1 . Mark Twain,the famous American writer,was once traveling in France.He went by train to Dijon.He was very tired and wanted to sleep.He therefore asked the conductor to wake him up when the train came to Dijon.
But first he explained he was a very heavy sleeper,“I may possibly protest(抗议)loudly when you try to wake me up,” he said to the conductor.“But don’t take any notice of what I say.Just put me off the train anyway.”
Then Mark Twain went to sleep.Later,when he woke up it was night time and the train had reached Paris already.He realized at once that the conductor had forgotten to wake him up at Dijon.He was so angry that he ran to the conductor and began to shout at him.
“I have never been so angry in my life,” Mark Twain said.
The conductor looked at him calmly(平静地).“You are not half so angry as the American whom I put off the train at Dijon,” he said.
1. Mark Twain knew that he was a heavy sleeper,so ________.A.he protested loudly to the conductor |
B.he did not sleep before he arrived in Dijon |
C.he told the conductor to wake him up no matter how loudly he might protest |
D.he slept lightly that time |
A.he didn’t take Mark Twain’s words seriously |
B.he forgot Mark Twain’s words when the train came to Dijon |
C.he did not want to bear his protest |
D.he mistook another American traveler for Mark Twain |
A.did not want to get off at Dijon |
B.wanted to get off at Paris |
C.wanted to get off at Dijon |
D.did not want to get off at Paris |
A.The conductor didn’t take Mark Twain’s words seriously. |
B.The conductor did take Mark Twain’s words seriously. |
C.The conductor was a heavy sleeper. |
D.Mark Twain must get off at Paris. |
2 . A year back I received a full scholarship (奖学金) to attend the University of San Francisco. All of my hard work paid off. My mom had spent a lot on my attending a private high school, so I made sure to push myself: I volunteered, took part in various clubs, and graduated with honors. I was so excited to start a new part of my life.
Soon enough, the big day came, but it wasn't like what I had thought. The first two weeks were the most difficult days of my entire life. Every night I would cry myself to sleep. I was missing my family, my home and everything in my hometown so much and I didn't know how to deal with my broken heart.
To_distract_myself,_I threw myself into my studies. I also found a ton of jobs. In any free time, I started forcing myself to go to the gym. I wanted to keep every part of my day busy so I wouldn't think about how lonely I felt. Soon after, I began to control my eating, considering it another solution to my homesickness(想家). But soon there was something wrong with me.
Finally, I went to see a doctor. When the doctor told me I had no choice but to take time away from school, I started to fear. How could I stop? School was what I was best at. “I'm not so bad,” I thought in my head. But the result was that I was taken to hospital again a month later and my mother came heartbrokenly. I had to take a semester off from school, and go to the treatment center near my home.
If there are girls who are suffering similarly, I hope you know that there is hope and that you should have a positive attitude towards life. Though you may feel alone, there are so many people who can understand your struggle. That's why I want to share my story.
1. What can we know about the author in high school?A.She studied very hard. |
B.She disliked volunteering. |
C.Her parents controlled much of her life. |
D.Her family made her feel under pressure. |
A.To prove my ability. |
B.To improve my studies. |
C.To earn money by myself. |
D.To draw my attention away from homesickness. |
A.To look back on her past life. |
B.To increase her own confidence. |
C.To express appreciation to her mother. |
D.To encourage other girls like her to be positive. |
3 . Phoenix is a hot place and its temperature can easily break records from June to September.But that doesn’t stop hikers from hiking 1.3 miles to the top of the city’s famous Camelback Mountain.Signs warn that the trip is “extremely difficult”.If you continue, you should take at least a liter of water per person.
Unfortunately, many people didn’t care the warnings.However, Scott Cullymore does.When he’s not working,the 53一year-old man can be found hiking up and down Camelback a couple of times a day, handing out cold bottles of water to tired hikers.He has helped so many hikers that he has earned a heavenly nickname: the Water Angel.
