When Jeanne Calment entered the world in 1875, telephones and automobiles still lay in the future. Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso were not yet born. The Eiffel Tower was 14 years from being built. As a teenager, she met Vincent Van Gogh, near her home in Arles, in the south of France. He was “very ugly, ungracious, impolite, sick—I forgive him, they called him loco (精神失常的)”, she recalled. When she died last week at age 122, she was the world’s eldest person. (There are others who claimed to the title, but only Calment had the official documents to prove her age.)

Each February 21, her birthday, she would share the secrets of long life. Some years it was “a sense of humour”, others it was “keeping busy”. “God must have forgotten me,” she once explained. The truth probably was that her mother reportedly lived to be 86 and her father 94.

Her life had its sadness: she outlived her husband, her only daughter and her grandson. According to a friend, she was imperturbable. “If you can’t do anything about it,” she reportedly said, “don’t worry about it.”

In her last years she was nearly blind and deaf, but her health remained good. She ate a few bars of chocolate each week and continued smoking until a few years ago, when she could no longer light her own cigarettes. She never lost her sense of humour. On her 110th birthday, she commented, “I’ve only ever had one wrinkle, and I’m sitting on it. “Her longevity made her famous; her spirit made her eternal (永恒的).

1.Why does the author mention Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso and the Eiffel Tower?

A. To show that Calment had seen famous people and things.

B. To emphasize that Calment was born a long time ago.

C. To indicate that Calment is just as famous.

D. To admire the knowledge that Calment had.

2.The author believed that Calment’s longevity is mainly due to ______.

A. a sense of humor B. being kept busy

C. belief in God D. good genes

3.What is the meaning of the underlined sentences?

A. She paid much attention to the wrinkle.

B. She felt sad for the wrinkle.

C. She just put the wrinkle aside.

D. She sat down and some one helped her deal with the wrinkle.

Book 1 : Brack Obama

Grades: 3-5

Our Price: $ 8.95

His mother came from Kansas. His father came from Kenya. He grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia, far from the center of American politics. Few people had even heard of Brack Obama before 2004. But one powerful speech in Boston changed all that for the Illinois senator(參議員). In 2008, this inspiring leader ran for the country’s top job, President.

Book 2: Danica Patrick

Grades: 3-5

Our Price: $ 8.95

Growing up, Danica Patrick dreamed of racing in the Indianapolis 500. In 2005, her dream came true. Danica finished the race in fourth place, the best ever result by a woman. Three years later, she became the first female to win an IndyCar race. As a woman competing in a sport dominated by men, Danica faced many obstacles. But she never stopped believing in herself, no matter what the difficulties.

Book 3: Ellen Ochoa

Grades: 3-5

Our Price: $ 8.95

Some people dream of becoming stars. Ellen Ochoa dreamed of living among them! She worked hard to make her dream of becoming an astronaut come true. On April 8, 1993, she strapped (用帶子系好)herself in for the ride of her life aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Ochoa aimed high and boldly went where no Hispanic woman had gone before. Find out about Ochoa’s amazing journey in her own words and photos from her personal collection!

Book 4: LeBron James

Grades: 3-5

Our Price: $ 8.95

Fans, teammates, and opponents know him as King James. Many people consider LeBron James to be the most talented basketball Player of his generation. But there is much more to his story. He overcame hard times as a kid and rose to national fame as a teenager. He then jumped right from high school to the pros. Along the way, LeBron never lost sight of where he came from or who he is.

1.What do the four books have in common according to the passage?

A. Their prices are the same and they are all about famous leaders.

B. They are all about Africans and their contributions to society.

C. They are written for the same grades and their prices are the same.

D. They are for the same readers and printed by the same publisher.

2.Emma is dreaming of being a car racer. Who can be an example to her?

A. Brack Obama B. Danica Patrick

C. Ellen Ochoa D. LeBron James

3.If John wants to learn something about becoming a basketball player, which book should he read?

A. Brack Obama B. Danica Patrick

C. Ellen Ochoa D. LeBron James

4.Which of the followingg statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Obama was popular with most of the people in America before he ran for president.

