In ancient times，the phoenix（凤凰）was a small bird．Its feathers（羽毛）were very common but it was very hard﹣working，unlike other birds flying around for fun when they were full．It kept working，picking fruits and storing them in a cave（洞穴）．
Other birds looked down on what the phoenix did because they believed there was enough food in the forest．They thought it stupid to make efforts to collect food every day．The phoenix didn't care what others thought．It went on working hard day and night．
One year，a serious drought（旱灾）happened．All the grass and woods dried up and died．There were no fruits left on the trees．Birds flew around for food but could find nothing．As the birds were dying of hunger，the phoenix hurried there and led them to the cave．It shared the
dry fruits with all the other birds，helping them go through the drought．All of them were happy and moved．
After the drought，to thank the phoenix，all the other birds pulled their most beautiful feathers and made shining clothes for it．They all made it the king of the birds．From then on，the phoenix had the most beautiful feathers in the world，and the birds flew together to celebrate its birthday．They flew around the phoenix，singing and dancing，making the best wishes for it．This is the story of A Hundred Birds Paying Homage（致敬）to the Phoenix．
31．The phoenix was while other birds were flying around for fun．
| A． |
having a party |
| B． |
storing feathers |
| C． |
picking fruits |
| D． |
making clothes |
32．Other birds didn't the phoenix at first．
| A． |
understand |
| B． |
know |
| C． |
notice |
| D． |
doubt |
33．When the drought happened，the phoenix ．
A．flew around for food
B．was dying of hunger
C．was happy and moved
D．shared food with others a
34．On the phoenix's birthday，the birds while making the best wishes for it．
| A． |
brought presents |
| B． |
ate delicious food |
| C． |
sang and danced |
| D． |
made shining clothes |
35．The story tells us people will pay homage to the person who is
| A． |
smart，patient and beautiful |
| B． |
common，healthy and strong |
| C． |
wise，kind and hard﹣working |
| D． |
polite，happy and successful |
B
No one knows how man learned to make words. Perhaps he began by making sounds like those made by animals. Perhaps he grunted like a pig when he lifted something heavy. Perhaps he made sounds like those he heard all round him—water splashing, bees humming, a stone falling to the ground. Somehow he learned to make words. As the centuries went by, he made more and more new words. This is what we mean by language.
People living in different countries made different kinds of words. Today there are about fifteen hundred different languages in the world. Each containsfour or five hundred thousand words. But we do not need all these. Only a few thousand words are used in everyday life. The words you know are called your vocabulary. You should try to make your vocabulary larger. Read as many books as you can. There are plenty of books written in easy language. Your dictionary is your most useful book.What do we mean by language?
| A．Sounds made by man. |
| B．All the words made by man. |
| C．Different kinds of sound. |
| D．The way man learns. |
Form the passage we know that long long ago________.
| A．no one learned how to make sounds or words |
| B．animals taught man to learn the language |
| C．man learned the language by lifting heavy things, falling to the ground,and so on |
| D．man followed a lot of things in nature to make sounds and words |
What is the number of languages spoken in the world today?
| A．500. | B．5,000. | C．1,500. | D．15,000. |
In which sentence can the word "contain(s)" be put so that it is a right one?
| A．I several dictionaries. |
| B．Sea water salt. |
| C．A dog four legs. |
| D．Mr. Smith glasses on his nose. |
Which of the followings is the best if we want to make our vocabulary larger?
| A．To read more books. |
| B．To use the words in everyday life. |
| C．To use the words in class. |
| D．To write the words. |
A
Bruno was a boy of eight. His father worked in a cinema and his mother worked in a shop. He lived not far from his school. He always walked there and walked home. On his way to school he had to pass a playground. It was very wet after it rained. One day, when he got home, his clothes were all wet. His mother became angry and said, “Don't play in the water on your way home from school!” On the next day Bruno came home with wet and dirty clothes. His mother became even angrier. “I 'll tell your father if you come back wet again.” said his mother. “He will punish you, you know.”
The third day the little boy was dry when he came home.
“You're a good boy today.” His mother said happily. “You didn’t play in the water.”
“No, ”the boy said unhappily. “There were too many older boys in the water when I got there this afternoon. There wasn’t any room for me at all.”Bruno went to school __________ every day.
| A．by bike | B．by bus |
| C．by car | D．on foot |
The playground was between ____________.
| A．two classrooms |
| B．the cinema and shop |
| C．Bruno’s house and school |
| D．the shop and Bruno’s |
The little boy liked to play on the playground ___________.
| A．when it snowed |
| B．when there was some water there |
| C．when the children played football there |
| D．When his father was busy with his work |
Bruno was afraid of ______________ the most.
| A．his father | B．his mother |
| C．his teacher | D．the older boys |
That afternoon, the boy’s clothes were dry because __________.
| A．nobody made room for him in the water. |
| B．there was no water on the playground |
| C．He took off his clothes before he played there. |
| D．He played in the water carefully. |
D
Reading Oliver James'Affluenza, I thought about what often happens at home. My 12-year-old daughter is in tears."I have so take a test tomorrow. I don't understand any of it," she cries out. After shouting and shutting her door, she calms down enough to go through her notes. The following dry I ask her how the test went and the just says "OK,I got a nine".
"Wow. well done!" I say, before she finishes with "But I never get a ten!"
