-
Every morning,many girls in the African country of Zimbabwe rise with the sun and go to fetch water
for their families.They have to walk many miles an carry the water home on their heads. Where they live,there is no running water they can get at all.
“You have to relax your neck and head and make it follow the load(负荷)，”one girl told me ,“It is easy for you to do that if you practice for many times.” I have lived in Zimbabwe all my life.But I had never tried to balance a pot on my head.I have made efforts many times and I have also practiced it for long.But it was not east at all.I managed to walk only several yards before the pot fell off my head.The girls watching covered their mouths and laughed at my poor head-balancing skills.
In reality,water is not the only thing that requires head-balancing skills in everyday life.In most of these villages,there is no electricity for cooking,so fire wood is used instead.The girls must collect and carry it back to their villages.They insist the easiest way to do this is on their heads.
Even at school,head-balancing skills come in handy.At a school,I saw a group of girls fetching bags of sand that were to be used to build a new classroom.They carried these bags with ease.When I tried,I could not beat the weight.
Girls in many countries worldwide prefer to carry things on their heads.They are taught this skill at a young age and grow up to have strong necks and great posture.For these girls,balance is simply a way of life.
1.According to the text,Zimbabwe girls _______.
A. go to fetch running water for money
B. catty water every evening
C. do pleasant jobs in their family
D. like carrying things on their heads
2.To get the head-balancing ability,a girl should _______.
A. have a short neck B. take a light load C. practice many times D. cover her mouth
3.Why do the girls have good head-balancing skills?
A. Their necks are strong and their heads are round.
B. They are farced to carry things on their heads.
C. They find no other ways to carry things.
D. They have learned them since they were young.
4.What is the best title of the text?
A. A special living ability
B. Girl’s head-balancing skill
C. Carrying things from far away
D. Using our heads in different ways
-
In many African countries, the care of orphans has been mainly led by foreign donor organizations. However, Sister Florence has changed all that. Using her own resources, Sister Florence is leading the work of raising orphans from different backgrounds. Sister Florence Wanjala’s biggest motivation to start the orphan program was when she saw a little boy whose parents had died. The boy was living with a cruel grandparent and he would visit the grave of his mother, crying for support. Sister Wanjala wanted to give a helping hand and give him hope. From that time, she started feeling the call to help a larger number of orphans.
She opened an office with a few friends and coordinated (协调）a program to help the orphans. All the registrations were done in the office and the program so far has 8000 children. Sister Wanjala said, “My dream is to help the orphan to live a holistic (完整)life and be a good Kenyan citizen to help this country. Many people think that the way to support orphans is to put them in an institution（孤儿院）. Others support them up to the age of eighteen, but here, we do it very differently.” For Sister Wanjala, putting a child in an institution is normally her last choice. She prefers the orphans to live in a foster(寄宿的) home.
She said, “I’m so encouraged and happy to see the orphans succeeding. When they come first or second in class, it shows how the program has helped them, and that’s encouraging to me as I continue to coordinate the program.”Through her charity work, more than 1000 orphans have been able to find a home. Sister Wanjala, as a mother, takes care of her own family.
1.What inspired Sister Wanjala to start the orphan program?
A．Her preference for kids. B．Her own similar experience.
C． A sad story about an orphan. D．Her successful charity work.
2.Sister Wanjala opened an office mainly to ______.
A. set up as many institutions as possible for orphans
B start a program to offer orphans a foster family
C. provide school education for those orphans
D. raise more money for the homeless kids
3.What does the underlined sentence probably mean?
A． She didn’t want orphans to live in an institution.
B． She preferred to put orphans into an institution.
C． She had no choice but to put orphans in institutions.
D． She sent orphans into an institution in the end.
4.What can we learn from the text?
A． Sister Wanjala finally adopted the little boy.
B． Sister Wanjala found foster homes for 8000 orphans.
C． Sister Wanjala was too busy to care for her own family.
D． Sister Wanjala was not alone in helping orphans.
-
Never waste food!You know,children in some African countries die of_________（饥饿）every day.
-
In Western countries, bread is one of the most important foods. When they get up in the morning many people eat toast (烤面包). They spread butter and jam on their toast. People eat bread at other times of the day too. For example, at main meals, they often eat bread with soup.
