Four years ago my sweet mom went to be with her Lord. She did it her way.

I got the call at work, and I headed home quickly. Mom and Dad lived on a small farm that they had owned since I was seven. I hated going there every weekend. There was nothing for a young girl to do but watch the one station on the old TV set, if the weather allowed reception.

My mom, on the other hand, loved the peace and quiet of the land and loved to work in the garden among her flowers and vegetables. The place was rustic, with no indoor plumbing or heat. We had a big wood stove in the kitchen that did its best to heat the little farmhouse, but it always seemed cold and too quiet to me.

In the evenings, my mom and I would sit for hours singing in the little kitchen. I sang the melody and Mom harmonized. Her favorite song was "Moon River" and we sang it over and over. Mom told me stories about how when I was a little girl, I could sing before I could talk. She loved to tell how my playpen（婴儿圈栏）sat in the kitchen next to the radio and there was one song I particularly loved called "Ivory Tower".

As time passed, I had my own children and went to visit every week or two. The kids loved the farm and the tractor rides with my dad. Me, well, I still hated the silence of the farm. While my mom loved to sit at her kitchen table and look out at her garden and flowers and retell all the old stories, I missed the hustle and bustle（喧闹）of my life at home. But I sat there listening quietly as she reminisced.

Now, I sat back in the silence and the silence was deafening so I finally leaned over to turn on an old radio. Music always comforted me.

My heart skipped a beat. "Moon River" was playing on the radio. I sat there stunned, with a tear running down my cheek, as I listened to every familiar note.

Then the radio announcer of this oldie station came on. "Here's one we haven't heard in a while," and an unfamiliar song began. I began to cry harder as I heard the words sung over the airwaves. "Come down, come down from your Ivory Tower...."

The writer didn’t like staying in the farm for the following reasons EXCEPT that ________.

A. it was too cold and quiet

B. she could only sing one song in the small farm

C. there was nothing more that could make her excited

D. The place was rustic, with no indoor plumbing or heat

From the first paragraph, we know that the writer’s mother ________.

    A. passed away four years ago

 B. left the small farm with Lord

C. left for Lord to live her own way

    D. preferred to be with Lord

The underlined word reminisced in the fifth paragraph probably means ________.

A. recalled     B. comforted     C. shouted      D. sighed

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage _______.

A. The writer was able to sing before she could speak.

B. The writer preferred to live a busy life in the city.

C. The writer was still quite familiar with the song "Ivory Tower".

D. The writer treasured all her childhood memories in the small farmhouse.

Which of the following would be the best title for this passage? _______

A. Cherish life                  B. My happy childhood

C. Our small farmhouse           D. Mom’s music

阅读理解

　　Some people have very good memories, and can easily learn quite long poems by heart. There are other people who can only remember things when they have said them over and over.

　　Charles Dickens, the famous English author, said that he could walk down any long street in London and then tell you the name of every shop he had passed. Many great men of the world have had wonderful memories.

　　A good memory is a great help in learning a language. Everybody learns his own language by remembering what he hears when he is a small child. Some children--like boys and girls who live abroad with their parents seem to learn two languages almost as easily as one. In school it is not easy to learn a second language because the pupils have so little time for it, and they are busy with other subjects as well.

　　The human mind is rather like a camera, but it takes photographs not only of what we see but of what we feel, hear, smell and taste. When we take a real photograph with a camera, there is much to do before the photograph is finished and ready to show to our friends. In the same way there is much work to be done before we can make a picture remain forever in the mind.

1．How do most people remember things according to the text?

[　　]

A．Most people remember things as soon as they come across them.

B．Most people remember things through repeating them over and over.

C．Most people remember things by accident.

D．Most people remember things with others reminding.

2．A person, like Charles Dickens, _____.

[　　]

A．likes remembering the names of the shops

B．can write novels by memory

C．can learn languages very quickly

D．can learn things easily by heart

3．What should we do with the photographs we have taken in order to show them to our friends?

A．We should remember what we have taken.

B．The film has to be developed first.

C．Make a picture remain forever in our minds.

D．Take a real photograph with our friends.

4．Good memory is important _____.

[　　]

A．only in learning a foreign language

B．because it is very helpful in learning languages

C．if we should memorize a long poem

D．to do any job

5．According to the text which of the following statements is right?

[　　]

A．Only great men have good memory.

B．Memory is important only in learning foreign languages.

C．Memory is like a camera in some ways.

D．Memory is a camera.

1970 was World Conservation Year.The Unite Nations wanted everyone to know that the world is in danger.They hoped that governments would act quickly in order to“conserve”nature.Here is one example of the problem.At one time there were 1 000 different plants，trees and flowers in Holland，but now only 860 remain.The others have been destroyed by modern man and his technology.We are changing the earth，the air and water，and everything that grows and loves.We can’t live without these things.If we continue like this，we shall destroy ourselves.

