--Was the test hard?

--The test was so hard that he ________ failed．

A．almost

B．most

C．mostly

D．hardly

 

I really hadn't meant to yell（吼叫）at them．But that grey afternoon saw it just as my son and daughter were making a terrible mess on the floor in the kitchen．

With a tiresome report to write，I felt bothered at my desk．Suddenly, it occurred to me that my kids were at fault．A voice inside me insisted that I do something quickly．

“OK，you two here．but what an awful thing you are attempting!” shouting angrily, I made for them, while it became evident that the boy wanted no part of me．“Get away from us!” he shouted back，there being expression of support from his sister．

All of a sudden，I found the fault in myself．Quickly I shaped my hands into pincers（螃蟹螯）and crawled towards them，“Crabby（似螃蟹的）Daddy is here Ha，Ha，Ha，he likes to yell at children，and then eat them!” My son continued to keep me away，but now he was laughing and crying at the same time．My mission to repair the damage caused by my yelling seemed to work well．Still，I regretted not having controlled myself first in a right way that my children could do after．

Need I let them know how badly they were acting by blaming? This is a lesson that serves myself．It only shows just how to get rid of something（ill-feelings，responsibility）by blaming others．It's not my “best self”．

We have to search for our “best self” when with our children．They don't need perfect parents，but they do need parents who are always trying to get better．Here，I'm reminded of the words of a great thinker，“When a man lives with God，his voice shall be as sweet as the murmur of the brook…” Then，in our lifetime，couldn't we always speak to our kids in such a sweet voice since，most of us consider them as the most precious in the world? And before we reach this level，what should we do when we come across various difficult cases with our children?  

The author couldn't help yelling at his kids this time probably because______．

       A．the weather was so unpleasant    B．a Daddy has his right to do so

       C．the kids didn't ask him to join them      D．he was tired of his boring work

Which of the following made the author aware of his fault?

       A．No obvious reason．   B．The children’s reaction．

       C．His self-control．           D．The mess made by the children．

According to the passage the author will    in another similar situation．

       A．play a crab again like this time      B．apologize to kids in a sincere way

       C．avoid blaming kids in a hurry       D．beat them up about such things

What will the writer go on to write about in the next paragraph（s）?

       A．How to behave ourselves properly when kids are at fault．

       B．How to blame our children in a more interesting way．

       C．How to deal with the terrible mess made by our kids．

       D．How to persuade children to do what they are told to．

Jack used to curse(咒骂) the front yard as if it were a living thing. He was the man who lived with my grandmother for thirty years. He was not my grandfather, but an Italian who came down the road one day, selling fruit in Florida.

Jack stopped at my grandmother’s house to sell her some oranges just a stone’s throw from downtown Miami, and he was delivering her whiskey a week later. He stayed for thirty years. Jack hated the front yard because he thought it was against him. There had been a beautiful lawn(草坪) there when Jack came along, but he let it wander off into nothing. He refused to water it or take care of it in any way.

Now the ground was so hard that it gave his car flat tires(轮胎) in the summer. The yard was always finding a nail to put in one of his tires or the car as always sinking out of sight in the winter when the rains came on. The lawn had belonged to my grandfather, who lived out the end of his life in an insane hospital. It had been his pride and joy and was said to be the place where his powers came.

It can be inferred that the real reason Jack had problems with the yard was that _______.

A. he didn’t like the lawn.

B. the author’s grandfather was against Jack working on the lawn

C. the lawn was full of living things

D. he himself did not take care of the lawn

We can learn from the passage that when the lawn belonged to the author’s grandfather, it had been _______.

A. beautiful              B. worn out        C. wasted           D. full of nails

What do we know about Jack and the author’s grandfather?

A. They both hated the front lawn.

B. Jack was jealous of the author’s grandfather.

C. They sold fruit in Florida.

D. They came from Italy and lived together.

 

The following is a true story. It happened in the northern end of Queens land, Australia, where all kinds of animals live in the forest.

Lisa, a 33-year-old woman, went to prepare lunch in the kitchen, leaving Barney, her three-year-old son, playing by himself in the back garden.

