1 . Ever since I came to China, I sometimes eat things I would never have eaten at home in the UK. Some of them I would call “strange” or even “scary”!
I remember when I first ate Sichuan hotpot in China, I felt like my mouth was on fire! But the most surprising part was when a friend wanted me to eat rabbit head! I was shocked when I saw it. When I looked at it, I remembered my pet rabbit when I was a child!
But I didn’t want to be rude(无礼的), so I tried some. It wasn’t bad although it was too spicy(辣的) for me. I was told that rabbit head is one of the most popular snacks in Sichuan. A 2016 report said that Sichuan people ate 300 million rabbits that year! That’s amazing! The next “adventurous(新奇的)” food I tried in China was fried scorpion(蝎子). I can’t think of any food like this in the UK. And scorpions are really rare in the UK because it’s too cold. The scorpion I had was for a crispy snack. As I swallowed(吞咽) it and could feel its pointy(尖的) tail, I kept thinking—aren’t scorpions poisonous(有毒的)?! It turns out that after being fried, scorpions are not poisonous, as long as you don’t eat too much of them.
I wonder what my friends will want me to eat next time. But trying things from other cultures and stepping out of your comfort zone(舒适区) can really help you get on in a different country and enjoy the experience.
1. How many kinds of “strange” or “scary” food does the writer mention?| A．Two | B．Three | C．Four | D．Five |
| A．The writer’s mouth was on fire when he first ate Sichuan hotpot. |
| B．The writer didn’t try the rabbit head because he didn’t like it. |
| C．People also eat fried scorpion in the UK. |
| D．The writer suggested that people shouldn’t eat too much of the fried scrpions. |
| A．enjoyable | B．unbearable | C．uncertain | D．unhealthy |
| A．China’s spicy food is a challenge(挑战) for the writer. |
| B．Strong food in China makes the writer disappointed(失望的). |
| C．The experience of tasting strange food in China amazed the writer. |
| D．The only way to step out of the comfort zone is to try “strange food”. |
2 . Time flies. My summer vacation ended in the blink of an eye, but one thing is still on my mind. From July 25 to 27, I worked as a volunteer at the Chengdu Research Base in Sichuan. I experienced the life of being a panda keeper.
My work included cleaning the pandas’ home,feeding the pandas and making food for them. The panda I took care of was named Jingke. When I went to feed him, he would stretch(伸出) one of his forefeet out on a shelf that hung on the fence and wait for his food. He would quickly grab the food as soon as I brought it to him. Can you guess what would happen next? Jingke would lie down and begin to eat. I could hear him crunching(嘎吱作响地咀嚼) on his food and see him twisting his body around like a dancer. It was really cute. This was one of the most interesting things I saw when I worked there.
When I fed Jingke, I touched his fur(皮毛). Most people think that pandas’ fur would be soft. But actually, pandas’ fur is very hard. It felt like I was touching needles. I looked at his teeth, too—they were sharp and big. No wonder the panda keepers told us that pandas are not only cute, but also dangerous.
I am happy to be so close to the pandas. This experience lets me know that it is not easy to be a panda keeper.
1. What is the meaning of the underlined phrase in Paragraph l?| A．瞬息万变 | B．眨眼之间 | C．长年累月 | D．一夜之间 |
| A．clearing the pandas’ home | B．feeding the pandas |
| C．training the pandas | D．making food for the pandas |
| A．hard | B．soft | C．comfortable | D．smooth |
| A．A panda lover | B．Keeping pandas |
| C．The pandas in Chengdu | D．My experience as a panda keeper |
3 . This is the sad story of Hamlet, young Prince of Denmark, whose father died two months before the story begins. Hamlet’s father was King of Denmark and Hamlet was his only son. The king died a strange death while he was sleeping in the garden of his castle. It was believed that he had been bitten to death by a poisonous snake. He was such a wise and kind man that he was loved by all the people in the nation. His son, Hamlet, of course, loved him far more than anyone else in the world.
Hamlet was so sad that he never stopped wearing black clothes. There was something else that made Hamlet even sadder. His mother, Gertrude, married Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, who was a brother of the late king.
