I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have porridge, eggs or toast. When others had Cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. But at least I wasn’t alone when I was sad. My sister and two brothers had the same mean(刻薄的) mother as I did.
My mother preferred to know where we were all the time. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. We had to clean clothes and take a bath every day. The other kids got to wear the same clothes for days. We could not lie in bed “sick” in order to miss school.
The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and get up at eight the next morning. We couldn’t sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept, my mother was brave to break the Child Labour Law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, and learn to cook and all sorts of things at home. I believe she lay awake thinking up all things for us to do.
My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Two of her children received higher education. None of us have ever been arrested (taken away by the police) or divorced. She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. I am trying to raise my three children this way. I am filled with pride when my children call me “mean”. Why? Because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.How many children does the writer’s mother have?
| A．Four | B．Two | C．Three | D．Six |
What can you infer(推测) from the passage?
| A．My family was rich, so I ate a sandwich for lunch. |
| B．My mother was a great success. We love her. |
| C．If we didn’t want to go to school, the best way was to pretend to be sick. |
| D．We needn’t share the housework at home. |
The best title for this passage may be________.
| A．My childhood | B．The meanest mother |
| C．I do as my mother did | D．Unforgettable memories |
When I come across a good essay in reading newspapers,I am often inclined to cut and keep it.But just as I am about to do so I find the article on the opposite side is as much interesting.It may be a discussion of the way to keep in good health,or advice about how to behave and conduct oneself in society.If I cut the front essay,the opposite one is bound to suffer damage,leaving out half of it or keeping the text without the subject.As a result,the scissors would stay before they start,or halfway done when I find out the regretful consequence that inevitably causes my repentance.
Sometimes two things are to be done at the same time,both deserving your attention.You can only take up one of them,the other has to wait or be given up.But you know the future is unpredictable—the changed situation may not allow you to do what is left behind.Thus you are caught in a fix and feel sad.How come that nice opportunities and brilliant ideas should gather around all at once? It may happen that your life changes dramatically on your preference of one alternative to the other.
In fact that is what life is like:we are often faced with the two opposite aspects of a thing which are both desirable like newspaper cutting.It often occurs that our attention is drawn to one thing only after we are engaged in another.The former may be more important than the latter and give rise to a divided mind.I still remember a philosopher’s remarks:“When one door shuts,another opens in life.”So a casual or passive choice may not be a bad one.
Whatever we do in our lifetime,wherever life’s storm tosses us,there must be something we can achieve,some shore we can land,that opens up new vistas to us.Don’t forget God always keeps an alternative door open for every one.While the front door is closed,there must be another open for you.When the writer finds a good article in reading newspapers,_________.
| A．he is always glad to cut and keep it |
| B．he is always hesitant to cut and keep it |
| C．he often has a desire to cut and keep it |
| D．he often finds it difficult to decide which side to cut and keep |
The writer feels regretful because_________.
| A．he fails to choose a good essay |
| B．he fails to cut the two essays on both sides well |
| C．he finds the essay on the opposite side is better |
| D．he finds that he just keeps the text without the subject |
What’s the meaning of the underlined part in Paragraph 2?
| A．You’re trapped in a trouble. |
| B．You find it difficult to fix something. |
| C．You are trapped in a situation where you can’t decide which choice is better. |
| D．You have so many opportunities that you don’t know which to choose. |
Which one do you think is the best title of this passage?
| A．Paper Cutting | B．Two Opposite Sides |
| C．Difficult Choices | D．Another Door |
A severely handicapped teenager who cannot walk,talk or hold a paintbrush has won a place at Oxford to study fine art.
Hero Joy Nightingale,16,who communicates through hand movements,is to be given assistants to paint and sculpt on her behalf.Her mother Pauline Reid “translated for” her daughter during interviews for the place at Magdalen College.
The teenager is the most severely handicapped student ever to be granted a place at Oxford.She suffers from “locked-in syndrome”,a profound apraxia caused by brain damage that renders her body useless and her voice mute.
