Peanuts to This

Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes． Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher． Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself． “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”

Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task． This was the first real talk I received in my new school． It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington． Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before． As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America． I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant． I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; flip （掷） a coin． Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy． Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver．

Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost． Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong． As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution．” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?

Obviously, my grade was awful． Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around． I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade． I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance． Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year． Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation． I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade． Justice is sweet!

1.What did the author’s classmates think about his report?

2.Why was the author confused about the task?

3.The underlined word “burning” in Para． 3 probably means _______．

4.In the end, the author turned things around _______．

Once upon a time, a man was walking on a mountain when he found an incredible cave with all kinds of treasure inside it. So he gave up his job, his home, and his friends, and spent all his time guarding the cave.

He was so dedicated to it that he hardly ate or drank, and before long he fell ill. One day, when he could hardly move at all, he decided to share the treasure.

He crawled（爬）into the cave to get a handful of jewels, but discovered, to his horror, that it was empty except for a small emerald（绿宝石）. The man took it, and gave it to the first person he came by, a woman.

Then an old man came by. “What bad luck!” the man said. “Just a moment ago I gave a woman the last of the treasure I was guarding.”

“Are you sure there is nothing left?” the old man asked.

The man took him into the cave, where they found a chest with jewels and some bags of gold. The man was shocked, and the old man explained to him, “At last! At last someone has broken the spell（咒语）of this cave. This is the Cave of Treasure, and you’re the first to have passed its great test. Many have dedicated their lives to this cave, only to end up realizing there was nothing here…”

“And why does this happen?” the man asked.

“This magic cave has only as many riches as your own heart. When someone discovers it, the cave is filled with treasure, but later, when they have devoted themselves to guarding the treasure, their hearts empty, as does the cave. The only way to fill it is by filling your heart with all that is good, as you did by giving the woman that last jewel.”

From that day on, the man understood that it was better to share than to keep. Thanks to the cave and the old man, he became noble and generous.

1.Why did the man give up his job, home and friends?

A．Because he possessed a variety of treasure.

B．Because he had to guard the treasure cave.

C．Because he wanted to find the treasure cave.

D．Because he devoted himself to a great test.

2.What did the man find when he showed his cave to the old man?

A．A small emerald.                        B．A handful of jewels.

C．All kinds of treasure.                     D．A chest filled with jewels and some gold.

3.What do we know about the people who dedicated their lives to the cave before?

A．They all found the cave empty at last.

B．The old man freed them from its spell.

C．They all filled the cave with the treasure they had.

D．They thought it was better to share than to enjoy the treasure alone.

4.Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?

A．The old man had devoted himself to it before.

B．The old man was the first to break the spell.

C．Only the old man could free people from its spell.

D．The cave and the old man helped the man become noble and generous.

5.What can we learn from the passage?

A．Purely material things cannot make us truly wealthy.

B．Different people have different views.

C．Treasure only belongs to those who possess it.

D．Some people never learn what is really valuable.

In 2003, Bethany Hamilton,13, lost her left arm to a shark attack while surfing off Kauai, Hawaii. A new film ,Soul Surfer, is based on the story of how she overcame that to achieve her dream of becoming a professional athlete.

Growing up on the “garden isle” of Kauai, Hamilton spent every minute she could riding the waves. She was on the verge of (即将) becoming a top competitor in professional surfing. But while she was practicing at an isolated cove (小湾)，a four-meter-long tiger shark ripped off her left arm. Though her life was saved, nobody could imagine she would ever get back on a surfboard again.

In a true test of her faith and by tremendous will power, Bethany did get back up on a surfboard only a month after the attack. Six months later, she was competing again. Bethany Hamilton won her first amateur surfing championship just two years after she lost her arm. She also established the “Friends of Bethany,” a non---profit foundation dedicated to supporting sharks attack victims.

It’s a story told in her autobiography, which is the basis for the film that stars teenager Anna Sophia Robb. “I knew Bethany’s story, of course, but I thought ‘What an incredible role’ ,”explains Robb. “I was so fascinated by all of the challenges. What would it be like to have your arm taken and what would go through your head and how would your faith be challenged?”