After Hamlet’s father died, Claudius became King of Denmark and married Gertrude. Young Hamlet did not like him because he was not as wise and kind as his father. Hamlet did not in the least want his mother to marry such a man. He became angry with both of them and came to look down upon his mother as well as his uncle.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．Hamlet’s father’s death. | B．Hamlet’s uncle. |
| C．Hamlet’s feelings after his father died. | D．Hamlet’s character. |
| A．Hamlet’s mother. | B．Hamlet. | C．Hamlet’s uncle. | D．The people in Denmark. |
| A．Last. | B．Coming late. | C．Old. | D．Recently dead. |
| A．His mother got married to a man he didn’t like. |
| B．His uncle was not as wise and kind as his father. |
| C．He didn’t become the king. |
| D．His uncle became the king. |
4 . Henry was an office worker in a big city. He worked very hard and enjoyed travelling on holidays. He usually went to the seaside, but one day he saw an ad in a newspaper which said. “Enjoy country life, spend a few days on West Hill Farm; good food, fresh air, horse riding, walking, fishing, cheap and interesting.” “This sounds like a good idea,” he thought. “I’ll spend a month there this holiday. I think I can enjoy horse riding, walking and fishing.” He wrote to the Farm and said he would spend the whole July there.
Then on the first day of July, he went to the Farm. (A)But four days later, he returned home.
“What was wrong with the West Hill Farm?” his best friend John asked. “Didn’t you enjoy the country life?”
“The country life was very good,” Henry said “but there was another problem.”
“Oh, what?”
“Well,” he said, “on the first day a sheep died, and we had roast mutton for dinner.”
“What’s wrong with that?” John asked, “Fresh meat is the best.”
“I know, but on the second day a cow died, and we had roast beef for dinner.” “Sounds great!”
“You don’t understand” Henry said. “On the third day a pig died and we had roast pork for dinner.” “You can have different meat every day,” John said loudly, “but you are complaining!”
“Let me finish,” Henry said. “On the fourth day a (B)______ died, and I didn’t dare (敢于) to stay for dinner!”
1. How long did Henry plan to stay on the farm at first?2. 把A处句子翻译成中文。
3. What did Henry have for dinner during his stay on the Farm?
4. 在（B）处填入恰当的表达职业的单词，使这则幽默故事逻辑通顺。
5. Do you like the country life? Why or why not?
5 . A poor traveller stopped under a tree to eat the rice and vegetables which he had brought with him. A few metres away, there was a small shop by the side of the road where a woman was frying fish and selling it to travellers who were able to afford to pay for it. This woman watched the poor traveller carefully, and when he finished his food and began to go, she shouted rudely, “You have not paid me for the fried fish!”
“But I have not had your fried fish!”
“But everyone can see that you enjoyed the smell of my fried fish with your rice and vegetables, argued the woman “If you had not smelled the fish, your meal would not have been eaten so jovially!”
Soon a crowd collected, although they supported the poor traveller, they had to agree that the wind was blowing from the shop to the place where he had eaten, and that it had carried the smell of the fried fish to him.
Finally, the woman took the poor traveller to a judge(法官), who said, “The woman says that the traveller ate his meal with the smell of her fish. The traveller agrees that the wind was blowing from the woman’s shop to the place where he ate his rice and vegetables and that it carried the smell of her fried fish to his nose while he was eating, so he must pay for it. What does your fried fish cost?”
“Twenty-five cents a plate.” she answered happily.
“Then go outside together,” said the judge. “There the traveller must hold up a 25-cent piece so that its shadow(影子) falls on the woman’s hand. The price of the smell of a plate of fried fish is the shadow of 25 cents.”
1. According to Paragraph 1, why did the woman shout?| A．Because she wanted to sell her fried fish. |
| B．Because she wanted to argue with the traveller. |
| C．Because she wanted the traveller to pay. |
| D．Because she wanted to give some food to the traveller. |
| A．Secretly. | B．Quickly. | C．Pleasantly. | D．Slowly. |
| A．The woman got nothing at last. |
| B．The judge did a wrong thing. |
| C．The traveller ate a plate of fish. |
| D．The traveller gave the woman 25 cents. |
| A．patient | B．shy | C．impolite | D．intelligent |
6 . Mike is my good friend. He is 14. He’s from America. He likes traveling. Travelling is an important part (部分) of his life. He visited many places. Every summer he travels to different places. He is interested in history. He wants to learn about Chinese history. He came to China four times. He visited Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Shenzhen. He likes Beijing best. Because there are many places of interest in Beijing. He stayed in Beijing for 5 days. He had a good time. He plans to visit the West Lake in Hangzhou next summer. I’m sure he’ll enjoy himself.
