Watson entered Mr. Smith's office. The boss was a hard man. He fired people who didn't do well without giving them a second chance.
"Watson," said Mr. Smith, "this past year your department hasn't earned money. We're going to drop that department. It's finished. I’m sorry, —but you'll have to go." "But, sir — if I just had a little more time. For the moment I need the job to keep my son at Riverside School."
"What's that!" said the boss. "Riverside! I didn't know you had a boy there. That's an expensive school for a man with your salary."
"I know, sir. But he likes it there so much! He's a star athlete and the best boxer in the school. The boys call him Champ (冠军)there."
The boss sat perfectly still for a long time — a faraway (恍惚的) look in his eyes. Then, suddenly, he said, "We've got to close your department, Watson. But you'll take over a new job in another department. It means longer hours—maybe more pay. Now get out. You're here for life."
Watson got out, with surprise on his face. Then the boss took a letter from the top drawer of his desk. It was Herbie's last letter from Riverside School —written a few days before he died. He had read it over and over again with sick pain. The letter read:
I can’t say the boys here are any nicer to me than the others were. I guess it's the same everywhere when you're a cripple (跛脚的人). But don't worry about me, Dad. They've got a good chemistry department here. And there’s one boy here who is really great. He's a track star and boxing champ and just tops in chemistry. The boys call him Champ. He made them stop throwing my books around. And he knocked a boy down who hit me. He is the best friend I ever had. Dad, when I grow up, I want to do something for Champ. Something big — that he won’t even know about.
Your son,
HerbieMr. Smith wanted to fire Watson because _____.
| A．Watson would take over a new job in another department |
| B．Watson had his son study in Riverside School |
| C．Watson's son knocked a boy down who hit Herbie |
| D．Watson's department didn't earn money that year |
We can learn from the text that _____.
| A．Mr. Smith didn't know that Champ was Watson's son at first |
| B．Mr. Smith was told not to fire Watson by Herbie |
| C．Mr. Smith decided to give Watson another chance in no time |
| D．Mr. Smith wanted to realize Champ's dream |
According to the text, which words can best describe Mr. Smith?
| A．Sympathetic and grateful. | B．Selfish and greedy. |
| C．Hardworking and strict. | D．Easy-going and optimistic. |
The author wrote the text in order to _____.
| A．make our children enjoy life |
| B．share a moving story with us |
| C．provide us with tips on work |
| D．help us to deal with our boss |
There is a problem discussed by people about whether parents should hit their children? Or should they ever beat them?
Research suggests many of us are likely to respond “no”, and public support for spanking（打屁股）has been falling over the years. But surveys also show that 75 percent to nearly 90 percent of parents admit to spanking their child at least once.
I was raised in a zero-tolerance home for disrespect, and my parents often turned to physical punishment. And, no, I don’t feel I was damaged by it.
Nothing is more annoying than watching ill-mannered behavior from children.
But there is data to suggest that a return to old-school spanking isn't the answer.
Two years ago, Newsweek reported that it had found data suggesting that teens whose parents used physical punishment were more likely to become aggressive.
Murray Straus, professor at the University of New Hampshire in America, has studied the topic of children and spanking for decades. He said that children who were physically punished have lower IQs than their peers. It may be that children with lower IQs were more likely to get spanked, but the punishment may have been counterproductive（反作用的）to their mental development, as well.
Some researchers make the argument that occasional open-handed smacks（用巴掌打）on the bottom are not only harmless but can have some benefit.
Last year, Marjorie Gunnoe, a psychologist at Calvin College, studied teens who have never been spanked. There are a greater number of children growing up without ever having been physically punished. Gunnoe’s research suggests they don’t turn out any better than those who were sometimes spanked.
