One night, I wondered what it would be like if I only asked questions. I decided that no matter what anyone said to me the next day, I would reply only with   36 .
I loved to read about scientists and their discoveries, and I knew that scientists always started their research with a question. I hoped that I could become a scientist. Maybe by asking questions, I could train my mind to be   37 .
I survived the morning easily. “Is there any egg?” I answered when my mother asked what I wanted for breakfast. “Is this seat taken?” I asked when my friend Mike asked where he was going to   38  on the bus.
In the classroom, Mr. Black spoke slowly and clearly while I listened carefully. The problem had been part of my homework the night before. I wrote the answer on the board, “Could the answer be 361?”
Mr. Black smiled and nodded. I thought,“How did I   39  to get through that?” I almost laughed because asking questions really was starting to become a   40 .
I thought I had made it safely through the whole day,   41  what I had come to consider my experiment blew up at the dinner table when my dad asked me about my day. “What do I always do?” I replied.
My parents looked at each other. My father   42  again. “Well, I hope you went to school,” he said.
“Uhhh … why would you think otherwise?” I asked. My parents exchanged another   43   
and were becoming annoyed.
“Do you think questions are a good way to train your mind to be active?” I asked.
“It   44  the question,” said my father. “Some questions are asked for   45  information. Those are good mind-training questions. Sometimes, people use questions to get the other person to say something. Sometimes people ask questions to get someone to agree with them. Those questions don’t really achieve anything.”
“I guess my experiment didn’t work,” I said, and I told my father about my   46 .
“I think it worked   47 !” my father said. “You made a discovery, didn’t you? What matters is that you have put your idea into practice.”                              

【小题1】

A．actions B．answers C．gestures D．questions

【小题2】

A．deep B．free C．quick D．strong

【小题3】

A．get B．sit C．come D．take

【小题4】

A．fail B．have C．want D．manage

【小题5】

A．habit B．step C．goal D．rule

【小题6】

A．or B．so C．but D．and

【小题7】

A．tried B．asked C．guessed D．ordered

【小题8】

A．look B．word C．mind D．topic

【小题9】A. refers to            B. belongs to     C. puts on        D. depends on

【小题10】

A．sending B．finding C．sharing D．keeping

【小题11】

A．test B．idea C．plan D．wonder

【小题12】

A．slowly B．safely C．perfectly D．properly

One of the greatest mysteries on Earth is the statues which stand on Easter Island. Easter Island, which was almost uninhabited when it was discovered on Easter Day in 1722 by a Dutch captain, is the most distant island in the world covered with hundreds of giant statues, each weighing several tons and some standing more than 30 feet tall.
Who built these statues and why and how did they get there? Nobody knows the answer for sure.
One theory suggests that Easter Island was first inhabited by Polynesians, who traveled thousands of miles in their canoes（独木舟）in 400 A.D. However, the ocean currents（洋流）which carried them there would not take them back, so that they could not leave.
The statues appear to have been made out of the top edge of the walls of a volcano on the island. Then, it may have been rolled or dragged down to the foot of the volcano(火山). Then, it was stood upright（直立）and ropes were tied around it, which was made to act as a pulley（滑轮）. Over a period of months, a statue could be walked for miles down to the ocean. Finally, it was placed in line with other statues, all of them looking towards the center of the island.
This process was difficult. If a statue fell over, it was too heavy to be pulled upright again, so the islanders went back and carved another statue.
The population of Easter Island must have reached 11,000. Later, the resources of the island were used up and people began fighting and eating each other. Work on the statues stopped and the statues were knocked over. When the first Europeans finally arrived on the island, most of these people had died out.
【小题1】This passage is mainly about ________ .

A．the discovery of Easter Island	B．the statues on Easter Island
C．the history of Easter Islanders	D．the earliest population on Easter Island

【小题2】 Which of the following correctly tells of the possible working process after a statue was made?
a. It was stood upright and ropes were tied around it.
b. It was walked for miles down to the ocean.
c. It was placed in line with other statues.
d. It was moved to the foot of the volcano.

A．c-d-a-b

B．d-b-a-c

C．a-c-b-d

D．d-a-b-c

【小题3】 It’s not a fact that ________ .

A．Easter Island is the most distant island in the world

B．Easter is the name of a holiday

C．not all the statues were placed in a line

D．the island was once rich in natural resources

【小题4】The underlined word uninhabited most probably means ________.

