Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making instruments. In his free time he liked to play the violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called him a dreamer.

  One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think. He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin had an idea. He thought that he would attract a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.

  Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skate shoes. Merlin was very proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be very surprised.

  On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyone was really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise. But nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that.

The story tells us that people began to enjoy roller-skating _______.          

   A. before the year 1750                               B. before the invitation

 C. because of Joseph Merlin                            D. because it was dangerous

People called Merlin a dreamer because ___________.        

 A. he slept and dreamed a lot                          B. he was full of different ideas

 C. he was a talented violinist                          D. he always made people’s dreams come true

___________ made Merlin think of skating on wheels.

 A. Merlin’s work  B. Merlin’s violin          C. A huge mirror           D. An important party

What was Merlin’s problem after he rolled into the room?

   A. He couldn’t stop his roller-skating.                  B. He couldn’t attract a lot of attention.

 C. Everyone was surprised at him.                           D. He couldn’t play the violin while rolling.

The text is mainly about_________.

A. a strange man                                      

B. an unusual party

C. how roller skating began                     

D. how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century

At present time, roller skating (滑旱冰) is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making instruments (工具). In his free time he liked to play the violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think. He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin had an idea. He thought that he would attract a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll (滚动). Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skate shoes. Merlin was very proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be very surprised.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyone was really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise.
Nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that.
【小题1】The first paragraph tells us that people began to skate on wheels from 1750 because _______.

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

I have a friend who had a stammer (口吃) in his childhood, but he dreamed of becoming a missionary(传教士). When he told his own desire to his friends and relatives, some of them laughed at him, and some even held down his enthusiasm      .

"I must change it." said the boy angrily, “I believe I can speak very    , I will do!"

When it was possible, he would spend an hour      to chickens. He viewed the chickens as living persons,     himself to be the person in the speech.

"In the beginning, the chickens looked so        , then they watched me curiously, putting down the food in the mouths and listening to my words. It seemed as if they had been        by my powerful and effective language. Sometimes they seemed to be listening to me       . Gradually, the effect of this practice became more and more    and I had a better understanding of the exact      of my stammer, so I found the ability to speak more."

"You may not know that my father was always tyrannical(专横的). He        believed in the old saying: 'Young man should be more knowledgeable, but should not      much.' During the whole childhood,    I spoke or commented, he criticized me seriously, which     my shy personality. I used to worry about being   at, so I became a stammerer. From then on, I kept      in front of everyone because they didn't want to see my embarrassment. But later I found myself talking in front of chickens, stammers disappeared      , therefore I regained my   ."

Now, the previous boy is the best at speaking and one of the most    missionaries. You can hardly imagine he used to have a serious language     . So when you come across disadvantages, you should believe you can     them by yourself.

1.A. sincerely            B. impolitely              C. strangely            D. privately

2.A. frequently          B. fluently       C. obviously            D. completely

3.A. contributing      B. seeing                  C. turning     D. speaking

4.A. imagining            B. considering C. declaring            D. finding

5.A. satisfied                      B. pleased                C. frightened  D. surprised

6.A. attracted                   B. beaten             C. bothered          D. influenced

7.A. casually             B. carefully              C. luckily               D. cautiously

8.A. obvious                     B. slight                 C. crucial               D. common

9.A. effect                       B. benefit             C. cause      D. harm

10.A. originally                  B. personally          C. doubtfully  D. stubbornly

11.A. think                          B. listen                     C. play                      D. talk

12.A. since                        B. before                     C. whenever            D. unless

13.A. applied to    B. led to                C. referred to           D. owed to 

14.A. amazed                     B. studied        C. laughed              D. looked

15.A. silent                          B. active                    C. noisy                    D. upset

16.A. logically      B. typically            C. equally       D. naturally

17.A. strength                    B. dream                     C. confidence           D. freedom

18.A. successful            B. intelligent              C. modest             D. responsible

19.A. gift                    B. barrier                   C. ability      D. study

20.A. arrange                      B. exchange                C. reduce     D. change

