Smith was a landlord（地主）. He loved money very much and never gave anything to anybody. Soon he became rich. One day the weather was fine. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was very warm. The landlord was walking along a river with his friends, when, all of a sudden, he slipped（滑倒） and fell into it. He cried, "Help! Help!" One of his friends held out his hand and said, "Give me your hand and I will pull（拉） you out." The landlord's head went under the water and then came up again, but he did not give his hand to his friends. Then another of his friends tried but the same thing happened. Just then a farmer came over and saw all this. He knew the landlord very well. He said to the others, "Let me try." He held out his hand and said to the landlord," Take my hand and I will pull you out." Hearing this, the landlord took the farmer's hand, and in a minute the farmer pulled the landlord out of the water. All the others got very surprised at this and asked the farmer, "Why did he give his hand to you but not to us?" The farmer said, “You don't know your friend very well, When you say 'give' to him, he does nothing, but when you say 'take', he takes."

1. 1.

   Smith was a ____

   1. A.
      doctor
   2. B.
      farmer
   3. C.
      landlord
   4. D.
      waiter
2. 2.

   Smith became very rich, because he ____ gave anything to anybody

   1. A.
      always
   2. B.
      never
   3. C.
      often
   4. D.
      sometimes
3. 3.

   One day Smith was walking along a ____ with his friends

   1. A.
      river
   2. B.
      park
   3. C.
      street
   4. D.
      lake
4. 4.

   The rich man held ____ his hand when he heard "Take my hand."

   1. A.
      in
   2. B.
      into
   3. C.
      down
   4. D.
      out
5. 5.

   Who knew the rich man very well?

   1. A.
      his friends
   2. B.
      his wife
   3. C.
      the farmer
   4. D.
      his children

Do American children still learn handwriting in school? In the age of the keyboard, some people seem to think handwriting lessons are on the way out. 90% of teachers say they are required to teach handwriting.But studies have yet to answer the question of how well they are teaching it. One study published this year found that about three out of every four teachers say they are not prepared to teach handwriting. Some teachers are teaching handwriting by providing instruction for 10 15 minutes a day, and then other teachers who basically teach it for 60 to 70 minutes a day — which really for handwriting is pretty much.
Many adults remember learning that way — by copying letters over and over again. Today’ s thinking is that short periods of practice are better. Many experts also think handwriting should not be taught by itself.Instead, they say it should be used as a way to get students to express ideas. After all, that is why we write.
Handwriting involves two skills. One is legibility,_which means forming the letters so they can be read. The other is fluency — writing without having to think about it. Fluency continues to develop up until high school.
But not everyone masters these skills. Teachers commonly report that about onefourth of their kids have poor handwriting. Some people might think handwriting is not important any more because of computers and voice recognition programs.
But Steve Graham at Vanderbilt says word processing is rarely done in elementary school, especially in the early years. American children traditionally first learn to print, and then to write in cursive, which connects the letters. But guess what we learned from a spokeswoman for the College Board, which administers the SAT college admission test. More than 75 percent of students choose to print their essay on the test rather than write in cursive

1. 1.

   We can learn ________ from Paragraph 1

   1. A.
      teaching handwriting is a basic requirement in teaching job
   2. B.
      most teachers prefer to teach handwriting
   3. C.
      teachers spend little time in teaching handwriting
   4. D.
      a keyboard has taken the place of the handwriting entirely
2. 2.

   Which of the following is WRONG for traditional handwriting in the USA?

   1. A.
      The students are taught by practicing a long period
   2. B.
      The letters are repeated many times
   3. C.
      Handwriting includes two skills
   4. D.
      To write in cursive is taught first
3. 3.

   The underlined word “legibility” in Paragraph 3 means ______.

   1. A.
      easy to read
   2. B.
      complex
   3. C.
      unexpected
   4. D.
      unreadable
4. 4.

   The best title for the passage is ______.

   1. A.
      How to improve handwriting in school
   2. B.
      Right or wrong: the death of handwriting
   3. C.
      Handwriting involves two skills
   4. D.
      Handwriting lessons are on the way out
5. 5.

   The author’ s attitude towards whether still to learn handwriting in school is______.

