I used to live in Kobe in Japan. On my way home on the bus every evening I used to look for an old man who often played his saxophone (萨克斯管) near the river. I couldn’t hear his music because the windows were closed on the bus but I imagined it to be loud and clear. I wanted to be like that man.

One night I went to Himeji, a city not far from Kobe. As I walked with my family along the river I saw a statue. It was a young man who looked just like me. He was wearing a cap and smiling. Around his neck was a leather strap (皮带) and in his hands was a saxophone. He was lifting the saxophone to his lips and he was just about to play. I stayed there for a long time by the statue dreaming of playing a saxophone on TV.

Two weeks later it was my birthday. Imagine my joy when I opened my present from my parents and found that it was a saxophone! I put it to my lips to play, but it wouldn’t make a sound. Then Dad told me to read the instruction book to find out what to do. After about 15 minutes the saxophone was ready to play. I raised it slowly to my lips as my family watched. But still there was no sound. I blew and blew but I couldn’t get the saxophone to play. I was almost crying when suddenly the saxophone made the most beautiful sound—loud and clear like I imagined the music of the man by the river in Kobe. I blew again, I moved my fingers on the saxophone and I made more sounds. I was happy because I was playing very interesting sounds. But I wasn’t playing music yet.

Then came the lessons. Night after night, week after week my teacher made me practice. Slowly I started to improve and at last there came the magic day when I started to play music. Now I’m in the TV studio with my saxophone strapped to my neck and my cap on my head. I’m always thinking of the man by the river in Kobe and the statue smiling at me in Himeiji. I’m a happy man.

1.On the bus, the writer couldn’t ________.

A．find an old man with a saxophone           B．see a river

C．hear the old man’s music                D．imagine the sound

2.The statue along the river made the writer think of ________.

A．having a saxophone

B．the old man near the river

C．having a cap and a saxophone as the boy

D．playing the saxophone on TV

3.The writer could get the saxophone to play ________.

A．as soon as he got it

B．after he read the instruction

C．after he tried many times

D．after his father taught him

4.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．The magic day.                         B．My birthday present.

C．The old man and the statue.               D．My dream of playing saxophone.

 

NOT all memories are sweet. Some people -- all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars (伤痕).

Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce, or possibly erase, the effect of painful memories.

In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body producing chemicals that fix memories in the brain (大脑). So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are erased.

The research has caused a great deal of discussion. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it.

Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers' troubling memories after war. They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories.

"Some memories can destroy people's lives. They come back to you when you don't want to have them in a daydream or nightmare (噩梦). They usually come with very painful emotions," said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "This could relieve a lot of that suffering."

But those who are against the research say that changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity (特质). They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past.

"All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were horrible at the time but make us who we are. I'm not sure we want to wipe those memories out, "said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.

1.The passage is mainly about          

A．a new medical invention

B．a new research on the pill

C．a way of erasing painful memories

D．a discussion about the research on the pill

2.The drug tested on people can           

A．cause the brain to fix memories

B．stop people remembering bad experiences

C．prevent body producing certain chemicals

D．erase the emotional effects of memories

3.We can infer from the passage that            

A．people doubt the effects of the pills

B．the pill will stop people's bad experiences

C．taking the pill will do harm to people's health

D．the pill has probably been produced in America

4.Which of the following does Rebecca Dresser agree with?

A．Some memories can destroy people's lives.

B．People want to remove bad memories.

C．Experiencing bad events makes us different from others.

D．The pill will reduce people's sufferings from bad memories.

 

句型转换 （10）

1.John enjoys swimming. Peter enjoys swimming,too. (合并为一句)

   John         Peter          swimming.

2.Jim is twelve years old. Tim is twelve years old,too. (合并为一句)

Jim is                             Tim.

3.He did some sports last week. (改为否定句)    He                       sports last week.

4.What do you think of the TV play?(同义句转换)          do you        the TV play?

5.Why don’t you come to join us?(同义句)                   come to join us?

6.She has a healthy eating habit. (改为同义句)   Her ________ _______ _________ healthy.

7.She eats junk food once a week. (对画线部分提问)  ________ _______ ______she eat junk food?

8.Jim is taller than the other two. (改为同义句) Jim is _________ _________ of the three.

9.Michael is funnier than any other student in his class. (同义句)

Michael is                           in his class.

10.Movie World has big screens. Town Cinema has bigger screens. (合并为一句)

Town Cinema has           screens          Movie World.

 

Who is the greatest teacher in Chinese history? You can’t think of anyone else when you hear people read Confucius’ 2,500–year–old words: “All study but no thinking makes people puzzled. All think but no study makes people lazy. ”

September 28^th was Confucius’ birthday. He was born in the Kingdom of Lu(鲁国), in today’s Shandong Province. Chinese look upon Confucius as the greatest thinker and also the greatest teacher. He had about 3,000 students. For more than 2,500 years, Confucius’ ideas have been around in people’s everyday lives. Now they have gone far into Western countries and South Asia. People can still hear them today.

Why are his ideas so popular? They help not only in everyday life but also in society(社会). Confucius’ most important ideas are kindness and good manners. Confucius said young people should take care of the old. People should give up thinking of themselves and work for others. As a great teacher, Confucius said that all should go to school if they wanted to learn.

Some of Confucius’ popular words are “A kind person should care others” and “Be strict with yourself, but be kind to others.” People use his ideas to help themselves and society. Now, more than 100 internet web sites are teaching people about Confucius and his ideas.

“Kindness and honesty are the best values(价值) of the world today, ” said 79–year–old Kong Fanjin who is studying Confucius.

1.Confucius was     .

A．born on September 28^th, 3000 years ago

B．born in the in the Kingdom of Chu

C．taught students in today’s Shandong Province

D．not only a greatest teacher but also a greatest thinker

2.Why are Confucius’ ideas so popular?

A．They are about money and power.

B．They help people themselves and the society.

C．They are about different customs and manners.

D．They only help people deal with everyday life.

3.The underline word “them” in the second paragraph refers to     .

A．the greatest teacher and thinker            B．Confucius’ students

C．people in Western countries and South Asia   D．Confucius’ ideas

4.Which of the following is NOT Confucius’ idea?

A．People should get education.

B．The young should take care of the old.

C．Be strict with others, but be kind to yourself.

D．All thinking but no study makes people lazy.

 

A long time ago, in 1893, in the United States, some people were talking about fruits and vegetables. They asked, “What are fruits and what are vegetables? How are fruits different from vegetables and vegetables different from fruits?” They talked for a long time and then they decided, “We eat vegetables as part of a meal, but we eat fruits before or after a meal.”

In real life, people do not think the dictionaries give the right meaning of a word. For example, the dictionaries say that tomatoes are fruits. But few people know that. Most people think they are vegetables. They call them vegetables and eat them as vegetables. To most people, fruits mean sweet things like apples, pears, oranges and watermelons.

What are vegetables then? We call many plants and grasses vegetables. Some people think some fruits are vegetables, such as apples, pears and bananas. But to most people, vegetables mean things like potatoes, onions and carrots.

1.A long time ago, some people in the United States _______.

A．wanted to know what were fruits and vegetables

B．didn’t know when to eat fruits

C．didn’t think fruits were as good as vegetables

D．didn’t talk about fruits and vegetables

2.People usually eat vegetables _______.

A．before a meal      B．after a meal        C．alone             D．during a meal

3.What do most people think of fruits?

A．They are the same as vegetables.

B．They are sweet things.

C．They are like potatoes, onions and carrots.

D．They are only apples, pears, oranges and watermelons.