Like most July days, it was hot. I stepped into a coffee shop to drink a cup of coffee. It was a tiny store with little round tables and chairs.

As I entered, I found a very old woman bent over a table near the door. Her back was so badly twisted that her face nearly touched the table-top. I sat down facing her two tables away.

“Poor woman,” I thought. “What does she get out of life? Why does God let people live so long past their prime(鼎盛时期)?”

As I thought, another aged lady entered the shop and sat down with her. Soon the two of them were talking about childhood days. They talked of how little the shop had changed in 70 years… In minutes the two of them were trembling (颤抖) with laughter.

I looked again at the first woman, then in the mirror on a nearby wall, catching a picture of myself.

I was wearing a dirty shirt.

She was well dressed in white, gold rings on her fingers.

I was in low spirits. She was laughing, smiling.

I was putting the pieces of my life together. She had millions of wonderful memories to recall.

She was old but it wasn’t hurting her.

As I left the shop, I thought of my foolish questions about God letting People past their prime. Why, that woman was more alive, more sensitive than I was. Age has not bent her spirit (精神).

1.The story happened in a coffee shop in July, didn’t it? （此题1分）

______________________________________________________________________.

2.What did the writer think of the first woman when she saw her in the shop?

______________________________________________________________________.

3.How did the two aged ladies feel when they were talking about their childhood days?

______________________________________________________________________.

4.What does the underlined sentence “I was putting the pieces of my life together” mean?

______________________________________________________________________.

5.How did the young writer and the old woman live according to the passage?

The old woman lived a ____________ life, while the young writer led a ____________ life.

6.What did the young writer try to tell us in the story? （此题3分）

______________________________________________________________________.

1.Yes, it did. 2.She felt sorry for her. She thought the woman was old and poor. 3.They were happy. 4.It means the writer was living a hard life. / struggled for the life. 5.The old woman ...

A bookstore chain “Popular Bookmall” introduced their special style of book distribution (分销)in Shanghai back in November. This experimental store offers books at very low prices, and there is no staff to require customers to pay before taking books away. Sounds like a book lover’s paradise!

Popular Bookmall had already set up such a shop in Nanjing. The organizers of the Nanjing store report that it was a great success; enough customers voluntarily paid for their books. But most older “honesty stores” in China did not receive enough honest customers. For example, a self-service restaurant opened in Fujian province years ago. It allowed customers to pay whatever they chose, but about one-fifth of customers paid nothing. The organizers of the “honesty stores” say that their goal is to encourage people in China to remember how important honesty is.

Many Chinese are worried about dishonesty in China. Even at Popular Bookmall, not everybody chose to pay for their books. Is it a good way to solve it by law? Maybe not. We should listen to our conscience (良心). This has deep roots in Chinese culture. Confucius (孔夫子) taught Chinese to be conscientious and honest.

But there are also a great rational (理性的) reason for “honesty stores”: the more honest people there are in society, the more reasons we have to trust others. And if people trusted each other, they’d be more willing to share. For example, in a “sharing economy”, we do not have to think about saving or spending money all the time. We should try to help other people. In brief, society is built on trust, not only trade (商业).

1.What is the special style of book distribution in “Popular Bookmall”?

______________________________________________________________________.

2.“Popular Bookmall” in Nanjing was a great success, wasn’t it?

______________________________________________________________________.

3.Why did organizers open many “honesty stores” in China?

______________________________________________________________________.

4.What are many Chinese worried about?

______________________________________________________________________.

5.According to Confucius, how should we encourage ourselves to be honest?

______________________________________________________________________.

6.What does the underlined part “society is built on trust, not only trade” try to tell us?

______________________________________________________________________.

1.It offers books at very low prices, and there is no staff to require customers to pay before taking books away. 2.Yes, it was. / Yes. 3.To encourage people in China to remember how important h...

How to be a safe and smart SEARCHER

S

everal keywords will help to find better results. Use more than one keyword when you are doing a search. If you want to find out about seagulls, for example, search for and not just ‘seagull’ – because seagull might also be the name of just about anything else, from a hotel to a documentary film.

E

xact references can help you find what you’re looking for. If you are looking for an exact phrase or sentence, e.g. , type it between quotation marks (“”) and only exact matches will be shown. This is useful when you want to find something you’ve already seen but lost.

A

void common words like ‘a’ or ‘the’ in a search. These aren’t always helpful and are usually unnecessary.

R

emove unwanted results by adding a minus symbol (-). For example, would leave out all references to hotels and films.

91 . Make sure that you spell every word in the search box correctly. The smallest typing mistakes can bring unwanted results - especially when the mistyped word exists.

H

ave a filter（过滤程序）. It’s a good idea to filter your searches, especially when you are searching for pictures. Ask an adult to help you add a filtering system. There are lots of filtering software options available.

