Old George selected his food in the supermarket more carefully than NASA chose its astronauts. When he left the cashier, he was pleased to think that he had saved 80 cents today.
At the exit, the cold wind made him think of his gloves. He looked for them in his coat and pants but could not find them anywhere. He had bought the black gloves at a good price, for just $35, years ago. They were soft and very comfortable. He had taken great care looking after them, so they were in good condition.
George, calm on the outside but mad on the inside, re-entered the store. He followed the same route he had walked before. Several minutes of searching turned out to be in vain (徒劳). His black gloves were gone. “People have changed,” he said to himself. “Years ago, if somebody picked up something lost, they would give it back. Not any more!”
He stared at anybody wearing black gloves to see if they looked like his. On his way to the dairy section, he noticed a lady wearing a pair of black gloves. He sped up and in three seconds was in front of her. But when the surprised woman looked over, his eyes dropped, for her gloves were just far too small to be his. He went over to the cashier to ask if she had received any lost gloves, but she said no. He finally walked out into the street.
A few days later, poor George decided to buy another leather pair. Before getting on the subway, he stepped into the supermarket again to see if by any chance his gloves had been returned to the lost and found office. “What color are they?” the woman in the office asked. “Black,” he gave the same answer. She looked into her drawer and drew out a pair of men’s leather gloves. “Are they?”
“Yes! Those are mine,” George exclaimed, his eyes full of joy.The author tells us that ________ in the first paragraph.
| A．George was very poor |
| B．George was very strange |
| C．every cent was important to George |
| D．George was careless in shopping |
The underlined phrase “in good condition” in Paragraph 2 probably means “________”.
| A．excellent without damage | B．healthy |
| C．attractive | D．good-looking |
George searched for his gloves in a mad way because ________.
| A．they were a precious gift given by his friends |
| B．they were bought at a high price in a big store |
| C．he could not find other gloves as good as this pair |
| D．he would rather not spend money on another pair |
When George realized he had probably lost his gloves, he ________.
| A．thought someone had found his gloves and kept them |
| B．was calm and confident that he could get his gloves back |
| C．thought that there were more thieves nowadays than before |
| D．looked for his gloves everywhere including in the lost and found office |
How do you think George felt when he finally left the supermarket without finding his gloves?
| A．silly | B．disappointed |
| C．horrible | D．tired |
When George entered the supermarket again a few days later, he ________.
| A．decided to buy a better pair | B．wanted to try his luck |
| C．held no hope at all | D．felt very hopeful |
In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what "keeping up with the Joneses" is about. It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant(仆人) and gave big parties for their new neighbors.
It was like a race, but one could never finish his race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich lifestyle of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories. He called it "Keeping up with the Joneses" because "Jones" is a very common name in the United States. "Keeping up with the Joneses" came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand' s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are "Joneses" in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they _______.
| A．want to be as rich as their neighbors |
| B．want others to know or to think that they are rich |
| C．don't want others to know they are rich |
| D．want to make themselves happy |
It can be inferred（推断）from the story that rich people like to_______.
| A．live outside New York City | B．live in New York city |
| C．live in apartments | D．have many neighbors |
According to the writer, it is_______ to keep up with the Joneses.
| A．correct | B．interesting | C．impossible | D．good |
Which of the following activities probably does not belong to the rich people?
| A．holding a race | B．riding horses |
| C．holding parties | D．hiring a servant |
Taking part in charity is not just for adult people. Kids can do it too! Melvin Sheppard, 14, an American student, has done charity work for 8 years. He has also encouraged his classmates to join him.
Melvin studies at William Allen Middle School in Philadelphia. Recently, he collected $ 1,500 by himself and $487 from his classmates to donate to Cooper University Hospital.
Melvin was born nine weeks premature (早产的) in Cooper University Hospital, weighing 2.6kg. His father told him how Cooper saved his life, so he feels thankful to the hospital.
Melvin's classmates joined him once they found out about his kind behavior. Their teacher, Michael Bemer, also held a class with them about helping others. "It wasn't really about the money," Bemer said. "It was about the fact that they were doing something good."
"It feels great, helping someone that I know." said Jordan, Melvin' s classmate. Melvin's neighbors also helped out.
Since Melvin was 6, he and his parents have given money to Cooper University Hospital every year. This year, Gray E. Stahl, the head of Cooper's division of neonatology(新生儿科学部门), went to Melvin's school to accept the money.
The money goes to a part of the hospital that helps about 500 young patients every year.
"When they leave, we call them graduates," Stahl said, "my co - workers and I are pleased when our graduates and their families do well, like Melvin and his family."When did Melvin start to do charity work?
| A．When he was 14 years old. |
| B．When he was 8 years old. |
| C．When he was 6 years old. |
| D．When he was born. |
Why did Melvin donate to Cooper University Hospital?
| A．He was a doctor in Cooper University Hospital. |
| B．His father worked in Cooper University Hospital. |
| C．He was thankful to Cooper University Hospital. |
| D．He used to volunteer in Cooper University Hospital. |
Where did Gray E. Stahl accept the money?
| A．At Melvin's school. |
| B．At Melvin's house. |
| C．At Cooper University Hospital. |
| D．At Cooper's division of neonatology. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Many college graduates accept the money every year. |
| B．The money helps about 500 0ld patients every year. |
| C．Melvin does the charity work alone for many years. |
| D．Melvin's teacher thinks it is a great thing to learn to help others. |
Alfred Nobel, a Swedish - born chemist, who died in 1896, at one time believed that his invention of explosives (炸药) could bring wars to an end, But later he found he was wrong.
