Alongtimeago,therewasanemperor-优题课

It started 30 years ago with a squirrel.A few months after I had moved into a downtown（1）　　，my next﹣door neighbor，Nicole Figaro，knocked，asking for help with a squirrel that had gotten into her flat.

I frightened the unexpected （2）　　 away and made a new friend.Soon Nicole was inviting me over for dinner or （3）　　 home﹣made food at my door.When I went to my beach house，Nicole helped （4）　　 my mail and water my plants.And when she traveled as a flight attendant，I did the same for her.Wherever she went，she'd （5）　　 to bring me wonderful gifts，but her smile has been the greatest of all.

In 1997，I had a lovely child and it was Nicole who took care of me and him.Years later，I returned the favour.I helped out when her husband was sick，（6）　　 her and giving her support.More and more，we drew inspiration from each other.

（7）　　，the pandemic hit.My husband was out of work and my son couldn't be back to Britain because of the virus.I was （8）　　 about them.Nicole helped my family to prepare for the pandemic and shared necessities with me.Without her，I couldn't go through（9）　　times.

A（10）　　 might separate our flats and masks can separate the viruses，but nothing is able to separate our hearts.

（1）A.house	B.flat	C.street	D.area
（2）A.customer	B.host	C.guest	D.enemy
（3）A.selling	B.making	C.posting	D.leaving
（4）A.look for	B.copy down	C.pick up	D.hold out
（5）A.forget	B.keep	C.think	D.remember
（6）A.helping out	B.staying with	C.smiling at	D.depending on
（7）A.Especially	B.Actually	C.Generally	D.Unluckily
（8）A.worried	B.mad	C.nervous	D.serious
（9）A.exciting	B.simple	C.difficult	D.good
（10）A.room	B.wall	C.yard	D.garden

The Picture of Peace

When Mike was seven，he knew his dream was to be a photographer.He kept working on it for years.Recently，he was trying to take a picture of a sunset（日落） to enter the school （1）　　 competition.

"Mom，it has been cloudy these days.I don't think I can get this picture!" Mike complained.

"Why not use one of your photos on the computer？" suggested Mom.

"I can't﹣the rules say the photos have to be taken with a traditional camera.We hand in a roll of film，it gets developed（冲洗胶卷），and we（2）　　one photo for the competition. "

"Why is a sunset so important？" Mom asked.

"The（3）　　of the competition is peace，" Mike explained， "and I feel most peaceful seeing a sunset."

Zach，his six﹣year﹣old brother came out of the bedroom. " Hey，you want to take a picture of me？Look!" He put both arms over his head.

"Not right now，" said Mike，laughing.

That very afternoon，Mike felt excited when he saw clear skies.He carefully lined up his shot（镜头） and waited（4）　　till the sun reached the ground.

"That's it!Perfect!" he shouted cheerfully.

The next morning，Mike noticed he could take one more picture to complete the roll of film，so he walked into Zach's room.Zach was （5）　　quietly with a teddy bear under his arm.Mike didn't wake Zach up，and carefully took a picture of him.

A week later，Mike got the photos.The sunset picture was the one he was most（6）　　to see.There it was!It was as nearly perfect as Mike had expected.

Then，he looked through the other photos.Suddenly，he stopped.His eyebrows（眉毛） rose as he （7）　　the photo of Zach.He looked back at the photo of the sunset，which seemed less perfect now.He （8）　　the two choices.Finally，he decided to hand in the photo of Zach for the competition.

（1）A.violin	B.tennis	C.photo	D.chess
（2）A.choose	B.collect	C.describe	D.design
（3）A.prize	B.topic	C.result	D.purpose
（4）A.politely	B.bravely	C.hopefully	D.secretly
（5）A.playing	B.reading	C.writing	D.sleeping
（6）A afraid	B.eager	C.surprised	D.confused
（7）A.studied	B.shared	C.copied	D.fixed
（8）A.changed	B.offered	C.accepted	D.weighed

It is a basic ability for humans to tell more from less.Surprisingly，a number of animals（1）　　this ability too.They will（2）　　more of something.Horses，for example，will go for a group of three apples instead of two apples.