B. In 2005, Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an IndyCar race.

C. Ochoa is the first Hispanic woman to have gone aboard the space shuttle Discovery for the ride.

D. LeBron James is the most talented basketball player.

Travelling around the world with children is difficult enough, while attempting it without using motorized transport is even more of challenge．Even so, Dario Schworer a 42-year-old climatologist and mountain guide, and his 33-year-old wife Sabine are on a journey to do just that．

The Swiss couple want to travel across the world's oceans and climb the highest mountain on every continent to promote Earth-friendly ways of life．

"We are collecting good examples of dealing with climate change and living in harmony with nature and we want to spread such ideas．" Schworer said．"We want to help people affected by global warming and to inspire children for the future．"

Recently after having spent three months teaching children in the Everest region, the couple want to show it is possible to travel through the world's climate zones using just human-power and forces of nature．

In the 47 countries they have visited they have collected 22 tons of trash, taught people in Ecuador how the sun's rays can be used to clean water and inspired a person in Chile to build a house on water with recycled plastic bottles as a foundation．They have also collected trash in the mountains of Nepal with school children．

So far they have communicated with 45,000 children from South America, Australia and Asia, giving presentations about the importance of recycling and using alternative energy like solar and wind power．

When they began their adventure in 2003 they had no children of their own．But since then two has become five: daughter Sabine is now five years old, Andri was born in Chile and baby Neo was born in Australia．

Initially the couple thought they would complete their travels in four years, but now, they believe it could take seven more．

"Since our belief is the need to respect nature, we travel only when conditions are good," Schworer said．

1.Why do the Swiss couple travel around the world?

A. To inspire their children for the future．

B. To prove a travel without motorized transport．

C. To promote Earth-friendly ways of life．

D. To explore the secret of global warming．

2.They did a lot during the travel except _____．

A. collect rubbish and waste

B. build a house with recycled plastic bottles

C. communicate with local children

D. show people how to use energy

3.What's the meaning of the underlined word "Initially"?

A. At the beginning B. In a way

C. In the end D. On the whole

4.The best title of the passage can be _____．

A. A Swiss family' journey across the world

B. Nature needs respecting and protecting

C. We have a long way to make a good travel

D. An eco-friendly adventure across the world

Everybody is happy as his pay rises．Yet pleasure at your own can disappear if you learn that a fellow worker has been given a bigger one．Indeed, if he is known as being lazy, you might even be quite cross．Such behavior is regarded as "all too human", with the underlying belief that other animals would not be able to have this finely developed sense of sadness．But a study by Sarah Brosnan of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, which has just been published in Nature, suggests that it is all too monkey, as well．

The researchers studied the behaviors of some kind of female brown monkeys．They look smart． They are good-natured, co-operative creatures, and they share their food happily．Above all, like female human beings, they tend to pay much closer attention to the value of "goods and services" than males．

Such characteristics make them perfect subjects for Doctor Brosnan's study．The researchers spent two years teaching their monkeys to exchange tokens （獎(jiǎng)券） for food．Normally, the monkeys were happy enough to exchange pieces of rock for pieces of cucumber．However, when two monkeys were placed in separate and connected rooms, so that each other could observe what the other is getting in return for its rock, they became quite different．

In the world of monkeys, grapes are excellent goods （and much preferable to cucumbers）．So when one monkey was handed a grape in exchange for her token, the second was not willing to hand hers over for a mere piece of cucumber．And if one received a grape without having to provide her token in exchange at all, the other either shook her own token at the researcher, or refused to accept the cucumber．Indeed, the mere presence of a grape in the other room （without an actual monkey to eat it） was enough to bring about dissatisfaction in a female monkey．

The researches suggest that these monkeys, like humans, are guided by social senses．In the wild, they are co-operative and group-living．Such co-operation is likely to be firm only when each animal feels it is not being cheated．Feelings of anger when unfairly treated, it seems, are not the nature of human beings alone．Refusing a smaller reward completely makes these feelings clear to other animals of the group．However, whether such a sense of fairness developed independently in monkeys and humans, or whether it comes from the common roots that they had 35 million years ago, is, as yet, an unanswered question．

1.According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Only monkeys and humans can have the sense of fairness in the world．

B. Women will show more dissatisfaction than men when unfairly treated．

C. In the wild, monkeys are never unhappy to share their food with each other．

D. Monkeys can exchange cucumbers for grapes; for grapes are more attractive．

2.Female monkeys of this kind are chosen for the research most probably because they are __ _．

A. more likely to weigh what they get

B. attentive to researchers’ instructions

C. nice in both appearance and behaviors

D. more ready to help others than their male companions

3.Which of the following conclusions is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Human beings' feelings of anger are developed from the monkeys．

B. In the research, male monkeys are less likely to exchange food with others．

C. Co-operation between monkeys stays firm before the realization of being cheated．

D. Only monkeys and humans have the sense of fairness dating back to 35 million years ago．

4.What can we infer about the monkeys in Sarah's study?

