Last year, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, DC. I heard a voice say, “Can you help me?”
When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended. Immediately, I pulled out all of my change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her. But the blind woman smiled and said, “I don’t want your money. I just need help finding the post office.”
In an instant, I realized what I had done. I acted with prejudice—I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be. I hated what I saw in myself.
The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant. I left Honduras and arrived in the US at the age of 15. I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister. Through the years, I have been a doorkeeper, cashier and pizza delivery driver among many other humble (卑微的) jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer.
In my own life, I have experienced prejudice. I remember a time—at the age of 17 —when I was a busboy, I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me.
But now, living in my American middle—class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am, where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to be going. That blind woman on the streets cured me of my blindness. She reminded me of my belief in humility (谦虚). By the way, I helped that lady to the post office. I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson.
【小题1】How did the writer give the blind woman money?

A．In a modest way.

B．In a polite way.

C．In an impatient way.

D．In a painful way.

【小题2】According to the text, the writer________.
A. still lives a poor life                 B. was busy with his work
C. was born in Honduras               D. was a native of Washington D.C.
【小题3】According to the text, the author most probably agrees that one should_________.

A．be nice to the elderly and the disabled	B．try to experience different kinds of cultures
C．treat others equally with love and respect	D．think about one’s past as often as possible

【小题4】What would be the best title of the text?

A．A priceless lesson	B．An act of prejudice
C．A sightseeing trip	D．A humble moment

One of the most famous nursery rhymes(摇篮曲) in the English language is Mary Had a Little Lamb(羔羊). It has touched many children who have read it. It is about the deep love between a young girl and her pet lamb. The poem is from a true story that happened in the early part of the 19th century in the town of Sterling, Massachusetts, in the USA.
Mary Sawyer (1806－1889) lived on a farm with her family. One day, when she was about nine years old, she saw a little lamb that had just been born and left behind by its mother. It was very weak and looked as if it would die at very moment. Mary took pity on the lamb and spent the whole night looking after it. Eventually, it grew strong and became a very close friend with Mary, following her everywhere she went.
One day, the lamb even followed Mary to school. At first she wanted to turn it back but her brother suggested that it would be fun to take the lamb to school. During the class, she hid the lamb under her desk. But when she was called to go to the front of the class, to her surprise, the lamb followed her. Though the students and the teacher thought it was funny to see a lamb at school, the teacher had to ask Mary to keep the lamb outside of the school.
That very day, a young man called John Roulstone was visiting Mary’s school. He was so moved by the love between the child and her little pet lamb that he wrote a poem which he handed to Mary the next day. His poem contained twelve lines.
Later, Sara Josepha Hale added another twelve lines to the poem and published it in 1930 under the title “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. The poem has become a classic, loved by children all over the world. The appeal (吸引力) of the poem lies not only in the funny idea of a sheep going to school but also in the true love between the little girl and her pet. The town of Sterling has honoured Mary’s lamb by building a statue (雕像) of the lamb with Mr Roulstone’s poem below the statue.
【小题1】The underlined word “eventually” in the second paragraph most probably means         .

A．fortunately

B．gradually

C．finally

D．kindly

【小题2】 Why did the poem become a classic?

A．It had another twelve lines added.

B．It was written by a young man.

C．It describes the true love between a little girl and her pet lamb.

D．A statue of lamb was built in the town of Sterling.

【小题3】Which could be the right order of the following events according to the passage?
a. The poem “Mary Had a Little Lamb” became popular.
b. Mary’s brother suggested that she take the lamb to school.
c. People built a statue to honor the lamb.
d. Mary found a little lamb.
e. A young man was moved by the story and wrote a poem.

A． d. b. e. c. a	B． d. b. e. a. c
C． d. e. b. c. a	D． d. e. b. a. c

【小题4】Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?

A．Mary’s mother was also fond of the little lamb.

B．Mary and the little lamb developed a very close friendship.

C．Mary wrote to John Roulstone and asked him to write the poem.

D．All children were allowed to take their pets to school in America.

King Midas used to love gold. One day he met a fairy who allowed him to make a wish for something. The king replied at once, ‘‘I love gold. I want everything I touch to change into gold”. ‘‘Very well, tomorrow morning, everything you touch will turn into gold.” Saying this, the fairy disappeared.
The king waited excitedly till the next morning. To his joy, everything he touched changed immediately into gold. ‘‘I’m the richest man in the world now.” He shouted.
Soon Midas became hungry. He sat down at his table. All the foods and drinks turned into gold in his hand. ‘‘I’m dying of hunger.” He cried.
Just then his daughter came running in. ‘‘Why are you so sad, dad?” she asked, putting her arms around him. There and then she became a golden statue. The king loved his daughter very much. Seeing this, he began to cry. He looked up and suddenly saw the fairy before him. ‘‘Don’t you like the golden touch?” asked the fairy. ‘‘Please take it away.” begged the king, ‘‘Give me back my daughter.” ‘‘Well, you have learned your lesson. Go and wash in the river. Then the golden touch will be gone.”
The king ran quickly to the nearby river.
【小题1】The fairy allowed the king to make a wish because _____.

