The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard-working was he that at times he would make the sparks(火星) fly from his hammer.
The son of Mr.Smith, a rich neighbour, used to come to see the blacksmith every day and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself watching how the tradesman worked.
“ Young man, why don’t you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks (钉) , even if it is only to pass the time ? ” said the blacksmith. “ Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you .”
The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.
Old Mr. Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to live in another country. It so happened that in this village there were many shoemakers who were spending a lot of money buying tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers’ shoes.
Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in the workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.
“ How funny it seems, ” he used to say, “ even making tacks can make money. My trade is more useful to me than all my former riches.”
【小题1】The young man learnt to make shoe tacks because ___________.

A．his father told him to	B．he wanted to learn a skill
C．Jones encouraged him to	D．he just wanted to pass his time

【小题2】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage ?

A．Old Mr. Smith enjoyed making the shoe tacks.

B．The blacksmith had predicted the young man would be in need of the skill.

C．The higher prices they paid, the more tacks the shoemakers would get.

D．The young man earned his living by his skills learnt when he was young.

【小题3】What can we learn from the story ?

A．Practice makes perfect.

B．Skill makes life easy.

C．A good beginning makes good ending.

D．Every man has his gift.

Once upon a time there was a precious sword. Now, this sword belonged to a great King, and for as long as anyone could remember, the King spent all his time in his place, enjoying its shows and competitions with other swords. One day a great dispute（争端）arouse between this King and the King of a neighbouring country. It ended with both declaring war.

The sword was greatly excited at the prospect of taking part in its first real battle. It would show everyone how truly brave and special it was, and would become well-known throughout the kingdom. On the way to the front line, the sword imagined itself the winner of many battles. However, when it arrived, the first battle had already broken out, and the sword got to see the results of the war. What it saw had nothing in common with what the sword had imagined. No elegant shining knights, successful, with their weapons shining in the sunlight. Instead, all the sword saw was broken weapons, and a large crowd of hungry and thirsty men. There was hardly any food left. Everything was covered in dirt and disgusting smell. Many were half dead and scattered on the ground, bleeding from multiple wounds.

Seeing this, the sword realized it liked neither wars nor battles. It decided it preferred to live in peace and spend its time taking part in tournaments and competitions. So, on the night before what was going to be the big final battle, the sword tried to find a way to prevent it from taking place. After a while, the sword started to vibrate（颤抖）. First it gave out a low buzz, and then this gradually got louder, until it became an annoying metallic noise. The swords and armour（盔甲）of the soldiers asked the King’s sword what it was doing. It told them, “I don’t want there to be a battle tomorrow. I don’t like war.”

One answered, “No one likes it, but what can we do?”

“Make yourself vibrate, just like what I’m doing,” said the King’s sword. “If we make enough noise, no one will sleep.”

So the weapons started vibrating, and the noise became deafening. It was so loud that it reached the enemy camp, and the weapons there, which were equally sick of war, joined the protest.

The next morning, when the battle should have begun, not a single soldier was ready to fight. No one had managed to get even a wink of sleep, not even the King or the Generals. So they spent the whole day catching up on sleep. During the evening they started to wake up, and decided to put off the battle until the next day.

However, the weapons, led by the King’s sword, spent the night repeating their peace song, and again no soldier could rest. The battle had to be postponed yet again, and this carried on for the next seven days. On the evening of the seventh day, the Kings of the two armies met to see what they could do about the situation. Both were very angry at their previous disputes, but after being together for a while they started to discuss their sleepless nights, the surprise on their soldiers’ faces, the confusion between day and night, and the amusing situations all this had created. It wasn’t long before both were laughing, like friends, at these little stories. Fortunately, they forgot their old disputes and they put an end to the war, each returning to their own land with the double joy.

1. From the first paragraph, we can infer that _________.

A．the great King was fond of his precious sword

B．a disagreement led to a war between Kings

C．the two Kings were once good friends before the war

D．the precious sword was used to entertain the great King

2. What is the best word to describe the mood of the sword when it heard about the war?

A．Worried          B．Fearful            C．Eager             D．peaceful

3. When did the sword change its attitude to war?

A．When it fought at the first battle

B．After it realized that it was not powerful

C．When it was on the way to the front line

D．After it saw the terrible results of the first battle

4. What is the right order of the following events?

a. The noise was loud enough to reach the other side

b. The battle had to be postponed because the soldiers in both armies lacked sleep.

c. It let out continuous low noise

d. It persuaded other swords to join in.

e. All the weapons in both side confused day with night

A．a, b, c, d, e                            B．b, a, c, e, d

C．c, d, a, e, b                             D．d, b, a, e, c

5. According to the passage, how many times was the battle put off?

A．Seven            B．Eight             C．Nine             D．Ten

6.What do the underlined words in the last paragraph refer to?

A．Both King’s sleepless nights

B．The end of war and being friends

C．The surprise on the soldiers’ faces

D．The confusion of day with night

 

The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard-working was he that at times he would make the sparks (火星) fly from his hammer.

The son of Mr. Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see the blacksmith every day and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself watching how the tradesman worked.

“Young man, why don’t you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks (钉), even if it is only to pass the time?” said the blacksmith. “Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you.”

The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.

Old Mr. Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to live in another country. It so happened that in this village there were many shoemakers who were spending a lot of money buying tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers’ shoes.

Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in the workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.

