I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have porridge, eggs or toast. When others had Cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. But at least I wasn’t alone when I was sad. My sister and two brothers had the same mean(刻薄的) mother as I did.
My mother preferred to know where we were all the time. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. We had to clean clothes and take a bath every day. The other kids got to wear the same clothes for days. We could not lie in bed “sick” in order to miss school.
The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and get up at eight the next morning. We couldn’t sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept, my mother was brave to break the Child Labour Law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, and learn to cook and all sorts of things at home. I believe she lay awake thinking up all things for us to do.
My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Two of her children received higher education. None of us have ever been arrested (taken away by the police) or divorced. She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. I am trying to raise my three children this way. I am filled with pride when my children call me “mean”. Why? Because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.
1.How many children does the writer’s mother have?
A．Four B．Two C．Three D．Six
2.What can you infer(推测) from the passage?
A．My family was rich, so I ate a sandwich for lunch.
B．My mother was a great success. We love her.
C．If we didn’t want to go to school, the best way was to pretend to be sick.
D．We needn’t share the housework at home.
3.The best title for this passage may be________.
A．My childhood B．The meanest mother
C．I do as my mother did D．Unforgettable memories
In general, it’s hard to spend enough time in both concentrating on lessons and taking part in social activities. But I wanted to succeed in both. I knew this would be a challenge but I didn’t realize how difficult it was until my class in the high school began.
I got on well with other girls. After school, I often had ice cream with them first instead of finishing my homework before it was time to hand it in. I always finished it the next day between classes. I knew it wasn’t very good and the grades that I got showed I was not hard working enough. I realized that I needed to find some kind of balance.
So I created a timetable that would divide my time between studying and relaxing. It was a good idea but I was only able to follow it for a few days because it made me under too much pressure.
Later, I tried another plan. Each week I listed everything that I had to get done during the week and the time by which I had to get it done. The under the things I had to do, I made another list of things that I could do if I had time.
It worked really well. Ever since I have never missed any important things. At the same time, I enjoyed my spare time a lot.
Planning my time has been challenging, but I continue to do it. I’m glad that I’ve learned to balance things and it has helped prepare for what is coming after graduation.
1.Why did the writer follow the first timetable only for a few days?
A．Because it had a specific list
B．Because it wasn’t a good idea
C．Because it brought her too much pressure.
2.What wasn’t included in the writer’s second time plan?
A．The things she shouldn’t do
B．the things she had to get done
C．The things she could do if she had time
3.According to the passage, which of the following is true?
A．The writer had few friends because of bad grade
B．Learning to balance things is helpful to make plans for the future
C．The writer preferred to spend more time in relaxing than studying
4.Which do you think is the best title of the passage?
A．Facing challenges
B．Concentrating on lessons
C．Balancing study and play
A man and his wife were very poor. They kept hoping for new clothes and good food. The man enjoyed eating, and he especially liked cakes. One night an old woman came to their house and told them she would let them have three wishes. They could wish for anything they wanted.
The man had just finished eating a piece of bread for his dinner, but he was still hungry. He said, “I wish I had a big cake!”
Suddenly a cake appeared on his plate.
“You fool!” His wife cried. “You could have wished for a house full of wonderful food, but you wished for a cake. I wish that cake was on the end of your foolish nose! ”
Immediately the cake stuck to the end of his nose.
Then the man and his wife started blaming each other. “It’s your fault!” she man cried. “No, it’s your fault!” she answered. What could they do? The cake was still stuck to the husband’s nose.
“Oh!” the wife cried. “I wish none of this had ever happened!”
Immediately the cake was gone, and the man was saying, “I’m still hungry. How I wish I had some cakes! ”
But of course nothing happened.
1.The man quarreled with his wife because ___.
A．he always enjoyed eating
B．his wife hoped that he asked for a house
C．the cake stuck to the end of his nose according to his wife’s wish.
D．he didn’t want anything except cakes
2.The wrong statement of the following is ___.