This ability is（3）　　to animals in lots of ways.It helps them（4）　　the larger group of friends.Many fishes，for example，join groups for（5）　　.If a predator （掠食动物）comes，a fish in a group of 40 is less possible to become lunch than a fish in a group of 10.So if a fish has a choice between two groups，it's safer to join the（6）　　one.A sense of number even helps keep the（7）　　.For example，a monkey group will avoid fights with other groups when they find their（8）　　is not an advantage.

Also，the ability to do simple（9）　　is a sure thing for some animals.They（10）　　the difference between one，two，and three.

Some others can count much higher than three.

（1）A.have	B.miss	C.doubt	D.hate
（2）A.grow	B.cook	C.pick	D.leave
（3）A.fresh	B.useful	C.correct	D.direct
（4）A.hide	B.beat	C.push	D.find
（5）A.safety	B.holiday	C.discussion	D.exercise
（6）A.faster	B.larger	C.busier	D.quieter
（7）A.secret	B.interest	C.peace	D.record
（8）A.age	B.number	C.time	D.speed
（9）A.counting	B.jumping	C.dancing	D.swimming
（10）A.mix	B.like	C.ask	D.know

When I was young，I was interested in Chinese movies that I wanted to know more about Chinese culture like Kungfu and Xiqu.I often（1）　　to go to China one day.

Luckily，when I was learning theater at university，I was provided with a chance to study（2）　　.There was a programme study Asian theater arts either in China or in India.I（3）　　to go to China and learn Beijing Opera in a Chinese theater school.The school offered me a place to practice.It was good（4）　　I could practice whenever I wanted.Also I had（5）　　lessons ﹣the teacher would give me one﹣to﹣one class for three hour.That was the best part of my study in China.I do appreciate（感激）this chance to（6）　　the beautiful art!

I got a lot from my study in China.It has greatly（7）　　me and helped me develop into a more skillful（8）　　.This Chinese art gives me plenty of（9）　　so I can use them when I perform （表演）other shows in Europe.I have（10）　　an art center to teach Beijing Opera，Now there are more fans of Beijing Opera in my country.

（1）A.chose	B.managed	C.forgot	D.dreamed
（2）A.here	B.inside	C.abroad	D.online
（3）A.failed	B.decided	C.regretted	D.continued
（4）A.until	B.though	C.unless	D.because
（5）A.easy	B.private	C.boring	D.social
（6）A.learn	B.expect	C.test	D.celebrate
（7）A influenced	B.troubled	C.guarded	D.controlled
（8）A.writer	B.doctor	C.actor	D.pilot
（9）A.orders	B.clothes	C.tools	D.poems
（10）A.kept off	B.broken into	C pointed out	D.set up

"Everybody， it' s time for our group project． Let's get to work!" says Ms．White．

Amy is the leader of one group． She is not （1）　　forward to working with her group because a boy named Ray is always absent from the group meetings．He doesn′ t follow the rules ，and he（2）　　to do any work．This slows the whole group down．

Amy considers telling Ms．White about these problems， but she doesn't want to get Ray in trouble．（3）　　， she decides to talk to him and find out what the（4）　　is． She says，"Everyone is working hard on our project． But so far， you haven't done anything． Is there something wrong？"

Ray thinks（5）　　 for a few seconds， and finally says， "It' s not that I don't want to be in the （6）　　．Sometimes， I don' t really understand the things we' re learning． I know it' s not fair， but I don't want to say something stupid， so I do（7）　　．

Now Amy understands． Ray isn't （8）　　he just needs help!"From now on， she says，"I will do my best to help you feel more confident （自信的）． Then you can do your share， and it will be （9）　　for everyone．"Thank you! I'll try hard to do my part．" says Ray．

Amy feels happy． She realizes that（10）　　about problems is better than keeping them as secrets．

（1）A． putting	B． looking	C． carrying	D． taking
（2）A． likes	B． wants	C． agrees	D． refuses
（3）A．Instead	B． Also	C． Although	D． And
（4）A． advice	B． purpose	C． problem	D． suggestion
（5）A． quietly	B． happily	C． strangely	D． surprisingly
（6）A． class	B． group	C． school	D． work
（7）A． everything	B． something	C． nothing	D． anything
（8）A．friendly	B． honest	C． brave	D．lazy
（9）A．fair	B． unfair	C． lucky	D． unlucky
（10）A． caring	B． talking	C． thinking	D． dealing