Once upon a time, there lived a man in a small village, who owned a statue made by an ancient master. It lay outside his door facing downward and he never paid any attention (注意) to this old, ugly thing.
One day, a businessman from the city passed by his house. Seeing the statue, he asked the owner if he would sell it. The owner laughed and said, “Who would like to buy that dull and dirty stone?” The businessman said, “I will give you a silver coin for it.” And the villager was surprised and felt happy. The statue was removed to the city, upon the back of an elephant.
Many months later, the man from the village got a chance to visit the city. As he walked along the street, he saw a grand shop crowded with people, and a businessman with a loud voice was shouting, “Come in and see the most beautiful and wonderful work of art in the world! It costs only two silver coins to look upon this most amazing masterpiece (杰作) of a famous artist!” The villager wondered what it was and paid two silver coins. Finally, he entered the shop only to find the statue that he himself had sold for one silver coin.
1. The villager owned the statue before the businessman arrived at the village.2. The villager took good care of the statue until it was sold.
3. According to the second paragraph (段落), the villager knew the real value (价值) of the statue.
4. From the third paragraph, we know that people in the city were very interested in the statue.
5. The statue in the grand shop was the same one outside the villager’s door.
Every day when Mike and Sally play outside, they see a man walking with a white stick. He is blind. It always puzzles (使困惑) them. “How can he walk on such a busy street?” asks Mike. “It must be very dangerous,” says Sally.
The boy and girl watch as the man walks. He walks slowly to the traffic lights, and then stops. When the light turns green, he starts walking again. He does not hit anything as he walks. “It’s amazing. And it must be terrible, too,” says Sally. “He knows where to go and where to stop as if he could see.”
One day, as the blind man was passing by, he heard the children talking. He stopped in front of their house. “Hello, kids,” he said, “I hear you talk about how I walk.”
“Yes, we always want to know how you know where to go and when to stop on such a busy street. It is safer to stay indoors.”
The man smiled, “I trained myself to listen very well. I listen with my ears for every sound when I am out of the house. I also use my stick, which is just like my eye, to help me. When my stick hits something, I know where to stop and go around it.”
The man continued, “Yes, it is safer to stay indoors. But I love to walk. I love the warm sun. I love the smell of flowers. I love to hear the birds singing. Most of all, I love to get some exercise.”
Sally said, “Thank you. We have learned something today. We think you are a brave man. We can see. We can walk. We will get some exercise, too. You are a good example for us to follow.”
1. Mike and Sally find it strange for a blind man to walk on such a busy street.2. It’s terrible to see the blind man walk on the busy street because he often hits something.
3. The blind man knows where to go and when to stop by listening to others’ instructions.
4. The blind man thinks walking outside is more enjoyable and safer than staying indoors.
5. Mike and Sally have learned that they should enjoy life even when they meet some difficulties.
Jenkins was a jewler, a master craftsman (工匠) in the Silkstone Jewellery company. Ten years ago, he made a large diamond ring for the company. It was worth ＄2,000. The second ring looked exactly like the first one. Jenkins knew it would pass all the usual tests—except one possibility. Jenkins gave the much more valuable ring to his wife on her fortieth birthday, and the couple flew to Paris for a weekend. Later, the company sold the ring for ＄6,000.
Six months ago the buyer brought it back to Silkstone’s head office. “It’s a faulty diamond,” he said. “It isn’t worth the high price I paid.”
He explained the facts. His wife’s car had caught fire in an accident. She escaped, but the ring had come off her finger. It had fallen to the ground and been damaged in the great heat of the burning petrol.
The company had to agree. They knew that no fire on earth can ever damage a perfect diamond. Someone had taken the real diamond and put a faulty stone in its place. The question was: who?
A picture of the ring appeared in the newspaper. A professional photographer recognized the ring. The next day there was another picture in the paper: it showed a famous actress walking out to a plane for Paris. Behind the actress there was a woman wearing a large diamond ring. “Do you know the woman with the lovely diamond ring?” the papers asked the readers.
