Three soldiers were on their way home from the war．They arrived at a small village, they were very tired and （1）,but they had no food or money．The only thing they did have was a cooking pot（锅）．

The soldiers built a small cooking fire,（2） their pot on it, and poured in some water． When a few villagers asked what they were doing, one of the soldiers answered that he was making stone soup． A few more villagers walking by stopped to （3）what was going on when they heard about it．

“Any soup needs salt and pepper,”the first soldier said,（4） some children ran to fetch salt and pepper．“Stones can be used to prepare good soup, but tomatoes would （5） it so much better,” the second soldier added．One woman said“Why, I think I have a tomato or two! ”She ran to get the tomatoes．

“Some cabbage would be a proper choice for a good stone soup! ”said the third soldier．Another woman said,“I think I can probably find some cabbage,”and （6）she ran．

“If only we had a bit of beef and some potatoes, this soup would be fit for a rich man's （7）．”The villagers thought it over, then ran to fetch what they had in their homes．A rich man's soup, and all from a few stones! It seemed like （8）!

The soldiers said“, If only we had a little milk, this soup would be fit for a king! ”And so other villagers （9） to get some milk．

“The soup is ready,”said the cooks,“and all will （10）it, but first we need to set the tables．”Some of the villagers said,“Such a great soup would be better （11）some bread and cakes,”so they brought the （12） two things and the meal was （13） by all．Never had there been such a （14） meal．Never had the villagers had such delicious soup, and all made from stones! They ate and drank and danced well into the night．

In the morning, the villagers gathered to say goodbye．“Many thanks to you,”they said,“for we shall （15）go hungry now that we have learned how to make soup from stones．”

1．A．hungry          B．bored          C．sleepy         D．sick

2．A．drew            B．threw          C．left           D．placed

3．A．see                     B．tell             C．imagine        D．notice

4．A．but              B．so             C．or             D．while

5．A．cook            B．do            C．invent         D．make

6．A．about            B．in             C．off           D．out

7．A．health            B．money         C．dream         D．table

8．A．art              B．magic          C．interest        D．supper

9．A．tried             B．returned       C．managed       D．came

10．A．want           B．buy             C．use            D．taste

11．A．over           B．besides         C．with          D．like

12．A．first           B．last            C．other          D．only

13．A．enjoyed        B．given          C．needed          D．brought

14．A．cheap         B．proper         C．special        D．public

15．A．later           B．ever           C．sometimes     D．never

One great need in the lives of most people is change and variety（多样化），so holidays play an important part in our lives．We work hard during the year，so we feel tired and stressed（有力的）at times．We need holidays to relax，even if they only last for a few days This is especially true for women who，if they could get away from their husbands，children and family for even one week in the year，would feel much happier．

Holidays have many good results．Firstly，they can improve the economy（经济）．If there were no holidays，people would have little time to spend the money they earn．Secondly，holidays allow people to relax after working hard throughout the year．During and after the holidays，people feel more relaxed and energetic；they then bring this energy to work when they continue working．Lastly，holidays help people learn how to enjoy life．Most people improve their relationships with their other family members during holidays．

However，holidays also have bad aspects（方面）For example，many people said that they couldn’t enjoy shopping or travelling because there were so many people shopping and travelling，too．Anyway，most people realize that they need holidays．I can’t imagine what people’s lives would be like if there were no holidays．

1．People need holidays because ________．

A．they need to spend money

B．they need to rest after the hard work

C．they want to make more friends

D．they want to run away from the real life

2．Holidays are important，especially for ________ according to the passage．

A．parents                   B．children                  C．women                  D．men

3．How many advantages do holidays have according to the passage?

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

4．Which of the following is NOT true?

A．People can feel more relaxed after holidays．

B．People will know how to enjoy life during holidays．

C．The disadvantages of holidays are more than their advantages．

D．People can have more energy to work after holidays．

5．What’s the writer’s attitude（态度）to holidays?

