When I was in the second grade，my teacher gave all her students some seeds（种子）．She told us to watch the magic of the seeds once we planted them．Excitedly，I put a few seeds in my pot．I watered them for a few days and purple flowers came out．
In class，I reported back to my teacher that the magic was the purple flowers．My classmates reported back with the red，white or yellow ones．I was wondering why we didn't have green flowers．When the bell rang，we drew a conclusion "a flower garden is beautiful"，and this was my first gardening experience．
Years later，one day，when we drone by Naperville downtown in a summer．Mom pointed out a big land．"Look，this is the community garden land．"she told me．"What is a community garden land？"I asked．"When people live in apartments or town homes，they don't have much land．People pay a little money to rent（租）a piece of land from the city．They can grow anything．""Why don't we rent one？"I curiously asked．"We don't need to．We have a house，so we have a small piece of land．"
A few years ago，an older couple moved in next door．They gave us some tomatoes from their garden．They grew the best tomatoes I had ever tasted．I asked my mom to buy some tomatoes just like our neighbors'．Mon said it was impossible to buy those tomatoes from the supermarket．
So，last year，I decided to try．I had my dad dig out a small land in the back yard of our house，put it some peat moss（泥炭藓）and mushroom compost（蘑菇肥）．For the start，I only planted some tomatoes and cucumbers．Day by day，I looked after my garden and took out weeds（杂草）．I was surprised to see that cucumbers actually grow on the vine，and my tomatoes had a special kind of earthly smell．
At the same time，I found myself suddenly having an interest in weather．I always wished rain to water my little garden．My brother Alex teased me．"You are an old farmer now．"
One day，I found some tomatoes gone in one plant．I was a little sad．Who dared to steal my tomatoes？It was a few rabbits．When I was about to drive them away，my dad stopped me and said，"Alice，the rabbits are thirsty．Let them eat as much as they want．Sharing your food is a good thing．"
Later on，I found people picking a few tomatoes in my little garden and eating them with a satisfying smile．I never said a word．Instead，I felt joy in my heart．When harvest time came，I picked so many fresh cucumbers and delicious tomatoes．
In America，people grow gardens everywhere．The air is always fresh and clean because of many trees，different plants and beautiful flowers．People there learn to love our earth，and love hearing the expression "go hug a tree"．Gardening needs lots of hard work and patience，but mother earth rewards us a lot．
42．The underlined word "teased" in Paragraph 6 is close to" "．
A．played a joke on
B．was strict with
C．got angry with
D．had pity on
43．Alice learned to share things with others ．
A．when she began to plant seeds in the second grade
B．when she asked her mother to rent a piece of land
C．after the couple next door gave her some tomatoes
D．after her father stopped her driving the rabbits away
44．We can learn from the passage that ．
A．gardening takes lots of time and effort
B．gardening gives a few rewards to humans
C．gardening helps the writer love tomatoes
D．gardening makes the writer hate rainy days
45．Which can be the best title for the passage？
A．My Little Garden
B．Gardening Experiences
C．My Magic Plants
D．Gardening Knowledge．
When shopping in a store, I met a boy. When I saw him waving his hands excitedly in the air and shouting in a loud voice, "Mommy, I'm here.", I knew he was mentally troubled.
I asked his name and he said proudly, "My name is Denny and I'm shopping with mother."
"Wow," I said, "that's a cool name. How old are you, Denny?"
"How old am I now, Mommy?" he asked his mother.
"You're fifteen years old, Denny; now be a good boy and let the man pass by."
I continued to talk to Denny for several more minutes about summer, bicycles and school. I watched his brown eyes dance with excitement because he was the centre of someone's attention.
Denny's mom thanked me for talking with her son. She told me that most people wouldn't even look at him, not to speak of talking to him. I told her that it was my pleasure and then I said, "There are plenty of red, yellow and pink roses in the garden, however, 'Blue Roses' are very rare and should be enjoyed for their beauty and distinctiveness. Denny is a 'Blue Rose' and if someone doesn't stop and smell that rose with their heart and kindness, then they've missed a chance to enjoy the beauty."
