1 . My six-year-old granddaughter stared at me as if she was seeing me for the first time. “Grandma, you are an antique (古董),” she said. “You are old. Antiques are old. You are my antique.”
I was not satisfied to let the matter rest there. I took out the Webster’s Dictionary and read the definition to Jenny. I explained, “An antique is not only old, it’s an object existing since or belonging to earlier times...a work of art... a piece of furniture. Antiques are treasured,” I told Jenny as I put away the dictionary. “They have to be handled carefully because they sometimes are very valuable. In order to qualify as an antique, the object has to be at least 100 years old.”
“I’m only 67,” I reminded Jenny.
We looked around the house for other antiques, besides me. There was a desk that was handed down from Rone aunt to another and finally to our family. “It’s very old,” I told Jenny. “I try to keep it polished and I show it off whenever I can. You do that with antiques."
There was a picture on the wall bought at a garage sale. It was dated 1867. “Now that’s an antique,” I said with pride. “Over 100 years old.” Of course it was marked up and scratched (刮坏) and not in very good condition. “Sometimes age does that,” I told Jenny. “But the marks are good marks. They show living, or being around. That’s something to display with pride. In fact, sometimes, the more an object shows age, the more valuable it can become.” I believed this was important for my own self-worth.
Our tour of antiques continued. There was a vase on the floor. It had been in my house for a long time. I was not certain where it came from but I didn’t buy it new. One thing about antiques, I explained to Jenny, was that they usually had a story. They’d been in one home and then another, handed down from one family to another, traveling all over the place. They’d lasted through years and years. They could have been thrown away, or ignored, or destroyed, or lost. But instead, they survived.
For a moment, Jenny looked thoughtful. “l don’t have any antiques but you,” she said. Then her face brightened,“Could I take you to school for show and tell?”
“Only if I fit into your backpack,” I answered. And then Jenny’s antique lifted her up and embraced her in a hug that would last through the years.
1. Why did Grandma read the definition of “antique” to Jenny?| A．To change Jenny’s shallow understanding of antiques. |
| B．To list all the important characteristics of antiques. |
| C．To express her disappointment at being called “antique”. |
| D．To tell Jenny the importance of protecting antiques. |
| A．The desk reminded her of her dear relatives. |
| B．The marks on the picture showed its age and value. |
| C．There was usually a sad story behind each antique. |
| D．She planned to buy a new vase to replace the old one. |
| A．Jenny had a strong desire for grandma’s love. |
| B．Jenny was too young to know grandma’s humor. |
| C．Grandma had a deep long-lasting love for Jenny. |
| D．Grandma was too old to lift Jenny up. |
| A．Grandma’s Antique | B．A Story of Antiques |
| C．A Tour of Antiques | D．Jenny’s Antique |
2 . The word “sport” first meant something that people did in their free time. Later it often meant hunting wild animals and birds. About a hundred years ago the word was first used for organized games. This is the usual meaning of the word today. People spend a lot of time playing football, basketball, tennis and many other sports. Such people play because they leant to. A few people are paid for sport they play. These people are called professional sportsmen. They may be sportsmen for only a few years, but during that time the best ones can earn a lot of money. For example, a professional football player in England earns more than 300,000 dollars a year. The stars earn a lot more. International golf and tennis champions can make more than 500,000 dollars a year. Of course, only a few sportsmen can earn as much as that.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about sportsmen and money is that the stars can earn more money from advertising than from sports. An advertisement for sports equipment does not simply mean, “Buy our things”. It says, “Buy the same shirt and shoes as…” Famous sportsmen can even advertise things like watches and food. They allow the companies to use their names or a photo of them and they are paid for this. Sport is no longer just something for people’s spare time.
1. From the passage we can learn that .| A．famous people spend too much money and time on sports |
| B．the development of sports is slower than any other activity |
| C．most people enjoy sports because they can earn a lot of money |
| D．now sports is not only an amusement for people |
| A．who teach others how to make money in sports |
| B．who take sports as their jobs |
| C．who are very fond of sports |
| D．who teach other sportsmen how to play sports |
| A．what most of the people do in their spare time |
| B．hunting wild animals and birds in the forests |
| C．organized games |
| D．something that people are paid to |
| A．Most people play sports only for money. |
| B．Those who play sports earn more than those who do not. |
| C．People play sports for different purposes. |
| D．Those who play sports want to keep strong and fit. |
3 . The boy sat on his chair, with his hands above the keyboard. He thought about what to write.
He recalled that the competition deadline was merely a week away. But he still had not even started on his piece. He looked at the brochure again.“WRITING COMPETITION！” the title read. His mom had encouraged him to enter the writing competition, and now he was taking it on as his personal task for the holidays.
As the boy reflected on his previous writing efforts, he realized how hopeless his task of winning was. Every story he ever wrote was based on other stories. He had little imagination, and unfortunately, imagination was the key to writing.
Suddenly, he had a brainwave. This time, he came up with an original and imaginative story.
