According to the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, we officially welcome the Year of the Horse better than others.
The horse has played an important role throughout human history all over the world. Horses were used for thousands of years as a means of transportation, a weapon of war and a plougher of fields(犁地农具), but "the horse was more than just a vehicle - it had more character than a car, a tank or a tractor," Clare Balding wrote for The Telegraph.
In the Middle Ages in Western societies, the horse was a symbol of chivalry（骑士神）and nobility(贵族). In fact, the word "chivalry" comes from "cheval" in Old French, which meant horse. The idea of chivalry helped to fashion the 19th-century "gentleman", which was about good manners, courage and honesty to friends.
Nowadays, because of economic(经济) development, people in Western societies are less likely to see or ride horses. People living in cities, in particular, hardly ever experience horses except through movies, paintings or books. But horse racing, and betting .money on horse races, is still popular. The Kentucky Derby is one of the most popular sporting events every year in the US.
In the UK, the royal police still go around the city on horseback and the Queen rides in a traditional horse-drawn carriage on "ceremonial occasions (正式场合)”．
Some sayings about horses are still used in English today. For example, people still say "hold your horses" to mean “slow down". If someone seems too proud, people might tell him or her to "get off his or her high horse". And since horses are strong and energetic, there are expressions such as "as strong as a horse", "workhorse" and "horsing around". .
Interestingly, the horse also appears in many Chinese sayings, such as Qianlima, which means a talented person. Other Chinese horse sayings include Madaochenggong (instant success) and Baimawangzi (prince charming).
Besides their physical strengths, horses are smart and have "excellent memories", according to Discovery News. Maybe that's why Chinese people say, "An old horse never gets lost".
Since the horse is honored as a symbol of many great qualities, people born in the Year of the Horse are said to share them.According to Chinese tradition, which year is welcomed best officially?
| A．the Year of the Snake | B．the Year of the Tiger |
| C．the Year of the Mouse | D．the Year of the Horse |
According to the passage, which is NOT the role of the horse nowadays?
| A．A weapon of war. |
| B．The royal police's transportation to go around in the UK. |
| C．Race horses. |
| D．Animal actors in movies. |
If a friend of yours is overconfident, what are you supposed to tell him or her?
| A．Hold your horses. | B．Get off your high horse. |
| C．Be as strong as a horse | D．An old horse never gets lost |
According to the passage, which is NOT the reason why people like horses?
| A．The horse has played an important role throughout human history all over the world |
| B．The horse was a symbol of chivalry and nobility in the Middle Ages in Western societies. |
| C．Besides their physical strengths, horses are smart and have “excellent memories". |
| D．Horses are only used as a means of transportation like a car, a tank or a tractor. |
From the passage we know that .
| A．Economy develops a lot, so people in Western societies hardly see or ride horses nowadays. |
| B．The Kentucky Derby is one of the most popular betting events every year in the US. |
| C．Qianlima in Chinese means a person who can run one thousand kilometers a day. |
| D．Since the horse is honored as a symbol of many great qualities, people born in the Year of the Horse are said to be as strong as a horse. |
In an American classroom, a teacher asked a Chinese girl to answer a question. She stood up and smiled, without making any sound. The American teacher looked at himself and didn’t see anything funny.
So he asked her the question again.The girl just smiled but said nothing. The teacher was angry. He didn’t know that the girl smiled to cover her embarrassment(尴尬)because she didn't know how to answer the question.
In a dining room in Beijing, an Englishman was careless and dropped(掉)a plate. The Chinese who saw this began to laugh. The Englishman felt uncomfortable and even got angry.”They are laughing at me,” he thought. In fact ,the Chinese laughed not at the Englishman or his bad luck---whether(是否) he is a foreigner or a Chinese. The laughter has some feelings, don’t take it so seriously(严重)；laugh it off, it’s nothing；such things can happen to any of us,etc.The Chinese girl smiled in an American classroom because_______
| A．the teacher asked her to answer a question. |
| B．The teacher asked her to stang up. |
| C．She couldn’t answer the question. |
| D．The teacher looked funny. |
Which feeling is NOT included(被包括) in the laughter when the Englishman dropped a plate?
| A．Don’t take it seriously. |
| B．Bad luck! |
| C．It’s nothing. |
| D．It can happen to any of us. |
What does the writer want to tell us?
| A．Chinese students are impolite. |
| B．Smiles and laughter always bring happiness. |
| C．American people are easy to get angry. |
| D．Smiles and laughter don’t mean the same thing to different people. |
Danel has many friends. They look different and they have different personalities,but they are all friendly and helpful.He’d like to introduce some of them to us.
| Name |
Age |
Appearance and hobbies |
| Amy (volleyball player) |
17 |
She is very tall(1.87 meters)!She has a baby face.Her fans say she’s very beautiful. She likes listening to pop songs and drawing. |
| Tom(skiing player) |
18 |
He is always smiling so people say that he is a “sunshine boy”.She is a “black horse”.He won the first gold medal(金牌)for his city this year. He likes reading and playing games. |
| Millie(singer) |
16 |
People call her “Baby”.She’s a cool girl with black glasses and short hair.She likes wearing men’s clothes, so she looks like a boy. She likes singing, of course. She is good at playing basketball! |
How many friends does Bob introduce in this passage?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
What does Amy do?
| A．She is a volleyball player. |
| B．She is a skier. |
| C．She is a pop singer. |
| D．She is a basketball player. |
Why do people say Tom is a “sunshine boy”?
| A．Because he likes reading. |
| B．Because he likes playing games. |
| C．Because he is always smiling. |
| D．Because he is a skier. |
Which sentence is wrong?
| A．“Baby” does well in playing basketball. |
| B．Millie is the youngest of the three. |
| C．Amy has a baby face. |
| D．Tom likes black horses. |
One day, a middle school teacher comes into the classroom and says to his students, “Today I want you to write about yesterday’s football match. I'm going to take your exercise books home with me. Now please begin.”
