Epic Fails: The Wright Brothers: Nose-Diving into History By Erik Slader and Ben Thompson. Ages 6 to 12. The first book in the Epic Fails series deals with one of the most ambitious goals humans have pursued: the quests to fly. Authors Slader and Thompson focus on life-or-death scenes, such as when the Wright brothers crashed their glider over and over on the sandy coast of North Carolina; it took them two more years to get it right. |
Epic Fails: The Race to Space: Countdown to Liftoff By Erik Slader and Ben Thompson. Ages 6 to 12 Today, everyone is familiar with Neil Armstrong’s famous words as he first set foot on the moon, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” He made it look easy, but America’s journey to the moon was anything but simple. Our first attempt was a failure. Still, we didn’t give up. We tried again. And again. And each time we failed, we failed a little bit better. |
Fantastic Failures: True Stories of People Who Changed the World by Falling Down First By Luke Reynolds. Ages 6 to 12. Teacher Luke Reynolds opens each chapter with a quick, impossibly perfect version of one person’s life and then says how that person actually had to face huge challenges to accomplish goals. In this book, Reynolds writes about various common men, women and children. |
Cyrus Field’s Big dream：The Daring Effort to Lay the First Transatlantic Telegraph Cable By Mary Morton Cowan. Ages 6 to 12. In 1853，it took at least a week to relay a message between the United States and Europe because people had to be transported on ships over the Atlantic Ocean. Cyrus Field tried to reduce that transmission（传送）time to just minutes by laying a long undersea cable. In this book，Cowan describes many failures Field suffered before he achieved this major breakthrough. |
1. Who are the four books intended for?
| A．Children. | B．Teenagers. | C．Adults. | D．Old people. |
| A．It was written by a famous actor. | B．It tells stories of ordinary people. |
| C．It is about science fiction stories. | D．It is a picture book by a teacher. |
| A．All roads lead to Rome. | B．Failure is the mother of success. |
| C．An early bird catches worms | D．Actions speak louder than words. |
2 . Many kids start humming tunes like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” as their first songs, but Nygel Witherspoon was an exception. He preferred Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’s Violin Concerto in D Minor.
So when Nygel Witherspoon began to hum the very difficult concerto(协奏曲), his family guessed that he should have music lessons. He was, however, just 3 years old.
“He was calm, with an ability to focus.” recalled David Holmes, Witherspoon’s cello(大提琴) teacher from age 3 to l6.
Witherspoon is a familiar name in his hometown. He has inherited his talent from both sides of his family, including his aunt, the late jazz vocalist Shirley Witherspoon.
The 17-year-old doesn’t see himself as competitive. “I think it’s more important for students to have a supportive environment than a competitive one;” he said. “It’s great to have a support system, where you can be yourself and improve right along with others doing the same thing.”
Witherspoon’s love of music blossomed as he attended viola(中提琴) lessons with older siblings. Their teacher, David France, noticed that the little boy was a sponge(海绵).
“He’d absorb everything they did.” France said. Witherspoon was given a box violin, but he wanted to play “the big one”— the cello. He loved its size and tone. That’s when he was matched with his teacher Holmes.
Witherspoon’s drive is inspired by the connection music provides. He recalled that he and his siblings performed as a chambertrio(室内乐三重奏) at their grandmother’s nursing home. The positive reaction from residents gave him motivation.
“It’s so important, whether it’s hip-hop or classical,” he said. “Music is the universal language. It connects all of us.”
1. How was Witherspoon different from other kids when he was 3?| A．He began to teach himself music. |
| B．He was able to hum very difficult tunes |
| C．He had already made up his mind to learn violin |
| D．He could already play the songs he’d heard. |
| A．Practicing hard. |
| B．Being very competitive. |
| C．Being in a supportive environment. |
| D．Having a good teacher from an early age. |
| A．He is a fast learner. | B．He is a creative player. |
| C．He works very hard. | D．He is open-minded. |
| A．To compare Witherspoon’s performance with his siblings. |
| B．To show that motivation plays a big role in music studies. |
| C．To stress that music connects people. |
| D．To show how studying music helped Witherspoon overcome difficulties. |
3 . When 6-year-old Jack Foley crossed the finish line last month at the Long Beach Kids Triathlon, it was more than an athletic achievement. His completion marked a remarkable recovery from a rare heart condition.
The journey began before Jack was born.
At a routine 20-week examination, doctors told parents-to-be Rob Foley and Lauren Kiefer-Foley of Long Island, New York, that the fetus’ (胎儿的) heart wasn’t properly developing. “The doctor told us, ‘we can’t see the left side of the baby’s heart,’ Kiefer-Foley recalled.” He told us, “you need to get to a cardiologist (心脏病专家) first thing in the morning.”
