Jess really felt very happy．When he arrived at his seat in the classroom that morning, he found an invitation on his desk．It was from several of his classmates asking him to join them on a camping trip．This was the first time he was asked to join in an out-of-school activity．Why were they asking him now? Nobody seemed to like him．In fact, he had been so lonely that he drowned his feeling with food．As a result, he had put on a lot of weight, and this gave the kids something more to make fun of him．
Cindy, who was standing near Jess when he read the invitation, went out quickly to tell the others that the trick had worked．Everyone was pleased that Jess thought that was true．But there was no camping trip．The whole thing was made up．
At first, Cindy thought it was fun．But later, when Jess told her that he was going to buy a sleeping bag with his savings, Cindy had a second idea．She knew that Jess’s family had little money, and she hated to see him spend his savings on something he would never use．Cindy also hated to tell Jess the truth．Her close friends would be angry with her．What could she do now?
1.The sentence“…he drowned his feeling with food” means“_____________ ”．
A．he ate a lot to make himself feel less lonely
B．he asked for a lot of food from his classmates
C．he brought his food to his classmates
D．he had a lot of food to put on weight
2.What would happen if Cindy told Jess the truth? ____________
A．Jess would go on the camping trip himself．
B．Jess’s family would be angry with Cindy．
C．Cindy might have trouble with her friends．
D．Jess would be thankful to his classmates．
3.If Jess really bought a sleeping bag, ______________．
A．everyone else would also buy one
B．it would be the best in the class
C．Cindy would pay for it
D．He would have it for no use
4.From the story we can guess _________．
A．everybody would go camping in the class
B．Jess had few friends in the class
C．Cindy was Jess’s best friend in the class
D．Jess joined in many out-of-school activities
5.The best title for this passage is _____________．
A．Jess and His School B．Jess and His Friends
C．An Invitation for Jess D．Jess and His Camping Trip
Most American students have said goodbye to fancy （高档的） fruits these days．In school canteens（小卖部） across the country, cheaper fruits like apples and oranges have taken their place．
“People are afraid to spend now,” said Linda Morrow, who owns a shoe and handbag store．“They don’t know what the future will bring．”
During the financial crisis （金融危机）, several of the country’s biggest banks have been forced to sell or close．This has made lots of Americans afraid to buy expensive goods．
Samira Marino, a restaurant owner in Miami, has found everyone is ordering water instead of juice and more people are sharing meals．In more than two-dozen interviews with The Associated Press across the country last month, Americans talked about their concerns, from worries about small businesses to doubts （怀疑） about simply making ends meet （维持生计）．
The crisis began last year．Experts think it was because US banks lend money too easily．Last year a lot of people and companies, who borrowed money, have found themselves unable to pay it back．This left the banks, as well as the people who put their money in the banks, without money．Since the banks borrowed money between themselves and even across borders （国界）, the whole world was in trouble．
This month the US government agreed on a $700 billion plan to try to save the financial market（金融市场）．But no one is sure whether it will help or not．President George W．Bush has warned it will take some time．
Last week top finance officials from 20 countries promised to work together to find a way out of the money trouble．
1.Why are people in the US afraid to spend?
A．Because they think it’s unnecessary．
B．Because they don’t have the habit of spending money．
C．Because they worry about their future．
D．Because they don’t have enough money．
2.The underlined word “concerns” probably means _____．
A．worries B．conditions
C．hobbies D．experiences
3.The fifth paragraph mainly _____．
A．tells what it is like in a crisis
B．explains why there is a crisis
C．warns people of the danger of the crisis
D．asks people not to borrow money from banks
4.People feel _____ about the US plan to save the market．
A．satisfied B．doubtful
C．hopeless D．angry
5.The best title for the story is _____．
A．Ways to make ends meet
B．The money problem facing the world
C．Healthy fancy fruits
D．The art of borrowing
There was once a man called Mr. Flowers, and flowers were his only joy in life．He spent all his free time in one of his four glass-houses and grew flowers of every color, with long and difficult names, for competitions （比赛）．He tried to grow a rose of a new color to win the silver cup （银杯） for the Rose of the Year．
Mr. Flowers’ glass-houses were very near to a middle school．Boys of around thirteen of age were often tempted （引诱） to throw a stone or two at one of Mr. Flowers’ glass-houses．So Mr. Flowers did his best to be in or near his glass-houses at the beginning and end of the school day．
But it was not always possible to be on watch at those times．Mr. Flowers had tried in many ways to protect his glass, but nothing that he had done had been useful．He had been to school to report to the headmaster； but this had not done any good．He had tried to drive away the boys that threw stones into his garden； but the boys could run faster than he could, and they laughed at him from far away．He had even picked up all the stones that he could find around his garden, so that the boys would have nothing to throw； but they soon found others．
At last Mr. Flowers had a good idea．He put up a large notice （布告） made of good, strong wood, some meters away from the glass-houses．On it he had written the words： DO NOT THROW STONES AT THIS NOTICE．After this, Mr. Flowers had no further trouble； the boys were much more tempted to throw stones at the notice than at the glass-houses．
1.It was Mr. Flowers’ hope to ________．
A．build glass-houses in his free time
B．grow the Rose of the Year in a silver cup
C．win a silver cup for growing a rose of a new color
D．grow a rose with the longest name
2.Boys were often tempted to ________．
A．throw stones at Mr. Flowers’ glass-house
B．throw stones at Mr. Flowers from their school
C．be in or near by Mr. Flowers’ glass-houses
D．play with Mr. Flowers near his glass-houses
3.Mr. Flowers stayed in or near by his glass-houses _______．
A．at times when school-boys were walking near them
B．all the school day when there were no boys about
C．where he could not be seen by the boys passing
D．in his free time at the beginning and end of the school day
4.Mr. Flowers had tried to ______ to protect his glass．
A．be on watch in his free time
B．ask the headmaster for help
C．pick up all the stones around his garden
D．do all the above
5.Mr. Flowers’ good idea was to ______．
A．write some words on the glass
B．put up a large notice to cover his glass-houses
C．give the boys something else to throw stones at
D．send for policemen．
I used to swim ____ the Yellow River when I was young．
A．past B．across
C．through D．cross
--You look so beautiful with such a nice hat! -----_________．
A．You’re right B．Thank you very much
C．Don’t say so． D．That’s OK
--I need something for cutting the big birthday cake．
--Oh, you want a knife? OK．I’ll get ____ for you．
A．it B．that C．this D．one
