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My name is Toby. I’m eighty-three years old now. I once knew the greatest man in England. William Shakespeare was his name. I first met William near a big field of apple trees in the town named Stratford in October, 1579. He told me he was 15 years old. He was two years older than me. He had a sister, Joan, and two younger brothers, Gilbert and Richard. And the next year he had another brother, Edmund. After William’s parents died, he and his sister lived with his mother’s brother. I became his friend from that day until he died. We met nearly every day. We were friends for thirty years.
I once worked with him in the theatre, through the good times and the bad times. William was good at acting. He could make all kinds of people pleased. By 1592, he became very famous. He was always busy day and night. I don’t know when he slept. He not only acted in plays, but also wrote his own plays. In his whole life, William wrote 37 plays in all. He was the best playwright in England.
He wrote a play about love in 1595. It was Romeo and Juliet. He once used my name, Toby, in his play—Twelfth Night. In this play, Sir Toby Belch was a big fat man, who liked drinking too much and having a good time. Queen Elizabeth the First watched this play on the 6th of January, 1601. She liked it.
William Shakespeare is dead now, of course. He has been dead for more than thirty years. There’s no singing, no dancing, no plays. It isn’t like that in my young days. But I can still think—and remember when William and I were young, we had a good time in London, William and I…
1.Toby and William first met in ______.
A. 1601 B. 1595 C.1592 D. 1579
2.Who was William’s youngest brother?
A. Gilbert B. Edmund C. Richard D. Joan
3.In the second paragraph, the underlined word “playwright” means “a person who ______”.
A. writes plays B. performs in plays
C. watches plays D. works in a theatre
4.Romeo and Juliet is a play about _______.
A. war B. peace C. love D. friendship
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Wild animals are our friends, but many of them are getting fewer and fewer. We should try to protect them. The four animals below are now in danger.
Tibetan Antelopes
Tibetan antelopes (藏羚羊) are medium-sized animals. They mainly feed on grass. They are usually found in groups of about 20. They are killed for their wool, which is warm, soft and fine and can be made into expensive clothes. Although people can get the wool without killing the animals, people simply kill them before taking the wool. The number of them is dropping year by year. There are less than 75,000 Tibetan antelopes left in the world, down from a million 50 years ago.
Golden Monkeys
Golden monkeys are mainly found in Sichuan, Gansu, Shanxi provinces and Shengnongjia mountainous area of Hubei Province. Golden monkeys have golden-orange fur. They move around in the daytime, usually in groups of as many as 100 to 200 heads, or 20 to 30 heads. They feed on fruits and young leaves of bamboos. But people are destroying the environment where they live. Trees and bamboos are disappearing, so golden monkeys have less and less to eat.
Elephants
Elephants are very big and strong. They are bigger than any other animals on land. They are grey and have long trunks and tusks. They have poor eyesight, but very good hearing and smell. They can lift heavy things and break down branches with their trunks. Elephants are very friendly towards each other and towards their neighbours. Normally, they live in a group for many years. Young male elephants do not leave the group until they are about 12 years old. Now, there are very few elephants in the world. The number of them is becoming smaller and smaller because their living areas are used for farming. Also, people hunt them for their tusks.
Wolves
Wolves are not very big. They have grey fur. Wolves have very good eyesight, hearing and smell. Wolves’ food is various. They eat animals, insects and snails. They are friendly to each other and never attack people. They do not kill for fun. Wolves are in danger, too. They are losing their living areas because people cut down forests. Soon they will have no home or food.
1.Tibetan antelopes usually live in groups of about _______.
A. 20 B. 30 C. 100 D. 200
2.Which of the following animals are the biggest on land?
A. Tibetan antelopes. B. Golden monkeys.
C. Elephants. D. Wolves
3.Which of the following sentences is right?
A. There are less than 7,500 Tibetan antelopes left in the world now.
B. Golden monkeys usually move around during the night.
C. Elephants have good eyesight, but very poor hearing and smell.
D. Wolves are friendly to each other and they never attack people.
4.What can be the best title of the passage?