Cullymore was on Camelback Mountain one day in 2015 when a British tourist died after being lost nearly six hours in the July heat.That experience inspired him to start helping people caught unaware of the danger of Mother Nature.“They underestimate(低估)the mountain,and they get themselves in trouble, ”he said.If a hiker has a flushed face and is not sweating any more, he reaches into his backpack, pulls out a bottle,and hands it to the person.“It’s misleading that we’re in the middle of the city.But the truth is, you can die up here, and nobody would know.’’
1. What do we know from paragraph 1?A.It is necessary to take water on the trip to the mountain. |
B.The temperature of Phoenix easily breaks records all the year round. |
C.The heat of Phoenix attracts hikers to the top of Camelback Mountain. |
D.Hikers warn that the trip to the mountain is not easy. |
A.He cares about the warnings. |
B.He insisted on giving water to hikers. |
C.He hikes up and down the mountain carrying water. |
D.He hikes to the mountain a couple of times a day. |
A.A hiker’s death contributed to Cullymore’s action of helping others. |
B.A hiker’s flushed face suggests that he may need water. |
C.It is misleading that we will die in the city. |
D.We should be aware of the danger of Mother Nature. |
A.Giving life-saving water for free. | B.The importance of taking water on hot days. |
C.Hiking in a hot city is tough. | D.Conquering Camelback Mountain—you need water |
4 . A 12-year-old girl who had a feeling that she might be quite clever has taken a test and proved she was absolutely right.
Lydia Sebastian achieved the top score of 162 on Mensa, Cattell Ⅲ B paper, suggesting she has a higher IQ than well- known geniuses Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. The comparison(比较)doesn't sit well with the British student, who's currently in Year 8 at Colchester County High School, a selective girl's grammar school in Essex , England.
“I don't think I can be compared to such great intellectuals (有极高智力的人)such as Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. They've achieved so much. I don't think it's right, ” Lydia told CNN.
Lydia sat the test in her summer holidays, after raising the idea with her parents and pestering(纠缠)them for the best part of a year. It turns out the test wasn’t that hard after all.
“I was really nervous before the test and I thought it was going to be really hard. But as I started the test, I thought it was a bit easier than I thought it was going to be, ”she said.
Lydia's not quite sure what she wants to do when she leaves school, although she's leaning toward something based around maths, because it's one of her favorite subjects. “ All I'm going to do is work as hard as I can, and see where that gets me, ” she said.
The top adult score in the Cattell III B test is 161. A top 2% score-which allows entry to Mensa, the club for those with high IQs-would be 148 or over. Lydia scored 162, placing her in the top 1% of the population.
1. Lydia wanted to have an IQ test because________.A.all people around thought that she was smart |
B.she felt that she might have a high IQ |
C.her parents strongly wanted her to do so |
D.the grammar school advised her to do so |
A.Be accepted by. | B.Be related to. |
C.Be satisfied with. | D.Be relevant to. |
A.She doesn't have to work hard with her high IQ. |
B.She has a tendency to focus around maths. |
C.She is quite sure about what to do in the future. |
D.She will drop out of the grammar school. |
A.No one has achieved å higher IQ than Lydia. |
B.Whoever has a high IQ can enter Mensa. |
C.Only adults with high IQs can enter Mensa. |
D.Mensa is a club for those with high IQs at least 148. |
5 . Jess really felt very happy. When he arrived at his seat in the classroom that morning, he found an invitation(请柬)on his desk. It was from several of his classmates asking him to join them on a camping trip. This was the first time he was asked to join in an out-of-school activity. Why were they asking him now? Nobody seemed to like him. In fact, he had been so lonely that he drowned his feeling with food. As a result, he had put on a lot of weight, and this gave the kids something more to make fun of him.
Cindy, who was standing near Jess when he read the invitation, went out quickly to tell the others that the trick(恶作剧) had worked. Everyone was pleased that Jess thought that was true. But there was no camping trip. The whole thing was made up.
