Once there was an old farmer. He had a horse and the horse was almost as old as himself. One morning he set out with his young son to sell the horse before it died. The father and the son walked because the farmer did not want the horse to be too tired（疲劳）. They met two men on the road. They said, “Why are you walking, farmer? You have a horse. It's a long way to get to the market. ”The farmer knew that this was true, so he rode on the horse while his son walked. Then they met two old ladies. “What are you doing up there, farmer? Can't you see how tired your son is? ”So the farmer got down, and let his son ride on it. Twenty minutes later, three old men stopped them. One said, “Why are you walking, farmer? Get up; it’s too hot for an old man like you to walk today. ”So the farmer got up behind his son and they went on riding. Some time later, a young woman passed them. “Why aren't you walking?”She asked, “It isn't far to the market. Give your poor old horse a rest. ” So the farmer and his son got down once again. It is a fact that you cannot please all the people all the time.
【小题1】The farmer was ____.

A．nearly the same age as his horse	B．almost always older than his horse
C．not quite as old as his horse	D．a little older than his horse

【小题2】The two men on the road ____.

A．asked how far it was to the market

B．said they thought the horse looked very tired

C．asked why the farmer was not riding on his horse

D．told the farmer's son to get off the horse and walk

【小题3】The two old ladies said it was wrong for ____.

A．the farmer to ride such a tired horse

B．the farmer to ride while his young son walked

C．the boy to ride instead of his father

D．only one person to ride such a long way

【小题4】The farmer got up behind his son because ____.

A．the old man said nothing.

B．the three old men stopped them on the road

C．he did not know why he was walking

D．his son could not ride the horse by himself

【小题5】What did the writer really want to tell us?

A．The old man was a fool

B．The horse was old and was going to die

C．It is right to listen to others

D．It is impossible for a man to make everyone satisfied（满意）all the time.

We spent a day in the country and picked a lot of flowers. Our car was full of flowers inside! On the way home we had to stop at traffic lights, and there my wife saw the bookshelf.  It stood outside a furniture（家具）shop. “Buy it,” she said at once. “We’ll carry it home on the roof-rack（车顶架）. I’ve always wanted one like that.” What could I do? Ten minutes later I was twenty dollars poorer, and the bookshelf was tied on to the roof rack. It was tall and narrow, quite heavy too.  As it was getting darker, I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed more polite than usual that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea. After a time my wife said, “There’s a long line of cars behind. Why don’t they overtake（超车）?” Just at that time a police car did overtake. The two officers（警官）inside looked at us seriously when they went past. But then, with a kind smile they asked us to follow their car through the busy traffic. The police car stopped at our village church（教堂）. One of the officers came to me. “Right, sir,” he said. “Do you need any more help now?” I didn’t quite understand. “Thanks, officer,” I said. “You’ve been very kind. I live just down the road.” He was looking at our things: first at the flowers, then at the bookshelf. “Well, well,” he said and laughed. “It’s a bookshelf you’ve got there! We thought it was--er, something else.” My wife began to laugh. Suddenly I understood why the police drove here. I smiled at the officer. “Yes, it’s a bookshelf, but thanks again.” I drove home as fast as I could.
【小题1】From the story we know that _________.

A．the writer was poor and didn’t buy the bookshelf for his wife

B．the writer’s wife didn’t like the bookshelf at all

C．the writer was always glad to buy something for his wife

D．the writer was not very glad to buy the bookshelf for his wife

【小题2】What made the writer think that carrying furniture was “a good idea”?

A．He could drive slowly and it was safe.

B．Other drivers would let him go first.

C．His wife could use a new bookshelf.

D．He could save a lot of money and time.

【小题3】Why were the police and other drivers so kind to the writer?

A．Because they thought the writer liked studying very much and needed a bookshelf.

B．Because they didn’t think it was polite to overtake a car with a bookshelf on it.

C．Because they thought somebody in the writer’s family had died and he needed help.

D．Because they thought it was dangerous to carry a bookshelf on a car.

【小题4】When did the officers begin to realize（意识到）they had made a mistake?

A．Before they arrived at the church.

B．Before they overtook the writer’s car.

C．After one of them looked at the flowers and the bookshelf carefully at the church.

D．After the writer’s family left the church.

This Thursday, across the US, kids are skipping school(缺课)and going to work with their parents. They’ll be making copies, sending faxes(传真)and sweeping floors. This is because April 28 is Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day all over the US. This holiday shows kids what it means to be a grown-up in the working world.
I still remember when this day started, I was very happy. Not only did I have the chance to miss school, but I also got to sit in my dad’s taxi all day long and we would go to a restaurant for lunch.
But after only 20 minutes of driving around the city. I was very bored. I couldn’t read my book in the car as I would get carsick(晕车)and my dad didn’t like to turn on the radio. I got hot and uncomfortable. people wouldn’t get into his taxi because they thought he already had a passenger: me—so nothing happened. It seemed years before we went out for lunch. I actually started to miss school.
While the point of the day is to give kids a chance to experience real-life jobs and give them an idea of the possibilities(可能性) for their futures, I got something completely different from the day. I learned to appreciate(重视) school. Where else do you get to play with your friends, do science experiments, read great books and write stories all in one day?
Just as you’ll have to learn to love your job later in life, learn to love school now. If you don’t already, try spending the day at work with your dad.
【小题1】When is the “Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day”all over the US?

