C
Have you ever played the game Hot Potato? Jon Scieszka and a team of 13 popular children’s book authors are playing a writer’s version of the game, and are having a blast.
Here’s how it works. In The Exquisite Corpse Adventure, the “hot potato” is the story, and it is passed from one author to the next. Scieszka wrote the first chapter. Then he passed the story to another author Katherine Paterson. If Scieszka decides to introduce a roller-skating baby into the story, Paterson and the other contributing authors will have to decide what to do with the baby in later chapters. Every two weeks a new chapter, written by a different author, will be published on the Library of Congress’s read. Gov site. The high rate of hits has proved that Scieszka did not fail to make the readers laugh with his incredibly silly story.
“Working on The Exquisite Corpse Adventure was so much fun,” Scieszka says. “I got to write the first chapter so I could set up all these foolish traps for the other authors and make them have to write about clowns and ninjas(忍者).”
The story might be crazy, but all of the authors agreed that writing the story together was a whole lot of fun. “I started in the middle of the story,” author Steven Kellogg said, “That’s kind of fun. I got to read about everyone else’s characters and then brought them into the chapter that I was writing. It’s really good to think about other authors’ ideas and connect them with my own.”
You may wonder why the book is called The Exquisite Corpse Adventure. In fact Kellogg and the other authors are playing a game that is over 100 years old. Exquisite Corpse is actually the name of an old game in which players begin a story on a sheet of paper and pass it on to the next player to continue the tale. The game ends when someone finishes the story, which is then read aloud.
59. How is the game Hot Potato played according to the passage?
A．People make up the story about the “hot potato” one by one.
B．People throw the “hot potato” to hit one another.
C．People pass the “hot potato” from one person to the next.
D．People hit by the “hot potato” must tell a funny story.
60. We can infer from the passage that________.
A．it’s the first time such a game of writing has ever been played
B．the story hasn’t been finished yet
C．the clues of the story have been decided by Kellogg
D．every chapter will be online for two weeks
61.Kellogg thinks the game is fun because________.
A．the story is very silly and crazy
B．he writes the main part of the story
C．he could continue the story by sharing it with other authors
D．there are so many different characters in the story
62.The last paragraph is mainly about________.
A．how the game ended           B．when the game stared
C．how the book was named       D．how the Exquisite corpse worked

C

   Have you ever played the game Hot Potato? Jon Scieszka and a team of 13 popular children’s book authors are playing a writer’s version of the game, and are having a blast.

Here’s how it works. In The Exquisite Corpse Adventure, the “hot potato” is the story, and it is passed from one author to the next. Scieszka wrote the first chapter. Then he passed the story to another author Katherine Paterson. If Scieszka decides to introduce a roller-skating baby into the story, Paterson and the other contributing authors will have to decide what to do with the baby in later chapters. Every two weeks a new chapter, written by a different author, will be published on the Library of Congress’s read. Gov site. The high rate of hits has proved that Scieszka did not fail to make the readers laugh with his incredibly silly story.

“Working on The Exquisite Corpse Adventure was so much fun,” Scieszka says. “I got to write the first chapter so I could set up all these foolish traps for the other authors and make them have to write about clowns and ninjas(忍者).”

The story might be crazy, but all of the authors agreed that writing the story together was a whole lot of fun. “I started in the middle of the story,” author Steven Kellogg said, “That’s kind of fun. I got to read about everyone else’s characters and then brought them into the chapter that I was writing. It’s really good to think about other authors’ ideas and connect them with my own.”

You may wonder why the book is called The Exquisite Corpse Adventure. In fact Kellogg and the other authors are playing a game that is over 100 years old. Exquisite Corpse is actually the name of an old game in which players begin a story on a sheet of paper and pass it on to the next player to continue the tale. The game ends when someone finishes the story, which is then read aloud.

59. How is the game Hot Potato played according to the passage?

A．People make up the story about the “hot potato” one by one.

B．People throw the “hot potato” to hit one another.

C．People pass the “hot potato” from one person to the next.

D．People hit by the “hot potato” must tell a funny story.

60. We can infer from the passage that________.

A．it’s the first time such a game of writing has ever been played

B．the story hasn’t been finished yet

C．the clues of the story have been decided by Kellogg

D．every chapter will be online for two weeks

61.Kellogg thinks the game is fun because________.

A．the story is very silly and crazy

B．he writes the main part of the story

C．he could continue the story by sharing it with other authors

D．there are so many different characters in the story

62.The last paragraph is mainly about________.

A．how the game ended           B．when the game stared

C．how the book was named       D．how the Exquisite corpse worked

Have you ever been sad because of failure? Please remember, for often, achieving what you set out to do is not the most important thing.
A boy decided to dig a deep hole behind his house. As he was working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch. “What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors. “I want to dig a hole all the way through the earth!” the boy answered excitedly. The older boys began to laugh, telling him that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a while, the boy picked up a jar. He showed it to the visitors. It was full of all kinds of stones and insects. Then he said calmly and confidently, “Maybe I can’t finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I’ve found during this period!”
The boy’s goal was far too difficult, but it did cause him to go on. And that is what a goal is for — to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen, in other words, to cause us to keep working!
Not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end up with a success. Not every dream will come true. But when you fall short of your aim, maybe you can say, “Yes, but look what I’ve found along the way! There are so many wonderful things having come into my life because I tried to do something!” It is in the digging that life is lived. It is the unexpected joy on the journey that really makes sense.