It's also very common to eat sandwiches. A sandwich is two pieces of bread with a filling inside - salad, cheese or fish. A hamburger is a kind of sandwich.
There are many different kinds of bread. Some are special to some countries. For example, the baguette (法国棍子面包) is a long, thin loaf that began in France.
There is also white bread and whole-wheat (全麦面) bread. What's the difference? White bread is refined (精制的). It has things taken out of it to make it softer and easier to eat. The trouble is, white bread also has lots of goodness taken out. Although some people dislike the taste of whole-wheat bread, it is much healthier.
Some kinds of bread have additives (添加剂). They are put into the bread for many reasons. Some additives are good for you - for example vitamin C. Others are there to make the bread last longer. Still others to make it taste better - but they do not necessarily make the bread healthier to eat!
1.People in the west have as their main food.
A. butter B. bread
C. cheese D. fish
2.The fourth paragraph tells us
A. how to make white bread
B. how to make whole-wheat bread
C. the difference between white bread and whole-wheat bread
D. people dislike the taste of whole-wheat bread
3.Which of the statements about additives(添加剂) is WRONG?
A. Not all the additives are good for our health.
B. Vitamin C makes the bread last longer.
C. Some additives are put into bread to make bread healthier.
D. To make bread taste better, some additives can be put into bread.
-
In the early part of the twentieth century, racism was widespread in the United States. Many African Americans were not given equal opportunities in education or employment. Marian Anderson (1897-1993) was an African American woman who gained fame as a concert singer in this climate of racism. She was born in Philadelphia and sang in church choirs during her childhood. When she applied for admission to a local music school in 1917, she was turned down because she was black. Unable to attend music school, she began her career as a singer for church gatherings. In 1929, she went to Europe to study voice and spent several years performing there. Her voice was widely praised throughout Europe. Then she returned to the US in 1935 and became a top concert singer after performing at Town Hall in New York City.
Racism again affected Anderson in 1939. When it was arranged for her to sing at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, the Daughters of the American Revolution opposed it because of her color. She sang instead at the Lincoln Memorial for over 75 000 people. In 1955, Anderson became the first black soloist to sing win the Metropolitan Opera of New York City. The famous conductor Toscanini praised her voice as “heard only once in a hundred years”. She was a US delegate to the United Nations in 1958 and won the UN peace prize in 1977. Anderson eventually triumphed over racism.
1. According to this passage, what did Marian Anderson do between 1917 and 1929?
A．She studied at a music school. B．She sang for religious activities.
C．She sang at Town Hall in New York. D．She studied voice in Europe.
2.Toscanini thought that Marian Anderson ________.
A．had a very rare voice B．sang occasionally in public
C．sang only once in many years D．was seldom heard by people
3.Anderson’s beautiful voice was first recognized ________.
A. at the Lincoln Memorial B. in Washington, DC.
C. in Europe D. at the United Nations
4.This passage shows that Anderson finally defeated racism in the US by ________.
A．protesting to the government B．appealing to the United Nations
C．demonstrating in the streets D．working hard to perfect her art
-
In our country, every boy and every girl ________ the equal right to go to school.
A. has B. have C. is D. are
-
Johnny, a lizard (蜥蜴), lived between some rocks in the country, where he liked sunbathing every morning. One day, he felt so __________ that he didn’t notice some boys coming up behind him. The boys __________ Johnny, and he could only escape from their hands by losing his tail and running to __________.
The children watched his tail moving about, but they soon felt __________ and left. Johnny came out to look for his tail, but could find no __________ of it. Feeling so sad, he decided to __________ doing everything else in his life and spending all his time __________ his tail. Days and months passed, and Johnny kept looking, asking everyone __________ they had seen his tail. However, there was still no news about it.
One day, he asked a boy and the boy __________ replied, “Why do you need two tails?” After hearing this, Johnny __________ and saw that he had grown a new, stronger tail. He suddenly realized how __________ of him to waste so much time on a problem like it. Johnny headed for home happily.
On the way home he suddenly found his __________ tail on the roadside. Although it looked terrible, Johnny was still __________ to have it back. He picked it up and was about to __________ his journey. Just at that moment, an idea __________ him that he shouldn’t look at the past and worry about it since it was not __________ for him.
He then decided to __________ his old tail there, leaving with it all his past worries. As he moved on, all he took with him were thoughts of the __________ and the dreams of the future.
