阅读下面短文，掌握大意，然后从每小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。

“It’s been potatoes all week, mom! Can’t we go to the dinner for a burger and an ice cream? That’s all I want for my birthday!” Eve’s 8-year-old ________, Dylan, looked at her with puppy eyes. In her heart, she wanted to hold the ________ birthday party for him. But in fact, she couldn’t afford it ________ she lost her third job.

       That afternoon, they took a nap. But Dylan didn’t fall asleep and had ________ in mind. “It should be a good idea,” he thought. While his mother was asleep, he carefully ________ his pot, where he had saved a few dollars from his lunch money.
       He ________ the money in the pot. “1, 2, 3…28!” Dylan’s eyes lit up. “Great, I’m sure we will get a good meal for ＄28!” He carried the money and left the house secretly. When he ________ see the food truck from a long distance, he almost cried with excitement.
       “Sir! Please give me everything I can get for＄28!” the boy said ________. But Martin, the owner of the food truck, frowned and ________, “I’m so sorry, kid. We’re out of everything.”
       On hearing this, the boy was about to cry. With ________ in Martin’s heart, he asked patiently in a soft voice. He learnt what the little boy who ________ got＄28 wanted to do. He knew it was impossible to prepare a big meal with such little money, so Martin decided to take him outside to buy some food. Dylan was ________ to Martin and gave all his money to him.
       The next day, Eve was woken up by a knock on the door, “Hello! It’s Martin.” Confused with all the delicious food in the truck, Eve couldn’t believe her eyes and felt like a ________.   “It was your son Dylan who prepared all the food for you. Enjoy it.” With a man’s ________ appearing, she knew it was real. They sat together and enjoyed the meal. After that, they found a note with ＄28 under a plate read “Love is ________.” Touched by these words, tears welled up in their eyes.1.

A．cousin

B．son

C．student

D．brother

2.

A．shortest

B．simplest

C．cheapest

D．biggest

3.

A．after

B．before

C．until

D．unless

4.

A．something

B．anything

C．nothing

D．everything

5.

A．gave up

B．put away

C．took out

D．paid for

6.

A．spent

B．counted

C．saved

D．used

7.

A．could

B．must

C．might

D．should

8.

A．angrily

B．wisely

C．slowly

D．excitedly

9.

A．ordered

B．agreed

C．replied

D．shouted

10.

A．loneliness

B．happiness

C．kindness

D．shyness

11.

A．seldom

B．nearly

C．still

D．only

12.

A．equal

B．thankful

C．close

D．familiar

13.

A．plan

B．chance

C．pity

D．dream

14.

A．truck

B．voice

C．gift

D．money

15.

A．priceless

B．serious

C．blind

D．fair

Solving the Mosquito Problem Project report by students from Northeast High School

What we wanted to do: •We saw news about mosquitoes and the diseases they carry. We wanted to invent something to solve the problem.

What we learned about mosquitoes: •Mosquitoes bite people and spread diseases. •Mosquitoes lay their eggs in still water. •The water has to be still for eggs to develop.

What we wanted our invention to be like: •It can shake the water to stop mosquitoes from laying eggs. •It should be simple and not cost much. •It should run itself for a long time without being powered.

How we made the invention come true: Step1 We raised money in our school and community. Step2 We tested motors to help our invention shake. Step3 We tried ways to power the motor. Step4 We managed to use a computer to turn the motor on and off. Step5 We designed the shape of our invention and 3 D printed it. Step6 We tried our invention and shared the video on the Internet.

What we are going to do next: •We are going to find ways to monitor the water, and only turn the invention on when needed. We are also getting some help to get a patent so no one else can copy it.

16. The students wanted to stop mosquitoes from ________.

A．biting people

B．laying eggs

C．spreading diseases

D．walking on water

17. What did the students do in the project?

A．They designed the shape of their invention.

B．They got money for their invention on the Internet.

C．They chose the right motor after watching videos online.

D．They found ways to know when to turn the invention on.

18. The report mainly introduces information about ________.

A．the water

B．the disease

C．the mosquito

D．the invention

A visit to a whole country in a day? This is possible in Madurodam! In the world famous Holland miniature park, everything is built on a scale of 1:25. You are treated to a trip through the history of the seaside country and all its famous buildings.

There are themed areas in the park. The most beautiful buildings in the old cities of Holland are located in StedenRijk. This historical area shows how Holland has developed from farmland to a modern country. Another one is WaterRijk. Water has always played an important part in the development of Holland, a country that would be underwater without dams. To learn everything about water, you must research it. You can also have a hand-on experience in the area, VindingRijk. You can operate the barrier to prevent a village from flooding, help a plane take off, and load or unload ships. Apart from the themed areas, there is also a playground for kids called the Waddenzee.

Madurodam works hard to show a realistic view of Holland. Each of its 338 miniatures is made in detail. People must research the shape and the color of an item by examine pictures before building a model. Little figurines in the park show the daily life of people in Holland. The figurines change clothes with the seasons, wearing coats in winter and T-shirts in summer. Windmills are a symbol of Holland and they are everywhere in the park. With 55,000 flower beds and 5,500 trees shorter even than a kid, the park is famous for its natural beauty.

Opened in 1952, Madurodam has seen more than 50 million visitors. Still, it is developing. Many more miniatures will be built in the park. There are still plenty of great stories to tell from the past, present and future.

19. Which picture might be taken in the park, Madurodam?

A．	B．
C．	D．

20. How many themed areas in Madurodam are mentioned in the passage?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D．Four.

21. How does Madurodam show a realistic view of Holland?

A．By showing many miniatures that are similar to the real ones.

B．By making figurines which change positions on different days.

C．By planting trees which can finally grow as tall as the real ones.