   1. A.
      negative
   2. B.
      objective
   3. C.
      critical
   4. D.
      optimistic

When we talk about intelligence, we do not mean the ability to get good scores on certain kinds of tests or even the ability to do well in school subjects. By intelligence we mean a way of living and behaving, especially in a new or upsetting situation. If we want to test intelligence, we need to find out how a person acts instead of how much he knows what to do.
For instance, when in a new situation, an intelligent person thinks about the situation, not about himself or what might happen to him. He tries to find out all he can, and then he acts immediately and tries to do something about it. He probably isn’t sure how it will all work out, but at least he tries. And if he cannot make things work out right, he doesn’t feel ashamed that he failed; he just tries to learn from his mistakes. An intelligent person, even if he is very young, has a special outlook on life, a special feeling about life, and how he fits into it.
If you look at children, you’ll see a great difference in what we call “bright” children and “not bright” children. They are actually two different kinds of people, not just the same kind with different amounts of intelligence. For example, the bright child really wants to find out about life, and he tries to get in touch with everything around him. But the unintelligent child keeps more to himself and his own dream world; he seems to have a walk between him and life in general

1. 1.

   According to the passage, intelligence is the ability to       

   1. A.
      get high scores in some tests
   2. B.
      do well in school subjects
   3. C.
      deal with life
   4. D.
      know what to do
2. 2.

   In a new situation, an intelligent person        

   1. A.
      knows more about what might happen to him
   2. B.
      is sure of the result he will get
   3. C.
      is ready to face and fit himself in the situation
   4. D.
      cares more about himself
3. 3.

   If an intelligent person failed, he would       

   1. A.
      feel ashamed
   2. B.
      learn from his experiences
   3. C.
      try to find all he could
   4. D.
      make sure what result he would get
4. 4.

   The difference between bright children and non-bright children lies in _____

   1. A.
      their attitude towards life
   2. B.
      the degree of cleverness
   3. C.
      the amounts of knowledge about the world
   4. D.
      their way of thinking

An exercise method (Gyrotonics) designed to stretch muscles and improve strength and balance is becoming popular in the United States. Here's more about Gyrotonics and the man who invented this special form of exercise.
Gyrotonics is a kind of exercise that combines the movements of dancing and swimming with the mental and physical practice called yoga. It helps lengthen muscles, improve balance, and exercise the joints, the parts of the body where bones are joined.
A Hungarian dancer named Juliu Horvath developed this special form of exercise. After he was injured in dancing, Mr. Horvath studied yoga intensely. In the 1980s, he developed a new exercise method as a special kind of yoga to strengthen dancers.
According to Mr. Horvath, his method was based on the octopus(章鱼)，monkey and cat. He says these animals have no restrictions. They can move in any direction the Gyrotonic movements to help the human body move more freely.
A special machine made of wood and weights(砝码) helps guide the body through the Gyrotonics exercises. You sit or lie on a flat board. You put your legs or hands through special cloth handles attached to a line with weights. With the tension created by the weights, you must try to move through the exercises.
Seven kinds of backbone movements form the base of Gyrotonics. For example, you can stretch your back to the left and right or forward and backward. While moving your back, you can also work on arm or leg motions. These movements must be done in a smooth way. Often the motions are circular(圆形的)。
When Juliu Horvath first developed Gyrotonics, he was the only teacher. Since then, he has taught almost 70 trainers. Now, there are more then 800 official schools in the world where you can learn Gyrotonics

1. 1.

   This passage mainly focuses on _____

   1. A.
      A successful life of Horvath
   2. B.
      A popular kind of exercise
   3. C.
      Some advice on health care
   4. D.
      Some uses of a special machine
2. 2.

   According to the passage, what made it possible for Horvath to develop Gyrotonics?

   1. A.
      His dancing-related injury
   2. B.
      His failure in practicing yoga
   3. C.
      His good skills of dancing
   4. D.
      His wish to be a Gyrotonics trainer
3. 3.

   What do you think inspired Horvath in developing Gyrotonics?

   1. A.
      His experience in dancing
   2. B.
      His use of a special machine
   3. C.
      The movements of some animals
   4. D.
      The ideas from many trainers
4. 4.

   What can we learn from the passage?

   1. A.
      Many Americans have improved their health through Gyrotonics
   2. B.
      In a way, Gyrotonics is an exercise that comes from yoga
   3. C.
      You only have to move your backbone when doing the exercise
   4. D.
      Gyrotonics courses can be found in most countries worldwide

1. 1.

   Why does the writer introduce so many animals from different places to us?