A．the man made his wishes before dinner
B．the wife made two wishes, which worked
C．the wife wanted her husband to wish for more than a big cake
D．the man wished that the cake were not on his nose
3.Why did the old woman not satisfy the man’s wish when he said he was still hungry and wanted some cakes?
A．Because the old lady was angry with them
B．Because this was the fourth wish.
C．Because the man had made this wish before.
D．Because the cake had been gone.
Once two brothers，John and Tony，asked a sage(智者) to tell them about their future. The sage them, “It may not be good for you to know your future. ，your future can change later even if I tell you now！” They knowing their future. The sage said, “John will become a king in a year while Tony will in a murder.”
John was and started dreaming of becoming a king while Tony started spending his time in spiritual activities and used his time to everyone and soon came out of his .
Eleven months passed. One day，the brothers discovered a half－buried pot. They it and found it full of gold. John shouted， “This is just for me to set up my palace！” Just then，a robber jumped out and gave a on John’s head and tried to take the pot away. Tony jumped at the robber to John. But the robber attacked him with a knife. During the the robber dropped the pot and ran away.
John was very to his injured brother and offered him half the gold. Tony politely saying he was not going to live much longer in any case. John，with his new treasure，started eating and drinking. One year passed. There was no of any crown in sight. Tony was also enjoying good .They decided to visit the sage again. “How did your predictions go ？” John asked. The sage explained， “I told you，your destiny(命运)can be changed. The crown you were to get was to a pot of gold. But，Tony’s life changed his destiny too. Death in the murderer’s hand was reduced to only being ”
How life meets us is called destiny；how we meet life is called self effort!
1.A. informed B．advised C．ordered D．encouraged
2.A. Instead B．Therefore C．Besides D．Otherwise
3.A. insisted on B．depended on C．gave up D．took up
4.A. recover B．appear C．hurt D．die
5.A. worried B．pleased C．shocked D．disappointed
6.A. serve B．receive C．observe D．guide
7.A. work B．debt C．depression D．anger
8.A. bought B．wrapped C．sold D．dug
9.A. experience B．treasure C．award D．success
10.A. blow B．gift C．tap D．touch
11.A. calm B．stop C．protect D．inspire
12.A. performance B．investigation C．action D．struggle
13.A. polite B．cruel C．grateful D．loyal
14.A. refused B．accepted C．demanded D．answered
15.A. symbol B．sign C．mention D．comment
16.A. chance B．position C．work D．health
17.A. short B．bad C．wrong D．well
18.A. reduced B．connected C．devoted D．exposed
19.A. comfortable B．spiritual C．difficult D．hopeless
20.A. disturbed B．forgotten C．arrested D．wounded
Mary will ever forget the first time she saw him. He suddenly appeared in class one day, (wear) sun glasses. He walked in as if he (buy) the school , And the word quickly got around he was from New York City .For some reason he sat beside Mary. Mary felt (please), because there were many empty seats in the room. But she quickly realized that it wasn’t her, it was probably the fact that she sat in the last row.
He thought he could escape attention by sitting at the back , but he was wrong. It might have made it a little (hard) for everybody because it meant they had to turn around, but that didn’t stop the kids in the class. Of course whenever they turned to look at him, they had to look at Mary, made her feel like a star.
“Do you need those glasses medical reasons?” the teacher asked. The new boy shook his head. Then I’d appreciate it if you didn’t wear them in class. “I like to look at your eyes when I’m speaking to you.” The new boy looked at the teacher a few seconds and all the other students wondered the boy would do. Then he took off, gave a big smile and said “That is cool."
国外某网站将举办新一轮网上讨论活动，正面向全球中学生征集话题。假设你是莆田八中的学生李华，经常访问该网站，现在请你用英文给网站发送一封电子邮件，向其推荐话题。
内容包括：1、自我简介；
2、写电子邮件的目的；
3、话题：我们应该学会感恩；
4、推荐的理由；
5、预祝活动成功。
注意：1、词数：120左右；
2、邮件中不能出现本人的真实信息。
Dear Sir,
I’m glad to write to you about my opinion.
Sincerely yours,
Li Hua
