One day last summer, watching the boys and girls trying to catch butterflies I remembered something happened when I was young. When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.
We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. No musician can sing more beautiful than the birds. I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way would have my own private musician.
I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, the bird flew about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.
I had left the cage out, and on the second day my new pet’s mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I about how to feed her baby.
The following morning when I went to see how my bird was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened! I had taken good care of my little bird.
Arthur Wayne, the famousornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time. Hearing me crying over the death of my bird, he explained what had occurred. “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poisonous (有毒的) berries(干果). She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in cage.”
Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.Why did the writer catch a mockingbird when he was a boy of 12?
| A．He had just got a new cage. |
| B．He liked its beautiful feather. |
| C．He wanted a pet for a companion. |
| D．He wanted it to sing for him. |
The mockingbird died because it ______.
| A．drank the poisonous water by mistake |
| B．was frightened to death |
| C．ate the poisonous food its mother gave it |
| D．refused to eat anything |
What is the most important lesson the writer learned from the incident?
| A．Freedom is very valuable to all living things. |
| B．All birds put in a cage won’t live long. |
| C．You should keep the birds from their mother. |
| D．Be careful about food you give to baby birds. |
King’s College Summer School
King’s College Summer School is an annual(每年的) training program for high school students at all levels who want to improve their English. Courses are given by the teachers of King’s College and other colleges in New York. Trips to museums and culture centers are also organized. This year’s summer school will be from July 25 to August 15.
More information is as follows:
| Application (申请) date ·Students in New York should send their applications before July 18, 2008. ·Students of other cities should send their applications before July 16, 2008. ·Foreign students should send their applications before July 10, 2008. |
Courses ·English Language Spoken English: 22 hours Reading and Writing: 10 hours ·American History: 16 hours ·American Culture: 16 hours |
| Steps ·A letter of self-introduction ·A letter of recommendation(推荐) ﹡ The letters should be written in English with all the necessary information. |
Cost ·Daily lessons: $200 ·Sports and activities: $100 ·Travels: $200 ·Hotel service: $400 ﹡You may choose to live with your friends or relatives in the same city. |
| Please write to: Thompson, Sanders 1026 King’ s Street New York, NY 10016, USA E-mail: KC-Summer-School@ yahoo, com |
You can most probably read the text in ________.
| A．a travel guide | B．a newspaper | C．a textbook | D．a telephone book |
Which of the following is true about King’ s College Summer School?
| A．Only top students can take part in the program. |
| B．Visits to museums and culture centers are part of the program. |
| C．King’ s College Summer School is run every other year. |
| D．Only the teachers of King’ s College give courses. |
If you are to live with your relatives in New York, you will have to pay the school ________.
| A．$500 | B．$400 | C．$200 | D．$900 |
What information can you get from the text?
| A．The program will last two months. |
| B．You can get in touch with the school by e-mail or by telephone |
| C．As a Chinese student, you can send your application on July 14, 2008. |
| D．You can write to Thompson only in English. |
Light for the City
Edison and his assistants came to New York to set up an electric power system. They hoped it would provide enough electricity to light up a part of the great city.
They bought several machines with them. These were called generators(发电机), which produced electricity power for lamps in Edison’s building.
Soon there were lights for the building. Edison lived in a room facing the street and he often worked over night. The light burned brightly and steadily and he often worked over night. People often came and stopped their horse-drawn carriage to look. Everyone knew that Thomas Edison was in town.
First, the inventor and his assistants produced several large generators. A great deal of power would be needed to light up even a small part of the city. Then the workers were busy digging deep trenches in the hard earth below the city streets, and Edison had fourteen miles of wire laid into the trenches. The wire connected each building to a generator.
Setting up an electric power system was not an easy job. It took a year and a half. In September, 1882, the job was finished.
A small group of men stood around Edison inside the power house. The big moment came at last. The inventor, taking a deep breath, pulled a switch. The electric lights flashed up.
“Very good! Very good!” a man nearby shouted to praise Edison for what he had done.
“Sir,” said Edison, “this is only the beginning!” And Edison was right. Soon Edison’s lamp were lighting up cities all over the world.The generators they brought with them could produce as much as electricity as ______ needed.
| A．Edison’s building | B．a small part of the city |
| C．the whole city | D．the world |
Trenches were dug to ______.
| A．set up generators | B．lay wires | C．built city streets | D．build a power house |
It took a year and a half to ______.
| A．set up the electric system |
| B．produce several large generators |
| C．dig the deep trenches |
| D．lay fourteen miles of wire into the trench |
Edison took a deep breath before pulling a switch, which showed that he was ______.
| A．excited | B．frightened | C．uneasy | D．light-hearted |
阅读下面短文,根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填人最恰当的单词。 注意：每个空格只填一个单词。
A debate is a discussion about a subject on which people have different views. It’s a nice way of gaining a lot of knowledge and views on a topic, or situation that we aren’t either aware of, or haven’t really looked into in detail. It makes you more able to think critically and more confident in speaking. In addition, it helps in appreciating tolerance of others’ opinion and improves your listening skills.
A debate requires one to know how to use words and intelligence to overcome his or her opposing team members. To give great arguments during a debate, first you need to get your facts right. To make what you have in material for a debate contain facts, don’t just depend on the Internet, especially avoid just referring to one website for all your information. You are also required to refer to books, and make sure they’re authors of a high degree, since their materials have reference notes and extensive research projects done on what they are covering.