A. Wild animals in danger
B. How to hunt wild animals
C. Animals in the zoo
D. How to train the animals
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For sale
| Antique door | Solid wood. Includes a coloured glass window near the top of the door. Excellent condition. $300. Phone 9411-2987 |
| Baby bed | Lovely bed, painted white. $310. Also travel bed and car seat. $500 for all, or will separate. Phone 4097-5701 |
| Exercise bike | Near new. Bought for $1200, selling for $600. Call 0289-457-076 |
| Furniture | Dining table and chairs, two double beds, leather sofa and loveseat, chest of drawers, wardrobe, shelf. Come on and make an offer. Must sell this week. 13/453 Crown Rd Fairburn |
| Golf clubs | Set of eleven. Ladies left hand. Also golf bag, balls. $675. Phone 9765-9975 |
| Computer | Pentium 166, CD-ROM, 32 RAM, 56K modern, sound, speaker, large monitor, mouse, keyboard. $220. Phone 9982-6720 |
| Piano | Kowai Grand GS30, black, excellent action and sound, perfect condition, music books and stool. $1800. Phone 9938-1044 |
| TV | Bony 53cm with surround, remote control, with instruction book. Excellent condition. $300. Phone 2039-6946 |
1.Which is the cheapest thing for sale?
A. A baby bed. B. A TV. C. A piano. D. A computer.
2.If you want to buy an exercise bike, you can call _______.
A. 0289-457-076 B. 2039-6946 C. 9982-6720 D. 9765-9975
3.If you have only $600, you can buy _______.
A. an antique door and a baby bed
B. a computer and a piano
C. a TV and an antique door
D. a piano and furniture
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This dog was born on Christmas Eve in 2002. He was different from other dogs because he was born with only two legs. The poor dog of course could not walk and even his mother Sarah did not want him. His first owner Michael Johnson also did not think that he could survive and he was thinking of killing him. But then, his present owner, Jude Stringfellow, met him and wanted to take care of him. She decided to teach and train this little dog to walk by himself. She called him “Faith”.
In the beginning, she put Faith on a surfboard (滑板) to let him feel the movement… Later she used peanut butter on a spoon as a lure (诱惑) and reward for him for standing up and jumping around. Even the other dog at home encouraged him to walk. Amazingly, after only six months, Faith learned to balance on his legs and jump to move forward. After further training in this snow, he could now walk like a person.
Faith loves to walk around now. Wherever he goes, he attracts people’s attention. He is fast becoming famous on the international scene and has appeared on various newspapers and TV shows. A book named With a Little Faith is now being published about him. He was even considered to appear in one of Harry Potter movies.
Jude Stringfellow, his present owner, has stopped working and plans to take him around the world to tell people “that even without a perfect body, one can have a strong will (意志)”.
Faith is a good example of the strong will and wonder of life. In life there are always unpleasant things. So, in order to feel better, you just need to look at life from another direction. I hope this message will bring fresh new ways of thinking to everyone and that everyone will appreciate and be thankful for each beautiful day.
1.Faith is different from other dogs because _______.
A. he doesn’t have a tail
B. he has only two legs
C. he was born on Christmas Day
D. his mother loves him best
2.Faith’s present owner is ________.
A. Sarah B. Michael Johnson
C. Harry Potter D. Jude Stringfellow
3.Which of the following is the correct order for Faith to learn to walk around like a person?
① jump to move forward
② train in the snow
③ feel the movement on a surfboard
④ balance on his legs
⑤ use peanut butter on a spoon as a reward
A. ③①④②⑤ B. ③⑤④①② C. ②⑤③①④ D. ④⑤①③②
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A. Faith’s mother can walk with two legs like a person.
B. If we don’t have a perfect body, we can’t be successful.
C. When we meet with difficulties, we should never give up.
D. When we have difficulties, we should wait for others’ help.
B. 
C. 
D. 
B. 
