My father had returned from his business visit to London when I came in, rather late, to supper. I could tell at once that he and my mother had been discussing something. In that half-playful, half-serious way I knew so well, he said, "How would you like to go to Eton?"
"You bet," I cried quickly catching the joke. Everyone knew it was the most expensive, the most famous of schools. You had to be entered at birth, if not before. Besides, even at 12 or 13, I understood my father. He disliked any form of showing off. He always knew his proper station in life, which was in the middle of the middle class, our house was medium-sized; he had avoided joining Royal Liverpool Golf Club and went to a smaller one instead; though once he had got a second-hand Rolls-Royce at a remarkably low price, he felt embarrassed driving it, and quickly changed it for an Austin 1100.
This could only be his delightful way of telling me that the whole boarding school idea was to be dropped. Alas! I should also have remembered that he had a liking for being different from everyone else, if it did not conflict(冲突) with his fear of drawing attention to himself.
It seemed that he had happened to be talking to Graham Brown of the London office, a very nice fellow, and Graham had a friend who had just entered his boy at the school, and while he was in that part of the world he thought he might just as well phone them. I remember my eyes stinging(刺痛) and my hands shaking with the puzzlement of my feelings. There was excitement, at the heart of great sadness.
"Oh, he doesn't want to go away," said my mother, "You shouldn't go on like this.” “It's up to him," said my father. "He can make up his own mind."The house the writer's family lived in was ________.
| A．the best they could afford | B．right for their social position |
| C．for showing off | D．rather small |
His father sold his Roils-Royce because ________.
| A．it made him feel uneasy | B．it was too old to work well |
| C．it was too expensive to possess | D．it was too cheap |
The writer's father enjoyed being different as long as ________.
| A．it drew attention to him | B．it didn't bring him in arguments |
| C．it was understood as a joke | D．there was no danger of his showing off |
What was the writer's reaction to the idea of going to Eton?
| A．He was very unhappy. | B．He didn't believe it. |
| C．He was delighted. | D．He had mixed feelings. |
We can know from the passage that ________.
| A．Children who can go to Eton are very famous |
| B．Children can go to Eton if they will |
| C．It is very difficult for a child to get admitted by Eton |
| D．Children don't have the right to decide whether they will go to Eton |
American is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while—then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine (常规). They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!The writer of this passage must be ___________.
| A．an American | B．a Chinese | C．a professor | D．a student |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their family. |
| B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
| C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be _________________.
| A．warmly welcomed at the airport | B．offered a ride to his home |
| C．treated hospitably at his home | D．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
From the underlined sentence, we can know the Chinese people __________.
| A．are strict with time | B．don’t take time seriously |
| C．don’t know how to use time | D．are willing to spend time for friends |
A suitable title for this passage would probably be “________________”.
| A．Friendships between Chinese |
| B．Friendships between Americans |
| C．Americans’hospitality |
| D．Americans’and Chinese’s views of friendship |
“Some day, there’ll be no Americans left in the NBA,” said 12-year-old Xing Tao, who joined his school team two weeks ago after watching Yao Ming in a televised NBA game, “The players will all be Chinese, like Yao.”
To China, Yao is a home-grown superstar who helped make the world’s first basketball league closer to Chinese players. To the NBA, the 2.23-meter center offers an opening of a different sort into the world’s largest new market. Yao’s NBA first appearance against the Indiana Pacers in October reached 287 million families in the US. That game might have been a bit of a letdown to Yao’s fans: He played just 11 of the 48 minutes, had two rebounds(篮板) and got no points. Comparing that with his performance on December 19, also against Indiana, Yao won 29 points and 10 rebounds. “This was one of the most exciting games I’ve had,” Yao said after Houston’s 95-83 victory. The NBA has to be excited about his on-count success. In all his games, he’s averaging 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds, quite good for a new star. “Yao Ming has brought the NBA closer to the Chinese,” said NBA spokeswoman Cheong Sau Ching, “That makes the dream seem practical for other people in China and proud to be Chinese.”