At first, Cindy thought it was fun. But later, when Jess told her that he was going to buy a sleeping bag with his savings(积蓄), Cindy had a second idea. She knew that Jess’s family had little money, and she hated to see him spend his savings on something he would never use. Cindy also hated to tell Jess the truth. Her close friends would be angry with her.
What could she do now?
1. The sentence“…he drowned his feeling with food” means“________”.A.he ate a lot to make himself feel less lonely |
B.he asked for a lot of food from his classmates |
C.he brought his food to his classmates |
D.he had a lot of food to put on weight |
A.Jess would go on the camping trip himself. |
B.Jess’s family would be angry with Cindy. |
C.Cindy might have trouble with her friends. |
D.Jess would be thankful to his classmates. |
A.everyone else would also buy one | B.it would be the best in the class |
C.Cindy would pay for it | D.He would have it for no use |
A.everybody would go camping in the class |
B.Jess had few friends in the class |
C.Cindy was Jess’s best friend I the class |
D.Jess joined in many out-of-school activities |
A.Jess and His School | B.Jess and His Friends |
C.An Invitation for Jess | D.Jess and His Camping Tip |
6 . Michael Evans was standing in line at the Wayne County Treasurer's Office in Detroit last August, waiting to pay his taxes when he heard a disturbing sound ahead of him. The elderly woman at the window was crying and so was the cashier helping her. Then Evans learned why: He heard the cashier inform the woman that her house was headed for auction(拍卖). He also heard the woman tell the cashier that her daughter had recently died.
Evans, a businessman who had just buried his father, couldn't stomach the idea of this woman losing her home right after losing her child. He approached the window. "I don't mean to cut in," he said to the cashier, "but if you can get her house back, I'll pay for her taxes." The amount due: $ 5, 000.
The two women were shocked. Their despair turned to disbelief. The cashier left for a moment to confirm the amount and that it was all right for Evans to pay it. Evans went straight to the bank and came right back with the money. But when he returned to the treasurer's office, he asked someone else waiting in line to hand the $ 5, 000 check to the cashier. Evans was trying to slip away quietly. "I didn't want this attention." he explains.
He is the boss of M2E Investments. The firm owns a variety of businesses, from restaurants to a portable restroom company. His Premium Driving School gives driving lessons to teenagers, often for free. In 2015, when he saw a story on the news about a local boy with an incurable bone disease, Evans held a fund-raiser at his Detroit Shrimp & Fish restaurant to help pay for the boy's wheelchair and van. He also donated much money to the boy's family.
1. Why did the elderly woman cry?A.Her daughter sold her house. | B.The cashier treated her rudely. |
C.Her father passed away recently. | D.She was going to lose her house. |
A.Remember. | B.Forget. |
C.Tolerate. | D.Ignore. |
A.To free himself of standing in line. |
B.To avoid being paid attention to. |
C.To spare time for his own business. |
D.To give others a chance to be praised. |
A.Rich and generous. | B.Determined and creative. |
C.Considerate and brave. | D.Kind and confident. |
7 . I had very good parents. My mother came to America from Scotland by herself when she was 11, and she didn’t have much education. My dad was kind of a street kid, and he eventually went into the insurance business, selling nickel policies door to door. One day, my dad asked his boss, “What's the toughest market to sell?” and the insurance guy replied “Well, black people. They don’t buy insurance.” My dad thought, but they have kids; they have families. Why wouldn’t they buy insurance? So he said, “Give me Harlem.”
When my dad died in 1994, I talked about him on The Tonight Show. I told the story of how he worked in Harlem and how he always taught us to be open-minded and not to say or think things of racism (种族主义). Then one day, I got a letter from a woman who was about 75 years old.
She wrote that when she was a little girl, a man used to come to her house to collect policies. She said this man was the only white person who had ever come to dinner at their house. The man was very kind to her, she said, and his name was Angelo—was this my father?
The letter made me cry. I called her up and said yes, that was in fact my dad, and she told me how kind he had been to her family. Her whole attitude toward white people was based on that one nice man she met in her childhood, who always treated her with kindness and respect and always gave her a piece of candy. From this experience, I learned a valuable life lesson: never judge people and be open-minded and kind to others.
