1 . Sam and Joe were spacemen. There was once a very dangerous trip and the more experienced spacemen knew there was only a small chance of coming back alive Sam and Joe, however, thought it would be full of excitement though a little dangerous.
“We’re the best men for the job,” they said to the boss. “There may be problems, but we can find the answers.”
“They’re the last people I’d trust,” thought the boss. “But all the other spacemen have refused to go.”
Once they were in space, Joe had to go outside to make some repairs. When the repairs were done, he tried to get back inside the spaceship. But the door was locked. He knocked but there was no answer. He knocked again, louder this time, and again no answer came. Then he hit the door as hard as he could and finally a voice said. “Who’s there?” “It’s me! Who else could it be?” shouted Joe. Sam let him in but you can imagine that Joe never asked to go on a trip with Sam again!
1. Why didn’t most of the spacemen want to go on the trip?| A．It wasn’t exciting enough | B．They weren’t experienced enough. |
| C．They thought they might get killed. | D．There was little chance of being selected |
| A．It would be exciting. | B．It would be long and tiring. |
| C．There wouldn’t be any danger. | D．There would be serious problems. |
| A．To make people think. | B．To make people laugh. |
| C．To show the funny side of the spacemen’s life. | D．To show the dangerous side of the spacemen’s life. |
2 . “I am ready for the responsibility(责任),” Adam had said last week. Today , that meant they were choosing a new dog. As they drove up to the place, Adam was filled with excitement. He’d wanted a dog for years, but his parents had always said “ you will love it for a few months, and then we will have to take care of your dog.” Finally , he was getting his dog.
They entered the animal shelter(收容所) and were greeted by a friendly woman. She explained how important it was to choose a dog for life, not just for a short time. Then she led them to the back. Dogs were barking(犬叫) and sounded lonely.
Adam’s father walked beside him. He shook his head and said, “It is heartbreaking. Someone got these dogs, loved them, and then moved on without them. People lose their houses, move away, or just get too busy for them. The dogs suffer for people’s mistakes.”
“We won’t make that mistake,” Adam promised.
“ No, we won’t. Once we choose one, it is part of our family. Family doesn’t throw away family. We didn’t throw grandpa away when he was sick. We took care of him until the end,” his father said.
Adam nodded. He remembered helping grandpa a lot.
“How about that one?” Adam suggested, reading the name tag(标签). It said, ”Walnuts.” His father read the papers next to the name tag. “ He’s three years old, healthy, and housetrained. Your mother will be pleased with him.”
Adam took Walnuts home that afternoon. Mom loved him right away, too. Adam was responsible for Walnuts for the rest of the dog’s life. He took care of his dog and even took him off to college with him.
1. Why did Adam feel excited in the first paragraph?| A．He could live with his parents. |
| B．He had passed a driving test. |
| C．He was going to have a dog. |
| D．He had bought a dog. |
| A．their old age | B．their illnesses |
| C．the poor food | D．their owner’s mistakes |
| A．A guard | B．A guest |
| C．A family member | D．A lovely toy |
| A．Honesty | B．Responsibility |
| C．Politeness | D．Confidence |
3 . When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor, Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never invited us to play in his yard, but he was a very kind person. When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was planting trees. He owned a large field and wanted to make it a forest.
The good doctor had some interesting ideas about planting trees. He never watered his new trees. Once I asked why, he said that watering plants spoiled them, and that if you watered them, each baby tree would grow weaker and weaker, so you had to make things difficult for them and pick out the weaker trees early on. He talked about how watering trees made for shallow (浅的）roots, and how trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in search of water under the earth by themselves. Deep roots were very important. So he never watered his trees. He’d planted an oak and, instead of watering it every morning, he’d beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s attention.
Dr. Gibbs died several years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I watched him plant about twenty-five years ago. They’re very big and strong now. I planted some trees a few years back and carried water to them for a whole summer. After two years of caring too much, whenever a cold wind blows in, they shake a lot.
Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. Mostly I pray (祈祷) that their lives will be easy. But lately I’ve been thinking that it’s time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to face difficulties. There’s always a cold wind blowing somewhere, so what we need to do is to pray for roots that reach deep into the brave heart, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we could face it strongly and won’t be beaten down.