She was silent for a second, and then went away with tears in her eyes.What was wrong with the boy?
| A．He lost his way. |
| B．There was something wrong with his mind. |
| C．He didn't know his name and age. |
| D．He couldn't find his mother. |
What does the underlined word "distinctiveness" mean in Chinese?
| A．独立性 | B．一致性 | C．重要性 | D．独特性 |
What can we learn from the underlined sentence?
| A．He was so excited that his eyes could dance. |
| B．He was excited because his eyes caught someone's attention. |
| C．He was excited because someone was talking with him. |
| D．He was excited because someone paid attention to his eyes. |
What do you think of the writer?
| A．Kind. | B．Brave. | C．Clever. | D．Honest. |
My Year Abroad
This month in Travelers Corner there are three teenagers’ experiences in year-abroad programmes.
Mariko Okada – Tokyo
My year abroad in the United States was a fantastic experience. I’m not a shy person, and I was very comfortable speaking to everyone. So I got lots of speaking practice. I also learned lots of interesting things about American culture. When I got home, my friends all said that I had improved so much! I hope to go back again in the future.
Carla Fonseca – Rio de Janeiro
I spent last year studying English in London. I’m from a small town, and London is a very big city. Sometimes I felt it was too big. There were so many people to talk to, but I always felt bad about my English. I missed my family, and I really missed my two cats. My roommate was always using our telephone, so I hardly had the chance for a nice long talk with my parents. I think it was a good experience for me, but I’m glad to be home!
Alvin Chen – Hong Kong
Studying in New Zealand was an interesting experience for me, but it was also lots of hard work! I had English classes six hours a day, five days a week——with lots of homework. I also kept a diary of my experience. I like to write, and I wrote two or three pages in my diary every day. On Saturdays, my home stay family took me to lots of interesting places and showed me so many wonderful things about the culture. I’m really glad I went!All the three teenagers went abroad .
| A．to study English | B．to visit friends |
| C．to have a holiday | D．to find a job |
Who didn’t really enjoy the stay in a foreign country very much?
| A．Mariko. | B．Carla. | C．Alvin. | D．None of them. |
Travelers Corner is most probably .
| A．a sports club newsletter | B．a science documentary |
| C．a travel magazine | D．a news website |
阅读与回答问题
Sixteen is a special age in the United States. There’s often a special celebration for a girl’s 16th birthday---a big party called Sweet-16. It is like a wedding reception(结婚晚宴) in the number of guests and gifts handed out.
About a month before the party, the girl’s family sends out invitations to the guests. They must buy a special present for the birthday girl and the girl guests find good dresses to wear. A sweet-16 present usually costs $40 to $60. This is about $20 more than the usual-cost of a birthday present.
The party itself is not held at someone’s house. The hostess rents(租赁) a reception hall for the event. Food, cake and a DJ are provided. Around 6’clock, guests arrive and meet the birthday girl. Then the girl and her father have a special father-daughter dance. After that, guests dance for about 30 to 45 minutes.
Then there is the most important part of the Sweet-16 party, the candle-lighting ceremony.
The sweet-16 hostess stands behind 16 unlit(未点燃的) candles and dedicates(献给) each candle to her friends, family, and anything that she feels is important to her. A lot of crying and hugging goes on at this time.
Afterwards, people sit and eat. Most guests begin leaving around 11 o’clock.
This school year, I have been to two Sweet-16s. I am one of the youngest students in my grade (My birthday is in December). I’ll have to wait another year before I can have my own special Sweet-16 party. I can’t wait for it!Why is sixteen a special age for an American girl?
How much does a usual birthday present for a teenager cost in the USA?
What is the most important part of the Sweet-16 party?
How old is the writer?
What do you think of the Sweet-16 party in the USA? (请自拟一句话作答)
The Man of Many Secrets — Harry Houdini — was one of the greatest American entertainers(表演者) in the theater. He was a man famous for his escapes（逃走；逃生） — from prison cells（囚室）, from wooden boxes floating（漂浮） in rivers, from locked tanks full of water. He appeared in theaters all over Europe and America. Crowds came to see the great Houdini and his “magic” tricks.
Of course, his secret was not magic, or supernatural powers. It was simply strength. He had the ability to move his toes as well as his fingers. He could move his body into almost any position he wanted.
