In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what "keeping up withthe Joneses" is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant(仆人) and gave big parties for their new neighbors.
It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it "Keeping up with the Joneses" because "Jones" is a very common name in the United States. "Keeping up with the Joneses" came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’ s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are “Joneses” in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they _______.
| A．want to be as rich as their neighbors |
| B．want others to know or to think that they are rich |
| C．don't want others to know they are rich |
| D．want to make themselves happy |
It can be inferred（推断）from the story that rich people like to_______.
| A．live outside New York City | B．live in New York city |
| C．live in apartments | D．have many neighbors |
According to the writer, it is_______ to keep up with the Joneses.
| A．correct | B．interesting |
| C．impossible | D．good |
Recently, an Internet game has become a new fashion among young office workers and students. People can “farm” on a piece of “land” and “grow”, “sell” or even “steal vegetables”, “flowers” and “fruits” on the Net. They can earn some e-money and buy more “seeds”, “pets” and even “houses”.
Joyce interviewed some young people. Here are their opinions:
Harold: I don't quite understand why they are so mad about the childish game. Maybe they are just not confident enough to face the real world.
Allan: I enjoy putting some “bugs” in my friends’ gardens and we’ve become closer because of the game. Having fun together is the most exciting thing about it.
Laura: You know, people in the city are longing for（渴望）the life in the countryside. It reduces my work pressure（压力）. Besides, it gives me the exciting experience of being a “thief”.
Ivy: Well, it's just a waste of time. Teenagers playing the game spend so many hours on it that they can not focus on （专注于）their study.According to the passage, people can’t things in this game.
| A．grow | B．borrow | C．steal | D．sell |
Among the people Joyce interviewed, _____ likes the game while dislikes the game.
| A．Laura, Allan | B．Allan, Harold | C．Harold, Ivy | D．Ivy, Allan |
From Laura's words, we can guess that she's most probably.
| A．a student | B．an office worker | C．a farmer | D．a thief |
Which is NOT the reason why people like the game?
| A．They are longing for country life. |
| B．They can have fun with friends. |
| C．The game can relax people and give them a new experience. |
| D．They are confident enough to face the real world. |
Where can you find this passage?
| A．In a car magazine. | B．In an advertisement. |
| C．In a newspaper. | D．In a science book. |
Each year, we celebrate many holidays here in America.
On January 1, we welcome the coming of a new year like many people in other countries. And we have another four holidays on the first day of a month: April Fool’s Day, May Day, Friendship Day (Aug.1) and Grandparents Day (Sep. 1).
The most important holiday for the young people comes in February. It is Valentine’s Day. Lots of boys give red roses to girls as a present.
People celebrate some holidays for their family members. We say thanks to our mother in May and celebrate Father’s Day in the following month. In November many people return home for Thanksgiving Day, so the whole family can stay together.
There are also some interesting holidays for children. For example, Halloween comes at the end of October. Children often play with pumpkin lanterns and put on all kinds of masks.
Of course, the most important festival is Christmas. After a year of work and study, people can enjoy a long holiday, eat big meals, and visit family and friends.How many holidays do you know on the first day of a month in America?
| A．Four. | B．Five. | C．Seven. | D．Ten. |
What is the most important holiday for the young people?
| A．Thanksgiving Day. | B．Christmas Day. |
| C．Valentine’s Day. | D．New Year’s Day. |
From the reading we know that Father’s Day comes .
| A．in May | B．in April. | C．in June | D．in July |
Halloween is one of the interesting holidays for .
| A．children | B．mothers | C．girls | D．students |
Many people return home in November because they want to ___________.
| A．enjoy a long holiday |
| B．stay with their family members |
| C．eat big meals with friends |
| D．spend Thanksgiving Day |
One Friday Mrs. King asked her class to write a story after class. “Use your imagination!” she cried, “You can write your story about anything.” Kenny looked worried. “A story?” he thought, “What could I possible have to write about? I don’t know any stories.” The bell rang and all the kids went home.
The next day, Kenny sat at his desk at home, thinking and thinking. The warm sun was shining through the windows, making him drowsy. And soon he fell fast asleep. As he slept, Kenny began to dream about fantastic things.
First he dreamed that he was a world-famous doctor, saving whole cities and curing diseases. Then he dreamed that he was in a UFO. He was talking to strange but friendly space creatures. Then he dreamed that he had become as small as a mouse by a bad scientist. He had to find a way to stop the plot（阴谋）of the mad scientist!
Kenny dreamed wonderful and exciting things until his little brother woke him up. “What were you dreaming about?” he asked. Kenny told his brother the wonderful dreams. His brother enjoyed the stories. Suddenly, Kenny knew that he had his kinds of stories in his imagination.What did the teacher ask the students to do as homework?
| A．To act as a doctor | B．To read some stories |
| C．To help family members | D．To write a story |
How many dreams did Kenny have?
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．Four |
What was Kenny in his first dream?
| A．A great doctor | B．A mad scientist |
| C．A visitor on a spaceship | D．A good student |
The underlined word “drowsy” means_______.
| A．unhappy | B．sleepy | C．upset | D．awake |
The best title for this passage is _______.
| A．A strange dream | B．Mrs. King's class |
| C．Writing a story with imagination | D．An evil scientist |
根据材料内容完成下列任务。
任务一、判断正（T）误（F）。Four people(人) are in Dave’s family.
Jack is Kate’s big brother.
任务二、回答下列问题。What’s Gina’s favorite color?
Who does Kate like going to the library with?
任务三、将划线部分的句子翻译成汉语。
Dear Emma,
Thanks for sending me the photo of your room. Here is a photo of my room.
Look! A bed, a desk, a chair and a bookcase are in my room. My bed is blue and it is near the window(在窗户附近). My desk is near the bed and it’s black. My books and computer are on it. An English dictionary is on the bookcase. Where is my pencil box? It is in the desk. My two pens and three rulers are in the pencil box. My school bag is on the chair. My brother’s white baseball is under my bed. And you can see a dog in the photo. Its name is Sam.
My room is tidy, isn’t?
Yours,
Jack
根据材料内容选择最佳答案。Jack’s desk is .
| A．red | B．black | C．blue | D．white |
划线单词“it”指的是 ““。
| A．the bed | B．the desk | C．the chair | D．the bookcase |
On the bookcase is .
| A．a Chinese dictionary | B．an English book |
| C．an English dictionary | D．a Chinese book |
Jack’s pencil box is.
| A．on his bed | B．on his desk | C．under his bed | D．in his desk |
下列哪项陈述是正确的？
| A．Sam is Jack’s brother. |
| B．An eraser is in the pencil box. |
| C．Jack has a photo of Emma’s room. |
| D．Jack’s brother doesn’t have a baseball. |