Mary did not( 1 )such sentences as “She is blue today.”, “You are yellow.”, “He has a( 2) thumb（大拇指）.”, “He has told a little white lie.”, and so on. And she went to her teacher (3 )help.

“Mrs. Smith, there is a (4 )in each of these sentences. What do they mean?” she asked.

“In( 5 )English, Mary, blue( 6) means sad. Yellow—afraid. A person( 7 )a green thumb grows plants well and a white lie is not a bad one, “ the teacher said.

“Would you give me an( 8) for a white lie, teacher?”

“Certainly. Now I give you a cake. In fact you don’t like it, but you won’t say it.( 9 )you say, ‘No, thanks, I’m not( 10 ).’ That’s a white lie.”

( ) 1. A. know 　　　 B. understand 　　 C. read　　 D. see

( ) 2. A. blue 　　　　 B. yellow 　　　　C. white 　　 D. green

( ) 3. A. for　　　　　　 B. to　　　　　　　 C. with 　　　 D. by

( ) 4. A. word　　　　 B. colour 　　　　 C. mistake 　 D. question

( ) 5. A. today　　　　 B. common　　　C. everyday 　D. usual

( ) 6. A. sometimes　 B. some times　C. sometime 　D. some time

( ) 7. A. to 　　　　　　 B. with 　　　　　 C. of　　　　　　　D. at

( ) 8. A. answer 　　 B. book 　　　　　C. question 　D. example

( ) 9. A. And 　　　　 B. Instead　　　　C. But 　　　　　 D. Also

( ) 10. A. ill 　　　　　 B. happy 　　　　 C. full 　 　　　　 D. hungry

Spending more than two hours a night doing homework leads to better results in English, math and science, according to a major study (by Pam Sammons, England) which has tracked (跟踪）the progress of 3,000 children over the past 15 years.

Spending any time doing homework showed advantages, but the influence was greater for the students who put in two to three hours a night, according to the study published by the Department for Education in England.

The scientists who did the research say their study emphasizes (强调）what students actually do rather than how much work the school has set.

Pam Sammons, a professor of education at Oxford University, said that time spent on homework showed the influence of the school—if children were expected to do homework and if

they enjoy their subjects. “That’s one of the reasons Indian and Chinese children do better. They put more time in it.” he added.

It’s also reported that students who enjoyed school got better results. “Schools could make sure children had a better experience by improving the school environment, making school work interesting and making children feel supported by teachers." Sammons said.

It is suggested that children aged 5 to 7 should be set one-hour homework a week, half an hour a night for 7 to 11-year-olds. Secondary schools were encouraged to set up two hours a night for 14 to 16-year-olds.

“Headteachers should make their own homework policy,” the government says.

1 Where can we probably read this passage?

A. In a poster.      B. In a magazine.     C. In a storybook.    D. In an advertisement.

2 According to the first paragraph, spending __________ doing homework leads to better results in lessons.

A. half an hour     B. an hour            C. over two hours     D. less than two hours

3 The underlined word “published” probably means __________ in Chinese.

A. 公布                 B. 印刷               C. 出版                   D. 发现

4Which of the following sentences is TRUE according lo the passage?

A. Schools could make sure children had a better experience.

B. Children aged 14-16 should spend an hour a night on homework.

C. The study was published by the Department for Education in China.

D. Chinese and Indian children do worse in schoolwork from Pam Sammons.

5 From the passage, we can know that __________.

A. Students should become interested in their results.

B. Students should do homework as much as possible.

C. Parents should encourage their children to do more homework.

D. It’s headteachers’ duty to make their students’ own homework policy.

To master(掌握）language，one must be able  1  and understand the spoken language as well as to read and write．Speaking，of course， 2  go without listening．If you want to pronounce(发音)a word correctly，first you must hear it correctly． If you don't listen 3  ，you'll find it difficult or even impossible to understand the native speakers．As for writing，people usually use shorter words and shorter sentences  4   their writing．The important thing is to  5   your idea clear in your head and then to write it in clear language．And if you read too slowly，by the time you  6  the end of a page，you may  7  what the beginning is about and then you'll never finish a book．When you  8  some new words，don't look them up in the dictionary at once． 9  the meanings from the context(上下文)．You may not get quite correct answers the first time，but as the new words come up again and again in different contexts, their meanings will become  10 ．In this way you can learn a language well．

1．A．speaking         B．spoke                  C．to speak

2．A．can't              B．can                      C．must

3．A．correctly        B．carefully              C．happily

4．A．in            B．from                    C．with

5．A．change           B．make                   C．start

6．A．reach             B．arrive                   C．get

7．A．forget            B．forgot                  C．forgetting

8．A．feel                B．meet                    C．watch

9．A．Think            B．Guess                  C．Know

10．A．clearest         B．clearer and clearer  C．the clearest