Further tests would confirm a diagnosis of hypo plastic left heart syndrome, a rare birth fault affecting the heart’s ability to pump blood through the body. Doctors informed the couple about the risks and challenges their child could face. “We were advised by many doctors to terminate our pregnancy because the condition is so severe. They told us that most babies don’t even survive birth, let alone the first surgery,” Kiefer-Foley said.
Nonetheless, the couple decided to give their baby a chance.
After Jack was born at full-term via a scheduled C-section (剖腹产), doctors took him straight to a care unit to administer the level of care he would need before his first open-heart surgery days later. “When the doctor said ‘it’s a boy!’ I didn’t get to see him for hours after that.” Kiefer-Foley said. They would also have to wait until after Jack’s first surgery to hold him for the first time.
With a successful delivery behind them, it was now up to Dr. Emile Bacha, chief of Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital to guide Jack through a series of surgeries to repair the newborn’s heart.
1. Why did the author say “it was more than an athletic achievement” in Paragraph 1?| A．Jack was only six years old. |
| B．The event was too difficult. |
| C．Jack once suffered from severe heart disease. |
| D．Jack didn’t recover from severe heart disease. |
| A．It led to inadequate blood supply. | B．The beat of heart was not heard. |
| C．His intelligence will not develop properly. | D．The right side of the baby’s heart can’t be seen. |
| A．continue | B．stop |
| C．change | D．adjust |
| A．Jack’s journey all over the world. |
| B．The sorrow and despair of Jack’s parents. |
| C．Jack’s major academic achievement. |
| D．Jack’s remarkable recovery from heart disease. |
4 . Do you remember your first day of school? Were you excited or a bit scared? When I started school, I lived in an area of southern Germany. I remember how frightened I was, mostly because I didn’t know what to expect.
My mother and I walked quietly, downhill into the center of town. When we entered the classroom, I noticed all the children were sitting quietly in their seats. Anxiously, I picked a spot next to a friendly-looking girl.
In my nervousness, I had totally forgotten I was to receive a Schultuete (school cone) on the first day of school, but as I looked at my teacher's desk I remembered. Her desk was covered with huge cardboard cones. I knew that my mother had filled my Schultuete with goodies and brought it to my classroom the day before, but I didn't know which one was mine.
That morning, the focus of my attention remained with those cones. All of the fear slowly disappeared. When the teacher asked me to approach the desk, she did not seem threatening at all. When she smilingly handed me my Schultuete, I was the happiest girl.
Proudly, I carried my gift home. The hill did not seem steep at all. Hurriedly, I unwrapped my Schultuete and discovered candies, chocolates, and oranges. This day stayed in my mind as one of the sweetest in my life.
When I was older I asked my mother about her first day of school. She told me she hadn't received a Schultuete from her parents because the custom had not been established all over Germany at that time.
The custom began in the cities in the 1800s and then spread to the towns and villages. By the early 1950s, the tradition of the Schultuete was established all over the country. And it has been passed on even in the present day.
1. How did the author feel at first about her first day of school?| A．Excited | B．Confused |
| C．Afraid | D．Delighted |
| A．is given to kids as a gift on their first day of school |
| B．is presented as a reward by a school teacher |
| C．became popular in the early 19th century |
| D．is usually filled with school supplies |
| A．the author was in good health | B．the author was very excited then |
| C．the author enjoyed climbing hills | D．the author missed her mother badly |
5 . Two of the saddest words in the English language are “if only”. I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment.
My father is famous in our family for saying, “Take the extra minute to do it right.” I always try to live by the “extra minute” rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an “if only” moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding (衬垫) onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table.
I don’t only avoid those “if only” moments when it comes to safety. It’s equally important to avoid “if only” in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say “I love you” or “I forgive you.” When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn’t be here. But then I thought about the fact that he’s 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn’t give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all.
I know there will still be occasions when I have to say “if only” about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m buying myself peace of mind and that’s the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being.
1. Which of the following is an example of the “extra minute” rule?| A．Start the car the moment everyone is seated. |
| B．Leave the room for a minute with the iron working. |
| C．Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better. |
| D．Move an object out of the way before it trips someone. |
| A．keep her appointment with the eye doctor |
| B．meet her father who was already an old man |
| C．join in the holiday celebration of the company |
| D．finish her work before the deadline approached |
| A．abandoned | B．lacked |
| C．avoided | D．taken |
| A．To Keep Emotional Well-being | B．To Prevent “If Only” Moments |
| C．To Follow the Most Useful Rule | D．To Achieve the Peace of Mind |
6 . 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 |
7 . Raised in a motherless home，my father was extremely tightfisted towards us children. His attitude didn’t soften as I grew into adulthood and went to college. I had to ride the bus whenever I came home. Though the bus stopped about two miles from home，Dad never met me，even in severe weather. If I grumbled，he’d say in his loudest father-voice，“That’s what your legs are for！”
The walk didn’t bother me as much as the fear of walking alone along the highway and country roads. I also felt less than valued that my father didn’t seem concerned about my safety. But that feeling was canceled one spring evening.
