Two weeks ago, Ruichang City in Jiangxi Province was hit by an earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale(里氏震级). It killed 18 people and left hundreds homeless.

　  Earthquakes are one of the most deadly natural disasters(灾难) in the world. They happen more often than you would expect.

　  In the 24 hours after you read this, 400 to 500 earthquakes will shake the earth. You won't notice most of them because you live in a relatively(相对地) safe area or the quake is too far away or because the quake will be too small to notice.

　  Earthquakes are caused by sudden breaks in rock masses(群) deep in the earth. Rock masses are always under very high pressure. If the pressure in a certain area become too much and the rock masses break, an earthquake happens. But exactly when the rock masses reach the breaking point is a mystery(谜).

　  China is on the Eurasia(欧亚) plate, where earthquakes happen very often due to the earth's plates knocking against each other. Up to 17,139 earthquakes have taken place in China in the past 44 years, according to scientific research.

1What happened to the City of Ruichang?

A.18 people were killed in an earthquake.

B. Hundreds homeless people left the city.     

C. An earthquake ruined thousands of houses there.

D. An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale happened.       

2How many earthquakes can happen in a day in the world?

A. 24.                  B. 44.                  C. 400 to 500.                   D. 17139.

3Why does the earth quake? Because ______.

A. we live in a relatively safe area                                             

B. the pressure in the earth is too big

C. the rock masses is reaching the breaking point

D. the rock masses break suddenly deep in the earth

C

Once upon a time a woman found she was not easy to wake up in the morning as early as she wished. So she bought a beautiful alarm clock. These clocks are so made as to strike with loud whirring noise at any hour the owner pleases to set them.

The lady placed her clock at the head of the bed, and at the right time she found herself roused by the long, rattling sound.

She got up at once, and felt better all day for her early rising. This lasted for some weeks. The alarm clock faithfully did its duty, and was plainly heard so long as it was obeyed.

But, after a time, the lady grew tired of early rising. When she was waked by the noise, she merely turned over in bed, and slept again.

In a few days, the clock ceased to wake her from her sleep. It spoke just as loudly as ever; but she did not hear it, because she had been in the habit of not obeying it.

Finding that she might as well be without it, she made up her mind that when she heard the sound she would jump up.

Just so it is with conscience(自觉意识，诚意). If we will obey its voice, even in the least important things, we can always hear it, clear and strong.

But if we allow ourselves to do what we have some fears may not be quite right, we shall grow more and more sleepy, until the voice of conscience has no longer power to wake us.

4Why did the clock failed to stop to get the woman up later?

A. Because she was tired of getting up early in the morning.

B. Because she could not hear the clock any more.

C. Because she was too tired to wake up at it.

D. Because the clock stopped to do its duty.

5 Both the underlined words “whirring” and “rattling” are kinds of ______.

A. colours                        B. sounds         C. actions                   D. feelings

6 The writer mainly wants to tell us that ______.

A. we should always obey our clocks

B. the clock sometimes can’t wake us up as we wish 

C. It is conscience that ensures early rising not the clock

D. The voice of conscience has no longer power to wake us.

Amy was a dear little girl, but she was too ready to waste time in getting ready to do her tasks, instead of doing them at once as she ought to.

In the village in which she lived, Mr. Thornton kept a store where he sold fruit of all kinds, including berries in their season. One day he said to Amy, whose parents were quite poor, “Would you like to earn some money?”

“Oh, yes, ” replied she, “for I want some new shoes, and papa has no money to buy them with.”

“Well, Amy,” said Mr. Thornton, “I noticed some fine, ripe blackberries in Mr. Green’s field today, and he said that anybody was welcome to them. I will pay you thirteen cents a quart(度量单位) for all you will pick for me.”

Amy was delighted at the thought of earning some money; so she ran home to get a basket, intending to go immediately to pick the berries.

Then she thought she would like to know how much money she would get if she picked five quarts. With the help of her slate(书写板) and pencil, she found out that she would get sixty-five cents.

“But supposing I should pick a dozen quarts,” thought she, “how much should I earn then?” “Dear me!” she said, after figuring(测算) a while, “I should earn a dollar and fifty-six cents.”

Amy then found out what Mr. Thornton would pay her for fifty, a hundred, and two hundred quarts. It took her some time to do this, and then it was so near dinner time that she had to stay at home until afternoon.

As soon as dinner was over, she took her basket and hurried to the field. Some boys had been there before dinner, and all the ripe berries were picked. She could not find enough to fill a quarter of a quart.

As Amy went home, she thought of what her teacher had often told her---“Do your task at once; then think about it,” for “One doer is worth a hundred dreamers.”

7How many times did Amy figure with her slate?

   A. 3.                               B. 4.                         C. 5.                     D. 6. 

8The underlined sentence may mean “______”.

A. she got ready to waste some time to do her tasks

B. she thought it was a waste of time to do her tasks

C. she liked to waste time when should do her tasks immediately

D. she was not ready to get her tasks ready, and it’s a waste of time

9What can we infer from the story?