The 22-year-old Yao is not the country’s first player in the NBA: Wang Zhizhi broke down the Dallas Mavericks in November 2003. But Yao’s combination of modesty and skills make him a favorite back home.What’s the direct reason for Xing Tao to join the school basketball team?
A. He watched an NBA game
B. He liked basketball.
C. He hoped to play for the NBA.
D. He had dream that he would become a basketball star.How many points did Yao Ming win in his first game in the NBA?
| A．zero | B．two | C．29 | D．10 |
What does the word “letdown” in line 4, Paragraph 2 mean?
| A．failure | B．surprise | C．disappointment | D．sadness. |
Why does Yao Ming win more popularity than Wang Zhizhi at home?
| A．He is modest and performs excellently. |
| B．He is too kind to others. |
| C．More and more Chinese people like to watch his games. |
| D．He is very modest but proud. |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
A. Middle school students want to play basketball
B. Yao Ming makes NBA closer to China.
C. There’ll be no Americans left in the NBA
D. There are many new stars from China in the NBA.
The weather is getting hotter. You are thirsty playing basketball or riding home from school. A cold drink may be just the thing. But be careful what you are drinking. Something that looks cool may not be good for your health. There are plenty of “energy drinks” on the market. Most of them have beautiful colors and cool names. The lists on them tell you they are helpful to your health. Sounds great!
But after a careful check you may find that most energy drinks have lots of caffeine(咖啡碱)in them. These drinks are especially aimed at young people, students, busy people and sports players. Makers sometimes say their drinks make you better at sports and can keep you awake. But be careful not to drink too much. Caffeine makes your heart beat fast. Because of this, the International Olympic Committee(IOC) has limited(限制) its use. Caffeine in most energy drinks is at least as strong as that in a cup of coffee or tea. Possible health dangers have something to do with energy drinks. Just one box of energy drink can make you nervous, have difficulty sleeping and can even cause heart problems. Scientists say that teenagers should be discouraged from taking drinks with a lot of caffeine in them.Many people like drinking energy drinks because of the following EXCEPT that ______.
| A．they have beautiful colors and cool names |
| B．they have lots of caffeine |
| C．they can keep them awake and better at sports |
| D．they are said to be helpful to health |
The main reason for people not to drink too much energy drinks is that they may cause ______.
| A．heart problems | B．nervousness |
| C．sleeping difficulty | D．possible health dangers |
The underlined word “discouraged” can be replaced(替换) with ______.
| A．encouraged | B．stopped | C．helped | D．disliked |
From the passage we can know that ______.
| A．advertisements are important in getting people to buy energy drinks |
| B．energy drinks are helpful to teenagers’ study |
| C．sports players need to drink a lot of energy drinks |
| D．energy drinks are especially aimed at teenagers |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage? ______
| A．What’s the Use of Energy Drinks? |
| B．Who Can Drink Energy Drinks? |
| C．What’s That in Energy Drinks? |
| D．Why Can’t We Buy Energy Drinks? |
Son’s Help
Mr. Smith worked in a factory. As a driver, he was busy but he was paid much. His wife was an able woman and did all the housework. When he came back, she took good care of him and he never did anything at home. So he had enough time when he had a holiday. A few friends of his liked gambling(赌博) and he learned it soon. So he was interested in it and hardly forgot anything except gambling. He lost all his money and later he began to sell the television, watches and so on. His wife told him not to do it but he didn’t listen to her. She had to tell the police. He and his friends were punished for it. And he was hardly sent away. After he came out of lockup, he hated her very much and the woman had to leave him.
It was New Year’s Day. Mr. Smith didn’t go to work. He felt lonely and wanted to gamble again. He called his friends and they came soon. But they were afraid the police would come. He told his six-year-old son to go to find out if there were the policemen outside. They waited for a long time and didn’t think the police would come and began to gamble. Suddenly opened the door and in came a few policemen.