It had been a particularly difficult week at college after long hours in labs. I longed for home. When the bus reached the stop，I stepped off and dragged my suitcase to begin the long journey home.
A row of hedge(树篱)edged the driveway that climbed the hill to our house. Once I had turned off the highway to start the last lap of my journey，I always had a sense of relief to see the hedge because it meant that I was almost home. On that particular evening，the hedge had just come into view when I saw something gray moving along the top of the hedge，moving toward the house. Upon closer observation，I realized it was the top of my father’s head. Then I knew，each time I’d come home，he had stood behind the hedge，watching，until he knew I had arrived safely. I swallowed hard against the tears. He did care，after all.
On later visits，that spot of gray became my watchtower. I could hardly wait until I was close enough to watch for its secret movement above the greenery. Upon reaching home，I would find my father sitting innocently in his chair.“ So！My son，it’s you！”he’d say，his face lengthening into pretended surprise.
I replied，“Yes，Dad，it’s me.I’m home.”
1. What does the underlined word“grumbled” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Agreed willingly. | B．Explained clearly. |
| C．Spoke unhappily. | D．Accepted happily. |
| A．the tiredness after long hours in labs |
| B．the feeling of being less than valued |
| C．the fear of seeing something moving |
| D．the loneliness of riding the bus home |
| A．he was concerned about his son’s safety |
| B．he wanted to help his son build up courage |
| C．he didn’t want to meet his son at the doorway |
| D．he didn’t think his son was old enough to walk alone |
| A．Riding Bus Alone. | B．My College Life. |
| C．Terrible Journey Home. | D．My Father’s Secret. |
8 . A Kenyan teacher who gave away . most of his monthly salary (工资)to poor people has won a $1 -million Global Teacher Prize.
In 2016, Peter Tabichi came to Keriko Mixed Day Secondary School, a public school, in a faraway Kenya s Rift Valley. The school had just a single computer and had problems connecting to the Internet. It had no library or laboratory, as well. To make matters worse, the students came from poor families where basics like food and clothing were hard to come by. While these difficulties would have caused most people to leave quickly, Tabichi stayed.
Realizing that starving kids make for poor students, the teacher began using as much as 80 percent of his monthly salary to buy food and learning objects for them. He set up a science club to get kids interested in the topic. “Our laboratory does not have everything, but I encourage them to think wider and use what we can get locally. ”
Tabichi and other four teachers regularly visit low-achieving, at-risk, students at their homes to provide one- on-one help and to understand the difficulties these children face daily. Tabichi also encourages parents to allow girls to continue their high-school education.
Tabichi's efforts have made a difference. School registration (注册)has more than doubled to almost 400 now since he came . In 2017, 16 of the 59 graduating students went to college, while in 2018, the number rose to 26. In 2017 , five students qualified(有资格)for the Intel ISEF (International Science and Engineering Fair). This year, two other students will compete in the 2019 Intel ISEF to be held in Phoenix, Arizona.
The teacher, however, owes his success to his students, saying,"I am only here because of what my students have achieved. This prize gives them a chance. It tells the world that they can do anything. " As would be expected, Tabichi plans to spend the prize money on his school community and to feed the poor.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．A school located in a Kenya's Rift valley became famous. |
| B．A Kenyan teacher helping poor students won Global Teacher Prize. |
| C．A Kenyan teacher helped girls to continue their high-school education. |
| D．Five Kenyan students qualified for the Intel ISEF for their performance. |
| A．It had dozens of teachers. | B．It was in the of a city. |
| C．It owned a modern lab. | D．It was in poor condition. |
| A．Honest. | B．Wealthy. | C．Kind. | D．Humorous. |
| A．90. | B．190. | C．290 | D．390. |
9 . It was an autumn morning shortly after my husband and I moved into our first house. Our children were upstairs unpacking, and I was looking out of the window at my father moving around mysteriously on the front lawn. “What are you doing out there?” I called to him.
He looked up, smiling. “I’m making you a surprise.’’ I thought it could be just about anything. When we were kids, he always created something surprising for us. Today, however, Dad would say no more, and caught up in the business of our new life, I eventually forgot about his surprise.
