Most students hate their endless homework. The students from Class 2, Senior 2 of the High School Affiliated to Peking University certainly did before they published their own collection of English novels at home.
Their small book contains stories about a holy (神圣的) war, the happy life of a self-taught artist and the story of a laid-off worker who devoted his last breath to playing his beloved accordion (手风琴). The book becomes an instant hit on campus. About 3,000 copies have been sold and the class is already working on the second volume.
"We’re up to our ears in homework. Exercises and exams make us out of breath. But to do something creative and full of imagination is such a great achievement," said Yu Xiaoxiao, 16.
"I took the writing as an ordinary homework at the beginning, but after I finished the first part of my story, I could not help but let it flow," said Wang An, who wrote "Accordion".
Inspired by "Lord of the Rings", Jiang Lu wrote his story about magic wars between angels from the light and the dark side. "The main message of the story was to look at the balance of the world. Both dark and light angels fight with love as their weapons. I want to tell people that selfish love might bring hate," Jiang said.
"I was shocked by their work and felt so proud to be the editor of my students’ book," said Nathaniel Timmermann, the oral English teacher at the school. Liu Xiuqin, an English teacher, started the project by asking students to write whatever was in their mind every week. "They have performed beyond expectation," Liu said. "They wrote interesting stories and their English has improved after they started to express their real minds."
"We never imagined that our homework would be so popular and profitable (盈利的). We sell the novels at five yuan, but many teachers pay more to encourage us," said Yuan Mengyao. After Wang An finished the first part of his story, he _________.
| A．couldn’t go on | B．had to put it aside |
| C．just wanted to express it freely | D．lost it |
What was not the outcome of the students’ homework of writing whatever was in their mind?
| A．Being popular. | B．Being profitable. |
| C．Improving their English. | D．Winning prize. |
What is the reason for the students’ liking to write interesting stories?
| A．It is creative and imaginative. |
| B．It is profitable. |
| C．Interesting stories are sure to be popular. |
| D．Interesting stories can be well sold. |
What is the best title of this passage?
| A．Creative homework leads to a popular book |
| B．Writing interesting stories |
| C．Students’ new book |
| D．A popular book |
There are stories about two U．S . presidents，Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren，which attempt to explain the American English term OK．We don’t know if either story is true，but they are both interesting．
The first explanation is based on the fact that President Jackson had very little education．In fact，he had difficulty reading and writing．When important papers came to Jackson，he tried to read them and then had his assistants explain what they said．If he approved of a paper, he would write “all correct”on it．The problem was that he didn’t know how to spell．So what he really wrote was “ol korekt”．After a while，he shortened that term to “OK”．
The second explanation is based on the place where President Van Buren was born，Kinderhook，New York．Van Buren’s friends organized a club to help him become President .They called the club the Old Kinderhook Club，and anyone who supported Van Buren was called“OK”．The author __________.
| A．believes both of the stories |
| B．doesn’t believe a word of the stories |
| C．is not sure whether the stories are true |
| D．is telling the stories just for fun |
According to the passage，President Jackson_____________.
| A．couldn’t draw up any documents at all |
| B．didn’t like to read important papers by himself |
| C．often had his assistants sign documents for him |
| D．wasn’t good at reading，writing or spelling |
According to the first story, the term “OK”_______________.
| A．was approved of by President Jackson |
| B．was the title of some Official documents |
| C．was first used by President Jackson |
| D．was an old way to spell “all correct’’ |
According to the second story，the term ‘‘OK”_____________.
| A．was the short way to say‘ ‘old Kinderhook Club” |
| B．meant the place where President Van Buren was born |
| C．was the name of Van Buren’s club |
| D．was used to call Van Buren’s supporters in the election |
According to the second story, the term “OK” was first used ______________
| A．by Van Buren |
| B．in a presidential election |
| C．to organize the Old Kinderhook Club |
| D．by the members of the ‘‘Old Kinderhook Club” |
I got my first driver's license(执照)in 1953 by taking driver education in my first year at Central High School in Charlotte，North Carolina. Four years later when it was time to renew my license I was a married woman. Henry and I were living in Baltimore，Maryland. Two weeks before my 20th birthday，Henry drove me to the motor vehicle office on a hot July afternoon. When I got to the office and showed to the man behind the counter my North Carolina driver’ s license，ready to renew，the man told me that I was under age by Maryland law since I was not yet 21.“Mr.Henry Smith，your husband，will have to sign for you，”he said.
I argued，pointing to a very large belly(肚子)of mine，“I am married. I am having a baby. Why should I have to have someone sign for me to drive？”He answered coldly，“It’s the law，madam.”
Henry encouraged me to calm down，just go ahead and get the license and be done with it. “No，” I said. I refused to have him sign for me. So I left without a Maryland license.
I called the North Carolina Motor Vehicle Office and renewed my NC license by mail—using my name Susan Brown. And thus it was for the next twelve years. Since Henry was in the army I could drive under my home state license. By the time Henry left the army we were once again living in Maryland，and I had to take the Maryland driver’ s exam. Since then I just go in and renew every four years—sign the name Susan Brown，have my new picture taken，and walk out with a license to drive.Susan got her first driver’ s license________.
| A．before she got married to Henry |
| B．when she was twenty years old |
| C．after she finished high school |
| D．when she just moved to Maryland |
Susan failed to renew her license the first time in Maryland because________.
| A．she was forbidden to drive by Maryland law |
| B．she lacked driving experience in Maryland |
| C．she was to give birth to a baby soon |
| D．she insisted on signing for herself |
We can infer from the text that in the U.S.________.
| A．American males should serve in the army |
| B．different states may have different laws |
| C．people have to renew their licenses in their home states |
| D．women should adopt their husbands’ family names after marriage |
In the animal kingdom, weakness can bring about aggression in other animals. This sometimes happens with humans also. But I have found that my weakness brings out the kindness in people. I see it every day when people hold doors for me, pour cream into my coffee, or help me to put on my coat. And I have discovered that it makes them happy.
