People in the United States honor their parents with two special days：Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible(有责任感的) citizens. They give love and care. These two days make us think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with child care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery(墓地).On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”. Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays.Which of the following is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for parents?
| A．Parents bring up children. |
| B．Parents give love and care to children. |
| C．Parents educate children to be good persons. |
| D．Parents pass away before children grow up. |
What do you think “florists” do?
| A．They sell flowers. |
| B．They make and sell bread. |
| C．They offer enough room for having family parties. |
| D．They sell special gifts for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. |
Which do you think is right about “carnation”?
| A．It has only two kinds of colors. |
| B．It refers to the special clothes people wear on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. |
| C．It’s a kind of flower showing love and best wishes. |
| D．People can wear carnations only on the second Sunday in May. |
What do you know from the passage?
| A．Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both in May. |
| B．Fewer women worked outside the home in the past. |
| C．Not all the children respect their parents |
| D．Fathers are not as important as mothers at home. |
On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, .
| A．people usually have family parties |
| B．everyone goes to visit the cemetery |
| C．children always go to parents’ home |
| D．hand-made cards are the most valuable gifts |
I stopped to watch my little girl busy playing in her room. In one hand was a plastic phone; in the other a toy broom. I listened as she was speaking to her doll. And I will never forget the words she said, ever though it was pretended.
She said, “Suzie’s in the corner because she’s not been very good. She didn’t listen to a word I said or do the things she should.” In the corner I saw her baby doll all dressed in lace and pink. It was obvious that she’d been put there to sit alone and think.
My daughter continued her “conversation”, as I sat down on the floor. She said, “I’m all fed up, I just don’t know what to do with her anymore. She cries whenever I have to work and wants to play games, too. She tries to help me with the dishes, but her arms just cannot reach…And she doesn’t know how to fold towels. I don’t have the time to teach. I have a lot of work to do and a big house to keep clean. I don’t have the time to sit and play —don’t you know what I mean?”
And that day I thought a lot about making some changes in my life, as I listened to her words that cut me like a knife. I hadn’t been paying enough attention to what I hold most dear.
But now my attitude has changed, because, in my heart, I realize…I’ve seen the world in a different light through my little darling’s eyes. So, let the cobwebs have the corners and the dustbunnies rule the floor, I’m not going to worry about keeping up with them anymore.
I’m going to fill the house with memories of a child and her mother…For we are granted only one childhood, and we will never get another.
1. What was the little girl doing with her doll?
A. She was dressing up her doll.
B. She was playing the doll with her friend Suzie.
C. She was talking to her mother.
D. She was punishing her doll.
2. Which statement is TRUE about the mother’s behaviors before that day?
A. She spent a lot of time with her daughter talking to her.
B. She was busy cleaning the house with little time spared for her daughter.
C. She didn’t show her love to her child.
D. She always dressed up baby dolls with her daughter.
3. What do the underlined words “cobwebs” and “dustbunnies” probably refer to?
A. A happy atmosphere inside the home.
B. All her d aughter’s toys
C. Happy memories of a child
D. Things that kept the mother busy
4. Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?
A. Daughter and Her Doll B. Daughter’s Words
C. Only One Childhood D. A Busy Mother’s Change
III. 阅读理解
William Shakespeare is the most famous playwright (剧作家). Although he died in 1616, people still go to see his plays. Among the most popular are ＲｏｍｅｏａｎｄＪｕｌｉｅｔ, ＡＭｉｄｓｕｍｍｅｒＮｉｇｈｔ’ｓＤｒｅａｍ and Ｈａｍｌｅｔ — the story of a prince who struggles to respond to the crimes around him.
