Little Brother
By Cory Doctorow, 382 pages, $19.95
In the very near future, Marcus Yallow is walking with his friends in San Francisco when a 9/11-sized terrorist attack occurs blocks away. Everyone around is secretly taken away by the Department of Homeland Security to see whether they're terrorists. However, during the investigation, one of his friends dies mysteriously. The friends try to find out the truth. If you read only one science-fiction novel this year, make it this one.
The Flying Troutmans
By Miriam Toews, 274 pages, $32
The heart of the book is a road journey in Canada made by Hattie, Thebes and Logan to find Cherkis, the kids' dad. It's rich in dialogue, sometimes funny, sometimes surprisingly sad, always character-true. Toews is an extraordinarily gifted writer, with tough-minded compassion（同情） for her characters.
Reading By Lightning
By Joan Thomas, 388 pages, $22.95
We're in 1930s Canada, where Lily's father arrived three decades earlier to be promised fertile agricultural land. But they had been cheated and thrown in the middle of Manitoba. Now William Piper and his wife farm their land and place little hope in this life.
What They Wanted
By Donna Morrissey, 325 pages,$32
A father has a heart attack; a brother and a sister leave Newfoundland and go to Alberta, Canada to work; a tragedy brings reconciliation（和解）, but also terrible loss. Primarily a novel of character, it’s also a novel of Canada, of two very specific and vividly drawn places. Donna Morrissey's characters are troubled, sensitive, quick to be moved to anger or pain, and just as quick to laughter and affection.
63.If Jim only has 20 dollars, which book could he buy?
A. The Flying Troutmans B. What They Wanted
C. Little Brother D. Reading By Lightning
64.According to the text, we know that The Flying Troutmans is_____.
A. Full of dialogue B. A sad story C. About tourism D. A real story
65.In Reading By Lightning, why did William Piper arrive in Canada?
A. To carry out his promise. B. To work in a big city.
C. To get work experience. D. To seek his fortune.
66.If you want to know about two different places of Canada, whose novel is the best choice?
A. Cory Doctorow's B. Miriam Toews's
C. Joan Thomas's D. Donna Morrissey's
A very strict officer was talking to some new soldiers whom he had to train. He had never seen them before, so began, “My name is Stone, and I’m even harder than stone, so do what I tell you or there’ll be trouble. Don’t try any tricks (诡计) with me, and then we’ll get on well together.”
Then he went to each soldier one after the other and asked him his name, “Speak loudly so that everyone can hear you clearly,” he said, “and don’t forget to call me ‘sir’.”
Each soldier told him name, until he came to the last one. This man remained silent and so Captain Stone shouted at him, “when I ask you a question, answer it! I’ll ask you again: “What’s your name, soldier?”
The soldier was very unhappy, but at last he replied,“My name’s Stonebreaker, sir,”he said nervously (紧张地).According to what the officer said, _____
| A．trouble would come if anybody made tricks. |
| B．obeying his orders would sometimes bring no trouble. |
| C．he always got on well with his soldiers. |
| D．he often had trouble with his soldiers. |
The last soldier remained silent because _____
| A．he didn’t like the way the officer spoke to them. |
| B．he was afraid the officer would be angry when he heard his name. |
| C．he wanted to see what would happen if he disobeyed his order. |
| D．the question was funny for him to answer. |
According to the officer, how to answer the question, “How old are you ?” _____
| A．(sadly) Twenty, sir. |
| B．(clearly) Twenty. |
| C．(quickly) Ten years younger than you, sir |
| D．(loudly) Twenty, sir |
On the evening of June 21, 1992, a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes entered the beautiful hall of the Bell Tower Hotel in Xi’an with his bicycle. The hotel workers received him and telephoned the manager, for they had never seen a bicycle in the hotel ball before though they lived in “the kingdom of bicycles.”
Robert Friedlander, an American, arrived in Xi’an on his bicycle trip across Asia which started last December in New Delhi, India.
