Arthur sat at the desk in his room, pencil in hand. He had to write a story for his English class by Friday. “I don’t know what to write about,” he complained to his dog Toby, who was asleep at his feet. Arthur was talkative when speaking to his friends, yet he had trouble finding words when he had to write.

By bedtime Arthur had drawn a picture of Toby smiling. He had drawn a tree with its branches blowing in the strong wind. He had also written a note asking his friend Lee to go to the movies on Saturday. But he had not written a single word of his story.

On Wednesday, Mrs. Solomon, Arthur’s English teacher, asked the class to turn in the first draft of their stories. His heart sinking, Arthur turned in the only work he had—the page with his name, the drawings and the note.

Arthur wasn’t surprised when Mrs. Solomon asked him to stay after class the next day. But he was surprised by what she said to him. “This is an attractive story, Arthur. The dog, the movie, the tree in the wind—I can’t wait to find out how they all fit together.”

“That isn’t my story, Mrs. Solomon,” Arthur admitted. “I haven’t been able to think of one yet.”

“Oh, I think you have the seed(种子of a story there,” Mrs. Solomon replied, “Look at your note and the pictures and see if a story comes to you.”

That night Arthur sat at his desk, and this is what he wrote: “One Saturday Mike went downstairs to meet his friend Julio at the cinema. It looked as if it might rain, so Mike carried his umbrella. Suddenly a big storm blew in, bending the trees. The noise of the wind sounded like the barking of Mike’s dog Toby. Toby really hated storms and barked whenever he wanted to be let inside. Then Mike realized that it wasn’t the sound of the wind. It was Toby. The dog was running after him down the busy street, barking. The sound was filled with blame. Mike felt guilty because he had left Toby outside. He turned and headed home with Toby running beside him. Mike let Toby in the door just as the rain started to pour down.”

Arthur had a story in the end. The last thing he did was to write his name proudly at the top of the page.

1.Why did Arthur turn in the page with only his name, the drawings and the note at first?

A.Because he had no time to fit them together.

B.Because he had difficulty in writing a story.

C.Because he wasn’t willing to do his homework.

D.Because he wanted to show his talent for drawing.

2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

A.Toby is an imaginative and lovely dog.

B.The small tree will grow into a big one.

C.His friend Lee can give him a lot of support.

D.He can develop his story based on the first draft.

3.What kind of teacher do you think Mrs. Solomon is ?

A. She is a strict teacher                     B. She is a wise teacher

C. She is an honest teacher                   D. She is an energetic teacher

4.What can we infer(推断from the story?

A. Arthur is a shy and quiet student

B. Arthur isn’t very satisfied with his story

C. There will be a storm on Saturday

D. Encouragement is important in teaching

_______ there _______ interesting news in today’s newspaper?   --- Yes , there ______.

Laptop computers are popular all over the world. People use them on trains and airplanes, in airports and hotels. These laptops connect people to their workplace. In the United States today, laptops also connect students to their classrooms.

Westlake College in Virginia will start a laptop computer program that allows students to do schoolwork anywhere they want. Within five years, each of the 1500 students at the college will receive a laptop. The laptops are part of a $10 million computer program at Westlake, a 110-year-old college. The students with laptops will also have access to the Internet. In addition, they will be able to use e-mail to “speak” with their teachers, their classmates, and their families. However, the most important part of the laptop program is that students will be able to use computers without going to computer labs. They can work with it at home, in a fast-food restaurant or under the trees-anywhere at all!

Because of the many changes in computer technology , laptop use in higher education, such as colleges and universities, is workable. As laptops become more powerful, they become more similar to desktop computers. In addition, the portable computers can connect students to not only the Internet, but also libraries and other resources. State higher-education officials are studying? how laptops can help students. State officials are also testing laptop programs at other universities, too.

At Westlake College, more than 60 percent of the staff use computers. The laptops will allow all teachers to use computers in their lessons. As one Westlake teacher said, “ Here we are in the middle of Virginia and we’re giving students a window on the world. They can see everything and do everything.”

1. The main purpose of the laptop program is to give each student a laptop to ________.

A. use for their schoolwork?

B. access the Internet

C. work at home

D. connect them to libraries

2.Why is the word “speak” in the second paragraph in quotation marks(引号)?

