A Trip into a Young Farmer’s Mind Chickens that can talk? Cows that can dance? They are all in Louis Black’s comic books(漫画书). Louis Black was born on a farm. The quiet young man spent most of his life helping his parents on the farm. When he was nine, he started to draw the animals on the farm. Later, he put them into his comic books in his own funny way. They were enjoyed by his family but never shown to people outside the farm. The shy farmer’s comic books became famous only after he died. He passed on in a fire three years ago, when he was only 35. In order to remember him, his family showed his comic books in the town museum, and people liked them very much. Now the original(原始的) pictures of Louis Black’s farm animals can be seen at the City Art Center for one month. Come and visit the beautiful world of Louis Black!

小题1:At what age did Louis begin to draw the animals on the farm?

A．At 9.

B．At 13.

C．At 23.

D．At 35.

小题2:The underlined part “passed on” is closest in meaning to “______”.

A．sat

B．rose

C．died

D．stood

小题3:Which is the right order of the following what happened?
a. His books became popular.          b. His family enjoyed his books.
c. He passed on in a fire.             d. He started to draw animals.
e. He was born on a farm.   

A．a-b-c-d-e

B．e-b-d-a-c

C．e-d-b-c-a

D．b-d-c-e-a

小题4:What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To plan a trip to visit a farm.	B．To tell people about an art show.
C．To attract people to the farm.	D．To share ideas of drawing comic books.

On the first day of school our teacher introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned around to find a little old lady with a warm smile. She said, “Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old.”
“Why are you in university at such a YOUNG age?” I asked. She replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of kids, and then retire and travel.”
I knew she was joking. I was curious(好奇) what might have encouraged her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
“I always dreamed of having a university education and now I’m getting one!” she told me. We became friends. Every day we would talk nonstop after class. I always enjoyed listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom(智慧) and experience with me. And Rose easily made friends wherever she went.
At the end of the term we invited Rose to make a little speech. She cleared her throat and began, “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. I’ve learned a few secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.”
“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change...”
小题1:When the author and Rose first met, they began their conversation in a ________ manner.

A．polite

B．impolite

C．serious

D．humorous

小题2:Rose went to the university in order to _______.

A．meet a rich husband	B．make new friends
C．get a better job	D．get a university education

小题3:The author considered Rose as a “time machine” because ________.

A．she always came to class on time

B．she made friends easily at university

C．she enjoyed a long life and had lots of wisdom and experience

D．she knew the difference between growing older and growing up

小题4:The word“That”in Paragraph 7 refers to(指)________.

A．growing older

B．growing up

C．staying young

D．being happy

小题5:From this passage we know Rose believed ________

A．“Easier said than done.”	B．“Well begun is half done.”
C．“It is never too late to learn.”	D．“Reading makes a full man.”

Thomas Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light. Without him, the world might still be in the dark. However, the electric light was not his only invention. He also invented the motion picture camera and 1200 other things. About every two weeks he created something new.
Thomas Edison was born in 1847. He attended school for only three months. His mother taught him at home, but Thomas was mostly self-educated. He started experimenting at a young age.
When he was 12 years old, he got his first job. He became a newsboy on a train. He did experiments on the train in his spare time. Unluckily, his first work experience did not end well. They fired him when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the train. Then Edison worked for five years as a telegraph operator, but he continued to spend much of his time in experimenting his first patent(专利权) in 1868 for a vote recorder run by electricity.
Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other, but he thought of his deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations short, so that he could have more time for work. He always worked 16 out of every 24hours. Sometimes his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.
Thomas Edison died at the age of 84. He left a great many inventions that greatly improved the quality of life all over the world.
小题1:How often did Edison make a new invention?

A．About every fourteen days	B．About every seven days
C．About once a week	D．About twice a week

小题2:The underlined word “fired” in the passage means “__________”

A．Gave somebody a job	B．Set fire to somebody
C．Let somebody down	D．Forced somebody to leave his job

小题3:Edison considered his deafness as______.

