One Saturday afternoon in February, 1943, a farmer in Mexico stopped working for a moment and looked across his fields of corn. Suddenly he saw a thin line of white smoke curling up out of his field, about 200 feet from where he stood. As he went toward the smoke to see what it was, he heard a strange noise. The line of smoke became bigger. It looked as if some great force were pushing it up into the sky.
The farmer rushed home to get his wife. While he was urging his wife to hurry from the house, the earth shook violently. When he stood up after the earth stopped shaking, he looked across the field and saw that great flames were rising from his cornfield. A volcano was being born!
They hurried across the shaking earth to the village of Particutin, which was toward their farm. They found the village was seriously destroyed and the road from the village was filled with frightened people hurrying to safety.
Particutin did not become dark that night. The volcano lighted up the sky for miles around. Flames rushed out of the ground. The volcano threw hot stones a thousand feet through the air. Great explosion shook the earth and heavy black ashes fell from the sky, covering the roofs in Mexico city, 180 miles away.
But that was not all. On the third evening a float of lava（火山岩）began to boil up from the centre of the volcano. It came over the edge in a heavy flow, 2,000 feet wide, and travelled slowly across the valley, bringing certain death to everything that could not move from its path.
1..
. From the passage we can conclude EXCEPT that .
A. the volcano threw out a lot of ashes and hot stones
B. the volcano lasted several days
C. many people had to escape from the village
D. it caused many deaths and great loss
2..
. You can find the passage in a .
A. newspaper B. government report
C. leaflet for travellers D. handbook
3..
. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. At the beginning the farmer heard a strange cry.
B. The farmer was working in the field when the disaster happened.
C. The farmer’s wife was working in the field at that moment.
D. The village was badly damaged.
4..
What does the passage mainly tell us?
A. The damage of a volcano. B. A terrible volcano.
C. An unforgettable memory. D. A farmer’s experience.
One of the qualities that most people admire in others is the willingness to admit one's mistakes. It is extremely hard sometimes to say a simple thing like "I was wrong about that," and it is even harder to say, "I was wrong, and you were right about that."
I had an experience recently with someone admitting to me that he had made a mistake fifteen years ago. He told me he had been the manager of a certain grocery store in the neighbourhood where I grew up, and he asked me if I remembered the egg boxes. Then he related an incident and I began to remember vaguely the incident he was describing.
I was about eight years old at the time, and I had gone into the store with my mother to do the weekly grocery shopping. On that particular day, I must have found my way to the dairy food department where the incident took place.
There must have been a special sale on eggs that day because there was an impressive display of eggs in dozen and half-dozen boxes. The boxes were stacked three or four feet high. I must have stopped in front of a display to admire the stacks. Just then a woman came by pushing her grocery cart and knocked off the stacks of boxes. For some reason, I decided it was up to me to put the display back together, so I went to work.
The manager heard the noise and came rushing over to see what had happened. When he appeared, I was on my knees inspecting some of the boxes to see if any of the eggs were broken, but to him it looked as if I was the culprit (做错事的人). He severely scolded me and wanted me to pay for any broken eggs. I tried to explain it wasn’t me who had broken them, but it did no good. Even though I quickly forgot all about the incident, obviously the manager did not.
1..
. How old was the author when he wrote this article?
A. About 8. B. About 18. C. About 23. D. About 15.
2..
Who was to blame for knocking off the stacks of boxes?
A. The author. B. The manager. C. A woman. D. The author's mother.
3..
. Which of the following statements is not true?
A. The woman who knocked off the stacks of boxes was seriously criticized by the manager.
B. The author was severely criticized by the manager.
C. A woman carelessly knocked off the stacks of boxes.
D. It was the author who put the display back together.
4..
. The tone of the article expresses the author's .
A. regret for the mistake he made in the store
B. admiration for the manager's willingness to admit mistakes
C. anger against the woman who knocked off the stacks of boxes
D. anger to the manager for his wrong accusation
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Grades: 8 & up Ages: 13 & up
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Now this is the way to add new words to your vocabulary! Word Smart Junior will make you laugh so much. You’ll be amazed that you’ve just learned more than 120 fascinating and very useful words! Parents, teachers, and friends will marvel at your eloquence (口才)!
