In the town of Lampang in northern Thailand， there is an unusual group of musicians． They play many different kinds of music﹣ ﹣from traditional Thai songs to music by Beethoven． Both children and adults love this group． What makes themso popular？ Is it their music？ Their looks？Yes， it's both of these things，but it's also something else： they're elephants．
These musical elephants are from the Thai Elephant Conservation Center （TECC） in Lampang． The TECC protects elephants． It teaches people to understand and care for these huge，but gentle， animals．And， like many zoos around the world， the TECC encourages elephants to paint．
Richard Lair works with the TECC． He knew that elephants hear better than they see．So he had an idea：if elephants are intelligent and they have good hearing， maybe they can play music．To test his idea，Lair and a friend started the Thai Elephant Orchestra． During a performance， the elephants play a variety of instruments， including the drums and the xylophone． The animals also use their voices and trunks to make sounds．
But can elephants really make music properly？ Yes， says Lair． They 're very creative． Humans may encourage the animals to play instruments， but the elephants make their own songs； they don't just copy their trainers or other people． There are now CDs of the group's music， which make money for the TECC． And the music these artists create is pretty amazing．
（1）What can be the best title for the passage？
| A． |
Musical Elephants |
| B． |
An Introduction to the TECC |
| C． |
Richard Lair's Achievements |
（2）What does the underlined word "them" refer to in the passage？
| A． |
Musicians． |
| B． |
Children． |
| C． |
Adults． |
（3）What can be inferred （推断） from the passage？
| A． |
Richard Lair started the Thai Elephant Orchestra by himself． |
| B． |
The elephants in the TECC can only play traditional Thai songs． |
| C． |
The CDs of the Thai Elephant Orchestra are popular with people． |
（4）The writer wrote this passage to ．
| A． |
ask people to save the elephants |
| B． |
invite more people to join the TECC |
| C． |
introduce the elephants' special talents to people |
（5）Where can we most probably read this passage？
| A． |
A medical newspaper． |
| B． |
An animal magazine． |
| C． |
A story book． |
Everybody makes decisions in daily life. They can be as important as what you will do in the future or as simple as what you will eat for breakfast. Any decision could be the turning point of your life.
I made an important decision when I was in Junior 3.
Before I made that decision I wasn’t a good student. I didn’t listen to my parents or teachers, and my grades became poor. Then came the high school entrance exam.
At the turning point of my life, my mom wanted to have a conversation with me. I felt impatient but when I looked at her eyes, I felt I couldn’t refuse. Instead of asking me to study hard, to my surprise, Mom just asked what I wanted to do in the future. Without thinking too much, I just said I would like to study hard.
Mom smiled and asked again: “I asked: what do you WANT to do?”
I had never seriously thought about the question before. So, I kept silent.
“Whether you want to go on studying or enter the society,” she went on, “it is your own decision. It should be made by yourself, not anyone else, including me. ” After saying that, she had tears in her eyes.
For the first time in my life I was asked to make my own decision. I sat in my chair and thought about my life, my future and what kind of person I wanted to become.
It took me what seemed to be ages to make the biggest decision so far in my life—I wanted to be a man who makes a difference in the world. To achieve that, I needed to study hard.
The path to my future became clear to me. I didn’t act rebelliously(叛逆地) any more. With passion (激情) in my heart, I studied hard.
Now, I’m 17 and I’m in one of the best schools in my city, in one of the best classes at the school and I am one of the best students in the class.
Thanks to that decision, I have become what I am today. When did the writer make the important decision?
| A．After he was 17 years old. |
| B．After he was in one of the best classes. |
| C．When he was a pupil. |
| D．When he was studying in Junior 3. |
What was the writer like before the decision?
| A．He didn’t do well in his lessons |
| B．He was a good student. |
| C．He was one of the top students in his class. |
| D．He did what his teachers and his parents asked him to do |
How did the writer make the decision?
| A．It was easy for him to make the decision. |
| B．It was his second time to make the decision. |
| C．He made the decision seriously. |
| D．It was his mother that made the decision for him. |
Why did the writer make the decision?
| A．Because his teacher talked with him patiently. |
| B．Because he didn’t want to act rebelliously any more. |
| C．Because his mother asked him to study hard as usual. |
| D．Because his father asked him to think about his future by himself. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The writer made the decision that he should work hard. |
| B．It took the writer several years to make the decision. |
| C．After hearing his mother’s words, the writer had tears in his eyes. |
| D．At the turning point of his life, the writer wanted to have a conversation with |
Suzy---I’m really good at selling things and communicating with others. I also love helping people. I hope to work for the sales department in a big company. I think I can be a good saleswoman or a manager.
Daniel---I really like making things with my hands. I also enjoy searching for something better or different. I don’t enjoy working in the same place every day, and I hate being in noisy places. I think I’d like to be an artist or a computer engineer.
Billy---I’m good at talking and I really like children. I also want to keep people healthy. I’m patient and I’m willing to work extra hours. I think I can make a good doctor or a teacher.
Maria---I’m really interested in meeting people, and I enjoy wearing different clothes every day. I’m not so good at organizing time and computers. I am going to be a model or a social worker.
Millie---I enjoy helping people, but I can’t stand working at nights or weekends, I think it’s the time for me to relax. I want to be an accountant or a shopkeeper.
