A woman repeated a bit of gossip (流言) about a neighbour. Within a few days the whole neighbourhood knew the story. The neighbour was deeply hurt. Later the woman responsible (负责) for spreading the gossip learned that it was completely untrue. She was very sorry and went to a wise old man to find out what she could do to repair the harm.
“Go to the marketplace,” he said. “and buy a chicken, and have it killed, then on your way home, pluck (拔) its feathers and drop them one by one along the road. ” Although surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told.
The next day the wise man said, “ Now, go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me. ”
The woman followed the same road, but she was so discouraged when she found the wind had blown all the feathers away. After searching for hours, she returned with only three in her hand.
“ You see, ” said the old man, “it’s easy to drop them, but it’s impossible to get them back . So it is with gossip. It doesn’t take much to spread a gossip, but once you do, you can never completely undo the wrong.”
【小题1】The woman was very _________ the harm she had done to her neighbour.

A．happy about

B．angry about

C．sorry for

D．excited about

【小题2】Which of the following statements is TURE?

A．The gossip didn’t hurt anyone at all.

B．The wise man was not kind enough.

C．The woman found all the feathers at last.

D．The woman was given a lesson.

【小题3】What the wise man said has nearly the same meaning as the Chinese phrase “_________”

A．覆水难收

B．无中生有

C．欲速不达

D．得道多助

A student newspaper reports that most students go to sleep at 1:30 am. Even if that’s an overstatement (夸张), it’s close to the truth. Scientists say teens should sleep nine hours each night. But that’s hard. Some are even “pulling all-nighters” (开夜车). These students must hand in their homework the next day but they haven’t done it. In the morning they don’t look healthy and you can tell who’s been doing it. One of my classmates did a survey on the topic. She found that most kids pull all-nighters to finish homework, but some do it for other reasons, such as playing computer games!
Maybe our lack(缺乏) of sleep is because of laziness — I think I’m a rather lazy student — or maybe it’s because we have too much to do in American high schools. I usually go to bed around midnight. If I stayed up past 1:30 am, I wouldn’t get any work done. I’d be falling asleep at my computer. My classes begin at 7:30 am. I’m partly awake in my first class. By the second, I’m a little sleepy. By my third class, I’m sleepy. By midday I’m finally fully awake. But by 3:00 pm, I’m slowing down again. Yet I get more sleep than usual students.
Most American high schools seem to have a similar(相似的) problem with sleepy students. High school classes start at 7:30 am, so students have to get up one and a half hours before that to get ready and catch the bus. It’s believed that lack of sleep can be bad for both grades and health. Some schools are paying attention. Classes in those schools start at 8:30 am.
【小题1】What does the underlined sentence “it’s close to the truth” mean?

A．It doesn’t tell the truth.	B．It is quite true.
C．It is impossible.	D．I don’t think it’s right.

【小题2】Why do most of the teens have to stay up late?

A．They play computer games.	B．They watch videos late.
C．They have to do a lot of housework.	D．They have to do a lot of homework.

【小题3】When do students in most American high schools have to get up?

A．At 7:30 am.

B．At 6:00 am.

C．At 9:00 am.

D．At about 7:00 am.

【小题4】Which of the following is TRUE according to the reading?

A．The writer usually stays up past 1:30 am.

B．The writer usually goes to bed around midnight.

C．The writer usually does a survey.

D．Many American students don’t get enough sleep, so they can have high grades.

【小题5】What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Something has to be done to solve the problem of students’ lack of sleep.

B．Many American high school students are sleepy in class.

C．Many kids have too much homework to do.

D．Students can’t play computer games.

A SCHOOL REPORT

Name：Edward Scott School：Kelvin Grove State High School Grade：7                     Term ending：May
Subjects：
Mathematics He is a little weak in this, but he has tried his best to catch up with others.
Science He can work out many difficulties. Well done!
English He is the best in the class. Keep it up.
French His reading is very good, he can remember many words.
History He is not so good at this, but has done better than before.
Geography He is familiar(熟悉的) with the names of many places in the world.
Music He doesn’ t like pop songs, though sings very well.
Conduct：fair          No. in class：9           Absences：8
Remarks(评语)：Edward has the ability to do a lot better. More work is needed next term.
Class teacher：Ivy
Principal：M. L. Martin
School reopens：11，September

【小题1】Edward’s best subject is _________.

A．Science

B．English

C．Geography

D．French

【小题2】Edward is not so good at _________.

A．science and geography	B．mathematics and history
C．history and French	D．music and English

【小题3】According to the form, which of the following sentences is TRUE? _________

A．Edward can’t sing songs very well.

B．Edward doesn’t do well in science.

C．Edward can do better if he works harder next term.

D．Edward learns two foreign languages in school.

At 18, many American young people go off on their own. They go away to college or find full-time jobs, and they often rent their own apartments. Some get married and start families. This independence(独立性)is learned from childhood. From an early age, American children learn responsibility. Children as young as 2 begin to put away their toys and dress themselves. At 3, many children do simple chores like setting the table.
Using money wisely is also taught early. As soon as a child understands the value of money, he or she receives a weekly allowance. This is used for things the child wants, like toys or treats. The child can spend of save it, usually with little guidance(指导) from parents. If the child wants money besides his or her allowance, it must be made by doing extra chores.
Children are taught early in life to think for themselves. They are allowed to make some decisions-and make mistakes. Failure(失败) often teaches more than success.
【小题1】 Many American young people begin to live on themselves _____ .

A．at eighteen years old	B．from childhood
C．after they get married	D．from an early age

【小题2】 An American child learn to _____ at the age of 2 .

A．find a full-time job	B．from childhood
C．put away his or her own clothes	D．do lots of chores

【小题3】The word “allowance” (in paragraph 3 ) means ______ in Chinese.

A．奖品

B．零花钱

C．财产

D．礼物

【小题4】 A child can get some more money by ______.

A．understanding the value of money	B．helping the rich
C．reading many books	D．doing extra chores

【小题5】The passage is mainly about ______ .

A．the independence of American children	B．the value of money
C．the guidance from parents	D．failure and success of American children