One midnight, a little girl woke up to pass water. She by herself got up and down her bed, walked to the bedroom door and opened it. She looked outside and walked back, for it was so dark in the hall that she feared.

Her mother said, “Don’t be afraid, honey. Take courage!”

“What’s courage?” she asked, running to her mother’s bed.

“Courage is the brave breath,” her mother answered.

“Mum, do you have courage?”

“Certainly.”

The girl held out her little hands, saying, “Mum, blow some of your breath of courage to me.”

After her mother blew out two mouthfuls of breath into her little cold hands, the little girl clenched her fists(握拳) nervously, afraid that the “breath of courage” would run away. Then with her fists clenched, she walked out of the bedroom towards the bathroom with nothing to fear.

Her mother said to herself, “It will be nice if someone can blow some kind of ‘breath’ to me. Then I can hold it in my hands too when I feel terrified or lost.”

In fact, mostly, what we are terrified of is nothing but the fear in our mind. Who we should defeat(战胜) is nobody but ourselves.

  

1.The girl walked back because __________.

 A. the bathroom was too far away.                  B. her mother wouldn’t go with her

 C. she was too afraid of the dark                   D. the bedroom door was locked

2.We learn from the reading that ___________.

 A. the girl went to the bathroom by herself

B. the girl pretended to be terrified of nothing

 C. the girl’s mother was able to blow brave breath

D. the girl’s mother was very proud of herself

3.To stop “mother’s breath” from running away, the girl __________.

 A. held out her little hands                       B. clenched her fists

 C. talk to her mother                            D. held her own breath

4.The writer mainly wants to tell us that ________.

 A. adults are always brave enough

B. children learn to be brave quickly

 C. the fear in one’s mind is the real problem

D. the mother can deal with anything with breath

5.Which is the best title of the passage?

 A. The Fearless Mother                         B. One Lonely Girl

 C. One midnight                               D. The Breath of Courage

 

Mary and Donald Smith lived in the same building. Donald 41 a toy company. One day Donald gave Mary. the 4-year-old girl. a new toy. She played with it and said. "This is fun! A few weeks later Donald gave her 42 toy. She played with it and then said. "I'm not 43 in this toy. It doesn't work." For years Donald gave Mary new toys.  and she gave him very good   44   about the toys.

When Mary was 13 years old. Donald showed her a new ball. Mary wanted to 45 the ball with small stones to make it 46 .The company made this change. Mary's idea was a great success! The company sold thousands of the balls.

   That Christmas. Donald gave Mary an  47 gift. He made her vice-president(副总裁) of the toy company. She made $200,000 a year. Her job was lo see 48 the new toys were fun. She worked 49 three or four hours a day at her job, then she had to do her homework.

Today Mary works at a college. The little vice-president with bright ideas helps students think about their 50.

1.A. owned        B. rioted        c. owns      D. closes

2.A. other          B. other        C. the other   D. another

3.A. excited       B. interested     C. relaxed    D. bored

4.A. ways         B. designs      C. questions   D. ideas

5.A. fill          B. full         C. add        D. pour

6.A. noisy       B. quiet        C. light        D. future

7.A. special       B. awful        C. amazing      D. useful

8. A. when        B. if            C. as          D. since

9.A.BI           B. in           C. for          D. with

10.A. company       B. toys       C. homework    D. future

 

A small boy and his father were walking home __1__ when it suddenly(突然) began __2__ hard. They did not have their umbrella with them and __3__ was no place __4__ from the rain. So they were soon wet.

   __5__ when they were walking home through the rain, the boy kept thinking. Then __6__ he turned to his father and said to him, “Why does it rain, father? It isn’t nice, is it?”

 “No, It isn’t very nice, but it is useful, my dear son,” answered his father. “It rains __7__ the vegetables grow __8__ and to make the grass __9__ for cows and sheep.”

 The son thought about it __10__ seconds, and then he asked, “then why does it rain on the road too, father?”

