Once upon a time, there was a lovely vegetable field, on which grew a very thick tree. Both the vegetables and the tree gave the place a wonderful appearance, which was the joy of the garden’s owner. What no one knew was that the vegetables in the field and the tree couldn’t stand each other. The vegetables hated the tree’s shadow, because it left them only just enough light to survive. The tree, on the other hand, hated the vegetables because they drank nearly all the water before it could get to him, leaving him with just enough to survive.
The situation became so extreme that the vegetables got totally fed up and decided to use up all the water in the ground so that the tree would dry up. The tree answered back by refusing to give the vegetables shadow from the hot midday sun, so they both began to dry up. Before long, the vegetables were really thin and the tree’s branches were drying up.
Neither of them thought that the gardener, on seeing his vegetable field becoming worse, would stop watering it. When he did that, both the tree and the vegetables really learned what thirst was. There seemed to be no solution, but one of the vegetables, a small courgette（小胡瓜）, understood what was going on, and decided to deal with it. Despite the little water and the unbearable heat, the little courgette did all he could to grow, grow...He managed to grow so big that the gardener started watering the field again. The gardener wanted to enter that beautiful big courgette in some gardening contest.
And so the vegetables and the tree realized that it was better to help each other than to fight. They should really learn how to live in harmony with those around them, doing the best they could. So they decided to work together, using both the shadow and the water in the best combination to grow good vegetables. Seeing how well they were doing, the gardener now gave the best of care to his vegetable field, watering it better than any other field for miles around.What is the problem between the tree and the vegetables?
| A．They looked down upon each other. |
| B．They didn’t leave water to each other. |
| C．They couldn’t stand each other. |
| D．They didn’t know how to protect themselves. |
What is the result of the fight between the tree and the vegetables?
| A．They grew taller and stronger. |
| B．They were both drying up. |
| C．The tree defeated the vegetables. |
| D．The vegetables defeated the tree. |
The courgette thought of ways to solve the conflict by .
| A．making peace with the tree |
| B．working together with other vegetables |
| C．entering the gardening contests |
| D．growing big enough |
What can we learn from this passage?
| A．We ought to live in harmony with others. |
| B．We ought to save as much water as possible. |
| C．We ought to learn from each other in some ways. |
| D．We ought to learn to respect each other. |
It was once unheard-of to be a businessman in China. Nowadays, though, it’s quite common to become your own boss. Let’s say you have an idea. Maybe you want to open an English school or sell Japanese comics. First, you need a business plan. It sets out what you’ll sell and how much everything will cost. Most businesses that fail didn’t have this. If you need to borrow money at the start, banks will ask for a detailed plan.
The best starting place for a business plan is the 4Ps: product, place, price and promotion. All these must be strong to be successful.
Product
Your product must have something unique. What makes it special compared to other similar products? If you want to start a noodle shop that has nothing new, don’t expect people to show much interest. You can research your product. For food, let people try it for free. For toys, let a few children play with them to see if they like them.
Place
There’s no point having a product that people want to buy if your shop is in an empty mall. Think about which type of person is going to buy what you sell. Where do they usually go shopping? When looking at possible places, spend the day there. See how many people pass by. Also, are there other shops nearby selling similar products? If so, how can you be better than them?
Price
Work out how much it costs to make or provide your product. As a general rule, your price will be double the cost. After all, you’re also paying for rent, staff and you need to eat too!
Promotion
How can you attract people to your shop? Advertising in newspapers and on TV is expensive. Perhaps you can get free advertising by getting a newspaper to write about your business.What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．How to start a business. |
| B．Starting a business soon. |
| C．Starting your own business. |
| D．Preparations for starting a business. |
According to the author, the reason why most businesses fail is due to lack of ________.
| A．a business plan | B． a shop | C． money | D． successful businessmen |
If you want to start a noodle shop, you should ________.
| A．expect people to show much interest |
| B．research your noodles |
| C．let people try it at a low price |
| D．let children have a try |
What does “If so” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
| A．There are shops selling the goods like yours. |
| B．Many people pass by. |
| C．You should think about which type of person is going to buy what you sell. |
| D．You should spend the day on possible places. |
You are selling toys to children. It costs 5 yuan to make each one. How much should you charge the children for each toy?
| A．15 yuan. | B． 5 yuan. | C． 10 yuan. | D． 50 yuan. |
"The Chinese Dream" is a hot topic of this year. Many Chinese young people are inspired by the Chinese Dream. Everyone has their own dreams. They give us courage and confidence to keep us going through difficulties. Here are some advice on how to realize our beautiful dreams.
Never giving up is the key to make our dreams come true. We may fail from time to time, but we can learn from failure, correct our mistakes and try again until we achieve our goals. Our life is like a long journey which is not all roses. It sometimes has wind and rain. We believe rainbows will appear after storms.
Cooperation is also necessary. Everyone likes a person who is good at cooperating with others. Besides, in our society most problems can't be solved by one person alone. Cooperation is becoming one of the most important ways for people living in the developing society.
At the same time, we should learn to examine our abilities because it helps us know our advantages and disadvantages as well as get a full control of ourselves. Then we may be confident enough to face challenges.
