I still remember the day when my mom said, “Let’s get you some new clothes.” You can imagine that to any little girl that would mean the world, but to me it meant the universe, because we were not very rich. After she said that, all I could think about was what kinds of clothes I would choose. To my surprise, my mom allowed me to pick out three dresses: a pink one, a blue one and a yellow one. The yellow one was my favorite.

I had a best friend named Seema, whose family was even poorer than ours. We played and studied together, and spent the best days of our childhood laughing at the silly stories we made up. I was excited to show her my three beautiful new dresses. She loved them all and was happy for me, but tearfully explained to me that her father could only afford to buy her clothes for her birthday. I felt sorry, and then did something that surprised even myself: I asked her to pick out one of my dresses for herself. To my disappointment, she picked up my favorite—the yellow one. Please remember, I was only seven years. My heart almost popped out (跳出) of my chest. But as she held it against her body, and I saw how brightly she smiled, I stopped feeling any hurt. I told her it looked lovely on her.

I’ll always remember Seema’s smile, and how at that moment nothing mattered more. When you value your friendships, nothing else matters! We’re still best friends today.

1.Why did the new clothes mean the universe to the author?

2.The author let Seema pick out one of her dresses because she wanted to _______.

3.When Seema chose the yellow dress, the author was disappointed because ________.

4.What can we conclude from the passage?

The easy way out isn't always easiest. I learned that lesson when I decided t

o treat Doug, my husband of one month, to a special meal. I glanced through my cookbook and chose a menu which included homemade bread. Knowing the bread would take time, I started on it as soon as Doug left for work. As I was not experienced in cooking, I thought if a dozen was good, two dozen would be better, so I doubled everything. As Doug loved oranges, I also opened a can of orange and poured it all into the bowl. Soon there was a sticky dough(面团) covered with ugly yellowish marks. Realizing I had been defeated, I put the dough in the rubbish bin outside so I wouldn't have to face Doug laughing at my work. I went on preparing the rest of the meal, and, when Doug got home, we sat down to Cornish chicken with rice. He tried to enjoy the meal but seemed disturbed. Twice he got up and went outside, saying he thought he heard a noise. The third time he left, I went to the window to see what he was doing. Looking out, I saw Doug standing about three feet from the rubbish bin, holding the lid up with a stick and looking into the container. When I came out of the house, he dropped the stick and explained that there was something alive in our rubbish bin. Picking up the stick again, he held the lid up enough for me to see. I felt cold. But I stepped closer and looked harder. Without doubt it was my work. The hot sun had caused the dough to double in size and the fermenting yeast(酵母)made the surface shake and sigh  though it were breathing. It looked like some unknown being from outer space. I could see why Doug was so shaken. I had to admit what the “living thing” was and why it was there. I don't know who was more embarrassed(尴尬)by the whole thing—Doug or me.

1. The writer's purpose in writing this story is  ________ .

A. to tell an interesting experience

B. to show the easiest way out of a difficulty

C. to describe the trouble facing a newly married woman

D. to explain the difficulty of learning to cook from books 

2.Why did the woman's attempt at making the bread turn out to be unsuccessful?

A. The canned orange had gone bad.

B. She didn't use the right kind of flour.

C. The cookbook was hard to understand.

D. She did not follow the directions closely. 

3.Why did the woman put the dough in the rubbish bin?

A. She didn't see the use of keeping it.

B. She meant to joke with her husband.

C. She didn't want her husband to see it.

D. She hoped it would soon dry in the sun. 

4.What made the dough in the bin look frightening?

A. The rising and falling movement.          B. The strange?looking marks.

C. Its shape.                             D. Its size. 

5.When Doug went out the third time, the woman looked out of the window because she was  ________ .

A. surprised at his being interested in the bin

B. afraid that he would discover her secret

C. unhappy that he didn't enjoy the meal

D. curious to know what disturbed him 

The summer I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art. My brother and I were not very excited when we realized what my mother meant. What she meant was that we would have to spend one afternoon a week with her at the Fine Arts Museum. Before each visit to the museum, she made us read about artists and painting styles. It was almost as bad as being in school. Who wants to spend the summer thinking about artists when you could be with your friends at the swimming pool?

     First we had to read about ancient Egyptians and their strange way of painting faces and then go to look at them at the museum. My 12-year-old brother thought this was so funny, but I was not interested. Later we had to learn about artists in the Middle Ages who painted people wearing strange long clothing. We had to look at pictures of fat babies with wings and curly (鬈曲的) hair and with no clothes on flying around the edges of paintings. I certainly couldn't see what was so great about art.