1.A. in the country         B. in country 

C. on the countryside      D. to the country

2. A. rain      B. to rain   C. rains     D. rained

3.A. there     B. it       C. that       D. this

4. A. hides     B. hide    C. to hide    D. hid

5. A. For long time       B. For a long time 

6. A. at last           B. at the moment  

 C. at times         D. at the minute

7.A. to make     B. make    C. makes     D. making

8.A. to me       B. for us    C. on us      D. to ours

9.A. grows      B. to grow   C. grow      D. growing

10. A. for a few   B. for few   C. for a little   D. for little

 

There have been many great inventions or things that changed the way we live. The first great invention was the one that is still very important today——the wheel. This made it easier to carry heavy things and to travel long distance.

For hundreds of years after that there were few inventions that as much effect as the wheel . Then in the early 1800s the world started to change. There was little unknown land left in the world. People didn’t have to explore much any more. They began to work instead to make life better.

In the second half of the 19^th century many great inventions were made. Among them were the camera, the light and the radio. These all play a big part in our daily life today.

The first part of the 20^th century saw more great inventions. The helicopter in 1909, movies with sound in 1926, the computer in 1928, jet planes in 1930. This was also a time when a new material was first made. Nylon came out in 1935. It changed the kind of clothes people wore.

The middle part of the 20^th century brought new ways to help people get over diseases. They worked very well. They made people healthier and allowed them to live longer. By the 1960s most people could expect to live to be at least 60.

By this time most people in developed countries had a very good life. Of course new inventions continued to be made. But man now had a desire(渴望) to explore again. The earth was known to man but the stars were not. Man began looking for ways to go into space. Russia made the first step. Then United States took a step. Since then other countries , including China and Japan, have made their own steps into space.

In 1969 man took his biggest step away from earth. Americans first walked on the moon. This is certainly just a beginning, though. New inventions will some day allow us to do things we have never yet dreamed of.

1. This passage talks mainly about         .

   A. why cars were very important

   B. when light was invented

   C. how inventions affect people’s daily life

   D. which country made the first step into space

2.According to the passage man didn’t have a desire to explore a lot         .

   A. at the beginning of 1800s             B. in the 1960s 

   C. since the 1900s                     D. from the 1800s to 1960s

3.In the 1800s, people began to work in order to make      

   A. explorations    B. their life better     C. discoveries      D. a trip to space

4. Nylon came out of five years later than        .

   A. radio          B. camera           C. jet planes          D. movies

5.People can live longer lives because        that help cure diseases have worked very well.

   A. doctors        B. new ways         C. medicines       D. new hospitals

 

I won’t forget her advice

I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago. Her husband died of a heart attack. About a week after his death, she shared some of her insights（见解）with us.

The class was nearly over. She said, “Before class is over, I would like to share with all of you an important thought.”

“Each of us is put here on Earth to learn, share, love, enjoy and give all by ourselves. We must make the best of every single day.”

Her eyes were beginning to water and she went on, “So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn’t have to be something you see — it could be a nice smell — perhaps of freshly baked bread, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly blowing the leaves in the trees.”

“Please look for these things, and love them. For, although it may seem common, these things are the stuff（素材）of life. They are the little things we are put here on Earth to enjoy. They are the things we often take for granted. We must make it a point to notice them, for at any time it can all be taken away.”

The class was completely quiet. We picked up our books and went out of the room silently. That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than I had that whole term.

I usually think of that teacher and try to enjoy all of those things that we sometimes overlook (忽略).

Take notice of something special you see during your lunch hour today. Walk barefoot along the beach at sunset. For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we regret（后悔）, but the things we didn’t do.

1.What happened to the teacher’s husband?

A．He was ill.	B．He died of a heart attack.
C．He made a promise.	D．He became a teacher, too.

2.The high school teacher shared her insights with her students ____________.

A．on her way to school	B．on her way home
C．at the beginning of class	D．at the end of class

3.The underlined word “breeze” (in Paragraph 4) means ____________?

A．colourful cloud	B．white snow
C．light wind	D．heavy rain

4.What is the teacher’s advice?

A．We should love life and enjoy things around us.

B．We should share our important thoughts with others.

C．We should never feel sorry for what we have done.

D．We should do importand things and overlook little ones.