It was a market day (集市日) . A man stood behind his table and was selling nuts. He had many bags of nuts. Suddenly the man remembered something. “Today I must go to town. But who will sell these nuts for me?”

　　“Peter, ” he turned to a boy and said, “will you help me sell these nuts?”“Yes, I' m glad to, ” answered the boy. “But for the first hour I want to get one nut. ”

　　“Only one? This isn't much!”

　　“And for the second hour the double of it, that is two nuts. ”

　　“Just two? This isn't much, either. And for the third hour?”

　　“Again the double, four nuts. And for every further hour you have to pay me twice the nuts for the preceding (在前的) hour. ”

　　“This isn't much! ” said the man. “I will be back in five hours. Or maybe I' ll have to stay in town a bit longer. Now sit here with my nuts! ”

　　The man went away. Five hours passed and still the man wasn't back. Soon it was getting dark. The boy didn't leave. He sat at the market for exactly 24 hours.

　　The next morning the man came back. He said to Peter, “Give me your pocket! I' ll give you the nuts! ”“Into my pocket?” the boy laughed and then said, “The pocket is too small. You must give me a cartload (一车所载的量) of nuts . All these bags belong to (属于) me now. ” “What?”shouted the man. “You must be mad (疯的) . ”　　But the boy was right. Do you know why?

1．The man had to go to town because ________

[　　]

A．it was a market day

B．he suddenly thought of something

C．a boy was standing behind his table

D．a boy would sell the nuts for him

2．The boy helped the man sell the nuts ________.

[　　]

A．only to practise his maths

B．because he was glad to

C．because he was mad

D．because he wanted to get some nuts from the man

3．The man didn' t return until ________.

[　　]

4．The man was very surprised to know ________.

[　　]

A．the boy laughed at him

B．the boy's pocket was too small

C．the boy went mad suddenly

D．he didn't have enough nuts to pay the boy

The Cat That Showed Up

　　Li Ping was the pet (宠物) cat of a young woman named Vivian. Vivian lived in Ohio. She decided to take a job in Florida. She could not take Li Ping with her right away, so she left the cat with her sister.

　　In a month, Vivian found a good place to live. She wrote to her sister and asked her to send Li Ping to Florida. Vivian missed her cat very much. She mailed the letter and went to visit a friend. She started up the steps of her friend' s house. Suddenly, something caught her eye. A cat was coming toward her. It looked thin and very hungry.

　　“That cat looks like Li Ping, ” thought Vivian. But it couldn't be. Li Ping was more than a thousand miles away. The cat ran straight to Vivian. She picked it up and looked at it. The cat opened its mouth and let out a tiny squeak(吱吱叫声) . Then Vivian knew the cat was hers. Li Ping got hurt when he was a kitten (小猫) . The only sound he could make was a little squeak.

　　Vivian called her sister in Ohio. Li Ping had been missing for two weeks, her sister said. She was afraid to tell Vivian. She knew how much Vivian loved her cat.

　　How did Li Ping make such a long trip? How did the cat find Vivian? She was not even at her own home. No one knows the answers to those questions. No one knows how a cat's mind works.

1．Vivian moved to Florida so she could ________.

[　　]

2．The only sound Li Ping could make was ________.

[　　]

3．At first Vivian could not tell if the cat was Li Ping because

________.

[　　]

4．The story does not tell ________.

[　　]

5．Another title for this story could be ________.

[　　]

　　During the Second World War, Winston Churchill was the British Prime Minister. One day he had to go to the British Broadcasting Corporation (the BBC) to make an important speech to the nation.

　　An hour before the time of this speech, he stopped a taxi in the street and asked the driver to take him to the BBC; but the taxi---- driver, who did not recognize (认出)him, said he could not take him anywhere just then, because he wanted to go back to his home at the other end of London to hear Churchill make a speech on the radio.

　　Churchill was so pleased when he heard this answer that he gave the man a pound, which was worth quite a lot in those days.

　　“All right, get in, ” said the driver happily, opening the door of the taxi. “I'll take you, and to hell with Churchill and his speech! ”

1．Why did the taxi-driver have to stop taking passengers a whole hour before Churchill's speech?

[　　]

A．Because he lived at the other end of London.

B．Because he didn't recognize him.

2．Why did Churchill give the taxi-driver a pound?

[　　]

A．Because he was willing to take him to the BBC.

B．Because he wanted to listen to him on the radio.

3．Did the taxi-driver realize that, unless this man got to the BBC, he wouldn't be able to hear Churchill's speech?

[　　]

4．Why did the taxi-driver change his mind about not taking Churchill to the BBC?

[　　]

A．Because he hadn't really wanted to hear his speech.