E

xperiment with different search engines until you find the one that’s best for you. Some search engines personalise the results. So check out the option of using a search engine that doesn’t do this and you will get different results.

R

eliability is very important when you are searching on the Internet. Always ask yourself, “Is this reliable?” Don’t make the mistake of believing everything you see. Some websites are unreliable and some information is false. Check your information on other websites before accepting it.

1.This is an article written for adults, isn’t it?

______________________________________________________________________.

2.If you want to find out about peaches, what keywords may help you find better results?

______________________________________________________________________.

3.How can we get exact matches when we are looking for an exact phrase?

______________________________________________________________________.

4.What can be filled in the blank?

______________________________________________________________________.

5.What is especially important for picture searches?

______________________________________________________________________.

6.Write three DON’Ts about safe and smart search.

Don’t _____________________________.

Don’t _____________________________.

Don’t _____________________________.

1.No, it isn’t. 2.Fruit peach. 3.By typing the phrase between quotation marks./By using quotation marks. 4.Check your spelling (carefully). /Correct spelling. 5.Filter software. 6.Don’t...

The story of the Mary Celeste is a very famous unsolved mystery. The story is about a sailing ship called the Mary Celeste and the strange disappearance of all the people on board the ship.

The ship sailed from New York on 7th November, 1872, for the port of Genoa in Italy. It was carrying a cargo (货物) of 1,700 barrels of American alcohol which was worth 35,000 dollars. There were 10 people on board the ship: the captain, Briggs, his wife, Sarah, their two-year-old daughter, and seven crewmen. Briggs had a good fame as a captain. He was also a religious man who did not drink alcohol.

The mystery begins on 15th November, 1872. The Mary Celeste was between the Azores and the coast of Portugal when it was seen by the captain of another ship, Captain Morehouse. Captain Morehouse was immediately worried because he could see that the Mary Celeste was out of control. He was also very surprised because he knew that Captain Briggs was a good sailor. There were no distress (求救) signals from the Mary Celeste and no reply when Morehouse tried to make contact, so he decided to take a small boat and climb on board the Mary Celeste. There was nobody on board!

There didn’t seem to be much wrong with the ship: it was not in danger of sinking, so there was no need for panic. However, the ship’s register and other paperwork were missing; the navigation instruments were missing; and everything on the ship, including the captain’s bed, was wet through. Another important fact is that there were no boats on board. And a strange fact is that when the cargo was finally unloaded in Genoa, nine barrels of alcohol were missing. Can we find an explanation which fits all the known facts?

Morehouse guessed that the crew must, for some reason, have thought that the boat was sinking and panicked. But why did they think it was sinking? It is possible that, as the cargo was alcohol, there might be an explosion which would cause everyone on board to panic. The crew might have climbed into the boat and tied the boat to the main ship while they checked if the ship really was sinking. Perhaps a storm broke the rope and left them all in a small boat on stormy seas.

It seems that 92 now, but I am sure that people will keep thinking of possible solutions, and the only limit to these solutions will be the human imagination!

1.Which place did the Mary Celeste leave for?

______________________________________________________________________.

2.What do you know about Briggs besides having a family of three people?

______________________________________________________________________.

3.How did Morehouse feel when he saw the Mary Celeste was out of control?

______________________________________________________________________.

4.Why did Morehouse guess that the crew panicked at that time?

______________________________________________________________________.

5.What can be filled in the blank in the last paragraph?

______________________________________________________________________.

6.Where do you think all the people on the ship might go? Show your possible reason(s)!

______________________________________________________________________.

1.(For) the port of Genoa in Italy. 2.(He was) a good (famous) captain (sailor) and a religious man. 3.Worried and surprised. 4.Because the boat might sink./ The cargo alcohol might explode. ...

Answer the questions.(根据短文内容回答下列问题) ：

When Jan and Brian Dutcher moved to San Diego for Brian’s new job at San Diego State University, the neighbors smiled and introduced themselves. But there were no “ bring a plate” invitations, no car pooling for her daughters Liza, 12 and Erin, 15.

“The family really didn’t know each other, and we missed that,” says Jan. “We are far from relatives. Neighbors are our family.”

So Jan, an artist, decided to repeat a project she had done for Liza’s fifth-grade class: ask each person to paint his or her face on a big canvas(帆布). The finished piece would become the new family photo.

First , Jan painted a grid(网格) on the canvas and put it up in the garage with a table of paints nearby. Then whenever she was home, the “art room” door was up , with an open invitation for neighbors to paint. The first to stop in were kids riding by. “They thought it was cool,” says Jan, but the adults weren’t so keen. “ Most said they hadn’t picked up a paint brush since kindergarten,” she says. “They were afraid they’d mess it up.” But as word slowly spread, they came, some using their driver’s license photos as models.