The filmmakers used special effects to digitally remove Robb’ s arm .However ,no tricks were necessary for the surfing scenes because Hamilton herself did the breathtaking wave riding.

Now 21, Hamilton says she hopes audiences find inspiration in the description of the sport she loves.

“Not a lot of people know that much about surfing, so I hope they’re educated about it,” Hamilton says. “And most of all if people are going through a hard time, they could be encouraged and find inspiration to push through those hard times and see that, in my case ,so much good has come out of it.”

1.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?.

2.Which of the following can best take the place of the underlined word “tremendous” in the third paragraph?

3.What can we learn from Anna Sophia Robb’s words?

4.How does Hamilton hope people will be affected by her story?

5.What can we learn from the passage?

　　When I was about 12,I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings.

　　Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

　　He listened to me quietly, then he asked.” Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”

　　I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin),but a good number I could--and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to a fairly clear picture of myself.

　　I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it.” That’s just for you,” he said.” You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”

　　Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.

68.Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?

A. Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend

B. The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had

C. My Father

D. My Childhood

69.What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?

A. Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me.

B. She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer.

C.I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on.

D. Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious.

70.Why did her father listen to her quietly?

A. Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true.

B. Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while.

C. Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment.

D. Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth.

71.What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint?

A. He told her not to pay any attention to what her “enemy” had said.

B. He criticized(批评) her and told her to overcome her shortcomings.

C. He told her to write down all that her “enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true.

D. He refused to take the list and have a look at it.

A newly-wed couple on a four-month honeymoon were hit by six natural disasters, including the Australian floods, Christchurch earthquake and Japanese tsunami.

Stefan and Erika Svanstrom left Stockholm, Sweden, on December 6 and were immediately stranded in Munich, Germany, due to one of Europe's worst snowstorms. Travelling with their baby daughter, they flew on to Cairns in Australia which was then struck by one of the most tremendous tonadoes in the nation's history. From there, the couple, in their 20s, were forced to shelter for 24 hours on the cement floor of a shopping centre with 2,500 others. "Trees were being knocked over and big branches were scattered across the streets," Mr Svanstrom told Sweden's Express newspaper. "We escaped by the skin of our teeth," said Svanstrom.

They then headed south to Brisbane but the city was experiencing massive flooding, so they crossed the country to Perth where they narrowly escaped raging bush fires. The couple then flew to Christchurch, New Zealand, arriving just after a massive magnitude 6.3 earthquake destroyed the city on February 22. Mrs. Svanstrom said, "When we got there the whole town was a war zone." "We could not visit the city since it was completely blocked off, so instead we travelled around before going to Japan." But days after the Svanstroms arrived, Tokyo was rocked by Japan's largest earthquake since records began. "The trembling was horrible and we saw roof tiles fly off the buildings," Mr. Svantrom said. "It was like the buildings were swaying back and forth."

The family returned to Stockholm on March 29,2011 after a much calmer visit to their last destination China. But Mr. Svanstrom, who also survived the destructive Boxing Day tsunami that hit southeast Asia in 2004, said the marriage was still going strong. He added, "I know marriages have to endure some trials, but I think we have been through most of them." "We've certainly experienced more than our fair share of catastrophes, but the most important thing is that we're together and happy." Mrs. Svantrom added: “ To say we were unlucky with the weather doesn’t really cover it! It’s so absurd that now we can only laugh.”

1.How many countries did the couple visit during their honeymoon?

A．6.               B．5.                C．4.                D．3.

2.What's the right order of the following things according to the passage?

a. The couple headed south to Brisbane.

b. The couple flew to Cairns.

c. The couple flew to Christchurch.

d. The couple were stranded in Munich.

A．a-b-c-d

B．a-c-b-d

C．d-b-c-a

D．d-b-a-c

3.By saying "We escaped by the skin of our teeth.", Mr. Svanstrom meant that _____

A．The tornadoes was tremendous

B．They escaped from the tornadoes easily.

C．They had a narrow escape from the tornadoes

D．There was something wrong with their teeth

4.According to the last two paragraphs, which word can best describe Mr. Svanstrom?

A．ambitious.

B．enthusiastic

C．considerate

D．optimistic