   1. A.
      To frighten us in the zoo
   2. B.
      To make us lovely in the zoo
   3. C.
      To attract us to the zoo
   4. D.
      To show that animals can do everything
2. 2.

   How much does Mr. Smith have to pay if he visits the zoo with his two-year-old son?

   1. A.
      ￥3
   2. B.
      ￥4
   3. C.
      ￥5
   4. D.
      ￥6
3. 3.

   At which of the following time can we visit the zoo?

   1. A.
      8:30 a.m. Wednesday
   2. B.
      9:30 a.m. Friday
   3. C.
      3:00 p.m. Sunday
   4. D.
      5:00 p.m. Tuesday

Once on a dark winter's day，when the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London that the lamps were lighted and the shop windows blazed with gas as they did at night，an odd-looking little girl sat in a cab with her father and was driven rather slowly through the main street.
Sara Crewe leaned against her father，who held her in his arms，as she stared out of the window at the passing people with an old-fashioned thoughtfulness in her big eyes. At this moment she was remembering the voyage she had just made from Bombay with her father，Captain Crewe. She was thinking of what a strange thing it was that at one time one was in India in the hot sun，and then in the middle of the ocean，and then driving in a strange vehicle through strange streets.
“Papa，” she said in a low，mysterious little voice which was almost a whisper.
“What is it，darling?”Captain Crewe answered，holding her closer and looking down into her face．
"Is this the place？＂Sara whispered.
"Yes，little Sara，it is. We have reached it at last.”
It seemed to her many years since he had begun to prepare her mind for "the place”，as she always called it. Her mother had died when she was born，so she had never known or missed her.Her young，handsome，rich father seemed to be the only relation she had in the world．
During her short life only one thing had troubled her，and that thing was "the place” she was to be taken to some day. The climate of India was very bad for children，and as soon as possible they were sent away from it-generally to England and to school.
"Couldn't you go to that place with me，Papa？＂she had asked when she was five years old．
"Couldn't you go to school，too？ I would help you with your lessons.”
"But you will not have to stay for a very long time，little Sara，”he had always said. "You will grow so fast that it will seem scarcely a year before you are big enough and clever enough to come back and take care of Papa.”
She had liked to think of that．She liked to talk to him and read his books-that would be what she would like most in the world，and if one must go away to "the place” in England to attain it，she must make up her mind to go．She liked books more than anything else，and was，in fact，always inventing stories of beautiful things and telling them to herself.
Captain Crewe held her very closely in his arms as the cab rolled into the big，dull square in which stood the house which was their destination．

1. 1.

   The story happened_______．

   1. A.
      on a moonless night
   2. B.
      on a foggy day
   3. C.
      on a hot day
   4. D.
      on a starry night
2. 2.

   Sara Crewe came to England to_______

   1. A.
      visit her relatives
   2. B.
      see her mother's house
   3. C.
      receive education
   4. D.
      buy books for her father
3. 3.

   We can learn from the story that Sara Crewe was_______．

   1. A.
      sceptical
   2. B.
      curious
   3. C.
      cheerful
   4. D.
      imaginative

Violent winds swept the ocean, and waves thundered to shore, shaking the lookout tower at Pea Island Rescue Station. Surfman Theodore Meekins was on watch that evening of 11 October 1896. A hurricane had struck the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and the tide was so strong that beach patrols(巡逻)had been canceled. Still, Meekins paid close attention to the horizon. This was the type of weather that could blow ships hundreds of miles off course.
Offshore, the ship E.S. Newman was caught in the storm. The captain, whose wife and child were on the ship, feared the Newman would soon break up. He made the decision to beach his ship, then fired a signal, praying that someone onshore would see it.
Meekins, whose eyes were trained to cut through rain and surf mists, thought he saw the signal, but so much spray (水雾) covered the lookout windows that he could hardly make sure. Still, he took no chances. After summoning (召集) the station keeper, Captain Richard Etheridge, Meekins set off a coston signal, a signal made by using lamps of different colors. Together, the two men searched the darkness for a reply. A few moments later, they saw a flash of light to the south and knew a shop was in distress (遇险). Even before the return signal burned out, Etheridge had summoned his men and begun rescue operations.
For the lifesavers, the rescue of the Newman was nothing unusual. Over the years, so many ships had foundered off the Outer Banks that sailors called the region the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Noting the dangerous surf and wind conditions, Captain Etheridge quickly decided the surf boats would be impossible to control. Instead, he decided to use another way to help the survivors.
The crew set off on the long journey down the beach to the scene of the wreck (海滩). Captain Etheridge hoped to fire a line from a gun to the ship’s mast (船桅). After the ship’s crew dragged the line onboard, the surfmen would fire a second line and carry survivors safely to shore.
The surfmen crossed three miles of sand to reach the ship Newman. The water was freezing, and the men often sank up to their knees in sand. Captain Etheridge noted in his diary that “the voice of gladdened hearts greeted the arrival of the station crew,” but that “it seemed impossible for them to do anything under such circumstances. The work was often stopped by the sweeping current.”
Even when the rescue equipment proved useless, Etheridge refused to give up. Choosing two of his strongest surfmen, he tied rope lines around their waists and sent them into the water. The two men, holding a line from shore, walked with huge effort as far as they could before diving through the waves. Nearly worn out while swimming against the tide, they finally made it to the shore.
The first to be rescued were the captain’s wife and child. With the two passengers tied to their backs, the surfmen fought their way back to shore. Taking turns, Etheridge and his crew made ten trips to the Newman, saving every person onboard. It was 1:00 a.m. when the crew and survivors finally made it back to the station.
That night, as the exhausted survivors lay sleeping and his lifesaving crew rested, Captain Etheridge picked up his pen, and in the light of an oil lantern, wrote with satisfaction that all the people onboard had been saved and were “sheltered in this station”—words he would remember for many years to come

