When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book, and a poor man got it.
The book wasn't very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the “Touchstone”．
The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold.
The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.
So the man sold his house, bought a tent, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up normal pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebbles hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold—throw it into sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea. The days stretched into months and the months into years.
One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He was used to throwing each pebble into the sea as soon as he picked it up. So when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.
So it is with opportunity. Unless we are vigilant, it's easy to fail to realize an opportunity when it is in hand and it's just as easy to throw it away.
1. According to the passage, the touchstone is a stone ________.| A．that you can touch | B．that can turn common metal into pure gold |
| C．that can bring you thousands of pebbles | D．that can bring you good luck |
| A．it was cold | B．it was a normal pebble |
| C．he was too tired to hold it | D．he had formed a habit |
| A．Brave enough. | B．Hard-working enough. |
| C．Careful enough. | D．Strong enough. |
| A．Opportunity knocks but once. | B．Use it or lose it. |
| C．Where there is a will, there is a way. | D．Practice makes perfect. |
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【推荐1】Suddenly Uncle Henry stood up. “There’s a cyclone coming, Em,” he called to his wife. “I’ll go to look after the stock.” Then he ran toward the sheds where the cows and horses were kept.
Aunt Em dropped her work and came to the door. One glance told her of the danger close at hand. “Quick, Dorothy!” she screamed. “Run for the cellar(地窖)!” Toto jumped out of Dorothy’s arms and hid under the bed, and the girl started to get him. Aunt Em, badly frightened, threw open the trap door in the floor and climbed down the ladder into the small, dark hole. Dorothy caught Toto at last and started to follow her aunt. When she was halfway across the room, there came a great roar from the wind, and the house shook so hard that she lost her footing and sat down suddenly upon the floor.
Then a strange thing happened. The house circled around two or three times and rose slowly through the air. Dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon. It was very dark, and the wind blew horribly around her, but Dorothy found she was riding quite easily. After the first few twists and turns, and one other time when the house tipped badly, she felt as if she were being rocked gently, like a baby in a cradle. Toto did not like it. He ran about the room, now here, now there, barking loudly; but Dorothy sat quite still on the floor and waited to see what would happen.
At last she crawled over the swinging floor to her bed, and lay down upon it; and Toto followed and lay down beside her. In spite of the swinging of the house and the crying of the wind, Dorothy soon closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.
1. What does the underlined word “cyclone” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Hurricane. | B．Flood. | C．Monster. | D．Earthquake. |
| A．To find the puppy Toto. | B．To find shelter from the cyclone. |
| C．To protect their fortune. | D．To get tools to help Henry. |
| A．She managed to control the house. | B．She found herself flying in a balloon. |
| C．She turned baby crying loudly. | D．She remained undisturbed with Toto. |
| A．Frightened. | B．Curious. | C．Calm. | D．Excited. |
【推荐2】Lisa Pina never thought she would need the fire safety training she received during her apprenticeship (学徒期) as a union painter and dry waller. On Friday morning, she was thanking God she had it.
On Thursday night, while Pina was babysitting her granddaughter, nephew and two nieces in her sister’s apartment, she smelled smoke and realized the apartment building was on fire. When her 4yearold granddaughter Ilean Garcia began saying, “We’re going to die, ”she knew she had to act.Pina,39, first sealed the door, and then told all four children to get on the floor. After calling 911, she told the children to start singing and promised them all treats as soon as they reached safety. “I said, ‘OK, we’re going to lie down and we’re all going to play a game, ’” Pina said. “We all started singing our ABCs and 123s.I was just trying to make it fun.” Pina patiently waited, and a few minutes later, Riverside County sheriff’s deputies (治安官的助手) arrived. Pina, Ilean,8yearold Gabriel Parga,5yearold Aubreyana Parga and 4yearold Meriyah Parga were all trapped on the second floor as flames filled the first story. Pina did the only thing she could. She opened the window and dropped the children, onebyone, into the arms of the sheriff’s deputies about 15 to 20 feet below. “I just needed to keep the kids calm so they wouldn’t be afraid, ”Pina said. “I was deathly afraid inside, but I couldn’t let them know that.”[Not long after dropping the children out of the window, firefighters arrived with a ladder and rescued her. Ten people were treated at the scene for suffering smoke, but nobody was seriously injured.
1. The text is mainly about________.| A．a big fire without serious injury | B．an urgent call 911 |
| C．a brave babysitter | D．a babysitter rescuing kids from a big fire |
| A．a union painter | B．a dry waller |
| C．the fire safety training | D．the apprenticeship |
| A．let children get on the floor | B．opened the windows of the second floor |
| C．closed the door hard | D．had children start singing |
| A．Lisa Pina was the last one to be rescued |
| B．the fire didn’t cause any injury |
| C．the children were sent to hospital after the fire |
| D．during the fire Lisa Pina wasn’t afraid at all |
Can you say it is right or wrong for them to behave like that? Their changeable personalities leave you feeling angry and guilty at the same time. In fact, if your kids don’t annoy you from time to time, you’re not doing your job.
“There’s nothing wrong about being angry with your child,” Says Laurence Steinberg, Ph.D., author of The 10 Basic Principles of Good Parenting. “Conflict is natural when your innocent, lovely child turns into an adolescent who can hardly tolerate (忍受) you. It’s part of the process of separation.” Kids insisted on their individuality with behavior to purposely drive you crazy. It’s their way of saying, “I am my own person” -- but doing it in a context that’s safe and that has clear limits.
So when your little darling changes into a silent person who still expects meals, clothing, and transportation, don’t panic. Here’s how to handle some common problems without losing your temper or your self-respect.
1. It can be learned from the first paragraph that ________.
| A．Jesse’s mother told a lie |
| B．the writer was too sensitive |
| C．Liz told a lie to her mother |
| D．the writer’s daughter stayed at Jesse’s house |
| A．when you are doing a job, your kids shouldn’t annoy you |
| B．parents should be responsible for children’s bad behavior |
| C．parents shouldn’t tolerate their children’s bad behavior |
| D．it’s understandable for kids to annoy their parents |
| A．It’s right for parents to be angry with their children. |
| B．It’s allowed for children to do anything as they like. |
| C．It’s bad behavior for children to drive their parents angry. |
| D．It’s normal for adolescents to go against the wishes of their parents sometimes. |
| A．How to be good parents. |
| B．How to be good children. |
| C．Rules for children to follow. |
| D．How to deal with adolescents’ common problems properly. |
【推荐1】King Midas used to love gold. One day he met a fairy who allowed him to make a wish for something. The king replied at once, ‘‘I love gold. I want everything I touch to change into gold”. ‘‘Very well, tomorrow morning, everything you touch will turn into gold.” Saying this, the fairy disappeared.
The king waited excitedly till the next morning. To his joy, everything he touched changed immediately into gold. ‘‘I’m the richest man in the world now,” he shouted.
Soon Midas became hungry. He sat down at his table. All the foods and drinks turned into gold in his hand. ‘‘I’m dying of hunger,” he cried.
Just then his daughter came running in. ‘‘Why are you so sad, dad?” she asked, putting her arms around him. There and then she became a golden statue. The king loved his daughter very much. Seeing this, he began to cry. He looked up and suddenly saw the fairy before him. ‘‘Don’t you like the golden touch?” asked the fairy. ‘‘Please take it away,” begged the king, ‘‘and give me back my daughter.” ‘‘Well, you have learned your lesson. Go and wash in the river. Then the golden touch will be gone.” The king ran quickly to the nearby river.
1. The fairy allowed the king to make a wish because ____________.| A．She wanted to teach the king a lesson |
| B．she hoped to make the king the richest in the world |
| C．She loved gold too |
| D．She wanted to turn the king’s daughter into gold |
| A．excited | B．worried |
| C．hungry | D．happy |
| A．she saw her father |
| B．the king went to meet her |
| C．the king loved her very much |
| D．she put her arms around her father |
The criminal said: one day, my mother brought some apples and asked my brother and me: “Which one do you want?” “The reddest and biggest one,” my little brother said. My mother stared at him and said to him angrily: “You should learn to give the good things to others; you shouldn’t always think of yourself.” Seeing this, I suddenly changed my idea and then said to my mother: “Mum, please give me the smaller one and give the bigger one to my little brother.” Hearing my words, my mother was very happy. She kissed me on my face and gave the reddest and biggest apple to me as a prize. From then on, I learned to tell lies, fight, steal and rob. In order to get what I wanted, I played hard. As a result, I was sent into prison.
The famous man from the White House said: One day, my mother brought some apples. She said to my brother and me: “You all want the reddest and biggest one, right? Well, let’s have a competition. Now I divided the grassland in front of the gate into two and I will give one to each of you and you must shear(修剪) it well. And I will give the reddest and biggest apple to him who does it the most quickly and best.”
After the competition, I won and I got the biggest apple. In our family, as long as you want to get the best things, you must take part in competition. I think it is fair. No matter what you want, you must pay lots of efforts.
1. The criminal got the reddest and biggest apple because .
| A．he told the truth that he wanted a smaller one |
| B．he knew how to make his mother happy from her answer |
| C．elder brother should of course have the bigger one |
| D．his mother loved him more than she loved the younger brother |
| A．it’s wrong to ask children to choose apples when they are not old enough |
| B．it’s important to make children aware that no matter what they want, they must pay work |
| C．it’s wrong to ask children not to always think of themselves |
| D．it’s always necessary to have a competition when we give children apple |
| A．organizing it in the order of time |
| B．making a comparison between two men |
| C．providing some scientific information |
| D．describing it in the order of space |
| A．we should always try to win competitions which can bring us a lot |
| B．in order to get what we want, we should play hard |
| C．a mother’s educational method has a great influence on a child’s growing |
| D．giving children apples will lead them to become criminals |
The alchemist picked up a book that someone in the caravan had brought. Leafing through the pages, he found a story about Narcissus.
The alchemist knew the legend of Narcissus, a youth who knelt daily beside a lake to contemplate his own beauty. He was so fascinated by himself that, one morning, he fell into the lake and drowned. At the spot where he fell, a flower was born, which was called the narcissus.
But this was not how the author of the book ended the story.
He said that when Narcissus died, the goddesses of the forest appeared and found the lake, which had been fresh water, transformed into a lake of salty tears. “Why do you weep?” the goddesses asked “I weep for Narcissus,” the lake replied.
“Ah, it is no surprise that you weep for Narcissus,” they said, “for though we always pursued him in the forest, you alone could contemplate his beauty close at hand.”
“But ... was Narcissus beautiful?” the lake asked.
“Who better than you to know that?” the goddesses said in wonder. “After all, it was by your banks that he knelt each day to contemplate himself!”
The lake was silent for some time. Finally, it said:
“I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected.”
“What a lovely story,” the alchemist thought.
1. How did Narcissus get drowned?2. What happened to the lake after Narcissus died?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
➢ The lake wept because it could not see Narcissus’ beauty any more.
4. What can you learn from the story? How are you going to apply it to your daily life?
