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A little girl lived in a small, very simple, poor house on a hill and as she grew she would play in the small garden. There, she was able to see over the garden fence and across the valley to a wonderful house high on the hill. This house had golden windows, so golden and shining that the little girl would dream of how magic it would be to grow up and live in a house with golden windows instead of an ordinary house like hers. Although she loved her parents and her family, she yearned to live in such a golden house and dreamed all day about how wonderful and exciting it must feel to live there.
When she got to an age when she gained enough skill and sensibility to go outside her garden fence, she asked her mother if she could go for a bike ride outside the gate and down the lane. After pleading with her, her mother finally allowed her to go, insisting that she should keep close to the house and not wander too far. The day was beautiful and the little girl knew exactly where she was heading! Down the lane and across the valley, she rode her bike until she got to the gate of the golden house across on the other hill.
As she dismounted her bike and leaned it against the gate post, she focused on the path that led to the house and then on the house itself. She was so disappointed as she realized all the windows were plain and rather dirty, reflecting nothing other than the sad neglect of the house that was derelict.
So sad she didn't go any further and turned, and heart broken as she remounted her bike. As she glanced up she saw a sight to amaze her. There across the way on her side of the valley was a little house and its windows glistened golden as the sun shone on her little home.
She realized that she had been living in her golden house and all the love and care she found there was what made her home the 'golden house'. Everything she dreamed was right there in front ofher nose!
1.Why did the girl long for the house on the hill?
A． Because there was a small garden. B．Because it’s magic.
C． Because it’s ordinary. D．Because its windows looked golden.
2.Which statement is True according to Paragraph 2 and 3?
A． The girl’s mother finally allowed her to go to the golden house alone.
B． The golden house was on the hill where the girl lived.
C．What disappointed the little girl was that the house was locked.
D．Actually , the windows of the golden house were common and covered with dirt.
3.What amazed the girl was that_____
A． Her home was another golden house
B． There was no golden house indeed
C． She could see the golden house only when she looked up
D． The golden house disappeared when the sun shone on it
4.What can be inferred from the passage?
A． The mother thought that she needn’t keep an eye on her daughter.
B． The girl was determined to go to the golden house at the beginning.
C． The girl had no idea where she was heading after leaving home.
D． The girl didn’t love or care for her parents .
5.The passage is intended to tell us that_____.
A． girls often have amazing imagination
B．not all dreams will come true
C． what we dream of may be just around us
D．nothing is impossible to a willing heart
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Kilimanjaro Climb : a Rite of Passage for Father and Son
Climbing Kilimanjaro is a transformational experience for many people. The things that make the mountain hard are the very things that make it so powerful. In the case of my son Josh and I，the walk up Kilimanjaro proved a powerful symbol ofhis transition into manhood, and a great change in our relationship.
Day three on the mountain, Josh was hit with massive headaches. He told me every step felt like a nail driving into his head. And then, on the night we climbed the crater rim, less than 40 minutes from the summit, Josh fell. I was walking ahead, and did not even see it. He was so exhausted that he could not get up. He recalled our guides, debating whether or not they should take him straight down. Josh snapped out of it. He forced himself to his feet, shook the guides off. He set his face towards the peak and just kept marching. Near the summit he caught up with me and we reached the peak together.
“ I’ve never been in so much pain and so happy at the same time，，，he said, as we sat side by side on the frozen rock and looked down over Africa. “You know, in the past when we’d go on camping and rafting trips, you guided and took care of me through it all. But on Kilimanjaro it was different. From the bottom up, I climbed it. I never feltlike a kid, even when 1 was in pain. You never acted like a parent.”
“That’s not quite true，”I replied. “When you told me that on the summit you fell-and I did not even notice, my first thought was, ‘Oh my God! I’m such an awful parent!’ But then it hit me, ‘He got himself up. He walked to the peak on his own. He didn't need me to help.，”
I realized as I spoke that two people had died that night on Kilimanjaro. A child and a parent. It wasjust two friends who walked down the mountain together.
1.What is NOT mentioned in the first paragraph?
A． Kilimanjaro is powerful.
B． Kilimanjaro is hard to climb.
C． Many people, including Josh, have changed after climbing Kilimanjaro.
D． The writer has a distant relationship with his son after climbing Kilimanjaro.
2.From the second paragraph we know that_____
A． Josh had a slight headache.
B． Josh reached the top of the mountain with the help of the guides.
C． Josh overcame various difficulties on his way to the summit.
D． Climbing Kilimanjaro was too hard for such a child as Josh.
3.What does the underlined phrase in the second paragraph mean?
A． cheered up B．gave up C．burst out D．ran out
4.What can be inferred from the talk between the father and the son?
A． Josh felt quite good about his independence.
B． Josh appreciated his parents ，company and care.
C． The father felt guilty all the time.
D． The father should have taken good care of Josh as usual.
5.Why did the father feel that two people had died?
A． Because two people had lost their lives while climbing Kilimanjaro.
B． Because the father and son had become friends.
C． Because they had witnessed an accidence of a father and son.