D．By building windmills that show the natural beauty of the country.

22. According to the passage, what can we know about Madurodam?

A．Madurodam has a history of about 50 years.

B．More miniatures will be added in Madurodam.

C．In the Waddenzee, stories from the past are told.

D．In VindingRijk, visitors aren’t allowed to touch things.

In the 1800s, there was a metal that was even more valuable than gold. It is aluminum. Rich ladies wore jewelry made of aluminum. Kings served their guests on aluminum plates.

However, aluminum is not rare. In fact, it’s the most common metal.

Only it was difficult to get it. For a long time, no one knew how to get it out of bauxite. As far back as the 1700s, scientists thought bauxite held metal. But they didn’t know what kind. They tried heating the rock to different temperatures. They also put into acids and salts. But no luck. Finally, in 1825 they managed to get a little aluminum. It took another 20 years to get the metal, although in a very small amount.

In 1884, an American named Charles Hall was in chemistry class when his teacher handed around a piece of aluminum. He told the students that they could change the world and get rich if they could invent a cheaper way to make it. Charles Hall did it.

The main challenge was how to separate the aluminum from oxygen. Aluminum really, really likes oxygen. Aluminum and oxygen will stick together even at very high heat. Hall’s way was to add electricity to knock oxygen and aluminum apart.

Meanwhile, in France, chemist Paul Heroult had exactly the same idea! They shared credit for the discovery. The Hall-Heroult Process is still used today. And Hall’s aluminum company became the largest in the world.

Soon there was cheap aluminum for all. Engineers loved it. Aluminum is light and strong. Mixing aluminum with other metals can make them lighter and stronger.

Today, aluminum is all around us, in cars, airplanes, buildings, bikes, computers, cooking pots, soda cans, and much more.

What’s more, ________. Getting new aluminum from old aluminum products uses 90% less energy. It’s much cheaper and creates less pollution. In fact, thanks to recycling, 75% of all aluminum ever produced is still in use! So the next time you see an old soda can, don’t think of it as trash. Think of it as one of Earth’s most valuable metals, even if it doesn’t cost as much as gold now.

23. According to the passage, aluminum ________ in the past.

A．was not liked by wealthy people	B．was not a common metal on the earth
C．was not easy to get out of bauxite	D．was not as valuable as gold in the 1800s

24. Different from others, Hall used ________ to get aluminum in a cheaper way.

A．salts

B．ice

C．heat

D．electricity

25. Which of the following can be put into ________ in Paragraph 8?

A．aluminum is easy to make

B．aluminum is easy to recycle

C．aluminum products can be used for a long time

D．aluminum products don’t cost much money now

26. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Common Rock — Bauxite	B．The Great Chemist — Charles Hall
C．The Magical Metal — Aluminum	D．The Helpful Idea — Hall-Heroult Process

I was hurrying to our basketball game one morning when Hillary Barness, the most popular girl in school, stopped me. “Are you the twin who won the art competition?” she asked.

       “No, that’s Christine. I’m Katie,” I said.
       We were not the same. In fact, we were quite dissimilar. She could beat Snow White in a beauty competition! Compared to Christine, I felt like one of Cinderella’s ugly sisters.
       One Saturday, Christine gave me a painting lesson because I was always trying to be artistic too. But I knocked over the vase of flowers. However, she turned the whole mess into an amazing work. You could look at it in five different ways and see five different things. With this excellent creation, she won the art competition. I really envied her, but I knew it wasn’t her fault. I was the one with wild, unmanageable hair and no talent.
       Joining Christine’s basketball team was my latest effort to be like her.
       On the way to the gym, I made up my mind to give my best performance in that day’s game. As soon as we arrived at the gym, I couldn’t wait to warm up. “Christine, here!” I threw her a ball. It was too high and she missed it. The ball fell onto and broke the recorder which was used to play the national anthem before each game.
       I apologized as I picked up the broken pieces of the recorder. Coach looked at the mess and asked, “How are we going to play the song now?”
       Christine suggested, “Let Katie sing it! She’s always singing at home and she’s got a nice voice.”
       Coach asked, “Would you?” I found myself nodding.
       Coach announced the national anthem and everyone stood up. Standing before a microphone, I looked up to the flag. The notes seemed to flow from deep inside me, and my voice was clear. When I finished, the gym was silent. Then it was filled with cheer. As the game started, my teammates gave me the thumbs-up.
       The next morning, Hillary Barnes stopped me in the hallway and asked, “Are you the twin who sang the national anthem?”
       “Yes, that’s me.” With a smile on my face, I walked to the classroom. I would never think that I was not as perfect as Christine.
27. What did Katie want to show by mentioning “Snow White” and “Cinderella’s sisters”?

A．She wanted to show who was prettier than the other one.

B．She wanted to show how she and Christine were different.

C．She wanted to show why Christine won the art competition.

D．She wanted to show what she and Christine both liked doing.

28. How did Katie feel when she knew Christine won the art competition?

A．Frightened.

B．Nervous.

C．Tired.

D．Upset.

29. Why did Katie agree to sing the national anthem?

A．Because she liked singing and she was able to do it.

B．Because she always wanted to beat her sister in singing.

C．Because she broke the recorder and she couldn’t afford it.

D．Because she dreamed to be the most popular girl in school.

30. Why did Katie smile in the end?
______________________________________

用方框中所给单词的适当形式填空，每词限用一次。

hundred;   worry;   wet;   glad;   since

31. Though I’m a ninth grader, my parents still ________ about me a lot.
32. The advice Lily offered was so helpful that I ________ accepted it.
33. China has sent 16 astronauts into space ________ 2003, including two females.
34. ________ of actors and actresses will attend the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival.
35. Because of global warming, the winter in this area will become ________ in history.