When he was 11, he read the book Marco Polo and made up his mind to visit the Silk Road. Now, after 44 years , he was on the Silk Road in Xi’an and his early dreams were coming true.
Robert Friedlander’s next destinations (目的地) were Lanzhou, Dunhuang, Urumqi, etc. He will complete his trip in Pakistan. The best headline(标题) for this newspaper article would be .
| A．An American Achieving His Aims | B． A Beautiful Hotel in Xi’an |
| C．Marco Polo and the Silk Road | D． The Kingdom of Bicycles |
The hotel workers told the manager about Friedlander coming to the hotel because _______
| A．he asked to see the manager |
| B．the manager had to know about all foreign guests |
| C．he entered the hall with a bike |
| D．the manager knew about his trip and was expecting him |
Friedlander is visiting the three countries in the following order____ .
| A．China, India, and Pakistan | B．India, China, and Pakistan |
| C．Pakistan, China, and India | D．China, Pakistan, and India |
What made Friedlander want to come to China?
| A．His childhood dreams about bicycles . |
| B．The famous sights in Xi’an . |
| C．His interest in Chinese silk. |
| D．The stories about Marco Polo |
Friedlander can be said to be ____ .
| A．strong—minded | B．friendly | C．hardworking | D．clever |
Cause and effect is one way to explain things that happen around us. Many things happen because something caused or influenced them to happen. Sometimes it is hard to look at a cause and find out what causes the effect. It may help you to start with the effect and use your reasoning(推理的) skills. Think about all the things you know that could be reasons for the effect you can see.
For example, you may see someone putting on a heavy jacket. This is the effect. To look for a cause, think to yourself, “What would make someone put on a heavy jacket?” Maybe the person works in the penguin pen(企鹅圈养地) at a Sea World. Maybe the person is going to visit an ice skating rink where the air is kept very cold. All of these things could be a cause for putting on a heavy jacket.
Now, think about a second example. The effect is a boy named Abi has to go to the head teacher’s office. What are the possible causes? Maybe he bullied(欺负)another student. Maybe he is just being picked up early. Maybe he is being given a prize!
Here is another example for you to think about its cause and effect. Cait, 13, was trying to fall asleep when her 8-year-old brother,Doug, came into her room. He looked around a bit, but seemed really out of it. Then Doug went back into the hallway and stood there looking straight up at the hall light for quite a while. Little brothers can be very strange, this was really much too strange. Cait didn’t know what to do. Just then, Cait’s father appeared and explained that Doug was sleepwalking. What’s the cause and effect, could you tell?According to the second paragraph, which of the following is an effect?
| A．Someone will go outside into cold weather. |
| B．Someone works in the penguin pen. |
| C．Someone puts on a heavy jacket. |
| D．Someone will go to visit an ice skating rink. |
Abi has to go to the head teacher’s office. Which of the following isn’t the possible cause?
| A．He bullied another student. | B．He is going shopping. |
| C．He is being picked up early. | D．He is being given a prize. |
What was Doug doing when his sister Cait tried to fall asleep?
| A．He was going outside | B．He was reading a story. |
| C．He was leep walking. | D．He was looking for his dad. |
Which of the following is cause and effect?
| A．Tony got up and had a glass of water. |
| B．We came home and found him sleeping. |
| C．The ball was lost and a window was broken. |
| D．Tim was late again and his teacher got angry. |
What is the best title for the text?
| A．Truth and lies | B．Work and sleep |
| C．Cause and effect | D．Life and dreams |
Lu Xun is one of the greatest Chinese writers of the 20th century. Besides his famous stories, he also wrote many influential articles about the living conditions of Chinese people.
Born in 1881 to a wealthy family, Lu Xun had a happy childhood. In 1893, however, his grandfather, a senior government official, was put into prison for taking money. At the same time, his father became seriously ill. From that time on, his family were no longer accepted by their relatives and friends. These early experiences greatly influenced his writing.