Nobel was born in Sweden in 1833. With only one year of formal schooling, he became a chemist and inventor by age of 16.
He was also a linguist, speaking English, Russian, German and French besides Swedish. He wrote poetry(诗歌). He began his work with producing liquid nitroglycerin (硝酸甘油) for use in mining and construction. He then discovered that liquid nitroglycerin could be dried. He called it dynamite, after the Greek word dynamis, meaning "power". Then he became rich. When he died, his estate (财产) was worth about 89 million.
Nobel never married, and he left most of his estate to those who have been known as Nobel Prizes. The money is invested (投资) and the interest (利息) is given out as yearly prizes for persons who have done something special for mankind in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology, medicine, literature, and peace.
Prizes were first awarded in 1901. Over the years, many great people such as Albert Einstein in physics, Marie Curie in chemistry, Martin Luther King, Jr. for peace and Mo yan for literature got the awards.From the passage we can guess the underlined word "linguist" is a person who_______.
| A．can speak a foreign language |
| B．writes good poetry |
| C．knows several foreign language well |
| D．makes many inventions |
Alfred Nobel believed_______.
| A．he would become the richest person of the world |
| B．his invention could stop wars in the world |
| C．the Nobel Prizes could be world - famous |
| D．no one could use his invention to start wars |
All the questions have been answered Except_______.
| A．who chooses the Nobel Prize winners |
| B．when were Nobel Prizes first awarded |
| C．who could win Nobel Prizes |
| D．what else was Nobel interested in besides chemistry |
Joe and his friends were on their way to the Red Cross Headquarters to take the test for the first- aid badge（徽章）.They had worked and practiced very hard the whole year and were confident that they would do well for their test.
On their way to the test place, they saw a hit - and - run accident. A taxi driver had sped through the red light and almost hit a schoolboy, However, he could not stop in time to avoid（避开）a motorcycle that had turned round the corner. The passenger at the back was thrown off the motorcycle and landed heavily on the ground. The taxi driver was frightened and drove off.
Everyone on the street was greatly surprised.
Joe realized that they should take action when he saw the victim（受害者）bled heavily. "Come on," he said to his friends and wanted them to follow him but they didn't move.
Joe knew what they were thinking. They would have to wait for another year if they were to miss the test. "Which is more important? A man's life or a badge?" Joe asked his friends.
The question made his friends feel small.
The victim had a deep cut on his head. Joe and his friends dressed his wound to stop the bleeding while waiting for the hospital car to arrive. This was what the Red Cross Society had trained them for.Joe and his friends were on their way to the Red Cross Headquarters to_______.
| A．take a test on first - aid badge |
| B．collect their first - aid badges |
| C．report a hit - and - run accident |
| D．help the victim of an accident |
Who got hurt in the accident?
| A．The passenger in the taxi. | B．The passenger on a motorcycle. |
| C．The taxi driver. | D．The motorcycle rider. |
The test for the first - aid badge is held _______.
| A．once a year | B．twice a year |
| C．once a term | D．twice a term |
What did Joe and his friends do for the victim?
| A．They took him to the hospital. |
| B．They stopped the bleeding for him. |
| C．They did nothing for him. |
| D．They made a phone call to his family. |
In the morning, Mr. Martin comes into his garden. He sees too much snow in the garden. Mr Martin wants to take his car out, so he asks a cleaner to clean the road(路) from his garage(车库) to the gate. He says to the cleaner, “Don’t put any snow on the flowers or on the wall. And don’t put any into the street, or the policeman will come.” Then he goes out.
When he comes back, the road is clean. There is no snow on the flowers, on the wall or in the street. But when he opens the garage to get his car out, he sees: it is full of snow, the snow from the road, and his car is under the snow!What is the weather like?___________
| A．It’s very hot. | B．It’s raining. | C．It’s cold | D．It’s windy. |
Who cleans the snow on the road? ___________
| A．Mr Martin. | B．A policeman. | C．Mrs Martin. | D．A cleaner. |
Why can’t the cleaner put any snow into the street? ___________
| A．Because there’s too much snow, too. |
| B．Because the policeman will come. |
| C．Because there are flowers in the street. |
| D．Because there’s a car in the street. |
Where is the snow after the cleaner cleans the road? ___________
| A．On the flowers. | B．In the garage. |
| C．In the street. | D．We don’t know. |
What does Mr Martin think of the cleaner? ___________
| A．He is smart. | B．He does a right thing. |
| C．He does a wrong thing. | D．He helps Mr Martin. |
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