A baby giraffe is born 10 feet high and usually lands on its back. Bringing a giraffe into the world is a tall order. In his book, A View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond describes how a new-born giraffe learns its first lesson.
The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she puts herself directly over her child. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable thing. She throws her long leg and kicks her baby, so that it’s sent sprawling (四脚朝天).
When it doesn’t get up, what the mother has done is repeated again and again. The struggle (挣扎) to rise is important. As the baby giraffe grows tired, the mother kicks it again. Finally, it stands for the first time. Then the mother giraffe kicks it off again. Why? She wants it to remember how it can get up. In the wild, a baby giraffe must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with its group, where there’s safety.
Another writer named Irving Stone understood this. He spent a lifetime studying great people, writing stories about such men as Michelangelo, Vincent van Gogh, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin.
Stone was once asked if he had found something unusual about these great people. He said, “I write about people who sometime in their life have a dream of something. They’re beaten over the head, knocked down and for years they get nowhere. But every time they stand up again. And at the end of their lives they’ve realized some small parts of what they set out (着手) to do.”
The expression “a tall order” in Paragraph 1 most probably means ______.
| A．a happy thing | B．a difficult thing |
| C．a big dream | D．a beautiful place |
A View from the Zoo is a book written by .
| A．Gary Richmond | B．Charles Darwin |
| C．Irving Stone | D．Vincent van Gogh |
The mother giraffe puts herself over her child and throws her long leg and kicks her baby because she .
| A．is an unkind mother |
| B．likes watching her bay sprawling |
| C．doesn’t want her baby to live with her |
| D．wants to train her baby to get up in this way |
The writer mainly wants to tell the readers that
| A．the giraffe is an unusual animal |
| B．we should learn to be a careful writer |
| C．learning to get up leads to success |
| D．A View from the Zoo is a good book to read |
Dear Laura,
Thanks for your message. Yes, I’m having a great time on my exchange program in France. It’s even better than I thought it would be. I was a bit nervous before I arrived here, but there was no reason to be. My host family is really nice. They go out of their way to make me feel at home. And you wouldn’t believe how quickly my French has improved! I’m very comfortable speaking French now. Although I still make lots of mistakes, it doesn’t bother me like it used to. My biggest challenge is learning how to behave at the dinner table. As you can imagine, things are really different from the way they are at home. For example, you’re not supposed to put your bread on your plate. You’re supposed to put it on the table! I thought that was pretty strange at first, but now I’m used to it. You’re not supposed to eat anything with your hands except bread, not even fruit! (You have to cut it up and eat it with a fork). Another thing is that it is very rude to say you’re full. If you don’t want any more food, you should just say, “It was delicious.” Also, it’s rude to put your hands in your lap. You should always keep your hands ,but not your elbows, on the table. I have to say, I find it difficult to remember everything, but I’m gradually getting used to things and don’t find them so strange any more. I’ll write soon and tell you more about life in France. Hope you’re having a good school year.
Wang KunHow was Wang Kun before she arrived in France?
_____________________________________________.Why did she have no reason to be nervous?
______________________________________________.How has her French improved?
________________________________________________.What is one particular challenge she is facing?
________________________________________________.What does she find surprising?
_________________________________________________.
When people travel in another city or country ,they sometimes stay in the homes of the local people. This is called homestay . It is a great experience because you can meet people from a different country or city and learn something new about that place . I am Wan Li from China. I came to the UK with my friends for a short visit . we are living with an English couple ,Mr. and Mrs.Green ,in the west of London. They have a wonderful four –bedroom house . This is a new house . It has two bathrooms and a garden with many beautiful flowers. I have a bedroom of my own .
There are some shopping centres and restaurants near the house, and the house is close to an underground station. It takes about thirty minutes to get to the centre of London.
I think a homestay may be a good choice for you if it is your first time to visit abroad . The local people are friendly and willing to help. If you happen to celebrate the holidays with them, you will get to know more about western culture and customs.The underlined word homestay in the passage means_________.
| A．Stay at home. |
| B．Stay in the homes of one’s friends |
| C．Stay in the homes of one’s relatives |
| D．Stay in the homes of the local people. |
Wan Li and his friends live with _______ in London.
| A．Mr. and Mrs. Bush | B． Mr. and Mrs. Green |
| C． Mr. and Mrs. | D．Mr. and Mrs. Brown |
There is ____________near the house.
| A．a bus station | B．an underground station |
| C．a train station | D．an airport |
How long does it take Wan Li to get to the centre of London from the west of London?
| A．Thirty minutes | B．Thirteen minutes |
| C．Twenty minutes | D． Forty minutes |
When travelers to the Great Britain happen to celebrate the holidays with the local people they will learn more about___________.
| A．western culture and customs |
| B．world culture and customs |
| C．eastern culture and customs |
| D．southern culture and customs |
According to the recent survey , only forty percent of children in our school feel happy, Why?
