Tom arrived at the bus station quite early for the London bus. The bus for London would not leave until five to twelve. He saw a lot of people waiting in the station. Some were standing in line; others were walking about. There was a group of schoolgirls. Their teacher was trying to keep them in order.①Tom looked around but there was nowhere for him to sit.

He walked into the station cafe. He looked up at the clock there. It was only twenty to twelve. He found a seat and sat down, facing a large mirror on the wall. Just then, John, one of Tom's friends，came in and sat with Tom.

"What time is your bus?" asked John

"Oh, there is plenty of time yet," answered Tom.

"Oh, I'll get you some more tea then," said John.

They talked while drinking. Then Tom looked at the clock again.

"Good heavens! It's going backward!" he cried. "A few minutes ago it was twenty to twelve and now it's half past eleven."

"You are looking at the clock in the mirror," said John.

Tom wanted to kick himself for being so foolish.② The next bus was not to leave for another hour. He has never liked mirrors since then.

1.The London bus left _____.

A. at 11:55 B. at 5:12

C. before 11:55 D. after 11:55

2.Tom walked into the station cafe because _____.

A. John asked him to have a cup of tea

B. he wanted a drink there

C. he would meet a friend of his

D. it was early and he couldn't find a place to sit in the station

3.What time was it in fact when he look at the clock again?

A. Half past twelve.

B. Half past eleven.

C. Twenty to twelve.

D. Half past one.

4.When we look at a clock in the mirror, we'll see .

A. the right time

B. it is going slower

C. it is going backward

D. it is going fast

America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon. They don’t feel hurt. If the same two people meet again, even years later, they____the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand. Friendships between us develop more slowly but may become lifelong feelings, extending（延伸）deeply into both families.

There is another difficult point for us to understand .Although Americans treat friends warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to them if it requires a great deal of time. But in China, we are usually generous with our time. We, as hosts, will appear at an airport even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off from our work to act as guides to our friends: It is opposite in America, Americans cannot manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily plans. They will probably expect the visitors to get themselves from the airport to the hotels. And they expect the visitors will phone them from there. Once the visitors arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real.

For Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to restaurants, except for business matters. Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. So accept their hospitality（好客）at home and enjoy your visit in America!

1.The underlined phrase “pick up” in Paragraph 1 may mean “_______”.

A. keep out B. give up C. pay no attention to D. continue

2.Which of the following is the typical way of American hospitality?

A. Treating friends at home.

B. Taking days off to be with friends.

C. Meeting friends at the airport at midnight.

D. Sharing everything they have.

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Americans are always generous with their time.

B. Americans don’t feel hurt if their friendships disappear soon.

C. Chinese friendships develop more slowly but will never disappear.

D. Chinese friendships are more sincere than American friendships.

4.This passage is most probably written for _____ .

A. American students

B. Chinese students

C. Chinese visitors to America

D. American visitors to China

I came to study in the USA a year ago. Yet I did not know the real American society until I injured in an accident, because after the accident I had to see a doctor and go to court(法院).

After the accident, my roommate called a doctor for me. I was very grateful and decided to repay him one day. But the next day, he asked me to pay him $200 for what he had done. I was very surprised. He had a good reason to charge me, he said. ①And if I wanted to collect money from the person who was responsible(负责)for my injury, I'd have to have a good lawyer. And only a good doctor can help me get a good lawyer.②Now that he had helped me find a good doctor, it was only fair that I should pay him.

But every time I went to see the doctor, I had to wait about 50 minutes. He would see two or three patients at the same time, and often stop treating one so as to see another, yet he charged me $115 each time. The final examination report was only ten lines, and it cost me $215.

My lawyer was all smiles the first time we met. But after that he avoided seeing me at all. He knew very well the other party was responsible for the accident, yet he hardly did anything. He simply waited to collect his money. He was so irresponsible that I decided not to ask for him again. And he made me pay him $770.

Now I had to act as my own lawyer. Because of my inexperience, I told the insurance company(保险公司)the date I was leaving America. Knowing that, they played for time, and I left without getting a cent.

