Dear Alice,

    I just received your letter. And I was very surprised to know that you decided to drop out of school and wanted to be a model （模特）.

    Being a model for a living is not easy. In fact, a famous person like me has a lot of problems that you couldn't see. I can't eat what I like, even though I'm very hungry. Keeping thin makes me look more beautiful on the stage because no one would like to see a heavy model.

    Besides, I have to wear a heavy coat in the hot sun, in a swimming suit in the cold air. And practicing walking nicely every day is tiring for me.

    You might say I made much money from modeling. Bus my dear niece （侄女）, you have to know that money is, nothing, knowledge is everything. School is important and everyone should go to school for a certain period of time. The longer they stay at school, the better they will be. Very often, I hope I can give up my job and continue my studies at school. But it is very difficult for me to go back to school again. I am too old to go back to school now.

    You are a pretty young girl with a bright future. You only have one year to finish your studies in high school. A year is really short. Please do consider my words carefully before you decide. Of course, there is only one thing I care about, and that is your happiness.

    Love,

    Emma

1.What was Emma surprised about?

    A．Alice wanted to keep thin.

    B．Alice decided not to do modeling.

    C．Alice ate too much and became a heavy girl.

    D．Alice decided not to finish her studies at school.

2.Emma can't go back to school again, because ________

    A．she is tired of being a student

    B．she wants to make more money from modeling

    C．she is so old that she has missed the best time in school

    D．she has done a good job and makes a lot of money as a model

3.How long does Alice still have to study in high school?

    A．One year.                                            B．Two years.

    C．Three years.                                         D．The longer, the better.

4.Emma only cares about________

    A．Alice's beauty                                           B．Alice's happiness

C．Alice's age                                       D．Alice's swimming suit

5.From the letter we know that __________

    A．Emma is a famous model

    B．Emma likes being a model for a living

    C．Alice will go on her studies in high school

D．Emma can eat what she likes when she is very hungry

 

The scientists from the Lockheed Space Company (公司) work in Felton, California, with the help of a computer. But the computer is placed in Sunnyside, about 80 kilometers away. What the scientists input is sent by telephone lines to the computer, and after a time, copies of the designs are needed back in Felton as possible. Lockheed people have tried several ways of sending the prints (印刷品), but the most effective seems to be by pigeon (鸽子). Are pigeons really used to carry messages in these days? They are, and they send the prints faster and cheaper than any other way.

Human (人类的) messengers (persons carrying messages) are much more expensive and slower than the pigeons. The road to Felton goes through the mountains, and the driving is not easy. An electronic printout system(电子印刷系统) could do the work in Felton, but at a cost of 10 dollars a print. Pigeons carry the designs for about 1 dollar each.

Now Lockheed people have ten pigeon messengers. The pigeons do the work, and they have made Lockheed more famous. You can often read the news about the pigeons in the newspapers around the world.

1.The story is mainly about     .

A．Felton, California	B．the scientists
C．how to work with computers	D．sending prints by pigeon

2.This story is unusual because pigeons       .

A．don’t like carrying things

B．are often cheap to keep

C．seem out of place in the space age

D．aren’t friendly to the scientists

3.Something that’s effective（有效的）      .

A．usually costs more

B．is something that works

C．is often unhappy

D．is often don by animals

4.Which happened first?

A．Pigeons were used as messengers.

B．Human messengers were used.

C．What the scientists input was sent to the computer.

D．Scientists got their designs.

5.Lockheed likes the pigeons because they      .

A．do the work at low cost

B．get their pictures on television

C．understand the computer

D．make the scientists pleased

 

“If you want to see a thing well, reach out and touch it!”

That may seem a strange thing to say. But touching things can help you to see them better.

Your eyes can tell you that a glass ball is round. But by holding it in your hands, you can feel how smooth and cool the ball is. You can feel how heavy the glass is. When you feel all these about the ball, you really see it. With your skin, you can feel better. For example, your fingers can tell the difference between two coins in your pocket. You can feel a little drop of water on the back of your hand, too. You can even feel sounds against your skin. Have you ever wanted to know why some people like very loud music? They must like to feel the sounds of music.

All children soon learn what “Don’t touch!” means. They hear it often. Yet most of us keep on touching things as we grow up. In shops, we touch things we might buy: food, clothes. To see something well, we have to touch it. The bottoms of our feet can feel things, too. You know this when you walk on warm sand, cool grass or a hard floor. All feel different under your feet.

There are ways of learning to see well by feeling. One way is to close your eyes and try to feel everything that is touching your skin. Feel the shoes on your feet, the clothes on your body, the air on your skin. At first, it is not easy to feel these things. You are too used to them!

Most museums are just for looking. But today some museums have some things to touch. Their signs say, “Do touch!” There you can feel everything on show.

If you want to see better, reach out and touch. Then you will really see!

1.By touching things       .

A．you will have a strange feeling

B．you will learn how to reach out your hand

C．you can learn more about them

D．you can tell what colors they really are

2.Which of the following can be the best title of the story?

A．Touching by Feeling	B．To See or to Feel
C．To See Better—Feel	D．Ways of Feeling

3. Which of the following parts can tell you the difference between two coins in your pocket?

A．Your fingers.

B．Your eyes.

C．Your skin.

D．Your back.

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Touching is helping us to see better.

B．Our skin may help us enjoy music.

C．People don’t have to learn to feel.

D．Visitors can’t feel the things on show in any museums.