My friend had mentioned the other day that her father had a lot of children's toys he was looking to give away. She knew I have a three-year-old daughter so she thought of me first. I told her I would love it if I could get some nice things for my daughter, which I wouldn't otherwise have been able to afford.
When I met her father, he began to explain he was too poor once and that he would hate to throw away things that can be very useful.
Before he showed me what he was giving away, I thought the toys would be mostly lego's(乐高积木) or things like that. When he was showing me around I saw a bed, a slide, a kitchen set and many other things that just blew my mind. He told me to write a list of everything my daughter could use and as my eyes were wide, he told me not to feel guilty. He said I was helping him by getting rid of the stuff.
As I was looking around I did feel guilty, but I tried to remain more grateful than guilty. Every time I tried to thank him for giving me and my daughter all this wonderful stuff he would thank me right back. I wanted to believe that he was just thanking me so that I wouldn't feel so guilty but in reality I believe that he was as grateful as I was that these toys would be put to good use.
In the eyes of charity, it makes sense to feel grateful, but guilt is just as normal. I know that we could have lived without a slide, which is why I do feel guilty, but I am grateful all the same because my daughter really does enjoy all these nice things!Why did the old man want to give away his toys?
| A．He wanted to help those poor children. |
| B．He was wealthy enough to buy new toys. |
| C．He wanted to make full use of those toys. |
| D．He needed some space for more useful things. |
In the writer's opinion, the old man felt grateful because
| A．he wanted to make her more guilty |
| B．he wanted her to take the toys quickly |
| C．the toys would be put to good use |
| D．he finally got rid of the stuff |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．The writer took all the toys home. |
| B．The old man was a kind and thoughtful person |
| C．The writer wanted to refuse the stuff when she first saw them. |
| D．The writer's daughter enjoyed the slide most among all the stuff. |
How did the writer feel when given the stuff?
| A．Guilty and honored. | B．Grateful and respected. |
| C．Honored and respected. | D．Guilty and grateful. |
A rat looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? But he discovered that it was a rattrap (捕鼠夹）.
Going back to the farmyard, the rat started to give a warning.
The rat turned to the pig and told him：“There is a rattrap in the house, a rattrap in the house!”
‘Tm sorry，Mr. Rat，” said the pig，“I can only say this is something terrible to you, but it is of no influence to me. I cannot be bothered with it.”
The rat turned to the cow. But the cow said，“Like wow，Mr. Rat? A rattrap? I am in danger, Huh?”
The rat returned to the house, head down and dejected. So the rat had to face the farmer's rattrap alone.
That very night, a sound was heard throughout the house，like the sound of a rattrap catching its prey (猎物）The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness，she did not notice that it was a poisonous snake whose tail had been caught by the trap. The snake bit her.
The farmer rushed her to hospital. She returned home with a fever. Everyone knows that a fever could be treated with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his knife to the farmyard for the soup. However, his wife's sickness continued.
The farmer's friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer killed the pig. But she didn't get well. Finally, she diedand so many people came for the last sight that the farmer had the cow killed to provide meat for all of them.
So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that the whole farmyard is at risk when there is a rattrap in the house.From the passage we know that______.
| A．the pig helped the rat get rid of the trap |
| B．the cow strongly believed in what the rat said |
| C．no animals showed concern over the rat's warning |
| D．the snake was killed immediately after being caught |
The underlined word ‘‘dejected” is the closest in meaning to______.
| A．disappointed | B．surprised | C．determined | D．excited |
We can learn from the article that_____.
| A．the farmer had planned to kill the rat |
| B．the rat was very wise in avoiding the trap |
| C．the farmer's wife got good treatment in hospital |
| D．the rat had expected what would happen to the pig and cow |
What message does the story intend to pass?
| A．We should mind our own business. |
| B．Everything is related to something else. |
| C．We'd better treat animals in a friendly way. |
| D．The farmer couple and their friends are all foolish. |
My son Jack, a fourth grader, was having a hard time in getting interested in story books recently, so I offered to read the first few chapters to him. In the early pages of ‘Incident at Halk Hill’, a quiet little boy has a special meeting with a female badger (獾).Soon after, another badger is caught in a steel leg trap(陷阱), and the author describes in detail the pain and scare of an animal struggling to its death. We meet the cruel hunter and his ill treatment of a dog; we see the badger being skinned by the boy's father；and we experience the child's confusion when beaten by his father in anger. Pretty heavy going for ten-year-olds, I thought.
Last night , I returned from a weekend away to find that Jack had finished the whole book on his own. “It was really, really good and sad, and violent，” he reported. “There was a lot of killing.”
“Were there any happy parts?" I asked,
"The boy's life was saved by the badger, and that was good. But then that badger got caught in a trap again and at the end it's dying, too. ” Jack said, "It was so sad that I almost cried. ”
I told him that many books have made me cry, beginning with Heidi, when I was just his age, right on up to the novel I finished last week.
