I started learning English when I was 6 years old. For 8 years I have learned English in the way everybody else did—by going to English classes. It was useless. I did everything that the teachers told me to do. But I didn’t get any results. I mean, I was always one of the best students in class. However, it took me a long time to read English texts. I made lots of mistakes when writing, and my pronunciation was bad, and I could only speak English very slowly. After my eight years of studying hard, these were the results.
In 2003, I went to the best high school in Wroclaw. It was a special school with a lot of English classes. I owe(感激) a lot to the people I met there, both students and teachers. My first two years in high school were very important for my English. My English teacher, Mr Janusz Laskosz, gave me a lot of good advice, especially on pronunciation and vocabulary. My talented friends, Wojtek and Michael Ryszard, who are my partners now, were both fantastic English learners. What’s more, every time I heard them speak, they seemed to have a bigger vocabulary（词汇）. I wanted to be as good as them, so I studied harder. And my English improved. Wojtek and Michael also introduced me to SuperMemo, which has been very important in my life. And, of course, I could discuss the English language with them, which was a great thing.The writer studied hard at English in the first eight years, _________.
| A．but he was still not good at it |
| B．and then he could read English articles very quickly |
| C．so his pronunciation was quite good |
| D．and then he invented an effective way to learn it |
The writer made great progress in learning English _________.
| A．after he read many English texts |
| B．because he spoke English very slowly |
| C．even before he went to the high school in Wroclaw |
| D．because of his English teacher, his friends Wojtek and Michael |
We can learn from the passage that _________ could help people learn English better.
| A．good texts |
| B．beautiful environment |
| C．studying harder alone |
| D．good teachers and friends |
The best title for the passage is “_________”.
| A．How to make friends | B．How I learn English |
| C．My good English teacher | D．My high school |
If you are hungry， what do you do？ Have your favorite meal and stay quiet after that？ Just like your stomach， even your mind is hungry． But it never lets you know， because you keep it busy thinking about your dream lover， favorite star and so on． If you always think of such meaningless things， your creativity （创造） will get a full stop．
In fact， hunger of the mind can be satisfied through reading． Now why reading but not watching TV？ Because reading is the most useful tool from the childhood． We can ask for help from reading． There are a large number of books in this world． They will answer most of your "How to？" questions． When you read a book， your mind will work on it and explain it to you．
The interesting part of the book is storedin your mind as a seed （种子）． Now this seed is used in your future to develop new ideas． If the same seed is used many times， it can help you connect a lot of things together． The more books you read， the more widely your mind will open up． This will also improve your speaking skills and increase your vocabulary （词汇）．
I had a problem in speaking English before． But as I read， I could improve it a lot． So friends， do follow me and give food for thought by reading， reading and more reading． Now what are you waiting for？ Go， find a book， and let me know．
（1）According to the writer， you can if your mind is hungry．
| A． |
watch TV |
| B． |
play games |
| C． |
read books |
| D． |
do sports |
（2）The underlined word"stored"in the passage means ．
| A． |
kept |
| B． |
told |
| C． |
bought |
| D． |
sold |
（3）If you read more books， ．
| A． |
you will be hungrier |
| B． |
your mind will be wider |
| C． |
you will be richer |
| D． |
your body will be stronger |
（4）Which of the following is Right？
| A． |
The writer had a problem in writing English． |
| B． |
Few books can answer"How to？"questions． |
| C． |
Reading is the most useful tool only when people get old． |
| D． |
Your creativity will stop if you always think of meaningless things． |
（5）The best title of the passage is " "．
| A． |
Feed your mind |
| B． |
Choose right books |
| C． |
Improve speaking skill |
| D． |
Develop new ideas |
Where were dominoes （多米诺骨牌） from？ Modern dominoes first showed up in Italy during the 18th century． But it is believed that the earliest dominoes were Chinese playing cards． Italian missionaries（传教士） in China may have brought the game to Europe． Do you think so？
Do you like to play with dominoes？ Dominoes are small rectangular （长方形的） pieces made of wood or plastic （塑料）． People can place dominoes in different shapes． Then， they push one domino down and the rest of the dominoes fall one by one． It is interesting to watch．
But placing dominoes is hard． To make sure the dominoes fall smoothly， the space between each domino is important． According to domino play．com， if a domino is about 4cm long， then the space between two dominoes should be 1﹣2 cm． If the space is too big， the dominoes will stop falling halfway． If the space is loo small， the dominoes will fall too quickly and won't look interesting．
Beginners can start by putting dominoes in a straight line． This is the easiest shape． Professional （专业的） players can place dominoes in many other shapes， including big circles， beautiful flowers and even famous paintings． In March， a US team broke the Guinness World Record （吉尼斯世界记录） for the most dominoes to fall in a circle． They used 250，000 dominoes! It is really unbelievable．
（1）Modem dominoes first appeared in during the 18th century．
| A． |
China |
B． | |
| C． |
Italy |
