Sarah Williams went to a boarding school.  Here is one of the

letters she wrote to her parents from the school.

Wentworth Girls' School

Beachside

July 20th

Dearest Mom and Dad,

I'm afraid I have some very bad news for you. I have been very naughty and the school principal is very angry with me. She is going to write to you. You must come and take me away from here. She does not want me in the school any longer.

The trouble started last night when I was smoking in bed.  This is against the rules, of course. We are not supposed to smoke at all.

As I was smoking, I heard footsteps coming towards the room. I did not want a teacher to catch me smoking, so I threw the cigarette away.

Unfortunately, the cigarette fell into the waste-paper basket, which caught fire.

There was a curtain near the waste-paper basket which caught fire, too. Soon the whole room was burning.

The principal phoned for the fire department. The school is a long way from the town and by the time the fire department arrived, the whole school was in flames. Many of the girls are in the hospital.

The principal says that the fire was all my fault and you must pay for the damage. She will send you a bill for about a million dollars.

I’m very sorry about this.

Much love,

Sarah

P. S. None of the above is true, but I have failed my exams. I just want you to know how bad things could have been!

1.Why did Sarah write home?

A．To tell her parents about the fire.

B．To ask for a lot of money.

C．To tell her parents she had failed her exams.

D．To tell her parents she had to leave school.

2.Why did Sarah tell her parents the story about the fire?

A．She wanted to worry them.

B．She wanted to make them laugh.

C．She wanted to make them less angry at the real news.

D．She wanted to warn them about what the principal was going to do.

3.The letter before the. P. S. was        .

A．mostly true	B．partly true
C．completely true	D．completely untrue

 

Sarah Williams went to a boarding school. Here is one of the letters she wrote to her parents from the school:

Wentworth Girls’ school

Beachside

July 20th

Dearest Mom and Dad,

I’m afraid I have some very bad news for you. I have been very naughty and the school principal is very angry with me. She is going to write to you. You must come and take me away from here. She does not want me in the school any longer.

The trouble started last night when I was smoking in bed. This is against the rules, of course. We are not supposed to smoke at all.

As I was smoking, I heard footsteps coming towards the room. I did not want a teacher to catch me smoking, so I threw the cigarette away.

Unfortunately, the cigarette fell into the waste-paper bas­ket, which caught fire.

There was a curtain near the waste-paper basket which caught fire, too. Soon the whole room was burning.

The principal phoned for the fire department. The school is a long way from the town and by the time the fire depart­ment arrived, the whole school was in flames. Many of the girls are in the hospital.

The principal says that the fire was all my fault and you must pay for the damage. She will send you a bill for about a million dollars.

I’m very sorry about this.

Much love,

Sarah

P. S. None of the above is true, but I have failed my ex­ams. I just want you to know how bad things could have been!

1. Why did Sarah write home?

A. To tell her parents about the fire.

B. To ask for a lot of money.

C. To tell her parents she had failed her exams.

D. To tell her parents she had to leave school.

2. Why did Sarah tell her parents the story about the fire?

A. She wanted to worry them.

B. She wanted to make them laugh.

C. She wanted to make them less angry at the real news.

D. She wanted to warn them about what the principal was going to do.

3. The letter before the P. S. was ________.

A. mostly true              B. partly true         C. all true                     D. completely untrue

4. Sarah said the principal was angry because ________.

A. she had failed her exams                       B. it was her fault that had caused the fire

C. she had not made the phone call in time   D. she had been caught smoking in bed

Susan Williams went to a boarding school. Here is one of the letters she wrote to her parents from the school.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I’m afraid I have some very bad news for you. I have been very naughty and the school principal is very angry with me. She is going to write to you. You must come and take me away from here. She does not want me in the school any longer.

The trouble started last night when I was smoking a cigarette in beD．This is against the rules, of course. We are not supposed to smoke at all.

As I was smoking, I heard footsteps coming towards the room. I did not want a teacher to catch me smoking, so I threw the cigarette away. Unfortunately, the cigarette fell into the waste-paper basket, which caught fire. There was a curtain near the waste-paper basket which caught fire, too. Soon the whole room was burning. The principal phoned for the fire department. The school is a long way from the town and by the time the fire department arrived, the whole school was in flames. Many of the girls are in the hospital.

The principal says that the fire was all my fault and you must pay for the damage. She will send you a bill for about a million dollars.

I am very sorry about this.

Much love, Susan.

P.S. None of the above is true, but I have failed my exams. I just want you to know how bad things could have been!

1．Susan wrote home ________.

A．to tell her parents about the fire  

B．to ask for a million dollars

C．to tell her parents she had failed her exams

D．to tell her parents she had to leave school

2．Susan told her parents about the fire ________.

A．to warn them about what the principal would do

B．to make them feel worried

C．to make them less angry at her real news

D．to make them laugh

3．How true was the letter before the P.S.?

A．Partly true.              B．All true.

C．Completely untrue         D．The story doesn’t really tell us.

阅读理解

　　Proverbs (谚语) are 匀quite common in spoken English. We do not normally use them in a composition or letter. But more often than not it is helpful if you know what common proverbs mean.

　　Here are a few examples:

　　1)“Once bitten,twice shy.” If a dog bites me,I shall be twice as careful in future when I see it again. This proverb is also used to apply to (适用) many things. If you have been cheated at a shop,you will not go to the same shop again.

　　2)“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” if I am a hunter,trying to catch birds,it is better to catch one bird than to see two birds in a bush which I can't catch. Thus this means that what you have already got is better than the chance of being able to get something bigger in future.

　　3)“Too many cooks spoil the broth (soup).” When too many people do something,they get in each other's way.