As we know, it’s not good to look at the past, __________ it helps in the future. Let the past _________ with the wind.
1.A.worried B.cautious C.lonely D.relaxed
2.A.explored B.limited C.caught D.observed
3.A.hide B.sunbathe C.sleep D.cry
4.A.bored B.confused C.delighted D.interested
5.A.edge B.use C.identity D.sign
6.A.keep B.stop C.finish D.start
7.A.caring for B.removing C.searching for D.involving
8.A.when B.where C.how D.whether
9.A.regretfully B.surprisedly C.frightenedly D.generously
10.A.turned back B.headed forward C.bent down D.looked up
11.A.optimistic B.silly C.careless D.smart
12.A.new B.nice C.strong D.old
13.A.proud B.worried C.excited D.angry
14.A.predict B.change C.continue D.end
15.A.hit B.shaped C.supported D.held
16.A.useful B.hopeful C.lively D.different
17.A.protect B.watch C.repair D.drop
18.A.past B.future C.present D.life
19.A.if B.unless C.when D.once
20.A.come B.dive C.walk D.go
-
阅读短文，根据短文内容从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。
Every year students in many countries learn English. Some of these students are children, _____ students are young people. Why do all these people want to learn _____ ? It is not _____ to answer this question. Many boys and girls learn English at school. It is one of their _____ . Many people learn English because it is _____ in their work. Some young people learn English _____ their higher studies because some of their books are _____ English. Other people learn English because they want to _____ newspapers in English. Some people learn English because they want to _____ in the USA, England or Australia. English is very _____ in our life.
1.A. all B. the other C. both D. other
2.A. English B. Chinese C. culture D. language
3.A. hard B. difficult C. easy D. good
4.A. books B. tasks C. interests D. subjects
5.A. good B. useful C. colorful D. useless
6.A. for B. of C. to D. from
7.A. in B. with C. at D. of
8.A. know B. see C. watch D. read
9.A. go B. work C. like D. come
10.A. helping B. helped C. helpful D. helpless
-
Every year on April 1, April Fools’ Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. In France, it’s called Poisson d’Avril or “Fish of April.” In Scotland, the holiday is often called “Gowkie Day.” In Iraq, the holiday is called Kithbet Neesan or “April Lie.”
History experts say people have celebrated April Fools’ Day for a long time. Some believe the tradition comes from the ancient Romans more than two thousand years ago. It was a day of playing games and pretending to be someone else.
Others say the day for fooling began in France in 1564, when King Charles changed the yearly calendar（日历）. He moved New Year’s Day from April 1 to January 1. Many people did not know about the change because of communication problems back then. Some people continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April 1. Other people called them April Fools and played jokes on them.
In the United States, April Fools’ Day is just a day of joking and playing tricks on friends. These kinds of jokes are also called pranks. These jokes typically end in the prankster shouting “April Fools’!”
Simple pranks, like telling a friend a funny lie or making prank phone calls, are still common. But, major companies also get in on April Fools’ Day fun in a much bigger way. A few years ago, on April 1, Starbucks announced it was introducing new coffee cup sizes -- Plenta and Micra. The very large cups, bigger than a human head, remained useful for customers even after finishing all that coffee. According to Starbucks, the cups could be used as a rain hat, a pot for plants, or a lampshade（灯罩）.
It did not take long for customers to catch on to the prank!
More and more, people use social media or smart phone apps（应用程序）to play pranks on their friends on April Fools’ Day. One very annoying smart phone app, Cat Facts, sends funny facts about cats to your friends’ phones, every day.
1.What is not true about “April Fools’ Day”?
A. It has been celebrated for a long time.
B. Its tradition comes from the ancient Romans.
C. French people celebrated it because of not knowing that King Charles changed the yearly calendar.
D. Different countries have different names for it.
2. In the United States, April Fools’ Day is .
A. a day of joking and playing tricks on friends.
B. a day when you can play jokes on any people.
C. a day when people can’t shout “April Fools’!”
D. a day when Starbucks introduced new coffee.
3.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “pranks”(para4)?
A. friends B. methods
C. jokes D. jokers
-
Many of us know the live-action film Cinderella, a fairy tale about a kind-hearted country girl who suffers mistreatment at the ________ of her cruel and jealous stepmother.
A. shelter B. trick C. spy D. mercy