Almost everyone likes to eat apples．Apples grow in nearly every part of the world．The United States produces more apples than any other country except France．The states of Washington and New York grow the most apples．1. New York is on the east coast and Washington is on the west near Canada．
Apples are red, yellow or green．They are very popular in the United States．2. Most American people are often too busy or too tired to cook dinner, so they often have their dinners very simply．Apple juice is also a popular drink and apple pie is the favorite sweet dish for many Americans．
3. The trees there produce nearly five billion apples every year—one apple for every man, woman and child in the whole world．
4. For example, “You are the apple of my eye．” means “You are actually the one I love best and care most．” In China, it is a custom in some places for the marrying couple to hold an apple in each one’s hand, promising that their marriage will be “safe” without anything bad and that their marriage will never be broken．“To apple polish” often refers to a man who fawns （奉承） on somebody for the purpose of getting some benefits．So you can easily get “apple polisher”．However, “in apple-pie order” usually has the same meaning as “in good order”． 5. In fact, it’s another saying about “compare two things that can’t be compared”．
A．The state of Washington is proud of its apples
B．Apples play an important part in people’s health
C．There are many stories and sayings about apples
D．Perhaps this is why “New York” is often called “Big Apple” by some people
E．The apples in France are better than those in America
F．Many people like to carry apples to work or to school to eat with their lunches
G．It is likely that you hear about “compare apples and oranges”
Surtsey Was born in 1963. Scientists saw the birth of this island. It began at 7.30 a.m. on 14th November. A fishing boat was near Iceland. The boat moved under the captain's (船长) feet.He noticed a strange smell. He saw some black smoke. A volcano was breaking out. Red-hot rocks, fire and smoke were rushing up from the bottom of the sea. The island grew quickly. It was 10 meters high the next day and 60 meters high on 18th November. Scientists flew there to watch it. It was exciting. Smoke and fire were still rushing up. Pieces of red-hot rock were flying into the air and falling into the sea. The sea was boiling and there was a strange light in the sky. Surtsey grew and grew. Then it stopped in June 1967. It was 175 metres high and 2 kilometres long. And life was already coming to Surtsey. Plants grew. Birds came Some scientists built a house. They want to learn about this young island. A new island is like a new world.
1. Surtsey is_______.
A. an island not far from Iceland B. a new volcano
C. a fishing boat D. a place in Iceland
2. Scientists flew there_________.
A. to stop the birth of the island B. to save the fishing boat
C. to learn about the island D. to build a house
3. When did scientists fly to Surtsey?
A. Before the volcano broke out
B. As soon as the volcano broke out.
C. About four days after the volcano broke out
D. After the volcano stopped rushing up.
4.The best title of this article probably is______.
A. A New Island B. The Birth of an Island
C. A New World D. Scientists Discovered Surtsey
When something goes wrong，it can be very satisfying to say，“Well, it’s so-and-so’s fault.” or “I know I’m late，but it’s not my fault；the car broke down.” It is probably not your fault，but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation，you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation. This is the winner’s key to success.
Winners are great at overcoming problems. For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you need to have your car examined more regularly. Or, you might start to carry along with you the useful phone numbers, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don’t rely on this person. You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.
This is what being a winner is all about—creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don’t have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on “whose fault it is.” Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stop on for success.
1.According to the passage, winners .
A. deal with problems rather than blame others
B. meet with fewer difficulties in their lives
C. have responsible and able colleagues
D. blame themselves rather that others
2.When your colleague brings about a problem, you should .
A. ask a more able colleague for help
B. blame him for his lack of responsibility
C. tell him to find the cause of the problem
D. find a better way to handle the problem
3.When problems occur, winners take them as .
A. excuses for their failures B. barriers to greater power
C. challenges to their colleagues D. chances for self-development
4.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. A Winner’s Problem. B. A Winner’s Secret.
C. A Winner’s Opportunity. D. A Winner’s Achievement.
Captain Goodfellow
Do your children enjoy interesting stories, funny games, and exciting dances? Captain Goodfellow will be ready to teach all these things to children of all ages at the City Theatres on Saturday morning at 10:00 Free．
Walking Tour of the Town
Forget your worries on Saturday morning．Take a beautiful walk and learn about local history．Meet at the front entrance of City Hall at 9:30．Wear comfortable shoes!
Films at the Museum
Two European films will be shown on Saturday afternoon at the Museum Theatre．See Broken Window at 1:30．The workers will be at 3:45．For further information, call 4987898．
International Picnic
Are you tired of eating the same kind of food every day? Come to Central Park on Saturday and enjoy food from all over the world．Delicious and not expensive．Noon to 5:00 p．m．
Take me out to the Ballgame
It’s October, and tonight is your last chance to see the Redbirds this year．Get your tickets at the gate．It might be cold… don’t forget sweaters and jackets．
Do you want to hear “The Zoo”?
“The Zoo”, a popular rock group from Australia, will give their first US．Concert tomorrow night at 8 Rose Hall, City College．
1.You can probably eat Chinese, Italian and Arab food _________．
A．at Central Park on Saturday B．at the front entrance of City Hall
C．at the ballgame D．at 5:00 p．m
2.If you are going on the Walking Tour, don’t forget _________．
A．your beautiful walk B．your comfortable shoes
C．your worries D．your learning about local history
3.The Redbirds ballgame _________．
A．is in the afternoon B．is at the gate
C．might be cold D．is outside
4.Which of the following is NOT true?
