Boys and girls ,let’s begin our English class now .This time I want to talk about my family .Then I want you to say something about your families .
There are seven people in my family .They are my parents ,my two sisters ,my brother ,his wife (妻子) and I .In England ,a family like this is a big one .My father has a factory .It isn’t very big .It makes all kinds of boats .My brother is a doctor .He works in a hospital (医院).His wife works in a hospital ,too . One of my sisters is a student. She studies hard and well .The other likes singing very much and can sing very well .So she wants to be a singer (歌手).I’m now in China teaching English and learning Chinese.　My mother stays at home .Can you guess (猜测)what she does at home ?Yes, does housework .she is a housewife .
【小题1】 Where do I come from ?

A．China	B．America
C．England	D．Canada

【小题2】Where am I now ?

A．In China	B．In America
C．In England	D．In Canada

【小题3】 Who works in a school in my family ?

A．One of my sisters	B．I
C．My father	D．My brother

【小题4】My brother and his wife work _________

A．as teachers	B．as nurses
C．as doctors	D．in a hospital

【小题5】 In Chinese “housewife” means __________

A．干家务活的人	B．在家的妻子
C．家庭主妇	D．保姆

Two weeks ago, Ruichang City in Jiangxi Province was hit by an earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale(里氏震级). It killed 18 people and left hundreds homeless.

　  Earthquakes are one of the most deadly natural disasters(灾难) in the world. They happen more often than you would expect.

　  In the 24 hours after you read this, 400 to 500 earthquakes will shake the earth. You won't notice most of them because you live in a relatively(相对地) safe area or the quake is too far away or because the quake will be too small to notice.

　  Earthquakes are caused by sudden breaks in rock masses(群) deep in the earth. Rock masses are always under very high pressure. If the pressure in a certain area become too much and the rock masses break, an earthquake happens. But exactly when the rock masses reach the breaking point is a mystery(谜).

　  China is on the Eurasia(欧亚) plate, where earthquakes happen very often due to the earth's plates knocking against each other. Up to 17,139 earthquakes have taken place in China in the past 44 years, according to scientific research.

1What happened to the City of Ruichang?

A.18 people were killed in an earthquake.

B. Hundreds homeless people left the city.     

C. An earthquake ruined thousands of houses there.

D. An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale happened.       

2How many earthquakes can happen in a day in the world?

A. 24.                  B. 44.                  C. 400 to 500.                   D. 17139.

3Why does the earth quake? Because ______.

A. we live in a relatively safe area                                             

B. the pressure in the earth is too big

C. the rock masses is reaching the breaking point

D. the rock masses break suddenly deep in the earth

C

Once upon a time a woman found she was not easy to wake up in the morning as early as she wished. So she bought a beautiful alarm clock. These clocks are so made as to strike with loud whirring noise at any hour the owner pleases to set them.

The lady placed her clock at the head of the bed, and at the right time she found herself roused by the long, rattling sound.

She got up at once, and felt better all day for her early rising. This lasted for some weeks. The alarm clock faithfully did its duty, and was plainly heard so long as it was obeyed.

But, after a time, the lady grew tired of early rising. When she was waked by the noise, she merely turned over in bed, and slept again.

In a few days, the clock ceased to wake her from her sleep. It spoke just as loudly as ever; but she did not hear it, because she had been in the habit of not obeying it.

Finding that she might as well be without it, she made up her mind that when she heard the sound she would jump up.

Just so it is with conscience(自觉意识，诚意). If we will obey its voice, even in the least important things, we can always hear it, clear and strong.

But if we allow ourselves to do what we have some fears may not be quite right, we shall grow more and more sleepy, until the voice of conscience has no longer power to wake us.

4Why did the clock failed to stop to get the woman up later?

