Jonny Jones was a nice and popular boy, who everyone loved．He was so much fun, so good and so kind to everyone that they treated him wonderfully. But as everything he needed was given to him without asking, Jonny became a weed. He was so spoiled by everyone that he couldn’t stand any hardship.
One day Johnny heard a mother saying to her son “Come on, my boy, get up and stop crying. You are behaving like Johnny Jones.” That made Johnny feel very ashamed. But he was sure that he would prefer to be known as a good boy rather than a fool. Worried, he spoke to his father about all this, though he was afraid that maybe he would be laughed at for having such worries. His father, far from laughing at Johnny, told him that a teacher had taught him a secret trick to turn him into the toughest boy off all. “Eat a candy less, study a minute more, and count to five before crying.” Johnny asked, “Just that? ” “Yes, just that,” said his father, “It’s very simple, but I warn you that it won’t be easy.”
Johnny was happy like a bird, ready to follow the advice. He went to see his mother, and she noticed how happy he was when she offered him candies. “One candy less”, thought Johnny, so he only took one. That afternoon he had another chance to put it into practice by studying one minute more. The result was that he missed the first minute of his favorite program! But having achieved this gave him a great feeling of satisfaction. The same happened when he ran up against the corner of the kitchen table. He only managed to count to four before crying, but that was left deeply in his mother’s memory.
Over the following days Johnny kept using the motto in his life as his father told him. And the more he put this into practice ,the easier it got. Before long he realized that he could also do things that would seem impossible before.
1.The underlined word "weed" in the first paragraph refers to ____．
A．a person with a strong v/ill
B．a person with a weak character
C．a person who isn't popular with everyone
D．a person who changes his behavior according to the situation
2.What made Jonny Jones decide to change himself?
A．A mother's words． B．Others' attitude to him．
C．His father's advice． C．His teacher's warning．
3.What is the key point of the advice from Jonny's father?
A．Eat fewer candies than before．
B．Count to five before crying．
C．Talk with parents and follow their advice．
D．Learn to control oneself and keep using the motto in life．
4.What message does the writer want to convey through the story?
A．One should be brave to face his mistakes．
B．Nothing is difficult as long as you set your mind on it．
C．Spoilinga child too much may result in his selfish behaviors．
D．A strong will can be developed by small but consistent efforts．
Long long ago, there was a small village． This village had a 1 tradition． At the beginning of every year, any boy who had reached the age of majority （the state of legally being an adult） was given land and money to build a home． The boy had to 2 his home before winter． If his home failed to endure the cold weather in winter, the villagers could not 3 him in any way．
One 4 , Paul and Marc reached their majority． They 5 their land and money and decided to search nearby villages for ideas on building their homes． In each village, they found the nicest 6 and talked to the owners． Each owner gladly offered 7 ．
After Marc saw several homes, he 8 the best ideas and went back to his own land． Paul, 9 , continued collecting more ideas． Soon he had so many great ideas that he began to 10 some of them． But he always believed he could find even better ideas in the next village．
Marc began building his home． He had several false starts, 11 his home gradually rose from his land． By fall, Marc had finished his home． It wasn't perfect, but it was strong and he could 12 it later． Paul enjoyed all the beautiful homes and 13 with home owners． The first snow came and Paul, realizing he was running out of time, 14 back to his land． He built the best home he could in the time he had, but it was 15 ． The first winter storm destroyed his home and he froze to 16 ． The villagers mourned for him．
Marc 17 the winter． Each year, Marc searched for other good ideas he could use to make his own home look better． He became a leader in the village, 18 a family, and lived a happy, content life．
We all build and improve our own mental homes． It’s 19 and fun for us to search for ideas from other mental home owners, but we only improve our own mental home if we actually 20 the best ideas．
1.A． strange B． hopeful C． literary D． cultural
2.A． find B． make C． complete D． buy
3.A． help B． encourage C． scold D． persuade
4.A． winter B． summer C． autumn D． spring
5.A． exchanged B． received C． recognized D． advice
6.A． girls B． jobs C． houses D． presents
7.A． rooms B． drinks C． attention D． advice
8.A． expected B． gathered C． created D． understood
9.A． similarly B． finally C． however D． furthermore
10.A． forget B． believe C． replace D． doubt
11.A． because B． although C． but D． so
12.A． repair B． rebuild C． sell D． improve
13.A． conversations B． achievements C． struggles D． arguments
14.A． drove B． rushed C． flew D． moved
15.A． weak B． funny C． small D． amazing
16.A． blindness B． death C． sadness D． illness
17.A． experienced B． loved C． survived D． spent
18.A． brought B． earned C． contacted D． raised
19.A． slow B． easy C． dangerous D． special
20.A． realize B． bring C． collect D． apply
I apologize ___ you ____ my impoliteness.
A. to , for B. / , for C. to , / D. / , to
--- I hear that a modern church is to be built near our school.
--- I’m afraid that it doesn’t ___ the surroundings .
A. come up with B. fit in with C. catch up with D. get along with
33.The mother ____ tears at the sight of her long lost son, who was sent back by two policemen .
A. burst into B. burst out C. burst away D. burst up
---You’re writing an essay now , right?
---Yes. I’m busy collecting material ____ to the topic .
A. relevant B. similar C. devoted D. addicted
