In a small village in England about 150 years ago, a mail coach ( 邮车) was standing on the street . It didn’t come to that village often . People had to pay a lot to get a letter . The person who sent the letter didn’t have to pay the postage (邮资) , while the receiver had to .
“Ｈere’s a letter for Miss Alice Brown , ” said the mailman .
“ Ｉ’m Alice Brown , ” a girl of about 18 said in a low voice .
Alice looked at the envelope（信封） for a minute , and then handed it back to the mailman .
“ Ｉ＇m sorry I can’t take it , I don’t have enough money to pay it＂, she said .
A gentleman standing around were very sorry for her . Then he came up and paid the postage for her .
When the gentleman gave the letter to her , she said with a smile , “ Thank you very much ,This letter is from Tom . I’m going to marry him . He went to London to look for work . I’ve waited a long time for this letter , but now I don’t need it , there is nothing in it .”
“ Really ? How do you know that ? ” the gentleman said in surprise .
“ He told me that he would put some signs on the envelope . Look ,sir ,this cross in the corner means that he is well and this circle means he has found work . That’s good news .”
The gentleman was Sir Rowland Hill . He didn’t forgot Alice and her letter .
“ The postage to be paid by the receiver has to be changed ,” he said to himself and had a good plan .
“ The postage has to be much lower , what about a penny (便士 ) ? And the person who sends the letter pays the postage . He has to buy a stamp and put it on the envelope .” he said .
The government accepted his plan . Then the first stamp was put out in 1840 . It was called the “ Penny Black “ . It had a picture of the Queen on it . The first postage stamp was made ___________ .
| A．in England | B．in America |
| C．by Alice | D．in 1910 |
The girl handed the letter back to the mailman because ______________ .
| A．she didn’t know whose letter it was |
| B．she had no money to pay the postage |
| C．she received the letter but she didn’t want to open it |
| D．she had already known what was written in the letter |
We can know from Alice’s words that _________________ .
| A．Tom had told her what the signs meant before leaving |
| B．Alice was clever and could guess the meaning of the signs |
| C．Alice had put the signs on the envelope herself |
| D．Tom had put the signs as Alice had told him to |
The idea of using stamps was thought of by __________________ .
| A．the government | B．Sir Rowland Hill |
| C．Alice Brown | D．Tom |
From the passage we know the high postage made _____________ .
| A．People never send each other letters |
| B．lovers almost lose every touch with each other |
| C．people try their best to avoid(避免) paying it |
| D．receivers refuse to pay the coming letters |
An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money. Only a very expensive operation(手术) could save him now and there was no one to lend them the money.
When she heard her daddy say to her tearful mother, “Only a miracle can save him now，” the little girl went to her bedroom and pulled her money from its hiding place and counted it carefully.
She hurried to a drugstore（药店）with the money in her hand. “And what do you want？” asked the shopkeeper. “It’s for my little brother,” the girl answered, “He’s really，really sick and I want to buy a miracle.” “Pardon？” said the shopkeeper. “My brother Andrew has something bad growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him. So how much does a miracle cost？” “We don’t sell a miracle here，child. I’m sorry，” the shopkeeper said with a smile. “Listen，if it isn’t enough, I can try and get some more. Just tell me how much it costs.”
A well-dressed man heard it and asked，“What kind of a miracle does your brother need？” “I don’t know,” she answered with her eyes full of tears. “He’s really sick and mum says he needs an operation. But my daddy can’t pay for it，so I have brought all my money.” “How much do you have,” asked the man. “$ 1.11, but I can try and get some more,” she answered. “Well，Good luck! ” smiled the man. “$ 1.11，the price of a miracle for your little brother.”
He took up the girl’s hand and said，“Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”
That well-dressed man was Dr Carlton Armstrong, a famous doctor. The operation was successful and it wasn’t long before Andrew was at home again. How much did the miracle cost？What was the trouble in the little girl’s family？
A. Her brother was seriously ill.
B. They had no money.
C. Nothing could save her brother.
D. Both A and B.In the eye of the little girl，a miracle might be _______.
| A．something interesting | B．something beautiful |
| C．some wonderful medicine | D．some good food |
The little girl said again and again “…I can try and get some more.” That shows ___.
| A．she had still kept some money |
| B．she hoped the shopkeeper could sell her a miracle |
| C．There was no need to worry about money |
| D．she thought money was easy to get |
What made the miracle happen？
| A．The girl’s love for her brother. |
| B．The girl’s money. |
| C．The medicine from the drugstore. |
| D．Nobody can tell. |
From the passage we can infer (推断)that _______.
| A．The doctor didn’t ask for any pay |
| B．A miracle is sure to happen if you keep on |
| C．The little girl is lovely but not so clever |
| D．Andrew was in fact not too sick. |
Now cities are full of cars. Some families even have two or more cars. Parking is a great problem, and so is the traffic in and around the cities. Something will have to be done to change it.
What will the cars of tomorrow be like?
