John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas City in 1918. His father died in an accident when John was six. He was reaching high school age, but his hometown offered no high school for blacks.
Fortunately he had a strong-willed, caring mother. John remembers that his mother told him many times, “Son, you can be anything you really want to be if you just believe.” She told him not to be dependent on others, including his mother. “You have to earn success,” said she. “All the people who work hard don’t succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard.”
These words came from a woman less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don’t mean everything. So she worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough to take her son — then 15 — to Chicago.
Chicago in 1933 was not the promised land that black southerners were looking for, John’s mother and stepfather could not find work. But there John could go to school, and there he learned the power of words — as editor of the newspaper and yearbook of Du Stable High School. His wish was to publish a magazine for blacks.
While others discouraged him, John’s mother offered him more words to live by: “Nothing beats a failure but a try.” She also let him pawn (典当) her furniture to get the $500 he needed to start the Negro magazine.
It is natural the difficulties and failures followed John closely until he became very successful. He always keeps his mother’s words in mind. “Son, failure is not in your vocabulary.”
Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America — worth $150 million.
1.Why did John’s mother decide to move to Chicago? Because ________.
A.John’s father died in his hometown when he was very young
B.life was too hard for them to stay on in their hometown, while life in Chicago would be better for blacks
C.there were no schools for blacks in their hometown
D.John needed more education and he could go to school there
2.Which of the following is TRUE?
A.Chicago was the promised land for black southerners in 1933.
B.John’s mother worked hard as a cook to make their life better.
C.With the help of his mother, John got the money to start the Negro magazine.
D.Now John is the richest man in America.
3.What kind of woman was John’s mother? She was a ________.
A.strong woman with much knowledge
B.woman who would do anything for her son
C.woman with little school education but knew a lot about life
D.loving mother with different kinds of experience in life
4.The underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph means ________.
A.if you try, you will succeed in the end
B.a failure is difficult to beat, even if you try
C.a try is always followed by a failure
D.nothing but a try can help you out of failure
5.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A.How John H. Johnson became somebody.
B.The mental support John’s mother gave him.
C.The importance of a good education.
D.The key to success for blacks.
One day when some government officials were rebuilding a barn (谷仓), they found a mouse hole in a corner and used smoke to force the mice inside the hole to come out. A while later they really saw mice running out, one after another. Then, everyone thought that all the mice had escaped. But just as they began to clean up, they saw two mice squeezing (挤) out at the mouth of the hole. With some efforts, the mice finally got out. However, it was strange that after they came out of the hole, they did not run away immediately. Instead, one chased after the other near the mouth of the hole. It seemed that one was trying to bite the tail of the other.
Everyone was puzzled, so they stepped nearer to take a look. They realized that one of the mice was blind and could not see anything, and the other was trying to allow the blind mouse to bite on his tail so that he could pull the blind one with him to escape.
After seeing what happened, everyone was speechless and lost in thought. During the meal time, the group of people sat down in a circle and started to talk about what happened to the two mice.
One serious American official said, “I think the relationship between those two mice was that of king and guard.” The others thought for a while and said, “That was why!”
A clever French said, “I think the relationship between those two mice was that of husband and wife.” Again the others thought for a while, and all felt it made sense.
A Japanese said, “I think the relationship between those two mice was that of mother and son.” Once again the others thought for a while, and felt this was more reasonable. So they expressed agreement another time.
At that moment, one Chinese asked, “Why did those two mice have to have a certain relationship?”
Suddenly, the group looked back at the Chinese and remained speechless. The American official, the French and the Japanese who had spoken earlier all lowered their heads in shame, and did not dare to answer.
In fact, true love is not built on friendship, loyalty or blood relationship. Instead, it is built on no relationship.
1.Neither of the two mice ran away immediately because ________.
A.one was biting the other
B.the mouth of the hole was too small
C.they were not afraid of smoke
D.one was trying to help the blind one
2.Why did they lower their heads in shame according to the passage?
A.They did not dare to answer.
B.They had mistaken the relationship of the mice.
C.They regretted driving a poor blind mouse away.
D.They did not express themselves much better.
3.It is clear that ________.
A.all the mice came out of the hole easily
B.each of the people understood the relationship differently
C.the people wanted to kill the mice with smoke
D.the people knew one of the mice was blind at first sight
4.The underlined sentence “it made sense” probably means ________.
