Talk about a real-life hero! Ten-year-old Larry Champagne from St. Louis，Missouri, hit the brake (刹车) on a runaway school bus. He saved himself and 20 other kids on board from disaster.
It all happened in one terrible accident. On the way to school, the bus driver, Ernestine Blackman, suddenly fell ill. Seeing the car was running away, the other kids started to scream, but Larry ran to the front and stopped the bus.
“At first I thought, ‘We’re going to die,’” says Larry, “but after I pressed the brake, I felt safe.”
Larry’s speedy reaction made news all over the country. He appeared on TV shows as a hero. The bus company gave Larry a big gift. His school hung a medal of honor around his neck.
“My grandmother always tells me to do what’s right,” says Larry. He thanked his brother, Jerrick, 9, who “helped me get the bus driver up” during the emergency（紧急情况）. How did he know how to stop the bus? Larry is something of a mechanic（机械师）. He helps his grandfather work on his old truck. “He gets his hands dirty,” says his grandfather. One thing is for certain: Larry knows where to find the brakes.What did Larry do to save the runaway bus?
| A．He parked it for the sleeping bus driver. |
| B．He helped all the kids climb out through the windows. |
| C．He dialed 911. |
| D．he pressed the brake. |
When did Larry finally feel safe?
| A．When the kids finally stopped screaming. |
| B．When the police officers arrived. |
| C．Once he pressed the brake, and the bus stopped. |
| D．When the bus driver started driving again. |
Larry got the following as praise for his hero action Except _______.
| A．appearing on TV shows |
| B．a scholarship from his school |
| C．a big gift from the bus company |
| D．a medal of honor |
Larry thanked his brother Jerrick for __________.
| A．helping him get the bus driver up |
| B．helping him work on his old truck |
| C．teaching him how to find the brake |
| D．teaching him how to stop the bus |
The underlined sentence“Larry is something of a mechanic” tells us that ____.
| A．Larry’s job is a mechanic |
| B．Larry knows something about machines |
| C．Larry is a robot |
| D．Larry knows nothing about machines |
What would you do if you were a fifth grader facing a huge homework load every night, and you found out that there was a machine that would do all the work for you? That's the situation presented to Sam, Kelsey, Judy and Brenton in Dan Gutman's entertaining new book for young readers, The Home Machine.
The four children, all fifth graders in Miss Rasmussen's Grand Canyon School, are as different as any other 11-year-old child could be, but they have one thing in common — all are somewhat separated from their classmates. Sam is a newcomer and has had his share of school trouble before; Kelsey quietly carries her pain at losing her father; Judy's sense of justice always annoys others; Brenton is the smartest child in the school, so smart that even his parents and teachers have trouble keeping up with him. When Brenton and his three classmates are put into the same study group by their teacher, the others discover that Brenton has made a time-saving gadget(装置) to do homework for him. While the boy is perfectly able to do his homework himself, Sam, Kelsey and Judy can use the help.
Having perfect grades is something new for these three, and as they meet every day to "do homework", they find that they're learning a lot about each other. Such a good thing can't last though, and when a secret man starts trying to get in touch with them, they begin to get nervous. Soon there's an even more frightening problem ― why can't the Homework Machine be turned off?
Told in different voices as all the children make statements to the Grand Canyon Police, the story develops in an interesting fashion. Gutman is a gifted writer who has written dozens of children's books, each with a funny and impressing table that should be equally liked by boys and girls. What is one common thing that all the four children have to deal with at school?
| A．Getting along with their classmates. |
| B．Doing their homework by themselves. |
| C．Overcoming difficulties on their own. |
| D．Catching up with others to get good grades. |
Which of the following words best describe Brenton?
| A．Strange and nervous. | B．Quiet and smart. |
| C．Brave and special. | D．Clever and helpful. |
Why did the children get frightened?
| A．They lost touch with each other. |
| B．They were questioned by a strange man. |
| C．They had no idea how to stop the machine. |
| D．They were tracked down by the police. |
This passage most probably comes from .
| A．a student's diary | B．a book review | C．a school report | D．a science story |
It's wonderful to go to another country, complete a volunteer project and feel that you really have a positive influence. But how can you become an international volunteer?
