It was near Christmas during my first semester teaching at a new school. I loved my small special class more than any group I had taught in the past. They were hungry for knowledge and I was enjoying teaching.
Other teachers had told me that our children were from poor families and not to expect any child to bring a Christmas gift. In fact，I wasn't expecting any gifts.
Imagine my surprise when every child brought me a gift on the day before our holiday break. First，I got a much loved stuffed monkey from a shy girl. I was told，“He is my favorite，but I love you and I want him to be with you，Miss Taylor.”How thrilled I was!
Next came a new set of Christmas tree lights that was “missing” from a mother's cupboard.
Finally，I came to one little boy's gift which I had never received. It was an old，dirty and broken Christmas story book. Just when I wanted to express my happiness，I was interrupted(打断)by the giver，“And see，it is new！It still has the price tag.”
When other children laughed at him，I stopped them and said，“Oh，books are good in that way. The story is always new if you have not read it before. Now，let's share one together.”Everyone listened quietly as I read the most wonderful Christmas story of my life.
I still keep those Christmas gifts. They always remind me of my lovely kids.
1.Why did the teacher like her small special class?
____________________________________________________
2.When did the children bring their teacher gifts?
__________________________________________________________
3.Who sent a stuffed monkey to the teacher?
_______________________________________________________
4.Was the Christmas story book new?
________________________________________________________
5.How did the teacher feel when she got the gifts?
_______________________________________________________
阅读下面的短文，根据短文内容填写表格，将信息补充完整。每空限填1个单词。
Katie Spotz is a 22-year-old girl from America. She wants to cross the Atlantic Ocean by boat. If she succeeds, she’ll be the youngest and the first American to finish the 2500-mile trip. Spotz began sailing when she was at university, but she has never tried to sail such a long way before. It will be a great challenge for her. In recent years, she has swum all the way down the 325-mile Allegheny River and traveled by bike form Seattle to Washington. Spotz knows that she may see some dangerous things during the trip. It will be very dangerous if she meets very bad weather in the middle of the sea. But she believes that she can deal with all the difficulties. “I never thought I could run 26 miles,” she said. “But once I finished it, I realized that maybe I could do something even more difficult.” Spotz wants to collect money by g
oing on this trip. She wants to collect money for an organization called “Blue Planet Run”. The organization offers free, safe drinking water to people who need it. It will take her about three months to finish this trip. Good luck to this brave girl and best wishes to her!
The age of Spotz | 1. ______________ old |
The distance（距离）of the trip | 2. ______ miles |
A dangerous thing during the trip is | the 3. _______ weather |
The purpose(目的) of the trip | To 4._____________ for an organization |
The time the trip will take | About 5._____ months |
“Cool” is a word with many meanings．Its old meaning is used to express a temperature that is a little bit cold．As the world has changed，the word has had many different meaning．
“Cool” can be used to express feelings of interest in almost anything．When you see a famous car in the street，maybe you will say，“It’s cool．”You may think，“He’s so cool，”when you see your favourite footballer．
We all maximize（扩大） the meaning of “cool”．You can use it instead of many words such as “new” or “surprising”．Here’s an interesting story we can use to show the way the word is used．A teacher asked her students to write about the waterfall（瀑布）they had visited．On one student’s paper was Just the one sentence，“It’s so cool．Maybe he thought it was the best way to show what he saw and felt. But the story also shows a scarcity（缺乏）of words．Without “cool”，some people have no words to show the same meaning．So it is quite important to keep some credibility（可信性）．Can you think of many other words that make your life as colourful as the word “cool”？ I can．And I think they are also very cool．
1.We know that the word “cool has had ________.
A．only one meaning B．no meanings C．many different meanings
2.In the passage，the word “express” means “________”.
A．see B．show C．know
3.If you are _______ something，you may say，“It’s cool．”
A．interested in B．angry about C．afraid of
4.The writer takes an example to show he is ________ the way the word is used．
A．pleased with B．strange to C．worried about
5.In the passage，the writer suggests（暗示）that the word “cool”________．
A. may not be as cool as it seems
B. usually means something interesting
C. can make your life colourful
Can animals be made to work for us? Some scientists think that 
one day animals may be taught to do a number of simple jobs. They say that in a film or on TV .We may see elephants, or monkeys, dogs, bears, or other animals doing a lot of things. If you watch carefully, you may find 
that those animals are always given something to eat in return(作为回报) for doing them. The scientists say that many different animals may be taught to do a number of simple jobs if they know they will get something to eat in return.
Of course, as we know, dogs can be used to guard a house, and elephants can be used to do some heavy jobs. And we can also teach animals to work in factories. Apes(猿猴), for example, have been used in America to help make cars and scientists believe that these large monkeys may one day get in crops(收割庄稼) and even drive trains.
1.Elephant scan be used to do some heavy jobs because ____.
A. they can eat a lot B. they are very heavy, too C. they are very strong
2.Dogs can be used to guard a house for his host because ____.
A. they are good at running B. they are very kind and friendly to people
C. they are brave enough to get the strangers(陌生人)and thieves away from the house
3.Many different animals may be taught to do some simple jobs if ____.
A. they have enough food to eat
B. if they are sent to school
C. they learn they will get something to eat in return after doing them
4.____ can be trained to work for us.
A. Only a few animals B. A lot of animals C. Few animals
5.Many scientists are working hard to ____.
A. make monkeys get in crops and drive trains
B. make monkeys guard houses like dogs
C. make bears get in crops
Three small fish lived in the sea. When they were very young, their parents died. They had to each other day after day. Finally, they up and dared to swim deeper and further.
One morning, the three fish were to a shallow (浅) water by a big wave (浪). A small boat was taken there, too. It was hard for the fish to go back to the sea because the boat was fight in front of them. The largest fish realized that they were and said they had to find a way to leave there as fast as possible. The second largest fish with his elder brother, but the youngest one did not. He said that there was much for their activities, so he would not worry at all and still swam around . At last, the largest fish returned to the pond by over the lowest part of the boat. The second fish also succeeded in joining his older brother in the other side of water. But the youngest one didn't follow them and still swam joyfully.
Two hours later, when the rose up, the water in the small shallow corner dried up. The fish who did not try to return to the sea died of lack(缺乏)of water.
1.A. listen to B. look after C. talk with
2.A. grow B. grew C. grown
3.A. allowed B. given C. taken
4.A. in safety B. in doubt C. in danger
5.A. agreed B. talked C. compared
6.A. time B. food C. water
7.A. slowly B. sadly C. happily
8.A. jumps B. jumped C. jumping
9.A. large B. largest C. larger
10.A. storm B. stars C. sun
The more careful you are, the mistakes you’ll make.
A. more B. few C. fewer
