We were standing at the top of a church not far from my home. I didn’t know why.

“Look down,” Father said. I tried and saw the square in the center of the village. And I saw the streets to the square. “See, Elsa,” Father said. “There is more than one way to the square. If you can’t get where you want to go by one road, try another.”

Earlier that day, I asked Mother to do something about what we had for lunch at school. But she didn’t think the food was as bad as I said. When I turned to Father for help, he brought me to the church.

At school the next day, I filled a bottle with the soup for our lunch and took it home. I told the cook to pour the soup in a plate and bring it to Mother. She drank it and cried out, “What’s the matter with the soup today?” I at once told her what I had done , and Mother said that she would take up the matter of lunches at school the next day .

Now I really understood why Father had taken me to the church. I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago. I wouldn’t stop working until I tried every way to my goal.

1.The writer’s father took her to the church to.

2.Elsa really wanted her mother to.

3.Why did Elsa’s mother agree to do something about the matter?

4.What Elsa’s father said means?

5.When the writer really understood what his father had said.

—Where are the next magazines, Mum? I want to read them.
—They ____ in the drawer by your father, I think.

用括号内所给动词的适当形式填空。

1.I ________ (read) a novel last night when I heard knocks at the door.

2.The young man ________ (live) alone since he graduated from college.

3.Be careful ___________ (not fall) off the ladder.

4.The actor and director ________(be) coming to give us a speech next weekend.

5.I overslept this morning. By the time I got to the train station, the train ________ (leave).

A student newspaper reports that most students go to sleep at 1:30 am. Even if that’s an overstatement (夸张), it’s close to the truth. Scientists say teens should sleep nine hours each night. But that’s hard. Some are even “pulling all-nighters” (开夜车). These students must hand in their homework the next day but they haven’t done it. In the morning they don’t look healthy and you can tell who’s been doing it. One of my classmates did a survey on the topic. She found that most kids pull all-nighters to finish homework, but some do it for other reasons, such as playing computer games!

    Maybe our lack(缺乏) of sleep is because of laziness — I think I’m a rather lazy student — or maybe it’s because we have too much to do in American high schools. I usually go to bed around midnight. If I stayed up past 1:30 am, I wouldn’t get any work done. I’d be falling asleep at my computer. My classes begin at 7:30 am. I’m partly awake in my first class. By the second, I’m a little sleepy. By my third class, I’m sleepy. By midday I’m finally fully awake. But by 3:00 pm, I’m slowing down again. Yet I get more sleep than usual students.

    Most American high schools seem to have a similar(相似的) problem with sleepy students. High school classes start at 7:30 am, so students have to get up one and a half hours before that to get ready and catch the bus. It’s believed that lack of sleep can be bad for both grades and health. Some schools are paying attention. Classes in those schools start at 8:30 am.

1.What does the underlined sentence “it’s close to the truth” mean?

A. It doesn’t tell the truth.         B. It is quite true.

C. It is impossible.              D. I don’t think it’s right.

2.Why do most of the teens have to stay up late?

A. They play computer games.             B. They watch videos late.

C. They have to do a lot of housework.      D. They have to do a lot of homework.

3.When do students in most American high schools have to get up?

A. At 7:30 am.     B. At 6:00 am.    C. At 9:00 am.    D. At about 7:00 am.

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the reading?

A. The writer usually stays up past 1:30 am.

B. The writer usually goes to bed around midnight.

C. The writer usually does a survey.

D. Many American students don’t get enough sleep, so they can have high grades.

5.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Something has to be done to solve the problem of students’ lack of sleep.

B. Many American high school students are sleepy in class.

C. Many kids have too much homework to do.

D. Students can’t play computer games.