Mary was an operator(接话员) 911 in Los Angeles. One Thursday morning, she was surprised to get a call from a little girl. She said, “Mom my ill, Mom my ill,’ again and again, Mary soon found the address of the call. She called the police. In a minute, the policemen and doctors arrived at the house. They broke the door open. They couldn’t believe their eyes. The little child was so young that she could not walk! She was sitting beside her mother and holding her mother’s hand. Tears were running down her face.
The doctors gave the women some medicine and soon she woke up. Later, she told people, “Everyone was surprised that my daughter could call 911. On Monday I tried to teach her how to call 911, but she couldn’t do it. ” Mary was surprised, too. “It’s the first time I have seen a two-year-old child call 911.”
【小题1】What did the girl really want to say?
A. “Mom, I’m ill.”
b. “My mom is ill.”
C. “Mom and I are ill.”
【小题2】How did the policemen feel when they got into the room?
A. Strange.            B. Normal.        C. Surprised.
【小题3】How did the policemen get into the room?'
A. By breaking the door.
b. With the girl’s help.
C. Through the window
【小题4】What does the underlined(下划线的) word “it” mean?
A. 911.            B. Calling 911.        C. Walking.
【小题5】What can we learn from the passage?
A. The little girl was so clever that she could call 911 when she was 2.          
B. The love for her mother created the miracle(奇迹).        
C. The mother knew she had to teach the little girl how to call 911.

To err is human. To blame（责备） the other guy is even more human.
Common sense is not all that common.
Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse?
These three popular misquotes（戏谑的引语）are meant to be jokes, and yet they tell us a lot about human nature. To err, or to make mistakes, is indeed a part of being human, but it seems that most people don’t want to accept the responsibility for the problem. Perhaps it is the natural thing to do. The original quote about human nature went like this: “To err is human, to forgive, divine（神圣的）.” This saying mirrors an ideal: People should be forgiving of others’ mistakes. Instead, we tend to do the opposite – find someone else to pass the blame on to. However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a mark of great maturity（成熟）.
Common sense is what we call clear thought. Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well, and it also means staying with the plan. Common sense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm, but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine. Common sense does not seem to be common for large companies, because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything. People say that in a large company, “the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.”
And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people, especially young people, get the idea that it’s okay not to be totally honest all the time. There is a corollary（直接推论）to that: if a good excuse is “good” even if it isn’t honest, then where is the place of the truth?
【小题1】Which of the following is NOT based on common sense?

A．A secretary works to a timetable.

B．A company’s next move follows a good plan.

C．A girl goes out with an umbrella in stormy weather.

D．A man tries to manage everything in a large company.

【小题2】What can we infer from the last paragraph according to the writer?

A．A good excuse is the same as honesty.

B．Inventing a good excuse needs creative ideas.

C．Unpleasant truth is better than a good excuse.

D．Making a good excuse is sometimes a better idea.

【小题3】What would be the best title for this passage?

A．A Mirror of Human Nature

B．To Blame or to Forgive

C．A Mark of Maturity

D．Truth or Excuse

Did you ever wonder how some of your favorite foods, products or toys came about? Believe it or not, they may have been an accident, or a failure of some other intention. Below, we found three mistakes we’re thankful for turned out to be what they are.

1. Most historians hold that the Chinese invented fireworks in the 9^th century when they discovered how to make gunpowder. Story has it that a Chinese cook accidentally mixed together what were then considered common kitchen items and noticed they burnt. When put tightly in a bamboo tube and lit, it blew up.

2. In May of 1886, a law led John Pemberton, a pharmacist(药剂师), to rewrite the formula(配方) for “Pemberton’s French Wine Coca”, his popular headache treatment. Containing sugar instead of wine as a sweetener, the outcome became something for Coke, which was later mixed with carbonated(碳酸) water. His bookkeeper suggested the name Coca-Cola because he thought the two C’s would look good together, which is how what we call Coca-Cola, a world-wide drink came into being.

3. During World WarⅡ, scientists at the University of Birmingham invented the magnetron(磁控管)—an important heat-producing part of the microwave oven. While working for Raytheon Corporation after the war, the American engineer Percy Spencer was testing the magnetron when a chocolate bar in his pocket melted. He went on to test other foods including popcorn kernels(仁), and found it to be a much more efficient way to cook. In 1947 Raytheon came out with the first restaurant microwave oven, which was six feet tall and weighed 750 lbs.
【小题1】The right time order of the three inventions should be ________.

A．fireworks, the microwave and Coca-Cola

B．fireworks, Coca-Cola and the microwave

C．Coca-Cola, fireworks and the microwave

D．the microwave, Coca-Cola and fireworks

【小题2】Percy Spencer found the microwave efficient in cooking when he was ________.

A．looking for a way to melt his chocolate

B．trying to know how a magnetron could cook

C．working to know how the magnetron works

D．asked to invent a restaurant microwave oven

【小题3】The underlined phrase “ blew up” might mean _______ in Chinese.

A．爆炸

B．膨胀

C．升华

D．蒸发

【小题4】What can we learn from the above invention stories?

A．Experiments make great inventors of our time.

B．Nothing is impossible if one tries each day.

C．Inventors come out of hard work at any time.

D．A small incident may lead to a great invention.

Do you like drinking Coke? As a symbol of American culture, Coca-Cola is liked by many people, especially young people all around the world. But from now on, perhaps it will sales of high-sugar fizzy(起泡的) drinks in US school.
The agreement allows only unsweetened juice, low-fat milk and water in primary and middle school vending machines and cafeterias. The agreement is “a bold(大胆的) step forward in the struggle to help 35 million young people lead healthier lives”.
Rising childhood obesity(肥胖) has become a big problem in America. A report noted that obesity has tripled(增至三倍) among teenagers in the past 25 years. It called for new limits on the marketing of junk food to children. Soda is a particular target because of its caloric content and popularity among children.
Britain has already taken similar steps to fight obesity. A recent study shows that people in the UK are much healthier than the people in the US. However, it’s better late than never. Now American schools are trying to make new regulations to guide the students to choose healthy drinks.
【小题1】_________ has become a big problem in America.

A．Junk food

B．Drinking coke

C．Obesity

D．Health

【小题2】Why is soda a particular target?

A．Because it tastes good.

B．Because it has more calories and is popular among kids.

C．Because it is not a healthy diet.

D．Because it is a symbol of American culture.

【小题3】What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Britain has no such problem as obesity.

B．People in UK are healthier than people in US.

C．Americans are much healthier than British people.

D．New regulations have been made to guide students in US school.

Interested in Chinese calligraphy (书法) experiences? By joining our Beijing Tours Xi’an Tours or Guilin Tours, visitors can add Chinese calligraphy classes to the tour at, very reasonable prices.
Most of the big museums in China have calligraphy collections. See our Museums Tours.
For travelers who are interested in the history and culture of Chinese calligraphy, Museum of Chinese Characters in Anyang City, Henan Province is a good choice. The Stele Forest Museum in Xi’an City houses many works of famous ancient calligraphers as well as precious stone sculptures (雕塑).
Contact us for a tailor-made tour.
【小题1】Where can we find this piece of writing?

A．In a story book.	B．In a textbook.
C．In a cookbook.	D．In a travel magazine.

【小题2】What can we see in the Stele Forest Museum in Xi’an City?

A．Statue of ancient calligraphers.

B．Precious stone sculptures.

C．City houses

D．Famous workers.