Look carefully at the back of a California state quarter．A man with a walking stick is pictured there．A bird called a California condor(大秃鹫)is flying overhead. Who is this man，and why is he so important that he is featured(处于显著地位)on the back of a coin?
The man on this quarter is John Muir．Even as a child, Muir loved watching nature. As a young man，he spent much of his life exploring the beauty of the wilderness．He walked more than a thousand miles across the country，through fields and woods．John Muir liked writing about the places he visited，describing their beauty.
Muir also wrote about problems．In order to create more farmland for sheep and cattle, many trees were being cut down．This made Muir unhappy and worried，because he knew that trees were important to forests and to the animals that lived in them．Muir believed that nature should be conserved(保护)instead of being changed by human beings．He wrote articles in magazines and newspapers to spread the word about conserving forests．Soon，others began to listen．
Muir wrote letters to important people，such as President Theodore Roosevelt．The president admired Muir’s love for nature．When Roosevelt came to visit Muir in California. Muir convinced(说服)the president to go camping with him for three nights under the trees so they could talk about conservation．Later，President Roosevelt set aside 148 million acres of land for national forests and established(建立)five national parks．National parks are large areas of land that are protected from development. This means that people cannot build homes or businesses there. One of these parks is Yosemite National Park，the area that is featured on the back of the California quarter．
Though it has been almost one hundred years since John Muir died，people continue his work today．His work as a conservationist helped us to see the beauty of our natural world．John Muir made us understand the importance of protecting our earth and our resources---then，now，and for the future．
What did John Muir spend much of his life doing when he was a young man?
| A．Watching natural views． |
| B．Writing about the places he visited． |
| C．Exploring the beauty of the wilderness． |
| D．Creating farmland for sheep and cattle． |
Why did President Theodore Roosevelt visit John Muir?
| A．Because Roosevelt loved watching nature． |
| B．Because Roosevelt received letters from John Muir． |
| C．Because Roosevelt admired John Muir’s love for nature. |
| D．Because Roosevelt was sad about the problems with farmland． |
What happened after President Roosevelt went camping with John Muir?
| A．Many trees were cut down． |
| B．Five national parks were established． |
| C．More homes and businesses were built. |
| D．More farmland was used for sheep and cattle. |
Why is John Muir featured on the back of a California state quarter?
| A．Because he walked over a thousand miles across the country． |
| B．Because he helped people understand the importance of protecting the natural world. |
| C．Because he wrote articles to spread the word about conserving forests． |
| D．Because he once wrote several letters to President Theodore Roosevelt． |
What is the writer’s purpose of writing this article?
| A．To advise readers to become active conservationists. |
| B．To make us interested in the story about a great man． |
| C．To tell us something about an important person in history． |
| D．To give information about how to conserve the environment． |
| The 4 Smallest Countries In The World |
 Nauru – 21 km² Located east of Australia， Nauru is the smallest island country in the world. It is also a country with the most overweight people in the world， with 97% of its men and 93% of women being overweight. |
 Tuvalu – 26 km² Located in the Pacific Ocean， west of Australia. There are about 10，000 people， with 8 km of roads， and only 1 hospital on the main island. Since it’s a difficult place to get to， in 2010， only about 2，000 visitors came to Tuvalu. |
 Vatican – 0.44 km² The world’s smallest country is the Vatican， also known as the Holy See. This country fits within the Italian capital city of Rome. It is also home to the biggest church in the world – St. Peter’s Basilica， and holds some of the most important art works. |
 Monaco – 2 km² Located on the French Riviera， Monaco is home to the largest number of rich people per capital in the world. With a population of over 36，000， Monaco is the world’s most densely (密集地) populated country. People there are mostly French-speaking. The most popular event is the Formula 1 race， held there every year. |
Which is the smallest island country?
| A．Nauru. | B．Tuvalu. | C．Vatican. | D．Monaco. |
What’s the area of Vatican?
| A．21 km². | B．26 km². | C．0.44 km². | D．2 km². |
Which of the following about Monaco is TRUE?
| A．It’s the world’s smallest country. |
| B．It’s the most difficult place to get to. |
| C．It has the most overweight people in the world. |
| D．It’s the world’s most densely populated country. |
Mr. Dawson was an old man with a bad temper(脾气). And everyone in town knew it. Kids were afraid to go into his yard to pick apples.
One Friday, 12-year-old Janet and her friend Amy had to walk past Mr. Dawson’s house. When Janet saw him, she suggested crossing the street to the other side. But Amy said they needn’t.
When Mr. Dawson saw Amy, he smiled and said, “Hello, Amy! I see you have a new friend with you today.” Amy smiled back and told him that Janet would stay with her that night. Mr. Dawson looked friendly and gave them each a fresh apple. The girls were glad to get them.
Later Janet asked Amy, “Everyone says he is the most unwelcome person in town. Why was he so kind to us?” Amy explained that when she first walked past his house, she was also afraid of him. But she pretended(假装) there was an invisible (看不见的) smile on his face and so she always smiled back at him. It took a long time, but one day he half-smiled back at her, and then started talking to her.
“An invisible smile?” Janet was puzzled. “Yes,” answered Amy, “My grandma told me to think so. She says smiles can run around. If we keep smiling at someone, sooner or later he will really smile back.”
