When the swim season began, my 11-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, and I cut a deal. She would go to practice three times a week, and I wouldn’t make her compete in swim meets.
Elizabeth does not like swim meets, she gets horribly nervous because she is afraid that she will do something wrong and let everyone down. she started to talk about quitting swimming, which broke my heart because she loves swimming. So I came up with the deal.
Recently, Elizabeth’s team announced a T-shirt relay, which works like this: One person from each relay team puts on a T-shirt and a pair of socks and swims 50 meters. She takes off the clothes and put them on the next person, who then swims 50 meters. This continues until everyone on the team has completed a lap.
It wasn’t exactly a meet, because it would involve only team members. But Elizabeth thought it was. I told Elizabeth I really wanted her to go. She fought back angrily but finally agreed.
When the day for the T-shirt relay arrived, Elizabeth was nervous. She was chosen to swim the anchor leg (最后一棒).By the last leg, Elizabeth’s team had built up a narrow lead. Then it was Elizabeth’s turn to swim.
Approaching the halfway mark, she was still in the lead. Then somebody noticed that one of Elizabeth’s socks had fallen off and was floating in the pool. “She has to get that sock on before the end of the race,” a swimming official told Elizabeth’s team,“ or you will be disqualified.”
Everybody on her team started shouting, “Elizabeth! Get the sock!” But she couldn’t hear them. Meanwhile, a girl in lane two was gaining on Elizabeth. Just then, a girl on my daughter’s team jumped in the pool, grabbed the sock, swam after Elizabeth and put the sock on Elizabeth.
With the sock finally on, Elizabeth swam her heart out for the last 15 meters and won! There was much celebration. And, for a few minutes, Elizabeth was the hero.
On the ride home, she relived her moment of glory again and again. She told me that if the T-shirt relay was an Olympic event, her team would win the gold medal, I told her that in my professional opinion, she Was absolutely right. What do we know about the T-shirt relay?
A.Elizabeth was eager to attend it. |
B.Elizabeth made full preparations for it. |
C.Elizabeth thought she was sure to fail the relay. |
D.Elizabeth agreed to attend it after a lot of persuasion. |
What happened to Elizabeth when she was swimming the anchor leg?
A.The girl on the other team swam faster than her. |
B.She was disqualified for breaking the rule. |
C.She was too nervous to swim. |
D.One of her socks fell off. |
We can infer from the last paragraph that Elizabeth_____.
A.believed she was the best of her team. |
B.Hoped to take part in the Olympics. |
C.Overcame her fear of swim meets. |
D.Was grateful for the girl’s help. |
What would be the best title for the text?
A.Born to be a swimmer | B.Swimming in socks |
C.The swim season | D.Never give up! |
To many Americans,Labor Day(劳动节) marks the end of the summer,a day off from work and school,and one last chance to relax.But Labor Day is much more than just a day off . It represents a very important victory for laborers everywhere.The holiday is a celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers.
More than a century ago workers were forced to deal with harsh conditions.They were paid very little and they often worked 10-to l2-hour days.Men, women and even small children were forced to work even when they were sick.Tired of long hours and dangerous conditions,workers began organizing themselves into labor unions.On top of fighting for higher pay and shorter workdays,they also fought for the rights of children.The workers wanted employers to place limits on the age of their workers so that small children were not overworked or hurt in factories.
A New York City carpenter named Peter McGuire is credited(获得赞誉) for coming up with the idea for Labor Day.In 1872,after working many hours under poor conditions, McGuire rallied 100,000 workers to go on strike.The workers marched through the streets of New York City,demanding a better work environment.McGuire spent a decade fighting for workers’ rights.In 1882,he proposed(提议)the idea to create a special holiday for workers.On Tuesday,September 5,1882, more than 10,000 workers hit the streets of New York City for the first ever Labor Day parade.Two years later the celebration was moved to the first Monday in September.And in 1894,Congress passed a law making Labor Day a national holiday.Americans celebrated the first Labor Day holiday with a parade,picnics and fireworks.
Today,many people hit the road to enjoy the last of their summer vacation.Others enjoy the long weekend with picnics,backyard barbecues or just rest and relaxation.However you spend Labor Day,remember that the holiday is a time to pay tribute (致敬)to the workers who have made America what it is today.What do we know from Paragraph 1?
A.Americans have more than a day off on Labor Day. |
B.Many countries in the world celebrate Labor Day. |
C.Labor Day has a deep meaning for American laborers. |
D.Labor Day shows the social and economic power of America. |
The underlined word “rallied” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by“___________”.
A.persuaded | B.supported | C.warned | D.gathered |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A.There were about 100,000 workers in New York City in 1872. |
B.Labor Day became a national holiday in 1884. |
C.The idea for Labor Day was first put forward by McGuire in 1872. |
D.The first ever Labor Day parade was held in 1882. |
According to the author,while spending Labor Day,Americans should feel ___ .
