When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground. I was living in Conyers, Georgia the summer it all happened. I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade. Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way.

It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie’s basement. As I opened the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes. I ran downstairs, and spotted red steel can. It was paint. I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green.

“Stephanie, I just found us a project for the day. Get some paintbrushes. We are fixing to paint.” She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work. We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard. There on the road in front of my house, we painted bit stripes (条纹) of colors across the pavement (人行道). Stripe by stripe, our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow. It was fantastic!

The sun was starting to sink. I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car. It was my mother. I couldn’t wait to show her my masterpiece. The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother’s face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble.

My mother shut the car door and walked towards me. Her eyes glaring, she shouted, “What in the world were you thinking? I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors’ trees, but this! Come inside right now!” I stood there glaring hack at her for a minute, angry because she had insulted (侮辱) my art. 

“Now go clean it up!” Mother and I began cleaning the road. Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement.  

Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone. I wonder if, maybe when I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away. I guess we all need sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful.

What did the writer want to do when his mother came home?

      A. To introduce Stephanie to her.             B. To prevent her from seeing his painting. 

      C. To put the materials back in the yard.       D. To show his artwork to her.

In his mother’s eyes, the writer_______.

      A. was a born artist                        B. always caused trouble

      C. was a problem solver                    D. worked very hard

The underlined word “rainbow” in the last paragraph refers to ______.

      A. the rainbow in the sky                   B. the stripes on the pavement

      C. something imaginative and fun            D. important lessons learned in childhood

It can be learned from the passage that parents should ________.

      A. encourage children to paint               B. value friendship among children

      C. discover the hidden talent in children       D. protect rather than destroy children’s dreams

Whenever my dog, Barney, comes into the house after having been for a ride in the car, he runs to the pen(围栏) we have set up for him by the back door. It’s not something we intentionally trained him to do. The habit came simply because my husband tended to put him in his pen whenever they came in. After doing it a few times, Barney just figures that’s what you do when you come inside after a car ride.

It’s the same with your thinking. You get into the habit of thinking a certain way and then you’ll rarely question it after that.

This is especially true when you were growing up. You developed habits that just made things easier for you. You probably didn’t even think about them. That’s just the way it was and that’s what you did. Just like Barney thinks he has to go into his pen, you do things automatically as well.

For example, when you were a kid, you may have been told not to “talk back” and to just keep quiet about things that were bothering you. These are habits that might have worked to keep you safe and out of trouble when you were young.

Now that you're grown up, you may be finding that these previous strategies are actually causing you problems. In a relationship, not communicating isn't going to work as your partner can’t read your mind. What works when you're a child may not work when you become an adult.

When you decide you need to change your thoughts, your brain may at first feel that it's not a safe thing to do. Lots of practice and years of experience says it’s not. Also, you don’t know to question the thought. It’s a truth for you. The trick is to look at your results and see if your thoughts are the cause. Be willing to question your thinking and ask yourself if there are thoughts that are hindering (妨碍) you. As you are now in a different phase of your life, different strategies may be needed.

1.As with the dog Barney, people _______.

A．think in a habitual way

B．enjoy having a car ride

C．usually behave in a friendly way

D．have a good memory

2.According to the passage, as a kid, one tends to _________.

A．be afraid to make mistakes

B．have the experience of playing with a dog

C．learn much from adults like his/her parents

D．form a habit which can keep his/her out of trouble

3.In the writer’s opinion, adults should _______.

A．not“talk back”

B．avoid causing any problem

C．change the habit which will bring troubles

D．value their habits formed in their childhood

4.It can be concluded from the passage that ________.

A．the author’s husband must be good at training dogs

B．childhood is the best time for developing good habits

C．one can change his/her life by changing his/her thoughts

D．you should change all your childhood habits when you grow up

 

Do you like to eat out? Do you like to eat quickly? Do you like inexpensive food? Some people go to fast-food restaurants for these reasons. In the past, people usually went to diners（小餐馆）for these reasons. In fact, many people in the States still go to diners today for the same reasons.

   A man named Walter Scott had the first “diner” in 1872. It wasn’t a real diner. It was only a food cart(手推车). People on the street walked up to the cart to buy food. These carts served late-night workers who wanted a cup of coffee and a late-night meal. The meal was a sandwich or boiled eggs. In 1887, Samuel Jones built the first diner big enough to allow the customers to come inside. However, they did not sit down. Later, people built diners with counters and stools, and people sat down while they ate.

   Before long, many diners stayed open around the clock. In other words, people were able to eat in diner at any time. Diners changed in other ways, too. The original menu of sandwiches and coffee became bigger. It included soup, favorite dishes, and a breakfast menu. In addition, diners soon became permanent(永久的) buildings. They were no longer carts on wheels.

Diners today look similar to the diners of the early 1900s. They are usually buildings with large windows. Inside, the diners have shining counters with stools, booths, and tables and chairs. People can eat all three meals in a modern diner.

