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A horse fair is an interesting place. There were young horses from the country, little Welsh ponies and many beautiful horses too. But there were also a lot of poor, thin horses, tired from hard work. I was very sad to see them.
At the horse fair there was a man with a gentle voice and kind grey eyes. He offered 23 pounds for me, but they refused. Then a man with a very loud voice came. I was afraid he was going to buy me, but he walked off. Then the grey-eyed man came back again and said:
“I’ll give 24 for him.”
“Done,” said the salesman. “He’s a quality horse and if you want him for cab（出租马车）work, he’s a bargain.”
Half an hour later we set off for London, along country roads, until we came to that great city. There were streets to the right, and streets to the left. We went into one of the small streets, and then into a very narrow street, with small, old houses.
My owner stopped at a house. The door opened, and a woman, a little girl and boy, came out.
“Is he gentle, father?”
“Yes, Dolly, as gentle as a kitten; you can pat him.”
Dolly, the little girl, patted my shoulder without fear. It felt so good! They led me into a comfortable, clean stable, and after a delicious meal I lay down to sleep, thinking “I’m going to very happy here”.
My new owner’s name was Jerry. His wife was called Polly and they had two children, Harry and Dolly. The next morning they came to see me. I loved it when they patted me and spoke in gentle voices.
“Let’s call him ‘Jack’, after the old horse, shall we, Harry?” said Dolly.
“Yes, let’s,” said Harry.
The first week of my life as Jack, the London cab horse was very hard. The noise and the people and the traffic on the streets scared me. But Jerry was a very good driver, and that helped a lot Jerry soon found that I was ready to work hard and do my best, and he didn’t whip（鞭打）me.
He kept us very clean, and gave us as much food as we wanted. But the best thing was that we had Sundays off.
1.A horse fair is a place for__________.
A.people to sell and buy horses B.horses to learn new skills
C.people to learn to ride horses D.horses to meet new friends
2.What did the salesman mean by saying “he is a bargain”?
A.The buyer is a good driver. B.The horse is well worth the price.
C.The buyer is gentle and kind. D.The horse is as gentle as a kitten.
3.Living and working in London with Jerry’s family, “I” felt___________.
A.sad and helpless B.challenged but satisfied
C.tired and afraid D.curious but impatient
4.What can be a suitable title for the passage?
A.The experiences of visiting a horse fair.
B.The chance of having a new owner.
C.The disadvantages of working in London.
D.The start of a London-cab-horse life.
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It was a quiet village in which there was a camp. It was far from the towns and cities and there were some high mountains around. Of course it was a good place for training the new soldiers. 1.. Mr. White, an officer of forty, was strict with them and he hardly let them leave the camp.
Once Mr. White was ill in bed. He couldn't work and a young officer, Mr. Hunt began to train the new soldiers instead of him.2.And let nine soldiers go to the nearest town to have a holiday. But night fell and none came back to the camp. He was worried about it and stood at the gate. It was five to twelve when Mr. Hunt decided to go to the town and see what was happening with the young men.3.. At that moment the nine soldiers came back. It seemed they were all drunk. Of course they found the officer was angry.
"I'm sorry, sir." said the first soldier." I left the town on time.4.. I had to buy a horse and made it run fast. Bad luck! It died and I had to run back."
And the other seven soldiers said they were late for the same reasons. It was the last soldier's turn. He said, "I'm sorry sir, I got on a bus on time, but..."
Having heard this, the officer became even angrier and stopped him at once. He called out, "If you say something was wrong with your bus, I'll punish you at once!"
"No, no, Sir." said the young man." My bus was all right.5.."
A.He knew the young men well.
B.But something was wrong with my bus on my way here.
C.He was very strict, too.
D.But the dead horses were in the way.
E.He started the car quickly and set off.
F.But it was difficult for the young men to go outside.
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--- Look! There is a horse racing program on TV now.
--- Hmm. It_______ interesting.
A. seemsB. watches C. sees D. looks at
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Five interesting sports
Our most unusual sports from around the world
Every country has a national sport and some popular sports are now played across the world, However, in most countries, people also play unusual sports, with strange or interesting rules. Here are our top five unusual sports from around the planet.
Man vs. Horse Marathon
This race takes place in a small town in Wales, about 200 miles from London. It’s called a marathon (马拉松),but it's actually 35.4km, not 42.2km like a usual marathon.People race against horses across the hills and mountains.It started in 1981, but a human did not win until 2004.