A．There shouldn’t be more holidays．

B．Holidays can bring some problems to us．

C．Holidays are necessary．

D．Holidays are not so important as money．

One year ago all eyes were on Beijing．The excitement of the 2008 Olympics was going up day by day． Then something happened --- the earthquake．Our eyes turned quickly from Beijing towards Sichuan．Day after day we watched the terrible pictures on television．They went into our hearts．

But our spirits were also lifted as we saw so many ordinary people become heroes．Many people saved the lives of others without thinking about themselves． Soon people from all over the country were trying to help． Some traveled to Sichuan to save people, others sent food, water and clothes．And it seemed that everyone tried their best to donate money．

The Sichuan earthquake was a terrible thing but it did teach us some useful lessons．First, it taught us the importance of helping others．Without everyone joining together the things were much worse． It also taught us to love our friends and family．We realized that the people we love so much could be taken from us very quickly．

We also learned to respect （尊重） the power of nature．The earth is our home but it can sometimes be a dangerous place to live．Earthquakes, floods and droughts can happen at any time．We can’t do anything about that, but we do have the power to show our respect for nature by not causing pollution．That may be the most useful lesson of all．

（   ）1．When did the Sichuan earthquake take place? _________．

A． On May 12 , 2007                                   B． On May 12 , 2008

C． On May 12 , 2009                                   D． On April 12 , 2008

（   ）2．How many useful lessons did the Sichuan earthquake teach us according to the passage?

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

（   ）3．According to this passage, how can we show our respect for nature? _________．

A． By preventing floods                        B． By stopping droughts

C． By keeping earthquakes away                D． By not causing pollution

（   ）4．What’s the main idea of the last two paragraphs? _________．

A． The importance of helping others

B． Loving our friends and family

C． Respecting the power of nature

D． The useful lessons of the Sichuan earthquake

How can you buy a meal for lunch without any money in your pocket？Students in Class 9,Grade 8 at Mountain and Lake Middle School in Chengdu,Sichuan,have their ways. They give out flyers(传单), draw portraits(人物素描) and work as waiters.

The class, working in eight groups, finished the activity. Experiencing Life for Seven Hours,on March 18, “I found students waste their food in the dining?hall, ”the class teacher, Deng Guiyong said, “So I held this activity to help them understand how hard it is to make money.”

Jiang Yao, 15, and his group members stood in the streets giving out flyers for about two hours and got the money for their lunch. Then they worked as waiters in a pizza restaurant?cleaning the floor；and toilets and getting food for guests, “We were busy all along, so we were terribly exhausted after the day’s hard work.”said Jiang.“We each got a pizza as a prize, which tasted much better than one I ate with my parents before.”

When Xie Ni’s group didn't make any money in three hours, the members became nervous about their lunch. The 14?year?old girl came up with the idea of drawing portraits to sell, “I sold four portraits and one tourist even paid us 100 yuan for his portrait, ”said Xie.

Xie realized that life is really hard. “We have to work hard to get the money to pay for even a simple meal.” Xie said, “We must value the happy life today.”

On top of making money, each group was asked to do at least five good deeds during the seven hours. Students helped the old cross the road, gave directions to tourists and turned in a lost bus card.

56. From the teacher’s words, we can see that the students ________.

A. usually waste food in their daily life　 B. realize life is really not easy

C. know it’s hard to make money　　　　 D. have their own ways to get food without money

57. The underlined word“exhausted”in Paragraph 3 means ________.

A. happy 　　　　B. crazy 　　　 C. tired 　　　　 D. boring

58. In order to make money, the students have done all except ________.

A. help the old cross the road 　　　 B. give out flyers

C. draw portraits　 　　　　　　　　　　　 D. work as waiters

59. The purpose of this activity is to ________.

A. let the students get food　 B. help the students learn to value their today’s life

C. help people in need　　　　 D. give the students a chance to learn to work

60. What’s the best title for the passage?

A. Life Is Really Hard 　　　　　　B. It’s Good To Be A Volunteer

C. How To work For People　 D. Experiencing Life For Seven Hours