When Mr. Brown entered the classroom that Friday morning, he stopped at the blackboard. For there, on the blackboard, were words in huge red letters: BROWN IS STUPID!
Mr. Brown thought for a moment. This could only have been the work of one of the four boys who had been kept in after school the day before.
Mr. Brown turned the blackboard around so that the words could not be seen. Half an hour later,Mr. Brown wrote four names on the board: Gerald, Alex, Michael and Laurie. Then he said, “I want these four to stay in the classroom. The rest of you may go to the playground.”
The four boys came to the blackboard. “One of you has written a most impolite remark on the blackboard,” he stared （盯着看）at them and thundered, “which one of you did it?”
The four boys gathered closer together, afraid of what was to come.
“Was it you, Gerald?”
Gerald shook his head. “No, it was not me, Sir,” he gave the teacher a most sincere look in his wide eyes.
“What do you have to say, Alex?”
“I don’t know anything about it, Sir,” said Alex, and his ears turned red.
Michael had a bright idea. “Perhaps someone broke in during the night,” he said. “And when he saw the lovely red chalk lying there, he wrote something on the blackboard.”
“Is that the best you can think so, Michael?” asked the teacher.
“I only thought ...”
“And what about you, Laurie?”
Laurie said in a rather low voice, “I didn’t do it, Sir. I don’t even know what it says on the blackboard.”
“You really don’t know what’s written there?” Mr. Brown asked. “And I don’t think dear Gerald knows either.”
“No, Sir. No idea.”
“Michael, Alex, can either of you tell me what it says on the blackboard?”
“No, Sir!” the two boys answered together. Brown walked forward and his fingers seized(揪住) a schoolboy. He said in his kindest and softest voice to the other three boys, “Very well. I only punish the one who has been telling lies, and you three may go to the playground!”
1. What did Mr. Brown write on the blackboard?
A. BROWN IS STUPID
B. WHICH ONE DID IT
C. The rules of the class
D. The names of the four boys
2. Which of the following can be put into “______” in Paragraph 3?
A. all the students arrived
B. all the children laughed
C. the four students ran away
D. the headmaster came in
3. The underlined word “thundered” in Paragraph 4 most probably means “______”.
A. asked softly B. said slowly
C. spoke happily D. shouted loudly
4.Who has been telling lies?
A. Gerald B. Alex C. Michael D. Laurie
5.The word that can best describe Mr. Brown is “______”.
A. honest B. smart
C. hard-working D. warm-hearted
Have you ever thought about what kind of job you would like to have when you grow up? Many people think that we can have only one job in our lifetime. We all know that this is not true, but quite a few people actually think this way. For example, when people choose a major (专业) in college, they think that the decisions they make now will decide their jobs for the rest of their lives. However, there are many examples where people became successful after changing their careers (职业) later in life.
J. K. Rowling, writer of the famous novel Harry Potter, was actually a school teacher before she began writing books. In fact, she was out of work before the first Harry Potter book came out.
Former US President Ronald Reagan began as an actor when he was a young man. He later decided that he wanted to do political work. This kind of passion (激情) finally led him to become President of the United States.
The famous 19th century artist Vincent Van Gogh was not a painter from the beginning. He once worked as an art salesman and later became a preacher. It was only 10 years before he died that he decided to become an artist.
Careers are always open to change. The important thing is to find what you are really good at or what you really want to do. Once you find that passion, it’s all a matter of how hard you try.
1.______ was a teacher before he (she) became famous.
A. Vincent Van Gogh B. Ronald Reagan
C. J. K. Rowling D. Harry Potter
2. The underlined word “political” in Paragraph 3 means ______ in Chinese.
A. 政治的 B. 艺术的 C. 文学的 D. 经济的
3. According to the passage, the most important thing to think of when choosing a career is ______.
A. what major you choose in college
B. how much money you can make
C. changing jobs as often as possible
D. finding what you really want to do
4. How is the passage organized? (Par = Paragraph)
A. Par 1→Pars 2~4→Par 5
B. Pars 1~2→Par 3→Pars 4~5
C. Par 1→Pars 2~3→Pars 4~5
D. Pars 1~2→Pars 3~4→Par 5
It can’t be truer that when in Rome do as the Romans do. So it’s important for you to know what you can talk with the local people in other countries.
In France
You’ll find that conversations often turn into heated discussions. You’d better give opinions only on subjects that you are knowledgeable about. There is seldom a moment of silence, except when the topic under discussion has been finished, and nothing new has been introduced.
Food, art, music and current events or history are welcome topics. The French believe in freedom, and you can criticize(批评) anyone, but not Napoleon, who is a symbol of French spirit and never use the conversation opener “What do you do?”.
In Australia
Australians are excited about discussions. Many topics may be open to discussion, such as religion and politics. The best way, however, is to wait for Australians to bring up these two subjects; be prepared to listen to what they are talking about.