There are some parents who simply cannot control their tempers（脾气）. But I still believe that the best parents are the ones who are able to offer fair and firm discipline without ever turning to physical punishment.According to the first three paragraphs, the author was probably hit by her parents when __________.
| A．they were dissatisfied with her grade |
| B．they cannot control their temper |
| C．she showed no respect for the elder |
| D．their discipline turns out to be not strict enough |
According to Murray Straus, children who are physically punished __________.
| A．are less aggressive toward others when they get older |
| B．may develop lower IQs than their peers |
| C．benefit from occasional spanking |
| D．have slower physical development |
The author seems to agree that __________.
| A．parents should determine whether a child needs to be smacked or not |
| B．children who have been spanked tend to behave better than those who haven't |
| C．physical punishment should be the last resort （手段）of any parent |
| D．good parents discipline their children in a fair and reasonable way |
Perhaps Joe Cheng has become popular with thousands of fans and has been chased by girls and middles students. But do you know his resume(简历)?
Yes. Joe Cheng, who plays the most popular boy in high school in the popular Taiwanese drama “It Started with a Kiss.”
Although thousands of girls have fallen in love with him for his cute smile and strong body, Cheng, 27, doesn’t want to rest on his good looks. He made the move from modeling to acting six years ago, and now he is trying another career－this time, to be a singer. Cheng worked on his first album, “Joe Cheng’s Day”, for a year. It came out on September 7.
Apart from recording his CD, Cheng has been practicing dance moves for his music video. Given his height, 188cm, this was not an easy job. “I had bad dreams about dancing,” he said.
Cheng’s life has had many ups and downs. His parents divorced when he was in primary school and he has lived with his father ever since. After dropping out of high school, he took on all kinds of jobs before being spotted by a scout（星探）for a modeling agency. Cheng said his key to life is “keeping a positive outlook and making the most out of life.”
Cheng admitted that he got bad grades when he was in high school. But he was still very popular at school. “Being very active in the students union, I was elected president. I liked to organize parties and field trips, so many teachers and students knew me,” he said.
Cheng once dreamed of becoming a cartoonist, and he regrets that he never did it. Now he hopes his teenage fans can learn from his life. “When you are in school, just focus on studies,” Cheng said. “Every young heart is eager to explore the world outside. But take your time. Finish your studies first.”Which of the following can be the best title for this text?
| A．Finish Your Study First. |
| B．Life Is Full of Ups and Downs. |
| C．He Has It All, but Still Has Regrets. |
| D．The Key to Success. |
What career didn’t Joe Cheng try?
| A．Acting in some dramas. | B．Dancing for an agency. |
| C．Modeling for an agency. | D．Recording his own CDs. |
The underlined word “outlook” in Paragraph 4 means __________.
| A．attitude | B．scene | C．fame | D．appearance |
Which of the correct order of these events?
a. Joe Cheng dropped out of high school.
b. Joe Cheng worked on his first album, “Joe Cheng’s Day”.
c. Joe Cheng’s parents divorced.
d. Joe Cheng played the most popular boy in “It started with a Kiss”.
e. Joe Cheng worked in a modeling agency.
| A．acedb | B．caebd | C．caedb | D．Acebd |
I travel a lot, and I find out different “styles” of directions every time 1 ask “How can I get to the post office?”
Foreign tourists are often confused in Japan because most streets there don’t have names; in Japan, people use landmarks in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat; in many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.”
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map; they measure distance in time, not miles. “How far away is the post office?” you ask. “Oh,” they answer, “it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “Yes, but how many miles away is it?” They don’t know.
It’s true that a person doesn’t know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, ‘Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “I don’t know.” People in Yucatan believe that “I don’t know” is impolite, They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place they usually _________
| A．describe the place carefully |
| B．refer to recognizable buildings and places |
| C．show him a map of the place |
| D．tell him the names of the streets |
Which is the place where people measure distance in time?
| A．New York. | B．Kansas. |
| C．Los Angeles. | D．Iowa. |
People in Yucatan may give a tourist a wrong answer ________
| A．in order to save time | B．as a test |
| C．for fun | D．so as to be polite |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．It’s useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly. |
| B．People have similar understandings of politeness. |
| C．It’s important for travelers to understand cultural differences. |
| D．New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors. |
Can you imagine a world without the Internet? It’s surprising to think about it.
