A man had two large pots. One of the pots had a crack in it, so while the other pot always delivered (运送) a full pot of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to his house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. This went on every day for years.
One day a neighbor asked the man, “One of your pots has been broken for years. It can only deliver half its load, so you don’t get full value from your efforts. Why don’t you buy a new one?”
The man smiled and said, “Please follow me to my house, and you may see some beautiful flowers.” On the way to the man’s house, the neighbor took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path.
The man said to the neighbor, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on one side of the path, but not on the other side? That’s because I have always known about the flaw (缺陷) of my pot. I planted flower seeds on one side of the path. Every day when I walk back from the stream, the broken pot waters them. For years, I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate (装饰) my house. Without the broken pot, I would not have this beauty.”
1.How much water did the man carry home every day?
A. A full pot. B. Two full pots.
C. Half a pot. D. One and a half pots.
2.What did the man do with the broken pot?
A. He threw it away.
B. He used it to water flowers.
C. He changed it for a new one.
D. He planted some flowers in it.
3.We can learn from the passage that the man ______.
A. told a lie to his neighbor
B. accepted his neighbor’s suggestion
C. took advantage of the flaw of his pot
D. didn’t like his broken pot
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A. A man and his neighbor
B. A way of planting flowers
C. A story of a broken pot
D. A warm-hearted man
What is language for? Some people seem to think it's for practicing grammar rules and learning lists of words—the longer the lists，the better．That's wrong．Language is for the exchange（交流）of ideas and information．It's meaningless knowing all about a language if you can't use it freely．Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can't speak correctly or fluently．They are afraid of making mistakes．One shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language．Native speakers make mistakes and break rules, too．Bernard saw once wrote, "Foreigners often speak English too correctly．"But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make．They're English mistakes in the English language．And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule．What used to be wrong becomes right．People not only make history, they make language．But a people can only make its own language．It can't make another people's language．So Chinese students of English should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn't overdo（做过头）it．They should put communication first.
1.Language is used to ________.
A．express oneself
B．practise grammar rules
B．talk with foreigners only
D．learn lists of word
2.Generally, when an American or an Englishman speaks English, he ________.
A．never makes mistakes
B．often makes mistakes
C．can't avoid making mistakes
D．always makes mistakes
3."Foreigners often speak English too correctly．"This sentence means that ________.
A．foreigners speak correct English
B．foreigners speak incorrect English
C．foreigners speak English according to the grammar rules
D．foreigners never make mistakes when they speak English
4.When we speak a foreign language, we should ________.
A．speak in Chinese way
B．speak by the rules
C．speak to native speakers
D．not be afraid of making mistakes
A beautiful woman took a plane on business. She found her seat and sat down next to a young man. The man was just thinking of making a few dollars on the plane. When he saw the woman, he got an idea.
“Hey! Would you like to play a game?” he asked the woman. “No, thank you. I just want to take a nap (打盹),” the woman answered.
“It’s really easy. All you have to do is to answer the questions that I ask you. If you don’t know the answer, you give me five dollars. If I don’t know the answer to your question, then I’ll give you five dollars.”
“No,” the woman still refused.
“OK. If I don’t know the answer to your question, I’ll give you five hundred dollars. How about that?” the man said. Then the woman became interested and decided to join in the game.
“OK. How many moons does Jupiter (木星) have?” asked the young man. The woman reached into her purse and took out a five-dollar bill.
“What goes up the mountain with three legs and comes back with four?” the woman asked. Then the young man took out his computer and searched the Internet for an answer. Minutes later, the young man handed five hundred dollars to the woman.
After a few hours, the young man really wanted to know the answer to the question. So he asked the woman, “What is the answer to your question?” The woman reached into her purse and handed the young man a five-dollar bill.
1.Why did the man ask the woman to play a game?
A. He wanted to show his kindness.
B. He wanted to have a pleasant journey.
C. He wanted to earn some money from it.
D. He wanted to make friends with the woman.
2.How much did the woman get at the end of the story?
A. $ 500. B. $ 5. C. $ 10. D. $ 490.
3.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. The woman told the man the answer to her question.
B. The woman gave the man’s money back to him.
C. The woman asked the man another question.
D. The woman didn’t know the answer, either.
4.We can learn from the story that the woman is ______.
A. clever B. friendly
C. polite D. honest
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项
John has been alone on the road visiting clients(客户) for more than three weeks. He couldn’t wait to back to London to see his family. Mother’s Day was , and on Mother’s Day he managed to go back home on time in the past, but this year he was just too . While he was in a small town just outside of Little Rock, he drove by a shop. He said to himself, “I know I will do; I will send my some roses.”
He went into the small and saw a young man talking to the clerk. “How many roses can I get six dollars, madam?” the boy . The clerk was trying to explain that roses were . Maybe the young man would be happy with some other flowers.
“No. I to buy roses.” he said. “My mom was sick so much last year and I didn’t get to much time with her. I want to get something . It has to be red because that’s her favorite.”
The clerk looked up at John and was just shaking her head. Something inside of John was by the boy’s voice. He looked at the clerk and said secretly that he would for the boy’s roses. The clerk looked at the man and said, “OK, I’ll give you twelve red roses for your six dollars.” The young man almost up. He took the flowers and ran away from the store. It was worth the money that John gave. And he felt very .
1.A. look B. take C. go D. give
2.A. climbing B. putting C. going D. coming
3.A. never B. seldom C. usually D. hardly
4.A. crazy B. clever C. happy D. tired
5.A. cloth B. bread C.flower D. shoe
6.A. that B. what C. how D. where
7.A. children B. father C. mother D. wife
8.A. pool B. field C.shop D. school
9.A. on B. in C. at D. for
10.A. asked B. answered C. noticed D. begged
11.A. cheap B. expensive C. pretty D. essential
12.A. used B. have C. go D. dare
13.A. spend B. cost C. share D. waste
14.A. colorful B. special C. tidy D. single
15.A. roses B. cloth C. paper D. shoes
16.A. covered B. offered C. moved D. tired
17.A. pay B. ask C. hunt D. look
18.A. young B. smart C. honest D. handsome
19.A. fell B. sat C. walked D. jumped
20.A. unhappy B.happy C. bored D. sorry
She devoted herself entirely _____ helping the children who suffered a lot in the earthquake.
A. in B. for
C. to D. with
—Turn the TV down, will you?
— _______
—I asked you to turn the TV down.
A. pardon ? B. Why?
C. I’m sorry D. No problem