Remember what Amy’s grandma said, and we will find that most people can’t refuse our smile. What did people feel about Mr. Dawson? （不超过10个词）
Who did Amy learn “an invisible smile” from? （不超过10个词）
What does the writer want to tell us? （不超过20个词）
Do you love holidays but hate the increase of weight that follows? You are not alone. Holidays are happy days with pleasure and delicious foods. Many people, however, are worried about the weight that comes along with these delicious foods.
With proper planning, though, it is possible to control your weight. The idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much. You don’t have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy. The following suggestions may be of some help to you.
● Do not miss meals. Before you leave home for a big dinner, have small, low fat foods. This may help to keep you from getting too excited before delicious foods.
● Begin with clear soup and fruit or vegetables. A large glass of water before you eat may help you feel full. Use a small plate(盘子); a large plate will encourage you to have more than enough.
● Better not have high fat foods. Dishes that look oily have much fat in them.
● Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables.
● If you have a sweet tooth, try some fruits. They don’t have as much fat as cream(奶油）and chocolate.
● Don’t let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20 minutes’ walk after a meal can help burn off calories (卡路里).The writer gives us suggestions about controlling weight during holidays.
| A．four | B．five | C．six | D．seven |
Before we leave for a big dinner, we should eat some ________.
| A．high fat foods | B．cream and chocolate |
| C．oily dishes | D．small and low fat foods |
Which of the following is a good way to stop us putting on weight during holidays?
| A．Don’t take exercise and have a rest. |
| B．Just have clear soup and fruit or vegetables. |
| C．Drink a large glass of water before eating. |
| D．Use a big plate and fill it with beef and chicken. |
From the passage we know that holidays may bring us pleasure and .
| A．bring weight problems |
| B．make us hate delicious food |
| C．force us to eat less fruit |
| D．encourage us to have more food |
Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904. He was famous because of the books he wrote for children. They have funny words, pictures, and social opinion（观点）. Dr Seuss wrote his first book for children in 1937. It is called And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street. Soon other successful books followed. Over the years, he wrote more than forty children’s books. They were fun to read. Yet his books sometimes dealt with serious subjects.
By the middle 1940s, Dr Seuss had become one of the best-loved and most successful writers of children’s books. He had a strong desire to help children. In 1954, Life magazine gave a report about school children who could not read. The report said many children’s books weren’t interesting. Dr Seuss decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read.
In 1957, Dr Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 225 words to write the book. This was about the number of words a six-year-old should be able to read. The story was about a cat who tried to play with two children on a rainy day while their mother was away from home. The cat was very special and it could talk. The book was a great success. It was an interesting story and was easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it, too. Today many adults(成年人) say it is still one of the stories they like best.Theodor Seuss Geisel was famous for .
| A．his funny words and pictures |
| B．his social opinion |
| C．his ideas on serious subjects |
| D．his books written for children |
The underlined word desire in the passage probably means “.”
| A．问题 | B．愿望 | C．感激 | D．标准 |
According to the passage we know that .
| A．Dr Seuss wrote his first book for children at the age of 33 |
| B．Dr Seuss wrote less than forty children’s books over the years |
| C．Life magazine gave a report about adults who could not read in 1954 |
| D．And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street was loved by children and parents |
Why do many adults like reading The Cat in the Hat today?
| A．Because Dr Seuss used 225 words to write the book. |
| B．Because it was about a cat trying to play with two children. |
| C．Because it was an interesting story and was easy to read. |
| D．Because the cat was very special and it could talk with children. |
Every people(民族) uses its own special words to show its ideas and feelings. Some of these expressions are commonly used for many years. Others are popular for just a short time. One such American expression is “Where’s the beef?” It is used when something is not as good as it is said to be. In the early 1980s “Where’s the beef?” was one of the most popular expressions in the United States. It seemed as if everyone was using it at the time.
Beef, of course, is the meat from a cow, and food is more popular in America than a hamburger made from beef. In the 1960s a businessman named Ray began building small restaurants that sold hamburgers at a low price. Ray called this “McDonald’s”. Ray became one of the richest businessmen at last in America.
Other business people watched his success. Some of them opened their own hamburger restaurants. One company(公司) called “Wendy’s” said its hamburgers were bigger than those sold by McDonald’s or anyone else. The Wendy’s Company began to use the expression “Where’s the beef?” to make people know that Wendy’s hamburgers were the biggest. The Wendy’s television advertisement(广告) showed three old women eating hamburgers. The bread that covered the meat was very big, but inside there was only a bit of meat. One of the women said she would not eat a hamburger with such a little piece of beef. “Where’s the beef?” she shouted in a funny way. The advertisement for Wendy’s hamburger restaurants was a success. As we said, it seemed everyone began using the expression “Where’s the beef?”The expression “Where’s the beef?” is used when.
| A．someone can’t find the beef at all |
| B．someone isn’t satisfied with the beef |
| C．something is better than it is said to be |
| D．something is not as good as it is said to be |
“Where’s the beef?” was one of the most popular expressions in ________ in the early 1980s.
| A．Britain | B．America |
| C．India | D．Australia |
The Wendy’s Company used the expression “Where’s the beef?” in order to.
| A．show Wendy’s hamburgers were the biggest. |
| B．make people know where they could find the beef |
| C．let people notice the bread that covered the meat was big |
| D．compare its hamburgers with those sold by McDonald’s |
This passage mainly tells us .
| A．two famous companies |
| B．a rich businessman |
| C．a popular expression |
| D．a television advertisement |