Now lots of families keep* pets in their houses. Most pets are small animals.

Dogs are the favorite pets. The second favorite are cats and the third favorite are birds. These small animals are very cute and friendly. People usually have them as their family members. They give them nice names and let them wear beautiful clothes. They also give their pets nice food to eat. They buy food for their pets in pet shops.

Pets are all very happy. Many pets have their houses and beds. They often go out to relax and take a walk with people in the morning.

Some children like pets because they need a friend to play with at home. Many old people keep pets at home just because they often feel* lonely.  They have them as their children and they love them very much. So, pets are very important.*I think every family needs pets.

1.Most people like to keep ______ animals at home.

A．small             B．white             C．big               D．black

2.People give their pets _____and _________.

A．nice names, nice books                   B．pet shops, nice books

C．nice names， nice food                  D．pet shops, nice food

3.The pets often_________ with people in the morning.

A．take a shower      B．play soccer        C．take a walk        D．listen to music

4.The word “lonely” means(意思) _________ in Chinese.

A．孤独的           B．快乐的           C．紧张的           D．有趣的

5.The writer thinks__________ .

A．pets are dirty                          B．people don’t need pets at home

C．people don’t like animals                D．pets are very important.

小词典

building大楼,   feel 感觉 free 空闲的, important重要的,keep饲养  tutor 家教 something 某事

He was struggling(费劲) to tie his shoes. I was struggling with whether I should help him. I did, and he was grateful. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m glad I could help. I just thought it would be easier for me to reach,” I said. He was a disabled man, and forced to look down most of the time. His arms and legs were twisted(扭曲的) terribly, and he couldn’t do what the rest of us would consider easy tasks. He always managed to look up to see how you reacted(反应) to his words, however. He had a big smile, making me feel comfortable. I was still on my knees by his wheelchair. “Nice shoes,” he said. “Thanks. No one ever complimented me on them before,” I said. “No one has the same view of the world as I do,” he replied. “Tell me about the world as you see it,” I said smiling.

“Most people can see if someone is comfortable with them or not in their eyes. I see it in their feet.” he said. “If people keep moving their feet, I just let them go, because I know they’re impatient with me. I don’t want to make people uncomfortable. “What about me? I asked. “I could see your compassion. And then you came down to my level. I was the one who was nervous.” he said. “I don’t normally have someone look me in the eye.”“They don’t know what they’re missing,” I told him. “My old face is nothing to brag(自夸) about.” he said. “But that smile is so big.” Yes, and it’s not only a big smile but an attitude.

1.The disabled man knew people were impatient mostly by their ________.

2.The unlined word “compassion” is the closet in meaning to ________.

3.We learn that the disabled man ________.

4.The writer felt comfortable because _________.

5.We can infer from the passage that _________.

Have successful people ever felt sad? Do they have any "secrets" to success? The answers to these questions can be found in US president Barack Obama's "back to school" speech. Here is a small part of his speech.

I know that sometimes, after watching TV, you may feel that you can be rich and successful without any hard work--that your ticket to success is through rapping (饶舌音乐) or basketball or being a TV star. But when chances come, you may not succeed.

The truth is, being successful is hard. And you may not succeed at everything the first time you try. That's OK. Some of the most successful people in the world have had the most failures. JK Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected(退稿)12 times before it finally came out. Michael Jordan lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career (职业生涯). But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you can't let your failures beat you--you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time.

No one's born being good at things. You become good at things through hard work. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it.

And even when you're struggling(挣扎), even when you're discouraged(泄气), and you feel like other people have given up on you--don't ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

1.Why does Barack Obama talk about JK Rowling and Michael Jordan in the second paragraph?

A. To show that these two famous persons are different.

B. To show that writing and sports are difficult skills.

C. To show that the two persons were treated unfairly.

D. To show that being successful is hard.

2. Barack Obama believes ____________ in his speech.

A. you can be rich and successful without any hard work

B. you may succeed at everything the first time you try

C. you can't let your failures beat you

D. you shouldn't ask other people for help

3. What does the underlined sentence mean?

A. If you're discouraged, you should give up on yourself.

B. You should believe in yourself no matter how difficult it is.

C. When you're struggling, you'll feel like other people have given up on you.

D. If you are not struggling or discouraged, you can give up on yourself.

4.What's the best title of this small part of Mr. Obama's speech?

A. The way to succeed               B. Failures can help you

C. Don't give up on yourself            D. Barack Obama's success

Computers are useful machines. They can help people a lot in their everyday life. For example, they can help people save much time, and they can help people work out many problems they can't do easily: Our country asks everyone to learn to use computers except the old people.
Today more and more families own computers. Parents buy computers for their children.
They hope computers can help them improve(提高) their studies in school. Yet many of the children use computers to play games, to watch video or to sing Karaoke instead of studying. So many teachers and parents complain that computers can not help children to study but make them fall behind. So computers are locked by parents in the boxes.
In some other countries, even some scientists hate computers. They say computers let millions of people lost their jobs or bring them a lot of trouble.
Will computers really bring trouble to people or can they bring people happiness? It will be decided by people themselves.
【小题1】Why do we say the computer is a useful machine? Because _______.