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Once a man named Grand found a box of old papers in a room at the top of his house. He burned most of them, because he didn’t like old things very much, But one of these papers was an old letter. At the bottom(底部) of the letter was the name of a well-known writer. “When this letter was written,” said Grant, “no one knew about the writer. But now everyone knows him. Some people like to buy letters like this. I may be able to get much money for the letter if I sell it to the right man.”
But there were a lot of dirty marks all over the letter.
“It doesn’t look nice,” he thought. “No one wants to buy a letter if it’s dirty. I’ll have to clean it.”
So he took a piece of cloth and some water and cleaned the letter. He worked hard and gave a lot of care. At last the letter looked better. And he was very pleased with his work.
“Now it looks nice,” he said to himself. “I’ll be able to sell it for a lot of money.”
He took the letter to a shop in London where old papers of this kind were bought and sold.
“I want to sell this letter,” Grant said to the man in the shop. “It was written by a well-known writer. You know about these things. How much will you give me for it?”
The man looked at him for a long time.
“I will give you two pounds for it,” he said at last.
“Only two pounds!” said Grant. “But people pay ten pounds for a letter like this. And just look! I’ve even cleaned it to make it look nice.”
“I can see that,” said the man. “That’s the trouble. People who buy old papers like them to be dirty.”
1.Which of the following is not right?
A. Grant found a box of old letters. B. Grant didn’t like old things very much.
C. Grant didn’t burn the old letter. D. The letter was written by a famous writer.
2.Grant didn’t burn the letter because______.
A. it was written by his father B. he thought he could get much money by selling it
C. he wanted to keep it forever D. he wanted to give it to the government
3.In order to sell it, Grant decided to _____ first.
A. make advertisement(广告)in the newspapers B. show it to others around him
C. clean it to make it look nice D. take it to an archeologist(考古学家)
4.Grant didn’t sell the letter at a good price because_______.
A. it was not an old letter B. few people knew about the writer
C. it had been cleaned D. the man didn’t like it
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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u GONE WITH THE WIND
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.
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. It’s an excellent book with 4 tapes 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, 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 CABINAuthor: Harriet Beecher Stowe
￥20 (in bookstores)
The most famous novel in American history, Uncle Tom’s Cabin talked about the struggle (斗争) between free states and slave states during the American Civil War 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 (魔法) of nature, the brave girl brings the house and a long-lost garden back to life.
1. All of the following books have children as their main characters (主角) except _________.
A. PETER PAN B. GONE WITH THE WIND
C. A LITTLE PRINCESS D. THE SECRET GARDEN
2. We can know from the passage that _________.
A. there are only three books with tapes
B. we can buy 5 kinds of the above books in bookstores
C. two of the above books are written by Frances Hodgson Burnett
D. THE SECRET GARDEN is ￥5 cheaper in bookstores than online
3. Mary in THE SECRET GARDEN 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. abc B. acd C. bcd D. abd
4. This article may appear ___________.
A. as an advertisement B. as an introduction to the western literature (文化)
C. in a Chinese film D. only to middle school students
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Everybody hates rats．But in the earthquake capitals of the world-Japan，Los Angeles，Turkey-rats will soon be man's new best friends．
What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue（救援） dogs. Why? Because they can smell people．Dogs save lives．They help rescuers to find living people．But dogs are big and they can't get into small spaces．So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives：the rat．
How does it work? First，the rat is trained to smell people．When this happens，the rat's brain gives a signal（信号）．This is sent to a small radio on its back，and then the rescuers follow the radio signals．When the rat's brain activity jumps，the rescuers know that someone is alive．The rat has smelled that person．
Although there are already robots which can do this job，rats are better．Christian Linster at Cornell University—New York says，“Robots' noses don't work well when there are other smells around．Rats are good at that．” Rats can also see in the dark．They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs，and unlike robots，they don't need electricity!
The “rat project” is not finished，but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says，“It would be fantastic．A rat could get into spaces we couldn't get to and a rat would get out if it wasn't safe．” Perhaps for the first time in history，people will be happy to see a rat in a building（but only after an earthquake，of course）．
1.In the world earthquake capitals，rats will become man's best friends because they can _________．
A. take the place of man's rescue jobs
B. find the position of people alive who are trapped in buildings
C. serve as food for people alive who are trapped in buildings
D. get into small spaces
2.From the third paragraph we know the rescuers can judge a person is alive by_________．
A. the noise made by the rat B．the rat's unusual behavior
C. the signal sent by the radio on the rat's back D．the smell given off by the person
3. In doing rescue jobs，_________．
A. rats smell better than dogs
B. dogs don't need to be trained to smell people
C. robots' sense of smell can be affected by other smells around
D. rats can see in the dark and smaller than robots
4. Rats have all the following advantages except that_________．
A. they are more fantastic than other animals B. they are less expensive to train than dogs
C. they don't need electricity D. they are small and can get into small places
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Wednesday，October fifteenth，is the first Global Hand Washing Day. Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap（肥皂）. Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at so-called critical(至关重要的) moments. These include after using the toilet，after cleaning a baby and before touching food.
Global Hand Washing Day is the idea of the Public-Private Partnership for Hand Washing with Soap. Partners include the United Nations Children’s Fund, and soap makers Unilever and Procter and Gamble. The goal，they say，is to create a culture of hand washing with soap.
The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing disease-causing germs(病菌). They say the correct way to wash hands is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap. Rub it into all areas，including under the fingernails. Then，rinse（用清水冲洗） well under running water. Finally，dry your hands with a clean cloth.
The Partnership says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing. Soap also helps to break up the grease（油脂）and dirt that holds most of the germs. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell，which increases the possibility that people will wash again. It also says washing with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any vaccine（疫苗）or medicine. When people get germs on their hands, they can infect themselves by touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Then they can infect others.
1.Global Handwashing Day is set to ______________.
A. create a culture of hand washing with soap B. force people to wash their hands
C. teach people how to wash their hands D. protect people from being hurt by germs
2. Which one shows the advantages of washing hands with soap?
① increasing the washing time ② preventing any infection
③ removing disease-causing germs ④ helping people to wash more
⑤ keeping vaccine away
A. ①②③ B. ①②④ C. ②③⑤ D.①③④
3.The main idea of this passage is to ______________.
A. introduce Global Handwashing Day B. remind people to care about their health
C. criticize people who don't use soap to wash hands D. help soap makers to sell more soap
难度: 中等查看答案及解析