1. 1.

   The older boys laughed at the boy because he was thought to be         .

   1. A.
      brave
   2. B.
      impolite
   3. C.
      foolish
   4. D.
      warm-hearted
2. 2.

   Why did the boy show the jar to the older boys?

   1. A.
      To drive them away.
   2. B.
      To show what he had found in digging.
   3. C.
      To show how beautiful the jar was.
   4. D.
      To attract them to join him in the work.
3. 3.

   What can be learnt from the fourth paragraph of the text?

   1. A.
      Not dream can come true.
   2. B.
      All work will end successfully.
   3. C.
      Goals shouldn't be set too high
   4. D.
      Goals will make us work harder.
4. 4.

   The best title for the text should be         .

   1. A.
      Joy in the Journey
   2. B.
      A Boy Dug a Hole
   3. C.
      No Pains, No Gains
   4. D.
      Failure Is the Mother of Success

C

By far the most common difficulty in studying is simple failure to get down to regular concentrated work. This difficulty is much greater for those who do not work to a plan and have no regular routine of study. Many students muddle (胡乱对付) along, doing a bit of this subject or that, as the mood takes them, or letting their set work pile up until the last possible moment.

    Few students work to a set timetable. They say that if they did work out a timetable for themselves they would not keep to it, or would have to change it frequently, since they can never predict from one day to the next what their activities will be.

No doubt some students are more willing to accept a regular routine than others. There are many who shy away from a self-controlled weekly timetable, and dislike being tied down to a fixed program of work. Many able students state that they work in cycles. When they become interested in a topic, they work on it attentively for three or four days at a time. On other days they avoid work completely. It has to be admitted that we do not fully understand the motivation (动机)to work.. Most people over 25 years of age have become used to routine, and the majority of real productive workers set aside regular hours for the more important areas of their work. The “tough-minded” school doesn’t fully accept the idea that good work can only be done naturally, under the influence of inspiration.

Those who believe that they need only work and study as the fit takes them have a mistaken belief either in their own talent or in the value of “freedom”. In fact, freedom from control and discipline（纪律）leads to unhappiness rather than to “self-expression” or “personality development”. Our society insists on regular habits, timekeeping and punctuality (准时), and whether we like it or not, if we mean to make our way in society, we have to meet its demands.

The most widespread problem in applying oneself to study is ______.

    A．changing from one subject to another

    B．the failure to keep to a set timetable of work

    C．the unwillingness to follow a systematic plan

    D．working on a subject only when one feels like it

Which of the following is true?

    A．Many students are not interested in using self-controlled timetable.

    B．Many students don’t like being told to study to a fixed timetable.

    C．Most people of over 25 years of age don’t work to a set timetable.

    D．Tough-minded people agree that good job is done naturally

The underlined part “as the fit takes them” in paragraph 4 probably means ______.

    A．when they have the energy   

    B．when they are in the mood

    C．when they feel fit      

    D．when they find conditions are suitable

A suitable title for the passage might be ______.

    A．Attitudes to Study   B．A study Plan

    C．The Difficulties in Studying D．Study and Self-discipline

Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to deceive (欺骗)? When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important in formation that should be included, he can give you a false picture.

   For example, some might say, “I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery (彩票). It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for on e hundred dollars!”

   This guy’s a winner, right? Maybe,  maybe not. We then discover that he bought $200 worth of tickets, and only on e was a winner. He’s really a big loser!

   He didn’t say anything that was false, but he left out important information on purpose. That’s called a half-truth. Half-truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.

   Some politicians often use this trick. Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she seeks another term. One of her opponents(对手) says, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state lost one million jobs!” that’s true. However, and honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state had a net gain of two million jobs.”

   Advertisers(广告商) will sometimes use half-truths. It’s against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth. An advertisement might say, “Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache.” It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company.

   This kind of deception happens too of often. It’s a sad fact of life: Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well.

How much did the lottery winner lose?

 A. One hundred dollars.      B. Two hundred dollars.

 C. Three hundred dollars.     D. Four hundred dollars.

We may infer that the author believes people should _______.

 A. buy lottery tickets

B. make use of half-truths

C. not take anything at face value

D. not trust the Yucky Company

What do the underline words “net gain” in Paragraph 5 mean?

 A. final increase           B. big advantage

 C. large share             D. total saving

What can we know from the example of the Yucky Pill advertisement?

A.    False statements are easy to see through.

B.    Half-truths are often used to mislead people.

C.    Doctors like to act in advertisements.

D.    Advertisements are based on facts.