It’s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no address. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. He didn’t hate the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it; overspending, running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and powder for Grandma…

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way.

Our son Kevin, at 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended and before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church, mostly black.

As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear to protect a wrestler’s ears. They obviously could not afford.

Mike shook his head sadly, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.”

Mike loved kids—all kids—and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That’s when the idea for his present came.

That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.

On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition.

The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.

The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope. Mike’s spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.

1.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．Precious Present                       B．Christmas Gift

C．The Small White Envelope                 D．The Good Old Tradition

2.Why did Mike hate Christmas according to the passage?

A．He didn’t like the true meaning of Christmas

B．He didn’t like people spending too much money on presents

C．He hated buying presents for Uncle Harry and Grandma

D．He didn’t want to receive gifts like shirts, sweaters or ties.

3.Which is the closest meaning to the underlined phrase “take the heart right out of them”?

A．make them excited

B．make them inspired

C．make them lose confidence

D．make them kill themselves

4.Why was his smile the brightest thing about Christmas that year? ( paragraph 9)

A．He received some sporting goods

B．He found a potential wrestling team

C．His son won the wrestling match

D．His wife sent presents to those poor kids

5.What can we infer from the passage?

A．The tradition of sending presents will pass from generation to generation.

B．The children were eager to get their new toys ignoring the envelope.

C．With the presents, the poor kids will surely win the match one day.

D．Mike’s spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.

 

For many young people, having to attend school with a parent would be their worst nightmare. However, Senior 1 student Li Qinmei is happy taking her father with her as long as she can go to classes. He is disabled and unable to take care of himself.

The 16-year-old country girl in Zhucheng, Shandong Province has experienced one disaster after another in her short life. Li lost her mother at three. Four years later, her father became paralyzed after a tractor accident. At 12, her misfortune returned with the death of her grandma. Since then she has been forced to shoulder all the responsibility for her broken family.

Li learnt to cook and managed to live a life with an allowance of only 24 yuan per month. The most difficult thing she had to deal with was helping her father bathe, dress and use the toilet as he could hardly move.

"I felt embarrassed, and so did my dad. It was really hard at the beginning," she recalled.

During most of her junior school years, Li went to classes only once a month as her father was seriously ill at the time.

"I taught myself at home and asked teachers for help on my school days," she explained.

Li's hard work paid off this fall. She was admitted by Zhucheng No 1 High School, a local key school, based on her good performance in the entrance exams.

The school offered Li and her father a room on campus to live in so she could look after him during breaks.

Once in a while, Li felt sad when she saw her classmates going shopping or hanging out with friends.

"I envy them sometimes because they have both mum and dad to look after them. However, I soon feel relieved as I still have my dad with me," she said.

Li admitted that the difficulties in life had taught her to be strong.

"I believe I will go on and continue my studies at a good university," she said, in a confident tone.

Her teacher Mr. Wang has the same belief. Li made great progress in the recent monthly exams. "She works hard and is always eager to excel . It's not easy for her never to be late for school, but she has managed to make it work," Wang said.

1.Li Qinmei has to shoulder the family because ________.

A．her father was badly injured in a car accident

B．her mother passed away when she was 3

C．her grandma died when she was 12

D．misfortune in her life forced her to do so

2.From the passage we can infer that _________.

A．Li Qinmei doesn’t like others talking about her father

B．many young students hate going to school with their parents

C．Li Qinmei has made little progress in her study

D．Li Qinmei has lost three relatives and has to take care of her father

3.What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “hanging out” in the passage?_________.

A．playing outside     B．working hard       C．exchanging ideas    D．talking happily

4.What’s the best title of the story?

A．Difficulties make strong

B．A touching story

C．A strong-minded girl-Li Qinmei

D．Li Qinmei’s successful study life

 

In June 2008,Benita Grist was driving in her hometown of Mississauga as a passenger in the car ahead threw a paper cup out of the window.When Grist horned to express her displeasure, the passenger responded by throwing out a bag.

Instead of annoyed, she decided to do something about it.She organized a one woman litter?awareness campaign.She started small,chatting with her neighbors about litter—and asking them to be more conscious of any tendencies they might have to litter.Soon,she noticed local families, kids and all—picking up litter around their homes.”I thought,that’s all it took—for me to open my mouth?” she says.”So I decided to knock on more doors.”

And she didn’t stop there.She approached people on the street,in malls,even in the waiting room before getting an X ray. Grist often started her appeal with something such as,”I hope you don’t think I’m crazy,but...” Yet she was buoyed by the positive response—so much so that in August 2008, she began to contact officials in various levels of government, companies and other institutions in an effort to reach a wider audience.

