Eighth-grader Victoria Bills is talking about money with her classmates. She is worried that a company’s stock (股票) price could fall. It may be an unusual topic of conversation for a 13-year-old. But at Bills’ school in Chicago, US, you hear it all the time.
The Chicago school’s 420 students learn about economic(经济学). They also get a chance to make money. Each 1st grade and 5th grade, students learn the basics of economics and investing(投资).
Then in 6th grade, they put what they’ve learned to work. Students join a junior group that manages the $20,000. The group, made up of 12 to 14 students, decides which stocks to buy.
After graduating, students pass on $20,000 to the next 1st grade class. They keep half of the rest of the money; the other half goes toward improving the school. They can choose to put their money in a college-savings program or take the cash.
In 2007, Bills suggested that her class buy the stock of the Apple computer company. This was just before the iPhone came out. “We bought stock just at the right time,” she says. The kids bought Google stock as it reached $400 a share. It is now worth over $500. “It was a good buy,” says Myles Gate, 13. He hopes to be a banker one day. The school’s two graduating classes of 2005 and 2006 have each earned about $10,000 in profits(利润).At Bills’ school, students can’t .
| A．learn the basics of economics |
| B．learn how to invest money |
| C．get a chance to make money |
| D．share all the money they make |
Who manages the $20,000 in the class?
| A．The teachers. | B．The school. |
| C．The students. | D．The parents. |
According to Paragraph 5, we know that .
| A．Bills’ class bought the Apple stock after the iphone came out |
| B．it was a mistake for the class to buy Google stock |
| C．the students get some investing experience in the school |
| D．the class bought the two kinds of stocks at the same time |
What’s the passage mainly about?
| A．How students make money in the US. |
| B．Students learn economics and investing at school. |
| C．Myles Gage hopes to be a banker one day. |
| D．What US students hope to do after graduation. |
One dollar and eighty﹣seven cents． That was all． Three times Della counted it． One dollar and eighty﹣seven cents． And the next day would be Christmas． She could not afford a present， so she sat down and cried．
Jim and Della had two possessions（ 财产） which they were both proud of． One was Jim's gold watch that was from his father and his grandfather． The other was Della's beautiful hair． It fell about her， and reached below her know．
Della put on her old brown jacket and her old brown hat． Then she went out of the door and down the stairs to the street．
She stopped at a store． The sign in front of the store read "Hair Goods"． "Will you buy my hair？" asked Della．"Twenty dollars． "the woman said．
Then Della searched through the stores looking for a present for Jim．
She found it at last．It was a watch chain． The bill was twenty﹣ one dollars． At seven o'clock ， the coffee was made and dinner was ready． Jim was never late． Della heard his steps on the stairs．
The door opened and Jim walked in． He stopped inside the door． His eyes were fixed on Della，and there was an expression in them that she could not read．
"Jim，" she cried，"don't look at me that way． I sold my hair to buy you a Christmas present． "
Jim drew a box from his pocket and put it on the table．
Della opened it．There lay the set of combs（梳子）that she had always wanted．Now they were hers，but her hair was gone．
She smiled and held out Jim's present． "I hunted all over town to find it． Give me your watch． I want to see how it looks on it．"
Instead of obeying（服从）， Jim sat down， put his hands behind his head and smiled．" Della，"he said，"I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs．"
（1）Della counted her money three times because ．
| A． |
she was not good at counting money |
| B． |
she had nothing to do but count money |
| C． |
she got different numbers， catch time she counted it |
| D． |
she wished she could have more money |
（2）How could Jim feel when he fixed his eyes on Della？
| A． |
Shocked． |
| B． |
Excited． |
| C． |
Embarrassed． |
| D． |
Angry． |
（3）What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 10 refer to？
| A． |
The box． |
| B． |
The watch． |
| C． |
The watch chain． |
| D． |
The set of combs． |
（4）What can we infer（推断） from the passage？
| A． |
They lived a rich life． |
| B． |
They loved each other deeply． |
| C． |
Della didn't like her hair． |
| D． |
They might have a fight at last． |
（5）What's the best title for the passage？
| A． |
Beautiful Hair |
| B． |
Christmas Gifts |
| C． |
Disappointing Christmas |
| D． |
Ancient Possessions |
How do we know the time？ A clock， a watch or a mobile phone can help us． However， many years ago there were no clocks and knowing the time was not so easy． Over the centuries， people have developed different ways of telling the time．
