Mr. Brown lives in America and has a big factory there. He is busy all the time. But when he takes his holidays, he always goes traveling and has been to about thirty countries. One summer he went to visit Moscow. There he heard the workers were paid much less than those in his countries. And most factories couldn’t work because they were short of (缺少) money. He thought he would save much money if he invested (投资) in a factory there. The Russians knew it and warmly met him and he was invited to visit a modern factory. He went to the workplaces, watched carefully how the machines worked. The workers worked hard when he went in.
Soon it was time to have lunch. Mr. Brown went in the dining –room. Meat, eggs, milk and bread could be bough there. It seemed that they weren’t short of anything. Mr. Brown came up to an old worker and sat down next to him.
Are you satisfied with your life, sir? Asked Mr. Brown.
“Of course,” the worker answered and went on drinking.
“What do you have now?”
“I live in beautiful villa (别墅) ,” answered the man. “I have a new fridge, a new color television and I drive a new car to my factory.”
“What’s your next wish, then?”
“To buy a pair of strong shoes!”Mr. Brown often spends his holidays____.
| A．in America | B．in Moscow |
| C．by the sea | D．outside his country |
At first, Mr. Brown was going to ____.
| A．travel in Moscow |
| B．invest in a factory in Moscow |
| C．visit a modern factory |
| D．know the old worker |
Mr. Brown wanted to invest in Moscow because____.
| A．he liked to live there |
| B．he could save much money there |
| C．they were friendly to him |
| D．the machines were new |
The Russians warmly met Mr. Brown because____.
| A．they want to help him |
| B．he was very rich |
| C．they wanted him to invest in the factory |
| D．they wanted him to build a new factory there |
At last, Mr. Brown knew____.
| A．the old worker had a happy life |
| B．the factory was cheating him |
| C．the factory wasn’t short of anything |
| D．the workers didn’t want anything |
My parents quarreled (吵架) a lot, and I was really worried about it. I didn’t know who I should talk with about how I was feeling. So I asked Mom to allow me to stay the night at my best friend’s house. Though I knew I wouldn’t tell her about my parents’ situation, I was looking forward to getting out of the house. I was packing up my things when suddenly the power (电) went out in the neighborhood. Mom came to tell me that I should stay with my grandpa until the power came back on.
I was really disappointed(失望的) because I felt that we did not have much to talk about. But I knew he would be frightened alone in the dark. I went to his room and told him that I’d stay with him until the power was restored(恢复). He was quite happy and said.
“Great chance.”
“What is?” I asked.
“To talk, you and I,” he said. “To hold a one-to-one little meeting about what we’re going to do with your mom and dad, and what we’re going to do with ourselves and the situation we are in now.”
“But we can’t do anything about it, Grandpa,” I said, surprised that here was someone with whom I could share my feelings and someone who was in the same “boat” as I was.
And that is how the most amazing friendship between my grandfather and me started. Sitting there in the dark, we talked about our feelings and fears of life from how fast things change to how they sometimes don’t change fast enough. That night, because the power went out, I found a new friend, with whom I could safely talk about all my fears and pains, whatever they may be.
Suddenly, the lights all came back on. “Well,” he said, “I guess that means you’ll want to go now. I really like our talk. I hope the power will go out every few nights!”Why was Grandpa happy to see the writer?
| A．Because he felt quite lonely. |
| B．Because he could discuss the problem with him. |
| C．Because he was afraid of darkness. |
| D．Because he had not seen him for a long time. |
In which order(顺序) did the story happen?
a. The lights came back on.
b. The writer went to his grandpa’s room and stayed with him.
c. The power in the neighbourhood suddenly went out.
d. The writer worried about the parents’ disagreement and wanted to leave his home.
e. The writer had a talk with his grandpa and started the most amazing friendship between them.
| A．d-b-e-c-a | B．a-b-e-c-d |
| C．c-d-b-e-a | D．d-c-b-e-a |
What can be inferred(推断) from the story?
| A．The lights would go out again. |
| B．The writer wanted to leave very much. |
| C．They would have more chats. |
| D．It would no longer be dark. |
People often said Thomas Edison was the greatest genius(天才) of his age. There are only a few men in all of history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be pleased only because someone said he was a genius. “There is no such a thing as genius,” Edison said. He thought what people called genius was mostly hard work.
But Edison was a thinker as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. He tried to understand them, and then he tried to learn what he could usefully do with them.
Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people would do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking could give men enjoyment and pleasure.
Edison could not understand why anyone could not be interested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what idea he had about life. “Work,” he answered, “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.What is genius according to Thomas Edison?
| A．Hard thinking. | B．Hard work. |
| C．Useful ideas. | D．Useful inventions. |
How did Edison always deal with the secrets of nature after exploring them?
| A．To write down what he had learned. |
| B．To carry out a new experiment. |
| C．To make them useful in life. |
| D．To share them with others. |
What does the last sentence in the passage mean?
| A．Edison was born to be a great inventor. |
| B．Edison was able to live another 100 years. |
| C．Edison was ready to make his 100th invention. |
| D．Life was too short for Edison to work for human beings. |
More and more people think it necessary to study in an English-speaking country and it didn’t take long at all for me to decide to come and study in UK.