   Today, many people eat in fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Burger King. However, the diner remains an American tradition, and thousands of people still enjoy eating there. It was popular a century ago, and it is still popular today.

A man named Walter Scott had the first “diner” in 1872. Why is the word “diner” in quotation marks(引号)？

A. Because it is spelled differently from “ dinner”

B. Because the first diner was not what it is now

C. Because diner was a new word

D. Because it is special.

What meals did the first diners serve?

A. Only breakfast  B. Only lunch   C. Only night-meals  D. All of the above

Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Diners existed before a fast-food restaurant.

The menu included more food than sandwiches and coffee.

C. Burger King is a fast-food restaurant.

D. Sandwiches became bigger.

The main idea of the passage is that ______________.

A. The diner is a traditional , popular place to eat in the United States.

B. Samuel Johns built the first diner big enough to allow the customers to come inside.

C. American diners serve many types of food 24 hours a day to their customers.

D. Diners are different from fast-food restaurants in many ways.

 

第二部分：阅读理解(第一节20小题。第二节5小题；每小题2分，满分50分)

第一节：阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该

选项标号涂黑。

     When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground. I was living in Conyers, Georgia the summer it all happened. I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade. Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way.

     It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie's basement. As I opened the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes. I ran downstairs, and spotted a red steel can. It was paint. I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green.

     "Stephanie, I just found us a project for the day. Get some paintbrushes. We are fixing to paint. " She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work. We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard. There on the road in front of my house, we painted big stripes ( 条纹) of colors across the pavement (人行道). Stripe by stripe, our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow. It was fantastic!

     The sun was starting to sink. I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car. It was my mother. I couldn't wait to show her my masterpiece. The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother's face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble.

     My mother shut the ear door and walked towards me. Her eyes glaring, she shouted, "What in the world were you thinking? I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors' trees, but this! Come inside right now !" I stood there glaring back at her for a minute, angry because she had insulted (侮辱) my art.

     "Now go clean it up!" Mother and I began cleaning the road. Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement.

     Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone. I wonder if, maybe when I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away. I guess we all need some sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful.

1. What did the writer want to do when his mother came home?

   A. To introduce Stephanie to her.          B. To prevent her from seeing his painting.

   C. To put the materials back in the yard.    D. To show his artwork to her.

2. In his mother's eyes, the writer __ .

   A. was a born artist                          B. always caused trouble

   C. was a problem solver                      D. worked very hard

3. The underlined word "rainbow" in the last paragraph refers to __ .

   A. the rainbow in the sky                     B. the stripes on the pavement

   C. something imaginative and fun              D. important lessons learned in childhood

4. It can be learned from the passage that parents should       .

A. encourage children to paint          

B. value friendship among children

C. discover the hidden talent in children 

D. protect rather than destroy children's dreams

 

Do you like to eat out? Do you like to eat quickly? Do you like inexpensive food? Some people go to fast-food restaurants for these reasons.  In the past, people usually went to diners (小饭馆 )for these reasons, too. In fact, many people in the States still go to diners today for the same reasons.

     A man named Walter Scott had the first "diner" in 1872. It wasn't really a diner. It was only a food cart. People on the street walked up to the cart to buy food. These carts served late- night workers who wanted a cup of coffee and a late-night meal. The meal was a sandwich or boiled eggs. In 1887, Samuel Jones built the first diner big enough to allow the customers to come inside. However, they did not sit down. Later, people built diners with counters and stools, and people sat down while they ate.

     Before long, many diners stayed open around the clock. In other words, people were able to eat in a diner at any time. Diners changed in other way, too. The original menu of sandwiches and coffee became bigger. It included soup, favorite dishes, and a breakfast menu. In addition, diners soon became permanent buildings. They were no longer carts on wheels.

     Diners today look similar to the diners of the early 1900s.  They are usually building with large windows. Inside, the diners have shining counters with stools, booths, tables and chairs. People can eat all three meals in a modern diner.

     Today, many people eat in fast-food restaurants such as Mc Donald's and Burger King. However, the diner remains an American tradition, and thousands of people still enjoy eating there. It was popular a century ago, and it is still popular today.

What kind of meal did the first "diner" serve?

     A. Only breakfast.   B. Only lunch.  C. Only supper.   D. All of the above.

According to Paragraph 3, diners changed in             .    

      A. two ways   B. three ways  C. four ways  D. five ways

Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

     A. Diners existed before fast-food restaurants.

     B. The menu included more food than sandwiches and coffee.

     C. Burger King is a fast-food restaurant.

     D. Sandwiches became bigger.

The main idea of the passage is that              . 

     A. the diner is a traditional, popular place to eat in the United States

     B. Samuel Jones built the first diner big enough to allow the customers to come inside

     C. American diners serve many types of food 24 hours a day to their customers

     D. diners are different from fast food restaurants in many ways.