Entering a university is an important part of a person’s life. Today, many people go to study and train for a future job in subjects like law (法律), medicine or education. But the university is not a modern invention. It has a history that is over a thousand years.

The world’s oldest university, AL-Azhar, is in Cario, Egypt. It was first built as a mosque for religion (宗教寺院) in A.D.972. A few years later, learners and teachers began meeting in the mosque. They read and talked about the subject of law. Around 988, leaders in the city of Cario decided to open up a school for higher learning and the University of AL-Azhar was founded.
At AL-Azhar, there were many university ‘firsts’. Different subjects were set up. The earliest ones taught at AL-Azhar were in law and religion. In a course, students read and studied with the teacher, but there was also free discussion. Often, students and teachers talked about a topic (题目), and there was no ‘right’ answer. Finally, famous teachers from around the world came to AL-Azhar to teach and do deep studies on the subjects they were interested in. At the university, people studied the past, but it was also a place for exchanging new ideas.

Over a thousand years later, AL-Azhar is still an important university in the world. Its library keeps more than 250,000 of the world’s oldest and most valuable (有价值的) books. Today, many of the world’s most important universities such as Oxford and Harvard still follow the traditions started at AL-Azhar.
【小题1】From the first paragraph（段落） we know that _________.

A．universities are important to the city life

B．the university is a quite new invention

C．university education may help a person find law。

D．the university has a history of more than a thousand years

【小题2】AL-Azhar was first built for _______.

A．education

B．religion

C．a meeting

D．law

【小题3】Which of the following are the earliest subjects taught in the University of AL-Azhar?

A．Education and medicine.	B．Religion and law.
C．Free discussion.	D．History and tradition.

【小题4】Which of the following is not true about the University of AL-Azhar?

A．AL-Azhar was built in the city of Cario in Egypt.

B．AL-Azhar didn’t become a university until the years around 988.

C．The University of AL-Azhar was a place to read books.

D．Now AL-Azhar is still one of the famous universities in the world.

“I’ve been writing a book, John. Do you think anyone would be interested in   1   it?” said the old lady.

John took over the papers from her shaking hand and seated her in chair. He remembered her rich    2   in the early days of the Old West. He looked through the papers. “It’s good, Grandma,” he said gently. Then realizing that she    3   hear him, he shouted into her ears, “I think it’s very good. I’ll  4   it to a publisher (出版商).”

Ten days later, he reported that the publisher had had time to read only a few    5  . But he was so impressed (给...留下深刻的好印象) that he had sent $ 100 for an option（版权）. More money would be given as an advance (预付款). Every month John    6   $100 for her with a letter from the publisher telling about the progress of the book.

One morning, three months after her 100^th birthday, Grandma didn’t get up. The doctor told her that she couldn’t    7   more than a few days. She was ready to go, but she first wanted her book to be in print. John promised that she could get it very soon.

Grandma held on until the day the book came into her hands with the title and her name on the cover. Though she couldn’t see it, she could touch it. She proudly traced（找到）her name with her fingers(手指), tears(眼泪) in her eyes. Two hours later, she died peacefully,    8   holding her book.

Her granddaughter took up the book and opened it. “Why, it’s just blank pages!” she cried in    9  . John’s face turned    10  . Then the girl understood. There never was a book. Grandma couldn’t hear the little bell when the typewriter came to the middle of the line. She would keep on working, not knowing the whole sentences and sometimes the paragraphs were missing. John did not tell her, for he couldn’t take away her only hope. It was John himself who had written the letters and sold his car to pay the advance.

(   ) 1. A. buying     B. publishing      C. reading         D. lending

(   ) 2. A. sufferings     B. experiences     C. thoughts        D. family

(   ) 3. A. couldn’t    B. needn’t          C. mustn’t             D. doesn’t

(   ) 4. A. throw      B. put             C. send            D. lift

(   ) 5. A. words      B. sentences         C. pages            D. books

(   ) 6. A. brought        B. took              C. gave             D. carried

(   ) 7. A. die            B. stay             C. last               D. sleep

(   ) 8. A. still           B. yet              C. always         D. then

(   ) 9. A. anger          B. joy             C. surprise        D. tears

(   ) 10. A. white         B. red             C. gray             D. pale

 

You may have heard of the famous saying, "East or West, home is the best. "
What does the word "home" mean to you? How do you say the word in French? In Chinese? In your language? Although people usually know what the word means, it sometimes has no exact translation. It's not surprising, because the idea of home is "different from country to country, and from person to person. A home is more than a roof and four walls. It's the cooking, eating, talking, playing and sleeping that go on inside. And at home you usually feel safe and relaxed.
Homes look different in different countries. They also have different things inside. For example, in cold northern Europe, there's a fire in the living room or kitchen and all the chairs face it. In the south, where the sun shines a lot and it's more important to keep the heat out, there are small windows and cool stone floors.
We asked some people about their homes.
How often do people move house in your country?
"In my country many people don't stay in one place for a very long time. They often move every ten years or so. "
--Chery, Boston, USA.                                                                                                         
 What a e features (特征) of homes in your country ?
"In Britain, even in town, there's always a garden. We have separate bedrooms and living rooms. But we don't often have balconies(阳台). The weather isn't warm enough !"                                                                                      
--Pat, Exeter, England
【小题1】The word "home" sometimes has no exact translation because________.

