A

     In 1961,Obama was born in Hawaii,US. His father was an African and his mother was I a white American. He grew up in Indonesia and HawaⅡ.

     When Obama was 10 years old,he was one of the only three black students at his school in HawaⅡ. He felt very different from most other students. White girls wanted to touch his hair. A white boy even asked him what his father was.

     “I lkied to them that my father was a Kenyan prince. But I kept asking myself who I am”’ said Obama ,“and nobody believed in me at that time. ”

However,37 years later,the boy made history. Obama became the first black president in the US history.

     His unusual background made him wonder who he was. He once turned to alcohol to help forget this question.

     With the help of his friends,Obama finally turned his life around at college. His hard work made him a star at Harvard. Later,he became the third black senator in US history.

    “Obama's success has made Martin Luther King's dream come true. That is： A man should not be by the color of his skin,but he should be judged by the content of his character ,” wrote ABC News.

() 1. Obama was born in .

   A. Britain   B. America   C. Kenya   D. Indonesia

() 2. There was/ were black student (s) at the school where he studied when he was ten.

   A. no   B. one   C. two   D. three

() 3. Obama became the first black president in US history when he was .

   A. 37   B. 38   C. 47   D. 48

() 4. Which of the following is TRUE?

   A. Obama⁵ s father was a Kenya prince.

   B. Obama once forgot who his father was with the help of alcohol.

   C. When he was young,Obama lied and nobody believed in him.

   D. Obama changed his college life without his friends’ help or his hard work.

() 5. From the passage,we can see that .

   A. we could judge a person by the color of his skin

   B. we could not judge a person by the content of his character

   C. we should not judge a person by the color of his skin

   D. we should judge a person by what he did when he was young

F

      There is a kite on the wall of my room. Every time I see it,I 1 my father's words.

      It was on my ninth birthday. He bought a wonderful bird-shaped kite for me as my birthday present. I liked it very much and Dad promised to play with me 2 the rain stopped the next day.

      I got up early the next day. It was a fine day. After breakfast,Dad took me to the nearby park. 3 around us seemed to welcome our coming. We began to 4 the kite. The kite was up slowly in the air,just like a big 5 .

     “Why do you 6 the line to control the kite? 7 not let it fly freely in the sky?^,J I asked.

     “I am afraid the kite can't fly high if I don't control it with the line. Sometimes,control is 8,” Dad answered. .

      I was too 9 to know what Dad said then. But when I grow up,I begin to know the 10 meaning of my father's words. And it's really helpful in my life.

() 1. A. hurt   B. trust   C. forget   D. remember

() 2. A. or   B. if   C. so   D. but

() 3. A. Something   B. Anything   C. Everything   D. Nothing

() 4. A. fly   B. knock   C. believe   D. fit

() 5. A. cloud   B. kite   C. bird   D. carrot

() 6. A. hit   B. protect   C. use   D. pay

() 7. A. How   B. When   C. What   D. Why

() 8. A. honest   B. helpful   C. generous   D. bored

() 9. A. old   B. weak   C. strong   D. young

() 10. A. real   B. main   C. important   D. great

E

Dear Tom,

      Are you happy to hear from me? I remember you w 1 a letter to me last summer. In your letter,you said you would like to v 2 Canada this summer holiday. Did your dream come true"!

      As you know,I enjoy collecting stamps and my stamp collection is g 3 bigger and bigger. I collect stamps of more than forty d 4 countries. In my stamp books,I usually put the stamps of the same country t 5 . I have a pen-friend from Britain. She gave me some B 6 stamps. My American teacher gave me some beautiful American and Canadian stamps. I'm glad to know you are going to give me some m 7 stamps,but I still don't have the stamps of Nepal. I hope you will p 8 me.

      Yesterday was my birthday and I invited some of my friends home f 9 dinner. I still can't believe that mom bought a new mobile phone as my birthday present. I felt very surprised,but excited.

      Is there anything s 10 about yourself? Please write to me soon.

                                                  Yours,

                                                  Zhou Wen

1.  2.

3.  4.

5.  6.

7.  8.

9.  10.

D 

     You may love to see tigers at the zoo. But what if you had to stay with one on a boat on the open sea for over 200 days? Life of Pi,the movie from American Chinese director,Li An,tells an amazing story.

      Pi is a boy. He lives happily with his family in a beautiful Indian town. His father has a zoo,so Pi knows a lot about animals.

      But one day,his father decides to move to Canada. He will sell all his animals there. The family begin to sail on the Pacific with all the zoo animals. But a big storm hits their ship at night. Finally,Pi finds the only survivors are himself and a large tiger called Parker on an 8-meter boat.