Little cars may some day take the place of today’s big cars. If everyone drives little cars in the future, there will be less pollution in the air. There will also be more space for parking cars in cities, and the streets will be less crowded. Three little cars can fit in the space now needed for one car of the usual size.
The little cars will cost much less to own and to drive. Driving will be safer, too. What is more, these little cars can go about 65 kilometers per hour.
Little cars of the future will be fine for getting around a city, but they will not be useful for long trips. If big cars are still used along with the small ones, two sets of roads will be needed in the future. Some roads will be used for the big, fast cars, and other roads will be needed for the slower small ones. Cars in the future mustn’t bring ________ pollution in the air.
| A．more | B．fewer | C．less | D．no |
The little car’s size may be ________ today’s car’s size.
| A．one third of | B．two thirds of |
| C．as big as | D．as small as |
Little cars are very fine for ________.
| A．long trips | B．journeys |
| C．everyday life | D．sport |
The big cars are ________ the little cars for long trips.
| A．as useful as | B．not so useful as |
| C．more useful than | D．less useful than |
People began making clocks over 500 years ago. The first clocks had only one hand---the hour hand. At a later time the clocks had the minute hand. The first clocks were big and heavy. Some rich people had servants (仆人) to carry the clocks when they were out. Time passed and clocks became smaller.
Bells became a part of some large clocks in cities and towns. They were for people unable to see the clock. Some clocks were in large towers（塔）. Some of them are 400 or 500 years old now. Big Ben in London is a very famous tower clock.
Now many people have alarm clocks (闹钟) to wake them up to go to work or go to school.
So clocks are the very important part of people’s life. People began to make clocks ________ 500 years ago.
| A．less than | B．for | C．more than | D．without |
At the beginning the clocks had ________ .
| A．one hand | B．two hands |
| C．three hands | D．four hands |
Bells were made for ________ .
| A．the old people |
| B．everyone |
| C．the people unable to see the clock |
| D．the children |
Alarm clocks can help people ________ .
| A．work hard | B．wake up |
| C．see the time | D．go to bed |
Can plants eat people? Probably not, but there are many plants that eat meat. Some of them are big, and they can eat small animals. One famous meat-eating plant is the Venus flytrap.
The Venus flytrap is a very strange plant. It grows in dry parts of the United States. Its leaves are like the pages of a book. They can open and close very quickly. Inside the leaves, there are three small hairs. If a fly touches one of the hairs, the leaves closes quickly. The fly cannot get out. In about half an hour, the leaves press the fly until it is dead. Then, the plant covers the fly. Slowly, the plant eats the fly.
Why do plants do it? Most plants get what they need from the sun, the air, and the ground. In some places, the ground is very poor. It doesn’t have all these important things, especially nitrogen(氮). So some plants eat meat to get what they need. Let’s hope that some of the bigger plants don’t get the same idea!The Venus flytrap is a kind of ______.
| A．plant | B．animal | C．food | D．meat |
The Venus flytrap grows in ______.
| A．most parts of the world |
| B．some parts of Africa |
| C．dry parts of the United States |
| D．wet parts of England |
From the passage, we learn that ______.
| A．all plants can eat people |
| B．all plants can eat animals |
| C．some plants can eat people |
| D．some plants can eat animals |
The underlined word “press” probably means ______ in Chinese.
| A．挤压 | B．关上 | C．打开 | D．松开 |
Why do some plants eat animal meat?
| A．Because plants are dangerous to animals. |
| B．Because animals are dangerous to plants. |
| C．Because plants want to get what they need from animal meat. |
| D．Because plants want to protect themselves against animals. |
阅读下列短文，从每小题所给的四个选项选出最佳选项。
The American alligator (短吻鳄) is the largest reptile (爬行动物) in North America. Some of them can be over 5 metres long.
In North America, the bison (野牛) is the largest animal on land. If they are frightened, the American bison will run away and can reach a speed of 52 km per hour.
The white-tailed deer can run up to 58 km per hour. This North American deer can also jump as high as 2.6 metres and jump as far as 9 metres.
There is a frog that barks just like a dog. This barking frog is found in the southwestern part of the United States.
The polar bear is a great swimmer and can swim as fast as 10 km per hour using only its front feet.
The wild turkey nearly died out in the early 1900’s, because people hunted many of them. This wild bird is making a comeback now.
The ________ is the largest animal on land in North America.
| A．polar bear | B．bison |
| C．alligator | D．white-tailed deer |
In the _____ of the United States, there lives a kind of frog that can bark like a dog.
| A．southwest | B．southeast |
| C．northwest | D．northeast |
The white-tailed deer runs up to __________ per hour.
| A．52 km | B．58 km | C．9 metres | D．10 km |
The polar bear _________.
| A．is good at running | B．is good at swimming |
| C．swims with its back legs | D．can jump as far as 9 metres |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The alligator is the largest reptile in North America. |
| B．The white-tailed deer can jump as high as 2.6 metres. |
| C．Six kinds of animals are mentioned in the passage. |
| D．The wild turkey died out about 1000 years ago. |
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