George Stephenson was born in 1781 in a poor family. He had to start work when he was only eight．When George was fourteen, he became his father's helper．He spent a lot of time learning about engines（发动机）．And on holidays he often made one engine to pieces and studied each piece carefully．Soon he became a very good worker though he could not read or write．He began to learn English letters when he was seventeen years old．Every day after he did twelve hours of hard work, he walked a long way to have lessons from a young school teacher. On his eighteenth birthday，he wrote his own name for the first time in his life．George invented（发明） many things in his life．The train was the greatest one among them．Today when we take trains from one place to another，we'll think of this great man---George Stephenson．
【小题1】In which year did George Stephenson start to help his father？________．

Life is like the four seasons. Now I am very old, but when I was young, it was the spring of my life. I was born, I played a lot, and then I started school. I learned many new things. Like a flower, I grew bigger every day. There were happy days and sorrowful days: some days the sun shone, and some days it didn’t.

In my twenties, I had a good job. I was strong and happy. Then I married (结婚) and had a child. In those days, I didn’t have much time to think. Every day I was busy and worked very hard. And so, I started to get some white hairs. The summer of my life passed quickly.

Then the days got shorter. Leaves fell from the trees. My child was a university student, and then an engineer. My home was much quieter. I started walking more slowly. One day I stopped working. I had more time. I understood this was my autumn, a beautiful time when the trees change color and give us nice fruits.

But the days kept getting shorter and colder. Winter has come. I am older and weaker. I know I do not have many days left, but I will enjoy them to the end.

1.The writer started walking more slowly in the          of his life.

A．spring            B．summer           C．autumn           D．winter

2.According to the passage, which of the following ages is during the summer of his life?

A．15.              B．33.               C．62.               D．87.

3.What does the word “sorrowful” mean in this passage?

A．Sad.              B．Exciting.           C．Wonderful.        D．Pleasant.

4.Which of the following is true?

A．The writer was an engineer.

B．The writer had a garden with flowers.

C．The writer was always happy as a child.

D．The writer now is old and weak, but still he enjoys his life.

5.What’s the best title of this passage?

A．Four Seasons.                          B．My Life.

C．Four Seasons in a Year.                   D．Four Seasons in My Life.

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a beach near a playground. “That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding(滑行) down the slide.  “He’s a fine-looking boy,” the man said. “That’s my son on the swing(秋千) in the blue sweater.” Then, looking at his watch, he called to his son,” What do you say if we go, Todd?” Todd pleaded(恳求), “Just five more minutes, Dad. please? Just five more minutes.” The man nodded and Todd continued to swing to his heart’s contently(尽兴地).
Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his son. “Time to go now?” Again Todd pleaded, “Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes.” The man smiled and said, “Okay.” “Oh, you are certainly a patient father,” the woman said. The man smiled and then said ,”My older son Tommy was killed by a drunken driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I’d give anything for just five more minutes with him. I’ve vowed(发誓) not to make the same mistake with Todd.” “He thinks he has five more minutes to swing. The truth is …I get five minutes to watch him play.”
根据短文内容，从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳答案。（10分）
【小题1】The woman’s son was________ .

The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication. Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest problems is pollution. To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even eat it.

Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problems was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place, man moved to another place. But this is no longer true. Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.

Air pollution is still the most serious. It’s bad for all living things in the world, but it is not the only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us angry more easily.

Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from putting dirty smoke into the air. Pollution by SO2 is now the most dangerous kind of air pollutions. It is caused by heavy traffic. We are sure that if there are fewer people driving there will be less air pollution.

The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must take care of the rise in pollution at the same time.

选择合适的选项填空：

1.________, our world is becoming much smaller.

A. Because of the rise in pollution.

B. Thanks to the development of traffic and communication

C. Because the earth is blown away by the wind every year.

D. Because the earth is being polluted day and night.

2.Hundreds of years ago, life was ________ it is today.

A. much easier than B. as easy as C. much harder than D. as hard as

3.Pollution comes in may ways. We can even hear it. Here “it” means _________.

A. rubbish B. noise pollution C. air pollution D. water pollution

4.Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution because _________.

A. it makes much noise

B. it makes us angry more easily

C. it makes our rivers and lakes dirty

D. it’s bad for all living things in the world.

5.Which of the following in NOT true?

A. Many countries are making rules to fight pollution.

B. The pollution of the earth grows as fast as the world population does.

C. The problem of pollution is not so serious because there are not so many people living on the earth.

D. If people could go to work by bus or bike instead of car or motorbike, it would be helpful in fighting against the problem of SO2.