My experiences taught me two things about America: Firstly, in America money is everything. It is more important than friendship, honor or professional morality. Secondly, foreigners are still being unfairly treated. So when we talk about America, we should see both its good and bad sides.

1.The writer 's roommate offered to help him because .

A. he thought it was a chance to make some money

B. he felt sorry for the writer

C. he knew the doctor was a very good one

D. he wanted the writer to have a good lawyer

2.A good doctor is necessary for the writer to .

A. be properly treated

B. talk with the person responsible for the accident

C. become healthy before he leaves America

D. finally get the responsible party to pay for his injury

3.The underlined word "charge" in this passage means " ".

A. be responsible B. be careful

C. ask for money D. get an answer

Most people graduate from school and then get a job. Everyone wants a job that pays well. How much money can you make? Ask yourself these questions: What can I do? What skills do I have? Also ask yourself: How much education do I have? For most jobs, the higher your education, the higher your earning power.

In the United States, high school graduates make about $18,600 a year. If you do not finish high school, you make only $10,800 a year. You can make $7,800 more each year by staying in high school!

If you stay in school, then you can make more money. A person with a high school degree makes about $18,600 a year. If that person goes to college and gets a bachelor’s degree (学士学位), he can make $42,000. With a master’s degree (硕士学位), he can make about $53,000. If the person gets a PhD (博士学位), he can make almost $79,000 or more a year.

We can learn a very important thing from this information. If you want to work and make more money, get a good education.

1.The passage mainly talks about ___________.

A. how education and pay are connected

B. high paying jobs

C. jobs for high school students

D. good schools

2.According to the passage, “earning power” means the ability to ___________ money.

A. save B. spend C. pay D. make

3.Each year a person with a PhD can make ___________ more than a person who does not finish high school.

A. $37,000 B. $68,200 C. $60,400 D. $26,000

You want to know about my staying in America, right? Well, to tell you the truth, it is really an eye-opening experience to study here.

In China, I had English classes five times a week since the fifth grade. ①However, I didn't know how different textbook English could be from everyday English until I came to Hotchkiss School, Connecticut.

When I first studied English, I was told to say "I am fine." when people say "How are you?" But in the US, I found that people say, "I am good." or "I'm tired."

One day, someone greeted me with "What's up?" It made me confused. I thought for a moment and then smiled because I didn't know what to say.

Since then, I have discovered more and more differences between Chinese and US cultures.

To my surprise, US girls spend a lot of time in the burning sun to get a tan. However, in China, girls try every possible way to get their skin paler, or "whiter".

I was also surprised by how hard-working US students are. In China, schoolwork is almost everything, so we study hard and that's it. But here, a "good" student gets good grades, does a lot for the public and plays sports or music.

The kids here are so talented. ②I am starting to be sorry that I gave up playing the piano at an early age and that I have never thought about sports.

1.According to the writer, textbook English is everyday English.

A. quite different from B. the same as

C. more different than D. easier than

2.What does the word "tan" in the sixth paragraph mean in Chinese?

A. 晒黑 B. 晒白 C. 能量 D. 热量

3.A good US student spends his / her time_______.

A. only in doing homework

B. only on sports or music

C. on studies, sports or music and public work

D. on public work

4.Which is the best title for the passage?

A. My Own Travel in the US B. My Studying in the US

C. My Opinion About the US D. My Poor English in the US

Once a circle lost a piece of its own. The circle wanted to be whole, so it went around looking for its missing piece. But because it was not complete, it could only roll (滚动) very slowly. It enjoyed the flowers and the sunshine along the way. It talked with worms(蠕虫). It found lots of different pieces, but none of them was fit. So it left them all by the side of the road and kept on looking for the missing piece. Then one day the circle found a piece that fitted perfectly. The circle put the missing piece into itself. It could be whole with nothing missing. It was so happy and began to roll. As it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to see flowers or talk to worms. It realized how different the world was when it rolled so quickly. It felt so sad that it stopped, left its found piece by the side of the road and rolled away slowly.

