Thomas Saint patented(获专利)his idea for a sewing-machine(缝纫机)in London in 1790, but the idea was not used．Then a German patented his idea for a sewing-machine in 1810, but again nobody was interested in it．In 1829 a poor tailor in Paris, Barthelemy Thimonnier, invented a machine which worked and made eight of them．As his prices were cheap, he was given a big order of army uniforms．

　　However, other tailors in Paris were afraid：they thought that they might lose their jobs．The angry tailors broke all eight machines．Thimonnier lost the order．But he continued to improve his design．He made a new machine in 1848 and this was destroyed, too!

　　Then the story continued in the USA．Various(各种各样的)machines were patented there in the 1850s, but one machine is known everywhere now：The Singer．Its inventor was I．M．Singer, a German immigrant(移民), and his company made the new machines．Soon they were sold for using at home, the first complex(复杂的)machines for making things at home．This time was accepted(被接受)by everyone and the design was not improved for many years because it was very good．

　　These inventions changed people's jobs and lives．People didn't like the change at first but later the new machines were accepted．

1．What happened to the eight machines of the tailor?

____________________

2．Why didn't the other tailors like the machines?

____________________

3．What's the name of the sewing-machine first used at home?

____________________

4．Is it easy for a new invention to be accepted by people?

____________________

5．In what way can an invention change people according to this passage?

____________________

　　Reading for pleasure is the easier way to become a better reader in English．It is also the most important way．

　　Some students say they don't want to read for pleasure．They say they want to use their time to learn the rules of the language and the words．They say that pleasure reading is too easy．

　　Many experts say that pleasure reading is very important for learning English．Dr．Stephen Krashen, a famous expert on learning language, says that pleasure reading helps you learn many things about English．Students learn more grammar and more words when they read for pleasure．They also learn more about good writing．

　　Dr．Stephen tells us that pleasure reading helps each student in a different way．Each student needs to learn something different．Pleasure reading makes it possible for each student to learn what she or he needs．

　　Reading for pleasure is not the same as studying．When you read for pleasure, you choose your own books, and you don't have to remember everything．There are no tests on your pleasure reading books．Pleasure reading will help you：

　　Learn how English speakers use English．

　　Read faster in English．

　　Find examples of good writing in English．

　　Learn new words．

　　Learn about the culture of English speakers．

1．Is pleasure reading important for learning English?

________________________

2．Which is the easier way to become a better reader, pleasure reading or studying?

________________________

3．What do some students think of pleasure reading?

________________________

4．How can we become better readers?

________________________

5．What's the greatest advantage of pleasure reading?

________________________

阅读理解　然后回答下题。

　　The computer is a wonderful machine．It is the most important invention in many years．Today it is used in many ways．In a few years the computer may touch the lives of everyone, even people in far away villages．

　　The oldest kind of computer is the abacus, used in China for many centuries．In the seventeenth century an adding machine was invented, but the first largest, modern computer was built in 1946．A computer then could do 5000 addition problems in one second．Now computers can work millions of times faster．All computers have a memory．That means information can be kept in them and be taken out at any time．Computers are getting smaller and smaller, and computing faster and faster．

　　In some large factories now there are very few people．Robots do．most of the work．For example, in a car factory, when a different kind of car comes along the line, the robot changes its work just as a man would do．How does the robot know this? A computer“tells”it what to do．

　　In the last few years there have been great changes in computers．Many scientists agree that computers cannot do everything people can do, but they also agree that computer can now do most of the things people can do．Who knows what the computers of tomorrow will be like? Will they make life better or worse, or will they bring bad things to people? The scientists of today have to think about how to use the computers of tomorrow．

1．What is the oldest kind of computer in China?

______________________

2．When was the first largest computer built?

______________________

3．In 1946, how many addition problems could a computer do in one second?

______________________

4．Why do we say that computers have a memory?

______________________

5．How can robots do many things?

______________________

根据短文内容回答问题。

1．How many kinds of animals are talked about in the passage?

_____________________________

2．Now Mrs Smith is in the zoo with her two sons, one is 14 and the other is 10, how much are the tickets together?

_____________________________

3．Is 3∶00 p. m. Sunday the visiting time?

_____________________________

4．Is the animal“giraffe”tall or short?

_____________________________

5．What mustn't we do in the zoo?

_____________________________

根据短文内容回答问题。

　　It was a beautiful spring morning．There wasn't rain in the sky, and the sun was warm but not too hot．So Mr．Black was surprised when he saw an old man at the bus stop with a big strong black umbrella in his hand．

　　Mr．Black said to him,“Are we going to have rain today, do you think?

　　No,”said the old man,“I don't think so．”

　　“Then are you carrying the umbrella to keep the sun off you?”

　　“No, the sun is not very hot in spring．”

　　Mr．Black looked at the big umbrella again, and the old man said,“I am an old man, and my legs are not very strong, so I really need a walking-stick(拐杖)．But when I carry a walking-stick, people say, ‘Look at the poor old man’, and I don't like that．When I carry an umbrella in fine weather, people only say,”“Look at that stupid(愚蠢的)man．”

1．When did Mr．Black see an old man?

_________________________

2．Why Mr．Black was surprised?

_________________________

3．What was the weather like that day?

_________________________

4．Why the old man take umbrella?

_________________________

5．When the old man carried an umbrella, what did people thought about him?

_________________________

阅读短文，然后根据内容回答所提问题

　　I went to City Shopping Centre last Saturday．Suddenly, I saw something on the floor．It was a purse and I could see lots of money in it．A man picked it up．I stared at him for a few seconds．I noticed he put the purse into his pocket．Then he hurried towards the underground station．“That's strange．”I thought,“It was a woman's purse．That man stole it．He was not an honest person!”

