In UK, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras are everywhere. They help the police solve crimes and keep the streets safe. But that’s not all they do. They also catch people doing very stupid or smart things.
One of the videos is of a British woman Mary Bale. She clearly doesn’t like cats. In 2010 she was caught on CCTV throwing one into a dustbin. The video shows Mary walking down a quiet street. All of a sudden, she notices Lola the cat jump onto a fence. Mary stops to pick up Lola and drops her into a large dustbin. Lola was saved fifteen hours later. And Mary was arrested for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. She was fined (罚款) ￡250 and was not allowed to own pets for five years.
Another video shows “Britain’s drunkest man”. He’s been at a party at London’s Savoy Hotel. And he’d obviously had a few too many glasses of beer. At about 2 a.m., he was kicked out for being too drunk. So, he decided to walk home. On the way, CCTV cameras filmed him falling down stairs and crossing the roads madly… A Savoy Hotel waiter said, “It’s amazing he didn’t hurt himself badly.”
Sometimes they also record smart events. Once a British band (乐队) The Get Out Clause didn’t have any money to make a music video. So, they came up with an unbelievable idea. They set up their instruments and played a song in front of eight CCTV cameras. And then, according to the English Freedom of Information Act (信息自由法) , they asked for a copy of all the footages (视频) , which they edited. The result is that a totally new music video was made, and it didn’t cost them a penny.
Title: CCTV cameras catch action
Passage outline | Supporting details |
Usages of CCTV cameras | They are almost 1. and are useful in many ways. |
To help the police solve 2. | A woman 3. Mary Bale saw a lonely cat and 4. it into a big dustbin. She was fined￡250 and was not allowed to own pets for five years. |
To catch people Doing 5. things | A man got very drunk and was thrown out of London’s Savoy Hotel. He made a 6. to go home on foot. 7. he went through a lot of troubles and dangers, he was not 8. hurt. |
To record people doing smart events | A band had no money but still wanted to make a music record. They played in front of eight CCTV cameras and asked for the footage copy for 9.. They edited the footages and make a 10. new music video. |
Who is the most famous fairy tale writer? Many of you may say Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. There is a big award that takes his name: the Hans Christian Andersen Award(国际安徒生奖). It is the highest award for children’s stories. A writer can only get it once in a lifetime.
On April 4, Cao Wenxuan won the 2016 Hans Christian Andersen Award. He is the first Chinese writer to ever win this important award for children’s literature.
Cao Wenxuan was born in 1954 in a small village in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. Some of his stories are set there. He is now a professor at Peking University. He started to publish children’s fiction in 1979. Many of his novels have been translated into English, French, Japanese and Korean.
If you read Cao’s stories, you will find beautiful and poetic descriptions of scenery. For example, in The Grass House (1997), Cao writes, “The grass grows toughly. When the sun shines, the grass shines like copper wire (铜线). When the wind blows from the sea, the grass makes surprisingly metal-like sounds. ”
Cao also uses love as a theme in his stories, and he describes it with great beauty. You can find this theme in Bronze and Sunflower (《青铜葵花》) (2005). The ending of the story is sad, but it helps make the story more realistic. “Sadness is a beautiful emotion. It helps kids understand the real world when it is expressed properly,” Cao once said.
When Cao creates a story, he does not write specifically for someone. Adults can find beauty in his stories, and the plots he invents tend to impress children. “I tell real Chinese stories, but my stories relate to (关联) humans. This might be a key reason why I won this award,” he said.
1.What is the Hans Christian Andersen Award?
__________________________________________________________
2.When was Cao Wenxuan born?
__________________________________________________________
3.How many languages have his books been translated into?
__________________________________________________________
4.In Cao’s opinion, why could he win the award?
__________________________________________________________
5.What can you find if you read Cao’s stories?
__________________________________________________________
German Chancellor (总理) Angela Merkel may look like an ordinary woman. She dresses commonly and doesn’t show many feelings. But don’t let appearance fool you.
As the first woman chancellor in Germany’s history, Merkel has topped Forbes magazine’s list of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” six times. She has even been compared to Margaret Thatcher and many people call her “Iron Lady”.