For eighty four days old Santiago had not caught a single fish. At first a young boy, Manolin, had shared his bad fortune, but after the fortieth luckless day the boy’s father told his son to go in another boat. From that time on, Santiago worked alone. The boy loved the old fisherman and  always helped him with money and food. Usually, they would talk about the fish they had taken in luckier times or about American baseball after supper, while at night, alone in his cottage, Santiago dreamed of lions on the beaches of Africa, where he had gone years before. He no longer dreamed of his dead wife.
On the eighty-fifth day, Santiago set off to fish before dawn. Two of his baits(饵) were fresh tunas(金枪鱼) the boy had given him, as well as sardines(沙丁鱼) to cover his hooks. Then he set his lines which went straight down into deep dark water.
As the sun rose he saw other boats in toward shore. A bird showed him where dolphin were chasing some flying fish. This time Santiago saw tuna jumping in the sunlight. A small one took the hook on his line. Pulling the fish aboard, the old man thought it a good fortune.
Toward noon a marlin, a common fish in the sea, started eating the bait which was one hundred meters down. Gently the old man played the fish, a big one, as he knew from the weight on the line. At last he struck to settle the hook. The fish did not come out of the surface. Instead, it began to pull the boat to the northwest. The old man followed it. Although he was alone and no longer strong, he had his skill and knew many tricks. He waited patiently for the fish to be tired .
It was cold after the sunset. When something took one of his remaining baits, he cut the line with his knife. Once the marlin leaned suddenly, pulling Santiago forward on his face and cutting his cheek. By dawn his left hand was cramped(抽筋的). The fish had headed northward; there was no land in sight. Hungry, he cut pieces from the tuna and chewed them slowly.
That morning the fish jumped. Seeing it, Santiago knew he had hooked the biggest marlin he had ever seen. Then the fish went down and turned toward the east. Santiago drank a little water from the bottle during the hot afternoon.
Close to nightfall a dolphin took the small hook he had rebaited. He lifted it aboard, careful. After he had rested, he cut meat from the dolphin and kept also the two flying fish he found in its stomach. That night he slept. He awoke to feel the line running through his fingers as the fish jumped. Feeding line slowly, he tried to tire the marlin. After the fish slowed its run, he washed his cut hands in sea water and ate one of the flying fish. At sunrise the marlin began to circle. Faint, he worked to bring the big fish nearer with each turn. Almost exhausted, he finally drew his big fish alongside and drove in the harpoon(鱼叉). The fish was two feet longer than the boat. No fish like it had ever been seen in Havana harbor.
An hour later, he sighted the first shark, a fierce Mako, and it came in fast to chase after the dead marlin. The old man struck the shark with his harpoon. The Mako rolled and sank, carrying the harpoon with it and leaving the marlin bloody. He knew the smell would spread. Watching, he saw two sharks closing in. He struck at one with his knife and watched it sliding down into deep water. The other he killed while it tore at the flesh of the marlin. When the third appeared, he thrust(刺) it with the knife. The other sharks came at sunset. At first he tried to beat them with the tiller(舵柄) from the boat, but his hands were bleeding and there were too many in the sea. In the darkness, as he steered toward the harbor of Havana, he heard them hitting the boat again and again. But the old man thought only of his steering and his great tiredness. He had gone out too far and the sharks had beaten him. He knew they would leave him nothing but the stripped skeleton of the big marlin.
All lights were out when he sailed into the little harbor and beached his boat. He could just make out the white backbone and the upstanding tail of the fish. Once he fell under their weight and lay patiently until he could gather his strength to go on. In his cottage he fell on his bed and went to sleep.
【小题1】The above story is adapted from __________.

Voyages

By Neil Waldman

Travel with young Abe Lincoln down the Mississippi River, taking his boat down to New Orleans. Along the way, Lincoln finds himself on his own voyage of discovery. It is an amazing experience with risk and excitement.(Chapter book)

The People Could Fly

By Leo Hamilton and Diane Dillon

It tells a folk tale about African people who could fly. Long ago in Africa, people could fly like shing black birds in the sky. Enslaved (被奴役) and sent from Africa, their wings were lost, but an old man uses magic, and helps them fly away to freedom.(Chapter book)

Through Georgia's Eyes

By Rachel Rodriquez and Julie Paschkis

Discover the wideness and wonder of deserts and rivers through the eyes of painter Georgia O'Keefe. Deep-colored paper paitings show the artist's imagination and the amazing sightseeing that inspired her work. (Picture book)

A Horn For Louis

By Eric A. Kimmel and James Bernardin

Louis armstrong was too poor to have a real music instrument, but he had a horn(喇叭). Jazz and blues music was everywhere in the streets of New Orleans. This is teh story of how Louis got his first real "horn", when he was just a boy with a dream of becoming a musician. (Chapter book)

Go, Go America

By Alan Barnard

50 states of fun, with interesting facts — in what state the entertainment capital of the world is, where the first hamburgers were served, what the Cereal Festival is, who hosts the Hog Calling Contest and more.(Picture book)

Stitchin's and Pullin'

By Patricia C. McKissack, Cozbi A. Cabrera

In Gee's Bend, Alabama, generations of women have sewed, talked, sang and laughed, for as long as anyone can remember. Each piece tells a story.

1.If you are interested in adventure, you may prefer ______.

A．A Horn For Louis    B．Go, Go America     C．Through Georgia's Eyes    D．Voyages

2.What do Through Georgia's Eyes and Go, Go America have in common?

A．They are both about the US.               B．They are both written by two authors.

C．There are lots of pictures in both books.      D．There are funny stories in both books.

3.The book, A horn for Louis, is mainly about _____.

A．how jazz and blues music was formed in its birthplace, New Orleans

B．how Louis got his instrument when he dreamed of becoming a musician

C．how Louis got the horn to become a famous musician

D．how Louis worked and supported his whole family