Grades: 3-5 Ages: 8-10
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Do you quake when your teacher says, “Now it’s time for grammar”? Do your verbs agree with your subjects?
Fear no more! A big Hollywood producer and a famous movie star will help you learn all those nasty (讨厌的) elements of grammar. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you learn, and how much fun it can be. You’ll finally know your grammar backwards and forwards, and you’ll never have to worry about it again.
Grades: 7-9 Ages: 12-14
Grammar Smart: An Audio Guide to Perfect Usage
Author(s): Julian Fleisher $ 12.68
The words you use say a lot about you … but the way you put them together says even more. Your grammar makes an immediate and lasting impression on your teachers, and even your friends. So don’t make the mistake of thinking that grammar is too complicated. We’ve created Grammar Smart to help you write and speak with clarity and confidence.
Grades: 6-8 Ages: 11-13
1..
If a ten-year-old boy wants himself to be admired because of his speech ability, he may buy .
A. Word Power B. Word Smart Junior
C. Grammar Smart Junior D. Grammar Smart: An Audio Guide to Perfect Usage
2..
By saying “You’ll finally know your grammar backwards and forwards”, the writer means “ ”.
A. You will be clearly familiar with grammar
B. You will know the history of grammar
C. You will know the make-up of grammar
D. You will learn about the future of grammar
3..
The four books are all about .
A. fiction and mysteries B. parenting and teaching
C. literature and arts D. language study
Thanksgiving Day was near. Lucy, the first grade teacher, gave her class a fun 36 — to draw a picture of somebody or something for which they were 37 . When the students 38
their assignment, she found most of them drew some pictures of their family, teachers, friends or neighbors.
Douglas, however, made a different kind of picture. He was a 39 boy. He didn’t act the same as others. He always seemed to be shy and sad. He 40 played with other children during the break 41 they kindly invited him to. Lucy treated him very well. She always helped him and 42 him to be confident. Yes, his picture was different. He just drew a 43 . Nothing else. His abstract image 44 the imagination of his classmates. Whose hand could it be? One guessed it was a mother’s hand, for mother’s hand gives children warmth and 45 . Another child guessed it was a police officer’s hand, because the police 46 people and care for people. And so the discussion 47 .
When the children were discussing it, Lucy paused at Douglas’ desk, 48 down, and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy murmured, “It’s 49 , teacher.” Douglas was most thankful for her hand. She was 50 and felt tears in her eyes. She thought of the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here or there. She 51 how often she had said to him, “Take my 52 , Douglas. We’ll go outside.” or “Let me show you how to hold your pencil.”
The story speaks of 53 thankfulness. It also says something about teachers teaching and parents parenting and friends showing friendship. They might not always say “ 54 ” out, but they’ll remember the hand that you 55 out to give them love and be grateful to you always.
1... A. assignment B. question C. suggestion D. solution
2.. A. sorry B. regretful C. thankful D. responsible
3.. A. gave in B. handed in C. put off D. called off
4... A. strong B. kind C. different D. humorous
5... A. often B. usually C. seldom D. ever
6... A. because B. though C. as D. since
7... A. encouraged B. discouraged C. cheered D. praised
8... A. hand B. face C. ear D. leg
9.. A. reduced B. ruined C. inspired D. used
10... A. comfort B. praise C. sorrow D. coldness
11... A. search B. question C. meet D. protect
12... A. ended B. succeeded C. continued D. failed
13... A. broke B. pulled C. looked D. bent
14... A. his B. yours C. my mother’s D. my father’s
15... A. disappointed B. annoyed C. tired D. touched
16... A. forgot B. regretted C. recalled D. understood
17... A. hand B. book C. lesson D. gift
18... A. rather than B. more than C. anything but D. nothing but
19... A. I’m sorry B. Take care C. I’m all right D. Thank you
20... A. get B. reach C. put D. make
It is none of your business other people think about you. Believe yourself.
A. which B. what C. how D. when
There is nothing more I can try you to stay, so I wish you good luck.
A. persuading B. to be persuaded C. to persuade D. persuading
