Garrison had been treasuring his last piece. All he had left now was a sheet of the beautiful brown paper Pa had brought back from his last sailing trip.
"You've been quiet, " Pa said, "Could I see your picture? "
Garrison handed over his sketch. Pa studied it, then looked at his son. "You're ten now, eh? " Garrison nodded, hoping Pa wouldn't say that he was too old to be fooling around with pencils and paper.
"When I was ten, I wanted to work on my father's ship, " Pa said, "When Thomas was ten, he asked me to let him plant the corn. "
Garrison's throat (嗓子) tightened. "I know I'm not like either of you. " Pa looked at the drawing again.
"No, you are like both of us. You work hard, like Thomas. And you're like me, too. I have wandering feet, but you have a wandering mind. We need to see things differently.
Garrison frowned. "I'd rather love the land, like Thomas, or the sea…"
Pa patted his hand. "Thomas cares about our family very much﹣that's why he's worked so hard to bring us food. And my love for the sea makes good money. But there's more in life than food and money. There's happiness, for one. Does it make you happy to draw? "
Garrison nodded.
"And it makes me happy to look at your drawings. Not many folks can catch happiness on a piece of paper. Some might say drawing's a waste of time, but they don't understand how things are. Why, asking you to stop drawing like asking Thomas to stop farming, or me to stop going to sea. It would be like asking us to stop breathing, wouldn't it? "
Garrison considered this, then replied, "No, sir. Not quite like breathing. If I couldn't draw any more, it would be…like someone took away my voice. " He hung his head. In his mind he could hear Thomas laughing, "It's not like you ever speak up, anyway. "
But Pa patted his shoulder and said, "That would be a pure shame. Your voice is important, Garrison, whether it's out loud or on paper. And speaking of paper…" Pa smiled. "Take a look in my bag. "
Garrison reached into the bag and found a sketchbook. For a moment he was speechless happiness seemed to fill his body and stick in his throat. Then he managed to find his voice. "Oh, Pa﹣thank you. "
(1)Why did Garrison's throat tighten?
A. Because he felt thirsty.
B. Because he felt very scared.
C. Because he knew he was not like Pa or Thomas.
D. Because he thought Pa would stop him drawing.
(2)When Garrison frowned, he most probably felt .
A. unhappy
B. worried
C. afraid
D. ashamed
(3)What can we infer from the passage about Garrison?
A. He lived in a big wealthy family.
B. He was his father's favourite son.
C. He would go on with his drawing.
D. He would learn to work on the farm.
My name is Sam. I joined a club called “ passing help ” last month. Now let me tell you why I joined it.
One evening this May, on my way home my old car broken down. It was 25 miles from my home .
I wanted to get a ride, but there was no car . It was also hard to take a taxi . I decided to take a bus home.I went to a bus stop nearby .
After a while , a bus came , but it did not go to my town .the bus driver was a young woman .
She was kind and she told me which bus I should take . I waited there for about thirty minutes , but no bus came . At last a car came to me and a woman came out of the car .She was just the bus driver.
“When I reached the bus station , I got to know that the bus to your town couldn't come ,so I returned here. I just can't leave you here ,” she said , “ Get in my car and I will take you back to your home .”“ It is a long way .”I said.“ Come on ,sir, ”she said ,“ Let’s go.”
On the way she told me a story . A few days ago, there wasn't gas(汽油)in her car . An old man drove her up to a gas station and then back to her car.
When we got to my home , I wanted to give her some money to thank her , but she didn't accept. “ I only want to help others and do something nice for somebody. Pass it along. ” She said.What happened to Sam one evening this May?
A.He lost his way. |
B.His car broken down. |
C.He was hurt in an accident. |
D.He couldn't reach the gas station. |
Sam didn’t think of going home__________ that evening.
A.by train | B.by bus |
C.by car. | D.by taxi. |
From the passage , we know that the young woman was _________.
A.a club boss. | B.a taxi driver |
C.a bus driver. | D.a gas station worker. |
The young woman wanted Sam to _________.
A.give her some money. |
B.get on her bus. |
C.take her to her house. |
D.help others just as she did. |
The best title (题目)of the passage is ________ .
A.A Kind Old Man. | B.Getting a Ride. |
C.Passing Help. | D.A Broken Car. |
Americans use many expressions with the word dog. People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well. They take their dogs for walks, let them play outside and give them good food and medical care. However, dogs without owners to care for them lead a different kind of life. The expression, to lead a dog’s life, describes a person who has an unhappy existence.
Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs. They say that to be successful, a person has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation(状况) would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.
