John and Bobby joined the same company together just after graduation from college the same year. Both worked very hard. Several years later, however, the boss promoted(提拔) Bobby to manager but John was still an ordinary（普通的）worker. John could not take it, and gave his resignation（辞职书） to the boss. He complained that the boss did not think much of those who were hard -working, but promoted only those who flattered（奉承）him.
The boss knew that John had worked very hard for the years. He thought for a moment and said, “Thank you for what you said, but I hope you will do one more thing for our company before you leave.”
John agreed. The boss asked him to go and find anyone selling watermelons in the market. John went and returned soon. He said he had found a man selling watermelons. The boss asked how much they cost every kilogram. John shook his head and went back to the seller to ask and returned to tell the boss $1.2 every kilogram.
The boss told John to wait a second, and he called Bobby to come to his office. He asked Bobby to go and find anyone selling watermelons in the market. Bobby went and returned, saying, “Boss, only one person is selling watermelons. $1.2 every kilogram, and $10 for 10 kilograms. The seller has 340 melons. On the table there are 58 melons, and each weighs about 2 kilograms. They were brought from the South two days ago. They are of good quality.”
Hearing what Bobby said, John realized the difference between himself and Bobby. He decided to stay and learn from Bobby.
The story tells us that a more successful person is more observant（善于观察的）and thinks more. Chances are there in the daily details（细节）. For the same thing, a person sees one year ahead, while another sees only tomorrow. The difference between a year and a day is 365 times, how could you win?
1.John wanted to stop his job in his company because_________.
A. Bobby was promoted but he was not
B. he didn’t want to flatter his boss
C. he thought the boss didn’t take his hard work seriously
D. he didn’t want to be an ordinary worker
2.The boss asked John to find out where watermelons were sold in order to ____.
A. persuade（说服）him stay in the company
B. prove（证实） he was a hardworking worker
C. buy some watermelons for the company
D. prove his abilities at work for himself
3.Bobby was promoted only because _________.
A. he knew how to do business
B. he was a more observant businessman
C. he was more experienced at work
D. he knew the details about the watermelon market
4.We can conclude from the story that _________.
A. one should stop his job if the boss doesn’t think much of his work
B. it’s necessary to know the market when you buy a watermelon
C. detail plays a very important part in one’s success
D. one should get along well with his boss if he wants to be promoted
5.What can be the best title of the passage?
A. More Observant, More Successful B. How to Buy Watermelons
C. Who Is More Successful D. Proud John
One day, there was a blind man called John sitting on the bench with a hat by his feet and a sign that read, “I am blind. Please help me.”
A creative publicist（广告员）named Tom was walking by the blind man and stopped to see that the man only had a few coins in his hat. He put a few of his own coins in the hat.
Without asking for permission（允许）, he took the sign, turned it around and wrote a new message. Then he put the sign by the feet of the blind man and left.
Later that afternoon the publicist returned to the blind man and noticed that his hat was almost full of bills（钞票)）and coins. The blind man recognized（识别）his footsteps and asked if it was he who had changed his sign. He also wanted to know what the man wrote on it.
The publicist said, “I just wrote the message a little differently.” He smiled and went on his way.
The new sign read, “Spring has come，but I can’t see anything.”
1.What’s the blind man’s name?
A. Tom. B. John. C. Tony. D. Sorry, I don’t know.
2.Who wrote a new message?
A. The blind man. B. The teacher. C. The publicist. D. The farmer.
3.How did the blind man recognize the publicist?
A. By his sign. B. By his footsteps. C. By his voice. D. By his coins.
4.When did the story happen?
A. In spring. B. In summer. C. In autumn. D. In winter.
5.What can we learn from the passage?
A. Publicists are always curious（好奇）about everything.
B. We can get more money by changing a sign.
C .The blind man is not clever, so he has little money.
D. The power of language is great.
Some gods in Greek myth (希腊神话)
| Zeus (宙斯)—the god of thunder, law, order, fate and more. Zeus is the youngest son of Cronus and Rhea. He took his father's place and became the king. Zeus is the Father of Gods and men. In artwork, he is a serious middle－aged man with a strong body and dark beard (胡须). |
| Hermes (赫耳墨斯)—the god of travel, transportation, communication, sports and more. Hermes is the son of Zeus. He sends messages between gods and men. In artwork, he is a handsome young man without beard. |
| Artemis (阿尔忒弥斯)—the goddess of animals, young girls, childbirth and more. Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and the twin sister of Apollo. In artwork she is a young woman dressed in a short knee－length dress. Artemis likes living a free and independent life. She likes outdoor activities, especially hunting. She doesn't like being married. |
| Apollo (阿波罗)—the god of light, truth, music and more. Apollo is the son of Zeus, and the twin brother of Artemis. Apollo is the most handsome god. In artwork, he is a young man with long hair. Apollo is a great god. He never tells lies and many goddesses love him. |
1.Who is Zeus?
