Six people are talking about two pie shops in a TV program.
Lily: I’ve been going to Pie House for twenty years. Now Marie’s son is taking care of the business, and he makes pies as good as his mother’s. I enjoy my stay there as before. My family also like the pies. We feel relaxed while staying there.
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Olive: I went to Pie Corner once. Their pies were great, too. But I feel more comfortable at Pie House. I am used to the taste there, which makes me feel happy. I’m really a fan of Pie House.
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Ned: Uncle Roy used to work for my mom. Later he opened Pie Corner on the next block after he got married. At the beginning, it’s not easy for him, but it is becoming more and more popular especially among young people. They think Pie Corner can often give them a surprise.
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Marie: Roy was already quite avant-garde when working with me. I mean he had different, sometimes even strange, ideas about pies. There were times I thought his pies wouldn’t taste good, but they turned out magically delicious. He is really creative and can always make new pies, which attract many people.
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Lee: Ned has done quite well with Pie House. His pies make you feel warm. But if you want to try something interesting, you should go to Pie Corner.
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Chuck: The two pie shops are really different from each other. If eating Roy’s pies is like taking an exciting trip, then Ned’s pies are just like a sweet home you go back to after a long trip. Which one to go to depends on what you like.What do we know about the six people?
| A．They all have been to both pie shops. |
| B．They all talked about what the pies taste like. |
| C．Some of them are the shopkeepers of the pie shops. |
| D．Some of them talked about how the shopkeepers treated their workers. |
Which is true about the pie shops?
| A．Pie House is a family business. |
| B．Pie Corner is next to Pie House. |
| C．Pie Corner has a longer history than Pie House. |
| D．Pie House gives people a place to stay for the night. |
What does ‘avant-garde’ mean in the reading?
| A．Having a new and surprising way of thinking. |
| B．Trying to find out where the problems come from. |
| C．Trying to act like someone who knows everything. |
| D．Having many exciting life experiences. |
How much pocket money do you get? How do you spend it? The Blue Book of Chinese Teenager Financial(金融的) Study shows that social activities now take up more of teenagers' spending. The book was about teenagers' spending habits in nine cities in China. such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The results show that students are spending more and more on their relationships（关系）with friends and classmates, such as having meals together and buying birthday gifts. Only one-third of high school students think about the price when choosing gifts. Most say they only care about what their friends like.
Xiao Hao, 17, a student at Gaoyou Normal School in Jiangsu, spent more than l,000 yuan on his birthday meal this February. "They had given me gifts. If I hadn't done anything in return, I'd have lost face." Xiao Hao said.
Xiao Hao's experience is quite usual among the young students. A meal can cost a student's pocket money for a month. Many just ask more from parents when they use up their money.
Zhang Wei, an expert（专家） on teenagers' financial study, advised that teenagers should learn to make a budget. A budget is a plan of how money will be spent. It helps you use the money wisely. To make good use of your money, you can also set a limit. Learn to balance（平衡） your wants and needs. When choosing gifts for friends, let them know that you care. Sometimes a handmade gift is much better than an expensive one.
| A．books | B．clothes |
| C．social activities | D．food |
| A．how much the gift is | B．what their friends would like |
| C．what they like | D．where the gift is from |
| A．many students are afraid to lose face |
| B．students like to show off(炫富) before their classmates |
| C．students have too much pocket money |
| D．parents don't know how to teach their kids to use money |
| A．making a plan for using money |
| B．setting a limit |
| C．balancing your wants and needs |
| D．not giving gifts to your friends |
On the first day of my senior high school, I met a nice teacher. She looked at me and said, "I am happy to have an international student in my class." I was very excited.
One day I was three minutes late for school. She told me to write my name and the word "late" on a piece of paper. In that way she could know l was late for the first time. At the beginning, I was angry. But later I understood why she did that. She was strict（严格） with every student and she did it because she wanted to teach me an important lesson: time is priceless.