Merkel was born in Hamburg, West Germany, on July 17, 1954. As a small child, she quickly learned to speak but it took longer for her to walk. “I was a stupid person when it came to moving,” Merkel said. “A normal person could do something naturally, but I had to think about it in my mind and practise.” As a teenager, she was the top student in high school. In 1973, Merkel went to the University of Leipzig, where she studied Physics.
At 32, she got her doctor’s degree in Physics. She stepped into politics (政坛) in 1989. In her first big political job as Minister for the Environment in 1994, her scientific background and strong will proved very useful. In 2005 she became Germany’s Chancellor. Through her political career, Merkel’s persistence(坚持) and patience helped her a lot.“She’s bright and open-minded,” said Hubert Markl, a German biologist. “She is the person who wants to know exactly what is going on, and how never giving up will influence our society and future. ”
1.The first two paragraphs tell us that Angela Merkel _________.
A. is not different from an ordinary woman
B. is the first woman Chancellor in Germany
C. is the richest woman in the world
D. learns everything from Margaret Thatcher
2.When she was a small child, Merkel _________.
A. didn’t like to walk B. was slow in learning to speak
C. was not good at learning to walk D. thought she was as clever as other kids
3.According to the story, Merkel _________.
A. didn’t study well when she was in high school
B. studied politics in the University of Leipzig
C. worked for the government at the age of 35
D. did a job in the scientific field in 1994
4.What does Hubert Markl think of Merkel?
A. She cares only about politics. B. She isn’t fit for the position.
C. She doesn’t like to listen to others. D. She is a person with strong will.
5.What does the story mainly talk about?
A. How to be a powerful woman. B. The story of Angela Merkel.
C. Differences between two great women. D. An introduction to German politics.
It’s always a happy moment when you get some pocket money. But have you ever thought about how to spend your pocket money wisely? Here is some advice.
Make a list.
When you get your pocket money, don’t get too excited. We all have a lot of things that we want. But do you really need them? That’s why it is necessary to make a list before you spend money. Start with the thing you want most. You can also write down how much it costs or how important it is in your life. By doing this, you will see if it is really necessary to buy it.
Help others.
How about being more selfless and using your pocket money to help others? We all know that there are many people in the world who are in need of our help. Helping others brings out the best in us and is one of the greatest joys in our lives. So consider using your pocket money to do something useful and helpful, and feel how you can make a difference.
Save as much as you can.
There is an old saying that “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” If you spend all your pocket money right away, you’ll have no money until your next “pay day”. A wallet sometimes might not be the best place to save money because it may make it easier for you to spend your money. Get a piggy bank or ask your parents to start a savings account (账户) for you. Someday when you look back, you’ll get a strong feeling of achievement by saving so much money by yourself!
1.Why should we make a list before spending money?
A. Because it can help us buy things that we want most.
B. Because it can make sure we buy everything we need.
C. Because it can help us know which thing is the most expensive.
D. Because it can help us know if we have enough money for the things.
2.What does the underlined sentence “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” mean?
A. Money doesn’t come easily.
B. Money is as important as trees.
C. One can make money by growing trees.
D. We should use our money to protect the environment.
3.The best place to save money can be ________ according to the writer.
A. our wallet B. our parents’ wallet
C. our parents’ account D. our piggy bank
4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Helping others can bring us great happiness.
B. We should tell our parents before we buy something expensive.
C. Pocket money can be used to do something useful and helpful.
D. Saving much money can make us get a strong feeling of achievement.
5.What is the best title for the passage?
A. How to save pocket money B. How to get pocket money
C. How to spend pocket money D. How to help others with pocket money
Joe was an old man. The 75-year-old lived very happily in a village and had a beautiful family. His children grew up and moved to different cities. Now, Joe has four grandchildren, and they visit him during their holidays.
During one vacation, Joe was preparing his home for the kids: cleaning and buying their favorite foods. After he finished working, he realized he lost his favorite watch. The watch was a gift from his wife when their first child was born. Joe treasured the watch very much, especially after his wife’s death. He was very upset about losing it.
