As the taxi leaves， my father stands at the living room window looking out， watching me move off into the darkness， at 4:30 a． m． His grey hair is untidy from sleeping．
Moments ago， he got up to carry my bag for me and went into the cold open air．
He thanked me for a daughter's cooking and for having traveled so far to spend the holiday with him． I told him that I worried about he would feel lonely again in the empty house．
"I have my plans，" he said， in the moments before I walked out the door．
When I arrived 10 days ago， I felt it was quiet and lifeless in the house． Then my brothers and I came and filled the rooms． But， now， they're gone， I am the last to leave．
As the taxi began to move， I watched the lights go off， but my father didn't leave． Even though he couldn't see me in the dark， he stood by the window watching， beside the tree． It was a fresh tree． He buys one every year for the new year．
The life is hard for my father： my mother died years ago， and now his children are far from home， our selfish choices taking us from one end of the country to the other， the life of the tree， cut for Christmas， is short； my father's is long and strong． But both of them are tall and straight．
I leave behind two trees： one with silver﹣grey hair， the other still freshly green．
（1）The father walked out the door without in the morning．
A． making his hair tidy
B． seeing his daughter
C． carrying the bag
D． saying a word
（2）The writer worried about her father because ．
A． he never felt lonely
B． he'd live alone again
C． he had nothing in the house
D． he is too old to look after himself
（3）From the fifth paragraph we know the writer ．
A． didn't leave until her brothers left
B． decided to stay with her father
C． was one of the father's two children
D． left her father before her brothers
（4）The underlined word "selfish" in the passage means in Chinese．
A． 随意的
B． 错误的
C． 自私的
D． 慎重的
（5）The best title for this passage should be ．
A． The Tree Cut for the New Year
B． The Lonely Father Lives Alone
C． The Children Who Have No Mother
D． The Great Father in My Heart
A
Do you always find it is raining when you walk out？Or are you always buying umbrellas and leaving them home when it rains？There is a new umbrella that could solve both problems．
The umbrella will not only tell you the weather，but also let you know you've left it behind．
How does it work？The umbrella will send a message to your smartphone．And it says"Hey，it's going to rain in 15 minutes where you are，so you'd better take your umbrella．"Besides，if you are forgetful，
you may never leave an umbrella on a bus or somewhere else again．The umbrella will send a warning to your smartphone if you leave it behind．
The new umbrella is expected to go on sale soon．
Though it is a good idea and it looks pretty cool，the umbrella will cost you ＄185．Maybe you will just check the free weather apps （应用程序） on your smartphone and take an umbrella with you when it is going to rain．
41．How many problems can the new umbrella solve？
42．What else can the new umbrella tell you besides the weather？
43．Where will the new umbrella send a warning？
44．When will the new umbrella be sold？
45．Does the writer think the new umbrella looks cool？ ．
C
Children with no shoes on do better at school than those with shoes on，a study suggests．
For over 10 years，researchers from universities observed （观察） children in 100 schools from 25 countries．They found that classrooms were quieter when children took off their shoes．It provided a quieter environment where pupils were more willing to focus on study than those with shoes on．
"Children are much more willing to sit on the floor and relax if they have no shoes on，"said professor
Stephen Heppel，a lead researcher．
"The last place a child would sit to read is an upright chair．And we've found that 95% of them really don't read on a chair at home，"Heppel added．"When they go on holidays，they read lying down．"
Professor Heppel hopes to bring the"shoeless policy"to all U．K．schools．He says relaxing conditions at school make children feel as if they're at home．He believes all the teachers will be glad to adopt the habit．
36．The best title to describe the main idea of the passage is" "．
| A． |
Suggestions on shoeless children． |
| B． |
Suggestions on children with shoes on． |
| C． |
Shoeless children do better at school． |
| D． |
Shoeless children looks cool at school． |
37．According to the passage，we know that the study was made by ．
| A． |
some university students |
| B． |
children from 25 countries |
| C． |
teachers in 1000 schools |
| D． |
researchers from university |
38．Which of the following pie chart can explain Heppel's discovery？
39．Heppel thinks shoeless policy can provide children with ．
| A． |
quiet activities |
| B． |
relaxing conditions |
| C． |
some upright chairs |
| D． |
a safe environment |
40．What does the underlined word"adopt"mean in the passage？
| A． |
accept |
| B． |
refuse |
| C． |
change |
| D． |
throw． |
B
Though you are a teenager now，there will finally come a time when you start to earn（赚） money．While it may be fun to have your own money to spend，it can also be difficult trying to manage it properly．Here are some tips on how to manage your money．
Use your money wisely
Most teenagers earn money for everyday use，or because they are saving up for something．So when they receive their money，they must first decide what they want to do with it．However，try to avoid the temptation （诱惑） to spend it all in one go （一口气）!Remember：Money takes a long time to earn，but it goes very quickly．
Bank your savings
The money you don't need can be saved at home or in a bank．If you want to save your money at home，get yourself a piggy bank or something else to keep your money in．The other choice is to save your money in a bank．One of the advantages is that you can earn interest （利息） on it．