1. Where does Mike come from?| A．The USA. | B．The UK. | C．Canada. | D．Japan. |
| A．Because he wants to learn Chinese. |
| B．Because he wants to learn about Chinese history. |
| C．Because he wants to make friends. |
| D．Because he wants to work in China. |
| A．Twice. | B．Three times. | C．Four times. | D．Five times. |
| A．Shenzhen. | B．Shanghai. | C．Tianjin. | D．Beijing. |
| A．Tomorrow. | B．Next week. | C．Next month. | D．Next summer. |
7 . 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. |
My name is Tim. My father didn’t know how to show love. He went to work every day. He often blamed（责备） me when I had made mistakes.
Once I broke my leg, my mother held me in her arms all the way to the hospital. My father pulled the car right up to the doors of the hospital. He looked really anxious（焦急的）.
When I learned to ride a bike, I asked him not to leave me alone, but he said it was time. I fell and my mother ran to pick me up, but he stopped her. I was mad and I wanted to show him that I could ride it myself.
When I went to college, my mother wrote letters to me. He just sent money and a little note about how great his garden looked now because I wasn’t playing football in it. Whenever I called home, he acted as he wanted to talk but always said, “Wait, Tim. I’ll get your mother.”
When I got married, Mum cried. He just blew his nose loudly and left the room.
All my life he said, “Where are you going? What time are you coming home? “Father’s love is as great as a mountain, people often say. Didn’t I realize his love?
1. What did Tim’s father do when Tim had made mistakes?2. Why did Tim’s parents take him to the hospital?
3. Who picked Tim up when he fell off the bike, his father or his mother?
4. Where did Tim probably play football?
5. What’s the proper title for the passage?
9 . Tom is 14 years old. He is an eighth-grade student in a middle school. Tom loves cars. He has a lot of model cars. Sometimes, Tom helps repair(修理) his father’s old car at home.
Last Monday was a sunny day. Tom said goodbye to his parents and then got on the school bus. On the bus, Tom talked with his friends happily as usual. But after a while, the bus driver began to feel unwell. He tried to stop the bus by the roadside, but he wasn’t successful. As he was trying to stop the bus again, he became unconscious(不醒人事的). The bus started running off the road. The children on the bus were very afraid. They began to shout.
Tom was sitting at the back of the bus at that time. He went to the front very quickly. Then he tried his best to move the bus driver to one side and put his foot hard on the brake(刹车). The bus finally stopped. Tom saved himself and all the other children on the bus.
Tom’s story went around quickly. Tom’s father was very proud(自豪的) of him. He said he would teach Tom how to drive when Tom got older.
1. What grade is Tom in?2. When did Tom save himself and all the other children on the bus?
3. How did the children on the bus feel when the bus started running off the road?
4. Did Tom put his foot hard on the brake?
5. What would Tom’s father teach Tom when Tom got older?
10 . Long time ago, there was a big apple tree. A little boy loved to play around it every day. Sometimes he climbed to the top of the tree, ate the apples and had a rest under the tree. He loved the tree and the tree liked to play with him, too.
A few years later, the little boy grew up and he seldom played around the tree. He went away from the village, and he didn’t come back for a long time.
One summer day, the boy came back to the tree and looked sad. “Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy.
“I am not a kid. I won’t play around you any more,” the boy answered, “I want toys and clothes. I need money to buy them.”
“Sorry, I don’t have money. But you can pick(采，摘) all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money.” The boy was so excited. He picked all the apples on the tree and left happily. But he didn’t come back. The tree was really sad.
In fact, many parents are like this apple tree, and their children are just like the boy. The question is: Are you the boy?
1. What did the boy love to do when he was a child?| A．He loved to sing songs with his friends. |
| B．He loved to do sports after school. |
| C．He loved to play games with his mother. |
| D．He loved to play around an apple tree. |
| A．One summer day. | B．One autumn day. | C．One winter day. | D．One spring day. |
| A．Because he had problems with his friends. |
| B．Because his parents hated him. |
| C．Because he had no money. |
| D．Because he did badly in the high jump. |
| A．The tree gave the boy some clothes. |
| B．The tree gave the boy all the apples. |
| C．The tree lent some money to the boy. |
| D．The tree gave the boy some toys. |
| A．The tree liked the boy a lot. |
| B．The boy liked to play around the tree all the time. |
| C．The boy felt sad when he left the tree. |
| D．The tree had lots of money. |
