Once a traveller came into a village which was suffering from hunger. The villagers asked him to leave, for they feared he wanted them to give him food. They told him that there was no food. The traveller explained that he didn’t need any food and that, in fact, he was planning to make a soup to share with them instead. The villagers watched suspiciously as he built a fire and filled a pot with water With great ceremony(仪式), he pulled a stone from a bag, and dropped the stone into the pot of water. After a moment, he smelt the soup and shouted with excitement, “How delicious the soup is!” As the villagers began to show interest, he mentioned how good the soup would be with just a little cabbage in it. A villager brought out a cabbage to share. This episode(情节) repeated itself until the soup had cabbage, carrots, onions, and beets—indeed, a full pot of soup that could feed everyone in the village was ready. This story describes when there are not enough resources(资源), humans will store things. We do not want to share. The story of stone soup helps us realize that, in doing so, we often prevent ourselves and everyone else from having a feast(盛宴).The meaning of this story goes far beyond food. We keep to ourselves ideas, love, and energy, thinking we will be richer, but in fact we make the world, and ourselves, poorer. The traveller was able to see that the villagers were holding back, and he had the ability to inspire(激发) them to give. In this way, they created a large meal that none of them could have created alone. Are you like one of the villagers? If you come forward and share your gifts, you will inspire others to do the same. The reward is a feast that can feed many. What does the underlined word “suspiciously” most probably mean?
| A．doubtfully | B．excitedly |
| C．curiously | D．fearfully |
The traveller put a stone into the pot in order to .
| A．teach the villagers to cook a soup with stone |
| B．inspire the villagers to bring out their own food |
| C．prove to the villagers that he didn’t want their food |
| D．help villagers to survive by giving them some food |
The writer mainly wants to tell us that .
| A．storing things in hard times is human nature |
| B．a good leader is very necessary in hard times |
| C．skills are needed to inspire people to share with others |
| D．sharing is more important than keeping things to oneself |
O. Henry was a pen name used by an American writer of short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he managed to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas, where he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank. When some money went missing from the bank, O. Henry was believed to have stolen it. Because of that, he was sent to prison. During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and continued writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because the stories finished with a sudden change at the end, to the readers' surprise.People enjoyed reading O. Henry's stories because _______.
| A．they had surprising endings. |
| B．they were easy to understand. |
| C．they showed his love for the poor. |
| D．they were about New York City. |
O. Henry went to prison because _______.
| A．people thought he had stolen money from the newspaper. |
| B．he broke the law by not using his own name. |
| C．he wanted to write stories about prisoners. |
| D．people thought he had taken money that was not his. |
What do we know about O. Henry before he began writing?
| A．He was well-educated. |
| B．He was very good at learning. |
| C．He was devoted to the poor. |
| D．He was not serious about his work.. |
Where did O. Henry get most material for his short stories?
| A．His life inside the prison. |
| B．The newspaper articles he wrote. |
| C．The city and poor people in New York. |
| D．His exciting early life as a boy. |
Welcome to the 2012 London Olympic Games!
Archery
Archery has a 10,000 year history, when bows and arrows were first used for hunting and war. Archery first appeared at the Paris Olympics of 1990. It was removed after 1908 and only returned to the Olympics at Munich in 1972.
Did you know?
In the 14th century, archery was so important that as English law required every man, aged seven to 60, to practise it.
Badminton
This sport was invented by British soldiers in India who called it Poono, the same name as the town in which they lived. It was first played at the Olympics in 1992 at Barcelona. Although the rules of the modern sport were developed in England, Asian countries are now the best.
Did you know?
The best balls are said to be made fromthe feathers of the left wing of goose.
Football
There are two medal competitions for Olympic football, one for men's teams and one for women's. Football was first played at the 1908 Olympic Games and it has been played at every Olympic Games ever since, except for Los Angeles 1932.
Did you know?
Hungary has won three football gold medals-more than any other country.
Taekwondo
This Korean sport's name means"the way of the hand and foot". The players get points by hitting each other with these two parts of the body only. The players mustn't lie on the floor and no equipment can be used. Taekwondo first appeared at the 2000 Sydney Games.
Did you know?
Over 60 million people from 190 countries around the world regularly take part in this sport.Which sport was first named after a town?
| A．Badminton. | B．Football. | C．Taekwondo. | D．Archery. |
Who invented the sport of badminton?
| A．Indians. | B．British |
| C．Chinese. | D．Koreans. |
Which of these sports appeared earliest at the Olympics?
| A．Archery. | B．Badminton. |
| C．Taekwondo. | D．Football. |
Which of the following pictures shows the sport of "Taekwondo"?