1. We know from the reading, the doctor ______.| A．didn’t know how to plant trees at all |
| B．had his own ways of planting trees |
| C．wasn’t good at his own medical job |
| D．had nothing to do but plant trees |
| A．some weak trees would be easily found out at the beginning |
| B．he would choose the weak trees to water earlier |
| C．the weak trees would be sent to his patients later |
| D．he would not plant weak trees so early anymore |
| A．beat all his trees with a rolled-up newspaper |
| B．often water his trees |
| C．took too much care of his trees |
| D．didn’t have a large field |
| A．his trees will be stronger than Dr. Gibbs' |
| B．his trees will not be beaten down |
| C．his sons will be better at planting trees |
| D．his sons will be able to face difficulties |
| A．Watering Trees |
| B．Growing Roots |
| C．Doctor and his Neighbor |
| D．Father and his Children |
After an exhausting swim practice on a cold winter evening, I received an invitation from my friend Lucy, asking me to attend a dance. At the top of the invitation, Young Angels was written across the page. Young Angels was organizing a dance to raise money for community service projects. I thought it was such a great idea that I not only wanted to attend it, but also wanted to become involved.
This was over two years ago and since then, I have become a lead member in Young Angels of America. At each dance, teens not only have fun with their friends but are also informed about different charities. Knowing that I have taught others how they can get involved makes me feel satisfied and delighted.
The most memorable experience of my time in Young Angels was the Middle School Winter Dance in 2007, when we had a special child help organize the dance and participate in the event. This child was Lily. Lily had a dreadful disease that will eventually kill her. Lily had the best attitude towards life: she enjoyed every moment and made the best of it. Lily got me inspired to help others and never take any moment for granted.
I now have a dream, I want to inspire as many children as possible to volunteer. So many kids don’t realize how easy it is to make a difference to the world. I am only 15 years old and I have organized over five events, getting nearly 1,000 children involved. I want to be the angel to inspire that passion in others to make the difference that I feel as I have made to my community.
1. What’s the purpose of the dance organized by Young Angels?2. How did the author feel about her influence on others?
3. What does the underlined word “dreadful” in Paragraph 3 mean?
4. What is the author’s dream?
5. What do you think of the author’s dream?
5 . “I had no intention to adopt a cat that day. I just liked being around animals.” Miranda says. But when she saw Nala in her metal cage, “We made eye contact and I couldn't resist（抗拒）her big blue eyes.” At that point, “Nala was so small. I asked the shelter if I could hold her. Once had Nala in my arms, Nala looked up at me and licked（舔）my face.” And that was when she knew she had to take this kitty home.
Still, Miranda never imagined Nala would become an Insta-star. “I started Nala’s Instagram account in 2012 as a way to share photos with my close friends and family in Thailand,” she explained. The possibility of Nala gaining attention beyond that small group of people hadn’t occurred to her until it happened.
Miranda says, “Each time Nala’s photo was featured on Instagram’s popular page, her account would gain 1,000 new followers.” From there, Nala’s popularity snowballed. Large nationwide brands messaged Miranda about hiring Nala to do ads. “This took us by surprise because we couldn’t believe that a big brand wanted to pay them to take photos with their products next to Nala.”
Nala started life out in a shelter, just waiting to be loved like many other animals that were abandoned. Today that dream has surely come true. Nala has over 4 million followers on Instagram, which earned her the title “Guinness World Records Most Popular Cat on Instagram.”
In addition to managing her Insta fame, Nala is being asked to test various cat food brands. More importantly, “Nala is our chance to share the love to help create a better life for other animals, so they can grow well and bring joy to the world like Nala has.”
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．Visits to a shelter. | B．Love at first sight. |
| C．Power of blue eyes. | D．Duty to adopt cats. |
| A．To meet Nala’s needs. | B．To help Nala be a star. |
| C．To share Nala’s pictures. | D．To attract public attention. |
| A．Satisfied | B．Amazed. | C．Upset. | D．Disappointed |
| A．Being well treated like many of her kind. | B．Starting life in the shelter. |
| C．Gaining chances to earn money. | D．Being raised by Instagram fans. |
6 . The pupils of Grange town High have been busy getting to know their newest and tallest classmate, a 7-meter-tall giraffe outside their school
The giraffe is a huge sculpture made by a local artist. The school's headmaster noticed the sculpture in the artist's garden as he drove past one day. He thought it would be perfect for his school. “I knew everyone would love it,” he said, “because our basketball team is known as Grange town giraffes, and they wear giraffes on their shirts. So I asked them to write a letter to the artist, asking how much it would cost to buy the giraffe. He was very kind and got it ready to deliver in six weeks - all for nothing. It was expected to arrive on Sunday morning so that the pupils would see it when they got to school on Monday - at that time they had no idea that we were getting it.