A.surprised | B.thankful | C.dissatisfied | D.terrified |
You can find language pollution whenever you open a newspaper or turn on your TV set, listen to a popular song at various advertisements. Language pollution exists almost everywhere and can be seen in the following places:
1. Chinese characters are written in the complex (复杂的 ) form. Although simplified Chinese characters were accepted for use many years ago, it seems that more and more people like Chinese characters written in the complex form.
2. Many goods are produced in China but carry foreign names, which sound strange and have no meaning at all.
3. Words and expressions being used have a bad meaning. "Ba"(霸), which means bully in Chinese, is one example. Now there are a lot of goods, restaurants, even factories or firms, with "Ba" in their names.
4. There are too many incorrect grammatical expressions. Some films have strange names and incorrect grammatical structures. "Ai ni mei shang liang', which means "I love you without consulting", is grammatically incorrect and this kind of expression is now becoming popular.
Some language experts point out that language pollution must be done away with, which is an idea shared by myself and many others.
FanYongqinThe writer of the letter suggests that ______.
A.something be done to make our language pure (纯正) |
B.the Chinese language not have the word "ba" |
C.everything have a good name and a good meaning |
D.everybody try their best to stop pollution |
What the writer wants to say is that ____.
A.great difference exists between the Chinese characters written in the complex form and simplified form |
B.many people agree with the experts on language pollution in China |
C.our newspapers, TV programs, pop songs and advertisements are getting polluted |
D.some film writers haven't studied Chinese grammar |
What do you guess Fan Yongqian is? He or she probably is _____.
A.a reader | B.a singer of pop songs |
C.a language expert | D.an expert of grammar |
Have you ever heard of blogs (博客)? If you haven’t, you should have. It’s here, it’s growing and it’s having an influence on our life. Surf the Internet and you’ll find blogs everywhere. A blog, shortened from “weblog”, is a public Internet journal written by one person or a group of people. It is a website in which a person or a group can place news, personal thoughts, text, photos, video or audio files, or links upon which visitors can comment. A blog lets you post on the Internet without having to know web design or be technical. You are given an environment to make dated entries on the topic of your choice which are “published”, so other people can read them.
Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called “blogging”. Blogging has revolutionized Internet publishing in the last several years because it gives everyone with Internet access the opportunity to become an online writer. Objects, such as “text and photos” in a blog can be called “blog posts”, “posts”, or “entries”. The person who posts these entries is called a “blogger”.
Now, somewhere around the world, a blog is created almost every 6 seconds. Because it’s great potential, Bill Gates views it as important as e-mail, BBS, and MSN. He’s trying to make blogs the important tools for future business communications.A blog is .
A.a comment | B.an Internet journal | C.a design | D.a link |
A person can do the following things in a blog EXCEPT _______.
A.talk to others | B.give comments | C.read articles | D.enjoy photos |
Who is a blogger?
A.A person who posts letters. |
B.A person who writes articles. |
C.A person who posts text or photos in a blog. |
D.A person who is an online publisher. |
According to the passage, the reason why blogs are so popular is that they ____.
A.give everyone the chance to be an online writer |
B.can be created by people without much knowledge of computer technology |
C.enable a blogger to place news, personal thoughts, text and photos and give comments |
D.all of the above |
短文改错(共10小题,每小题1分,满分10分)
Last night Iam getting ready for the coming examination when the noise from my neighbor interrupted (打扰)me.The noise went on and on. It was too loud that I could hardly pay attention to my study any longer. but I went to my neighbor’shouse and say to him, “ Excuse me, would you please turn down the TV? I’m preparing for tomorrow’s examination.” Hear these words, his face turned to red. And he said, “ OK, I will. I’m very sorry to have made so much noise. Just now, the football game was very wonderfully. I was too exciting to control myself. I won’t do that again. Good lucky in your coming examination.” After that, I went on with his study.
When you run, you put force that is equal to three times your body weight on your feet. The human foot contains twenty muscles(肌肉). This means that there is a lot that can go wrong when you run.
Most sports have some kind of running or jumping. So experts(专家) at many shoe companies work hard to design good sport shoes. First, a designer enters a plan for a shoe into a computer. Engineers then improve the design. A second computer designs a model for the shoe. Then a few pairs are made. Next, the shoe is tested.
Different kinds of sports shoes are made for different uses. Some are made to help marathon runners save energy during a race. Some are made for the stop-and-go kind of running tennis players. But all sport shoes have one thing in common: they are designed to help people’s feet comfortable during sports. Today, nearly every sport has its own special shoe designed for just the kind of running that sport requires.The first in making a new shoe is to ______.
A.make a computer | B.design a shoe model |
C.test several pairs | D.put a design plan into a computer |
Why are good sport shoes welcome to people?
A.Because they help to change body weight. |
B.Because they help to develop leg muscles. |
C.Because they are both good and cheap. |
D.Because they are comfortable to wear. |
What is NOT talked about in the passage?
A.The number of the bones of a human muscle. |
B.The effect of shoes upon sports. |
C.The materials (材料)of sport shoes. |
D.The design for a shoe model. |
Different kinds of sport shoes _______.
A.are designed for people of the different weight. |
B.meet the needs of different sportsmen. |
C.are made in different shoe companies. |
D.are of the same price. |