Most students hate their endless homework. The students from Class 2, Senior 2 of the High School Affiliated to Peking University certainly did so before they published their own collection of English novels at home.
Their small book contains stories about a holy (神圣的) war, the happy life of a self-taught artist and the story of a laid-off worker who devoted his last breath to playing his beloved accordion (手风琴). The book becomes an instant hit on campus. About 3,000 copies have been sold and the class is already working on the second volume.
"We're up to our ears in homework. Exercises and exams make us out of breath. But to do something creative and full of imagination is such a great achievement," said Yu Xiaoxiao, 16. "I took the writing as an ordinary homework at the beginning, but after I finished the first part of my story, I could not help but let it flow," said Wang An, who wrote "Accordion".
Inspired by "Lord of the Rings", Jiang Lu wrote his story about magic wins between angels from the light and the dark side. "The main message of the story was to look at the balance of the world. Both dark and light angels fight with love as their weapons. I want to tell people that selfish love might bring hate," Jiang said.
"I was shocked by their work and felt so proud to be the editor of my students' book," said Nathaniel Timmermann, the oral English teacher at the school. Liu Xiuqin, an English teacher, started the project by asking students to write whatever was in their mind every week. "They have performed beyond expectation," Liu said. "They wrote interesting stories and their English has improved after they started to express their real minds."
"We never imagined that our homework would be so popular and profitable (盈利的). We sell the novels at five yuan, but many teachers pay more to encourage us," said Yuan Mengyao.After Wang An finished the first part of his story, he ________.
| A．couldn't go on | B．had to put aside |
| C．just wanted to express it freely | D．lost it |
What was NOT the outcome of the students 'homework of writing whatever was in their mind?
| A．Being popular. | B．Being profitable. |
| C．Improving their English. | D．Winning prize. |
What is the reason for the students ' liking to write interesting stories?
| A．It is creative and imaginative. | B．It is profitable. |
| C．Interesting stories are sure to be popular. | D．Interesting stories can be well sold. |
What is the best title of this passage?
| A．Creative homework leads to a popular book. | B．Writing interesting stories. |
| C．Students' new book. | D．A popular book. |
My aunt Edith was a widow of 50, working as a secretary, when doctors discovered what was then thought to be a very serious heart disease.
Aunt Edith doesn’t accept defeat easily .She began studying medical reports in the library and found an article in a magazine about a well-known heart surgeon, Dr. Michael DeBekey, of Houston, Texas.He had saved the life of someone with the same illness .The article said Dr. DeBekey’s fees were very high; Aunt Edith couldn’t possibly pay them .But could he tell her of someone whose fee she could pay?
So Aunt Edith wrote to him .She simply listed her reasons for wanting to live: her three children, who would be on their own in three or four more years, her little - girl dreamt of traveling and seeing the world .There wasn’t a word of self-pity-only warmth and humor and the joy of living .She mailed the letter, not really expecting an answer.
A few days later, my doorbell rang .Aunt Edith didn’t want to come in; she stood in the hall and read aloud. “Your beautiful letter moved me very deeply .If you can come to Houston, there will be no charge for either the hospital or the operation. Signed Michael DeBekey.”
That was seven years ago. Since then, Aunt Edith has been around the world .Her three children are happily married. For her age, she is one of the youngest, most alive people I know – all because of an open heart surgeon who knew how to honor his profession, and how to open his own heart.
56．Aunt Edith wrote a letter to Dr. Debakey to.
A．ask for his advice B．beg him to operate on her
C．ask him to introduce another doctor D．ask for his sympathy
57．The underlined phrase “open heart” in the last paragraph means .
A．open – minded B．kind – hearted C．patient D．skillful
58．What can we conclude from the passage?
A．Dr. DeBakey is willing to operate on anyone free of charge.
B．Dr. DeBakey is expert in getting along with his patients.
C．My aunt Edith is very poor and mean.
D．My aunt Edith is optimistic and strong – minded.
Today both English language and Internet have brought the whole world right in your drawing room. Now you can do whatever you want to without leaving the comfort of your home. So English has become a must. Nothing is imaginable without it. How to solve the problem?
