1I bought a jasmine plant for my office. When I bought it, I was told it would bloom(开花 and the sweet smell would fill my office. I had the plant for two months, and every day I looked at it, but there weren‟t any flowers or pleasant smell. I was not happ y, so I gave the plant to my friend Linda. One day, another friend Mary called and invited me to her office.When I walked in, her jasmine flowers surprised me. I reached out to touch the flowers. Mary cut some and gave them to me. I couldn‟t help smelling them. Surrounded by the sweet smell of only a handful of these flowers, I suddenly understood something. Mary bought her plant the same time I did. It took a year for her jasmine to bloom. I was so impatient for mine to bloom; regretfully, I gave it away. In a way my life is like the jasmine plant. I need to be patient and let things happen. Last Sunday Linda told me that she was going abroad the next week. Before she left, she returned the plant to me. This time I am going to wait.I have learned that when we want something in our life, we have to be patient. I am slowly learning to have that patience to wait for my jasmine to bloom.1. Before she gave the jasmine away, the writer had it for .A. one dayB. one year C . two weeks D. two months2. When the writer saw Mary?s jasmine, she felt____________ .A. unhappyB. peacefulC. hopefulD. surprised3. What has the writer learned from her experience?A. Patience is needed in life.B. Flowers can make life better.C. Friendship is necessary for us.D. Jasmine can be a wonderful plant.2 You want to know about my staying in America, right? Well, to tell you the truth, it is really an eye-opening experience study here.In China, I had English classes five times a week since fifth grade. However, Ididn‟t know how different textbook English could be from everyday English until I came to Hotchkiss School, Conmecticut.When I first studied English, I was told to say, “I am fine.” when people say “How are you ?”But in the US,I found that people say, “I am good.” or“I am tired.”One day ,someone greeted me with “What‟s up ?”It ,made me confused. I thought for a moment and then smiled because I didn‟t know what to say.Since then, I have discovered more and more differences between Chinese and US cultures.To my surprise, US girls spend a lot of time in the burning sun to get a tan. However ,in China ,girls try every possible way to get their skin paler, or “whiter.” I also surprised by how hard-working .US students are .In China, schoolwork is almost everything ,so we study hard and that‟ it. But here,a “good” student gets good grades, does a lot for the public and plays sports or music.The kids here are so talented ,I am starting to be sorry that I gave up playing the piano at an early age and that I have never thought about sports.1.According to the writer, textbook English is _________everyday English.A. quite different fromB. the same asC. more difficult than2.What does the word “tan ”in the si xth paragraph mean in Chinese?A.晒黑B.晒白C. 能量3.A good US student spends his/her time ________.A. only in doing homeworkB. only on sports or musicC. on studies ,sports or music and public work4.Which of the following is NOT true?A. The writer is now in US.B. American girls love to have white skin. students are talented and hard-working.5.Which is the best title for the passage?A. My Own Travel in the USB. My Studying in the USC. My Opinion about the US3Think back to a time in your life when you tried something new.When I was a teenager I volunteered to pass out water at a local race. I was so excited to see all the different runners who passed by and quickly took a cup of water. Some ran past,some walked past and a few wheeled past.I saw so many types of people doing it. I thought maybe I could do it too! The next year I decided to run for the race,but I had little running practice. I just wanted to finish.On the day of the race,it was terribly hot. After running for about 5 miles.I was thinking,“I must be crazy. Why did I do this? What was I thinking?” And at one moment,I said to myself,“I am never doing this again!”That first 10 km race was quite an experience. I jogged(慢跑,I walked,I jogged and walked. At times,I didn‟t know if I could finish.Near the end,a 70-year-old man ran past me,very fast,and I felt a little embarrassed(尴尬的that I was more than 50 years younger than he and I couldn‟t even keep up with him. But then I realized some thing. He was running his race and I was running mine. How often in life do we compare(比较ourselves to others when w e really shouldn‟t? I decided that I would not give up on running races,and that one day I would be one of those 70-year-old men who were still running.As I crossed the finishing line,I was proud of myself. I didn‟t regret(后悔having such an experience.1. What did the writer do at a local race as a volunteer?A. He helped old runners.B. He cheered up the runners.C. He passed out water to the runners.D. He took back the cups from the runners.2. Why did the writer join the race?A. He just wanted to experience.B. He was crazy about running.C. He had practiced running very hard.D. He wanted very much to win a prize.3. How did the writer‟s feeling change after running about 5 miles?① He regretted.② He encouraged himself.③ He felt a little embarrassed.A. ①-②-③B. ②-①-③C. ①-③-②D. ②-③-①4.What is the best title(标题 of the passage?A. To be No. 1.B. Let‟s compare.C. A volunteering job.D. Running your own race.4When I was a girl of 10,I joined the school cross-country team and practiced twice a week,on the 1,8-km course I…d never really run before and I thought the course would be easy. It was a real shock I ran out of breathe(喘气within the first few minutes. I never realized how tiring running could be but I didn‟t t think about give up.Over time,I did get a little bit faster. However,I was really slow. In races,I wo uld finish close to last. I…d always have to stop more than once, especially in the longer races,which were 2. 