Eighth-grader Victoria Bills is talking about money with her classmates. She is worried that a company’s stock (股票) price could fall. It may be an unusual topic of conversation for a 13-year-old. But at Bills’ school in Chicago, US, you hear it all the time.
The Chicago school’s 420 students learn about economic(经济学). They also get a chance to make money. Each 1st grade and 5th grade, students learn the basics of economics and investing(投资).
Then in 6th grade, they put what they’ve learned to work. Students join a junior group that manages the $20,000. The group, made up of 12 to 14 students, decides which stocks to buy.
After graduating, students pass on $20,000 to the next 1st grade class. They keep half of the rest of the money; the other half goes toward improving the school. They can choose to put their money in a college-savings program or take the cash.
In 2007, Bills suggested that her class buy the stock of the Apple computer company. This was just before the iPhone came out. “We bought stock just at the right time,” she says. The kids bought Google stock as it reached $400 a share. It is now worth over $500. “It was a good buy,” says Myles Gate, 13. He hopes to be a banker one day.
The school’s two graduating classes of 2005 and 2006 have each earned about $10,000 in profits(利润).
【小题1】 At Bills’ school, students can’t .
| A.learn the basics of economics | B.learn how to invest money |
| C.get a chance to make money | D.share all the money they make |
| A.The teachers. | B.The school. |
| C.The students. | D.The parents. |
| A.$500 | B.$400 |
| C.$10,000 | D.$20,000 |
| A.Bills’ class bought the Apple stock after the iphone came out |
| B.it was a mistake for the class to buy Google stock |
| C.the students get some investing experience in the school |
| D.the class bought the two kinds of stocks at the same time |
| A.How students make money in the US. |
| B.Students learn economics and investing at school. |
| C.Myles Gage hopes to be a banker one day. |
| D.What US students hope to do after graduation. |
“Everything happens for the best,” my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. “If you can carry on, one day something good will happen.”
After graduating from college in 1932, I decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to sports announcer(播音员). I took the bus to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station. But I was refused every time. In one studio, a nice lady told me that big stations didn’t want to accept inexperienced persons. “Go to the countryside and find a small station that’ll give you a chance,” she said.
I returned home, Dixon in Illinois. While there were no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, my father said Smith Ward had opened a store and wanted a local sportsman to manage its sports department. Since I had played high school football in Dixon, I applied(申请). The job sounded just right for me. But I still failed in the interview. At that moment, mom’s words came to my mind: “Everything happens for the best.” Dad offered me a car to look for a job. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport in Iowa. The program director, named Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office, I felt sad. I asked aloud, “How can a man become a sports announcer if he can’t get a job in a radio station?”
I was waiting for the lift when I heard MacArthur calling, “What did you say about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he made me stand before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game. As a result, I did a wonderful job and was told to broadcast Saturday’s game!
On my way home, I thought of my mother’s words again: “Everything happens for the best if you carry on. One day something good will happen.”
【小题1】After the writer graduated from college, he tried to look for a job in at first.
| A.Chicago | B.Dixon |
| C.Davenport | D.Illinois |
| A.he had played high school football |
| B.he did not pass the interview |
| C.he had no working experience |
| D.he had no interest in the job |
| A.In all, the writer went to three cities to look for the job. |
| B.The writer took the train to different places to look for the job. |
| C.The writer gave up finally when he was refused again and again. |
| D.MacArthur gave the writer a chance to broadcast Saturday’s game directly. |
| A.it is hard to find a job |
| B.mother’s help is necessary |
| C.we should hope for the best |
| D.life is full of disappointment |
天晴国际学校将举行一系列主题活动,请你仔细阅读以下A到F选项中六位外教的信息,邀请期中五位外教分别给的活动做讲座。
________【小题1】.Music Festival ______【小题2】.Science Festival ________【小题3】.Sports Festival _______【小题4】English Festival _____【小题5】.Reading Festival
| Personal Information of Teachers Jane Birch is from America.She speaks 5 languages and has been to 14 counties. She is very popular with students and has many methods of learning foreign languages. Jerry Smith is a humorous teacher. He often turns his maths classes into game time. Math is more than numbers and shapes in his class.It can be used to solve real life problems. Daisy Chambers,a smart lady ,is good at playing the piano.She has been learning it for ten years. Amazingly,she learns it all by herself.Many students are her fans. Rod White is a creative teacher and inventor. He believes that invention is for everyone and everyone can be an inventor. In his class, students find it great fun to do scientific experiments. Emily Roy has written many stories. Students love reading her books, She always recommends good books to her students. She plans to write a book to share how reading changes her life. Lewis Nichols is an excellent swimmer. He takes part in the winter swimming competition every year. He thinks that swimming in cold water builds up not only his body but also his will. |
Thomas Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light. Without him, the world might still be in the dark. However, the electric light was not his only invention. He also invented the motion picture camera and 1200 other things. About every two weeks he created something new.
Thomas Edison was born in 1847. He attended school for only three months. His mother taught him at home, but Thomas was mostly self-educated. He started experimenting at a young age.
When he was 12 years old, he got his first job. He became a newsboy on a train. He did experiments on the train in his spare time. Unluckily, his first work experience did not end well. They fired him when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the train. Then Edison worked for five years as a telegraph operator, but he continued to spend much of his time in experimenting his first patent(专利权) in 1868 for a vote recorder run by electricity.
Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other, but he thought of his deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations short, so that he could have more time for work. He always worked 16 out of every 24hours. Sometimes his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.