A. The monkeys can be trained to develop social senses．

B. They usually show their feelings openly as humans do．

C. The monkeys may show their satisfaction with equal treatment．

D. Co-operation among the monkeys remains effective in the wild．

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，在短文后的選項(xiàng)中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)。選項(xiàng)中有兩項(xiàng)為多余選項(xiàng)。

Happiness is for everyone. You don’t need to care about those people who have beautiful houses with large gardens and swimming pools or 1. and so on. Why? Because those who have big houses may often feel lonely and those who have cars may want to walk on the country roads at their free time.

In fact, happiness is always around you if you put your heart into it. 2. _ When you study hard at your lessons, your parents are always taking good care of your life and your health. When you get success, your friends will say congratulations to you. When you do something wrong, people around you will help you to correct it. 3.__ All these are your happiness. If you notice a bit of them, you can see that happiness is always around you.

Happiness is not the same as money. It is a feeling of your heart. When you are poor, you can also say you are very happy, because you have something else that can’t be bought with money. 4._, because you have more chances to challenge yourself. So you cannot always say you are poor and you have bad luck. As the saying goes, life is like a revolving(旋轉(zhuǎn)的)door. When it closes, it also opens. 5._.

A. When you are in trouble at school, your friends will help you

B. If you take every chance you get, you can be a happy and lucky person

C. those who have nice cars and a lot of money

D. And when you do something good to others, you will feel happy, too

E. those who have no houses

F. When you meet with difficulties, you can give them up and be happy

G. When you meet with difficulties, you can say loudly you are very happy

Dear Laura,

I just heard you tell an old story of gift giving and unselfish love in your program. You doubted that such unselfish love would happen in today’s world. Well, I’m here to give you _______.

I wanted to do something very ______ for my fifteen – year – old son, who has always been the perfect child. He worked all summer to earn enough money to buy a used motorcycle. Then, he spent hours and hours on it ______ it looked almost new. I was so ______ of him that I bought him the shiniest helmet and a riding outfit.

I could ______ wait for him to open up his gift. ______, I barely slept the night before. Upon awakening. I went to the kitchen to ______ the coffee, tea, and morning goodies. In the living room was a beautiful keyboard with a ______: “To my wonderful mother, all my love, your son.”

I was so ______. It had been a long – standing joke in our family that I wanted a piano so that I could ______ lessons. “Learn to play the piano, and I’ll get you one” was my husband’s _______.

I stood there shocked, crying a(an) ______, asking myself how my son could ______ this expensive gift.

Of course, the house ______, and my son was thrilled（激動(dòng)的）with my reaction. Many kisses were ______, and I immediately wanted him to open my gift.

As he saw the helmet and outfit, the look on his face was not ______ what I was expecting. Then I realized that he had sold the motorcycle to get me the keyboard.

Of course I was the proudest mother ______ on that day, and my feet never ______ the ground for a month.

So I wanted you to know, that kind of love still ________ and lives even in the ever – changing world of me, me, me!

I thought you’d love to ______ this story.

Yours,

Hilary

P.S. The next day, my husband and I bought him a new “used” already shiny motorcycle.

1.A. hope B. advice C. support D. courage

2.A. polite B. similar C. special D. private

3.A. after B. before C. unless D. until

4.A. sure B. fond C. proud D. confident

5.A. perhaps B. really C. almost D. hardly

6.A. However B. In fact C. Therefore D. In total

7.A. start B. cook C. set D. serve

8.A. note B. notice C. word D. sign

9.A. disturbed B. confused C. astonished D. inspired

10.A. give B. take C. draw D. teach

11.A. reason B. request C. comment D. response

12.A. mountain B. article C. river D. bowl

13.A. present B. afford C. find D. order

14.A. felt B. jumped C. cried D. awoke

15.A. exchanged B. experienced C. expected D. exhibited

16.A. purely B. basically C. obviously D. exactly

17.A. only B. still C. ever D. even

18.A. hit B. stuck C. pat D. felt

19.A. works B. exists C. matters D. counts

20.A. send B. publish C. share D. write