Christmas was coming. There was a man in rags (衣衫褴褛) walking in a hurry on the road. You might think he was a beggar (乞讨者), but actually he was an artist. His name was Vincent Willem Van Gogh. With a painting he had just finished, the poor Vincent entered a painting store.
"Can you buy this painting to help me pay the rent (房租)? "Vincent asked in a low voice. "I don't really like your painting, but it is said that you are hard-working and I want to help you, Here is five francs(法郎), "the storekeeper answered.
Although it was only five francs, Vincent was very happy. He took the money and said thanks, thinking that he could buy some food and pay the rent.
Near his home, Vincent saw a little girl in old clothes standing in the snow.
The girl smiled sadly at the artist asking for some help. Clearly, the girl was hungry and cold.
"Poor child! I should help her, " he thought.
Vincent put the five francs into the girl's hands, completely forgetting that he still needed money to pay the rent. Before the girl said thanks to him, Vincent had hurried away with his empty stomach.
31. The story happened in .
| A． |
spring |
B． |
summer |
C． |
autumn |
D． |
winter |
32. Vincent Willem Van Gogh was a(n) .
| A． |
beggar B artist |
B． |
farmer |
C． |
storekeeper |
33. The storekeeper gave Vincent five francs because .
| A． |
he thought Vincent was a beggar |
| B． |
he liked Vincent's painting very much |
| C． |
he wanted to help the hardworking man |
| D． |
he wanted to make friends with Vincent |
34. What did Vincent do to help the poor girl?
| A． |
He painted a picture for her. |
B． |
He paid the rent for the girl. |
| C． |
He bought her some food and clothes. |
D． |
He gave the girl five francs. |
35. From the story, we know that Vincent was .
| A． |
kind |
B． |
rich |
C． |
famous |
D． |
Creative |
My dear friends，
I'm writing to invite you to my new house in the country．You know，my family and I moved into our country house one month ago．The kids are planning to give a party at our new house．I hope all of you can come．The party will begin at 11：00 a．m．on Saturday．There will be lots of food and drinks．
Together with this letter is a map to our house．After you get off the train， take the road in front of the station．Follow it and you'll see a chicken farm．Don't make any turns．Keep going and you'll see a bridge．Cross the bridge and there will be a big tree on your left．Walk past the tree，take the first right turn，and then walk for five more minutes．You'll see several houses．My house is at the end of the road，next to the river．
Angelica
（1）Why did Angelica invite her friends？
（2）When will the party begin？
（3）Is there a chicken farm near the train station？
（4）Where does Angelica live， at P1， P2 or P3？
（5）How will the kids feel at the party on Saturday？
Happy，Happy Chinese New Year by Demi Hitz
In a book that is itself a celebration， Demi explains the ideas behind the Chinese New Year festival．The last 15 days of the old year are spent cleaning and preparing （Wash your hair and get a new haircut．Pay the debts that you owe and collect what is owed to you!）．On the eve of the new moon，a special feast is prepared…The first 15 days of the New Year are spent celebrating with lion dances，firecrackers，and other activities．
Demi has long been interested in Eastern art and philosophy，which inspired her to create this book about the Chinese New Year celebration．She has written and illustrated more than 20 books for children，including The Empty Pot，Gandhi，and Kites：Magic Wishes that Fly Up to the Sky．
Chinese New Year for Kids by Cindy Roberts
Chinese New Year for Kids is a full color book with beautiful，Chinese illustrations．This is a hands﹣on workbook for parents and teachers，written for children from ages 3 to 12 years old，for use in the classroom or at home．Children will enjoy the Chinese New Year party ideas，dragon dances，lion dances，art projects，and Chinese games．
The art projects for Chinese New Year are designed to be easy，as well as inexpensive to reproduce for large groups．All the activities in this book have been tested in the classroom，with very successful results，and have caused lots of enthusiasm from children and teachers alike．Music，physical movement，art，and food all add to the ambiance of taking an imaginary trip to China during the Chinese New Year．
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debt 债 owe 欠 feast 宴会 philosophy 哲学 illustrate 插图 design 设计 enthusiasm 热情 ambiance 气氛 |
（1）What is "Happy，Happy Chinese New Year"？
A． A book．
B． A celebration．
C． A festival．
（2）What do Chinese usually do before the New Year？
A． They usually have a big meal every day．
B． They are busy cleaning and preparing．
C． They are celebrating with activities．
（3）Who will most likely read the books by Demi？
A． Children from western countries．
B． Students from China．
C． Indian Children．
（4）What will the readers most probably do after reading "Chinese New Year for Kids"？
A． They will join to write more books about China．
B． They will have a strong wish to visit China during Chinese New Year．
C． They will enjoy the Chinese New Year party ideas，dragon and lion dances．
