AsaleadingChineselanguageschoo-优题课

I began working in journalism (新闻业) when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition (竞争).
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself easily seen, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was supper time, I walked back home.
“How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.
“None.”
“Where did you go?”
“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“What did you do?”
“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“You just stood there?”
“Didn’t sell a single one.”
“My God, Russell!”
Uncle Allen put in, “Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币). It was the first nickel I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.
“If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.
My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful reporter as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.
Why did the boy start his job young?

A．He wanted to be famous in the future.

B．The job was quite easy for him.

C．His mother had high hopes for him.

D．The competition for the job was serious.

From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

A．excited	B．interested
C．ashamed	D．disappointed

The phrase “this battle” in the last paragraph refers to.

A．the war between the boy’s parents

B．the arguing between the boy and his mother

C．the arguing between the boy and his customers(顾客)

D．the fight between the boy and his father

What is the text mainly about ?

A．The early life of a reporter.

B．The early success of a reporter.

C．The happy childhood of the writer.

D．The important role of the writer in his family.

Big Ben, the landmark of London, a clock famous for its accuracy and chimes(和谐的钟声), stopped working for 90 minutes, an engineer said Saturday.
People do not know why the 147-year-old clock on the banks of the River Thames stopped at 10:07 p.m. Friday. It continued keeping time, but stopped again at 10:20 p.m. and remained silent for about 90 minutes before starting up again, a spokeswoman for the House of Commons said.
There has been speculation(推测) that a recent period of hot weather may have been to blame(责备). Temperatures in London reached 90 ℉on Saturday, and forecasters called it England’s hottest day in May since 1953.
The clock has experienced occasional problems. In 1962, snow caused the clock to stop before the New Year. In 1976, the clock stopped when a piece of its machinery broke. Big Ben also stopped on April 30, 1997, and once more three weeks later.
How many times has Big Ben stopped up to now?

A．Three

B．Five

C．Six

D．Eight

The probable reason for Big Ben stopping working this time is ________.

A．high temperature	B．low temperature
C．broken machine	D．heavy snow

The passage mainly talks about ________.

A．Big Ben’s history

B．the solution to Big Ben’s problem.

C．the landmark of London

D．Big Ben’s silence

Europe is now the biggest market for organic food in the world, having grown by 25 percent a year over the past 10 years. Denmark’s agriculture minister is herself an organic farmer. The UK market for organic food grew by 55 percent in 2000, while the food market as a whole grew by only one percent. Yet only seven percent of British shoppers account for nearly 60 percent of organic sales. However popular the idea of organic farming may be, it is still an interest for only a few people.
So what makes the idea of organic farming popular? Organic farming means farming with natural materials, rather than with man-made fertilizers or pesticides(杀虫剂). Organic farmers rely on many methods — such as crop rotation (农作物的轮作) and the use of resistant（有抵抗力的）varieties, because they are necessary for organic farmers to compensate for the shortage of man-made chemicals.
Organic farming is often supposed to be safer than traditional farming for the environment. Yet after a long research on organic farming worldwide for a number of years, science continues to be against this opinion. The House of Commons committee on agriculture stated that, even with complete research work, it would fail to find any scientific evidence to prove “that any of claims made for organic farming is always true”.
However, the talk about the benefits of organic farming is going on. This is partly because many people depend on their individual farm, the soil, the weather, and so on.
The first paragraph mainly tells us _________.

A．organic farming has been performed only in Europe over the past 10 years.

B．governments of European countries have cared less about organic farming.

C．organic farming isn’t so popular as expected.

D．European countries need organic food more than the other countries in the world.

The underlined words “compensate for” in the second paragraph probably mean “_________”.

A．argue for	B．care for
C．make up for	D．pay for

What can we know about organic farming?

A．It refers to farming with natural materials, instead of chemical fertilizers.

B．It refers to farming with chemical fertilizers rather than natural fertilizers.

C．It refers to farming with soil rather than any other thing.

D．It refers to growing crops with man-made fertilizers and pesticides.

According to the third paragraph, _________.

A．organic farming is safer than traditional farming for the environment.

B．the idea that organic farming is safer has not been proven by science.

C．organic farming is accepted by the UK’s House of Commons committee.

D．organic farming is preferred to traditional farming.

Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?

A．The UK’s agriculture minister is an organic farmer.

B．Organic farming is popular with young people.

C．Farmers try every means to improve the organic sales system.

