There is a kindergarten(幼儿园) in a mountain village of Tongren, Guizhou Province. Rao Si is the only teacher working there for 18 children.
Inside the kindergarten, various plants can be found in a small garden. Walking out of the kindergarten’s door, the children can see terraced fields(梯田) in the clouds. It helps them get a better understanding of nature. When she sees children’s pictures and artworks with imagination on the wall, she finds her work helpful.
“Most children in my class don’t live with their parents. Their grandparents care for them. They are like my family. We care about each other and grow up together,” Rao says.
There were no kindergartens in Tongren when Rao was born there in 1991. Things have become greatly different over the past ten years. Every village has a kindergarten now.
In order to make children’s learning interesting, Rao gets training and often visits city kindergartens. She watches how the teachers teach and shares teaching experience with them.
Though great changes have taken place, there are still some difficulties. For example, they don’t have enough musical instruments and painting materials. “We don’t have the material(物质) conditions like those in city schools, but we are close to nature. Nature is the best teacher,” Rao says.
1. How many children are there in Rao Si’s kindergarten?2. What makes Rao Si find her work helpful?
3. What does Rao Si do when she visits the city kindergartens?
4. Are there still any difficulties in Rao Si’s kindergarten now?
5. Rao says, “Nature is the best teacher.” Do you agree with her? Why or Why not?
2 . Chopsticks originated from(起源于) China.Though simple and little, they are a great invention in the history of humans. There are many legends about Chopsticks, Da Yu and Chopsticks is one of them.
It is said that during Yao and Shun times, Shun ordered Yu to control the flood. One day, Yu took a boat to an island, he was so hungry that he used an earth pot to cook meat. After the meat was well-done in boiled water, he didn’t want to waste time to wait for it to cool, so he took two branches to pick up the meat from the soup. After, to save time, he always took small branches to take out food from the hot pot. For a long time, he was skilled at picking up food with small sticks. In this way, the first types of chopsticks were born.
The chopsticks are made of different kinds of materials including bamboo, wood, animal bone, beautiful stone, and some other materials. There are more than 200 types of chopsticks now, among them, the bamboo chopsticks are most widely used.
“A chopstick can be broken easily, ten pairs of chopsticks hold each other tightly(紧紧地)...”The song is popular with many people, and it always encourages people to work together.
1. What does the underlined word “them” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Chopsticks. | B．Humans. | C．Legends. | D．Branches. |
| A．On foot. | B．By boat. | C．By bike. | D．By bus. |
| A．To save time. | B．To save food. |
| C．To save chopsticks. | D．to save money. |
| A．Chopsticks aren’t a great invention. |
| B．Yu ordered Shun to control the flood. |
| C．Ten pairs of chopsticks are easy to break. |
| D．The song encourages people to unite as one. |
3 . Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254. When he was 17, he travelled along the Silk Road with his father, who wanted to do trade with the Chinese. Finally, they arrived in Beijing. They were guests at the Emperor’s Palace. Although Marco was young, he was very clever and could speak four languages. The Emperor was impressed by him and they became friends. The Emperor asked Marco to help him and sent him to do many important jobs all over the country.
Marco was amazed by how great China was. He was impressed by the Emperor’s Palace which he described as “The greatest palace that I’ve ever seen”. The walls were covered with gold and silver and the hall was so large.
Marco was also attracted by lots of strange things in China. Marco was surprised to see Chinese people using paper money in the markets. In Europe, people paid for goods with gold and silver. He could not understand how people paid for food and valuable things with paper! He was also puzzled by the black stones people used to burn to produce heat. The black stones were coal, but Marco had never seen coal before!
After he served the Emperor for 17 years, in 1291, Marco returned to Italy. He had a lot of money then. A writer wrote down all the stories that Marco told him in a book called The Description of the World, which became one of the best-selling books in Europe.
阅读短文，填表格，每空一词。
Marco Polo and China | |
| Before | He was born in Italy in 1254. At the age of 17, he travelled to China along the Silk Road with his father. |
| During his living in China | He made friends with the Chinese Emperor. He helped the Emperor do many The beauty of China Some things which he never saw before attracted him. Paper money was used in the markets. The Chinese used coal to produce heat. |
| After returning to Italy | He became very A book was |
4 . The home of tea is in China. It is said that tea was found by Shennong, a legendary(传说中的)ruler of ancient China about 5000 years ago. Some people say that tea is the national drink of China. There are mainly six kinds of tea in China, such as black tea, green tea, white tea, etc.
Many Chinese drink it almost every day.
Tea helps keep your mind clear. It's calorie- free and good for your heart. Also, tea can protect against cancer. So it becomes the most widely consumed(广泛饮用的)drink in the world next to water. To celebrate this popular drink, the United Nations has made May 21st International Tea Day recently.
However, people in different countries have different ways to drink tea. In the US, sweet tea is popular. It is made with black tea, sugar and fruit. Unlike Chinese tea, sweet tea in the US is always served ice cold. Many years ago, only rich people drank it.
Black tea and sugar used to cost a lot of money. But now, anyone can drink it．
In the UK, people like to put milk in their tea. This gives it a nice taste. They usually drink it in the afternoon— this is called “tea time”. They like to eat biscuits while drinking their tea.
