Most people want to be happy, but few know how to find happiness. Money and success alone do not bring lasting happiness. Aristotle, a Greek thinker, said, “Happiness depends on be happier.
The first secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. Too often, we spend so much time thinking about the future — for example, getting into college or getting a good job — that we fail to enjoy the present. You should enjoy life’s simple pleasures, such as reading a good book, listening to your favorite music, or spending time with close friends. People who have several close friends often live happier and healthier lives.
Another secret to living a happy life is to be active, and have hobbies where you forget your problems and time. Many people experience dancing, or playing a sport, such as swimming. You can forget about your problems, and only think about the activity.
Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. Studies show that people feel good when they spend their time helping others. If you want to feel happier, do good things for someone. You can help a friend with his or her studies, go shopping to buy food for an elderly person, or simply help out around the house by washing the dishes. The second paragraph tells us that ________.
| A．we shouldn’t think about our future |
| B．some people fail to live a happy life |
| C．happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life |
| D．the more friends you have, the happier you will be |
The passage gives us ________ pieces of advice on happiness.
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?
| A．Reading a good book |
| B．Traveling to a foreign country |
| C．Playing a sport |
| D．Spending time with close friends |
Studies show that if you are (interest) in something, your brain is more active and it is also easier for you
(pay) attention to it for a long time. Good learners often connect what they need
(learn) with something interesting. For example, if they need to learn English and they like music or sports, they
(listen) to English songs or watch sports problems in English. This way they
(not get) bored.
Remember, “Use it or lose it.” Even if you learn something well, you (forget) it unless you use it. “Practice
(make) perfect”. Good learners will keep practicing what they
(learn), and they are not afraid of
(make) mistakes. Bell did not invent the telephone overnight. He succeeded by
(try) many times and learning from his mistakes.
Most dictionaries will tell you a number of things about a language. There are three important things. These three things are spelling, pronunciation and meanings.
First, a dictionary will tell you the spelling of a world. If you are not sure about the spelling of a word, you can try to find the correct spelling in a dictionary. Words are listed in alphabetical order—a,b,c and so on. For example, on a dictionary page the word “poor”—p,o,o,r – comes before “poverty”—p,o,v,e,r,t,y—and the word “poverty” comes before “ power”—p,o,w,e,r. The words are always given in an alphabetical order.
The second thing, a dictionary will tell you pronunciation. Most give phonetic, or sound, alphabet. The phonetic spelling will tell you how a word is pronounced. There are a few different phonetic alphabets. Many dictionaries use the International Phonetic Alphabet to show pronunciation.
The third thing, a dictionary will tell you the meaning of words. You can look up a word and find out what it means. Many words have more than one meaning, and a good dictionary will tell you all of the word’s meaning. For example, in English the common word “get” has over 20 different meanings.In the passage, which of the following is among the three important things?
| A．How to write a word well. |
| B．How to use a word. |
| C．How to make a sentence. |
| D．How to read a word correctly. |
Of the three words "remove", " remote" and "remount", _____ in a dictionary.
| A．"remote" comes first and "remove" comes last |
| B．"remove" first and "remote" last |
| C．"remote" first and "remove" last |
| D．"remove" first and "remount" last |
Many words have ______.
| A．several meanings |
| B．few meanings |
| C．one meaning |
| D．no meaning |
A better dictionary can tell you _____.
A. more of word's pronunciation
B. more of the word's meanings
C more of the word's spelling.
D more of grammarPhonetic alphabets are used to show _____.
| A．spelling | B．handwriting |
| C．meanings | D．pronunciation |
“Did you go skating a lot last year?” I asked. Jen shook her head and looked at me. Finally she said, “On Thanksgiving, Mom and I always went to visit some friends who lived on a farm. I especially loved seeing their big turkeys.”
Until then, I didn’t think about how Jen felt. She had a new stepfather (继父) and stepbrother, and had a new town and home, too. Jen and her mom used to live near a lake where Dad and I went every summer, and she had to move up north with us. She had more changes than me.
Jen seemed sad, so I was busy thinking of some ways to cheer her up on Thanksgiving. I told her my plan and she was excited. First we made a huge snowball, and then a small snowball. Then we built a wall behind the big snowball as a tail. Jen mixed some food coloring with water, saying, “We can spray (喷) colors on the tail.” Our snow turkey had a red, blue, green, and yellow tail. We were so busy that we didn’t notice our parents come outside. Dad found a hat for the snow turkey, and Mom wrapped her scarf around its neck.
