I walked alongside my father, clutching his right hand．All my clothes were new: the black shoes, the green school uniform, and the red cap．They did not make me happy, however, as tins was the day I was to be thrown into school for the first time．I tried in vain lo convince him that I did nothing wrong all the way, but it didn't help．

When we．arrived at the sate we could see the courtyard, vast and full of boys and girls．I hesitated and clung to his hand, but he gently pushed me from him．"Be a man, "he said．"today you truly begin your life．You will find me waiting for you when it's time to leave．"

I took a few steps．Then the faces of the boys and girls came into view．I did not know a single one of them, and none of them knew me．I felt I was a stranger who had lost his way．But then some boys began to glance at me in curiosity, and one of them came over and asked, " Who brought you? "

    "My father," I whispered．

    ''My father's dead, " he said simply．

I did not know what to say．The gate was now closed．Some of the children burst into tears．The bell rang．A lady came along, followed by a group of men．The men began soiling us into ranks．We were formed into an intricate pattern in the great courtyard surrounded by high buildings．

Well, it seemed that my misgivings had had no basis．From the first moments I made many friends and fell in love with many girls．I had never imagined school would have this rich variety of experiences．

We played all sorts, of games．In the music room we sang our first songs．We also had our first introduction to language．We saw a globe of Earth, which revolved and showed the various continents and countries．We started lean-line numbers, and we were told the story of the Creator of the universe．We ate delicious food, took a little nap, and woke up to go on with friendship and love, playing and learning．

Our path, however, was not totally sweet and unclouded．We had to be observant and patient．It was not all a matter of playing and fooling around． Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred or give rise to fighting．And while the lady would sometimes smile, she would often yell and scold．Even more frequently

she would resort to physical punishment．

The bell rang, announcing the passing of the day and the end of work．The children rushed toward the gate, which was opened again．I said goodbye to friends and sweethearts and passed through the gate．I looked around but found no trace of my father, who had promised to be there．I stepped aside to wait.

1.The writer hesitated and clung to his father's hand when they got to the school gate because ____．

    A．he loved his father and didn't want to leave his father

    B．he had thought attending school meant being punished

    C．he was afraid of the punishment given by teachers

    D．he did not want to leave his mother and his rather alone at home

2.What happened to him first during his first day at school?

    A．He was moved to tears by a sad story told by a girl．

    B．He together without other students was grouped．

    C．He learnt music and other courses and had a good time．

    D．He got punished by die woman teacher because of his impatience．

3.Which of the following subjects did he not probably have?

    A．Cooking．      B．Math．         C．Music．        D．Geography．

4.From the last but one paragraph we can learn that ______.

    A．they got on well with one another all the time

    B．they had a good time at school without being scolded

    C．their teacher was more kind to them than strict with them             

    D．more often than not they experienced physical punishment

5.The writer stepped aside after he got out of the school gate because           .

    A．he was polite to let other students go before him 

    B．he left something behind in his classroom         

    C．he wanted to say goodbye to his teacher

    D．his father has promised to wait for him

 

As you climb into the hill country, the roads get dustier and rougher, and fewer cars can be seen. Phonxay is one of the poorest districts of Laos, and many of its villages are only accessible by footpath. Our destination this hot morning is a concrete water tank that can be found just off the road. A UK organization helped to build it six years ago, and in the nearby village of Thapho, where clean drinking water is scarce, it has made a big difference. The tank feeds six taps which in turn give water to over 800 people---it has improved things for almost every family, from schoolchildren to grannies.

        But lately, we were told, the clean water supply has come under pressure from new arrivals, people who have come down from the hill areas, and there are concerns that there will not be enough clean water to go round.

There are also serious worries about resources in Laos. The Chinese are building a 400km railway link, which could transform the landlocked country. About 150,000 Chinese workers will be involved. What will this do to local clean water supplies? How will the workers be fed?

The vast majority of Laotians live on farms. But with foreign investors wanting to buy up land, local people will have to be moved to make room for them. Heavily dependent on both foreign aid and foreign investment, Laos still falls well behind its neighbours, although its economy has grown at about 6% a year in the last decade. Its biggest economic problem is the lack of locally trained skilled workforce.

But there are reasons to be hopeful for the future. Laos is beautiful, and foreign tourism continues to grow: fortunately so far the fast-food chains and coffee bars common elsewhere are nowhere to be seen. Although all local media are government-run, the Internet is not controlled and the BBC and CNN are available to those with satellite dishes.