Suzy wants to be .
| A．a worker or a teacher |
| B．a nurse or a doctor |
| C．a saleswoman or a manager |
| D．a model or a driver |
Daniel doesn’t enjoy working in .
| A．quiet places |
| B．different places |
| C．noisy places |
| D．the office |
wants to be a teacher or a doctor.
| A．Suzy |
| B．Billy |
| C．Maria |
| D．Millie |
Maria likes .
| A．meeting people |
| B．wearing different clothes |
| C．working at nights and weekends |
| D．both A and B |
What do the underlined words “can’t stand” mean in Chinese?
| A．不能忍受 |
| B．不能站立 |
| C．不能坚持 |
| D．不能代表 |
A girl told her mom everything was going wrong for her, and that she always failed her math exam so that she wouldn’t like to study at all．After hearing the daughter’s words, the nice and patient mother thought of a good way to make her daughter happy．“I will make a delicious cake for you,” said the mom．She walked into the kitchen, and the daughter followed with her．When the mom prepared the cooking utensils (炊具) and ingredients（原料）, the daughter sat against the kitchen door, watching her．Her mom asked her, “My dear, would you like a piece of cake?” The daughter replied, “Sure, Mom! You know how I love cake!” “All right,” the mom said, “drink some of this cooking oil．” The daughter was very surprised and said, “What? No way!!!” “How about some raw (生的) eggs?” asked the mom and the daughter answered, “No way!” “How about some flour (面粉)?” “No, Mom! I will be sick!”
The mother explained, “All of these are uncooked and taste bad, but if you put them together, they will make a delicious cake．Life works the same way．When we ask ourselves why there are so many difficult times, we don’t realize what a success these terrible events will lead us to．Having a great day also means having a great CAKE! Keep the hope and one day your day is A PIECE OF CAKE!”
What does the girl do?
A． A cook．
B． An actress．
C． A student．
The girl saw her mom_________ in the kitchen．
A． do the dishes
B． make a cake
C． have dinner
At first, the mother let the girl___________．
A． eat some flour
B． break some raw eggs
C． drink some cooking oil
The mom thinks that there will be a success at last after _____．
A． someone has difficult times
B． someone enjoys himself
C． someone has a great cake
What do you think of the mom?
A． She is kind of silly．
B． She is nice and patient．
C． She is too strict with her daughter．
We spoke to three students from around the world about different national holidays．There are different customs (习俗) for each festival．
Tan Xiaodong．15．Hong Kong, China
“It’ll be Chinese New Year soon．Before it we’ll clean the house and decorate(装饰) it for good luck．Every shop is going to close for a few days and we’ll go out a lot to celebrate in the streets．We might go and see the lion and dragon dances in the city center．I love this festival．”
Wendy, 16, Sydney, Australia
“Australia Day is on 26th January and it’s an important holiday here．We always have a Monday off, so we celebrate for three days．My parents and I go to the countryside for a picnic and friends always come over．Many people go to beach parties or street parties and there’s lots of music and dancing．What fun!”
Amy, 14, New York, the USA
“The first Thanksgiving Day was hundreds years ago when Europeans who came to America thanked God for his help．It’s still a very important day for families to be together．This year we’re going to visit my parents and we’ll eat a delicious meal of turkey．Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November every year．”
How many festivals are mentioned (提到) in the passage?
A． Two．
B． Three．
C． Four．
During the Chinese New Year, tourists can _________．
A． do a lot of shopping
B． see lion and dragon dances
C． eat turkey
On Australia Day, families often ___________．
A. have a picnic in the countryside
B． go to a swimming pool
C． have a party at school
What do you think a turkey is in the passage?
A．A country
B． A festival
C． A bird
From the passage, we can learn that _____________．
A． the first Thanksgiving Day was born a hundred years ago
B． many go out for a picnic with friends before Chinese New Year
C． different festivals have different customs
My grandfather is eighty years old now．He always complains about how fast things have changed, and he often says that life used to be better．
Families aren’t families they used to be．A lot of families have broken up．If husband and wife have problems with their marriage, they no longer stay together．And mothers used to stay at home and take care of their children, but now not any more．Everyone is busy working．Mother used to spend all day cooking in the kitchen．But now the family don’t eat home-cooked food any more．
And the cars! No one walks any more．More and more people drive．Students used to walk 5 miles to school every day, even in winter．But now students don’t．And in school, children don’t have to think any more．In math class, for example, they used to add, subtract, multiply and divide(加减乘除)in their heads．Instead, they use calculators(计算器)．
And people today have TV and computers, and they don’t talk to each other any more．They are too busy to talk, too busy to eat, too busy to think…．
Life used to be simple, but it isn’t any more．What does my grandfather think of the life now?
A． He thinks the life is the same as it used to be．
B． He thinks the life now is worse than it used to be．
C． He thinks the life now is better than it used to be．What does the underlined word “marriage” mean in Chinese?
A． 生活
B． 工作
C． 婚姻What has happened these years according to the passage?
A． Children don’t have to think any more in school．
B． Students use calculators in math class．
C． Both of them．What changes have happened to some families?
A． People have TV．
B． People like to eat home-cooked food．
C． Lots of families have computers．
D． Lots of couples(夫妇)live apart because of unhappy problems．
A． a, b, d
B． b, c, d
C． a, c , d Which is TRUE according to the passage?
A． Life now is much simpler．
B． People are too busy to talk with each other now．
C． Lots of mothers stay at home and look after their children．
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