There were two McDonalds—Mac and Dick—and they were brothers. In 1948 they owned a restaurant in California. They liked working in the restaurant, but they got tired of the customers ordering so many different things to eat.
“If we gave customers a smaller menu, we could make some of the food before they came, and they wouldn’t have to wait so long for their meals,” said one of the brothers. The other brother agreed and said, “And if we made the customers come to the counter, we wouldn’t need any waiters or waitresses. We could also use plastic plates so there wouldn’t be any washing-up.”
These were such good ideas that the McDonald brothers used them, and the customers were very pleased. They got their meals very quickly—in less than a minute—and they paid only 15 cents for hamburgers and 10 cents for fries (炸薯条). The first McDonald’s restaurant had no seats for customers to sit on. This meant that people had to take their food away, and that no one had to clean up any tables after them.
Then a man called Ray Kroc came to the brothers and asked to buy their business. They agreed to sell it to him for $ 27 million. After that, people paid Ray Kroc to open their own restaurant using the McDonald’s name and menu. Before long, there were McDonald’s restaurants all over the United States, and nowadays, they are all over the world—even in China and Russia. The most successful McDonald’s business is in Hong Kong of China. The Hong Kong McDonald’s sells more hamburgers every day than any other McDonald’s in the world.
McDonald’s restaurants are so successful that children love going to them. They like the food，and they like the toys and games they can get at McDonald’s.The McDonald brothers offered customers fewer kinds of foods so that _____.
| A．customers would get their meals quickly |
| B．they could use plastic plates |
| C．customers would pay less |
| D．they didn’t need waiters or waitresses |
Customers “paid only 15 cents for hamburgers” means the hamburgers were _____.
| A．worth a lot less | B．new | C．cheap | D．expensive |
The first McDonald’s customers took their food away because _____.
| A．they wanted to eat at home |
| B．there were no seats in the restaurant |
| C．they wanted to eat it quickly |
| D．they did not want a large menu |
Nowadays, the owners of McDonald’s restaurants pay for _____.
| A．People to take the food away |
| B．the McDonald’s name and menu |
| C．customers to eat quickly |
| D．children to play games |
This story mainly tells us _____.
| A．where McDonald’s restaurants are in the world |
| B．how Ray Kroc made money for the McDonald brothers |
| C．a restaurant in California in 1948 |
| D．how the McDonald’s business started and grew |
Alan worked in an office in the city. He worked very hard and really looked forward to his holiday. He usually went to the seaside, but one year he saw an ad. in a newspaper “Enjoy country life. Spend a few weeks at William Farm. Good food, fresh air, horse riding, walking, fishing…”
“This sounds like a good idea.”he thought, I’ll spend a month at William Farm. I’ll go horse riding, walking and fishing. It’ll be different from the seaside.” Four days later, he returned home.
“What’s wrong with William Farm?”His friend Jack asked him.“Didn’t you enjoy country life?”
“Country life was fine,”Alan said.“But there was another problem.”
“Oh, what problem?”
“Well, the first day I was there, a sheep died, and we had roast(烤肉) mutton for dinner.”
“Fresh meat is the best.”
“I know, but on the second day a cow died, and we had roast beef for dinner.”
“Lucky you!”
“You don’t understand,”Alan said,“On the third day a pig died and we had roast pork for dinner.”
“A different roast every day.”Jack said.
“Let me finish.”Alan said,“On the fourth day a farmer died and I didn’t want to stay there for dinner.”Alan saw ________ in a news paper.
| A．an ad. | B．a letter | C．a story | D．a report |
Alan usually went to ________ on the vacation.
| A．the mountains | B．the countryside |
| C．the seaside | D．William Farm |
Alan spent _________ at William Farm.
| A．four days | B．three months | C．a month | D．a few weeks |
Alan had roast _______ for dinner on the third day.
| A．mutton | B．pork | C．beef | D．fish |
From the passage we know that ________.
| A．Alan left the farm because he missed his family |
| B．Alan left the farm because he had four dinners at the farm |
| C．Alan left the farm because he couldn’t go fishing at the farm |
| D．Alan came back home because he was afraid of the fourth dinner |
A. There will probably be no school on Mars.
B. It might take us two or three days to get to Mars.
C. There is a problem for us to live on Mars.
D. Food will not be the same.
E. First, people will have more space.
Many people believe that, by the year 2100, we will live on the planet Mars(火星). Here is what life could be like.
First of all, transport should be much better. By 2100, spaceship can travel at half the speed of light.
Secondly, humans need food, water and air to live. Scientists should be able to find plants that can grow on Mars. These plants will provide us with food and air.We could easily jump too high and fly slowly away into space. To prevent this, humans on Mars have to wear special shoes to make themselves heavier.
Life on Mars will be better in many ways.It is possible to live in a large building with many bedrooms. Then, robot will do most of the work, so we have more time for hobbies.
Every student can study, do their homework on the computer and take exams in online schools. Each student will also have their own online teacher called “e-teacher”.
However, in some ways, life on Mars may not be better than that on the earth today.Meals will probably be in the shape of pills(药片) and will not be as delicious as they are today. Also, space travel will make many people feel ill.
A lot of teenagers are good at art at school, but how would you feel if people called you “the new Picasso(毕加索)” or if presidents and other famous people collected your paintings?
Alexandra Nechita was ten when her paintings became famous all over the world. She visited Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and her family’s native place (祖籍) Romania where 5,000 fans came to see her at the airport. Alexandra said, “When it all started, I was moved. It was very exciting and I loved the traveling, but I got very tired. And I missed home.”