D． Because two friends had misled him.
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Abraham Lincoln was born into poverty 200 years ago. At any other time and place, this lowly origin would have dictated his future, but in Lincoln’s case, his self-determination and force of will made it possible for him to secure his seat in his country's history. He has become a role model in the self-made America.
If you want to learn about somebody who didn’t quit, look no further. Abraham Lincoln had two business ventures failed, and the second one made him bankrupt, so he had to spend the next 17 years of his life paying for the debt. He also lost 8 different elections. It seemed that he had never done things right at the first time: the first time he ran for state legislature for Congress, for land officer, for Senate, all of these failed, and the first time he sought the vice-presidential nomination, he got less than 100 votes nationally. But he never found it too shameful to carry on his mission. Then later in 1860, on such a rough road, he made it to the White House. He lived up to his famous saying, “Always bear in mind that your own determination to success is more important than any other.”
He could have quit many times-—-but he didn’t and because he didn’t quit，he became one of the greatest presidents in the history of America. One important way Lincoln influences present society is that we look back on his lifeas a role model for future generations. Lincoln’s high character influences us because we compare present-day politicians to the example Lincoln set. A major influence Lincoln has on the united States today is simply through the good example he set when it came to honesty, persistence and leadership.
1.According to the first paragraph, which of the following statements is true?
A． Lincoln was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
B． Like Lincoln, a poor origin leads to a bright future.
C． America is considered self-made because of Lincoln.
D． Self-determination and will contributed to Lincoln’s success.
2.What is Paragraph Two mainly about?
A． How Lincoln made his way to the White House.
B． Lincoln suffered various failures.
C． Lincoln was a man who never quit.
D． Lincoln once lost two business ventures.
3.Which is the correct order of what happened to Lincoln?
a. He was paying off his debt. b. He failed in the run for land officer,
c. He got less than 100 votes nationally. d. he stuck to his mission, e. He went bankrupt.
A．b-c-c-d-a B．e-a-b-c-d C．e-c-a-b-d D．d-c-a-b-c
4.What’s the function of Lincoln’s famous saying in Paragraph Two?
A． To tell us that determination is the most important to success.
B． To attract readers1 attention.
C． To show why Lincoln was able to carry on in hard times.
D． To summarize Lincoln’s story.
5.Why does the writer consider Lincoln as one of the greatest presidents in America?
A． Because he still influences America as a role model.
B． Because he set a good example to the present politicians.
C． Because of his great personalities.
D． Because he went through diverse difficulties.
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Students who date (约会）in middle school have significantly worse study skills, are four times more likely to drop out of school and report twice as much alcohol and tobacco use than their single classmates, according to new research from the University of Georgia.
"Romantic relationships are a trademark of adolescence，but very few studies have examined how adolescents differ in the development of these relationships," said Pamela Orpinas，study author and professor in the College of Public Health and head of the Department of Health Promotion and Behavior.
Orpinas followed a group of 624 students over a seven-year period from 6th to 12th grade.
Each year, the group of students completed a survey indicating whether they had dated and reported the frequency of different behaviors, including the use of drugs and alcohol. Their teachers completed questionnaires (调查表）about the students* academic efforts. He found some students never or hardly ever reported dating from middle to high school, and these students had consistently the best study skills according to their teachers. Other students dated infrequently in middle school but increased the frequency of dating in high school.
"At all points in time, teachers rated the students who reported the lowest frequency of dating as having the best study skills and the students with the highest dating as having the worst study skills,'1 according to the journal article. Study skills refer to behaviors that lead to academic success such as doing work for extra credit being well organized, finishing homework, working hard and reading assigned chapters.
"Dating a classmate may have the same emotional complications of dating a co-worker," Orpinas said, "when the couple break up. they have to continue to see each other in class and perhaps witness the ex-partner dating someone else. It is reasonable to think this could be linked to depression and divert (转移）attention from studying.”
4tDating should not be considered a ceremony of growth in middle school，”Orpinas concluded.
1.According to the passage, students who date in middle school may_____
A．have poorer academic performances
B．be more likely to hurl others
C． enjoy better school lives
D．are less likely to use alcohol and tobacco
2.When doing his study, Orpinas_____.
A． followed a group of students of 6th and 12th grade
B． completed a survey and a report each year
C． completed questionnaires about the students’ academic efforts
D． found that the students’ study skills have connection with their frequency of dating
3.Study skills may include the following behaviors and qualities Except_____
A．being diligent B．bcing well organized
C． being kind and helpful D．finishing assigned schoolwork
4.What can possibly happen to the school couples after they break up?
A． They don’t want to see each other any longer.
B． Their attention to studying will be affected.
C． They will miss their ex-partners sometimes
D． They will think it，s reasonable Io get depressed.
5.Orpinas’ attitude towards dating in middle school is_____
A．supportive B．positive C．negative D．indifferent
A. Tickets for London Eye Flight (30 mins,$22)
C. Tickets for the Tower of London plus River Cruise(4.5 hours, $66)
E. Discovering London (9 hours, $ 100)