Why is the sea salt? Long before we discovered scientific ways of thinking about it, we explained it in a story. Even though the answer isn’t scientific, it holds some other truth in it — especially about the human heart.
Long ago, a poor old couple lived on the coast. One day, an old storyteller came to their village. The old couple gave him a meal. In return, he gave them a coffee mill (磨粉机) and said, “Say, ‘Mill, please grind (磨粉)’,” and it’ll make whatever you want, to stop it, say ‘Mill, please cease (停止) grinding’.”
Soon the old couple had a much better life. They’d been happy people, and they didn’t need much more. But the young couple next door were never satisfied. When they saw the old couple wearing good clothes and buying good food, they burnt with envy (羡慕). So one day, the young husband went to the old couple’s house secretly and heard, “Mill, please grind hot chocolate!” He was surprised to see it coming out.
Then the young couple stole the mill from the old couple. With it, they rode a horse and set off down the coast, where no one would know them. Along the way, the husband showed proudly and asked, “What do you want it to make?” “Oh. I don’t know. Why not salt?” the wife said. “Mill, please grind salt!” he said. “It works!” the wife shouted. But then they noticed the salt went everywhere. “Make it stop,” the wife said. But the husband didn’t know how. “Mill, please stop grinding! Please, no more!” His words didn’t work. The mill kept grinding. Finally, the young husband threw the mill into the sea as far as he could.
And there it’s been, for hundreds of years, endlessly grinding salt. That’s why the sea is salt.
(1). The passage is probably a(n) ________.
| A． |
folk story |
B． |
instruction |
C． |
science fiction |
D． |
science report |
(2). Put the things happened to the mill in correct order.
a. It began to produce salt. b. The young husband threw it.
c. The young couple stole it. d. The old couple got it.
| A． |
b-d-a-c |
B． |
b-a-d-c |
C． |
d-a-c-b |
D． |
d-c-a-b |
(3). What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
| A． |
The coffee. |
B． |
The horse. |
C． |
The mill. |
D． |
The chocolate. |
(4). How did the young husband’s feelings change?
| A． |
sorry — sad — excited |
B． |
thirsty — excited — afraid |
| C． |
happy — nervous — proud |
D． |
surprised — thankful — happy |
(5). What does the word “truth” in Paragraph 1 imply (暗指)?
| A． |
Being patient. |
B． |
Working properly. |
C． |
Being satisfied. |
D． |
Listening carefully. |
任务型阅读
阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填写表格 (每空限填一词)。
Travelling is one of the most important activities and people have been interested in it for many years. Modern traffic develops fast, so travelling to different places has become much faster than before. Staying healthy while travelling can make your trip happier. But do you know how to be in good health during a trip? The following information may be useful to you.
Before leaving
Wear comfortable shoes, a hat and sunglasses.
Take some necessary medicine with you. They can be used when you get sick or have other problems.
Do some exercise for weeks or months before you leave if you plan to do lots of walking or climbing during your trip.Prepare proper food. Before you prepare the food, the first thing you need to think about is how long you will travel with the food. If you take a long trip, you should bring food such as bread, biscuits and some fruit. They don’t go bad quickly. The nearer people can bring meat, fish, eggs, milk and even salads and vegetables.
While travelling
Be sure not to eat dirty food or bad fruit.
Have enough time to take a rest during your trip.
Tap water is not safe, so drink bottled water and always clean the cover of the bottle.
Keep food in good condition. If you take hot food, you should try to keep it hot. For example, you can put it in heavy towels. If you need to keep cold food cold, you can put cold food in a box with ice. When you arrive, put cold food in the fridge. Remember: If you travel with food, keep hot food hot and cold food cold.
| How to keep |
|
| Before leaving |
Wear comfortable shoes, a hat and |
| Exercise for weeks or months |
|
| Prepare proper food. Take bread, biscuits and some fruit for a |
|
| While |
|
| Have enough |
|
| Drink |
|
| Keep food in good condition. |
Americans think much about time . From childhood they learn to value (珍视) time .They are taught to be on time to go to school , to work and to do everything . When they are having a good time, they say that time goes easily . When a person is dying , they say he is living on a borrowed time .
Time is money . Time is knowledge . Time is everything in America . A working American has to work hard for eight hours a day or forty hours a week . This is the working time . In his free time, he also works hard for more money . Even on Saturday and Sunday he also works hard as usual. In the street you can hardly see a man walking slowly . They walk very fast . In fact , they are running .