According to James, this obsession with getting top marks has been a bad development, which encourages people to think of education in terms of work and money. To test this, I asked my daughter why she was so worried about her tests. She looked at me as if I was thick. "Well, if I don't get good grades, I won't be able to afford nice things like a car and stuff."
I was quite surprised, because I don't consider myself a pushy parent. But James suggests and it leaves students feeling failures even if they are very bright. He points to the Danish system（体制）of education as a better model. Creating happy citizens who have good social skills is seen as more important than high achievements at school or the needs of business.
For me, I cannot remember the last time I had to work out the area of a circle, recite a Shakespeare poem or grammar rules, yet I have lived a happy life. What I really needed to learn at school was how to make polite conversations, or how to avoid getting into debt or how to develop good personality.
This is in fact similar to what Oliver James really has in mind. And he is looking for schools where students are encouraged to find and follow their own interests, something more like Tongjon. Tongjon has been developed in some Korean private schools. It is quite different from the more rigid system of learning things by heart that is used in Korea, and indeed in many other school systems around the world.
As the Russian poet Pushkin said," Inspiration(灵感）is needed in geometry(几何学）just as much as in poetry ",and inspiration does not come from endlessly revising for tests or getting worried about them .What does the writer probably think of his/her daughter?
| A．She sets herself a goal too high to reach. |
| B．She should be more polite to her parents. |
| C．She is hard-working but not very bright. |
| D．She takes her grades much too seriously. |
What does the word "obsession"in paragraph 3 mean?
| A．A plain and unavoidable fact. |
| B．A satisfied and very proud state. |
| C．A practical and widely-used way. |
| D．A fixed and often unreasonable idea. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Social skills are as important as high grades. |
| B．Interest in grades can shake self-confidence. |
| C．The writer regrets not having studied hard at school. |
| D．Danish educational system is for very smart students. |
The writer wants to tell us that____.
| A．learning happily is the key to self-development. |
| B．top marks may be helpful to increase one's interest. |
| C．tests should be improved to give children inspiration. |
| D．education should meet one's needs for word and money. |
C
Jack is a twenty-year-old young man. Two years ago, when he finished middle school, he found work in a shop. Usually he works until ten o'clock in the evening. He is very tired when he gets home. After a quick supper he goes to bed and soon falls asleep. His grandma lives downstairs. She is happy with him.
One day, on his way home, he met Mary. They were both happy. He asked the girl to his house, she agreed happily. He bought some fruit and drinks for her. And they talked about their school, teachers, classmates and their future . They talked for a long time.
"Have a look at your watch, please," said the girl. "What time is it now?"
"Sorry, something is wrong with my watch," said Jack. "Where's yours?"
"I left it at home."
Jack thought for a moment and found a way. He began to stamp his foot on the floor, "Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The sound woke his grandma up. The old woman shouted downstairs, "It's twelve o'clock in the night, Jack. Why are you still jumping upstairs?" Jack was ________ when he finished middle school.
| A．sixteen | B．eighteen |
| C．twenty | D．fifteen |
The old woman is happy with Jack because ________.
| A．he's her grandson | B．he's clever |
| C．he can keep quiet | D．he gets home on time |
The word "stamp" in the story means ______ in Chinese.
| A．盖印 | B．跺 | C．贴邮票 | D．承认 |
Jack stamped his foot on the floor in order (为了) ________.
| A．to wake his grandma up |
| B．to make his grandma angry |
| C．that his grandma was going to tell him the time |
| D．that his grandma was going to buy him a watch |
B
You probably know you should say “please” and “thank you” at restaurants. You probably know the rules of a library. You know you should respect and be nice to your classmates. But do you have music manners?
Keep It Down! You have to notice the volume of your music. You should not play your music so loud that everyone around you can hear it. Some people might even get angry. Usually, when you play the music loud on an MP3 player, other people can’t hear the words of the song. They just hear a loud sound. No one wants to listen to this. Very loud music can also be bad for your ears. So even if you are alone when listening to our MP3 players, you shouldn’t turn it up too high.
Take Them Off! You need to know when to turn your MP3 off and put it away. Libraries, and schools don’t allow MP3 players. There are other places, like museums, that don’t have rules, but it would be rude to have your MP3 player on. Sometimes, it doesn’t make sense to listen on your MP3 player at event. Why would you listen to music at a play, a movie or a sporting event? You would miss what is going on and others would wonder why you even came.
Take One Out! Once in a while it’s okay just to take out one earphone（耳机）and not the other. Imagine you are listening on your MP3 player when someone asks you the way. It would not be rude to take out one earphone, tell him the way, and put back the earphone and continue listening. You can also do this when you order food at a fast-food restaurant or when you answer the telephone and it’s not for you.The underlined word “volume” in Paragraph Two probably means “_______”
| A．the type of music |
| B．the amount of a sound |
| C．the length of a song |
| D．the colour of an MP3 player |
If we listen to our MP3 player at a play, ________.
| A．the theatre won’t allow it |
| B．the actors will get angry |
| C．others won’t hear the play well |
| D．we will miss part of the play |
It’s all right to use our MP3 player in __________.
| A．school | B．libraries |
| C．restaurants | D．museums |
What can be the best title of this passage? _________________
| A．Music lovers | B．Music manners |
| C．MP3 players | D．MP3 earphones |