One day, a mother horse told her son, “My child, will you 1.(happy) go and carry this bag of wheat to the mill(磨坊) to make it 2. flour?” The little horse agreed without hesitation and 3.(run) out of the house with the bag of wheat on his back.
After some time, the little horse came to a river, 4. blocked his path to the mill. He suddenly got 5.(confuse). Looking around, he saw a cow. So he asked, “Auntie Cow, can you tell me whether I can cross the river?” The cow answered, “Definitely you can. The water is very shallow.” When the little horse was about 6.(cross) the river, a squirrel shouted to him, “Don’t cross the river. You will drown.” Not 7.(know) what to do, the little horse decided to go back to ask his mother, who said, “My son, it’s not enough to only listen to others; you have to give it 8. try by yourself, and then you’ll know the answer.”
With those words, he walked carefully across the river. The water was neither shallow nor
9.(deeply). It was just fine for him. Finally the little horse crossed the river and completed his task. He also learned to overcome 10.(difficulty) by practicing instead of only listening to others.
When my son Gene was about 12 years old, I started helping him learn to _______. I bought twenty chickens and asked him to _______ them. I told him that they would be his own chickens and we would _______ the eggs from him. However, he would have to buy chicken _______ with the money he made from the eggs. Whatever money was _______ would be his to keep. Gene was _______, thinking he would make his first _______.
After several weeks’ successful work, I began to _______ that egg production was going down, I _______ nothing about it. Then one night, Gene told me he didn’t have ________ money to buy the feed. He said the chickens had never ________ a meal and he could not figure out why some of them had stopped ________ eggs.
Then I asked him if he had ________ the amount of feed he had given the chickens. He was ________. It was like he did not think ________would ever know what he had done. After a long ________, he said yes. He thought he would make more money if he gave them ________ food. I asked him, “Did you fool the chickens?”
I was just astonished at the question in my own ________. I was dumbfounded(惊呆) at the significance of it. Yes, you can fool everyone else, ________ you cannot “fool the chickens,” because ________, you will find out, as the saying goes, “What goes around comes around.”
1.A. cook B. share C. study D. work
2.A. take care of B. observe C. train D. pay attention to
3.A. enjoy B. borrow C. buy D. keep
4.A. nest B. soup C. meat D. feed
5.A. given back B. picked up C. left over D. brought in
6.A. thrilled B. worried C. satisfied D. discouraged
7.A. deal B. contribution C. fortune D. choice
8.A. hear B. notice C. predict D. imagine
9.A. said B. found C. thought D. recalled
10.A. prize B. lucky C. pocket D. enough
11.A. missed B. wasted C. saved D. finished
12.A. hatching B. laying C. bringing D. hiding
13.A. handed out B. checked out C. cut down D. put down
14.A. delighted B. shocked C. tired D. disappointed
15.A. nobody B. everybody C. someone D. anyone
16.A. silence B. absence C. discussion D. preparation
17.A. heavy B. fresher C. less D. solid
18.A. life B. job C. case D. mind
19.A. or B. but C. and D. so
20.A. in fact B. in the end C. in contrast D. in addition
On Nov.18th, 1908, three men went up in a balloon. They started early in London. The headman was Augusta Gaudron, and the other two men were Tannar and Maitland. They had a big balloon and they were ready for a long way.
Soon they heard the sea. They were carrying the usual rope, and it was hanging down from the basket of the balloon. At the end of the rope they had tied a metal box. This could hold water, or it could be empty. So they were able to change its weight. It was for use over the sea. They were also carrying some bags of sand.
After the sun rose, the balloon went higher. It went up to 3,000 meters, and the air was very cold. The water in the balloon became ice. Snow fell past the men’s basket, and they could see more snow on the ground. The men tried to throw out some more sand, but it was hard. They tried to break the icy sand with their knives, but it was not easy. The work was slow and they were still falling, so they had to drop some whole bags of sand. One of them fell on an icy lake and made a black hole in the ice.
At last they pulled the box into the basket. It was still snowing; so they climbed to get away from the snow. They rose to 5,100 meters! Everything became icy. They were so cold that they decided to land. They came down in Poland heavily but safely. They had travelled 1,797 km from London!
1.Three men flew in a balloon ________.
A. to visit Poland B. to another city
C. for nearly 1,800 kilometers D. nearly a century ago
2.The metal box was used for ________.
A. carrying the bags of sand B. changing the weight
C. holding ropes of the balloon D. keeping drinking-water
3.When the balloon went up higher, ________.
A. the temperature of the balloon began to fall
B. they saw the sun go down and the snow falling
C. they made a hole in the basket with their knives
D. nothing could be seen but snow on the ground
4.At last the balloon landed ________.
A. early in London B. on the sea heavily
C. on a lake with safety D. in a foreign country
5.Which of the following is TRUE?