B．Because Churchill had given him a pound.

　　David was a young man who worked in an office in a big city. His hobby(爱好) was fishing, but he did not often get a chance to practise it.

　　Then on summer he decided to have a holiday in a beautiful place in the mountains where there were a lot of streams(小溪) . “I ought to be able to have some good fishing there, ” he said to himself .

　　The first morning after he arrived, he walked to the nearest stream with his fishing-rod. He saw an old man standing beside the water, so he asked him whether it was a private stream (私人的) . The old man answered that it was not, so David then said to him, “Well, then it won't be a crime if I catch some fish here, will it?”

　　“Oh, no, ”answered the old man, “it won't be a crime(罪行), but it will certainly be a miracle(奇迹) . ”

1．Was David able to enjoy his hobby only rarely?

[　　]

2．Was he absolutely sure that he could have some good fishing in the mountains?

[　　]

3．Did the stream that David went to first belong to someone?

[　　]

4．Did the old man think that fishing was permitted in that stream?

[　　]

5．Did he think that David would catch any fish in it?

[　　]

　　Fernando (A poem)

　　Fernando has a basketball.

　　He tap, tap, taps it down the hall,

　　then leaps up high and shoots with care.

　　The fact a basket isn't there,

　　he totally dismisses.

　　He says he never misses.

　　My crazy friend Fernando.

　　Marci Ridlon

1．This poem is about ________.

[　　]

2．In the second line of the poem, Fernando ________the ball.

[　　]

3．Where does Fernando shoot the basketball?

[　　]

4．How does Fernando shoot the basketball?

[　　]

5．Fernando doesn' t care that ________.

[　　]

　　Australia is nearly as large as the United States, but most of it is too dry for people to live in. Around the edge (边缘) of this huge dry part are large sheep and cattle (牛群，家畜) . farms. A few of them are as large as the smallest states in America. Often the nearest neighbours (邻居) are many hundred miles away.

　　The two-way radio is very important to people who live on these great Australian farms. It works much like a telephone. A person can listen to someone else talk and then give an answer.

　　When these radios first came into use, the Australian government (政府) set up a special (专门的，特别的) two-way radio programme (节目). Then, people on the large farms could talk to a doctor hundreds of miles away. They could tell the doctor about someone who was sick, and the doctor could let them know how to care for the sick person.

　　Since the large farms were so far from towns, the children could not go to school. Radio schools were set up for them in some places. At a certain time each day, the boys and girls turn on their radios and listen to teachers in cities miles away.

　　Families on the large farms wanted to give news to their neighbours. “Round robin (知更鸟)”talks by radio were started to keep families in touch with each other. They could talk about who was getting married or who was sick or who was going away. The men could talk about their sheep and cattle and how much money the markets would pay for them. In many ways the radio became a newspaper for the farm people of Australia.

1．This passage tells us something about ________.

[　　]

A．how the radio is used in Australia

B．why the radio is important in Australia

C．how large Australia is

D．both A and B

2．Australia is ________America.

[　　]

3．How many examples were given by the writer to show the use of radio on the great farms? ________.

[　　]

4．Families on the large farms kept in touch with each other by

________.

[　　]

5．The two-way radio is something like a telephone because

________.

[　　]

A．you can talk and listen to somebody by radio at the same time.

B．people could talk to a doctor hundreds of miles away

C．the radio has two telephones

D．the government has set up a special two-way radio programme

　　Young Jimmy, aged seven, spent all his free time with a pencil, drawing the world as he saw it.

　　When his mother took him to a park, he did not want to play with the other children. All he wanted to do was drawing. His father was quite worried.

　　“I don' t want Jimmy to spend his whole life drawing, ” he said .

　　“Why not?” his mother argued (争论) . “Some people do. Think about all the famous artists (画家) . Rembrandt, Gaugin, Van Gogh. Their main (主要的) interest in life was their art.”

　　“Huh!”Jimmy's father said. “They had talent (天才). Jimmy just draws. ”

　　“He's young yet,” his mother argued. “He'll get better. Anyway (不管怎样) , I think he' s already showing a lot of ability (能力).”

　　“If he's so good, ”his father said, “maybe we' d better find him a teacher. Then he'll learn how to draw.”

　　A week later, Jimmy had his first lesson with his art teacher.

　　“Now Jimmy, ” the art teacher said, “I want you to draw a picture of someone important to you. ”

　　Jimmy began to draw very carefully, making sure every line was exactly (恰好) where he wanted it.

　　“What are you drawing a picture of?”the art teacher asked.

　　“God, ” Jimmy said.

　　“But no one knows what God looks like, ”the teacher said.