A. Because she was tired of getting up early in the morning.

B. Because she could not hear the clock any more.

C. Because she was too tired to wake up at it.

D. Because the clock stopped to do its duty.

5 Both the underlined words “whirring” and “rattling” are kinds of ______.

A. colours                        B. sounds         C. actions                   D. feelings

6 The writer mainly wants to tell us that ______.

A. we should always obey our clocks

B. the clock sometimes can’t wake us up as we wish 

C. It is conscience that ensures early rising not the clock

D. The voice of conscience has no longer power to wake us.

   

Amy was a dear little girl, but she was too ready to waste time in getting ready to do her tasks, instead of doing them at once as she ought to.

In the village in which she lived, Mr. Thornton kept a store where he sold fruit of all kinds, including berries in their season. One day he said to Amy, whose parents were quite poor, “Would you like to earn some money?”

“Oh, yes, ” replied she, “for I want some new shoes, and papa has no money to buy them with.”

“Well, Amy,” said Mr. Thornton, “I noticed some fine, ripe blackberries in Mr. Green’s field today, and he said that anybody was welcome to them. I will pay you thirteen cents a quart(度量单位) for all you will pick for me.”

Amy was delighted at the thought of earning some money; so she ran home to get a basket, intending to go immediately to pick the berries.

Then she thought she would like to know how much money she would get if she picked five quarts. With the help of her slate(书写板) and pencil, she found out that she would get sixty-five cents.

“But supposing I should pick a dozen quarts,” thought she, “how much should I earn then?” “Dear me!” she said, after figuring(测算) a while, “I should earn a dollar and fifty-six cents.”

Amy then found out what Mr. Thornton would pay her for fifty, a hundred, and two hundred quarts. It took her some time to do this, and then it was so near dinner time that she had to stay at home until afternoon.

As soon as dinner was over, she took her basket and hurried to the field. Some boys had been there before dinner, and all the ripe berries were picked. She could not find enough to fill a quarter of a quart.

As Amy went home, she thought of what her teacher had often told her---“Do your task at once; then think about it,” for “One doer is worth a hundred dreamers.”

7How many times did Amy figure with her slate?

   A. 3.                               B. 4.                         C. 5.                     D. 6. 

8The underlined sentence may mean “______”.

A. she got ready to waste some time to do her tasks

B. she thought it was a waste of time to do her tasks

C. she liked to waste time when should do her tasks immediately

D. she was not ready to get her tasks ready, and it’s a waste of time

9What can we infer from the story?

A. Amy’s family was very poor.

B. Amy was good at counting with a slate.  

C. Mr. Thornton was the richest person in the village.

D. Amy would learn a better lesson from this affair than from school.        

10 The best title of the passage may be “_____”.

A. The Money Amy Did Not Earn               

B. The Girl Did Not Like To Waste Time    

C. Amy, A Good Student To her Teachers

D. A Poor Girl Wanted To Earn Some Money

Are you ready for the coming festive season? What gifts will you give to make your friends feel special? Here teenagers share their ideas for gifts and look forward to the ones they'll get.

Hu Ziwei, 15, Nanjing Foreign Language School

My class will have a gift exchange party, during which we will put on a small talent show. Many of us had our gifts ready a week ago. I believe that the boys will give magic tools, stationary （文具） or sweets, while girls are likely to give dolls or mobile accessories （挂件）.

The biggest fun about these parties is not knowing from whom you'll receive a gift and who will receive your gifts. The computer will decide everything! Our teacher hopes the activity will help us get to know each other better – you see, we've only known each other for three months. I'm looking forward to my surprise gift!

Liu Wei, 17,Beijing No 8 High School

Although my birthday was in November, I'll get a special birthday gift from my classmates this week. A．collective （集体的） birthday party is scheduled for all the students who had birthdays fall in the last six months.

My classroom has been decorated with colorful ribbons and Christmas balls. Someone told me that there will be a huge birthday cake and that a personalized gift sent with best wishes from other students is being prepared for each birthday student. I'm sure we will treasure this event and I'm so looking forward to the big moment!

Yin Zhaohua, 19, Jixi No 1 High School in Heilongjiang

I'm still enjoying the gifts I received on Christmas Eve. Nowadays traditional greeting cards are being replaced with apples and sweets, which symbolize （象征） hope for the year ahead. I got more than 20 apples this Christmas, which means I sent a similar number of apples out. I think apples are healthier, more environmentally and friendly gifts than cards sent through the post.

