Once there was a man who had two children, a boy and a girl. The boy was good-looking but the girl
was not. One day they found a mirror (镜子) for the first time and they saw what they looked like. The
boy was very happy and he said to his sister, "How handsome (英俊) I am! I look much nicer than you!"
The girl did not like what her brother said and gave him a hard push. "Go away!" she said.
     Their father saw what was happening. He went up to them and said to the boy, "You must always BE
good as well as LOOK good."
      Then to the girl he said, "My dear, if you help everyone and do your best to please him, everyone will
love you. It does not matter that you are not as good-looking as your brother."

1. Once a man had _____.

A. a good-looking boy
B. an ugly (难看的) girl
C. two good-looking children
D. a boy and a girl 

2. The boy saw what he looked like in the mirror and was happy because he _____. 

A. found a mirror
B. knew he looked as nice as his sister
C. and his sister were good-looking
D. was handsome

3. The girl gave the boy a hard push because _____.

A. she was stronger
B. what he said was wrong
C. she was not pleased with what he said
D. her father loved her

4. Father told the girl that _____. 

A. it was important to be good-looking
B. it was a good thing to be ugly
C. if she did her best to help people, she would enjoy people's love
D. she was as good-looking as her brother

5. What can we learn from this story?

A. To be good to people is more important than to be good-looking.
B. To be good-looking is very important.
C. If you want to make yourself good-looking, you must be good to people.
D. If you often help people, you will become more and more beautiful.

     A terrible explosive noise was heard, immediately followed by strong shaking of the classroom building.
Mrs Li Lan, a country school teacher in Sichuan, who was giving a class, could hardly keep on her feet,
and many of her pupils made panic cries. Mrs Li realized at once that it must be a powerful earthquake
hitting the area. Although she herself was scared, she managed (设法) to make the children calm down,
opened the door right away and told the children to leave the classroom and get down to the playground
as quickly as possible.
     When all the children had left, she followed them to the first floor. The earth still kept moving
violently (剧烈地). Some of the buildings nearby were falling down, and a great number of falling stones
were rolling down from the hills behind the school. Suddenly, she found a little boy fell over and was hit
by a big stone right on his body. She forgot the danger she was facing and ran over, trying to push the
stone away. The stone was so big that it was not easy for her to move it. She kept pushing until the boy
was pulled out, carrying him to the center of the playground. The boy was later sent to hospital and
saved.
1. What kind of disaster (灾难) happened in the story?
________________________________________________________
2. What was Mrs Li's action when she saw the boy under the stone?
________________________________________________________
3. Did Mrs Li fear death in the face of great danger?
________________________________________________________
4. What do you want to say after you finish reading the story?
________________________________________________________

     Nearly 2 000 years ago, during the Han Dynasty, there was a person called Ying Chen. One day, he
invited Du Xuan to his house and treated him with wine. On the wall of the room 1. h_____ a red bow (弓).
Its shadow appeared in Du Xuan's cup. Du Xuan took the shadow for a snake. He was 2. f_____ but he
didn't refuse out of politeness. He drank the wine 3. w_____ his eyes closed.
      When he was back at home he felt so sick that he could 4. h_____ eat and drink any more. He sent
for the doctor and took some 5. m_____, but nothing could cure him. 6. W_____ Ying Chen went to ask
Du Xuan how he got so seriously ill, Du told him about the snake in the wine. Chen returned home,
thought hard,7. b_____ he could not find an answer. 8. S_____ the bow on the wall caught his eyes.
"That's it!" he shouted. He immediately sent for Du Xuan. He seated him where he sat before and offered
him a cup of wine. Du Xuan saw the snake-like shadow again. Ying Chen said, pointing at the shadow,
"The 'snake' in the cup is 9. n_____ but a shadow of the bow on the wall!" Now that Du Xuan knew
10. w_____ it was, he felt much easier. And strange enough, his illness disappeared the next moment.
      This story turned out to be the idiom "Bei Gong She Ying".
1._______ 2._______ 3._______ 4._______ 5._______
6._______ 7._______ 8._______ 9._______ 10._______

     The Read family come to a new big city, but Mrs Read's son, Bob, is not happy. He doesn't have
anyone to play with. "Don't worry!" says his mother. "You will soon make friends here."
     One morning, there is a knock at the door. Bob's mother, Mrs Read, opens it. There stands a woman
with brown hair. It is Mrs Miller. She comes to borrow two eggs. She wants to make cakes. Mrs Read
gives her two. In the afternoon there is another knock at the door. Mrs Read opens it and she sees a boy
standing there. "My name is Jack Miller," he says. "My mother sends you this cake and two eggs." "Well,
thank you, Jack," says Mrs Read. "Come in and meet my son Bob."
     Look! Bob and Jack are having the cake and milk.They are playing football. Now they are friends! Jack
says, "I'm glad you live next door." Bob says, "I must thank your mother for coming to borrow eggs." Jack
laughs and tells Bob, "My mother doesn't want the two eggs, but she wants to make friends with your
mother!" Bob says, "That's a funny way to make friends. It's an easy way. It can work!"