The words shot towards him like a storm of leaves. Words were coming easily, flowing through him, faster than he could type. He typed faster than he ever had before. He continued to type, amazed how easy writing this story was. The boy could not stop writing. He looked at the word count and saw the number “248” staring right back at him. He was not even halfway yet.
Then he heard his mother’s call of saying time for bed. He continued writing the piece, ignoring her. He had to make up for the time he had lost in thinking about a topic to write.
Finally, he finished. The word count now read “498”.
“Perfect，” he thought, “just under the word limit.” He knew this was the story that would win.
He went to the website and searched for the competition. He found the page but there was no “Enter” button.
Confused, he then reread the page again. It read COMPETITION CLOSED.
1. What caused the boy to take part in the writing competition?| A．A new computer. |
| B．The prize money. |
| C．His own interest. |
| D．His mom’s encouragement. |
| A．His mom helped him. |
| B．He copied others’ ideas. |
| C．His friends assisted him. |
| D．He used his imagination. |
| A．Because he was terribly lazy. |
| B．Because he didn’t know what to write. |
| C．Because he wasn’t confident. |
| D．Because he read too many stories. |
| A．100. | B．250. |
| C．500. | D．1000. |
4 . You Mi, a lovely and confident 17-year-old student, is the first Chinese high school student to appear on the cover of the popular young adults’ fashion magazine Seventeen.
“You is IN,” said Wang Lihua, Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen. “She is active and mature (成熟的) because of her knowledge on everything from academic studies, to books on art, to movies. We found she’s the very style we’re looking for to represent young people’s attitudes.”
You also impressed Wang with her fluent English when they first met last year. As the hostess of an English broadcasting programme at the High School Affiliated to Renmin University, You is always praised for speaking English almost like a native speaker. “I’ve built up my English by watching thousands of English DVDs since I was 10,” she explained.
But for You, watching isn’t enough. Last year, while in Senior 1, she met a talented boy who showed self-made DV movies at the English Corner in her school.
“I thought it was so cool and I knew that I should start making my own films,” she said. So she wrote a campus (校园 ) story, persuaded schoolmates to star in it and then began shooting a 30-minute DV movie, all in English. “I played one of the leading roles， actually I was everything in my film. I worked on it every single day during the SARS holidays,” she recalled. The movie finally became a big hit on campus, earning You a strong reputation (名气) as a DV movie director.
But this is not the only field she wants to master. Despite being a science student, You likes art, literature and fashion design very much.
“There are people who can be artists，there are people who edit books, and there are people who become film producers. But I just hope to mix all the things up!” she said. “There is an old saying I believe: Chance favours only the prepared mind.”
1. You Mi was chosen to be a cover of Seventeen, mainly because she _____.| A．is beautiful |
| B．she is lovely and full of confidence |
| C．is active and mature |
| D．has rich knowledge |
| A．her chance to host an English broadcasting programme |
| B．the influence of her parents |
| C．her deep interest in it |
| D．her making DV movie |
| A．director | B．musician |
| C．actress | D．producer |
| A．You Mi hopes to be a mixed talent |
| B．the success of a 30-minute DV movie shocked You Mi |
| C．You Mi dreams of becoming a scientist |
| D．the outbreak of SARS delayed You Mi’s studies |
5 . Volunteer Chances for Teens
About Learning Buddies
Learning Buddies is an education program for K-5 students at the Beacon Hill, Columbia, Douglass-Truth, New Holly and West Seattle Library branches (分馆). Teen volunteers and kids read together, learn math and play educational games with support from librarians.
If you are a high school student who enjoys math, reading and helping kids succeed in school, please consider volunteering as a Learning Buddy. You will get service learning experience and earn(获得) community service hours for school.
Learning Buddies teaches kids once a week. Volunteer chances are offered at the following Library branches, October through December and March through May.
●Beacon Hill Branch: Tuesday, 4:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
●Columbia Branch: Thursday, 4:15p.m. to 5:45 p.m
.●Douglass-Truth Branch: Tuesday, 4:15 p.m.to 5:45 p.m.
●New-Holly Branch: Tuesday, 4:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
●West Seattle Branch: Tuesday, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Become a Learning Buddy
High school students must be at least 14 years old and live close to a Library branch that offers the Learning Buddies program.
You can ask for a volunteer application (申请书) and attend an interview at one of the following Library branches at least one month before the fall or spring Learning Buddies series.
● Beacon Hill Branch: call the Teen Services Librarian at 206-684-4711.
●Columbia Branch: call the Teen Services Librarian at 206-386- 1908.
●Douglass-Truth Branch: call Services Librarian at 206-684-4704.
● New-Holly Branch: call the Supervising Librarian at 206-386- 1905.
●West Seattle Branch: call the Teen Services Librarian at 206-684-7444.
1. Which number should you call if you want to volunteer on Thursday?| A．206-684-4711. | B．206-386-1908. |
| C．206-684-4704. | D．206-386-1905. |
| A．be 14 years old or over |
| B．do well in all school subjects |
| C．live close to the kids being taught |
| D．be able to teach kids twice a week |
| A．A travel guide. | B．A science report. |
| C．An invitation. | D．An advertisement. |