　　4)“To pour oil on troubled water”is to try to calm things down. Oil is lighter than water. If a ship is in trouble at sea,another ship may come to help it. The second ship can send small boats to rescue people. However,it may first pour oil on the sea to make the sea less rough.

　　5)“Don't be a dog in a manger (槽)” means “Don't be selfish”. In a stable (马厩),the manger is the place where the horse's food is put. Sometimes a dog will sleep in the manger and bark when a horse comes to get its food．The dog does not want to eat the hay in the manger but it will not let the horse eat it.

　　6)“He is sitting on the fence” means that somebody will not say whether he is in favor of a plan or against it. He is sitting on a fence (篱笆) between two opposing sides,perhaps waiting to see which side will win.

　　7)“He who pays the piper calls the tune. ” A piper is a musician. The man who employs or pays a musician can say what tunes the man will play. Thus this means that if a man provides the money for a plan,he can say how it will be carried out.

　　8)“You can't get blood out of a stone” means that you cannot get something from a person who has not got any of the things you want. For example,you cannot get a million dollars from a poor man.

(1)Peter had a bicycle which was much too small for him but he did not want to let his younger brother ride it. His mother was angry and said to him,“_______”

[　　]

A．You can't get blood out of a stone

B．Don't be a dog in a manger

C．The early bird gets the worm

D．Don't be a horse in the manger

(2)Mr and Mrs. Smith had a quarrel. Their friend,Mr. Brown,went to mediate (调解)in them. When he came back,he told his wife that he had been trying to help the Smiths by ________.

[　　]

A．pouring oil on troubled water

B．getting blood out of a stone

C．being a dog in a manger

D．not pouring oil on water

(3)Mr Wang paid for a new school. Some people did not like the design of the school but they did not argue with Mr. Wang because ________.

[　　]

A．he was sitting on the fence

B．once bitten,twice shy

C．he who pays the piper calls the tune

D．a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

(4)Mrs Chen wanted to buy a new dress. Her husband suggested that she buy it from a shop near their home. Mrs. Chen disagreed because she had been cheated by that shop. Then she said,“I won't go there again because________.”

[　　]

A．a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

B．I am sitting on the fence

C．once bitten,twice shy

D．too many cooks spoil the soup

(5)Mr. Brown had quite a good job in Hong Kong but he thought if he went to Singapore he might get a much better job with more money and a large house. His wife did not want him to leave his job in Hong Kong and she reminded him that________.

[　　]

A．he who plays the piper calls the tune

B．too many cooks spoil the soup

C．you can't get blood out of a stone

D．a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

阅读理解

　　Proverbs (谚语) are 匀quite common in spoken English. We do not normally use them in a composition or letter. But more often than not it is helpful if you know what common proverbs mean.

　　Here are a few examples:

　　1)“Once bitten,twice shy.” If a dog bites me,I shall be twice as careful in future when I see it again. This proverb is also used to apply to (适用) many things. If you have been cheated at a shop,you will not go to the same shop again.

　　2)“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” if I am a hunter,trying to catch birds,it is better to catch one bird than to see two birds in a bush which I can't catch. Thus this means that what you have already got is better than the chance of being able to get something bigger in future.

　　3)“Too many cooks spoil the broth (soup).” When too many people do something,they get in each other's way.

　　4)“To pour oil on troubled water”is to try to calm things down. Oil is lighter than water. If a ship is in trouble at sea,another ship may come to help it. The second ship can send small boats to rescue people. However,it may first pour oil on the sea to make the sea less rough.

　　5)“Don't be a dog in a manger (槽)” means “Don't be selfish”. In a stable (马厩),the manger is the place where the horse's food is put. Sometimes a dog will sleep in the manger and bark when a horse comes to get its food．The dog does not want to eat the hay in the manger but it will not let the horse eat it.

　　6)“He is sitting on the fence” means that somebody will not say whether he is in favor of a plan or against it. He is sitting on a fence (篱笆) between two opposing sides,perhaps waiting to see which side will win.

　　7)“He who pays the piper calls the tune. ” A piper is a musician. The man who employs or pays a musician can say what tunes the man will play. Thus this means that if a man provides the money for a plan,he can say how it will be carried out.

　　8)“You can't get blood out of a stone” means that you cannot get something from a person who has not got any of the things you want. For example,you cannot get a million dollars from a poor man.

(1)Peter had a bicycle which was much too small for him but he did not want to let his younger brother ride it. His mother was angry and said to him,“_______”

[　　]

A．You can't get blood out of a stone

B．Don't be a dog in a manger

C．The early bird gets the worm

D．Don't be a horse in the manger

(2)Mr and Mrs. Smith had a quarrel. Their friend,Mr. Brown,went to mediate (调解)in them. When he came back,he told his wife that he had been trying to help the Smiths by ________.

[　　]

A．pouring oil on troubled water

B．getting blood out of a stone

C．being a dog in a manger

D．not pouring oil on water

(3)Mr Wang paid for a new school. Some people did not like the design of the school but they did not argue with Mr. Wang because ________.

[　　]

A．he was sitting on the fence

B．once bitten,twice shy

C．he who pays the piper calls the tune

D．a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

(4)Mrs Chen wanted to buy a new dress. Her husband suggested that she buy it from a shop near their home. Mrs. Chen disagreed because she had been cheated by that shop. Then she said,“I won't go there again because________.”

[　　]

A．a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

B．I am sitting on the fence

C．once bitten,twice shy

D．too many cooks spoil the soup

(5)Mr. Brown had quite a good job in Hong Kong but he thought if he went to Singapore he might get a much better job with more money and a large house. His wife did not want him to leave his job in Hong Kong and she reminded him that________.

[　　]

A．he who plays the piper calls the tune

B．too many cooks spoil the soup

C．you can't get blood out of a stone

D．a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush