Prana was a beautiful dog, whose name means “breath of life”. Although he died several years ago, I can still remember the days we spent together and what he has taught me about love.
I have two apple trees in the garden. Prana loved apples. When he went outside, he’d catch an apple and take it into the house to eat later. The apples had been on the ground and were often dirty so I wasn’t always happy that Prana had brought them into the house.
It was an autumn day in America, but it was very cold. A big snow fell and we had not done anything for its coming. On that special day, Prana went outside and I watched him through the window. I noticed that he was madly digging(挖) holes and bringing the apples to the ground so they could be seen above the snow. I did not know why he was doing this. He seemed to want to do something special.
When I called him back, he had his usual one apple in his mouth. About five minutes later, I looked outside. The garden was completely covered with birds. Prana had dug up all those apples for his bird friends to eat. He knew that they wouldn’t have stored enough food for the coming winter!
【小题1】I wasn’t always happy because  ____________ .

A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin(顽童) was walking around the shining car. “Is this your car, sir?” he asked. Paul answered, “Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas.” The boy was surprised. “You mean your brother gave it to you and it did cost you nothing? Sir, I wish…” He hesitated(犹豫). Paul thought of course he knew what the boy wanted, but what the boy said surprised him greatly. “I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that.” Paul looked at the boy in surprise, and then he said again,“Would you like to take a ride in my car?” “Oh yes, I’d love to,” the boy answered.

    After a short ride, the boy said and with his eyes shining, “Sir, would you mind driving in front of my house?” Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the boy wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car. But Paul was wrong again. “Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked. He ran up to the steps.

Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled(残疾的) brother. He sat down on the step and pointed to the car.

“There he is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent. And some day I’m going to give you one just like it…then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas windows that I’ve been trying to tell you about.”

    Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed elder brother climbed in beside him and the three began an unforgettable holiday ride.

1.The street urchin was very surprised when _______.

A. he met Paul                          

B. Paul told him about the car

C. Paul received an expensive car            

D. he was walking around the car

2. From the story we can see the urchin _______.

A. wished to give his brother a car           

B. wanted Paul’s brother to give him a car

C. wished he could have a brother like Paul’s  

D. wished Paul could be a brother like that

3.The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ______.

A. to show he had a rich friend          

B. to show his neighbors the big car

C. to let his brother ride in the car        

D. to tell his brother about his wish

4. We can find from the story that _______.

A. the urchin wished Paul to give his car to Buddy

B. the urchin wished to have a rich brother

C. the urchin had a deep love for his brother

D. the urchin’s wish came true in the end

阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。（共10分，每小题2分）

Homework is a big part of going to school. Unluckily, homework has to be done outside class—during times when you would probably much rather be doing something else, for example, you like going to a birthday party instead of copying out a whole Chinese text. Luckily, there are several things you can do to make homework less work

First, be sure you understand the task. Write it down in your notebook if you need to, and don’t be afraid to ask questions about what’s expected. If you want, you can also ask how long the special homework task should take to finish, so you can plan your time.

Second, use any small pieces of time you have in school to work on your homework. Many schools have study halls that allow students to study or get homework done. The more work you can get done in school means the less you’ll have to do that night.

What if you don’t have time in school to get homework done? You’ll need to think about how much homework you have for a given night and what else is going on that day, and then plan your time. Most high school students have more than two hours of homework a night. If it’s a heavy homework day and it seems like you got a task in every subject but gym and lunch, you’ll need to spend more time on homework. It’s a good idea to come up with some kind of homework timetable, especially if you enjoy sports or activities or have an after-school job.

1.Is homework a big part of going to school?

2.What do students like doing outside class?

3.Where can students study or do their homework in school?

4.How long do most high school students spend on their homework a night?

5.What advice does the writer give students on homework in the passage?

从方框中选出最佳选项完成对话。

A:    1  

B: Yes, please.    2   But it’s not on this shelf.

A: Let me find it on the computer first.    3  

B: The Sound of Music.

A: Here it is. It’s on that shelf. Let me get it you.

B: Thank you    4  

A: 3 days. You must keep it well.    5  

B: I know. Thank you. Bye.

A: Bye.

The word that has changed the world

Apple is one of the most popular fruits in our life, and people eat apples every day. But thereare  11 apples that are especially important to the history of our human beings and they have changed the whole world.
Long long ago when the world just started, apple was a forbidden  12  in the Garden of Eden, however, a girl named Eve stole and ate it. Unfortunately, she was discovered by God, and was driven away  13  the Garden together with a boy called Adam. After they 14  the garden, Adam and Eve had their own babies and 15  the ancestors of all of us. This is the beginning of our world, history 16  morality.*
In the Autumn of 1665, there 17  a young man sitting under an apple tree in his garden. His name was Newton. While he was thinking of one problem, suddenly, an apple dropped down from the tree and fell on his head. 18  this, Newton discovered gravitation* on that day and his new idea of science made people really 19   and happy, also he changed our opinions about nature and the way 20   we think, then people began to  21 what science was at that time.
And today, Jobs Steve, this crazy old man changed the world by his apple products. For example, iPhones  22  be found 23  in the street, young people feel cool when they use this kind of new high-tech* product. Don’t you think 24  apple products have become a symbol of our time? As Jobs Steve often said he was born to change the world and he made it. 25  he has died, people remember him and miss him, because he made our life more colorful and amazing.