A．something bad

B．a gift from god

C．a kind of ability

D．a disadvantage

小题4:which of the following sentence is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Edison had only 8 hours rest each day after his deafness

B．Edison got his education mostly by self-teaching

C．Edison had his first job in 1869

D．Edison’s inventions greatly improved the quality of people’s life

小题5:What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．The function of the electric light	B．Edison and his experiments
C．The importance of inventions	D．The whole life of Edison.

Math is one of the most boring classes for many students. But recently, at the University of California in the US, a 　 　 class got 400 students interested. There were even another 35 　 　 from behind windows.
 　 　 could make a boring subject so interesting? Terence Tao, the 31-year-old university teacher, is known as “the Mozart of Math”. Tao, born in Hong Kong, spent his childhood in Australia. He showed his great   　 　 in math when he was very young. At the age of two, he could read. At nine, he went to college math classes. At twenty, he got his doctor’s degree(博士学位). Last summer, Tao 　 　 　  a Fields Medal which is known as the “Noble Prize of Math”. 　 　    he was talented, Terence Tao didn’t go to college until he was fourteen. “In my opinion, it’s not 　 　 　 to go to college too young. ” said Tao. He added, “　 　 　 , studying is like building a large tower. It must have a strong base(基础). Then it can be built higher. ”
People don’t think Tao is 　 　 the rest of us. He wears a T-shirt and an old pair of sports shoes. He reads Japanese comic books, too. But he 　 　 loves math. “In many ways, my work is my hobby. ” he said. 
小题1:A. math       B. music          C. Japanese
小题2:A. passing     B. watching       C. shouting
小题3:A. What       B. Which         C. Who
小题4:A. talent       B. importance     C. need
小题5:A. made       B. won           C. found
小题6:A. If          B. Although      C. Because
小题7:A. necessary   B. convenient      C. difficult
小题8:A. So far      B. At times        C. In fact
小题9:A. the same as  B. different from   C. similar to
小题10:A. even      B. also           C. still

天晴国际学校将举行一系列主题活动，请你仔细阅读以下A到F选项中六位外教的信息，邀请期中五位外教分别给的活动做讲座。
________小题1:.Music Festival    ______小题2:.Science Festival     ________小题3:.Sports Festival   _______小题4:English Festival   _____小题5:.Reading Festival

Personal Information of Teachers Jane Birch is from America.She speaks 5 languages and has been to 14 counties. She is very popular with students and has many methods of learning foreign languages. Jerry Smith is a humorous teacher. He often turns his maths classes into game time. Math is more than numbers and shapes in his class.It can be used to solve real life problems. Daisy Chambers,a smart lady ,is good at playing the piano.She has been learning it for ten years. Amazingly,she learns it all by herself.Many students are her fans. Rod White is a creative teacher and inventor. He believes that invention is for everyone and everyone can be an inventor. In his class, students find it great fun to do scientific experiments. Emily Roy has written many stories. Students love reading her books, She always recommends good books to her students. She plans to write a book to share how reading changes her life. Lewis Nichols is an excellent swimmer. He takes part in the winter swimming competition every year. He thinks that swimming in cold water builds up not only his body but also his will.

The story was a true one and still moved me deeply. Thirty years ago，I got to know a   36 lady named Rose. She had no kids and lived alone.     37­­­­­­   I went to visit her, I always took Rose some coffee and food. One day she said she    38    me to have hunch.
We walked from my work place to a little restaurant on David Street.    39    the way, I began to worry: I knew that she had no money, but if I offered(提供) to    40   the lunch，I was afraid I would hurt her.
There were many people in the    41    and all of them were happy. Rose told me to sit and drink coffee by the window. Then she went to    42  in the kitchen. After about 20 minutes, she came out and sat with me. She just paid for one meal and we started to   43  the delicious food together. She told    44    that the restaurant let people work for a meal if they had no money, or would give them a free meal if they were not able to work. To my surprise, she also explained that the workers who were working there were all    45   .
I     46    remember the beautiful afternoon I shared with Rose.    47    we had a meal together only once, it was paid by Rose's work. The weather was    48    and bright, and everyone's smile was warm and bright as well.
I’m still thinking that life cannot be easy to us, but we can still do     49    for our friends and neighbors. The world will be     50    if everybody would like to share happiness with others. It will never be dark if there is a light in everyone's heart.