The government has also achieved impressive results in rural development, with communities benefiting not just from cleaner water but the construction of new schools and regular visits from medical teams. Poverty will not be history in Laos within the next decade, but with small steps forward and a bit of outside help, the country could find itself out of the UN’s least-developed category by 2020.

1.What is putting pressure on the local supply of clean water?

A. Dust from the road is making the water dirtier.

B. There are too many taps accessing the water.

C. The population of the area is growing fast.

D. The coming summer will dry up rivers and lakes.

2.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT a reason for Laos to be hopeful?

A. There are no fast-food restaurants in the country.

B. Laos has a variety of tourist attractions.

C. Information on the Internet is freely accessible.

D. The government owns all local media.

3.What is the most serious limitation on Laos’ economic growth?

A. The lack of local skilled workers.

B. A poor transportation system.

C. Too much foreign aid.

D. Too many foreign workers.

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A. Laos: slow-developing nations

B. Laos: small steps forward

C. Laos: least-developed land

D. Laos: landlocked country

 

I walked alongside my father, clutching his right hand．All my clothes were new: the black shoes, the green school uniform, and the red cap．They did not make me happy, however, as tins was the day I was to be thrown into school for the first time．I tried in vain lo convince him that I did nothing wrong all the way, but it didn’t help．
When we．arrived at the sate we could see the courtyard, vast and full of boys and girls．I hesitated and clung to his hand, but he gently pushed me from him．"Be a man, "he said．"today you truly begin your life．You will find me waiting for you when it’s time to leave．"
I took a few steps．Then the faces of the boys and girls came into view．I did not know a single one of them, and none of them knew me．I felt I was a stranger who had lost his way．But then some boys began to glance at me in curiosity, and one of them came over and asked, " Who brought you? "
"My father," I whispered．
’’My father’s dead, " he said simply．
I did not know what to say．The gate was now closed．Some of the children burst into tears．The bell rang．A lady came along, followed by a group of men．The men began soiling us into ranks．We were formed into an intricate pattern in the great courtyard surrounded by high buildings．
Well, it seemed that my misgivings had had no basis．From the first moments I made many friends and fell in love with many girls．I had never imagined school would have this rich variety of experiences．
We played all sorts, of games．In the music room we sang our first songs．We also had our first introduction to language．We saw a globe of Earth, which revolved and showed the various continents and countries．We started lean-line numbers, and we were told the story of the Creator of the universe．We ate delicious food, took a little nap, and woke up to go on with friendship and love, playing and learning．
Our path, however, was not totally sweet and unclouded．We had to be observant and patient．It was not all a matter of playing and fooling around． Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred or give rise to fighting．And while the lady would sometimes smile, she would often yell and scold．Even more frequently
she would resort to physical punishment．
The bell rang, announcing the passing of the day and the end of work．The children rushed toward the gate, which was opened again．I said goodbye to friends and sweethearts and passed through the gate．I looked around but found no trace of my father, who had promised to be there．I stepped aside to wait.
【小题1】The writer hesitated and clung to his father’s hand when they got to the school gate because ____．

A．he loved his father and didn’t want to leave his father

B．he had thought attending school meant being punished

C．he was afraid of the punishment given by teachers

D．he did not want to leave his mother and his rather alone at home

【小题2】What happened to him first during his first day at school?

A．He was moved to tears by a sad story told by a girl．

B．He together without other students was grouped．

C．He learnt music and other courses and had a good time．

D．He got punished by die woman teacher because of his impatience．

【小题3】Which of the following subjects did he not probably have?

A．Cooking．

B．Math．

C．Music．

D．Geography．

【小题4】From the last but one paragraph we can learn that ______.

A．they got on well with one another all the time

B．they had a good time at school without being scolded

C．their teacher was more kind to them than strict with them

D．more often than not they experienced physical punishment

【小题5】The writer stepped aside after he got out of the school gate because           .

A．he was polite to let other students go before him

B．he left something behind in his classroom

C．he wanted to say goodbye to his teacher

D．his father has promised to wait for him

1．Where can I buy some _____（信封）and writing paper?              1．___________

2．We ______（禁止）taking pictures here.                                      2．___________

3．One out of every 10 people lives in a ______（多山的）area.         3．___________

4．A kind person should be treated ______ （真诚地）                     4．___________

5．What's your name and______（国籍）?                                       5．___________

6．______（十一月）is a good time to hunt deer.                              6．___________

7．The dog is his master's ______（影子）.                                     7．___________

8．The ___（旅馆）I stayed in for business was of high quality.         8．___________

9．Generally speaking, good news ______（传播）quickly．          9．___________

10．We were told the pizza would be _（运送）in 20 minutes．        10．___________