1 

“What’s the matter, mum?” When I came home yesterday, I found my mother was unhappy. It was unusual—she usually opened the door and welcomed me with a smile. “She’s dying (死),” mum said sadly. I knew what she said. The tulip (郁金香), mother’s favorite, was dying.

A month ago, we moved into our new house and mum bought a very beautiful tulip. Mum liked it very much. Every time she was free, she would sit near the tulip and enjoyed its beautiful color and nice smell. She treated (对待) it like a baby and looked after it carefully. She put the tulip by window and moved it from one place to another to give the tulip enough sunshine. Every morning the first thing she did was to water the tulip. Mum also fertilized (施肥) it many times. She hoped the tulip would become more and more beautiful and stronger. But the tulip was dying because of too much sunshine, water and fertilizer.

It’s true that mother loved the tulip. But this kind of love can be harmful (伤害的). Love can sometimes kill (杀害) what you love.

1.Yesterday the writer found that __________.

A. his mother was sad

B. his home was as usual as before

C. his mother bought a tulip.

2.The sentence “She’s dying ” means __________ was dying soon.

A. the mother        B. the tulip          C. a baby

3.Which of the following is NOT true about the mother?

A. Every afternoon she watered the tulip.

B. She looked after the tulip carefully.

C. She moved the tulip everywhere to give it enough sunshine.

4.Why was the tulip dying in the end? Because __________.

A. she forgot to water it

B. she never fertilized it

C. she gave it too much sunshine, water and fertilizer

5.What does the writer want to tell us?

A. Love is important to everyone.

B. Everyone should love his mother.

C. Not all of love is good for us.

1 

Australia has an unusual kangaroo—although he is a pet, he lives like a man. He is dressed in clothes, likes watching TV and drinking, also eats bread, plays football and does some exercise.

His name is Bi Muer. Months ago, a 50-year-old woman, Julia Bradley adopted (收养) him. He now lives a happy life. Every morning, he can enjoy delicious bread and later watch TV with his "mom". In the afternoon, he can go to the garden and play football and in the evening, he can drink while watching TV.

In the beginning, Muer was only 20cm tall, but now, he can easily jump over a one-meter fence.

1.The kangaroo likes______________.

A. watching TV and drinking B. seeing a movie   C. playing basketball

2.Who adopted the kangaroo?

A. Bi Muer. B. Julia Bradly.    C. Bill Smith.

3.What can the kangaroo do every morning?

A. Drink.   B. Go to the garden.

C. Enjoy delicious bread and watch TV.

4.How tall was the kangaroo in the beginning?

A. 10cm.    B. 20cm.    C. 30cm.

5.The passage is mainly about   .

A. An unusual kangaroo  B. An Australia woman

C. A kangaroo' s hobbies

As a single parent of four children, money was always tight .It was Christmas time, and although  there wasn’t money for a lot of gifts, we planned to celebrate with a family party . But the big excitement for the kids was the fun of Christmas (36).
They planned weeks ahead of time , asking (37) what they wanted for Christmas. luckily, I have saved $120 for (38) to share by all five of us .
The big (39) arrived. I gave each kid a twenty-dollar bill and (40) them to look for gifts of about four dollars each. Then everyone scattered(散开). We had two hours to shop. Then we would (41) back at the “Santa’s Workshop.”
Driving home, everyone was in high Christmas spirits (42) my younger daughter, Tina, who was unusual (43). She had only one small, flat bag with a few candies—fifty-cent candies! I was so angry, but I didn’t say anything (44) we got home. I called her into my bedroom and closed the door，(45) to be angry again. This is what he told me:
“ I was looking (46) thinking of what to buy , and I (47) to read the title cards on the ‘Giving Trees.’ One was for a little girl, four years old. And all she (48) for Christmas was a doll .So I took the card off the tree and (49) the doll for her. We have so much and she doesn’t have anything.”
I never felt so (50) as I did that day.

Everyone would like to be remembered. A few people even try to do something that no one else in history has ever tried to do. These people sometimes have their names recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.

    Often it takes a group of people to do something unusual. One such team paddled(用浆划)a bathtub（浴缸）145 kilometers for 24 hours. This group had 13 members. They paddled their bathtub on a river near Ashford, Great Britain on May 28 and 29, 1983. A month later, a racing team of hospital bed pushers in Avon ,Great Britain, pushed a hospital bed 16 kilometers in just 50 minutes! However, the distance record for hospital bed pushing is still held by the men of Brunt field Bedding Center. This team from Edinburgh pushed a hospital bed 5,203 kilometers in 1979. It took the team 35 days to cover the distance.

    Another group of record makers held the highest dinner party in the world. Nine people from Sydney, Australia, climbed Mountain Huascaran on June 28 1989.The climbers carried a dinner table, chairs, and a meal up the mountain .When they reached the top, they all put on warm suits for dinner.

    People all over the world are trying hard to do something unusual to make a record. It should be understood; however, that now not all the records will be kept in the Guinness Book of Records.

1.According to the passage, what record was made near Ashford in May, 1983?

A. A record for paddling a bathtub.

B. A record for climbing a mountain.

C. A record for pushing a hospital bed.

D. A record for swimming across a river.

2.What was unusual about the highest dinner party held by the nine people in the passage?

A. The people who held the dinner party all came from Sydney.

B. Only nine people held the highest dinner party.

C. They had a meal on the mountain.

D. They carried a dinner table and chairs up the mountain to hold the dinner party.

3.Which of the following show the right order(顺序)of what happened in the passage?

    a. A group of 13 members paddled a bathtub on a river near Ashford.

    b. A team from Edinburgh made a distance record for hospital bed pushing.

    c. A group of nine people from Sydney had a dinner party on the top of Mountain Huascaran.

    d. A racing team pushed a hospital bed 16 kilometers in just 50 minutes in Avon.

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

4.Which of the following is mentioned(提及)in the passage?

     A. Hospital bed pushing was a popular sport in Edinburgh.

     B. People living in Ashford usually used a bathtub to carry things.

     C. Two different records for hospital bed pushing were given.

     D. Hospital bed pushing was held twice a year in Avon, Great Britain.