Down-to-earth means being honest, open, and easy to deal with. It is a pleasure to find someone who is down-to-earth. A person who is down-to-earth is easy to talk to. He or she accepts others as equals. A down-to-earth person may be an important member of society, of course, but they do not let their importance go to their heads, and they do not consider themselves to be better than others who are less important. Someone who is filled with self-importance and pride, often without cause, is said to have his nose in the air. There is no way a person with his nose in the air can be down-to-earth.

Americans use another expression that is similar in some way to down-to-earth. The expression is both feet on the ground. Someone with both feet on the ground is a person with a good understanding of reality. He has what is called common sense. He may have dreams but he does not allow them to block his knowledge of what is real. The opposite kind of person is one who has his head in the clouds. A man with his head in the clouds is a dreamer whose mind is not in the world. Sometimes such a dreamer can be brought back to reality; sharp words from the teacher, for example, can usually get a daydreaming student to put both feet back on the ground.

The person who is down-to-earth usually has both feet on the ground. But the opposite is not always true. Someone with both feet on the ground may not be as open and easy to deal with as someone who is down-to-earth. When we have both our feet firmly on the ground, we are realistic and we act honestly and openly toward others, and our lives are like the ground below us, solid and strong.

1.If a person has his nose in the air, he ____.

A．is down to the earth                     B．is easy to deal with

C．always thinks he is more important than others D．is confident

2.From the second paragraph, we know that sharp words from a teacher can usually ________.

A．help a student get down to the earth

B．wake a student up

C．help a daydreaming student come down to the ground

D．help a daydreaming student to become more realistic

3.The underlined sentence “But the opposite is not always true.” most probably means that ______.

A．the person who has his nose in the air is not true

B．a man with his head in the clouds is often not intelligent

C．the opposite direction is always wrong

D．a person who has both feet on the ground may not be down-to-earth

4.From the passage, we can infer the person who is _______ is the most popular kind of person.

A．down-to-earth                         B．standing on the ground

C．with his nose in the air                   D．with his head in the clouds

Mr. Jackson was tired of living in his old house in the countryside and wanted to sell it and buy a better one. He tried to sell it for a long time, but was not successful, so at last he decided to go to an estate agent.

The agent advertised(登广告) the house straight away, and a few days later, the owner saw a very beautiful photograph of his house, with a wonderful description of his garden in an expensive magazine.

Having read the advertisement through, the house owner hurried to phone the estate agent, saying, “I'm sorry, Mr. Jones, but I've decided not to sell my house after all.” “Why?” the agent asked in a surprised voice. “Because from the advertisement in that magazine I can see it's just the kind of house I've wanted to live in all my life.”

1. Mr. Jackson wanted to sell his house because _____.

2.The reason why Mr. Jackson went to the estate agent was _____.

3. At last Mr. Jones _____.

4. What do you think of the advertisement in magazines?

5.What’s the meaning of “an estate agent” in paragraph one?

Every country has its heroes. The heroes are the people the nation and especially the young people admire. If you get a list of the heroes of a nation, it will tell you the potential of that nation.

If today in America, you ask the high school students to list their heroes, their choice would probably fall into three groups. The first group of heroes would be the rock stars —the people connected with rock music. There is no doubt that such people do have talent but one wonders if one should regard rock stars as a model. The rock stars too often are involved with drugs and their personal life is not all that good. The rock stars are rich and wear the latest fashion styles. However, one should seek more in a hero than such things as money and good clothes.

A second type of hero for the American youth is the sports star. Again you have a person who has a great ability in one area — SPORTS. However, too often the personal life of the sports star is a bit of a mess. Too frequently drugs and drinking are a part of life of the sports star.

A third type of hero is the TV or movie star. This person may have lots of acting talent and is quite handsome. However, the personal life of too many actors is quite sad and they should not be held up as a model for young people.

Today, the rock star, the athlete and the actor all have become the models of the youth in America. Really, do you hear a young person say that his hero is a doctor, a teacher, or a scientist? These people are not rich and do not wear fashionable clothes. However, they are talented people who work hard to make the world a better place for everyone.

What is really sad is that the young try to imitate their heroes. They like to wear the same clothes and follow their styles. If the heroes of today for the American youngsters are limited only to rock stars, athletes and actors, the future does not look too bright.

The hero discussed in this article means a person ______.

A. who has done something brave   

B. who plays an important role in a play

C. whom people greatly admire     

D. who rides the waves and moves with the tides

What is true of the groups mentioned in this article?

A. They are not fright but are good-looking.

B. They are rich but are strict with themselves.

C. They are talented in some area but lead an indecent life.

D. They are perfect in every way.

American young people will not admire ______.

A. a university professor              B. a popular singer

C. a football player               D. a film actress

According to the writer, people should hold up as their model those______.

A. who are rich and wear the latest fashion clothes

B. whose personal life is good

C. who can express people’s feelings

D. who work in the interests of the people

 单词拼写 （共10分）
76.The police c_______ him of stealing a car and put him into prison .
77.At last , we can’t help showing m_____to the beggar .
78.A scientist should be a person who has c________about things.
79.The elderly need special care in winter , as they are s______to the sudden change of weather.
80.The examiner will test your a______to drive under normal road conditions.
81.The agency offers practical _______( 指导  ) to people staring their owwn business.
82.My camera can be _______(调节  )to take pictures in cloudy or sunny conditions.   
83.He was ________ (沮丧 ) when he heard the bad news .
84.I felt very disappointed when my repeated request that I join the club was _______( 拒绝  ). 85.According to his _______( 先前的 ) experience in driving cars , he must be very careful when it is snowing.      

Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is also the color of most growing plants.
Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh and growing. Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet ripe（成熟） or finished. For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience, who is new to a situation. In the fifteenth century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns(角) had not yet developed. A century or so later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in battle. By the eighteenth century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today—a person who is new in a job.
Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb. The expression comes from the early nineteen hundreds. A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well. You might say that the woman next door has a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died.
The Green Revolution is the name given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains. The new plants produced much larger crops. The Green Revolution was the result of hard work by agricultural scientists who had green thumbs.
Green is also the color used to describe the powerful feeling, jealousy(嫉妒). The green-eyed monster is not a frightening creature from outer space. It is an expression used about four hundred years ago by British writer William Shakespeare in his play “Othello”. It describes the unpleasant feeling a person has when someone has something he wants. A young man may suffer from the green-eyed monster if his girlfriend begins going out with someone else. Or, that green-eyed monster may affect your friend if you get a pay rise and she does not.
【小题1】Greenhorn now refers to ____.