When my wife left this world, I chose to travel in Antigua looking for a peaceful place to rest my old body. Not quite old and weak, I felt I wanted something more than the usual hotel room with 24-hour room service.
I decided this year to try something completely new and booked myself a private holiday home in Antigua. This was the best decision I had ever made, as there was plenty to do, plenty to see and lots of lovely restaurants to visit. There was a private swimming pool, and a cool, wide yard where I ate my breakfast most mornings.
Antigua has to be one of the loveliest places on earth to spend a holiday. The bright blue sea and the endless blue around the beach areas proved to be an excellent place for me to spend the long afternoons.
I had to hurry to do what I wanted to do before the holiday came to an end. I managed to visit the Sugar Mill and Shirley Heights on my last two days and yet found myself wondering whether I could extend for a few more days.
I rented a boat and came home after a day’s sailing, refreshed, looking forward to dinner. Everything is so pleasant on these beautiful islands, swept by the trade winds and warmed by the sun for so many summer months. The food just tasted better to me, perhaps because I was having such a great holiday. There was always someone to have a drink with---- that’s what I liked most.
【小题1】Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned about the private holiday home the writer stayed in?

A．It had a private swimming pool.

B．There were lots of restaurants near it.

C．The writer often had breakfast in its yard.

D．It supplied delicious seafood to the writer.

【小题2】The word “extend” in Paragraph 4 probably means “______”.

A．make something last longer

B．make you feel happy

C．prevent from entering

D．sell goods to foreign countries

【小题3】The most important reason for the writer to travel in Antigua was ______.

A．there was bright blue sea

B．there was endless blue sky

C．there were lots of lovely restaurants

D．there were many people to drink with

【小题4】The passage is most likely to be taken from a part of ______.

A．a tour guide	B．a travel diary
C．a student’s report	D．a health report

When you read an article you will understand and remember it better if you can work out how the writer has put the ideas together．Sometimes a writer puts ideas together by asking questions and then answering them．For example，if the article is about groundhogs（土拨鼠），the set of questions in the writer’s head might be：
What does a groundhog look like？
Where do groundhogs live？
What do they eat？…
In the article，the author might answer those questions．
Sometimes an author writes out her questions in the article．These questions give you signals．They tell you what the author is going to write next．Often an author has a question in her head but she doesn’t write it out for you．You have to work out her question for yourself．Here’s a sample reading for you to practice this method.
Earthworms
Do you know how many kinds of earthworms there are？There are about 1800 kinds in the world！ They can be brown，purple，green．They can be as small as 3 cm long and as large as 3 m long．
The best time to see earthworms is at night，especially a cool，damp night．That’s when they come up from their burrows（地洞）to hunt for food．Earthworms don’t like to be in the sun．That’s because they breathe through their skin，and they can’t breathe if their skin gets too dry．Earthworms must come out of the earth if it rains a lot，because they can't breathe in their flooded burrows．What a dangerous life！
Earthworms don't have eyes，so how can they tell when it's dark？ They have special places on their skin that are sensitive to light．These spots tell whether it’s light or dark．If you shine a flashlight on an earthworm at night，it will quickly disappear into the ground．
Earthworms don't have ears either，but they can hear by feeling movements in the earth．If you want to hear like an earthworm，lie on the ground with your fingers in your ears．Then have a friend stamp his or her feet near you．This is how earthworms feel birds and people walking，and moles digging，near them．
Earthworms are useful．Farmers and gardeners like having lots of earthworms in their land because the worms help to make better soil when they dig．That digging keeps the soil loose and airy（通风的）．In one year earthworms can pile up as much as 23,000 kg of castings in an area about the size of a football field．
【小题1】What’s the purpose of reading Earthworms?

A．To show the special life facts of earthworms.

B．To explain the differences from the groundhogs.

C．To put the writer’s idea into real use.

D．To make the readers think more clearly.

【小题2】Which question CANNOT be answered in the passage?

A．How do earthworms help with gardeners?

B．What life are earthworms living with?

C．When may people observe earthworms?

D．Why can human listen like earthworms?

【小题3】How can you understand Earthworms better according to this passage?

A．Read, ask and answer questions in your own head while reading.

B．Read to work out all the questions in the writer’s head while reading.

C．Read and check all the things that are not clear to you again and again.

D．Read for general ideas and discuss or compare with other similar topics.

【小题4】What’s the best title for the passage?