　　I saw a policeman and I reported it to him．He said,“Thank you very much．I'll deal with it．”He picked his mobile phone and dialed a number．Then he ran to the underground station．

　　A train arrived and he jumped aboard．The doors closed, but the train didn't move．Then I heard a terrible argument．The man shouted at the policeman．The policeman put some handcuffs on the man．The train doors opened and they walked towards the gate of the shopping centre．Suddenly a woman shouted through the railings．“I've lost my purse．”She said,“Someone stole it!”

1．Where did the man find the purse?

_______________________

2．What did the man do after he picked the purse up?

_______________________

3．Did the writer report what happened to the policeman?

_______________________

4．The policeman didn't catch the man who had taken the purse, did he?

_______________________

5．Whose purse is it?

_______________________

阅读短文，然后按要求完成各题。

　　In China, students in school only do one thing－study．They often get up during 6∶00－6∶30 in the morning．And after having a quick breakfast, they go to school．School(A)________ at about 8∶00．There are four lessons in the morning and four in the afternoon．After school, the students may go to extra classes to learn more．There is one reason for doing that－getting high marks in the exams．(B)他们每周能上两次体育课。Teenagers are busy with study, so they(C)________ have time to play, even to work．

　　But in America, things are different．After school, students can join many kinds of clubs, such as football club, dancing club, writing club, etc．The life of the students is various and colorful．

　　In America, many teenagers like to do some part-time job to earn their pocket money．There are a lot of jobs they can do, for example, baby-sitting, mowing lawn in summer and cleaning sidewalks in winter．

　　(D)Many American teenagers usually work for two or three hours after school and all day on Saturday or Sunday in the supermarkets．(E)They can use these money to pay for their own textbooks．

　　By doing this, teenagers can get a sense of responsibility and independence．They can also learn how to spend the money wisely．Chinese teenagers should be given more time to do other things besides study．

1．在(A)的空白处填入一个适当的词语：

__________________________

2．将画线部分(B)译成英语：

__________________________

3．在(C)处填入一个适当的词语：________

4．将画线部分(D)译成汉语：

__________________________

5．将画线部分(E)改写成同义句：

They ________ these money ________ their own textbooks．

根据短文内容回答问题。

　　A new semester begins．Is anything new at your school?

　　This year, Sichuan schools have a new rule：the first classes begin no earlier than 8∶30 a. m．This will make students get an extra hour to sleep in the morning, and help them feel less tired．

　　Liu Xian, 15, said his class were excited by the news on the first day of school．“It's so good that we can get up later!”said Liu．

　　Liu studies in Chengdu No．4 Middle School．He used to get up at 6∶40 a. m．Now he can get up at 7∶40 because class doesn't start until 8∶40 a. m．

　　Wu Hongli, 15, said the new schedule is good for her health．“I used to drink coffee every night, or I would feel too sleepy to finish my homework,”said Wu．“Now I can finish without coffee．”

　　She used to get up at 6∶30 a. m. Now she can get up at 7∶30 a. m．

　　Wu's mother was happy too．She thought more sleep would help her daughter grow taller．

　　But some parents worried that more would mean less learning．There used to be five classes in the morning．Now there are only four．

　　Many teachers, however, said the changes would help students learn better．

　　“Students used to be sleepy for the first two classes in the morning,”said Wu Zongping an English teacher．“But now they look energetic and they learn much better than before．”

1．What is the new rule in Sichun schools this year?

_________________________

2．How did the students feel when they heard the news?

_________________________

3．Why did some parents worry about the new change?

_________________________

4．Did the teachers feel good about the new rule?

_________________________

5．What is the main purpose to make the new rule?

_________________________

根据短文内容回答问题。

　　Lev Platov is from Russia．He lives in the United States now．In Russia, Lev worked for a computer company．He was happy in his job．But he wanted to move to the United States．He wanted to live near his brother, Lenoid．

　　Lev is looking for a job in Columbus, Ohio．Lev wants to work for another computer company．But he has one big problem．He can't speak English fluently．He needs to speak English very well before a company hires him．

　　Now Lev goes to a computer class every afternoon．He is learning about computer and computer terminology in English．

　　Lev also studies English Monday through Thursday in the evening．It's difficult for him．Sometimes he feels nervous and unhappy．But Lev knows English is very important, so he works hard．

　　Lev wants to get a job by next year．He hopes to earn a good salary．Lev wants to buy a car and, in a few years, a house．Good luck, Lev!

1．Was Lev happy in his job in Russia?

_________________________

2．Why did he want to move to the United States?

_________________________

3．Where is Lev looking for a job?

_________________________

4．Where does Lev go every afternoon?

_________________________

5．What main problem does Lev have in the United States?

_________________________

阅读短文，然后根据内容回答所提问题。

　　Vincent is a doctor．He has worked in a hospital since he graduated from university about six years ago．He works very hard every day．

　　In the morning, he works from nine o'clock to eleven o'clock．After lunch, he works from one o'clock to five o'clock．He goes to work every day except Saturdays and Sundays．

　　He has breakfast and dinner at home, but he has lunch in a restaurant near the hospital．The food and service are quite good there．He likes the restaurant so much that he goes there for a meal even at the weekend．

　　In the evening, he often listens to the radio or watches TV．Sometimes, he goes to the pub or goes to parties with his friends．He goes to bed late every night．

　　He sometimes has sports at the weekend．Of all the sports, he likes tennis best．Sometimes he plays tennis with his friends．Sometimes, he also plays basketball with them．

1．What's Vincent's job?

_____________________

2．How long has Vincent been working in this job?

_____________________

3．How many hours does Vincent work every day?

_____________________

4．Where does Vincent have lunch from Monday to Friday?

_____________________

5．What do you think of Vincent's life?

_____________________