One summer evening as I was cooking dinner, there was a knock at the door. I opened it and saw an old man. But his voice was pleasant as he said, “Good evening. I come to see if you have a room for just one night. I live far away from here, and there's no bus till next morning. ”

I told him we would find him a bed, but it was not comfortable. I went inside and cooked dinner. When we were ready, I asked him if he would like to join us. “No, thank you. I have plenty.” When I had finished the dinner, I went out to talk with him. He told me he fished for a living to help his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was ill and too weak to do anything.

At bedtime, we put a bed in the children's room for him. On his next trip, as a gift, he brought a big fish and some fresh vegetables. In the years he came to stay overnight with us, and there was never a time he did not bring us some fish or vegetables from his garden.

 I know it was thankful for our family to know him, from whom we learn what was to accept the bad without a complaint(抱怨) and the good with thanks.

1Why did the old man go to the writer's house?

A. To give a fish to the writer.                   B. To stay for the night.

C. To sell some fish.                             D. To ask for some money.

2 How many people were there in the old man's daughter's family?

A. Two.           B. Four.                 C. Six.           D. Seven.

3 Which of the following is true?

 A. The old man stayed for the night with the writer only once.

 B. The old man came to the writer's house to ask for some food.

 C. The old man came to stay with the writer for the night many times.

 D. The old man felt lonely because he had no son or daughter.

British people are famous for drinking tea. But brother and sister, Sarah and Bobby Green, became young millionaires(百万富翁) when they opened a chain of American-style coffee shops in the UK.

Having the idea: It started when Sarah took a weekend trip to New York to visit her brother Bobby. One evening, in a Thai restaurant, Sarah told Bobby how much she wished she could buy American-style coffee in London. Bobby suggested they started their own coffee shop. Sarah fell in love with the idea.

Doing the research: Back in London, she spent a whole day on the London subway, getting off the train at different stations to taste the coffee. “It was terrible, and I knew there was a gap (空缺) in the market.” In 1995, they opened their first Coffee Republic shop in the center of London.

Making it work: The first year was very difficult. British people were not used to the names of American coffees, like latte and macchiato. But being successful was their dream and they were not going to give up. Today, there are over 100 Coffee Republic shops all over the country and the company has ￡30 million a year.

Advice for others: Sarah has now written a best-selling book about their experience, called Anyone Can Do It! She hopes it will help other young people to start their own businesses. She says, “If you think you have the energy, then get out and follow your dream.”

4What kind of company do they run?

A. A fast-food restaurant.                                B. A tea shop.   

C. A coffee shop.                       D. A big hotel.

5 Where are their Coffee Republic shops?

A. All over the UK.                        B. All over the US.

C. In the center of London.                D. In New York.

6Which information is mentioned in the passage?

A. Sarah was not interested in Bobby’s idea.

 B. British people never drank coffee before 1995.

 C. Sarah’s best-selling book is about how to make coffee.

 D. Sarah found a business chance while doing the research.

Most people around the world are right-handed. This also seems to be true in history. In 1799, scientists studied works of art made at different times from 1,500 B. C. to the 1950s. Most of the people shown in these works are right-handed, so the scientists guessed that right-handedness has always been common through history. Today, only about 10% to 15% of the world's population is left-handed.

  Why are there more right-handed people than left-handed ones? Scientists now know that a person's two hands each have their own jobs. For most people, the hand is used to find things or hold things. The right hand is used to work with things. This is because of the different work of the two sides of the brain(脑). The right side of the brain, which makes a person's hands and eyes work together, controls(控制) the left hand. The left-side of the brain, which controls the right hand, is the centre for thinking and doing problems. These findings show that more artists should be left-handed, and studies have found that left-handedness is twice as common among artists as among people in other jobs.

No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed instead of left-handed. Scientists have found that almost 40% of the people become left-handed because their main brain is damaged(伤害) when they are born. However, this doesn't happen to everyone, so scientists guess there must be another reason why people become left-handed. One idea is that people usually get right-handed from their parents. If a person does not receive the gene(基因)for right-handedness, he/she may become either right-handed or left-handed according (根据)to the chance and the people they work or live with.

  Though right-handedness is more common than left-handedness, people no longer think left-handed people are strange or unusual. A long time ago, left-handed children were made to use their right hands like other children, but today they don't have to.

7 After studying works of art made at different times in history, the scientists

found ____________.

A. the art began from 1,500 B. C.

B. the works of art ended in the 1950s

C. most people shown in the works of art are right-handed

D. most people shown in the works of art are left-handed

8 How many people in the world are left-handed now?

A. Less than one sixth.                 B. More than a half.

C. About 40%.                             D. The passage doesn't tell us.

9 According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A. No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed.

B. Scientists think there must be some reason why people become left-handed.

C. Today children are not made to use their right hands only.

D. Left-handedness is cleverer than right-handedness.

10 What is the best title for this passage?

A. Left-handed People                           B. Scientists' New Inventions

 C. Which Hand                         D. Different Brains, Different Hands

阅读理解

　　The children were talking about Christmas holidays in the classroom.

　　Jack, one of the boys, said that he went to Kansas with his friends. He told his classmates he saw something strange there.“When we were skating on a lake one day, one of us cut a hole in the ice, struck a match(擦火柴)and suddenly there was a fire right out of the hole for two or three minutes.”

　　“oh, no,”said all the others.“That couldn't be true. Water doesn't burn.”So they went to the teacher's office to see what she would say about this strange happening.