D．Ninety-three percent of British shoppers don’t buy organic products.

A popular student in her small high school, Katie started college, expecting to do well in her courses and be best friends with her roommates. But things didn’t turn out that way. Psych 101, the course she thought would be a first-semester favorite, turned out to be a struggle.
Living away from home tends to be the toughest adjustment for first-year students. You may feel homesick in your first weeks or months. It can help to call, write, or email your parents and friends, making them know how you’re going. You can also talk with your roommates. As first-year students themselves, they’re probably experiencing many of the same fears and worries that you’re dealing with .
But what if you don’t get along well with your roommates?
In some cases, it can be a good thing if you and your roommates aren’t much alike. Different views on things may be helpful, so respect your differences no matter what.
If you and your roommates don’t get along well, it can help to find someone who you feel does understand you, which should be easy on a campus with so many people. Many schools have student organization nights where all of the campus clubs gather and promote their organizations, so you can meet people with the same interests there as you. You’ll also meet tons of people in class or in your dorm building.
As homesickness, painful throats, sprained (扭伤的) ankles and wisdom teeth that act up are common among college students, you should check out your student guidebook or your school’s website to find out information about the university health center.
If you think you cannot deal with your problems, make a stop at the school counseling (咨询)center. First-year troubles are something the counselors know well. You can get help there.
From Paragraph 1 we can infer that __________.

A．Katie had been worried about the changes before starting her college life.

B．Katie felt satisfied when her college life started.

C．Katie wasn’t used to the new environment in college at first.

D．Katie has fallen behind in her study after the first semester in college.

What’s the author’s first suggestion on dealing with homesickness?

A．Adjust to it gradually.

B．Never share fears with your parents.

C．Talk to your roommates about it.

D．Get along with your roommates.

Which of the following ways of dealing with roommates is RIGHT?

A．Not trying to change them.

B．Avoid making friends with them.

C．Developing the same interest as them.

D．Not talking with them.

From the passage, we can know that_________

A．It’s easy for the first-year students to adapt to the college life.

B．First-year students can get along well with roommates quickly.

C．The university center can only help the first-year students solve problems.

D．The school counseling center is familiar with the problems the first-year students face.

What’s the main idea of the text?

A．Freshmen may meet many problems.

B．Communication is important in college.

C．How you can adjust to your first year in college.

D．How schools help freshmen to get used to college life.

We were standing at the top of a church tower. My father had brought me to this spot in a small town not far from our home in Rome. I wondered why.
“Look down, Elsa,” father said. I gathered all my courage and looked down. I saw the square in the center of the village. And I saw the crisscross (十字形) of twisting, turning streets leading to the square. “ See, my dear,” father said gently. “ There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can’t get to the place where you want to go by one road, try another.”
Now I understood why I was there. Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful lunches that were served at school. But she refused because she could not believe the lunches were as bad as I said.
When I turned to father for help, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson. By the time we reached home, I had a plan.
At school the next day, I secretly poured my lunch soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I asked our cook to serve it to mother at dinner. The plan worked perfectly. She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered（喷溅出） “ The cook must have gone mad！” Quickly I told her what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would take up the matter of lunches at school the next day!
In the years that followed, I often remembered the lesson father taught me. I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago. I wouldn’t stop working until I tried every possible means to my goal. Father’s wise words always remind me that there is more than one way to the square.
The author’s father took her to the top of a church tower to ____________.

A．enjoy the beautiful scenery of the whole town

B．find out how many ways lead to the square

C．inspire her to find out another way to solve her problem

D．help her forget some unpleasant things earlier that day

What did the author want her mother to do earlier that day?

A．Do something delicious for lunch.

B．Taste her awful lunch.

C．Dismiss the mad cook.　　　　　　　　

D．Speak to the school about lunch.

The underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph suggests that_____________.

A．the cook agreed to serve the soup to the writer’s mother.

B．the author’s mother was angry with the cook.

C．her father persuaded her mother successfully.

D．the method the author thought of was effective.

What did the author’s mother think of her lunch soup after she tasted it?

A．It was delicious.

B．It wasn’t so bad as the author said.

C．It is terrible.

D．It was as good as her cook did.

By sharing her own experiences, the author tries to tell us ____________.

A．when one road is blocked, try another

B．how bad the lunch of her school is

C．how wise her father is

D．about the church tower near her home

A．junior high graduates	B．international students
C．job seekers	D．language trainers