No speech can be imagined without listening. Develop a habit of listening to something in English daily. I mean to say, listen to English songs, short stories, interviews and short and simple conversations regularly. Repeat listening what you have just listened. Not once but many times. How does a child become able to speak? It is simple. He/She is compelled to listen whatever their parents and people around them speak. Gradually they begin to reproduce what they have heard. So enjoy listening. Listening practice will fix correct pronunciation of the words in your mind and you'll be able to utter them as naturally and easily as a native speaker does.
Speak what you have listened, as the more you listen, the more you will be able to speak and the more learning of the language will occur. So go on practicing speaking whatever you have heard. Furthermore speaking practice will train your mouth and ears. The main ideas of what you have listened and spoken will get fixed into your memory. Once the structures of sentences, phrases get fixed in your subconscious you'll never have to fumble for words, phrases or sentences when you converse with your friends or with someone else.
When you have taken these two steps, you will find amazing change. Now you can start to put in a little time in reading and writing skills as reading and writing skills have their own importance and place in a language learning and you can develop them on the strong foundation of listening and speaking skills later.
67. What’s the purpose of the first paragraph in the passage?
A. To tell us that the world is becoming smaller than before.
B. To show us the wide use of internet in today’s world.
C. To indicate the importance of learning English.
D. To suggest that it is convenient to live in today’s world.
68. What the author thinks is the most important step in learning English?
A. Forming the habit of listening B. Practicing speaking
C. Keeping on reading daily D. Improving writing skills
69. A child mentioned in the second paragraph is to_______.
A. explain how he becomes able to speak
B. show he could listen whatever others speak
C. introduce he can speak whatever he hears
D. indicate the importance of listening
70. Which of the following may be the best title of the passage?
A. The Steps of Listening
B. Learn English in Two Easy Steps
C. Listening Comes Before Speaking
D. Four Skills for English Learning
Most young architects ----particularly those in big cities ----can only dream about working in a building of their own. And making that dream come true often means finding a building no one else seems to want, which is exactly what happened to David Yocum and his partner, Brain Bell. Their building is a former automobile electrical –parts firm in Atlanta. From the outside, it looks too old, even something horrible, but open the door and you are in a wide, open courtyard, lined on three sides with rusting (生锈的)walls.
In 2000, Yocum and Bell found this building in the city’s West End. Built in 1947, the structure had been abandoned years earlier and the roof of the main building had fallen down. But the price was right, so Yocum bought it. He spent eight months of his off-hours on demolition (拆除), pulling rubbish out through the roof, because it was too dangerous to go inside the building. The demolition was hard work, but it gave him time to think about what he wanted to do, and “to treasure what was there—the walls, the rust, the light,” Yocum said. “Every season , more paint falls off the walls and more rust develops. It’s like an art installation（装置）there---a slow-motion show.”
Since the back building had been constructed without windows, an all-glass front was added to the building to give it a view of the courtyard, and skylights were installed in the roof. The back of the building is a working area and a living room for Yocum and his wife. A sort of buffer(缓冲)zone between the front and the back contains a bathroom, a kitchen and a mechanical room, and the walls that separate these zones have openings that allow views through to the front of the studio and the courtyard beyond.
Yocum and Bell, who have just completed an art gallery for the city, feel that the experience from decoration of their building, focusing on the inside rather than the outside, has influenced their work. It has also given these architects a chance to show how they can make more out of less.
63. According to the passage, it is for most young architects in big cities to work in a building of their own.
A. easy B. unnecessary C. unrealistic D. common
64. Yocum bought the old building because .
A. it was a bargain to him B. it was still in good condition
C. it was located in the city center D. it looked attractive from the outside
65. It can be inferred from the passage that Yocum and Bell .
A. benefited a lot from pulling down the roof
B. turned more old buildings into art galleries
C. got inspiration from decorating their old building
D. paid more attention to the outside of the gallery
66. The main idea of the passage is that .
A. people can learn a lot from their failures
B. it is worthwhile to spend money on an old building
C. people should not judge things by their appearance
D. creative people can make the best of what they have
Normally, kids have curiosity(好奇) about everything around them including animals. As a parent you are willing to teach everything to our children because you want to develop their EQ and IQ. But a few people have some troubles in how to introduce animals to their kids. Here I have some advice on how to do that.
