People in the United States honor their parents with two special days: Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June.

Mother’s Day was proclaimed宣告 a day for national observance by President Woodrow Wilson in 1915. Ann Jarvis from Grafton, West Virginia, had started the idea to have a day to honor mothers. She was the one who chose the second Sunday in May and also began the custom of wearing a carnation康乃馨.

In 1909, Mrs. Dodd from Spokane, Washington, thought of the idea of a day to honor fathers. She wanted to honor her own father, William Smart. After her mother died, he had the responsibility of raising a family of five sons and a daughter. In 1910，the first Father’s Day was observed in Spokane. Senator Margaret Chase Smith helped to established Father’s Day as a national commemorative纪念的 day in 1972.

These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care.

These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead．Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.

According to the passage, which of the following about the second Sunday in May is not true ?

       A．It is a day to show love to mothers

       B．It is a day to wear carnations

       C．It is a day for people to visit the cemetery

       D．It is a day for many people to attend religious services

Choose the right time order of the following events.

       a. The first Father’s Day was observed

       b. Mother’s Day was proclaimed a day for national observance

       c. Father’s Day became a day for national observance.

       d. The idea of honoring fathers was bought up

A．a b c d      B．d a b c           C．b a c d   D．d a c b

Who plays the most important role in Father’s Day becoming a national commemorative day?

       A．Mrs. Do                       B．Margaret Chase Smith   

       C．Ann Jarvis                       D．Woodrow Wilson

From the passage, we know in the U.S ________________.

       A．one should wear a red carnation if one’s mother pass away

       B．on Mother’s Day, families often go out to have barbecues

       C．on Father’s Day, people often stay at home to celebrate the special day.

       D．The purpose to have these two special days is to show love to parents

The author’s purpose of writing this passage is to __________

       A．call on people to love and respect their parents.

       B．introduce Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

       C．tell the difference between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day

       D．show how important fathers and mothers are

October 15th is Global Handwashing Day.  Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap.

Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at so-called critical moments. These include after using the toilet, after cleaning a baby and before touching food.

Global Handwashing Day is the idea of the Public-private Partnership for handwashing with soap. The goal, they say, is to create a culture of handwashing with soap. The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing disease-causing germs （细菌）. They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap. Rub it into all areas, including under the fingernails. Then, wash well under running water. Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth.

The Partnership says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing. Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the germs. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which increases the chances that people will wash again.

It also says that washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any medicine. It could help reduce cases of diarrhea （痢疾）, which is the second leading cause of child deaths, killing more than one and a half million children a year, by almost half.

1.What does the author intend to tell us in the passage?

A. To keep healthy by washing hands.     B. To wash hands with soap.

    C. To take action to wash hands.         D. To wash hands often.

2.Which of the following is the right way to wash hands?

    a. Washing hands well.                 b. Covering hands with soap.

    c. Drying hands.                      d. Rubbing hands with soap.

    e. Wetting hands.

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

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

3.Which fact can’t explain why soap is important?

    A. It gives people a longer handwashing time.

    B. It helps to remove a lot of germs from hands.

    C. It attracts people to do more handwashing.

    D. It gets all people into the habit of washing hands.

4.According to the last paragraph, diarrhea is a disease that ________.

    A. kills half of the kids in the developing countries a year

    B. causes the greatest number of child deaths

    C. can be prevented to some degree by washing hands with soap

D. can’t be cured without washing hands

 

 

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of the most loved children's books of all time, and many adults enjoy it as well. It tells the story of a young girl named Alice, who follows a rabbit entering a magical world called Wonderland: she has many experiences which seem to change the rules of reasoning or common sense. The popularity of the book comes from its imagination, interesting story, and art work.

     The writer of the book is Lewis Carroll. In fact, Lewis Carroll was not the writer's real name. His real name was Charles Dodgson. One day, he took a boat ride down the Thames River to have a picnic with three little girls who were friends of the family. To keep them entertained on the ride, he told them a story in which Alice, the middle child, was the main character. They enjoyed the story very much.

     Charles later wrote the story down under the name Alice's Adventures under Ground and gave it to Alice as a Christmas present. Later, he gave a copy to his friend George MacDonald. George read it to his children and they loved it. George suggested to Charles that he make a book from his story. Charles then wrote more parts to the story until it was around 35,000 words. It was first printed in 1866, with art work by John Tenniel, under the name Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The book was an immediate success. 

     One of its first fans was Queen Victoria. She immediately requested a collection of all of Lewis Carroll's works. She was surprised to find that they included many works on math. In fact, Charles Dodgson was a highly respected mathematician. This can be seen in many puzzles and plays on reasoning that appear in his books and poems.

     Since the story was first printed, it has kept selling up to the present day. It has been translated into over fifty languages and has had several movies based on it. The story is even mentioned in the popular 1999 film The Matrix by the character Morpheus.

1.The passage is mainly about _____.

A. Charles' family life 

B. a girl's adventurous experience 

C. a magical world called wonderland

D. the birth of a book and its lasting influences

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

A. The writer published his works under his real name. 

B. The character Alice was based on from George's child. 

C. John contributed partly to the popularity of the book.

D. Charles offered a copy to George as a present.

3.We can learn from the passage that _____.

