cold, he covered his blanket, only his arms .A．Felt, left, uncoveredB．Feeling, left, uncoveredC．Feeling, leaving, uncoveredD．Felt, left, uncovering 题目和参考答案——青夏教育精英家教网—

When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for a few coppers（铜钱）.The book wasn’t very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip（条）of vellum（牛皮纸）on which was written the secret of the “Touchstone”!

The touchstone was a small pebble（小园石）that could turn any common metal into pure gold. The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.

So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold-throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea.

The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months. One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.

So it is with opportunity. Unless we are vigilant（警惕的）, it’s easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand and it’s just as easy to throw it away.

The book was special to the man because ______.

A. it was made of vellum

B. it was the only book that survived the great fire

C. it was a story about how to tell the touchstone from ordinary stones

D. it included the secret of the touchstone

He threw pebbles into the sea ______.

A. to test how far he could throw

B. to practice throwing pebbles

C. to avoid picking up the same pebble once again

D. to express his disappointment at failing to find the touchstone

What message does the story want to convey?

A. Careful habits can lead to success.

B. Habits can benefit you but also hold you back.

C. Never judge a person or a thing by appearances.

D. Opportunity only visits the ready and watchful mind

Too cold for recess? School policies vary as much as temps

When is it too cold for schoolchildren to go outside for recess（课间休息）? The answer varies widely based on where a school is located and what the kids are used to.

Consider: One northern Minnesota school says it has to be 15 below zero before kids are kept inside. But in areas along the East Coast, temperatures below 35 to 40 degrees could keep kids inside. Canceling recess because of the cold is no small issue considering that much of the USA is trembling through what may be its coldest winter in a generation, according to AccuWeather.

There is no national temperature standard for when to keep kids inside during the winter months, the U.S. Department of Education says. Decisions are made at the local level, either by principals or school districts.

Consequently, policies are all over the map:

?? In International Falls, Minn., the self-described "Icebox of the Nation," where the average high temperature in January is 13 degrees, Falls Elementary School Principal Jerry Hilfer says, "if it's 15 below (or warmer), they go out, no matter what." "At 20 below, it gets iffy," he adds.

?? In Wicomico County, Md., principals typically keep children indoors when temperatures drop below freezing, or if it's raining or snowing, says Susan Jones, the school system's director of elementary education.

"That's the bottom line," says Curtis Twilley, principal of Pemberton Elementary School in Salisbury, Md. Twilley says students get little exercise when recess stays indoors. At Pemberton Elementary, the students will typically play board games or computer games in a classroom because the school's gym is occupied with other classes, he says.

?? For schools in Marquette, Mich., which averages about 12 feet of snow per season, school officials acknowledge students are probably a little more prepared than those in some more mild climates.

Which of the following is not true according to the passage_________.

A. No national temperature standard is made for when to keep kids inside during the winter months.

B. Susan Jones insists students get little exercise when recess stays indoors.

C. In Wicomico County, children are kept indoors when temperatures dip below freezing.

D. Mich has about 12 feet of snow per season on average.

Which place calls itself Box of Ice?

Wicomico County B. Marquette C.Salisbury D. Minn

Considering_______, canceling recess In USA because of the cold is a big issue.

A. different schools have different principles.

B. much of the USA has very cold winter.

C. physical activity can boost student performance.

D. decisions are made at the local level,

The underlined word iffy means _______.

A. uncertain B. surprising C. serious D. worse

What will be talked about next?

A. More school policies

B. The reasons why school policies vary.

C. Measures to improve the situation.

D. Necessities to improve the situation