      To keep himself alive,Pi has to keep feeding the tiger so that he himself does not get eaten. He tries to get on well with the tiger during a 227-day sail on the sea.

      The movie is from a Canadian writer Yann Martel's book of the same name. The book has sold 7 million copies worldwide. It discusses not only hope but also relationship between humans and nature.

      It took Li An four years to make the movie. He also used 3D for his first time. He hoped the movie would “make the people think”.

根据短文内容回答下列问题。

1. Where does Pi⁵s father decide to move?

2. What happens when they sail on the Pacific at night?

3. Why does Pi have to keep feeding the tiger?

4. What does the movie discuss?

5. How long did it take Li An to make the movie?

C

     People enjoy different indoor and outdoor activities in Britain. A recent European survey discovered that people in Britain spend about 45% of their free time watching television,24% of their free time doing social activities,22% 〜23% on sports and hobbies,and 10% on other activities,such as listening to music,reading,gardenings eating out and going to the cinema.

     Television 

     The most common activity in the UK is watching television. People often spend 25 hours every week on TV. Almost every family has at least one television set at home. About 13% of families have satellite television and 9% cable television.

     Radio 

     People in Britain listen to about 15 hours and 50 minutes of radio every week.

     Entertaining 

     Another popular activity in Britain is visiting or entertaining friends.

     Cinema 

     About 123 million British people went to the cinema in 1998. It is the most popular cultural activity in the UK.

     Eating out 

     More and more English people like to eat out. Every British person spends 5. 63 dollars every week on food outside.

() 1. What do most English people like doing in their free time?

   A. Eating out. B. Listening to the radio.

   C. Doing some sports. D. Watching TV.

() 2. How many families could watch satellite television?

   A. About 9% of families. B. About 13% of families.

   C. About 33% of families. D. About 19% of families.

() 3. Which is not TRUE according to the passage?

   A. English people spend most of their time eating out.

   B. British people often listen to the radio and visit their friends.

   C. Lots of English people like going to the cinema.

   D. British people often do gardening by themselves.

() 4. What's the main idea of the passage?

   A. What are the common hobbies of British people?

   B. How do people spend their free time?

   C. How do children spend their holiday?

   D. What are the special customs in Britain?

B

      A neighbourhood party is a great way to have fun and get to know the people in your neighbourhood. And it’s also the best way to bring the community together.

      Before you begin to do this,you first need to decide where to have the party. The Community Centre is a good place for a neighbourhood party. If the weather is nice,many people like to have the party outside. It could be at a park or on a street.

      Next,ask your friends and neighbours to help. Get them to tell others about the party,set up the party and clean up after the party.

      During the party,be sure to have lots of things to do. Many parties have activities for kids,such as face painting dressing up,etc. Most parties have food and drinks. The best time in the parties is when everyone brings something to share. That's also the special part of a neighbourhood party!

() 1. What is the first paragraph about?

   A. How we can hold a neighbourhood party.

   B. How good a neighbourhood party is.

   C. How we can have a good time in the neighbourhood.

   D. Why we need to know the people in the neighbourhood.

() 2. The writer thinks we can let our friends and neighbours help .

0 set up the neighbourhood party (2) clean up after the neighbourhood party ③ tell others about the neighbourhood party @ decide where to have the neighbourhood party 

    A.①②③   B. ①②④

   C. ①③④   D. ②③④

() 3. What is special about a neighbourhood party?

   A. It has food and drinks.

   B. It has activities for kids.

   C. There are lots of things to do.

   D. People bring something to share.

A

     Now some women are spending a weekend at Mother^Js Camp. There,husbands and children are not allowed. Why would a woman want to take a vacation without her family? Some women say they need time to be alone.

      At Mother's Camp,a woman has room of herself. She can sleep,read,or watch TV,and no one will disturb her. No children will ask, “Mom,what’s for dinner?” No husband will say, “Oh,dear. I can't find any clean socks.In fact almost 50% of women in the United States work outside the home. Many of them work full-time and then come back to a second job —taking care of their homes and families. These working women say one of their biggest problems is housework.

      In the United States,working wives do about 75% of the housework. Many of their husbands say they want to help. But then they burn the rice or they can’t find pans. They ask so many questions that their wives decide it is easier to do the job themselves.

      Some women go to Mother’s Camp just to get a break from housework. For two days they don't cook,they don't clean,and they don't look after their children or husbands. What do they do? They enjoy warm,sunny weather,walking,swimming or boating on a clear blue lake and sing songs around the campfire. They relax away from home. They have a really wonderful vacation at Mother's Camp.

() 1. What can we learn from the passage?

   A. Women want to work outside the home.

   B. Working wives do most of the housework.

   C. Husbands do as much housework as their wives.

   D. Women do not like to stay at home with their families.

() 2. What can't the women do at Mother's Camp?