Now, China has more than 162 million Internet users, according to the China Internet Network Information Centre. This is the second highest number of user in the world after the United States. Today, 66%of Chinese “netizens （网民）” are teenagers. “They spend about thirteen hours every week online,” said Qian Hulin, an Internet expert(专家). Doctor Song in Beijing Xuanwu Hospital said about 14% of Chinese netizens who are teens often lasted over ten hours to play online games.
The main reasons why teenagers surf the Web are to search for information, to communicate with others and to have fun. On the Internet, teenagers can find out almost anything. And surfing the Web can help students with their homework and widen their knowledge.
Li Dong, a teacher at No. 41 Middle School in Shijiazhuang, likes her students to use the Internet. “When we talk in class, students who surf the Net usually know more background information than the others,” she said.
In addition, people can use the Internet to write letters or stories and send emails. Many teens keep in touch with their friends online. It is cheaper than phoning somebody far away and also much quicker._______ has the most Internet users in the world according to the article.
| A．China | B．America | C．Canada | D．Russia |
There are about _______ Chinese netizens to surf about 13 hours every week.
| A．107 million old | B．22.7 million old |
| C．107 million young | D．22.7 million young |
Song said some teenagers continued _______ more than ten hours.
| A．playing online games |
| B．searching for information |
| C．chatting with their friends |
| D．sending emails to others |
Li Dong in No. 41 Middle School likes her students to use the Internet because she ______.
| A．thinks surfing the net can help students spend less time on homework |
| B．thinks her students can get more background information than the others |
| C．wants her students to talk to her about their hobbies and interests |
| D．wants to know what her students do and think about at home |
Which way is the cheapest and quickest to learn something about friends far away?
| A．Giving them a call. |
| B．Going to see them. |
| C．Writing a letter to them. |
| D．Sending emails to them. |
Doctor Seuss was born in 1904. By the middle 1950s, he had become one of the best-loved and most successful children's book writers in the world. His books are very popular with young readers. They enjoy the invented words and the pictures of unusual funny animals and plants.
In 1954, life magazine published(刊登) a report about school children who could not read. The report said many children's books were not interesting. Doctor Seuss strongly hoped to help children and decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read. He used words with the same ending sound, like fish and wish. He did not receive training in art. Yet, he drew the pictures for most of his books.
In 1957, Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 230 words to write the book and even a six-year-old should be able to read it. It was a fun story and easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it, too. Today it is still one of the stories they like best. The success of The Cat in the Hat made him want to write more books for children. In 1960, he wrote a book using less than fifty words. The book is called Green Eggs and Ham.
In 1984, Doctor Seuss won a Pulitzer Prize (普利策奖). He was honored for the education and enjoyment his books provided American children and their parents.
He died at the age of 87, but his influence remains. Millions of his books have been sold worldwide. People say his books helped change the way American children learned to read. Yet, his books are loved by people of all ages. Doctor Seuss once said, "I do not write for children. I write for people.Doctor Seuss learned from the magazine that _______.
| A．some school children could not read |
| B．many children's books were interesting |
| C．children wanted to learn to read |
| D．a writer for children was wanted |
People like his books because the books ______.
| A．are cheap and easy to get |
| B．were written in different languages |
| C．are easy and interesting to read |
| D．were written with invented words |
He wrote the book The Cat in the Hat at the age of _____.
| A．50 | B．53 | C．56 | D．87 |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Doctor Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham with over 230 words. |
| B．Doctor Seuss wrote books only for children in the United States. |
| C．The Cat in the Hat was written only for six-year-old children. |
| D．His books provided education and enjoyment for Americans. |
From the text we know that Doctor Seuss __________.
| A．won a Pulitzer Prize soon after his death |
| B．sold millions of his books himself worldwide |
| C．changed American children's way of reading |
| D．wrote the largest number of books in the world |