Arthur sat at the desk in his room， pencil in hand. He had to write a story for his English class by Friday. “I don’t know what to write about，” he complained to his dog Toby， who was asleep at his feet. Arthur was talkative when speaking to his friends， yet he had trouble finding words when he had to write.
By bedtime Arthur had drawn a picture of Toby smiling. He had drawn a tree with its branches blowing in the strong wind. He had also written a note asking his friend Lee to go to the movies on Saturday. But he had not written a single word of his story.
On Wednesday， Mrs. Solomon， Arthur’s English teacher， asked the class to turn in the first draft of their stories. His heart sinking， Arthur turned in the only work he had—the page with his name， the drawings and the note.
Arthur wasn’t surprised when Mrs. Solomon asked him to stay after class the next day. But he was surprised by what she said to him. “This is an attractive story， Arthur. The dog， the movie， the tree in the wind—I can’t wait to find out how they all fit together.”
“That isn’t my story， Mrs. Solomon，” Arthur admitted. “I haven’t been able to think of one yet.”
“Oh， I think you have the seed of a story there，” Mrs. Solomon replied， “Look at your note and the pictures and see if a story comes to you.”
That night Arthur sat at his desk， and this is what he wrote： “One Saturday Mike went downstairs to meet his friend Julio at the cinema. It looked as if it might rain， so Mike carried his umbrella. Suddenly a big storm blew in， bending the trees. The noise of the wind sounded like the barking of Mike’s dog Toby. Toby really hated storms and barked whenever he wanted to be let inside. Then Mike realized that it wasn’t the sound of the wind. It was Toby. The dog was running after him down the busy street， barking. The sound was filled with blame. Mike felt guilty because he had left Toby outside. He turned and headed home with Toby running beside him. Mike let Toby in the door just as the rain started to pour down.”
Arthur had a story in the end. The last thing he did was to write his name proudly at the top of the page.
1.Why did Arthur turn in the page with only his name， the drawings and the note at first?
A. Because he had no time to fit them together.
B. Because he had difficulty in writing a story.
C. Because he wasn’t willing to do his homework.
D. Because he wanted to show his talent for drawing.
2.What does the sentence “I think you have the seed of a story there” mean?
A. Toby is an imaginative and lovely dog.
B. The small tree will grow into a big one.
C. His friend Lee can give him a lot of support.
D. He can develop his story based on the first draft.
3.Which of the following statements is not right according to Arthur’s last story?
A. A storm made the tree fall down.
B. Mike carried his umbrella to go to the cinema.
C. The dog was barking and running after Mike down the busy.
D. Mike returned home and let the dog in the door.
4.What kind of teacher do you think Mrs. Solomon is ?
A. She is a strict teacher
B. She is a wise teacher
C. She is an honest teacher
D. She is an energetic teacher
5.What can we infer(推断)from the story?
A. Arthur is a shy and quiet student
B. Arthur isn’t very satisfied with his story
C. There will be a storm on Saturday
D. Encouragement is important in teaching
Swimming and English Learning
Can you swim? Do you like swimming? Yes? Well， how can you learn to swim? I think the best way is to go into the water and learn. I’m afraid you’ll never learn to swim just by reading books about swimming or looking at others swimming. It’s the same with the English study. We must practice， practice and practice.
Listening and speaking are very important for beginners. The children in English-speaking countries first listen to others. Then they try to imitate and speak. We can listen to English programs on radio. You may just understand a few words. It doesn’t matter. Just be relaxed， try to catch every word.
Somebody may be a good listener. But he dare not speak. He’s afraid of making mistakes. You know we sometimes make mistakes when we speak Chinese. Don’t be afraid. We must be brave. If you really want to learn English well， you must try to speak with everyone so long as he knows English. Whether you know him or not is not important when there’s nobody to talk with， you can talk to yourself in English. It’s interesting and also a good way to practice your spoken English. Remember， the more you speak， the fewer mistakes you’ll make.
Reading and writing are more important for senior school students. First we must choose the books we’re interested in. A lot of reading will improve your language sense. This is the most important.
Keep writing English diaries. We can also write English articles. You may even post them to English magazines. Don’t be afraid of failure. Failure is the mother of success.
Easier said than done. Well， let’s do more practice from now on. I’m sure you’ll learn English well in this way.
1. You can learn to swim by_______.
A. reading books about it B. looking at others swimming
C. having lessons on it D. going into the river and learning
2. We should learn English by _______.
A. listening and speaking B. reading and writing
C. A and B D. swimming
3.What will you do with mistakes when you speak?
A. Don’t make mistakes. B. Study hard.
C. Try not to speak English. D. Don’t be afraid.
4.What’s more important for senior school students?
A. listening B. speaking
C. reading and writing D. learning
5.We can listen to English ______， according to the passage.
A. by train B. on the radio
C. every minute D. now and then
George lived with his sick mother in a poor village.
One bright sunny in July， he went early to the forest two miles away. He was asked to some wood from under the trees. After working hard for half a day， he looked around for a _ place to rest and eat his lunch. Suddenly some fine red wild caught his eyes.
“How good these will be with my bread and butter!” thought George. He at once began to 35 all the strawberries he could find and sat down by the river， ready to enjoy them.
Just then as he was lifting the strawberry to his mouth， he thought of his mother. “shall I them for her?” said he， thinking how much they would make happy， yet still looking at them with longing (渴望的) eyes.
“ I will eat half， and take the other half to her，” said he. Then he divided the strawberries into two. he found each half looked so small that he put them together again.
“I will only taste one.” Then seeing that he taken the biggest， he put it back. Finally he them carefully with some leaves， deciding to keep all his mother.
When the sun was beginning to go down， George went home. happy he felt that he had all his strawberries for his sick mother. The he came to his home， the less he wished to taste them. As soon as he arrived， he ran to his and happily offered his wild strawberries. Tears in eyes， she put her hand on his head and said ， “And you kept them for your sick mother， did you? God will bless you for all this， my child.”
Could the eating of the strawberries have given George half the happiness he felt at the moment.
1.A. morning B. noon C. afternoon D. night
2.A. set up B. pick up C. put up D. give up
3.A. hot B. dark C. cool D. noisy
4.A. apples B. strawberries C. pears D. peaches
5.A. buy B. grow C. make D. collect
6.A. first B. last C. other D. next
7.A. cut B. peel C. sell D. keep
8.A. him B. them C. her D. it
9.A. But B. So C. If D. Or
10.A. showed B. locked C. covered D. washed
11.A. to B. from C. for D. on
12.A. What B. How C. Why D. Whether
13.A. nearer B. farther C. longer D. later
14.A. father B. sister C. friend D. mother
15.A. angrily B. lovingly C. worriedly D. politely
— Happy birthday， Tom.
— _______.
A. With pleasure B. Not at all
C. Me， too D. Thanks a lot
The doctor did _________ he could _________ Mary with her leg.
A. what； to help B. that； help
C. which； to help D. what； help
He wanted to read more， so he asked his friend if there was _______ to read.
A. something easy enough B. something enough easy
C. enough easy something D. easy enough something
