Why do plants grow in some places and not in others? Why does some land have so much growing on it, while other land has almost no plants growing on it at all?

To grow, plants need several things. One is warmth. In very cold places almost nothing grows. Plants also need water. In very dry parts of the Earth only a few unusual plants can grow. That’s why dry deserts everywhere are almost not covered by trees or grass.

Plants must also have a place in which to put down their roots and grow. They find it difficult to grow on hard land. The town is built on hard land. The plants here have only the soil (土壤)found between the cracks of the stones to grow in.

Another thing plants must have before they can grow is food.

What will happen if we try to make things grow on the sandy beach? A few plants, such as beach grass, will grow in sand, but most plants won’t. Even if the weather is warm enough and we water the plants each day. Many of them will die because the sand on this beach has almost no food for plants.

1.According to the passage, plants need _____ things to grow well.

A．two              B．three             C．four              D．five

2.What does the underlined word “cracks” mean in the text?

A．缝隙             B．表面             C．夹层             D．底部

3.From the passage, we can know it is _______ for plants to grow in dry places.

A．easy             B．difficult           C．impossible         D．important

4.The reason why most plants can’t grow on the sandy beach is that _______.

A．there isn’t enough sunlight               B．there is too much water

C．it is too crowded there                   D．it has little food for plants

5.The passage can most probably be found in a ______ book.

A．science           B．history            C．travel            D．math

 

Learning to Accept

I learned how to accept life from my father.  1 , he did not teach me to learn to accept when he was strong and healthy, but when he was   2 and ill.

My father was 3  a strong man who loved being active, but a terrible illness  4 all that away. Now he can   5  walk, and he must sit quietly in a chair 6 . Even talking is  7 . One night, I went to visit him with my sisters. We started   8  about life, and I told them about one of my  9 . I said that we must very often give things up as we grow —our youth, our beauty, our friends -- but it always seems that after we give something up, we get  10  in its place. Then suddenly my father spoke up. He said, “But Peter, I gave up   11 ! What did I get?” I thought and thought, but I could not think of anything to say. 12 , he answered his own question: “I 13 the love of my family.” I looked at my sisters and saw tears in their eyes,  14 hope and thankfulness, I was also  15  by his words.

1.                A．Although       B．So             C．However  D．When

 

2.                A．tired           B．weak           C．poor D．slow

 

3.                A．already         B．still            C．only D．once

 

4.                A．took           B．threw          C．sent D．put

 

5.                A．any longer      B．no longer       C．not more D．not longer

 

6.                A．a day          B．all night         C．all day    D．any day

 

7.                A．impossible      B．difficult         C．stressful  D．hopeless

 

8.                A．worrying        B．caring          C．talking    D．asking

 

9.                A．decisions       B．experiences     C．instructions    D．beliefs

 

10.               A．anything new    B．new anything    C．new something  D．something new

 

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

 

12.               A．To my surprise   B．In surprise      C．Be surprised    D．To his surprise

 

13.               A．had           B．accepted       C．got   D．enjoyed

 

14.               A．without        B．in             C．of    D．with

 

15.               A．surprised       B．moved         C．excited    D．attracted

 

 

People are always afraid of making mistakes. But sometimes it’s not bad to make mistakes, and here is why.

   At first , mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things. It’s always good to new things, because when you are trying new things your are growing. If you never try new things , how can you improve ? How can you create? The simple answer is, “ You can’t .” Look around you, everything you see is the result of someone trying new things.

   Another good thing about mistakes is this : when your are making mistakes, you are learning. Consider this： Edison failed 10,000 times before he invented the light bulb. When he was asked how he felt to fail that many times, but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn’t work.

   Finally , when you make a mistake, you are that much closer to success. Why? Because you have said what you should say, and you have done what you should do. Every time you make a mistake, you are closer to success. But it doesn’t mean that you can make mistakes without thinking. Instead, when you try new things you have to think them over, so that you can keep away from some unnecessary mistakes.

We shouldn’t spend all our time and money on the only one way , but use them correctly. Because our time and money are limited. (有限的)

There is an old saying, “ If you are not making mistakes, you are not trying hard enough.” So go bravely and make mistakes. And learn. And grow. And succeed.

    根据短文内容，选择正确答案，并将其字母代号填人题前括号内。(共5小题，每小题2分，满分10分)

1.If you are making a mistake, that means____.

A. you’re careful               B. you’re kind  

C. you’re growing              D. you know nothing.

2.If you never try new things, you can’t ____.