From my wheelchair experience, I see the best in people, but sometimes I feel sad because those who appear independent miss the kindness I see daily. They don’t get to see this soft side of others. Often, we try every way possible to avoid showing our weakness, which includes a lot of pretending. But only when we stop pretending we’ re brave or strong do we allow people to show the kindness that’ s in them.
Last month, when I was driving home on a busy highway, I began to feel unwell and drove more slowly than usual. People behind me began to get impatient and angry, with some speeding up alongside me, horning (按喇叭) or even shouting at me. At that moment，I decided to do something I had never done in twenty-four years of driving. I put on the car flashlights and drove on at a really low speed.
No more angry shouts and no more horns!
When I put on my flashlights, I was saying to the other drivers, “I have a problem here. I am weak and doing the best I can.” And everyone understood. Several times, I saw drivers who wanted to pass. They couldn’t get around me because of the stream of passing traffic. But instead of getting impatient and angry, they waited, knowing the driver in front of them was in some way weak.
Sometimes situations call for us to act strong and brave even when we don’t feel that way. But those are few and far between. More often, it would be better if we don’t pretend we feel strong when we feel weak or pretend that we're brave when we’re scared.The author has discovered that people will feel happy when ________.
| A．they offer their help |
| B．they receive others’ help |
| C．they feel others’ kindness |
| D．they show their weakness |
The author feels sad sometimes because ________.
| A．he has a soft heart |
| B．he relies much on others |
| C．some people pretend to be kind |
| D．some people fail to see the kindness in others |
What did the other drivers do when they saw the flashlights?
| A．They speeded up to pass. |
| B．They waited with patience. |
| C．They tried their best to help. |
| D．They put on their flashlights too. |
In this passage, the author advises us to ________.
| A．handle problems by ourselves |
| B．accept help from others |
| C．admit our weakness |
| D．show our bravery |
Good posture certainly shows good health. It also adds to a body's energy and beauty. The body is not handsome when the back is bent and neck thrusts forward. Bad posture suggests the impression that a person is tired，lacking in energy，bored，or weak. Tiredness may sometimes be the cause of bad posture. Most often，however，it is due to careless and poor health habits. Whatever it causes，bad posture affects one physically. The muscles are stretched and pulled into unnatural positions，which can lead to poor base of the body's various systems.
Nutrition is the study of how the body takes food and uses it. This science provides information about the kinds of food a person must eat to improve and maintain good health. Such knowledge helps him develop and form people habits to his problems of healthful living. People habits of nutrition can be developed by paying attention to:(1) the variety of food included in the diet；(2) the quality of each kind of food eaten. A diet，or the food regularly eaten，must contain all the necessary factors.
Many physicians believe that overweight is one of the greatest dangers to good health. This condition often leads to a shorter life. An overweight person is also easier to suffer disease, and various disorders of the digestive system. A person’s weight directly has something to do with the amounts of food he eats.
All foods can make a person fat if too much is eaten. In reducing，the safe weight loss is about two pounds a week. The sensible way to lose weight is to decrease the gaining starchy(含淀粉的) foods，fats and sweets in the diet.According to this passage, which of the following is suggested about the good health habits?
| A．Good way of holding your body. | B．Balanced food. |
| C．Right body weight. | D．All of the above. |
According to this passage，bad posture is most probably caused by_______.
| A．tiredness，boredom and weakness |
| B．lack of energy |
| C．careless and poor health habits |
| D．overworking and illness |
Which of the following eating habits is NOT proper in terms of maintaining good health?
| A．Vegetables，meat and water only. |
| B．A suitable quantity of each kind of food. |
| C．Fats being part of diet. |
| D．Various foods included in the diet. |
We can infer from the statement “all foods can make a person fat if too much is eaten” that________.
| A．to lose weight you had better eat properly for daily meals |
| B．the most effective way to lose weight is to have no fat and sweet |
| C．even vegetables can make you put on weight , so there is no need to have fat and sweet. |
| D．a shorter life is a sure result of overweight |
I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast，I had to have cereal，eggs and toast. Others had cokes and candy for lunch，while we had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess，my supper was different than the other kids’. But at least I was not alone in my suffering. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.
My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing. We had to wear clean clothes every day. Other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of disgrace because she made our clothes herself，just to save money.
The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by 9:00 each night and up at 7:45 the next morning. So while my friends slept，my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law. She made us work. I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us. Through the years，our friends’ report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing，red for failing. My mother, however，would merely be content with black marks. None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout.
She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. Using this as a background，I’m now trying to bring up my three children. I’m filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.From the passage we can learn that the writer’s mother was __________.
| A．not generous at all |
| B．very strict with her children |
| C．very mean with money matters |
| D．very cruel to her children |
Which of the following things did the writer hate to do most?
| A．Eating differently from other kids. |
| B．Wearing clean clothes made by mother. |
| C．Going to bed early and getting up early. |
| D．Letting mother know where they were. |
It can be inferred from the passage that____________.
| A．the writer worked hard and usually got good grades in studies |
| B．mother was punished for breaking the Labor Law |
| C．all the other kids studied better than the writer |
| D．the writer's family lived a miserable life |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Mother practised economy in running her home. |
| B．The writer is very thankful to her mother. |
| C．The writer is severe with her children when bringing them up. |
| D．The wrier has a deep hatred for her mother. |
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