A Leg Walking Right
Here are some signs +－x..., the signs are very different. They mean very different things. When you see them, you know what to do. This sign + means that you will add some numerals. This sign－means that you will take one numeral away from another. You will subtract (减去). What will you do when you see x and...?
Our signs are easy to read. They are easy signs to remember. Look at these two signs…The ancient Egyptians used these signs. A picture of a leg walking to the left told them to add some numerals. A picture of a leg walking to the right told them to subtract.
In the 1500s people used this printed (印刷的) sign & to add numerals. After a while, the sign began to look like this... Later, the sign became +.
How much is 2...2?
1. What do you do when you see this sign +?| A．Walk away. | B．Write a numeral. | C．Read a sign. | D．Add. |
| A．numerals | B．subtract | C．signs | D．add |
| A．Egyptians could not add numerals together. | B．All Egyptians had two left legs. |
| C．Our signs are not hard to understand. | D．How the sign + forms. |
| A．After a while, the sign began to look like this... |
| B．After a while, the sign began to look like this +. |
| C．After a while, the sign began to look like this &. |
| D．After a while, the sign began to look like this－. |
| A．the signs for adding and subtracting have changed | B．people could not write in the 1500s |
| C．the old signs were good for Egyptians but not for us | D．how sign became + |
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【推荐1】In some provinces in China, there is a tradition of taking afternoon naps, which means that people take a short rest in the middle of the day. During the nap time, life around the whole area seems to slow down. You can see people of all ages, men or women, taking their naps. To them, it’s a peaceful and quiet time when the busy streets become still.
Taking an afternoon nap is a tradition that has been around for a long time in China. It has been passed down from generation (一代) to generation. Parents teach their children the importance of rest and encourage them to do it. Through naps, they hope the young ones can learn to take care of themselves and enjoy a quick break from a busy day.
Actually, the tradition of afternoon naps is believed to have many benefits. It helps people feel refreshed for the rest of the day. It also gives their bodies and minds a chance to relax and recover from all the activities in the morning. Some people even say it makes them think better and get more creative!
Recently, more and more people in other countries have heard of the tradition of afternoon naps in China. They agree that taking afternoon naps is a good tradition and that they are green with envy (嫉妒) .
So, if you ever visit China, don’t be surprised if you see people taking naps in the early afternoon. It’s a great tradition that brings relaxation and good health to the people. And when you feel tired during the day, try finding somewhere comfortable and taking a good afternoon nap. Who knows, a little shut-eye might go a long way in making you feel great and your day even better!
1. What’s the meaning of the underlined word nap?| A．tea | B．break | C．meal | D．sport |
| A．Men. | B．Women. | C．The young. | D．All ages. |
| A．Busy. | B．Quick. | C．Still. | D．Surprised. |
| A．It helps people feel tired. | B．It gives bodies and minds a chance to relax. |
| C．It makes people busy. | D．It makes people green with envy. |
| A．not to take afternoon naps | B．to know the history of taking afternoon naps. |
| C．to take afternoon naps | D．to know different traditions all over the world. |
【推荐2】Do you yawn (打哈欠)? There are about 20 reasons that scientists think are possible for yawning after research. They do not know exactly why yawning happens, but they do know many facts about yawning.
We know that everyone yawns in the same way. First you open your mouth slowly. Your mouth stays open for about five seconds. You take in a lot of air and then push it out. Then you quickly close your mouth. We also know that yawning is contagious. When you see someone yawn, you yawn, too.
Many people say they yawn because they are bored or tired. That might be true. People do often yawn before they sleep and after they wake up. However, we know that people also yawn when they are excited or nervous. Olympic runners, for example, often yawn before a race. Why is that? In 2007, scientists found that a yawn can help a warm brain cool down.
Some scientists believe that yawning makes you notice things more quickly. When you yawn, you breathe deeply. You also stretch (强化) the muscles (肌肉) in your face, mouth, and neck. Your eardrums stretch, too. Maybe this helps you to be quicker to notice things.
In some countries, people think yawning is not nice. People put their hands over their mouths to cover a yawn. In other countries, people think yawning is healthy. They think that opening the mouth very big can let good things in. When they breathe out, they think that bad things go out of the body with the air.
Scientists do not spend much time studying yawning. That is probably because yawning does not hurt. It is just something we do.
1. What does the underlined word “contagious” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Able to spread quickly. | B．Able to breathe easily. |
| C．Able to change easily. | D．Able to sleep quickly. |
| A．a yawn can let good things in | B．they are too tired or too bored |
| C．a yawn can help a warm brain cool down | D．a yawn can stretch the muscles in their faces |
| A．Reasons for yawning. | B．Advantages of yawning. |
| C．Disadvantages of yawning. | D．Different ideas about yawning. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
Surprise Ending
A surprise ending is a way to do something unexpected at the end of a story.
