Years ago, I owned the very best dog in the world. I was a child when we got her. She grew up with me, and was always there when I needed her. She died during one of my college vacations. My heart broke then, and I knew that there would never be another dog like her.
However, I was wrong. My next dog came into my life when I was married. My husband traveled for a living. and I was often lonely. This dog taught me to be patient. He always stayed at my side until the children were born, and then he became their guardian(保护者), too. When he passed away, my heart broke. I was sure I would never love another dog as much as I loved him.
I was wrong again. We got the next one when the children were little. When he played with the children, he made them laugh. These days he spends more time with me since the children aren’t around so much. He is, of course, the very best dog in the world.
I wonder if that’s part of the lesson: To teach us that love has a spirit that returns again and again and never really dies.
It’s amazing. They make room for one another. And they fit into our families, our lives, and our hearts— because they always have been and will be the best dogs in the world.According to the story, the writer may agree with the opinion that .
| A．love me, love my dog |
| B．love never really dies |
| C．a dog is necessary to a family |
| D．where there’s love, there’s a dog |
What does the writer think about the third dog she owns?
| A．He brings happiness to the children. |
| B．He is better than the other two dogs. |
| C．He loves to play with children rather than adults. |
| D．He is lonely since the children have left home. |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means .
| A．they leave the room when the family needs a new one |
| B．each dog has a single room to live in |
| C．they leave the house when the family no longer needs them |
| D．they come into the writer’s life one after another |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．The writer doesn’t keep a dog at the moment. |
| B．The writer was very sad every time the dog died. |
| C．The second dog stayed longer than the first one. |
| D．The writer’s husband doesn’t like dogs. |
How many dogs are mentioned (提及)in the author’s life?
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
If you’ve ever owned a chimney, you know that it can get pretty dirty. There’s a whole lot of soot(烟灰) that gets stuck on the inside. That stuff has to get cleaned, or you could have a serious fire risk. While nowadays we have easier ways of doing this dirty job, in the way back days somebody used to climb up the chimney and clean all that soot. And the thing is, not just anybody could do it.
You had to be really small to fit up in the chimney, so they used to give the task to kids – some as young as four or five years old. They worked for their boss known as a master-sweep. They were often covered in soot, and were very likely to get burned. They often developed what became known as soot wart, a form of cancer.
Are your unfairness bells ringing? William Blake’s certainly were. The physical dangers and widespread unfairness of the chimney-sweeping job really stuck in his throat, so much so that he wrote not one, but two poems called “The Chimney Sweeper”.
The first poem (the one we’re discussing here)was published in 1789 in a book called Songs of Innocence. These little poems took children and the joys of childhood innocence as their subject. As you’ve probably guessed by now, many of the poems in Songs of Innocence, like “The Chimney Sweeper”, are about the ways in which childhood innocence is destroyed by unkind old adults. For Blake, innocence is, in many ways, a total joke. It doesn’t exist, because it’s always taken away by the realistic world – chimney-sweeping, death, poverty, etc.
What does a five-year-old chimney sweeper in 18th-century England have to do with you? More than you might think. It is reported that 150 million kids are in child labor in developing countries. Many of them work long hours and face dangerous health risks. Like Blake’s chimney sweeper, these kids are not even given a chance at innocence because experience keeps getting in the way.Which of the following can best describe the chimney-sweeping job?
| A．Easy and interesting. | B．Dirty and dangerous. |
| C．Pleasant and well-paid | D．Challenging and creative. |
Why did Blake write two poems called “The Chimney Sweeper”?
| A．He was very interested in the job. |
| B．He had much experience in the job. |
| C．He considered the job very important. |
| D．He felt deeply sorry for the kid workers. |
How did Blake look at the realistic world?
| A．Thankfully | B．Regretfully | C．Doubtfully | D．Negatively |
In the last paragraph, the writer explains ________.
| A．the realistic meaning of “The Chimney Sweeper” |
| B．the great influence of Blake’s Songs of Innocence |
| C．why child labor still exists in developing countries |
| D．why chimney-sweeping becomes unnecessary today |
Want to find a job? Now read the following advertisements.
FAIRMONT HOTEL
Five Waiters and Ten Waitresses
— Aged under 22
— At least high school graduate
— Good-looking; men at least 1.72 meters tall and women at least 1.65
— Those knowing foreign languages favoured
— Paid 1 600—2 200 dollars per month
One Secretary
— Aged under 30
— Female favoured
— Good at writing and skilled at computer
If interested, call 465-4768 or write to:
Mr. Jack Hundris
Room 0825, Fairmont Hotel
567 Wood Street, San Markers, 78003
Fax: 6954828
WILSON BOOKSTORE
Accountant(会计)
— Aged between 25 and 40
— With an experience of at least two years
— With a degree and an accountant certificate(证书)
— Paid 3 000—4 000 dollars monthly
— With a practical knowledge of computer
Salesclerk
— Basic education of 12 years or more
— Good at computer
— Paid 1 800—2 200 dollars monthly
Tel: 447-4398
Fax: 3485269If you don’t know how to use a computer, you can just apply for the position as _______.