A.it was correct B.it was strange
C.it was funny D.it was sweet
5.The best title for the passage is ________.
A.Two Lovely Mice B.Help Produces Love
C.Friends In Need D.Love Is All
There are forests, lakes and sea around Stockholm (斯德哥尔摩). So it has the feeling of a small town. To the east, many boats pass by every day. To the west, visitors can do many kinds of water sports. Stockholm’s people are proud of their city. Their city’s blue waters are so clear. People can go swimming and fishing in the center of the city. Few cities can have places like these.
Water is very important in Stockholm in many ways. Visitors can enjoy visiting the beautiful city by boat. The boats can pass by many of Stockholm’s beautiful bridges and palaces. One of the most famous trips is named “Under the Bridges of Stockholm”.
After a boat trip of the city, the next step should be a trip to some of the 24,000 islands in Stockholm. Some of the islands are just rocks; others are green with forests. Many have people to live in. Everyone is welcome to fish, swim and go on a trip.
Every August, the city celebrates for the Stockholm Water Festival. The festival sports and other activities go on 24 hours a day swimming, music, art and dancing. In the evening, we can watch beautiful fireworks (焰火) in the sky. The King gives the Stockholm Water Prize to the person who does the most work in water.
1.Why are people in Stockholm proud of their city?
A.Because waters in their city are very clear.
B.Because forests are around their city.
C.Because the city is not very big.
D.Because it is a very old city.
2.What does the underlined word “waters” mean in the passage?
A.水 B.海水
C.湖水 D.水域
3.From the passage we know that ________.
A.bridges in Stockholm are very old
B.water is important to Stockholm
C.visitors can swim or fish far from the city
D.visitors can visit beautiful palaces on foot
4.Many ________ are on the islands of Stockholm
A.animals B.garden worker
C.birds D.rocks and forests
5.Which of the following is NOT true?
A.The Stockholm Water Festival is held in August every year.
B.The festival sports go on 24 hours a day.
C.Visitors can watch beautiful flowers in the evening
D.The King gives the Stockholm Water Prize in the Water Festival.
One day a factory owner entered a foreign supermarket, when a lady gave a warm smile and welcomed him. He was very touched, felt _________, and was not able to forget the warmth in her smile. He was _________ her as he was shopping; she was giving the _________ smile to all the customers who _________ into the supermarket.
The factory owner started _________ if she was ever fed up with doing the same _________ again and again, so he walked up to _________ and asked, “My dear lady, are you _________ of doing this job, and how long have you been doing this?”
The lady _________ and said, “No, sir, I have worked here for the last 10 years and I __________ my job.” The factory owner was __________ and asked, “Why have you stayed here for ten years, and why do you like your __________?” The lady smiled again and said, “Sir, because I am __________ my country.” The factory owner found this __________. He said, “You are serving your__________ by smiling?”
The lady said, “Yes, sir. As most of our customers are __________, they spend foreign currency here. So our country has a lot of money and becomes __________. People like you who are happy with our services will visit __________ often and spend money in our country.”
Amazed at her attitude, the factory owner __________ her and went back to his own country. He worked hard to show the same attitude __________ his workers, and today his company is one of the best companies in the world.
1.A.sad B.terrible C.happy D.nervous
2.A.watching B.missing C.greeting D.seeing
3.A.different B.same C.small D.large
4.A.ran B.entered C.arrived D.walked
5.A.guessing B.asking C.wondering D.imagining
6.A.work B.job C.thing D.smile
7.A.her B.it C.me D.him
8.A.fond B.tired C.proud D.afraid
9.A.angered B.cried C.smiled D.sighed
10.A.hate B.find C.lose D.like
11.A.worried B.scared C.frightened D.surprised
12.A.job B.career C.position D.role
13.A.rescuing B.restoring C.serving D.representing
14.A.interesting B.brief C.humorous D.normal
15.A.boss B.country C.family D.shop
16.A.newcomer B.beggars C.strangers D.foreigners
17.A.richer B.larger C.stronger D.poorer
18.A.much B.little C.less D.more
19.A.awarded B.thanked C.paid D.punished
20.A.with B.about C.towards D.in
Unless ________ to speak, most high school students here prefer remaining silent in class.
A.invited B.inviting C.being invited D.having invited
It is the Internet ________ keeps us in constant touch with our offices in the world.
A.that B.who C.where D.how