About 5 ，500 years ago， the Egyptians invented the sun clock． This was a tall stone building． It's shadow（影子） showed the movement of the sun．So people were able to know midday．The Egyptians made a sundial about 3 ，500 years ago．It was smaller than the sun clock and could let people know the time for half a day．On cloudy days or at night it was impossible to tell the time with a sun clock or a sundial．Water clocks were the first clocks not to use the sun． The idea is simple． Water flows（流动） from one bottle to another． When the water reaches a certain level， it shows the hours． The Egyptians used water clocks about 3 ，400 years ago． These clocks were popular in the Middle East and China． But they failed to make people know the exact time．
In the 13th century， the mechanical clock was invented．This was more exact，but it was expensive to make one． Over the next few centuries it was developed． For example， springs（ 发条）were added around 1500． This enabled people to get the correct time and allowed clocks to be smaller．In 1927，the first quartz clock was developed． Clocks became cheaper to build．It's also cheaper for ordinarypeople to own a clock． People began depending on them more and more to run businesses，markets and so on． More recently， in 1956，came the digital clock．And nowadays satellites send our mobile phones the time to the exact second．
There has been a lot of progress in timekeeping．Clocks are always changing but some things never change． Many of us still have trouble getting out of bed on time and not being late for school or work．
（1）According to the passage， we can't use a to tell the time on a rainy day．
| A． |
water clock |
| B． |
sun clock |
| C． |
digital clock |
| D． |
mechanical clock |
（2）What's the meaning of the underline word " ordinary" in the third paragraph？
| A． |
现代的． |
| B． |
特殊的． |
| C． |
富有的． |
| D． |
普通的． |
（3）How many kinds of clocks are mentioned in the passage？
| A． |
Four． |
| B． |
Five． |
| C． |
Six． |
| D． |
Seven． |
（4）Which of the following shows the structure（ 结构） of the passage？
（①＝paragraph 1 （2）＝paragraph 2，…）
（5）What does the passage mainly talk about？
| A． |
The importance of time． |
| B． |
The development of timekeeping． |
| C． |
The inventions of clocks． |
| D． |
The history of a digital clock． |
The following news is from China Daily（ www． chinadaily． com） which covers different fields．
|
J． K． Rowling Publishes New Story Online The famous English writer J．K．Rowling said on Tuesday，"I'm producing a new story called The Ickabog which will be free to read online．"It's the first children's book by J．K．Rowling，since she finished Harry Potter in 2007． |
|
China Sends Beidou Successfully China sent the last satellite of Beidou into space on Tuesday．The satellite is the 59th in the Beidou family． It marks the completion of Beidou，one of the networks around the world，along with the United States' GPS， Russia's GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo．
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Jeff Bezos Is Taking Action The world's richest person Jeff Bezos，the boss of Amazon．com，announced on Monday that he would put in 10 million dollars to start a great project，which would support scientists，researchers and NGOs to help save the animals in danger and protect the natural world． |
|
China and France Holds an Online Concert To deepen the friendship between the people of Chine and France ，artists from both countries stepped onto the same stage and performed online on Monday．The online concert allows people to enjoy both traditional Chinese folk songs and French classics． |
|
The Vaccines May Be Ready Many countries are developing the vaccines for COVID﹣19（新型冠状病毒肺炎）by different methods．Some are even going through the final step to decide how well the vaccine works and if it's safe．With more than 160 possible vaccines under study， experts hope that vaccine may be ready by the end of 2020．
|
（1）According to the 2nd piece of news， Galileo is a ．
| A． |
rocket |
| B． |
person |
| C． |
network |
| D． |
country |
（2）Who is putting in 10 million dollars to start a great project？
| A． |
J．K．Rowling． |
| B． |
Jeff Bezos． |
| C． |
Scientists． |
| D． |
Researchers． |
（3）Which of the following is true according to the given information？_
| A． |
The Ickabog is a cheap children's book by J．K．Rowling． |
| B． |
Jeff Bezos is starting a great project to study vaccines． |
| C． |
If you watch the online concert， you can enjoy traditional music． |
| D． |
The vaccines for COVID﹣19 are ready in many countries now． |
（4）What is probably the topic of the 2nd piece of news？
| A． |
Environmental protection． |
| B． |
Medical care． |
| C． |
Modern technology． |
| D． |
Famous people． |
（5）Which one can you read if you are interested in health？
