We are in a world full of competition. Our parents compete (竞争) with others in their offices, our brothers and sisters compete with others in their colleges, and we compete with our classmates in school. Many of us give up in the face of competition and will never be successful. ①can’t, others, why, we, do, better, than One important reason is that we have no self-confidence (自信).

In fact, everyone is born equal. You can do what others do. Although your classmates may be better than you in some ways, you may be better than them in other subjects. So everyone has his or her own advantages. Don’t look at things from a single (单个的) point of view. Try to discover your own advantages, and believe that you can do better than others in those ways.

Competition is not so terrible. Don’t be afraid of it. And don’t be afraid of those classmates who are better than you. ②Remember that self-confidence is the first step to success. Believe in yourselves, and you will be successful one day.

任务一: 1. Are we living in a world full of competition?

任务二: 2. How can you improve your self-confidence according to the passage?

任务三: 3. 将①处画线部分单词连成一个完整的特殊疑问句。

任务四: 4. 将②处画线部分译成中文。

任务五: 5. What’s the main idea of this passage?

We were doing the best to control the fire of the burning garage (车库). Outside, I heard the sounds of cats crying. I couldn’t stop—I would have to look for the cats after the fire was put out.

    It took a long time to finally bring the big fire under control. No one inside was hurt. At that point I was free to find out where the cat noises were from. There was still a lot of smoke and heat coming from the building. I followed the meowing to the sidewalk in front of the garage. There, crying and huddled (挤作一团) together, were five frightened kittens (小猫). They must have been inside the building, as their fur was badly hurt.

    I wanted to find the mother cat. It was clear that she had gone into the burning garage and carried out all her babies, one by one—unbelievable.

    We finally found her. Her paws and face were blackened, and her fur was burned all over. You could even see her reddened skin under the burned fur. She could hardly move. I picked her up, and she relaxed in my arms as much as her pain would allow. I decided to save this brave little cat and her family.

    The vet told me they would watch the kittens and their mother for the night, but they weren’t confident about the mother’s chances.

    About a week later, I found out she was going to live. We named her Scarlet because of her reddened skin.

    I was happy to see Scarlet get together with the kittens again. She touched each of them, nose to nose. She had been in danger for five times and it had paid off. All of her babies had survived.

    As a fireman, I see heroic acts every day. But what Scarlet showed me that day was the kind of bravery that can only come from a mother’s love.

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

A. The writer went to look for the cats as soon as he heard them crying.

B. The firefighters put out the fire quickly and no one was hurt.

C. The writer didn’t find the cats until the smoke and heat were gone.

D. The mother cat moved all her babies out of the fire to a safe place.

2.Why did the writer decide to save the cats?

A. Because he was amazed at the mother cat’s courage.

B. Because the cats attracted many people’s attention.

C. Because he didn’t want to see any living things die.

D. Because it had taken him much time and effort to save them.

3.The writer talks about the cat’s story to show that ________________.

A. animals should be taken good care of

B. mother’s love can be great and brave

C. it is meaningful to help others

D. a cat always has nine lives

Scientists are placing robotic dogs in the homes of lonely old people to test whether they can improve the quality of life for humans. Alan Beck, an expert(专家) in human-animal relationship, and Nancy Edwards, a professor of nursing, are leading the animal-assisted study on the effect of robotic dogs on old people’s depression (沮丧) , physical activity, and life satisfaction.

         In the study, the robot, called AIBO, is placed for six weeks in the houses of some old people who live alone. Before placing AIBO in the home, scientists will collect baseline data(数据) for six weeks. These old people will keep a diary to note their feelings and activity before and after AIBO. Then, the scientists will review the data to test if it has produced any changes in the life of its owner.

         “I talk to him all the time, and he responds to my voice,” says a seventy-year-old lady. “When I’m watching TV, he’ll stay in my arms until he wants down. He has his own mind.”

The AIBOs respond to certain orders. The scientists say they have some advantages over live dogs, especially for old people. Often the elderly are disabled and cannot care for an animal by walking it or playing with it. A robotic dog removes exercise and feeding concerns.

       “At the beginning, it was believed that no one would relate(与……相关) to the robotic dog, because it was metal and not furry.” Beck says. “Hopefully, down the road, these robotic pets could become a more-valuable health helper. They will record their masters’ blood pressure, oxygen levels or heart rhythms(心律). AIBOs may even one day have games that can help stimulate(刺激) older people’s minds.”

