Jenny was a bright-eyed, pretty five-year-old girl.
One day when she and her mother were checking out at the grocery store, Jenny saw a plastic pearl(珍珠) necklace priced at $2.50. How she wanted that necklace, and when she asked her mother if she would buy it for her, her mother said, "Well, it is a pretty necklace, but it costs an awful lot of money. I'll tell you what. I'll buy you the necklace, and when we get home we can make up a list of housework that you can do to pay for the necklace. And don't forget that for your birthday Grandma just might give you a whole dollar bill, too. Okay?" Jenny agreed, and her mother bought the pearl necklace for her.
Jenny worked on her chores very hard every day, and sure enough, her grandma gave her a brand-new dollar bill for her birthday. Soon Jenny had paid off the pearls. How Jenny loved those pearls. She wore them everywhere to kindergarten, bed and when she went out with her mother to run errands(差事).
The only time she didn't wear them was in the shower. Her mother had told her that they would turn her neck green!
Jenny had a very loving daddy. When Jenny went to bed, he would get up from his favorite chair every night and read Jenny her favorite story.
One night when he finished the story, he said, "Jenny, do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy, you know I love you," the little girl said.
"Well, then, give me your pearls."
"Oh! Daddy, not my pearls!" Jenny said. "But you can have Rosy, my favorite doll. Remember her? You gave her to me last year for my birthday. And you can have her tea party outfit, too. Okay?"
"Oh no, darling, that's okay." Her father brushed her cheek with a kiss. "Good night, little one."
A week later, her father once again asked Jenny after her story, "Do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy, you know I love you."
"Well, then, give me your pearls."
"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls! But you can have Ribbons, my toy horse. Do you remember her? She's my favorite. Her hair is so soft, and you can play with it and braid(编辫子)it and everything. You can have Ribbons if you want her, Daddy," the little girl said to her father.
"No, that's okay," her father said and brushed her cheek again with a kiss. "God bless you, little one. Sweet dreams."
Several days later, when Jenny's father came in to read her a story, Jenny was sitting on her bed and her lip was trembling." Here, Daddy," she said, and held out her hand. She opened it and her beloved pearl necklace was inside. She let it slip into her father's hand.
With one hand her father held the plastic pearls and the other he pulled out of his pocket a blue velvet (天鹅绒) box. Inside of the box were real, genuine, beautiful pearls. He had had them all along. He was waiting for Jenny to give up the cheap stuff so he could give her the real thing.Which statement is NOT correct?
| A.Jenny loves her father very much. |
| B.Jenny’s pearl necklace can turn green when it is wet. |
| C.Jenny has other toys she loves very much besides the necklace. |
| D.Jenny didn’t want to give up her necklace though she did so. |
The reason why little Jenny wanted to give her father doll and toy horse is that __________.
| A.they were lovely |
| B.she liked them very much |
| C.they were worth much more |
| D.she loved her necklace too much |
What does the writer mainly want to tell us through the loving story?
| A.Whatever you want, you need to earn it yourself. |
| B.Life is both disappointing and hopeful at the same time. |
| C.Your parents are always the people who would like to spoil you. |
| D.Only if you show your real deep love to others, will you get the same in return. |
With the average home in the capital selling for 19,548 yuan a meter in November, a tiny mobile home built by a 24-year-old office worker is creating a stir(震动) online.
Dai Haifei built the 6-square-meter pad(住所) because he could not afford to buy or rent in the capital.
Dai’s new home costs him 6,400 yuan and he has been living in it for nearly two months in courtyard at Chengfu Road, Haidian district.
Dai, who is one of the millions of migrants who moved to the capital from other parts of China seeking a better life and better job, said he realized his financial burden had become too great.
The Hunan native said he simply could not make ends meet(收支相抵) when he became an intern at a Beijing-based construction design company in 2009.
“I rented a home at the very beginning--a small room in an apartment that cost me about 900 yuan per month,” said Dai in an interview with local media. “It was too expensive for me. ”Dai’s father works on a construction site in his hometown and his mother is a cleaner.
