阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。

It’s about Time

Do you know what time it is? If you do, you probably are looking at a clock or Long ago, people didn’t have clocks or watches like you do. When the sun rose, they got up and when the sun went down, they went to bed. They told timeby the position of the sun in the sky.

People discovered that they could use a stick and the sun to tell time. This was called a shadow clock. They put a stick in the ground, pointing straight up. The direction of the stick’s shadow and how long or shortit was told them the time.

A better kind of shadow clock was called a sundial. Sundial had a pointer and a base. The pointer cast a shadow on marks around the base. People could tell time by reading the marks.

But shadow clocks were not good for telling time on cloudy days or at night.

One kind of clock that didn’t need the sun was a water clock. A water clock was container with a tiny hole in the bottom. Water would steadilydropout of the hole. Marks on the inside of the container showed the time. It took one hour for the water to go down one mark.

Another kind of clock that didn’t need the sun was a candle clock. You would know the time by how much of the candle had melted（熔化）. The candle had marks down its side to show the hours.

Sometimes people used candle clocks as alarm clocks. They put a nail（钉子）in the candle at the time they wanted to wake up, hanging a shoe on the nail. When the candle melted down, the nail fell outand the shoe hit the floor with a BANG! Now there are all kinds of timepieces, from tall grandfather clocks to watches we wear on our wrists（手腕）. Most clocks run on electricity from batteries.

There are many more types of clocks, too. Clocks hang in and on buildings. Clocks are everywhere!

1.Did people have clocks or watches like you do long ago?

2.What did sundial have?

3. How long did it take for the water to go down one mark in water clock?

4.How would you know the time when you use a candle clock?

5.What does the writer want to tell us?

阅读短文，根据短文内容，从短文后的五个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。每个选项只能用一次。

Music for the Clouds

Once upon a time, there was a country. It didn’t rain for a long time. The people there started to go hungry because the crops died during the long drought(干旱).

A group of musicians were travelling the country, trying to make a living from their music shows. 1..Because there were so many problems in the land.

“We believe music can help solve all the problems,” said the musicians. But no one paid any attention. 2.. It was very strange, because the sky was cloudy.

“It has been cloudy like this for many months, but not a single drop of rain has fallen,” people there told them.

“3. ,” the musicians said, and they began practicing for the concert on the top of the mountain. Everyone who heard the music was surprised and went up the mountain. 4..There were tiny and interesting notes（音符） from their instruments. They rose and rose into the clouds. The music was so beautiful, happy and fun.

And the notes started playing with the clouds and the whole sky turned into an amazing amusement park. Before long, the large clouds were thundering with laughter.

The musicians continued playing, and a few minutes later the clouds started crying with laughter. 5., and they brought great happiness to all.

And in memory of that musical rain, everyone in the land learned how to play an instrument. They took turns to go up the mountain, and bring joy to the clouds with their beautiful songs.

A. o the musicians wanted to do something for help

B. When they got there, the musicians began to play

C. Don’t worry, we’ll bring rain to the country

D. But no one felt like listening to music

E. The country was full of tears of joy

阅读下列短文，根据短文内容，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。

Go to your local public library, and you will find an unusual activity is appearing more and more: Practicing reading with trained dogs. How would you feel about taking time once a week to read aloud to a dog?

Each dog in a reading program experience a special training session. The trainers also receive training; they learn how to interact(互动)with the students and the dogs. Each program has high standards. There have been many studies of the interactions between humans and dogs that show dogs lower people’s blood pressure and heart rate. People become more relaxed and calm and will completely forget what they are scared of when they have a dog nearby.

Unlike at school, where students sit at desks or tables, students and dogs sit together on special reading mats. Some students lie next to the dogs. Each student reads to one dog, so there is a quiet din of voices in the room. The dog has been taught a command to pay attention to the reader. So when the trainer says something to the dog, it focuses on the studentat once. But sometimes, the students read the dogs to sleep!

The dog’s trainer is also present. He or she watches the dog carefully to make sure that the dog behaves. Sometimes, the trainer gives the dog a break when the dog becomes restless. While the trainer doesn’t help with the reading, the trainer talks to the student about the dog and explains how to take care of pets and how to be safe around animals.

Students who read to dogs show the benefits of this interaction. They are calmer and can avoid worrying about getting all the words correct. The dog just wants to hear the story. As students learn more about the dogs they read to, they also learn that they have gained a new friend.

