When I look at this picture of myself, I realize how fast time flies. About one month after this picture 1.(take), I became a primary school student. Around me in this picture are the things that 2.(be) very important in my life at that time: toy cars and planes. I enjoyed 3. (study) different kinds of cars and planes. This picture brings back to 4. (I) many happy memories of my childhood.
Since I was a kid, I 5.(consider) different jobs I would like to do. First, I wanted to be a fireman, because the uniform looked so cool. Then, when I was in the 6.(six) grade, I wanted to be a teacher because I liked my English teacher so much. When I entered middle school, my dream was to open a restaurant. I wished to have a chain of restaurants in many different 7.(city). If I succeeded in managing one, I would open 8.(many). Now I hope to be a surgeon. “That’s a good 9.(decide)”, my parents say to me. I know I must try hard 10. (make) my dream come true.
Elsie Eiler is the head of Monowi, a tiny town in northern Nebraska, U.S.A., and that isn’t her only job. She is also the town secretary, the town treasurer, the librarian, and she works in the café. Why has she got a lot of different jobs? Because there’s nobody else to do them. Monowi has got a population of one — Elsie.
Monowi is an unusual sight. There are about twelve old wooden houses there. They are all empty and are surrounded by a few trees, several old cars and lots of rubbish. The town is silent. An old yellow school bus, with no wheels or seats, stands next to the small school. The school closed 40 years ago. Opposite Elsie’s café is an old building, filled with rubbish. It was a shop but it closed in the 1950s.
The busiest time for Monowi was in the 1930s. Then, the population was 150, and was made up of mostly farmers and their families. There was a railway too. However, the farmers couldn’t compete（竞争）with the large industrialized（工业化的）farms, and left the town to look for other work. In 1971, the railway closed and the town began to die. Three years ago, the last people that lived there, except Elsie’s family, moved away. Then, Elsie’s husband died, and then her son and daughter left to find work in bigger towns, leaving Elsie the only person in the town.
____________Her food is good, her beer is cold, and farmers and truck drivers travel a long way to eat at her café. “One day Monowi will just be memories, and it will probably turn to dust,” she says. “But I like it, and as long as I can take care of myself, I will stay here.”
1.What does Paragraph 1 mainly tell us about Elsie Eiler?
A.She is the only person living in Monowi. B.She has a good time living in Monowi.
C.She can do different kinds of jobs. D.She will leave Monowi soon.
2.Mostly and their families lived in Monowi in the 1930s.
A.railway workers B.shopkeepers
C.truck drivers D.farmers
3.The article tells us about Monowi EXCEPT .
A.what it looks like B.whether there is train there
C.when people first lived there D.why people started to leave it
4.Which of the following can be filled in the blank in the last paragraph?
A.Elsie believes Monowi will have a bright future.
B.Now Elsie wishes her kids to return to Monowi.
C.Elsie will leave Monowi in a couple of years.
D.Now Elsie lives alone but she isn’t lonely.
“I want a mobile phone!” said Lisa. “I’m sure you do,” said her dad.
“No, Dad. You don’t understand. I really, really, really want a mobile phone.” “And I really, really, really want a boat. It’s not going to happen.”
Lisa and her dad were stuck in traffic. It seemed that it’s always the case. When he took her to school in the morning — traffic. When he picked her up in the afternoon — traffic. Go to the supermarket, a birthday party, and what felt like ten hours of traffic was what they got.
Lisa was bored. When she was bored, she wanted things. Right now, she wanted a mobile phone. She wasn’t sure if her dad understood that. She would have to tell him again.
“I WANT A MOBILE PHONE.” “NO.”
“What if I got stuck in a cave?”
“What?” asked her dad, trying not to laugh.
“What if I had a dog and the dog ran away, and I had to run after it. What if the dog ran into a cave, and I ran after the dog. In the cave there was a bear, and the bear trapped me, and …”
“And then you were stuck in the cave.”
“Yes. It’s a mother bear. She will eat me unless I have a mobile phone to call for help.”
“If it’s a mother bear, you can use her phone. Everyone knows mums always carry phones.” Dad was laughing as he said this. Lisa didn’t think it was very funny. Now she was angry. “If I had a mobile phone, I could play games on it!”
“If I had a boat, I could eat beef on it. That doesn’t mean I’m getting one.”
“No, but I mean if I could play games, I wouldn’t be so bored when we were in traffic. I wouldn’t trouble you!”
“I don’t mind being troubled. I like talking to you.” “Then I won’t say anything at all!”
Dad smiled quietly to himself. “I’m going to call Mum to let her know we’ll be late.” He reached into his pocket. “Oh! My battery’s dead.”
“You know…if I had a mobile phone, I could call Mum,” said Lisa. “Nice try.”
Lisa smiled. She wasn’t getting a phone, but she knew she was right, and that was almost as good.
1.What happened to Lisa and her dad?
A.They lost their way. B.Their car broke down.
C.They were stuck in traffic. D.They couldn’t find their dog.
2.Why did Lisa talk about being stuck in a cave?
A.She wanted to play there. B.Her dad didn’t pay attention to her. C.She had a good imagination. D.She needed a mobile phone.
3.What does the underlined word “one” refer to?
A.a mobile phone B.a boat C.a piece of beef D.a game
4.Which of the following is NOT the reason why Lisa was angry?
A.Dad was making fun of her.