A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (the name of a kind of dog), is groomed for months before competing in the Oklahoma City Summer Classic Dog Show and can be the winner sometimes. So people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills. Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.
Some people are compared to dogs in bad ways. People who are unkind or uncaring can be described as meaner than a junkyard dog(比垃圾场的狗更凶狠). Junkyard dogs live in places where people throw away things they do not want. Mean dogs are often used to guard this place. They bark or attack people who try to enter the place. However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. We say barking dogs never bark.
Dog expressions are also used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. A rainstorm may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs.What does this passage mainly talk about?
A.How to live with the dog. |
B.Expressions related to(与...相关) the dog. |
C.Americans’ love for the dog. |
D.Dog expressions with the weather. |
Working too hard can make people ___________.
A.lead a dog’s life | B.become sick as a dog |
C.live in a dog-eat-dog world | D.work like a dog |
What does the underlined word “groomed” mean?
A.trained | B.honored | C.awarded | D.dressed |
What can we learn from the passage?
A.Everyone can be successful if he learns from the old. |
B.It might be difficult for the young to learn new skills. |
C.Junkyard dogs are careful in money arrangement. |
D.Mean dogs aren’t so awful as their appearance in fact. |
To support her idea, the author develops the passage mainly by ________.
A.listing reasons |
B.using quotations(引用语) |
C.making comparisons(作比较) |
D.giving examples |
What is your favourite colour? Do you like yellow, orange or red? If you do, you must be an active person who enjoys life. Do you like blue? Then you may be quiet, shy and prefer following to leading.
Colours influence our moods. There is a relationship between colours and moods. A yellow room makes people feel cheerful and more relaxed than a dark green one; and a red dress brings us warmth and joy on the saddest winter day. Black is depressing (令人压抑的). There was a black bridge over River Thames. The number of people who killed themselves on that bridge used to be larger than that on any other bridge in the area---until it was repainted green.
Light and bright colours make people not only happier but also more active. In the factory, the workers will work better, harder, and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black.An active person may like ________.
A.yellow, orange or red | B.yellow, black or red |
C.orange, blue or black | D.green, blue or brown |
Most people feel more _______ in a yellow room than in a dark green one.
A.tired | B.bored | C.relaxed | D.worried |
Why did more people kill themselves on the black bridge than on any other bridge?
A.Because the bridge was too crowded. |
B.Because people didn’t like the bridge. |
C.Because the colour of the bridge was depressing. |
D.Because no one saved them. |
In the factory, when the machines are painted orange, the workers will work ______.
A.worse | B.harder |
C.more slowly | D.more carelessly |
Which is the best title for the passage?
A.Your Favourite Colour |
B.The Secret of Colour |
C.The Colour of A Bridge |
D.Stop People from Killing Themselves |
______ can join the three-day summer program.
A.A kid of 7 | B.A boy of 14 |
C.A girl of 17 | D.A man of 26 |
If there is a rainstorm on 14th July, program A will start on ______.
A.Sunday | B.Tuesday | C.Monday | D.Wednesday |
Two members and one non-member should pay ______ for the program.
A.$690 | B.$730 | C.$710 | D.$750 |
Free lunches aren’t provided because ______.
A.the lunches cost too much |
B.they may bring lunch-boxes |
C.there are many restaurants |
D.people have different tastes |
What can we know from the passage?
A.You need to hand in an application for the program. |
B.More than 15 students are in each program. |
C.We can see three kinds of animals in the program. |
D.Youth Explorer is the name of the program. |
Michael Jordan was born on February17,1963,in Brooklyn ,New York . Jordan is the fourth of the five children in his family .His family moved to North Carolina when he was just a baby .As a young boy , his favourite sport was baseball ,but soon he found that he could play basketball as well .At the age of 17, he began to show people just how talented ( 有天赋的 )he really was .Throughout his basketball career (事业 ) , Michael Jordan has won many scoring titles (冠军 ) .many boys and girls look up to Michael Jordan as their hero .Do you know he was a hero ,too , when he was growing up ? He looks up to his older brother ,Larry , Michael Jordan , a basketball superstar , is not just a star on the basketball court .He also works hard to raise money for many children’s charities(慈善组织 ) . He encourages children to develop their talents by practice , practice and practice !Michael Jordan comes from ________________ .
A.Canada | B.Australia |
C.America | D.England |
At first ,he played ______________ instead of basketball .
A.football | B.baseball | C.tennis | D.volleyball |
Who was Michael Jordan’s hero when he was growing up ?
A.Larry | B.Bill Gates |
C.Ronald | D.His father |
Michael Jordan often tried his best to raise money for ______________ .
A.his hometown | B.his school |
C.his coach | D.many children’s charities . |