They love time because time can bring them money and lots of things . But sometimes they also hate time, because they feel they have become servants (仆人) of the clock .What do the Americans mean by "Time is money"?
| A．It is not easy to make money. |
| B．It takes quite a lot of time to make money. |
| C．Working hard can bring people health. |
| D．If someone has time and works hard, he can make much money. |
Americans think it wrong _______.
| A．to work late | B．to get up early |
| C．to be late for school | D．to be on time to do everything |
This passage says that a dying person _______.
| A．is having a good time |
| B．is living on a borrowed time |
| C．thinks time goes easily |
| D．is saving time |
From this passage we can be sure that _______.
| A．Americans live a hard life |
| B．Americans always walk fast |
| C．Americans live in a quick rhythm (节奏) |
| D．Americans are good at saving time |
Which of the following is the best title for this passage ?
| A．Americans' ideas about time | B．Never waste time |
| C．Time is money | D．Learn to be on time |
A poor farmer had never left his small village. After he made a lot of money, he decided to spend a holiday in an excellent hotel in a big town.
When lunchtime came on his first day there, he went to eat it in the restaurant of the hotel in his new clothes. The headwaiter showed him to the table, took his order and went away. When he returned and looked at the farmer again, he was surprised. The farmer had tied his table cloth round his neck.
The headwaiter immediately told another waiter to go to the farmer and tell him that people mustn’t do such a thing in his restaurant. So the waiter went to the farmer and said in a friendly voice, “Good morning, Sir. Would you like a haircut.?”The farmer decided to spend a holiday in a big town because__________
| A．he always spent his holiday there |
| B．he wore his new clothes |
| C．he never went to the big town |
| D．he had become richer and wanted to see big town |
To his surprise, the headwaiter found that the farmer__________.
| A．was sitting at the table along |
| B．he wore his new clothes |
| C．used the table cloth as a napkin（餐巾） |
| D．took the restaurant for a barber’s shop |
Why do you think the farmer tied the cloth round his neck? __________.
| A．He didn’t want to make his clothes dirty |
| B．He want to have his hair cut |
| C．The headwaiter told him to do that |
| D．He saw some other people doing this |
The headwaiter told another waiter to __________
| A．take some food to the farmer |
| B．stop the farmer tying the cloth round his neck |
| C．tie the table cloth round the farmer’s neck |
| D．drive him out of the restaurant |
From the sentence “Would you like a haircut?” we know the waiter wanted to_______
| A．have the farmer’s hair cut |
| B．make an apology to the farmer |
| C．cut the farmer’s hair himself |
| D．make the farmer know his mistake |
阅读下面短文，根据短文内容完成下面表格中的有关信息（共5小题，每小题2分，满分10分）。
Which is the best city in Europe? Each city has its own special features.It depends on what a person likes and dislikes. Now let’s see the three most popular cities in Europe.
London, the United Kingdom
If you like ale（麦芽酒）, or you are interested in history, you will like this city. The best time to visit London is from May to October. You can visit the British Museum, the Tate Modern and Westminster Palace.
Amsterdam, Holland
People who like art will like this city. And it is also a great place to go bike riding. In April or May you can see many beautiful tulips（郁金香）there. July and August are the best two months to visit. The Royal Palace and the Van Gogh Museum are great places to see.
Paris, France
Tourists who love art or traditional food will like this city. Spring is the best time to visit. Summer is also a good time. The Louvre, The Eiffel Tower and the Montparnasse are the greatest places to visit.
| The three most popular cities in Europe |
|
| London |
People who love ale or The best time to visit it is |
| Amsterdam |
It is a great city for people who like art and who want to If you visit the city in April or May, you can see |
| Paris |
If you like art or traditional food, you will like to visit this place. |
A soap opera called “Tiger Mother and Cat Father” is popular in China now. The tiger mother is pretty strict with her daughter and the little girl is not allowed to watch TV or play computer games. On the other hand, she makes all efforts to buy the expensive house near the key school, in order to let her daughter have a better education. However, the cat father has an opposite view of how to raise their child. He gives her daughter more independence and doesn’t make many rules for her. Which one is better, “ Tiger Mother”or “Cat Father”?
In China, it seems that in each family, there is tiger mother and a cat father, even worse, some families have two tigers. Children can’t decide anything for themselves. What’s worse, Chinese mothers believe key school will bring a better future to their children. This soap opera fully shows us a common problem in China. And maybe it is the real reason why such kind of TV shows can get popular.
Whether the tiger mother or the cat father, respecting(尊重)children and growing together are the keys to family education. Confidence, kindness, honesty and independence are the most important qualities to develop a child, not the grades. Just like a poem said, “Educating children is like walking with a snail(蜗牛), and the steps are gentle and slow.”In the soap opera, the little girl isn’t allowed to_______.
| A．eat vegetables | B．get good grades |
| C．go to the key school | D．watch TV or play computer games |
In the soap opera, the father is called “Cat Father” because______
| A．he enjoys eating fish just like a cat |
| B．he gives her daughter more independence |
| C．he is afraid of his wife |
| D．he always stays up late just like a cat |
The underline word “view” mean“________”in Chinese in this passage.
| A．风景 | B．磁带 | C．观点 | D．观察 |
We can infer(推断)from the last paragraph(段落)that the writer thinks it’s good to_______.
| A．slow your steps and grow together with your children |
| B．take a walk with your children often |
| C．be strict with your children like “Tiger Mother” |
| D．buy an expensive house near the key school |