Once his grandchildren came, they promised him they would find the watch.
One granddaughter asked: “Grandpa, do you remember when you saw the watch last before it went missing?”
“I guess when I was cleaning the barn!” Joe replied.
The children looked for more than two hours with Joe, but they could not find it. The kids were now also sad, but they tried to comfort their grandfather.
One grandson went back to the barn to look again. Joe asked why he was going there a second time. But the little boy just asked the others not to follow him and to keep silent.
He was there for about 15 minutes and then rushed to his grandfather. He found the watch and happily gave it to Joe.
Joe was surprised and asked how he was able to find it. The little boy replied: ”I sat there without making a noise, and the barn was so silent. After a few minutes, I heard the ‘tick, tick’ sound and found the watch.”
Joe hugged and thanked the little boy.
This is the power of silence. If we stay calm, we are more able to find the solution!
1.From Paragraph 2, we learn that Joe _____.
A. knew his grandchildren very well
B. liked doing housework very much
C. got tired of his grandchildren’s visits
D. looked forward to his grandchildren’s visits
2.The underlined word “Treasure” means________.
A. store for future use B. value highly
C. wear anytime D. mention carefully
3.How did one of the grandchildren find the watch?
A. He did a thorough cleaning of the barn.
B. He searched the barn carefully for two hours.
C. He made no noise and followed the ticking sound.
D. He asked other children for help.
4.Which is the right order of what happened in the story?
a. His grandchildren came.
b. They looked for more than two hours.
c. The little boy sat in the barn without making a sound.
d. One grandson went back to the barn again.
e. Joe lost his watch accidentally.
A. e a b d c B. e b a c d C. a e d b c D. a e c b d
5.What can we learn from the story?
A. Love keeps us busy all the time.
B. Helping those in need makes one feel good.
C. Believe in yourself and you can succeed.
D. Silence sometimes is more powerful than using your voice.
One sunny Monday, I decided to go for a walk on the path near my house with my husband. On my _____ was a very special ring：I’d just picked it up from jeweller’s the day before because I had it designed to hold a diamond my grandmother gave me for my 23rd birthday. I looked down at my ring as I began my _____, feeling as sunny as the day.
Imagine my sadness when I looked again at the end of the path and found the diamond was _______. Anxiously(焦急地), I started back along the path, looking for the _______ stone. In my heart, I knew how hopeless my search was. The path was long and covered with leaves. As I searched the ______, crying and upset, I met an old gentleman. “What's the matter, love?” he asked _______. “Lost something?” I explained about the missing diamond and showed him the hole ______ my ring. He whistled. “That’s going to be hard to find. Tell you what, love, I walk along this path every day. I'll keep my _______ open for it.” I thanked him, _______nothing, but told him my husband often walked our dogs along the path ________he might find something.A few days later, my husband met the old man on the path. “Guess what?” he said, “I found your diamond!” ______ he’d found the tiny stone and was willing to hand the diamond back to my husband, saying casually（未经考虑地）, “It was lucky that I found it. I only have 50 percent eyesight in one eye.” When my husband offered him money for his help, he refused it. He could have easily ______ the diamond, or sold it, as it’s worth several thousand dollars, ______, thanks to this man, I’ll spend the rest of my days trying to do something like that for ________ person. And what I have to do is to look at my ring and ______ myself that there are kind and generous souls there.
1.A. pocket B. foot C. head D. finger
2.A. work B. path C. walk D. talk
3.A. losing B. left C. gone D. missed
4.A. big B. tiny C. colorless D. shiny
5.A. street B. ground C. room D. yard
6.A. kindly B. sadly C. happily D. friendly
7.A. in B. on C. above D. among
8.A. house B. mouth C. eyes D. hands
9.A. getting B. expecting C. explaining D. telling
10.A. because B. when C. if D. since
11.A. Hopefully B. Naturally C. Unluckily D. Unbelievably
12.A. stored B. kept C. covered D. placed
13.A. however B. and C. or D. so
14.A. the other B. others C. another D. other
15.A. ask B. remind C. warn D. promise
