The Tin Lizzie

　　It shook, rattled (嗄嗄作响), and groaned (呻吟). It wasn't pretty. It looked like a black box sitting on high, skinny wheels. But it could go anywhere, and it was cheap.

　　What was it? It was Henry Ford's Model-T ca－better known as the Tin Lizzie. This car was the most popular of all for nearly 20 years. It changed the American way of life forever.

　　Model T's were sold as fast as they were made. Eleven thousand were sold in 1908. They cost $850 each. Of course, you can't buy a new car for $850 any longer. The prices of new cars keep changing.

　　The line graph below shows how the average prices of American cars have been changing.

　　A line graph shows how something has changed. This kind of graph uses a simple line to show changes. If the line goes up, that means things have gone up in some way. If the line goes down, then something has gone down.

　　Suppose you want to find the average price of cars for 1977. Find 1977 at the bottom of the graph. Find the dot over the year. Then find the price across from the dot.

　　Use the line graph to answer the questions below.

1．What was the average price of a car in 1979?

[　　]

2．What does the line graph show about car prices?

[　　]

3．In what year did cars cost more than $4000 but less than $6000?

[　　]

4．Suppose you were looking for a new car in 1981. What would the average price have been?

[　　]

5．How did the average price of cars change from 1977 to 1979?

[　　]

完形填空

通读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳答案。

　　Small children often laugh at a lame or blind person, or at someone who isn't dressed as well as they are. But 1 they grow up, they learn not to hurt people's feelings by laughing at their 2 . They learn to laugh at other things. Most 3 , they learn to laugh at 4 .

　　Suppose you're playing a game. You make a silly (蠢的) 5 and lose. Do you become angry? 6 can you laugh at yourself and hope to do it 7 next time? Suppose you're at a special 8 . You accidentally spill (无意喷出) some food. Why keep worrying about 9 clumsy (笨拙的) you looked? Why not laugh it off and enjoy yourself anyway? If you can, it's a good sign you've 10 grown up.

1．

[　　]

2．

[　　]

3．

[　　]

4．

[　　]

5．

[　　]

6．

[　　]

7．

[　　]

8．

[　　]

9．

[　　]

10．

[　　]

　　How strong is a dollar bill? A dollar bill lasts about a year and a half. By that time, it is usually worn out (磨损) . A$5 bill lasts longer. It is not used as often as a dollar bill. A $ 100 bill lasts longer still.

　　All the bills are made from the same kind of paper. The paper is very strong. You can fold (折叠) a bill about 4000 times before it tears (撕破).

　　Suppose you have a torn bill. You can trade it in at a bank for a whole bill. You must have more than half of the torn bill.

　　The paper used to print money is different from any other paper. This paper has a special pattern (图案). No one can make the same kind of paper. Besides, making the same kind of paper is against the law.

1．A dollar bill lasts about ________ .

[　　]

2．Which of the following is TRUE?

[　　]

A．A $ 5 bill lasts longer than a dollar bill.

B．You can't fold a dollar bill.

C．You can't tear a dollar bill.

D．A $ 100 bill does not last long.

3．The paper used to make bills is ________ .

[　　]

4．How many times can you fold a bill before it tears?

[　　]

5．You can trade in a torn bill if you have ________ .

[　　]

阅读下面短文，从A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案，完成所给句子。

　　Small children often laugh at a lame or blind person, or at someone who isn't dressed as well as they are. But as they grow up, they learn not to hurt people's feelings by laughing at their problems. They learn to laugh at themselves.

　　Suppose you're playing a game. You make a silly mistake and lose. Do you become angry? Or can you laugh at yourself and hope to do better next time? Suppose you're at a special dinner. You accidentally（偶然）spill（溢出）some food. Why keep worrying about how clumsy（笨拙的）you looked? Why not laugh in off and enjoy yourself anyway? If you can, it's a good sign you've really grown up.

1. This article is mostly about ______.

[　　]

A. why laughter is good for your body

B. what you should laugh at

C. when babies learn to laugh

D. where you may laugh

2. The writer says small children laugh at people who _____.

[　　]

A. have problems　　　B. spill food

C. dress well　　　　 D. play games

3. The writer suggests that children's laughter is often ______.

[　　]

A. unkind　　　　　　B. shrill

C. both A and B　　　D. neither A nor B

4. The most important thing is to learn how to laugh at ______.

[　　]

A. jokes　　　　　B. pictures

C. children　　　 D. yourself

5. The writer shows how laughter could help you not to ______.

[　　]

A. make a mistake　　　B. lose a game

C. become angry　　　　D. try again