Benjamin Franklin was born in 1706 and died in 1790.The philosopher（哲学家）and writer was one of the most important men in the early days of the United States. He believed strongly in the importance（重要性）of hard work, and he himself worked hard all his life, from the time he left school at the age of ten.
"Poor Richard," a character Franklin created, summarized（概括）Franklin's ideas in short sayings（谚语）. Many of Poor Richard's sayings are still remembered today. One of the most famous is "Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise," from the essay（散文）"The Way of Wealth."
In the same essay , Franklin talks about the danger of laziness and the value of ambitiousness（抱负）.He asks what is accomplished by "wishing and hoping for better times". He says that we can make these times better if we try hard enough. People who spend all their time just hoping will die without food. They shouldn't expect everything to be easy, or as Poor Richard says, "there are no gains without pains." Franklin also says that we should work today, not wait until tomorrow. "One today is worth two tomorrows," says Poor Richard." Never leave that till tomorrow, which you can do today."The main idea of the text is that _______________.
| A．one should have a clever mind |
| B．one should get up early |
| C．one should work hard all one’s life |
| D．one should make everything hard to do |
According to the text, Poor Richard is a person who _________________.
| A．used to help Franklin |
| B．appears in Franklin’s books |
| C．knows a lot of old sayings |
| D．works very hard all his life |
“one today is worth two tomorrows” means that ___________________.
| A．if you want to do something valuable（有价值的）, do it at once |
| B．one shouldn’t hope for better times |
| C．everyone can have a bright future |
| D．we have to enjoy ourselves today, not tomorrow |
News 1
Yuan Longping, the father of hybrid rice, won the World Food Prize on Monday. Yuan developed the world’s first popular and widely known hybrid rice. Hybrid rice plants can make more rice than regular ones.
News 2
Have you ever got angry at books that are full of mistakes? Don’t worry, things will get better soon. Last week, China started checking textbooks, dictionaries and children’s books all over the country. The government said the results of the check would come out at the end of June.
News 3
People will see a new “star” in the sky soon. China plants to send a satellite into space by December 2006.It will stay in space for one year. It will go around the moon and take pictures. It must be very expensive, right? That’s for sure; 1.4 billion yuan!
News 4
Have you ever thought of being able to fly around the world in a few hours? One day, maybe you can. Last Saturday, the American X-43A airplane made its first flight. It reached a speed of 8,000 kilometers per hour. This makes it the fastest plane in the world.X-43A is only three to four meters long, but it’s very heavy. It weighs 1,270 kilograms.The satellite sent by China will move around ________.
| A．the moon | B．the earth | C．the sun | D．the mars |
The speed of the fastest plane in the world is ______.
| A．1.4 kilometers per second | B．43 kilometers per minute |
| C．1,270 kilometers per hour | D．8,000 kilometers per hour |
The checking of textbooks, dictionaries and children’s books will __________.
| A．make a lot of money |
| B．make the children sad |
| C．make sure there are no mistakes in them |
| D．make sure the books are not too expensive |
Which of the following statements about the new star is NOT true?
| A．It will go around the moon. | B．It will stay in space for two years. |
| C．It costs a lot. | D．It will go into space by December 2006. |
Yuan Longping won the World Food Prize because ___________.
| A．he likes to eat hybrid rice |
| B．he is a successful father |
| C．he grows more rice than others |
| D．he developed the world’s first popular and widely grown hybrid rice |
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