Many years ago, I went through a tough time．One afternoon, I picked my girls up．It was late when we returned home．I went to unlock the door and found my key wouldn’t go in．I kept trying while my daughter went to get a flashlight．When she returned with it we found somehow the lock had been “stuffed” with sunflower seed shells．Thinking that one of the neighborhood children had been up to no good, I really didn’t give it much consideration．
I found all windows were locked up tight．So I returned to the back door．Oh my God, I will never forget the shock of that moment．The house was empty！Other than a few things remaining on the back porch, everything was gone！Then I heard a car pull into the driveway and found two policemen walking up．They inquired why I had broken into the house．They then asked me for proof that I lived at that address, so I asked them to wait a minute while I went to get my rent receipt and identification from inside the house．I explained the matter to them and showed them the door lock．
At this point they were not buying any of my story．I could tell from their actions and tone of voice that they thought I was breaking into an empty house for somewhere to sleep．
I asked a neighbor for the phone number of house owner and the officer made a call．The owner was quite shocked to hear my story．She said that my roommate had been going through an eviction（驱逐）process with the court when I moved in with her and had lost the case．She had been ordered to move by 10 am on that date．The court order had been issued the same day I had paid her 1/2 of the rent and a deposit of $300,000．
The owner was very kind and understanding but there was nothing she could do．The house had been rented already and the people were to move in the following weekend．
The officers let me go and I went to gather my girls into the car．They were both exhausted and old．Also very frightened, because they thought their mamma was going to jail．I had to pull over because the tears took control．I couldn’t believe it！Everything we owned was gone, I had used up all our money moving in and paying my “friend” our share of costs．I knew very few people in town, as we had just moved there recently．
I went to sit back in the car with the girls, I talked to the girls, explaining our situation to them so that they wouldn’t be afraid．During this time there was a “street person” with a bag, looking in the garbage for cans, bottles, and anything that might bring him some cash．But I didn’t pay much attention to him．I decided to get the girls something to eat for breakfast．We grabbed some bread, and chips and returned for a “picnic”．When we got there, I noticed that the man was not alone．He was with a small group of others like him and they were passing a hat amongst themselves．
I was busy setting up our little “picnic” when I heard a voice saying, “MaAm, please excuse… but…well…I overheard the situation you are in, and well… I and the fellows took up a collection for you and your little girls．It’s not very much, but maybe it’ll help a little．” I looked up at this man---dirty, needing a shave ----and saw the face of an angel．I started crying．The man tried to hand me $30．I folded his hand back over the money and just hugged him as tight as I could．I told him, “Thank you for your more than generous offer, but we are going to be just fine．” He didn’t believe me at first, but I convinced him that it was okay．
Later that afternoon I went to the market and bought the making for a barbecue and off to that little park．It didn’t take us very long to find those gentlemen and invite them to join us for lunch．I had a wonderful afternoon that day, sitting there with those old guys, singing songs．They had some of the most entertaining stories and they shared the dreams they once had．They shared themselves… from the heart．
The writer couldn’t open the door because ________
| A．she didn’t have the right key |
| B．there was something else in the lock |
| C．someone had changed the lock |
| D．the owner of the house refused her living there |
How did the writer come into the house？
| A．She came in with the help of the policemen |
| B．She came in by breaking the glass |
| C．She came in with the help of a flashlight |
| D．She came in from the back door |
When the writer came into her house, she must feel _____
| A．excited | B．confused | C．shocked | D．frustrated |
The writer was not allowed to stay at the house because ____
| A．she was cheated by her roommate and the house had been rented to others |
| B．the house owner was angry about her breaking the glass of the house |
| C．she hadn’t paid her share of rent |
| D．she was ordered to move out by the court |
The underlined sentence "At this point they were not buying any of my story."may mean__________
| A．the policemen didn't have enough money |
| B．the policemen didn't believe the writer's words |
| C．the policemen helped the writer to break the window |
| D．the policemen wanted to get the rent receipt |
Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?
