Do you remember we agreed to circulate our ideas for our school project this year? Well, here is our suggestion and we in our school hope you will join us to develop it.

    The idea came to us in the autumn of 2004. We were sitting in our class when our head teacher made an announcement. “There’ll be a new boy starting school tomorrow. He comes from the circus so he’ll be with us for a while.” Immediately there was whispering around the classroom. I heard remarks like “Those are dirty people”; “They eat raw meat”; and “Watch out for your bags”. The teacher must have heard them because she stopped the talking and said in a very serious voice: “Jake is our guest for as long as he stays here. Make sure you treat him well. I don’t want to hear any complaints about your behaviour to him.”

I was curious because it was the first time I had met anyone from a circus. Fortunately for me, the next morning, after being introduced to the class he sat in the only spare seat next to me. Of course I didn’t want to be nosy（管闲事的） but I couldn’t help looking at him sideways as I began my mathematics task. I noticed Jake was smaller than me and had dirty finger nails. His shirt was clean but had been repaired in many places and his trousers were helped up by a wide, leather belt. As he seemed to have no handkerchief and was sniffing loudly, I passed him one of mine. Immediately the boys began to whisper “What did you do that for? Leave him be!” I concentrated on my work. From my left a slight movement showed that Jake must have heard the remarks too. He seemed to be having great difficulty with his work and was struggling to hold his pen correctly. He looked around as if for help. I looked around too. The teacher was busy so I leaned over and offered to explain the problems to him. As he listened his mouth split into a smile. His eyes lit up as if a light had been turned on and he returned to the exercises with enthusiasm.  He finished them quickly and proudly presented them to the teacher. “Well done, Jake,” she approved. Jake smiled and was soon busy sorting out information and adding more of his own.

I thought about how Jake’s life would be. I remembered seeing the campsite and thinking how poor the facilities （设施）were. So I decided to help. As it was my turn to suggest a project for our grade, I put forward this idea. Our head teacher accepted it and so we began to prepare our plans to improve the campsite. Hope you will join us.

56. Why did the students dislike Jake even before they saw him?

A. They must have heard bad stories about circus people.

    B. They always judged a person by what he looks like.

    C. The teacher hadn’t introduced Jake to them beforehand.

    D. A newcomer was not welcome at that time.

57. What’s the author’s attitude towards Jake?

    A. He copied the other boys’ behavior.

    B. He was distant about what Jake’s life was like.

    C. He couldn’t ignore what other people said about Jake.

    D. He had sympathy for the poor and disadvantaged.

58. The author mentions how Jake did maths to show that _______.

    A. the teacher was helpful and friendly    B. the maths problem was too hard for him

    C. Jake was courageous and determined   D. the author was better at maths

59. What’s the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

    A. To argue circus people should be treated fairly.

    B. To ask the reader to join in their project.

    C. To call on more people to help Jake.    D. To show what is in need for a circus.

To win an Oscar is an achievement at any age. To do so at 22, as Jennifer Lawrence has, is just amazing. Recently, the American star won Best Actress at this year's Academy Awards for her role in the film The Silver Linings Playbook. According to Time magazine's Richard Corliss, Lawrence is that rare young actress who "lends a mature intelligence to any role".

Though Lawrence has found great success through her big screen work, Lawrence wasn't sure what she really liked doing before the age of 14. She thought she'd go to college and maybe find a career as a doctor or a travel agent.     

Lawrence's two brothers were star athletes and one of them was a straight-A student. Unlike them, she suffered through school, never quite finding where she belonged. However, during a trip to New York, Lawrence suddenly realized that she wanted to be an actress. When she was enjoying the beautiful city, a model seeker asked if he could take her picture, and the next day he called her in for an audition (试镜).      

"I read the script and it was the first time I had that feeling like I understand this," Lawrence said. "Within 20 minutes, in the cab ride from the hotel room, I decided I didn't want to be a model. In fact, I wanted to be an actress." Having appreciated this young lady's performance, the agency was so impressed with her reading that they signed her on the spot. But she insisted on finishing high school so she could give her full attention to her acting career.        

Lawrence burst onto the Hollywood scene last year with The Hunger Games, which established her as the highest-grossing (票房最高的) female action hero of all time. Rolling Stone called her “the most talented young actress in America".

1.What can we know about Jennifer Lawrence from Paragraph 3?

A. Her parents were really strict with her.

B. She seemed not to fit in with her school days well.

C. Her school performance made her today's fame.

D. Her two brothers were doing well in all school subjects.

2. Lawrence made up her mind to be an actress because of ______.

A. a model interview

B. her brothers' examples

C. the taxi-ride to her hotel room

D. the beautiful scenery of New York

3.From the text we can know that Lawrence is an actress of great ______.

A. confidence     B. ambition               C. independence  D. talent

4.What is the best title of the text? 

