题目内容
In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year.
As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip from the publisher. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface.
A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?” “No,” she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”
I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.
Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting (借用) my daughter’s experience.
While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.
1.What did the author say about her own writing experience?
A. She was constantly under pressure of writing more.
B. Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers.
C. Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations.
D. She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer.
2.Why did Rebecca want to enter this year’s writing contest?
A. She wanted to share her stories with readers.
B. She had won a prize in the previous contest.
C. She was sure of winning with her mother’s help.
D. She believed she possessed real talent for writing.
3.The author took great pains to refine her daughter’s stories because ________.
A. she wanted to help Rebecca realize her dream of becoming a writer
B. she believed she had the knowledge and experience to offer guidance
C. she did not want to disappoint Rebecca who needed her help so much
D. she was afraid Rebecca’s imagination might run wild while writing
4.What’s the author’s advice for parents?
A. Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions.
B. Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience.
C. Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in.
D. A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue.
第二部分:阅读理解(共20小题; 每小题2分,满分40分)
Around six weeks ago, Kaileen came running into the house, just getting off the bus from school. She was all excited about a story about homeless pets because of Hurricane (飓风) Katrina and all that was going on to help them. She said that this information came from her animal newspaper (your KIND News). Kaileen has a great love and compassion (同情心) for animals, so her excitement did not surprise me. Her next ideas, however, did. She said that we should go around right then to our neighbors and collect all their change to send to the animal shelters (保护所).
I thought this was a school project, but in fact, it was not. This was what Kaileen wanted to do on her own! Well, it warmed me all over. To see your child so willing to help others just lets you feel that maybe you had done something right in raising (养育) her.
Anyway, I told her to make a card and send it out to our neighbors first. With the help of her older brother, Kaileen soon made a lovely card that asked our neighbors to help these pets by giving their spare change. She gave them a few days and a date she would come by to pick up any donations (捐赠).
Well, I had to go out and buy a donation box. Kaileen collected $279.50!!! I just thought you would like to know how KIND News had touched a little one’s heart and given her the idea to show her compassion for animals. Thank you — we really enjoy your paper.
36. The passage is probably taken from ______.
A. a report about a warm-hearted girl
B. an advertisement for an animal shelter
C. a thank-you letter to a newspaper
D. a donation program for homeless pets
37. What was the author’s feeling about Kaileen’s idea?
A. Pleased and excited.
B. Surprised and moved.
C. Tired and sad.
D. Worried and angry.
38. From the passage we learn that KIND News ______.
A. collects donations for homeless people
B. sets up many shelters for homeless animals
C. tells children how to keep pets healthy
D. encourages children to help homeless pets
39. We can infer that the passage is written by Kaileen’s ______.
A. parent B. teacher C. brother D. neighbor
Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet fighter pilot in Viet Nam. After 75 missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb parachuted down into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison.
One day, Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant when a man from another table came up and said “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Viet Nam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!”
“How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb.
“I packed your parachute,” the man replied. “I guess it worked”. Plumb assured him, “It sure did. If your chute(降落伞) hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Plumb couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, “I kept wondering what he looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said ‘Good morning. How are you?’ or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was ‘just a sailor’”.
Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds(伞罩) and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn’t know.
Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachutes.
1.Why didn’t Plumb say hello to the sailor each time he passed him on the Kitty Hawk?
A. He thought the sailor was just an unimportant man.
B. He didn’t like him at that time.
C. He was very busy then.
D. He didn’t know him well then.
2. What did the sailor do on the Kitty Hawk at the Viet Nam War?
A. weaved clothes for the pilots. B. repaired the wooden table in the ship.
C. helped the jets start. D. packed the parachutes for the fighter pilots.
3. What does the writer think we should do?
A. We should help each other if they are in trouble.
B. We shouldn’t look down upon the sailors.
C. We should be thankful to others’ help.
D. We should be honest to our friends.
4. Which is the best title for the passage?
A. A story about a sailor. B. Who pack your parachutes?
C. Don’t forget your past! D. Never forget your friends!
A trip to the bookstore with my granddaughter is always a big event. She __36__ in it for hours, touching the books, running her hands over the covers, looking at a few ___37___ here and looking at a few pages there.
I never ___38__ the full importance my five-year-old Grand Angel placed on these trips, until the day I suggested she pick the book she liked best, __39____ we could go home for dinner. Her response(答复) was __40___.
“But Grammy, I ___41___ them all the best. All the covers are be-yoo-tiful and all the pictures are bee-yoo-tiful and they’re all __42___. Just like people. Remember when you told me about people?”
I most certainly __43___ when I told her about people. I had explained that we are all __44___ in our own different way. Each of us has a story to ___45___ and no two stories are similar. We learn by ____46__ our stories and listening to the stories of others. Difference is the thing that makes each and every one of us __47___. I had no idea that she’d connected the lesson with ___48___. Actually, no one book was ___49___ than any other book. They were equally beautiful and equally special(特别的).
With dinner still ___50___ and our stomachs beginning to make noise, ___51___ time was finally at hand. But how to choose? I suddenly ___52___ the right question when I asked, “Which book wants to go home the most with you today?” After a short moment of ___53___, her eyes lit up. She ran to a specific book and ___54___ it from its place on the shelf. The main __55____ was the picture on the cover, a turtle with sad eyes. “We need to find out why the turtle is sad,” she said.
1.A. stands B. plays C. studies D. stays
2. A. chairs B. pages C. papers D. shelves
3. A. realized B. asked C. supported D. approved
4. A. but B. if C. so D. or
5.A. important B. great C. independent D. fluent
6.A. accept B. care C. discover D. like
7.A. different B. cheap C. expensive D. valuable
8. A. forgot B. insisted C. remembered D. limited
9.A. confused B. beautiful C. helpful D. energetic
10.A. show B. write C. follow D. tell
11.A. sharing B. changing C. collecting D. rewriting
12.A. independent B. kind C. special D. clever
13.A. stories B. books C. people D. life
14. A. thicker B. bigger C. cheaper D. better
15. A. preparing B. arriving C. waiting D. cooking
16.A. decision B. dinner C. reading D. shopping
17.A. answered B. raised C. thought of D. left out
18.A. talking B. thinking C. walking D. sleeping
19.A. repaired B. received C. exchanged D. removed
20.A. reason B. act C. question D. problem
阅读下面的短文,然后以约30个词概括短文内容。
Everyone has an experience they would never forget. Some are embarrassing, some are moving, and some teach us a lesson. Here is a story of mine.
Last Sunday I went fishing. After setting up my fishing rod with bait, I sat down on the bank of the lake. But two hours later, I didn’t catch any fish. I got very angry and began to pack up my stuff, preparing to go back home.
Just then, I saw an old man sitting near me. To my surprise, his basket was full of fish, so I went over to him, wanting to know why. “Excuse me, but how long have you sat here?” I asked. “About four hours,” he answered. “Four hours?” I couldn’t believe my ears. “Yes. It’s very important to be patient,” the old man said. “Don’t consider fishing a tiring sport. Just enjoy it.” Suddenly, I understood what he said. I must learn to be patient. Then I sat there and waited for fish patiently. I felt a fish touch the bait, but I didn’t move and waited for the right moment to reel it in. At last, I caught it. This made me very happy. In the following six hours, I caught over 10 fish.
On my way home, I thought what had happened on the bank. I gradually realized that the secret of success was patience.