| A．The street person was poor and didn't dress well |
| B．The writer accepted the money the street person gave her |
| C．The street person didn't know the writer before |
| D．The writer got along well with the street person and his fellows |
Country singer and songwriter Adrienne Young brings together music and agricultural activities．She even included seeds in the album cover of her first CD．
Adrienne Young wants people to know that she supports the movement in America to increase local farming．She offers information about agricultural issues on her Web site．And now part of the moneyfrom her third and newest release, “Room to Grow”，will be donated to help support community gardens．
Adrienne Young’s family has lived in Florida for seven generations．Her ancestors helped develop the agriculture industry there．The state of Florida is the nation’s second largest producer of fruits and vegetables, 'after California．
Adrienne Young has said that her interest in nature was shaped by the fact that she did not grow up on a farm．She grew up in a house her grandfather build on what had been farmland two generations ago．But the land was developed and was now part of a highway．
Adrienne Young has teamed up with two organizations that support local farming and gardening efforts．One is the American Community Gardening Association．The other is FoodRoutes，a group she has represented for several years．
FoodRoutes says buying locally grown food is not only about taste and freshness．The group says buying locally also helps to strengthen local economies and protect the environment．Exports say food in the United States travels all average of more than three thousand kilometers from farm to store．The aim to write the passage is to _________ ．
| A．tell us a singer aims to grow interest in local farming |
| B．show Adrienne Young promotes her third CD album |
| C．praise Adrienne Young for her contributions to agriculture |
| D．call on singers to learn from Adrienne Young |
Adrienne Young supports to increase local farming in _______ ways．
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．five |
It can be learned from the passage that ________ ．
| A．Adrienne Young’s parents used to be farmers |
| B．Adrienne Young grew up on a farm |
| C．Florida is good for farming |
| D．no old houses existing on the farm belongs to Adrienne Young |
Buying locally grown food has many advantages EXCEPT _________ ．
| A．it is fresh | B．it’s tasty |
| C．it’s environmental protection | D．it raises local production |
It’s not polite to arrive at a dinner party more than 15 to 20 minutes late. The host or hostess usually waits for all the guests to arrive before serving the meal. If someone is late, the food may be spooked , and so might the host of hostess’s spirit. If you will have to be late, call and tell them to start without you.
It’s even worse to be early !the host or hostess will probably not be ready. If you are early, drive or walk around the block a few minutes, or just sit in your car until the right time.
Though it’s often important to arrive at a party on time, yet on the other hand, for open houses, he host or hostess invites guests to arrive and leave between certain times, so you can arrive at any time within the times he or she gives you.
It’s nice to bring an empty stomach, but it’s even nicer to bring a small present. The present should not cost a lot, or you might embarrass the host or hostess. Flowers, wine, or a box of candy will do fine. Never bring more as a present.
In an introduction, the order of a name is (1)the given name, (2)the family name. In other words, the given name comes first. It’s important not only to learn and remember names, but to repeat them often in conversation. After the introduction, we usually call friends by their given names. Older people may want you to call them by their titles and family names, such as “Mr.Jones”, “Mr.Smith”,”Ms.Johson”,or “Dr.Brown”.
A maiden name is a woman’s family name at birth. In the United States and Canada, after a woman marries, she takes the family name of her husband in place of her maiden name. It is now becoming common, however, for women to keep their maiden names after they get married.If someone is late for a dinner party, _______
| A．the guest will have to go hungry |
| B．the host and the hostess will be in low spirits |
| C．the host and the hostess will be very angry |
| D．he guests will be angry |
If you find you will have to be late for a finer party, you should _____
| A．send someone to tell the host or hostess not to wait for you |
| B．call and tell the host or the hostess not to wait for you |
| C．call and tell the host or the hostess to wait for you |
| D．send someone to tell the host or hostess to wait for you |
It can be guessed from the text that an open house is______
| A．a house which is open day and night |
| B．a party which is open to anybody |
| C．a party at which guests can come and go between certain times |
| D．a party which is open at night |
It’s nice to bring a _______ present.
| A．cheap |
| B．small |
| C．good |
| D．big |
Some older people usually want to be called by _____
| A．their given names |
| B．their titles and their family names |
| C．their family names |
| D．surnames |
How much rain has fallen on the earth in the past? Man has not always kept weather records. Because scientists need a way to learn about past rainfall, they study the tree rings.
A tree’s trunk (树干) keeps growing year by year. Under its bark (树皮), a tree adds a layer of new wood each year it lives. If you look at a tree stump, you can see the layers. They are called annual ring (年轮).
On some trees, all of the rings are of the same width. But the ponderosa(美国黄松) that grows in the American southwest have rings in different withes. The soil in he southwest is dry. The pines depend on rainfall for water. In a year of good rainfall, they form wide rings. In a dry year, they form narrow ones.
Scientists do not have to cut down a pine to study its rings. With a special tool, they remove a narrow piece of wood from the trunk without harming the tree. Then they look at the width of each ring to see how much rain fell in the year it formed.