“I saw there weren’t any policemen outside, daddy,” said the boy, “so I went to the crossing and asked some to come.”Mr. Smith was paid much because _______.
| A．his wife helped him a lot |
| B．he worked in a factory |
| C．he was busy and had a lot of work to do |
| D．he had worked there for a long time |
Mrs. Smith did all housework because _______.
| A．she couldn’t find any work |
| B．she thought her husband was tired |
| C．her husband spent all time in gambling |
| D．she wouldn’t stop her husband gambling |
_____, so he was put into lockup.
| A．Mr. Smith often gambled |
| B．Mr. Smith was late for work |
| C．Mr. Smith didn’t help his wife at home |
| D．Mr. Smith wasn’t polite to the police |
The woman had to leave Mr. Smith because _______.
| A．he didn’t love her any longer |
| B．he wouldn’t stop gambling |
| C．he had been put into lockup |
| D．he was hardly sent away by the factory |
What is the meaning of the underlined word in the first paragraph?
| A．clinic | B．office | C．prison | D．restaurant |
We are all interested in equality, but while some people try to protect the school and examination system in the name of equality, others, still in the name of equality, want only to destroy it.
Any society which is interested in equality of opportunity and standards of achievement must regularly test its pupils. The standards may be changed ---- no examination is perfect ---- but to have no external(外部的)tests or examinations would mean the end of equality and of standards. There are groups of people who oppose this view and who do not believe either in external examinations or in any controls in schools or on teachers. This would mean that everything would depend on luck since every pupil would depend on the efficiency, the ideal and the purpose of each teacher.
Without external examinations, employers will look for employees from the highly respected schools and from families known to them ---- a form of favoritism will replace equality. At the moment, the bright child from an ill-respected school can show certificates（证书）to prove he or she is suitable for a job, while the lack of a certificate shows the unsuitability of a dull child attending a well - respected school. This defense of excellence and opportunity would disappear if external examinations were taken away, and the bright child from a poor family would be a prisoner of his or her school's fame, unable to compete for employment with the child from the favored school.
The opponents（对手）of the examination system suggest that examinations are an evil force because they show differences between pupils. According to these people, there must be no special, different, academic class. They have even suggested that there should be no form of difference in sport or any other area: all jobs or posts should be filled by unsystematic selection. The selection would be made by people who themselves are probably selected by some computer.
These people are not just against school organization, but are at war with the whole idea of modem competitive society and they are using children in schools for their destructive purposes. There is no reason why we should allow such people to determine the way our schools are organized when it is to the obvious disadvantage of the pupils, of the schools and of our society as a whole.According to the passage, the writer thinks that ________.
| A．changing the standards could mean the end of equality |
| B．standards must keep changing in order to achieve equality |
| C．there would be no standards without external examinations |
| D．we cannot have standards because examinations are not perfect |
In the writer's opinion, what would happen if external examinations were taken away?
| A．There would be no more opportunities and no more excellence. |
| B．Children from poor families would not be able to change schools. |
| C．Going to a favored school should be the only way to get a good job. |
| D．Schools for bright children would lose their fame. |
The situation at the moment is that ________.
| A．many children who are suitable for a job have no proof of their suitability |
| B．a school's fame is not important, as long as a child has a certificate. |
| C．children attending well - respected schools need not get certificates. |
| D．a bright child doesn't need a certificate a t all to get a good job. |
Which of the following sentences is TRUE?
| A．Most students from poor families can't get a good job. |
| B．Some people are using students to destroy our society. |
| C．The writer thinks it a good way to choose a job by computer. |
| D．The opponents of the examination want to reorganize schools. |
The opponents would agree that _________.
| A．computers should be selected to take over many jobs |
| B．particular people should not be chosen for particular jobs |
| C．well-respected schools should be got rid of as soon as possible |
| D．the students are not equally treated if they take external examinations |
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