The class teacher thought that hobbies were important for children. So she encouraged all her students to have one, and sometimes she arranged hobby shows for their parents to see as a result.
One morning the teacher told the class to have a holiday and get their hobby things to school before 5 p.m. A hobby show would be held the following afternoon.
So in the afternoon, the students with nothing to show did their lessons at school as usual, while the lucky ones had a holiday to go home for their hobby works.
When the afternoon lessons began, the teacher was surprised to see that Tommy was not there. "I don't believe Tommy has a hobby," she thought. However, at a quarter to five. Tommy arrived with a beautiful collection of butterflies(蝴蝶) in glass case. The teacher liked the samples (标本) very much and put them on a desk in the classroom. But, to her surprise, Tommy picked them up again and began to leave.
"What are you doing, Tommy?" she asked. "Those things must stay here until tomorrow afternoon. That's when the parents are coming to see them. "
"I know that," answered Tommy, "and I will bring them back tomorrow, but my big brother doesn't want them to be out of our house at night. "
"But, aren't the butterflies yours?" asked the teacher.
"No," answered Tommy. "They are my brother's."
"But Tommy, you should show your own hobby here, not somebody else's. "
"I know that," answered Tommy. What surprised her most was the answer. "My hobby is watching my brother collecting butterflies. "What did the class teacher think of hobbies for children?
| A．Unwelcome. | B．Hopeless. |
| C．Harmful. | D．Important. |
What time did Tommy get back to school that afternoon?
What would NOT happen the following afternoon?
| A．The parents would enjoy the show in the classroom. |
| B．Tommy would bring the butterflies back. |
| C．The teacher would encourage her students for hobbies. |
| D．The butterflies would fly away. |
Which was the teacher's greatest surprise?
| A．Tommy was not at school as usual. |
| B．'Tommy picked the butterflies up again and began to leave. |
| C．Tommy said his hobby was watching his brother collecting butterflies. |
| D．Tommy came back to school before5 that afternoon. |
What's the best title for this passage?
| A．Important Hobbies | B．Tommy's Hobby |
| C．Different Hobbies | D．Collecting Butterflies |
Long long ago, a donkey(驴) fell into a well(井). The animal cried for hours as the farmer tried to think out what to do. Finally, the farmer thought the animal was too old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, so he decided not to save the donkey.
The farmer invited his neighbours to help him. They began to shovel(铲) dirt into the well. The donkey cried harder. But a few minutes later, he became quiet. The farmer looked into the well, and was surprised by what he saw.
While every shovelful of dirt hit his back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step on the new layer of dirt. As the farmer’s neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, the donkey would shake it off and take another step up. Soon the donkey stepped up out of the well and ran away, to the surprise of all the neighbours.
The lesson we get from this story is that if life shovels some dirt on us, we must get out the well and not let it cover us. We must learn to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping-stone(踏脚石). We can get out of the deepest well by never giving up!The farmer is ________.
| A．careless |
| B．kind to the donkey |
| C．ready to give up the donkey |
| D．friendly |
When we are in trouble, we have to learn from _______ in the story.
| A．the farmer | B．the neighbours | C．the donkey | D．all of them |
the story tells us ________.
| A．never to give up even if we’re in great trouble |
| B．the donkey is a clever animal |
| C．the man has to be kind to the animal |
| D．the man is the most cruel(残酷的) animal |
阅读理解。阅读下列内容，从每小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出一个最佳答案。
If visitors cannot see the animals, the animals may be______.
| A．playing | B．eating | C．acting | D．sleeping |
Jack is eight years old. He goes to the zoo with his 58-year-old grandfather．How much should they pay for visiting the zoo?
| A．$18. | B．$22. | C．$28. | D．$32. |
What should we do in order not to frighten the animals?
| A．We should ride bikes. |
| B．We should keep quiet. |
| C．Ｗe should feed the animals. |
| D．We should keep the zoo clean. |
If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the effect is greater when the younger people learn a second language. A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.
Scans showed that grey matter density (密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.
“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible (灵活的),” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and thirty-four. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.The main subject talked about in this passage is ________.
| A．science on learning a second language |
| B．man’s ability of learning a second language |
| C．that language can help brain power |
| D．language learning and maths study |
The underlined word “bilingual” probably means _______.
| A．a researcher on language learning |
| B．a second language learner |
| C．an active language learner |
| D．a person who can speak two languages |
We may know from the scientific findings that ________.
| A．the earlier you start to learn a second language, the higher the grey matter density is |
| B．there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn’t know a second language |
| C．the experience of learning a second language has bad effect on people’s brain |
| D．the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time |
In the last two paragraphs, the author wants to tell us that _________.
| A．learning a second language is the same as studying maths |
| B．early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in studying other subjects |
| C．Italian is the best choice for you as a second language |
| D．you’d better choose the ages between 2 and 34 to learn a second language |
When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.
He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it. “That’s just for you.” he said, “You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?
| A．Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me. |
| B．She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer. |
| C．I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on. |
| D．Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious. |
Why did her father listen to her quietly?
| A．Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true. |
| B．Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while. |
| C．Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment. |
| D．Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth. |
Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend |
| B．The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had |
| C．My Father |
| D．My Childhood |
I have a neighbor we call “Happy”. I have never seen her angry at anything and never heard her say a harsh (苛刻) word to anyone or about anyone.
Happy and her husband Ben, 70, have a huge garden. They spent many happy hours together working on it. Most of the neighbors watched interestingly as Ben doubled the size of their garden. As the cost of food climbed faster than Ben’s beans, we all wished we also had such a large garden. As the rest of us spent our dollars at the market, Happy could be seen picking beans in her back yard.
Last month, Happy and Ben invited most of the neighborhood over for an “all-day food fest”. We were told to bring gloves and arrive very early in the morning. We didn’t know what was about to take place.
By 9:00 am, there were nine of us in the garden picking tomatoes, beans, okra, and squash. By 10:00 am, there was lots of laughter. We shared a lot of stories. By five o’clock, everyone was a little drunk from the wine and beer. After dinner, we played games. As we were leaving, Happy and Ben handed each of us a shopping bag filled with the bounty（收成）of the day, already packaged and frozen. What a delightful gift!
Well, the point wasn’t so much about the food. The true gift was a day of friends enjoying one another’s company. None of it would have happened if it had been for Happy and Ben’s garden. Now they have a blog about gardening in case we decided to plant a garden. And I am so proud of my tomato plants!According to paragraph 2, people wish they also had a garden so that_______.
| A．they could grow vegetables and sell at the market |
| B．they didn’t have to spend so much money on food |
| C．they could invite their neighbors and hold parties in it |
| D．they could spend happy times together with their family in it |
For what purpose did Happy and Ben invite the neighbors to their garden?
| A．To ask them to attend a birthday party. |
| B．To help them get to know each other. |
| C．To ask them to share some interesting stories. |
| D．To let them enjoy what they grew in the garden. |
What did the writer most probably think of the time he spent in the garden?
| A．It was too long. | B．It was not as good as he thought. |
| C．It was wonderful. | D．It was too terrible. |