What will happen in the future? Perhaps it is more important to ask，“What must we do now?”The people who will be living in the world of tomorrow are the young of today.A lot of them know that conservation is necessary.Many are hoping to save our world.They plant trees，build bridges across rivers in forests，and so on.In a small town in the United States a large group of girls cleaned the banks of 11 kilometers last Sundays in order to protect their surroundings.“No one’s going to change our world”is popular with others.It was made by the Scathes Cliff Richard and other singers.The money from it will help to conserve wild animals.

46.There are fewer plants，trees and flowers in Holland now because_______.

A.there has been a lot of conservation in Holland

B.Holland does not need so many plants，trees and flowers

C.many plants，trees and flowers can not grow there any more

D.some plants，trees and flowers are dangerous

47.We shall destroy ourselves if we don’t change_______.

A.the United Nations                                        B.modern technology

C.our rivers and forests                                     D.the government

48.“No one’s going to change our world”was_______.

A.an important book published in 1970

B.an idea that nobody would accept

C.a record calling on people to conserve nature

D.a ruler worked out by the United Nations

49.What is the most important thing for us to do to save our world?

A.We should plant more trees and flowers.

B.We should know what will happen in the future.

C.We should know it is necessary to conserve nature.

D.We should know what we must do and begin to do it now.

50.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A.1970 was the World Conservation Year.

B.Conservation is necessary.

C.It is the young people who are helping to save our world.

D.The United Nations wanted everyone to know that the world is in danger.

1970 was World Conservation Year. The United Nations wanted everyone to know that the world is in danger. They hoped that governments would act quickly in order to conserve nature. Here is one example of the problem. At one time there were 1,300 different plants, trees and flowers in Holland but now only 866 remain. The others have been destroyed by modern man and his technology. We are changing the earth, the air and water, and everything that grows and lives. We can’t live without these things. If we continue like this, we shall destroy ourselves.

What will happen in the future? Perhaps it is more important to ask “what must we do now?” the people who will believe in the world of tomorrow are the young of today. A lot of them know that conversation is necessary. Many are helping to save our world. They plant trees, build bridges across rivers in forests, and so on. In a small town in the United States a large group of girls cleaned the banks of 11kilometers of their river. Young people may hear about conservation through a record called “no one’s going to change our world.” It was made by the Beatles, Cliff Richard, and other singers. The money from it help to conserve wild animals.

1.There are fewer plants, trees and flowers in Holland now because________

A. There has been a lot of conservation in Holland

B. Holland does not need so many plants, trees and flowers

C. many plants, trees and flowers do not grow there any more

D. some plants, trees and flowers are dangerous

2.We shall destroy ourselves if we don’t change_______

A. The United Nations

B. modern technology

C. our rivers and forests

D. the government of Holland

3.“No one’s going to change our world” was________

A. an important book published in 1970

B. an idea that nobody would accept

C. a record calling all people to conserve nature

D. a rule worked out by the United Nations

4.What is the most important thing for us to do to save our world?

A. we should plant more trees and flowers

B. we should clean the banks of our rivers

C. we should know what will happen in the future

D. we should know what we must do and begin to do now

 

“How was school, Ben?” I asked my grandson after he began kindergarten(幼儿园) this year. “The work is too long… and there’s not enough time to play,” he replied.

I couldn’t help but remember Ben’s own mother, my daughter, Jane, and her reaction(反应) to the first day of school. Julie was also disappointed with the first day of school and so was her little sister. My three-year-old daughter announced angrily after her big sister got on the big yellow school bus, “I want to go ‘sool’ and you not let me!”

When Julie returned home that afternoon, I asked her the same question that I asked Ben, “How was school, Julie?” Julie replied, “I didn’t learn to read today.”

This year as the school bus passed my house, my mind went back to those school days again. I could almost smell the chalk dust in the air. I also wonder what the children these days manage to get chosen to do in order to get out of school for a few moments since there are no erasers to clean. It was fun to be “chosen” for eraser cleaning duty. This was a task finished by going outside and beating erasers together while sneezing and coughing. No wonder so many babies now have allergies(过敏症), and it’s simply because we all have chalk dust in our lungs!

On the first day of school, the expectation was so great that I would be ready long before it was time to leave for school. We didn’t have backpacks because we had cigar boxes. We carried our small supplies inside a cigar box from one of the local stores. We saved the cigar boxes and used them from year to year until they fell apart.

The first day of school was exciting. It was a new beginning. The doors of knowledge had been opened. The first day of school is an event in our lives that most of us remember. It’s a big step for a small child toward leaving babyhood and so “there isn’t enough time to play”.

1.Why did Jane become angry according to the passage?

A．Because she didn’t learn to read on the first day of school.

B．Because there was too much work for her to do at school.

C．Because she had no time to play at school.

D．Because she was not allowed to go to school.

2.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 suggests that       .

A．the author was thinking of her school days jokingly

B．the author warned students against the harm of chalk dust

C．the author suffered from an allergy because of chalk dust

D．the author doubted whether her lungs had chalk dust

3.In the opinion of the author, the first day of school is        .

A．a day when a child is the happiest

B．a day when a child does much work

C．the beginning of great learning

D．the end of childhood full of toys