A．On February 28.

B．On March 28.

C．On April 28

D．On May 28.

【小题2】That day the writer was happy at first for the following reasons except _____.

A．she didn’t have to go to school	B．she would work as a grown-up
C．she could sit in her father’s taxi all day.	D．she would go our for lunch with her father

【小题3】Why didn’t people get into the writer’s father’s taxi?

A．Because her father didn’t like to turn on the radio.

B．Because they thought the writer was a passenger.

C．Because her father’s car was hot and uncomfortable.

D．Because her father didn’t stop to take any passengers.

【小题4】Which of the following is NOT the purpose of the “Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day”?

A．To teach kids to appreciate school.

B．To give kids a chance to experience real-life jobs.

C．To give kids an idea of the possibilities for their futures.

D．To show kids what it means to be adults in the working world.

【小题5】What did the writer learn that day?

A．It’s boring to drive a taxi.	B．Working with dad is fun.
C．It’s hard to make money.	D．School life is much better.

“How many common English words were invented by Shakespeare?”

How long did it take people to find the answer to this question 15 years ago? And now! You can google it and find the answer immediately!

Google is the most popular Internet search engine（搜索引擎）in the world. It was invented by two students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They met in 1993, when they were studying computer science at Stanford University, USA. They dreamed of producing something that could also answer any question in seconds.

Internet search engines at that time were slow and gave many websites that weren’t useful. In January 1996, Page and Brin decided to make a better and faster search engine. They thought the results should be based on the most popular websites.

Nobody would give them money for their project, so they used their own money. They also borrowed money from family and friends. Then, in 1998, they were given a cheque for $100,000, and they started their own company(公司). Their first office was in a friend’s garage(车库).The company name is Google, a word which comes from mathematics. A “google” is a very high number — 1 followed by a hundred zeros.

The Google search engine was soon used by thousands of people worldwide because it was fast, easy and correct. By 2002 it was the biggest search engine on the Internet. Now, more questions have been answered by Google than any other Internet service, from sport to science, and from music to medicine. Google hopes that in the future all the world’s information will be put on the Internet, so that everybody can find everything.

1.Why did the writer begin this passage by asking you a question?

A．Because he or she liked to begin this passage by asking readers a question.

B．Because he or she was afraid that the readers didn’t know this question.

C．Because he or she wanted to make the readers interested in this passage.

D．Because Shakespeare is one of the most famous people in the world.

2.The underlined word “cheque” in the fifth paragraph means _______.

A．楼房             B．账单             C．订单             D．支票

3.From the passage we know that at the beginning of their project, _______.

A．there was not any search engine on the Internet

B．nobody supported them except their family and friends

C．Larry Page and Sergey Brin dreamed to answer any question

D．one of the most popular websites gave them a cheque for $100,000

4.Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Now the Google search engine is widely used in the world.

B．The Google search engine was not the biggest one before 2002.

C．Larry Page and Sergey Brin named google after a hundred zeros.

D．The service of the Google search engine is very popular.

5.The passage mainly tells us _______.

A．the development of the Google search engine

B．about Larry Page and Sergey Brin

C．how to find information on the Internet

D．how to use the Google search engine

 

A group of frogs were travelling through the woods. Two of them, Nick and Jack, fell into a deep pit(坑). All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told Nick and Jack that they were as good as dead.

   Nick and Jack ignored(不理睬) what the other frogs said and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their strength. The other frogs went on telling them to stop, and that they were as good as dead. Nick listened to them and gave up. Finally, he fell down and died.

   Jack continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the frogs around the pit shouted at him to stop the pain(痛苦) and just die. Jack jumped even harder and finally got out. When he was out, the other frogs asked, “Did not you hear us?” Jack explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him all the time.

1. Nick and Jack fell into a pit when they were __________.

A. holding a meeting                B. taking exercise

C. travelling through the woods       D. sleeping in the woods

2.The other frogs told Nick and Jack to stop because they thought the pit was too ______.

A. big          B. strange         C. small            D. deep

3.From the story we know _______ died in the end.

A. Nick         B. Jack           C. Nick and Jack     D. all the frogs

4.When the other frogs shouted at Jack to stop the pain and just die, he __________.

A. stopped jumping            B. jumped harder 

C. fell down and died          D. gave up trying

5.Jack finally got out because ________.

A. the pit wasn’t deep          B. he thought the others encouraged him

C. he climbed a ladder          D. his friends pulled him out