A group of swans flew down to a beach where a crow(乌鸦) was jumping around. The crow watched them with disdain(鄙视).
“You have no flying skills at all!” he said to the swans. “All you can do is to move your wings. Can you turn over in the air? No, you can’t. Let’s have a flying competition. I’ll show you what real flying is!”
One of the swans, strong and young, took up the challenge. The crow flew up and began to show his skills. He showed flying tricks, and then came down and looked proudly at the swan.
Now it was the swan’s turn. He flew up, and began flying over the sea. The crow flew after him, making all kinds of comments (评价) about his flying. They flew on and on till they couldn’t see the land and there was nothing but water on all sides. The crow was making fewer and fewer comments. He was now so exhausted that he found it hard to stay in the air, and had to try to keep himself from falling into the water.
The swan pretended (假装) not to notice, and said, “Why do you keep touching the water, brother? Is that another trick?”
“No,” said the crow. He knew he had lost the competition. “I’m in trouble because I am proud! If you don’t help me, I’ll lose my life…”
The swan took pity on him, and took him on his shoulders and flew back to the beach.
1.What does the underlined word “exhausted” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A. Tired. B. Excited. C. Scared. D. Amazed.
2.What can we infer (推断) from the passage?
A. Flying skills were useless.
B. The crow didn’t have a gift for flying.
C. The swan was better at long-distance flying than the crow.
D. The swan saved the crow because they were good friends.
3.What does the story tell us?
A. No pains, no gains.
B. Practice makes perfect.
C. Being proud makes you fail.
D. The early bird catches the worm.
Students in many countries wear school uniforms. Here’s a list of countries below.
| In Brazil, students don’t have to wear uniforms in public schools although they might have one. In general, the uniforms are a pair of blue trousers and a white T-shirt with the school symbol printed on it. |
| School uniforms are used in Cuba. All students wear school uniforms with the color as a symbol of grade level. Children also wear scarves because they are young pioneers. |
| Japan introduced school uniforms in the late 19th century. Today, All students wear school uniforms. Many boys wear white shirts, short pants and caps. Girls’ uniforms might include a gray pleated （褶）skirt and a white blouse. |
| In Singapore, all students must wear uniforms. Though the colors are different from school to school. The uniform for boys is usually shorts or long trousers, with a shirt (often white), while girls wear white pinafores(连衣裙) or skirts. |
1.In Cuba a student wears the scarf as a symbol of _____.
A. grade level B. cold weather
C. public school D. young pioneer
2.Which is true about the students’ uniforms in Singapore?
A. School uniforms are introduced in the late 19th century.
B. Only the students in public schools wear uniforms.
C. Boys’ uniforms are different from girls’ in color.
D. Students usually wear white shirts or skirts.
3.On the school day, a student doesn’t wear the uniform. He probably comes from ______.
A. Brazil B. Cuba C. Japan D. Singapore
完形填空 先通读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从下面四个答案中选择可以填入相应空白处的最佳选项。
It began a year ago, around Christmas. Every time I drove down our street, I noticed an old man sitting in his front yard. He was usually smoking or drinking, and looking rather unhappy.
One day, while I was driving past him with my , I decided to wave at him with a lot of excitement. , when he noticed me waving at him, he looked a bit surprised. Then, I saw his hand go up and he waved back.
“ did you wave at him?” my daughter asked.
I told her it’s just an act of kindness that doesn’t anything. It gives both him and me a feeling of joy. My daughter replied that she felt a bit uncomfortable to wave to a stranger, but next time she would try it as well.
We lived close to the old man, we saw him rather often. Whenever we drove by, both of us would start waving at him and, pretty soon, the old man started at everyone who passed by his house.
One time, my daughter’s friend came to visit and she told my daughter that she saw this strange old man near our home wave at her very . She mentioned that she waved back, although she didn’t know him, and it felt really good.
As soon as my daughter heard this, she told her friend the of how all the waving began. Her friend answered, “Tell your mom that’s really cool!”
Other friends gave similar . This taught my daughter that an act of kindness can be natural and , if you really want to do it. It showed us how giving happiness can do good to both the giver and the receiver.
1.A. husband B. son C. daughter D. friend
2.A. Just now B. On time C. In the end D. At the beginning
3.A. Why B. How C. When D. Where
4.A. buy B. cost C. hide D. guess
5.A. or B. but C.so D. yet
6.A. shouting B. waving C. laughing D. looking
7.A. angrily B. excitedly C. loudly D. carefully
8.A. lesson B. accident C. news D. story
9.A. gifts B. notes C. thoughts D. books
10.A. easy B. funny C. unusual D. special
—If I work hard at my lessons from now on, can I do well in them?
—Sure. ___________.
A. All rivers run into sea
B. Every day is not Sunday
C. Practice makes perfect
D. Better late than never
Why did Mandy get so mad? It was only a joke.
A. hopeless B. hopeful C. harmless D. harmful
—Shall we see each other at 9 o’clock tomorrow morning?
—Sorry, let’s make it _______ time.
A. other’s B. the other
C. another D. other