A surprise ending can change everything we thought we knew about the story. A good surprise ending can stay with us long after we finish reading the story.
Authors use surprise endings to make stories more challenging.
This writing skill is used in literature to make the reader really interested. O. Henry was known for his clever and unexpected endings, which have made his stories popular.
| A．In conclusion, a surprise ending goes against what the reader expects. |
| B．They challenge readers to think far more than what they expect. |
| C．A good example of his endings is The Gift of the Magi. |
| D．It is used to make a story more interesting and exciting. |
| E．It can also make us think deeply about its meanings. |
Teenage life—better now, or in the past?
Does this situation sound familiar?
You are complaining to your parents about something. Maybe your computer isn’t powerful enough to play the latest games.
“When I was your age, there weren’t any computers or video games. And I didn’t get a bike until I was sixteen. And it was second-hand.
So, is it really true that life is better for teenagers now? It is certainly true that many teenagers have got more things nowadays.
However, technology often means we spend more time at home. And often it is just us, with our computer or television. Teenagers don’t do enough exercise.
What do you think? How is teenage life better these days?
| A．And it was too big for me. |
| B．A typical family is smaller now. |
| C．I like my old days. |
| D．So they aren’t as healthy as they were in the past. |
| E．Technology is probably the greatest change in our life. |
| F．Or your friends bikes are better than yours. |
【推荐2】For most people, the word “fashion” means “clothes”. But people may ask the question, “What clothes are in fashion?” And they use the adjective “fashionable” in the same way: “She was wearing a fashionable coat.”
But of course there are fashions in many things, not only in clothes. There are fashions in holidays, in restaurants, in films and books. There are even fashions in school subjects, jobs and languages.
Fashions change as time goes. If you look at pictures of people or things from the past, you will see that fashions are always changing. An English house of 1750 was different from one of 1650. A fashionable man in 1780 looked very different from his grandson in 1840. Now iPhone 6s is a fashion, but perhaps it will be out of fashion later on.
Today fashions change very quickly. We hear about things much more quickly than in the past. Newspapers, radios, telephones and televisions send information from one country to another in a few hours.
New fashions mean that people will buy new things, so you see there is money in fashion.
1. ”Fashions change as time goes” means .| A．fashions change more quickly than time |
| B．fashions change more slowly than time |
| C．fashions have changed, but time hasn't |
| D．when time changes, fashions change too |
| A．Surfing the Internet. |
| B．Having a family dinner on New Year's Day. |
| C．Learning to sing songs on the radio. |
| D．Doing morning exercises at school. |
| A．people read newspapers every day |
| B．radios send information from one country to another quickly |
| C．new things that people like are often shown on TV |
| D．people quickly learn what is happening in the world |
| A．clothes are expensive |
| B．money comes from fashions |
| C．buying new things needs money |
| D．people like new things |
【推荐3】Everyone knows that China is changing and developing very quickly at the moment. Many young people from home and abroad thought about the changes. The following are some comments which young people made on a website message board.
 | I’m a Chinese student. I’m very proud of China and I’d love to make a real contribution(贡献) to the development of my country. When I finish my training in Canada, I will go back to China and start a business, so I can give something back to the country. |
 | I’m a Chinese student in America. My hometown used to be very poor. But it has changed now. Most people in my hometown have a good standard of living and some can now afford cars. I’m very pleased with these changes and very proud of them. |
 | I spent two years in Beijing as a student in the late 1990s and I recently went back there on holiday. I couldn’t believe the changes which had taken place in such a short time and the qualities(品质) I admire in Chinese people are their wish to succeed, their family values and their sense of responsibility. I think these qualities will be very important if China is to continue developing. |
 | I hope that China will become a successful and prosperous(繁荣的) country. There is still a long way to go. There are many challenges and difficulties ahead, but I am sure we can overcome them if we work together. |
| A．Jackson. | B．Susan. | C．Zhou Li. | D．Carmon. |
| A．In China. | B．In America. | C．In Canada. | D．In Hong Kong. |
| A．In 1990. | B．In the early 1990s. |
| C．Less than 10 years ago. | D．More than 20 years ago. |
| A．It’s still very poor. | B．Some people have enough money to buy cars. |
| C．There are green trees everywhere. | D．There’re many tall buildings. |
| A．Carmon doesn’t want to start a business in China. |
| B．China is changing and developing very fast now. |
| C．Jackson dislikes Chinese family values and their sense of responsibility. |
| D．Susan thinks Chinese people aren’t able to overcome the challenges and difficulties. |
【推荐1】Several summers ago, Joe Smith, a coach of a football team, and his family were spending their holiday in a small town. One rainy afternoon, it was impossible for them to go out to do something interesting, so the family decided to go to the cinema. Joe, his wife, and their three children walked soon to the town’s only cinema, bought tickets and went into the hall. The lights were still on, and there were just six other persons there. As Joe entered, some of them saw him and started clapping (鼓掌).