   A. Watch TV.

   B. Read newspapers.

   C. Swim in the lake.

   D. Bring their husbands and children.

() 3. Why would some mothers like to be alone?

   A. Because they don^ like their husbands or children.

   B. Because they have to work full-time.

   C. Because they are too busy to relax themselves.

   D. Because they want a new life.

() 4. What's the best title for the passage?

   A. Busy Working Mothers.

   B. Welcome to Mother's Camp.

   C. Mother Relax away from Home.

   D. Mothers in the US.

F

Dear Sigmund Friend,

          My name is Simon and I am a Grade 8 student. I am crazy 1 football!I love 2 football games,reading about football,and of course,playing football. My 3 is to be a great football player. However,my love of football has become a big problem,and I would like your 4 .

         I have 5 friends,and we always play football together at school or in the park after school. We like staying out late to play football. We often play for three hours or more and forget when to stop. Then I 6 trouble at home because my parents do not allow me to play outside after 6 p. m. I really do not 7 why they are so strict. I feel stressed and angry from time to time. I believe it is important for us to spend some time on our hobbies. They can help us relax and make our lives more 8 . I wish I could have my parents’ 9 .

         Is it bad to stay out late to play football? Should I spend less time on it? I really do not know 10 to do. Can you please advise me how to achieve a balance between my schoolwork and my hobbies? Thanks a lot Best wishes,Simon

() 1. A. for   B. with   C. of   D. about

() 2. A. watching   B. seeing   C. noticing   D. looking

() 3. A. work   B. dream   C. study   D. future

() 4. A. book   B. work   C. advice   D. school

() 5. A. much   B. little   C. few   D. many

() 6. A. get in   B. get into   C. get on   D. get off

() 7. A. understand   B. decide   C. ask   D. mean

() 8. A. nervous   B. busy   C. interesting   D. tired

() 9. A. support   B. money   C. car   D. clothes

() 10. A. why   D. when   C. what   D. where

E

      Peter was the best table tennis player in his school and hardly ever lost a match. He hated losing anything. When he w 1 ,he would feel really good. If he lost,he would feel terrible. It seemed to Peter that losing was the w 2 thing in the world.

      A new kid,Albert,came to Peter's school. He was good at table tennis,too. Soon there would be a match b 3 Peter and Albert. Peter worked h 4 to get ready for the match,but Albert didn't seem to think m 5 of it. When the match began,Albert was a real player. There was always a s 6 on his face,while Peter looked serious all the time. Peter thought it was so i 7 to win the match that he even wanted to cheats but he lost in the end,

      “You played very well,Peter. I think we can play again sometime ,” said Albert.

       But Peter didn't f 8 happy and couldn’t fall asleep that night.

       One day,Peter saw Albert playing basketball. Though he lost again and again,the happy smile n 9 left his face. Peter found Albert was great at table tennis but bad at basketball. However,he enjoyed b 10 of them.

       Whether he won or lost the game,Albert enjoyed it. Peter came to realize that enjoying a game was much more important than winning or losing it. He felt happier than ever before.

1.  2.

3.  4.

5.  6.

7.  8.

9.  10.

D

      Camping in your backyard is full of fun,whatever your age is. It’s great for keeping us relaxed. It offers chances to check the night sky and to be noisier than usual. It lets us have friends over to stay who might not fit inside the house!Follow these instructions and you’ll have a night you’ll never forget!

      Put up your tent.

      Depending on the number of family members and guests,you may need more than one tent. Tell your friends to bring their tents if they are needed. Follow the instructions or check out the articles on how to put up a tent on the Internet.

      Prepare your bedding.

      You’ll want your guests to be able to relax in comfort. Put something soft to lie on the floor： A blow-up air mattress or thick comforters may work well. Fill the tent with soft toys and blankets. Have lightweight sleeping bags or cotton blankets. They are especially important if you live where the night temperatures drop greatly.

      Prepare a seating area.

      If you have a picnic table,that would work best. If not,set up a few chairs and a small table to set out drinks and food. A simple choice is to lay out a blanket in the sun,so that your friends can eat and talk. Be sure the grass isn’t wet!

      Make memories.

      Plan some activities. You’re camping in the backyard,so it's time to make the most of being outdoors.

      Have a camera nearby to take silly photos of you,your family members,and your friends. Take one large group shot with everyone smiling and laughing. Be sure to make copies for everyone!

根据短文内容回答问题。

1. Is camping in the backyard great fun?

2. What can we do to help relax our guests?

3. What is a simple choice to prepare a seating area?

4. How do we make memories?

5. What is the passage mainly about?