Try reading the following sentences as fast as you can. “She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I’m sure she sells seashore shells.”
Not very easy, was it? What you’ve just read is called a tongue twister (绕口令). It is an exercise made up of sounds that are hard to pronounce in order to help people pronounce words faster and more correctly. Try the next example.
“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?”
Tongue twisters usually do not have much meaning. They are just designed to improve people’s ability (能力) to pronounce words. Although they may be very difficult, these exercises are very important to people who are trying to speak English correctly. This is because tongue twisters help people to tell the differences between similar sounds.
So if you wish to pronounce words more smoothly, you’d better try picking out some tongue twisters and practising them.Tongue twisters are helpful in improving ______ skills.
| A．listening | B．writing |
| C．pronunciation | D．communication |
The first tongue twister is hard because ______.
| A．it is very boring to read |
| B．it teaches us a lot of knowledge |
| C．we don’t know who “she” is |
| D．the sounds of “s” and “sh” are similar |
The passage is probably taken from ______ in a school newspaper.
| A．Story Time | B．Study Garden |
| C．Latest News | D．Lost and Found |
阅读理解
Frederic Chopin was born in March 1810 near Warsaw in Poland(波兰). He was one of the greatest musicians in the world. In 1831, he went to Paris. No people but he could play the piano very well.
At that time people in Paris liked the Hungarian(匈牙利的) pianist Franz Liszt.
One night, at a concert, Liszt went to the piano and people shouted. As all the lights in the concert were turned off, a wonderful piano concert started. The music was so good that the listeners were all greatly interested. They kept praising(不停地赞扬) the pianist and thought that Liszt had reached something new in playing the piano.
Suddenly, all the lights were turned on again as the music came to an end. And there stood a young man instead of the famous Hungarian pianist Franz Liszt.
Liszt planned all this. As the lights went out, Liszt left his chair and let Chopin take his place. So with the help of Liszt and his own talent(天赋), Chopin soon became famous.Chopin was _______.
| A．the greatest musician in the world | B．a famous Polish(波兰的) pianist |
| C．a famous Paris pianist | D．one of the greatest musicians in Hungary |
The wonderful piano concert started _______.
| A．after all the lights were turned on | B．when Liszt sat down at the piano |
| C．after the lights were turned off | D．when Chopin went to the piano |
When the music came to an end, _______.
| A．Liszt stood at the piano | B．all the lights were turned off again |
| C．Chopin stood at the piano | D．people went out of the hall |
Chopin became famous _______.
| A．before he came to the concert |
| B．because he was a student of Liszt’s |
| C．because people in Paris liked him very much |
| D．since he played so well at the concert |
From the story we know _______.
| A．Chopin could be famous because of his own talent and the help from Liszt |
| B．Liszt planned to make Chopin famous |
| C．Liszt was Chopin’s teacher |
| D．one could be famous only with the help of a famous pianist |
阅读理解
Avril(艾薇儿) Lavigne is an excellent teenage(十几岁的)singer. She made a great success because of her musical talent(天才, 天赋).
She wrote her songs by herself, played the guitar and had a wide range of voice(音域) when she was only 17 years old. She began to sing her own rock-and-roll(摇滚乐) music. She is a talent in the musical world. People in many different countries like her songs very much.
Avril Lavigne isn’t a quiet girl. She is a true wild active and crazy girl. She started showing her voice and character at around age 2. “I’m just coming out and I’m going to be myself. I write what I feel. I never worry about what others think.” Avril said.
Her music can reach girls’ and boys’ hearts and even some adults’, too. I can’t wait to be out there; I want to rock the world! I want people to know what music is real and honest(坦率的)——it comes from my heart. I am just being true to myself.
根据短文内容，判断下列句子正(T)误(F) Avril became a singer when she was 27 years old.
She asked a famous writer to write songs for her.
Only Canadian people like her songs very much.
She wants to sing and rock all over the world.
Avril is a quiet and lovely girl.
阅读理解
When you are not well, you may have to _______. The medicine may be not nice to take, but you have to take it, because it will do you good. After a few days, you will get better and you won’t have to take any more medicine. In a short time you will be in good health again, and you will go back to school.
In the cold season, many people catch colds. When you have a cold, your nose is running, so you have to blow (擤) your nose and wipe (擦) it with your handkerchief (手帕).
A bad cold with a high temperature is called flu. When you have the flu, you may pass it to other people around you, because it is very catching (有传染性的). So when you have the flu, you must stay at home.
When you have a bad tooth, you go to see the dentist. He pulls out the bad tooth and looks over the others.
You should look after yourself. If you want to be healthy, you have to take exercise and eat a balanced diet (均衡饮食).
根据短文内容，完成下列各题。在空白处填上一个词组___________。
完成句子：If you ___________, you won’t have to take any more medicine.
把画线部分翻译成汉语。
_____________________________Why should we stay at home when we have the flu?
_____________________________What should we do to keep healthy?
_____________________________
阅读理解
One day a dentist was starting his morning work. Suddenly a man ran in. His face was red and he could only say “Quick! Quick!” The dentist thought he must be very ill. His assistant helped to make the poor man sit in a chair. The dentist gave the man some medicine to make him sleep. Then, he looked into the man’s mouth and pulled out all the bad teeth. As soon as the man woke up, he said in a low voice, “Quick, doctor, quick.”
“It’s all right now,” the dentist told him. “It’s over.”
“You don’t understand,” said the man, “I came to tell you your house is on fire.”The story took place (发生) _______.
| A．in the morning | B．in the afternoon | C．in the evening | D．at night |
When the man ran in, the dentist thought he must be _______.
| A．over | B．ill | C．all right | D．rich |
The man _______ after he took some medicine.
| A．began to work | B．began to cry | C．went home | D．went to sleep |
The dentist pulled _______ out of the man’s mouth.
| A．a tooth | B．a bad tooth | C．all the bad teeth | D．all the teeth |
The man ran in _______.
| A．because he was ill |
| B．because he wanted to sleep |
| C．to tell the dentist that he was all right |
| D．to tell the dentist that his house was on fire |
阅读理解
A farmer who lived in a small village had a bad pain in the chest. This never seemed to get any better. The farmer decided that he would go to see a doctor in the nearest town. But as he was a miserly（小气） person, he thought he would find out how much he would have to pay the doctor. He was told that a sick person had to pay three pounds for the first visit and one pound for the second visit. The farmer thought about this for a long time, and then he decided to go to the doctor in the town.
As he came into the doctor’s room, he said, “Good morning, doctor. Here I am again.” The doctor was a little surprised. He asked him a few questions, checked his chest and then took the pound which the farmer insisted on giving him. Then the doctor said with a smile, “Well, sir, there’s nothing new. Please go on taking the same medicine I gave you the first time you came to see me.”Why did the farmer decide to go to see a doctor in the town?
| A．Because the doctor in the village had been unable to save him. |
| B．Because he had a fever. |
| C．Because he suffered from a pain in the head. |
| D．Because the pain didn’t seem to get better. |
How many pounds did a sick person have to pay the doctor in the town for two visits?
| A．Four. | B．Three. | C．One. | D．Two. |
Where did the doctor check the farmer?
| A．In the village. | B．On the farm. | C．At the doctor’s. | D．In the city. |
What did the farmer give the doctor?
| A．Some medicine. | B．Nothing. | C．Smile. | D．A pound. |
The doctor asked the farmer _______.
| A．something new about his illness | B．to go on taking the same medicine |
| C．to come again | D．to give him some more pounds |