When Johnson called again, the manager received him very politely. “That is a most remarkable oil you brought us, Mr Johnson,” he said. Johnson nodded his smooth, dark head. That was something he knew very well. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” the manager admitted. Johnson nodded again. “No?” he said politely. Then he added, “But I think you will, sir. A very great deal of it.” He appeared to think for a moment. “I think you will find it will be on sale seven, perhaps, eight years from now.” He smiled.
The manager thought that was uncertain. He said, “It is better than our fish oils. I admit that.” “So I am told, sir,” agreed Johnson.
“Have you any plans to produce it yourself, Mr Johnson?”
Johnson smiled again. “Would I be showing it to you if I had?”
“We might add some chemicals to one of our own fish oils,” said the manager.
“It would be expensive to do that, even if you could.” Johnson said gently. “Besides,” he added, “I am told that this oil will be much cheaper than your best fish oils. Cheaper than any vegetable oil, in fact.”
“Perhaps,” said the manager. “Well, I suppose you want to make an arrangement, Mr Johnson, Shall we discuss it?”
“Of course,” said Johnson. “There are two ways of dealing with a situation of this sort. The usual one is to prevent it altogether or at least to delay it as long as possible. That is, of course, the best way,” The manager nodded. He knew plenty about all that.
“But I am so sorry for you, because, you see, that is not possible this time.” The manager had his doubts, but all he said was an inquiring(asking), “Oh?”
“The other way,” continued Johnson, “is to produce yourself before the trouble starts.”The manager thought of adding chemicals to the fish oil to make it ________.
| A．cheaper than the new oil | B．more quickly |
| C．more expensive | D．as good as the new oil |
Johnson’s new oil would be ________.
| A．more expensive than fish oil, but better |
| B．less expensive, and better |
| C．less expensive, but not good |
| D．more expensive, and not so good |
Johnson showed his new oil to the manager because he wanted ________.
| A．to produce it himself |
| B．to prevent it being produced |
| C．to be paid not to produce it |
| D．the manager to produce it |
An African proverb says that a single hand cannot tie a bundle. Everyone needs companions to help them sail through the rough seas of life. Even the strongest and richest person still needs friends. Our money and strength would have no value if we had no friends to share with us. The best friendship is a give-and-take relationship. We need the support of our family, friends and the community. In turn we also give support to the society, our friends and our family.
The word “friend” has many meanings. It could be the bus driver who takes you to and from work every day. It could be a parent, a colleague, a wife or husband, a brother or sister, or even the unknown person who helped you just once when you could not find your way. Real friends share not only our happiness but our sorrows as well. This may explain why we have the expression “a friend in need is a friend indeed”.
Friendship is like the sunshine that keeps us warm. It is like the refreshing raindrops on the fields that give the farmers hope of a good planting season. Without friends our life would be like a desert where our only friend would be loneliness and sadness. The most fortunate person is the one who has friends from all levels in the society. A driver might find friends not only among his colleagues but among farmers, bankers, traders, students, politicians or teachers. We should never forget our old friends when we make new ones. We should treasure each of our friends whether poor or rich, beautiful or not. Each friend is unique in his or her own way. And all together, they enrich life and make it very colourful. What is the main topic of the passage?
| A．How to sail through the sea of life. |
| B．Friends and friendship. |
| C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| D．Never forget old friends when making new ones. |
What is the correct understanding of friends according to the writer?
| A．Friends who share our happiness are not real friends. |
| B．Friends will take us through rough seas. |
| C．Friends never expect anything from others. |
| D．Friends can be different people around us. |
An unknown person can be a friend as well when .
| A．he helps you with what you need |
| B．he is told how to find his way |
| C．he becomes one of your family |
| D．he is a driver taking you from and to work |
The underlined word “unique” in the last paragraph most probably means “ ”.
| A．special | B．poor | C．rich | D．Valuable |
It’s summer movie time again. Check out our list of four films.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Release Date: November 4
Story: It’s the summer before Harry Potter’s third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A dangerous murderer, Sirius Black, has escaped from the Wizards’ Prison. And he was ordered to kill Harry Potter.