“Well，” he admitted then, “I actually did cry. Reading that book just reminded me of all the sadness in the world, and it made me feel sad ,too. ”
So, I think, now he has been through the sad tone of the passage , the discovery that words on a printed page can give rise to such strong emotion ，that a book can move you right out of your own comfortable little self and into someone else's pain. Thus we come to realize that if we are to remain fully engaged in life, open to its mysteries and feel sorry towards its suffering, we indeed need stories to grab（抓住） us by the neck and remind us of the sadness in the world that is not our own.‘Incident at Halk Hill’ is a _______story.
| A．sad | B．happy | C．funny | D．boring |
The underlined sentence “Pretty heavy going for ten-year-olds" means____
| A．the book is too long for a ten year old child |
| B．the book is too difficult for a ten year old child |
| C．the book is too violent(暴力) for a ten year old child |
| D．the book is too pretty for a ten year old child |
According to the passage , stories can be something to help you_____
| A．enjoy your spare time | B．develop your care for animals |
| C．realize the truth of life | D．think about your own life |
By writing the passage, the writer mainly wants to____.
| A．tell a story that interested his son |
| B．show the importance of reading stories |
| C．share an experience between himself and his son |
| D．show how to make children interested in books |
On July 4，1986，Americans celebrated the Statue of Liberty’s（自由女神） 100th birthday．Parades，speeches，fireworks，and other activities contributed to the great joy of the event．The celebration caused reporters and the 1ocal people to 1ook back a century to the similar great joy that marked the official opening of the statue．The Statue of Liberty was completed in 1886，but the story began earlier．The idea for a statue was first suggested at a dinner party by Edouard de Laboulaye， a French historian ．A guest at the party was Frederic Bartholdi，a young sculptor．
Most people who attended the dinner party soon forgot the idea，but Laboulaye and Bartholdi remembered it．In 187l， Bartholdi came to the United States to interest Americans in a statue that would link France and the United States in friendship．Many people in France had already been persuaded and contributed money to the project．Americans were also persuaded to build a fund （基金）for the statue．Much of the money came from school children．
After the idea had been accepted，Bartholdi set to work． He worked hard for many years．His friend Laboulaye died before the statue was completed．At last，in 1885，the statue was sent to the United States．It had to be shipped in sections and then put together for its weight and size．
Ever since then， 1886，the Statue of Liberty has stood as a symbol of freedom to millions of immigrants entering New York Harbor．Bartholdi made his first trip to the United States to talk about the Statue of Liberty in________．
| A．1986 | B．187l | C．1885 | D．1886 |
The Statue of Liberty was shipped in sections because_______．
| A．it was too 1arge and heavy to move to USA as a whole |
| B．USA had better means of putting it together than France |
| C．the completed statue was a symbol of friendship for Americans |
| D．putting it together cost less money and labour in USA |
From the content，we may feel that the writer is _______when he is writing the passage．
| A．calm | B．curious | C．worried | D．Modest(谦虚) |
Which of the following titles best summarizes(归纳) the content of the passage？
| A．Labou1aye and Bartholdi：Makers of the Statue of the Liberty |
| B．How People Made the Statue of Liberty Possible |
| C．The l00th Birthday of the Statue of Liberty |
| D．The True Story of the Statue of Liberty |
Research has shown that music has an important effect on one’s body and psyche (心灵). In fact, there is a growing field of health care known as music therapy(治疗), which uses music to treat diseases. Even hospitals are beginning to use music therapy. This is not surprising, as music affects the body and mind in many powerful ways.
Research has shown that quick music can make a person feel more alert（警觉戒备）, while slow music can produce a calm, deep thinking state. Also, research has found that music can change brainwave activity levels. This can help the brain to change speeds more easily on its own as needed, which means that music can bring lasting benefits to your state of mind, even after you’ve stopped listening.
Breathing and heart rates can also be influenced by music. This can mean slower breathing, slower heart rate. This is why music and music therapy can help reduce the damaging effects of long-term stress, greatly promoting (促进) not only relaxation, but health.
Music can also be used to bring about a more positive state of mind by helping to keep worries away. Music has also been found to bring many other benefits, such as lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of strokes（中风）. It is no surprise that so many people are considering music as an important tool to help the body become or stay healthy.What can we infer about music therapy(治疗)?
| A．It is a type of music. |
| B．It is a research about music. |
| C．It is a kind of musical effect on diseases. |
| D．It is the use of music method to help treat diseases. |
According to the second paragraph, we can know that ________.
| A．music with different speeds has different effects |
| B．quick music is not good for one’s health |
| C．slow music can help one to think more calmly and slowly |
| D．music will have less benefit after one stops listening |
The reason why music can help deal with stress is that ________.
| A．it is used by many hospitals |
| B．it can help change brainwaves |
| C．it does good to breathing and heart rates |
| D．it can bring a more positive state of mind |
According to the passage, music can help deal with all the following EXCEPT ______.
| A．nervousness | B．mind illnesses |
| C．strokes | D．high blood pressure |
阅读短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
In college, Spring Break （春假）is usually associated with the beach, parties and sleepless nights, bringing about relaxation, free time and friends. Students who wish to spend their break doing something productive and rewarding, however, may choose to participate in the Alternative Break Program. It places college students in communities both at home and abroad.
The Program allows students to take part in various projects dealing with issues such as literacy （识字）, homelessness and the environment. It includes helping kids with their lessons, raising money for families in need and collecting data for environmental research.
The hope is that, by getting themselves involved in different environments, students will have the opportunity to learn about members of communities and broaden their view. In turn, they will incorporate (融合) their experiences and lessons learned into their own communities. In a word, the Program aims to encourage students to be active citizens and engage themselves in making a difference in society.
In the spring of 2006, about 36,000 students in the USA participated in the Alternative Break Program.
Samantha Giacobozzi, now director of the Program, has been on five alternative break trips herself, including trips to New Orleans, India and Dominican Republic. “I was a student who went on alternative break trips and had my life totally transformed by that experience,” she said. “Every year, we meet many students who have attended the Program. You can see changes in their life that are connected with their alternative break experiences.”
The Program began in 1991.Today, it has become increasingly popular with college students in the United States.Who may choose to participate in the Alternative Break Program?(within 10 words)
Wha is the aim of the Program?(within 15 words)
What is the meaning of the underlined word "transformed" in Paragraph 5?( 1 word)
What is Samantha's attitude toward the Program?(within 10 words)
If you take part in the Program, which project are you interested in? And why?(within 15 words)