A．mysterious	B．lost
C．unknown to the world	D．with no people living there

A group of swans flew down to a beach where a crow (乌鸦) was jumping around. The crow watched them with disdain (笔试).
“You have no flying skills at all!” he said to the swans. “All you can do is to move your wings. Can you turn over in the air? No, that’s beyond you. Let’s have a flying competition. I’ll show you what real flying is!”
One of the swans, a strong young male, took up the challenge (挑战). The crow flew up and began to show his skills. He flew in circles, performed other flying tricks, and then came down and looked proudly at the swan.
Now it was the swan’s turn. He flew up, and began flying over the sea. The crow flew after him, making all kinds of comments (评价) about his flying. They flew on and on till they couldn’t see the land and there was nothing but water on all sides. The crow was making fewer and fewer comments. He was now so exhausted that he found it hard to stay in the air, and had to struggle to keep himself from falling into the water.
The swan pretended (假装) not to notice, and said, “Why do you keep touching the water, brother? Is that another trick? “
“No,” said the crow. He knew he had lost the competition. “I’m in trouble because of my pride (自大) ! If you don’t help me, I’ll lose my life...”
The swan took pity on him, and took him on his shoulders and flew back to the beach.
【小题1】What’s the correct order of the following events?
a. The crow followed the swan and got into trouble.
b. The swan felt pity for the crow and saved it.
c. The crow had to ask the swan for help.
d. The swan accepted a challenge of performing flying tricks.

A．a, d, b, c

B．a, b, d, c

C．d, a, c, b

D．d, c, a, b

【小题2】What does the underlined word “exhausted” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Tired.

B．Bored.

C．Nervous.

D．Frightened.

【小题3】What do we learn from the passage?

A．Practice makes perfect.	B．The early bird catches the worm.
C．No pains, no gains.	D．Pride goes before a fall.

One of the most popular items(项目) in the school newspaper is the advice column. No one knows who writes it. The students think their teacher does, but it might be a student using a false name.
The students enjoy thinking up problems for the advice column. Here are some of them and their answers.
Ask the Wise Owl
Q: I’m always late for school. I try not to be, but I can’t help it. Please advise me what to do. Tommy.
A: You are probably late for school because you don’t really like school. My advice to you is to try and enjoy school more, then you won’t be late so often.
Q: I find it difficult to make friends. What do you think I should do? Sara.
A: I can’t advise you until I know more about you. Your problem may be that you are shy. On the other hand, it may be the opposite. You may be too bold(冒失). Write and tell me more about yourself.
Q: I’m always at the bottom(底部，末尾) of the class. What do you advise me to do? Molly.
A: I advise you to concentrate on(全神贯注) improving your grades in one subject to start with. If you can do this, you should move a little way up from the bottom. Next, try to improve your grades in another subject, and so on. If you concentrate on one subject at a time, by the end of the year you should be quite a long way up from the bottom in all your classes.
【小题1】What is Tommy’s problem?

A．He needs help with his homework.

B．He finds it difficult to make friends.

C．He is always late for school.

D．He is always at the bottom of his class.

【小题2】What does Molly want to do?

A．To stay at the bottom of her classes.

B．To make more friends.

C．To concentrate on one subject at a time.

D．To improve her grades.

【小题3】What does the Wise Owl want Sara to do?

A．Give more information about herself.

B．Stop being so shy.

C．Make more friends.

D．Stop being so bold.

【小题4】By the end of the year, where should Molly be in all her classes?

A．At the top.

B．Quite a long way up from the bottom.

C．At the bottom.

D．A little way up from the bottom.

【小题5】What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Sara finds it difficult to make friends.

B．Tommy wrote to the school newspaper to ask for advice.

C．The advice column in the school newspaper is very popular.

D．The school newspaper has an advice column.

A group of swans flew down to a beach where a crow (乌鸦) was jumping around. The crow watched them with disdain (笔试).
“You have no flying skills at all!” he said to the swans. “All you can do is to move your wings. Can you turn over in the air? No, that’s beyond you. Let’s have a flying competition. I’ll show you what real flying is!”
One of the swans, a strong young male, took up the challenge (挑战). The crow flew up and began to show his skills. He flew in circles, performed other flying tricks, and then came down and looked proudly at the swan.
Now it was the swan’s turn. He flew up, and began flying over the sea. The crow flew after him, making all kinds of comments (评价) about his flying. They flew on and on till they couldn’t see the land and there was nothing but water on all sides. The crow was making fewer and fewer comments. He was now so exhausted that he found it hard to stay in the air, and had to struggle to keep himself from falling into the water.
The swan pretended (假装) not to notice, and said, “Why do you keep touching the water, brother? Is that another trick? “
“No,” said the crow. He knew he had lost the competition. “I’m in trouble because of my pride (自大) ! If you don’t help me, I’ll lose my life...”
The swan took pity on him, and took him on his shoulders and flew back to the beach.
【小题1】What’s the correct order of the following events?
a. The crow followed the swan and got into trouble.
b. The swan felt pity for the crow and saved it.
c. The crow had to ask the swan for help.
d. The swan accepted a challenge of performing flying tricks.

A．a, d, b, c

B．a, b, d, c

C．d, a, c, b

D．d, c, a, b

【小题2】What does the underlined word “exhausted” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Tired.

B．Bored.

C．Nervous.

D．Frightened.

【小题3】What do we learn from the passage?

A．Practice makes perfect.	B．The early bird catches the worm.
C．No pains, no gains.	D．Pride goes before a fall.