A big, mighty(高大的) tree stood in a forest. Its branches(树枝) spread out and its roots (根) went deep in the earth. A lot of people came here to have a rest under it. And a lot of birds stood on its branches to sing and dance. The big tree was very proud all the time.

At the foot of the tree, there was a little plant. The plant was thin, and seemed to be blown down by any of a little wind.

One day, the two neighbors were having a little chat.

“Well, little one,” said the tree to the plant, “why not put your feet deeply in the earth, and raise your head high in the air as I do?”

“I see there is no need to do so,” said the plant with a smile. “In fact, I think I may be safer in this way.”

“Safer?” said the tree. “Are you safer than I am? Do you know how deep my roots are in the earth and how strong my branches are? Who can possibly pull me out by the roots or bow my head to the ground?” And the tree didn’t want to say anything to the weak plant.

But the tree was to regret its words very soon. One evening, a great hurricane(飓风) came. It blew the trees off their roots and almost destroyed the forest completely. It uprooted（将……连根拔起）the mighty tree and blew it away with great force.

When the storm had gone, the villagers living nearby came to check the damage. The mighty tree lay on the ground, but the little plant still stood there.

1.Who was the big tree’s neighbor?

2.Why was the big tree proud before its neighbor?

3.Why didn’t the big tree want to say anything to the little plant?

4.What did the villagers living nearby see after the hurricane had gone?

5. What’s probably the best title of the passage?

A teacher was giving a lesson to his students on stress management (压力). He raised a glass of   1  and asked the students, “How  2 do you think this glass of water is?”
The students’­  3  ranged from 20g to 500g.
“It does not matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long you  4  it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour , I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it   5   a day, you will have to call an ambulance(救护车). It is the exact same weight, but the   6  I hold it, the heavier it becomes.
“If we    7  our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier.
“__8_you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up  _9_.”
We have to  10 the burden from time to time, so that we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.
So  11 you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it  12  home. You13  pick it up tomorrow.   14  burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can.
Life is   15  , enjoy it.

We’ve talked about snails (蜗牛) and their slow move. But much of the time snails don’t move at all. They are in their shells (壳) —sleeping.

Hot sun will dry out a snail’s body. So at the least sign of hot sun, a snail draws its body into his shell. A snail will die in a heavy rain. So when it rains, a snail does the same thing, too. A snail can sleep for as long as it needs to. It spends all the winter months in its shell, asleep.

In the spring the snail wakes up. Its body, about three inches long, comes out from the shell. When hungry, the snail looks for food. Its eyes, at the end of the top feelers (触角), are very weak. But its sense (感觉) of smell is very strong. It helps the snail to find food and the new greens.

A snail’s mouth is no bigger than the point of a pin (大头针). Yet it has 256,000 teeth! The teeth are very small, and you can’t see them. If you put a snail in a hard paper box, it will eat its way out! And if a snail wears out its teeth, it will grow new ones.

1. A snail _________.

　 A. moves more slowly at night　　B. has thousands of feet

C. doesn’t move at all   　　      D. sleeps much of the time

2. In the sentence “A snail draws its body into its shell”, the word “draw” means _____.

　 A. to make with a pencil     B. to push　　C. to pull      D. to move away

3. From the story, we know _________.

　 A. a snail’s shell is very thin     B. a snail can’t see well

　 C. a snail’s nose is quite short    D. a snail’s body changes in different seasons

4. A snail goes to sleep when _____.

　 A. it feels hungry   B. it is put into a paper box  C. spring is coming   D. it rains heavily

5.Which of the following is wrong?

A. In winter the snail doesn’t eat or move.　　B. A snail doesn’t like living under the sun

C. The snail’s teeth can’t be worn out.       D. The snail’s nose helps to find food.

When I was seven years old, my family made me an ant farm. First, we put clean sand in a thin glass box. Then we waited for the ants to arrive. After the ants were in the glass farm, they started to make tunnels(地道). I was amazed that each one knew exactly what to do. Each had its own job.
On the fifth day a tragedy(悲剧) happened. I put my face so close to the glass farm that I knocked it over. All the tunnels fell down. Although the ants remained alive after their earthquake, one by one began to die. I was scared as I watched them give up building their tunnels to carry the bodies to a corner the farm. My mother said that the ants were dying of sadness. They simply could not stand that their tunnels were gone.
Although much time has passed, I still think of that ant farm. Mom had hoped it would teach me about the natural world, but it taught me much more.
Over the years, I came to realize the importance of teamwork. Working together, the ants were able to make an amazing world for themselves. I also learned that they should be admired for their hard work.
But there was an even larger lesson that I did not realize until recently: Adversity(逆境) is a natural part of life, and must be accepted. Unlike the ants, we cannot give up when we are sad. We have to realize that if a tunnel is gone, we must build another.
Giving up, I say, is not a good choice.
【小题1】What did the writer’s family do for him when he was seven?

用所给动词的正确形式填空（10分）

Mr. Hand ___1.____(begin) his trip in France last Saturday. Three days later when he ____2._____ (travel)in the country by car, he saw a dog behind a thin man. As the car came near them, the dog suddenly started____3.____(cross) the street and it was hit（撞） by the car and____4._____(die).

??? Mr. Hand ____5.____(stop) his car and walked to the thin man. “I’m very sorry ____6._____( hit )your dog,” he said. “How much should I pay? __7.___ten dollars_____( be) enough?”

??? “Oh, yes,” said the thin man. Mr. Hand____8.____ ( put) his hand into his pocket, but he only found five dollars in the pocket. “Sorry, sir, I _____9.____(have )only five dollars,” said Mr. Hand.

??? “That’s all right. Five dollars is also OK,” the man answered.

??? “Thanks a lot. It’s very kind of you,” Mr. Hand thanked the man and ___10._____ (drive) away.

After the car went away, the man looked down at the dog and said to himself, “Whose dog is it?”