A. improve        B. create        C. spend         D. A and B

3.After Edison failed 10,000 times, he _____.

A. gave up                   B. invented the light bulb  

C. invented the computer        D. invented 10,000 new things

4.When you make a mistake, you are closer to ____.

A. time       B. money       C. success      D. everything

5.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Never make mistakes.     

B. You can make mistakes without thinking  

C. Sometimes it’s good to make mistakes.  

D. Making mistakes is terrible

 

Once there was a little girl who lived in a small, very simple, poor house on a hill. From there she could see across the valley to a wonderful house high on the hill on the other side. This house had golden windows, so golden and shining that the little girl would dream of how magic it would be to grow up and live in a house with golden windows instead of an ordinary house like hers. She wanted to live in such a golden house and dreamed all day about how wonderful and exciting it must feel to live there.

When she got to an age and got enough skill and sensibility to go outside, she asked her mother if she could go for a ride outside the gate and down the lane. After pleading with her, her mother finally allowed her to go, insisting that she should keep close to the house and not wander too far. The day was beautiful and the little girl knew exactly where she was heading! Down the lane and across the valley, she got to the gate of the golden house across on the other hill.

As she arrived, she focused on the path that led to the house and then on the house itself. She was so disappointed as she realized all the windows were ordinary and rather dirty, reflecting(反映出) nothing other than the sad neglect of the house that was derelict(废弃的).

So sad she didn't go any further and turned, and heart broken. As she glanced up she saw a sight to amaze her. There across the way on her side of the valley was a little house and its windows glistened golden as the sun shone on her little home.

She realized that she had been living in her golden house and all the love and care she found there was what made her home the “golden house”. Everything she dreamed was right there in front of her nose! 

1.Which sentence is True according to the passage?

A．The girl’s mother finally allowed her to go to the golden house alone.

B．The golden house was on the hill where the girl lived.

C．What disappointed the little girl was that the house was locked.

D．Actually, the windows of the golden house were common and covered with dirt.

2.What can we infer from the passage ?

A．The girl didn’t love or care for her parents

B．The girl had no idea where she was heading after leaving home

C．The mother thought that she needn’t keep an eye on her daughter

D．The girl made up her mind to go to the golden house at the beginning

3.The passage is intended to tell us that_____.

A．not all dreams will come true

B．girls often have amazing imagination

C．what we dream of may be just around us

D．nothing is impossible to a willing heart

 

D
When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor, Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never invited us to play in his yard, but he was a very kind person.
When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was planting trees. He owned a large field and wanted to make it a forest.
The good doctor had some interesting ideas about planting trees. He never watered his new trees. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled (宠坏)them, and that if you watered them, each baby tree would grow weaker and weaker, so you had to make things difficult for them and pick out the weaker trees early on.
He talked about how watering trees made for shallow(浅的) roots, and the trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in search of water under the earth by themselves. Deep roots were very important.
So he never watered his trees. He’d planted an oak and, instead of watering it every morning, he’d beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s attention.
Dr. Gibbs died several years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I watched him plant about twenty-five years ago. They’re very big and strong now.
I planted some trees a few years back and carried water to them for a whole summer. After two years of caring too much, whenever a cold wind blows in, they shake a lot.
Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. Mostly I pray(祈祷) that their lives will be easy. But lately I’ve been thinking that it’s time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to face difficulties. There’s always a cold wind blowing somewhere, so what we need to do is to pray for roots that reach deep into the brave heart, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we could face it strongly and won’t be beaten down.
【小题1】 We know from the reading the doctor _________.

A．didn’t know how to plant trees at all

B．wasn’t good at his own medical job

C．had his own ways of planting trees

D．had nothing to do but plant trees

【小题2】 When Dr. Gibbs said, “...pick out the weaker trees early on.” he means that ______.

A．some weak trees would be easily found out at the beginning

B．he would choose the weak trees to water earlier

C．the weak trees would be sent to his patients later

D．he would not plant weak trees so early anymore

【小题3】The passage tells us that the writer _______.

A．should beat his trees with a rolled-up newspaper

B．didn’t often water his trees

C．didn’t have a large field

D．took too much care of his tree

【小题4】 The writer wants to change his prayer, hoping that ________.

A．his trees will be stronger than Dr. Gibbs

B．his trees will not be beaten down

C．his sons will be better at planting trees

D．his sons will be able to face difficulties

【小题5】Which can be the best title of the reading?

A．Watering Trees	B．Growing Roots
C．Doctors and his Neighbor	D．Father and his Children