A. They don’t really talk.

B. They use the computer language.

C. Laptops have speakers.

D. None of the above reasons is correct.

3.Which of the following is true about Westlake College?

A. All teachers use computers.

B.1500 students have laptops.

C. It is an old college in America.

D. Students there can do everything.

4.A window on the world in the last paragraph means that students can ________.

A. attend lectures on information technology

B. travel around the world

C. get information from around the world

D. have free laptops

5. What can we infer from the passage?

A. The program is successful.

B. The program is not workable.

C. The program is too expensive.

D. We don’t know the result yet.

Betty is not a traditional American beauty. She is unfashionable, has thick red glasses, untidy hair and large metal braces (牙套) on her teeth. But this hasn’t stopped her from becoming one of American’s favorite TV characters. So how did she manage to do it?

The answer is that charm can be more attractive than beauty. Betty is the main character in a TV show Ugly Betty. The show is about her life as an office worker at a fashion magazine in New York.

　　The TV show has just started. Betty has many exciting experiences and romantic stories. Betty is often looked down on and laughed at by the people around. But she manages to do better than others with her hard work, charm and wisdom. The show tells us about how a girl goes from an ugly young duck into a beautiful swan.

　　Though you may know the ending of the show from the beginning and the story is familiar to many of us, it has still been a big success in the USA. It has attracted a large number of viewers and won two Golden Globes awards, one of the highest honors for a television program in the USA.“ I think you can see a bit of Betty in all of us, and I mean men as well, because it’s about the underdog (弱者)”，says Ashley Jensen, who plays one of the characters on the show.

　　The program is so successful because of the good performance of the 23-year-old actress America Ferrera who plays the role of Betty. She brings the character alive on the screen.

1.Betty is popular because of ____.

A. her clothes 　　　　　B. her charm 　　　   C. her metal braces  　　　D. her appearance

2.In Paragraph 4, the underlined word “it” refers to (指的是) ____.

A. the beginning 　　　　B. the ending 　　  　C. the story 　　　        D. the show

3.Which is the reason for the success of the show?

A. A large number of viewers. 　　　　　　B. Her life as an office worker.

C. The wonderful performance. 　　　　　 D. Two Golden Globes awards.

4.Which of the following is NOT true according of the show?

A. Betty is a girl of wisdom.

B. Betty acts as a beautiful swan on the show.

C. Betty is an American favorite TV character.

D. Betty is often looked down on by the people around.

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

A. Beauty from within. 　　　　　  B. A romantic story.

C. An ugly girl. 　　　　　　　　  D. An exciting experience.

Betty is not a traditional American beauty. She is unfashionable, has thick red glasses, untidy hair and large metal braces (牙套) on her teeth. But this hasn’t stopped her from becoming one of America’s favorite TV characters. So how did she manage to do it?

The answer is that charm can be more attractive than beauty. Betty is the main character in a TV show Ugly Betty. The show is about her life as an office worker at a fashion magazine in New York.

The TV show has just started. Betty has many exciting experiences and romantic stories. Betty is often looked down on and laughed at by the people around. But she manages to do better than others with her hard work, charm and wisdom. The show tells us about how a girl goes from an ugly young duck into a beautiful swan.

Though you may know the ending of the show from the beginning and the story is familiar to many of us, it has still been a big success in the USA. It has attracted a large number of viewers and won two Golden Globes awards, one of the highest honors for a television program in the USA. “I think you can see a bit of Betty in all of us, and I mean men as well, because it’s about the underdog (弱者) ”, says Ashley Jensen, who plays one of the characters on the show.

The program is so popular because of the performance of the 23-year-old actress America Ferrera who plays the role of Betty. She brings the character alive on the screen.

1.Betty is popular because of                   .

A. her clothes          B. her charm            C. her personality     D. her appearance

2.In Paragraph 4, the underlined word “it” refers to (指的是)                   .

A. the beginning        B. the ending           C. the story            D. the show

3.Which is the reason for the success of the show?

A. A large number of viewers.

B. Her life as an office worker.

C. The wonderful performance.

D. Two Golden Globes awards. 

4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Betty is a girl of wisdom. 

B. Betty acts as a beautiful swan on the show.

C. Betty is an American favourite TV character.

D. Betty is often looked down on by the people around.

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

A. Beauty from within.    B. A romantic story.

C. An ugly girl.    D. An exciting experience.