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 |
Do you love holidays but hate the increase of weight that follows? You are not alone. Holidays are happy days with pleasure and delicious foods. Many people, however, are worried about the weight that comes along with these delicious foods.
With proper planning, though, it is possible to control your weight. The idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much. You don’t have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy. The following suggestions may be of some help to you.
● Do not miss meals. Before you leave home for a big dinner, have small, low fat foods. This may help to keep you from getting too excited before delicious foods.
● Begin with clear soup and fruit or vegetables. A large glass of water before you eat may help you feel full. Use a small plate(盘子); a large plate will encourage you to have more than enough.
● Better not have high fat foods. Dishes that look oily have much fat in them.
● Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables.
● If you have a sweet tooth, try some fruits. They don’t have as much fat as cream(奶油）and chocolate.
● Don’t let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20 minutes’ walk after a meal can help burn off calories (卡路里).The writer gives us suggestions about controlling weight during holidays.
| A．four | B．five | C．six | D．seven |
Before we leave for a big dinner, we should eat some ________.
| A．high fat foods | B．cream and chocolate |
| C．oily dishes | D．small and low fat foods |
Which of the following is a good way to stop us putting on weight during holidays?
| A．Don’t take exercise and have a rest. |
| B．Just have clear soup and fruit or vegetables. |
| C．Drink a large glass of water before eating. |
| D．Use a big plate and fill it with beef and chicken. |
From the passage we know that holidays may bring us pleasure and .
| A．bring weight problems |
| B．make us hate delicious food |
| C．force us to eat less fruit |
| D．encourage us to have more food |
Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904. He was famous because of the books he wrote for children. They have funny words, pictures, and social opinion（观点）. Dr Seuss wrote his first book for children in 1937. It is called And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street. Soon other successful books followed. Over the years, he wrote more than forty children’s books. They were fun to read. Yet his books sometimes dealt with serious subjects.
By the middle 1940s, Dr Seuss had become one of the best-loved and most successful writers of children’s books. He had a strong desire to help children. In 1954, Life magazine gave a report about school children who could not read. The report said many children’s books weren’t interesting. Dr Seuss decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read.
In 1957, Dr Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 225 words to write the book. This was about the number of words a six-year-old should be able to read. The story was about a cat who tried to play with two children on a rainy day while their mother was away from home. The cat was very special and it could talk. The book was a great success. It was an interesting story and was easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it, too. Today many adults(成年人) say it is still one of the stories they like best.Theodor Seuss Geisel was famous for .
| A．his funny words and pictures |
| B．his social opinion |
| C．his ideas on serious subjects |
| D．his books written for children |
The underlined word desire in the passage probably means “ .”
| A．问题 | B．愿望 | C．感激 | D．标准 |
According to the passage we know that .
| A．Dr Seuss wrote his first book for children at the age of 33 |
| B．Dr Seuss wrote less than forty children’s books over the years |
| C．Life magazine gave a report about adults who could not read in 1954 |
| D．And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street was loved by children and parents |
Why do many adults like reading The Cat in the Hat today?
| A．Because Dr Seuss used 225 words to write the book. |
| B．Because it was about a cat trying to play with two children. |
| C．Because it was an interesting story and was easy to read. |
| D．Because the cat was very special and it could talk with children. |
Every people(民族) uses its own special words to show its ideas and feelings. Some of these expressions are commonly used for many years. Others are popular for just a short time. One such American expression is “Where’s the beef?” It is used when something is not as good as it is said to be. In the early 1980s “Where’s the beef?” was one of the most popular expressions in the United States. It seemed as if everyone was using it at the time.
Beef, of course, is the meat from a cow, and food is more popular in America than a hamburger made from beef. In the 1960s a businessman named Ray began building small restaurants that sold hamburgers at a low price. Ray called this “McDonald’s”. Ray became one of the richest businessmen at last in America.