A．One way to help with understanding

B．One way to practice with a new idea

C．One way to learn to be a wise writer

D．One way to be clearer about worms

When tea and coffee were first introduced to Europe in the 18th century, people had different ideas about their use.Some said that tea and coffee were harmful to humans and they could cause （引起）people to die.
In Sweden（瑞典）, King Gustaf Ⅲ decided to find out whether or not this was true.It happened that there were two brothers in prison at that time.They were twins and were almost alike in every way.They had both been sentenced to death (判处死刑).The King decided to let them live if one of the men agreed to drink several cups of tea each day and the other several cups of coffee.
Both brothers lived many years without problems of any kind.At last,the brother who had drunk tea every day died at the age of 83,the other died a few years later.
Because of the experiment(实验), tea and coffee got accepted (接受) and became popular as drink in Sweden, and it is one of the many countries of the world where much tea and coffee is drunk today.
【小题1】Tea and coffee were first introducd to Europe in_______.

A．the eighteenth century	B．the eighteen century
C．eighteenth centuries	D．eighteen centuries

【小题2】What does the word harmful mean in Chinese?---It means________.

A．有趣的

B．苦涩无味的

C．有害的

D．可口的

【小题3】 The brother who had drunk tea every day lived______.

A．until he was over 83

B．until he was 83

C．until the other had been dead for several years

D．until he had drunk tea for a few years

【小题4】. Today the Swedish drink_________.

A．much more coffee than tea	B．much tea and coffee
C．little tea and coffee	D．much tea but little coffee

When tea and coffee were first introduced to Europe in the 18th century, people had different ideas about their use.Some said that tea and coffee were harmful to humans and they could cause （引起）people to die.

      In Sweden（瑞典）, King Gustaf Ⅲ decided to find out whether or not this was true.It happened that there were two brothers in prison at that time.They were twins and were almost alike in every way.They had both been sentenced to death (判处死刑).The King decided to let them live if one of the men agreed to drink several cups of tea each day and the other several cups of coffee.

     Both brothers lived many years without problems of any kind.At last,the brother who had drunk tea every day died at the age of 83,the other died a few years later.

    Because of the experiment(实验), tea and coffee got accepted (接受) and became popular as drink in Sweden, and it is one of the many countries of the world where much tea and coffee is drunk today.

1.Tea and coffee were first introducd to Europe in_______.

A. the eighteenth century             B. the eighteen century

C. eighteenth centuries               D. eighteen centuries

2.What does the word harmful mean in Chinese?---It means________.

A. 有趣的  B.苦涩无味的  C.有害的   D. 可口的

3.The brother who had drunk tea every day lived______.

A. until he was over 83

B. until he was 83

C. until the other had been dead for several years

D. until he had drunk tea for a few years

4.Today the Swedish drink_________.

A. much more coffee than tea         B. much tea and coffee

C. little tea and coffee               D. much tea but little coffee

 

When your mother want to tell you something, she uses words. Birds can’t speak 1._____ we do, but some birds can make sounds to warn their young of 2._______.They have 3.________own way of making the young birds do certain things.

The jackdaw is a kind of black bird4.______lives in Europe. Jackdaws live together in flocks. Young jackdaws do not know their enemies. When an old jackdaw sees a dog, it makes a loud rattling5.______.The young birds know this sound means6._______is nearby. The sound warns them7._______their enemies.

8._______ a young jackdaw is in a 9______ place, a jackdaw parent 50._______over the young bird’s back from behind. The parent’s tail feathers move 11.______from side to side. It’s trying to say “12______”.At the same time, the 13.________bird calls out Key-aw Key-aw, which seems to say FLY HOME WITH ME. The young bird then follows the older14_______to go home.

Young jackdaws15._______ learn what certain sounds mean. They know the meaning of these sounds from they hatch.

1.                A．like            B．as             C．look like  D．seem

 

2.                A．safe           B．coming         C．danger   D．eating

 

3.                A．them          B．themselves      C．his  D．their

 

4.                A．that           B．who           C．/    D．where

 

5.                A．sound          B．voice           C．noise D．sounds

 

6.                A．parents         B．an enemy       C．mother   D．a friend

 

7.                A．meeting        B．to meet         C．knowing  D．to know

 

8.                A．If             B．Unless          C．Whether  D．Because

 

9.                A．funny          B．dangerous       C．secret    D．far

 

10.               A．flies           B．fly             C．will fly D．flew

 

11.               A．quick          B．soon           C．quickly    D．quietly

 

12.               A．Be quick        B．I love you       C．Go ahead  D．Follow me

 

13.               A．parent         B．child           C．enemy    D．parents

 

14.               A．it             B．one           C．ones  D．that

 

15.               A．have to         B．must           C．don’t have to  D．mustn’t