In the middle of a city, there was a museum that was decorated with beautiful marble tiles (大理石砖) and a huge marble statue (大理石像). Many people from all over the world visited the museum every day and admired the statue. One night, the marble tiles started talking to the marble statue.
Tiles: Hey statue. Don’t you think it’s unfair that everybody comes here to admire you while stepping on us?
Statue: My dear brothers. Don’t you remember that we are actually from the same place?
Tiles: Yes, we do. That is why we feel it is even more unfair. All of us were born from the same place, and yet the world treats us so differently now. This is so unfair!
Statue: Yes, you are right, my brothers. But do you still remember the day when the artist tried to work on you, but you refused him?
Tiles: Yes, we didn’t like him. We turned him away because we didn’t want to get hurt.
Statue: Well, since you refused his tools, he couldn’t work on you. When he decided to give up on you, he started working on me. I knew at once that I would be something different and special after his hard work. I bore (忍受) all the pain and allowed him to fashion (雕琢) me as he wanted!
Tiles: But it hurt quite a lot.
Statue: My brothers, there is a price for everything in life. Since you decided to give up halfway, you can’t complain about the world’s unfairness to you.?
The marble tiles became quiet and deep in thought. The harder the knocks you go through in life, the more you learn and can put to use in the future!
1.What made the marble tiles feel that they were being treated unfairly?
A.The statue was better looked after.
B.The statue looked down on them.
C.They no longer shone after people stepped on them.
D.They didn’t get as much admiration as the statue.
2.The artist gave up on the tiles because ________.
A.the tiles were too small to work on B.he hated to make tiles
C.the tiles refused to be hurt D.the statue offered a lower price
3.What might the marble statue have experienced?
A.It hurt a lot, but never complained. B.It complained about unfairness.
C.It couldn’t get along with the artist. D.It couldn’t bear the pain.
4.What lesson might the marble tiles learn from this?
A.Success only comes from struggle and hard work. B.Everybody should learn to bear unfairness.
C.No one should give up on their dreams. D.Failure is the mother of success.
People all over the world have some strange hobbies, and one of the most unusual in Britain is “trainspotting.” It's usually men over the age of 40, but not always. You'll see them standing around at railway stations and other places where trains pass by, and you'll see them taking photos and exchanging notes with each other. So, what are they doing?
Well, they're collecting information about trains — the numbers on the front of the trains, or the make and model of the“ locomotive (火车头)” —the part of the train which pulls all the other parts. In the same way that some people collect toys or stamps, these men collect and exchange all kinds of details about trains and railways.
The idea goes back as far as 1942. That year, a young man named Ian Allan was working at Waterloo rail-way station in London. It was his job to answer letters from people about trains, and quite a lot of the questions he received were very similar, so he had a word with his boss. He asked if he could write a booklet (小手册) giving the answers to the most frequently asked questions - an early version of the FAQs you see on websites nowadays. His boss said if he wanted to waste his time on such a project, he should do it in his own time.
So he did. The first 2,000 copies were all sold in days, and by the 1950s, a million copies of British Railways Locomotives were selling every year. Ian Allan went on to become a successful publisher, and got an Order of the British Empire (OBE,大英帝国勋章) from the Queen in 1995. He died in 2015, but his trainspotting hobby lives on.
1.What do trainspotters do?
A.They collect railway toys and stamps.
B.They observe the scenes at railway stations.
C.They gather and exchange details about trains.
D.They build and collect model trains based on photos.
2.When answering letters from people about trains, Iran Allan most probably felt________.
A.amazed B.impatient C.satisfied D.stressed
3.From the passage, we know that________.
A.his boss gave him a lot of help to publish his booklet.
B.his booklet wasn't popular when first introduced.
C.his work published in the 1950s is not popular anymore.
D.his project on train-related questions earned him great fame.
Would you like to know how other people see the world? Listed below are of the best books for children.
Oliver and Patch | Oliver is a lost little boy. He doesn’t know anybody in a big city. One day he meets Patch, a little dog who is also lost. The two become best friends. They help each other. Together they have an adventure in the city. However, Oliver knows that Patch’s owner must be very worried and missing Patch. What should Oliver do? |
A Dance like starlight: One Ballerina’s Dream | This is a young girl’s story about how she wants to become a ballerina. She will do anything to make her dreams come true. She lives in a poor place, and it is very difficult. The young girl fights through a hard life, but she never gives up. This story comes from the true life of the first African-American ballerina, Janet Collins. |
Absolutely almost | Alfie is not very smart and he is not sporty, either. He is not very tall, and he is not good at art. Because of this, he feels like he will not be good at anything. Now he meets Calista, his new babysitter. Calista helps Alfie see all of the good things he can do. Alfie learns to be proud of being himself. This story is full of feeling and laughter. |
1.Oliver is a young boy who________.
A.gets lost in a big city B.wants to learn to dance
C.is not good at art D.was born in America
2.When you read Absolutely Almost, you will probably________.
A.feel afraid B.fall asleep
C.laugh a lot D.become smart
3.The passage may come from________.
A.a shopping website B.a restaurant menu
C.a movie poster D.a concert introduction
It was Saturday, and the sun was scorching (灼热的).I paced up and down the platform，waiting for the bus to go to work.
“Excuse me, what_______is it?” said a voice in my ear. When I looked_______over my shoulder, I was greeted by a ragged man who looked like a migrant worker (农民工). He was almost the same age_______my elder brother, but his hair was messy and his working clothes were dirty and old. I was made to take two steps back from him because of a_______smell. Disgusted (厌烦的) and puzzled, I gave him a blank stare and answered his question unwillingly.
“Thank you! I'm just_______of being late for work,” he explained in a whisper, giving a nervous smile. I remained silent, nodding my head slightly.
The bus finally reached the station, and I_______it. I reached into my pocket, and to my great surprise, it was_______empty! I was_______embarrassed(尴尬的) that I just froze. My face burned with _______. At that moment, a dark-colored arm reached out and put two coins into the coin box. “The money is for________of us!” a familiar voice rang in my ear. I________my head and realized it was him!
My previous behavior passed ________ my mind, making me dizzy. "Thank you," I murmured, regretful and thankful. After________the words , he smiled, revealing perfect white teeth.“You are welcome! You helped me, too.”
I was touched, but the only thing________I could do was watching his hands. I noticed the calluses (老茧) on them, which told the story of his struggles and hardships as a laborer.________hard work may change his appearance, it'll never change his warm heart and kind soul.
1.A.day B.time C.date D.place
2.A.up B.forward C.back D.down
3.A.as B.with C.of D.like
4.A.good B.sick C.common D.terrible
5.A.worried B.curious C.afraid D.tired
6.A.got on B.got off C.got up D.got down
7.A.luckily B.completely C.naturally D.hardly
8.A.too B.very C.so D.such
9.A.joy B.anger C.pride D.shame
10.A.one B.both C.neither D.all
11.A.shook B.raised C.nodded D.hid
12.A.into B.over C.through D.for
13.A.hearing B.listening C.sounding D.saying
14.A.what B.which C.how D.that
15.A.If B.Unless C.Since D.Although
—Could you please come back home at five this afternoon?
—________. I’ll have an important meeting at that time.
A.Really sorry B.Never mind C.No problem D.I think so
---I woke up late today. What’s worse, I left my homework at home!
---Poor boy! That is “__________”．
A.Every dog has its day B.It never rains but it pours
C.Never offer to teach fish to swim D.Don't put all your eggs in one basket
