Cats are the most popular pets among Americans. So it is not surprising that there are a lot of expressions about cats. Some cats like to catch small birds, like canaries (金丝雀). If someone looks very proud and satisfied with himself, we say “he looks like the cat that ate the canary.”
Sometimes, a cat likes to play with a small animal it catches. So if you “play cat and mouse” with someone, it means that you change between different kinds of behavior when dealing with another person. For example, a girl might offer something sweet to her little brother and then take it away when he reaches for it.
Americans might say that something is “the cat’s miaow” or “the cat’s pajamas(睡衣)” to describe something that is the best or finest. “A copycat” is someone who acts just like someone else or copies another person’s work. “A fat cat” is a person with a lot of money.
If you tell about something that is supposed to be a secret, we say you “let the cat out of the bag”. If you are not able to speak or answer a question, someone might ask you if “the cat has got your tongue(舌头)”
Have you ever watched children in a classroom when their teacher leaves for a few minutes? “When the cat’s away, the mice will play” means people sometimes act badly when there is no supervision (监管).
You may have heard the expression “curiosity killed the cat”. This means caring too much about things that are not your business might cause problems.
If you have ever had cats as pets, you know it is difficult to train them or to get them to do something. Cats are not like Sheep or cows that can be moved in a group. So we say a difficult or impossible job is like “herding (放牧) cats “
【小题1】 What can we learn from the passage?

While you are in trouble, what are you going to do? What? Cry? Or escape? Those are all the wrong way! Robinson Crusoe can tell you the right answer!
It is an exciting story: Robinson Crusoe hated the comfortable life in his home town. So, he want to be a seaman and travelled around the world. But one day, a terrible thing happened. A great storm came and their boat crashed! No one was alive in this accident except Robinson. He was the luckiest man in the world--Because all his friends were dead but he was alive. However, at the same time he was the most tragic man of all—He must face the fact .Alone on an island without food, water or gun！But, all roads lead to Rome！He just used his hands to work hard！Then, he made a cave, built a house, grew corn and kept goats. In the end, he could enjoy the life on the island. In his twenty-fourth year on the island, he saved a wild man, and gave him the name of “Friday”. With Robinson’s teaching, “Friday” became a good servant. Friday, they got a boat and escaped from the island.
Surely, the writer of Robinson Crusoe is really a hero！ It’s too hard to describe Robinson with words. We could say that Robinson was very clever, and also he was brave,...Certainly, too many good words can describe him. But now, I think it isn’t important. However, the most important thing is what we have learned from the story. That is, use our own hands to work hard with confidence！
【小题1】Robinson wanted to be a sailor because        .

It was Mother’s Day, but the young mother was a little unhappy, because she was 800 miles away from her parents. In the morning she phoned her mother to wish her a happy Mother’s Day, and her mother told her about the beautiful lilacs(丁香花)in the garden.
Later that day, when she told her husband about the lilacs, he said, “I know where we can find all that you want. Get the children and come on.” So they went, driving down the country roads. There on a small hill, they saw a lot of beautiful purple lilacs. The young woman ran quickly to enjoy the flowers. Carefully, she picked a few here and there. On their way home there was a smile on her face.
When they were passing an old people’s home, the young woman saw an old granny sitting in a chair. They stopped the ear and the young woman walked to the old woman, put the flowers in her hands, and smiled at her. The old granny thanked her again and again. She smiled happily, too.
When the young mother came back to her car, her children asked her, “Who is the old granny? Why did you give our flowers to her?  I don’t know her,” their mother said. “But it’s Mother’s Day, and she has no children. I have all of you, and I still have my mother. Just think how much those flowers meant to her.”
【小题1】The young woman was a little unhappy on Mother’s Day because________.

As we know, there are differences between western culture and Chinese culture. We can see  differences  when we pay attention to the words that are used. Let’s look at the words about describing animals. Most phrases in Chinese about the dog. For example, “ a  homeless dog”, “a running dog”,  and “ a dog catching a mouse”, have negative meanings.
But in western countries, dogs are considered honest and good friends of humans. In English, people use dogs to describe positive behavior. For example, ”You are  lucky dog” means you are a  lucky person.   And  “Every dog has its day” means__________. To describe a person’s serious illness, they say “sick as a dog”. The  word  “dog-tired”  means  “ very tired”. The  words  about animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how certain words are used

1. 1.

   The correct Chinese meaning about “ a homeless dog” is “_________”

   1. A.
      猎犬
   2. B.
      看门狗
   3. C.
      丧家犬
   4. D.
      家养犬
2. 2.

   In English ,people use dogs to describe positive behavior because____________

   1. A.
      they have different culture
   2. B.
      they think dogs are honest and good friends of humans
   3. C.
      they like dogs very much
   4. D.
      dogs are very active
3. 3.

   Which sentence is right to fill in the blank in the passage?

   1. A.
      every dog will die one day
   2. B.
      each person has bad luck at times
   3. C.
      each person has good luck at times
   4. D.
      every dog has good luck at times
4. 4.

   Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

   1. A.
      In English people use the dog to describe positive behavior
   2. B.
      Most phrases in Chinese about the dog have negative meaning
   3. C.
      We should pay attention to the words about animals that are used
   4. D.
      “Sick as a dog” is used to describe a healthy person in western countries
5. 5.

   What ‘s the best  title of the passage?

   1. A.
      Dogs
   2. B.
      Western Culture
   3. C.
      Chinese Culture
   4. D.
      Different Countries Have Different Culture

How do you feel when you stay in hospital alone? Jenny, 13, a US student, feels bored. She knows the feeling because she has been in hospital many times herself. One day, she thought of an idea—if patients could get some books to read, they would feel better. So, from May, she and many of her friends began to collect books for hospital patients.

In six months the students collected 1,250 books at school. They decided to donate the books to the North Shore Medical Centre, a children’s hospital next door to their school. “There are books for kids of all ages, from babies up to high school level.” said Jenny.

The students put the books into “early readers”, “middle readers” and “advanced readers”. Then they wrote their best wishes to patients on bookmarks (书签) and letters, put the books in big boxes and donated them to the hospital.

“We wrote things like, “Keep on reading!’ and ‘Hope you feel better!’,” siad John, 14, Jenny’s brother. “And we also wrote some funny things to make them laugh.”

Frank, 12, and Steven, 14, helped carry 16 large boxes of books into a car. “I think these books will make me a lot of patients feel happy.” said Frank. Steven shared his opinion. “It is really the most meaningful thing that I have ever done in my life.”

1.Who first thought of the idea of helping those bored patients in hospital?

   A. John.         B. Frank.           C. Steven.      D. Jenny.

2.From the article, we can learn that _______.

   A. in half a year Jenny and her friends bought 1,250 books

   B. the North Shore Medical Centre is far from Jenny’s school

   C. Jenny and her friends were willing to help bored patients

   D. Steven had a different opinion from Frank and John

3.The best title for the article might be “_______”.

   A. Collecting books for bored patients   B. Writing a letter to a medical centre

   C. Donating books to poor students       D. Reading books for hospital patients

4. Which of the following words can be used to describe those student?

   A. Polite and hard-working           B. Lazy and stubborn

   C. Selfish and proud                 D. Thoughtful and helpful