A small ,white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree and it has been there for the past ten years or so.
It all began because my husband Justin hated Christmas—oh, not the true meaning of Christmas.Overspending was one thing, but compared to the difficult experience of choosing gifts—running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and a pair of gloves for Grandma…,spending money is nothing. I felt too tired to think of any special gifts.
Knowing Justin felt the same way, I decided one year not to buy the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so on. I reached for something special just for Justin. The inspiration came in an unusual way.
Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling （摔跤）at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a match against a team sponsored (赞助) by an inner-city church.These youngsters, dressed in such worn-out shoes that shoe strings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, while our boys were in their blue and gold uniforms and new wrestling shoes.
As the match began, I was shocked to see that the other team were wrestling without wearing helmets (头盔) to protect their ears. Well, our boys ended up defeating them. We took every weight class.
Justin, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot potential (潜力) , but losing like this could take the heart out of them.” Justin loved kids—all kids, and he knew them, having coached little league football and baseball. That’s when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought different kinds of wrestling helmets and shoes. I sent them to inner-city church without leaving my name.
On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Justin what I had done and that was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and since then the envelope has become the highlight of our Christmas. Justin hated Christmas because _____.
| A．he didn’t enjoy receiving gifts |
| B．he had a hard time choosing gifts |
| C．he spent too much money buying gifts |
| D．he disliked putting gifts under the Christmas tree |
We know from the passage that the team sponsored by inner-city church_____.
| A．were well dressed |
| B．paid no attention to safety |
| C．feared Kevin’s team |
| D．couldn’t afford a helmet |
How did Justin feel about the team’s failure ?
| A．Upset | B．Angry | C．Hopeless | D．Shameful |
Why did the writer send gifts to the inner-city church without leaving her name ?
| A．To avoid being thanked |
| B．To play a joke on Justin |
| C．To give Justin a surprise |
| D．To protect her private information |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Church Gift | B．A Special Note | C．The White Envelope | D．A Christmas Card |
Top student Lin Yijian had a problem recently. The 14-year-old boy from Xiamen used to get marks of over 110 points (out of 120 possible points) on his math tests. But during last semester's final exams, his math score was only 90 points.
It was a shock. "I didn't know what happened," said Lin, who kept feeling nervous and frustrated about math during the following month.
Like Lin, many of us have setbacks (挫折) in life. What would you do to deal with these setbacks? Would you just let them be and give up?
Lin chose to face his problem. His parents and teacher also gave him help. After some hard work he now gets marks between 100 and110 points on his math tests. Although he still isn't at his original (原来的) level, Lin doesn't panic anymore.
"Don't be scared by setbacks," he said. "You will beat it."
Chen Xingzhu in Shenzhen also has a story to tell. The 15-year-old girl is not good at doing sit-ups (仰卧起坐), which is necessary for the coming high school PE entrance exam. One has to do at least 35 sit-ups in a minute to pass the test. Most of Chen's classmates can do 40. However, Chen could only do 20.
Feeling worried, Chen decided to do something. She did sit-ups for half an hour every day after school. Now, after a month, she can do 30 sit-ups a minute.
"I finally found what made me slow through continuous practice and then improved little by little," said Chen. "I believe next month I will be able to do 40!" What problem did Lin Yijian have recently?
| A．He used to get high marks. |
| B．He did well in math. |
| C．He did not so well as before in math. |
| D．He had no time to study math. |
According to the passage, which is NOT true among the following statements?
| A．Lin chose to face his problems. |
| B．His parents and teachers also helped him. |
| C．After some hard work, he now gets marks over 110 points. |
| D．Lin faced his problems instead of giving up. |
What problems does Chen Xingzhu have according to the passage?
| A．He is also not good at math. |
| B．He is also not good at PE. |
| C．He is also not good at sit-ups. |
| D．He is also not good at PE entrance exam. |
Have you ever complained why life is so tiring? Does the sky sometimes seem dark to you? Are your studies sometimes not successful? Well, friend, cheer up and smile all the time．If you see the world with your warm heart, you'll find that the whole world smiles to you．
While in school, sometimes you are tired of your lessons, but have you ever noticed the happy smile on your teacher's face when you did a good job?