1. Bob feels sad when he is in the new city because _____.

A. his mother isn't in the city
B. he has no new friends
C. he thinks the city is too noisy
D. Jack doesn't like him

2. Mrs Miller is _____.

A. Jack's friend
B. Bob's mother
C. Mrs Read's old friend
D. Mrs Read's new neighbor

3. Mrs Mtller _____ one morning.

A. gives Mrs Read a piece of cake
B. asks Bob to play with her son
C. borrows eggs from Mrs Read
D. gives back the eggs to Mrs Read

4. In the afternoon, _____ have the cake and milk together.

A. Bob and Jack
B. Jack and his mother
C. Bob and his mother
D. Mrs Read and Mrs Miller

5. What does Mrs Miller really want to do by borrowing eggs?

A. To make friends with the Reads.
B. To make cakes with eggs.
C. To find out what Mrs Read does.
D. To see if her friend is in.

     Bill and his friends are going hiking this weekend. He's afraid he's going to be hungry,
so he buys a lot of food and his bag is big and heavy. They start at nine in the morning and
they get to the city five hours later. They're all tired and his friends get on a bus, but Bill
can't. His bag sticks in the door and he has to get off. The bus leaves and he doesn't know
where he's going to meet them. He walks in the street and when it's eight in the evening,
he goes into a restaurant. He asks for some drinks and soon begins to sleep.
     When he wakes up at the midnight, he can't find any people in the restaurant. The door
is closed and he can't go out. He finds a telephone number on a piece of paper and begins to
call Mr. Jackson, the owner of the restaurant.
     "Hello," says the boy, "When do you open your restaurant, Mr. Jackson?"
     The telephone wakes the man up and he isn't happy. So he says, "Don't ask me about
that. I won't let you in."  
     "Oh, no! I want to go out."

1. Bill's bag is big because _____.

A. there's a lot of clothes in it
B. he puts much food in it
C. he likes big bags
D. he takes many books

2. _____, so he's still at the bus stop.

A. Bill can't carry his bag onto the bus
B. Bill doesn't see his friends
C. Bill doesn't know which bus to get on
D. Bill wants to take another bus

3. Bill goes to sleep soon because _____.

A. he's very hungry
B. he is very tired
C. he eats too much in the restaurant
D. he doesn't know where to go

4. Mr. Jackson thinks _____.

A. Bill wants to sleep in his restaurant
B. Bill wants to go into the restaurant
C. Bill leaves his bag in the restaurant
D. Bill wants to go out of the restaurant

5. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. At 2 o'clock p.m., Bill and his friends get to the city.
B. Bill knows where they are going to meet.
C. When bill wakes up, he finds the door is closed.
D. Bill wants to go out, so he telephones Mr. Jackson.

     David did well in all his subjects except (除……之外) physics. Mr Brown, his physics teacher,
gave him his physics paper and said to him, "Show it to your dad and ask him to sign his name (签名)
on the paper."
     David played football until it was 7 o'clock. When he got home, his parents finished supper. His dad
was watching TV and his mom was doing the dishes in the kitchen as usual (像往常一样).
     "Dad, may I ask you some questions?" David asked happily. "Yes, of course," said his dad.
     "If you can't answer them, you'll have to do something for me." "OK, I'll do as you tell me," said
his dad.
     "What is cooler, walking or sitting in the sun?" "Walking is cooler. It can make wind."
     "Which clothes can keep out (阻挡) the sunlight, shirts or coats?""Coats can keep out the sunlight
because they are much thicker (比较厚) than shirts."
      "Is a man smart if he wears a coat and walks in the sun in summer?" David looked at his dad and
waited for his answer. His dad thought for a minute and shook his head (摇头).
      David took out his paper, "Now sign your name on the paper, please."

1. What does Mr. Brown teach at school?

A. Geography.
B. How to sing.
C. Physics.
D. How to play football.

2. Who usually washes the dishes at David's home?

A. The mother.
B. The father.
C. David.
D. Both the parents.

3. What do you think the father has to do finally?

A. Do the dishes.
B. Sign his name.
C. Watch TV.
D. Walk in the sun.

4. What do you think of David?

A. He isn't active.
B. He is tall and strong.
C. He is smart and athletic.
D. He doesn't work hard at school.

5. Which is NOT true according to the passage? 

A. David isn't good at physics.
B. David didn't go home until 7 pm that day.
C. David's father answered all his questions.
D. It isn't smart for a man to wear a coat in the sun.

     Peter is thirteen years old. He is in Grade Two this year. He likes to play football and watch football
matches. And he often reads newspapers. He does his best to know when and where there is going to
be a football match. Now Peter is having lunch. He is listening to the radio, too. He is very happy because
there is going to be a nice footballmatch on Tv at four this afternoon. He wants to watch it very much.
But he is going to have English and Chinese lessons. He thinks hard and find a way.
      "Hello, Mrs Black," Peter says to his teacher on the telephone," Peter is ill in bed. He wants to ask
for half a day's leave (请半天假)."
     "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," says Mrs Black. "But who is that?"
     " It's my father. Mrs Black."