A. Amy’s family was very poor.

B. Amy was good at counting with a slate.  

C. Mr. Thornton was the richest person in the village.

D. Amy would learn a better lesson from this affair than from school.        

10 The best title of the passage may be “_____”.

A. The Money Amy Did Not Earn               

B. The Girl Did Not Like To Waste Time    

C. Amy, A Good Student To her Teachers

D. A Poor Girl Wanted To Earn Some Money

A primary school teacher asked her students to write a composition about what they would like God to do for them. At the end of the day, while marking the compositions, she read one that impressed her deeply. Her husband, who had just walked in, saw her crying and asked her, “What happened?”
She answered, “Read this. It is one of my students’ compositions.”
“Dear God, tonight I ask you for something very special: Make me into a television. I want to take its place and live like the TV in my house. Have my own special place, and have my family around me. To be taken seriously when I talk, I want to be the centre of attention and be heard without interruption(打断) or questions. I want to receive the same special care that the TV receives even when it is not working. Have the company of my dad when he arrives home from work, even when he is tired. And I want my mom to want me close when she is sad and upset, instead of ignoring(不理) me. And ...I want my brothers to fight to be with me...I want to feel that my family just put everything aside, every now and then, just to spend some time with me. And last but not least, make sure that I can make them all happy and entertain（vt.娱乐） them. God, I don’t ask you for much. I just want to live like our TV. ”
At that moment the husband said, “My God, poor kid, what horrible parents!” .The teacher looked up at him and said, “That composition is our son’s!”
【小题1】Why did the teacher cry?

A primary school teacher asked her students to write a composition about what they would like God to do for them. At the end of the day, while marking the compositions, she read one that impressed her deeply. Her husband, who had just walked in, saw her crying and asked her, “What happened?”

She answered, “Read this. It is one of my students’ compositions.”

“Dear God, tonight I ask you for something very special: Make me into a television. I want to take its place and live like the TV in my house. Have my own special place, and have my family around me. To be taken seriously when I talk, I want to be the centre of attention and be heard without interruption(打断) or questions. I want to receive the same special care that the TV receives even when it is not working. Have the company of my dad when he arrives home from work, even when he is tired. And I want my mom to want me close when she is sad and upset, instead of ignoring(不理) me. And ...I want my brothers to fight to be with me...I want to feel that my family just put everything aside, every now and then, just to spend some time with me. And last but not least, make sure that I can make them all happy and entertain（vt.娱乐） them. God, I don’t ask you for much. I just want to live like our TV. ”

At that moment the husband said, “My God, poor kid, what horrible parents!” .The teacher looked up at him and said, “That composition is our son’s!”

1.Why did the teacher cry?

A. Because a composition moved her deeply.

B. Because the composition was very bad.

C. Because the students were lazy.

D. Because she had a fight with her husband.

2.Who was the boy that wrote the composition?

A. student who was with God.

B. A student who was like a television

C. A student in her class, but not her son.

D. A student in her class, in fact, her son.

3.According to the article, what will happen when the boy talks?

A. Everyone will pay attention to him.

B. He will be interrupted.

C. No one will pay attention.

D. His mother will talk to him.

4.Which is not right according to the passages?

A. TV can entertain them

B. TV can catch the attention of his family.

C. TV can give you answers when you ask question.

D. TV can receive special care from his family.

5.According to the article, we can know the boy is_________.

A. naughty B. lonely C. happy D. Wrong

American and British people both speak English of course. But sometimes it does not seem like the same language. In fact, there are some important differences between British English and American English.

     First of all, they sound very different. Often, Americans don’t say each word separately. They say several words together. Americans may say “I dunno” instead of “I don’t know”. Or they may say “Whaddya say?” instead of “What did you say?” however, the British are more careful in their speech. They usually say all the words and keep them separate.

    Words sometimes have different meanings too. Some American words are never used in England. The same thing is true of some British words in America. For example, the vocabulary（词汇）for cars and driving is very different. Americans drive trucks, but in England people drive lorries.

     Many expressions are also different in the two countries. In England, if you are going to telephone your friends, you “phone them up”. In America, you “give them a call”.

     There’re also some differences in grammar. For example, when Americans ask a question., they say “Do you have a storybook?” But the British often say “Have you a storybook?”

     All these differences can be confusing （易混淆的）if you are learning English. But most languages are like this. Languages change over time. When people live in separate places, the languages change in different ways. This is what has happened to English. It can also happen to other languages, such as French. Many people in Canada speak French but their French is very different from the French of France.

1.What does the word “separate” mean in the passage? It means “____”

A. 含糊的     B. 快速的    C. 分开的      D. 简略的

2.The vocabulary for cars and driving is _____.

A. an example of British English

B. an example of American English

C. the same in America and England

D. not the same in America and England

3.Language _________.

A. are always changing as time passes

B. keep unchanged even if time changes

C. are the same in all places

D. are easy to learn

4. This passage is mainly about ______.

A. English vocabulary

B. how American sounds are different from British sounds

C. the way the British say words

D. some differences between American and British English