A couple of years ago, I went to Australia for a meeting with my friend, Chris. We decided to drive across country to Brisbane after the meeting ended. The drive was going to take four days and most of it was across the desert,    81   
The first day was a lot of fun as we were excited and laughing at each other's stupid jokes. By the third day of driving in the seemingly endless desert, we began to get bored. We had been quiet for a few hours when in the distance Chris found some kangaroos. We were both excited and decided to get a closer look.   82  We got closer and closer, and Chris was doing 110 kilometers per hour. We were very close to the kangaroos—too close—when we heard a loud BANG!
Chris stopped the car and we got out. Behind the car was a larger kangaroo lying completely still on the ground.    83  He took off his sunglasses and put them on the kangaroo and did the same with his jacket. Then, he put his arm around the kangaroo and told me to take a photo of them together.   84  While I was focusing the camera, I saw the kangaroo move. It suddenly woke up, looked at Chris, and jumped away into the distance before we could do anything.
I started laughing but Chris looked very serious.   85   I started laughing even harder. I stopped laughing, however, when he said that our car keys were also in the jacket!

A．Chris speeded up to catch up with the kangaroos. B．He said his wallet and passport were in the jacket. C．In order to get there in three days, we drove very fast. D．so we had to take food, water, and extra gas with us. E. Chris went over to the kangaroo and put his baseball cap on its head. F. I was still surprised, but I took out my camera.

A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shining car. “Is this your car, Paul?” he asked.

Paul answered, “Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas.” The boy was surprised. “You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn’t cost you nothing? Boy, I wish…”He hesitated.

Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly.

“I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that.” Paul looked at the boy in surprise, then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car?”

“Oh yes, I’d love that.”

After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, “Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?”

Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the boy wanted. He wanted to show his neighbours that he could ride home in a big car. But Paul was wrong again. “Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked.

He ran up to the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled brother. He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car.

“There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent. And some day I’m going to give you one just like it …then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas window that I’ve been trying to tell you about.”

Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride.

注：urchin頑童, hesitate猶豫, , crippled殘疾,cent 美分

1.The street urchin was very surprised when _______________

A．Paul received an expensive car             B．Paul told him about the car

C．he saw the shining car                    D．he was walking around the car

2.From the story we can see the urchin _______________

A．wished to give his brother a car

B．wanted Paul’s brother to give him a car

C．wished he could have a brother like Paul’s

D．wished Paul could be a brother like that

3.The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ____________

A．to show his neighbours the big car

B．to show he had a rich friend

C．to let his brother ride in the car

D．to tell his brother about his wish

4.We can infer（推斷） from the story that___________

A．Paul couldn’t understand the urchin

B．the urchin had a deep love for his brother

C．the urchin wished to have a rich brother

D．the urchin’s wish came true in the end

5.The best name of the story is ____________

A．A Christmas Present                     B．A Street Urchin

C．A Brother Like That                      D．An Unforgettable Holiday Ride

 

A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shining car. “Is this your car, Paul?” he asked.

Paul answered, “Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas.” The boy was surprised. “You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn’t cost you nothing? Boy, I wish…”He hesitated.

Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly.

“I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that.” Paul looked at the boy in surprise, then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride in my car?”

“Oh yes, I’d love that.”

After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, “Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?”

Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the boy wanted. He wanted to show his neighbours that he could ride home in a big car. But Paul was wrong again. “Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked.

He ran up to the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled brother. He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car.

“There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent. And some day I’m going to give you one just like it …then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas window that I’ve been trying to tell you about.”

Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride.

注：urchin頑童, hesitate猶豫, , crippled殘疾,cent 美分

1.The street urchin was very surprised when _______________

A．Paul received an expensive car             B．Paul told him about the car

C．he saw the shining car                    D．he was walking around the car

2.From the story we can see the urchin _______________

A．wished to give his brother a car

B．wanted Paul’s brother to give him a car

C．wished he could have a brother like Paul’s

D．wished Paul could be a brother like that

3.The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house ____________

A．to show his neighbours the big car

B．to show he had a rich friend

C．to let his brother ride in the car

D．to tell his brother about his wish

4.We can infer（推斷） from the story that___________

A．Paul couldn’t understand the urchin

B．the urchin had a deep love for his brother

C．the urchin wished to have a rich brother

D．the urchin’s wish came true in the end

5.The best name of the story is ____________

A．A Christmas Present                     B．A Street Urchin

C．A Brother Like That                      D．An Unforgettable Holiday Ride

 

 

In many high schools，there are strict rules about using mobile phones. If your phone rings in class，for example，the teacher will be very angry.