Then something started to happen. They returned ---to see who had painted, or if they could recognize who was who. In Jan’s garage, they began to chat about schools, jobs, and families. Almost daily. Wendy, who lived across the street and was seriously ill, came in her wheelchair to watch the fun. Neighbors began to offer their support.

When the worst things happened and Wendy died, they stood by her husband, Bill and invited him over for dinners.

This year has been different in the neighborhood. Families take turns hosting happy hours. “We ‘re watching over each other now just like in the painting.” says Jan.

1.Why did the Dutchers move to San Diego?

2.Where did people paint, on a wall, a car or a canvas?

3.Who joined in the project first after a grid was done?

4.What did the adults in the neighborhood think of the project at first?

5.With the project on and on, what happened in and out of the garage?

6.How do you understand the underlined sentence“We’re watching over each other now just like in the painting”?

1.Because of Brian's new job 2.A canvas 3.The kids riding by 4.They thought it was cool but they weren't keen. 5.They returned to see who had painted, or if they could recognize who was wh...

Jim and Danny first met when they were 6 years old. They became best friends, spending their summers together in a seaside town. In those early years, they went hiking almost the whole summer. They learned to sail before they were 10. The year they turned 11, their parents sent them both to the same boys camp in New Hampshire. There they began to love the overnight trips.

When they were 15, they spent a summer in Quebec camping in an old tent. The year after graduating from college, they drove to Central America and rode a train through jungles.

After that. they went their separate ways. Jim took a job as a teacher at a school. Danny became a journalist and lived in Boston. They sent each other Christmas cards, but found it difficult to stay in touch. Their careers took them in different directions, giving them different experiences.

The years went by. They aged. They both turned 60. And then, miles apart, they both woke up one morning and knew it was time to retire. Both of them realized it was time to leave the jobs that had kept each of them excited for 35 years.

It was time to begin a new chapter of life.

Danny had heard about a research project in Argentina. A team of scientists was searching for

the planets oldest dinosaur fossils(化石). And the team wanted some volunteers.

Danny called his friend of 55 years. He told him about this project. Then, he asked him whether he would consider going on such a trip. The answer was: Yes!

A few months later, just retired, they were setting up a tent at the foot of the Andes. Every day for the next two weeks, they hiked across the desert, searching for the fossils of ancient animals.

Late at night, lying in their sleeping bags, they looked up at the cold black sky. They talked about the time they had camped in the past.

As Jim and Danny had back then, they started to laugh. They couldnt stop.The years between them fell away. Circles reconnected. They were boys again.

1.Did Jim and Danny do many same things when they were young?

__________________________________________________________________________

2.When did they begin to love the overnight trips?

__________________________________________________________________________

3.How did they keep in touch just after they went their separate ways?

__________________________________________________________________________

4.Why was it time for them to begin a new chapter of their life?

__________________________________________________________________________

5.What were they doing while they were hiking across the desert?

__________________________________________________________________________

6.According to the passage, what does the underlined part They were boys again. mean?

__________________________________________________________________________

1.Yes, they did. /Yes. 2.At the age of 11/Eleven /11 /When they were 11/(years old.) 3.By sending each other Christmas cards./ They sent each other Christmas cards. 4.Because it was time for ...

Many of us know that a beautiful and colourful butterfly comes from an ugly worm! Here is the story of a butterfly that was never able to live its life as a normal butterfly.

One day, a man saw a cocoon(蚕茧). He loved butterflies and had a craze for its wonderful colours. In fact, he spent a lot of time around butterflies. He knew how a butterfly would struggle(挣扎,奋斗) to turn into a beautiful one from an ugly caterpillar.

He saw the cocoon with a tiny opening. It meant that the butterfly was trying to make its way out to enjoy the world. He decided to watch how the butterfly would come out of the cocoon. He was watching the butterfly struggling to break the shell for several hours. He spent almost more than 10 hours with the cocoon and the butterfly. The butterfly had been struggling very hard for hours to come out through the tiny opening. Unfortunately, even after it continuously tried for several hours, there was no progress. It seemed that the butterfly had tried its best and could not give any more try.

The man, who had a passion and love for butterflies, decided to help the butterfly. He got a pair of scissors and tweaked the cocoon to make larger opening for the butterfly and removed the remaining cocoon. The butterfly came out without any struggle!

Unfortunately, the butterfly looked no longer beautiful and had a swollen body with small and withered(凋谢的) wings.

The man was happy that he had made the butterfly come out of the cocoon without any more struggles. He continued to watch the butterfly and was quite eager to see it fly with its beautiful wings. He thought that at any time, the butterfly might spread its wings, shrink(收缩) the body and the wings could support the body. Unfortunately, _____________ 91_______________

Instead, the butterfly just crawled around with withered wings and a huge body. It was never able to fly. Although the man did it with a good intention(意图), he did not know that only by going through struggles the butterfly can come out to be beautiful, with strong wings.

