Once my mother told me a story． In Africa， when an antelope （羚羊） wakes up every morning， the first thing it thinks about is， "I must be able to run faster than the fastest lion， or I will be killed．"（1） the first thing the lion thinks about is，"I must be able to catch the slowest antelope， or I will starve to death．" So， almost at the same time， they get up and start running toward the rising sun．
This is life： full of chances and challenges．（2） For students， it is just the same． If we do not study hard， sooner or later， we will fall behind the other students． At first， I did not know what the word "exam" meant． Later， I knew an exam was a kind of competition． In competitions， there are always winners and losers． As I grew up，I got to know competition well．（3） ．
Each time I saw children playing games，and heard their laughter，I wished I were that age again．（4） So I picked up my pen and began to study hard again．
I was still not sure what competition really meant． One day， I was taking part in an English﹣speaking competition． When I went to the stage， I saw other students looking at me kindly．（5） It is not as cruel as my teacher and parents told me． In fact， competition is the opposite： it is kind and necessary．
A． When a lion wakes from his dream B． I suddenly knew what competition was C． There must be competitions in one' s life， so people can improve D． However， I remembered my parents' words， "You must work very hard in order to have a good future．" E． Whether you are an antelope or a lion， you must go ahead when the sun rises |
Hi! My name is Robert and I live in Chicago. My school is called Parkside Elementary. It is Jake and Elizabeth's school too. Michael and Trevor's school is called Lincoln Middle School. In the USA many students go to elementary school between the ages of 5-10, then middle school between the ages of 11-13, and then a four year high school, and last but not least, many people go to college or vocational school. Our elementary school starts at 8:30 am and ends at 3:20 pm. We go to school on Monday through Fridays and have the weekends off.
Some of the favorite sports here in America are basketball, baseball, football, soccer, hockey, and more. But, my favorite sport is football. My favorite player in the NFL (National Football League) is Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears ( the Bears are my favorite team too).
Americans wear jeans, a shirt, socks, shoes, and sometimes a hat. I usually wear a baseball hat, my favorite pants, and my favorite shirt. My pants have 4 pockets on it, and my shirt has red and black stripes on it.
There is no common agreement in the west about the best method of education. Many views can be found among parents, teachers, and students.Students in elementary school stay at school for about ________days.
| A．four | B．five | C．six | D．seven |
The writer’s favorite sport is __________.
| A．basketball | B．baseball | C．hockey | D．football |
The third passage mainly tells us __________.
| A．the writer’s favorite sports | B．the writer’s favorite food |
| C．the writer’s favorite clothes | D．the writer’s favorite color |
“views”in the last passage means _________ in Chinese.
| A．视野 | B．风景 | C．见解 | D．检查 |
Have you ever wondered?
1. Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?
It can take five hours to go west-east from New York (NY) to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY. The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon known as the jet (喷射) stream. The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic. The planes moving at a constant air speed thus go faster in the west-east direction when they are moving with the wind than in the opposite direction.
2. What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?
Supposing we could magically turn off gravity. Would buildings and other structures (建筑物) float away? What happened would depend on how strongly the things were attached to the Earth. The Earth is moving at quite a speed, moving at over a thousand miles per hour. If you turn something around your head on a string (细绳), it goes around in a circle until you let go of the string. Then it flies off in a straight line. ‘Switching off’ gravity would be like letting go of the string. Things not attached to the Earth would fly off in a straight line. People in buildings would suddenly shoot upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling. Most things outside would fly off into space. What information can we get from the first passage?
| A．It is the jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly. |
| B．Planes go slower when they are moving with the wind. |
| C．It takes more time to fly from NY to London than from London to NY. |
| D．The jet stream always blows from the east to the west across the Atlantic. |
The word “shoot” underlined in the 2nd passage probably means “__________”.
| A．send for | B．move quickly |
| C．come out | D．grow quickly |
It can be inferred that without gravity __________.
| A．buildings and other structures would float away |
| B．trees and buildings would not so easily fly off |
| C．something around your head would not float away |
| D．everything outside buildings would fly off into space |
Which of the following statements is not mentioned in the passage?
| A．It takes seven hours to travel from London to New York. |
| B．The earth is moving at a high speed |
| C．Everything on the earth will float away if there’s no gravity. |
| D．Everything not attached to the earth would fly off in a straight line. |
Where can we most probably read this text?
