For the 17 years my life was very happy. Then the first sad thing happened. My mother became very ill. Just before she died, she asked Elizabeth and me to go to her room. She said, “Victor and Elizabeth, I’m very happy because you love each other, and because one day you’ll get married. Everyone in the family loves you, Elizabeth. Will you take my place in the family, my dear? I can die happy if you look after them when I have gone.”

My mother died and we were very sad, because we loved her so much. Elizabeth was brave and helped us; her sweet smile gave us some happiness in the unhappy days after my mother’s death. The time came for me to go to university(大学). I didn’t want to leave my sad family, but we all knew that I should go. It was hard to leave, too, because the parents of my good friend Henry would not let him go to university with me. So I had gone alone.

On my first day at university I met Professor Waldman. He gave a wonderful talk to all the students. He ended his talk by saying, “Some of you will become the greatest scientists of tomorrow. You must study hard and discover everything that you can.”

After the professor’s talk, I thought very carefully. I remembered the storm when I was 15; I remembered how the lightning had destroyed the tree. From then on, I wanted to use electricity to help people, and I wanted to discover the secrets of life. I decided to work on these two things.

I started to work the next day. I worked very hard and soon Professor Waldman and I realized that I could learn to be a very good scientist.

The professor and other important scientists helped me. I was interested in my work and I did not take one day’s holiday during the next two years. After two years, I had discovered many things and I built a scientific machine that was the best in the university. My machine would help me answer the most important question of all. How does life begin? Is it possible to put life into dead things? To answer these questions about life I had to learn first about death. I had to watch bodies from the moment when they died and the warm life left them. In the hospital and in the university, I watched the dying and the dead. Day after day, month after month, I followed death, so it was a dark and terrible time.

I built a tall mast(桅杆)about 150 metres high, which is higher than the tallest building in the city, to catch lightning and send the electricity down to my machine in the lab. I believed I could use that electricity to give life to things that were dead.

Then one day, the answer came to me. Suddenly I was sure that I knew the secret of life.

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

A．Elizabeth married shortly after Victor’s mother died.

B．Elizabeth was a brave girl who loved Victor and gave him much help.

C．Victor’s mother was very angry when she knew he loved Elizabeth.

D．Victor did not want to leave his family because his mother died not long before.

2.Victor did all the following during his research in the university EXCEPT that ______.

A．he discovered many things and built a scientific machine

B．he learnt much about death both in the hospital and in the university

C．he worked hard and took only one day’s holiday during the next two years

D．he built a tall mast to catch lightning and send the electricity down to the lab

3.According to the writer, the secret of life is to _______.

A．give life to things that were dead

B．build the best machine to learn about death

C．use electricity to help others

D．become the greatest scientist of tomorrow

4.Which is the correct order about the life of Victor?

① Victor’s mother passed away.

② Victor got help from the professor and other scientists.

③ Victor went to university and attended the professor’s talk.

④ Victor found the answer to giving life to things that were dead.

⑤ Victor experienced a storm, seeing the lightning destroying the tree.

A．①②③④⑤                           B．⑤①②④③

C．①③②⑤④                           D．⑤①③②④

Some children are afraid to go to the dentist (牙医), but not me. I'm a boy of 8 and I have a funny dentist. His name is Dr. Smileyface. I don't think that's his real (真实的) name. But when the children go to see him, he tells his name to all of them.

He has a cool waiting room. It has computer games and a big toy box. Dr. Smileyface always wears funny hats. Sometimes he paints his face. He asks funny questions like "Are you married（结婚）?" and "Do you eat flowers to make your breath (呼吸) smell so sweet?" That makes me laugh. One time, he tells me this joke (玩笑）, "What has lots of teeth but never goes to the dentist? A comb (木梳) ! " When I laugh, he pulls my tooth out. It doesn't hurt at all (一点不疼)! He also tells me how to take care of my teeth in an interesting way. Before I leave (离开), he always gives me a surprise (惊喜). This time he gives me a toy ship and I like it very much.

1.How does the writer(作者) feel when he goes to the dentist?

A. Angry. B. Afraid. C. Sad. D. Happy.

2.What does Dr. Smileyface tell the writer to do?

