Jeanne Calment, a French woman, became a record breaker on 17 October of 1995, when at the age of 120 years and 238 days, she became the longest-lived human being on record. A Japanese man died in 1986 at the age of 120 years and 237 days.
Jeanne Calment lives in a small old people’s home in the south of France; her husband, her only child and her grandson have all died. She is nearly blind and deaf and is always in a wheelchair, but her doctor describes her as being more like a 90-year-old in good health than someone of 120. She still has a lively sense of humor. When asked on her 120th birthday what she expected of the future, she replied: A very short one. She also remarked that she thought the good Lord had forgotten all about her.
So what is the key to a long life? According to some doctors, diet, exercise and no smoking are the three important factors. Jeanne Calment has followed two of the tips. She has always eaten a healthy diet, and she used to do exercise every day until she broke her leg at the age of 115. However, until recently she drank two glasses of strong red wine a day, and she does smoke (now only a little). Besides, Jeanne Calment might have got very good genes from her parents. Her father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to 86.
A local lawyer bought her house when she was 80 under an agreement that he would pay her some money every year until her death. It must have seemed a good move at the time, but so far the lawyer has paid her at least three times the value of the house. Every year on her birthday Jeanne Calment sends him a card saying:
Sorry, I’m still alive!How does Jeanne Calment feel about her old age?
| A．She is miserable and unhappy. |
| B．She is cheerful and humorous. |
| C．She would like to live much longer. |
| D．She feels she is going to die very soon. |
Jeanne Calment owes her good health and long life to _______.
| A．smoking only a little every day |
| B．her giving up smoking and drinking |
| C．drinking two glasses of strong red wine every day |
| D．the good genes from her parents, a healthy diet and some exercise |
Which of the following could best replace the word “move” in the fourth paragraph?
| A．deal | B．trick | C．march | D．sport |
Why does Jeanne Calment say “Sorry, I’m still alive” to the local lawyer every year on her birthday?
| A．Because she had an agreement at 80 with the lawyer which was to her advantage. |
| B．Because she has asked the lawyer to pay her more rent than they first agreed. |
| C．Because the lawyer has paid her much more money than the value of the house. |
| D．Because the house she sold to the lawyer isn’t worth the money he has already paid. |
A group of travelers were having dinner in a restaurant .While they were eating fish, they began to tell stories about finding valuable stones inside fish .
An old man ,who had listened to their conversation quietly ,said at last ,”Now I’m going to tell you a true story of my own .When I was young ,I worked in a large company in London .As is usual with other young people ,I fell in love with a pretty girl .Soon we were engaged .Two months before our marriage ,I was suddenly sent to Edinburgh on business .My stay was a bit longer than I had expected .At last my work was done and I left for home .Before I left Edinburgh , I bought a nice diamond ring for my sweet-heart .On my way to London ,I was looking through a newspaper .It was then that I learned of my sweet-heart’s getting married to another man. I was so sad that I threw the diamond ring into the water. A few days later, when I was eating fish ,I bit on something very hard .What do you think it was?
“The diamond ring ,” shouted his friends . “No,” said the old man sadly ,It was a fish bone.The young man bought a diamond ring ______
| A．soon after he started working in Edinburgh . |
| B．when he got engaged to his sweet-heart . |
| C．after her marriage. |
| D．when he was going to return. |
The man was very angry because _______
| A．he threw away his diamond ring. |
| B．his sweet-heart had married someone else |
| C．he had been away longer than expected |
| D．a hard stone gave him a terrible pain |
The other travelers expected the old man to ____
| A．get back the diamond ring |
| B．bite on a stone |
| C．find a fish bone |
| D．tell an interesting but untrue story. |
One year, my school report made my parents angry. On Christmas Eve, all the presents were stolen, along with our TV. My parents told me that there were no presents because Santa was very angry with my behavior over the past year. The next year on Christmas Eve I slept downstairs with a plastic sword waiting for Santa to make sure that he didn't steal the new TV. The next morning, when I woke up, I saw Santa standing there. As soon as I saw that there were no presents, I grabbed my plastic sword and ran at him, shouting angrily: "THIEF! THIEF!"