Use the money to make money
Rather than saving your money at home or in a bank，you can use the money you
earn to invest （投资） in things to make more money．For example，if you are selling
something around your neighborhood，you could pay someone else to sell your things in their neighborhood．This way，by spending a little，you can make a lot．
32．The first thing for the teenagers to do after receiving their money is ．
| A． |
to consider how to deal with it |
| B． |
to spend it for everyday use |
| C． |
to let it go very quickly |
| D． |
to invest in things correctly |
33．Which of the following can best explain"use your money wisely"？
| A． |
Don't earn it for everyday use． |
| B． |
It's saved up for something． |
| C． |
Don't spend it all in one go． |
| D． |
It takes a long time to earn． |
34．According to the passage，one of the ways to earn interest is ．
| A． |
to get yourself a piggy bank |
| B． |
to save your money in a bank |
| C． |
to make some other choices |
| D． |
to leave your money at home |
35．By paying others to sell things，teenagers can usually ．
| A． |
spend less money |
| B． |
give less money |
| C． |
waste more money |
| D． |
make more money． |
A
As an exchange student，I must admit （承认） that at first America was a big culture shock for me．
I stayed with a host family in a small town．My host parents organized a lot of activities in my spare time so that I wouldn't miss home or feel lonely．
However，life was hard to get used to．My main problem was with the language．I failed to understand much in the first few weeks because everyone spoke so fast．Though I managed to get used to it．I
still have problems because they used a lot of idioms （习语）．
Another difference was with the food．My host family always had bread，potatoes and salad for meals．I really miss the dumplings，rice and delicious dishes from home．
School was a big shock too．They do not require students to wear uniforms，so students can wear
almost whatever they like．Some students have strange hairstyles （发型） as well．Some students even
have pink or purple hair!
﹣﹣﹣By Brad Li
My dream was to see some real snow，so during the Christmas holiday，we took our passport （护照） and flew over the Pacific to Calgary，Canada．We took a bus to a ski resort in the Canadian Rockies．As the bus climbed through the mountains，we saw the thick snow on the trees．I was dying to get
out and play with it．At last，we reached the resort and quickly jumped out of the bus．This was our
first experience with snow．We were like little children﹣﹣﹣we made snow balls，and threw them at one another．Then we check in at the hotel．
The next day，we put on our ski suits and gloves，took our skis and went outside onto the snow．Our
instructor took us to a gentle slope （斜坡），and showed us some basic skills．To be honest，the first lesson was not a great success．I kept on falling over，and I had to hold on to a rope to keep my balance （平衡）．
However，the next day，I only fell over a few times，and I managed to do a few rapid runs．I felt pleased with myself，and my instructor told me I was doing much better．Although it was very cold，I spent most of my holiday skiing．I had a wonderful time．
﹣﹣﹣By Vanessa
26．Brad Li seemed to tell us that his host parents ．
| A． |
were very active |
B． |
were very kind |
C． |
felt lonely |
D． |
felt unhappy |
27．Which of the following shows America was a big culture shock for Brad Li？
a．People used a lot of idioms．
b．He stayed with a host family in a small town．
c．His host family always had dumplings for meals．
d．Students are not required to wear uniforms at school．
| A． |
a，c |
B． |
b，d |
C． |
a，d |
D． |
b，c |
28．After landing on Calgary airport，Vanessa went to a ski resort ．
A．by bus B．by train C．by ship D．by plane
29．How did Vanessa react （反应） when she saw the snow for the first time？
| A． |
She was dying when she got out and played with it． |
| B． |
She was afraid of death to get out and play with it． |
| C． |
She wanted very much to get out and play with it． |
| D． |
She was too nervous to get out and play with it． |
30．Which picture shows that Vanessa's first lesson was not a great success？
31．The best word to describe the two writers'experiences in another country is" "．
| A． |
unsuccessful |
B． |
comfortable |
C． |
unforgettable |
D． |
tiring． |
When you think about inventions that have changed human's lives，what comes to mind？The car．the compass （指南针） or the computer？We hardly think about those more common things．But without them，our life will be much worse，for example，eyeglasses．Imagine a world without glasses，many of us would walk into things．So who invented glasses，and how were they first made？
The truth is that nobody knows who invented eyeglasses．What we do know is that the earliest lenses （镜片）made from quartz （石英）．As soon as people worked out how to make glass without bubbles they started miking lenses out of glass．
Glasses spread quickly all over Europe and Asia．But early glasses were squeezed （夹） onto the bridge of the nose．It was painful for the wearers．So there was still one big problem：
How to keep them on the wearer's face．It took nearly 400years for people to come up with the way wear glasses today
We should be thankful lo Benjamin Franklin，who invented bifocals（双焦点眼镜） in the1780s．He liked lo read or watch sceneries（景色） far away while traveling．But he hated to change glasses all the time．Then Franklin cut his glasses in half and put them together with his distance glasses．Now they are still popular．
（1）Which invention is more common，the compass or the glasses？
（2）What were the earliest lenses made from？
（3）Where were glasses popular after they were invented？
（4）How long did it take people to think of the way we wear glasses today？
（5）When were the bifocals invented？ ．