Roert likes to take a walk in the park after work．One day when he was walking in the park， he heard a woman calling his name． He stopped to look around，but didn't see anything except a little snake． Shortly after Robert saw it，it was gone．
Though Robert felt a little strange，he did not think about it too much and sat down for a rest on a bench in the park．Then he noticed the snake he had just seen climbing up the bench．Robert was too afraid to move away from the bench．Right at this moment，a woman behind him shouted，"Come here，Robert．You can't stay on the bench like that．People will be scared by you．"
In surprise，Robert turned around and said to the woman．" Excuse me，but that's not a very nice thing to say，and in fact some people say I'm handsome．"
"I'm not talking to you，" said the woman．"I'm telling Robert，my pet snake，to get down from the bench，not you．"
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bench 长凳 |
（1）What did Robert see when he heard someone calling his name in the park？
A． Nothing．
B． A snake．
C． A woman．
（2）How did Robert feel when he saw the snake climbing up the bench？
A． Happy．
B． Excited．
C． Scared．
（3）Why did Robert turn around and say something to the woman？
A． He thought the woman was talking to him．
B． He felt ashamed for his bad looking
C． He thought he was not polite．
（4）What is the best title for the story？
A． Two Roberts
B． Be Polite to Me
C． Sorry，I Made a Mistake
Things You Can Do In One Second To Make Your Life Happier
One second．That's all it takes to make your life happier．___▲__Then check out this list of things you can do in a single second．That will bring more happiness into your life every day．
Give a great big smile．
Look for an easy way to make your life happier． Smile more． Smiling can help you feel better instantly． And it can be contagious． So give a smile to a total stranger on the street．Or if you're sad，angry，or annoyed about something，choose to smile and laugh it off instead．
Take a deep breath．
Deep breathing is one of the best ways to reduce stress and bring balance back into your life． And it only takes a second． Take some time out each day to focus on nothing except your breath．You'll find your life becomes happier，healthier，and less stressful．
Take a sip of water．
It's no surprise that drinking water is good for your health．Try keeping a water bottle with you wherever you go，and take a second to drink water a couple times every hour．Drinking water can help keep you hydrated control calories，filter your kidneys，and keep healthy skin．
Give thanks．
Happy people have this in common：They are grateful for all the good things in their lives． This means that to make your life happier，take a few minutes each day and count your blessings．Say "Thank you" more often． Show your appreciation when good things come your way．
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instantly 立刻 balance 平衡 focus 集中 hydrated 含水的 calorie 热量 filter 过滤 kidney 肾脏 skin 皮肤 grateful 感激 blessing 福分 appreciate 感激 |
（1）Which can best replace "__▲__" in the passage？
A． Do you think so？
B． Don't believe it？
C． Am I right？
（2）What does the word "contagious" mean in Chinese？
A．充满希望的
B．滑稽的
C．有感染力的
（3）What can you do to keep healthy skin？
A． Take a deep breath．
B． Drink some water．
C． Give thanks．
（4）Which "second" in the following has the same meaning as in the passage？
A． Downstairs，on the second floor，Michael served Mona breakfast．
B． The gun was fired and Beaton was wounded a second time．
C． Can you just lift the table for a second？
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Below is how four students answered their teacher's question in class． |
|
|
Lily |
I like shopping and talking to people． I think I can learn how to do business．Maybe selling clothes is a good business for me． |
|
Ryan |
My hobbies are playing computer games and making friends online．We often share our funny stories by e﹣mail． I guess I will learn more about computers and make super﹣smart computer programs． |
|
Bill |
My parents have kept lots of pets since I was little．We've experienced many things together，good and bad， happy and sad．Those stories have always stayed im my mind．One day，I will share them with people by drawing and writing books． |
|
Anna |
Though my mom and two sisters are all doctors，I'm sure I will stay as far away from a hospital as I can．I hate being sick， and I'm afraid of seing sick people looking weak and sad．I'll keep strong by playing my favorite sport， tennis， every day． One day I'll join the national team and be another Lina． |
（1）What question did the teacher most likely ask in class？
A． What do you like to talk about with your friends？
B． What's your plan for the coming vacation？
C． What do you want to do in the future？
（2）What does the underlined word "them" mean？
A． Pets．
B． Stories．
C． Books．
（3）How will Anna keep strong？
A． She will play tennis every day．
B． She will stay as far away from a hospital as possible．
C． She will join the national team and become another Lina．
（4）What do we know from the reading？
A． Lily is good at making clothes．
B． One of Bill's parents is an animal doctor．
C． Ryan enjoys meeting people on the Internet．