On a hill 600 feet above the surrounding land, we watch the lines of rain move across the scene, the moon rise over the hills, and the stars appear in the sky. The views invite a long look from a comfortable chair in front of the wooden house.

Every window in our wooden house has a view, and the forest and the lakes seldom look the same as the hour before. Each look reminds us where we are.

There is space for our three boys to play outside, to shoot arrows,collect tree seeds , build earth houses and climb trees.

Our kids have learnt the names of the trees, and with the names have come familiarity and appreciation. As they tell all who show even a passing interest, maple(枫树) makes the best fighting sticks and white pines are the best climbing trees.

The air is clean and fresh. The water from the well has a pleasant taste, and it is perhaps the healthiest water our kids will ever drink. Though they have one glass a day of juice and the rest is water, they never say anything against that.

The seasons change just outside the door. We watch the maples turn every shade of yellow and red in the fall and note the poplars’(杨树) putting out the first green leaves of spring. The rainbow smelt fills the local stream as the ice gradually disappears, and the wood frogs start to sing in pools after being frozen for the winter. A family of birds rules our skies and flies over the lake.

41. What can be learnt from paragraph 2?

A. There are many windows in the wooden house

B. The scenes are colourful and changeable.

C. The views remind us that we are in a wooden house.

D.The lakes outside the windows are quite different in colour.

42.By mentioning the names of the trees, the author aims to show that______

A. the kids like playing in the trees.         B. the kids are very familiar with trees.

C. the kids find trees useful learning tools.   D. the kids have learnt much knowledge.

43.What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?

A .The weather often changes in the forest.

B. The seasons make the scenes change.

C. The change of seasons is easily felt.

D.The door is the good position to enjoy changing seasons.

44.What is the main purpose of the author writing the text?

A. To share the joy of living in the nature.

B. To introduce her children’s happy life in the forest.

C. To show that living in the forest is healthful.

D. To describe the beauty of the scene around the house.

 On a hill 600 feet above the surrounding land, we watch the lines of rain move across the scene, the moon rise over the hills, and the stars appear in the sky. The views invite a long look from a comfortable chair in front of the wooden house.

Every window in our wooden house has a view, and the forest and the lakes seldom look the same as the hour before. Each look reminds us where we are.

There is space for our three boys to play outside, to shoot arrows,collect tree seeds , build earth houses and climb trees.

Our kids have learnt the names of the trees, and with the names have come familiarity and appreciation. As they tell all who show even a passing interest, maple(枫树) makes the best fighting sticks and white pines are the best climbing trees.

The air is clean and fresh. The water from the well has a pleasant taste, and it is perhaps the healthiest water our kids will ever drink. Though they have one glass a day of juice and the rest is water, they never say anything against that.

The seasons change just outside the door. We watch the maples turn every shade of yellow and red in the fall and note the poplars’(杨树) putting out the first green leaves of spring. The rainbow smelt fills the local stream as the ice gradually disappears, and the wood frogs start to sing in pools after being frozen for the winter. A family of birds rules our skies and flies over the lake.

41. What can be learnt from paragraph 2?

A. There are many windows in the wooden house

B. The scenes are colourful and changeable.

C. The views remind us that we are in a wooden house.

D.The lakes outside the windows are quite different in colour.

42.By mentioning the names of the trees, the author aims to show that______

A. the kids like playing in the trees.         B. the kids are very familiar with trees.

C. the kids find trees useful learning tools.   D. the kids have learnt much knowledge.

43.What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?

A .The weather often changes in the forest.

B. The seasons make the scenes change.

C. The change of seasons is easily felt.

D.The door is the good position to enjoy changing seasons.

44.What is the main purpose of the author writing the text?

A. To share the joy of living in the nature.

B. To introduce her children’s happy life in the forest.

C. To show that living in the forest is healthful.

D. To describe the beauty of the scene around the house.

It was a sunny day. A city man was driving along a country road with a new wagon(马车)and a beautiful pair of horses. He didn’t pay a lot of  1 to where he was going. Pretty soon he  2  that he was lost, but he  3 to drive, expecting to find his way or to  4 someone who could tell him how to get back to the  5 .

It was a long  6 road. For many hours he kept on driving. When it was almost   7 , he saw in a  8  a tall farmer ploughing the land. He stopped his  9 team of horses near the fence and called out, “Hello, farmer.”

“Hello, yourself,”  the farmer replied,  10 ploughing.

“Where does the horse   11 ? He asked without knowing his languages mistakes.

“I haven’t seen it go anywhere. It   12 stays right where it is,” said the farmer,   13     stopping his work.

“How far is it to the next town?” said the city man, speaking a little  14 .

“Don’t know. I never  15 it,” replied the farmer. By this time the city man was getting 16 . “What do you know? You’re the biggest fool I  17 saw.”

18  stopping, the farmer turned and looked for a long time  19 at the city man. Then he said, “Maybe I don’t know much.   20  I am a fool. But at least I’m not lost!”