The artist, Tom Bennett, was a university professor of chemistry before he left that job in 2006 and only took up metalwork a couple of years ago. “I've always drawn pictures,” he said, “I can even remember doing it on my first day at school - I drew a horse. I wanted it to be the best horse picture ever, but I don't think I succeeded.” Tom's first metalwork was a bicycle for two that he and his wife could go cycling on together. “It was a most uncomfortable bike ever created,” he said, “So I gave up making bicycles and went into sculpture instead.”
Meanwhile, the pupils at Grange town High are very happy with their new classmate. “We are going to hold a competition to give it a proper name.” said one girl. “Everyone likes the expression on his face, so perhaps that will give us some ideas.”
1. According to the text, the giraffe _______________.| A．was as tall as a basketball player | B．was given to Grange town High for free |
| C．was sent to Grange town High on Monday | D．was specially made for a basketball team |
| A．excited | B．nervous | C．worried | D．confident |
| A．He learned a lot about sculpture at university. | B．He visited Grange town High |
| C．He was good at drawing, especially horses. | D．He showed interest in art at an early age. |
| A．It was a difficult job to name a giraffe. |
| B．Tom Bennett is well-known as a sculptor. |
| C．A metal giraffe arrived at Grange town High. |
| D．The Grange town Giraffe is a strong basketball team. |
7 . No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own efforts.
I learned this lesson from an experience many years ago. I took the head coaching job at a school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a small school with a weak football program.
It was a tradition for the school's old team to play against the new team at the end of spring practice. The old team had no couch, and they didn't even practice to prepare for the Game. Being the coach of the new team, I was excited because I knew we were going to win, but to my sadness we were beaten. I couldn't believe I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I came to realize that my team might not be the number one team in Georgia, but they were depending on me. I had to change my attitude about their ability and confidence.
I stared doing anything I could to help them build a little pride. Most important,I began to treat them like winners. That summer, when the other teams enjoyed their vacations. We met every day and practiced passing and kicking the football.
Six months after suffering our failure on the spring practice field. we won our first game and our second, and continue to improve .Finally, we faced the number one team in the state.I felt that it would be a victory for us even if we lost the game. But that wasn't what happened. My boys beat the best team in Georgia, giving me one of the greatest thrills of my life !
From the experience I learned a lot about how the attitude of the leader can influence the members of a team. Instead of seeing my boys as losers, I pushed and encouraged them. I helped them to see themselves differently, and they built themselves into winners.
Winners are made, not born.
1. Who did the author think would become the winners at first?| A．The old team. | B．Their own team. |
| C．The number one team. | D．The other team |
| A．Before their training. | B．During the spring practice. |
| C．At the start of the vacation. | D．Six months after their failure. |
| A．Interests | B．Fears | C．Excitements | D．Concerns |
| A．By building up their confidence. | B．By giving them a lecture. |
| C．By buying them a book. | D．By changing the leader. |
| A．Time is money. | B．Winners are born. |
| C．Losers are always beaten. | D．Practice makes perfect. |
8 . Computer programmer David Jones earned ￡35,000 a year designing new computer games,yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a check card.Instead,he has been told to wait another two years until he is 18.
He works for a small firm in Liverpool,where most young people of his age are finding jobs.David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money.Though he has high payment,he cannot drive a car,or get credit cards(信用卡).
David got his job four months ago,a year after leaving school with six O-levels(普通成绩) and working for a time in a computer shop.“I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,”he said.
“I suppose ￡35,000 sounds a lot but I hope it will come to more than that this year.”He spends some of his money on records and clothes,and gives his mother ￡20 a week as he lives with his parents.But most of his spare time is spent working.
“Unfortunately,computing was not part of our studies at school,”he said.“But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time.I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school.Most people in this business are fairly young,anyway.I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement(退休) is a possibility.You never know when the market might disappear.”
