There was once a man called Mr．Flowers, and flowers were his only joy in life．He spent all his free time in one of his four glass-houses and grew flowers of every color, with long and difficult names, for competitions．He tried to grow a rose of a new color to win the silver cup (银杯) for the Rose of the Year．
Mr．Flowers’ glass-houses were very near to a middle school．Boys of around thirteen of age were often tempted (引诱) to throw a stone or two at one of Mr．Flowers’ glass-houses．So Mr．Flowers did his best to be in or near his glass-houses at the beginning and end of the school day．
But it was not always possible to be on watch at those times．Mr．Flowers had tried in many ways to protect his glass, but nothing that he had done had been useful．He had been to school to report to the headmaster; but this had not done any gooD.He had tried to drive away the boys that threw stones into his garden; but the boys could run faster than he could, and they laughed at him from far away．He had even picked up all the stones that he could find around his garden, so that the boys would have nothing to throw; but they soon found others．
At last Mr．Flowers had a good ideA.He put up a large notice (布告) made of good, strong wood, some meters away from the glass-houses．On it he had written the words: DO NOT THROW STONES AT THIS NOTICE．After this, Mr．Flowers had no further trouble; the boys were much more tempted to throw stones at the notice than at the glass-houses．It was Mr．Flowers’ hope to ________．
| A．build glass-houses in his free time |
| B．grow the Rose of the Year in a silver cup |
| C．win a silver cup for growing a rose of a new color |
| D．grow a rose with the longest name |
Boys were often tempted to ________．
| A．throw stones at Mr．Flowers’ glass-house |
| B．throw stones at Mr．Flowers from their school |
| C．be in or near by Mr．Flowers’ glass-houses |
| D．play with Mr．Flowers near his glass-houses |
Mr．Flowers stayed in or near by his glass-houses _______．
| A．at times when school-boys were walking near them |
| B．all the school day when there were no boys about |
| C．where he could not be seen by the boys passing |
| D．at the beginning and end of the school day |
Mr．Flowers had tried to ______ to protect his glass．
| A．be on watch in his free time |
| B．ask the headmaster for help |
| C．pick up all the stones around his garden |
| D．do all the above |
Mr．Flowers’ good idea was to ______．
| A．write some words on the glass |
| B．put up a large notice to cover his glass-houses |
| C．give the boys something else to throw stones at |
| D．send for policemen |
Remembering names is an important social skill. Here are some ways to master it.
Recite and repeat in conversation
When you hear a person’s name, repeat it. Immediately say it to yourself several times without moving your lips .You could also repeat the name in a way that does not sound forced or artificial.
Ask the other person to recite and repeat
You can let other people help you remember their names. After you’ve been introduced to someone, ask that person to spell the name and pronounce it correctly for you. Most people will be pleased by the effort you’re making to learn their names.
Admit you don’t know
Admitting that you can’t remember someone’s name can actually make people relaxed. Most of them will feel sympathy if you say, “I’m working to remember names better. Yours is right on the tip of my tongue. What is it again？”
Use association
Link each person you meet with one thing you find interesting or unusual. For example, you could make a mental note: “Vicki Cheng-tall，black hair”. To reinforce your association, write them on a small card as soon as possible.
Limit the number of new names you learn at one time.
When meeting a group of people, concentrate on remembering just two or three names. Free yourself from remembering everyone. Few of the people in mass introductions expect you to remember their names. Another way is to limit yourself to learning just first names. Last names can come later.
Go early
Consider going early to conferences, parties and classes. Sometimes just a few people show up on time. That’s fewer names for you to remember. And as more people arrive, you can hear them being introduced to others-an automatic review for you. If you can’t remember someone’s name, you may________
| A．tell them the truth | B．tell them a white lie |
| C．ask him for pity | D．ask others to help you |
The underlined word “reinforce” mostly means “______”.
| A．get | B．simplify | C．strengthen | D．collect |
When you meet a group of people, it is better to remember______
| A．all their names | B．a couple of names first |
| C．just their last names | D．as many names as possible |
What does the text mainly tell us?
| A．How to recite and repeat names | B．Importance of attending parties |
| C．How to make use of associations | D．Tips on an important social skill |
Brenda Bongos was a happy, artistic girl. She had one big ambition—to play the drums in a band. But one big obstacle lay in her way. To be good enough to play in a band, Brenda had to practice a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people. Many of them are sick. She knew that the sound of beating drums would really get on their nerves. So, she had tried playing in the strangest places: a basement, a kitchen, and even in a shower. But there was always someone it would annoy.