Thomas Edison died at the age of 84. He left a great many inventions that greatly improved the quality of life all over the world.
【小题1】How often did Edison make a new invention?
| A.About every fourteen days | B.About every seven days |
| C.About once a week | D.About twice a week |
| A.Gave somebody a job | B.Set fire to somebody |
| C.Let somebody down | D.Forced somebody to leave his job |
| A.something bad | B.a gift from god | C.a kind of ability | D.a disadvantage |
| A.Edison had only 8 hours rest each day after his deafness |
| B.Edison got his education mostly by self-teaching |
| C.Edison had his first job in 1869 |
| D.Edison’s inventions greatly improved the quality of people’s life |
| A.The function of the electric light | B.Edison and his experiments |
| C.The importance of inventions | D.The whole life of Edison. |
On the first day of school our teacher introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned around to find a little old lady with a warm smile. She said, “Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old.”
“Why are you in university at such a YOUNG age?” I asked. She replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of kids, and then retire and travel.”
I knew she was joking. I was curious(好奇) what might have encouraged her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
“I always dreamed of having a university education and now I’m getting one!” she told me. We became friends. Every day we would talk nonstop after class. I always enjoyed listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom(智慧) and experience with me. And Rose easily made friends wherever she went.
At the end of the term we invited Rose to make a little speech. She cleared her throat and began, “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. I’ve learned a few secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.”
“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change...”
【小题1】When the author and Rose first met, they began their conversation in a ________ manner.
| A.polite | B.impolite | C.serious | D.humorous |
| A.meet a rich husband | B.make new friends |
| C.get a better job | D.get a university education |
| A.she always came to class on time |
| B.she made friends easily at university |
| C.she enjoyed a long life and had lots of wisdom and experience |
| D.she knew the difference between growing older and growing up |
| A.growing older | B.growing up | C.staying young | D.being happy |
| A.“Easier said than done.” | B.“Well begun is half done.” |
| C.“It is never too late to learn.” | D.“Reading makes a full man.” |
A Trip into a Young Farmer’s Mind Chickens that can talk? Cows that can dance? They are all in Louis Black’s comic books(漫画书). Louis Black was born on a farm. The quiet young man spent most of his life helping his parents on the farm. When he was nine, he started to draw the animals on the farm. Later, he put them into his comic books in his own funny way. They were enjoyed by his family but never shown to people outside the farm. The shy farmer’s comic books became famous only after he died. He passed on in a fire three years ago, when he was only 35. In order to remember him, his family showed his comic books in the town museum, and people liked them very much. Now the original(原始的) pictures of Louis Black’s farm animals can be seen at the City Art Center for one month. Come and visit the beautiful world of Louis Black! |
| A.At 9. | B.At 13. | C.At 23. | D.At 35. |
| A.sat | B.rose | C.died | D.stood |
a. His books became popular. b. His family enjoyed his books.
c. He passed on in a fire. d. He started to draw animals.
e. He was born on a farm.
| A.a-b-c-d-e | B.e-b-d-a-c | C.e-d-b-c-a | D.b-d-c-e-a |
| A.To plan a trip to visit a farm. | B.To tell people about an art show. |
| C.To attract people to the farm. | D.To share ideas of drawing comic books. |
Penny was a five-year-old girl. One day when she and her mother were in a department store, Penny saw a plastic pearl necklace (珍珠项链). What a beautiful necklace! She wanted it very much, so she begged(乞求)her mother to buy it for her. The mother said, “Well, I can buy you the necklace, but when we get home, we should discuss what you can do to pay for it. Can we do that?” Penny agreed with much happiness, and she got the necklace.
How much Penny loved the necklace! She wore it everywhere and every minute. Penny also did part - time jobs to make pocket money. She worked very hard. Soon she succeeded in paying off the price for the necklace.
Penny’s daddy knew how she tried her best to get the necklace. He also knew how much Penny cared about it. One night, he asked Penny if she loved him. “Sure, Daddy.” the little girl said. “Then how about giving me your necklace?” “Oh, no, Daddy! Not my necklace!” Penny cried. “Oh, dear, it’s fine.” her father gave her a kiss.
Several days later, Penny went to her daddy, with her lips(嘴唇) trembling(颤抖). “Here, Daddy. I love you.” She held out her hand. Inside it was the plastic pearl necklace that she loved so much.
When he saw this, Penny’s father smiled with surprise. He then pulled a cute box out of his pocket. Inside the box was a real and colourful pearl necklace, which was waiting for Penny for so long.
【小题1】 One day, Penny___________ in a department store.
| A.went to buy a necklace |
| B.got a plastic pearl necklace |
| C.bought her mother a pearl necklace |
| D.asked her mother to buy something tasty |
| A.she didn’t have enough money |
| B.she wanted to buy her a real pearl necklace |
| C.she thought it was not right for little kids to wear a necklace |
| D.she wanted Penny to know that one should buy and pay for oneself |
| A.Penny wanted one |
| B.Penny gave him a plastic one |
| C.he was pleased to see that Penny had learned what love is |
| D.he thought that people would laugh at him if Penny wore a plastic one |
| A.Penny worked hard to pay for the plastic necklace |
| B.Penny’s father wanted the plastic necklace |
| C.Penny knew her father had bought her a real necklace |
| D.Penny gave the plastic necklace to her father because she didn’t like it any more |
| A.parents should buy their kids everything |
| B.kids should love their parents |
| C.parents shouldn’t ask for anything from their kids |
| D.how to educate kids in a right way |