It was a cold night in Washington, D.C. and I was heading back to the hotel when a beggar walked up to me. He asked if I would give him some money so he could get something to eat. After a short hesitation, I shook my head and kept walking. With helplessness, he said, “I really am homeless and I really am hungry! You can come with me and watch me eat!” But still, I kept on walking.
The incident bothered me for the rest of the week. In fact, I had money in my pocket and it wouldn’t have killed me to hand over a dollar or two even if he had been lying. On a freezing cold night, I wondered what would happen to a hungry man.
Flying back to my hometown, Anchorage, I couldn’t help thinking of him. I tried to find excuses for my failure to help. After all, government agencies, churches and charities were there to feed him. Besides, you’re not supposed to give money to beggars.
But I just couldn’t forget the incident and began to think I must do something. At that time, I was writing a garden column(专栏) for the local Daily News. Suddenly, I came up with an idea. Why not try to get all my readers to plant one row in their gardens donated to Bean’s? Bean’s Cafe, the soup kitchen which has volunteered to feed hundreds of hungry people every day for many years.
The idea began to take off. I began to receive more e-mails and calls from kind people. They tried their best to show their concerns about the hungry. Food was sent by different warm-hearted people and even those who only grew flowers sent their flowers. They are food for the spirit, which comforted me a lot.
Next year, the Garden Writers Association of America held their annual conference in Anchorage and after learning of Anchorage’s program, Plant a Row for Bean’s became Plant a Row for the Hungry. You can imagine how happy I was then.According to the passage, the reason why the author refused to give some money to the beggar probably is that ________.
| A．he happened not to take money then |
| B．he wasn’t fond of beggars |
| C．he thought that the beggar was lying |
| D．he didn’t like being bothered |
Why did the author can’t help thinking of the beggar ?
| A．Because he felt he had done wrong for his failure to help him. |
| B．Because he wanted to know whether the beggar had lied to him. |
| C．Because he was worried that the beggar might die from hunger. |
| D．Because some agencies, churches and charities should help the beggar. |
What does the underlined phrase “take off” in Paragraph 5 mean?
| A．remove clothes. | B．leave suddenly. |
| C．become successful. | D．come into being. |
What’s the correct order to record the author’s launch of the program “Plant a Row for the Hungry?”
① He ran into a beggar.
② He was regretful.
③ He came up with the idea of planting a row for Bean’s.
④ The Plant a Row for Bean's became Plant a Row for the Hungry.
⑤ He went back home.
⑥ Writers gathered in Anchorage.
| A．①②③④⑤⑥. | B．①⑤②③④⑥. |
| C．①②⑤③④⑥. | D．①②⑤③⑥④. |
A Frenchman went to a small Italian town and was staying with his wife at the best hotel there. One night, he went out for a walk alone. It was late and the small street was dark and quiet. Suddenly he felt someone behind him. He turned his head and saw an Italian young man who quickly walked past him. The Italian was nearly out of sight when the Frenchman suddenly found that his watch was gone. He thought that it must be the Italian who had taken his watch. He decided to follow him and get back the watch.
Soon the Frenchman caught up with the Italian. Neither of them understood the other’s language. The Frenchman frightened the Italian with his fist(拳头) and pointed at the Italian’s watch. In the end the Italian gave up his watch to the Frenchman.
When he returned to the hotel, the Frenchman told his wife what had happened. He was greatly surprised when his wife pointed to the watch on the table. Now he realized that by mistake he had robbed the watch and it was the Italian’s. The Frenchman went to a small Italian town________.
| A．alone | B．with his wife | C．with his friend | D．with an Italian |
One night he went out for ______ alone.
| A．a ride | B．a walk | C．a drink | D．rest |
Suddenly he found his ______ was gone.
| A．watch | B．money | C．book | D．ring |
The Italian gave up his watch to him at last because ______.
| A．he had stolen the watch from the Frenchman. |
| B．he understood what the Frenchman wanted |
| C．he had picked up the watch on his way from work |
| D．he was afraid of the Frenchman |
Who was robbed of the watch?
| A．The Frenchman | B．The Italian |
| C．Both of them | D．Neither of them |
If you ask most Americans, they would say their favorite season of the year is summer. The weather is warm. They do not have to wear heavy clothes to keep warm. Young people do not have to go to school. They can do many activities outside, like playing sports and swimming at the beach or the pool. They like the sunshine during the day and the warm summer nights. People have written and recorded hundreds of songs about summer. These are some of our favorites.
One of the most famous songs about summer is from George Gershwin’s opera “Porgy and Bess”. He wrote the music in nineteen thirty-five. The opera takes place in the southern United States. It opens with these words: “Summertime and the living’ is easy. Fish are jumping’ and the cotton is high.” Leontyne Price sings the song.
The nineteen fifties and sixties produced many songs about teenagers enjoying their summer vacation from school. The songs are about having fun, swimming in the ocean, driving in cars. However, for some teenagers, summer vacation was not all fun and games. Some of them had to work to earn money.Why did people write and record so many songs about summer?
| A．Summer is warm. |
| B．They do not have to wear heavy clothes to keep warm. |
| C．They can do many activities outside. |
| D．They like summer. |
Which of following statements is NOT true?
| A．There are 1950s or 1960s songs about teenagers enjoying their summer vacation from school. |
| B．Many songs are about teenagers having fun in summer. |
| C．Teenagers have not only fun and games but other things in summer. |
| D．Some teenagers have to work to earn money in summer |
Please choose an appropriate title for the passage.
| A．Summer. |
| B．Children in Summer. |
| C．Summer and Children. |
| D．Songs about Summer. |
Have you ever listened to young children talking in the playground? They are always boasting. They say things like, “My Dad’s car is bigger than your Dad’s,” and “My Mom is smarter than yours.” They particularly like to boast about their families.
