One day, Jack’s parents told him that his grandpa would retire(退休) after working for forty years. Jack said in surprise, “I’m only seven, so it means Grandpa has been… er … A really long time!”
His parents said, “Yes. That’s why we are going to have a surprising party for him. ”
Jack loved his grandpa and wanted to do something special for him. He remembered the business card his grandpa had given him two years before. He knew that his grandpa would no longer have theposition(职位) on that card, so he decided to build a new one for his grandpa.
When the big day came, Jack was ready. But he didn’t want to put his gift together with others’. He carried it around with him the whole evening.
When all the other people left, he took his grandpa’s hand and brought him over to a chair and gave him the gift.
His grandpa smiled, “Well, it must be a beautiful gift. May I open it now?” “Sure!” Jack said excitedly.
As Grandpa opened the gift, tears came into his eyes. Jack gave him the greatest gift he had ever got! They were business cards with new position: FULL-TIME GRANDPA! Jack said, “Now your full-time job is my grandpa!”
Well, how much do I get paid?” his grandpa asked, smiling. “As many hugs as you want!” With these words, Jack gave Grandpa a hug. “Well, I guess that means I’m the richest man in the world!” said Grandpa.
【小题1】Who was going to retire?

David comes from the train station and he doesn’t know where to go. This is the first time he comes to this town. He comes to see his good friend, Peter. Peter is a doctor. He works in a hospital. But David doesn’t know where the hospital is.
He walks in the street. He passes（经过）a bank, a post office, a hotel and at last he goes to a school. Some students are coming out, so he asks one of the students, “Excuse me. Which is the way to People’s Hospital?”
“Well, I know, you can go along this street, take the second turning on the right, and then take the third turning on your left. It’s next to a museum.”
“I’m sorry I can’t follow you.”
“Well, I just live near there, and my mother works in that hospital, too. I’m going home now. Will you go with me? I’ll take you there.”
“That’s great! Thank you very much！”
“Then, let’s go to the bus stop. And we’ll take the No.12 bus there.”
【小题1】_______comes to the town to see his friend.

One day, in an English class, the students are doing their lessons. Their teacher, a young woman, is very happy. She sings with them and then she goes to the blackboard and writes “SMILES” on it.
“This is the longest word in English,” she says to the class.
A girl stands up and says, “It has only six letters. How can it be the longest word in English?”
The teacher smiles and says, “Oh, look! There is a mile (英里) between the first letter and the last one.”
【小题1】One day, the students are having        .

Dear Zhou Lan,
Thank you very much for your mail. I want to go to China. I know something about China from your e-mails. Your English is very good. But I don't know much Chinese. Now I'm learning it from my parents. They know much about China. They tell me many things about China.
I'm happy to know you like your school and your family. You want to know my family and my school. I have a big family. My grandparents and my parents are all very fine. My father has a brother. He is my uncle, John. He and my aunt have their children. They're Bill, Linda, Mary and Lily. My brother Dick is a boy of eighteen. I like my family very much. I'll go to China next year with my mother. She is going to teach English in a middle school in Beijing.
Yours,
Annie
【小题1】This is an e-mail from _____ to _____.

Kate is an English girl. She lives in a tall building in the city of London. There are sixteen floors in the building, and she lives on the tenth floor. She uses a lift to go up and down. Kate studies in a middle school near her house and she works hard. She goes to school early. Every day she leaves her home at half past six. She walks to the lift, and it takes her down to the first floor. There is a bus stop near the building. Usually she takes No.7 bus to her school, but sometimes she goes on foot. It is only four kilometers to her school from the building. She gets to school at about seven twenty. Classes begin at eight. She goes to play games at three forty. She gets home at a quarter past five. She begins to do her homework at eight and finishes it at half past nine.
【小题1】Kate lives in a tall building ________ London.

2011 is a special year to all the people in Shenzhen. The 26^th World Universiade will be held in the city from August 12^th to 23^rd.
As we all know, “Start Here” is the slogan of this great event. Does anyone know that a new life of two giant pandas will start here as well?
Shenzhen is expecting the pair of pandas for the Summer Univcrsiade. The pandas, a male and a female from Wolong Panda Research Center in Sichuan Province, will be “universiade Pandas”, just like “Asian Games Pandas” and “Olympic Pandas”.
Shenzhen Safari Park will rebuild its panda house to welcome the pandas. The panda house has been empty since another panda, Yongba, 25, was returned to Sichuan in 2009 because it was too old.
How old are the Universiade Pandas? What are their names? What are they like? What are their living habits? We will find out the answers in June when they arrive.
【小题1】The26th World Universiade will begin on       .