A man who has everything is poor in some way. He

will never have hopes, dreams or something better. ①He

will never know someone loves him or that someone

is giving him something he has always wanted or never

had. We couldn't be perfect, ②But we must be brave enough

to love, strong enough to forgive (原谅，宽恕), kind enough

to share happiness with others and clever enough to know

there is enough love around us and then we can always live a wonderful time in our lives.

1.In the beginning the circle rolled slowly because it .

A. spent much time talking to worms

B. wanted to enjoy the flowers and sunshine

C. was looking for its missing piece

D. lost a piece of its own

2.Why did the circle stop when it rolled quickly? Because it _____.

A. wanted to enjoy the world

B. found a different world

C. wanted to look for another missing piece

D. thought the world changed so quickly

3.Which of the following is TRUE about the circle?

A. As it was a perfect circle, it couldn’t roll very fast.

B. It enjoyed the flowers and sunshine along the way.

C. As it was a perfect circle, it could see flowers and talk to worms.

D. It didn't find any flowers, the sunshine or worms.

4.The story mainly tells us that _____.

A. nobody loves us if we give nothing

B. a man who has everything is the happiest

C. losing something may not be a bad thing sometimes

D. we are not whole when we lose something

There is a special kind of hotel in Quebec, Canada. It has a bar, a church, a shop and a small theater. These things are not unusual. But this hotel is only open from January till March every year. Why? Because it is made of ice and snow? When the weather gets warm, the hotel melts(融化)and closes. Every winter, the hotel owners build the hotel again.

Everything in the ice hotel is made of ice and snow.① All the furniture, such as the tables and chairs, is made of ice. Even the beds are made of ice!So people use special sleeping bags on the ice beds. Inside the ice hotel, the temperature is about 27ºF(-3ºC).

When people sleep, the sleeping bags keep them warm. In the morning, they can have a hot breakfast. After breakfast, people can enjoy winter activities. They can go skiing or ice fishing. Or they can go skating in the dining room. At the end of the day, people can relax at the bar. They can have drinks in glasses made of ice.

Many people enjoy the ice hotel every year.②But they can only enjoy it for a short time before it melts again.

1.Every year, this hotel is only open for .

A. four weeks B. about three months

C. two seasons D. about a year

2.People can go in the dining room after breakfast.

A. skiing B. skating

C. fishing D. swimming

3.What's the best: title of this passage?

A. An Unusal Hotel B. A Warm Hotel

C. A Common Hotel D. An Old Hotel

Over time, the cuckoo(布谷鸟)has learned to get other birds to care for its babies. The cuckoo is an amazing bird. Most birds lay their eggs and look after them until their babies hatch out(孵出).Then they feed their babies until they are ready to leave the nest.

Some birds are not such good parents. Cuckoos lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and do not care for their own babies. They get other birds to act as the parents. The other birds are left with the work of bringing up the young cuckoos as well as their own babies!

If the cuckoo egg hatches first, the baby cuckoo will often push the other eggs out of the nest so that it can get all the attention of its new mother. The young cuckoo sometimes even pushes the other babies out of the nest. The young cuckoo has a loud cry and is often bigger than the other baby birds. It will take all the food and the space in the nest.

A cuckoo lays around 25 eggs each year in the nests of other birds. This means that many other birds spend all their time looking after young cuckoos instead of their own babies. Some birds have learned to recognize the cuckoos' eggs and they push them out of their nests. But the cuckoos have also found ways of fooling the other birds. They can change their eggs to make them look just like the other birds' own eggs.

1.After most birds lay their eggs, they will .

A. look after them until their babies hatch out

B. push the eggs out of the nest

C. eat all the eggs

D. do nothing but leave them in the nest

2.Over time, the cuckoo has known the art of .

A. making a wonderful nest

B. getting other birds to care for its babies

C. catching food quickly

D. singing songs

3.What do cuckoos do to their babies?