| A．In a research paper. |
| B．In a short story. |
| C．In a travel magazine. |
| D．In a student’s book. |
In recent years advances in medical technology have made it possible for people to live longer than in the past. New medicines and instruments are being developed every day to extend（延长）life. However，some people，including some doctors， are not in favour of these life extending measures，and they argue that people should have the right to die when they want. They say that the quality of life is as important as life itself，and that people should not be forced to go on living when conditions of life have become unbearable（不能忍受的. They say that people should be allowed to die with dignity（尊严） and to decide when they want to die. Others argue that life under any conditions is better. In recent years, people can live longer than in the past,It’s because of_________.
| A．the development of medical technology |
| B．big hospitals |
| C．good doctors |
| D．both B and C |
According to some people， whether a dying patient has the right to die or not is up to_________.
| A．the doctors | B．the surroundings（环境） |
| C．his or her family | D．the patient himself or herself |
The writer’s opinion is_________.
| A．death is better than life |
| B．life is better than death |
| C．neither death nor life is good |
| D．none of the above |
Why do some patients want to die? Because_______.
| A．the doctors are not good |
| B．the conditions are bad |
| C．life is too hard |
| D．they are seriouly ill |
Some teenagers think that newspapers are boring and only for adults. But that’s not true. There are many interesting stories in the paper. You just need to make clear what you are looking at. “I spend about half an hour reading newspapers every day,” said 15-year-old Gao Ming from Beijing. “I’m interested in things happening at school. ” School news is just one kind of news story in newspapers. There’s also world news: from international problems to pop stars.
Read the newspaper carefully, we’ll find different types of articles on the pages:
News stories — these stories are about events. Reporters try to show all points of a story to help readers understand what happened. Reporters try to speak to as many people as possible. They also use pictures and numbers to show the readers that the stories are true. The newspaper Teenagers has lots of news stories on the news page and front page. When we read them, we learn more about the facts, not the writers’ ideas.
Opinion writing — opinion writing is usually about something happening right now. But it isn’t just facts. Here writers add their own opinions to the news. Writers pick only the facts that help back up their ideas. They make readers believe that they are telling the truth. This is usually the kind of story that gets people thinking. Go to “Speak Out” on Page Two for an example of opinion writing in Teenagers.
Advertisement — Don’t get happy too early when you read them. Those sweet words and lovely pictures are just ways to get us interested in their products! People have to pay to put advertisements in newspapers!The underlined sentence means that the readers ___________.
| A．should understand interesting news stories |
| B．ought to know which kind of things to read |
| C．need to look at the school news first |
| D．must know the contents of all the news |
In the writer’s opinion, we’d better be ___________ advertisements in newspapers.
| A．interested in | B．against | C．worried about | D．careful of |
This passage mainly discusses how___________.
| A．reporters write different kinds of news |
| B．teenagers get interested in newspapers |
| C．readers can read newspapers in better ways |
| D．readers can’t read different news in newspapers |
A sign is another kind of language. Here are some of them that you see on the roads.
Number One is a sign with the number thirty on it. When drivers see this sign, they must not go at more than thirty kilometers an hour. We see this sign when we are getting near a town. Number Two is a sign that we’re near a crossing. We must drive carefully. Number Three is a sign that there is a bend (拐弯) in the road. Again, we must drive slowly and carefully. It is not safe to go around a bend very fast. Number Four is a sign that there is another road coming in from the right. There is a junction (交叉) at this place. Number Five is a sign that there is a hill and Number Six is a sign that the road gets narrow. Drivers must go slowly and carefully. Number Seven has the word “SCHOOL” on it. This is a sign that there is a school at the side of the street or the road. Perhaps there are children going to or leaving school. So drivers must look carefully and go slowly. Number Eight is a sign with the letter “P” on it. The letter “P” means “Parking”. At some places, there are the signs “No parking” or “No waiting”. If a driver leaves his car near one of these signs, a policeman may come and write down the number of his car. At the places where you see Sign 1, ____________. .
| A．you are already out of a town |
| B．you still have thirty kilometers to go |
| C．there must be many houses and building not far away |
| D．there must be a town thirty kilometers away |
A driver can leave his car ___________.
| A．near a sign with “P” on it in the daytime |
| B．near a sign with “No parking” on it |
| C．near a sign with “No waiting” if there’re no policemen there |
| D．near Sign 8 at any time |
People put these signs on the roads to ____________.
| A．make driving even safer | B．show drivers the way |
| C．stop cars going too fast | D．learn another kind of language |
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