BALTIMORE．MARYLAND—An old postcard changed the lives of an eleven-year-old boy and a very sick woman．The postcard had a picture of the steamship Titanic．The Titanic was the largest ocean ship in the world．It hit an iceberg（冰山） and sank on April 14．1912．More than 1．

500 of the 2,200 people on the ship were killed．

    The postcard was passed from one person to another for more than 80 years．Then it appeared at a card show for people who liked to collect postcards．An eleven．year．old boy，Joey Russell，came to the show with his grandfather．His grandfather knew everything about the Titanic and its trip from England to New York．“Let’s buy that postcard．”he told Joey．“It will be important someday．”

    Two years later，Joey’s grandfather took him on a special trip．They went on a trip to the North Atlantic ocean to watch as workers pulled the Titanic up from the bottom（底）of the ocean．Joey put his special postcard in his bag for the trip．On the ship，Joey met Edith Haisman．This woman was on the Titanic when it sank．She was one of the people who were rescued．Joey pulled the postcard out of his pocket．“Please sign this，Mrs. Haisman．”he said．She was happy to write her name on the back of the postcard．

    When Joey got home．he put the postcard away and forgot about it, Then Kate Shelley，one of Joey’s friends，told him that her mother was very sick．She needed all operation．but there was a problem．The operation was very expensive，and the family needed$80，000 to pay for it．Friends and relatives tried to help．But where could they get so much money?

    Then when Joey went to see the new movie“Titanic”．he had an idea．”Millions of people are seeing this movie and reading about the Titanic．”Joey thought．He remembered the old postcard with Edith Haisman’s signature on it．“Maybe I can sell it for some money．Then I can help Kate’s mom．”

    Joey told his mother and father about his idea to help Mrs. Shelley．His parents helped him try to sell the postcard to the person who would pay the most money for it．Joey’s story was on television and in newspapers．Joey and Kate even went to New York to be on a national TV show．After the show．many people called in to offer money for the Titanic card．Someone bought it for$60．000．

    Joey’s kind heart and the old Titanic postcard worked together to save a woman’s life．

1．Which of the following is NOT true about the old Dostcard?

    A．The Titanic was the largest steamship in the world in 1912．

    B．The steamship Titanic hit an iceberg and sank about a hundred years ago

    C．Over two thousand passengers were killed in the ocean accident．

    D．More than eighty years had passed before the postcard belonged to Joey．

2．Joey Russell _________．

    A．decided to buy the postcard at a shop

    B．showed great interest in collecting postcards

    C．took the postcard wit}l him to see Mrs. Shelley

    D．asked Mrs. Haisman to sign her name on his postcard

3．What does the underlined word“rescued”mean in the sentence?

    A．Be made safe from danger．

    B．Be on an ocean trip．

    C．Be working on board．

    D．Be asked to seⅡthe postcard．

4．When did Joey Rus8eU have the idea of selling his old postcard for money?

    A．When Kate Shelley told him of her mother’s sickness．

    B．When he went to see the new movie“Titanic”．

    C．When he was reading the new book of Titanic．

    D．When he remembered Mrs. Haisman’s signature on his card．

5．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

    A．The Titanic arrived in New York at the end of April．1912．

    B．At the age of l3，Joey Russell got Mrs. Haisman’s signature．

    C．Joey Russell sold out his postcards on a national TV show．

    D．The Titanic card was sold to many people for$60, 000．

根据句意，用所给单词或短语的适当形式填空。（每词或短语只限使用一次）。

1.These shoes are too big for my ________.

2.It is a _______ day. Let’s go outside and play.

3.In spring, I often ________ in the Red Star Park.

4.Michael _______ his old friend Lily this morning.

5.Susan will sing some pop songs at her ______ concert.

---- It’s time _____ lunch.   

---- OK. Let’s _____.

1. A.
   for; go
2. B.
   for; going
3. C.
   to; going
4. D.
   to; go

As we know, there are differences between western culture and Chinese culture. We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used. Let’s look at the words about animals and plants. Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example, “a homeless dog”, “a mad dog”, “a running dog” and “a dog catching a mouse”, have negative(消极的)meanings. But in western countries, dogs are thought to be honest and good friends of people. In English, people use the dog to describe positive(积极的)actions. For example, “you are a lucky dog” means you are a lucky person. And “every dog has its day” means each person has good 1uck one day. To describe a person’s serious illness, they say “sick as a dog”. The word “dog-tired” means very tired. However, Chinese love cats very much. But in western culture, “cat” is often used to describe a woman who is cruel(冷酷的). There are many other examples of how “cat” is used differently as well.
The rose(玫瑰)is thought of as a symbol of love in both China and some western countries. People think the rose stands for(代表)love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.
The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing(比较)how some words are used.
【小题1】The word “dog” in Chinese usually_________.

—Would you like to go swimming with me this afternoon?
—_______, but I have a lot of homework to do.