The students all take out their pens and exercise books and begin to write. A boy called Tom thinks hard.At first he doesn't write down a word.But Five minutes later, he finishes. He stands up and looks at the teacher. The teacher asks, “What is the matter, Tom?” “I have finished, sir.” says the boy. “Well, give me your book.” The boy goes to the teacher and gives him the exercise book. The teacher opens it and reads, “Rain, no match. ”What does the teacher ask the students to do?
| A．To read the text |
| B．To write about a match |
| C．To do their homework |
| D．To have a lesson |
Where is the teacher going to read the students' exercise books ?
| A．In class | B．At home |
| C．At school | D．In the classroom |
What does Tom write after he thinks hard ?
| A．Many things | B．Ten words |
| C．A word | D．Rain, no match. |
Tom isto give the exercise book to the teacher..
| A．the third | B．the last |
| C．the first | D．the second |
Tom writesabout the match.
| A．nothing | B．a lot |
| C．a little | D．much |
Children's clubs
| English club |
Computer club |
| Time: Monday, Thursday & Friday 9:00 a.m. ～11:00a.m. Room: 201 Teacher: Miss Liu Tel: 023 8209643 13698371652 |
Time: Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 9:00 a.m. ～11:00a.m. 3:00 p.m. ～5:00 p.m. Room: 503 Teacher: Mr.Hu Tel: 023 68206162 13708356472 |
| Drawing club |
Music club |
| Time: Monday, Thursday & Sunday 9:00 a.m.～11:00 a.m. Room: 307 Teacher: Miss Yang Tel: 023 68206569 13783147258 |
Time: Thursday, Saturday & Sunday 9:00 a.m. ～11:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m. ～5:00 p.m. Place: Music Classroom Teacher: Miss Wang & Mr. Zhang Tel: 023 68202280 13057382119 |
Xiao Ming wants to learn computer, so he can call the number________.
| A．023 68206162 or 13783147258 |
| B．023 68206162 or 13708356472 |
| C．023 68206569 or 13708356472 |
| D．023 68202280 or 13057382119 |
You want to learn drawing, so you can go to________.
| A．Room 201 | B．the Music Classroom |
| C．Room 503 | D．Room 307 |
You are not busy on Thursday afternoon, so you can go to learn________.
| A．English | B．drawing |
| C．music | D．computer |
What time are all the clubs open?
| A．9:00 a.m. ~ 11:00 a.m. |
| B．3:00 p.m. ~5:00 p.m. |
| C．9:00 a.m. ~ 6:00 p.m. |
| D．9:00 a.m. ~ 5:00 p.m. |
Which sentence (句子) is true?
| A．Miss Wang and Mr. Zhang can teach you music. |
| B．Miss Liu and Mr. Hu can teach you drawing. |
| C．Miss Yang and Mr. Zhang can teach you English. |
| D．Miss Wang and Miss Liu don't know music. |
One night, a little before nine o’clock, Dr Johnson answered a telephone call. He was asked to go and give an operation to a very sick boy at once. The boy was in a small hospital in Glens Falls, sixty miles away from Dr Johnson’s city – Albany. The boy had hurt himself in a traffic accident and he was in danger, but his family was so poor that they could not pay the doctor anything. After hearing all this, Dr Johnson decided to save the boy. Soon, he drove his car and he thought that he could get to the hospital before 12 o’clock. A few minutes later, the doctor’s car had to stop for a red light at a crossing. Suddenly a man in an old black coat opened the door of the car and got in.
“Drive on”, he said. “I’ve got a gun..”
“I’m a doctor,” said Johnson, “I’m on my way to a hospital to operate on a very sick…”
“Don’t talk,” said the man in the old black coat, “Just drive.”
A mile out of the town, he ordered the doctor to stop the car and get out. Then the man drove on down the road. The doctor stood for a moment in the snow. After half an hour, Dr Johnson found a telephone and called a taxi. At the railway station he learned that the next train to Glens Falls would not leave until 12 o’clock.
It was after two o’clock in the morning when the doctor arrived at the hospital in Glens Falls. Miss Clarke, a nurse, was waiting for him.
“I did my best,” said Dr Johnson. Miss Clarke said, “The boy died an hour ago.”
They walked into the waiting room. There sat the man in the old black coat, with his head in his hands.
“Mr. Shute,” said Miss Clarke to the man, “this is Dr Johnson. He had come all the way from Albany to try to save your boy.”From the story we know it took Dr Johnson _________ to get to the hospital.
| A．12 hours | B．7 hours |
| C．only 1 hour | D．about 5 hours |
Dr Johnson was late because __________.
| A．there was something wrong with his car |
| B．a strange man made it hard to drive |
| C．a strange man drove his car away |
| D．the train to Glens Falls was late |
From the story we know Dr Johnson _________.
| A．was a good man, he didn’t care for the money |
| B．hurt himself on the way to Glens Falls |
| C．did the operation and boy was saved |
| D．wouldn’t do the operation until the boy’s family paid the money |
The man in a black coat __________.
| A．hit the boy and ran away |
| B．took the boy to the hospital |
| C．was the boy’s father |
| D．was the real doctor |
The man in black would feel __________ in the end.
| A．happy and pleased | B．regretful and sad |
| C．worried and angry | D．tired and hungry |