Houdini started working in the entertainment world when he was 17, in 1891. He and his brother Theo performed card tricks in club in New York. They called themselves the Houdini Brothers. When Harry married in 1894, he and his wife Bess worked together as magician and assistant. But for a long time they were not very successful. Then Harry performed his first prison （监狱）escape in Chicago in 1898. Harry persuaded（说服） a detective（侦探） which to let him try to escape from the prison, and he invited the local newspapermen to watch.
It was the publicity(宣传) that came from this that started Harry Houdini’s success. Harry had fingers trained to escape from handcuffs(手铐) and toes trained to escape ankle chains. But his biggest secret was how he unlocked the prison doors. Every time he went into the prison cell, Bess gave him a kiss for good luck — and a small skeleton key, which is a key that fits many locks, pass quickly from her mouth to his.
Harry used these prison escapes to build his fame. He arranged to escape from the local prison of every town he visited. In the afternoon, the people of the town would read about it in their local newspapers, and in the evening every seat in the local theater would be full. What was the result? Worldwide fame, and a name remembered today.According to the passage, Houdini’s success in prison escapes depends on ________.
| A．his special tricks and supernatural powers |
| B．his unusual ability and a skeleton key |
| C．his magic tricks and inhuman powers |
| D．his wisdom and magic tricks |
In the fourth paragraph, the underlined word “this” refers to (指的是)______.
| A．his first prison escape | B．the year 1898 |
| C．the publicity | D．Harry Houdini's success |
Which of the following statement is right?
| A．Someone gave him a key that fits many locks. |
| B．He made a key that could open every door. |
| C．Everyone hated him very much. |
| D．He was trained to escape again. |
The followings help him succeed EXCEPT ________.
| A．his brother's help | B．his wife's help |
| C．his fingers | D．his toes |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．A Skeleton Key | B．Many Secrets |
| C．World-wide Fame | D．Great Escapes |
Idioms(成语) are phrases and sentences that do not mean exactly what they say. Even if you know the meaning of each word you see or hear, you may not understand the idiom because you don't understand the culture behind it.
For example, if an American boy asks his mother what's for dinner tomorrow, she may say “I'll play it by ear”, that means she doesn't have plans for dinner and she will decide later. “Play by ear” used to mean playing music using the sheet music(活页乐谱), but now people often use it when they're not talking about music.
There're many idioms in English. If you learn to use them, your English will be more vivid and colorful. English idioms are more common in spoken English. They can be difficult to remember sometimes. Next time when you hear somebody saying to you, “Give me a hand”, you don't necessarily reach out your hand to him/her, but you do need to be helpful. And when the situation is out of hand, you usually can do very little to manage all that. What about a green hand? It's not about the color of your hand! You're a green hand when you are very new at your work and don't have much experience. If you and your partner always work together hand in glove, you two certainly work together very well.
Can you guess the meanings of some common English idioms to do with parts of your body?An idiom is _______.
| A．a phrase or a sentence that means exactly what the words say |
| B．a phrase or a sentence that doesn't mean exactly what every word says |
| C．so difficult that nobody can understand |
| D．something to do with parts of your body |
If a mother says “I’ll play it by ear” to talk about the dinner, she means _______.
| A．she will cook dinner while listening to music at the same time |
| B．she doesn't hear what others are talking about. |
| C．she will play music using the sheet music instead of cooking dinner |
| D．She doesn't have plans for dinner and will decide later |
When one says “Can you give me a hand?”, he means _______.
| A．he needs to hold your hand. |
| B．he works well with you |
| C．he needs your help |
| D．he is a new comer and can't help with the situation |
What does the word “vivid” mean?
| A．生动的 | B．恰当的 | C．独特的 | D．有意义的 |
Here are four common English idioms to do with parts of your body and their meanings.
Can you match them?
1) to learn something by heart a. to depend on oneself
2) to have sticky fingers b. to know something very well
3) to stand on one's own feet c. to do something secretly
4) to go behind someone's back d. to have the habit of stealing
| A．1-b; 2-a; 3-d; 4-c | B．1-b; 2-d; 3-a; 4-c |
| C．1-c; 2-b; 3-a; 4-d | D．1-c; 2-d; 3-b; 4-a |