1. What did my father do after knowing what was the toughest market to sell?A.He asked his boss to give him some insurance. |
B.He went to Scotland to improve his education. |
C.He specially went to white families with kids. |
D.He chose Harlem to face the toughest challenge. |
A.It was rare that a businessman had dinner in his customer's house. |
B.Angelo was the only white person to sell insurance in Harlem. |
C.The little girl admired Angelo very much. |
D.Racism was a serious problem in America at that time. |
A.Stubborn and generous. | B.Patient and intelligent. |
C.Determined and open-minded. | D.Confident and romantic. |
A.Memories from a TV Show. | B.A Letter from an Old Lady. |
C.Life Lessons from My Father. | D.My Father's Experience in Harlem. |
8 . Last week, our forum(论坛)asked if you had any funny or strange stories about using English. We didn’t expect to get so many posts! Here are some of our favorites, to remind us that some of the English we learn in the classroom is rather different from the English in the outside world.
People say that the British always play safe with what they eat. Not true! I went to a summer school in Manchester and my English teacher was called Maggie. One day, a different teacher took our class. He told us that Maggie couldn’t teach that day COZ she had a frog in her throat. Poor Maggie-but why did she try to eat such a big frog?
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When I first visited New York, I went to a downtown shopping centre to buy some winter boots. At the information desk at the entrance, I asked a lady where the shoe shop was. She said that it was on the first floor. So I went up to the first floor, but I couldn’t find any shoes. I decided to leave. When I was looking for the exit, I saw that shoes were actually sold downstairs on the ground floor, not the first floor. Why did she give me the wrong information?
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The British must have really high standards. I was part of a student exchange programme between a university in England and my university in China. I spent days preparing and writing my first English paper. I knew I had done a good job and was looking forward to getting a positive comment. When I got the paper back, I found my teacher had written the comment “Not bad!” Not bad? But there weren’t any errors in my paper.
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A.She didn’t play safe with what she ate. |
B.She has drawn a picture of frog on her face. |
C.She ate a big frog and her throat was blocked. |
D.She couldn’t speak clearly because her throat is dry. |
A.Both of them have difficulty in learning English. |
B.They didn’t know the words’ different meanings in other countries. |
C.The spellings are too complicated for both of them to understand. |
D.The speakers spoke so fast that Sophie and Zheng Xu couldn’t follow. |
A.In a novel. | B.In a magazine. | C.On the Internet. | D.In a diary. |
9 . A Hug from a Teenage Boy
Fifteen years spent in the field of education have provided Nancy Marra with many treasured moments. One of the most endearing happened when she was teaching second grade.
That year, she decided to plan something special for the children: a Mother’s Day tea. After all the preparations were made for it, each child took home an invitation. Nancy was surprised and relieved to see that every mother was planning to attend. She even invited her own mother.
Finally, the day arrived. That afternoon, each child lined up at the classroom door expecting the arrival of his or her mom. As it got closer to starting time, Nancy looked around and her eyes quickly found Jimmy. His mother hadn’t shown up and he was looking upset.
Nancy took her mother by the hand and walked over to Jimmy. “Jimmy,” Nancy said, “I have a bit of a problem here and I was wondering if you could help out. Since I’m going to be really busy today, I was wondering if you could keep my mother company.”
Nancy’s mom and Jimmy sat at a table with two other mother-child pairs. Jimmy served Nancy’s mom her treats, presented her with the gift Nancy had made, and pulled out and pushed in her chair, just as they had practiced the day before. Whenever Nancy looked over, her mom and Jimmy were in deep conversation
Ten years later, Nancy was at a high school to take a senior class on a field trip, and there was Jimmy. On the way back, Nancy had the students complete an evaluation form of their trip. She collected and checked the forms one by one.
When she came to Jimmy’s evaluation page, he had written, “Remember our Mother’s Day tea we had in second grade, Mrs. Marra? I do! Thanks for all you did for me, and thank your mother, too.”