Shakespeare, who was born in 1564, was an actor as well as a writer. Most of his ideas for plays were taken from history, people’s conversation, ancient stories, and also from other writers. He wrote not only about kings and queens and princes, but also about friends and ordinary people. He wrote about the cruelty of war and the bravery of heroes, as well as about jealousy, joy, hate, ambition and love. His stories live on. The tragedy ＲｏｍｅｏａｎｄＪｕｌｉｅｔ was reborn as the musical ＷｅｓｔＳｉｄｅＳｔｏｒｙ and more recently as the movie ＲｏｍｅｏａｎｄＪｕｌｉｅｔ with the wonderful performance of Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
He invented a number of great characters: powerful magicians, thrilling witches, smart women and both wise and wicked men. He also invented some great phrases. If you’ve ever said, “Oh, for goodness sake!” you can thank Shakespeare for that. Other examples of common phrases adapted from Shakespeare: “as luck would have it”, “your own flesh and blood”, “too much of a good thing”, “good riddance”, “in one fell swoop”, and “in the twinkling of an eye”. “To be, or not to be: that is the question,” Hamlet says. “Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it is morrow,” says Juliet to her Romeo.
Don’t be surprised if you don’t understand everything when reading Shakespeare or watching one of his plays because the meanings of many words have changed over the years. And Shakespeare’s characters speak in poetry, so their speeches can be complicated.
It does help to find out a little bit about the story before reading a Shakespeare play. It’s worth the effort. As Shakespeare wrote, “All the world is a stage.” And in his plays you’ll find that an entire world is waiting for you.
1. Shakespeare created the following characters EXCEPT ________.
A. Juliet B. Hamlet C. Claire Danes D. Romeo
2. From Paragraph 3 we can learn that ________.
A. most of the characters created by Shakespeare were negative ones
B. most of the phrases used today were invented by Shakespeare
C. “Oh, for goodness sake!” is what Juliet says to Romeo
D. Shakespeare contributed greatly to the development of English
3. Which of the following is a reason why it’s difficult to understand some of Shakespeare’s plays?
A. There are many new words in his plays.
B. He wrote his plays using uncommon words.
C. The characters in his plays speak in poetry.
D. Most of the words in his plays are outdated.
4. We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. most of Shakespeare’s plays have been made into films
B. language changes with the development of society
C. Shakespeare made lots of money from his works
D. it is more useful to read Shakespeare’s works than to watch them
On some level, I always knew that I wanted to be a doctor－at least from the age of eight or ten years old, anyway.
Although my father wasn’t a doctor, he made his own brand of “house calls”. I followed him as he brought a plate of my mother’s home cooking to an elderly man named Frank on all major holidays and when Frank was sick. As far as I know, their only connection was that Frank was an occasional customer at Dad’s small gas station. Frank’s home was a two-room house on the rough side of town with an old front porch (门廊) where you could fall if you weren’t careful. Frank had no relatives and as far as I could tell, no other visitors either. Through his attitude and by caring, my father was teaching me to be a doctor, although neither of us knew it at the time.
When I was 13, my father developed lung cancer. He brought home a diagram the doctor had drawn showing where his cancer was and told me that he was going to die. He asked me to take care of my mother when he was gone. I was an only child. He said he loved me on the night when he died.
When you’re 13 and your father dies, you have some choices to make. You can use the situation as an excuse for letting your actions and graded go down, or you can honor his memory and try to do something positive with yourself. I focused my energy on my schoolwork and my goal of becoming a doctor.
1. What’s the father’s “own brand of ‘house calls’”?
A. his treatment for frank’s serious illness.
B. his care for Frank.
C. his attitude towards the author.
D. his wish that his kid would be a doctor.
2. The author began to want to be a doctor when_________
A. father helped frank regularly
B. Father developed lung cancer
C. father asked him/her to take care of Mother
D. father died
3. what was the influence of Father’s death on the author?
A. The author began to think seriously about his/her career.
B. The author was too sorrowful to carry through his /her study.
C. The author used the situation as an excuse for quitting school.
D. The author made great effort at his/her goal of becoming a doctor.
4. The best title for the text would be_________.
A. What Made Father Respectable
B. What Led Me to Be a Doctor
C. How to Help Strangers
D. How to Deal with Death
We have two daughters: Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four. Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner. I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang. Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests’ coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom.
