A few years ago, when I was still in high school, I met a wonderful and warm teacher. At that time in my life, there were many changes to adjust to, apart from the usual teenage troubles. My parents had divorced, so my elder brother and I had chosen to stay with my dad. Due to the fact that he was keeping the house, we didn’t have to move.

During this time, my teacher took a special interest in me. Being my English teacher, she encouraged my mind to travel to creativity I had long given up. She brought me out of the shell I built.

She became my mother, my older sister, my friend and my teacher. The one thing she couldn’t do though was to make me more girly as growing up with only my dad and brother made me a real tomboy.

Sometimes, I would be really immature（不成熟的）, especially if she was scoring me less than others on purpose. She knew I could do better than what I was handing in and so pushed me to extend further than limits.

When I finished school and then after college I was about to leave my hometowns she gifted me a watch that every second, with my pulse, should remind me of the one person who will forever wait and love me without reservation.

Time has passed and our friendship is distant, but in my heart, soul and mind, she is the closest I ever got.

The writer and her elder brother chose to live with their father simply because _________.

A. their mother was expecting to have another baby

    B. they didn’t have to move out of their house

    C. they hated their mother remarried

    D. they had a closer relationship with their father

How did the writer get along with her studies before she met her English teacher?

    A. She was hopeless and had given up her studies.

    B. She was getting along well with her studies.

    C. She had some trouble with her studies.

    D. She lacked interest in creativity.

The writer behaved herself like a boy because ________.

    A. she needed the love of mother

    B. she wanted to learn from her father and brother

    C. she lived with only men all the time

    D. her English teacher didn’t care about her

What was the writer’s attitude to the watch given by the teacher?

    A. She considered it to be very useful.

    B. She valued it very much.

    C. She kept it very well.

D. She wanted to do something later in return for it.

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a great bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However, bridge building experts thought that this was an impossible project and told Roebling to forget it. But Roebling could not ignore the vision of this bridge. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an engineer, that the bridge could be built.

The father and son developed concepts of how it could be completed and how the difficulties could be overcome. After that, they began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway (在进行中) a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was also injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which made him unable to walk or talk or even move.

Everyone had a negative comment since the Roeblings were the only one who knew how to build the bridge. In spite of these difficulties, Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge. It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was to move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving it, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. The project was underway again. For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed.

Today the Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory to the victory of one man's determination not to be defeated by circumstances. This is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical disability and achieves an impossible goal.

1．When John Roebling had the idea of building the bridge, ________.

A. his son supported him immediately   

B. many experts thought it impossible

C. there was no bridge around New York     

D. he persuaded the government to support him

2．What is the right order of the following statements?

a. The Roeblings talked about the possibilities of building the bridge.

b. Washington became disabled.

c. John Roebling believed that building the bridge was possible.

d. Washington's wife helped instruct the building.

A. a d c b              B. b c d a          C. c a b d              D. a d b c

3．It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A. the government did offer much help to building the bridge

B. to go to the long Island, we can go across Brooklyn Bridge now

C. Washington had only one finger after the accident

D. it took 13 years to complete the bridge

4．What is the main idea of the passage?

A. the Roeblings were devoted to their work

B. how the Brooklyn Bridge was built by the Roeblings.

C. a strong will is not to be defeated.            

D. success lies in patience and hard work.

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack(裂缝) in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

This went on daily. The perfect pot was proud of its accomplishment. Of course, the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

       “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologise to you.”

       “Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”

       “I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back. And you do no get full value for your efforts” the pot explained.

       The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

       As they went up the hill, the cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it a little.

The bearer said, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side?” That is because I have known about you, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walked back from the stream, you have watered them. For two years, I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”

Why did the cracked pot feel ashamed?

       A．Because it didn’t hold water.

       B．Because the water bearer didn’t like it.

       C．It couldn’t water the flowers well.

       D．Because it could only accomplish half of its load.

How would the cracked pot feel at the end of the story?

       A．Delighted with itself.      B．Disappointed with itself.

       C．Prouder than the other pot.     D．Still ashamed of itself.

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

       A．There were flowers on both sides of the path.

       B．The cracked pot was more useful than the perfect one.

       C．We sometimes don’t have to mind too much the way we are.