Wu Shang, 16, Mianyang High School in Sichuan

These last two weeks have been filled with every kind of exam so the atmosphere（气氛） on campus is not at all like a holiday. I miss the days when I got handwritten cards.

In fact, I haven't received or sent holiday cards since the Internet became popular. It's so fast and easy to send an e-card. Also, text messages are fun and convenient （方便的）. I'll send warm hugs to my best friends on New Year's D．ay to let them know that I'll be always there for them.

1. Where is Yin Zhaohua from?

A．He is from the east of China                   B．He is from the capital of China

C．He is from the north of China                  D．He is from the west of China

2. Before the gift exchange party, Hu Ziwei knows _____________

A．from whom she'll receive a gift           B．who will receive her gifts.

C．what gift she will send to her classmates    D．that she may get a magic tool

3. In Liu Wei’s classroom we can’t see _____________ during the collective birthday party.

A．some colorful ribbons                              B．some Christmas balls

C．a huge birthday cake                               D．some mobile accessories

4. On New Year’s D．ay Wu Shang will _____________.

A．have an important exam                   B．send some handwritten cards

C．meet and hug her best friends warmly       D．send some text messages to her friends

5. From the passage we can infer _____________

A．the kids share the same ideas about gifts  

B．the kids will receive and send expensive gifts

C．apples are sent as gifts to keep young kids healthy

D．the kids are trying to show their wishes in different ways

The following is some information about Rony's foreign students in America.

　　Name：Claude Ansari

　　Country：France

　　Native Language(本族语)：French

　　Time in U. S.：10 months

　　Family：I live with my wife and two-year-old daughter.

　　Work：I was an art school student in France. But now I'm working as a cook.

　　Interests：I love to cook (and eat). I also like to go mountain climbing.

　　Name：Su Chen Wang

　　Country：China

　　Native Language：Chinese

　　Time in U. S.： 4 ycars

　　Family：I have 3 boys and 2 girls. They're all attending school(上学) here. My husband is a businessman and lives in Taiwan.

　　Work：I was a maths teacher but now I'm a housewife.

　　Interests：I like reading, listening to music and drawing.

　　Name：Norma Ruiz

　　Country：Russia

　　Native Language：Russian

　　Time in U. S.：2 years

　　Family：My family－my mother and 4 brothers－lives in Russia. I'm here by myself.

　　Work：I worked as a nurse in my country. Here I'm a driver.

　　Interests：I like to see films and buy videos. I love to study.

1．Su Chen Wang has ________ children.

[　　]

2．Who has lived in America for the shortest time?

[　　]

3．________ worked in a hospital a few years ago.

[　　]

4．Su Chen Wang's children are attending school in ________.

[　　]

5．Norma Ruiz lives in the U. S. ________.

[　　]

A．with her two-year-old daughter

B．with her husband

C．with her mother

D．alone

Festivals          By China Daily May 5th
Symbol
Name	Chinese New Year	Thanksgiving Day	Boys’ Day	Halloween	Christmas Day
Date	January  or February	The fourth Thursday in November	May 5th	October 31st	December 25th
Country	China	The USA	Japan	The USA	The USA and other Western countries

根据表格所提供的信息, 选择最佳答案。

1．Thanksgiving Day often comes on __________.

      A．the second Thursday in October            B．the third Thursday in December

      C．the fourth Thursday in November          D．the fourth Tuesday in November

2．Of all festivals above, __________ comes last in a year.

      A．Christmas Day      B．Boys’ Day          C．Halloween             D．Thanksgiving Day

3．The symbol of Chinese New Year is __________.

      A．turkeys                 B．dumplings          C．trees                     D．pumpkins

4．There are __________ festivals in the USA according to the form.

      A．two                      B．three                  C．four                     D．five

5．From the form we know that people in __________ are having a festival now.

      A．China                   B．the USA             C．Japan                   D．Western countries