During tea time, people take a break from work and relax.
If you never drink tea, you can try it. Maybe you'll find your favorite taste.
History | It has about five | |
Function | ● Tea helps keep your mind clear. ●It's calorie -free and good for your heart. ●It can | |
Details | In China | There are mainly six kinds of tea in China. |
In the US | ||
In the UK | People like to drink tea | |
5 . Most of us use alarm clocks or mobile phones to wake up at the right time for school or work. We look at our watches to know the right time for the bus or train. However, there is also a right time to eat, sleep, exercise, and take medicine. We can’t look at a clock for the right time for these activities. We must listen to the clock inside our bodies, the biological clock.
Barbara Wells exercised every morning. She woke up at 6:00 a. m. She ran about two miles before she went to work. But Barbara's legs and back started to hurt. She did some exercise before she ran. But her legs and back still hurt. She ran slower, but the pain didn’t stop. Barbara talked to her doctor. The doctor said, “Don’t run in the morning. Try to exercise later in the day. That is the time when your body is at the right temperature for exercise after work. Her legs and back didn’t hurt any more.
Today, doctors are learning more shout chronobiology(生物钟学)，the study of biological docks. They are learning about the importance of time for our bodies. For example, it is best for people to go to sleep on time every right and to eat only when they’re hungry. Also, doctors discovered that some illnesses, such as heart attacks, occur (v. 发生) most often in the morning. This information tells them that the best time to take heart medication may be at night. When patients take heart medication at night, they may prevent a heart attack in the morning.
Many doctors believe chronobiology can help us live healthier lives. It may be the right time to listen to these doctors!
根据短文内容，请用完整句子回答下列问题。
1. What clocks do you all have inside your bodies?
2. How far did Barbara Wells run every morning?
3. What are the doctors learning about for our bodies?
4. What is the right time for the person who has a heart attack to take heart medication?
5. What can we learn from the passage?
6 . I grew up poor-living in a big family with six brothers, three sisters, my father and a wonderful mother. We had little money, but plenty of love and attention. I was very happy and energetic. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, he could still afford a dream.
My dream was sports. By the time I was sixteen, I could throw a ninety-mile-per-hour baseball and hit anything that moved on the field. I was also lucky: my high school coach was Ollie Jarvis who not only believed in me, but also taught me how to believe in myself. One special incident（事件）with him changed my life forever.
It was the summer between my junior and senior years, and I was offered a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket—money for dates with girls, money for a new bike, new clothes, and I could begin to save money for a house for my mother.
Then I realized, to do that work, I would have to give up summer baseball training. When I told coach Jarvis, he was as angry as I expected him to be. "You have your whole life to work." he said, "Your time for playing isn`t long. You can't afford to waste it”.
I stood before him with my head hanging, trying to think of the words that would explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his disappointment in me.
"How much are you going to make at this job, son?" he asked.
"Three point five an hour." I replied.
"Well," he asked, "is $3.5 an hour the price of a dream?"
That simple question made me understand the difference between wanting something right now and having a goal for the future. I practiced hard that summer, and within the year I was chosen by a famous team to play baseball, and was offered $ 20,000 a year.
Later, I was given a baseball scholarship to the University of Arizona, which led me to an education. In 1984, I began to play the Denver Bronces for $ 1.7 million a year, And Certainly, I bought my mother the house of my dream!
1. When did the writer want to take a part-time job?| A．When he decided to buy his mother a house. |
| B．When he graduated from junior high school. |
| C．When he found it difficult to play baseball well |
| D．When he thought his big family was too poor |
| A．His coach | B．His mother. | C．He himself. | D．His teammates |
| A．to buy a house for his family is the dream of most young people |
| B．trying to become a sport star is the easiest way to realize a dream |
| C．something we want now often has to give away to a long term long goal |
| D．to succeed without help from others is impossible for the young |
| A．Part-time Job | B．A House for Mom |
| C．A Strict Coach | D．A Priceless Dream |
7 . Have you ever been on a student exchange program? How useful was it? We asked three people for their opinions.
Ellen
I spent 8 days in Germany when I was studying for my Level A. I went to school every day, and spent the evenings with a family. It was great because I had to speak German all the time. However, the most useful thing was that I was paying more attention to communicating in the language, instead of speaking perfectly correct German. I was really glad that people could understand what I was saying. I’d certainly introduce it to other students studying languages.
Frank
I went on an exchange with my class for a week in Japan. Before the exchange, I thought my understanding of grammar was pretty good, but I had much trouble listening and speaking. So, what I thought most meaningful was that I had no choice but to use everyday language skills, rather than the language from books. If I had the opportunity, I’d certainly take part in another language exchange.
Alice
I took part in a French exchange. It lasted two weeks and I stayed with my exchange family in a small town just outside Paris. I’m quite a shy person, so in the first few days, I was kind of nervous, but then it was fine. I love French and my French has always been good. But the exchange really helped develop my speaking skills, and made me a much more confident person. It felt great to be able to talk with French people. I also found that everyone who took part in the exchange did a lot better in their end-of-year exams.