A. The god of light. B. The god of law.
C. The god of music. D. The god of animals.
2.What's the relationship between Zeus and Hermes?2·com
A. Father and son. B. Mother and daughter.
C. Husband and wife. D. Brother and sister.
3.What does Artemis like?
A. She likes singing. B. She likes writing poems.
C. She likes keeping pets. D. She likes outdoor activities.
4.What is Apollo like in artwork?
A. A middle－aged man with beard.
B. A young man without hair.
C. A young man with long hair.
D. An old man in a short dress.
5.What can we learn from the text?
A. Zeus loves his father a lot.
B. Hermes used to be a common person.
C. Artemis dislikes being married.
D. Apollo has a lot of wives.
假设你参加了一个暑假去偏远地区(a remote areA.和小朋友们生活一段时间的志愿者项目。出发之前你希望得到更多一些关于项目的信息。你列了一张表，请决定你最希望了解的1至2个关键问题，然后写一封信给组织者Mr. Prince, 请求他的帮助（信件格式已给，标点符号不占格，至少60个字。）
（注意：短文中不得出现任何人名、校名及其他相关信息，否则不予评分。）
Answer the questions (根据短文内容回答问题)：
Venus （金星） has long been one of the most misunderstood planets. Like the earth, Venus has its own atmosphere. However, the atmosphere is much thicker than that of the earth, which makes it difficult for modern scientists to study. There is much we still do not know about what this planet like. However, using special machines, scientists have unlocked many of the long-hidden secrets in recent years.
Venus is in many ways the earth’s sister planet. It is almost the same in size and chemistry as the earth. In other words, Venus is made up of almost the exact same types of materials as the earth, in about the same amounts.
In the early days of Venus’ 4-billion-year-old life, it would have appeared very similar to the earth. The two would have been almost the same. However, over a period of a few million years ago, Venus lies much closer to the sun than our planet. It has made Venus terribly hot.
Since it is closer to the sun, Venus’ temperature should be a little warmer than that of the earth. As the planet warmed, water which can be used to form oceans, lakes and rivers, evaporated(蒸发). This increase in water vapor（水蒸气）began a cycle of global warming. Water vapor is a very effective greenhouse gas. It caused the temperature to rise and more water to evaporate. The temperature then climbed still further. Today it is likely that all of Venus’s water has evaporated into the atmosphere. This atmosphere effectively keeps the sun’s energy and makes the surface to burn much hotter than it naturally would.
If you happen to find a way to survive the extreme heat on the surface of Venus, you will quickly notice something strange about the days. Venus rotates(旋转) very slowly, so that a day on Venus actually lasts longer than a year. Instead of the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, the sun would appear to rise in the west and set in the east when you are on Venus.
1.Both Venus and the earth have their own atmosphere, don’t they?
_______________, _____________________________________________________.
2.How can the scientists finally get to know more about Venus in recent years?
_________________________________________________________________________.
3.Why is Venus considered the earth’s sister planet?
_________________________________________________________________________.
4.What has caused Venus to become completely different from the earth?
________________________________________________________________________.
5. Please list some other strange natural phenomena(现象) on Venus besides the heat.
_________________________________________________________________________.
6.In recent year, the earth faces the similar situation which makes Venus very hot. What do we call this kind of situation and what caused the problem on the earth?
_________________________________________________________________________.
Read the passage and fill in the blanks with proper words.
I am lucky to have had great teachers in my life. Since I started teaching this year, I have spent a lot of time thinking about what makes a good teacher even b_____. I hope someday to have students feel about me the way I feel about Mrs. Mitchell (1st grade), Mrs. Porter (4th grade), Mrs. Morin (9th grade), Mr. Turner ( 11th grade History), Mrs. Fields(12th grade Biology),and so many more through all these years.
I may not know what the magic is for a great teacher but I do know that there are a few c_____ characteristics( 特点) among those I have met.
●All my favorite teachers taught me both “the w________” of the course or class and also “the why”—why it was important to learn to read, to count, to write an article, to understand the different parts of health system.
●All my favorite teachers whose name I remember and whose lesson helped shape the person I am today respected me and expected respect f____ me. Questions were expected and valued. There was always too much to d______, to challenge, to learn.
●All my favorite teachers’ classes stretched outside the c_______. When I was younger, I could ask a great teacher a question in the hallway or on the playground and know I would get a smile, an encouragement and an answer. As I got older, I could email questions to my teachers, come early to school or stay l___ after a lecture to further study a point, or ask for advice.
Even today, when I think of one of my favorite teachers or two, I hope I am making them proud.
