I grew up in New Hampshire, a small town in South Canada, where in my father’s words for the seasons were “Spring, Summer, Fairtime and Winter!” At that time, a week-long fair was held in the town every autumn. Thousands of people from other towns came to sell and buy things. It was the busiest time of the year.
When “Fairtime” came, my grandma became the most “useful” and busiest person of the family. Grandma was a kind, well-educated old lady. She was good at cooking. All her rrelatives liked the foodshe cooked. During “fairtime”, they would come to live in her house and have meals there. Grandma was always happy to look after them.
Year after year, many people moved to big cities. There was no loner “Fairtime”. Grandma became very old and was gradually going blind. My parents and I moved to live with Granma in her house. We did our best to make her day-to-day life as comfortable as possible. I was at high school then. What I often did at home was to help Grandma with the daily newspaper’s crossword puzzle. However, she didn’t look happy. She often sat in her room for hours, without saying a word.
To attract people to move back, the Town Hall decided to reopen the Fair. One day, when I came back room school, I saw Grandma wearing her glasses, washing the dishes in the kitchen. With a big smile on her face, she looked a lot much younger. She told me that her two nieces would come. “They said the food I cooked was very delicious and they want to stay in my house again.” Grandma said happily. “They will stay here for one week and we can have a big party. That must be the busiest week I’ve had in years!”
I suddenly realized that Grandma didn’t want to be looked after. She wanted to be “useful”, appreciated and helpful.
1.Thousands of people came to the town to __________ at the Fair.
A. enjoy Grandma’s food B. sell and buy things
C. learn to cook D. have a big party
2.Why was Grandma unhappy?
A.She was too busy. B. No one lived with her.
B.She was not “useful”. D. She couldn’t see anything
3.Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
A. Grandma was good at cooking
B. Many people moved to big cities.
C. Grandma didn’t like “Fairtime”
D. Grandma was a kind old lady.
4.What’s the best title for the passage?
A. Fairtime B. My “Old” Grandma
C. A Small Town D. Grandma’s Family
Frogs are animals that can live both in water and on land. There are more than 5,000 kinds of frogs on the earth. The earliest known frogs lived about 190 million years ago and the frogs today still look the same. Here are some fun things that you might not know about frogs. Enjoy!
The Biggest and the Smallest Frogs
Some frogs can be very big. The biggest kind of frog is the Goliath Frog in West Africa. Its body can be nearly 30cm long, about the size of a large cat. The Gold Frog and the Poison Frog are the smallest frogs in the world. They are less than 1cm long. Though the Poison Frog is very small, it is not weak at all. It is dangerous. Any animal that eats it will die very soon.
The Best Jumpers
Frogs are very good at jumping. They developed jumping legs so that they would not be eaten by other large animals. Using their big strong legs, more frogs can jump over 20 times their own length. It is like a person jumping over about 30,48. The Australian Rocket Frog can even jump over 2m, which is 50 times its body length(5.5cm). That might be the reason why frogs are called the best jumpers on the earth.
The Cryogenic Animal
Some frogs like the Common Wood Frog have a special ability to live in very cold places. When the temperature goes down, they become ice frogs. 2/3of their body water freezes. Their hearts stop, and their breathing stops too. You may think they are dead, but in fact they are not. Maybe we humans can learn the way that the frogs do for medical purpose.
1.The earliest frogs lived about ________ million years ago.
A. 20 B. 30 C. 50 D. 190
2.The Gold Frog is one of the ________ frogs on the earth.
A. smallest B. biggest C. strongest D. weakest
3.________ can jump over 2m.
A. The Goliath Frog B. The Common Wood Frog
C. The Poison Frog D. The Australian Rocket Frog
4.What will happen to a Common Wood Frog at very low temperature?
A.It will die very soon. B. It will be an ice frog.
B.It will become dangerous. D. It will become very small
“Reading makes a full man” (Bacon, 1597). Novels written by the writers like Jane Austen, Victor Hugo and Ernest Hemingway help us to know more about our history, culture and many other things.