Around the World in 80 Days
Release Date: November 16
Story: This version of the classic novel set in 1872 focuses on Passepartout ( Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan), a Chinese thief who seeks refuge (庇护) with a strange London adventurer, Phileas Fogg. Passepartout uses his martial art skills to defend Fogg from danger as he travels around the world in 80 days.
Spider-Man 2
Release Date: November 30
Story: Peter Parker is still coming to accept his dual identity (双重身份) as the crime superhero Spider-Man. He wants to reveal his secret identity to Mary Jane, meanwhile, his Aunt May is in trouble. This is Dr Otto Octavius who has appeared to bring her a lot of troubles.
King Arthur
Release Date: November 7
Story: King Arthur is presented as a clever ruler who manages to unite all the knights in Britain. Under the guidance of Merlin and the beautiful, brave Guinevere, Arthur will struggle to realize his dreams. When can you see the film acted by Jackie Chan?
| A．November 4. | B．November 30. |
| C．November 16. | D．November 7. |
In Spider-Man 2, Aunt May’s trouble is caused by______.
| A．Spider-Man | B．Peter Parker |
| C．Mary Jane | D．Dr Otto Octavius |
What kind of article of this passage?
| A．A news report. | B．A funny diary. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．A composition. |
Peter, a high school student, was pretty busy with school, and he was on the soccer team. High school was hard, because everyone wanted to have nice clothes, hang out, drive cars, and all these cost money. Peter’s father was the sort of guy that believed you had to earn whatever you got, so he wasn’t just about to hand over lots of money for Peter to use to have fun. So, he had to get a job.
During his freshman year summer vacation, his classmate got him a job working on a hay (干草) farm. He threw hay up into wagons as the tractor drove around fields, and then they stacked (剁起) it in the hot barn. It was a hot, lowpaying job.
He once worked a few nights a week at a grocery store. He put things on the shelf. It was a lot of lifting and carrying, and his arms were strong from this and the previous job. It was dull and didn’t pay much.
He took some time off when soccer got serious, but the following summer he tried working at a lumber yard. It was hot outside, but he got a lot of exercise lifting and carrying things like boards and drywall. He also learned a lot about building supplies. It still didn’t pay well.
From there, he spent a year doing some tutoring for a friend of the family, but that was piecemeal. His first real job came the last year at school, when he fixed registers and worked on computers at a big box store. It was his favorite job yet, but it still didn’t pay well.
What Peter realized with all of these jobs was that he needed a better paying job! The only way to get that was to get trained or educated. He could go to school and get a 2year degree in an office or technical position. His other choices were going to a 4year college or joining the army. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do yet, but he knew he had to do something. Jobs were a lot of work, money was hard to earn, but he liked staying busy and being able to buy things. Peter wanted the most out of life, and that meant education. How many jobs had Peter taken?
| A．Three | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
All the jobs Peter had taken had one thing in common：________.
| A．They were done during his vacation |
| B．They were dull and tiresome |
| C．They needed hard labour |
| D．They didn’t pay well |
________was the most important for Peter if he wanted a good job.
| A．Confidence | B．Education |
| C．Opportunity | D．Wisdom |
We can learn from the text that________.
| A．Peter knew what to do for his future |
| B．Peter’s father didn’t care about him |
| C．it was very hard for Peter to make his choices |
| D．Peter was determined to do whatever he liked |
On Sunday, August 24th, comic book lovers across the world held their breath to watch how much crazy collectors would pay for a rare Superman comic book. Though bids (出价) above the initial asking price of 1 million dollars had been coming in gradually since the copy was placed on the auction site (拍卖网站) eBay on July 14th, things really started to heat up during the final minutes when the price jumped from $2.5 to $2.6 and then $2.7 million, before shooting up to unbelievable 3,207,852 dollars!
This of course was no ordinary Superman comic book, but an edition of the extremely sought-after (很吃香地) No. 1 of Action Comics series — the first publication of the superhero that was born from the creative minds of teenagers Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. Though Action Comics No. 1, which depicted a diaper-clad baby Superman lifting furniture, had a print run of 200,000 copies, only about 100 are known to exist today.
While the rarity is certainly a reason for the high price, Stephen Fisher, CEO of ComicConnect.com, thinks it also has a lot to do with the fact that Superman was the world’s first superhero! Even so, none of the copies have been able to fetch (售得) as much as the most recent one, simply because they have not been as well-preserved. Graded a rare 9 out of 10 by CGC, a third party grading service for comic books, the book is the highest rated copy of Action Comics No. 1 so far. According to CGC officials, the 76-year-old comic book looks and feels as though it has just come off the newsstand (报摊).
That is not surprising given that the original owner, a Virginian man who bought the book for only 10 cents in 1938, had carefully tucked it away (藏起来) in a wooden box for four decades. Fortunately, when he passed away, the book was bought by a string of collectors who all realized it was a rare treasure that needed to be looked after.
Before this, the highest price paid for an Action Comics No. 1 had been $2 million for a copy sold by Hollywood actor Nicholas Cage in 2011. Ironically, the two teenagers responsible for creating Superman received just 130 dollars when they sold the rights to the superhero to comic book publisher Detective Comics in 1938.the Superman comic book was placed on eBay on July 14th, .
| A．it attracted no attention at all |
| B．things started to heat up immediately |
| C．the bid price didn’t go up very quickly at first |
| D．people thought it was worth millions of dollars |
What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?
| A．Why the comic book is well-preserved. |
| B．Why the comic book is well worth reading. |
| C．Why the comic book is worth so much money. |
| D．Why the comic book has drawn so much attention. |
When the other collectors got the comic book after the Virginian man, they .
| A．all took very good care of it |
| B．all liked reading it very much |
| C．didn’t believe it was worth a fortune |
| D．all kept it in the same way as that man |
What do we know about the creators of Superman?
| A．They didn’t want to sell the rights to a comic book publisher. |
| B．They knew all along Superman would be the most successful comic book. |
| C．They were professional comic book writers when they created Superman. |
| D．They didn’t make much money from creating Superman. |
Camp Jano India
Celebrate Indian culture, languages, arts, festivals and literature. Weekly themes are brought to life through related arts, games, projects, stories and theatre in a very unique, exciting, creative, interactive (互动的) and structured style. A very unique and memorable (难忘的) experience that kids will want to repeat! Mornings are spent with the Hindi language at the child’s level. Afternoons provide the cultural elements taught in an interactive style with special emphasis (重点) on drama.
Bay Language Academy
We invite campers (4-12 years old) to travel and open up doors to explore past and recent civilizations through daily field trips. Cultures will be shown through customs and cooking. Lectures (6/10-8/30) will introduce/reinforce French, Spanish or Chinese and the cultures they convey. Our language summer-camp is infused (灌输) with cultural activities and taught by a team of bilingual (通晓双语的) instructors.
Petits Confettis
Want your 3- to 5-year-old kids to experience a French camp? Come and join us for 6 weeks of French camps!
Kids will be totally happy to learn French and French culture while they take part in team projects like building a tipi or making French bread. Weekly themes include cooking, arts, drama, outdoor activities, board games, music, yoga, rhymes and story time.
Chinese Immersion Summer Camp
This is our 11th Chinese language and culture summer camp. We take children from 6th grade. This year we continue the weekly fun themes like art, science, cooking and sports in the morning. In the afternoon, we have abacus, reading and Chinese culture lessons taught in Chinese. Our teachers are all native speakers with a lot of experience. Our weekly field trips go to different places like SF zoo, tech museums, fire stations etc.Camp Jano India can give children a memorable experience probably because ______.
| A．it has quite experienced teachers |
| B．it teaches Indian languages at different levels |
| C．the activities are arranged for the whole day |
| D．the activities are carried on in an interesting style |
Bay Language Academy and Chinese Immersion Summer Camp are similar in that ______.
| A．they both provide field trips |
| B．they both have bilingual teachers |
| C．they both provide sports programs in the morning |
| D．they are both intended for kids of 4-12 years old |
A girl who likes yoga will go to ______.
| A．Camp Jano India |
| B．Bay Language Academy |
| C．Petits Confettis |
| D．Chinese Immersion Summer Camp |
What is the common theme of the four camps?
| A．Fun and sports. | B．Travel and adventure. |
| C．Language and culture. | D．Art and music. |