Habit is second nature（习惯成自然）Here’s a story.

Once a farmer found a tin（锡）box while working in the field. In the box there was an old book. The farmer read it over and discovered that it was a book on magic（魔法）.

In the book it said that there was a stone on the beach that could turn anything into gold. Unlike all the others, the stone was warm. The farmer was amazed and decided to search the shore for the stone.

From morning to evening he would pick up stones and feel them. Then he would throw the stones far into the sea so that he wouldn’t pick up the same ones.

Days, weeks and months passed, and then a year and then another. But every stone he picked up was as cold as ice. He got so used to it that he would throw a stone into the sea as soon as he picked it up.

One evening as he was leaving for home, he saw a common stone in front of him. “This will be the last stone I ever pick up!” said the man hopelessly.

As soon as he put his fingers on the stone he threw it far into the sea. Then suddenly he realized that the stone was warm.

44. What did the farmer find while working in the field?

A. A warm stone.　　　 B. A tin box with a book on magic in it.　　　 C. Nothing.　　 D. Gold.

45. How long at least did the farmer search for the warm stone?

A. 365 days.　　　　　　 B. fifty-two weeks.　　　　　　　　　　 C. two years.　　　　 D. All his life.

46. What does the underlined word ones mean in the passage?

A. Books.　　　　　　　　 B. Stones.　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. Boxes.　　　　　　　　　　 D. Ice.

47. What’s the best title of the passage?

A. A Farmer. B. A warm stone. C. Force(力量)of habit. D. Throwing stones.

阅读下面短文，掌握大意，然后从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。（文章中带*的单词为生词）

A

（　 ）46. Tom needs to improve his study skills. If he takes the lessons, he has to spend ______.

　　　 A. $75 　　　　 B. $100　　 C. $ 120 　　　　　　 D. $ 135

（　 ）47. If you want to build your vocabulary, you will take ________lessons.

　　　 A.37 　　　　　　 B. 43 　　 　C. 60　 　　　　　 D. 70

（ 　）48. The books in the picture are for ___________ to develop school skills.

　　　 A. students of lower grades　 　　　　　 B. students of different levels

　　　 C. both parents and children　　　　 D. both teachers and students

J．K．Rowling is the writer of the Harry．Potter series，one of the most popular hooks．

J．K．Rowling was born in Bristol in 1965 She has one sister who is two years younger than her．Both girls loved listening to their father reading bedtime stories to them．

They loved stories about the magical（有魔力的）world．Rowling wrote her first story，called Rabbit at the age of six．

After she graduated（毕业）from the university，Rowing worked in London．During that time，on a long train trip in the summer of 1990，the idea of a boy who has magic but doesn't know it came to her．In 1992，Rowling began to teach English．She lived with her daughter，Jessica，and spent much time finishing the first Harry Potter book for young readers．It came out in l997 To her surprise．the book was very successful．The film came out in 2001．Now the Harry Potter series is popular with people of all ages．

Why is the series so successful? Many other magical stories take place in faraway lands or in the past or future times．But Harry lives in modem England．He's also a very normal（正常的）boy．When other children read the story about Harry，they call imagine（想象）being like him．

J．K Rowling is very happy with her success．She says she will go on writing children’s books．

1．From the passage，We learn that J．K．Rowling__________．

　 A．has two sisters

　 B．1ives with her son

　 C．worked in Bristol after university

　 D．wrote a story when she was six

2．The first Harry Potter book cam out in __________．

　 A．1990　 　　　　　　　 B．1992 　　　　　　　　　 C．1997　 　　　　　　　 D．2001

3．The Harry Potter series is __________．

　 A．written for young people

　 B．only enjoyed by children

　 C．about an old woman

　 D．not very popular

4．In Rowling's story，Harry lives in __________

　 A．the past　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．a faraway village

　 C．modem England 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．the future

5．How is the Harry Potter series different from other magical stories?

A．There are magical things in it．

　 B．It takes much time to finish reading．

　 C．It has seven books

　 D．The stories take place in the modem world．