One day it was time for lunch, and I was eating my sandwich that I prepared myself. Vera, the secretary(秘书) of our company, asked me absent-mindedly(心不在焉地),”Brown bagging today?” For a while, I was at a loss to find a word to respond(回答) to what she had said. I thought to myself,” You should have seen the black bag that I take with me to work every day.”

Seeing I was wearing a puzzled expression(表情),Vera promptly(立刻) explained that ”brown bagging” had the meaning of providing lunch for oneself or taking one’s lunch to eat in one’s office. Usually the food is kept in a brown paper bag, so it has this name. The persons who take their lunch with them are called brown baggers.

(  )1.The writer had lunch________.

A.     at home    B. in a restaurant   C. in the office    D. at school

(  )2. Vera was the ___ of our company.

A. boss   B. cleaner   C. manager   D. secretary

(  )3. The writer took a black bag to work__.

A.     every day  B. every Sunday C. every other day D. every two days

(  )4. “Brown bagging” means___.

A.     eat at home

B.     take one’s lunch to eat in one’s office

C. eat in a restaurant

D. share(分享)lunch with one’s colleagues(同事)

(  )5. According to this passage,__ was a “brown bagger”.

A.     Vera   B. the secretary   C. the boss   D. the writer

   In England, people often talk about the weather because you can experience(感受到) four seasons in one day. In the morning the weather is warm just like in spring. An hour later black clouds come, and then it rains hard. The weather gets a little cold. In the late afternoon the sky will clear(晴朗的), the sun will began to shine. It will be summer at this time of a day.

In England, you can also have summer in winter, or have winter in summer. So in winter you can swim sometimes, and in summer sometimes you should take warm clothes.

When you go to England, you will see that some English people usually take an umbrella(伞) or a raincoat with them in the sunny morning, but you should not laugh at them. If you don’t take an umbrella or a raincoat, you will regret(后悔) later in the day.

6How many seasons are there in one day in England?

A. One      B. Two      C. Three      D. Four

7  In the morning the weather is warm just like _____.

   A. in spring  B. in summer   C. in autumn   D. in winter

8 It is often too hot in England, isn’t it?

A. Yes, it is  B. No, it isn’t.  C. Yes, it isn’t.   D. No, it is.

9 What do English people usually take with them?

A. a hat   B. a raincoat   C. an umbrella     D. B and C

10 What’s the weather like in England?

A. warm    B. changeable   C. cold       D. hot

There was a time when I thought my dad didn’t know how to be a good father. I couldn’t   16   him ever saying the words “I love you.” It seems to me his only purpose in life was to say “  17  ” to anywhere I wanted to go and anything I wanted to do, including getting a   18  . Some parents bought their kids cars when they got their driver’s licenses. Not my dad — he said that I’d have to get a job and buy my own.

So that is what I did. I got a job at a very nice restaurant and   19   every penny I could and when I had enough to buy my car, I did! The day I brought that car home, my dad was the first one I wanted to   20   it off to. “Look, dad, a car of my own. If you ever want a ride, you only need to pay me five dollars.” I offered with a smile.

“I see,” was all he said.

One day, there was something wrong with my father’s truck. So he needed a   21   to work. The sun wasn’t even up when we left the house,   22   it was already getting warm out. It was going to be a hot day. As my dad got out of my car, I   23  him, dressed in his work clothes, getting his   24   from the truck (车尾箱) of my car. Watching his sun-weathered face, and even from a distance I could tell there were  25   lines than I ever remembered being there before. I realized how hard my dad works for the family. My father is a cement finisher(水泥修整工).

Suddenly, it came up with me that he actually got down on his hands and knees to sweat over hot concrete(混凝土) to make a living for his family. And he did this day in and day out,   26 hot it got. Never, not once, had I heard him   27   about it. To him we were “worth” it. And never once did he ask us to pay for it.

When he closed the trunk, his tools set off to the side, he walked over to my window to   28   me five dollars. I rolled down the window and said “Good-bye, dad. Keep your five dollars. It’s my __29__. Don’t work too hard. I love you.”

His eyes met mine, then glanced away in the direction of his waiting tools, he   30   his throat(喉咙) and said, “Oh, and… me, too.”

1.A. like           B. remember         C. forget           D. care

2.A. Sorry        B. Yes              C. No                D. Well

3.A. car          B. friend           C. job                 D. present

4.A. spent        B. earned           C. kept               D. saved

5.A. take        B. put              C. turn                 D. show

6.A. ride         B. leave            C. trip                  D. hurry

7.A. as           B. although        C. but                   D. since

8.A. helped       B. followed        C. left                  D. watched

9.A. tools        B. clothes          C. luggage            D. bag

10.A. fewer        B. more           C. longer               D. less

11.A. whatever     B. whenever        C. wherever              D. however

12.A. talk         B. complain         C. ask                D. speak

13.A. hand         B. borrow           C. lend                  D. take

14.A. help         B. advice           C. treat              D. idea

15.A. cleaned      B. wiped            C. cleared             D. felt

It's very early in the morning and I'm sitting outside. It's also very cold and dark. With me is Jim Nightingale, and he is the reason I'm up so early. He passes me a hot cup of coffee. "Not long to wait now," he says. I hope he's right.

    After a few minutes there is a very weak light in the east, and then I hear a bird singing. It sings very loud and very clear. "That's the robin(知更鸟)," says Jim. A few more birds start singing with the robin and Jim knows the names of them too. Half an hour later, there are more and more birds singing, and it's very loud! Suddenly, all around us the air is full of the sound of birdsong. This is the dawn chorus(晨鸣), and it's beautiful.

    "Wow, this is amazing!" I tell Jim, who is smiling. "Is there a dawn chorus every morning?"

    "Birds can sing any time of the year but the best time is the end of winter and during the spring. This is when the birds sing most."

    "Really? So, why do they sing?" I ask.

    "Well, there are two reasons," explains Jim. "Most of the songbirds who sing are males. They want to find a female(雌性)so they sing to show how strong they are. The females listen and choose the best singer! The birds also sing to tell other males to go away. They need their own area; they don't like sharing with another male."

    I listen to the birds; the songs seem too much to me. "Do the birds sing a special song in the morning?"

"That's a good question," replied Jim. "The successful birds have many kinds of calls and songs. Sometimes they copy the songs of other birds. This makes it sound like there are many birds in that place already and other males stay away. Also the female likes songs with different notes. Some birds, for example the European wren, have songs that contain over 700 different notes per minute!"

So, how does Jim know so much about birds? Well, he works as a volunteer for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. He is trying to help the birds live in the modern world. "More and more of the birds' habitat disappears every year. The sparrow, for example, was a very common bird in the UK, now it's in danger."

    By now the sun is up and the birds are quiet. It's light so they can start looking for food, they need a big breakfast after all that singing.

1.Why does the writer get up early in the morning?

A. To visit her friend.               B. To drink hot coffee.  

C. To see different birds.                  D. To hear birds sing.

2.A bird sings early in the morning mainly_______.

A. to call a female's attention          B. to fight with other males

C. to find a place to live in      D. to start looking for food

3. According to the text, which of the following statements is true?

A. At first the writer is happy to be up so early in the morning.

B. Male birds have their own ways of fooling other birds.

C. It's easier for the birds to find food early in the morning.

D. Jim has a job with the Royal Society for the Proteciton of Birds.

4.The text is mainly about_______.

A. the robin's songs                          B. the birds' habitat    

C. why birds sing                                D. how to protect birds