The guests arrived. I introduced my two da
ughters to each of them. The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids.
Each of the guests made a particular fuss over (对…关爱倍至)Kelly, the younger one, admiring her dress, her hair and her smiles. They said she was an unusual girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age.
I thought to myself that we adults usually make a big “to do” over the younger one because she’s the one who seems more easily hurt. We do it with the best of intentions (意图).
But we seldom think of how it might affect (影响) the other child. I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was ignored. I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes. I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying.
I said, “What are you doing, my dear?”
She turned to me with a sad expression and said, “Mommy, why don’t people like me the way they like my sister? Is it because I’m not pretty? Is that why they don’t say nice things about me as much?”
I tried to explain to her, kissing her to make her feel better.
Now, whenever I visit a friend’s home, I make it a point to speak to the elder child first.
1．The underlined expression “make a big ‘to do’ over” (in paragraph 4) means _______.
A．show much concern about B．have a special effect on
C．list jobs to be done for D．do good things for
2．The guests praised Kelly for carrying coats upstairs for her _______.
A．pretty clothes B．lovely smile C. young age D．beautiful hair
3．Kristen felt sad and cried because ______.
A．the guests gave her more coats to carry
B．the guests praised her sister more than her
C．her mother didn’t introduce her to the guests
D．she didn’t look as pretty as Kelly
4．We can conclude from the passage that _______.
A．parents should pay more attention to the elder children
B．the younger children are usually more easily hurt
C．people usually like the younger children more
D．adults should treat children equally
There are lots of attractions in St.Petersburg.If you’re short of time to visit all of them,or if you just want to make sure to hit the highlights(最精彩的部分),the following are the top must- see sights in St.Petersburg.
1.The Hermitage Museum
The Hermitage Museum is one of the most important sights to see for any visitor to St.Petersburg.There you can see lots of different paintings painted by the old masters.Prepare to come face to face with many of the western classical artists.
2.Kizhi Island
Kizhi Island is an open-air museum of wooden buildings from the Karelia region of Russia. These impressive structures are made without any nails(钉子).Can you imagine how the wood fits together? Come and see for yourself!
3.Peterhof
Peterhof is as beautiful as it is fun.You’ll be charged for admission(门票),but if you go to Peterhof when the fountains(喷泉) are working—during the day in summer—the admison will be worth it.
4.Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
Love it or hate it,Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St.Petersburg is a real must-see sight.This beautiful building will truly surprise you,and the paintings inside the church will make you say“Wow!”
5.The Bronze Horseman Statue
The so-called Bronze Horseman is a part of Russian culture and is a symbol of St. Petersburg.Made famous by Alexander Pushkin,this statue of Peter the Great sitting on his horse truly shows Peter the Great’s influence on the Russian idea of greatness.
1.If you are interested in paintings,you’d better go to _________.
A.The Hermitage Museum and Kizhi Island
B.The Bronze Horseman Statue and Kizhi Island
C.Kizhi Island and Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
D.The Hermitage Museum and Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
2.What can we learn about Kizhi Island?
A.Kizhi Island is an indoor museum.
B.Visitors can find nails in the structures there.
C
.The buildings on Kizhi Island are made of wood.
D.The wooden buildings are connected with wires.
3.We can learn from the text that .
A.visitors can visit Peterhof free of charge
B.The Hermitage Museum has lots of modern western arts
C.the fountains in Peterhof can be seen by visitors all year round
D.The Bronze Horseman Statue is a symbol of St.Petersburg
4.The author wrote the text to_________.
A.attract tourists to visit St.Petersburg
B.show the wonderful history of Russia
C.persuade artists to go to St.Petersburg
D.introduce the famous buildings of Russia