My friend Mary came to school wearing a brand-new pair of Zee jeans. “Your new Zee jeans are so cute!” I said.
“My grandma took me clothes shopping last weekend,” Mary said. “The Zee jeans were on sale. They have cool pockets and are unbelievably comfortable. When you’re at my house after school, try them on and see for yourself.”
“Hmm.” I didn’t think so. But when I tried them on, I couldn’t help agreeing. “I’m totally taking these!” I said. As soon as I got home, I told my mom that I had to get some Zee jeans.
Mom said, “You already have three pairs of perfectly good jeans. There is no way Dad and I are paying that much for a pair of pants. If you want to buy them with your own money, I would be happy to make a long list of extra chores you can do.”
“I’ll start this minute,” I said.
It took me three weeks to save enough money. I changed kitty litter, watched my little brother and sister, and cleaned refrigerator. The refrigerator cleaning was the worst because one of the shelves fell while I was taking everything out. Food and milk splashed all over the floor. It took me one and a half hour to clean it up!
Anyway, I finally bought my Zee jeans, and I loved them even more than I thought I would. I loved them half because they had cool pockets and super comfortable, and half because I had worked so hard to earn the money to buy them myself.
1.Who bought the new Zee jeans for Mary?
A. Her mother. B. Herself. C. Her friend. D. Her grandmother.
2.Why did mom not want to buy a pair of Zee jeans to the writer?
A. She didn’t like the writer.
B. She thought the writer was lazy.
C. She thought that the writer had enough jeans.
D. She didn’t have enough money.
3.How did the writer buy the new jeans?
A. She got money from her mom.
B. She made money by doing housework.
C. She borrowed money from Mary.
D. She asked her grandma to buy them for her.
Mr. Guo is a teacher from Xi’an. He asked his students to hand in their homework through a QR code（二维码）. “We spent an hour or two in class learning how to generate（使产生） the codes, and in the end everything gets easier,”said Guo.“When students finish the homework, they keep it on WeChat（微信）. Then, each student makes his own QR code and gives it to me. So I can check their work everywhere using my computer or telephone. ”
The QR codes can be sent to Mr. Guo by email, QQ and WeChat. When Guo scans（扫描） his students’ QR codes, their homework appears on his phone. He finds that their homework becomes more creative, with many pictures, music and even videos.
Guo’s students like the new way and think it is interesting. “We are living in the information age. Many students like to work with computers, which makes learning more fun.”said Tingting, a student of Guo’s.
“The paper is not easy to keep, but the code is easy to keep and share,”Guo said.“It is worth trying to use new technology in education. Education itself is a kind of creation. I don’t want my students to fall behind the times.”
However, some parents are worried. They are afraid that their children will spend too much time on computers and less time communicating with teachers. But in fact, it’s unnecessary. Students still need to look up information in books and write it down when they do their homework. They only use the code when they hand in their work, which doesn’t take them too much time. Also for teachers, it allows them to check the students’ work at any time. And it’s also an easy way to share homework with other students.
1.Guo’s students think the new way is _____.
A. Important B. interesting C. strange D. boring
2.Some parents are worried, because they think their children will _____.
A. talk with their teacher face to face
B. find the QR codes too difficult to use
C. hate the new way of handing in homework
D. spend too much time on computers or phones
3.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. Some parents are worried about their children.
B. Teachers don’t need to check homework any more.
C. Using QR codes makes checking homework easier.
D. Students don’t need to hand in homework any more.
Charles Dickens was an English writer. He was born in 1812. He created some of the world’s best-known characters and many readers think he is the most important writer of the Victorian era (1837-1901). Some of his famous novels are Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and Great Expectations. Most people in his novels lived in London.
In 1824, Dickens’ father went to prison(监狱) because he couldn’t pay money to someone. In those days, a man’s wife and young children went to prison with him. Charles was 12, so he left school to work in the prison. Life was hard, and a lot of children worked in those days. Dickens’ own experience helped him to write about poor children without a mother or father. Dickens' success began with the publication (出版) of The Pickwick Papers in 1836. And his book Oliver Twist is about a boy without father. Important people were more interested in the problems of poor people after reading Dickens’ books.
Dickens’ novels are often very long and he wrote them in different parts for a newspaper each week. His novels have a lot of exciting and sad things in them. He wanted his readers to buy the newspaper every week. And the readers wanted to finish the story! Dickens’ novels are popular because many of his stories are about social(社会的) problems and family life. Dickens was successful in writing and he has been praised by other writers for his style and characters.
1.When was Charles Dickens born?
A. In 1812. B. In 1824. C. In 1836. D. In 1901.
2.Where did Dickens work when he was 12?
A. In the prison. B. At a school. C. On a farm. D. In an office.
3.Dickens’ novels are popular because_______.
A. they have a lot of exciting and sad things
B. they are about social problems and family life
C. he has been praised for his style and characters
D. he is the most important writer of the Victorian era
Finally Home
Last year, my parents moved to this town. I had to go to a new school and found no one to be friends with because I wasn’t interested in the topics most of my classmates liked.
“Maybe I’ll never have real friends,” I thought.
I closed my eyes and imagined playing my drums. Suddenly, I heard the sound of a guitar.
I followed the sound and found out that was a band. I recognized the guitar player at my first sight and so did he.
“Hey, you’re Cassie from my class!” his voice surprised me.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I just haven’t heard any live music in this town before! You sound great—did you guys write that song?”