A．people can't find this word in the dictionary

B．no one knows what it is

C．it has different meanings in different countries

D．people can't understand each other very well

【小题2】According to the passage, at home, you can do everything except______.

A．making friends	B．cooking and eating
C．playing and talking	D．sleeping and relaxing

【小题3】Why is it important to keep the heat out of the houses in southern Europe?

A．Because they want to breathe fresh air outside.

B．Because there's a fire in the living room.

C．Because they wear heavy clothes all day long.

D．Because the sun there shines a lot.

【小题4】 From the second paragraph, what kind of homes people have depends on _____.

A．whether they are rich or not

B．the climate(气候) they have

C．how old they are

D．whether they live in the city or countryside

【小题5】Which one of the sentences below is true?                                                                                                 

A．People in Britain seldom have balconies because it's so hot outside.

B．Some Americans move house several times during their lifetime.

C．Homes look the same in different countries.

D．Houses in northern Europe have big windows and cool stone floors.

You can’t see any object unless light from that object gets into your eyes．Some of the things you see give off light of their own。The sun，the stars，a lighted lamp are the examples that can be seen by their own light．But most of the things you see are not giving off light of their own．They are just reflecting(反射)light that falls on them from the sun or some other luminous bodies．The moon，for example，doesn’t give off any light of its own．It is not 1uminous．You see it because sunlight falls on it and some of the sunlight reflects on the earth．So moonlight is only second—hand sunlight．
When you look at a book，it sends some of the light which fails on it to your eyes，and you see the book．If light could be kept out from where you’re so that there would be no light from the book to reflect．Then you couldn’t see the book even with your eyes wide open．Light travels so fast that the time in which it travels from the book you’re reading to your eyes is as short as if there were no time at time．Light reaches us from the moon，which is about 380，000 kilometres away，in only a little more than a second．
【小题1】You can see the book because________．

A．your eyes are close to it	B．it reflects some of the light
C．it has light of its own	D．it is big enough to be seen

【小题2】The Chinese meaning of the world“luminous”is close to_______．

A．闪光的

B．看不见的

C．发光的

D．明亮的

【小题3】________has light of its own．

A．The moon

B．The earth

C．The sun

D．The satellite of Dong Fong Hong

【小题4】Light travels about_________kilometers per second．

A．300，000

B．100，000

C．400，000

D．190，000

【小题5】Which of the following is TRUE?

A．All the things you can see give off light．

B．Light from the book is much faster than that from the moon．

C．The moment you open your eyes，the light from the book travels to your eyes．

D．Light travels so fast that there is no time for you to read．

BASEBALL. It’s just a word, but for millions of Americans it brings much more than a word.
Hot dogs. Cold beers. Sunny afternoons. Baseball is the game of fathers and sons. Fathers and sons catch with each other on lawns (草坪) in the US. A father’s favorite team becomes his son’s. Grandfathers talk to their grandsons about games played long ago.
Many American kids collect baseball cards. The cards have pictures of their favorite players on them. In school, friends trade (交换) baseball cards just like they trade their lunches.
Players are known as “the boys of summer” because people often play the sport mostly in warm months. You don’t need to be of a certain size or shape to play baseball. You don’t have to be tall like a basketball player or strong like an American footballer. You just need to want to have fun.
Baseball is not as fast-paced (快节奏的) a game as basketball. But when you go to see a game, there’s time to relax, talk and get to know other people.
Baseball may not be the most popular sport in the US, but it is the most traditional. It’s not just a game any more, but an important part of American culture, like apple pie and grandma’s house.
【小题1】Many American kids like to collect _______________.

A．baseballs

B．baseball cards

C．lunches

D．apple pies

【小题2】People like to play baseball in _____________.

A．wet months

B．cool months

C．warm months

D．cold months

【小题3】Most of the Americans play baseball just want to _______________.

A．enjoy themselves	B．make money
C．keep warm	D．make friends

【小题4】Which one is WRONG in the article?

A．We can find many children’s favorite baseball players on their cards.

B．If you are not strong enough, you can’t play baseball.

C．When you go to watch a baseball play, you’ll relax and have time to talk to other people.

D．Baseball is the most traditional sport in the US.