I learn another important lesson during my first exam. After finishing my exam paper, I did not review the answers because it was the end of the exam time. One week later, she returned my exam paper. I found that one of my answers was wrong. A, B and C were the only choices on the paper, but I chose D instead of C. I tried to explain my mistake. "I knew C was the right answer. but I chose D." However, she told me, "I do believe you. but I am not going to forgive(原谅 ) your mistake. This will remind（提醒） you to be more careful before you hand in your papers." I knew she was right.
| A．She was humorous. | B．She was strict. |
| C．She was impolite. | D．She was generous. |
| A．To welcome him to join the class. |
| B．To remind him to be more careful. |
| C．To tell him the importance of time. |
| D．To see how good his writing was. |
| A．copy | B．write |
| C．find | D．check |
A. Because he saw others choose D.
B. Because he made a careless mistake.
C. Because he didn't know what C meant.
D. Because he knew D was the right answer.
When I was ten, my mother worked all day so I had to take care omy younger brother. At that time my little brother was about four years old and he missed mum all the time.
One day, after I had given him his dinner, he started cfor mum. He was so young and really needed
mum. So I dhim, put on his shoes, carried him on my back and walked out. Soon he f
asleep. About half an hour later, I found that he had lost a shoe while sleeping. I took him off my b
and put him down. I knew we needed to find that shoe, for our mother couldn't afford new shoes. We had to go back to find it, so I told my brother t
wait right there. A man heard it and stopped me just b
I walked off. He asked me, "You are leaving your brother here to find the shoe? What would you do if he is not here when you return?" I did not know h
to answer that question. He continued, "It's OK if you can't find the shoe, but it is not OK to lose your brother." Then he sent us to mum's workplace by taxi.
My whole life I have depended on（依靠） the kindness of many strangers, I feel regretful that I cannot find them and say thank you. I do not eremember what the man's face looked like, but he taught me a lesson-people are m
important than things.
“USA? Britain? Which country is better to study in?”
We often hear such discussions. As China opens its door, studying abroad has become a dream for many Chinese students. They would like to know the world well.
It’s true that studying abroad can help students develop themselves. Their foreign language skills will be improved and it may be easier to find jobs.
But there are problems that should be considered. Language is the first. Students must spend a lot of time learning another language and getting used to a different culture.
Students must also learn to live without parents’ care and deal with all kinds of things they haven’t had to do before, like looking after themselves. There are reports about Chinese students abroad running into an ocean of difficulties and giving up finally. When they have to take care of themselves, it is hard for students to study well.
Finally, studying abroad brings a heavy burden（负担）to the family. For most Chinese parents, the cost of studying abroad is very high. But is it worth it?
We know that there are many famous people who have achieved success through their hard work in China.
Liu Xiang is a good example. Once an American teacher invited him there, but he refused.
He kept training hard with his Chinese teacher. He surprised the world when he won a gold medal at the Athens Olympic Games. So when you wonder which country is better to study in, think again.
| Title: Studying at home or study |
|
| Phenomenon（现象） |
Studying abroad has become a |
| Advantages |
It is helpful for Chinese students to |
| It is helpful for Chinese students to |
|
| It enables Chinese students to find jobs more |
|
| It |
|
| It’s hard for Chinese students to get used to the life abroad |
|
| Parents may be under pressure（压力）because the cost of studying abroad is very |
|
| Purpose: To tell us studying abroad is not the only way to be |
Why do plants grow in some places and not in other? Why does some land have so much growing on it, while other land has almost no plants growing on it at all?
To grow, plants need several things. One is warmth. In very cold places almost nothing grows. Plants also need water. In very dry parts of the Earth only a few unusual plants can grow. That's why dry deserts everywhere are almost not covered by trees or grass.
Plants must also have a place in which to put down their roots and grow. They find it difficult to grow on hard land. The town is built on hard land. The plants here have only the soil found between the cracks of the stones to grow in.
Another thing plants must have before they can grow is food.
What will happen if we try to make things grow on the sandy beach? A few plants, such as beach grass, will grow in sand, but most plants won't. Even if the weather is warm enough and we water the plants each day, many of them will die because the sand on this beach has almost no food for plants.What does the underlined word "cracks" mean in the text?
| A．缝隙 | B．表面 |
| C．夹层 | D．底部 |
From the passage, we can know it isfor plants to grow in dry places.
| A．easy | B．difficult |
| C．impossible | D．important |
The reason why most plants can't grow on the sandy beach is that _______.
| A．there isn't enough sunlight |
| B．there is too much water |
| C．it is too crowded there |
| D．it has little food for plants |
The passage can most probably be found in a ______book.
| A．science | B．history |
| C．travel | D．math |