A. The three men started their long journey before the sun rose.
B. The balloon began falling down when they threw bags of sand.
C. The three men had to land because they felt cold and hungry.
D. They put the rope into the basket and the balloon went higher.
Americans with small families own a small car or a large one. If both parents are working, they usually have two cars. When the family becomes large, one of their cars is sold and they will buy a van.
A small car can hold four persons and a large car can hold six persons but it is very crowded. A van can hold seven persons easily, so a family of three children could ask their grandparents to go on a holiday travel. They could all travel together.
Mr. Hagen and his wife had a third child last year. This made them sell a second car and buy a van. The sixth and seventh seats are used to put other things, for a family of five must carry many suitcases when they travel. When they arrive at their grandparents’ home, the suitcases are brought into the two seats. The van can then carry the grandparents.
Americans call vans motor homes. A motor home is always used for holidays. When a family are traveling to the mountains or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or weeks. All the members of a big family can enjoy a happier life when they are traveling together. That is why motor homes have become very popular. In America there are many parks for motor homes.
1.The word “van” in this text probably means ________.
A. 住房汽车 B. 机动车辆 C. 移动家庭 D. 大型卡车
2.Before Mr. Hagen and his wife bought a van, they ________.
A. sold their old house B. sold their second car
C. moved to their grandparents’ home D. built a new place for a van
3.A motor home is usually owned by a family with ________.
A. a baby B. much money C. more than two children D. interest in vans
4.Americans usually use motor homes ________.
A. to visit their grandparents at weekends
B. to drive their children to school every day
C. to travel with all the family members for holidays
D. to do some shopping with all the family members
5.Motor homes have become popular because ________.
A. they can take people to some other cities
B. big families can take more things along
C. some people think motor homes are cheap
D. they can bring families a much happier life
In 1826, a Frenchman named Niepce needed pictures for his business. But he was not a good artist. So he invented a very simple camera. He put it in a window of his house and took a picture of his garden. That was the first photo.
The next important date in the history of photography was 1837. That year, Daguerre, another Frenchman, took a picture of his reading room. He used a new kind of camera in a different way. Daguerre invented the Daguerreotype process, which started the history of human flat image. In his picture you could see everything very clearly, even the smallest thing. This kind of photo was called a Daguerreotype.
Soon, other people began to use Daguerre’s way. Travelers brought back wonderful photos from all around the world. People took pictures of famous buildings, cities and mountains.
In about 1840, photography was developed. Then photographers could take pictures of people and moving things, which was not simple. The photographers had to carry a lot of film and other machines. But this did not stop them, for example, some in the United States worked so hard. Mathew Brady was a famous American photographer. He took many pictures of great people. The pictures were unusual because they were very lifelike.
Photographers also became one kind of art by the end of the 19th century. Some photos were not just copies of the real world. They showed ideas and feelings, like other art forms.
1.The first photo taken by Niepce was a picture of _______.
A. his business B. his house C. his garden D. his window
2.The Daguerreotype was_________.
A. a Frenchman B. a kind of picture C. a kind of camera D. a photographer
3.If a photographer wanted to take pictures of moving things in the year of 1840, he had to_____.
A. watch lots of films B. buy himself an expensive camera
C. stop in most cities D. take lots of film and other things
4.Mathew Brady______________.
A. was very lifelike B. was famous for his unusual pictures
C. was quite strong D. took many pictures of moving people
5.This passage mainly tells us__________.
A. how photography was developed B. how to show your feelings in pictures
C. how pictures spread around the world D. how to use different cameras
When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly as possible and head for safety. But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm. These people are willing to risk being killed by floods or 100-kilometer-an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up.
“Storm chasing(追逐)” is becoming an increasingly popular hobby, especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July. A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to 1,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop.
Although anyone can do it, storm chasing is extremely dangerous. The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds. Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain. If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for vacations during the storm season.
Even then, storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement. “Storm chasing is 95% driving,” says Daniel Lynch, who spends most of his summer storm-chasing. “Sometimes you can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen, and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”
However, for storm chasers, it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm, it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life,” says Jasper Morley. “Every storm is an example of the power of nature. It is the greatest show on Earth.”
1.For storm chasing, the first thing storm chasers do is to _______.
A. get quickly into their cars for safety
B. wait patiently for the storm to develop
C. head straight for the center of the storm
D. collect information about a coming storm
2.Beginners of storm chasing are advised _______.
A. to do it in an organized way B. to spend much more time on it
C. not to get too close to a storm D. not to drive in a heavy rain
3.By saying “it is all worth it” in the last paragraph, the author means that _______.
A. storm chasing costs a lot of money
B. efforts in storm chasing are well paid
C. storm chasing is worth hours of waiting
D. a storm presents the greatest show on Earth
4.What is the purpose of the author?
A. To appeal to more people to take the adventures.
B. To give people advice when a storm is coming.
C. To introduce a hobby called storm chasing.
D. To present difficulties of storm chasing.
5.What can we learn from the text?
A. Storm chasing is only fit for young people.
B. Some storm chasers were killed during the storms.
C. Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world.
D. Sometimes storm chasers get nothing but disappointment.
