People have strange ideas about food. For example, the tomato is a kind of very delicious vegetable. It is one of useful plants that can be prepared in many ways. It has rich nutrition and vitamin in it. But in the 18th century, Americans never ate tomatoes. They grew them in their gardens because tomato plants are so pretty. But they thought the vegetable was poisonous (有毒的). They called tomatoes “poison apples.”
President Thomas Jefferson, however, knew that tomatoes were good to eat. He was a learned man. He had been to Paris, where he learned to love the taste of tomatoes. He grew many kinds of tomatoes in his garden. The President taught his cook a way for a cream of tomato soup. This beautiful pink soup was served at the President’s party. The guests thought the soup tasted really good. They never thought their president would serve his honored guests poison apples.
Jefferson never spoke to his honored (忠实的) guests about the fact.The passage tells us that Jefferson was a President who learned to love the taste of tomatoes .
| A．when he was a little boy | B．while he was in Paris |
| C．because his parents told him so | D．from books |
According to the text, _______ made the beautiful pink soup served at the President’s party?
| A．the President himself | B．a French cook |
| C．the President’s cook | D．the President’s wife |
From the passage we know all the honored guests invited by Jefferson were .
| A．people from other countries | B．from France |
| C．men only | D．people of his own country |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．All of the guests knew the soup that was served at the President’s party was made of tomatoes. |
| B．All of the guests thought the soup which was prepared by the President’s cook was nice. |
| C．All of the guests thought the taste of the beautiful pink soup was nice. |
| D．None of the guests knew that their president would serve his honored guests poison apples. |
The purpose of keeping fit is to avoid illness, avoid the mental and physical fatigue（疲劳）, and above all to feel more pleasure in being alive. Research has shown the value of a balanced diet, fresh air, sunshine, enough rest and some forms of regular exercise for everyone. If everyone followed this plan, the number of people visiting the doctor and going to hospital would be reduced.
Unfortunately, although most people acknowledge the importance of physical fitness, not enough of us put this into practice. We spend too much time watching others from the comfort of an armchair or a seat in the stand at a sports stadium.
One reason why people who are physically fit to live longer is that they do not put the heart under excessive strain（过度劳累）and so they reduce the risk of heart and blood vessel（血管）diseases. They also avoid suffering weakened muscles, which are the cause of a great deal of trouble.
All in all, sensible exercise, suited to each person and properly undertaken on the advice of a doctor, is the best insurance of meeting these requirements. Why do people want to keep fit?
| A．Because they want to avoid health. |
| B．Because they want to add mental and physical fatigue. |
| C．Because they want to feel happier and live longer. |
| D．Because they want to obtain much more money. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Everyone knows the importance of this plan. |
| B．Not all people do what the plan tells them to do. |
| C．Most people put the plan into practice. |
| D．No one wants to do with this plan. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Balanced diet is the most important. |
| B．People who are physically fit live longer. |
| C．Most people can live longer. |
| D．People always do not put the heart under excessive strain. |
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 citizens. They give love and care. These two days offer an opportunity to 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（公墓）. 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 and telephone companies do a lot of business during these holidays.Which 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 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. |
Which do you think is right about “carnation”?
| A．It only has two kinds of color. |
| 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. |
How often one hears children wishing they were grown-ups and old people wishing they were young again! Each age has its pleasures and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting his time in their useless regrets.
Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities for them to make a living. If a child has good parents, he is well fed, looked after and loved, whatever he may do. It is impossible that he will ever again in his life be given so much without having to do anything in return. What's more, life is always giving new things to the child—things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too common for them. But a child has his pains: he is not so free to do what he wishes to do; he is repeatedly being told not to do something, or being punished for what he has wrongly done.
When a young man starts to earn his own living, he can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room, but has to work if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry. And if he breaks the laws of society just as he used to break the rules of his parents, he may go to prison. If, however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble and has good health, he can have the great happiness of building up for himself his own position in society.According to paragraph 2, the writer thinks that ______________.
| A．life for a child is fairly easy |
| B．only children are interested in life |
| C．a child is always loved whatever he does |
| D．if much is given to a child, he must do something to pay back |
A young man ___________ if he expects to live in the way he wants.
| A．should lose his heart to his work |
| B．should try to keep out of trouble |
| C．should spend most of his time enjoying himself |
| D．should build up his own position in society for himself |
The main idea of the passage is that ______________.
| A．children's time is the most enjoyable in one's life |
| B．life is not enjoyable since each age has some pains |
| C．young men can have the greatest happiness if they work hard |
| D．one can enjoy what each age gives him though there are some pains |
“Keep your eyes on the ball.” That is good advice when you are on the playing field, and good advice for everyday life. “Keep your mind on what’s important,” is the way I’d put it. But people are funny. They think too much about the details.
I had a secretary once. She was very hardworking. I ran a school and people used to call up to enroll for courses. Berry used to get angry at the phone. “If they keep on ringing, I’ll never get my typing done!” she’d shout.
People just don’t see the big picture. One evening, after leaving work, I was sitting next to a man on the train. I was feeling tired. My eyes fell on the paper he had spread out in front of him. You know how you feel to read over someone’s shoulder?
I read the page and leaned back. I guessed I was waiting for him to turn it. After a while, I realized—he wasn’t turning the page. He just kept on reading.
Now if you knew the page he was reading, you’d know that there weren’t many words on the page to read anyway. The layout was mostly pictures. So I turned to the man and said,” You know, you really read very slowly.”
“What do you mean?” he asked. “Well,” I told him, “I read the page in about a minute, and you have taken about ten. And you are still reading. You know,” I went on “If you learned to read faster, you could get more reading done.” He remained silent for a minute or two. “If I read too fast, my paper wouldn’t last me to my station.”The writer wasn’t satisfied with his secretary because ___.
| A．she didn’t put first thing first |
| B．she was too busy |
| C．she was easy to get angry |
| D．she couldn’t finish her work on time |
The train rider read newspaper ___.
| A．to take in information | B．to enjoy pictures |
| C．to save time | D．to kill time |
The writer thinks that people seem to need a sense of ___.
| A．what to read first | B．how to read fast |
| C．what is important | D．what is funny |
The passage is mainly about the writer’s opinion on people’s ___.
| A．judgment | B．work | C．life | D．habits |
Long ago in a small town, there was a place known as the House of 1,000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit.
When he arrived, he bounced(跳) happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1,000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1,000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the house, he thought to himself, “ This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit often.”
In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1,000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1,000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, “This is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again.”
All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see on the faces of the people you meet?Why did the first dog like the house?
| A．Because there were 1,000 mirrors in the house. |
| B．Because he thought he could keep himself warm in the house. |
| C．Because he liked everything presented to him. |
| D．Because he felt he was welcome here. |
The underlined word “ growl” probably means ______.
| A．make an unfriendly noise | B．smile |
| C．say hello | D．stare |
The passage tells us ________.
| A．we must look at ourselves in a mirror as often as possible |
| B．we must look at ourselves in a mirror like the first little dog |
| C．We can see ourselves in the faces of the people we meet |
| D．we are treated in the same way as other people |
Which of the following is the most suitable title for the passage?
| A．A Small happy Little Dog |
| B．The House of 1,000 Mirrors |
| C．The Wonderful Place and the Horrible Place. |
| D．Two Little Dogs |