What is the sky？ Where is it？ How bright is it？ What lies above it？ These questions are difficult to answer, aren’t they？
Is the sky blue？ The sky has no color. We know that there is air around the world. When planes fly, they need air to lift their wings. Planes can’t fly very high because the air gets thinner when they go up higher. If we go up about 1,200 kilometers from the earth, we’ll find no air there.
When we talk about the sky, we usually mean the atmosphere around the earth. It is like a very thick “cover” over the earth and keeps it warm. Without the “cover”, the earth would be a very cold place and nothing could live on it.
Looking up above us, you will see the blue sky with white clouds. It is usually light blue, but the sky would be dark blue if you go to the top of the highest mountains. And you will see fewer clouds between you and the sun.
And if you sit in a spaceship high above the earth, there is no air at all. The sky would be so dark that its color would be black.
Sometimes the sky doesn’t look blue. When the sun rises and falls, you will see red, orange, and other colors in the sky. These are the most beautiful moments of the day.
Now you may understand that we see colors because the air scatters (散射) the sunlight. Light travels through the air. Without air, there would be no light and no colors.
1.Planes can’t fly very high because ____________.
A．there is air around the world
B．the air gets thinner when they go up higher
C．it’s warmer in the sky
D．the air gets thicker when they go up higher
2.We can see colors of the sky because ____________.
A．the sun rises and falls every day
B．the sky has lots of colors
C．the air scatters the sunlight
D．the sunlight has many colors
3.Which of the following is TRUE？
A．There is little air without light and colors in the sky.
B．The sky will look red, orange and other colors at noon.
C．The sky has only one color when the sun rises and falls.
D．The sky is dark blue if you go to the top of the highest mountains.
We can make mistakes at any age. Some mistakes we make are about money. But most mistakes are about people.“Did Jerry really care when I broke up with Helen?” When I got that great job, did Jim really feel good about it, as a friend? Or did he envy(嫉妒)my luck?”“And Paul-why didn’t he pick up that he was friendly just because I had a car?”When we look back, doubts like these can make us feel bad. But when we look back, it’s too late.
Why do we go wrong about our friends or our enemies? Sometimes what people say hides their real meaning. And if we don’t really listen we miss the feeling behind the words. Suppose someone tells you, “You’re a lucky dog.”that’s being friendly. But“lucky dog”?There’s a bit of envy in those words. Maybe he doesn’t see it himself. But bringing in the “dog” bit puts you down a little. What he may be saying is that he doesn’t think you deserve your luck.
“Just think of all the things you have to be thankful for ”is another noise that says one thing and means another . It could mean that the speaker is trying to get you to see your problem as part of your life as a whole. But is he? Wrapped up(包藏) in this phrase is the thought that your problem isn’t important. It’s telling you to think of all the starving people in the world when you haven’t got a date for Saturday night.
How can you tell the real meaning behind someone’s got a date for Saturday night? Good look at the person talking. Do his words fit the way he looks? Does what he says agree with the tone of voice? His posture(姿态)?The look in his eyes? Stop and think. The minute you spend thinking about the real meaning of what people to you may save another mistake.
1.This passage is mainly about_____.
A．how to interpret(understand) what people say
B．what to do when you listen to others talking
C．how to avoid mistakes when you communicate with people
D．why we go wrong with people sometimes
2.According to the author, the reason why we go wrong about our friends is that_______.
A．we fail to listen carefully when they talk
B．we tend to(倾向)doubt what our friends say
C．people usually state one thing but means another
D．people tend to be annoyed when we check what they say
3.In the sentence “Maybe he doesn’t see it himself.” In the second paragraph, the pronoun “it”refers to____.
A．being friendly B．a bit of envy C．lucky dog D．your luck
4.When we listen to a person talking , the most important thing for us to do is _______.
A．notice the way the person is talking
B．take a good look at the person talking
C．mind his tone, his posture and the look in his eyes
D．examine the real meaning of what he says based on his manner, his tone and his posture
My wife passed away a few years ago, and I went through the worst time in my life. I even wanted to kill myself .Just for kids, I had to continue to live and work as small-town doctor at my medical clinic in Hawaii. My kids had gone to live on the mainland, and I was alone. Then they asked me to have a family trip. On our trip, we turned on the TV at the motel and saw the second plane crash into the World Trade Center. Seeing it falling down, I said to my kids: “I’m going to Afghanistan”. And a few weeks later, international Medical Corps sent me to set up 20 clinics in provinces where people had no health care. In these field clinics surrounded by frightening shoots or deadly bombs, we were eventually serving 27,000 patients a month in a very busy schedule. Tired and nervous, I gradually had a sense of achievement, a sense of purpose, and my depression went away.
