long as we are willing to lend, he’ll keep on borrowing.”
“Then we’ll never lend him anything again.” Mr. Wu said. “The next time he asks to borrow something, I’ll say no.”
“We must have a good reason for saying no,” his wire said, “and we must always try to be polite to him. We don’t want to make an enemy of the man.”
It was not long before their decision not to lend their neighbor anything ever again was put to the test.
The next morning there was a knock on the door.
Mr. Wu went to answer it.
Their neighbor was standing there. Mr. Wu knew he was going to ask to borrow something, and was ready to refuse him politely.
“Good morning,” their neighbor said, “I’m sorry to trouble you, but I wonder if I could borrow your garden scissors.”
“I’m sorry,” Mr. Wu said, “but I’m afraid my wife and I will be using them today. We’ll be spending all day working in the garden.”
“Oh, ! see.” the neighbor said, “In that case, may I borrow your golf clubs? You won’t be needing them if you are working in the garden all day, will you?”What did the neighbor do with most of the things he had borrowed?
| A．He hid them. |
| B．He never returned them. |
| C．He lent them to others. |
| D．He broke them. |
Mr. and Mrs. Wu’s decision to treat their neighbor was
| A．not to lend anything more |
| B．to be impolite to him in order to show their dislike |
| C．to give him anything he would ask |
| D．to keep on lending |
When did the neighbor want to borrow again?
| A．The next day. |
| B．A week later. |
| C．The morning after the following month. |
| D．A few days later. |
How did the neighbor manage to get what he really wanted?
| A．He first asked for something else. |
| B．He asked for it earnestly (诚挚地). |
| C．He worked for them. |
| D．He spoke highly of Mr. Wu. |
Norm Pethrick, a 36-year-old man in Australia’s northern city Darwin, was praised on Thursday for jumping onto a crocodile’s back to save his wife Wendy at Litchfield National Park, a popular tourist spot southwest of Darwin, a local newspaper reported.
Ms Pethrick was standing on a river bank Wednesday afternoon when the saltwater crocodile lunged (扑), locking its jaws on both her legs as it tried to drag her underwater.
Norm Pethrick, who with his wife had been collecting water, immediately went to help her. He jumped onto the back, poked (戳) the eyes of the crocodile and finally got his wife free.
Ms Pethrick was later taken to Royal Darwin Hospital for a medical treatment. The doctors said she was suffering eight puncture wounds (伤口) in her right leg, a puncture wound in her left leg and a serious cut to one of her fingers.
“This could have been a fatal and tragic situation,” said the general manager of Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH), Dr Len Notaras, according to a local report.
He said Ms Pethrick was saved by her husband’s “quick and diligent actions”.
Dr Notaras also said she would remain in hospital for three to four days and have an operation to clean the wounds, which are easy to get infected because of bacteria (细菌) on the teeth of the crocodile.This passage is most likely to be found in _____.
| A．a travel guide | B．a newspaper | C．a textbook | D．a novel |
The crocodile attacked Ms Pethrick when she was ______.
| A．standing on the river bank |
| B．swimming in the river |
| C．watching the crocodile |
| D．fishing in the water |
Which of the following statements is TRUE about Ms Pethrick?
| A．Her eyes were badly poked. |
| B．She had eight wounds altogether. |
| C．One of her fingers also got hurt. |
| D．One of the crocodile’s teeth was found in her leg. |
According to the passage, Norm Pethrick can be described as following EXCEPT _______.
| A．brave | B．diligent | C．quick | D．humorous |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．A man saves wife’s life from crocodile’s jaws |
| B．The husband should save the wife |
| C．A crocodile is not so dangerous as people imagine |
| D．Human beings can beat crocodiles sometimes |
Plants are very important living things. Life could not go if there were no plants. This is because plants can make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals and man cannot make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals. So animals and man need plants in order to live. This is why we find that there are so many plants around us.
If you look carefully at the plants around you, you will find that there are two kinds of plants: flowering plants and non-flowering plants.
Flowering plants can make seeds. The seeds are protected by the fruits. Some fruits have one seed, some have two, three or four, and some have many seeds. But a few fruits have no seeds at all. An example of a fruit without seeds is the banana fruit.
Most non-flowering plants don’t grow from seeds. They grow from spores(孢子). Spores are so small and light that they can float in the air. We may say that spores are quite the same as the seeds. When these spores fall on wet and shady places, they usually grow into new plants.The main idea of the passage is that __________.
| A．plants are important for life |
| B．plants cannot grow without air |
| C．there are many plants around us |
| D．we cannot live without water |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE?
| A．Plants can be divided into main types: flowering plants and non-flowering plants. |
| B．All fruits have seeds in them |
| C．Seeds are protected by the fruits. |
| D．Some plants grow from spores. |
The word “non-flowering ” in this passage means __________.
| A．开花的 | B．有花的 | C．多花的 | D．不开花的 |
| TV PROGRAMS |
|
| Channel 1 |
Channel 2 |
| 18:00 Around China 18:30 Children’s program 19:00 News 19:30 Weather report 19:40 Around the world 20:10 TV play: Sisters 21:00 English for today 21:15 Popular music 21:55 Talk show |
17:45 Computers 18:10 Foreign arts 18:30 English classroom 19:00 Animal world 19:25 China’ 99 20:20 Sports 21:00 Guo Lanying 21:45 English news 22:05 On TV next week |
If you want to watch a football game, the best program for you would be ____.
| A．Sports | B．TV play |
| C．Around the world | D．Talk show |
The program of _____ will let you know much about western countries.
| A．Sisters | B．Around China |
| C．Around the world | D．On TV next week |
If you want to know something about tigers, elephants and monkeys, the best program for you is__ _.
| A．Around China | B．Animal world |
| C．TV play | D．Foreign arts |
English classroom is a program that___.
| A．lets you know something about classrooms. |
| B．tells you something about students |
| C．lets you know something about school life |
| D．teaches you English |