       D．The water bearer preferred the perfect pot to the cracked one.

A young man named Charles Lyell had different ideas .He wrote a book about them called Principles of Geology .The earth ,according to Lyell ,was not only thousands of years old ,it was millions of years old .As to（关于）the common belief that changes in the earth's surface happen suddenly because of a single earthquake or flood ,he said that this might happen once in a while ,but usually these changes took place very slowly .He believed that the surface of the earth had been changing from the beginning of time .The changes ,he said ,were caused by the long-term action of the winds and seas ,and by forces such as volcanoes breaking out under the earth's surface .Once in a great while he thought ,a mountain might appear for the first time after an earthquake .But usually mountains would rise slowly and steadily.? Professor Henslow was interested in Lyell's ideas ,but he did not actually believe them .Charles Darwin could not make up his mind about them .But they set him thinking along lines which would later change the beliefs of thoughtful people all over the world.?

At Cambridge ,Charles Darwin studied just enough to pass the examination ,and received his college degree in 1831.During this time ,he had become more and more interested in geology .At the end of the school year ,he went to North Wales with one of his teachers to examine the rock formations（构成） and to search for fossils（化石）.Fossils are the remains of ancient living things .They are usually found fixed in rocks in the earth's crust（地壳）.Fossils may be of animals ,such as fish ,insects ,birds ,or humans .They may be of plants from tiny leaves to huge trees.? When a living creature dies ,it usually decays（腐烂）or is eaten by animals .However ,if it sinks into a riverbed or is quickly covered by the blowing sands of a desert storm ,the bones are kept up in the earth. Over many years the soft inner parts of a bone disappear ,leaving the inside hollow. Water containing mineral enters into the hollow. Slowly the mineral hardens and makes the bone hard and heavy,like stone.

1.According to Charles Lyell, it is mainly _______ that the earth has been formed like today's shape.?

A.from the beginning of time

B.past some experiences of big flood?

C.over a very long period of years

D.because of several big earthquakes

2.Charles Lyell believed the fact that a mountain is formed_______.?

A.more by seas than by volcanoes

B.more slowly than suddenly?

C.more by an earthquake than by winds

D.more steadily than quickly?

3.Unlike Professor Henslow ,Charles Darwin_______.?

A.never thought Lyell's ideas were right?

B.did made up his mind not to accept Lyell's ideas?

C.thought about what the world were then thinking about?

D.thought over Lyell's ideas and developed them?

4.The main purpose of Darwin's going to North Wales was to_______.?

A.make a study of fossils

B.appreciate the rock information?

C.do research work into dead animals

D.look for plants from tiny leaves to huge trees

A few years ago I was on a bicycle trip when I got off my bike for a rest. I sat down on the grass. A few seconds later, I was covered in ants. They were swarming all over me so I got up and brushed them off. It was a strange experience but I soon forgot about it.
A couple of years later, I was living in Jordan. I had just moved into a modern flat and was unpacking plates when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I looked over at the kitchen drawer and there was a cockroach(蟑螂)crawling out of it. I screamed. Then I grabbed a can of insecticide and sprayed it on the cockroach. He ran under the nearby bathroom door. It took me three days before I found the courage to open the bathroom door to see if he was still alive. He wasn’t.
Why did I react so violently to one lone insect when a closer encounter with hundreds of ants hardly affected me? The answer is easy: because cockroaches are creepy(令人毛骨悚然的) crawlies and ants aren’t. Creepy crawlies are those little bugs which cause feelings such as anxiety - they make your skin crawl.
Did you know that some people feel such a fear of bugs that it becomes a phobia(恐惧症)? Psychologists have offered many explanations. Some say we associate them with dirt and disease. Or that these are life forms that are so alien to us, that we find them disgusting for their dissimilarity.
Insects, however, don’t follow our rules - they just do what they want and invade our space. Unfortunately, although insects and bugs have been a successful animal species up to now, many of them, like many other species nowadays, are under threat of dying out. Entomologistswarn that this could upset entire ecosystems and lead to all kinds of disastrous consequences.
So my advice to you is: the next time you feel the urge to stamp on, splatter or spray a creepy crawly, give a thought to the planet and stop.
【小题1】.. Why did the author mention the ants in the beginning?