“Thanks for cheering Jen up,” Mom said. “You’re a good brother, and you always come up with great ideas.’’ A happy feeling spread through me. I began to understand how much she cared about everyone in our new family.What did Jen do on Thanksgiving in the past?
| A．She went skating with her friends. |
| B．She went to the farm with her mother. |
| C．She stayed at home with her mother. |
| D．She made snow turkeys with her mother. |
What can we learn from the second paragraph?
| A．Jen lived near a lake in the past. |
| B．The writer was Jen’s stepfather. |
| C．Jen moved up north for studying. |
| D．The writer just moved out of his old house. |
How many people are there in Jen’s new family?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
Which of the following is the right order?
①made a small snowball
②found a hat
③made a huge snowball
④sprayed colors on the tail
⑤wrapped a scarf around the neck
⑥built a wall behind the big snowball
| A．①③⑥④②⑤ | B．①②③④⑤⑥ |
| C．③①⑥④②⑤ | D．③①⑥②④⑤ |
What can we infer (推断) from the underlined sentence?
| A．Jen’s stepmother was not friendly to the writer. |
| B．Jen didn’t feel happy after moving here. |
| C．Jen’s mother did a lot to make Jen happy. |
| D．The writer felt happy because his stepmother liked him. |
Are you learning English and do you need help with grammar? Do you want to learn new vocabulary or slang (俚语)? Well, you can find help online with these top 5 free English as a Second Language websites.
Dave’s ESL Café
This is a complete website that can help you learn and practice English. You can read many stories and do a lot of exercises to test your self. You c an also post questions and answers onto the help center.
About.com
You can get free English courses from About.com and you’ll get regular e-mails that will help you learn English.
The Classroom by Voice of America
You can watch videos and listen to news stories to improve your listening and vocabulary skills. You can also hear English words and their meanings.
Heinle’s Newbury House Dictionary of American English
Do you need to find the definition of a word? Use this online dictionary to find simple and clear definitions, as well as example sentences and idioms (习语). You can also find different cultural facts.
Perso nal English Portal (门户网站) on YouTube
You can watch this series of videos on YouTube to develop your listening skills. You can also do a search for “learn English” on YouTube to find other videos. This is a good way to practice English and have fun.If you want to do English exercises and test yourself, you can go to.
| A．About.com | B．YouTube |
| C．Dave’s ESL Cafe | D．the Classroom by Voice of America |
You canat the help center on the website Dave’s ESL Cafe.
| A．watch videos and pictures |
| B．listen to news and music |
| C．watch movies and matches |
| D．read questions and answers |
About.com often sends e-mails to its visitors to help them.
| A．get relaxed | B．have fun |
| C．become famous | D．learn English |
The underlined word “definition” means “” in Chinese.
| A．来源 | B．释义 |
| C．意图 | D．背景 |
From Heinle’s Newbury House Dictionary of American English, you can find .
| A．cultural information | B．online libraries |
| C．interesting news | D．many storybooks |
Autistic (患自闭症的) children may learn better from robots than from human beings, according to a study at a school in Birmingham.
Two robots like humans, Max and Ben, have been helping teach autistic children at Sutcliffe Primary School since March last year. The school is the first in the UK to try the new way.
Ian Lowe, the head teacher, said, “The robots have no feelings, so autistic children find that they are less terrible than their teachers.”
He added, “They are really cute-looking. Autistic children are hard to communicate with adults and other children, but for some reasons they like these robots.
“Some children are not able to communicate with others. But they come into school and start to communicate through the robots.”
The robots are knee-high and move like children. The school is using them to teach phonics (声学) and play cards or memory and imitation (模仿) games with children from five to ten.
Dr Guldberg said, “We do many different activities with the robots acting as a model (模特) for the children’s behavior. It is amazing to see how interested and concentrated the children can be when they are working with the robots. It can be very difficult to get autistic children to concentrate.”
He added, “If you can meet the needs of autistic children, you can meet the needs of all children. And you know, when people feel safe and interested, they learn much better.”According to Ian Lowe, teachers arein autistic children’s eyes.
| A．kind | B．serious |
| C．terrible | D．strict |
Which is TRUE about Max and Ben?
| A．They are robots with feelings. |
| B．The can move like teachers. |
| C．They are interested in autistic children. |
| D．They can make autistic children concentrate. |
The school uses the two robots to teach the following things EXCEPT______.
| A．phonics | B．playing cards |
| C．imitation games | D．sports games |
The best title for the passage is________.
| A．Robots help autistic children learn |
| B．Two cute-looking robots |
| C．How to help autistic children learn |
| D．Autistic children can learn |