What’s the meaning of “dark horse”? It’s someone who wins when no one expects it.
Han Xiaopeng took China’s first gold on snow. He became an Olympic “dark horse” last Thursday by winning the gold medal in men’s freestyle aerial skiing(自由式滑雪空中技巧) at Turin in Italy. He made two almost perfect jumps for the highest score. Han had never won a world gold medal before, let alone(更不用说) in the Olympics!
“I never thought this would happen,” said the 23-year-old. “I feel like I’m in a dream.” It’s China’s second gold medal at the Turin Olympics. But more important, Han’s gold was the country’s first ever in a snow sport. In 2002, China’s Yang Yang won the gold for speed skating at the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, US.
Just because Han’s win was unexpected doesn’t mean that he didn’t work hard.
Han grew up in Jiangsu Province. Before he started his training on snow, he used to be an acrobat(杂技演员) at a circus. In 1995, a coach found his talent(才能). The coach, Yang Er’qi, said Han had the agility(灵活性) and courage to be a ski jumper. When Yang first took the 12-year-old to northern China, the boy couldn’t swim, skate or ski. But he wasn’t afraid of the high platform(跳台) and kept on training.
Han almost left the sport after hurting his knee months before the Salt Lake Games. In that Olympics he only got 24th. “I was hopeless at that time, but my family and the coach stood firmly(坚强地) behind me, helping me through,” he recalled.
Han Xiaopeng worked so hard that he won the gold 
medal in the Olympics at last. Because of his success, more and more people in China are becoming interested in skiing. We are proud of him and we hope he will have another big success in the next winter Olympics.
1.What does ‘dark horse’ mean? It means _____________.
A. a horse which is dark
B. someone who is expected to win
C. a horse which likes living in the dark
D. someone whose win is unexpected
2.Where did Han Xiaopeng take China’s first gold on snow?
A. In China . B. In Italy. C. In America. D. In Australia.
3.What made the coach, Yang Er’qi, choose Han Xiaopeng to be a ski jumper?
A. He had the agility and wasn’t afraid of the high platform.
B. He was good at skiing though he was only 12 years old.
C. He was born in the north of China and liked sports on snow.
D. He had the talent and he had won a world gold medal before.
4.Which of the following sentences is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
A. He was 23 when he won the gold medal at the winter Olympics.
B. He made two almost perfect jumps and got the highest score.
C. No one had won the gold before Han Xiaopeng at the winter Olympics.
D. He never gave up even though he had faced many difficulties.
5.What is the best title for this passage?
A. A Dark Horse at the Winter Olympics
B. A Wonderful Match
C. A Hopeless Snow Game
D. An Exciting Horse Race
Have you ever stayed in a hotel? Most Chinese hotels often provide guests with things like disposable (一次性的) toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo and slippers. Many guests like the idea because they don't have to bring their own. But, if you travel to Beijing, remember to bring your own things. Starting from June, some hotels in Beijing will no longer provide guests with these disposables. They want to ask people to use less disposable things.
Many disposable things are made of plastic. People throw them away after only using them once. It is a waste of natural resources and is very bad for the environment. Do you know, one Chinese person makes as much as 400kg of waste a year! Most of that waste comes from disposable things. In Beijing, people throw away about 19,000 tons of plastic bags and 1,320 tons of plastic lunch bowls every year! Plastic can take between 100 and 400 years to break down. So the less plastic we throw out, the better the environment will be. So, wherever you travel, bring your own things and use them again and again.
Back at home and school, you can also do something to make our world a better place. Try to do these things in your daily life: Use cloth shopping bags, not plastic ones. After using a plastic bag, wash it out and let it dry. Then you can use it over and over again. Do not use paper cups. At your school canteen（食堂）, use your own bowl and chopsticks instead of disposable ones.
1.Why do many hotels provide guests with some disposable things?
A. Let their guests be convenient during their travelling.
B. Hope their guests use less disposable things.
C. Wish their guests to save money.
D. Want their guests to use more disposable things.
2.Some Beijing hotels will no longer provide guests with _______.
A. cheap food and drink B. disposable things
C. good service D. free TV programmes
3.Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Many disposable things are made of plastic.
B. Throwing disposable things away is a waste of natural resources.
C. Plastic is very bad for the environment.
D. Plastic breaks down easily.
4.What can we do to make our world a better place at home and school?
A. Use shopping bags made of plastic.
B. Do not throw away paper cups.
C. Use disposable plates, bowls and chopsticks.
D. Do not forget to reuse daily necessities（日用品）.
5.We can tell from the story that _________.
A. people don't like
disposable things at all
B. we can't use paper or plastic bowls at school
C. we should use less plastic things and protect our environment
D. hotels won't provide disposable things because they want to save money
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项。
1.If it is 8:00 a.m. in western Canada, the time is _______ in eastern Canada.
A. 12:00 B. 2:00 p.m. C. 12:30 p.m. D. 4:00 a.m.
2.While Canadian children are waking up, children in Scotland are ________.
A. having lessons 
B. sleeping C. watching TV D. playing games
3.Who needn’t go to work on Fridays?
A. Canadians. B. Scots. C. Japanese. D. Egyptians.
4.Which country will welcome Saturday first, Canada, Japan, UK or Egypt?
A. UK B. Japan C. Egypt D. Canada
5.What does “ahead of” mean in English?
A. earlier than B. later than C. after D. until
Mr. White is a 
member of his office. He’s and can easily deal with all kinds of matters. So he’s always more than his workmates. Of course he’s often and has no time to do the housework. His wife him well and does all at home.
! Their daughter was hurt in a traffic accident last month and had to be . Now Mrs. White has to look after her there she can’t go home. Mr. White often eats something in the restaurant. As he did some cleaning, the rooms were all disorderly(凌乱不堪的).
Yesterday morning, before Mr. White got up, the telephone . He sat up to answer it. His friend told him to an important telephone number down. But he could find a piece of paper. He found there was much dust(灰尘) on the table and wrote the number on it. But soon he it and went to work. Two hours later came back and looked for a sweater for her daughter. Her husband came in while she was the table. He couldn’t the number on the table and called out angrily, “Who let you clean the table?”
1.A. important B. strong C. good D. able
2.A. helped B. thought C. paid D. asked
3.A. busy B. quiet C. lazy D. happy
4.A. sees B. knows C. misses D. takes care of
5.A. Well B. Once C. What’s more D. Bad luck
6.A. in hospital B. outside C. in bed D. in time
7.A. but B. or C. while D. and
8.A. not B. never C. almost D. often
9.A. shouted B. spoke C. rang D. called
10.A. write B. remember C. understand D. use
11.A. either a pen or B. neither a pen nor C. both a pen and D. not only a pen but
12.A. forgot B.
read C. took D. threw
13.A. he B. his friend C. his wife D. his daughter
14.A. brushing B. walking in C. leaving D. cleaning
15.A. find B. listen to C. look at D. write
In a library, which sign can you see on the wall?
My science teacher told us that the earth around the sun.
A. move B. goes C. went D. travel
