First Day at School
It was my first day at school in London and I was half-excited and half-frightened. On my way to school I wondered, what 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 rule 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.
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, so 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.
As the boy kicked the ball hard along the ground to my right, I threw myself down quickly and saved it. All my team crowded round me. My bare knees were grazed and bleeding. Brian took out a handkerchief and offered it to me.
"Do you want to join my gang (team)?" 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. nervous
C. important D. outstanding
4.The writer was offered a handkerchief because _________________.
A. he was in Brian’s team
B. he was no longer a new comer
C. he was beginning to be accepted
D. he pushed a player on the other team
Any introduction to Peking Opera would not be complete without telling of Mei Lanfang. During his stage life, he combined the traditions of the past with his own creations, shaping a style of his own and giving birth to “The Mei Lanfang School”. He was also the first artist to introduce Peking Opera to an overseas audience, making it popular to the world.
Mei Lanfang began his stage life at the age of 8. His teacher said he showed little hope because of his boring eyes. To improve this, he exercised them day after day. Thanks to his efforts, he managed to change his dull eyes into a pair of bright and expressive eyes and win national fame before the age of 20.
In over 50 years on the stage, Mei Lanfang played no less than 100 different characters in the performance. He also wrote many new plays, designing the dances himself. The many dances he created form part of the great treasure that he left to Peking Opera.
In 1930, Mei Lanfang started on a successful US tour. There his brilliant performances impressed the audience, making them realize that Peking Opera was a theatrical form of great value.
1.Mei Lanfang was the first artist to introduce Peking Opera to ________.
A. China B. audience
C. the world D. schools
2.How long did it take Mei Lanfang to exercise his eyes into bright and expressive?
A. About 8 years. B. About 10 years.
C. About 12 years. D. About 14 years.
3.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. The history of Peking Opera.
B. Mei Lanfang’s early stage life.
C. The performance of Peking Opera by Mei Lanfang.
D. Mei Lanfang’s great contributions to Peking Opera.
My friend Michelle is blind, but you'd never know it. She makes such good use of her other ____, including her "sixth Sense", that she rarely gives the impression she's ________ anything.
Michelle looks after her children pretty much like the rest of us, ________ that she doesn't push too hard on them, ________ really benefit a lot from her relaxed attitude. She knows when to clean the house, she moves around so fast that often ________ don't realize she's blind.
I ________ this the first time after my six-year-old daughter, Kayla, went to play there. When Kayla came home, she was very ________ about her day. She told me they had baked cookies, played games and done art projects. But she was ________ excited about her finger-painting project.
"Mom, guess what?" said Kayla, all smiles "I learned how to ________ colors today! Blue and red make purple, and yellow and blue make green! And Michelle ________ with us."
To my great ________, my child had learnt about color from a blind friend!
Then Kayla continued. "Michelle told me my ________ showed joy, pride and a sense of accomplishment. She really ________ what I was doing!" Kayla said she had never felt how good finger paints felt ________ Michelle showed her how to paint without looking at her paper.
I realized Kayla didn't know that Michelle was blind. It had just never ________ in conversation.
When I told her, she was ________ for a moment. At first, she didn't believe me. "But Mommy, Michelle knew exactly what was in my picture!" Kayla _______. And I knew my child was ________ because Michelle had listened to Kayla describe her artwork. Michelle had also heard Kayla's ________ in her work,
We were silent for a minute. Then Kayla said slowly, "You know, Mommy, Michelle really did 'see' my picture. She just used my ________."
Indeed, she uses a special type of "vision" that all mothers have.
1.A. ways B. means C. methods D. senses
2.A. enjoyed B. found C. missed D. seen
3.A. and B. except C. even D. but
4. A. who B. it C. she D. which
5.A. guests B. family C. children D. friends
6.A. realized B. witnessed C. recognized D. regretted
7.A. excited B. sad C. satisfied D. enjoyed
8.A. especially B. not so C. a little D. not at all
9.A. paint B. draw C. create D. mix
10.A. stayed B. painted C. talked D. watched
11.A. excitement B. encouragement C. delight D. surprise
12.A. attitude B. color C. picture D. paper
13.A. touched B. got C. saw D. understood
14.A. after B. since C. until D. when
15.A. referred to B. turned out C. come up D. thought about
16.A. curious B. quiet C. puzzled D. disappointed
17.A. cried B. insisted C. complained D. informed
18.A. right B. wrong C. worded D. uncertain
19.A. shortcomings B. difficulties C. pride D. description
20.A. paper B. pens C. hands D. eyes
When gold was discovered in California, thousands of people rushed there _______ it.
A. in support of B. in need of
C. in praise of D. in search of
Police now believe that the crime could be ________ to the one which happened last week.
A. related B. combined
C. fixed D. emphasised
Every child is ________ in the eyes of his parents.
A. cheerful B. ordinary
C. narrow D. unique