When I was a teenager growing up in Russia, I wanted to leave school and have my own life. The only way I could do this was to work in the local brick factory in my town, or get married. I was nervous when I told my father I wanted to leave school. I thought he would say, “No! You are going to college.” He took me by surprise when he said, “OK. We’ll go to the brick factory.”
Two days later, he took me to the factory. I had a very romantic idea of working in a factory. I had imagined everyone to be friends working together and having fun. I even imagined there would be music and singing. I guess I had watched too many movies as a teenager.
When we arrived at the factory gate, my father spoke to the guard and one minute later we were inside. My father said, “Take your time. Look around.” I walked around the factory looking at the building, the workers, and listening to the noise. It was horrible. I ran back to my father and said, “I want to go home.”
He asked me, “What do you think of the factory?”
“It’s terrible,” I replied.
“And marriage is even worse!” he said.
I went back to school the next day thinking about studying hard so I could get into a good college. I enjoyed studying English so I decided to major in languages at college. Thanks to my father and our trip to the brick factory, I now work at the United Nations and my father is very proud of me. I married a very good man and my life is much better than it would have been working in the factory!
【小题1】The writer lived in       when she was a teenager.
A. Russia       B. Japan        C. China
【小题2】At first she thought life in the factory would be       than in school.
A. more careful     B. more colorful       C. more beautiful
【小题3】When she told her father that she wanted to leave school, he expressed his disagreement       .
A. by doing nothing    B. in a special way     C. by saying nothing
【小题4】After they visited the factory, the girl       .
A. decided to work there     B. decided to get married    C. changed her mind
【小题5】The underlined work “horrible” means “    ” in Chinese.
A. 糟糕的       B. 紧张的       C. 浪漫的

Ben Jones was walking home from school one day when he saw a black cat. It was walking across the street in front of him. Ben stopped, turned around, and walked down a different street to go home. Why did he do that?
“It’s unlucky when a black cat crosses the street in front of you,” says Ben, “I did not want to walk down that street!”
Many people think that some things bring bad luck or good luck. For example, some people think that 13 is an unlucky number. They never invite 13 people to a party.
“I never walk under a ladder(梯子),” says Ben. “And I never open an umbrella inside the house. They both bring bad luck.”
And what brings good luck? “We have a horseshoe over the front door of our house for good luck,” says Ben.
“And when I find a penny on the ground, I always pick it up. That brings me good luck all day!”
【小题1】Why did Ben turn around when he saw the black cat crossing the street?
A. Because he thought it was unlucky.   
B. Because he disliked a black cat.
C. Because he was afraid of the cat.
【小题2】In western countries, which number do some people think is unlucky?
A. 4       B. 10       C. 13
【小题3】Which of the following things can bring people good luck?
A. Opening an umbrella inside the house.     
B.  Walking under a ladder.
C. Picking up a penny on the ground.
【小题4】Where does Ben’s family have a horseshoe?
A. Over the front door.  
B. Inside the house.  
C. Under a ladder.
【小题5】Which is the best title of the passage?
A. A black cat.           
B. Good luck and bad luck.
C. Good things can bring good luck.

“If you want to see a thing well, reach out and touch it!”
That may seem a strange thing to say. But touching things can help you to see them better.
Your eyes can tell you that a glass ball is round. But by holding it in your hands, you can feel how smooth and cool the ball is. You can feel how heavy the glass is. When you feel all these about the ball, you really see it. With your skin, you can feel better. For example, your fingers can tell the difference between two coins in your pocket. You can feel a little drop of water on the back of your hand, too. You can even feel sounds against your skin. Have you ever wanted to know why some people like very loud music? They must like to feel the sounds of music.
All children soon learn what “Don’t touch!” means. They hear it often. Yet most of us keep on touching things as we grow up. In shops, we touch things we might buy: food, clothes. To see something well, we have to touch it. The bottoms of our feet can feel things, too. You know this when you walk on warm sand, cool grass or a hard floor. All feel different under your feet.
There are ways of learning to see well by feeling. One way is to close your eyes and try to feel everything that is touching your skin. Feel the shoes on your feet, the clothes on your body, the air on your skin. At first, it is not easy to feel these things. You are too used to them!
Most museums are just for looking. But today some museums have some things to touch. Their signs say, “Do touch!” There you can feel everything on show.
If you want to see better, reach out and touch. Then you will really see!
【小题1】By touching things       .

Do you have any foreign friends? Do you know their characteristics(特征)?
The Germans are very quiet and they always keep calm. They don’t like to speak more words. They look very serious. They like different kinds of amusements. The Germans are very hard—working. They like tidiness, especially the women, who always keep their home clean.
In some ways, the Englishmen look the same as the Germans. They are very quiet and never talk too much with the strangers. They are really polite, so we often hear they say “Thank you.” Or “Sorry.” The gentlemen are also the Englishmen.
The French’s holidays are very long. They like traveling and usually spend their long time staying in other countries. The Frenchmen are more outgoing than the Germans. It is very easy to make friends with them.
Compared to the Frenchmen, the Americans are more outgoing. And they are even opener than all of the Europeans. They don’t like to depend on others. So it is very common that the students do part-time jobs in their free time. And in Americans’ eyes, success is an important part in their life.
【小题1】According to the passage, ______are very quiet.