Hi! I’m Harry. Life used to be kind of difficult for me. The muscles(肌肉) in my arms and legs are weak. I have to be in a wheelchair all day. I can’t use my legs at all, and I’m not too great with my hands. If I drop something it stays dropped until someone picks it up for me. I can’t open doors or switch lights on and off. Carrying everything I need for school is a problem too.
Now things are easier. I have a helping hand. Pete is a golden dog that has been trained to help kids like me. Pete was at dog training school for two years to learn how to do different tasks. I had to be trained too. I had to learn how to give Pete instructions and how to take care of him.
When Pete is working he doesn’t play around. My friends know they are not to pet him or call him when he is working. He can pull my wheelchair and pick up things I drop. Pete carries my books and lunch on his back. He pushes the button on the school lift and opens some kinds of doors. He even knows how to switch lights on.
But best of all, Pete is here when I need a friend.
【小题1】According to the passage, who is Harry’s helping hand?
| A.Pete | B.His teacher. | C.His brother | D.His parent |
| A.Because his legs are broken. |
| B.Because his leg muscles are weak. |
| C.Because he is too lazy. |
| D.Because he likes it. |
| A.Pete can clean Harry’s room. | B.Pete can switch lights on. |
| C.Pete can pull Harry’s wheelchair. | D.Pete can push the button on the school lift. |
| A.Pete is only a helpful tool for him. |
| B.Pete is with him all the time. |
| C.Pete is a funny dog to make him happy. |
| D.Pete is not only a helping hand but also his good friend. |
After our hospital visit, my husband and I needed cheering up, so we thought we would treat ourselves to a big breakfast at our favourite restaurant. While we were waiting for our meals, we decided to use all our small change and make our wallets light, so we counted it out as we waited.
I vaguely(含糊地) remember seeing a man sitting nearby. When our meals arrived, we found a note. It read,” Your breakfast has been paid for. Hope you have a lovely day.”
It was a wonderful surprise as nothing like that had ever happened to us. He must have thought we could hardly pay the bill. We looked around to thank him, but he had left. As retirees(退休者),we were grateful for the help like this, but it was the kindness of a total stranger that meant so much more to us.
【小题1】The old couple went to restaurant for a big breakfast in order to _______.
| A.become happier | B.become healthier |
| C.become lighter | D.become younger |
| A.The old couple couldn’t afford the meal. |
| B.The old couple paid the meal by small change. |
| C.The old couple had a free meal in the end |
| D.The old couple bought the man a big breakfast |
| A.poor | B.rich | C.helpful | D.grateful |
Each spring brings a new blossom of wildflowers in the ditches along the highway I travel daily to work.
There are some particular blue flowers that have always caught my eye. I’ve noticed that they bloom only in the morning hours and the afternoon sun is too warm for them. Every day for about two weeks, I see those beautiful flowers.
This spring, I started a wildflower garden in our yard. I can look out of the kitchen window while doing the dishes and see the flowers. I’ve often thought that those lovely blue flowers from the ditch would look great in that bed alongside other wildflowers. Every day I drove past the flowers thinking, “I’ll stop on my way home and dig them.” “Gee, I don’t want to get my good clothes dirty…” Whatever the reason, I never stopped to dig them. My husband even gave me a folding shovel(铲子)one year in my car to be used for that expressed purpose.
One day on my way home from work, I was shocked to see that the highway department had destroyed the ditches and the pretty blue flowers were gone. I thought to myself, “Way to go, you waited too long. You should have done it when you first saw them blooming this spring.” A week ago we were shocked and saddened to learn that my oldest sister has a terminal brain tumor(肿瘤). She is 20 years older than me and unfortunately, because of age and distance, we haven’t been as close as we all would have liked. I couldn’t help but see the connection between the pretty blue flowers and the relationship between my sister and us. I do believe that God has given us some time left to plant some wonderful memories that will bloom every year for us.
And yes, if I see the blue flowers again, you can bet I’ll stop and transplant them to my wildflower garden.
【小题1】 Why did those flowers the writer saw only bloom in the morning?
| A.Because it was hot in the afternoon. |
| B.Because someone picked them away. |
| C.Because someone took them into houses. |
| D.Because the writer passed them in the morning. |
| A.The writer’s sister died of lung tumor. |
| B.The writer was regretful when she heard her sister’s death. |
| C.The writer planned to dig the flowers to give them to her husband. |
| D.The writer’s husband planned to plant some flowers in the garden. |
| A.to enjoy what we have now |
| B.to value now and not to lose chances |
| C.to protect the beautiful flowers we see |
| D.to love those who are your close relatives |
Tom arrived at the bus station quite early for Paris bus. The bus for Paris would not leave until five to twelve. He saw a lot of people waiting in the station. Some were standing in line, others were walking around. There was a group of schoolgirls. Their teacher was trying to keep them in line. Tom looked around but there was no place for him to sit.
He walked into the station cafe. He looked up at the clock there. It was only twenty to twelve. He found a seat and sat down before a large mirror on the wall. Just then, Mike, one of Tom’s workmates, came in and sat with Tom.
“What time is your bus?” asked Mike.
