u A  LITTLE  PRINCESS Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett ￥18.3 (online) Motherless Sara Crewe was sent home from India to school at Miss Minchin’s. Her father was very rich and she lived a rich and comfortable life. Then her father died and Sara lost everything. She had to learn to do with her changed life. Her strong character made her able to fight successfully against her poverty(贫穷) and the scorn(嘲笑) of her fellows(伙伴). It’s an excellent book with 4 tapes(磁带) for children.
	u PETER  PAN Author: J.M Barrie ￥15 (in bookstores) ￥12 (online) It is a children’s story full of imagination and adventures(冒险), which is about Wendy, John, and Michael Darling’s adventures in Never-Never Land with Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up. The children are happy and lovely. (with 2 tapes)
u UNCLE  TOM’S  CABIN(小屋) Author: Harriet Beecher Stowe ￥20 (in bookstores) The most famous novel in American history, Uncle Tom’s Cabin talked about the struggle between free states and slave(奴隶) states during the American Civil War(美国内战) and is as powerful today as when it first came out 150 years ago.
	u THE  SECRET  GARDEN Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett ￥35 (in bookstores) ￥30 (online) Mary Lennox, a sickly orphan(孤儿), finds herself in her uncle’s dark house. Why are so many rooms locked? Why is one of the gardens locked? And what is that crying she hears at night? Through the power of hope, friendship, and the magic of nature, the brave girl brings the house and a long-lost garden back to life.
	u GONE  WITH  THE  WIND(乱世佳人) Author: Margaret Mitchell ￥25 (in bookstores) ￥18 (online) Gone With the Wind is a best-seller, which tells a story that happened in the American Civil War. Scarlett O’Hara is a woman in the story who is full of energy. She is strong and saves her family but is very selfish at the same time.

根据短文内容，选最佳择答案, 并在答题卡上按要求作答。
【小题1】 All of the following books have children as their main characters except _____.

A．PETER PAN	B．GONE WITH THE WIND
C．A LITTLE PRINCESS	D．THE SECRET GARDEN

【小题2】 We can know from the passage that _________.

A．two of the above books are written by Frances Hodgson Burnett

B．we can buy 5 kinds of the above books in bookstores

C．there are only three books with tapes

D．THE SECRET GARDEN is ￥5 cheaper in bookstores than online

【小题3】 If you buy THE SECRET GARDEN and PETER PAN online, you have to pay _________.

A．￥30

B．￥12

C．￥50

D．￥42

【小题4】Mary brings the house and a long-lost garden back to life with the help of ____.
a. the power of hope  b. friendship    c. her uncle      d. nature’s magic

A．a, b, c

B．a, c, d

C．a, b, d

D．all of the above

【小题5】.How many stories happened in the American Civil War?

A．One

B．Two

C．Three

D．Four

The high school diploma (文凭) is losing its value quickly, as a growing number of students graduate (毕业) from school without the math and reading skills that colleges and companies require, according to a new report.

The high school graduation exams that most states (州) require students to pass before they graduate remain far too easy. Most of the exams generally test eighth-or ninth-grade level work.

Today, even high school graduates who are going to have blue-collar (蓝领) jobs need to study the math, research and writing courses. But in high school, only students who are going to college are now required to take these courses.

“If you want a good job with a good pay, it’s a high-skill job,” said Michael Cohen, a leading member of the America Diploma Project.

The project suggests that all graduates master a wide range (范围) of skills. “A high school diploma should mean something to a company and university,” said Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, who is Achieve’s co-chairman.

In Taft’s state, about 30% students who go directly to college from high school have to take remedial classes of English or math, he said. It’s easy to see that the present high-school graduating standards are not preparing students for college education.

And with high-skilled jobs increasingly headed overseas to places like India and Ireland, states need to act, he said.

To prove why math and reading skills matter, the report includes real-life examples of problems students meet in college and that workers must solve each day on the job. ?

Some states are taking actions to upgrade the high school diploma. In Texas, all high school students, starting with the 2008 graduating class, will have to take the college-prep curriculum (大学预备课程) - unless a parent agrees to an easier course load. Other states are planning similar moves.

The report includes examples of reading and math skills that high-school students should have. Project leaders say they hope parents will use those examples to judge (评定) the coursework at their kids’ high schools.

1.Why is the high school diploma losing its value quickly?

A．Because the number of high school students is growing fast.

B．Because high school students fail to reach the standards.

C．Because the graduation tests are easier than it should be.

D．Because difficult courses are not required in high schools.

2.Remedial classes in Paragraph 6 mean classes____.

A．for good learners to study quickly and better

B．for slower learners weak in the subject

C．for learners to be taught one by one

D．for learners to reach a higher standard

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A．Colleges require higher math and reading skills than companies.

B．It is easier for companies to find high-skilled workers in India.

C．Math and reading skills help little for workers to solve daily problems.

D．Parents ask high schools to offer college-prep curriculum in Texas.

4.What can be the best title for the passage?

A．High School Diploma Means Little

B．Give Students More High-skill Jobs

C．Math and Reading Skills Really Matter

D．Judge Coursework at High Schools

 

Bamboo (竹子) is one of nature's (自然) most surprising plants. Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass.

Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist reported one bamboo plant which grew 1. 5 metres(4 feet) in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe. There are more than 1, 000 kinds of bamboo.

Not all bamboo looks the same. Some bamboo plants are very thin. They may only grow to be a few centimetres wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimetres (1 foot) across. This plant also comes in different colours, from yellow to black to green.

Bamboo has been used to make many things such as hats and kitchen tools( 厨房用具). Because it is strong, bamboo is also used to build buildings.

Many Asian countries have used bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use bamboo for buildings and supporting (支撑) new buildings and bridges while they are being built.

In Africa, poor farmers are taught how to find water using bamboo. These African countries need cheap way to find water because they have no money, and their fields often die from no rain and no water. Bamboo pipes( 管子) help poor farmers bring water to their thirsty fields without spending a lot of money.

1. How is bamboo like grass?

A. It grows quickly.  B. It's wood.     `C. it is easy to cut.    D. It is very thin.

2. Though you can see bamboo everywhere, it doesn't grow       .

A. in China         B. in Europe    C. on mountains  D. in Africa

3. Why is bamboo used by African poor farmers? Because        .

A. it is cheap      B. it has different colours

C. it is strong     D. it has been used by Asians

4. Bamboo pipes can       .

A. make money   B. be trees C. grow quickly   D. carry water

5. In Asia, bamboo has been used for       .

A. a short time

B. many thousands of years

C. many hundreds of years

D. about 100 years