One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there's no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a sort of musical astronaut.
With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble. This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out all the air inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit (成套设备)and a chair. Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble, turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child.
It wasn't long before Brenda Bongos came very famous. Many people came to see her play in her space bubble. Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts. Her fame spread so much that the government suggested that she be part of a unique space journey. Finally, Brenda was a real musical astronaut, and had gone far beyond her first ambition of playing drums in a band.
Years later, when asked how she had achieved all this, she thought for a moment, and said: "If those old people next - door hadn't mattered so much to me, I wouldn't have found a solution, and none of this would have ever happened."Why did Brenda try to play in the strangest places?
| A．Because she didn't mean to disturb others. |
| B．Because she didn't want others to hear her play. |
| C．Because she didn't have her own room. |
| D．Because she didn’t like her neighbors. |
Brenda started to give concerts _______.
| A．when people came to see her in the space bubble |
| B．when she became part of the unique space journey |
| C．after she became a real musical astronaut |
| D．after she practiced in her space bubble |
Brenda became famous because _______.
| A．she was good at music and science |
| B．she invented a special way of practice |
| C．she became a real musical astronaut |
| D．she played well and had a talent |
Which of the following can be used to describe Brenda?
| A．Lovely, brave and kind. |
| B．Brave, kind and hardworking. |
| C．Kind, hardworking and clever. |
| D．Nervous, kind and clever. |
As they migrate (迁移), butterflies and moths choose the winds they want to fly with, and they change their body positions if they start floating in the wrong direction. This new finding suggests that insects may employ some of the same methods that birds use for traveling long distances. Scientists have long thought that insects were simply at the mercy of the wind.
Fascinating as their skills of flight are, migrating behavior has been difficult to study in insects because many long distant trips happen thousands of feet above ground. Only recently have scientists developed technologies that can detect (测出) such little creatures at such great heights.
To their surprise, though, the insects weren’t passive travelers on the winds. In autumn, for example, most light winds blew from the east, but the insects somehow sought out ones that carried them south and they positioned themselves to navigate directly to their wintering homes.
Even in the spring, when most winds flowed northward, the insects didn’t always go with the flow. If breezes weren’t blowing in the exact direction they wanted to go, the insects changed their body positions to compensate (补偿). Many migrating birds do the same thing.
The study also found, butterflies and moths actively flew within the air streams that pushed them along. By adding flight speeds to wind speeds, the scientists calculated that butterflies and moths can travel as fast as 100 kilometers an hour. The findings may have real-world applications. With climate warming, migrating insects are growing in number. Knowing how and when these pests move could help when farmers decide when to spray their crops. What’s the main idea of the text?
| A．Insects migrate with the seasons． |
| B．Wind helps insects greatly in migrating． |
| C．Windsurfing insects have real direction． |
| D．Scientists have trouble in observing insects． |
Scientists originally thought that ________．
| A．insects always waited for their favorable winds |
| B．insects chose the winds they wanted to ride |
| C．insects were just blown about by the wind |
| D．insects positioned themselves in the winds |
It is not easy to study the migrating behavior of the insects because ________．
| A．the little creatures can fly very fast |
| B．they have no regular migrating courses |
| C．the wind’s direction is hard to foresee |
| D．their flight is long and high above ground |
We can learn from the text that _________．
| A．insects fly in the way birds do |
| B．insects travel more easily in autumn |
| C．insects never position themselves when flying low |
| D．insects rest a lot when the wind pushes them along |
According to the passage, the findings can__________．
| A．increase insects in number | B．instruct farmers when to spray |
| C．prevent climate warming | D．help protect insects |
Fear is an emotion like others such as happiness, anger, hurt, sadness. We need emotions to process information we receive and decide how to respond. Being afraid of fast cars, for example, is something that might protect us from harm. Being afraid of the consequence of a choice may prevent us getting into trouble.
Fears in young children commonly center on certain animals like snakes or big dogs. Fears are caused often because of experiences or ideas expressed by others, and at times, the media. Many normal fears during the early years, like men with beards, or large dogs, disappear with age. Those relating to personal failure and ridicule (嘲笑) remain through adulthood and may need special help to overcome.
Children’s fears are often trivial, but that doesn’t mean they should be ignored. They need to be recognized and accepted as real for that child. Only when we help children understand their fears can they grow normally in their ability to deal with them.