“There’s plenty of time yet,” answered Tom.
“Well, I’ll get you some more tea then,” said Mike.
They talked while drinking. Then Tom looked at the clock again. “Oh! It’s going backward(倒行)!” he cried. “A few minutes ago it was twenty to twelve and now it’s half past eleven.”
“You’re looking at the clock in the mirror.” said Mike. Tom was so sad. The next bus was not to leave for another hour. Since then Tom has never liked mirrors.
【小题1】The bus for Paris would leave at____________.
| A.12: 05 | B.11: 55 | C.11: 30 | D.11: 40 |
| A.Mike asked him to have a cup of tea |
| B.he didn’t like to stay with the schoolgirls |
| C.it was quite early and he could find a seat there |
| D.he wanted to have a drink with his workmate there |
| A.There was something wrong with the clock |
| B.Tom couldn’t arrive in Paris on time |
| C.Tom couldn’t have coffee with Mike |
| D.The train arrived late that day |
Tokyo, March 11, 2011
|
More than a minute before the earth under their feet began to shake, many millions of Japanese people got cell phone alerts; TV networks interrupted (打断,中断) their broadcasts and turned to the latest announcement of Japanese government; loud speakers started suddenly to warn people of the coming tsunami; bullet trains came to a stop. The earthquake on March 11 was the first test of the nation’s earthquake early-warning technology (地震预警技术). However, in the fight of Man vs Nature, Nature won again. Hundreds, if not thousands of people, lost their lives in Japan. Scientists believe it is the fifth-strongest quake in the world since 1900 and the most powerful on record ever to hit Japan.
Lin tells of calm survivors
When the office began to shake, his friends were calm and still working. But the shaking became stronger. People shouted at him: “Run out of the building, now!” This was Lin Jia’s first experience of an earthquake. Lin, 26, has been in Japan for three months, working as a software engineer in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Lin stayed with others in a bus station all afternoon. Buildings were shaken by a series(系列) of aftershocks. He was nervous, but the people around him were so calm and organized that he gradually (逐渐) calmed down.
【小题1】What does the underlined word “alert” mean?
| A.闹钟 | B.警报 | C.短信 | D.铃声 |
| A.2 | B.3 | C.4 | D.5 |
| A.Lin Jia has never met with an earthquake in Japan. |
| B.There have been five earthquakes in Japan since 1900. |
| C.The earthquake is the most powerful on record ever to hit Japan. |
| D.The local government warned people of the coming earthquake in some ways. |
| A.Keep away from the nuclear power plants. |
| B.Running out of the building. |
| C.Keep calm and organized. |
| D.Get the cell phone alerts |
| A.a newspaper | B.an advertisement | C.a diary | D.a novel |
Jim and Andy are standing at the bus stop and waiting for the No.6 bus. They want to buy some new books. Suddenly(突然), two men are running past them. A short man is crying,“help! help! Catch(抓住) the thief! Give my bag back to me.”“Oh! That man is a thief!”Jim shouts to Andy. They begin to run after the tall man, and very soon they catch him and get the bag back. The short man runs over and smiles,“Thank you. But we are filming(拍摄)a movie.”
【小题1】 What are Andy and Jim doing at the bus stop?
| A.They are waiting for the thief. |
| B.They are waiting for the bus. |
| C.They are waiting for their friends. |
| D.They are watching a movie. |
| A.They might go to the cinema (电影院). |
| B.They might go to the zoo. |
| C.They might go to a bookstore. |
| D.They might go to a restaurant. |
| A.an actor | B.a thief |
| C.a policeman | D.the short man’s friend. |
| A.thieves | B.policemen | C.actors | D.clerks |
| A.Jim and Andy like seeing movies |
| B.Jim and Andy like helping others |
| C.Jim and Andy want to be actors |
| D.the four people in the story become friends after that |
Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The building next door was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her sit by her window each afternoon, sewing(针线活) or reading.
After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I would say to myself, “I wonder why that woman doesn’t wash her window. It really looks terrible.”
One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window inside.
Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was seen clearly. Her window was clean!
Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing(批评) her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through(通过) my own dirty window.
That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own mistakes?
Since then, whenever I wanted to judge (评判) someone, I asked myself first, “Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?”
Then I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly.
【小题1】The writer couldn’t see everything clearly through the window because _________.
| A.the woman’s window was dirty |
| B.the writer’s window was dirty |
| C.the woman lived nearby |
| D.the writer has short sight |
| A.the woman was sitting by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading |
| B.the woman’s window was clean as soon as he washed his own window |
| C.the woman did cleaning in the afternoon, so the writer could see the woman clearly |
| D.the woman’s window was still terrible after he washed his own window |
| A.I began to understand it |
| B.it cheered me up |
| C.I knew the woman’s window grew light |
| D.it began to get dark |
| A.the writer didn’t meet the woman ago |
| B.the writer often washed the window |
| C.they both worked as cleaners |
| D.they lived in a small town |
| A.one shouldn’t criticize others very often |
| B.one should often make his windows clean |
| C.one must judge himself before he judges others |
| D.one must look at others through his dirty windows |