“How funny it seems,” he used to say, “even making tacks can make money. My trade is more useful to me than all my former riches.”

1. The young man learnt to make shoe tacks because ________.

A. his father told him to                        B. he wanted to learn a skill

C. Jones encouraged him to                   D. he just wanted to pass his time

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Old Mr. Smith enjoyed making the shoe tacks.

B. The blacksmith had predicted the young man would be in need of the skill.

C. The higher prices they paid, the more tacks the shoemakers would get.

D. The young man earned his living by his skills learnt when he was young.

3. What can we learn from the story?

A. Practice makes perfect.                   B. Skill makes life easy.

C. A good beginning makes a good ending.        D. Every man has his gift.

 

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

Once upon a time, there was a bird made of stone. She was beautiful and magic. She lived near the entrance to a beautiful      between two mountains. The bird was so      that she had to walk on the ground instead of      in the sky.

Though she couldn’t fly, she      looking up at the trees every day. She      one day being able to fly and see the      forest from up high.      , that dream was gone after a great fire.

When the fire was      put out, all that was left of the trees were stumps（树桩）.      plants and animals that had live there were gone. The stone bird was the only one that didn’t      in the fire. When she saw what had      to the trees, she felt very sad. Looking at the burnt trees, she couldn’t      crying. She cried for hours and days. She cried with such a feeling that her      were wearing away her stone     . Finally all her body was worn away and the bird had      some water.

But when the      came out, the water rose into the sky and became a happy little cloud which could fly over the trees and see everything     .

Since then, the little cloud has traveled all over the world. She enjoyed the      of all the forests and beautiful countryside. She never      what had burnt the trees, so she was very careful to pour her rain down on any tree she saw     . She saved a lot of trees.

1.A. field            B. lake                   C. sea                         D. forest

2.A. proud                  B. surprising         C. heavy           D. pretty

3.A. walking                B. trying                C. singing              D. flying

4.A. needed               B. began                C. enjoyed                D. disliked

5.A. made up              B. dreamed of       C. gave up           D. talked about

6.A. dusty                   B. poor                  C. small                    D. beautiful

7.A. However             B. Also                         C. Therefore               D. So

8.A. sadly           B. possibly                   C. finally                 D. suddenly

9.A. Some          B. All                            C. Few                          D. No

10.A. change              B. live                           C. watch                 D.die

11.A. happened         B. come                  C. moved                 D. climbed

12.A. continue  B. start                    C. keep                         D. stop

13.A. minds                B. feelings                   C. hands            D. tears

14.A. house                B. heart                       C. body                        D. habit

15.A. cared about     B. turned into       C. turned up                D. looked for

16.A. star           B. air                            C. moon                       D. sun

17.A. below                B. above                 C. backward                 D. ahead

18.A. views                 B. areas                       C. colours          D. numbers

19.A. found                B. explained               C. forgot                 D. knew

20.A. falling                B. burning                   C. growing                   D. shaking

 

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. Green said, “Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would ___1__.”

Blue interrupted, “You only think about the __2__, but consider the sky and the sea. __3__ the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. Without my peace, you would all be __4__.”

Yellow chuckled (笑道), “You are all so serious. I bring laughter, fun, and __5__ into the world.”

Orange started next to blow her trumpet, “I am the color of health and strength. I may be __6__, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. When I fill the sky __7__, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another __8__ to any of you.”

Red could stand it __9__ and he shouted out, “I am the ruler of all of you. I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to __10__ truth. I am also the color of passion and of love.”

Then came Purple and Indigo (深蓝) …

The colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own __11__. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder. Rain started to pour down __12__. The colors crouched (蜷缩) down __13__, drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor (叫嚷), rain began to speak, “You foolish colors, fighting __14__ yourselves, each trying to dominate __15__. Don’t you know that you were each made for a special purpose, __16__? Join hands with __17__ and come to me.”

Doing as they were told, the colors __18__ and joined hands. They formed a colorful rainbow. From then on, whenever a good rain ___19__ the world, a rainbow appears in the sky. They remember to __20__ one another.

1. A. stay                     B. leave                    C. go out                     D. die

2. A. earth                   B. moon                          C. star                         D. sun

3. A. That is                 B. I am                        C. It is                         D. This is

4. A. anything              B. nothing                    C. something             D. everything

5. A. warmth                      B. sadness                   C. depression              D. anxiety

6. A. usual                   B. normal                     C. common              D. scarce

7. A. at midnight           B. at noon or at night     C. at sunrise or sunset   D. during the day

8. A. gift                      B. honor                      C. thought                   D. respect

9. A. for more              B. any more                 C. very much                   D. no longer

10. A. turn to                      B. fight for                   C. struggle with            D. bend over

11. A. superiority          B. disadvantages           C. inferiority                D. weakness

12. A. gently                B. quietly                     C. violently                  D. peacefully

13. A. with care           B. in fear                     C. by chance               D. on purpose

14. A. among                   B. by                           C. for                          D. against

15. A. others                B. themselves               C. the other                  D. the rest

16. A. equal and simple  B. ordinary and similar   C. more or less          D. unique and different

17. A. each other          B. me                          C. one another              D. them

18. A. combined           B. separated                 C. united                      D. divided

19. A. cleans                B. washes                    C. brightens                 D. dampens

20. A. appreciate          B. quarrel with             C. ignore                     D. praise