小题1:	A．rich B．poor C．strange D．crazy

小题2:	A．When B．After C．Until D．Unless

小题3:	A．will invite B．was inviting C．is inviting D．to invite

小题4:	A．By B．In C．On D．Out of

小题5:	A．pay for B．ask for C．look for D．care for

小题6:	A．park B．restaurant C．hotel D．bar

小题7:	A．sit B．rest C．stay D．work

小题8:	A．buy B．cook C．enjoy D．drink

小题9:	A．her B．him C．me D．you

小题10:

A．volunteers B．teachers C．doctors D．cooks

小题11:

A．never B．still C．hardly D．already

小题12:

A．So B．But C．Though D．Because

小题13:

A．hotter B．cold C．cool D．warm

小题14:

A．something B．anything C．nothing D．everything

小题15:

A．colder B．nicer C．harder D．worse

“Everything happens for the best,” my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. “If you can carry on, one day something good will happen.”
After graduating from college in 1932, I decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to sports announcer(播音员). I took the bus to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station. But I was refused every time. In one studio, a nice lady told me that big stations didn’t want to accept inexperienced persons. “Go to the countryside and find a small station that’ll give you a chance,” she said.
I returned home, Dixon in Illinois. While there were no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, my father said Smith Ward had opened a store and wanted a local sportsman to manage its sports department. Since I had played high school football in Dixon, I applied(申请). The job sounded just right for me. But I still failed in the interview. At that moment, mom’s words came to my mind: “Everything happens for the best.” Dad offered me a car to look for a job. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport in Iowa. The program director, named Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office, I felt sad. I asked aloud, “How can a man become a sports announcer if he can’t get a job in a radio station?”
I was waiting for the lift when I heard MacArthur calling, “What did you say about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he made me stand before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game. As a result, I did a wonderful job and was told to broadcast Saturday’s game!
On my way home, I thought of my mother’s words again: “Everything happens for the best if you carry on. One day something good will happen.”
小题1:After the writer graduated from college, he tried to look for a job in        at first.

A．Chicago	B．Dixon
C．Davenport	D．Illinois

小题2:The writer couldn’t find a job in Dixon because       .

A．he had played high school football

B．he did not pass the interview

C．he had no working experience

D．he had no interest in the job

小题3: Which sentence below is TRUE?

A．In all, the writer went to three cities to look for the job.

B．The writer took the train to different places to look for the job.

C．The writer gave up finally when he was refused again and again.

D．MacArthur gave the writer a chance to broadcast Saturday’s game directly.

小题4:The passage mainly tells us that       .

A．it is hard to find a job

B．mother’s help is necessary

C．we should hope for the best

D．life is full of disappointment

What’s the most important thing for you to have in your life? Somebody says hard-work, others suggest knowledge, love and luck.
If you arrange the 26 English letters alphabetically(按字母表的顺序) and use numbers to represent each of them, for example, 1 for a, 2 for b, 3 for c…, you can change an English word into a number. So hard-work becomes 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11="98," meaning 98 is its mark; knowledge: 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5="96," while love :12+15+22+5="54," and luck: 12+21+3+11="47," a small mark. None of these words can give one a full mark. What about money or prayer(祈祷)? They can’t , either.
Then what else? Don’t be worried. You can always find an answer to a problem in your life, when you change your way of looking at things or doing things, or your attitude. Yes, attitude is the word. See for yourself: attitude: 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5="100," a full mark.
Different attitudes lead to different ways of life. Most times people hope for a better life. It is possible that you will have a change for the better after you have changed your attitude.
When you change your manner and become friendly towards others, you’ll meet more smiling faces. In the same way, if you take a positive(积极地) attitude towards failure(失败), you’ll find you may have more chances to succeed.
小题1:We can use ________ to represent “money”.
A. 72                       B. 71                   C. 70
小题2:The underlined word “them” in the second paragraph refers to ________.
A. hard-work and love      
B. 26 English letters          
C. all numbers
小题3:In the writer’s opinion, what is the most important thing in a person’s life?
A. Attitude.                B. Knowledge.               C. Hard-work.
小题4:If you meet with problems, the best way out is to _________.
A. ask for help from others    
B. say your prayers to God 
C. change your attitude
小题5:From the passage we can learn that ______________.
A. different attitudes come from different ways of life
B. none of the English words can give one a full mark
C. failure sometimes can bring success to you if you take a positive attitude