“Yeah—well, we’re still working on it. I’m Matt.” He stood up and held out his hand.
“Mind if I listen in?” I asked in a low voice.
“Not at all,” Matt said, smiling. “Maybe you can give us some suggestions!”
The song was pretty good and I could really improve it with my drum skills. Behind my drum set was the one place I felt completely like myself. But I wasn’t sure if I wanted to open that door to the world.
“Hey, do you play drums?” Matt asked suddenly.
His question surprised me. How did he know? And then I followed his eyes to my hands, which had been beating a rhythm(节奏) on the floor. I tried to say no, but my heart stopped me from refusing. “Sure, I’ve been playing for a few years,” I said finally.
“Oh, wow! You’ve got to join us!” Matt said. “I have some drums over here.”
I looked at their shiny faces. “Absolutely. I would love to play!” I replied.
“One, two, three, four!” Matt counted and began singing, and I knew I was finally home.
1.When the writer first went to a new school, she _____.
A. joined a music club B. had no close friends
C. could play the guitar D. developed a new hobby
2.How did the writer feel when Matt asked if she played drums?
A. Surprised. B. Scared. C. Worried. D. Excited.
3.The writer said she was finally home because______.
A. she learned to play the drums
B. she decided to leave the town
C. she loved her home very much
D. she made some friends finally
Tonya Andrews is a math teacher in Texas. For 16 years, she loved her dear pet cat Blondie very much and wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. It is totally understandable that she had a special feeling for Blondic because she’d saved her from a building in Forth Worth. But recently, shortly after she and her husband had realized that Blondie seemed to be getting sick, the elderly cat died in her arms on her way to the pet hospital. Naturally, Mrs. Andrews was heartbroken.
After Blondie’s death, Mrs. Andrews went to work every day, feeling upset. She couldn’t help but share the sad news with some of her students at Joshua High School in Joshua, TX, and shortly after, a few of the girls in her class came up with a few surprises to cheer her up.
As one student filmed the moment, the girls first gave her some white roses, followed by cupcakes and balloons to express their care. Mrs. Andrews seemed touched, but it was their next surprise that deeply moved her and that everyone was talking about.
All that the shocked teacher could seem to say was,“Are they for me?”as she held the baby cats named Missy and Girlie.
“I knew something was going on when only half of my class was in my room, second period the next day when the bell rang,”Andrews told the Huffington Post, feeling thankful. “Then she held them out to me and said they were mine. My heart can now experience happiness again.”
What the high school students did is really meaningful, especially for people who have gone through loss, like Tonya Andrews. The good news is that it certainly looks like it was worth all the efforts. Tonya Andrews finally was happy when her students did kind things for her.
1.Why did Mrs.Andrews have a special feeling for Blondie?
A. Because Blondie got sick.
B. Because she was always lonely.
C. Because Blondie was her first pet.
D. Because she saved Blondic from a building.
2.What did Mrs.Andrews do after Blondie died?
A. She shared the sad news with her students.
B. She bought two baby cats, Missy and Girlie.
C. She got into an argument with her husband.
D. She gave up her job at Joshua High School.
3.According to the passage, what are Mrs.Andrews’ students like?
A. Confident and honest. B. Understanding and caring.
C. Humorous and active. D. Brave and strong-willed.
Money in the Bank
“Jamila, I just found a five-dollar bill on the table,” said Mrs.Johnson. “Is that your money?” Jamila looked up from the book she was reading. “Oops. I emptied my pockets before I left for soccer practice yesterday. I was running late, so I didn’t have time to take the money up to my room.” Jamila’s mom handed her the bill and watched as her daughter placed it in her book.
Jamila went back to read. A moment later, she heard her mother give a deep sigh(叹息). “Jamila, you just put that money in your book. I’m quite sure that you won’t be able to find it when you need it. You are working so hard to save for a new bicycle. I don’t want you to lost any of your hard-earned(辛苦挣得的) money. Don’t you have a piggybank?”
Jamila nodded. “I have one, but the key doesn’t work and I can’t get the money out. Some of my money is in a jar(罐子) on my desk. Some is in a box on my bed. I might also have some in other books.”
Mrs.Johnson smiled at Jamila. “It looks like it’s time for you to get your own bank account(账户)，” she said. “Do you want to go to the bank with me?”
Jamila jumped up. “Will the account be in my own name?” she asked excitedly.
“Of course,” answered her mom. “You might be surprised by how much you have when your money is all in one place. At least you’ll know where it all is.”
At the bank, Jamila and her mother opened a savings account. The banking manager explained how the money in the savings account would earn interest. The longer the money stayed in the account, the more interest it would earn.
Jamila was surprised to learn that she could earn money just by saving her money in a savings account. “I wish I had done this a long time ago,” she winked at her mom. “Maybe I’d have already saved enough to buy my bike.”
1.Where did Jamila put the money after her mother handed it to her?
A. In her pocket. B. In a piggybank.
C. In a jar. D. In her book.
2.Mrs.Johnson thought Jamila should have a bank account because _______.
A. it could encourage Jamila to work harder for her new bicycle
B. Jamila put money everywhere and might lose some of it
C. the money in a savings account could earn interest
D. Jamila spent much more than she earned
3.How did Jamila feel when she knew she could earn money by sawing money in the bank?
A. Sorry. B. Proud. C. Surprised. D. Confused.
