The year my dad turned 80, my brother and I decided to throw a surprise party for him. The night before, I stayed over at Dad’s house. He was expecting the party, but looked ______. I knew why. One person couldn’t be at the party—Mom. She had______a few years before, and we all missed her so much. God, I prayed, please let Dad feel a little better ______ because of our company.
Mom and Dad were ______ for each other. He loved her so much; he ______ to save enough money for a______before they got married. But it wasn’t ______their 40th wedding anniversary(纪念日) that Dad finally could______to buy a diamond ring. Mom wore it so____for so many years until the day she________it.
That day she was making jellies(果胶) and didn’t want her ring to get______. She removed the ring and ______ it on the windows. When she had finished, she looked for it everywhere but couldn’t find it. At last Mom cried, ____Dad said the ring wasn’t important and the____they had for each other was the most important.
Before going to the ______I looked around for something to clean my shoes, and found an old cloth bag. Dad saw it. “I meant to throw that old thing_______a week ago,” he said. I held it in my hand and______there’s something there. I reached in. “Dad, look!” I shouted,______my find —Mom’s ring.
Dad was very______and he took the ring and held it tight (紧紧地). It shone all through the party. “Mom’s here ______ us,” he said.
1.A. sad B. bored C. embarrassed D. nervous
2.A. got away B. passed away C. went away D. ran away
3.A. at most B. at last C. at first D. at least
4.A. perfect B. thankful C. ready D. famous
5.A. tried B. managed C. agreed D. refused
6.A. gift B. flower C. ring D. car
7.A. before B. after C. until D. when
8.A. afford B. want C. try D. remember
9.A. rarely B. proudly C. awfully D. lively
10.A. sold B. broke C. hid D. lost
11.A. colorful B. wet C. dirty D. terrible
12.A. replaced B. placed C. sent D. set
13.A. if B. or C. so D. but
14.A. love B. money C. children D. house
15.A. church B. party C. cinema D. square
16.A. on B. away C. over D. up
17.A. saw B. imagined C. observed D. felt
18.A. bringing up B. giving up C. holding up D. splitting up
19.A. frightened B. relaxed C. delighted D. interested
20.A. from B. to C. over D. with
Would you know what to do if a fire started in your home? Take the time now to review the following safety tips, and your family will be prepared in time of a fire in your home:
1.
An escape plan can help every member of a family get out of a burning house. The idea is to get outside quickly and safely. 2. So it is important to learn and remember the different ways out of your home.
Stay low
If you can see smoke in the house, stay low to the ground as you make your way to the exit. 3. You will breathe less smoke if you stay to the ground. Smoke naturally rises, so if there is smoke while you are using your escape route，staying low means you can crawl (爬) under most of it.
What if you can’t get out right away?
If you can’t get out fast because fire or smoke is stopping an escape route, you will want to yell for help. You can do this from an open window or call 911 if you have a phone with you. 4. Then, firefighters will have a hard time finding you. The sooner they find you, the sooner you both can get out.
If your clothes catch fire, what should you do?
Your clothes could catch fire during a fire or by accident if you step too close to a candle. If this happens, don’t run! Instead, stop, drop to the ground, cover your face with your hands, and roll. This will cut off the air and put out the flames. 5.
A. An easy way to remember this is: Stop, Drop, and Roll!
B. Smoke from a fire can make it hard to see where things are.
C. Preventing fires is in the first place!
D. Know your way out
E. They will help prepare you for what you need to do in case of a fire.
F. Even if you are scared, never hide under the bed or in a closet.
G. In a fire, smoke and poisonous (有毒的) air hurt more people, than the actual flames (火焰) do.
Stay-at-home kids are named “generation nini” in Spain. They are those adults who still live at home and are neither working nor studying. But the problem is not limited to Spain. It is a worldwide problem.
In Italy, they are known as “bamboccioni” or big babies. There nearly 60 percent of 18-34-year-old adults still live in their parents’ home, up from almost 50 percent since 1983. Once kept there by the love for their mama’s home-cooked food, the economic crisis（经济危机）has seen a rise in adults left unable to hold down a steady job or afford a home of their own. Last year, an Italian government minister admitted that his mother washed his clothes and made the bed for him until he was 30. He demanded a law forcing young Italians to leave their parents’ home at 18 to stop them becoming hopelessly dependent on their parents.
In the UK, the government has made the term NEETS---not in employment, education or training for these children. In England alone the percent of NEETS aged 19-24 surged to 18.8 percent of the age group-in the last quarter of 2010, up 1.4 percent on the same period a year before. The number of British men in their 20s living with their parents has risen from 59 percent to 80 percent in the past 15 years, while the number of women has risen from 41percent to 50 percent. The average age of the first-time house buyers is now 38.
In the US, the problem is known as the “full nest syndrome（综合症）”. Adults there are left struggling to support adult children who have stayed at home with student debts and facing few job opportunities in a weak economy. A recent study showed almost a third of American adults aged 34 and under are living with their parents
1.“Big babies” mentioned in Paragraph 2 refers to those adults who ______.
A. are poorly educated B. are not as smart as others
C. lose their job in the bad economy D. depend on their parents for a living
2.The Italian government minister thinks that ______.
A. parents should make their children feel hopeless
B. young people should live on their own after18
C. parents should never make the bed for their children
D. it is OK for adult children to live with their parents
3.The underlined word “surged” in paragraph 3 can be replaced by ______.