A. Queen Victoria asked for a few of Charles' writings

B. Charles was good at reasoning and writing

C. Charles had his works translated into fifty languages

D. The Matrix was based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

4.Which of the following is the right order of the passage?

    a. Charles gave his story to Alice as a Christmas present. 

    b. Charles had a picnic with three little girls on the Thames. 

    c. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was first printed in l866. 

    d. More parts were added to the story by Charles. 

    e. The book won a large number of fans.

A. c-b-a-d-e    B. c-a-b-e-d    C. b-a-d-c-e     D. b-a-c-e-d

 

　　Alex Harley was born in the northeast of New York in 1921, but he spent most of his early life with his mother's family in southern Tennessee. His grandmother told him stories about their family. Their history, she said, began with Toby. He was a slave from Africa and his name was Kunta.

　　Alex Harley went to school and then to college. In 1939, he joined the US coastguard. As he was a black his job was to wait on table and wash dishes. In his spare time, be learned to write stories. He served in the coastguard for 20 years. After he retired（退休）, he put all his time into writing.

　　Alex Harley remembered the stories his grandmother had told him. He began to study his family history. After a lot of research, Harley decided that Toby was probably Kunta Kinte of the West African Mandingo people, who was caught near the village of Juffure on the Gambia River. He was sold as a slave in Annapolis, Maryland in 1767. Then Harley made a trip to Gambia and talked with a history expert in Juffure. The African historian made his conclusion stronger.

　　Alex Harley wanted to tell the experiences of the black people in 18th-and-19th-century America. He spent 10 years researching and writing his family story for the book Roots. It was published in 1976. It won a special Pulitzer Prize. A few years later, a film series（连续剧）based on Harley's book was shown on American television.

(1) Choose the right order of the events given in the passage.

a. He made a trip to Gambia.
b. Alex Harley knew the stories about their family.
c. Kunta lived near the Gambia River.
d. Harley retired from the US coastguard.
e. Toby was sold as a slave.
f. He began to study his family history.
A．e,c,b,f,d,a.	B．c,e,b,d,f,a.
C．e,b,d,c,a,f.	D．e,b,d,e,a,f.

(2) When did Harley learn to write stories?

[　　]

A．Before 1959.	B．After 1921.
C．Before 1939.	D．After serving in the army.

(3) Which conclusion did he draw after doing a lot of research?

[　　]

A．Toby was a history expert.

B．Toby's hometown was near the Gambia River.

C．Toby was an African historian.

D．Toby's hometown was Annapolis.

(4) Which of the following might have happened after watching Roots on TV?

[　　]

A．Every American began to talk about their family history.

B．None of Americans began to talk about their family history.

C．Many Americans became interested in researching their family History.

D．Only the black people became interested in researching their Family history.

A woman whose sports car was stolen with her dog in it put up notices all over the area that made it clear getting back her pet was more important than her cat．

    “Whoever did this can keep my car．Please let Benjerman come home，”the notice said．

    It is not known whether the thief showed any pity，but al-most 30 hours after the 1 pm theft Friday，Atkins and Benjerman，a 12-year-old black retriever(猎犬)，were reunited after the police located them in Barrington．

    “He’s hungry，he’s dirty，but he’s very happy to be home．”Atkins said．

    The car was found at about 5 pm Saturday off Route 125 in a swampy area frequented by off-the—road cars and dirt bikes．However，the police couldn’t control Benjerman, and they had to call Atkins to come and get him．

    Atkins said the thief cared for Benjerman a little by providing him with some dry cat food．She believed Benjerman ended up drinking some muddy warer in the area．She said they have been together for nearly 1 l years after she took him back from a society shelter in Dallas．Texas．

    Before Benjerman was found．Atkins and several friends put up notices all over the city and in Somersworth．They also contacted animal shelters throughout southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts．The notice stated there was a reward and also that the dog needed medication．Any caller could remain anonymous(匿名的)．

    Atkins had parked the car outside a hardware store with the keys inside and gone in to rent a carpet cleaner．

    “It was 10 minutes and I came out and my car was gone along with Benjermma in broad daylight．”Atkins said．The car thief threw Atkins’  wallet and other personal items out of the car before escaping from the scene．

1.Which of the following shows the correct order of what happened?   

    a．Notices were put up saying there was a reward．

    b．Atkins saw Benjerman again．

    c．The police found Atkins' car．

    d．Atkins took Benjerman back from a society sheher．

    e．Atkins hired a carpet cleaner in a hardware store．

A．d，e，a，b，c       B．d，e，a．c．b

C．e，a，d，b，c       D．e，a，c，d，b

2.We can infer from the passage 

    A．the dog was treated extremely badly by the thief 

    B．car stolen accidents happen frequently nowadays

    C．the dog was found because of the reward   

    D．the thief stole the car easily   

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

    A．Benjerman was sent back immediately after Atkins put up the notices．  

    B．Atkins and her friends made a great effort to look for  Benjerman．  

 C．The thief gave the dog back but kept the spots car.

    D．The dog was back at 1 pm on a Friday．