Hanukkah is an eight-day winter holiday, which celebrates the successful struggle of the Jews against King Antiochus IV Epiphanes of Syria. There are many traditions to celebrate the day, such as lighting the menorah (多连灯烛台),frying potato pancakes and spinning the dreidel (四面陀螺).
One night in the 1990s, we tidied up wrapping paper and toys while the lighted menorah stood on the kitchen table. When we were not there, as the many-colored candles broke, our long-haired black-and-white cat, Ladybug, jumped onto the kitchen table and brushed past them.
"Do you smell something?" asked my husband, Donny. "Is something burning?" asked Molly, our oldest, age ten.
It was Ladybug! The fur on her left side had been burnt. She wasn't hurt, but she wore an upset expression all evening, and for the rest of the week she hid whenever we began chanting the Hebrew(希伯来语)blessings over the candles. "Though her fur grew out as thick as ever, Ladybug took a dim view of Hanukkah after that, clearly preferring less flammable holidays, like Labor Day.
The following year, for fifth-grade homework about family traditions, Molly wrote about Ladybug's story with the Hanukkah candles. The teacher, Lynn Fink, a sporty and funny woman, enjoyed Molly's story and gave it an A.
Three years later, Seth got Ms. Fink for fifth grade. He also worked the burnt cat fur into a writing assignment, and he, too, got an A.
Our son Lee, three years later: the same teacher, the same story, the same A. We had no idea these retellings were piling up.
The year Lily got Ms. Fink for fifth grade, she also felt inspired to write down what happened that night. By now, we were very fond of Ms. Fink. We invited her to join us for a night of Hanukkah. It was her first time to experience the Jewish holiday. Happily, she ate her potato pancakes. Gamely, she spun the dreidel. Delightedly, she opened the small gift of home-made cookies the children had prepared for her. As the evening seemed to be winding down, she clapped her hands, rubbed them together as if before a big dinner, and said excitedly," So! When do we torch the cat?"What happened to Ladybug when the family celebrated Hanukkah that year?
A.She was seriously hurt that night. |
B.She broke the candles on the menorah. |
C.She had some of her fur burnt. |
D.She got a surprising present from the family. |
What can we learn from the passage?
A.Hanukkah lasts for only one night. |
B.The writer has at least four children. |
C.The family saw Ladybug jump onto the kitchen table that night. |
D.Frying potato pancakes is not a tradition to celebrate Hanukkah. |
Which proverb can best describe the meaning of the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4?
A.It's easy to be wise after the event. |
B.Where there is a will, there is a way. |
C.He that falls today may be up again tomorrow. |
D.Once bitten, twice shy. |
We can infer from the last paragraph that Ms.Fink _____.
A.forgot the story of Ladybug |
B.came to the writer's home unexpectedly |
C.knew all the traditions of Hanukkah well |
D. thought people would torch the cat to celebrate Hanukkah |
Bats are the only mammals(哺乳动物) which can fly properly. Other flying mammals have wings of thin skin which cover their sides between their front and back legs. They can only fly from tree to tree, but they cannot change direction when they want to.
All bats fly at night and most of them hunt for flying insects(昆虫), such as bees. The common bat finds its food by making a constant noise that the human ear cannot
hear. The bat listens for echoes(回声) of the noise as it bounces(反射) off the insects showing the bat their position.
The Fruit bat feeds on many different kinds of fruit. It does not use echoes but instead has very large, special eyes to see even in low light. The largest Fruit bat has a wing length of 0.75 meters. The Vampire bat drinks the blood of large mammals, and a few bats catch fish, birds and even other bats. Some flying mammals are not real flyers because _____.
A.they do not have wings | B.their wings are too thin |
C.they have skin between their legs | D.they cannot turn around in the air |
When common bats hunt for food they _____.
A.use echoes to kill the insects | B.make a noise to draw insects to them |
C.produce a sound and listen to the echoes | D.listen noise made by the insects |
Unlike other bats, the Fruit bat _____.
A.can see very well | B.eats fruit and fish |
C.has very long wi![]() |
D.has excellent hearings |
The word "it" in the second paragraph refers to ____
_.
A.the bat | B.the echo | C.the noise | D.the insect |
You may know the English letters A, B and C. But do you know there are people called ABC? You may like eating bananas. But did you know there is a “banana person”? How strange! Are these people from “another Earth”? No. They are just Chinese people like you and me.
ABC means American-Born Chinese. An ABC is a Chinese, but was born in the United States. S
ometimes, people call an ABC a “banana person”. A banana is yellow outside and white inside. So, when a person is a banana, he or she is white inside—thinking like a Westerner and yellow outside—looking like a Chinese.
Do you know why? Usually, ABCs know little about China or the Chinese language. Some of them don’t speak Chinese.
But if ABCs cannot speak Chinese, can we still call them Chinese people? Yes, of course. They are Chinese. They are overseas Chinese. These people may be citizens(公民) of another country like the US, Canada or Singapore. But they have Chinese blood. Their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents were from China. They all have black eyes and black hair.
But they are not Chinese citizens. They are not the people of the People’s Republic of China. For example, we all know the famous scientist C.N. Yang(杨振宁). He got the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1957. The Chinese love him, but he is an American citizen.What’s the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
A.He wants to tell us something about “ABC”. |
B.He wants to show that Chinese are well respected in America. |
C.He wants to tell us some knowledge about the English language. |
D.He wants to introduce the American culture to us. |
Chinese in Western countries are called “banana persons” because ____.
A.their bodies are white inside but yellow outside |
B.they think like Westerners but look like Chinese |
C.they were born in China but go to study in America |
D.they like to eat bananas |
C.N. Yang is mentioned here to show that ____.
A. American Chinese are great. B. we love American Chinese
C. The Chinese can win Nobel Prizes D. American Chinese are not Chinese citizens
“Who needs a shopping mall if you have Taobao?” says Wang Lin,28,a writer in Beijing.
Taobao,China’s largest online shopping site,has become an important part of Wang Lin’s life.She spends lots of money on Taobao.
A growing number of Chinese Internet users like Wang have found the joys of online shopping .Most online shoppers are students or young workers .More women shop on line than men.Clothes and home-use products are the most popular on line.
It was reported that more than 250 billion yuan was spent on online shopping last year, 80% through Taobao.
Taobao means “looking for treasure”in Chinese.People can find almost everything they need on Taobao,from clothes to books ,from candies to DVD players .
You may question the security of online shopping ,Wang Lin said, “”It’s very safe and convenient .Unless you receive the products from the sellers and are satisfied with them,the shop owner will not get the money .You can also get your money back if you want to return the products.”What are the most popular on line?
A.Cand![]() |
B.Clothes and books. |
C.Clothing and home-use products. | D.Toys for children |
Taobao is ____________.
A.a shopping mall | B.an online shopper |
C.an online shopping site | D.a clothes store |
What does the underlined word “security”mean?
A.质量 B安全 C 信誉 D. 数量.Which is the best title of the passage?
A.Wang Lin’s life. | B.Online shopping in China. |
C.Sho![]() |
D.Shopping on line is easy |
Several years ago, a television reporter was talking to three of the most important people in America. One was a very rich banker, another owned one of the largest companies in the world, and the third owned many buildings in the center of New York.
The reporter was talking to them about being important.
“How do we know if someone is really important?” the reporter asked the banker.
The banker thought for a few moments and then said, “I think anybody who is invited to the White House to meet the President of the United States is really important.”
The reporter then turned to the owner of the very large company. “Do you agree with that?” she asked.
The man shook his head, “No. I think the President invites a lot of people to the White House. You‘d only be important if while you were visiting the President, there was a telephone call from the president of another country, and the President of the US said he was too busy to answer it.”
The reporter turned to the third man. “Do you think so?”
“No, I don‘t,” he said. “I don’t think that makes the visitor important. That makes the President important.”
“Then what would make the visitor important?” the reporter and the other two men asked.
“Oh, I think if the visitor to the White House was talking to the President and the phone rang, and the President picked up the receiver, listened and then said, ‘It’s for you.‘ ” There are _______ in this passage.
A.two men and two women | B.three men and one woman |
C.three women and one man | D.four women |
The banker thought _______.
A.he was really important because he was a rich banker![]() |
B.the visitor to the White House was really important |
C.the visitor who met the President of the United States | |
D.the reporter was really important |
The owner of the very large company thought _______.
A.she was really important because she owned one of the largest companies |
B.the banker was really important |
C.the owner of many buildings in the center of New York was really important |
D.the visitor would be really important if while he was visiting the President, the President would not answer any telephone call |
The owner of many buildings thought _______.
A.he was really important because he owned many buildings in the center of New York |
B.the owner of the very large company was really important |
C.the visitor was really important if he talking to the President and the President received a telephone call for the visitor |
D.the person who worked in the White House was really important |
Dick lived in England. One day in January he said to his wife, "I'm going to fly to New York next week because I've got some work there." "Where are you going to stay there?" his wife asked. "I don't know yet." Dick answered. "Please send me your address from there in a telegram (电报)," his wife said. "All right," Dick answered.
He flew to New York on January 31st and found a nice hotel in the center of the city. He put his things in his room and then he sent his wife a telegram. He put the address of his hotel in it.
In the evening he didn't have any work, so he went to a cinema. He came out at nine o'clock and said, "Now I'm going back to my hotel and have a nice dinner."
He found a taxi and the driver said, "Where do you want to go?" But Dick didn't remember the name and address of his hotel.
"Which hotel are my things in?" he said, "And what am I going to do tonight?" But the driver of the taxi did not know. So Dick got out and went into a post office. There he sent his wife another telegram, and in it he wrote, "Please send me my address at this post office."
Dick flew to New York because ___.
A.he went there for a holiday |
B.he had work there |
C.he went there for sightseeing (观光) |
D.his home was there |
Why did his wife want a telegram from him?
A.Because she didn't know his address yet |
B.Because she wanted to go to New York, too |
C.Because she might send him another telegram |
D.Because she couldn't leave her husband by himself in New York |
Who would send him the name and address of his hotel?
A.The manager of his hotel. | B.The police office. |
C.The taxi driver. | D.His wife. |
Which of the following is not true?
A.Dick stayed at a nice hotel in the center of the city. |
B.Dick didn't work on the first night of his arrival. |
C.Dick forgot to send his wife a telegram. |
D.Dick wanted to go back to his hotel in a taxi. |