She is unlikely ever to be able to walk,feed or care for herself but,thanks to the efforts of her mother,she can communicate.When Hero was four,Pauline devised a complicated system of hand gestures that equate to the alphabet.
A spokesperson for Oxford said,“The university welcomes applications from students with disabilities.In cases where students are profoundly disabled,there may be many issues that need to be carefully addressed before an individual can take up a place,such as establishing how the student can best be taught and examined.”
Hero,who suffers almost daily epileptic fits and has a hole in her heart,has not attended school since she was six.She has been taught at home by her mother and father,the pro-vice chancellor of Kent University.
Peter Giles,her art tutor until last year,said she has a genuine talent for art.“She is ferociously gifted.We would sit together and her mother would grab her daughter’s hand and then we would begin work,”he said.
Together,they built several modern sculptures from plaster and metal.“The instructions would take a while to decipher.But eventually,they would come,and eventually make sense.”
Hero’s classes will be held at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art.Hero communicates with others _________.
| A．through common hand movements |
| B．by typing words on computer |
| C．through a complicated system of hand gestures devised by her mother |
| D．by drawing pictures on a board |
According to the passage,how does Hero paint or sculpt?
| A．She instructs her assistants to paint or sculpt through hand movements. |
| B．She gives instructions,and her mother paints or sculpts following her instructions. |
| C．She paints or sculpts with her own hands. |
| D．She gives instructions,her mother “translates” them,and her assistants paint or sculpt according to the “translations”. |
From the story we can infer _________.
| A．Oxford welcomes any handicapped student who is good at fine art |
| B．Hero has not attended school since she was six |
| C．Hero is gifted in fine art |
| D．Hero is a strong-minded girl who loves life very much |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Hero is the most seriously handicapped student ever to be admitted to Oxford. |
| B．Oxford will admit a disabled student without any requirements. |
| C．Hero has been taught by her parents at home for10 years. |
| D．Hero is not able to walk,talk or hold a paintbrush. |
For hundreds of years humans have dreamed of finding life on distant planets.Now the hope of discovering real evidence of life has greatly increased.
NASA's Mars detector（探测器）,Opportunity,succeeded in finding signs that water once existed on the planet.Opportunity landed on Mars in January.Scientists now believe that the planet could once have supported life.
This discovery was chosen by Science,one of the world's leading magazines,as the most important scientific achievement of 2004 last Friday.
“This little,wheeled,one-armed box went around another planet and has done something no human has ever managed,” according to Science.“It has discovered another place in the universe where life could once have existed.
“Although we still can't say that life could have existed in this environment,it is now certain that there was water on Mars,”said Steve Squyres,one of the scientists working on the Mars mission.The evidence comes from pictures and chemical readings taken by Opportunity.It includes marks on rocks like those caused by following water on Earth and salty chemicals like those found in dried-out sea-beds.Scientists said the new evidence proved beyond doubt that water has existed on Mars.But it is still unknown whether the water was like an ocean or just ice.
While Opportunity has not found any signs of life,the presence of water means life is possible.“In everything we know about life on Earth,there is no example without liquid water,” Squyres said.“So water is important for the search for life on Mars.”
Researchers agree that a future mission（任务） should bring back physical samples（样品）.But some scientists worry about the risk that this could introduce dangerous foreign creatures to Earth.“The problem here is how to get the samples back,”Squyres replied.“I think it is our responsibility to limit any risk.”What proved that water existed on Mars?
| A．The physical samples with salty chemicals. |
| B．The marks on rocks and salty chemicals. |
| C．Scientific achievements of 2004. |
| D．Creatures from Mars. |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．It is now certain that there was water on Mars. |
| B．The water on Mars was like an ocean. |
| C．Evidence of life on Mars has been found. |
| D．Search for life on Mars is a great risk to humans. |
How did scientists draw the conclusion that there was water on Mars?
| A．The world's leading magazine has announced the fact. |
| B．Scientists have taken many pictures and chemical readings on the Mars. |
| C．Astronauts have got some rocks from Mars. |
| D．Scientists have made a study of the pictures and readings sent back by Mars detector. |
It can be inferred that,if the creatures from Mars came to earth,_________.
| A．they would be kind to humans |
| B．they would be cruel to humans |
| C．they would be a great danger to Earth |
| D．it would be hard to say whether it would be good news or bad news |
Some time people call each other “scared-cat”,but have you ever thought about this expression? When a cat is frightened,its heart starts beating faster,its muscles get tense,and there are changes in the chemicals in its bloodstream.Although the cat doesn't realize this,its body is getting ready for action.If the danger continues,the animal will do one of two things:It will defend itself,or it will run away as fast as it can.
