1 . I grew up with a four-year gap（差距）between myself and my younger brother. It was an enough distance in age to keep us close as we got older, but also enough of an age gap to make sure we lived our own lives in completely different ways. Having a younger brother while I was a girl was a lot of work for there was a lot of fighting.
However, as we've got older, we've become closer, and I've learned several things in life from my younger brother that I didn't realize I needed before.
My younger brother is one of the most talented and creative souls I've known. He's constantly feeding his creativity with new art forms, new instruments. He always seeks to understand and learn more about the world around him. He's helped remind me through his actions and words that giving up on creativity is something a person should never do.
My younger brother has always been a more introverted type, and if you speak to him, you're lucky to get over three words out of him at a time. Because of this, he's certainly learned the whole “actions speak louder than words”thing. But, I've realized from my brother that I needn't speak to fill the silence. Sometimes, it's necessary to spend some of your time in silence and reflect in it. My younger brother has also been through hard times, but he's able to focus on learning from the hard times, unlike me, who tends to hold on to every little thing from my life. It's always been difficult for me to let things go and move on, but my younger brother has been an inspiration for me to try harder at letting go.
1. What does the author think of growing up as the older sister?| A．It is a great advantage. |
| B．It tends to be enjoyable. |
| C．It is troubling but inspiring. |
| D．It isn't always fun and easy. |
| A．She should focus on the past and the present |
| B．She should never stop feeding her creativity. |
| C．She should move on with the past kept in mind. |
| D．She should explain every little detail of something. |
| A．They are quiet. |
| B．They are quick. |
| C．They are noisy. |
| D．They are friendly. |
| A．The Good Relationships between My Brother and Me |
| B．The Inspirations My Younger Brother was Given |
| C．Lessons My Little Brother Helped Me Learn |
| D．The Great Qualities of My Little Brother |
2 . If there was a subject at school that made me anxious, it was science. Maybe that’s because in my tenth grade, I couldn't understand my physics teacher's instructions, causing me to accidentally set fire to the classroom. So, when my husband and I decided to home-school our daughters, we made a deal: he would teach science, while I would handle everything else. But that’s not how things have been going these past few weeks, since my husband has been too busy to teach the girls.
Recently, while out on my morning hike before starting lessons, I noticed that the sky was a beautiful blue, and the air was filled with the sweet smell of flowers. That s why I decided that the day’s lessons would be taught outside, although I remembered that my daughters hadn't had any science classes from my husband for a while.
I returned to the house to get the girls ready. We headed up into the forest, settling ourselves by a pond that rarely has any visitors. My daughter Saoirse started to pick up pond weeds and catch frogs, while my other daughter Ula looked at me, waiting to be instructed. I handed her a drawing board and colored pencils. "We wait, "I told her, " and see if something comes along. In the meantime, just draw what's around you.”
We worked for more than an hour, hardly speaking. A bird flew across the water, and then settled in a front of a fallen tree. I quickly told Ula, worried that she’d not seen the creature. But she had, and she started drawing it. An hour later, she’d not finished her picture and I stared down at it. She drew the bird on her paper with amazing accuracy. But there was one other interesting fact about this drawing: she also drew me, sitting beside her.
I realized, as I stared at this child's drawing of us watching a bird, how I'd lived for 40 years, gathered 10 years of higher education, and never understood the foundation of science before this moment. The foundation of science is a sense of wonder; it isn't about accurately reciting words from a textbook. It is first and foremost about stepping outside our busy lives and amazing at the world around us.
1. How did the author feel about science when in school?| A．She was nervous about it. | B．She was fond of it. |
| C．She was confused about it. | D．She was eager for it. |
| A．the fallen tree | B．the forest |
| C．the bird | D．the picture |
| A．She's very outgoing. | B．She's good at observing. |
| C．She's very hard-working. | D．She shares interests with her sister. |
| A．Attention to accuracy. |
| B．Curiosity about the outside world. |
| C．Determination to find out the truth. |
| D．Ability to understand teachers' instructions. |
3 . A middle-aged man with a long beard was caught by the police for bad behavior and property damage. The man, Bill Wild, checked into a hotel last night, telling the clerk he would pay cash in advance and would be staying for four nights. He then asked her where the nearest store was and she told him it was John-Johns.
Wild went to the store and bought three gallons of honey and four gallons of chocolate syrup (糖浆). The cashier asked him why he wanted these things and he replied, "I’m trying to become a sweeter person." The cashier smiled at the joke. Wild drove back to the hotel. He opened all bottles and poured them into the bathtub . He added warm water to the mix. He tuned the radio to an opera music station, took off his clothes, jumped into the tub, and started singing loudly with the music.
Fifteen minutes later, the neighbor phoned the clerk complaining about the noise. The clerk knocked on Wild’s door, but he just kept singing. She phoned his room, but he didn’t answer. Then she called the police, who arrived quickly. They broke into the room. The floor was covered in water and the bathtub was full of chocolate and honey. "He seemed so nice and friendly. Who’d have thought he was a bathtub-singing nut?" said the clerk. The police said this was the third time that Wild had been arrested for this kind of behavior.
1. The man bought lots of honey and chocolate syrup to ____.| A．have a bath to make himself sweet | B．do some interesting tests |
| C．give people a surprise | D．make a sweet cake |
| A．Wild bought honey and chocolate syrup. |
| B．Wild mixed the water with the things he bought. |
| C．Wild made too much noise and disturbed his neighbor. |
| D．Wild didn’t pay for the check. |
| A．Wild didn’t pay for the honey and the chocolate syrup |
| B．the clerk didn’t know Wild had behaved like this Before |
| C．Wild had been caught at least four times before |
| D．Wild walked to John-Johns to buy the honey |
4 . Annie Oakley was born in 1860 in Darke County, Ohio. Her family was very poor. She decided to help family even when she was young, so she learned to use a gun, and began hunting animals for food. She could shoot them without losing the important parts of the meat.
Soon her shooting ability became well known. When she was sixteen, she was invited to a competition with a famous marksman(神枪手) , Frank Butler. Annie surprised everyone by winning the competition. Later that year she and Frank married.
In 1882 Annie Oakley and Frank Butler started putting on shows together. Frank Butler was the star of the show and she was his assistant. The famous native American leader, Sitting Bull, thought so highly of her shooting ability that he called her "Little Sure Shot". Later Annie Oakley became the star of the show and Frank Butler was her assistant. Posters （海报）for the show called her the "Champion Markswoman".
During World War I, Annie Oakley wanted to train a group of women volunteers for the army, but the United States did not accept it. She gave American soldiers shooting lessons, and traveled across the country visiting many training camps. She gave shooting performance and raised money to support the American soldiers.
Annie Oakley died on November 3, 1926. Eighteen days later, Frank Butler died too.
1. According to the passage, Annie Oakley____ .| A．lived a hard life as a child |
| B．often went hunting with her family |
| C．joined the army during World War I |
| D．trained women soldiers during the war |
| A．Annie Oakley. | B．Frank Butler. |
| C．Little Sure Shot. | D．Champion Markswoman. |
| A．She could shoot animals and keep the important parts of the meat. |
| B．She offered to help the army by training women to be soldiers. |
| C．She put on shows as her husband’s assistant. |
| D．She raised money to support the American soldiers. |
a. She took part in a shooting competition.
b. She gave shooting demonstrations and raised money.
c. She hunted animals for food.
d. She put on shows with Frank Butler. e. She was called the "Champion Markswoman".
f. She married Frank Butler.
| A．a, c, d, f, b, e | B．a, c, b, e, f, d |
| C．c, a, d, f, e, b | D．c, a, f, d, e, b |