Eighth-grader Victoria Bills is talking about money with her classmates. She is worried that a company’s stock (股票) price could fall. It may be an unusual topic of conversation for a 13-year-old. But at Bills’ school in Chicago, US, you hear it all the time.
The Chicago school’s 420 students learn about economic(经济学). They also get a chance to make money. Each 1^st grade and 5^th grade, students learn the basics of economics and investing(投资).
Then in 6^th grade, they put what they’ve learned to work. Students join a junior group that manages the $20,000. The group, made up of 12 to 14 students, decides which stocks to buy.
After graduating, students pass on $20,000 to the next 1^st grade class. They keep half of the rest of the money; the other half goes toward improving the school. They can choose to put their money in a college-savings program or take the cash.
In 2007, Bills suggested that her class buy the stock of the Apple computer company. This was just before the iPhone came out. “We bought stock just at the right time,” she says. The kids bought Google stock as it reached $400 a share. It is now worth over $500. “It was a good buy,” says Myles Gate, 13. He hopes to be a banker one day.
The school’s two graduating classes of 2005 and 2006 have each earned about $10,000 in profits(利润).
小题1: At Bills’ school, students can’t       .

A．learn the basics of economics	B．learn how to invest money
C．get a chance to make money	D．share all the money they make

小题2: Who manages the $20,000 in the class?

A．The teachers.	B．The school.
C．The students.	D．The parents.

小题3:Google stock the kids bought has reached more than ______ at present.

A．$500	B．$400
C．$10,000	D．$20,000

小题4:According to Paragraph 5, we know that       .

A．Bills’ class bought the Apple stock after the iphone came out

B．it was a mistake for the class to buy Google stock

C．the students get some investing experience in the school

D．the class bought the two kinds of stocks at the same time

小题5: What’s the passage mainly about?

A．How students make money in the US.

B．Students learn economics and investing at school.

C．Myles Gage hopes to be a banker one day.

D．What US students hope to do after graduation.

A farmer carelessly lost an expensive gold watch in the barn on the farm, where he searched for everywhere but failed.
So he put a notice on the gate of the farm: whoever finds the gold watch will be rewarded 100 dollars.
People tried their best to look for the watch in order to get the reward. However, the barn was too large and the straw in the barn was too thick,it was getting dark they were still unable to find it. So they give up the reward of 100 dollars one by one.
But only a small boy was still not discouraged but kept looking for it .He had nothing to eat throughout the day.In order to solve the family problem, he looked forward to finding the gold watch and let his parents,brothers and sisters have a full meal.
The night was already getting late,the boy was also tired. He was lying in the straw to have a rest when he heard a strange “tick--tock ”.
He immediately held his breath and listened carefully,and followed the sound. He found the watch and got the 100 dollars.
Like the gold watch in the barn,success has been around us and spread in every corner of life. Only when we are calm and firmly look for it ,we can find it.
小题1:If someone found the gold watch, what would the farmer offer him?

A．100 yuan	B．100 dollars
C．100 pounds	D．100 pence

小题2:Why did the boy insist on looking for the gold watch?

A．Because he liked the gold watch..

B．Because he wanted to own the watch.

C．Because he was silly

D．Because he wanted to get the reward

小题3:The passage above is probably taken from_________.

A．A newspaper	B．a science book
C．an advertisement	D．a notice

小题4:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The boy had no brothers or sisters.

B．The boy’s family had a hard life.

C．It was easy for the boy to find the watch.

D．The farmer didn’t look for the watch for himself

小题5: Of the following,which order is right according to the story?
① The boy succeeded in finding the gold watch
② The farmer offered the boy a reward of 100 dollars
③ A farmer lost a gold watch carelessly
④ Many people tried to find the watch,but they failed.

A．②①④③	B．④②③①
C．③④①②	D．①③④②