You must know the song Happy Birthday. But do you know who wrote this song and for whom the writer wrote it?

About one hundred years ago, there was a girl in the U.S. She loved children very much and wrote many songs for children. One of them was the song Good Morning To You. The song was very popular with children at that time, but not all grown-ups (成年人) knew it.

The girl was very poor (贫穷的). Once her friends invited her to a little boy’s birthday party. She felt happy but sad because she had no money to buy something for him. So she decided to sing the song Happy Birthday in the melody (曲调) of Good Morning To You for the little boy.  When her friends heard the song at the party, they were very happy. And they all learned to sing it. Later, the song became very popular around the world.     

     根据短文内容，选择正确答案。

(   ) 51. When did the song Happy Birthday become popular?

       A. About one thousand years ago.      B. Hundreds of years ago.

       C. About one hundred years ago.        D. About ten years ago.

(   )52. At first, the song Happy Birthday was for a(n) 　　　.

       A. old lady          B. little boy   C. little girl    D. old man

(   )53. When her friends invited her to a party, the girl was 　　　.

       A. happy and excited              B. angry and stressed out

       C. excited but angry               D. happy but sad

(   )54. Which of the following is TRUE? 

       A. The girl didn’t love children at all.  B. The girl was very rich.

       C. The girl didn’t go to the party      D. The girl decided to sing a song at the party.

(   )55. Which is the best title for the passage?

       A. The story of Happy Birthday      B. A clever poor girl

       C. Let’s sing Happy Birthday        D. A story of a poor girl

John sent his mother expensive presents on his mother's birthday every year. He liked to show her how rich he was.

"I must find something wonderful for her, and it must be the only one in the whole world. "John thought.

He advertised (登广告) in the newspapers. " Wanted—the best present for the woman who has everything. "

For many days his telephone did not stop ringing. People phoned him from all over the world. They wanted to sell him "the best present". But they did not have anything that was the only one in the whole world.

Then less than a week before his mother's birthday, a man came to his office. He was carrying a cage, and in the cage there was a large bird.

"This bird, "the man said, "can speak ten languages and sing any pop song. There is no other bird like it in the world. "

"I will listen to it, "John said. "If what you said is true, I will buy the bird from you. "

The man spoke to the bird. "Talk to me in French, " he said. The bird spoke to him in French. "Tell me a joke in Japanese, " he said. The bird told him a joke in Japanese. "Sing a famous pop song, "he said. The bird sang a famous pop song.

"I'll buy it, "John said. "How much do you want?"

"One hundred thousand dollars, "the man said. This was a lot of money but John paid him. Then he sent the bird to his mother with a birthday card.

The day after his mother's birthday he phoned her. "Well, mother, "he said, "Is the bird wonderful?"

"Oh, it was delicious, dear, "she said.

1. Why did John send her mother expensive presents for her birthday every year?

A. Because he loved his mother very much.

B. Because his mother needed these presents.

C. Because he wanted to show he had a lot of money.

D. Because he was the richest man in the world.

2. How did people know John wanted the best present in the world?

A. They rang John up.

B. They knew it from the newspapers.

C. John phoned them one by one.

D. They knew it on TV.

3.When did the man with a bird come to visit John?

A. Two weeks before John's mother's birthday.

B. On John's mother's birthday.

C. About five days before John's mother's birthday.

D. Less than a week after John's mother's birthday.

4. Why did John pay the man a lot of money for the bird?

A. Because it was such a beautiful bird.

B. Because he wanted to help the poor man with the bird.

C. Because the bird could look after his mother.

D.  Because John  thought  the bird could make his mother happy.

5. What does the sentence "It was delicious, "really mean in the story?

A. His mother ate the bird.

B. His mother let the bird fly away.

C. His mother began to learn languages from the bird.

D.  His mother thought  it  was the most  expensive present in the world.

 

On the first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder(肩膀). “Hi, girl! My name is Rose, I’m 87 years old.”

“Why are you in college at such a young age?” I asked jokingly.

“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!”she replied. Rose became a college symbol(象征) this year and she easily on her from the other students.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football party. I’ll never forget what she taught us.

“We do not stop playing because we are old, we grow old because we stop playing. There are only two secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor(幽默) every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose you dreams, you die!”she said.

“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do anything, you will turn 20 years older. If I am 87 years old, and stay in bed for a year, and never do anything, I will turn 88. Anybody can grow older. But every minute counts for young men,” she added.

She ended her speech by singing The Song of Rose. She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live then out in our daily lives.

At the year’s end, Rose finished the college education she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose did peacefully in her sleep.

1.Rose went to college because she         .

A．wanted to live longer

B．loved to stay with the young

C．wanted to realize her dream

D．planned to enjoy her life there

2.From the story we can see that Rose was    during her stay in college.

A．outgoing and popular	B．brave and hard-working
C．honest and athletic	D．calm and creative

3.Which of the following is included in Rose’s speech?

A．People won’t grow old if they stop playing.

B．The more you laugh, the younger you will be.

C．People easily become old if they do more things.

D．Time is especially important for young people.

4.At the end of her speech, Rose asked each of her classmates          .

A．to sing along with her

B．to sing one’s own song

C．to recite the lyrics

D．to do as the lyrics said

5.Which of the following can best describe the story?

A．Live with your dream.

B．Find secrets of staying young.

C．Learn wherever you are.

D．Be happy every day.

 

 

Stanley was a person who loved singing to himself in the bath.  One cold winter night, he went into the bathroom to have a hot bath.  He took off his clothes and turned on the tap, but there was no hot water─the water from the tap was cold. Stanley didn’t know what was wrong, but he finally decided to take a bath without hot water.  He started to sing as usual, one song after another.  Stanley was surprised that the water felt warm this way.  So he kept singing, louder and louder, until he finished his bath.     The next morning when Stanley was going to work, he saw a piece of paper on his door:                   & tap 水龙头 1.What does the mother think of Stanley?    (A) He gets up too early.  (B) He is a helpful person.  (C) He should see a doctor.    (D) He makes too much noise. 2.What does this way mean?   (A) Singing to a crying baby.  (B) Singing when taking a cold bath.   (C) Taking a cold bath in the morning.  (D) Taking a bath before going to bed.