D． | |
| E． |
the U．S． |
F． | |
| G． |
the U． |
H． |
（2）Some dominoes are made of ．
| A． |
wood |
| B． |
silk |
| C． |
gold |
| D． |
steel |
（3）If a domino is about 4 cm long， the space between two dominoes may be ．
| A． |
less than 1 cm |
| B． |
more than 2 cm |
| C． |
about 1.5 cm |
| D． |
about 4 cm |
（4）It's interesting to watch dominoes falling ．
| A． |
halfway |
| B． |
together |
| C． |
too quickly |
| D． |
one by one |
（5）Dominoes are usually put in the shape of by beginners．
| A． |
straight lines |
| B． |
big circles |
| C． |
beautiful flowers |
| D． |
famous paintings |
|
Where would you sit inside a park ？ On a good day， you go to a park． Where would you choose to sit in the park？ This will tell whether you can deal with a lot of responsibility（责任） or not． |
|
A． on a chair beside a near the lake in a pavilion（亭子） under a big tree busy path（小路） |
|
Analysis（分析） A． You do too much work， and some is not your responsibility． You need to learn to say no． B． You only think about your own business and problems． You don't usually care about others． C． You like to ask for help while there is a problem． You need to learn to solve problems alone． D． You don't like trouble． So you try to avoid taking too much responsibility． Just for fun． Don't take it seriously． |
（1）The passage is about the sense of ．
| A． |
humor |
| B． |
art |
| C． |
direction |
| D． |
responsibility |
（2）If you choose Picture A， you might ．
| A． |
only care about yourself |
| B． |
take much responsibility |
| C． |
depend on others more |
| D． |
dislike any difficulty |
（3）Tom often asks his parents for help． In the psychological test（心理测试）， he may choose to sit in a park．
| A． |
on a chair |
| B． |
near the lake |
| C． |
in a pavilion |
| D． |
under a big tree |
（4）No matter which picture you choose， you should ．
| A． |
take it easy |
| B． |
believe the result |
| C． |
take it seriously |
| D． |
go to the doctor |
（5）The passage may come from a（n） ．
| A． |
instruction |
| B． |
magazine |
| C． |
science book |
| D． |
novel |
Anna was a 9﹣year﹣old girl from a small village． She got very pleased knowing that she was accepted by a very famous school in a city．
Today was her first day of school． When seeing her simple clothes and knowing that she came from a small village， other students started making fun of her． The teacher soon arrived and asked everyone to keep quiet． She introduced Anna to the class and told them that she would study with them from that day on．
Then the teacher told the students to be ready for the surprise test． She told everyone to write down the Seven Wonders of the world． Everyone started to write their answers quickly． Only Anna thought for a while， then began to write． After everyone handed in their answer papers， the teacher started to read everyone's answer and most of the students answered correctly． Their answers included the Great Wall of China， Great Pyramid （金字塔）， Taj Mahal （泰姬陵） and so on．
The teacher was happy as the students still remembered what she had taught them． In the end， she picked up Anna's paper and started reading， "The seven wonders are﹣to be able to see， to be able to hear， to be able to feel， to laugh， to think， to be kind and to love!"
The teacher stood there without any word and the whole class was in silence． Today， the girl from a small village reminded them about the valuable gifts that God has given them， which are true wonders．
（1）Anna's introduced her to the whole class．
| A． |
classmate |
| B． |
parent |
| C． |
teacher |
| D． |
friend |
（2）The other students made fun of Anna because of her ．
| A． |
pronunciation |
| B． |
mistakes |
| C． |
carelessness |
| D． |
clothes |
（3）The students were asked to be ready for ．
| A． |
the surprise test |
| B． |
the ball game |
| C． |
the new lesson |
| D． |
the class meeting |
（4）Anna's answers included being ．
| A． |
rich |
| B． |
beautiful |
| C． |
smart |
| D． |
kind |
（5）In Anna's opinion， the true wonders are ．
| A． |
the buildings that people have built |
| B． |
the gifts that God has given us |
| C． |
the wealth that people have made |
| D． |
the inventions that scientists have invented |
Depending on yourself
Growing up is not always easy． When we face difficulties， a spirit of depending on yourself is more useful than crying for help． That's what Hong Zhanhui's story of growing from boy to man with family hardship tells us．
Hong was born in 1982in a poor family in Xihua County （县）， Henan Province． When he was only 11， his father became badly ill and one day he came back with an unwanted baby girl． A year later， Hong's mother left home． She no longer wanted to live such a poor life and face her sick husband． So everything hard fell onto the young boy's shoulders： to take care of his father and the sister Chenchen， and to go on to study．
Although his life was hard， Hong didn't go away from his father and sister． He worked in part﹣time jobs to feed his family． He climbed tall trees to get birds' eggs for his sister． He walked two hours at weekends to the market to buy different things to sell around his school． A few years later， he studied at a college． To take care of Chenchen， he worked hard to rent （租） a room near his college for her， and sent her to school．
After Hong's story went public， he became a hero in people's eyes． But Hong refused offers from others． He said he felt encouraged by kind offers， but he could depend on his own work．
Through his hard life， he has grown up from boy to man．
From： Shanghai Middle School English Online
根据短文内容完成表格．
Information Card
|
Hong's spirit |
（1） |
|
Hong's birthplace |
（2） |
|
Hong's age when his mother left home |
（3） |
|
The distance between Hong's school and the market |
（4） |
|
The way Hong fed his family |
（5） |
B． 
C． 
D． 