At his trial (审讯), Jenkins asked the judge to consider eighty-one similar crimes against the Silkstone Jewellery company.
The judge said, “You are a master craftsman who turned bad. I feel rather sorry. But I must send you to prison for seven years.”
1. From the passage we can tell that the master craftsman is good at making diamond rings.2. Jenkins made a large diamond ring for his wife on her fortieth birthday.
3. The Silkstone company didn’t know about the faulty diamond ring they had sold for $2,000 until they received the complaint from the buyer.
4. The faulty ring looked just like the real one except that it would be seriously damaged in a fire.
5. The actress in the photograph gave the judge very important clues.
6. It was the professional photographer that helped to find the criminal.
7. The master craftsman wasn’t put into prison at last.
4 . What do we know about the sea? Most of us have seen it. We know that it looks very pretty when the sun is shining on it. We also know that it can be less pretty when the weather is terrible. What other things do we know about it?
The first thing is that the sea is very big. Look at a map of the world and you will find there is less land than sea. The sea covers 3/4 of the world. Some parts of the sea are very shallow (浅的). The sea is very deep in some places. At a place near Japan, the sea is nearly 11 kilometers deep! If the highest mountain in the world were put into the sea at the place, there would be two kilometers of water above it.
判断下列句子是否符合短文内容，符合的用“T表示，不符合的用“F’表示。
1. All the people know about the sea clearly.
2. The sea doesn’t look pretty all the time.
3. If you look at a map of the world, you will find there’s much more sea than land.
4. The land covers three-fourths of the world.
5. The passage tells us that the depth (深度)of the sea in different places are quite different.
6. The word “it” in the last sentence means the water.
Once there was a rich man, who was very fond of gold. He used to say, “While I have my gold, I am the happiest man in the world.”
One day he was traveling in the desert of North Africa. He lost his way. He had no food or water. He was almost dying of hunger. He was so weak that he could not walk. The heat was terrible. There were only stones and sand around. Just then he saw a bag lying on the sand. He hoped that he would find some food in it and some water, too. He crawled up to the bag and opened it. He saw that the bag was full of gold. What is the use of gold to a hungry man in a desert? He left the bag on the hot sand crying bitterly. “I am the most unhappy man in the world.”
1. The man used to say that he was a happy man if he had gold.2. One day in the desert of North Africa, the man did not know where he was going.
3. The man thought the bag would have gold in it.
4. The man was happy to see the gold in the bag.
5. Although he was very hungry and thirsty, he was still proud of his gold.
6. The story shows that sometimes gold is useless.
Tom lived in a small town in England. He always stayed in England for holidays. But last year he thought, “I’ve never been outside this country. All my friends go to France and they like it very much, so this year I will go there, too.”
First he went to Paris, the capital of France, and stay in a small hotel for a few days. On the first morning he went out for a walk. In England people drive on the left, but in France they drive on the right, Tom forgot about this, and while he was crossing a busy street, a bicycle knocked him down.
Tom lay on the ground for a few seconds and then he sat up and said, “Where am I?”
An old man was selling maps at the side of the street, and he at once came to Tom and said. “Map of the city, sir”.
1. Tom lived in a large town in England.2. Tom never went outside England before last year.
3. In France, people drive on the right side.
4. Tom wanted a map of the city.
5. Paris is the capital of France.
6. Tom lay on the ground because he was tired.
7 . The cobbler（鞋匠）passed his time singing from morning till night. He was poor but satisfied with his life.
His neighbour was a successful banker and had a lot of money. However, the banker had sleep problems; he couldn’t have a good sleep at night. One day, when by chance he fell into sleep at dawn, the cobbler awoke him by his song.
So the banker went to the cobbler.
“How much a year do you earn, my friend?” asked the banker.
The cobbler said, “I never thought about that. I just sing and make shoes every day.”
“Then how much a day do you earn?”
“It depends. Sometimes I earn much, and sometimes little. I will be satisfied if I can earn enough money for meals.”