1. How long did Frank stay in Japan?| A．A week | B．Eight days. | C．Two weeks. | D．Half a year. |
| A．It developed her listening skills. | B．It made her more confident. |
| C．It taught her exam skills. | D．It took too much of her time. |
| A．tiring | B．exciting | C．boring | D．helpful |
| A．Students who are learning a foreign language. |
| B．Students who want to work as teachers later. |
| C．Students who are interested in traveling abroad. |
| D．Students who are not doing well in their studies. |
8 . The famous scientist and thinker, Charles Darwin, was born on February 12, 1809. His family lived not far from the River Severn, England.
Darwin's father was a well-known doctor and the son of a still greater doctor and scientist. Darwin's father hoped that his son would also become a doctor.
As a boy, Darwin liked to go for walks in the fields and forests. He watched nature, and compared what he saw with everything he had read in science books. He also liked collecting very much. He collected many things, birds, eggs, stones and leaves. His father did not like that, and Darwin was not studying very well at school.
At the age of sixteen, Darwin was sent to Edinburgh University to study in order that he could become a doctor. But he was interested in the history of nature.
Then he was sent to study in Cambridge University. There he studied until 1831.
Some time later he heard that the ship Beagle was going on a trip to South America and needed a scientist. His professor advised him to go. He said the trip would be just for Darwin. So when the ship left England in December 1831, Darwin was on it. His research lasted almost five years. The Beagle studied the waters in the sea near South America. It also visited New Zealand, Australia and islands in the Pacific. Darwin saw many new plants and animals. He collected all kinds of plants.
In 1842 Darwin went to live in Kent, where he continued his studies of changes in nature. Darwin understood that plants and animals are not always the same, and that they really change.
By 1859 Darwin had finished his famous book "The Origin of Species"（《物种起源》）. It made a great hit in the world of science. He was opposed by the church and even by some scientists. But later, more and more scientists agreed with him.
1. What did Charles Darwin' s father do?| A．A worker. | B．A doctor. | C．A scientist. | D．A teacher. |
| A．he liked to go for walks in the forests |
| B．he liked watching nature |
| C．he preferred collecting coins and stamps |
| D．he was fond of the history of nature |
| A．In 1831. | B．In 1832. | C．In 1842. | D．In 1859. |
| A．接受 | B．开除 | C．反对 | D．尊重 |
| A．Don't care what parents say to us. |
| B．The trip can bring us wealth. |
| C．We should ask teachers for help when meeting problems. |
| D．Keep doing what we like and work hard, we'll succeed. |
9 . As the proverb says, “Your tongue has the power of life and death.” This means that your words have power to finally cause things to happen, even life or death.
We may all experience the power of words in our life, even when we were very young. A child is blamed ( 责 备 ) by teachers or parents, and after that, he might probably think of himself as a bad child. Most kids have that experience. They say it is important to praise children four times for each negative ( 负 面 的 ) word. Blaming will make things worse, while positive words are helpful especially when being in trouble or in need. When we fail the exam, encouraging words from our teachers or parents make us work harder at our lessons. Encouraging words can go quite a long way. They lift people up. For example, encouraging words to someone who is sad can help them make it through the day. Words can have a powerful effect on your brain. And it will in turn ( 相 应 地 ) have a great influence on your action.
Everything you do depends on what you choose to do. It’s not your parents, your past relationships or your job, but you and only you that are responsible for every goal you set. If you have dreams in life, write them down and speak them out. Your words are likely to bring you out something amazing.
| The Power of Words Your words have power to finally cause things to happen, even life or death. | |
| Example 1 | Example 2 Encouraging words make students who can’t Example 3 Encouraging words help |
| Words have a powerful effect on your brain, and in turn it influences your action Everything you do depends on the | |
| Your words are likely to bring out something amazing. | |
10 . A man came home from work late, tired, to find his 5-year-old son waiting for him at the door.
“Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?”
“If you must know, I make $20 an hour.”
“Oh,” the little boy replied, with his head down. He thought for a moment, looked up and said, “Daddy, could you lend me $10?”
The father was furious,“If you asked for the money to buy a toy or some other rubbish, then go straight to your room and think about why you are being so selfish（自私的）!”
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. After about an hour, the father calmed down, and started to think,“Maybe he really needs to buy something and he didn’t really ask for money very often.” So he went to the little boy’s room.
“Sorry! Maybe I was too hard on you just now.” said the man, “Here’s $10.”
“Oh, thank you, Daddy!”he said happily. Then, the boy took out some coins. When the father found that the boy already had money, he got angry again.
“Why do you want more money since you already have some?” the father shouted angrily.
“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do.” The little boy replied,“Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.”
1. How much does the boy’s father make an hour?| A．$10. | B．$20. | C．$30. |
| A．very angry | B．quite happy | C．too excited |
| A．he thought the boy wanted to keep the money for himself |
| B．he thought the boy would buy somethingof no use |
| C．the boy always borrowed money from him |
| A．a new book for himself | B．a nice present for his father |
| C．an hour of his father’s time | |
| A．often played with his son | B．spent little time with his son |
| C．often came back home early | |