Jack
When I was young, we always had a specific room for the Christmas tree. My mom never really liked the location, so one year she moved the tree into another room. I was convinced that Santa would not know where the tree was and would get lost in our house. I was worried that he would be mad and put me on the "bad" list and would not give me any gifts because he couldn't find the tree. I came up with the idea to make signs leading from the fireplace to the tree. They said things like: "Tree this way" or "Santa, put the gifts over here." When my big brother saw them he began to laugh his head off.
Lucy
Does everyone remember going to the mall and sitting on Santa’s lap to have his picture taken at Christmas time?
Well, I used to think that if I did that, Santa would get mad bcause he would have to go all around the world and give every kid the chance to have his picture taken with him. Of course his lap would hurt and he would be very fired. I thought he might keep a copy of the picture and that would be how he decided who would be on his naughty list.
My mom couldn't get me onto Santa's lap until she made him promise I wouldn't end up on his naughty list.
LydiaThe real reason why Jack's TV was taken away is that ______________.
| A．his parents were too careless |
| B．his parents thought he had watched too much TV |
| C．Santa Claus was not satisfied with Jack’s behavior |
| D．Santa gave the TV to another child as a present |
Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons why Lucy didn't want the tree to be moved?
| A．Santa would not know where the tree was. |
| B．Santa would be angry and would not give her any gifts. |
| C．Her big brother might laugh at her. |
| D．Santa might think she was a "bad" child. |
We can learn from the third story that _______________.
| A．Lydia’s mother was very Strict with her |
| B．Lydia believed in Santa when she was young |
| C．Lydia was naughty when she was young |
| D．Lydia liked taking pictures with Santa |
Why didn't Lydia want to take pictures with Santa?
| A．She was afraid that Santa would get mad with her. |
| B．She was afraid that Santa would get too tired and hurt himself. |
| C．She disliked the idea that Santa would keep a copy of her picture. |
| D．She feared that she would appear in the Santa's naughty list. |
I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have eggs and toast. Others had cokes and candy for lunch while I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different from the other kids’. But at least I was not alone in my suffering. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.
My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing. We had to wear clean clothes every day. Other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of disgrace(丢脸) because she made our clothes herself, just to save money.
The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by 9:00 each night and up at 7:45 the next morning. So while my friends slept, my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law. She made us work. I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us. Through the years, our friends’ report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother, however, would merely be content with black marks. None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout.
She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. Using this as a background, I’m now trying to bring up my three children. I’m filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.From the passage we can learn that the writer’s mother was .
| A．not generous at all |
| B．very strict with her children |
| C．very mean with money matters |
| D．very cruel to her children |
Which of the following things did the writer hate to do most?
| A．Eating differently from other kids. |
| B．Wearing clean clothes made by mother |
| C．Going to bed early and getting up early |
| D．Letting mother know where they were |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
| A．the writer worked hard and usually got good grades in studies |
| B．mother was punished for breaking Child Labor Law |
| C．all the other kids studied better than the writer |
| D．the writer’s family lived a miserable life |
The passage was written in a tone.
| A．humorous | B．hateful | C．unfriendly | D．angry |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Mother tried to save every penny to run her home |
| B．The writer is very grateful to her mother |
| C．The writer is severe with her children when bringing them up |
| D．The wrier hates her mother very much |
One morning, Charley, a little green frog, was sitting in a pond(池塘) by the side of the road.
Wanda, the neighborhood witch(女巫), was walking along the road. She was a good witch and dreamt to become a fairy godmother who can save people from trouble with magic powers. Wanda had been learning fairy godmother magic for 103 years. That morning, she decided to try the magic she had learned and bring happiness to others.
Seeing Wanda, Charley cried, “Hi, Wanda.”
“Hi, Charley,” replied Wanda, “I have a surprise for you.”
Then, Wanda waved her wand(魔杖), said a magic word, and Charley turned into a prince!
When Charley-turned-prince looked at himself in the water, he cried, “Hey! You turned me into a prince! It’s a surprise all right, but I don’t want to be a prince! Change me back right now!”
“Oh, dear,” Wanda said. “you shouted so loud that I forgot the way to change you back. But who wouldn’t rather be a prince?”
“I wouldn’t!” cried Charley. “I want to be a frog!” He stuck out his tongue, missing a bug (虫子) flying by the end of his nose. “Look at that, Wanda! I was a good fly catcher. But now, this tongue is too short! Please change me back!”
