1 . Patrick never did homework. “Too boring,” he said. He played baseball and basketball. His teachers told him, “Patrick! Do your homework or you won’t learn a thing” And it’s true, but what could he do? He hated homework.
Then one day, his cat was playing with a little doll and he caught the doll and took it away. To his surprise, it wasn’t a doll at all, but a man of the smallest size, a little elf (小精灵). He cried, “Save me! Don’t give me back to that cat. I’ll help you to realize your dream.”
Patrick couldn’t believe how lucky he was! So he said, “Only if you do all my homework till the end of the term and help me get A’s.” He had to say, “Oh, I’ll do it.” But the elf didn’t always know what to do and he needed help. “Help me! Help me!” he was afraid. And Patrick would have to help—in whatever way.
“I don’t know this word,” the elf said while reading Patrick’s homework, “Look up the word and sound it out by each letter.”
When it came to math, Patrick was out of luck. “What are times tables?” The elf asked. “We elves never need that. Here, sit down beside me, you simply must teach me.”
Elves know nothing of human history. So the little elf just shouted “Go to the library. I need books. And you can help me read them too.”
So Patrick was working harder than ever! He was staying up nights, and he had never felt so tired before. Finally the last day of school arrived and the elf was free to go. Patrick got his A’s; his classmates were very surprised; his teachers smiled. And his parents? They wondered what had happened to Patrick. He was now the model kid. Cleaned his room, was cheerful, never rude…
You see, in the end Patrick still thought he’d made that little man do all his homework.
1. Patrick didn’t do his homework because ________.| A．someone would help him |
| B．he liked playing baseball and basketball |
| C．his teacher thought he wouldn’t learn anything |
| D．he thought it was not interesting to do homework |
| A．Patrick. | B．The cat. | C．The elf. | D．The teacher. |
| A．He was very polite to others before. |
| B．He helped the elf read the books when it came to math. |
| C．He changed so much that his teachers were very happy. |
| D．After he got his A’s, he still kept the elf doing homework for him. |
| A．Education. | B．Sports. | C．Music. | D．Story. |
2 . It was close to midnight. In Taipan village, a small mountain village in Guizhou Province in Southwest China, a basketball game was taking place. Thousands of people filled the court (球场). At the same time, millions of people watched the game online. People call this village basketball tournament (锦标赛) “Village BA”.
The 28-year-old Ou Minghui is a Guizhou native. He led his team to win the championship in the Village BA tournament and he won the tournament MVP. Ou started playing basketball at the age of 8. Although his job is farming, playing basketball has always been his dream.
In China, people call the players like Ou “grassroots players”. Most players in the Village BA tournament come from Taipan and nearby villages, including farmers, cooks, and drivers. Even people who work in nearby provinces, such as Guangdong, take time off to play in the tournament. “The professional players have their dreams and we have ours,” Ou said.
In August 2022, the basketball tournament was started in this small village with 1,200 people. Basketball has a long tradition in Taipan, where the first basketball court was built in 1936. Since then, Taipan village has organized many basketball tournaments. In the past, villagers took their own rice and gave it to the winners of the tournament. Nowadays, the top teams receive prizes such as cows, sheep, and pigs, all of which are local specials.
Whether on or off the court, the Village BA tournament brings people a feeling that is completely different from professional (职业的) events. At halftime (中场休息), there are different cultural performances, people dressed in ethnic minority (少数民族) costumes, singing and dancing. For local people, Village BA is more than just a basketball game; it feels like a carnival (狂欢节).
1. What does Ou Minghui do?| A．A coach. | B．A driver. | C．A cook. | D．A farmer. |
| A．money | B．cows | C．sheep | D．rice |
| A．People can enjoy cultural performances during halftime. |
| B．Village BA in Taipan has attracted many people to watch it. |
| C．Ou Minghui began to play basketball when he was 28 years old. |
| D．Most players in the Village BA are from Taipan and nearby villages. |
| A．Village BA has become popular around the world. |
| B．Taipan village holds a special Village BA tournament. |
| C．Taipan village has a long tradition of basketball matches. |
| D．Village BA has helped basketball fans achieve their dreams. |
3 . Every community has an ice cream shop, but not every shop owner has a special task. When Charles opened the shop, he had a goal in his mind. “My goal is to treat people as a family member and to have a positive influence on my community,” he said.
So his shop soon got a lot of customers. Ordinary customers just came to taste their favorite flavors (口味). Some of them bought other things to support the store. Charles organized activities, such as reading stories, and providing some other free services for children in return. Sometimes, Charles offered ice cream for free. “You know when they come in, you can see some children with snacks, and some children don’t, so I’m not going to let them disappointed. I just want to do something positive.”