Where can you most probably find this web page?
| A．www.sydney2000.com | B．www.beijing2008.com |
| C．www.guangzhou2010.com | D．www.london2012.com |
Many young people want to become pop-stars. It is their great ambition（雄心） in life. They think pop-stars earn a lot of money, they lead interesting and exciting lives, thousands of fans love them, and they become famous!
Yes, but first they must become stars. Most performers star life with a group. This is the pattern nowadays. But there are many groups and competitions are hard. Groups appear and disappear almost overnight. Only a small number survive. Almost without exception they have to work very hard before they reach the top.
And very few reach the top and stay there. In England there are perhaps thirty or so groups at the top. Most of these do not earn so much money, perhaps 500 pounds each time they perform. What’s more, they have quite a lot of expenses(开销). They have to pay a manager, for example. He is the key person in their lives and takes about 20% of their earnings-perhaps more. Then there are their clothes, their instruments and their van. Sometimes they are still playing for the last two items.
And don’t forget, they have to travel a great deal-sometimes 2,000 miles in one week. At times they even sleep in their van instead of a hotel, just to save money.
So now, what do you think? Are pop-stars so rich? And do they have such exciting lives?Which of the following is the reason that many young people want to become pop-stars?
| A．Living an exciting life. |
| B．Becoming a rich man. |
| C．Being loved by thousands of fans. |
| D．All of the above. |
Why is the group’s manager well paid? Because __________.
| A．he runs this group |
| B．he looks after them |
| C．he is important to them |
| D．he buys them clothes and instruments |
The writer makes us believe ___________.
| A．it is pleasant to become a pop-star |
| B．if you work very hard in pop groups, you will reach the top |
| C．pop-stars are neither too rich nor too happy |
| D．general persons had better not dream of pop-stars |
Two policemen stopped Andrew Kershaw in his sports car one night, because he was speeding in the street of the town. The young man was very drunk. He knew he was in trouble, so he decided to make fun of them. He was a law student at the university, so he knew the law very well, better than most people.
When the policemen came to his car, Andrew asked one of the policemen to write down in his notebook everything they said. The policemen had to do this because it is the law, although people usually don’t know it. The policemen tested Andrew’s breath and the breathalyzer showed that he had too much alcohol in his blood. This all took a long time because the policemen had to write down everything that he and the policemen said.
In the end, by law, the policemen had to ask Andrew if he wanted to say anything. Andrew decided that he had two things to say and the policemen had to write down. The first thing was “Please don’t hit me again, officer”. And the second thing was “Does the other officer want ￡5, too?” Of course, the poor policeman had to read this in court, in front of the judge , and he was very embarrassed. Andrew, who was in court, thought it was very funny, until the judge took away his license for a year and fined（罚款）him ￡100, ￡90 for drunk driving, and ￡10 for his rudeness!
The policemen stopped Andrew in his car because __________.
| A．it was very late | B．he was drunk |
| C．he was driving too fast | D．he hardly broke the law |
The underlined word “breathalyzer” means __________.
| A．a tool used for repairing machines |
| B．a machine used for examining patients |
| C．a person who is in charge of giving breath test |
| D．an instrument（仪器）used for testing and analyzing（分析）one’s breath |
Andrew made fun of the policemen, only __________.
| A．to be praised by the judge |
| B．to be asked by the judge |
| C．to be taken away by the judge |
| D．to be punished by the judge |
We all know that foods will easily go bad if they get too warm. So we usually put them into our fridges to keep cool in hot weather. But can you make it without fridges?
In 1995, Abba, a teacher from Nigeria, found a cool way. His invention was called Pot-in-Pot Cooling System.
It uses two clay pots (陶罐). There is a smaller pot inside a larger one. The space between the two pots is filled with wet sand. Fruit, vegetables or drinks can be put into the smaller pot. A wet cloth covers the whole cooling system. Some foods can be kept fresh for several weeks in it.
Abba built five thousand pot-in-pot systems for the villagers in his hometown. Then people all over the country began using the invention. Soon it became popular with farmers in other African countries.
In 2000, Abba got a prize --- the Rolex Award. If you are trying to do something to improve human life, you may have the chance to get this prize.Who is Abba?
Where should we put fruit and drinks in the Pot-in-Pot Cooling System ?
What can farmers use Abba’s invention to do?
How many pot-in-pot systems did Abba build for the villagers?
From the passage, how can we have the chance to get this kind of prize like Abba?
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