As they began unloading at the school, Jimmy made sure he was the last one to go. Nancy told him she really enjoyed what he had written. He looked rather embarrassed, mumbled (咕哝) his own thanks, and then turned to walk away. As the bus driver began pulling the bus away, Jimmy ran back and knocked on the bus door. He jumped back on board and gave Nancy a big hug. “Thanks again, Mrs. Marra. No one even knew my mom didn’t make it that day!”
She ended her workday with a hug from a teenage boy who had probably stopped hugging teachers years ago.
1. Why was Jimmy paired with Nancy’s mother?A.Nancy was too busy to spend time with her. |
B.Jimmy’s mother didn’t come to the event. |
C.Nancy wanted Jimmy to get to know her. |
D.Jimmy could get along well with her. |
A.Near Jimmy’s high school. |
B.At a Mother’s Day tea. |
C.In Nancy’s classroom. |
D.On a field trip. |
A.Upset. | B.Embarrassed. | C.Grateful. | D.Satisfied. |
A.No act of kindness is ever wasted. |
B.A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
C.A mother’s hug lasts long after she lets go. |
D.The best teacher must be the best performer. |
10 . Papa's jaw dropped when mama told him that Sister had cheated on her final exams - not to succeed but to fail. “It's unbelievable!” he said. “Sister has always been so proud of her good grades!”
“Yes, she has,” said Mama. “But it's not unbelievable. It just shows how badly she wanted off the swimming team.”
“Wanted off the swimming team?” said Papa. “She never said anything about that to me.”
“Of course she didn't,” said Mama. “She was afraid you'd blow your top. You already had her getting a swimming scholarship to collage and winning gold medals at the Olympics. Can you imagine how much pressure she must have felt? For her, being on the team couldn't have been much fun.”
“Oh, my Gosh!” Papa said, clapping a hand to his forehead. “I've been so stupid! I just thought she'd want to be a champion swimmer because she's so good at it.”
“It's like anything else, dear,” said Mama. “No matter how good at it you are, if it stops being fun, you won't want to do it anymore.”
Papa put his head in his hands.
“She must be rally mad at me,” he mumbled. “Maybe I should say sorry to her.”
Sister's footsteps could be beard on the stairs She came into the kitchen and looked hopefully up at her parents. with a smile, "Your papa and I have decided that there's no reason for you to.
“Honey,” said Mama with a smile, “Your papa and I have decided that there's no reason for you to be on the swimming team if you don't want to.”
Sister's face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Yippee!” she cried.
“And,” added Papa, “there's no need for any more drills. I'm sure you'll bring your grades back up all by yourself.”
Sister ran to Papa and jumped into his arms. She gave him a big hug. “I'm going to go play cards with Lizzy!” she said. “See you later!”
From the kitchen window, Mama and Papa watched their daughter run down the sunny road toward Lizzy's house.
“It's good to see her happy again,” said Mama.
“It sure is,” Papa agreed. “As for the swimming team, there's always next year.”
“If?” Mama prompted him.
“Oh, right,” said Papa. “If she wants to.” Mama smiled. “At least you're learning, dear.” she said. She kissed him.
“Well, you know what they say,” Papa said. “Better late than never.”
1. Why did Sister cheat in her final exams?A.To show she wanted to leave the swimming team |
B.To improve her grades in her final exams |
C.To let others know how badly she did in her study |
D.To prove she was not as good at swimming as before |
A.Change your idea | B.Become quite excited |
C.Get very angry | D.Reach your goal |
A.He taught her how to win gold medals | B.He offered her a swimming scholarship |
C.He put much pressure on her to do the best. | D.He brought her much fun with his company |
A.Sister was going to be punished by her cheating |
B.Sister was required to take more drills to improve her grades |
C.Papa was disappointed with his daughter's performance |
D.Mama successfully persuaded Papa to change his mind |
A.Better Late Than Never | B.Health Is Better Than Wealth |
C.Better to Give Than to Receive | D.Something Is Better Than Nothing |