　　The teacher listened and said with a smile.“It seems that there is natural gas(天然气) under the lake. The gas always goes up through the water. When the lake is frozen(结冰),the gas is caught under the ice. So when you cut a hole in the ice, the gas will come out and burn if you light it.”

(1) The children were talking about their ________ holidays.

[　　]

(2) The fire burnt up out of a hole ______ .

[　　]

(3) ________ saw the fire out of the hole.

[　　]

(4) The children went to ask the teacher because she ________.

[　　]

(5) The best title for this passage is ________.

[　　]

阅读理解

　　The children were talking about Christmas holidays in the classroom.

　　Jack, one of the boys, said that he went to Kansas with his friends. He told his classmates he saw something strange there.“When we were skating on a lake one day, one of us cut a hole in the ice, struck a match(擦火柴)and suddenly there was a fire right out of the hole for two or three minutes.”

　　“oh, no,”said all the others.“That couldn't be true. Water doesn't burn.”So they went to the teacher's office to see what she would say about this strange happening.

　　The teacher listened and said with a smile.“It seems that there is natural gas(天然气) under the lake. The gas always goes up through the water. When the lake is frozen(结冰),the gas is caught under the ice. So when you cut a hole in the ice, the gas will come out and burn if you light it.”

(1) The children were talking about their ________ holidays.

[　　]

(2) The fire burnt up out of a hole ______ .

[　　]

(3) ________ saw the fire out of the hole.

[　　]

(4) The children went to ask the teacher because she ________.

[　　]

(5) The best title for this passage is ________.

[　　]

When I was told to play for a drama competition, I became nervous. I had never done anything like this before. But after reading Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, I was excited about what was to come. The story was great and the sentences were so funny. I wanted to give it a go.

I was playing Sir Toby Belch, a very funny old knight(骑士). I had to remember a lot of sentences and very funny old words. I worked hard in order to act well, like a real knight from the old days. But the most different job was to be funny in all my acting. This is quite different from the way I am in real life.

“OK. It’s time to be a different me now!” I said to myself. At first, I couldn’t do anything naturally. I didn’t know what to do when acting in this silly way. But I always told myself that I was Sir Toby now and I should forget who I really was. Even when I was in the bath, I was thinking about Sir Toby’s words and actions and trying to do everything like Sir Toby did.

The competition day finally came. When it was my turn to perform, I took a deep breath and began my part. I tried hard to make my words clear enough to be understood and my actions funny enough to make everybody laugh. When the results were finally read out, I immediately knew we had won first prize. I made it.

From this experience, I’ve come to know that I can be a different person. It’s doesn’t mean I’ve changed my personality, but I can do something I had never imagined possible.

38. When the writer finished reading the story, 　　　　 .

A. he was excited　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. the competition began

C. he became nervous 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. he forgot who he really was

39. The expression “give it a go” in Paragraph 1 most probably means 　　　　 .

A. come on　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　 B. give up

C. run away　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　 D. have a try

40. The writer thought it was very difficult to be funny in all his acting because 　　　　 .

A. it was an old story

B. it was different from the way he was in real life

C. he was not interested in it

D. his classmates and teachers would laugh at him

41. From the last paragraph, we can learn that the writer 　　　　 .

A. has learned nothing from the experience

B. plans to meet and talk to different people

C. is looking forward to the next competition

D. can do something which seems impossible

One day three Frenchmen who did not know English very well were talking about the English language.
The first Frenchman said, ‘I heard someone shout ‘look out’ ,I put my head out of a window and a basin of water fell on me. It seems that ‘look out’ may mean ‘don’t look out!’
The second one followed, ‘ I was once on a ship and heard the captain（船长） shout, ‘All hands on the deck(甲板)’ I put my hands on the deck and someone trod(踩)on them.’
The third one told his friends his experience too, ‘One early morning I called on my English friend and the maid(女佣) said, ‘He is not up yet, come back in half an hour.’ When I went again for him, she said, ‘He’s not down yet.’I said, ‘If he’s not up and he is not down, where is he then?    What a strange language it is!’

1. 1.

   What is the possible meaning of “look out” in this passage?

   1. A.
      Put your head out and look outside
   2. B.
      Be careful
   3. C.
      Come out and have a look
   4. D.
      Both A and B
2. 2.

   When the captain shouted. “All hands on deck”, he really meant to tell____________.

   1. A.
      Everyone on the ship to put his hands on the deck
   2. B.
      All the sailors(水手)to put their hands on the deck
   3. C.
      All the sailors to come up to deal with (处理)some trouble
   4. D.
      Everyone on ship to gather (集合)on the deck
3. 3.

   What did the maid mean when she said, “He’s not up yet”?

   1. A.
      He has not risen to his feet yet.
   2. B.
      He’s not back yet.
   3. C.
      He has not got up yet.
   4. D.
      He was ill in bed.
4. 4.

   Where was the third Frenchman’s English friend then?

   1. A.
      He was at a party.
   2. B.
      He was at work.
   3. C.
      He was in his bedroom.
   4. D.
      He was in the bathroom.
5. 5.

   What do you think was the three Frenchmen’s real trouble?

   1. A.
      English is too difficult to understand.
   2. B.
      They didn’t use the language so often.
   3. C.
      They knew nothing about the English idioms.(成语\习惯用语)
   4. D.
      They were not sure about the English grammar.