You may know the song Happy Birthday very well. But do you know about its writer? It was written by an American girl. And she became very rich after that.
When she was a child, she was poor. Once, she was invited to her friend’s birthday party. She was pleased but sad because she didn’t have enough money to buy a gift for her.
“The party is coming soon, but now I have little money.” Tears ran down her face.
Later that night she was in bed, thinking about the gift when the door opened and her grandma came in.“ What happened? ” her grandma asked. Hearing the girl’s story, she said, “Don’t worry. I think I can help you. How about singing a song together? Happy birthday to …”What a beautiful song! They sang and sang. Suddenly she woke up. It was a dream! She decided to write it down at once and sing it to her friends at the party.
When she sang the song at the party the next day, her friends were very happy. “How wonderfully you sing! We haven’t heard such a beautiful song before. Thank you for giving me the special gift.” said her friend. And they learnt to sing it together. Later the girl became well-known in America.
The song Happy Birthday was written by .
| A．an American girl | B．an American girl’s grandma |
| C．an American boy | D．an American girl’s friend |
The girl was sad because .
| A．she didn’t want to go to the party. |
| B．she would be busy that day. |
| C．she didn’t have enough money to buy a gift. |
| D．she wasn’t invited to the party. |
What gift did she give her friend?
| A．A flower. | B．A toy. |
| C．An interesting book. | D．A song. |
What did her friends think of the song? It was .
| A．boring | B．beautiful |
| C．exciting | D．interesting |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The girl was still poor after writing the song . |
| B．The girl sang the song with her grandpa in her dream. |
| C．The girl’s friends had heard the song before. |
| D．The girl became famous because of the song. |
Do you know that a fast reader can get the ideas better than a slow reader can? Of course, you save time by reading fast, but this is not the main reason for fast reading. The main reason is that you understand better what you are reading when you read fast.
As your eyes move along the line of point, they make fixations (固定) or pauses (暂停). It is important that you see several words at a fixation. It is also important that your eyes leave a group. The numbers of letters or words that you see at a fixation are called your eye span (视跨). Pay more attention to improving your rate of reading. With practice you can learn to read faster than you usually read.
The way in which you read always depends on (取决于) what you are reading and for what purpose. You should know the different ways of reading so that you can apply whatever method is necessary. Here are four ways of reading:
(1) Skimming is an important kind of reading. This method can be used when you wish to review something that you have forgotten. You can skim to get the main points.
(2) Rapid (快速) first reading and then rereading certain parts carefully is important. You may use this type of reading to study a science lesson or a history lesson.
(3) You need to do careful reading and rereading sometimes. This type of reading is necessary for making an intensive (细致的) study of your school subjects, solving maths problems or reading directions.
(4) Rapid reading is used when reading stories for enjoyment. You may also do rapid reading when reviewing materials that you already know well.The main reason for reading fast is that you can ________.
| A．get the ideas | B．save time |
| C．understand better | D．learn well |
The way of reading always depends on ________.
| A．the method that you like | B．your reading material |
| C．your reading purpose | D．both B and C |
The word “skimming ” means “________”.
| A．reading the main points |
| B．reading carefully |
| C．reading very fast |
| D．reading some parts of the material |
Careful reading is an important kind of reading ________.
| A．when you review a lesson that you already know well |
| B．when you read the directions |
| C．when you read a story of enjoyment |
| D．when you study a history lesson |
What do you think of black cats? Are they unluckier than cats of other colors? Many people in Western countries think so. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), did a study on cat colours and people’s understandings of cat personalities.
The study found that people do judge(判断) cat personalities by color. Scientists did a survey on the Internet. There were 49 statements (描述) matching five cat colorings with 10 personalities. People think orange and bi-coloured (双色的) cats are friendly, tri-coloured (三色的) cats are not generous, and white cats are calm, lazy and shy. As for black cats, people think they don’t have special personalities.
But why do so many people dislike keeping black cats as pets? People think black cats have less special personalities, which might be because of their bad reputation (口碑). They think black cats may bring bad luck, especially at Halloween. Movies and television shows also make people believe that.
Although people have these ideas, UC Berkeley scientists give another reason: people don’t think black cats are pretty enough. After all, nothing can show black cats are unluckier than other cats. “You can’t judge a cat by its colour, because it’s the personality of the cat, not the colour, that will let you know if the cat is right for you,” Cathy Marden, a scientist said.
Many people in Western countries may think black cats are .
| A．lovely animals | B．a sign of bad luck |
| C．a sign of good luck | D．unfriendly animals |
The main idea of paragraph 2 is that .
| A．people often complain about black cats on the Internet |
| B．people think cats of different colours have different personalities |
| C．black cats are less popular than other cats |
| D．the study is a great success |
According to the study, people think that .
| A．black cats have special personalities |
| B．orange and bi-coloured cats are generous |
| C．cats with three colours are friendly |
| D．white cats are calm, lazy and shy |
People don’t like black cats for the following reasons EXCEPT .
| A．black cats often appear in TV shows |
| B．black cats bring bad luck to people |
| C．black cats have bad reputations |
| D．they don’t think black cats are beautiful |
When shopping in a store, I met a boy. When I saw him waving his hands excitedly in the air and shouting in a loud voice, "Mommy, I'm here.", I knew he was mentally troubled.
