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A man was looking for things of old times. One day he came to a village and found a blue bowl which looked very old. The bowl was on the ground and a cat was drinking milk from it. A farmer, the owner of the cat, was lying beside the bowl. In order not to draw the farmer’s attention to the value of the bowl. The man said to him in a soft voice,” What a nice cat you have! Won’t you sell it to me?’’
“How much would you give me for it? ” the farmer opened his eyes and asked.
“ Twenty dollars. Would it be enough?”
A few minutes later, the farmer agreed. After he paid the farmer, the man said, “ My cat will certainly feel thirsty. May I take the bowl so that the cat can have milk?” But the farmer said, “ I’m sorry I can’t give it to you. Thanks to the bowl, I have already sold twenty cats.”
1.The man liked __________.
A. keeping old things
B. travelling from village to village
C. meeting farmers
D. buying cats
2.After he bought the cat, the man asked for the bowl, because he thought __________.
A. the bowl should go with the cat
B. the bowl had a beautiful color
C. the farmer didn’t know the value of the bowl
D. the cat couldn’t live without the bowl
3.The farmer kept the bowl so that he could ________.
A. let another cat use it
B. sell more cats
C. sell more bowls
D. use the bowl himself
4.From the story we can see the farmer _________.
A. had only one bowl B. was very poor
C. didn’t like cats D. was clever
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If you want to become a fluent English speaker you should take some advice: there are four skills in learning English. They are reading ,listening, speaking and writing. The most important thing you must remember is that if you want to improve your speaking and writing skills you should first master the skills of reading and listening.
Read as much as you can. But your reading must be active. It means that you must think about the meaning of the sentences, the meaning of the unfamiliar words, etc. There is no need for you to pay much attention to grammar or try to understand all the unfamiliar words you come across, but the fact that you see them for the first time and recognize them whenever you see them, for example in other passage or books, is enough. It would be better to prepare yourself a notebook so you can write down the important words or sentences in it.
As for listening, there are two choices: besides reading, you can listen every day for about 30 minutes. You can only pay attention to your reading and become skillful at your reading, then you can catch up on your listening. Since you have lots of inputs in your mind, you can easily guess what the speaker is going to say. This never means that you should not practice listening.
For listening you can listen to cartoons or some movies that are specially made for children. Their languages are easy. Or if you are good at listening you can listen to VOA or BBC programs every day. Again the thing to remember is being active in listening and preferably taking some notes.
If you follow these pieces of advice, your speaking and writing will improve automatically, and you can be sure that with a little effort they will become perfect.
1.According to the author, which should you improve first among the four skills?
A. Reading and listening.
B. Reading and writing.
C. Writing and speaking.
D. Speaking and listening.
2.To improve your reading, when you read you should ________.
A. look up all the new words in the dictionary
B. think about what you are reading actively
C. spend more time studying grammar
D. copy as many words and sentences as possible
3.The author seems to agree with the view that _________.
A. everyone should listen to VOA or BBC programs every day
B. You needn’t practice listening if you keep on reading every day
C. being good at reading is helpful in improving your listening
D. you should take notes of whatever you are hearing
4.The passage is mainly about how to _________.
A. choose suitable listening materials
B. deal with new words in reading
C. improve your English as quickly as possible
D. become fluent in speaking and writing English
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Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is also the color of most growing plants.
Sometimes, the word “green” means young, fresh and growing. For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience. In the 15th century, a greenhorn was a young cow or an ox whose horns(角)had not yet developed. A century later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had no experience in war. By the 18th century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today—a person who is new in a job.
Someone who is good at growing plants is said to have a green thumb(大拇指). The expression comes from the early 20th century. A person with a green thumb can make plants grow quickly and well.
Green is also the color used to describe the powerful feeling , jealousy(嫉妒). The green-eyed monster （怪物）is not a dangerous animal from outer space. It is an expression used about 400 years ago by the British writer William Shakespeare in his play “Othello”. It describes the unpleasant feeling when someone has something he wants. For example, a young man may suffer from the green-eyed monster if you get a pay rise and he does not.
In most places in the world, a green light means to move ahead. In everyday speech, a green light means agree to continue with a project.
1.A greenhorn now refers to ____________.
A. a person who is new in a job
B. a new soldier.
C. a young horse
D. a cow without horns
2.A person with a green thumb is a person _______.
A. who is good at growing plants
B. whose thumbs are of green color
C. whose garden is greener than others’
D. who is younger than his neighbors
3.A man may meet the green-eyed monster if ____.
A. he sees a dangerous animal
B. he reads a sad play
C. his friend gets a prize that he wants
D. he can't get something
4.The main idea of the passage is ________.
A. a greenhorn
B. a green thumb
C. the Green Revolution
D. the word “green” and its story
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Sydney is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the 2000 Olympic games put it on the map as one of the most lively and modern cities in the world. Any trip to Sydney is an adventure and with some of the world’s beautiful beaches, this city has so much to offer. Sydney is so large an area that choosing a hotel is something you need to do very carefully. Public transport is good, but it can be slow and being close to where you want to be is probably the most important factor.
The first and most obvious choice is hotels around Circular Quay. Circular Quay is the heart of the city and one of the major interchanges where trains, buses and ferries meet. It’s also where Sydney’s two most famous landmarks are located — the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. This area is active and offers some of the best views you will ever get from a hotel room.
The farther hotels in the city are much more suited to business travelers and they are usually less expensive. Daring Harbor is a great choice as it mixes a great view with being right in the centre of the city. Darling Harbor has hundreds of pubs, clubs and restaurants along the water’s edge.
If you don’t feel like dealing with the hustle and bustle of the city and are looking for something a bit quieter, why not head out to the Northern Beaches? It’s only a short ferry ride over to Manly where you can find two major hotels on the beach with a number of smaller boutiques (时装店，精品店).
1.What made Sydney famous as one of the most lively and modern cities in the world?
A. Its traditional culture. B. its beaches and hotels.
C. The traffic system. D. The 2000 Olympics.
2.If you want to live in a quiet hotel and buy some fashionable clothes or expensive gifts, you should choose one in __________ .
A. Circular Quay B. Darling Harbor
C. Manly D. Sydney Harbor Bridge
3.The underlined part “hustle and bustle” in the last paragraph may refer to _________.
A. hot climate B. serious pollution
C. busy noisy activities D. slow-moving traffic
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