There were three little boys, Harry, Ted and Gavin, who were always boasting. Gavin was the worst. Everything about his family was always the best or the biggest or the most expensive.
Whatever the others said, he could always go on better. One day when they were walking to
school, Harry said, “My father had a bath twice a week,” Ted spoke next. “That’s nothing,” he said. “Having a bath twice a week is dirty. My father has a bath every day, sometimes twice a day.” Ted looked at Gavin. Now it was his turn. But what could he say? “This time,” Ted thought, “I’m going to win.” Gavin didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t say that his father had a bath three times a day. That was silly. He walked on in silence. Ted smiled at Harry, and Harry smiled back. They were sure that for once they had beaten Gavin. They reached the school gates. Still Gavin said nothing. “We’ve won,” Ted said to Harry, but he spoke too soon. On the way home, Gavin said, “My Dad is so clean that he doesn’t have to bathe at all.”According to the passage, the meaning of the word “boast” is __________.
| A．to sing a nice song |
| B．to talk big |
| C．to go on better |
| D．to have a bath three times a day |
What did Harry boast about?
| A．The number of times his father had a bath every week. |
| B．The size of the bathroom in his home. |
| C．His father’s car. |
| D．His mother’s family. |
Who boasted the most?
| A．Ted. |
| B．Harry and Ted. |
| C．Harry and Gavin. |
| D．Gavin. |
What does “he spoke too soon” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．He spoke quickly. |
| B．He should have spoken earlier. |
| C．He was wrong. |
| D．He couldn’t be understood. |
Every country has its traditional festivals. The Chinese New Year is now known as the Spring Festival because it starts from the beginning of spring. Though there are some sayings about its origin, all agree that the word Nian, which in modern Chinese means “year”, was originally the name of a beast that started to eat people the night before the beginning of a new year.
One story goes that the beast Nian had a very big mouth that would take in a great many people at one time. People were very afraid. One day, an old man came to their help and said he would stop all this. He said to Nian, “I hear that you are very strong, but can you eat up all the beasts on earth instead of people who are too weak to be your enemies?” “Yes,” Nian agreed with him and went to kill many of the beasts on earth. People were very happy because those beasts also did bad things to people and killed their farm animals from time to time.
After that, the old man, who was a god, rode on the beast Nian and left. Nian was gone, and other beasts also went into forests; people began to enjoy their happy life. Before the old man left, he had told people to put up red paper-cuts on their windows and doors at each year’s end to drive Nian away, because red is the color the beast felt most afraid of.
From then on, every year at the beginning of spring, people prepare to “Guo Nian”. The word “Guo Nian” means “go through the Nian safely”. Putting up red paper-cuts to drive Nian away and making dumplings for a better new year are still an every-year doing by the Chinese people. However, people today have long forgotten why they are doing all this, they just feel the color and the food make the New Year very enjoyable.How did the old man stop Nian from eating people?
| A．By putting red paper-cuts on windows. |
| B．By eating up beasts. |
| C．By talking to him. |
| D．By riding on him. |
Why did people put on red paper-cuts instead of those of any other color?
| A．Because Nian liked the color red. |
| B．Because the color red could kill Nian. |
| C．Because the old man like the color red. |
| D．Because Nian was afraid of the color red. |
The best title of this passage is “__________”.
| A．The Origin of the Chinese New Year |
| B．The Old Man and the Beast Nian |
| C．How to Go Through the Nian safely |
| D．What Nian Was Like |
Which of the following statement is TRUE?
| A．Nian can eat up all the beasts on earth at one time. |
| B．Nian is a tall beast that likes to eat farm animals. |
| C．Nian is afraid of red paper-cuts. |
| D．Nian doesn’t like to use his own mind. |
Everyday we talk about and use the Internet, but how many of us know the history of the Internet?
Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up in the 1960s. At that time, computers were large and expensive. Computer network didn’t work well. If one computer in the network broke down, then the whole network stopped. So a new network system had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was not working, information could be sent through another part. In this way computer network system would keep on working on the time.
At first the Internet was only used by the government, but in the early 1970s, universities, hospitals and banks were allowed to use it too. However, computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult to use. By the start of the 1990s, computers became cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made “surfing” in the Internet more convenient.
Today it is easy to get on-line and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day. Sending e-mail is more and more popular among students.The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of people’s life.The Internet has a history of more than _______ years.
| A．sixty | B．forty | C．fifty | D．twenty |
A new network system was set up to _________.
| A．make computers cheaper |
| B．make itself keep on working all the time |
| C．break down the whole network |
| D．make computers large and expensive |
__________ made “surfing” the Internet more convenient.
| A．Computers |
| B．Hardware |
| C．Software |
| D．Information |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．In the 1960s, computer network worked well. |
| B．In the early 1970s, the Internet was easy to use. |
| C．Today it’s still not easy to get on-line. |
| D．Sending e-mail is now more popular among students than before. |
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