The continuous effort from the butterfly to come out of its cocoon would let the liquid stored in the body be turned into wings. Thus, the body would become lighter and smaller, and the wings would be beautiful and large.

If we don’t want to undergo any struggle, we won’t be able to fly! Life is difficult, but struggles make us shine!

1.Why was the man crazy about the butterflies?

_____________________________________________________

2.The butterfly didn’t come out of the cocoon successfully by itself, did it?

______, ______________________________________________

3.How did the man help the butterfly?

___________________________________________________

4.What can be filled in the blank in the sixth paragraph？

_____________________________________________________

5.Why did the normal butterfly have a small body but large wings?

_____________________________________________________

6.How do you understand the last sentence “Life is difficult, butstruggles make us shine!”?

____________________________________________________

1.Because he had a craze for its wonderful colours. 2.Noit didn’t 3.He tweaked the cocoon to make larger opening for the butterfly and removed the remaining cocoon. 4.Unfortunately, neither d...

1.Red Square is about 9.1 square meters in size.(改为同义句）

Red Square covers ____________ of about 9.1 square meters.

2.Cross the bridge and you will see the Panda House on your right.(改为同义句）

_______________ the bridge and you will see the Panda House on your right.

3.This is Sandy's pencil case.(改为同义句）

This pencil case ____________ Sandy.

4.What interesting work it is to teach the children!(改为同义句）

____________ it is to teach the children!

5.Sam is so tall that he can reach the apples on the tree.(改为同义句）

Sam is ____________ to reach the apples on the tree.

6.He did well in all his subjects.(否定句)

He ________________ well in all his subjects.

7.Alice used the key to open the small door. (改为同义句)

Alice ________ the small door _______ the key.

8.The little girl looked around and found that there was nobody else.(改为同义句）

The little girl looked around and found __________________

9.We go to the Reading Club once a week. . （划线提问）

______________________________________ go to the Reading Club ?.

10.This hall is too small to hold 300 people.(同义句)

This hall isn't _____________ to hold 300 people.

1. an area 2. Go across 3. belongs to 4. How interesting 5. tall enough 6. didn’t do 7. opened with 8. nobody else 9. How often do you 10. big enough 【解析】 1.根据句意，红场面积约...

1.Their families can't pay for the notebooks and pens.(改为同义句）

Their families _____________ to pay for the notebooks and pens.

2.The head teacher came into the classroom. He has a book in his hand.(改为同义句）

The head teacher ______ the classroom ______ a book in his hand.

3.I don't want to share a bedroom with others.(改为同义句）

I want a bedroom of ______________

4.The lazy boy didn't pass the math test.(改为同义句）

The lazy boy _____________ pass the math test.

5.When did you get his letter? (改为同义句)

When did you _______________________________ him?

6.It’s about 10 minutes on foot from the railway station to the hotel. (对划线部分提问)

_________________ is it from the railway station to the hotel?

7.Alice did her homework last night. (改为否定句)

Alice _____________ her homework last night.

8.She spent one hour writing the letter yesterday. (改为同义句)

It _____________ one hour _____________ the letter yesterday.

9.There was only one knife on the desk when I went back home. (对划线部分提问)

______________________________ there on the desk when you went back home?

10.Our teacher told us something about his pet dog. (改为一般疑问句)

_______ your teacher ______ you ______ about his pet dog?

1. aren’t able 2. entered with 3. my own 4. failed to 5. hear from 6. how far 7. didn’t do 8. took her to write 9. how many knives were 10. Did tell anything 【解析】 1.ca...

1.He went to bed. He didn’t have supper last night. (句意不变，合并成一句)

He went to bed ______________________ last night.

2.They met some of their classmates last week. (用next week改写句子)

They ________________ some of their classmates next week.

3.My brother did his homework carefully.(否定句)

My brother _____________ his homework carefully.

4.Our school is very beautiful.（改为感叹句）

_____________ our school is！

5.—Could I smoke here？（完成否定回答）

—Sorry，____________________________

6.I got a letter from my parents yesterday. （改为同义句）

I_____________ my parents yesterday.

7.We should do our best to learn English well.（改为同义句）

We should____________________ to learn English well.

8.Put something hot into the rubbish bin.（改为否定句）

____________________________into the rubbish bin.

9.We can stop a fire with a blanket .（改为同义句）

We __________________ to stop a fire with a blanket

10.What beautiful flowers they are!（改为同义句）

_________________________the flowers are!

1. without having supper 2. will meet 3. didn’t do 4. How beautiful 5. I’m afraid you can’t 6. heard from 7. try our best 8. Don’t put anything hot 9. are able 10. How beaut...