1. 1.

   The beach patrols were canceled because ________

   1. A.
      Meekins paid enough attention to the horizon
   2. B.
      there was too much spray on the windows
   3. C.
      the winds and tide were too strong
   4. D.
      there was no ship near the station
2. 2.

   The underlined word “foundered” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to “___________”

   1. A.
      stopped
   2. B.
      sank
   3. C.
      sailed
   4. D.
      arrived
3. 3.

   What was the author’s main purpose in writing the passage?

   1. A.
      To warn sailors of the dangers of hurricanes
   2. B.
      To create a story describing a rescue at sea
   3. C.
      To inform people about Richard Etheridge
   4. D.
      To record the details about the Newman
4. 4.

   What is the main idea of the passage?

   1. A.
      The newman was very dangerous before Richard Etheridge and his team members saw the signal
   2. B.
      A terrible hurricane took place off the coast of North Carolina and threatened the lives of many sailors
   3. C.
      At no other time in American history have so many shipwrecked passengers survived such a violent storm
   4. D.
      All the passengers of a shipwreck were rescued because of heroic the efforts of a special leader and his crew

A year ago, at the annual pre-Grammy party, Whitney Houston, the great star, walked on stage and closed the evening with a brilliant performance．
Last Saturday, Houston was once again the focus before the Grammy, but her presence was a regrettable one．Earlier that day, the pop music's former queen was found dead in her hotel room．She was 48．This, no doubt, is sad news to the whole music industry and her fans all over the world．
At her peak(巅峰), Houston was the golden girl of the music world．From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists．She impressed audiences with her effortless, powerful and peerless performance．
Besides multi-million record sales, Houston made countless hits such as The Greatest Love of All, I Have Nothing, and the mostly famous I Will Always Love You．She also influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey．
But by the end of her career, there was a shocking fall for this superstar．Houston had been addicted to(上瘾) drugs．Her album sales declined (下降) and the hits stopped coming and her once beautiful voice became hoarse （嘶哑的）, unable to hit the high notes as she used to．
In 2009, Houston staged a successful comeback with the album I Look To You, which fell on top of the charts．But hoarse voice, canceled concerts, and continuous illness-Houston's comeback trail wasn't smooth at all．In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009, Houston admitted: "It (show business) is too much for me and I wanted out．"
Now that Houston has finally taken a break from all the chaos(混乱), may she rest in peace．

1. 1.

   Whitney Houston died ______．

   1. A.
      shortly before the Grammy this year
   2. B.
      earlier last Sunday
   3. C.
      a year ago
   4. D.
      at the annual pre-Grammy party
2. 2.

   The underlined word "peerless" in Paragraph 3 most probably means ______．

   1. A.
      having no power
   2. B.
      having no equal
   3. C.
      requiring no effort
   4. D.
      leaving no impression
3. 3.

   The cause of the fall of Whitney Houston was that _____．

   1. A.
      her album sales declined
   2. B.
      show business was too much for her
   3. C.
      her fans no longer love her
   4. D.
      she had been addicted to drugs
4. 4.