1. Why is David so different from other young people of his age?| A．He earns an extremely high payment. | B．He has got a job. |
| C．He lives at home with his parents. | D．He does not go out much. |
| A．he can’t be treated as an adult |
| B．he doesn’t make as many games as he wishes |
| C．he doesn’t know what to buy with the money |
| D．he is too young to drive a car |
| A．he had worked in a computer shop |
| B．he had written some computer programs |
| C．he is clever and works hard at his lessons |
| D．he had learnt to use computers at school |
| A．he was afraid of getting too old to start computing |
| B．he did not enjoy school |
| C．he wanted to work with computers |
| D．he wanted to earn a lot of money |
| A．He thinks computer games might not always sell so well. |
| B．He wants to stop working when he is a millionaire. |
| C．One has to be young to write computer programs. |
| D．He thinks his firm might close down. |
9 . It was already dark when an old man came to a small town.He found an inn and wanted to stay there for the night.After he had gone to his room,the owner said to his wife,“Look at his bag,dear.I’m sure there are lots of valuable things in it.I want to steal it when he is asleep.”
“No,no,” said the woman.“He must look for his bag tomorrow morning.Then he’ll take you before the judge.”They thought and at last the woman had an idea.“We have forgetful grass,” said the woman,“Why not put some into his food?If he has the food,he will forget to take his bag away.”“How clever you are!” said the owner,“Don’t forget it when you prepare supper for him.”
The old man had the food with the forgetful grass and went to bed.The next morning,when the owner got up,he found the door was open and the old man had left with his bag.He woke his wife up and said angrily,“What a fool!Your forgetful grass isn’t useful at all.”
“No,no,” said the woman.“I don’t think so.He must forget something.”
“Oh,I’ve remembered!”The owner cried out suddenly,“He forgot...”
1. The old man came to the inn .| A．in the morning | B．in the afternoon |
| C．in the evening | D．at night |
| A．get the man’s bag | B．steal the man’s money |
| C．make the man pay them more | D．hide the man’s bag |
| A．the old man always forgot something |
| B．they wanted to make the food better |
| C．they hoped the old man would leave the bag in the inn |
| D．they wanted to know if the grass was useful |
| A．to take his bag away | B．to tell the owner when he left |
| C．to close the door when he went to sleep | D．to pay them the inn money |
| A．Both the owner and his wife were clever. |
| B．The owner of the inn got nothing from the old man. |
| C．The old man left the inn without his bag. |
| D．The woman forgot to put the forgetful grass into the food. |
10 . When my father was getting ready for work,our house was ruled by knocks and words.He used to come downstairs to breakfast.
The morning paper lay beside his plate.He always read the “Deaths” first,and then he knocked once on the table.One of my sisters brought his bread,already buttered for him.Usually he said nothing,but once I heard him say,“I love you very much,Edith.I would love more if you buttered my bread on both sides.”He read the paper all through breakfast.
Two knocks on the table meant “I am ready for my tea.”If a single knock followed that meant,“More bread,please.”
After breakfast he said,“Boots.”The paper was spread(展开) for him over the back of an armchair.Yesterday’s paper was put on the chair for his feet,and his boots were brought to him,freshly cleaned.He read standing at the same time putting on his boots.With one boot finished he said,“Bus.”At that point one of the girls went outside to the garden gate and waited there.Her job was to stop a bus when it came.It came early sometimes and it had to wait for my father. “Overcoat,hat.”One of my sisters had already brushed his overcoat.Now she held it open for him.Another girl came with his hat,nicely brushed.“Handkerchief,pipe(烟斗).”They were brought and put,with his tobacco(烟草),into his pocket.He looked out of the window and said either “Walking stick” or “Umbrella”.It was handed to him.Ready now,he was still reading the paper.He didn’t put it down until he heard the shout “Bus coming!” Then he kissed my mother and went out.The girls breathed freely.
How lucky a man was to have a wife and five daughters at home!
1. When the father made the first knock,he meant .| A．he had begun to read the morning newspaper | B．he was made to feel sad by the “Deaths” news |
| C．he would start to read the other parts of thepaper | D．his breakfast should begin |
| A．A kind of bread. | B．One of the writer’s sisters. |
| C．The writer. | D．The writer’s mother. |
| A．their father never helped them |
| B．their father always gave different instructions at the same time |
| C．each of them had to start and finish her job just on time |
| D．they were not clever or quick enough to do their jobs |
| A．Reading newspapers. | B．Having bread buttered on both sides. |
| C．Giving instructions. | D．Being clean and tidy. |
| A．the father was so lazy that he hardly did anything |
| B．the father was the “centre” of the family |
| C．every girl in the family was afraid to do wrong because they didn’t know clearly enough what to do |
| D．the father was hated by all his daughters |