One day, Nicole, one of his visitors, noticed Charles giving children free ice cream. She was surprised to hear that Charles was doing so for a long time. She came back and handed him an envelope with $100 one day. Charles was moved by Nicole’s act, and he posted it on the Internet. The friendly acts of Charles and Nicole also inspired (激励) other ice cream owners in the nearby community to provide free ice cream for children.
“In such a large community, whether you do something negative or positive, everything is easy to propagate (宣传),” Charles said. “We should do what we can to help each other, do something positive, and let our kindness pass on the fire.”
1. What was special about Charles’s store?| A．It was a place to show cooking talent. | B．It offered children ice cream for free. |
| C．It collected donations from others. | D．It provided free things for the community. |
| A．To earn more money. | B．To draw more customers’ attention. |
| C．To pay back the customers. | D．To encourage more people to come. |
| A．An envelope with a $100 in it. | B．A report on Charles’ great act. |
| C．A post of acts of Charles and Nicole. | D．A letter on the Internet by Nicole. |
Next Saturday is the Volunteer Day of our community (社区). Here is the plan.
◆8:00 a.m.～8:30 a.m.—Decide which activity you’d like to work for. Happy Homes: It provides home repairs for people in need. Elder Care: It sends volunteers to the old people’s home. City Park Helpers: It needs volunteers to pick up rubbish in the parks. Remember to bring some drinking water! ◆8:30 a.m.～9:00 a.m.—Go to the activity sites (地点) with the other volunteers by bus. ◆9:00 a.m.～12:00 p.m.—Work as a volunteer. ◆12:00 p.m.～1:00 p.m.—Share lunch with your volunteer group. ◆1:00 p.m.～3:30 p.m.—Go on with your work. ◆3:30 p.m.—Get on the bus and go back to the Community Center. Call 718-384-782 to know more information. |
1. What do volunteers do for Happy Homes?
| A．They clean up houses. | B．They do some repair work. |
| C．They visit some old people. | D．They care for the kids at home alone. |
| A．At 1:00 p.m. | B．At 1:30 p.m. | C．At 3:00 p.m. | D．At 3:30 p.m. |
| A．tell people how to be a volunteer | B．describe a volunteering experience |
| C．show the importance of volunteering | D．ask people to do Volunteer Day activities |
5 . Some people have a very poor sense of direction. Unluckily, I am one of them. I have visited a place many times but I may still get lost there the next time.
When I was a little girl, I never asked strangers the way. And so I used to walk round in circle and hope that by chance I would get to the place I was going to.
Now, I am no longer too shy to ask people for directions, but I often receive helpless or even wrong information. So I try to avoid giving people wrong directions. If anyone asks me the way somewhere, I would say, “sorry, I am a stranger here.”
Once on my way to work, I was stopped by a man. He asked me if I could tell him the way to Hefei No 1. High School. I gave him my usual reply. But just as I walked on only a few steps. I realized that he had asked the way to my school. However, I had no time to turn back and look for him.
When I just got to my office, my workmate showed in the man who had asked me for directions. Imagine how embarrassed I was and how surprised he was when we saw each other!
1. The writer always refuses to give people directions because ________.| A．she’s a stranger to the city | B．she doesn’t know the people |
| C．she’s afraid of giving wrong directions | D．she has no time to help others |
| A．sell her something | B．ask for the time |
| C．make friends with her | D．ask for the directions. |
| A．lives | B．studies | C．works | D．teaches |
| A．尴尬 | B．困惑 | C．激动 | D．拮据 |
6 . Be honest. That’s all you have to do on Honesty Day. It would be great if we were all honest every day of the year. It’s good that there is a day to encourage honesty. M. Hirsh Goldberg started Honesty Day. He chose the last day of April because the first day is April Fool’s Day, which celebrate lies. On Honesty Day, anyone may ask you any question and you should give a true and honest answer. That means that you have knowledge of Honesty Day.
M. Hirsh Goldberg wrote a book on telling lies. He said in his book that almost all persons lie about 200 times a day. In our daily life, a common life for a man is “I did not drink that much” and for a woman is “Nothing is wrong, I’m fine.” It is found that nurses are the most honest people, while sales people and politicians (政客) are the biggest liars.
Every Honesty Day, M. Hirsh Goldberg hands out prizes to honest people.
1. M. Hirsh Goldberg started Honesty Day to ________.| A．celebrate lies | B．encourage honesty | C．ask questions | D．help each other |
| A．nurses | B．sales people | C．politicians | D．teachers |
| A．He holds all kinds of activities to celebrate it. | B．He invites many famous people to join in it. |
| C．He hands out prizes to honest people. | D．He gives a true and honest answer to honest people. |
7 . Not far from the place where I live is a beautiful lake. It’s in the middle of the mountains and the water is very cold. People don’t go there very often. It’s only on hot summer days that brave people go to for a quick swim there. But it’s not only because of the temperature of the water that people don’t go, but also because they believe that it’s dangerous to swim there.
