Kelly is an African elephant. Now she is 19 years old. She lives in the zoo. Kelly has produced more than 100 paintings since last year. She has made over $ 3,500 for the zoo. Zoo leaders say Kelly first showed the art ability about 5 years ago. Zoo workers watched her make the marks in the sand with her trunk(象鼻). She rubbed out(抹去) the marks, then made the new ones. The zoo workers gave her brushes and paints. Soon Kelly was painting pictures. Newspaper reporters wrote about Kelly, and then people went to buy her pictures. And in this way she made a lot of money for the zoo by painting.
This is how Kelly does the painting. A zoo worker holds different color paints and Kelly touches the colors she wants. Then the worker gives her the chosen colors to the brushes in her trunk and Kelly begins to paint.
【小题1】We most probably read this story in     .
A. a magazine     B. a newspaper      C. a history textbook
【小题2】Kelly first learned to draw pictures      .
A. in the sand with her trunk      B. to make money
C. when she was 5 years old
【小题3】People asked for Kelly's pictures because      .
A. they just wanted to have fun
B. the zoo leaders asked them to do so
C. the zoo workers asked them to do so
【小题4】Kelly rubbed out the marks she had made in order to        .
A. make other ones        B. clean her trunk       C. ask for more brushes and paints
【小题5】From the story we can know that       .
A. Kelly can draw nice pictures all by herself
B. Kelly doesn't like to draw pictures at all
C. Kelly can draw pictures with the help of the zoo workers

Gordon Williams’s hobby may seem strange to people when they meet it for the first time. But it is a traditional craft(手艺).He builds model ships inside old bottles.
Gordon has always loved ships, especially sailing ships from the old days. His interest in this hobby began many years ago when he visited a museum in Ottawa, Canada, where there was a display of model ships in bottles. Gordon thought the display was wonderful. But he wondered how the craftsman got the ship through the thin neck of the bottle. Gordon decided to find it out.
He found an old master craftsman who was willing to teach him the necessary skills. First, Gordon takes an old bottle. Then he puts in a layer of putty(一层油灰),carefully shaped and painted it look like the sea. Next he builds the ship. To get the ship through the neck of the bottle, Gordon holds down the masts(桅杆).Once the ship is inside the bottle, he takes a long, thin tool to raise the masts.
Gordon has completed well over one hundred models. His wish is to build bigger model ships, such as aircraft carriers. This will be more challenging, as he will have to build the ship actually inside the bottle. His hobby certainly needs time, patience and a steady hand.
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并在答题卡上按要求作答。
【小题1】What’s their opinion when people first meet Gordon’s hobby?

A．Useful.

B．Traditional.

C．Interesting.

D．Unusual.

【小题2】How did Gordon become interested in this hobby?

A．He met a craftsman who would like to teach him.

B．He saw a show of model ships in bottles.

C．He had a journey to Canada.

D．He has collected many sailing ships.

【小题3】For Gordon, the most difficult step that he wanted to learn was _______.

A．to shape the bottle like a ship

B．to paint the layer of putty like the sea

C．to get the ship through the neck of the bottle

D．to put the layer of putty into the bottle

【小题4】Which of the following pictures shows the last step of Gordon’s work?

【小题5】Gordon’s new plan is more challenging because he will _______.
A. build a bigger model ship inside the bottle
B. build more than one hundred ships
C. put a bigger model ship inside the bottle
D. make an aircraft carrier

Saturday morning was bright and fresh. There was a song in every heart, cheer on every face, and a spring in every step.

Tom appeared with a bucket（桶）of white paint in one hand and a brush in the other. His Aunt Polly told him to paint the fence（篱笆）around the garden. It was ninety feet long and nine feet high. He felt very blue.

Then he had a wonderful idea. He picked up his brush and started to work.

Soon Ben came along the road. He was happily eating an apple. He stopped to look at Tom. Tom went on painting and pretended（假装）not to see Ben.

“I’m going swimming,” said Ben. “Do you want to go swimming, Tom? But I guess you can’t. You have to stay and work, don’t you?”

 “Work?” Tom said. “This isn’t work. I’m enjoying myself. Does a boy get a chance to paint a fence like this every day?”

Ben thought about this. Tom continued painting carefully. Sometimes he stopped, stood back to look at the fence like an artist, and then added（增加）a bit more paint in just the right place. Ben was watching Tom paint with great interest. He was getting more and more eager（渴望的）to have a try himself.

After a while, Ben asked Tom if he would let him paint a little. Tom thought about it, and said, “No, Ben, I can’t. You see. Aunt Polly wants it to be done well. Aunt Polly said that I must paint it with great care.”