Joe gave them a smile and turned to his wife. “Aha, I can’t believe they know me and I’m getting a warm welcome here,” he guessed. “They saw my games on TV.”
They sat down and then a young man came back and gave out his hand. “Thanks a lot,” said the coach. “I just can’t believe you know who I am.”
“All I know,” replied (答复) the man, “is that they would not show the film until at least ten people bought tickets.”
根据语篇内容，判断下列句子正误，正确的选“T”，错误的选“F”。1. Joe and his family couldn’t go out for anything funny that day because there was a wonderful film.
2. When Joe and his family got to the cinema, the film was not on.
3. Now including the coach's family there were eleven people in the cinema.
4. Joe was sad when some people warmly welcomed him.
5. In fact the people in the cinema clapped to the coach because they often saw him on TV.
Joe Scaravella, a 61-year-old Italian-American born and raised in New York, opened a restaurant in 2007. Having lost almost all his family members, he tried to recreate the feeling of home-cooked meal in his restaurant.
He employed (雇佣) grandmas from different parts of Italy at first, and later, he begin hiring grandmas from other countries like Brazil, France and Greece. He built two kitchens in the restaurant: one for Italian grandmas to cook during lunchtime and the other for grandmas from other countries to cook every evening. The menus in the restaurant are constantly (不断地) changing because what is being served depends on the grandmas who are on duty.
The restaurant opens five a week from Wednesday to Sunday. At present, there are more than 40 grandmas working in it. Most of them came to the U. S. with their children, helping take care of their grandchildren Scaravella give them the chance to express themselves in a culinary (烹饪的）way.
The Enoteca Maria Restaurant has received positive reviews since its opening. Customers are ingested by its delicious food, comfortable environment and most importantly, the grandma who may remind them of their own.
1. Why did Mr. Scaravella open the Enoteca Maria Restaurant?
| A．To express himself in a culinary M-ay. |
| B．To help the grandma cooks raise their families. |
| C．To meet grandmas coming from across the world. |
| D．To recreate the feeling of a home-cooked meal in his restaurant. |
| A．Because the cooks on duty change |
| B．Because Joe Scaravella likes different foods |
| C．Because the ingredients change with the seasons. |
| D．Because customers don't like the menu. |
| A．on Monday evening | B．at lunchtime on Wednesday |
| C．on Friday evening | D．at lunchtime on Sunday |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Italian Grandmas | B．home-cooked Food |
| C．American Cooks | D．Grandmas' Restaurant |
【推荐3】Mrs. Thompson loved every one of her pupils but a little boy named Teddy Stoddard. She noticed that the boy didn’t play well with the other children.
Once Mrs. Thompson read Teddy’s past records. His first grade teacher wrote. “Teddy is a bright child.” His second grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is troubled because his mother is still excellent.” His third grade teacher wrote, “His mother’s death has been hard on him. We are worrying about him.” Teddy’s fourth grade teacher wrote, “Teddy doesn’t have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class.”
By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She decided to help the boy.
Christmas Day was coming. Her students all brought her nice presents packed in beautiful paper, except for Teddy’s. Mrs. Thompson opened Teddy’s present among them. Children started to laugh when they saw Teddy’s: It Was an old bracelet (手镯) with little stones and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume(香水). But Mrs Thompson put on the bracelet and dabbed (轻搽) some of the perfume on the other wrist. She said how nice the present was.
“Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my mother used to.” Toddy said.
1. What did Mrs. Thompson think of Teddy at first?| A．Smart. | B．Calm. | C．Unfriendly. | D．Kind. |
| A．Grade 2 | B．Grade 3 | C．Grade 4 | D．Grade 5 |
| A．She was mad at Teddy. | B．She felt ashamed of herself. |
| C．She was pleased with Teddy’s past. | D．She felt proud of Teddy’s performance. |
| A．Teddy’s classmates laughed at Teddy’s present. |
| B．Teddy gave Mrs. Thompson a full bottle of perfume. |
| C．The present from Teddy was packed in beautiful paper. |
| D．Teddy didn’t give Mrs. Thompson anything for Christmas. |
| A．Past Records | B．Teddy’s Teachers |
| C．Christmas Day | D．A Teacher’s Story |
