A man was selling medicine at a fair（集市）．At first he sold bottles of a cure（药剂）for colds（感冒）for just a dollar a bottle．

Many people wanted to buy it and the man's young assistant moved quickly through the crowd collecting money and handing out bottles of the cure．

Then，when he had a big crowd， the man held up a very small bottle．

“And now，ladies and gentlemen,” he shouted，“Here is the medicine you have been waiting for．The cure for old age．Drink just one bottle of this and you will live forever.”?

“And，ladies and gentlemen,” the man continued，“I'm not going to charge you a hundred dollars a bottle for this wonderful medicine．I'm not going to charge you fifty dollars a bottle．I'm not going to charge you twenty-five dollars a bottle. Now，ladies and gentlemen，I'm going to charge you just ten dollars a bottle. Think，my friends，for ten dollars you can live forever.”?

Most of the people in the crowd did not believe this．

One person shouted，“If it can make you live forever，why don't you drink it?”

Then another person cried，“Yes，you look as if you're at least sixty years old．?

“Thank you，sir，thank you,” the man answered，“I'm so glad you said that． My real age is three hundred and twenty-nine.”?

The crowd laughed at this but there were still some people who wanted to believe the man. One of them spoke to the man's assistant as she passed by, “Is that true？”?he asked．“Is he three hundred and twenty-nine？”?

“Don't ask me,” the assistant said，“I've only worked for him for a hundred and fifty years.”?

1.What did the man sell at first at the fair？

   A．a cure for colds  

   B．bottles   

C．a cure for old age

D．a medicine that made people live forever 

2.How much did the man charge for the cure for old age？

   A．one dollar a bottle      

   B．twenty-five dollars a bottle

   C．ten dollars a bottle       

D．fifty dollars a bottle

3.What does the word “assistant” mean in this passage？

   A．仆人    B．朋友   C．同伴    D．助手

4.What does this passage really mean？

   A．The cure for old age is very useful and not so expensive．

   B．The man is not honest，and neither is his assistant．

   C．The cheaper the medicine is，the more people will buy．

   D．The two men are very honest，and they would like to help people live forever．

 

Eco City Farms are becoming more popular in cities and towns around the Unites States.

Eco City Farms in Edmonton, Maryland, is located near shopping centers, car repair shops and homes. The neighborhood is a working-class community. People do not have very much money. And they have limited access to fresh food in markets.

Over the past two years, the farm has attracted volunteers form the community like Marcy Clark. She schools her four children at home. On a recent day she brought them to Eco City Farms for a lesson, her son Alston Clark thinks his experience is very valuable. “I like coming out here,” he says, “You know, you connect with the earth, where your food comes from. You appreciate the food a little bit more.”

Margaret Morgan started Eco City Farms. She thinks of it as a place where people can learn to live healthier lives. “Growing food in a community brings people together, ”she continues, “Every piece of what we do here is a demonstration (范例) to show people everything about how to have an eco-friendly community.” she says. From the Eco City Farms people come to know that they are not only growing food and raising chickens and bees, but improving the soil with compost (肥料) made from food waste.

Eco City Farms is an experimental operation. The farm gets its power not from the local electricity networks, but from the sun with solar panels (板). In winter, the green house use a geothermal (地热) system.

Vegetables can be grown all year. So once a week, all winter long, neighbors like Chris Moss and her three children bike to the farm to pick up a share of the harvest.

“I like eating the vegetables” say five-year-old Owen Moss.

1.What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A．Eco City Farms save a lot of energy.

B．Eco City Farms are influencing community life.

C．Eco City Farms helps the working-class live better.

D．Eco City Farms are gaining popularity.

2.What is the author’s attitude toward Eco City Farms?

A．Enthusiastic.                           B．Disappointed.

C．Surprised.                             D．Doubtful.

3.According to the passage, Eco City Farms are close to the following places EXCEPT______.

A．shopping centers

B．car repair shops

C．fast-food restaurants

D．working-class community

4.In which of a newspaper can you most probably read this article?

A．People.                               B．Travel.

C．Environment.                          D．Education.

 

How to Become a Better Student

Maybe you are an average student.You probably think you will never be a top student.This is not necessarily so，however.Anyone can become a better student if he or she wants to.Here is how.

Plan your time carefully.

When planning your week，you should make a list of things that you have to do.After making the list，you should make a schedule of your time.First arrange your time for eating，sleeping，dressing，etc..Then decide a good，regular time for studying.Don’t forget to set aside enough time for entertainment.A weekly schedule may not solve all the problems，but it will force you to realize what is happening to your time.

Find a good place to study.

Look around the house for a good study area.Keep this place，which may be a desk or simply a corner of your room，free of everything but study materials.No games，radios or TV！When you sit down to study，concentrate on the subject.

Make good use of your time in class.

Take advantage of class time to listen to everything the teacher says.Really listening in class means less work later.Taking class notes will help you remember what the teacher says.

Study regularly.

When you get home from schools，go over your notes.Review the important points that your teacher has mentioned in class.If you know what your teacher is going to discuss the next day，read the material.This will help you understand the next class.If you do these things regularly，the material will become more meaningful，and you will remember it longer.