* Plan practically. Contact the organization a few months before leaving and find out if there are materials which are rare and hard to attain for the project. What you often consider plentiful here, such as nails or hammers, is in great need in other parts of the world.
* Do the project together, not on your own. You are a guest in the community. The most successful result is not that you build something and walk away, but that you and the community build something as a team. Share skills and build together.
* Be flexible. Not everything is going to happen as planned. Often the other country doesn't have the right tools, manpower, transportation or funds to get all the needed work done. In a word, they lack infrastructure(基础设施).
* Contact with the people in the community. Often you will have "downtime" outside of the range of the project. Rather than retreat to the group with whom you traveled, be sure to spend time with the people of the community. Listen to the things about their lives. If you can't speak the language, smiles work wonders. And you will be surprised ― you will find a way to community.
Volunteering is a special and life-long experience for everyone involved. Be prepared that the person who may be changed most is you. It's a joyful, often careful experience which will encourage you to view yourself, your neighbors and your world quite differently. When you volunteer to join in a project, you are advised to .
| A．build something and walk away |
| B．make good preparation in advance |
| C．avoid involving locals in activities |
| D．depend on yourself to solve problems |
According to the author, volunteer will .
| A．reduce challenge in the world |
| B．determine the future of a volunteer |
| C．change a person's opinion of the world |
| D．benefit volunteers most in their learning |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．What prepares you to become a volunteer. |
| B．Where volunteers are needed most in the world. |
| C．Why volunteering is popular with young people. |
| D．How volunteers develop a relationship with local people. |
Have you got some paper, a pair of scissors and, above all, a desire to decorate your house? Then, we have the perfect holiday artwork for you: Make Star Wars snowflakes (雪花). Remembered as a cherished form of work in classrooms before the holidays, paper snowflakes have drawn many people's attention again.
The designer, Anthony Herrera, just recently released his 2013 collection. "The Star Wars snowflake designs began as just doing designs of characters that I and my daughter wanted to make three years ago," Herrera told us in an email. "The second year I introduced vehicles, and this year I decided to push further by designing battle scenes."
Sometimes, he feels a bit bored with his job. With each year, the designs have got more detailed and various, but the process of creating them remained the same: sketching figures on paper with a pencil until a symmetrical (对称）pattern comes out, then scanning the designs and cut them with scissors. However, he says he has plenty of ideas for new flakes next year, so no two will ever be the same. Hopefully with Star Wars: Episode VII coming in 2015 he'll have even more work in the future.
Check out your favorite finished versions of Herrera’s flakes (from both 2013 and previous years) and download the pictures beneath them and then get down to creating your own work. A warning: Most designs aren't for the casual flake-maker, so patience you must have. Making paper snowflakes draws many people's attention probably because ______.
| A．it is a traditional form of decoration | B．it is a course of artwork in school |
| C．it is a way of killing time in holiday | D．it is designed by Anthony Herrera |
From the text, we know that Herrera ______.
| A．can make snowflakes with his daughter's help |
| B．made more complicated designs before 2013 |
| C．introduced paper vehicles in 2011 |
| D．will make a great variety of detailed paper flakes |
Herrera is fed up with the job sometimes because ______
| A．he has to design detailed and different patterns |
| B．he has to follow the fixed process of paper cutting |
| C．he spends much time designing, scanning and cutting |
| D．he has few ideas for what the next designs will be like |
By writing the last paragraph, the author tries to ______.