Camel Wrestling
In Turkey, camel（骆驼）wrestling is a very old sport. The largest camel wrestling competition takes place every year and thousands of people come. In the sport, two camels fight against each other. Sometimes the camels do not want to fight and they run through the crowds, which can be dangerous.
Dragon Boat Racing
Every year in China, thousands of people watch dragon boat races. A dragon boat is a traditional Chinese boat with a painted dragon's head on one end. There can be up to 36 people or more racing in each boat in the water. Dragon boat racing is also popular in some other Asian countries.
Caber Toss
In this sport, players compete to throw a large piece of wood called a caber as far as they can. There is no rule about the size of the caber, but it’s usually the size of a small tree. It’s an ancient Scottish sport. Visitors to the UK can check it out.
Chess Boxing
A good chess boxer needs to be both strong and smart. Players play a round of chess, followed by a round of boxing. There are eleven rounds in total. Chess boxing was invented in 1992 by an English comic book writer. The sport is more popular in England and Germany.
1.What can we learn about Man vs. Horse Marathon?
A.it is an outdoor sport. B.It first appeared 16 years ago.
C.No human has ever won the game. D.It follows the rules of a usual marathon.
2.Which of the following is mentioned about Camel Wrestling?
A.It should be stopped. B.It’s worth seeing.
C.It s unfair to the animals. D.It’s sometimes dangerous to watch.
3.Which picture best describes Caber Toss?
A.
B.
C.
D.
4.Which sport is popular in Asia?
A.Man vs. Horse Marathon. B.Dragon Boat Racing.
C.Caber Toss. D.Chess Boxing.
5.How many sports have animals as players?
A.1 B.2. C.3. D.4.
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Thousands of years ago, Shennong, who had an ox (公牛) head and a human body, lived in south China. Seeing that local people were suffering from disease, he built ladders and houses on a high mountain to store hundreds of medicinal plants. 1.This legend (传说) has made Shennongjia in Hubei an inviting place for tourists.
You can see natural scenery from all four seasons at different altitudes. “When the bottom of the mountain is summer, the top is spring and while the foothill is autumn, the top is covered with ice,” local people say of the special climate (气候) of Shennongjia.
Shennongjia is also home to 5,000 species of animals and plants. 2. For example, the golden monkey, the clouded leopard (云豹) and the Asian black bear live in this area.
One interesting and mysterious thing about Shennongjia is its “Bigfoot” legends. Some people have claimed that they have seen huge footprints or large man-like beasts. 3. Some say they are just bears.
4. On July 17, 2016, the Shennongjia Forestry District was added to the United Nations World Heritage list as a natural site. It was China’s 50th world heritage sites (遗址).
A.But scientists haven’t proven that they exist.
B.To remember him, people named the place Shennongjia.
C.This beautiful place recently earned a new title.
D.Many rare animals live there.
E.Traveling there is a special experience.
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Xi’an celebrated the first-ever China Hanfu Day on April 18. There were catwalk shows(走秀) and traditional music concerts which were held by people wearing traditional Chinese clothing. 1. and put them online for a Hanfu photo competition, which lasted until May 18.
China Hanfu Day is on the third day of the third month of the Chinese lunar calendar(农历), which is said to be the birthday of the Yellow Emperor. In ancient China, this day was also known as Shangsi Festival(上巳节). 2.
Hanfu is the traditional clothing of the Han people who lived in China before the Qing Dynasty. 3. However, some of its main characteristics( 特点) remain. For example, there are two parts that overlap(交叠) on the front, which is called “jiao ling”. 4.
China is becoming a leading country in the world, and the Chinese public feels more confident about its traditional culture than ever before. 5.
A.Its purpose is to encourage young Chinese to take pride in traditional clothing, as well as Chinese culture.
B.Hanfu fans from all over China gathered there to take photos
C.Another main characteristic of Hanfu is that it usually uses ribbons (系带) instead of buttons.
D.Wearing traditional clothing might be an interesting way of showing how they feel about this.
E.It has a history of about 3,000 years and it has changed greatly so far.
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A bank is the place ______ they lend you an umbrella in fair weather and ask for it back when it begins to rain.