Some pines are hundreds of years old and have hundreds of rings. These rings are from an annual record o0f past rainfall in the southwest.We could infer from the passage that ______.
| A．a tree grows faster when it has a lot of water |
| B．scientists cut down trees to study tree rings |
| C．pine trees form rings of he same width every year |
| D．the ponderosa grows in he southeast |
A tree grows a new layer of wood _____.
| A．each week | B．whenever it rains | C．every year | D．every season |
On the whole, the passage is about _____.
| A．why the tree trunks grow bigger |
| B．why scientists study tree rings |
| C．trees that lived hundreds of years ago |
| D．the ponderosa in the US |
The scientists _____ to know how much rain fell in a certain area in the past.
| A．climbed up the tree | B．moved the pine tree |
| C．removed a piece of wood | D．studied the width of the tree rings |
Which of he following is true according to the passage?
| A．Young trees have fewer annual rings than old one. |
| B．The trunk of a tree never changes in size. |
| C．Trees in the southwest do not need rain. |
| D．Soil in the southwest is fit for the growth of trees. |
This dictionary tells you about English words and how to use them in reading, writing and speaking English. It not only gives the meaning of words, it can also help you with spelling, word building, grammar and pronunciation.
To use your dictionary correctly, you will find two spellings for this word. “Colour” is used in British English, while “color” is used in American English. When there are differences between British and American spelling, the dictionary shows it with the word “BrE” for British English and “AmE” for American English.
The dictionary also helps you pronounce words correctly. If you turn to the inside back face, you will see all the phonetic letters (音标 ) with some words to show you how they are pronounced. Just look at the inside back cover when you're not sure how to say a word.
The most important reason for using a dictionary is to find out the meaning of a word — its definition.
In this dictionary, the definitions have been written using only 2, 000 words. This means that the definitions of even the most difficult words are simple and easy to understand.________ of the words in the dictionary have two spellings.
| A．All | B．Some | C．Few | D．One |
What is the main reason for us to use a dictionary？
| A．To read the word correctly. |
| B．To write the word out. |
| C．To know the meaning of the word. |
| D．To find the difference between British English and American English. |
The phonetic letters helps you ________ each word correctly.
| A．say | B．write | C．understand | D．know |
The Chinese meaning of “definition” here is________.
| A．词性 | B．词条 | C．词义 | D．词库 |
How many words are there in this dictionary?
| A．Two thousand. | B．One thousand. | C．One hundred. | D．We don't know. |
Sometimes children do not do what their parents tell them to do. When this happens, a parent tries to help the child to do the right thing. When this does not work, the parent usually punishes the child.
There are many things that a parent can do. One thing that people have done is to spank (打屁股) the child. When a parent spanks a child, they will use their hand or a hard object to strike them on their bottom. This is meant to show the child that they have done something wrong.
One parent remembers being spanked when he was a child. His parents used a wooden spoon. When he spanked his own children with his hand, he saw that he put a red mark on his child’s leg. He never did that again.
One problem with spanking is that it teaches the child to hit someone when they do not like what the other person is doing. Another problem with spanking is that the parent is usually angry and can hit the child too hard. Sometimes parents will use spanking for everything and not try other ways to get the child to do the right thing.
Many parents are not sure what to do instead of spanking. Some people think that their religion（宗教）tells them that spanking is okay. Some think that the law lets them do it. The courts say that parents have the right to teach their children how to behave.
Other things should be tried before a parent decides to spank a child. Telling the child exactly what is wanted from them can be one thing. Giving a child more than one choice is another thing that can be tried. Getting down to the child’s level and taking a more child-friendly approach can help as well.According to the passage, when children do something wrong, one thing that parents usually do to punish them is to ________.
| A．strike them on the bottom | B．try to help them do the right thing |
| C．teach them what to do | D．take them to court |
Which of the following is NOT the problem caused by spanking?
| A．It teaches the child to hit others when they offend him or her. |
| B．The parent may get angry and hit the child too hard. |
| C．Sometimes parents may use spanking for everything. |
| D．It makes parents try other ways to make the child do right. |
Which of the following can best describe the writer’s attitude towards spanking?
| A．favorable (赞同的) | B．indifferent (不关心) | C．interested | D．unfavorable |
From this passage, we can conclude that ________.
| A．Good children always do the right thing. |
| B．Parents should try their best to avoid spanking their children. |
| C．Parents have no choice but to spank their children when they do something wrong. |
| D．Children can have more than one choice to avoid being spanked. |