Something like this also happens to people.When we are excited,angry,scared,or aroused by other emotions (feelings),our bodied go through many physical changes.Out hearts beat faster,and our muscled get tense.All of these changes make us more alert and ready to react.We,too get ready to defend ourselves or run.
Human beings,however,have a problem that animals never face.If we give way to our feelings and let them take over,we can get into trouble.Have you ever said something in anger—or hit somebody—and regretted it later? Have you ever shouted at a teacher,told somebody you were lonely,or said you were in love,and then wished later you had kept your mouth shut? It isn't always wise to express your feelings freely.
Does this mean that it's smarter always to hide our feelings? No! If you keep feelings of anger,sadness,and bitterness hidden away or bottled up inside,your body stays tense.Physical illness can develop,and you can feel churned up inside.It can actually be bad for your health.(It isn't good to keep pleasant feelings inside either;all feelings need to be expressed.)
Feelings that you keep all bottled up inside don't just go away.It's as if you bought some bananas and stuck them in a cupboard.You might not be able to see them,but before long you'd smell them.And if you opened the cupboard,chances are you'd see little fruit flies hovering all over them.They'd be rotten.
You can try to treat emotions as if they were bananas in the cupboard.You can hide them and you can pretend they don't exist,but they'll still be around.And at last you'll have to deal with them,just like those bananas.The best title for this article is _________.
| A．Emotions Affect Our Bodies | B．What Happens to a Frightened Cat |
| C．What Happens to An Excited Person | D．Feelings that People Have |
The underlined words “churned up” in the fourth paragraph mean _________.
| A．gradually they'll disappear | B．they won't exist any more |
| C．they will hover all over | D．your body stays tense |
The author wrote this article in order to _________.
| A．tell us that it isn't good to keep feelings inside |
| B．give us some advice on how to express our feelings |
| C．make us face the problem that we have to deal with feelings |
| D．make us know that it isn't always wise to express our feelings freely |
Look at this mail-order advertisement:
| SUNSHINE COMPANY Products for a Safe Environment |
|||
A2477—l You're going to love this natural soap.There are no chemicals in it.It is very good for your hands and face. |
D4545—GARDEN SPRAY Insects are going to run away from our new chiligarlic spray.It's safe and natural. |
||
| B2377—HOME CLEANERYou're not going to need 5 or 6 chemical cleaners.You have Dr Clean!It is safe and strong,and it cleans everything in your house! |
A2104—CANVAS BAG You're going to say,“No paper or plastic!”You have this excellent heavy canvas shopping bag. |
||
 |
item |
code |
price |
| Natural ampoo |
T6762 |
$3.00 |
|
| garden spray |
D4545 |
$2.50 |
|
| canvas bag |
A2104 |
$4.00 |
|
| hand soap |
A2477 |
$1.00 |
|
| home cleaner |
B2377 |
$2.25 |
|
| Postage:$3.50 |
Dr Clean is _________.
| A．an expert in cleaning everything | B．a newly-invented machine |
| C．a can of cleaning powder | D．a magic cloth for cleaning |
According to the ad,where can you mail your letter if you want something to kill the ants?
| A．D4545 Garden Spray. | B．Sunshine Company. |
| C．A2104 Canvas Bag. | D．The Dr Clean's. |
You're going to love the natural soap,because _________.
| A．it is cheap | B．it smells sweet |
| C．there are no chemicals | D．it is powerful |
According to the ad,how much do you have to pay for 3 shampoos and 2 canvas bags totally?
| A．＄12.25. | B．＄20.50. | C．＄13.50. | D．＄17. |