Develop a good attitude about the tests.

The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject.They help you to remember your new knowledge.The world won’t end if you don’t pass a test，so don’t be overly worried.

There are other methods that might help you with your studying.You will probably discover many others after you have tried these.

1．According to the text，a schedule may NOT include________.

A．a list of things you have to do

B．what you have to do every day

C．enough time for entertainment

D．something will happen unexpectedly

2．A good place for study should be a place where________.

A．everything needed is available

B．a writing desk is in the corner of a room only

C．nothing is there except your study materials

D．it is comfortable to stay

3．The last sentence in Tip 5 suggests “________”．

A．Tests are the most necessary art in your study

B．Take a test as a friend in need in your study

C．The world will come to an end unless you pass all tests

D．Never let tests trouble you in your study

4．Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Reading materials in your textbook before class will help.

B．In the writer’s opinion，there are five methods for your study.

C．It is necessary to go over your notes at home.

D．There are many other methods besides those mentioned.

Thanksgiving is an important festival in North America. We interviewed several students from the US and Canada. Here is what they have told us about their Thanksgiving experiences.

Josie from New York, USA

“In America, Thanksgiving is celebrated every year at the end of November. It is to remember the first group of people from Europe to live in America. When they first arrived, they found the environment strange. But they learned to survive after some native American friends showed them how to grow and find food. Thanksgiving is meant to be a traditional celebration.”

Todd from California, USA

“Thanksgiving is the first day of Christmas shopping. That means we have four weeks to buy Christmas presents for our families and friends. For me and my friends, the most important part of the festival is the big football game on TV. The match is watched by millions of people all over America. Thanksgiving is seen as an exciting day for football!”

Ian from Saskatoon, Canada

In Canada, Thanksgiving is held on the 2nd Monday in October. On the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day, many people go to church. Thanks is given for all the good things that happened to them during the year. I always give thanks for the nice big turkey I’m going to have at the family dinner! Like all festivals, Thanksgiving is about food!

Katie from Maritimes, Canada

On Thanksgiving Day, we have dinner with all our cousins, aunts and uncles. It is always very busy. Sometimes we have two Thanksgiving dinners because we go to both our grandparents’ houses. The dinner is usually attended by more than twenty people at each house! My mother and my aunts do all the cooking but the washing-up is done by me and my cousins. And that’s not an easy job! But I don’t mind because Thanksgiving is meant to be a time to give thanks.

1.People in the USA and Canada ____________.

A．all have the same opinion of Thanksgiving

B．have different opinions of Thanksgiving

C．feel that Thanksgiving is about food

D．have no interest in Thanksgiving

2.Which of the people interviewed feels that Thanksgiving is all about football?

A．Ian

B．Josie

C．Todd

D．Katie

3.Where does the person who thinks that Thanksgiving is a traditional celebration come from?

A．New York

B．California

C．Saskatoon

D．Maritimes

4.For what reasons do people give thanks at Thanksgiving?

A．All the good things that have happened

B．Presents, a big turkey

C．Grandparents, food

D．Football, traditions

 

Three—quarters of a million tourists flock to the white beaches every year，but this booming industry has come at a price．Poisonous smoke rising from open fires，rubbish made up of plastic bottles，packets…it’S a far cry from the white sands，clear waters and palm trees that we associate with the Maldives(马尔代夫)，the paradise island holiday destination set in the Indian Ocean．

of its 200 inhabited islands，which are spread across an area of"35，000 square miles，99 are good resorts(旅游胜地)．So many tourists come every year，more than double the local population．Of these，over l 00，000 travel from the U K．The capital，Mal6，is four times more densely populated than London．Given these facts，it’S hardly surprising that the Maldives has a waste disposal problem．

Y ears a90，when the tourists left，the government had to deal with a stream of rubbish．Their solution was to turn one of the islands into a dumping ground．Four miles west of Mal6 is the country’s dumping ground，Thilafushi．What you are seeing here is a view of the Maldives on which no honeymooners will ever clap eyes．Each visitor produces 3．5 kg of waste per day．The country dumps more than 330 tons of rubbish on the island every day．

Now，since many waste boats，fed up with waiting seven hours or more，directly offload their goods into the sea，the government of the Maldives has banned the dumping of waste on the island．S0，the waste boats ship the rubbish to India instead．

1.What is the main cause of the waste disposal problem?

A．The big local population．                B．Too many waste boats．

C．The large number of tourists．             D．Open fires on the islands．

2.The underlined part can probably be replaced by“——”．

A．it’s quite similar to                     B．it’S a long distance from

C．it’s a loud shout from                   D．it’S totally different from

3.What can we learn from the text?

A．It iS much more crowded in Mal6 than in London．

B．Another island will be used as a dumping ground．

C．No honeymooners are willing to visit the Maldives．

D．Waste on islands will be offloaded directly into the sea．

4.What’S the author’S purpose in writing the text?

A．To attract more tourists to the Maldives．

B．To state the waste disposal problem in the Maldives．

C．To call on us to protect the environment．

D．To explain the causes of pollution in the Maldives．