Do you know what “happiness” means? A lot of money? No homework every day? High marks or anything else?
In fact , happiness is always around you put your heart into it. When you are in trouble at school, you r friends will help you; When you study hard at your lessons, your parents are always taking good care of your life and your health; When you get success, your friends will say congratulations to you; When you do something wrong, people around you will help you to collect it; When you do something good to others, you will feel happy ,too. All these are happiness. If you notice a bit of them, you can see that happiness is always around you. All these can’t be bought with money. It’s a feeling of your heart. When you come across difficulties, you can say loudly you are very happy, because you have more chances to challenge yourself.
As the saying goes , lift is a revolving door. When it closes, it also opens. If you take every chance you get, you can be a happy and lucky person.When you fail in the exam, both your teacher and your classmates will ________ to make you happy.
| A．laugh at you | B．play jokes on you | C．help you | D．quarrel with you |
What will your friends say to you when you get high marks?
| A．Good luck! | B．Congratulations | C．Just so-so | D．Is that so? |
In the writer’s opinion ,_________ can make you happy.
| A．no homework | B．high marks | C．peace of mind | D．money |
Which of the following is this passage about?
| A．Life | B．Happiness | C． Good luck | D．Chance |
How many examples are given to show the meanings of happiness?
| A． 5 | B． 7 | C． 4 | D． 6 |
As we know, there are differences between western culture and Chinese culture. We can see differences when we pay attention to the words that are used. Let’s look at the words about describing animals. Most phrases in Chinese about the dog. For example, “ a homeless dog”, “a running dog”, and “ a dog catching a mouse”, have negative meanings.
But in western countries, dogs are considered honest and good friends of humans. In English, people use dogs to describe positive behavior. For example, ”You are lucky dog” means you are a lucky person. And “Every dog has its day” means__________. To describe a person’s serious illness, they say “sick as a dog”. The word “dog-tired” means “ very tired”. The words about animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how certain words are used.The correct Chinese meaning about “ a homeless dog” is “_________”.
| A．猎犬 | B．看门狗 | C．丧家犬 | D．家养犬 |
In English ,people use dogs to describe positive behavior because____________.
| A．they have different culture |
| B．they think dogs are honest and good friends of humans |
| C．they like dogs very much |
| D．dogs are very active |
Which sentence is right to fill in the blank in the passage?
| A．every dog will die one day |
| B．each person has bad luck at times |
| C．each person has good luck at times |
| D．every dog has good luck at times |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．In English people use the dog to describe positive behavior. |
| B．Most phrases in Chinese about the dog have negative meaning. |
| C．We should pay attention to the words about animals that are used. |
| D． “Sick as a dog” is used to describe a healthy person in western countries. |
What ‘s the best title of the passage?
| A．Dogs |
| B．Western Culture |
| C．Chinese Culture |
| D．Different Countries Have Different Culture |
One day , Mr. Jackson took Paul to his favorite restaurant. It was a French restaurant. The waiter was from France, but he didn’t speak to them in French. ”Would you like to see menu?” , he asked in a kind way. ”Yes, please,” Mr. Jackson said.
The waiter gave them a menu each. They studied them. “ You can spend only twenty-five dollars,” Mr. Jackson told his son. The waiter asked Paul,” What would you like, young man?”
“How much is the tomato soup?” Paul asked.
“ Six dollars,” the waiter said.” It’s very good.”
“How much is the duck with orange?” Paul asked next.
“Fifteen dollars,” the waiter said.
“How much is the chocolate ice cream?”
“Six dollars,” the waiter said.
Paul added it up quickly. Six plus fifteen plus six is twenty-seven. He thought he could have the duck and the soup, or the duck and ice cream.” I’ll have the duck and the chocolate ice cream, please,” he said to the waiter.
Paul said to his father, ”My meal will cost only twenty-one dollars. Can I keep the other four dollars? His father laughed.”No, Paul,” he said ,”leave it for the waiter.”How did the waiter speak to Paul and Mr. Jackson?
| A．In a rough way | B．In a friendly way | C．I n French | D．Slowly |
What did Paul have for dinner?
| A．The soup and the duck | B．The duck and the ice cream |
| C．The duck ,the soup and the ice cream | D．The soup and the ice cream |
How much did Paul’s meal cost?
| A．$ 21 | B．$ 24 | C．$ 25 | D．$27 |
What did Mr .Jackson tell Paul to do with the other $4?
| A． Keep it | B． Give it back to him |
| C．Spend it on soothing else | D．Give it to the waiter |
What does this passage tell us?
| A．Paul and his father hate eating in restaurant. |
| B． Mr. Jackson ‘s favorite food is English food. |
| C．Paul was careful not to spend more than $25 in the restaurant. |
| D．Paul didn’t know what to choose from the menu. |
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