Dai, who ended up becoming a formal employee of the company, figured out his own way to solve the problem---with inspiration from a housing design project at his company’s exhibition early this year.
The project, named“An egg given birth to by the city”, included a series of egg-like movable houses, with a karaoke house, chair house and trader’s house in it.
Dai, who borrowed 6,400 yuan from an older cousin and who got additional help from several friends, decided to make one of his own. He spent nearly two months building his“egg house”in his hometown, a village in southeast Hunan that is around 1,700 kilometers from Beijing.Where is this passage probably taken from?
| A.A story book. | B.A cartoon film. | C.A news report. | D.A research report. |
What is Dai Haifei?
| A.An official of government. | B.A journalist. |
| C.An office worker of a company. | D.A manager of a company. |
Why did he build the pad?
| A.Because he will sell it for money. |
| B.Because he has no house to get married in. |
| C.Because he doesn’t have enough money to buy or rent a house. |
| D.Because he wants to get help from the society. |
Which statement is not TRUE?
| A.He comes from a Hunan village. |
| B.He has lived in the egg home for two months. |
| C.He got the idea from a friend. |
| D.He once rented a room. |
What’s the writer’s attitude?
| A.Supporting. | B.Puzzled. | C.Criticizing. | D.Objective. |
Everyone has got two personalities—the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don’t show your secret personality when you’re awake because you can control your behavior, but when you’re asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, people frequently change their position. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in.
If you go to sleep on your back, you’re a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don’t like to upset people, so you never express your real feelings. You’re quite shy and you aren’t very confident.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive(不坦率的)person. You worry a lot and you’re always easily upset. You’re very stubborn(顽固的), but you aren’t very ambitious. You’re usually live for today not for tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good time.
If you sleep curled up (卷曲),you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and so you’re often defensive. You’re shy and you don’t normally like meeting people. You prefer to be on your own. You’re easily hurt.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced personality. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You’re usually careful. You have a confident personality. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don’t often get depressed. You always say what you think even if it annoys people.According to the writer, you naturally show your secret and real personality .
| A.only in a normal night |
| B.only when you go to sleep |
| C.only when you refuse to show yourself to the word |
| D.only when you change sleeping position |
Which is NOT mentioned in the second paragraph about a person’s personality?
| A.He or she is always open with others. |
| B.He or she always likes new ideas earlier than others. |
| C.He or she is always easily upset. |
| D.He or she tends to believe in others. |
Point out which sentence is used to show the personality of a person who is used to sleeping on his or her stomach?
| A.He or she is careful not to offend others. |
| B.He or she doesn’t want to stick to his or her opinion. |
| C.He or she can’t be successful in any business. |
| D.He or she likes to bring others happiness. |
Which of the following may be the reason for you not to make friends with a person who sleeps curled up?
| A.He or she would rather be alone than communicate with you. |
| B.He or she is rarely ready to help you. |
| C.He or she prefers staying at home to going out. |
| D.He or she wouldn’t like to get help from you. |
It appears that the writer tends to think highly of the person who sleeps on one side because.
| A.he or she always shows sympathy for people |
| B.he or she is confident, but not stubborn |
| C.he or she has more strengths than weaknesses |
| D.he or she often considers annoying people |
When Steve Jobs was born on Febuary24,1955, in San Francisco , California, his unmarried mother decided to put him for adoption because she wanted a girl. So in the middle of the night, his mother called a lawyer named Paul Jobs and said, “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” But his mother told his future parents to promise that they would send Jobs to college. After Steve Jobs graduated from high school, he went to college but decided to drop out because it was so expensive that he had to sleep on the floor in his friends’ rooms.
At 20, he and a friend(Steve Wozniak) started a company in a garage on April 1, 1976. Jobs named their company ----Apple in memory of a happy summer he had spent as an orchard (果园) in Oregon.
After 10 years of hard time and failures, starting from two kids working in a garage, Apple computer eventually grew into a big company with over 4000 employees.
