There was a gardener who looked after his garden with great care. To water his flowers, he used two buckets(桶). One was a shiny and new bucket. The other was a very dilapidated one, which had been used for many years, but was now past its best.
Every morning, the gardener would fill up the two buckets. Then he would carry them along the road, one on each side, to the flowerbeds. The new bucket was very proud of itself. It could carry a full bucket of water without a single drop coming out. The old bucket felt very ashamed (惭愧的) because of its holes; before it reached the flowerbeds, much water had leaked (漏) along the road.
Sometimes the new bucket would say, "See how helpful I am! How good it is that the gardener has me to water the flowers every day! I don't know why he still uses you. What a waste of space you are!"
And all that the old bucket could say was, "I know I'm not very useful, but I can only do my best. I'm happy that the gardener still finds a little bit of use in me, at least.”
One day, the gardener heard that kind of conversation. After watering the flowers as usual, he said," You both have done your work very well. Now I am going to carry you back. I want you to look carefully along the road.”
Then the two buckets did so. All along the road, they noticed, on the side where the new bucket was carried, there was just bare(光秃秃的) earth; on the other side where the old bucket was carried, there was a joyous row of wild flowers, leading all the way to the garden.
1.The underlined word in the first paragraph" dilapidated" probably means “ ”.
A.肮脏的 B.光鲜的 C.破旧的 D.普通的
2.Why did the old bucket feel ashamed of itself?
A.Because it leaked a lot. B.Because it was too old.
C.Because it was useless. D.Because it didn't look nice.
3.From the conversations between the two buckets we know that .
A.the old bucket completely agreed with what the new bucket said.
B.the new bucket felt sorry for the old bucket.
C.the new bucket thought it a waste to keep using the old one.
D.the old bucket felt unlucky that the gardener still used it.
4.The writer wrote the passage to tell us that .
A.practice makes perfect B.east or west, home is best
C.all roads lead to Rome D.old wood is best to burn
Do you want to know what it feels like to fly like a bird？Can you imagine surfing the Internet without your fingers? Let's have a look at some of the new inventions.
Wing Suits | The suits can make your dream of flying like a bird come true. Well, not exactly flying, but gliding (滑翔) through the air. Fliers wearing wing suits can glide 1 kilometer in about 30 seconds. But they need a parachute(降落伞) to land safely. |
Google Glasses | In short, Google Glasses are like a computer but in the shape of a pair of glasses. The glasses allow you to surf the Internet and, make phone calls without fingers. The glasses also have a camera and GPS system. Users can take and share photos, check maps and surf the Internet just by moving their eyes to look up, down, left and right. |
Talk Gloves | Four college students have invented a pair of gloves to help people with hearing and speaking problems to communicate with others. The gloves are set with sensors(感受器) that receive sign language and translate(翻译) it into texts on a smart phone. Then the smart phone changes the texts to spoken language. |
1.Fliers wearing Wing Suits can glide in about a minute.
A.0.5 kilometers B.1 kilometer C.2 kilometers D.3 kilometers
2.How do you surf the Internet after putting on Google Glasses?
A.By moving eyes. B.By using a computer.
C.By using fingers. D.By moving hands.
3.In order to use Talk Gloves, you may need .
A.a camera B.a radio C.a GPS system D.a smart phone
It was one afternoon a few months after Tom and I were married. Max, Tom’s son walked into the dining room, where I was looking _______ my old photos.
These months I was learning to let Max come_______ on his own. If I moved too quickly, he ran away. If I was patient, we often ended up playing, laughing, and recently, even sitting together on the sofa with a book.
“Who’s that?” he pointed to one photo.
“My mom. I suppose she is your grandma Sylvia.”
“Cool. Who is that to me?”
“That was my grandfather. He died a few months ago.”
“Hmm. Too bad he had to die.”
Death is always a painful(痛苦的) _______ especially for a seven-year-old child who lost his mother only two years before. I secretly put away the pictures of dead relatives.
He began to finger through the photos. “Who is that to me?”
Under his finger I could see my own face. I should have known the answer to his question. But I said, “I’m your_______ mom. I’m sorry that your first mom died.”
“What should I call you?” he asked.
Mom, I wanted to cry. I held back.
“You can call me Mom or Betsy, _______ feels OK for you.”
I waited, _______ my new title.
“Sweet.” He said, walking out of the room.
For a couple of days after that, Max _______ a new title for me. “Can we go bowling?” “Can I watch TV?” he would ask, and follow the questions by mouthing Mom, _______ the word Mom was always silent.
One weekend, he suddenly said, “I notice I don’t call you Mom.”
“I noticed that too.”
“_______ I say Betsy, I mean Mom. Moms die, you know. I think it’s maybe __________ if you’re just Betsy.”
Tears(眼泪) were filling my eyes.
“Hey, Betsy?”
“Yeah,” I said, taking pleasure in the new announcement of my old name.
1.A.for B.around C.up D.through
2.A.from B.true C.close D.back
3.A.subject B.present C.message D.information
4.A.natural B.past C.only D.second
5.A.neither B.both C.either D.every
6.A.thinking B.expecting C.waiting D.admiring
7.A.worked out B.watched out C.took out D.came out
8.A.so B.instead C.but D.as
9.A.Until B.Before C.When D.Unless
10.A.kinder B.safer C.sadder D.harder
—Excuse me, could you please tell me________?
—Just go along the street and turn left. It’s on your right.
A.how did he come to school today B.where the post office was
C.how I can get to the bookstore D.where he parks his car
I’m not sure if he to the club tomorrow. If he , I’ll watch a movie with you instead of playing golf with him.
A.will come; comes B.will come; doesn’t come
C.comes; comes D.comes; won’t come
—________great fun the Water Festival is!
—Yeah, I hope we can come back next year.
A.How B.What C.How a D.What a