Follow the suggestions above, and our dreams are sure to come true.How many suggestions of making dreams come true are mentioned in this passage?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
The underlined word "It" in the second paragraph refers to
| A．never giving up our dreams | B．our life |
| C．a long journey | D．learning from failure |
Which is the best title for this passage?
| A．The Chinese Dream |
| B．Cooperation is Necessary |
| C．Examine Our Abilities |
| D．Advice on How to Realize Our Beautiful Dreams. |
Water is the most common substance(物质) found on the earth, but less than 1% of the earth’s water is suitable for drinking. More than 1,000,000,000 people around the world survive on just over 1 galon of water a day. Probebly more than 3,000,000,000 people may suffer from not having enough water by the year 2025. You are considered lucky if you live in a country where you can drink water out of your kitchen tap or bathroom tap. People in some countries have to pay for drinking water at home. So clean water is one of our most valuabe natural resources(资源).
In fact, peole waste so much clean water today. In factories lots of water is wasted. At home many people are not taking showers but still baths, and many are brushing their teeth with the tap turned on. Children are no longer taught how to save water….
You can save clean water in many ways. For example, if you keep gold fish, the tank water excellent for graden plants. And when you wash a milk bottle, pour the water on your house plants. Putting a brick or a water into your toilet tank many help use less water, saving many gallons over a long time.
Using rainwater is another simple way to save clean water. You can use rainwater to wash your hands after gardening, flush the toilet, and wash your car, your pet, your driveway when they are dirty.
For the same reason, people in Malaysia are encourageed to use rainwater. If one has a house with a small garden, he would buy a huge plastic tank to keep rainwater for their daily life.We can learn from the passage ______.
| A．when man can’t live without water |
| B．where there is no water resource |
| C．why there is less water on the earth |
| D．how important it is to save water |
According to the passage, one of the ways to save water is _______.
| A．to stop keeping gold fish |
| B．to pay much for drinking water |
| C．to use it in a clever way |
| D．to educate those who waste water |
The underlined word “flush” in Paragraph 4 means “_______”.
| A．clean something with water |
| B．pour water over something |
| C．make somehting wet with water |
| D．get water out of someghing |
People are ecouraged to use rainwater _______.
| A．so that is can make our life easier |
| B．so that clean water can be kept for other uses |
| C．because is it free and easy to get |
| D．because there is no claen water left for them |
Over thirty thousand years ago，people from northern Asia （亚洲北部） went to America．Today， we call these people Indians（印第安人）．
The Indians went to America because the weather began to change．Northern Asia became very cold. Everything froze. They had to move or die. How did the first Indians go to America? They walked！
Later Columbus found the New World in 1492．At first，only a few Europeans followed（跟随）．They travelled to America in boats． For the next three hundred years， about 500，000 people went there． Then the number grew very quickly. From 1815 to 1915，over thirty－two million Europeans left their countries and went to the United States． The biggest groups were from Germany and Italy（意大利）．These Europeans spoke many different languages．Most of them took almost no money．They went to America so that they could find a better life． __________ went to America first．
| A．People from northern Asia | B．People from Europe |
| C．People from Germany | D．Columbus |
Why did the Indians go to America? Because __________．
| A．northern Asia became very hot |
| B．northern Asia became very cold |
| C．they were interested in America |
| D．they liked travelling |
The New World was ___________．
| A．Italy | B．northern Asia |
| C．Germany | D．America |
The first Europeans went to America _______________．
| A．by ship | B．by bike | C．by boat | D．by train |
Having a teenager at home can be a real headache. Many teenagers smoke, drink and even fight. They often do something dangerous.
Earlier studies have shown that teenagers are more likely (可能) to make irrational decisions than people from any other age group, including children and adults. Is it that teenagers are too young to tell right from wrong? Not really. So what’s the reason?
According to Laurence, a teacher from a US university, the reason is that teenagers care a lot about how their peers (同龄人) view them—that is “peer influence”.
As children enter their teenage years, they spend more time with their friends and classmates, and also they care more about what they think of them. This makes teenagers make decisions without thinking about the costs.
In a test, a group of teenagers were asked to play a video driving game. When they played with their friends watching around them, they took more chances and drove more carelessly because that would increase their possibility of winning. But when they played alone, they drove more safely.
Why do peers have such a big influence on teens’ behavior?
As Laurence sees it, a teenager’s brain is like a car with a good accelerator (油门) but a weak brake (刹车). The “accelerator” is fully developed by teenage years while the “brake” is still not fully developed. When teenagers are watched by their peers, they usually push hard on the accelerator. With their weak brake, it is likely that they are going to end up in an accident.
But the good news is that a violent (暴力的)teenager doesn’t necessarily become a violent adult. About two-thirds to three-quarters of violent youth grow out of it. “They get more self-controlled.”What does the underlined word “irrational” in the 2nd paragraph mean?
| A．Quick. | B．Crazy. | C．Careful. | D．Correct. |
Why are teenagers likely to make wrong decisions according to the text?
| A．They like difficult tasks. |
| B．They don’t care about costs. |
| C．They are too young to tell right from wrong. |
| D．They care a lot about what their peers think of them. |
How does Laurence explain the influence of peer pressure on teens’ behavior?
| A．By comparing it with how a car works. |
| B．By comparing it with an accident. |
| C．By showing research findings. |
| D．By giving examples. |
According to the text, with peers around them, teenagers are more likely to _______ .
| A．use more self-control |
| B．perform better than when they are alone |
| C．become more careful about what they do |
| D．care about winning without thinking about danger |