| A．a secretary | B．a waiter or waitress |
| C．an accountant | D．a salesclerk |
If you want to try for a job in Fairmont Hotel, you _______.
| A．have to be a woman and know foreign languages |
| B．should be a university graduate |
| C．have to be taller than 1.72 meters |
| D．should be younger than 30 years old |
From the ads we can conclude that _______.
| A．you’ll be better paid in Wilson Bookstore than in Fairmont Hotel |
| B．all the jobs offered require experience |
| C．the better education you’ve received, the more money you’ll make |
| D．if you want to be an accountant, you may call 465-4768 |
Food we need
Have you learned a lot about the kinds of food people need? They say that there are several kinds of food that people should eat every day. They are: (1) green and yellow vegetables of all kinds. (2) citrus(柑桔) fruits and tomatoes; (3) potatoes and other fruits and vegetables; (4) meat of all kinds, fish and eggs; (5) milk and foods made from milk; (6) bread or cereal(谷类), rice is also in this kind of food; (7) butter, or something like butter.
What food counts
People in different countries and different places of the world eat different kinds of things. Foods are cooked and eaten in many different kinds of ways. People in different countries eat at different times of the day. In some places people eat once or twice a day; in other countries people eat three or four times a day. Scientists say that none of the differences is really important. It doesn’t matter whether foods are eaten raw(生的) or cooked, canned or frozen. It doesn’t matter if a person eats dinner at 4 o’clock in the afternoon or at eleven o’clock at night. The important thing is what you eat every day.
How shall we do?
There are two problems, then, in feeding the large number of people on earth. The first is to find some ways to feed the world’s population so that no one is hungry. The second is to make sure that people everywhere have the right kinds of food to make them grow to be strong and healthy.According to the scientists, which of the following groups of food is the healthiest for your lunch?
| A．chicken, apples, cereal, cabbages |
| B．potatoes, carrots, rice, bread |
| C．oranges, bananas, fish, tomatoes |
| D．beef, pork, fish, milk |
It is important for people to eat _______.
| A．three times a day |
| B．dinner at twelve o’clock |
| C．cooked food all the day |
| D．something from each of the seven kinds of food every day |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．People in some places don’t have enough to eat. |
| B．There are too many people in the world. |
| C．One of the problems is that no one is hungry. |
| D．The scientists are trying to make people grow to be strong and healthy. |
If there is Paragraph 4, what do you think is going to be talked about?
| A．When people eat their lunch |
| B．What to do with the two problems |
| C．How to cook food in different ways |
| D．Why people eat different kinds of food |
In choosing a friend, one should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fair weather friends. They will be with you as long as you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities (品质) of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability (可靠).
Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person's place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener.
At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults (过错) in others. He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me.
Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on (信赖) a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.
There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience (经验) and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humor (幽默), too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.
When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I've found a friend!Which of the following qualities the writer thinks is the most important in choosing a friend?
| A．understanding. |
| B．honesty. |
| C．reliability. |
| D．a sense of humor. |
If you have fair weather friends, ______.
| A．they will give you all that they have when you need help |
| B．you will be refused when you get into trouble |
| C．you will become rich |
| D．you can be sure that you get real friends |
Good friends need to ______.
| A．always point out each other's mistakes |
| B．be helped with money |
| C．understand each other's feelings |
| D．have money or luck |
This passage mainly discusses ______.
| A．the qualities of a friend |
| B．where to choose friends |
| C．how to get along with friends |
| D．the importance of having a friend |
As one comes to some crossroads, he or she sees a sign which says that drivers have to stop when they come to the main road ahead. At other crossroads, drivers have to go slow, but they do not actually have to stop unless, of course, there is something coming along the main road; and at still others, they do not have either to stop or to go slow, because they are themselves on the main road.
Mr. Williams, who was always a very careful driver, was driving home from work one evening when he came to a crossroad. It had a “SLOW” sign. He slowed down when he came to the main road, looked both ways to see that nothing was coming, and then drove across without stopping completely.
At once he heard a police whistle (口哨声), so he pulled into the side of the road and stopped. A policeman walked over to him with a notebook and a pen in his hand and said, “You didn’t stop at that crossing.”
“But the sign there doesn't say ‘STOP’.” answered Mr. Williams, “It just says ‘SLOW’, and I did go slow.”
The policeman looked around him, and a look of surprise came over his face. Then he put his notebook and pen away, scratched (抓) his head and said, “Well，I'm in the wrong street！”Mr. Williams was driving ____ one evening.
| A．to a party |
| B．to his office |
| C．home after work |
| D．to work from home |
When he was stopped by a policeman, he ____.
| A．was driving at a high speed |
| B．was driving onto the main road |
| C．was going to stop his car |
| D．was driving slowly |
Mr. Williams continued driving at the crossing because____.
| A．he didn't see any sign there. |
| B．he paid no attention to the traffic rules |
| C．he didn't have to stop |
| D．he was eager to get home |
Looking round Mr. Williams, the policeman was surprised because____.
| A．he met a mad man |
| B．he realized that he himself was mistaken |
| C．Mr. Williams dared to speak to him like that |
| D．Mr. Williams would not apologize to him |