Tomorrow is Garfield’s birthday. He first appeared(出现) in a comic strip on June 19, 1978. Garfield is well known all over the world. Lots of Garfield books have been turned into 26 languages. Garfield products are sold in 69 countries.
Jim Davis is Garfield’s creator. Jim was born on July 28, 1945 in Indiana. He grew up on a farm where his dad raised （饲养）cows. Jim and his brother Dave helped with the farm work. They had 25 cats. Their room always made sure there was plenty of food for the cats.
As a boy, Jim was in poor health. When he had to spend time resting, he drew pictures. He added words to his pictures to make them funny.
After college Jim worked a few years at an advertising company. In 1969, he got a job to help a cartoonist. Jim noticed that there were many comic strips about dogs but few about cats. He thought that was strange since the world is full of cat lovers.
He remembered the 25 farm cats he grew up with. They gave him ideas for a cat comic strip. In the comic strip. Garfield became the central character in daily difficult experiences with Jon, his owner, and other characters. He is lazy, funny and hungry.
Jim Davis has received many awards for his work. Twice he was given the Best Humor Strip Cartoonist of the Year Award. He has won four Emmys(艾美奖）and other honors.
| A．33. | B．26. | C．25. | D．24. |
| A．Jim. | B．Jon. | C．Dave. | D．Garfield. |
| A．Jim Davis created Garfield with the help of his brother. |
| B．Garfield products are available in all countries of the world. |
| C．The cats his family raised made no contributions to his creation. |
| D．There were few comic strips about cats until Jim crated Garfield. |
| A．to tell us to watch more comic strips |
| B．to show us how to become a cartoonist |
| C．to introduce some information about Jim Davis |
| D．to prove Garfield the most popular cartoon character |
When Susan White went back to high school a couple of years ago, she never had any thought about actually getting a high school diploma.
“I just wanted to learn more,” she said. But when she found out that many of her classmates were planning to graduate, Mrs. White recalled(回顾), “I said my young friends can graduate from high school, so can I.”
She seems to have been right. As soon as she finishes a history course, Mrs. White will graduate next month. And when she does, she will enter the record books as the oldest person ever to graduate from high school in the United States.
Mrs. White is 98 years old and nobody has finished high school at an older age.
Mrs. White dropped out of school(退学) in the 10th grade, but her ability to learn has clearly not been reduced after she left school for 80 years. Since going back to her studies, she has kept up a straight record that is the highest possible.
Now that she is about to get a diploma, Mrs. White has become a strong believer in getting a good education.
“I don’t like anyone dropping out of school,” she said. “It makes me mad when a person decides to leave school, because future generations(后代) will have to know even more than we do in order to survive(生存)”.Mrs. White sets a good example of lifelong study!Mrs. White dropped out of school when she was about_____.
| A．15. | B．18 | C．20 | D．10 |
How many other students older than Mrs. White have got a school diploma?
| A．None | B．One | C．Two | D．A few |
Which of the following is Not true?
| A．Mrs. White has decided to graduate from high school. |
| B．Mrs. White has already got a high school diploma. |
| C．Mrs. White is the oldest person ever to graduate from high school in the US. |
| D．Mrs. White said that the young had to know more. |
Character, courage and confidence are words you might use to describe your heroes. These words can describe you! Take action as follows and you’ll be a hero, too!
Part 1: Character
Character is something that makes you the person you are like being honest, friendly, and helpful. See the chart below. On the left is our standard of good character. Write down your promise for each line on the right. Then, get a witness（证人）to sign it. Put it up where you’ll see it every day and do your best to keep it.
| To build your character |
Your promise |
| I will do my best to… |
|
| be honest and fair. |
eg. I’ll tell the truth when mom asks if I have finished my homework. |
| be friendly and helpful. |
eg. I’ll help my friend with lessons. |
| be polite and kind. |
eg. I’ll show good manners in class. |
| be courageous and strong. |
eg. I’ll take part in the English singing contest. |
Part 2: Courage
Of course it’s going to take a lot of courage t keep your promise. Courage is challenging yourself to do something even though you think it might be hard. For each promise, find out two or three ways to help you keep it. For example, if you think that Being Honest is the hardest promise for you to keep, one of the ways might be “Tell people about my promise so that I won’t break it”.
Part 3: Confidence
Confidence is believing that you have the skills to do something. Do you have a beautiful singing voice? Are you a good painter? There are all talents that can make you feel good, as well as the people around you. Once you’ve decided what your special skill is, think about how you can use your skill to make your corner of the world a better place. If you’re good at art, try painting a picture on an old wall in your school (of course, make sure you’re allowed).According to the writer, a hero should be .
A. beautiful B. confident C. good-lookingIf your promise is “I’ll show good manners in class,” you’re trying to be .
A. useful B. polite C. braveWhat is the most important thing to build your character?
A. Do your best to keep your promise.
B. Write down your promise.
C. Look at your promise every day.If someone asks you for help, you will be .
A. honestB. strong C. helpfulWhat can we learn from the passage?
A. A good painter can have confidence.
B. It’s hard to make your promise.
C. You can build your character with the help of others.
Rita stepped into the cool, moving water. She pushed a black inner tube in front of her. She had a worried look on her face because she had never floated down a river before.