In the years to follow, I went to Indonesia after the tsunami, Pakistan after the earthquakes, Sudan after the civil war and Iraq after more and more bombs. Each time after disasters one after another, hundreds of people were killed, wounded and many more had to flee. We once set up movable clinics in an area with 19,000 refugees, and it was supposed to hold 13,000 originally. Flu broke out, one of the biggest killers of kids in refugee camps, and it spread like wildfire. Water and food were also serious problems. “Adventures or not?” I often asked myself.
When my wife passed away, I thought my life was done. But in reality, it was just getting started. At the end of her life, she went unconscious. I held her head in my hands and told her of all the places we would visit and the exciting adventures we would have.
I think about the moment many times during my “adventures”. I didn’t know how predictive those words would be. But I know that she is still with me.
1.Where has the doctor been in the past few years?
A．Some countries where he could set up clinics.
B．Some African countries where flu broke out.
C．The places where the earthquakes happened.
D．The places that the horrible disasters struck.
2.How would the doctor describe his life after he had worked in Afghanistan?
A．Tired and troublesome. B．Busy and risky.
C．Meaningful and helpful D．Frightening and depressing.
3.The underlined word “refugees” means people_______________.
A．who are robbed, killed, or wounded
B．who suffer from flu in movable clinics
C．who like to take adventures
D．who have lost homes because of disasters.
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．the doctor’s wife encouraged him to work in foreign countries
B．What the doctor said to his wife before her death became reality.
C．The doctor’s adventures made him understand the love of his wife.
D．With the true love of his wife, the doctor started to change his life.
A Great Creator
Steven Jobs, the designer of Apple Computer, was not clever when he was in school. At that time, he was not a good student and he always made troubles with his schoolmates. When he went into college, he didn’t change a lot. Then he dropped out. But he was full of new ideas.
After he left college, Steven Jobs worked as a video game designer. He worked there for only several months and then he went to India. He hoped that the trip would give him some new ideas and give him a change in life.
Steven Jobs lived on a farm in California for a year after he returned from India.
In 1975, he began to make a new type of computer. He designed the Apple Computer with his friend in his garage. He chose the name “Apple” just because it could help him to remember a happy summer he once spent an apple tree garden.
His Apple Computer was such a great success that Steven Jobs soon became famous all over the world.
1.Steven Jobs was not a good student in school because he .
A．never did his lessons
B．was full of new ideas
C．always made troubles with his schoolmates
D．he was not clever
2.Then he dropped out.
A．drop in B．gave up college C．fall off D．left out
3.Steven Jobs called his new computer “Apple” because .
A．he likes apples too much
B．he wanted to remember the happy time in an apple tree garden
C．he always liked some new ideas
D．he wanted to change in his life
4.Steven Jobs is famous for his all over the world .
A．new ideas B．apple
C．Apple Computer D．video games
5.From this passage we know .
A．Steven Jobs didn’t finish his studies in the college because he hated his schoolmates.
B．Steven Jobs liked traveling in India and California.
C．Steven Jobs only designed video games.
D．Steven Jobs liked trying new things and making new ideas become true.
完形填空
Do you know Eskimos (爱斯基摩人)? Let me tell you something about their .
The Eskimos live near the North Pole (北极). There are only two there, winter and summer, There are no spring autumn there. The winter nights are .You can’t the sun for more than two months, even at noon. The summer days are long. For more than two months, the sun never .and there is no night.
The Eskimos have clothes. They make their clothes from the skin of animals. From these skins they make coats, caps and .
Near the North Pole trees can’t grow, for it is too there. The Eskimos make their houses from skins, snow or stones (石头). When they go in storm and can’t home, they make house of snow. They leave these snow houses when the storm is .
Life is for the Eskimos, they still like to live there.
1.A. work B. life C. holiday D. families
2.A. weather B. months C. seasons D. Years
3.A. not B. or C. and D. As
4.A. short B. long C. warm D. Cold
5.A. see B. watch C. look D. look at
6.A. rises B. goes up C. drops D. goes down
7.A. beautiful B. metal C. warm D. Cool
8.A. goods B. drinks C. medicine D. shoes
9.A. cold B. hot C. dry D. Wet
10.A. will B. should C. never D. have to
11.A. on B. over C. out D. off
12.A. get back B. got off C. get on D. get in
13.A. coming B. over C. going D. Beginning
14.A. hard B. interesting C. easy D. Lucky
15.A. and B. for C. but D. so
—How do you think about his mistakes in the letter?
— . After all, he is only a beginner.
A. Not much B. I disagree with you
C. I wouldn’t mind that D. Sounds boring