A. How to laugh. B. How to take care of his teeth.

C. To eat flowers. D. To paint his face.

3.What does Dr. Smileyface give the writer this time?

A. A toy ship. B. A toy box. C. A comb. D. Flowers.

请认真阅读下面短文，并根据短文内容回答问题。
Dear Helen,
Thanks for your last letter. Yes, I’m enjoying myself on my exchange program in France. It’s even better than I thought it would be. I was a bit nervous before I arrived here, but there was no reason to be. My host family are really nice. They go out of their way to make me feel at home. And you wouldn’t believe how quickly my French has improved! I’m very comfortable speaking French now. Although I still make lots of mistakes, it doesn’t make me worried as it used to. My biggest challenge (挑战) is learning how to behave (表现) at the dinner table. As you can imagine, things are really not the same as the way they are at home. For example, you shouldn’t put your bread on your plate. You should put it on the table! I thought that was very strange at first, but now I’m used to it. You shouldn’t eat anything with your hands except bread, not even fruit! (You have to cut it up and eat it with a fork.) Another thing is that it is very rude to say you’re full. If you don’t want any more food, you should just say, “It was delicious.” Also, it’s rude to put your hands in your lap. You should always keep your hands, but not your elbows (肘部), on the table. I have to say, I find it difficult to remember everything, but I’m gradually getting used to things and don’t find them so strange any more.
I’ll write soon and tell you more about life in France. Hope you’re having a good school year.
Yours,
Li Ying
【小题1】Where is Li Ying now?
【小题2】What does Li Ying think of her host family?
【小题3】How does Li Ying feel while she is speaking French now?
【小题4】When can Li Ying eat things with her hands there?
【小题5】Why do you want to go there if you have the chance to take part in an exchange program?
(请自拟一句话作答)

1 

It was so dark outside the car window that it was hard to see anything.

“ Can I have a carrot, Mom?” Bruce asked.

“I don’t have any carrots,” his mom said. “How about an apple?”

“No,” said Bruce. “It has to be a carrot.”

“Why do you want a carrot?” asked his mom

“You always say carrots help your eyes.” said Bruce. “If I eat one now, it might help me see in the dark.”

Would eating a carrot really help Bruce? What is special about carrots? What makes a carrot special is its color. Carrots are orange because they contain(包含) bta-carotene( 胡萝卜素). Beta-carotene is a way of saying vitamin A. Your eyes need vitamin A. It helps them work.

When light hits your eye, very small parts inside turn the light into messages. The messages go to your brain（大脑）, and then you know what you’re looking at. Your eye can only turn light into messages when it has a special chemical(化学物质). Your eyes use vitamin A to make the special chemical. Every time your eye changes light into messages, a little bit of the chemical is used up. By the end of the day, you’ve looked at hundreds of things. That uses up a lot of the chemical. Your eyes need to make more.

What should you eat if you don’t like carrots? Don’t worry. Other fruits and vegetables have vitamin A, too. The secret is in their color. Most orange or red fruits and vegetables contain beta-carotene, or vitamin A, Sweet vegetable, red peppers（胡椒）, Mangoes(芒果) are a few foods that have the same orange secret.

1. Bruce wanted a carrot because he thought _______.

A. he liked it

B. it could help him see in the dark

C.  it was sweet and delicious

2.How does vitamin A help your eyes work?

A. The special chemical can stop your eyes from using up vitamin A.

B. The special chemical is used to make Vitamin A which turns the light into messages

C. Vitamin A is used to make the special chemical which turns light into messages.

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

A. Carrots are orange because they store beta-carotene.

B. Any food which is orange or red must have some Vitamin A.

C. Most fruits that are orange or red store some beta-carotene or Vitamin A.

4. Sweet vegetable, red peppers, and mangoes don’t have the same orange secret, do they?

A. No, they don’t.      B. Yes, they do.     C. I’m not sure.

5. The passage mainly tells us that _______.

A. we can’t see in the dark unless we eat many carrots every day

B. we can’t see unless we eat a lot of orange or red food every day

C. we should eat some food containing vitamin A so that we can see well