One day it is fine．Just before you want to go out, it suddenly starts to rain．Maybe you would feel very sad and start complaining about the weather．But dear friends, why don't you sit down and listen to the free concert that the nature offers you? And with the timely rain, crops in the fields will grow better and better and farmers will have a good harvest．
Although everyone wants to succeed in what he tries to do, sometimes failures can't be avoided．I think failure is not terrible, and the terrible thing is that we are afraid of it and give up hope．When we face failure, we must be confident in ourselves, draw a useful lesson from it and try our best to finish what we have decided to do．As a popular saying goes," Failure is the mother of success．"
Attitude decides everything. With an optimistic attitude life is easy and pleasant. Let's smile to whatever we meet and the whole world will smile to us.People sometimes complain_______
| A．the sky is always dark |
| B．their studies are successful |
| C．they see the world with their heart |
| D．life is tiring |
According to the passage, in school, _______
| A．the students don't like their lessons |
| B．the teachers will be happy if the students do good jobs |
| C．the teachers don't like their teaching |
| D．the teachers are tired of their work |
When we face failure, we_______
| A．must be confident in ourselves | B．shouldn't be afraid of it |
| C．shouldn't give up hope | D．all of the above |
If there is a timely rain,_______
| A．you want to go out |
| B．you can listen to a concert |
| C．crops in the fields will grow better |
| D．farmers can't have a good harvest． |
Sixteen years ago a boy gave me an important gift. It was a smile.
It was the early autumn of my first year at a middle school，and my old school was far away. As a result，no one knew who I was. I was very lonely，and afraid to speak to anyone.
Every time I heard the other students talking and laughing，I felt my heart break. I couldn't talk with anyone about my problems.
Then one day，when my classmates were talking happily with their friends，I was sitting at my desk unhappily as usual. At that moment，a boy entered the classroom. I didn't know who he was. He passed by me and then turned back. He looked at me，with a smile.
Suddenly，I felt the touch of something bright and friendly. It made me feel happy and warm. That smile changed my life. I started to talk with other students and made friends. Day by day，I became closer to everyone in my class. The boy with the lucky smile has become my best friend now.
One day I asked him why he had smiled，but he couldn't remember doing so！
It doesn't matter because all the dark days have gone. I believe that the world is what you think it is. If you think it is lonely，you might always be alone. So smile at the world and it will smile back. Why didn't the writer talk to anyone in her new school about her problems？
| A．Because she was always unhappy. |
| B．Because she didn't know anyone at the time. |
| C．Because she was in the first year at the junior high school. |
| D．Because she didn't want her parents to worry about her. |
Where does she now think her feeling of unhappiness came from？
| A．From her old school. |
| B．From her parents. |
| C．From herself. |
| D．From her classmates at the new school. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．A Surprising Gift | B．An Exciting Birthday Gift |
| C．An Important Gift—Smile | D．A Boring Gift |
One day in March ,1964, Alaska began to shake . There was a great earthquake .It was the biggest earthquake the country ever had .
Shops and houses fell down . One street dropped 30 feet. One island rose about 11 metres into the air . Parts of the sea bottom became dry land . People felt the earthquake hundreds of kilometers away .
Each year there are many earthquakes . Most of them are small . They happen in different parts of the world . We are not sure what makes them . But if you are near , you can see the earth move . You may see a big crack (裂缝) in the ground . Sometimes the land drops on one side of the crack . There is a new hill . The old world has a new shape (形状).
根据短文判断下列句子正(T)误(F).The strongest earthquake in Alaska happened in April 1967.
The word“earthquake”in the story means a strong shaking or moving of the ground .
The story wants to tell us earthquakes changed the land .
From the story we know earthquakes happen in small countries .
From this story we can see earthquakes often do a lot of harm .
A young man was in love with a beautiful girl .One day the girl said to him ,“It is my birthday tomorrow ”. “Oh ”，said the young man ,“I’ll send you roses, and one rose for each year of your life.”
The same evening he went to the flower shop . As he knew the girl was twenty－two years old, he paid for twenty－two roses and asked the shop assistant to send them to the girl the next day .
The assistant of the flower shop knew the young man very well as he often bought flowers in his shop before . When the young man left the shop , the assistant thought ,“The young man is very kind to me .He often comes to buy my flowers . In return I’ll send ten more roses.”
He did so . The next morning thirty－two roses were sent to the girl . When the young man came to see her , she didn’t want to speak to him . And he never knew why she was so angry with him .The young man wanted to send his girl friend_____roses for her birthday.
| A．10 | B．22 | C．32 | D．many |
________sent the roses to the girl .
| A．The young man | B．The assistant |
| C．Another young man | D．We don’t know who |
The young girl received the roses________
| A．the same evening | B．a day before her birthday |
| C．a week later | D．on her birthday |
The assistant wanted to _______.
| A．make the girl angry | B．sell more roses |
| C．make the young man glad | D．get more money |
From this story we know that__________
| A．roses should be sent for one’s birthday |
| B．one may do something wrong even out of kindness |
| C． some girls don’t like roses |
| D． young people often buy roses |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号