Research shows that as a child grows up, the center of his fears changes a lot. Things like divorce, a teacher who “shouted at me”, people with guns, bullies, big boys, or “making fun of me” top the list of childhood fears.
We can not always prevent these experiences from happening, but it’s essential that children be allowed to freely express their emotions without judgment. Sympathy and a caring listener will help ease the pain of these fears. Read books and stories to your child about children who have experienced similar fears. This helps children talk about their fears and find ways to cope. With all emotions, fears become less of a problem for children as they gain self-confidence and they find that fear is normal and can be dealt with.According to Paragraph 2, we can know that fears in young children_______. .
| A．only center on frightening animals | B．are not born but learned |
| C．can make sure of their safety | D．need special help to deal with |
The underlined word “trivial” in the third paragraph probably means “_______”.
| A．small | B．serious | C．harmful | D．common |
In dealing with children’s fears, the final goal of the parents is to _______.
| A．stop unpleasant experiences happening to children |
| B．let children know about the nature of fear |
| C．create an environment where there is nothing to fear |
| D．develop children’s ability to treat their fear on their own |
From the passage we can learn that ________ .
| A．some childhood fears may have a lasting influence |
| B．children should avoid the media to reduce their fear |
| C．fears can be judged according to the environment |
| D．children with similar fears can communicate easily |
What’s the best title for this passage?
| A．How to Overcome Children’s Fears | B．Children’s Fears |
| C．The kind of Children’s Fears | D．The Bad Effects of Fears |
I had a perfect life. No one died; no one was sick; we were all happy and loving life.
Then I discovered my grandfather had cancer. No matter how much I told myself he could live, and that he might not die, somehow I still felt as if it was a death sentence. He was so young, only 63.
He fought so hard. Whenever I feel my own life taking a turn for the worse, as if things will never get better, I remember how many years he lived fighting such a scary and difficult disease.
He died with a huge party going on around him, with all his friends and family. They ate and I honestly didn’t know how to cope. I never cried alone. I had the compassion (同情) of my friends and the support of my family and teachers. I just remembered my grandfather’s wish that we should celebrate his life.
That’s how we came up with the idea for Hives for Lives----a business my sister and I started where all the profits go to the American Cancer Society (ACS). We sell honey, honeycomb, beeswax candles and lip balm, which all come from our beehives in Virginia. It started out small, 2 years ago, with just an idea. During our first year we donated more than $2,000 to the ACS. The next year a man who belonged to my grandparents’ bee club willed his honey to us, and our little business grew.
We sold at craft fairs, wine festivals, schools, and to anyone else who would buy! We had my uncle sell in California and my grandmother sell in Chicago. We have sold honey in 13 states---even in Puerto Rico.
This year we donated more than $10,000 to the ACS and we’re hoping to do more next year. Hopefully our business will help find a cure or just improve the life of someone with cancer.
I feel like Hives for Lives is a way to honor my grandfather. Honor his love, his life and his strength.
With Hives for Lives reminding me of my grandfather every day, I feel as if I can move on in life, that he will always be alive in my heart and memories. It made me capable of coping with his death, because I felt like I had truly honored his wish of celebrating his life.
I have made his spirit everlasting through the business and I honor him every day. He always taught me to make the best of things. Well, grandpa, that’s what I’m doing, for you.
I hope he is smiling from heaven. Reading the first two paragraphs, we know _________.
| A．the grandfather was sentenced to death |
| B．cancer always attacks old people |
| C．the sad news was quite beyond the author’s expectation |
| D．the author was sorry that their life was not perfect any more |
When the author feels down in life, ________ will give him strength to overcome difficulties.
| A．his grandfather’s encouraging words |
| B．his grandfather’s fighting against cancer |
| C．his grandfather’s wish before dying |
| D．his grandfather’s pitiful fate |
When the grandfather died, __________.
| A．all felt relieved that he would never suffer any more |
| B．his family and friends honored him more than ever |
| C．the author was at a loss what to do for a time |
| D．the author didn’t cry following his wish |
Which of the following statements is true according to the text?
| A．The profits they make are all donated to the ACS. |
| B．They struggle to develop their business without any help. |
| C．They have helped find a cure for those with cancer. |
| D．All their relatives joined in their activity. |
What’s the author’s purpose of writing the text?
| A．To show us how he runs his business to help others. |
| B．To tell us his way to deal with sadness. |
| C．To tell us the importance of self-control in the face of sadness. |
| D．To tell us to learn from his grandfather. |