Not only do students change their reading habits with the dogs during the program, but they also change their school habits. Their reading skills increase by twelve to twenty percent. They start raising their hands and answering questions more often. They pay more attention in class. Some students start arriving at school earlier and are absent less often.

Dogs are not just for playing fetch with anymore. Now they can help people become better readers. Next time you visit your local library, be on the lookout for four-legged creatures (生物) who want to hear a good story.

1. The underlined word “command” in Paragraph 3 probably means “_________”.

A. lesson              B. order

C. language           D. rule

2.From the passage, we can learn that this activity can __________.

A. help students be more helpful and clever

B. help increase reading speed by 8 percent

C. make the trained dogs fall asleepquickly

D. make students be more active in school

3. The writer wants to tell us that _________.

A. the students can benefit from reading with dogs

B. the dogscan betrained to understand the story

C. the students can be taught to train dogs well

D. the trainers help students to read correctly

4.What is probably the best title for this passage?

A. Why do we need dogs?

B. Where can we read books?

C. Who can help us read books?

D. How do we change the habits?

阅读下列短文，根据短文内容，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。

Travel Far, but Think Local

Author Elizabeth Becker says we have a responsibility to respect the places we visit. Some basic rules still hold, such as not travelling at busy times and taking fewer trips but making them longer. The best and easiest way to be a responsible traveler is to use common sense and go local.

Respect traditions. Read about the culture and traditions of the places you visit. Understand the local culture and customs to avoid making any mistakes or upsetting the local people. For example, dress properly when you visit temples and don’t eat or talk loudly in religious(宗教的)sites. It’s also important to respect the local environment. If you visit a beach, leave seashells where you find them and try not to catch fish while swimming.

Learn the language.Nobody expects you to become fluent, but try to learn some basic phrases such as “please” and “thank you”. You’ll be amazed at how much nicer and more helpful people will be if they know you’re making an effort to get involved with their culture.

Spend local.Stay away from international hotels and restaurants run by foreigners. By using local guides, buying local products and staying in family run hotels, you’re not only giving back to the community, but you also get a real sense of the country you’re staying in and the people who live there.

Bargain fairly.Always be polite when you try to get a lower price. Sometimes goods at a local market can seem overpriced. Nobody likes to be cheated and it may be fun to bargain, but remember that for the local people bargaining it may not be a game. For some of them, their business is their only source of income. So try not to be too rude when bargaining.

Don’t litter. In some countries, getting rid of waste is a big problem, so don’t throw rubbish on the ground. Doing so is harmful to the environment and unpleasant for others. Hold on to your rubbish until you find a bin.

Save water.Even in some of the most developed countries, water shortages are a reality. Tourists who take 10-minute showers and leave the taps running aren’t making things any better.

1. From the passage,to understand the local culture better, we should ________.

A. respect traditions      B. bargain fairly

C. save water             D. Not litter

2. To help the local people, we’d better________.

A. spend in international hotels and restaurants

B.have a bargaining game with local people

C. keep the rubbish and throw it in the bin

D. have some local food in religious sites

3. What’s the purpose of the passage?

A. To advise us to be polite to the local people.

B. To introduce the way to learn the language.

C. To tell us how to be a responsible traveler.

D. To help the people of your travel place.

阅读下列短文，根据短文内容，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。

Blue Ribbons ofHonor

A teacher in New York decided to honor her studentsby telling them the difference they each made. First she thanked to each of them how they made a difference to her and the class. Then she gave each student three blue ribbons with gold letters reading,“Who I Am Makes a Difference.” The students went out to find somebody to honor. The person would keepa ribbon and give the extra ones to a third person to keep it going.

One boy went to a manager in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. Later that day the manager went in to see his boss. He told him that he deeply admired him for being a creativetalent. He gave the surprised boss the last extra ribbon and asked him to find somebody else to honor.

That night the boss went home to his 14-year-old son. He told the boy what had happened and said,“I want to honor you, son. My days are really busy andwhen I come home I don’t pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I shout at you for not getting good enough grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just want to let you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You’re a great kid and I love you!”

Hearing this, the boy started to cry and couldn’t stop. He looked up at his father and said through his tears,“I was planning on leaving home tomorrow, Dad, because I didn’t think you loved me. Now I don’t need to.”

1.What did the teacher give to the students to honor them?

