One day, a teacher was speaking to a group of students about how to manage time. He gave such an interesting example that his students would never   26  .

He put a wide-mouth jar(罐) on the table. Then he    27  some rocks and carefully placed them into the jar, one at a time. When   28  rocks would fit inside, he   29  , “Is this jar full?”

Everyone in class shouted, “Yes.” “Really?” The teacher pulled out a bag of small stones. He put   30  small stones in and shook the jar. The small stones went   31  into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group   32  , “Is this jar full?”

“Probably not,” one of them answered. “Good!” the teacher replied. He brought out a box of sand and   33  some sand on the jar and it went between the rocks and small stones. Again he asked the   34  question, “Is this jar full?

“No,” the class shouted. Once more the teacher said, “Good.” He poured a cup of water into the jar   35  it was full. The he asked, “What is the point here?” One student   36  his hand and said, “The point is that if you try really hard, you can   37  put more things in.”

“No,” the teacher replied, “that’s not the   38  . What I want to tell you is that if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you will never get others in at all.   39  are the ‘big rocks’ in your life? Time with your friends, your education or your dreams? Remember to put the   40  in first, or you’ll never get others in at all?”

1.                A．remember      B．like            C．forget    D．think

 

2.                A．handed out      B．took out        C．carried away   D．put away

 

3.                A．no more        B．not more        C．no many  D．not many

 

4.                A．answered       B．read           C．asked    D．said

 

5.                A．no            B．few            C．any  D．some

 

6.                A．up            B．out            C．down D．away

 

7.                A．no more        B．once again      C．a third time    D．a fourth time

 

8.                A．sent           B．put            C．bought   D．collected

 

9.                A．same          B．different        C．difficult   D．common

 

10.               A．since          B．till             C．while D．because

 

11.               A．offered        B．placed         C．raised D．shook

 

12.               A．always         B．already         C．never D．hardly

 

13.               A．point          B．example        C．promise   D．story

 

14.               A．When          B．What          C．Who  D．Why

 

15.               A．sand           B．small stones     C．big rocks  D．water

 

 

Pets are no strangers to the White House. Many of America’s presidents have been animal lovers. In recent times, White House pets have been tame dogs and cats. Long ago, however, presidential pets, like our nation itself, were wilder!

In 1806, President Thomas Jefferson lived in the White House. Passersby often caught sight of his pet bears. Explorers had discovered these fierce bears, caught a pair of small ones, and sent them to Jefferson. While the President was excited about his bears, his enemies in Congress constantly laughed at his pets, calling the White House “The President’s Bear Garden.”

By 1825, the bears were long gone from the White House scene. Now the building was home to President John Quincy Adams and his crocodile. The green beast actually belonged to General Lafayette, a French hero who had helped the United States win the Revolutionary War. When Lafayette asked Adams babysat the huge crocodile. First lady Louisa Adams was busy raising thousands of silkworms. She used the silk from the silkworms to make cloth for her dresses.

When President Martin Van Buren moved into the White House in 1837, he brought his tigers with him. At least, Van Buren said the tigers were his. The Sultan of Oman had sent the tigers when Van Buren was elected, so Congress argued the tigers belonged to the American people. A fight over the tigers continued for months. In the end, Congress sent someone to seize the tigers and put them in a zoo.

Twenty years later, President James Buchanan received another valuable gift when he was in his first year in the White House. This time, the King of Siam sent several elephants! Buchanan had no desire to share his building with the big creatures, so he sent them to the zoo. Buchanan did, however, keep another gift－a pair of birds. They were a fitting symbol of presidential power.

1．According to the passage, we can infer that ____.

       A．the pets the Presidents raised were all huge ones

       B．the Presidents owned were all for their favorite ones

       C．the Presidents kept the pets not only at home but in the zoo

       D．the Presidents’ pets were not only cared about by their families

2．How did the presidents mentioned get their unusual pets?

       A．They got them in the forest.                  B．They bought them at the market.

       C．The pets were given to them by others.  D．Their family members offered them the pets.

3．What similar political effect did Jefferson’s bears and Van Buren’s tigers have?

       A．The pets made them happy and gay.     

       B．It took them too much time to look after them.

       C．It made people believe that they were animal lovers.

       D．It brought about dissatisfaction with them in Congress.

4．President James Buchanan got elephants, while President Bill Clinton, who came to power about ____ years later, kept dogs as pets.

       A．nearly two handed                               B．over one hundred and forty

       C．about one hundred                             D．around forty-five

Across the street from our home was a school and I would often watch the kids as they played basketball during the break. I often noticed a small    1    playing with boys. I watched in

   2    as she ran circles around the other kids. She    3    to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net. The boys always tried to stop her but no one could. At other times I saw her playing alone, sometimes until    4    .

       One day I asked her why she   5    so much. She looked    6    in my eyes and without a moment of hesitation（犹豫）she said “The only way I can go to   7     is to get a scholarship（奖学金）. I believe that I would get it if I were good enough at   8    . My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don’t   9   .” Then with a determined smile she ran towards the court. I watched her   10    those junior high years and into high school. Every week, she led her team to victory.

       One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head   11    in her arms. The coach（教练）told her that at 5 feet 5 inches she would   12    never get to play for a top ranked team—much less offered a scholarship—so she should   13    dreaming about college. I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet. She   14    her head from her hands and told me that her father said those coaches just did not understand the  15    of a dream. He told her that if she truly wanted a scholarship,   16    could stop her except one thing—her own attitude.

       The next year,   17    she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was seen by a college coach. She was indeed   18    a scholarship, a full one. She was going to get the college education that she had    19    and worked toward for all those years. It’s   20   : If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count

1．A．boy                      B．girl                      C．student                D．teacher

2．A．wonder                 B．shock                  C．doubt                  D．delight

3．A．attempted              B．tried                    C．failed                  D．managed

4．A．morning                B．noon                   C．dark                    D．dawn

5．A．practised               B．suffered              C．performed           D．drilled

6．A．slowly                  B．quickly                C．directly               D．quietly

7．A．work                    B．court                   C．school                 D．college

8．A．football                 B．basketball            C．my lessons          D．the exams

9．A．count                    B．delay                   C．damage               D．fail

10．A．past                    B．over                    C．through               D．beyond

11．A．buried                 B．placed                 C．hidden                 D．dropped

12．A．firmly                 B．probably              C．nearly                 D．sadly

13．A．begin                  B．stop                    C．continue              D．start

14．A．lowered               B．turned                 C．lifted                   D．moved

15．A．effect                  B．advantage            C．aim                     D．power

16．A．something           B．anything              C．nobody               D．nothing

17．A．after                   B．before                 C．as                       D．once

18．A．offered                B．handed                C．brought               D．sent

19．A．thought of           B．asked for             C．dreamed of          D．referred to

20．A．possible          B．true               C．proper            D．perfect