Through a local Mac’s Convenience Store,Grist managed to contact the company that produces content displayed on their in store monitors.That led to a public service announcement about litter that ran in almost 600 Mac’s stores in Ontario from November 2008 to June 2009. Grist continues to explore every opportunity she has to get the message out.Her grassroots campaign may be different,but she has begun to open people’s eyes about the problem of litter.And thanks to her efforts,in Mississauga,at least,they have begun to do just that.

1.How did Benita Grist start her campaign?

A．She chatted with her neighbors.            B．She quarreled with a stranger.

C．She went door to door,talking.              D．She talked to patients in hospital.

2.The underlined word “buoyed” in Paragraph 4 probably means “-------”.

A．inspired          B．discouraged        C．confused          D．disturbed

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

A．Introduction to a one woman litter awareness campaign.

B．How Benita Started the one woman litter awareness campaign.

C．Why Benita Started the one woman litter awareness campaign.

D．Benita and the one woman litter awareness campaign.

 

If you are thinking of putting your child in a private high school instead of a public one, you should do some research. You will find that most private schools offer some advantages.

One of the most important details of a good high school is small class size. Many public schools might have 30 or even 35 students in each class. However, many private schools limit the size to about 15 to 20 kids per class. This is a good thing because it allows each teacher to offer every student more attention.

Another thing to mention is the interesting classes. For example, while the typical (典型的) high school might only offer Spanish and French as foreign languages, private schools often have several other languages to choose from. This is especially important if your child is actually interested in studying a particular language that is not usually offered. Of course, many colleges also consider the various (各种各样的) classes as a good thing, since they can teach students more different subjects than usual.

Some colleges actually work closely with schools to make sure students are prepared well to get an advanced education. This means that teachers are careful to teach skills that can be used in college. Also, college teachers may be on-hand to talk to students and give them advice. If you think your child could use some help of this kind, which would likely help prepare him or her for college, you should look into schools offering these things.

A simple visit to the website or campus (校园) of a local private high school could give you the answers you are looking for. If you think your child would benefit from and appreciate these advantages, you should start researching. You are sure to find at least one that offers these benefits.

1.By writing this text, the author is probably encouraging parents to    .

A．pay attention to their children’s study

B．appreciate the advantages of public schools

C．help their children choose right colleges

D．send their children to private high schools

2.In the third paragraph the author stresses the importance of      .

A．teacher’s role                        B．different kinds of classes

C．learning foreign languages                D．proper study methods

3.According to the text, colleges might like to choose students who    .

A．live close to colleges                     B．have interest in sports

C．have wide knowledge                    D．come from public high schools

 

Justin Bieber used to be an ordinary Canadian boy, but his life totally changed in 2008. With his great musical talent, this seventeen-year-old boy has become a superstar in the music industry.

Justin Drew Bieber was born in 1994 in Stratford, Ontario and was raised by his single mother. Bieber learned to play musical instruments when he was very young. In 2007, he took part in a local singing competition in his hometown, and he did it just for fun. He never took singing lessons before but surprisingly he placed second in the competition. Then, with the help of his mother, he uploaded (上传) videos of him singing on a website and they successfully attracted the attention of thousands of viewers. His videos got popular through word of mouth and some of them have received up to 10,000,000 views.

Justin Bieber would have never gotten a career in the music business without his videos. Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive (主管) of So So Def Recordings, had watched Bieber’s videos and he was impressed by the boy’s talent. Braun then contacted Bieber and he flew the boy into Atlanta seven months after the first video was posted. Bieber showed his talent in singing as well as his ability in playing musical instruments. He then got a record deal.

In 2009, Justin Bieber released (发行) his first single “One Time” while he was recording the debut album (首张专辑). The single “One Time” tells a story about love. This song had success not only in Canada and the US, but also in the international market. Then he released his debut album “My World 2.0” in 2010 and the song “Baby” became the lead single. This album successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries. In June 2010, he started his first world tour in Hartford, Connecticut. One month later, he started recording his second album.

1.Justin Bieber’s career in music began to take off when _____.

A．he met with Scooter Braun

B．he released his debut album

C．he won second place in a competition

D．his singing videos were uploaded to a website

2.It can be inferred from the text that Justin Bieber _____.

A．owed his success to good luck

B．showed a gift for music when he was young

C．is the youngest superstar ever in the music industry

D．released his debut album with the help of Scooter Braun

3.What do we learn about Justin Bieber’s “One Time” according to the text?

A．It is about love and was released in 2010.

B．It attracted the world’s attention after released.

C．It successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries.

D．It is the lead single of his debut album “My World 2.0”.

4.What is the best title for the text?

A．Justin Bieber’s journey to success

B．Lucky boy — Justin Bieber

C．What made Justin Bieber a singer?

D．Secrets of Justin Bieber’s success