A. Career planning.          B. Blue ribbons.

C. Special prizes.          D. Goldmedals.

2.How did the boss feel about what the manager said and did?

A. He was sad.              B.He was angry.

C.He was pleased.            D.Hewas surprised.

3.Before the boss talked to his son, the boy was planning to______.

A. leave his home            B. pay attention to his father

C. clean his room            D. get goodgrades in school

4.From the story, we give others blue ribbons for________.

A. showing theirsuccessin career

B. givingthem ourkindness in return

C. admiring theircreativity and talent

D. honoring the differences they made

阅读下列短文，根据短文内容，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。

Friends around the word

The sun shines on new friends in new places. Some of the places are similar to the places where you live and some are not. But all of these friends love to sing and play.

A Friend in Korea

Hi, I’m Chang—Yong, and I’m 15 year old. My family lives in an apartment in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The spring here is warm and beautiful. On special days, I dress in a silk jacket called Hanbok.

A Friend in Australia

Hi, John is my name. I’m an Aboriginal Australian, Aborigines have lived in Australia for many years. I live with our mother in the country. My favorite season is autumn. It’s cool. We often wear T—shirts.

A Friend in Tanzania

Hello, my name is Manka, and I live in Tanzania. It’s always hot here. Most of us live in wooden huts（小屋）with grass roofs. My father takes care of the cattle. Cattle are very important for us.

A Friend in Canada

Hi, I am called Kipanik . We live in northern Canada .near the North Pole. It is snowy and cold most of the time here. So I often wear a heavy coat. My family often uses a dog sled to travel through areas covered with snow.

1. On special days,Chang-Yong wears ________.

A. a silk jacket          B. a T- shirt

C. a dress                D. a coat

2. John is from _________.

A. Korea                  B. Australia

C. Tanzania               D. Canada

3. Most of people in Tanzania live in _________.

A. apartment             B. the country

C. wooden huts           D. the NorthPole

4. The weather in northern Canada is _________.

A. warm                   B. hot

C. cool                   D. cold

阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。

An Honestly Fun Camp

Bill couldn’t wait for September when school would start. It was early August, and he was at the same summer ________.He has been there five times. When his dad was a boy,he went to the same camp and loved it.Bill didn’t ________it at all. But he didn’t want to disappoint his dad by telling him about that.

By the middle of August, Bill really wanted to__________. He had enough of the horses, enough of the baseball games and enough of the bad camp food. He wrote to his mom and asked her if she would _________him up early, but he didn’t want his mom to tell his dad. She wrote back in a letter which said, “I can’t do that. I am always honest with your dad. If you really want to leave, I will talk to him about it.”

Bill was still too ________about disappointing his dad, so he wrote back to his mom that he would _________for the last two weeks and try to make the best of it. He asked his mom if she would make his favorite meal when he got home.

During that last week, Bill was looking forward to the meal his mom would be making. Every time,he ate a camp meal he________he was eating his mom’s cooking. All of a sudden, the food didn’t taste as bad as before.

Bill decided to be honest with his camp coach. He told the coach that he wasn’t ________with the horse he had been given and he wanted to change. The coach asked Bill which horse he might feel better riding. Bill was then given to another horse for the last week, and he started to like horse back riding.

Bill never liked playing ________because he didn’t like playing 1st base. He told the coach, and the coach asked him to play catcher. Bill started to actually like it.

When Bill’s parents came to pick him up from camp, he said to them in all honesty, “This

was the best summer at camp ever. Because I tried to express myself ________so that others can understand me better. I enjoyed it a lot.”

1.A.camp           B.house           C.holiday          D.school

2.A.visit           B.hear            C.like              D.mind

3.A.study          B.leave           C.walk              D.run

4.A. put            B.warm           C.make              D.pick

5.A.surprised       B.angry           C.worried           D sad

6.A.work            B.stay            C.call             D.live

7.A.noticed         B.accepted        C.realized          D.imagined

8.A.comfortable     B.friendly        C.patient          D.popular

9.A.games           B.baseball        C.horses            D.chess

10.A.honestly       B.proudly         C.happily           D.Seriously

—Can you tell me ______?

—Last month.

A. when theycame          B. when did theycome

C. whentheywill come     D. when will theycome

Spoken English test for students ______ in 2018.

A. hold                B. holds

C. were held           D. will be held

We     in our middle school for about 3 years.

A. study               B. studied

C. have studied       D. will study