Until one gloomy day the next March when I glanced out of the window, I saw a dot of blue across the yard. I headed outside for a closer look. They were crocuses (番红花) throughout the front lawn — blue, yellow and my favorite pink, with little faces moving up and down in the cold wind. I remembered the things Dad secretly planted last autumn. He knew how the darkness and dullness of winter always got me down. What could have been more perfectly timely to my needs?
My father’s crocuses bloomed (开花) each spring for the next five seasons, always bringing the same assurance: Hard times are almost over. Hold on, keep going, and light is coming soon.
Then a spring came with only half the usual blooms and the next spring there were none. I missed the crocuses, so I would ask Dad to come over and plant new bulbs (块茎植物). But I never did. He died suddenly one October day. My family were in deep sorrow, leaning on our faith.
On a spring afternoon four years later, I was driving back when I felt depressed. It was Dad’s birthday, and I found myself thinking about him. This was not unusual — my family often talked about him, remembering how he lived up to his faith. Suddenly I slowed as I turned into our driveway. I stopped and stared at the lawn. There on the muddy grass with small piles of melting snow, bravely waving in the wind, was one pink crocus.
How could a flower bloom from a bulb more than 18 years ago, one that hadn’t bloomed in over a decade? But there was the crocus. Tears filled my eyes as I realized its significance.
Hold on, keep going, and light is coming soon. The pink crocus bloomed for only a day, but it built my faith for a lifetime.
1. According to the first three paragraphs, we learn that .| A．it kept bothering (使烦恼) the author not knowing what the surprise was |
| B．it was not the first time that the author’s father had made a surprise |
| C．the author was unpacking when her father was making the surprise |
| D．the author knew what the surprise was because she knew her father |
| A．The author usually felt depressed in the season of winter. |
| B．The crocuses bloomed each spring before her father died. |
| C．The author’s father planted the crocuses to lift her low spirits. |
| D．The author often thought about her father after he died. |
| A．a part-time worker who loved flowers |
| B．a kind-hearted man who lived with faith |
| C．a full-time gardener with skillful hands |
| D．an ordinary man with doubts in his life |
| A．Crocuses — My Source of Faith |
| B．Crocuses — Father’s Hobby |
| C．A Pink Crocus — My Memory |
| D．Crocuses in Blossom — My Favorite |
The Pillow
At the age of sixteen, I joined a volunteer group with my dad. I went on my first volunteer project in West Virginia. On the night we arrived, we discovered that “our family” was living in a trailer(拖车) that was in poor condition. A crew had been working on it for two weeks, but every time they finished one problem, another surfaced.
We decided the only reasonable solution was to build a new house — something unusual but necessary under these circumstances. The family was overjoyed with their new house that was twenty by thirty feet with three bedrooms, a bath and a kitchen.
On Tuesday of that week, while we ate lunch together, I asked the family’s three boys, Josh, Eric and Ryan, “What do you want for your new room?” Expecting toys and other gadgets that children usually ask for, we were surprised when Josh responded, “I just want a bed.”
The boys had never slept in a bed! They were accustomed to plastic mats. That night we had a meeting and decided that beds would be the perfect gift. On Thursday night, a few adults in our group drove to the nearest city and bought beds and new bedding.
When we saw the delivery truck coming, we told the family about the surprise. We could hardly contain ourselves. It was like watching excited children on Christmas morning.
That afternoon, as we fitted the frames of the beds together, Eric ran into the house to watch us. Too dirty to enter his room, he observed with wide-eyed enthusiasm from the doorway.
As my father slipped a pillowcase onto one of the pillows, Eric asked, “What is that?”
“A pillow,” he replied.
“What do you do with it?” Eric continued to ask.
“When you go to sleep, you put your head on it,” I answered softly. Tears came to our eyes as she handed Eric the pillow.
“Oh . . . that’s soft,” he said, hugging it tightly.
Now, when my sister or I start to ask for something that seems urgent, my Dad gently asks, “Do you have a pillow?”
We know exactly what he means.
1. The writer’s first volunteer project was ________.| A．working on a poor trailer | B．helping a poor family |
| C．donating beds and bedding | D．dealing with a housing problem |
| A．the family lived in a trailer | B．he expected to get some toys |
| C．he didn’t know what a bed was | D．the boys had no bed to sleep in |
| A．a trailer | B．a truck | C．a pillow | D．a house |
| A．what they want to get may be unnecessary |
| B．they should not waste money on small things |
| C．they should do more volunteer work for the poor |
| D．what he will buy is not what they want but a pillow |