The story goes that one day, in the middle of the last century, some fishermen were out on the lake in their boat. When they pulled up their net, they saw they had caught something strange with a human face, long green hair and a tail like a fish. They were totally scared, and tried to kill it. But just then, a heavy thunderstorm began. The men were never seen again, but their boat was found a few days later.
To be honest, I don’t believe a single word of the story. But recently a local newspaper published an interview with some people who said that they had seen it while they were walking around the lake.
1. Why do only brave people go for a quick swim in the lake?| A．Because the water is very cold. |
| B．Because people believe that it’s dangerous to swim there. |
| C．Because it’s in the middle of the mountains. |
| D．Because the water is very cold and people believe that it’s dangerous to swim there. |
| A．Recently. | B．A few days later. |
| C．In the middle of the last century. | D．On hot summer days. |
| A．False. | B．Interesting. | C．Funny. | D．True. |
8 . When I was in the eighth grade, my class was asked to make friends with the second-grade kids. I got this little girl named Shelley. The first time I saw her, she was silent and cold. She was small for her age, and she didn’t play with the other kids in her class.
I tried all kinds of things to get her to talk to me. I bought her toys, crayons and candies. But try as I might, nothing worked. After many tries, I didn’t know how I was going to get through to the little girl, but I knew I wouldn’t give up on her.
One Thursday, I decided to tell her a story about my childhood. I told her that I felt lonely when I was with my classmate. I also told her that every day was terrible for me.
She sat there just listening, trying to decide whether I was lying or not. Finally, when my story ended, there were tears in her eyes. And then she said, “Thank you.” From then on, Shelley was a different little girl. She started smiling and talking with other kids.
It is surprising for me to look back at this because all I did was to help her understand that she wasn’t alone.
I didn’t ask her to tell her story, because her story is my story.
1. What was Shelley like when the writer saw her for the first time?| A．Active and helpful. | B．Silent and cold. | C．Lonely but happy. | D．Different but positive. |
| A．By telling her own story. | B．By making up a story. |
| C．By offering some great advice. | D．By asking Shelley to tell her story. |
| A．Confident. | B．Silent. | C．Wonderful. | D．Surprised. |
| What part-time job do you do now? What do you want to do in the future? Leave your ideas here. I’ve been working at Burger Barn for two months. I thought I would not like it, but it’s been really good. I’ve learned a lot about how to work with all kinds of people. And I’m not as shy as I was. I don’t think I want to work there forever. Abi, 15, from York |
| I’ve been doing a paper round since last year. I have to get up pretty early so that people can read the news with their breakfast. The money isn’t great, but I’ve bought myself a computer with it. They have asked me to work in the shop in the holidays, so that’ll be more money. Connor 14, from Dublin |
| I’ve been volunteering at a care home for elderly people on Saturday mornings. Some of my friends think I’m mad, doing a job for no pay, but I really like it. I think I’ll try to get a paid part-time job in a few months. Tamanna, 16, from London |
1. How long has Abi been working at Burger Bam?
| A．For 30 days. | B．For 60 days. | C．For 90 days. | D．For 120 days. |
| A．He got up early so that he could have breakfast. |
| B．He got up early so that he could help people make breakfast. |
| C．He got up early so that he could read the news with his breakfast. |
| D．He got up early so that people read the news with their breakfast. |
| A．Good. | B．Interesting. | C．Mad. | D．Boring. |
| A．In textbooks. | B．On the website. | C．In science books. | D．In novels. |
10 . How much time do you spend looking at your smartphone or computer every day? These electronic devices (电子设备) help us in many ways, but they may also cause health problems.
Too much screen time can cause your eyes to feel dry and sore and is not good for your eyesight. To help your eyes stay healthy, follow the “20-20-20” rule: After 20 minutes’ use of eyes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
Scientific research shows that smartphones can also hurt your mind. One of the biggest problems is that using smartphones can affect (影响) your sleep patterns. Doctors say the screen light stops you from feeling sleepy. So they advise people not to use smartphones for at least one hour before trying to sleep.
Another serious danger is Internet addiction (沉迷). Many people turn to the Internet to make light of feelings of stress, sadness, and loneliness. Over time, they might start to depend on the Internet and feel worried if they’re not online. To stop yourself from falling into this kind of trouble, control the time you spend on electronic devices.
To use your smartphone or computer safely, just make sure you follow the advice. Also, remember that there is more to life than looking at an electronic screen.
1. The first “20” of the “20-20-20” rule in the passage means ________.| A．how long you use your eyes | B．how often you take a break |
| C．how far you look at things from you | D．how many things you need to do at the break |
| A．computer games or Internet | B．people who have Internet addiction |
| C．several serious mind problems | D．feelings of stress, sadness and loneliness |
| A．The electronic devices | B．The more important things in life |
| C．The health problems | D．The advice about using the electronic devices |
