Patrick never does homework. "Too boring," he says. He always plays baseball and basketball after school. His teachers tell him, "Patrick! Do your homework, or you can't learn anything. "But what can he do? He hates homework.

     One day, his cat was playing with a little "doll'. He found it wasn't a doll at all, but a man of the smallest size. The man called , "Save me! Don't give me back to that cat. I have magic(魔法). I will help you if you save me!"

     How lucky he was! Here was the answer to all of his problems. So he said, "If you help me to do m~ homework until the last day of school, I will get good grades. "The man agreed. He began to do Patrick’s homework. The man didn't always know what to do and he needed help. "Help me! Help me!" he said. And Patrick had to help, Day after day, Patrick had to work harder.

     Finally the last day of school arrived and the man was free to go. As for homework, Patrick didn't hate doing it any more. Patrick got his A's. His teachers and classmates were all surprised. Who really helped Patrick?

1. Patrick likes_________ after school.

A. doing sports   B. doing some reading   C. doing his homework  D. learning things

2. Why did Patrick get the small man's help?

A. Because Patrick gave him a cat.              

B. Because Patrick helped him play with the cat.   

C. Because Patrick saved him.                   

D. Because Patrick gave him lots of money.

3. What does the sentence "Patrick got his A's" mean?

A. It means "Patrick got the teachers' help".    

B. It means "Patrick got good grades".

C. It means "Patrick got more friends".          

D. It means "Patrick got more problems".

4. Which of the following is not true?

       A. Patrick never hates doing his homework.

B. The man sometimes didn't know what to do when he helped Patrick.   

C. The man didn't go until the last day of school.

       D. Patrick finally started to like doing homework.

5. From the passage, we can know_________

A. the man liked to play with the cat

B. the man never helped Patrick do his homework

C. Patrick's classmates always helped him do his homework

D. in fact, Patrick helped himself

Most people think that Yao Ming is a born basketball player. But Yao said, “When you watch it on TV, it looks very easy. But when you are playing in the NBA, it is really not so easy.” He said that joining the Houston Rockets was a new start and a new challenge. “I hope that through very hard work I can make everyone happy and help the Rockets win more games,” he said.
 Yao Ming speaks some English. Both he and his teammates can undersand each other. They don't think there is a language problem. While Yao Ming faces this new challenge, the people of Houston have shown great interest in him and they hope Yan Ming faces this new challenge, the people of Houston have shown great interest in him and they hope Yan Ming will bring new energy (活力) to the Rockets. The team has started having lessons to learn more about China, and many people who work for the Rockets have learned to speak some Chinese.

1. 1.

   Yao Ming got 13 points on October _____, 2002.
      

   1. A.
      22
   2. B.
      23
   3. C.
      24
   4. D.
      26
2. 2.

   Yao Ming said that _____.
     

   1. A.
      playing in the NBA was difficult
   2. B.
      it was hard to watch NBA games on TV
   3. C.
      he was an NBA star
   4. D.
      it was boring to play basketball
3. 3.

   The people of Houston hope Yao Ming will ______,
      

   1. A.
      speak excellent English
   2. B.
      bring new energy
   3. C.
      make NBA games easy
   4. D.
      face new challenge
4. 4.

   From the passage we can know that Yao Ming ________.
      

   1. A.
      will work hard for his team
   2. B.
      made the highest score in his first NBA game
   3. C.
      can't understand his teammates
   4. D.
      teaches the Rockets workers Chinese himself
5. 5.

   The passage is probably ______.
       

   1. A.
      an advertisement
   2. B.
      a notice
   3. C.
      a news report
   4. D.
      an instruction

Yao Ming was born in China in 1980. Now the big name from China is playing for the Houston Rockets in the NBA. He is the son of two basketball players and he learned how to play basketball when he was young. Now, as one of the stars in the NBA, he is working hard to show the world that Chinese basketball players can do well in this game, too!
Pele was a famous football player. He was born in Brazil in 1940. He started playing for Santos when he was only 16 and he didn’t retire（退役） until 1977. He played for Brazil 111 times and he scored 97 international goals. Pele came from a poor family. He started playing football in the streets. He played for Santos and quickly became an international star.
Steffi Graf was born in Germany in 1969. She won the tennis semi-final（半决赛） at Wimbledon in 1985 when she was only 16, but she lost the final to another great tennis player, Martina Navratilova. People were ’surprised at the strength and power of her game. She soon became a famous tennis player and won most of the main matches.
【小题1】Who is the youngest player in the passage?

Yao Ming was born in China in 1980. Now the big name from China is playing for the Houston Rockets in the NBA. He is the son of two basketball players and he learned how to play basketball when he was young. Now, as one of the stars in the NBA, he is working hard to show the world that Chinese basketball players can do well in this game, too!

Pele was a famous football player. He was born in Brazil in 1940. He started playing for Santos when he was only 16 and he didn't retire（退役） until 1977. He played for Brazil 111 times and he scored 97 international goals. Pele came from a poor family. He started playing football in the streets. He played for Santos and quickly became an international star.

Steffi Graf was born in Germany in 1969. She won the tennis semi-final（半决赛） at Wimbledon in 1985 when she was only 16, but she lost the final to another great tennis player, Martina Navratilova. People were 'surprised at the strength and power of her game. She soon became a famous tennis player and won most of the main matches.

1.Who is the youngest player in the passage?

    A. Pele.          B. Yao Ming.       C. Steffi Graft.        D. No one.

2. __________ comes from South America.

    A. Pele          B. Yao Ming        C. Steffi Graft        D. No one

3.Yao Ming began to learn to play basketball __________.

    A. when he was 15                   B. when he was young

    C. when he was tall enough            D. when he was strong enough

4.From the passage, we learn __________.

    A. Steffi Graf was born in 1985 in Wimbledon

B. Martina Navratilova was also a tennis player

C. Steffi Graf won few of the main matches

D. Steffi Graf won the tennis final when she was 16