5 to 2. 8 km. After every race, I…d go home and cry. But 1 still didn…t stop running,holding onto that picture of crossing the finishing line and finally doing well.Then one of my friends joined the team,too. She could run easily and even came in the 18th in a big race! I felt so slow and my confidence(自信 was lower than ever. I became so nervous when I thought of the races that I wanted to give up badly.Still. I refund to. Finally. 1 realized that the reason I was to nervous was that I was always worried that I wasn…t ready for them. So a few weeks before the next 2. 8-km race. I practiced running almost 3 km every day. which helped me improve my pace(步伐.When the time came for the big race,all that practicing really paid off. I stopped only once and my pace was so much better.I realized that I‟d finally gotten happiness with runn ing. But the funny thing was. It didn…t come from doing better,Instead,it came from the fact that I hid tried harder and never given up.1. Before she took the 1.8-km course,the writer________.A. knew a lot about itB. wanted to be a great runnerC. practiced running every dayD. never thought running so tired2. The writer was nervous about the race because she_______.A. had to stop to drink waterB. was worried she wasn‟t readyC. run slower than anyone elseD. could find no coach to help her3. The und erlined phrase ”paid off” probably mean “______”.A. brought good resultsB. coat a lotC. saved much timeD. came to fail4. It can be inferred(推断 from the passage that the writer______.A. got angry with her friendB. wasn…t pleased with herselfC. was a person with a strong mindD. had no Interest In running5Sitting on exercise balls brings more than a smile to students and teachers.Some fourth-graders at Conrad Weiser West Elementary School in Womelsdorf love their new chairs-—probably because they…r e not re ally chairs at all.The kids are sitting on the air-filled balls. But different from those just for exercise,these have small legs that keep them from rolling. Sitting on a chair all day in school can make anyone want to move around. So,more and more teachers are letting students have a ball. By using exercise balls instead of common chairs,teachers find students… posture(姿势 and attention improved.Dotti Pownall,a fifth-grader teacher in West Virginia,has been using balls as chairs since December 2008. ”The students love them.” she says. Pownall took a survey of her students. She found that 80 percent,thought sitting on the balls helped them concentrate(专注 better:”Besides,they‟re fun,b” says Pownall.According to WittFitt,b a company that has sold balls to more than 200 schools,they can improve kids… posture and classroom behavior.Exercise ball chairs are getting popular in classrooms,from preschool to college. Some adults (成人 even use them at work.Lisa Witt felt so stron gly about the use of balls as chairs that she started WittFitt. She said the company not only encourages the use of balls but also educates teachers and students on how to use them. ”We sell balls in 24 st ates in America,three provinces in Canada and Japan.” says Witt.1. Sitting on exercise balls can______.A. improve students… attentionB. make students smarterC. keep students moving aroundD. help students become fit2. According to the passage,the company WittFitt______.A. began to produce balls in 2008B. sells balls in 24 countriesC. was set up by Lisa WittD. is famous around the world3. It can be seen from the passage that ______.A. exercise balls have no legsB. Pownall works as a teacherC. students hate exercise ballsD. exercise balls are filled with sand4. The passage mainly tells us about______.A. the shape of exercise ballsB. the use of exercise ballsC. the number of exercise ballsD. the inventor of exercise balls6Thousands of people have been killed in a massive(大规模的 earthquake in Japan. The quake -- the most powerful to hit Japan in more than 100 years -- caused massive damage and many people are missing and feared dead.The 8.9 magnitude quake struck Friday(March 11 off Japan…s eastern coast,and prompted(引发 tsunami warnings(海啸警报across the Pacific as far away as South America and the U.S. West Coast. Several days after a8.9-magnitude earthquake and resulting 10-meter-high tsunami devastated the coastline. The United States Geological Survey says it was the fifth largest earthquake since 1900. The largest,with a 9.5 magnitude,shook Chile(智利 in 1960.In Japan,the tsunami swept away boats,cars and hundreds of houses in coastal areas north of Tokyo. The quake shook buildings in the Japanese capital and caused several fires. All train and subway traffic in Tokyo has been stopped,and thousands of people there were unable to get back home. People are just trying to find clean water. Food supplies are running out. In the convenience stores,there are no rice balls left. There is no bottled water left. People are facing a really serious situation in the days ahead for these people that are living in areas that were only moderately(普通的 damaged. The final death toll could range from the thousands to tens of thousands,depending on how many of these communities are gone.Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the government would do everything it can to minimize(使降到最低 the effects of the disaster. And in Washington,President Obama said the United States is ready to help the people of Japan.1. The underline word damage means_____________ in the article.A. illnessB. disasterC. terrorD. danger2. Which is true according to the passage?A. Thousands of people have been killed in a massive earthquake in Japan.B. Only people in areas that were only moderately damaged are facing a really serious situation in the days.C. The tsunami devastated not only the coastline in Japan,but also the eras across the Pacific .as far away as South America and the U.S. West Coast.D. The massive earthquake caused the tsunami.3. According to the passage,which earthquak e is the larg est one since 1990 ?A. the one happened in Japan on March 11,2011B. the one in Chile in 1960C. the fifth largest earthquake since 1900D. We don…t know.4. If you…re in Tokyo these days,what you can…t get from t he con venience store?A. newspapers and magazinesB. some medicineC. paper napkins and toothpastesD. rice balls and bottled water5. The passage can…t be in/on __________.A. March 10th newspapersB. TVC. InternetD. Radios7Conor Grennan was unwilling to be a volunteer(志愿者. The 29-year-old American was not sure if he had the skills or a strong feeling for it.However,he went to work at an orphanage(孤儿院 in Nepal. His first thought was to make people impressed.”I thought that if I volunteered just once. I could retell the story over and over,” Grennan said in a Huffington Post article.However,his three-month stay it the orphanage turned into in unusual experience. It was 2004 and Grennan had given up his job to begin a year-long around-the-world trip,His first three months were spent in Nepal.When he arrived in the village,he knew nothing about the children or the local culture. When he opened the gate of the Little Princes Children…s Home, he was faced by the excited children.The young American ended up caring for 18 children. He later discovered that they were trafficked(被拐卖的children. So he walked through the mountains with great difficulty to find the kids… families,”I started walking with photos of the kids.” he told the Reuters reporter. ”I would show up in villages and show photographs around. I went with 24 photos,and I found 24 families.”At the same time,he put his heart into Nepalese culture.Grennan said,“Volunteering is the single best way to see how the rest of the world lives.”He also encouraged others to do what he had done. He believes that volunteering needs only making decisions to show up.Grennan…s fight against child-trafficking has changed him. His book, Little Prince,came out last week.1. At first,Grennan simply wanted to _______by volunteering in Nepal.A. write travel storiesB. learn the skillsC. help the kids thereD. impress people2. When Grennan came to the Little Princes Children‟s Home. _______.A. 18 children were ill in bedB. the children there felt excitedC. he decided to give up his jobD. he‟d lived in Nepal for a year3. From the passage we can learn that Grennan _______.A. found the kids‟ families easilyB. was good at taking picturesC. wrote the book Little PrincesD. asked others to go to Nepal4. Which is the best title for the passage?A. Volunteer changes a lot C. Volunteer becomes a writerB. Volunteer is with the kids D. Volunteer travels in Nepal 8 What‟s more, it is a wonderful way to help your children to write. For example, you can encourage them to write diaries or book reviews. Remember to make positive comments as much as possible. 1. This passage is mainly written for __________. A. children B. teachersC. parentsD. doctors 2.__________ is the best for the missing part in Paragraph 2. A. “Listeni ng and speaking skills” C. “Listening and writing skills” A. “Listening to the radio every day ” read” C. “Reading to your children each night” children‟s writings” 4. In the Reading Challenge Club, children have to read __________ in one year. A. 5 books B. 10 books C. 15 books D. 20 books 5. Parents can help children to write by encouraging themto__________. A. draw pictures or take photos C. write diaries or book reviews B. listen to pop music D. play computer games D. “Talking about your B. “Reading an d writing skills” D. “Reading and listening skills” B. “Listening to your children Helping your children to read and write at home will improve their skills and confidence—it will also make them get ready for learning in the classroom environment. are needed by every child in every subject in every year of their life in or outside school. Students who improve their reading and writing skills will increase their vocabulary and their ability(能力to use the English language correctly. As parents, you can play an important role in improving your children‟s literacy(读写能力. You can make a difference by listening,asking questions, giving information, and reading with your children outside school hours. Here are 8 tips on how to help your children to read and write: having everyday conversations with your children trying to ask more “wh-” questions instead of easy “yes” or “no” questions encouraging your children to talk about events you don‟t know reading to your children each night listening to your children read teaching your children how to use dictionaries talking about your children‟s writings practicing filling in forms, writing letters, sending cards or emails You can also encourage your children to join the Reading Challenge Club and discuss the books they are reading together. In the club, children must read 15 books from the Challenge book list and 5 more books chosen by themselves. There are over 1,000 books on the list. The reading must be done in one year. 6 3. __________ is NOT mentioned in the 8 tips above.1. 参考答案:DDA2. 答案:AACBB3. 参考答案:本文讲述作者比赛时的经历,因疏于锻炼。