I heard a story about a famous scientist who had made several very important achievements.

What made him   41   from others?

    He said it all came from   42   that happened when he was two years old. He tried to  43 

a bottle of milk away from the fridge, but the slippery(光滑的) bottle fell, spilling its milk all over the   44   floor.

    When his mother came in,  45   shouting at him, she said, “Robert, what a great mess(一团糟) you have made! I have never seen such a big puddle(水坑) of milk. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes   46   we clean it up?”

    Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, “Robert, when you make a mess like this, you have to clean it up at last. So,   47   would you like to do that? We would use a towel or a mop. Which do you prefer?” He chose the towel and together they cleaned up the milk.

    His mother then said, “We had a failed   48   in how to carry a big milk bottle with two small hands in the kitchen. Let’s go out and fill the bottle with water and see if you can   49   a way to carry it without dropping it.” The little boy learned that if he held the bottle at the top near the lip(杯口) with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it.

    This scientist then said that it was at that moment that he knew he didn’t need to be afraid to

  50  .So, what have you learnt from the story?

1.A. serious          B. similar             C. different    D. important

2. A. an experience     B. advice             C. a promise   D. an idea

3.A. pass             B. bring             C. drink             D. take

4. A. kitchen          B. bedroom           C. bathroom         D. living room

5.A. from            B. with               C. because of        D. instead of

6.A. after             B. before             C. as soon as      D. since

7.A. when            B. what              C. how              D. why

8. A. experiment        B. condition          C. survey      D. research

9.A. look             B. discover           C. recognize    D. develop

10. A. clean the floor     B. spill milk          C. make mistakes     D. realize mistakes

 

　　Three friends wanted to sail around the world in a small yacht. They took food and water with them and set off. They traveled to many beautiful places, and were having a wonderful time. Until one day, when they had been at sea for about a month, a fierce storm blew up. Great waves sank their little yacht.

　　The three friends were able to struggle to the island, taking with them as much food as they could carry. Not a tree, not a bush, not a flower, grew on the island. There was not an animal of any kind, not even a bird or an insect. For a few weeks the three men were able to live on the food they had saved, but finally it was gone. There was only one piece of bread left. They decided that whoever had the best dream the next night could have the bread.

　　The next morning they took turns talking about their dreams. The first man said that he had dreamed he was in the world's most wonderful restaurant. He had eaten the finest meal of his life and drunk some of the finest wines. The second man said he had seen a magic carpet in his dream. Sitting on the carpet, he had traveled to all the wonderful places in the world and visited great kings and queens.

　　Then they turned to the third man. “Tell us your dream,”they said.

　　“My dream was very simple,”he said. “I dreamed that the bread was going bad and would soon be moldy. I didn't want to waste the bread, so as soon as I woke up I ate it.”

Choose the best answer:

(1) Everything went on well for ________.

[　　]

(2) The island had ________.

[　　]

(3) They lived ________.

[　　]

(4) The first man dreamed of ________.

[　　]

(5) The second man dreamed of ________.

[　　]

(6) The third man ________.

[　　]

A.ate the bread the night before

B.saw the bread becoming moldy

C.didn't share the bread with his friends

D.was not honest

Three soldiers were on their way home from the war．They arrived at a small village, they were very tired and （1）,but they had no food or money．The only thing they did have was a cooking pot（锅）．

The soldiers built a small cooking fire,（2） their pot on it, and poured in some water． When a few villagers asked what they were doing, one of the soldiers answered that he was making stone soup． A few more villagers walking by stopped to （3）what was going on when they heard about it．

“Any soup needs salt and pepper,”the first soldier said,（4） some children ran to fetch salt and pepper．“Stones can be used to prepare good soup, but tomatoes would （5） it so much better,” the second soldier added．One woman said“Why, I think I have a tomato or two! ”She ran to get the tomatoes．

“Some cabbage would be a proper choice for a good stone soup! ”said the third soldier．Another woman said,“I think I can probably find some cabbage,”and （6）she ran．

“If only we had a bit of beef and some potatoes, this soup would be fit for a rich man's （7）．”The villagers thought it over, then ran to fetch what they had in their homes．A rich man's soup, and all from a few stones! It seemed like （8）!

The soldiers said“, If only we had a little milk, this soup would be fit for a king! ”And so other villagers （9） to get some milk．

“The soup is ready,”said the cooks,“and all will （10）it, but first we need to set the tables．”Some of the villagers said,“Such a great soup would be better （11）some bread and cakes,”so they brought the （12） two things and the meal was （13） by all．Never had there been such a （14） meal．Never had the villagers had such delicious soup, and all made from stones! They ate and drank and danced well into the night．

In the morning, the villagers gathered to say goodbye．“Many thanks to you,”they said,“for we shall （15）go hungry now that we have learned how to make soup from stones．”

1．A．hungry          B．bored          C．sleepy         D．sick

2．A．drew            B．threw          C．left           D．placed

3．A．see                     B．tell             C．imagine        D．notice

4．A．but              B．so             C．or             D．while

5．A．cook            B．do            C．invent         D．make

6．A．about            B．in             C．off           D．out

7．A．health            B．money         C．dream         D．table

8．A．art              B．magic          C．interest        D．supper

9．A．tried             B．returned       C．managed       D．came

10．A．want           B．buy             C．use            D．taste

11．A．over           B．besides         C．with          D．like

12．A．first           B．last            C．other          D．only

13．A．enjoyed        B．given          C．needed          D．brought

14．A．cheap         B．proper         C．special        D．public

15．A．later           B．ever           C．sometimes     D．never

Is the whale the world’s largest fish? No. It looks like a fish, but it is really a mammal (哺乳动物). Then what’s the world’s largest fish? It’s the whale shark.

Although the whale shark is our biggest fish and lives in many oceans around the world, few people have ever heard of it. Scientists have not been studying whale sharks for very long. Much more needs to be learned about them.

A whale shark is sometimes called a “gentle giant (温柔的巨人)”. It likes to be alone and doesn’t care a bit about divers or humans. The biggest whale shark weighed 24,250 pounds and was nearly 40 feet long. This makes it heavier and longer than a school bus.

Inside its huge mouth are great numbers of very small teeth. To count all of them, you’ll need to do some math. The whale shark’s teeth are arranged in rows. There are between eleven and thirteen rows on each jaw (颚) and around three hundred teeth in each row.

However, the whale shark rarely uses its teeth. It does not chew or bite its food. Large amounts of water are pulled into its mouth and then pushed out through its gills (鳃).

For a few months every year, a group of whale sharks comes to Ningaloo Reef, off Western Australia. This gives scientists a wonderful chance to study the large fish. Whale sharks do live in other oceans of the world, but no one knows their population. It is possible that our biggest fish may need protecting. It is one of the reasons why scientists continue to learn all they can about these gentle giants.

51. Little is known about whale sharks because scientists _____.

A. are not interested in learning about them

B. find them too difficult to catch

C. do not know the best places to find them

D. have studied them for a short time

52. Which sentence can tell us that whale sharks are gentle?

A. They have large mouths.

B. They leave divers alone.

C. They have small eyes.

D. They live in many oceans.

53. How does the writer help us know what the whale shark’s mouth looks like?

A. By giving reasons.

B. By describing colors.

C. By comparing sizes.

D. By using numbers.

54. The fifth paragraph is mainly about _____.

A. how a whale shark eats

B. what a whale shark eats

C. how different fish use their gills

D. what’s inside a whale shark’s mouth

55. Which of the following is the best title for the article?

A. Gentle Giants                                         B. The Diary of a Sailor

C. The Largest Animal                                 D. My Life on the Sea