When I was a kid in Minnesota, watermelon was expensive. One of my father’s friends, Bernie, was a rich businessman, who owned a large store in St. Paul.

Every summer, when the first watermelons arrived, Bernie would call. Dad and I would go to Bernie’s place. We’d sit on the edge of the dock(码头), feet dangling(摇晃), and got ready for a big meal.

Bernie would take his knife, cut our first watermelon, hand us both a big piece and sit down next to us. Then we’d bury our faces in watermelon, eating only the heart—the reddest, juiciest, firmest, sweetest, most seed-free part—and throw away the rest.

Bernie was my father’s idea of a rich man. I always thought it was because he was such a successful businessman. Years later, I realized that it was not Bernie’s wealth itself but his way of dealing with it that my father liked. Bernie knew how to stop working, get together with friends and eat only the heart of the watermelon.

What I learned from Bernie is that being rich is a state of mind. Some of us, no matter how much money we have, will never be free enough to eat only the heart of the watermelon. If you don’t take the time to dangle your feet over the dock and enjoy life’s small pleasure, your work is probably hurting your life.

For many years, I forgot that lesson I’d learned as a kid on the loading dock. I was too busy making all the money I could.

Well, I’ve relearned it. I hope I have time left to enjoy the success of others and to take pleasure in the day. That’s the heart of the watermelon. I have learned again to throw t he rest away.

1.We learned from the second paragraph that the writer and his father were feeling ______.

A. relaxed   B. worried   C. hungry   D. proud

2.How did the writer and his father eat the watermelon?

A. They ate it in a polite way.

B. They only ate its best part.

C. They ate every part of it.

D. They shared only one piece.

3. In the eyes of the writer’s father, Bernie ______.

A. was just a rich businessman

B. worked hard all the time

C. lived a rich but healthy life

D. knew how to make money

4.The underlined part “the heart of the watermelon” in the last paragraph refers to ______.

A. the best part of the watermelon

B. the writer’s busy life

C. the writer’s decision of making money

D. the writer’s hope of enjoying life

5. It can be learne d from the passage that ______.

A. one has to work hard to reach his goal

B. a friend in need is a friend in deed

C. watermelon is the healthiest fruit

D. one should keep work-life balance

When the Audet family turns on the lights at Blue Farm, they are using electricity that comes from cows—cow manure (粪肥), to be specific.

Cows produce a lot of wastes. One cow can create 30 gallons of wastes each day. Now imagine t he output of over 1,000 cows at Blue Farm. That’s really a big amount.

When farmers clean their barns, they put the wastes in a big heap, and spread some of them on their fields for fertilizer(肥料). But now places like Blue Spruce Farm have a new way of using cow wastes. They use them to produce electricity.

Here’s how it works: A big machine moves back and forth cleaning the barn floor. “The cows aren’t bothered,” says Marie Audet. “They are animals of habit; they get used to it, and just lift one foot and then another to let it go by.”

The machine pushes the manure into a big 600-gallon tank like a small swimming pool. The tank is called a digester (化粪池) because what happens there is just like what happens inside a cow: Bacteria(细菌) get to work and continue to digest the manure.

Methane gas (甲烷、沼气)in the atmosphere is known as a “greenhouse” gas because it keeps heat just like a greenhouse does, causing our planet to warm up. That’s an environmental concern. But the digester has a good result. Its gas is kept and used to power electric generators (发电机).

At Blue Farm, the generators make enough electricity to power 400 homes. The Audet family sells the extra electricity they can’t use themselves.

1.We learn from the text that the Audet family is using cow wastes to ______.

A. make electricity   B. produce fertilizer

C. build their farm   D. feed the cows

2.How are the cow wastes collected into the digester at Blue Farm?

A. Marie Audet does the work

B. The job is done by machine

C. The cows lift the cow wastes

D. Bacteria get to work on them

3. According to the passage, which of the following is changed into electricity?

A. The power of moving water.

B. The heat of burning coal.

C. The power of sunlight.

D. The heat of the methane gas

4.The new way of using cow wastes at Blue Farm might be best described as ______.

A. reducing    B. saving

C. recycling    D. changing

5.What is the main purpose for writing the passage?

A. To introduce a new way o f making electri city

B. To explain how a new energy works better

C. To show a new rebuilding plan for a big farm

D. To explain the reasons for green house effect

A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin(顽童) was walking around the shining car. “Is this your car, sir?” he asked.

Paul answered, “Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas.” The boy was surprised. “You mean your brother gave it to you and it did cost you nothing? Sir, I wish…” He hesitated(犹豫). Paul thought of course he knew what the boy wanted, but what the boy said surprised him greatly. “I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that.” Paul looked at the boy in surprise, and then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car?” “Oh yes, I’d love to,” the boy answered.

After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, “Sir, would you mind driving in front of my house?”

Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the boy wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car. But Paul was wrong again. “Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked.

He ran up to the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled(残疾的) brother. He sat down on the step and pointed to the car.

“There he is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent. And some day I’m going to give you one just like it…then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas windows that I’ve been trying to tell you about.”

Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed elder brother climbed in beside him and the three began an unforgettable holiday ride.