     On our last visit to the museum, something happened when I saw a painting by a woman called Mary. In it, a woman was reading to a child. The colors were soft and gentle, and you could tell by the mother’s expression how happy she was just to be with the child. I couldn't stop looking at this painting! I wanted to see every painting Mary had ever made! It was really worth looking at so many paintings to find a painter who could interest me so much.

1.  The aim of the mother’s plan was to _______.

    A. take them to visit the museum           B. introduce them to the world of art

    C. ask them to read about artists               D. show them different painting styles

2.  What was the writer’s experience in the museum before the last visit?

    A. She came to feel her mother’s love.         B. She liked many paintings.

    C. She hardly enjoyed herself.             

D. She could understand the pictures of fat babies.

3.  What made the writer go through a change that summer?

    A. One of Mary's paintings.                 B. A strange way of painting.

    C. Artists in the Middle Ages.                  D. Her mother’s instruction.

  First Frenchman: I once heard someone shout, "Look out," I put my head out of a window and a basin of water fell on me. It seems that "Look out" may mean "don‘t look out."

　　Second Frenchman: Once I was on a ship and heard the captain shout, "All hands on deck," I put my hands on the deck and someone walked on them.

　　Third Frenchman: I once visited an English friend early in the morning and the maid who came to the door and said, "He’s not up yet. Come back in half an hour," When I went again for him, she said, "He‘s not down yet."

　　"If he’s not up and he’s not down, where is he?" I asked.

　　She said, "He’s still in bed. When I say ‘He’s not up ’ I mean ‘he has not yet got up’. When I say ‘He’s not down ’ I mean ‘he has not yet come downstairs,’"

1."All hands on deck" means “ _______ ”.

2.When the maid said, “He’s not up yet.” She meant that _______ .

3.When the third Frenchman went back, the English friend _______ .

4.Which do you think is the best title for this article?

Recently a Beijing father sent in a question at an Internet forum (论坛) asking what “PK” meant.

   “My family has been watching the ‘Super Girl’ singing competition TV programme. My little daughter asked me what ‘PK’ meant, but I had no idea,” explained the puzzled father.

   To a lot of Chinese young people who have been playing games online, it is impossible not to know this term. In such Internet games, “PK” is short for “Player Kill”, in which two players fight until one ends the life of the other.

   In the case of the “Super Girl” singing competition, “PK” was used to refer to the stage where two singers have to compete with each other for only one chance to go up in competition ranking (排名).

   Like this father, Chinese teachers at high schools have also been finding their students’ compositions using Internet jargons which are difficult to understand. A high school teacher from Tianjin asked her students to write compositions with simple language, but they came up with a lot of Internet jargons that she didn’t understand.

   “My ‘GG’ came back this summer from college. He told me I’ve grown up to be a ‘PLMM’. I loved to ‘FB’ with him together; he always took me to the ‘KPM’,” went one composition.

   “GG” means Ge Ge (Chinese pinyin for brother). “PLMM” refers to Piao Liang Mei Mei (beautiful girl). “FB” means Fu Bai (corruption). “KPM” is short for KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s.

   Some specialists welcome Internet jargons as a new development in language.

   If you do not even know what a Kong Long (dinosaur, referring to an ugly looking female) or a Qing Wa (frog, referring to an ugly looking male) is, you will possibly be regarded as a Cai Niao!

1. By writing the article, the writer tries to ________.

  A. explain some Internet language      B. suggest common Internet language

  C. laugh at the Beijing father          D. draw our attention to Internet language

2.What does the writer think about the term “PK”?

  A. Fathers can’t possibly know it.       B. The daughter should understand it.

  C. Online game players may know it.    D. “Super Girl” shouldn’t have used it.

3. The examples of the Beijing father and the Tianjin teacher are used to show that Internet jargons ________.

  A. are used not only online            B. can be understood very well

  C. are welcomed by all the people       D. cause trouble to our mother tongue

4.The underlined word “jargons” probably means  ________.

  A. expressions     B. phrases      C. letters      D. spellings

5. What would be the best title for the passage?

  A. A puzzled father                 B. Do you speak Internet jargons?

  C. Keep away from Internet jargons    D. Kong Long or Qing Wa?