“Let me hold your tube while you climb on,” said her father. He smiled at her. “There’s not a cloud in the sky. It’s a great day to be in the river, isn’t it?”
Rita looked out across the water. People were floating by on tubes. Some talked and laughed as they floated easily down the river. Others leaned back with hats pulled over their faces. None of them looked terrified.
“We’ll stay together,” said Rita’s father. “I’ll hold on to your rope.”
“Will we go very fast?” Rita asked.
“No,” said Dad. “We’ll move slowly for a while, and then it will get a little faster near the river’s bend. Don’t worry, Rita. You’ll be fine.”
Rita looked at her tube. It gently moved up and down in the water. She saw a girl of her own age float by. The girl seemed to be having fun. Suddenly Rita’s worries disappeared.
“I’m ready to climb on and ride, Dad,” she said.The underlined word “floated” in the reading means “________”.
A. 漂浮 B. 乘坐 C. 划船What is Rita’s problem in this story?
A. She doesn’t like to be in cool water.
B. She is afraid to try something new.
C. She is worried that she will get sunburned .What’s the weather like in the story?
A. Cloudy.B. Rainy. C. Sunny.Which of these happened last in the story?
A. Rita pushed her black tube.
B. Rita saw a girl of her own age.
C. Rita stepped into the water.What’s the best title for this passage?
A. Rita’s Ride.
B. Rita’s Trip.
C. Rita’s Visit.
I was in line waiting to pay. A little boy in the front was buying some clothes.
I noticed that the little boy was paying mostly with change (零钱). It seemed that he had broken his pig bank (猪形储蓄罐) to do this shopping. However, the cashier told him he was $ 8.00 short after counting his money.
It was clear that the boy had already used all the money. The lady in front of me said, “Well, I could pay half of that.” I told the boy that I could pay the other half. We dug into our handbags. However, both of us only had ten-dollar bills (纸币). Other shoppers began digging into their pockets to find some change. It was amazing and touching as all these strangers seemed to react (反应) with the same mind. All wanted to be of help. Within minutes the cashier said, “I have too much money.” The cashier didn’t need our ten-dollar bills. Then the lady in front of me said, “Wait! I didn’t even get a chance to give anything!”
I smiled at her and said, “You did your share, because it was your idea and you started all this.” The little boy smiled and thanked us. I was left with a good feeling. I saw the love and goodness of others all around me. The woman in front of me smiled and said, “It sure feels good to give, doesn’t it?” I smiled back and said, “Yes!”What is this passage mainly about?
| A．Love and goodness. | B．Culture and tradition. |
| C．Friendship and honesty. | D．Communication and understanding. |
How much were the clothes that the boy wanted to buy?
| A．$ 8.00. | B．Ten dollars. |
| C．All his money. | D．All his money and another $ 8.00. |
Why did the writer and the woman both feel glad?
| A．Because the boy had saved some money. |
| B．Because they both didn’t need to give anything. |
| C．Because the cashier didn’t look down on the boy. |
| D．Because all the shoppers around were willing to help the boy. |
What does the underlined word “touching” most probably mean?
| A．令人感动的 | B．令人难过的 |
| C．令人失望的 | D．令人害怕的 |
What’s the correct order of the following events?
a. The cashier got enough money for the boy’s clothes.
b. The cashier counted the boy’s money.
c. The shoppers looked for some change in their pockets.
d. The boy went to the line to pay.
| A．b, a, c, d | B．b, c, a, d | C．d, b, c, a | D．c, d, b, a |
China and the Netherlands (荷兰) are long-time friends. The Netherlands is more than 41,500 square kilometres in area. It is a bit larger than the size of Taiwan, China.
The Netherlands is rich in culture and art. It is home of many great artists, for example, Vincent van Gogh. Besides fine art, the Netherlands is also called the country of tulips (郁金香). It has the world’s largest tulip garden: Keukenhof garden.
Dutch people are very hard-working. There’s a saying: “God made the Earth, but the Dutch made Holland.” More than a quarter of the country is below sea level. So Dutch people build many dams (水坝) to protect the country from flooding. They have created almost one sixth of the country from seas and rivers!
Did you know?
◆ Rubber ducks are popular around the world. Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman created it in 2007. The yellow duck is 26 metres high.
◆ Wooden clogs (木底鞋) are traditional shoes in the Netherlands. They make good gifts for tourists.
◆ In the Netherlands, it is impolite to start eating at once. Dutch people will sometimes say “delicious” before eating.
◆ Like the UK, the Netherlands also has
kings and queens.Taiwan, China is than the Netherlands in area.
| A．a bit smaller | B．much larger | C．much smaller | D．a little larger |
Paragraph 3 mainly tells us about .
| A．hard-working Dutch people |
| B．culture in the Netherlands |
| C．Dutch artists |
| D．size of the Netherlands |
What is not talked about in the reading?
| A．Table manners. | B．Artists. | C．Weather. | D．Tulips. |
About of the Netherlands is created from the seas and rivers.
| A．16% | B．25% | C．60% | D．75% |
Which is NOT TRUE about the Netherlands?
| A．China and the Netherlands have been neighouring countries for a long time. |
| B．Keukenhof garden is famous for tulips. |
| C．The Dutch may give foreign friends wooden clogs as small presents. |
| D．In the Netherlands, it’s good manners to praise (称赞) the food before eating. |