A. They lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.

B. They do not care for their own babies.

C. They get the other birds to act as the parents.

D. All of the above.

4.If the cuckoos eggs hatches first, the baby cuckoo will often .

A. push the other eggs out of the nest

B. fly to find its own parents

C. help to warm the other eggs

D. do nothing but wait for food

5.Which of the following statements is true?

A. A cuckoo lays about 25 eggs each season in the nests of other birds.

B. No birds can recognize the cuckoos' eggs.

C. Some birds can recognize the cuckoos'用eggs and push them out of the nest.

D. It's more difficult for cuckoos to lay eggs in the nests of other birds.

As I was finishing seventh grade, my school decided to make some changes because of financial(财政的)problems. The school would make the classes bigger, so there could be fewer teachers.①We needed to write down the names of people we wanted to be with and didn't want to be with. I wrote down the names of all my close friends.

I found out that none of my close friends were in any of my new classes. Also, my new classmates were quite different from my old ones. I thought they weren't as smart as my old classmates. They were also not in the school activities I was in. I couldn't find common interests with them.

As the year went on, I began to feel lonely and envy people in other groups. Why could they be with all their friends? As I found out, they didn't have many friends at first. They had made new friends in their new classes. They seemed pretty happy with their new friends.

I decided it was time for me to make new friends. I noticed that the people with many friends were very active. ②They often talked to others first, while I was too scared to talk to others and hoped other people would talk to me first.

Once I realized that, I found that making friends is very easy if you can accept people for who they are, respect them, and talk to them. Now I feel a lot happier because I have more friends.

1.What problem did the writer have in the new classes?

A. He couldn't do what he used to do.

B. His classmates had no interests.

C. His classmates didn't want to talk to him.

D. He had no close friends in the class.

2.What does the underlined word "envy" in the 3rd paragraph mean?

A. Hope to join other groups.

B. Wish to be in other people's situation.

C. Expect other people to come to him.

D. Want to share other people's interests.

3.From the passage, we can infer that .

A. there were fewer classes in the school

B. no students were forced to go to other classes

C. students spent more money on new classes

D. the writer's friends didn't like him any more

4.The writer wants to tell us that .

A. it's difficult to make new friends

B. the school needs much money to run

C. being active is good for making friends

D. it's not good to envy your close friends

Bill was a boy of 15. His parents went gambling(赌博) day and night. Nobody cared about him. He always failed in his exams.①So his teachers didn't like him, nor did his classmates play with him.

Bill often slept in class because his heart was not in school. He almost gave himself up.

One day, Miss Jones, a new teacher, came to Bill's class. She was a smiling, beautiful woman. Bill was in love! For the first time in his young life, he tried not to take his eyes off his teacher; yet, he still failed.

It was Miss Jones' class. She was asking a question. "I'd like the smartest boy to answer my question. " Then she said 1oudly, "Bill, please! "

Bill was surprised. And he stood up without a word.

"Just try it! I believe you can! "

After school, Miss Jones had a long talk with Bill. She told him that she cared about him and believed in him.

Bill thought a lot that evening. From then on he arrived at school on time every day. Miss Jones helped him with his homework in the afternoon. She even cooked delicious food for him. She told Bill, "Nothing is impossible if you put your heart into it. "

Later, Miss Jones gave another exam. Bill did it with all his heart. He was very excited to find that he had passed the exam.② Now Bill discovered that not only could he learn, but he could do it well. A change took place in Bill's heart.

1.Bill always failed in the exams at first because he .

A. went gambling B. talked in class

C. didn't like his teacher D. almost gave himself up

2.Miss Jones changed Bill by .

A. doing homework for him

B. encouraging and helping him

C. giving Bill another exam

D. cooking delicious food for him

3.From the passage we can learn .

A. Miss Jones was a warm-hearted and responsible teacher

B. Bill's pereats-cared about him very much

C. Miss Jones loved to answer Bill's questions

D. Bill didn't like to play with his classmates

4.Which may be the best title for the passage?

A. Parents' Duty B. A Lazy Boy

C. A Boy's Chance D. A Strict Teacher