At 30, Jobs , however, was fired from the company he co-founded. But after he had to leave the company, Apple was under heavy pressure from rival (对手) Microsoft and in 1996 posted billions of dollars in losses. Apple needed Steve Jobs and he was appointed as Apple’ CEO in1997. Under his leadership, Apple returned to profitability and introduced new products such as the iPod, the iPhone and the iPod.
Steve Jobs once said, “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick, Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.Which of the following is right according to paragraph 1?
| A.Jobs’ unmarried mother adopted him. |
| B.Paul Jobs was a college teacher. |
| C.Jobs’ finished his education. |
| D.Jobs’ unmarried mother wanted a girl. |
Steve Jobs didn’t finish his college education because he ______.
| A.wanted to start a company. |
| B.had financial problems. |
| C.took no interest in his major. |
| D.hated to share rooms with his friends. |
It can be inferred that Apple____.
| A.was founded in Oregon |
| B.developed from a garage |
| C.had a difficult beginning |
| D.had a successful beginning |
What can we learn from what Steve Jobs said?
| A.Interest is key to success. |
| B.Hope helps us succeed. |
| C.Attitude is everything. |
| D.Courage goes with confidence. |
The weather is getting hotter. You are thirsty playing basketball or riding home from school. A cold drink may be just the thing. But be careful what you are drinking. Something that looks cool may not be good for your health. There are plenty of “energy drinks” on the market. Most of them have beautiful colors and cool names. The lists on them tell you they are helpful to your health. Sounds great!
But after a careful check you may find that most energy drinks have lots of caffeine(咖啡碱)in them. These drinks are especially aimed at young people, students, busy people and sports players. Makers sometimes say their drinks make you better at sports and can keep you awake. But be careful not to drink too much. Caffeine makes your heart beat fast. Because of this, the International Olympic Committee(IOC) has limited(限制) its use. Caffeine in most energy drinks is at least as strong as that in a cup of coffee or tea. Possible health dangers have something to do with energy drinks. Just one box of energy drink can make you nervous, have difficulty sleeping and can even cause heart problems. Scientists say that teenagers should be discouraged from taking drinks with a lot of caffeine in them.Many people like drinking energy drinks because of the following EXCEPT that ______.
| A.they have beautiful colors and cool names |
| B.they have lots of caffeine |
| C.they can keep them awake and better at sports |
| D.they are said to be helpful to health |
The underlined word “discouraged” can be replaced(替换) with ______.
| A.encouraged | B.stopped | C.helped | D.disliked |
From the passage we can know that ______.
| A.advertisements are important in getting people to buy energy drinks |
| B.energy drinks are helpful to teenagers’ study |
| C.sports players need to drink a lot of energy drinks |
| D.energy drinks are especially aimed at teenagers |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage? ______
| A.What’s the Use of Energy Drinks? |
| B.Who Can Drink Energy Drinks? |
| C.What’s that in Energy Drinks? |
| D.Why Can’t We Buy Energy Drinks? |
February has long been a month of romance. With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines.
On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolates, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine’s Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest in the third century Rome. When the emperor (皇帝) decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn’t allow marriage. But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death. While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today. Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a Saint (圣徒), as well as becoming one of history’s most romantic characters.
Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is also popular among Chinese young people. Some students are planning to make Valentine’s cards for parents, teachers and friends. Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped cakes. The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St. Valentine. Why did the emperor in Rome not allow marriage in his country?
| A.Because there were few women in his country at that time. |
| B.Because he thought men without wives could be better soldiers. |
| C.Because there wasn’t enough food for so many people. |
| D.Because he wanted to control the birth rate. |
Valentine was put into prison because ______.
| A.he killed one of the soldiers |
| B.he stole a lot of food |
| C.he didn’t obey the emperor’s order |
| D.he didn’t want to be a soldier |
The last paragraph mainly tells us ______.
| A.students in China send cards to their teachers |
| B.it is a good idea to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China |
| C.it is interesting to celebrate Valentine’s Day in China |
| D.Valentine’s Day is also popular in China now |
The best title for this passage should be ______.
| A.Valentine’s Day | B.A Brave Priest |
| C.Valentine’s Day in China | D.A Romantic Man |