1.                A．signs           B．orders          C．attention  D．direction

2.                A．realized        B．recognized      C．accepted D．received

3.                A．stopped        B．used           C．wanted   D．continued

4.                A．miss           B．meet           C．look D．lose

5.                A．town           B．country         C．capital    D．village

6.                A．lonely          B．busy           C．dirty D．crowded

7.                A．at noon         B．at night         C．raining   D．dark

8.                A．truck          B．pile            C．field D．store

9.                A．strong          B．tired           C．weak D．tiring

10.               A．but            B．went on        C．stopped   D．still

11.               A．go            B．lead up         C．get   D．show

12.               A．always         B．often          C．sometimes D．seldom

13.               A．began          B．still            C．without   D．already

14.               A．clearly         B．lower          C．more loudly    D．more politely

15.               A．judged         B．measured       C．saw  D．studied

16.               A．sad            B．lovely          C．friendly   D．angry

17.               A．ever           B．often          C．even D．never

18.               A．Still            B．Not            C．With  D．Finally

19.               A．gladly          B．immediately     C．in silence  D．excitedly

20.               A．Really          B．Perhaps        C．Certainly  D．Fortunately

One morning Raman, a true master of the art of archery(箭术), invited his favorite student to watch a display of his skill. The student had  36 this more than a hundred times before, but he still obeyed his  37 .
Together, they went into a nearby wood and reached a tall  38 . Raman picked a rose flower and   39 it on one of the branches of the tree. He  40 opened his bag and took out three objects: his   41 , an arrow and a white handkerchief.
Raman stood one hundred paces from the spot where he had placed the  42 . Facing his target, he  43 his student to blindfold(蒙住眼睛) him with the handkerchief. The student did as his teacher   44 .
“How often have you seen me practice the sport of archery?” Raman asked him  45 .
“Every day,” replied his student. “And you have  46 managed to hit the rose from three hundred paces away.”
With his eyes covered by the  47 , Raman placed his feet firmly on the ground and  48 the bowstring(弓弦) with all his strength. Aiming at the rose on the  49 , he let the arrow fly. The arrow whistled through the air,   50 it did not even hit the tree, missing the target by a few meters.
“Did I  51 it?” said Raman, removing the handkerchief from his eyes.
“No, you missed   52 ,” replied the student. “I thought you were going to  53 me the power of thought and your ability to perform magic.”
“I have  54 taught you the most important lesson about the power of thought.” replied Raman. “When you  55 something, concentrate only on that: No one will ever hit a target they cannot see.”

Starry Night
Have you ever seen a real night sky that looks like Van Gogh’s Starry Night? I hope not! So, why would an artist paint the sky this way? Perhaps I can answer that with another question. When you’re happy, why do you sing instead of speaking? Or when you’re in love, why do you speak of roses and honey? When we do these things, we, too are artists. We’re using something that goes beyond a mere scientific description in order to communicate our feelings more powerfully than straightforward words can. So consider for a moment that Van Gogh might not have been hallucinating (产生幻觉的) on the night he painted this. Maybe he felt something so powerful that he had to go beyond the familiar to express it.
I hope I’m reminding you of something you already know as I describe the experience of being outside at night under a crystal clear sky that makes everything seem clean and refreshing. So you look up. And suddenly you see the sky that you’ve seldom seen before. It’s not just the same old dark night sky tonight. Instead, the blackness is a deep, rich blue that is more bottomless than any ocean. The stars are not spots of light but brilliant, magical diamonds that dance like tiny angels. In just this special moment, the sky is somehow alive, and it seems to speak to you silently about the meaning of infinity (无限).
Now look at the painting again. Can you see something of what makes this such a famous and well-loved image? But there’s more here than that. Van Gogh painted this while he was quite struck down by a mental disease. It is natural to imagine that he frequently battled the fear that he would never escape his prison to true freedom. It is natural for us to imagine this because each of us has faced our own personal prison, whether it be disease, the loss of a loved one, serious financial problems … In such moments it is tempting to give up to despair (绝望) and collapse in hopelessness.
Looking at this painting, I imagine Van Gogh in just such a moment of despair, when he is struck by the memory of one of those amazing night skies. He recalls the sense that he is not alone, that there is a living, infinite world with rich colorful creatures and scenes all around.
And so the sky flows across the canvas (画布) full of vitality (活力) and power. The stars don’t just sparkle; they explode. Looking closer, we notice that the earth itself seems to respond to the movement in the sky, forming its own living waves in the mountain and rolling trees. In the sleepy village, the windows of the houses glow (发光) with the same light that brightens the universe. The giant trees at the left seem to capture the joy by stretching upwards toward the sky.
What a tremendous message of hope there is in this masterpiece! Even if our troubles persist, the world around us assures us that life is worth living. That’s what the angels sing about. Doesn’t it make you want to sing, too?
【小题1】Looking at the painting Starry Night, we can see all the following except________.