Australians like to criticize themselves, but they can’t stand being criticized by others. Don’t talk big. Instead, Australians prefer to judge(判断) your abilities through your actions. People who show off their education in conversation may be laughed at.
In Switzerland
The Swiss may seem cold. Once you get close to them, however, you’ll find that they are honest, responsible people, who will respect your interests much.
They are good listeners and will remember almost everything you say to them. Sometimes they will even take notes while you speak. The Swiss are very private people, so you should avoid asking personal questions. They can be rather serious, so it is advisable to avoid making jokes on them.
1.According to the passage, it’s better NOT to criticize ___ ___.
A. the Romans B. the French
C. the Australians D. the Swiss
2.From the passage we know that __ ____.
A. the Swiss are not as cold as they seem to be
B. the French can’t stand the heated discussions
C. the Australians like to talk about their success
D. the French usually have a conversation about jobs
3.The writer wants to tell us ____ __.
A. what to introduce to foreigners
B. how to live in foreign countries
C. how to get along with foreigners
D. what to talk about in foreign countries
Try reading the following sentences as fast as you can. “She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I’m sure she sells seashore shells.”
Not very easy, was it? What you’ve just read is called a tongue twister (绕口令). It is an exercise made up of sounds that are hard to pronounce in order to help people pronounce words faster and more correctly. Try the next example.
“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?”
Tongue twisters usually do not have much meaning. They are just designed to improve people’s ability (能力) to pronounce words. Although they may be very difficult, these exercises are very important to people who are trying to speak English correctly. This is because tongue twisters help people to tell the differences between similar sounds.
So if you wish to pronounce words more smoothly, you’d better try picking out some tongue twisters and practising them.
1.Tongue twisters are helpful in improving ______ skills.
A. listening B. writing
C. pronunciation D. communication
2.The first tongue twister is hard because ______.
A. it is very boring to read
B. it teaches us a lot of knowledge
C. we don’t know who “she” is
D. the sounds of “s” and “sh” are similar
3.The passage is probably taken from ______ in a school newspaper.
A. Story Time B. Study Garden
C. Latest News D. Lost and Found
完形填空
I was lucky that I often got help from others, so I thought that perhaps my coming 45th birthday would be my chance to experience the joy of giving.
________ my special day, my husband took me to the Olive Garden. Our ________, Carlini, was very nice. We had a great dinner and after we________the meal, Carlini brought our bill(账单).
When she came back to the table to get our money, I knew it was my ________to give. I put the gift bag on the table and said, “I want to________you a gift, for it’s my birthday.”
“Oh, no,” she said, “not for me! It’s________birthday!” But I insisted(坚持). Then she said, “Can I ________ it in front of you?” And I said that would be fine.
The first thing she noticed was the ________of the gift bag which was purple. Purple is her favorite color and she ________had a purple tie on!
She opened the bag, saying, “It’s Christmas Day in July.”
As she was taking the gift out of the bag, she said she was ________and she never thought that day was her lucky day. It was________to give someone the exact present that she loved! She opened the box and saw it was a purple cup. Inside the cup was a thank-you card and forty-five dollars, a dollar for each ________ of my life.
________ she saw the money, she looked at us and said, “You do not have to leave a tip(小费).” But my husband and I just said________ and left.
Carlini was so thankful for ________ she had received. She said we had given her a big surprise. I thanked her for receiving my gift so beautifully.
1.A. On B. In C. At D. As
2.A. actress B. singer C. doctor D. waitress
3.A. ordered B. finished C. cooked D. bought
4.A. time B. job C. duty D. pleasure
5.A. lend B. give C. make D. show
6.A. my B. her C. his D. your
7.A. pack B. write C. open D. take
8.A. color B. price C. as usual D. just now
9.A. nearly B. actually C. quickly D. simply
10.A. excited B. bored C. tired D. relaxed
11.A. interesting B. wonderful C. funny D. silly
12.A. person B. thing C. event D. year
13.A. Before B. Though C. After D. Unless
14.A. something B. everything C. anything D. nothing
15.A. how B. why C. what D. where
书面表达
假设你是李华，到英国学习、生活了两个月。在英国期间，你住在大卫(David)家中。请用英语给他写一封感谢信，内容要点如下：
表达谢意 | 感谢大卫及其家人对你的悉心照顾。 |
难忘的事 | 大卫很耐心地帮助你学习英语； 大卫带你去游览了伦敦； 大卫的母亲在你生病时送你去医院，给你做好吃的食物。 |
学习收获 | 提高了英语水平，更多地了解了英国的文化。 |
发出邀请 | 邀请大卫及其家人到你家作客。你会…… |
注意：1.信件要包含所给的内容要点，其中最后一个要点用2-3句话作适当发挥；
2.词数80个左右，信的开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数；
3.信中不得出现真实的人名与校名。
参考词汇：culture(文化) , invite…to…,take…to…,take care of…\look after…,
Dear David,