1. Visiting a zoo.
This way must be the best choice to choose. If you have free time or maybe on holiday you can take your children to the zoo. Kids usually are excited to see live animals and feed them if possible. It can be an unforgettable moment for your children when they visit so many animals in a place. Parents can describe an animal to their children so they can learn something about that animal.
2. Doing a coloring activity.
If you have not free time or just have a short time, you can choose this. Actually doing animal coloring activity is mostly used by parents and teachers to tell children about an animal. You can download free animal coloring pages through the internet or you can buy your children an animal coloring book.
3. Doing a paper craft.
If it sounds difficult you can skip this method. Just forget it. Generally, the difficulty level depends on your paper craft models. You can find free animal paper crafts on the internet but make sure of the difficulty level. Remember your purpose is not about how beautiful your paper crafts are but to describe an animal to your children.
4. Story telling.
Have you heard about an animal story when you were a child? You still remember it? How about the character of those animals? Yeah! It is still in your mind. You can buy a story book of animals and read it for your children.
There are also many other ways and everything needed here is just the creativity to connect it with the children and make them enjoy and have fun with your activities.
59. What’s the purpose of this passage?
A. To satisfy the curiosity of the kids.
B. To develop children’s EQ and IQ.
C. To give parents and teachers advice on how to introduce animals to kids.
D. To introduce some activities to let parents know more about their kids.
60. In the author’s opinion, which is the best way to let a kid know something about an animal?
A. Visiting a zoo B. Doing a coloring activity
C. Doing a paper craft D. Telling a story
61. If you are busy, which activity can you choose?
A. Download some beautiful paper crafts on the internet.
B. Buy your kid an animal coloring book.
C. Give your kid an unforgettable moment to visit many animals in a place.
D. Buy your kid a story book.
62. According to the author, what matters most in whatever activities you design for your children?
A. fun B. joy C. imagination D. creativity
This is a true story about two friends.
One day a young man said to his good friend, "I can see that some day you will become great and rich." His friend laughed, "Ridiculous! How can you know that?" The first said, "Yes, I can see it from your forehead." The second one said, "Ok, if I become great and rich, I will give you 10,000 rupees." The first friend asked. "Really? If so, then write it down."
The second one really wrote it down. The first man kept the note, but he never took his friend seriously. The agreement was made as a joke. 10 or 12 years later, the friend did become rich and great, while the other remained poor. By that time both friends had separated and were leading their own lives. Even so, the poor friend still preserved the note, although he felt that since it was a joke, he would never receive the money.
Quite unexpectedly, the poor man fell seriously ill. Just before he died, he took out the agreement and called his son, who was only seven years old, "My son, there is something very precious that I have kept for you. After I die…you go to this man and show him what he has written."
Soon the man died. Their friendship had faded so much that the rich man did not even come to see him before he left this world. But after three or four weeks' time the son took the note to the rich man. The boy gave the rich man the note. The rich man read it and asked, "Did I write this?"
The boy said, “I do not know. My father asked me to give it to you before he died." The rich man summoned one of his secretaries and explained, "I promised this boy's father many years ago that I would give him 10,000 rupees if I became rich and great. I have been rich for seven years; please calculate how much interest I have to give him in addition to the 10,000 rupees."
The secretary told him, "An additional 7,000 rupees, which makes it 17,000 altogether."
The rich man immediately issued a check for 17,000 rupees and gave it to the little boy, saying, "Take this directly to your mother.”
This is how a sincere man kept his promise.
56. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The first friend can know others’ future from his or her forehead.
B. The second friend couldn’t believe his friend’s words at first.
C. The first friend wished his friend to help his son after he died.
D. The second didn’t come to see his dying friend because of different life.
57. What do you think of the man who became rich later?
A. He had a bad memory.
B. He is very selfish and unwilling to help others.
C. He is mean with his money.
D. He is a man who keeps his promise.
58. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. The poor friend preserved the note because he knew he would get the money sooner or later.
B. The man became rich 3 or 5 years later after he signed the agreement.
C. The rich man gave the boy 17,000 rupees altogether.
D. The little boy knew something about his father’s story.