By the time Lu Xun arrived in Nanjing to study at university in 1899, he already believed that Chinese society had to change and become modern. In 1902 he went to study in Japan. There, he began writing articles for several Chinese student magazines. He showed a gift for writing and translating and he even wrote several books, although none was popular. He returned to China in 1909 because he was in need of money.
After working for several years as a teacher in Beijing, Lu Xun again returned to writing. In 1918, he wrote his famous short story Diary of a Madman. It was the first Chinese novel published using the everyday language that people spoke, which helped make it a great success. This, together with his novel The True Story of Ah Q (1921), made Lu Xun a leading Chinese writer.
Although successful, Lu Xun still worried greatly about China’s future. In 1926, he moved to Shanghai and gave up writing stories in order to devote himself to what he called “pen warfare”. He now only wrote articles which called on the people to fight against the government. For this, the government stopped him from publishing any more books. He was forced to write his articles using false names.
Since his death in 1936, Lu Xun’s importance and influence have grown. Today, many of his writings are included in school textbooks and his works are read by millions around the world.Which of the following greatly influenced Lu Xun’s writing according to the passage?
| A．The people he met in Japan. |
| B．Working as a teacher in Beijing. |
| C．The experiences in his early life. |
| D．His father’s being put into prison. |
According to the passage, why was Lu Xun’s story Diary of a Madman so popular?
| A．It was based on Lu Xun’s diary. |
| B．It was the first novel to use everyday language. |
| C．Its story took place in modern times. |
| D．It was written using a western style. |
The underlined word “This” (Paragraph 4) refers to .
| A．the success of Diary of a Madman |
| B．the use of everyday language |
| C．the first Chinese novel |
| D．The True Story of Ah Q |
After moving to Shanghai, Lu Xun mainly wrote .
| A．funny stories |
| B．articles about himself |
| C．articles against the government |
| D．stories about government officials |
In what order did these events take place in Lu Xun’s life?
a. The government stopped him from publishing books.
b. He wrote Diary of a Madman.
c. His father became ill.
d. He moved to Shanghai.
e. His writings were put into textbooks.
| A．c-a-b-d-e | B．c-b-d-a-e |
| C．a-c-d-b-e | D．a-d-b-c-e |
Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between the ticket office and us. This family made a big impression on me.
There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn’t have a lot of money. Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean. The children talked excitedly about the clowns. It was clearly a very important day out for them. The father and mother seemed happy as they could be.
The tickets lady asked how many tickets the father wanted, he proudly answered, “Please let me buy eight children’s tickets and two adults’ tickets, so I can take my family to the circus.”
The ticket lady told him the price.
The man’s wife lowered her head. There was no longer a smile on the man’s face. He quietly asked, “How much did you say?”
The ticket lady again told him the price.
The man obviously didn’t have enough money. But how could he tell his kids the bad news?
Seeing what was happening, my dad took a $20 note from his pocket and dropped in on the ground. (We were not rich ourselves at all!) He then tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, you dropped this.”
The man understood my father was helping him. He picked up the money, looked straight into my dad’s eyes, and in tears replied. “Thank you. This really means a lot to me and my family.”
Although we did not go to the circus that night, we didn’t go without.Why does the writer say “Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean” ( Paragraph 2)?
| A．To show how rich the family were. |
| B．To show cheap clothes could be popular. |
| C．To show how hard the mother worked. |
| D．To show the children were well looked after. |
Why was the poor man unhappy after he spoke with the ticket lady?
| A．He had lost his money. |
| B．His children were noisy. |
| C．The tickets were sold out. |
| D．The tickets were too expensive. |
Who did the $20 note belong to?
| A．The poor man . | B．The writer’s father. |
| C．The poor man’s wife. | D．The ticket lady. |
Why was the poor man in tears at the end of the story?
| A．He found the money he lost. |
| B．He wanted others to help him. |
| C．He made his children unhappy. |
| D．He was thankful for the kindness. |
Which of the following statements is probably true according to the passage?
| A．The poor mans saw the circus that night. |
| B．The two families became close friends. |
| C．The writer’s father earned some money. |
| D．The writer saw the circs that night. |
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