Alexandra is a good student. Her studies always come first. She only starts painting after she’s done her homework. She works on two or three paintings at a time. The paintings sell for thousands and Alexandra’s parents have given up their jobs to work for their daughter. Life for the Nechita family is very different from what it was like a few years ago.
Alexandra’s father Niki left Romania for political reasons in 1985. At first he tried his best to learn English and had different kinds of low-paid jobs. In 1987, he brought his wife and Alexandra, who was then 18 months old, to America. The family was very poor. Alexandra began to draw at the age of three.
She was drawing for four or five hours a day. Soon people offered to buy her paintings and she had her first art show at the age of eight. Stories about this child appeared in the newspapers and television. They now live in a large house with a swimming pool. Her mother said, “We started without anything, but thanks to Alexandra, we have everything we ever dreamed of.”Alexandra became well-known all over the world for her paintings at the age of _______.
| A．18months | B．three | C．eight | D．ten |
Which country does Alexandra live?
| A．America. | B．Britain. | C．Romania. | D．France. |
Alexandra’s painting _________.
| A．took her a lot of time at school |
| B．made her drop out of school |
| C．didn’t influence her studies at school |
| D．made her fall behind others in studies at school |
When her family arrived in America in 1987, _________.
| A．their life was very hard |
| B．they lived by selling Alexandra’s paintings |
| C．Alexandra began to draw her painting |
| D．her parents left their jobs and worked for her |
From the passage, we can learn ________.
| A．Alexandra was not interested in travelling |
| B．Alexandra’s success changed her family’s life |
| C．Alexandra’s parents were good at English |
| D．Alexandra’s stories appeared often on the radio and TV |
Alexis Rocha is a 13-year-old boy from California, US. He weighs 147 pounds (67 kg). But six months ago, he weighed more than 202 pounds (91 kg). How did he lose all that weight in only half a year?
“One day, I was surprised to find that I weighed about 200 pounds,” Rocha says. “I thought I had to do something.”
Rocha is from a boxing (拳击) family—his father and two older brothers are professional boxers. So he decided to start boxing. He began with simple exercises, like sit-ups and push-ups (俯卧撑). Then Rocha started jogging(慢跑). “No kid likes running,” he says. “I don’t want to do it, either, but I have no choice but to keep on.”
Months later, Rocha joined a boxing club in his city. He is always the first kid at the club to begin exercising, and the last to leave with sweat (汗水) on his face. Every day he boxes for about three hours.
“Rocha works very hard,” says his coach, Hector Lopez. “It’s surprising to see him lose the pounds so quickly. I’ve never seen anything like this in my 20 years of coaching.”
Rocha is very happy with his weight now. There is a family photo in his room from 18 months ago. “Each time I look at the photo, I laugh at myself. I was so big back then,” Rocha says. “I look 100 times thinner and 1,000 times stronger now.”How much weight did Rocha lose in six months?
A. At least 24 pounds. B. At least 30 pounds. C. At least 55 pounds. Rocha said he had no choice but to keep on running because_______.
A. he liked running very much
B. he wanted to be thin and strong
C. he wanted to be a professional boxerWhat makes Coach Hector Lopez surprised?
A. Rocha lost weight so quickly.
B. Rocha was so fat 18 months ago.
C. Rocha comes from a boxing family.What’s the correct order of the following sentences?
a. He did some sit-ups and push-ups.
b. He lost the pounds quickly.
c. He joined a boxing club.
d. He began running.
f. He boxed for about three hours every day.
A. a-d-c-f-b B. d-a-f-c-b C. a-d-f-c-bThe writer mainly wants to tell us _______.
A. Rocha is a hardworking boy
B. it is important to get exercise
C. everything is possible if you work hard
On the night of May 9, 2011, musician Gao Xiaosong ran his car into three other cars in Beijing.
But it wasn’t just a car accident—he was drunk(喝醉的).
Now, Gao has to go to prison (监狱) for six months and pay a 4,000 yuan fine.
Gao is the first star to be punished under China’s new drunk driving law.
From May 1 on, drunk drivers will pay a fine, and be banned from driving for five years or even forever.
Drunk driving has become a serious social problem in China.
According to the Ministry of Public Security (公安部), police caught more than half a million drunk drivers last year, a 68 % increase from 2009.
The new law sees drunk driving as a crime.
In the West, drunk driving is also a crime.
In the US, for example, if the police catch a drunk driver, the driver will pay a fine, lose his or her license (驾照) and even go to prison. If the driver wants to drive again, he or she must do
public service, and take part in educational programs.
You may think: drunk driving is a crime? Isn’t this law too unkind? But experts say: not at all.
“It is to protect people’s rights to life and health,” Li Gang, lawyer in Chengdu, told China Daily. “Drunk driving is very dangerous. No matter what the results are, it should not be allowed.” Mr. Gao ran his car into three other cars because _________.
A. he went home too late
B. he drank too much wine
C. the road was too crowded What does the underlined word “fine” in the third paragraph refer to(指)?
A. Health. B. Weather. C. Money.When did the new law come into use?
A. May 1, 2010. B. May 1, 2011. C. May 9, 2011.What do experts think of the new law?
A. Drunk driving is a crime.
B. The law is not kind to drunk drivers.
C. Driving has become a serious problem. Which of the following sentence is TRUE?
A. Li Gang from Chengdu doesn’t like the law.
B. In the US, drunk drivers will only lose their licenses.
C. There were more drunk drivers in 2010 than in 2009.