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Jane Austen was one of the most well-known women writers of the world. She was born in England in 1775. Jane loved reading and writing. She wrote a number of famous novels in her life. Among them, Pride and Prejudice written in 1779 was the most popular. |
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Victor Hugo, born in 1802 in France, was one of the best writers in the19th century. The talent in writing and hard work brought great success to Hugo at an early age. His most popular novel, the Hunchback of Notre-Dame, was written in 1831. The book was so successful that it was quickly translated into many other languages across Europe. |
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Ernest Hemingway, an outstanding American writer and reporter, was born in 1899. His life experience had a great influence on his writing style. Hemingway lived in France and Italy between the 1920s and 1950s. Most of his books such as The Sun Also Rises were written at that time. He won the Nobel Prize in 1954 mainly because of the novel The Old Man and the Sea. |
1.When was Jane Austen born?
A. In 1775 B. In 1799 C. In 1802 D. In 1899
2.Where was Victor Hugo from?
A. England. B. America. C. Italy. D. France.
3.Ernest Hemingway won the Nobel Prize mainly because of _________.
A. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame B. Pride and Prejudice
C. The Old man and the Sea D. The Sun Also Rises
Jennie sat at her window as usual, looking out upon the street, with a look of sadness on her face, “What a long day this is going to be!”
Then she saw a little boy running down the street, swinging his schoolbag. Looking up to the window, he took off ____11____ hat and bowed with a bright, pleasant smile.
“What a nice ____12____,” said Jennie to herself, as the boy ran out of sight. “It seems like having the sunshine. I wish everybody who goes by would look up ____13____ smile.
George, the little boy, told his mother about that ____14____ girl when he got back home, “She looks so helpless. I wish I could do something for her.”
“Why not give her some ____15____?” said his mother. George agreed.
The next morning, as Jennie ____16___ at the window again, she saw George with a handful of beautiful flowers carefully picking his way across the street. He stopped in front of her window, smiling pleasantly, and said, “Can I come in?” Jennie told him _____17____ to get into the house.
Opening the door to Jennie’s gentle “Come in”, George said, “I’ve brought you some flowers.”
“Are they for me?” said Jennie ____18____. “How kind you are,” she continued, as George put the flowers on her lap. I’ve ____19___ received any flower since we moved to the town.”
“Did you live in the countryside?” asked George, ___20____ the old, small and empty room.
“Yes,” said Jennie.
Jennie used to have a happy family and live in a beautiful house in the countryside. However, she lost her right leg in an accident. She ____21____ walk like other people any longer. Later, her father died, and her mother was sick ___22____ so many years that their money was all gone. They sold the house, and move here to get work to do.
George told his parents ____23____. They decided to help her. More and more people in the ____24___ gave Jennie friendly smiles when they passed by her house. She was greatly cheered up.
A few months later, Jennie and her mother ____25____ a flower shop. People could always see Jennie sitting in the shop, having a lovely smile on face.
1.A. her B. his C. your D. my
2.A. house B. door C. smile D. schoolbag
3.A. and B. but C. as D. or
4.A. rich B. lucky C. bad D. poor
5.A. money B. flowers C. clothes D. food
6.A. danced B. cried C. sat D. laughed
7.A. how B. who C. when D. why
8.A. angrily B. easily C. sadly D. happily
9.A. never B. usually C. always D. sometimes
10.A. looking for B. looking around C. looking like D. looking after
11.A. shouldn’t B. needn’t C. couldn’t D. mustn’t
12.A. for B. in C. at D. on
13.A. something B. anything C. everything D. nothing
14.A. countryside B. town C. village D. city
15.A. reached B. left C. closed D. opened
－Would you like to go the hospital to help the sick kids this Sunday?
－________. I’ll be free then.
A. Sorry, I can’t B. Not at all
C. Thank you D. Sure, I’d love to
－Can you tell me _______ to travel to Dalian?
－About two hours by plane.
A. how much it costs B. what I should take
C. how long it takes D. which is the best season