| A．offer us more information about Herrera’s paper cutting |
| B．tell us how to download picture of snowflakes |
| C．instruct people to be a real creative artist |
| D．remind us of being patient with Herrera’s designs |
Many people cannot start their day without first having a cup of coffee or tea．These drinks help them think clearly and feel more awake．This is because of caffeine，which helps to give a jump start to the nervous system．Now，a report says it may also boost long-term memory．
Mike Yassa is a neurobiology professor．He and other researchers wanted to know if caffeine could improve a person’s memory．He explains，“After you learn anything，it takes some time for that memory to strengthen．And over the first 24 hours is actually where most of the forgetting happens．So that is where we wanted to intervene with caffeine and see if we can help reduce this forgetting．”
They took 160 caffeine-free people and showed them pictures of everyday objects. These people were asked if the objects could be found inside the house， or outdoors．Then some of the subjects were given a caffeine pill．The others were given a placebo—a pill containing nothing. 24 hours later，the subjects were shown the exact same images from the day before．They were also shown images with slight differences，and some completely new images. Both groups correctly identified the exact same and completely new pictures．But those who took the caffeine pill were better at spottingthe pictures that were slightly different．
Professor Yassa says their answers helped to show the effects of caffeine on memory. And we find that if they are on caffeine they are much more likely to make the right decision．”
The amount of caffeine the researchers used in the study was similar to one cup of strong coffee．The researchers did not see any improvement to memory from smaller doses of caffeine or when it was given an hour before viewing the images．What is the focus of the text?
| A．Caffeine can make people addicted． |
| B．Caffeine can make people energetic. |
| C．Caffeine can improve long—term memory． |
| D．Caffeine can make people feel comfortable． |
What does the third paragraph mainly talk about?
| A．How the experiment was conducted． |
| B．Who took part in the experiment． |
| C．Which group of subjects did better． |
| D．What was used in the experiment． |
In which section of a magazine can we read this text?
| A．Culture． | B．Technology． | C．Health. | D．Education. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Most forgetting occurs within the first 24 hours． |
| B．Forgetting can be positively affected by caffeine． |
| C．The subjects were given different pills． |
| D．Yassa was disappointed with the result． |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．More caffeine means better memory． |
| B．Smaller doses of caffeine doesn’t work． |
| C．The time to take cafieine doesn’t matter． |
| D．Caffeine is taken before the experiment． |
This the best time and this the worst time；this is the time of great material richness and this is the time of desert of soul．Everyone seems to be rushing around for something but they have never fulfilled they dream．Everyone tries to seek happiness but it seems to be nowhere to be found．
When asked“what on earth can make you happy?”，most modern man would give similar replies such as becoming extremely wealthy，or getting promoted in work and then becoming very wealthy．When asked“what will you do with your wealth?”，they would make a long list of things they have been longing for．However haven’t you noticed the multibillionaires are not as happy as we common guys suppose them to be?Haven’t you noticed that the multibillionaire celebrities don’t even enjoy the fundamental freedom of going shopping with their own families without being followed by annoying paparazzi?
If we hinge our happiness on such big issues，we are bound to be unhappy all through our life, because those big issues might just occur to us once in a blue moon.
As Socrates once put it，“He is the richest who is content with the least，for content is the wealth of nature”．But how can we “be content with the least”?If you pay due attention，our life is loaded with little joys，sometime too little to be noticeable．Stop once in a while in your rush to your destination，look around and you will see that there are always little things worth cheering for. You got an“A”in a test．Good!You listened to all inspiring lecture．Great!You offered a helping hand to someone who had a flat tire! Amazing! Your dream girl／boy greeted you with a sweet smile!Fantastic!And so on and so forth!Let’s cheer for the little joys in life!
Please keep in mind that never should we wait to be happy!What is the best title of the text?
| A．Money means happiness． | B．Happiness is all around us． |
| C．Dreams make our life rich． | D．Satisfaction is unacceptable． |
According to the text，which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Money doesn’t necessarily bring happiness． |
| B．Desire for wealth makes people unhappy． |
| C．Great occasions are worth celebrating． |
| D．We should ignore little joys in our life． |
What does the underlined phrase in the third paragraph probably mean?
| A．Rarely． | B．Regularly． | C．Normally． | D．Frequently． |
According to Socrates，people who are“content with the least”are ___________.
| A．greedy | B．ambitious | C．optimistic | D．reliable |
In the fourth paragraph，the author suggests that we should ___________.
| A．set up great goals in life | B．make full use of opportunities |
| C．enjoy even moment in life | D．seek significant issues in life |
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