| A． |
J．K．Rowling Publishes New Story online |
| B． |
Jeff Bezos is Taking Action |
| C． |
China and France Holds an Online Concert |
| D． |
The Vaccines May Be Ready |
Right now you probably spend most of your time in school． Do you wonder what you are going to do after junior high school？ Will you continue to go to school？ Will you learn a trade？ Perhaps it is time to think about your choices and to prepare for them． Someday work will be a big part of your life．
What kind of job would be right for you？ Think about your interests and your skills． You may like to listen to music． dance． play basketball． or work with computers． You may know how to drive a car or how to get along with people． Knowing both your interests and skills will help make a better plan for your future job．
To get an idea of what work you would like to do． make a list of your interests and skills． Think about what you have done to be successful in your interests． After that． brainstorm a list of job choices that might match your interests and skills． You can later keep your lists with the projects and records that can help you get the job you want． They can help you know more clearly about your achievements in school and in the world of work．
Laura Zhang． an art designer． finds her work satisfying because it allows her to use her interests and skills． She enjoyed imagining something in her mind while she was in school． She took art． design． and computer lessons． and also learned about taking photos on her own．
Here is what she says about the meaning of work："If you have a job you like． work means much more than just making money． It means using your talents． making a contribution （贡献）． and getting a real sense of satisfaction from doing a job． "
（1）Who is the passage most probably written to？
| A． |
Students． |
| B． |
Teachers． |
| C． |
Parents． |
| D． |
Designers． |
（2）How does the writer introduce the topic at the beginning of the passage？
| A． |
By listing facts． |
| B． |
By giving examples． |
| C． |
By asking questions． |
| D． |
By explaining differences． |
（3）What might Laura Zhang be most interested in when she was at school？
| A． |
Singing songs． |
| B． |
Creating pictures． |
| C． |
Playing basketball． |
| D． |
Playing computer games． |
（4）What's the passage mainly about？
| A． |
The real meaning of work． |
| B． |
The importance of interests and skills． |
| C． |
The journey off Laura's life． |
| D． |
The way of preparing for the future job． |
What covers three﹣fourths of the Earth's surface？ It's the water that makes up the Earth's four oceans．They are the Pacific，the Atlantic，the Indian and the Arctic．The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest． The Arctic is the smallest and shallowest．
Stand on a beach and watch the ocean． You will see that it is never still （平静的）． The ocean is in constantmotion （运动）． Wind blows across the surface of the water． This makes waves． Ocean waves are different in height． A light wind causes small waves． In a hurricane （飓风）， winds can cause huge， dangerous waves that can get to be more than 14 meters high!
Ocean currents （洋流） are lots of water that move from seaside to seaside． Like waves，currents are caused by wind． Ocean currents can be warm or cold． In areas close to land， warm ocean currents make the air warmer； cold ocean currents make it colder．
At high tide （涨潮时期）， the ocean covers much of the beach． At low tide， you can walk on the sand that had earlier been covered by ocean water． Tides are caused by the pull of gravity （重力）as the moon circles the Earth．
The ocean provides people with many resources． Ocean water has salt﹣a basic cooking material． Ocean fishing provides work and food for many people． The ocean is also a fun place to visit． Children who live near the ocean often like to swim in the waves，hunt for shells and play in the sand．
The ocean may look like a large pool of water， but it's much more than that．
（1）What is mainly talked about in the first paragraph？
| A． |
Four oceans cover three﹣fourths of the Earth's surface． |
| B． |
The Earth's surface is wet． |
| C． |
The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean． |
| D． |
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean． |
（2）The underlined word "constant" in the second paragraph probably means in Chinese．
| A． |
奇怪的 |
| B． |
连续的 |
| C． |
不规则的 |
| D． |
危险的 |
（3）Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage？
| A． |
It is always colder near the ocean． |
| B． |
Everyone who lives near the ocean loves to swim． |
| C． |
The Arctic Ocean is bigger than the Atlantic Ocean． |
| D． |
Oceans provide many of the things that people need． |
（4）Which of the following can be the best title for the passage？
| A． |
Ocean Fishing． |
| B． |
What Makes Oceans Move． |
| C． |
Ocean on the Move． |
| D． |
How Oceans Formed． |
