My friends and I used to be a little afraid of the old house on the corner. It’s painted grey with plants almost as tall as the house. No one has lived there for years. Some of the older kids said a monster lived in the house.
One day when we were playing in the street, Sara hit the ball hard and it went towards the yard of the old house.
Sara was too scared to move. “Well,” I said. “Let’s go to get it.”
We jumped into the yard. I stayed near the wall, afraid to get close to the house. We searched and searched, but nothing turned up. All we found was rubbish of years. “We could,” said Mariana. “Er … we could go inside.”
The door of the house wasn’t locked. Half the windows were broken. Though it was light outside, it was dark inside. I felt foolish looking for a black ball in a completely dark room. Just then, we all heard a low, deep creak(咯吱声) coming from the ceiling above.
“The monster!” cried Sara. We all held our breath. Then we heard the footsteps getting closer and closer. It was growling(咆哮). And … barking?
“Huh?” said Mariana.
It was actually a big dog, smiling with the ball in his mouth.
“You’re no monster at all!” we said. Mariana took the dog home and named him Monster.
1.The old house on the corner looked _______ to the kids.
A.scary B.beautiful C.comfortable D.fascinating
2.What color is the ball the children played with?
A.Grey. B.Red. C.Black. D.Yellow.
3.Who helped the children find their ball in the end?
A.A stranger. B.A cat. C.A monster. D.A dog.
4.What can we know from the passage?
A.The children entered the old house with a special key.
B.The old house was completely dark inside in the daytime.
C.A dog, together with its owner, lived in the old house.
D.Mariana felt sorry for kicking the ball into the old house.
Once upon a time, a proud swallow lived in a large tree. He liked his colorful feathers and his long tail so much that he believed nothing could be better than them. One day, he saw a crow and thought, “How silly this bird is! All his feathers are black.” He looked at himself lovingly and enjoyed his own feathers.
Just then, the crow flew and sat on the same branch(树枝) as the swallow. The swallow said, “All your feathers are black and your tail is so short.” The crow smiled and said, “But they help me fly.” The swallow said, “So do mine. But look at how beautiful they are!” He spread his wings and flew a little closer to the crow. The crow saw that the swallow had lots of blue feathers and some white and pink ones, too. He looked at his own feathers and thought, “It’s true. The swallow’s feathers are much prettier than mine.”
The crow said, “Swallow, you’re right. You have lovely feathers and a long tail, but only in summer. Your little feathers cannot keep you warm in winter at all. While you shiver in the cold, my thick feathers keep me warm in the cold winters.”
1.When the swallow said the crow’s feathers and tail weren’t beautiful, the crow _______.
A.became angry B.smiled and explained
C.flew away quickly D.became worried and sad
2.The underlined word “shiver” means “_______” in the passage.
A.shake B.lose C.fall D.turn
3.What does the story want to tell us?
A.Birds of a feather flock(聚集) together.
B.Don’t be proud of something that’s of little use.
C.Find out our own problems and solve them quickly.
D.Don’t make friends with people who are too proud.
Lonely old people now can buy “grandkids” by using an app named Papa. Through the app, elderly people can ask young people to come and visit them.
Elderly people, who may have lost touch with their own family, can also ask their rented(租用的) grandchildren to do chores and drive them around.
The elderly people can use Papa on the smartphone. If they don't have a smartphone, they can make a phone call. To use the service, the elderly people have to contact Papa first through either of the ways. The workers of Papa will provide advice for them for free and pair(配对) college students with them. Usually, the app costs the elderly people $15 an hour.
Most Papa Pals make about $20 to $30 per visit. The visit lasts around three hours. Andrew Parker, the founder of the service, says that Papa can also provide the service for people in need.
1.Through the app Papa, elderly people can ask young people to help with chores.
2.The elderly people without a smartphone can also enjoy the service of Papa.
3.The elderly people should pay $10 for the service per hour.
4.Most Papa Pals can make about $20 to $30 per visit.
5.Papa only provides the service for the elderly people.
When I was small, I used to visit my grandparents in the countryside, far away from the city. My grandpa was a _________ farmer. Though he passed away many years ago, I still remember a lesson Grandpa taught me one summer.
Grandpa looked after the sheep and _________ them from wolves and other wild animals in the forest. One morning, when Grandpa gathered(聚集) the sheep, _______ set out. As we were guarding the sheep, Grandpa said to me, “Nick, _______ yourself to be a sheep farmer. What will you do if one of the sheep is lost? Will you go to look for it?”
“Of course,” I replied. “As a sheep farmer, I should be _________ for every sheep. If one sheep is lost, I will do whatever it takes to bring it back.”
Grandpa shook his head and said, “You have a kind heart, _______ I don’t think you are wise enough.”
At that time, I didn’t _________. Then, Grandpa continued, “Remember, no matter what happens, you must keep your cool. If you don’t, you won’t be able to make right _________. If one of these sheep is lost and we go to look for it, what will happen to the other sheep? They might get _________, too. What’s worse, they might be eaten up by wolves.”
The more I thought about Grandpa’s words, the more I ____________ how true it was! From then on, I always remembered to keep my cool no matter what happened.
1.A.chicken B.cotton C.sheep D.rice
2.A.avoided B.punished C.borrowed D.protected
3.A.we B.you C.she D.they
4.A.doubt B.imagine C.encourage D.suggest
5.A.helpful B.known C.thirsty D.responsible
6.A.so B.but C.because D.if
7.A.hear B.discuss C.wait D.understand
8.A.wishes B.mistakes C.decisions D.suggestions
9.A.lost B.sick C.lucky D.popular
10.A.realized B.disagreed C.admired D.forgot
Ever since I was a kid, I have been always ready to help others. Earlier this year, I started Traveling Library by turning an old ice-cream cart(小推车) into a small library on _________. I gave out free books to kids. I wanted more kids to fall in love with reading instead of playing on the computer or _________ the smartphone all day.
_________ I started the first Traveling Library, I had only 100 books. I took my cart to parks and neighborhoods in my hometown. People loved _________ idea of Traveling Library and started to give me books for free. So far I _________ over 2,000 books.
One day in a park, a little girl saw my cart and ran to me. When I told her it held books, she was very _________. I opened the cart and let her _________ a book. She chose a book called Winnie the Pooh and began to read. The book was so interesting that she could _________ put it down, but it was time to go home. Then I told her she could keep it. The girl gave me a big smile and cried out with joy, “Thank you!”
That experience, along with many others, encouraged _________ to build more such libraries, so kids everywhere could get __________ free books to read.
1.A.wheel B.wheels C.stick D.sticks
2.A.to B.in C.with D.for
3.A.When B.If C.Unless D.Because
4.A.a B.an C.the D./
5.A.get B.got C.will get D.have got
6.A.surprise B.surprised C.surprising D.surprisingly
7.A.pick B.to pick C.picking D.to picking
8.A.hardly B.hard C.simply D.simple
9.A.I B.mine C.my D.me
10.A.few B.fewer C.more D.many
Writing（作文）
Write at least 60 words about the topic “A Real Friend”（以“真正的朋友”为题写一篇不少于60个词的短文，要求意思明确，内容连贯，标点符号不占格。
Use the following points as guide.（短文须包含下列要点。）
*What do you usually do with your friend？
*In your opinion, what should a real friend be？
*Give your reasons.
A Real Friend
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