We have two daughters Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four. Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner. I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang. Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests’ coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom.
The guests arrived. I introduced my two daughters to each of them. The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids.
Each of the guests made a particular fuss over Kelly, the younger one, admiring her dress, her hair and her smile. They said she was a remarkable girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age.
I thought to myself that we adults usually make a big “to do” over the younger one because she’s the one who seems more easily hurt. We do it with the best of intentions.
But we seldom think of how it might affect the other child. I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was being outshined. I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes. I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying.
I said, “What are you doing, my dear?”
She turned to me with a sad expression and said, “Mommy, why don’t people like me the way they like my sister? Is it because I’m not pretty? Is that why they don’t say nice things about me as much?”
I tried to explain to her, kissing and hugging her to make her feel better.
Now, whenever I visit a friend’s home, I make it a point to speak to the elder child first.The underlined expression “make a big ‘to do’ over” (Paragraph 4) means __________.
| A．show much concern about | B．have a special effect on |
| C．list jobs to be done for | D．do good things for |
The guests praised Kelly for carrying coats upstairs because of her __________.
| A．beautiful hair | B．pretty clothes |
| C．lovely smile | D．young age |
Kristen felt sad and cried because __________.
| A．the guest gave her more coats to carry |
| B．she didn’t look as pretty as Kelly |
| C．the guests praised her sister more than her |
| D．her mother didn’t introduce her to the guests |
We can conclude from the passage that __________.
| A．parents should pay more attention to the elder children |
| B．the younger children are usually more easily hurt |
| C．people usually like the younger children more |
| D．adults should treat children equally |
Stand over there（）you'll be able to see it better.
| A． | or | B． | and | C． | but | D． | while |
There were smiling children all the way. Charily they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway, wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penang. Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives. This is the simple village people of Maiaysia. I was moved.
I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car, so this was the first time I was on a train. I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread. I looked about the train. There was not one familiar face. I sighed and sat down to read my Economics.
It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia. Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore, so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past. As we went beyond the city, I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green. Then the first village came into sight, Immediately I came alive; I decided to wave back.
From then on my journey became interesting. I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life. Then everything came alive. The mountains seemed to speak to me. Even the trees were smiling. I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time.
The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry. I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 pm. Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth. I looked at the people all around me. They all looked beautiful. When my uncle arrived with a smile, I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug (拥抱). I had never done this before. He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile. We walked arm in arm to his car.
I looked forward to the return journey
| 1． |
The author expected the train trip to be
|
| 2． |
What did the author remember most fondly of her train trip?
|
| 3． |
Which of the following words can best take the place of the word "relish" in the second paragraph?
|
| 4． |
Where was the writer going?
|
| 5． |
What can we learn from the story?
|
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题页上将该项涂黑。
Shakespeare's Birthplace and Exhibition of Shakespeare's World
Welcome to the world-famous house where William Shakespeare was born in l564 and
where he grew up The property(房产)remained in the ownership of Shakespeare's family until
1806 .The House has welcomed visitors traveling from all over the world ,for over 250 years.
◆Enter through the Visitors' Centre and see the highly-
praised exhibition Shakespeare's World，a lively and full
introduction to the life and work of Shakespeare
◆Stand in the rooms where Shakespeare grew up
◆Discover examples of furniture and needlework from
Shakespeare's period
◆Enjoy the traditional(传统的)English garden，planted
with trees and flower mentioned in the poet's works
pThe Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car
parks shown on the map；nearest is Windsor Street(3 minutes'
Walk)
㊣The House may present difficulties but the Visitors' Centre，
its exhibition．and the garden are accessible (可进入的)to wheelchair users
⊙The Shakespeare Coffee House(opposite the Birthplace)
| 1． |
How much is the admission for a family of two grown-ups and two children？
|
| 2． |
Where is the nearest parking place to Shakespeare's Birthplace？
|
| 3． |
A wheelchair user may need help to enter．
|
Science can't explain the power of pets, but many studies have shown that the company of pets can help lower blood pressure (血压) and raise chances of recovering from a heart attack, reduce loneliness and spread all-round good cheer.
Any owner will tall you how much joy a pet brings. For some, an animal provides more comfort than a husband/wife. A 2002 study by Karen Allen of the State University of New York measured stress (紧张) levels and blood pressure in people - half of them pet owners -while they performed 5 minutes of mental arithmetic (算术) or held a hand in ice water. Subjects completed the tasks alone, with a husband/wife, a close friend or with a pet. People with pets did it best. Those tested with their ani
mal friends had smaller change in blood pressure and returned most quickly to baseline heart rates. With pets in the room, people also made fewer math mistakes than when doing in front of other companions. It seems people feel more relaxed (放松)around pets, says Allen, who thinks it may be because pets don't judge.
A study reported last fall suggests that having a pet dog not only raises your spirits but may also have an effect on your eating habits. Researchers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital spent a year studying 36 fat people and their equally fat dogs on diet-and-exercise programs; a separate group of 56 people without pets were put on a diet program. On average, people lost about I1 pounds, or 5% of their body weight. Their dogs did even better, losing an average of 12 pounds, more than 15% of their body weight. Dog owners didn't lose any more weight than those without dogs but, say researchers, got more exercise overall-mostly with their dogs - and found it worth doing.
| 1． |
What does the text mainly discuss?
|
| 2． |
We learn from the text that a person with heart disease has a better chance of getting well if
|
| 3． |
According to Allen, why did the people do better with pets around when facing stressful tasks?
|
| 4． |
The research mentioned in the last paragraph reports that
|
Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws (爪) on its wings
when young. They build their homes about 4.6m above the river, an important feature (特征) for the safety of the young. It is called the hoatzin.
In appearance, the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside. The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the common birds, cuckoos. Its most striking feature, though, is only found in the young.
Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip. Using these four claws, together with the beak (喙), they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive birds must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lose their claws.
During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.
| 1． |
What is the text mainly about?
|
| 2． |
Young hoatzins are different from their parents in that
|
| 3． |
What can we infer about primitive birds from the text?
|
| 4． |
Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?
|
s