A. Choosing Right                                    B. Acting Wisely

C. Winning Young                                    D. Following Dreams

To win an Oscar is an achievement at any age. To do so at 22, as Jennifer Lawrence has, is just amazing. Recently, the American star won Best Actress at this year's Academy Awards for her role in the film The Silver Linings Playbook. According to Time magazine's Richard Corliss, Lawrence is that rare young actress who "lends a mature intelligence to any role".
Though Lawrence has found great success through her big screen work, Lawrence wasn't sure what she really liked doing before the age of 14. She thought she'd go to college and maybe find a career as a doctor or a travel agent.     
Lawrence's two brothers were star athletes and one of them was a straight-A student. Unlike them, she suffered through school, never quite finding where she belonged. However, during a trip to New York, Lawrence suddenly realized that she wanted to be an actress. When she was enjoying the beautiful city, a model seeker asked if he could take her picture, and the next day he called her in for an audition (试镜).      
"I read the script and it was the first time I had that feeling like I understand this," Lawrence said. "Within 20 minutes, in the cab ride from the hotel room, I decided I didn't want to be a model. In fact, I wanted to be an actress." Having appreciated this young lady's performance, the agency was so impressed with her reading that they signed her on the spot. But she insisted on finishing high school so she could give her full attention to her acting career.        
Lawrence burst onto the Hollywood scene last year with The Hunger Games, which established her as the highest-grossing (票房最高的) female action hero of all time. Rolling Stone called her “the most talented young actress in America"

1. 1.

   What can we know about Jennifer Lawrence from Paragraph 3?

   1. A.
      Her parents were really strict with her
   2. B.
      She seemed not to fit in with her school days well
   3. C.
      Her school performance made her today's fame
   4. D.
      Her two brothers were doing well in all school subjects
2. 2.

   Lawrence made up her mind to be an actress because of ______

   1. A.
      a model interview
   2. B.
      her brothers' examples
   3. C.
      the taxi-ride to her hotel room
   4. D.
      the beautiful scenery of New York
3. 3.

   From the text we can know that Lawrence is an actress of great ______

   1. A.
      confidence
   2. B.
      ambition
   3. C.
      independence
   4. D.
      talent
4. 4.

   What is the best title of the text?

   1. A.
      Choosing Right
   2. B.
      Acting Wisely
   3. C.
      Winning Young
   4. D.
      Following Dreams

Have you ever heard anyone say “It’s raining cats and dogs”? It means “It’s raining hard!”
But sometimes cats and dogs do drop from the sky! Here’s how it happens.
Not so long ago, a country far away had many large rats. The people there said, “ We need cats!” So cats were sent to them by airplane. But the country had many mountains. It was hard for an airplane to land. So the cats came down by parachute(降落伞). Did the cats like the ride? They didn’t say they didn’t! And today they are still catching rats!
In another country far away, there is snow the year around. People sometimes got lost in it.
“We need big dogs!” the people said, “The dogs could find people lost in the snow. The dogs could help bring them home. Where can we get big dogs?”
A man across the sea had big dogs to sell. “I will send dogs to you,” he said. “ I have some very big ones. They can find people lost in the snow.”He sent the dogs by airplane.
But the airplane did not land in the snow. The dogs came down by parachute ---- you guessed it !Did the dogs like the ride? They didn’t say they didn’t! And today they are well and happy.They find anyone who gets lost in the snow. Then they help him get home. Good dogs!Remember it, so you can say, “ Yes, it does rain cats and dogs sometimes. They came down by parachute!”
【小题1】The underlined word “ it” In Paragraph  2  refers to __________.

John Smith was lazy. He had finished his education and was happy to sit in his room and listen to the radio all day long. In fact, he had been doing nothing for almost six months, which worried his father a lot. One day Mr Smith decided that he had to do something. “Johnny, When I was your age 1 was working and supporting my ten brothers and sisters. I want you to go out and get a job.” So that was what he did. In fact, in the next three months, Johnny started ten jobs and was fired from ten jobs. He explained to his father.
“They wanted me to be at work at 8:00 a. m. and told me to do all sorts of unpleasant things.”
“I don’t care how you do it,” Mr Smith said. “Either you earn some money or move out of the house. I gave you one week’s time.”
In the next few days Johnny began to change. He still stayed in his room all day, but spent his time writing letters and reading through the newspapers. More and more posts began to arrive for him. He bought a new suit for himself and invited his parents to the theatre and for dinner afterwards at the most expensive restaurant in town. When his proud parents arrived home after their evening hour, a policeman was waiting at the front door.
“John Smith,” he said as he handed him a piece of paper, “I’ll see you in the court tomorrow.”
When he got outside, Johnny told his parents everything.
“When you told me to earn some money, 1 decided to put an advertisement in the newspaper saying, ‘New way to money fast! Send me $ 5 and I’ll tell you my secret.’ When I received the money I wrote back telling people to do as I do.”
Johnny was fined $ 250 by the court and was ordered to pay all the people back. As he left the court house feeling very ashamed, a newspaper man came up to him, “Young man, would you like to tell your story to my newspaper for $ 2500?”
【小题1】 Johnny was fired from the jobs because _______.