Other business people watched his success. Some of them opened their own hamburger restaurants. One company(公司) called “Wendy’s” said its hamburgers were bigger than those sold by McDonald’s or anyone else. The Wendy’s Company began to use the expression “Where’s the beef?” to make people know that Wendy’s hamburgers were the biggest. The Wendy’s television advertisement(广告) showed three old women eating hamburgers. The bread that covered the meat was very big, but inside there was only a bit of meat. One of the women said she would not eat a hamburger with such a little piece of beef. “Where’s the beef?” she shouted in a funny way. The advertisement for Wendy’s hamburger restaurants was a success. As we said, it seemed everyone began using the expression “Where’s the beef?”The expression “Where’s the beef?” is used when .
| A．someone can’t find the beef at all |
| B．someone isn’t satisfied with the beef |
| C．something is better than it is said to be |
| D．something is not as good as it is said to be |
“Where’s the beef?” was one of the most popular expressions in ________ in the early 1980s.
| A．Britain | B．America | C．India | D．Australia |
The Wendy’s Company used the expression “Where’s the beef?” in order to .
| A．show Wendy’s hamburgers were the biggest. |
| B．make people know where they could find the beef |
| C．let people notice the bread that covered the meat was big |
| D．compare its hamburgers with those sold by McDonald’s |
This passage mainly tells us .
| A．two famous companies | B．a rich businessman |
| C．a popular expression | D．a television advertisement |
Mr. Clinton and his 13-year-old son Tony are baseball fans. Last October 10th was Tony’s birthday, so Mr. Clinton decided to drive him to New York, for the first game of the World Series (世界职业棒球大赛). They had no ticket but hoped to buy a pair from others.
After they arrived, they walked in the street for two hours, carrying a sign, “We need two tickets.” Then they found the cheapest ticket was $200. They were about to leave when suddenly a man stopped them. He took out two tickets and handed them to Mr. Clinton.
“How much do you want?”
“Just a present.” said the man, “Enjoy the game.”
Mr. Clinton wouldn’t accept, so the man explained, “I’m Jackson. Hans is my boss. He and his wife haven’t missed a World Series in 18 years. But he is ill and can’t watch the game this time. So he told me to give the two tickets to people who would actually enjoy the game. Then I saw you and I followed you for a while. You seemed very sad. You made me think of my dad and me when I was a child. I dreamed of going to a World Series game with my father. But my dream never came true.”
How do you suppose this made Mr. Clinton and his son feel? Here is what Mr. Clinton said: “This is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to us. My boy and I must have turned to each other over 30 times and said, ‘I can’t believe this.’ We still never forget Jackson and Hans.” Mr. Clinton took his son Tony to watch the first game of the World Series because .
| A．he got two tickets for the game |
| B．they both liked watching games |
| C．it was a birthday present for Tony |
| D．he had enough time and money |
The two tickets from Jackson saved Mr. Clinton at least ________.
| A．$100 | B．$ 200 | C．$ 300 | D．$ 400 |
From the passage we can know that Hans and his wife often ________.
| A．watched the World Series |
| B．gave a hand to the poor |
| C．sold the tickets for World Series |
| D．missed the wonderful game |
Which of the following sentence is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Mr. Clinton hoped to buy the tickets at the ticket office. |
| B．Mr. Clinton and his son were very thankful after getting the tickets. |
| C．Jackson’s dream of going to a World Series game came true in the end. |
| D．Jackson was ill in hospital and couldn’t watch the World Series game. |
What’s the best title for this passage?
| A．A special present. | B．A helpful boss. |
| C．A wonderful game. | D．An excellent dream. |
What do American middle school students like to be in the future? Some students say they want to be doctors or singers. Some want to be bank clerks or office workers. But Kelly Brown, 13, wants to be a *vegetarian chef. It is a new and interesting job. Kelly Brown wants be a chef because she doesn’t eat things from animals. Now she has a problem. She can’t find any vegetarian chefs on the computer, so she says she will be the first vegetarian chef, and also the best one in the U.S.A..
Kelly Brown has a *website for herself and other people. It is www.theveggiechef.net. She makes cooking *videos. “I don’t like to cook with things from animals,” she says. “When I want one egg, I just put in water and *arrowroot. It *tastes the same as an egg.”
Now her website is very popular and it helps many people a lot. Every day about 3,000 people learn to cook a healthy meal there. To thank her for helping animals, the organization PETA (善待动物组织) calls her a “Kind Kid”. Do you want to be a vegetarian chef like Kelly Brown?Kelly Brown is a 13-year-old student from ___________.
| A．England | B．Australia | C．Canada | D．the USA |
What’s the job of a chef ?
| A．Teaching. | B．Driving. | C．Cooking. | D．Drawing. |
Which of the following may vegetarians eat?
What can we know from Paragraph (段落) 2 ?
| A．How Kelly doesn’t cook with things from animals. |
| B．What Kelly wants to be when she is old. |
| C．Why Kelly wants to be a vegetarian chef. |
| D．Why many people like to go to her website. |
“www.theveggiechef.net” is a website for people to_____.
6.
| A．see Kelly’s photos | B．learn to cook |
| C．look after animals | D．be kind children |
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