A. jumped B. reduced
C. recovered D. moved
4.What does the last paragraph tell us? ______
A. Some American adult children are causing trouble for their parents
B. American parents are happy to live with their children
C. America has the most adult children compared with other countries
D. It is a tradition for adult children to live with their parents in America
A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test.
“You are employed,” he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start.”
The man replied, “But I don’t have a computer, neither an e-mail.”
“I’m sorry,” said the HR manager. “If you don’t have an e-mail, that means you do not exist. And a person who doesn’t exist cannot have the job.”
The man left with no hope at all. With only ten dollars in his pocket, he decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10kg tomatoes. He then sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home happily with 60 dollars.
The man realized that he could survive in this way, and started to go every day early, and return late. Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day. Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own delivery vehicles. Five years later, the man was one of the biggest food retailers (零售商人) in the US.
He started to plan his family’s future and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker (经纪人) and chose a protection plan.
When the conversation ended, the broker asked him his e-mail. The man replied, “I don’t have an e-mail.”
The broker answered surprisingly, ‘‘You don’t have an e-mail, and yet have succeeded to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”
1.Why couldn’t the man have the job at Microsoft?
A. Because he was lazy. B. Because he didn’t pass the test.
C. Because he didn’t have an e-mail. D. Because he didn’t have a computer.
2.The underlined word “capital” can be replaced by
A. tomato B. money
C. time D. operation
3.What can we learn about the man?
A. He is one of the biggest food retailers in the world.
B. He started his career by selling tomatoes in the supermarket.
C. He didn’t give up though he failed the interview.
D. He didn’t want to accept the job at Microsoft.
4.Which proverb can best describe the story?
A. Misfortune may be an actual blessing. B. Where there is a will, there is a way.
C. Accidents will happen. D. No pains, no gains.
A 9-year-old boy n Indiana stopped a would-be carjacker(劫车贼)on Christmas Day from running away with his father’s truck.
Kevin Cooksey was inside the One Stop Express gas station in Kokomo buying medicine for his wife when a man jumped into the driver’s seat of his truck. Cooksey had left the engine running and the door unlocked.
“When I saw my truck door open, I was like, ‘Oh my God, what am I going to tell my wife?’” Cooksey said.
His son, Larry, was sitting in the back seat. “As soon as he opened the door, I got frightened,” said Larry. “So I pulled out the gun and pointed it to his head.”
This was enough to make the carjacker think twice and he jumped out of the truck to try another car. Parked beside Cooksey’s truck was Kyle Sparling’s black Trailblazer. He too had left the engine running as he went into the store. The man got in Sparling’s SUV and took off.
“I didn’t know what to think, I just kind of ran outside and watched him,” said Sparling.
As the man sped off, Cooksey told Sparling to get into his truck and the two men began to run after him. The icy winter conditions made the driving difficult, but the pair followed at a safe distance as the carjacker drove in a “Z” way. After a few miles, the carjacker knocked into the sign of a local business, American Tool and Party Rental. Cooksey and Sparling called police to the place.
The police put 32-year-old Ollie Dunn into prison. Sparling’s car was damaged in the wheel, and the windscreen got cracked after the sign fell on it. “I was just glad he didn’t knock into anybody,” Sparling said. “That was my biggest fear, I think.”
1.How did Larry stop the carjacker?
A. He hit him with a gun B. He begged him to stop
C. He cried for others’ help D. He frightened him away with a gun
2.Why could the carjacker easily drive away the SUV?
A. The carjacker broke into it
B. It was parked in the wrong place
C. Nobody was in but the engine was on
D. The driver went to buy medicine for his wife
3.What ended the carjacker’s escape?
A. The police stopped him
B. His driving ability was very poor
C. The SUV got damaged in an accident
D. Cookesey and Sparling caught up with him
4.What does the underlined word “That” in the last paragraph refer to?
A. Spraling’s car was stolen B. Sparling’s car was damaged
C. The carjacker might run away D. The carjacker might hurt somebody
If you move to a new school, you’ll have to worry whether or not you’ll make friends. Here are some simple suggestions which help you make new friends a lot easier.
Try speaking to the people next to you in class. As they’re close by, it makes sense to communicate with them first.
Have courage to speak to everyone in your class. You will probably stay with that class through your years at the new school, so it helps if you get on with them.
If you don’t have many friends in your class, try and make new friends in your subject lessons. You can also talk with them at lunchtime and after school.
Join a lunchtime or after-school club. You’ll get to meet kids of all years that way.
Ask your teacher to pair you with another pupil.
Use your celebrity status! Since you’re the new person, you’ll have gained celebrity status, which you can use for a couple of weeks. Talk to people, remember to smile and always be open and friendly. Listen carefully to what others have to say so as to make them feel important.
As you grow older, it’s natural to make new friends and sometimes that means you grow apart from your old friends. So try and make time for all your friends. Why not introduce your different sets of friends so you can all go to the cinema or bowling together?
But what if a friendship group is pushing you out? If this is happening to you, try and ask someone you’re friendly with what is happening. If the whole group is leaving you out, try to find new people to spend time with at lunchtime.
1.According to the passage, moving to a new school is _______.
A. interesting B. exciting
C. worrying D. boring
2.According to the author, what should we do when we move to a new school?
A. Sit close to friendly classmates.
B. Try to study well to gain others’ trust.
C. Try our best to help our new classmates.
D. Take possible chances to communicate with others.
3.To make our classmates feel that they are important to us, we should ______.
A. listen to them carefully B. be friendly and open to them
C. smile while talking with them D. make use of our celebrity status