“Oh, please, Tom,” begged Ben. “I can do it. I’ll be really careful. Just let me try. I’ll give you half of my apple. Well, I’ll give you all of it!”

“Well, all right, Ben,” said Tom. “You must be very careful.”

He gave Ben his brush with worry on his face but joy in his heart. He sat down under the tree, and started to eat Ben’s apple. All day, boys came to make fun of Tom, but they ended up staying to paint. When Ben got tired, Billy was waiting. He gave Tom a kite for a chance to paint. Then Johnny offered him a basketball, and so on.

By late afternoon Tom had got all kinds of toys, and the fence had got three coats of paint. Later Aunt Polly came to look at the painted fence. She was so pleased with Tom’s work that she gave Tom a large cake!

1.Why did Tom pretend not to see Ben when he came and watched him painting?

A. He saw Ben eating an apple happily.

B. He tried to make Ben interested in it.

C. He didn’t want to go swimming with Ben at all.

D. He didn’t want Ben to share the chance to paint the fence.

2.What does the underlined word “spring” probably mean in Chinese?

A. 春天           B. 弹簧           C. 泉                            D. 活力

3.What do you think of Tom?

A. Honest.           B. Smart.             C. Shy.                   D. Stubborn.

 

boomerang

The Aborigines (澳洲土著) have lived in Australia for about 60,000 years. They painted pictures inside caves, and these are the rock paintings that have given us so much information about Aboriginal life. For example, some of the paintings that are about 10,000 years old show men with boomerangs. From this we know that the Aborigines started using boomerangs for hunting at that time. Other pictures show kangaroos, so we know that there were kangaroos at that time.
The Aborigines believed that spirits made people, animals and plants, and that these spirits still live in the earth. For Aborigines, no one can own the earth—the earth belongs to the spirits.
In 1700, there were many Aboriginal groups with a population of 750,000 all over Australia, and there were probably more than 240 different Aboriginal languages. The groups did not have a leader. Instead, things were decided by the older men in a group. People from different groups often travelled hundreds of miles to meet each other.
Aboriginal life changed when an English boat arrived in Australia in 1770. Many Aborigines were killed in the wars that they had with the English. More Europeans came, and they started taking land from the Aborigines. The Europeans also brought new illnesses that killed the Aborigines. The result is that today there are only about 300,000 Aborigines in Australia.
【小题1】The Aborigines painted pictures       .

A．on animals’ fur	B．on the land
C．on the tree	D．on the rock

【小题2】What do you think the Aborigines used boomerangs to do?

A．To paint.

B．To hunt.

C．To fight.

D．To play.

【小题3】The Aborigines thought        were the most important on the earth.

A．people

B．animals

C．spirits

D．plants

【小题4】In an Aboriginal group        decided things.

A．the older men	B．the leader
C．the English	D．the Europeans

【小题5】The number of the Aborigines is small today       .

A．because their living condition was very bad

B．because the English killed a lot of them in the wars

C．because of the new illnesses the Europeans brought them

D．because of the wars and the new illnesses

Four friends are talking about their hobbies. Let’s listen and learn about what their hobbies are.

Wang Ting	I love painting so much. I began to paint at primary school (小学), I have never stopped. I have sold some of my paintings and I hope more and more people will like my paintings.
Danny	My hobby is collecting erasers. Isn’t it a little unusual? Why do I like erasers? Because they smell good and they are beautiful. Now I have more than 200 erasers. If you have beautiful erasers, maybe we can trade (交换) them with each other.
Liu Mei	I like food, so I often travel around the country to eat different kinds of delicious foods.
Li Ming	Playing basketball is my favourite sport. I often spend my weekends playing it with my friends. I’m a member of the school basketball team. I make a lot of friends while playing basketball.

【小题1】Whose hobby is painting?

A．Li Ming’s.

B．Wang Ting’s.

C．Liu Mei’s.

D．Danny’s.

【小题2】Danny likes collecting erasers because ________.

A．they are expensive

B．his mother likes erasers very much

C．they are interesting

D．they smell good and look beautiful

【小题3】Liu Mei often travels around the country because she wants to ________.

A．make many new friends

B．eat different kinds of delicious foods

C．have a look at the scenery

D．drink different kinds of nice drinks

【小题4】What does Li Ming often do on weekends?

A．He often plays basketball with his friends.

B．He often does his homework at home.

C．He often plays computer games at home.

D．He often watches TV with his parents.

【小题5】Which of the following is True?

A．Liu Mei has sold some of her paintings.

B．Danny has collected one hundred erasers now.

C．Wang Ting didn’t study painting at primary school.

D．Li Ming makes many friends when he plays basketball.