The banker smiled. “Here are some gold coins for you if you don’t sing your songs any more. You needn’t worry about money from now on. Put them in a safe place and use them when needed.” The cobbler thanked the banker and hid the coins in a corner of his house.
From then on the cobbler didn’t sing anymore. He was worried about the coins all the time. When he heard some noise at night, he would get up to see if the coins were still there. He couldn’t sleep well, and he became unhappy.
After a week, the cobbler took the coins back to the banker. “I can’t keep the coins anymore,” he said. “Money may bring food, but it can’t bring happiness.”
From then on, the cobbler began singing again.
1. The cobbler was poor but he enjoyed his life.2. The banker had sleep problems.
3. The banker gave the cobbler some gold coins because he wanted the cobbler to make shoes for him.
4. The cobber didn’t sing any more but he was happy because of the coins.
5. The cobbler became unhappy because he always worried about the coins.
6. The cobbler finally realized that happiness was more important than money.
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart(既来之,则安之).” This quote from Confucius(孔子), who was born 2,560 years ago, is in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations(引语) now. It will make Confucius popular around the world again.
Confucius was one of the most famous teachers and philosophers(哲学家) in China. He was born in a poor family. He visited many famous teachers and learned music, history, poetry and sports. His basic idea was to love others. He taught people to always search for goodness.(善良、善行)
Today, his ideas have spread to the whole world. Many foreigners like to learn about Confucius and Chinese culture.
1. Confucius was a famous writer.2. Confucius had rich parents.
3. Confucius liked to learn things.
4. Confucius wanted people to love others.
5. Confucius thought it was important to make lots of money.
6. Confucius is famous all over the world.
9 . In Japan, people eat their food with chopsticks. Dishes there are carefully cooked. At mealtime, dishes are placed in the centre of a table and each person helps himself or herself.
The traditional (传统的) Japanese food mainly includes rice, fish and vegetables. Rice is important food in Japan. There is much fresh fish and other seafood in the country.
This is because no place in the country is too far from the sea. Many different kinds of fish are found in the sea around Japan. Japanese fishermen use modern fishing methods (方法) to catch fish and Japan is one of the countries that catches the most fishes in the world.
As their food is so healthy, it is not surprising that most Japanese can live longer.
True or False.
1. Japanese use chopsticks to eat their food.
2. Most Japanese only eat fish and rice for meals.
3. Many kinds of fish are found in the sea around Japan.
4. Japanese fishermen catch fish in a simple way.
5. Healthy food can help people live longer.
Three explorers (探险家), an English, an American and an Australian were lost in jungle (丛林). They had left their homes six months before to explore the jungle and got lost. They had no food left, and they were ill and weak. They knew that if they did not find a village soon, they would die. Then during the night, they were visited by a jungle spirit (神灵). “I am the spirit of the jungle,” it said. “I feel sorry for you. You may have three wishes. ” “Does that mean three wishes each, or three wishes among us?” the American explorer asked. “I will give each of you one wish,” the jungle spirit said. The English explorer who was very polite, said to the American and the Australian explorers, “Please you wish first.” The Australian explorer, who was almost as polite as the English explorer, said, “Please you wish first. ”“Very well, ” the English explorer said, “I don’t have to think for a minute. I know exactly what to wish for. I wish to be back home with my wife and family ” Soon he disappeared. “That’s wonderful,” the Australian explorer said. “My wish is similar. I’d like to be back in Australia.” Soon he disappeared, too.
The American was left alone. “And what’s your wish?” the jungle spirit asked him. “Those two explorers are nice men,” the American explorer said. “We become close friends. To tell the truth, I am feeling rather lonely here without them. I wish they were back here again. ”
1. The three explorers had been in the jungle for six months.2. The jungle spirit visited them and gave them three wishes each.
3. The English explorer was given the first wish and went back home.
4. The Australian explorer was given his wish and went to the English explorer’s home.
5. The American explorer wished the other two explorers would go back to their homes.