A．“The Zoo” is an Australian rock group
B．“The Zoo” are going to meet their American audience for the last time
C．“The Zoo” will appear at 8:00 p．m
D．“The Zoo” will perform in front of college students
“If you talk to the plants, they will grow faster and the effect is even better if you’re a woman.” Researchers at Royal Horticultural Society carried out an experiment to find that the voice of a woman gardener makes plants grow faster.
The experiment lasted a month and by the end of the study scientists managed to discover that tomato plants grew up two inches taller when women gardeners talked to them instead of male.
Sarah Darwin was the one making the plants registered the best growth. Her voice was the most “inspiring” for plants than those of nine other gardeners when reading a passage from The Origin of Species. The great-great-granddaughter of the famous botanist(植物学家) Charles Darwin found that her plant grew about two inches taller than the plant of the best male gardener.
Colin Crosbie, Garden Superintendent at RHS, said that the finding cannot yet be explained. He assumes that women have a greater range of pitch（音高） and tone（音调） which might have a certain effect on the sound waves that reach the plant. “Sound waves are an environmental effect just like rain or light ,”said Mr Grosbie.
The study began in April at RHS Garden Wisley in Survey. Scientists started with open auditions(听力) for the people who were asked to record passages from John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer's Night Dream and Darwin's The Origin of Species.
Afterwards researchers selected a number of different voices and played them to 10 tomato plants during a period of a month. Each plant had headphones（耳机） connected to it. Through the headphones the sound waves could hit the plants. It was discovered that plants that “listened” to female voices on average grew taller by an inch in comparison to plants that heard male voices.
Miss Darwin said, “I think it is an honor to have a voice that can make tomatoes grow, and especially fitting because for a number of years I have been studying wild tomatoes from the Galapagos Island at the Natural History Museum in London.”
1.What does the passage talk about?
A. Plants enjoy men’s voices than women’s.
B. A botanical experiment in a museum.
C. Voice’s influence on plant growing.
D. Strange phenomenon（现象） at Royal Horticultural Society.
2.What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 4 mean?
A. Plants need sound as well as rain and light.
B. Sound is basic for the plant to grow.
C. Sound has a good effect as rain or light does.
D. Plants can’t live without sound, rain or light.
3.Sarah Darwin is most likely a (an)_____.
A. botanist B. gardener C. astronomer D. environmentalist
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A. The experiment ended in May.
B. Scientist can explain the findings clearly.
C. Plants enjoy listening to the passages from masterpieces.
D. The findings are of great importance to human beings.
I still remember my first day at school in London and I was half-excited and half-frightened. On my way to school I wondered what sort of questions the other boys would ask me and practiced all the answers: “I am nine years old. I was born here but I haven’t lived here since I was two. I was living in Farley. It’s about thirty miles away. I came back to London two months ago.” I also wondered if it was the custom for boys to fight strangers like me, but I was tall for my age. I hoped they would decide not to risk it.
No one took any notice of me before school. I stood in the center of the playground, expecting someone to say “hello”, but no one spoke to me. When a teacher called my name and told me where my classroom was, one or two boys looked at me but that was all.
My teacher was called Mr. Jones. There were 42 boys in the class, so I didn’t stand out there, either, until the first lesson of the afternoon. Mr. Jones was very fond of Charles Dickens and he had decided to read aloud to us from David Copperfield, but first he asked several boys if they knew Dickens’ birthplace, but no one guessed right. A boy called Brian, the biggest in the class, said: “Timbuktu”, and Mr. Jones went red in the face. Then he asked me. I said: “Portsmouth”, and everyone stared at me because Mr. Jones said I was right. This didn’t make me very popular, of course.
“He thinks he’s clever,” I heard Brian say.
After that, we went out to the playground to play football. I was in Brian’s team, and he obviously had Dickens in mind because he told me to go in goal. No one ever wanted to be the goalkeeper.
“He’s big enough and useless enough.” Brian said when someone asked him why he had chosen me.
I suppose Mr. Jones, who served as the judge, remembered Dickens, too, because when the game was nearly over, Brian pushed one of the players on the other team, and he gave them a penalty (惩罚). As the boy kicked the ball to my right, I threw myself down instinctively (本能地) and saved it. All my team crowded round me. My bare knees were injured and bleeding. Brian took out a handkerchief and offered it to me.
“Do you want to join my gang (帮派)?” he said.
At the end of the day, I was no longer a stranger.
1.The writer prepared to answer all of the following questions EXCEPT “ ”.
A. How old are you?
B. Where are you from?
C. Do you want to join my gang?
D. When did you come back to London?
2.We can learn from the passage that .
A. boys were usually unfriendly to new students
B. the writer was not greeted as he expected
C. Brian praised the writer for his cleverness
D. the writer was glad to be a goalkeeper
3.The underlined part “I didn’t stand out” in paragraph 3 means that the writer was not .
A. noticeable B. welcome C. important D. foolish
4.The writer was offered a handkerchief because .
A. he threw himself down and saved the goal
B. he pushed a player on the other team
C. he was beginning to be accepted
D. he was no longer a newcomer