Second, you should be full of confidence. You need to show that you’re sure of what you’re saying , and point out how flawed their comeback arguments were. The only way to do this is to thoroughly know your material before heading on out to a debate session. Know your statistics, know your history and above all know names, dates and places. Make key notes to refer to. Don’t stammer (口吃), and also don’t level your gaze with your opponent or the rest of them. All this will help you keep confident.
At last, by no means should you lose your calmness, but keep your voice firm and raised enough to sound calm. A good team member should know how to keep his emotions in control as well as keep others under control in his/ her team.
| Title |
Debate |
|
| A discussion about a subject on which people have different views. |
||
| ◇Help understand a topic or situation more deeply. ◇Improve your ◇ ◇Help appreciate tolerance of others’ opinion. ◇Make you better at speaking. |
||
Tips |
Get your facts right |
◇Don’t just be ◇Refer to books |
| Be |
◇Show your ◇Point out the flaw of others’ comeback arguments. ◇Thoroughly know your material before attending a debate. ◇Make key notes to refer to. ◇Avoid stammering and |
|
| Keep cool |
◇Speak ◇Control your emotions. |
"If I rest, I rust"——would be an excellent motto for those who are troubled by the slightest bit of idleness．Even the most hard-working person might adopt it with advantage to serve as a reminder that, if one allows his abilities to rest, like the iron in the unused key, they will soon show signs of rust and, eventually, cannot do the work required of them．
Those who would attain the heights reached and kept by great men must- keep their ability polished by constant use, so that they may unlock the doors of knowledge, the gate that guard the entrances to the professions, to science, art, literature, agriculture—every department of human endeavor．
Industry keeps the key bright that opens the treasury of achievement．If Hugh Miller, after toiling all day in a quarry, had devoted his evenings to rest and recreation, he would never have become a famous geologist．The celebrated mathematician, Edmund Stone, would never have published a mathematical dictionary, never have found the key to science of mathematics, if he had given his spare moments to idleness, had the little Scotch lad, Ferguson, allowed the busy brain to go to sleep while he tended sheep on the hillside instead of calculating the position of the stars by a string of beads, he would never have become a famous astronomer．
Labor defeats all—not inconstant, or ill-directed labor; but faithful, persistent, daily effort toward a well-directed purpose．So industry is the price of noble and enduring success．What may be the meaning of the underlined word "rust" in the 1st paragraph?
| A．生锈 | B．成长 | C．进步 | D．快乐 |
Why does a hardworking person even use the motto? Because ______．
| A．he wants to remind himself that he is a hardworking man． |
| B．he wants to remind himself to rest from time to time |
| C．he is afraid that he may idle |
| D．he feels he can do the work required of them． |
By saying "Those who would attain the heights reached and kept by great men must keep their ability polished by constant use", the author means_______．
| A．great men keep their ability polished |
| B．those who use their ability constantly would attain the great height |
| C．those who want to get great achievements must practice their ability constantly |
| D．great men polish their ability to reach their height |
The main point of the 3rd paragraph is that ______
| A．industry is more important than agriculture． |
| B．giving some examples of how industry works in achieving great success． |
| C．what industry really means here |
| D．industry can keep the keys bright |
There is a new type of small advertisement becoming increasingly common in newspaper classified columns．It is sometimes placed among “situations vacant”, although it does not offer anyone a job, and sometimes it appears among “situations wanted”, although it is not placed by someone looking for a job, either．What it does is to offer help in applying for a job．
“Contact us before writing your application”, or “Make use of our long experience in preparing your curriculum vitae or job history”, is how it is usually expressed．The growth and apparent success of such a specialized service is, of course, a reflection on the current high levels of unemployment．It is also an indication of the growing importance of the CV, with the suggestion that it may now qualify as an art form in its own right．
There was a time when job seekers simply wrote letters of application．“Just put down your name, address, age and whether you have passed any exams”, was about the average level of advice offered to young people applying for their first jobs when I left school．The letter was really just for openers, it was explained, everything else could and should be saved for the interview．And in those days of full employment the technique worked．The letter proved that you could write and were available for work．Your eager face and intelligent replies did the rest．
There is no doubt, however, that it is increasing number of applicants with university education at all points in the process of engaging staff that has led to the greater importance of the CV．The new type of advertisement which is appearing in newspaper column．
| A．informs job hunters of the opportunities available |
| B．informs employers of the people available for work |
| C．divides available jobs into various types |
| D．promises to offer useful advice to those looking for employment |
Nowadays a demand for this specialized type of service has been created because .
| A．there are so many people out of work |
| B．there are so many toplevel jobs available |
| C．there is a lack of jobs available for artistic people |
| D．the CV is considered to be a work of art |
In the past it was expected that first job hunters would．
| A．write an initial letter giving their life history |
| B．keep any detailed information until they obtained an interview |
| C．have no qualifications other than being able to read and write |
| D．pass some exams before applying for a job |
The CV has become such an important document because．
| A．there has been an increase in the number of applicants with degrees |
| B．there has been an increase in the number of jobs advertised |
| C．jobs are becoming much more complicated nowadays |
| D．the other processes of applying for jobs are more difficult to do |