I have been used to school life since I came here two months ago, and I am starting to enjoy most of my time in here. School starts at 9 o’clock every morning, and every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we have long days, in which we have 9 lessons and school finishes at 4 o’clock. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we have short days, in which we have only 6 lessons and finish at 1 o’clock. After lessons, we have 2 hours of activity time, when you can choose from a number of activities, including many sports, such as rugby(英式橄榄球) , football, basketball and tennis.
As a boarder(寄宿者), the quality of food is something I consider very important, and Merchiston has not let me down. The school kitchens are run by a professional company, and the quality of food is excellent, and they are always trying to make the diet healthy. One of the obvious advantages of being a boarder is that we can have breakfast in the school, which means we don’t have to pull ourselves out of bed as early as the day pupils!How many lessons do the students have every week in this school?
| A．15 | B．45 | C．27 | D．18 |
The passage mainly tells us about __________________.
| A．the writer’s school life in the UK as a boarder |
| B．the writer’s opinion of the school life in the UK |
| C．the differences in school life between China and the UK |
| D．the boarder life in a British middle school |
Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined phrase “ let me down” in the passage?
| A．made me blue | B．cheered me up |
| C．encouraged me | D．made me surprised |
阅读表达： 阅读短文，回答题后问题（每小题2分，计10分）。
Kyra Komac, 28 years old, now has 25 furniture（家具）stores all over the country. The new store, in London's Camden High Street, takes her back to where it all started. She tells us about how the business began.
When I was little, my mother began selling flowers in Camden Market. She couldn't leave me at home on my own, so I had to go to the market with her.
To begin with, I didn't have to do anything. I just sat there, and my mum told me jokes and stories so I didn't get bored. When I got older, I gave my mum a hand and I really enjoyed it.
Then, one year, my grandma gave me a book for Christmas. It was all about making candles and I loved it. I was 14, and I didn't have to go to the market any more because mum could leave me at home on my own. I spent my free time making candles of all shapes and sizes. I made hundreds of them.
One day, my mother was ill so I had to go to the market on my own. I decided to take some candles with me and see if I could sell them. They were sold out in twenty minutes! The next week, my mum gave me some money to buy some wax（蜡）to make more candles. They sold out really quickly, too.
Nine months later, we decided to stop selling flowers. My mum and I couldn't make enough candles during the week, so some of my school friends started to give us a hand. I paid them one pound for every candle, and we used to sell them for three or four times that. It was fun and my friends worked with me in the market.
At the age of 22, my uncle lent me some money and I opened my first shop in Portobello Road. Since then, I've never looked back, even in difficulties. In the first store, we only sold candles, but now we sell everything from furniture to paintings. Oh, and candles, of course.How many furniture stores does Kyra Komac have now?
Where did Kyra's mother sell flowers?（No more than 3 words. ）
What did Kyra do in her free time when she was fourteen?（No more than 8 words. ）
Who helped when Kyra and her mum couldn't make enough candles?（No more than 5 words.）
How did Kyra's uncle help her to open her first shop?（No more than 8 words.）
任务型阅读（每空1分，计10分）
请根据短文内容，用正确的信息填空，完成表格，每空一词。
阅读短文，按要求完成短文后的各项任务。请将答案写在题后方框内。（每空一词）（计10分）
Mistakes are great teachers
Mistakes are great teachers. Success comes to those who are willing to risk making mistakes to achieve their goals and wishes, and who are able to learn from those mistakes. And in order to learn from mistakes you must be willing to pay for them.
Mistakes can be very valuable, but when you try to get others to pay for your mistakes, then you lose the chance to learn from them. When something goes wrong, it’s usually very easy to find someone else’s mistakes, but is that useful ? Of course not.
Much of the value of mistakes comes from the fact that they need to cost that must be paid. The person who learns the most from a mistake is the one who pays the price for that mistake.
When you make a mistake, what you shouldn’t do is run away from it. You need to accept it because you can learn a lot from it. The mistake has been made, so make the most of it. Pay the price, learn the lesson, and grow that much stronger.
When you make a mistake, don’t look back at it long. Remember the reason for it, and then look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. The past cannot be changed. The present is still in your power. Make full use of your mistakes to achieve your goals and wishes.
| Mistakes are great teachers |
|
| _____ |
Success comes to those not only achieve their goals and wishes at the risk of |
| When you make mistakes |
Don’t |
| The value of mistakes |
You can learn a lot from mistakes and grow stronger by __ |
| Offer some ___ |
When you make mistakes, remember |