   According to the passage, which is not Houston’s achievement?

   1. A.
      She made countless hits such as I Have Nothing
   2. B.
      She influenced a generation of younger singers
   3. C.
      She became the focus before the Grammy this year
   4. D.
      She staged a successful comeback in 2009

To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains．But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against rain．Its first use was as a shade against the sun．
Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times．Probably the Chinese were the earliest to use it in the eleventh century BC．We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade．And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor and authority．In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by royalty or by those in high offices．
In Europe, the Greeks were the earliest to use the umbrella as a sunshade．And the umbrella was allowed in common use in ancient Greece．But it is believed that the earliest persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against rain were the ancient Romans．
During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared．Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century．And again, it was considered a symbol of power and authority．In around 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later on in England．
By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe．Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become  much lighter in weight．It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made in a whole variety of colors．

1. 1.

   The first use of umbrella was as ______________．

   1. A.
      protection against rain
   2. B.
      shade against the sun
   3. C.
      a symbol of power and authority
   4. D.
      a symbol of honor and authority
2. 2.

   In Europe, the umbrella was first used against rain ___________．

   1. A.
      in Greece
   2. B.
      in Rome
   3. C.
      in England
   4. D.
      in France
3. 3.

   From the text, we can infer that _________．

   1. A.
      the umbrella changed much in style in the eighteenth century．
   2. B.
      no one knows why the umbrella was used in very ancient times．
   3. C.
      once ordinary people had no right to use umbrellas．
   4. D.
      during the Middle Ages the umbrella was common in Europe．
4. 4.

   This passage talks mainly about ____________．

   1. A.
      when and how the umbrella was invented．
   2. B.
      why the umbrella was so popular in Europe．
   3. C.
      the development of the umbrella．
   4. D.
      the history and use of the umbrella．

China_is_going_green. In order to reduce air pollution and oil­shortages, automobile manufacturers have announced their plans to develop hybrid vehicles (混合燃料汽车) for the Chinese market. Toyota's hybrid car Prius will be ready to drive in China this week. Let's have a look at the new car.
Any vehicle is a hybrid when it combines two or more sources of power. Hybrid cars run off a rechargeable battery and gasoline. Hybrid cars have special engines, which are smaller than traditional gasoline engines. They run at 99 percent of their power when the car is cruising (匀速行驶). A specially designed battery motor provides extra power for running up hills or when extra acceleration is needed.
Step into a Prius, and turn on the engine. The first thing you notice is how much quieter it is than a traditional car. At this point, the car's gasoline engine is dormant (休眠). The electric motor will provide power until the car reaches about 24 km/h. If you stay at a low speed, you are effectively driving an electric car, with no gasoline being used, and no waste gas gives off.
The onboard(车载的) computer makes the decision about when to use a gas engine, when to go electric, and when to use a combination of the two. If you go over 24 km/h, when you step on the gas pedal (油门), you are actually telling the computer how fast you want to go.
The electronic motor recharges automatically using a set of batteries. When driving at high speed, the gasoline engine not only powers the car, but also charges the batteries. Any time you use the brake, the electric motor in the wheels will work like a generator and produce electricity to recharge the batteries. As a consequence, the car's batteries will last for around 200,000 miles

1. 1.

   The author writes this passage mainly to________

   1. A.
      teach people how to drive a hybrid car
   2. B.
      introduce a new kind of “green” car
   3. C.
      show how to save their gasoline when driving a car
   4. D.
      announce plans to develop hybrid vehicles for China
2. 2.

   The first sentence probably refers to ________

   1. A.
      there will be more and more green land in China
   2. B.
      China is still young and lacking experience
   3. C.
      China's new cars are combinations of different green models
   4. D.
      China has started producing environmentally friendly cars
3. 3.

   Which of the followings is NOT true?

   1. A.
      The hybrid cars reduce air pollution and oil­shortages
   2. B.
      The car's gasoline engine doesn't work until it reaches about 24 km/h
   3. C.
      This kind of car is completely controlled by an onboard computer
   4. D.
      A specially designed battery motor provides extra power when needed
4. 4.

   What is the most important feature of hybrid cars?

   1. A.
      They are powered by both a rechargeable battery and gasoline
   2. B.
      They are much quieter than traditional cars
   3. C.
      They only use 99 percent of their power to run up hills
   4. D.
      They have smaller engines than traditional gasoline ones