I asked his name and he said proudly, "My name is Denny and I'm shopping with mother."
"Wow," I said, "that's a cool name. How old are you, Denny?"
"How old am I now, Mommy?" he asked his mother.
"You're fifteen years old, Denny; now be a good boy and let the man pass by."
I continued to talk to Denny for several more minutes about summer, bicycles and school. I watched his brown eyes dance with excitement because he was the centre of someone's attention.
Denny's mom thanked me for talking with her son. She told me that most people wouldn't even look at him, not to speak of talking to him. I told her that it was my pleasure and then I said, "There are plenty of red, yellow and pink roses in the garden, however, 'Blue Roses' are very rare and should be enjoyed for their beauty and distinctiveness. Denny is a 'Blue Rose' and if someone doesn't stop and smell that rose with their heart and kindness, then they've missed a chance to enjoy the beauty."
She was silent for a second, and then went away with tears in her eyes.What was wrong with the boy?
| A．He lost his way. |
| B．There was something wrong with his mind. |
| C．He didn't know his name and age. |
| D．He couldn't find his mother. |
What does the underlined word "distinctiveness" mean in Chinese?
| A．独立性 | B．一致性 | C．重要性 | D．独特性 |
What can we learn from the underlined sentence?
| A．He was so excited that his eyes could dance. |
| B．He was excited because his eyes caught someone's attention. |
| C．He was excited because someone was talking with him. |
| D．He was excited because someone paid attention to his eyes. |
What do you think of the writer?
| A．Kind. | B．Brave. | C．Clever. | D．Honest. |
My Year Abroad
This month in Travelers Corner there are three teenagers’ experiences in year-abroad programmes.
Mariko Okada – Tokyo
My year abroad in the United States was a fantastic experience. I’m not a shy person, and I was very comfortable speaking to everyone. So I got lots of speaking practice. I also learned lots of interesting things about American culture. When I got home, my friends all said that I had improved so much! I hope to go back again in the future.
Carla Fonseca – Rio de Janeiro
I spent last year studying English in London. I’m from a small town, and London is a very big city. Sometimes I felt it was too big. There were so many people to talk to, but I always felt bad about my English. I missed my family, and I really missed my two cats. My roommate was always using our telephone, so I hardly had the chance for a nice long talk with my parents. I think it was a good experience for me, but I’m glad to be home!
Alvin Chen – Hong Kong
Studying in New Zealand was an interesting experience for me, but it was also lots of hard work! I had English classes six hours a day, five days a week——with lots of homework. I also kept a diary of my experience. I like to write, and I wrote two or three pages in my diary every day. On Saturdays, my home stay family took me to lots of interesting places and showed me so many wonderful things about the culture. I’m really glad I went!
All the three teenagers went abroad .
| A．to study English | B．to visit friends |
| C．to have a holiday | D．to find a job |
Who didn’t really enjoy the stay in a foreign country very much?
| A．Mariko. | B．Carla. | C．Alvin. | D．None of them. |
Travelers Corner is most probably .
| A．a sports club newsletter | B．a science documentary |
| C．a travel magazine | D．a news website |
阅读与回答问题
Sixteen is a special age in the United States. There’s often a special celebration for a girl’s 16th birthday---a big party called Sweet-16. It is like a wedding reception(结婚晚宴) in the number of guests and gifts handed out.
About a month before the party, the girl’s family sends out invitations to the guests. They must buy a special present for the birthday girl and the girl guests find good dresses to wear. A sweet-16 present usually costs $40 to $60. This is about $20 more than the usual-cost of a birthday present.
The party itself is not held at someone’s house. The hostess rents(租赁) a reception hall for the event. Food, cake and a DJ are provided. Around 6’clock, guests arrive and meet the birthday girl. Then the girl and her father have a special father-daughter dance. After that, guests dance for about 30 to 45 minutes.
Then there is the most important part of the Sweet-16 party, the candle-lighting ceremony.
The sweet-16 hostess stands behind 16 unlit(未点燃的) candles and dedicates(献给) each candle to her friends, family, and anything that she feels is important to her. A lot of crying and hugging goes on at this time.
Afterwards, people sit and eat. Most guests begin leaving around 11 o’clock.
This school year, I have been to two Sweet-16s. I am one of the youngest students in my grade (My birthday is in December). I’ll have to wait another year before I can have my own special Sweet-16 party. I can’t wait for it!
Why is sixteen a special age for an American girl?
How much does a usual birthday present for a teenager cost in the USA?
What is the most important part of the Sweet-16 party?
How old is the writer?
What do you think of the Sweet-16 party in the USA? (请自拟一句话作答)
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