B.She would get home late today.
C.Dad didn’t want to buy her a mobile phone.
D.She failed in making Dad buy her a mobile phone.
5.How did Lisa feel at the end of the story?
A.Calm. B.Worried. C.Excited. D.Bored.
At the doctor’s office
Wilson is a foreign student in Britain. He is learning English there. He still has some trouble using the language.
Doctor: Good morning. You’re a new patient, I think. What’s the trouble?
Wilson: Sometimes I feel cold and sometimes hot. I have a headache and a stomachache.
Doctor: Yes, you look a bit off-colour.
Wilson: What colour, please?
Doctor: Sorry, what I said was “off-colour”. We use it to describe how people look or feel when they are unwell. Let me take your temperature. When did this start?
Wilson: I felt very tired last night when I went to bed. Then I felt really bad this morning when I woke up.
Doctor: I see. Now, let’s look at your temperature. Ah, just as I thought, a hundred and one.
Wilson: Oh, a hundred and one? So high?
Doctor: Ah, yes, that must sound strange to you. We measure people’s temperature on the Fahrenheit scale（华氏）. In centigrade, your temperature is 39℃, which is a bit high, but not exactly boiling point（沸点）.
Wilson: Oh, it isn’t very bad, then.
Doctor: No, it isn’t serious. You’ve got a cold. I’ll give you some medicine. You’d better stay at home in the warm for a day or two and drink plenty of water.
Wilson: Thank you very much, doctor. I’m feeling better already. It wasn’t so difficult telling you about my illness.
Doctor: No, language doesn’t matter too much to a doctor. After all, vets manage without language at all.
Wilson: Please, what is a “vets”?
Doctor: Animal doctors. Now I must end this English lesson and see my next patient.
1.Which word has the same meaning as the underlined word “off-colour”?
A.tired B.lazy C.sick D.stressed
2.What do we know about Wilson?
A.He is good at English. B.He has had a cold.
C.He is from the UK. D.He knows the doctor well.
3.What is the doctor like?
A.Impatient. B.Strict. C.Humorous. D.Curious.
Fun film facts | |
Two of the most famous silent films ever made were the French sciencefiction film A Trip to the Moon (1902) and the American film The Great Train Robbery (1903). | The silent film that made the most money ever was The Birth of a Nation (1915), which was produced and directed by D. W. A Griffith. It made $10,000,000. |
Auguste Lumiere and his brother made the first film shown in public. However, they didn't believe that films would become very popular. Auguste said, 'Cinema...has nocommercial (商业) future!' |
25% of the money by a film comes from ticket sales, 46% from DVD sales, and 29% from television. We don't know how much money people get from popcorn sales, but film fans usually eat a lot of this salty food, especially when watching a horror film. |
1.A Trip to the Moon, The Great Train Robbery and The Birth of a Nation were ________.
A.silent films B.science fiction films
C.made in the same year D.made by a French director
2.What did Auguste Lumire believe?
A.Horror films would become popular.
B.Film-makers would be rich in the future.
C.People would eat popcorn when seeing films.
D.Not many people would be interested in films.
3.What percentage of the money by a film comes from ticket sales?
A.About a quarter. B.About one-third.
C.About a half. D.About three-fourths.
Long long ago, a man had a cat which he loved very, very much. He thought it was such an unusual animal that he decided to name it Sky.
One day, a friend said to him, “Allow me to _____________ to you that there is something stronger than sky. I mean the clouds, for they _____________ the sky.” “You are right,” _____________ the man. “From now on, I’m going to give my most unusual cat the name Cloud.”
Sometime later, one of his neighbours was drinking tea at his house. “_______________ do you call this unusual animal Cloud? For there is _____________ much stronger than the clouds. I mean the wind that blows away the clouds _______________ it.” So from then on the man called the cat of which he was so _______________ by the name of Wind.
But a week had not passed when the leader of the town noticed this quite unusual cat. “Wind,” he said, “seems to me a _____________ that is not worth the quality of this animal. The wind meets his master every day. I mean the wall that it cannot _____________through.” “Ah, so,” said the ________________ of the cat, “my most beloved pet will be called Wall.”
A little later, a young man from a nearby school respectfully said to the man that there was something which could beat even a wall — the __________________ that bit a hole through it. “That is ______________,” said the man. “I will name my most unusual cat Mouse.”
Just then the gardener’s little son happened by. “Mouse!” ________________ cried out. “Aha, I know something much stronger than a mouse. I mean the cat that ______________ the mouse and eats him up.” At this the man realized his ______________ . And from then on he called the animal by the most beautiful name that anyone had been able to give it — the name of Cat.
1.A.carry out B.point out C.put out D.find out
2.A.hide B.fill C.clean D.decorate
3.A.asked B.added C.replied D.doubted
4.A.When B.Where C.How D.Why
5.A.something B.anything C.everything D.nothing
6.A.as a result of B.instead of C.in front of D.because of
7.A.scared B.proud C.tired D.sure
8.A.sport B.subject C.weather D.name
9.A.look B.blow C.walk D.wash
10.A.owner B.seller C.buyer D.hunter
11.A.fish B.dog C.mouse D.bird
12.A.true B.wrong C.necessary D.interesting
13.A.I B.you C.he D.she
14.A.touches B.finds C.hits D.catches
15.A.kindness B.foolishness C.cleverness D.sadness