1.The purpose of Beck and Edwards’ study is to _____________.

A. understand human-animal relationship

B. make lonely old people’s life better

C. find the causes of old people’s loneliness

D. improve the animal-assisted research

2. In the research, the old people are asked to _____________.

A. note the activities of AIBOs

B. keep AIBOs at home for 12 weeks

C. record their feelings and activity

D. study the collected information

3.What does the underlined word “removes” mean?

A. moves again                   B. is movable         C. doesn’t need                      D. need

4.What is the better point of AIBO than live dogs?

A. It is easier to keep at home.

B. It can help the disabled people.

C. It responds to all the human orders.

D. It can watch TV with its owner.

5.The writer seems to suggest that the future robotic dogs may__________.

A. cure certain diseases                                                B. keep old people active

C. change people’s ideas                                                        D. look more like real dogs

The water tap was leaking(漏水) again, and the noise was driving Cassie crazy. Cassie looked at her watch. It was nearly nine o’clock. She climbed out of bed and stood on a chair by the shelf. Her mother’s Mr. Fix-It Book was on the top shelf. Cassie stepped down quietly. She read the book quickly until she found the page she was looking for, and then began to read carefully.

Next, Cassie opened a box in the kitchen and picked out the tools she needed--- a hammer, a wrench, and several small things. It was so easy job for her to do the repair, and she tried several times. Finally, the water tap was in pieces. One by one, she carefully laid them out on the table. That way she would know how they went back. While this was going on, her cat walked over to watch what she was doing.

Cassie worked late into the night. At one point, she thought she was done. Oops! A small piece that she had forgotten still lay on the table. Slowly Cassie took the water tap apart(分开) one more time. This time she made sure everything was in place. She turned the water tap on and then off. One…two…three… She waited a full minute. There was no leak! Cassie smiled and put the tools back into the box. Then she went back into bed.

The next morning, Dad was in the kitchen when Cassie got up.

“Notice anything, Dad?” she asked.

He looked around and listened. “Hmm, something’s missing… I can’t find out what it is… Wait, it’s too quiet in here!”

“That’s right,” Cassie said. ‘Something is missing. I fixed the water tap. It doesn’t leak any more.”

“That’s my girl,” Dad said. “It’s a good thing you are really like your mother.”

1.Mr. Fix-It Book is probably a book on how to ________.

A. train pets       B. fall asleep       C. fix things        D. cook food

2.Cassie took the water tap apart again because_______.

A. she had forgotten one piece          B. the tap was still leaking

C. the cat had taken one piece away      D. she hadn’t understood the book

3.The water tap wasn’t fixed until_______.

A. nine o’clock    B. late that night    C. the next morning    D. the next afternoon

4.We can learn from the last sentence of the passage that ________.

A. Cassie’s mother is good-looking         B. Cassie likes her mother very much

C. Cassie’s mother is good at fixing things   D. Cassie looks quite like her mother

America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon. They don’t feel hurt. If the same two people meet again, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand .Friendships between us develop more slowly but may become lifelong feelings, extending（延伸）deeply into both families.

There is another difficult point for us to understand. Although Americans treat friends warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to them if it requires a great deal of time. But in China, we are usually generous with our time. We, as hosts, will appear at an airport even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take a day off from our work to act as guides to our friends. It is opposite in America. Americans cannot manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily plans. They will probably expect the visitors to get themselves from the airport to the hotels. And they expect the visitors will phone them from there. Once the visitors arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real.

For Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to restaurants, except for business matters. Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. So accept their hospitality（好客）at home and enjoy your visit in America!

1. The underlined phrase "pick up" in Paragraph 1may mean "_________________".

   A. put down     B. give up       C. pay no attention to    D. continue

2. From the passage, we can know_________________.

 A. Americans are always generous with their time.

B. Americans don't feel hurt if their friendships disappear soon.

C. Chinese friendships develop more slowly but will never disappear.

 D. Chinese friendships develop faster than American friendships.

3.This passage is most probably written for __________________.

A. American students                B. Chinese students

C. Chinese visitors to America         D. American visitors to China