A. when B. that C. where D. There
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War Horse is an action movie It tells a very interesting and moving story. The movie comes from a children’s book. A writer, Michael Morpurgo ______ the story. Later, Steven Spielberg decided to turn the interesting story into a ______. Steven Spielberg is a famous director and he was the director of E. T. and Jurassic Park. The two movies were very ______ and people all over the world enjoyed watching ______.
War Horse is about a horse called Joey. It happened ______ 1914, during World War I. A farm boy called Albert gets a new horse and the ______ of the horse is Joey. Albert trains the horse and they become good friends. One day, Joey is ______ to the British army and sent to help them fight on battlefields(战场). Joey meets ______ trouble and he misses Albert very much. Albert misses Joey, too. He ______ the army because he wants to find Joey. Can they meet? Can they find the way home? If you want to know the answers, go to the cinema and ______ the film. I believe you will like it.
1.A. read B. wrote C. made D. turned
2.A. book B. novel C. movie D. story
3.A. boring B. stressful C. terrible D. well
4.A. it B. them C. him D. one
5.A. on B. in C. at D. for
6.A. village B. home C. name D. owner
7.A. buy B. sell C. bought D. sold
8.A. some B. any C. many D. few
9.A. joins B. take part C. takes part in D. to leaves
10.A. look B. look at C. read D. watch
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If you come to China, there are many places of interest to see and there is also a lot of delicious food to enjoy. Many of them are very popular. But I think the real Chinese food is dumplings.
Everyone in China likes dumplings very much, and there are many different kinds of them. I like dumplings with vegetables and pork better than other kind.
Usually people make dumplings at home. If you have no time to make them, you can buy them from supermarkets. Then you take them home and enjoy them with vinegar.
The Spring Festival is very important in China. When it comes, we make dumplings. Usually we put a coin(硬币) in a dumpling. If one eats the dumpling with the coin in it, he or she will be lucky in the year.
In the old days, people were poor and they could not eat dumplings often. But now things have changed.
Welcome to China, and we’ll invite you to eat the real Chinese food-dumplings.
1.According to the writer, the real Chinese food is ________________.
A. moon cakes B. noodles C. dumplings D. rice dumplings
2.The writer’s favourite dumplings have _____________ inside.
A. meat B. seafood C. vegetables and pork D. peanuts
3.What does the underlined word “it” refer to(所指)?
A. The Spring Festival B. The coin C. The dumpling D. The egg
4.The underlined word “vinegar” in the message means “_________” in Chinese.
A. 糖 B. 醋 C. 辣椒 D. 麻油
5.Which of the following sentences is Not true?
A. We Chinese like eating dumplings very much.
B. If someone eats the dumpling with the coin in it, he or she will be lucky.
C. In the old days, people could only eat dumplings because they were poor.
D. There are many kinds of dumpling in China.
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A long time ago, there was an old man. He had two sons, Qing Shan and Hong Shan. The old man gave East Mountain to Qing Shan and West Mountain to Hong Shan.
There were many trees in West Mountain. Hong Shan worked hard all day to cut down trees for firewood. Five years later, there were not many trees in the mountain, so he started to plant crops (庄稼). Unluckily, a heavy rain washed away all the crops. He had nothing to eat and had to go to his brother in East Mountain.
There were only a few trees in East Mountain at first, but Qing Shan had a plan. He first cut down the trees with poor quality and then planted some trees. He planted crops and fed cows and horses, too. Five years later, there were many trees, crops, cows, sheep and horses in the mountain. The heavy rain couldn't wash away the crops because of the trees in the mountain.
Later people praised Qing Shan, saying, “As long as the green mountain are there, there is no need to worry about firewood.”
Choose the best choice from A、B or C according to the passage.
1.Qing Shan and Hong Shan were given ________ each.
A.a mountain B.many crops C.a few trees
2.Qing Shan and Hong Shan were both ____________ according to the passage.
A.hard-working B.intelligent C.lucky
3.Why did they have different endings when the heavy rain came?
A.Qing Shan didn't cut down any trees.
B.Hong Shan didn't think more about the future.
C.There were more trees in East Mountain at first.
4.The underlined word "quality" means _______ according to the passage.
A.人品 B.数量 C.质量
5.The story teaches us a lesson that ______.
A.where there is life, there is hope
B.planting trees is the most important
C.we shouldn't make changes for the future