　　“They will when I've finished, ” Jimmy answered.

1．Why was Jimmy's father worried?

[　　]

2．What did Jimmy' s mother think?

[　　]

A．She thought he was ill.

B．She thought one day he might be famous.

C．She thought he had no talent.

D．She thought he was as good as Rembrandt.

3．What did his parents do for Jimmy?

[　　]

A．They took him to a school.

B．They found him a good doctor.

C．They bought him some new pencils.

D．They found him an art teacher.

4．Who did Jimmy draw?

[　　]

Do the Animals Know?

　　Many animals do strange things before an earthquake (地震) . This news may be important. Earthquakes can kill people and knock down homes. The animals may help to save lives.

　　Some animals make a lot of noise before an earthquake. Farmers have told about this. Dogs that are usually quiet have started to howl (吠) . Horses on farms have run around in circles. Mice have left their holes and run away. Cows have give less milk.

　　In a town in Italy, cats raced down the street in a group. That happened only a few hours before an earthquake. In San Francisco, a man kept tiny pet frogs. One Sunday, the frogs jumped around more than ever. They made loud noises, like bigger frogs. That night, an earthquake struck the city.

　　People want to know when an earthquake is coming. Then they could get away safely. Right now, there is no sure way to know ahead of time. Maybe the best idea is to watch the animals.

1．This story is mostly about ________.

[　　]

2．Before an earthquake, quiet dogs ________.

[　　]

3．Before an earthquake, the frogs ________.

4．There have been earthquakes in ________.

[　　]

5．People want to ________.

[　　]

　　Do you know that a fast reader can get the ideas better than a slow reader can? Of course, you save time by reading fast, but this is not the main reason for fast reading. The main reason is that you understand better what you are reading when you read fast.

　　As your eyes move along the line of print, they make fixations (注视) or pauses (停顿) . It is important that you see several words at a fixation. It is also important that your eyes leave a group of words quickly and move on to another group. The number of letters or words that you see at a fixation are called your eye span (视幅、视跨). Pay more attention to improving your rate of reading. With practice you can learn to read faster than you usually read.

　　The way in which you read always depends on what you are reading and for what purpose (目的) . You should know the different ways of reading so that you can apply whatever method that is necessary. Here are four ways of reading, but not all, they may increase your reading rate.

　　1．Skimming is an important kind of reading. This method can be used when you wish to review something that you have forgotten. You may skim to find a lost place of a statement that you have read and cannot recall. You may skim to get an idea of a story.

　　2．Rapid first reading and then rereading certain parts carefully is important. You may use this type of reading to study a science lesson or a history lesson.

　　3．You need to do careful reading and rereading sometimes. This type of reading is necessary for making an intensive study of the main subject of your school curriculum (课程), solving arithmetic problems, studying rules for playing a game, or reading directions .

　　4．Rapid reading is used when reading stories for enjoyment. You may also do rapid reading when reviewing material that you already know well.

1．A fast reader can get the ideas ________ a slow reader can.

[　　]

2．In this passage, “eye span” means ________.

[　　]

A．eyesight

B．a group of words

C．the number of letters or words you see at a fixation

D．your reading speed

3．The way of reading always depends on ________.

[　　]

4．The word “Skimming” means ________.

[　　]

5．Careful reading is an important kinds of reading ________.

[　　]

A．when you read a story for enjoyment

B．when you review a lesson that you already know well

C．when you read the directions before using a camera which is expensive

D．when yon wish to find a lost place that you have read

　　The leader of a band was finding it extremely (极度地) difficult to prepare for an important performance, because the members of the band were never all present at any one of the rehearsals (预演) . Then the last rehearsal before the show came, and again some of the members were not there. At the end of the rehearsal, the leader said to all the members of the band who were present, “I have been making a note of those who have been absent from our various rehearsals. Here it is. ” He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and looked at it. “I see that the only man who has been hard-working and faithful enough to be present every time is the drummer(鼓手).”

　　The drummer went very red, stood up and answered, “Well, I thought it was the only right thing to do, as I won' t be able to come to the show tomorrow. ”

1．What was the leader of the band trying to do?

[　　]

A．To prepare for a big rehearsal.

B．To find a hard-working and faithful drummer.

C．To get ready for an important show.

2．What was on the piece of paper that the leader of the band had?

[　　]

A．The names of people who had been present at rehearsals.

B．The names of people who had been absent from rehearsals.

C．The name of the drummer.

3．How many members of the band had attended every rehearsal?

[　　]

4．Why did the drummer go very red?

[　　]

A．Because he was proud of what the leader of the band had said about him.

B．Because he was ashamed.

C．Because he was ill.