Suddenly, a sharp cry of Barney came into the mother’s ears, and Lisa rushed into the backyard in a hurry and found a big snake entwining(缠绕) the little child with its terrible body and trying to eat the boy as its delicious dish! It was a boa(蟒蛇)! Lisa was terrified and quite angry. She made up her mind to save her son from the snake’s mouth.

It was fearless mother love that made Lisa forget what she faced. She took up an old hoe (锁头) from the ground and beat the boa with all her strength.

One...two... With the hoe, Lisa beat the snake repeatedly, but useless. The little boy’s voice and breath were getting weaker and weaker. Lisa’s heart was broken and she got nearly mad.

Suddenly Lisa put away the hoe and threw herself to the boa, opening her mouth and bit into the boa’s back as if trying to eat a rare steak(牛排). Lisa was really mad!

Blood was spurting(喷射) out of the boa’s body and covered most of Lisa’s body. The boa was so badly wounded that it let go of Barney and moved back into the forest hurriedly. It had never known how a woman had such terrible sharp teeth! On halfway home, the boa died.

It was fearless mother love that saved the little boy.

65. When she rushed into the back garden, Lisa found  ______

A. a boa eating her son              

B. her son was playing with a big snake

C. her son in danger of losing his life  

D. her son was fighting with a boa

66. Lisa failed in fighting against the boa at first just because ______.

    A. she was bit by the boa  

    B. the boa was too strong

    C. the hoe was not sharp enough

    D. she was afraid that she would hurt her son

67. Lisa bit the snake because ______.

    A. she was mad     

    B. she thought her teeth were much sharper than the boa 

    C. her son was entwined by the boa

    D. she hadn’t got any other way to fight with the snake

68. The best title for this passage is ______.

    A. Mother and Boa         B. Fearless Mother Love

    C. A Boa and a Boy        D. Saving a Boy from a Boa

 

What’s delicious to eat and comes in a variety of colors? Eggplant! And no, it has nothing to do with chickens! This strangely named vegetable is, however, as versatile as an egg．It can be steamed, fried, and baked．It can be eaten by itself or combined with meats and other vegetables．

Eggplant was first grown in India in the 5th century BC．Its popularity soon spread to China and then throughout Asia．Finally, during the Middle Ages the vegetable made its way to Europe．At that time, eggplant was not the shiny purple vegetable most people know today．Instead, it’s like a white egg．Due to this egg - like appearance, eggplant got its name．In its early days, the vegetable was so bitter that people often called it a “mad apple.” This nickname started because people believed its bitterness was bad for one' s health．People actually thought eggplant could cause madness and cancer．

Fortunately today people know that eggplant doesn't cause insanity or cancer．In fact eggplant is so healthy that it may prevent cancer．In addition, the brain and the heart benefit from this super vegetable．Since it's high in fibre, eggplant can improve digestion．

Italy, Turkey, Egypt, China and Japan are the leading growers of eggplant in the world today．Depending on its location, eggplant may be purple, green, orange or yellow - white．And it can be as small as a tomato or as large as a cucumber．Dish varieties range from simple to complex, with all of them being delicious．

Today, thousands of people gather in Loomis, Calif, for the annual Loomis Eggplant Festival．The main activity at the festival is eating delicious eggplant dishes．There is plenty more to do and see, though．Recipe contests, arts and crafts, performers, races and children's activities all “egg – cite” festival - goers．Most people at the festival would agree—eggplant is an “egg—cellent” vegetable．

1.Eggplant got its name because of its _____．

A．appearance

B．taste

C．color

D．value

2.Which of the following does NOT belong to the qualities of eggplant?

A．It can be cooked in various ways．	B．It is easy to digest．
C．It can prevent cancer．	D．It is valuable and priceless．

3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Eggplant can be eaten to cure cancer

B．Eggplant used to taste bitter．

C．India produce the most eggplant in the world today．

D．Eggplant has a history of nearly 1,000 years．

4.Most people come to the Loomis Eggplant Festival to_____．

A．see arts and crafts	B．enjoy food with eggplants
C．take part in recipe contests	D．promote eggplant