A．she hoped to make the king the richest in the world.

B．she loved gold too.

C．she wanted to teach the king a lesson.

D．she wanted to turn the king’s daughter into gold.

【小题2】The king’s daughter became a golden statue when _____

A．she saw her father	B．the king went to meet her
C．she put her arms around her father	D．the king loved her very much

【小题3】Which of the following might have happened afterwards?

A．The king’s daughter changed back from gold to a lovely girl.

B．The king died in the river.

C．All the things the king had touched changed back into real ones.

D．Both A and C

【小题4】What do you think the story tries to tell us?

A．Gold makes people unhappy.

B．More gold, more happiness.

C．Gold is not the thing that makes life happy.

D．People feel happy if they have not gold.

King Midas used to love gold. One day he met a fairy who allowed him to make a wish for something. The king replied at once , ‘‘I love gold . I want everything I touch to change into gold”. ‘‘Very well , tomorrow morning, everything you touch will turn into gold .”Saying this, the fairy disappeared.
The king waited excitedly till the next morning. To his joy ,everything he touched changed immediately into gold. ‘‘I’m the richest man in the world now.” He shouted.
  Soon Midas became hungry. He sat down at his table. All the foods and drinks turned into gold in his hand . ‘‘I’m dying of hunger.” He cried.
Just then his daughter came running in . ‘‘Why are you so sad , dad ?” she asked, putting her arms around him. There and then she became a golden statue. The king loved his daughter very much .Seeing this ,he began to cry. He looked up and suddenly saw the fairy before him.  ‘‘Don’t you like the golden touch?” asked the fairy. ‘‘ Please take it away,” begged the king, ‘‘ give me back my daughter.”  ‘‘Well, you have learned your lesson. Go and wash in the river. Then the golden touch will be gone.” The king ran quickly to the nearby river.
【小题1】The fairy allowed the king to make a wish because_____

A．she hoped to make the king the richest in the world.

B．She loved gold too.

C．She wanted to teach the king a lesson.

D．She wanted to turn the king’s daughter into gold.

【小题2】When the foods and drinks turned into gold the king was _____
A. excited      B. hungry      C. worried       D  happy
【小题3】The king’s daughter became a golden statue when _____

A．she saw her father

B．the king went to meet her

C．she put her arms around her father

D．the king loved her very much

【小题4】Which of the following might have happened afterwards?

A．The king died in the river.

B．The king’s daughter changed back from gold to a lovely girl.

C．All the things the king had touched changed back into real ones.

D．Both B and C

【小题5】What do you think the story tries to tell us?

A．Gold makes people unhappy.

B．More gold , more happiness.

C．Gold is not the thing that makes life happy.

D．People feel happy if they have not gold.

Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today. People didn’t have modern machines. There was no modern medicine, either.
Life today has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. Water pollution has made our rivers and lakes dirty. It kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us talk louder and become angry more easily. Air    pollution is the most serious kind of pollution. It’s bad to all living things in the world.
Cars, planes and factories all pollute our air every day. Sometimes the polluted air is so thick that it is like a quilt over a city. This kind of quilt is called smog.
Many countries are making rules to flight pollution. Factories must now clean their water before it is thrown away, and they mustn’t blow dirty smoke into the air.
We need to do many other things. We can put waste things in the dustbin and do not throw them on the ground, there will be less pollution.
Rules are not enough. Every person must help to fight pollution.
【小题1】Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today because ______.

A．there were not any modern machines

B．there was no modern medicine

C．both A and B

D．there were not many people

【小题2】What is the biggest problem in today’s life?

A．Water pollution

B．Air pollution

C．Noise

D．Pollution

【小题3】The most serious kind of pollution is ______.

A．noise pollution

B．air pollution

C．water pollution

D．A, B and C

【小题4】Factories must clean their water ______.

A．before they are thrown away

B．when they are thrown away

C．after it is thrown away

D．before it is thrown away

【小题5】From the passage we know that ______.

A．a few years ago, there was no smog at all

B．today people don’t have to talk to each other in a loud voice

C．we can drink water from the polluted rivers and lakes

D．people are making rules in order to fight pollution