“I can’t, Charley. But you’ll learn to be happy as a prince.” She waved her wand, and suddenly a castle appeared. Out of the castle dozens of musicians were playing various instruments. “Charley! You’ll have servants, eat delicious foods, and you can sing and dance and snap fingers(弹响指).”
“No!” Charley interrupted.(打断) “I don’t want all these! I want bugs!” Charley cried. “I don’t want to sing and dance! And why would I do something as silly as snapping my fingers?”
“Snapping fingers!” cried out Wanda. “That’s what I forgot!” She snapped her fingers, cried “Upsi-doodle!” and the castle and musicians disappeared and the prince became a little green frog.”
Charley looked at himself in the water. “ You did it, Wanda. Oh, happy day! I’m a frog.”
“I must apologize, Charley,” Wanda said, “you are a happy frog. I should know this a moment ago.”Wanda turned Charley from a frog into a prince
| A．of her own will |
| B．to play a joke on him |
| C．at the request of charley |
| D．to teach Charley a lesson |
After the little green frog became a prince, he .
| A．was grateful to Wanda | B．Wanted a great palace |
| C．couldn’t recognize Wanda | D．became angry with Wanda |
The underlined part “You did it” in the passage means ““.
| A．You gave me a surprise |
| B．You turned me back into a frog |
| C．You turned me into a prince |
| D．You understood what I meant |
At the end of the story, Wanda probably felt .
| A．satisfied | B．ashamed | C．worried | D．excited |
According to the passage, which of the following conclusions can we get?
| A．Just be yourself |
| B．Do nothing by halves |
| C．Helping others is a virtue |
| D．Where there is a will, there is a way |
Every time you go shopping, the vegetables and fruit look so tempting that you wish you could buy all of them. Some people are lucky and can grow the fruit and vegetables in the gardens that they have. While getting fresh vegetables, they can also achieve great cost cutting.
Mushrooms are expensive and can also go bad very quickly. Mushrooms can also be grown easily in a dark environment. In fact it’s better than growing other vegetables since you really don’t need an outdoor space. A special type of soil that is good for growing mushrooms is easily available.
Actually mushrooms aren’t even vegetables; they are fungi(菌类) and for this reason, you don’t even require sunlight to grow them. Well how does one go about growing mushrooms? You could always Google “growing mushrooms” and you will find a number of mushroom growing kits(工具) available online that area effective and not very expensive either.
Mushrooms can be added to any dish that you cook. Simply use them in pizzas, salads and anything that you pretty much fancy. Grow mushrooms in your own house and use them whenever you want. Fresh mushrooms are tastier than the ones that are stored in your refrigerator.
If you have had a really good crop of mushrooms, then you can even store them. Ideally you should use the white variety of the mushrooms. Simply pick them, slice them and put them on a cookie sheet in a freezer. When they area frozen, just put them in a zip lock and you can use them when you want to. They give a really great taste to the dish that you are making. Thaw them before you use them.
You should try growing mushrooms, since it’s cost-effective. Furthermore, you can eat the fresh mushrooms any time that you want. What is an advantage of growing vegetables according to the passage?
| A．You can eat all kinds of vegetables |
| B．You are lucky to eat what you like |
| C．You can save lots of money |
| D．You can satisfy your desire |
Mushrooms are different from other vegetables in that .
| A．they can be grown where there is no light |
| B．they can grow well in an outdoor space |
| C．it is easy for them to go bad in a few days |
| D．they can grow without soil |
The third paragraph is mainly to tell us that .
| A．mushrooms are not vegetables |
| B．Internet helps us a lot |
| C．mushrooms are available online |
| D．it is easy to grow mushrooms |
Which of the following is the right order of storing mushrooms?
a. put them on a cookie sheet in the refrigerator
b. place frozen mushrooms in a zip lock
c. cut them into slices
d. choose the white mushrooms
| A．a-b-c-d | B．d-c-a-b | C．a-d-c-b | D．d-a-c-b |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．It is easy and fun to grow mushrooms |
| B．We should eat more fruit and vegetables |
| C．Mushrooms online are very expensive |
| D．Mushrooms—tasty and healthy vegetables |