根据以上短文内容，然后从每题所给的四个选项中选择最佳选项。

1. The street urchin was very surprised when _______.

A. he met Paul

B. Paul told him about the car

C. Paul received an expensive car

D. he was walking around the car

2. From the story we can see the urchin _______.

A. wished to give his brother a car

B. wanted Paul’s brother to give him a car

C. wished he could have a brother like Paul’s

D. wished Paul could be a brother like that

3. The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ______.

A. to show he had a rich friend

B. to show his neighbors the big car

C. to let his brother ride in the car

D. to tell his brother about his wish

4. We can find from the story that _______.

A. the urchin wished Paul to give his car to Buddy

B. the urchin wished to have a rich brother

C. the urchin had a deep love for his brother

D. the urchin’s wish came true in the end

5.The best name of the story is _______.

A. A Christmas Present

B. Paul, a Kind-hearted Person

C. A Brother Like That

D. An Unforgettable Holiday Ride

Little Tommy was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything—tutors (家庭教师), cards, special learning centers—in short, everything they could think of. Finally they took Tommy to a catholic (天主教的) school.

After the first day, little Tommy came home with a very serious look on his face. H-e didn’t kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and papers were spread (铺开) out all over the room and little Tommy was hard at work. His mother was surprised. She called him down to dinner and as soon as he finished eating, he went back to his room, without a word. In no time he was back hitting t-he books as hard as before. This went on for some time, day after day while the mother tried to understand what was happening.

Finally, little Tommy brought home his report card. He quietly put it on the table and w-ent up to his room and hit the books. His mom looked at it and to her surprise, little T-ommy got an A in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity (好奇心). She went to his room and asked, “Son, what was it? Was it the nuns (修女)?”

Little Tommy looked at her and shook his head, “No. ”

“Well then,” she asked again. “WHAT was it?”

Little Tommy looked at her and said, “Well, on the first day of school, when I saw that man nailed (钉) to the plus sign (加号), I knew they weren’t joking. ”

根据以上短文内容，然后从每题所给的四个选项中选择最佳选项。

1.Why did Tommy’s parents send him to a catholic school?

A. Because he could eat well there.

B. Because he could earn more about nuns.

C. Because his parents wanted him to do better in his math.

D. Because his parents didn’t want him to learn math any more.

2.Tommy’s mother felt surprised that his son _______.

A. was still the same as usual

B. ate so much at dinner

C. kissed her hello after school

D. worked hard but said little

3.“Hitting the books” means “_______” in Chinese.

A. 用功   B. 捶书  C. 发泄  D. 振作

4.The last sentence in the passage shows that _______.

A. Tommy felt sorry for the mail

B. Tommy was afraid of being nailed

C. Tommy didn’t like the plus sign

D. Tommy liked playing jokes on others

5.From the passage, we can infer (推断) that _______.

A. teachers should be strict with their students

B. mistaking (误解) might do good sometimes

C. a catholic school is much better than other ones

D. nuns are good at helping children with their math

Last Friday, after doing all the family shopping in the town. I wanted to have a rest before catching the rain. I ____ a newspaper and some chocolate and ____ into the station coffee shop. It was a cheap self-service place with long tables to ____ at. I put my heavy bag down on the floor, ____ the newspaper and the chocolate on the table and then went to get a cup of coffee.

When I came back with the coffee, There was someone ____ in the next seat. ____ was a boy, with dark glasses and old clothes, and ____ bright red at the front. He had started to eat my chocolate!

Naturally, I was rather uneasy about him, but I didn’t want to have any ____. I just read the newspaper, tasted my coffee and took a bit of chocolate. The boy looked at me in ____.Then he took a ___ piece of my chocolate. I could hardly believe it. Still I didn’t say anything to him. When he took a third piece, I felt more angry than uneasy. I thought, “Well, I shall have the last piece.” And I got it.

The boy gave me a strange look, then ___ up. As he left, he shouted out, “There’s something ____ with that woman!” Everyone looked at me, ____ I didn’t want to quarrel with the boy, so I kept quiet. I did not realize that I had ____ a mistake until I finished my coffee and was ready to ____. My face turned red when I saw my unopened chocolate under the newspaper. The chocolate that I had been eating was the boy’s!

1.A. stole   B. bought     C. sold       D. wrote

2.A. went     B. sat        C. seated           D. looked

3.A. sit        B. seat       C. lie         D. laugh

4.A. pushed   B. took       C. put         D. pulled

5.A. jumping  B. playing       C. sitting       D. sleeping

6.A. He        B. It       C. Who              D. What

7.A. cut        B. washed      C. covered         D. colored

8.A. coffee   B. trouble       C. chocolate         D. matter

9.A. carelessness  B. anger       C. surprise         D. happiness

10.A. first      B. second      C. very            D. last

11.A. stood    B. took      C. cried            D. looked

12.A. strange   B. wrong        C. OK         D. funny

13.A. and    B. but         C. so            D. while

14.A. spelt     B. corrected       C. made            D. found

15. A. finish    B. leave          C. jump            D. shop

—Thank you for your coffee and tasty snacks. I’m afraid I have to go now.

—OK. ______.

A. Go slowly        B. All right

C. Sounds great    D. See you.

— I’m afraid I’ve got a bad cold.

—_______.

A. Never mind

B. Keep away from me

C. Better go and see a doctor

D. You need to eat less food

—Where is my English dictionary, Mum?

—It ______ away by your sister yesterday.

A. took           B. takes

C. is taken      D. was taken

—Where is Miss Gao?

—She isn’t here. She _______ to the bus station to meet Mr. Brown.

A. has gone     B. goes

C. has been     D. would go

—Dad, do you know ______ now?

—In Fort Middle School.

A. where is Betty studying

B. where Betty is studying

C. where did Betty study

D. where Betty studied