Every mobile phone has a ringtone (鈴聲). It tells you that someone is calling you. Now，there is a ringtone called “mosquitotone (蚊子鈴聲)”. Using it，students can receive calls and text messages (短信) in class but the teacher will not realize what is happening. How?

Mosquitotone has a special sound. Only children and teenagers can hear it. As we get older，we are unable to hear some sounds with high frequencies (頻率). As a result，a child or teenager can hear the mosquitotone ringtone, but it’s_inaudible_to someone 20 or older.

But sometimes，people over 20 can hear the ringtone. One British student’s phone uses mosquitotone. In class，the student’s phone rang. The 32­year­old teacher looked at the student and became unhappy. “I heard that. You know the rule：no mobile phone in class.”

Not all the students are interested in mosquitotone. Jerry Jones，a high school student of 17，says，“Using mosquitotone too often is bad for our hearing. I may use it for pleasure，but not in class. It’s unfair to the teachers！”

What do parents think of mosquitotone？“I think it is perfect for places like movie theaters，” says Connie Neeson,44.“Think about it. Yon’re watching a film and someone’s mobile phone rings. Mosquitotone is good because many people don’t hear it. However，it also has a bad influence on their study if students use it in class.”

1.Mosquitotone works because ________.

A. it is very loud                  B. it has no sound

C. it has a beautiful sound         D. it uses high frequencies

2.The under lined part “it’s_inaudible_to” means “________”．

A. it can’t be seen by             B. it can’t be heard by

C. it isn’t popular with           D. it isn’t healthy for

3.The 32­year­old teacher felt unhappy because the student ________.

A. was late for class  B. didn’t do his homework

C. couldn’t answer her question          D. was using a mobile phone in class

4.Connie Neeson thinks that mosquitotone ________.

A. has no bad influence             B. is unfair to the teachers

C. has its advantage and disadvantage  D. can’t be used in any public place

 

Feeding a crowd of hundreds doesn’t make Kenny Seals-Nutt nervous.

In fact, he thrives in the kitchen. He’s in his perfect place when dicing tomatoes, making salads and baking cakes.

By the time Kenny, 16, reached his third year of high school at Hickory Grove, North Carolina, US, he had become vice president of his school’s cooking club. He also opened his own food company, called Modern Fusion.

Kenny said he developed his love of cooking by watching his mother, and his grandmother, who owned a catering (飲食業(yè)) business herself. Kenny helped them both in order to remember their tips: how long to cook chicken so it stays wet, and the right amount of tomatoes to add to a spaghetti dish.

At the age of 5, he cooked his first dish of shrimp and broccoli. Taking it for his school lunch, he warmed it up in the school’s microwave, while the other kids ate their sandwiches.

“I love to eat, and it started to become more fun to cook than to use a microwave,” he said.

Cooking came easy to Kenny, and he enjoyed adding new ingredients into common dishes. “It started with a passion (熱情) and I wanted to know more,” he said. He began to watch the Food Network and read chef blogs.

Last summer, Kenny put his skills to the test by working with his grandmother to cater his uncle’s wedding. While she cooked traditional dishes, Kenny wanted to add new to the expected flavors (風味).

Now Kenny spends his weekends catering his own events: weddings, birthday parties, baby showers. Kenny’s dishes are always a hit.

Chef Frederick Mookie Hicks, owner of a catering business, said Kenny’s success comes from his ability to multitask in the kitchen. Hicks said he has asked Kenny to cook with him on jobs three times now, and he presents Kenny as a positive example of a passionate chef to the students in his cooking classes.

“He’s so vigorous (精神飽滿的) about cooking that he doesn’t let anything stop him,” Hicks said. “I knew in the first five minutes of working with the kid that he is something special.”

1.How is Kenny different from other students?

A．He opened a cooking club in his high school.

B．He is famous on the Food Network.

C．He owned a food company at 16.

D．He loves to multi-task.

2.What does the underlined word “thrives” probably mean?

A．works energetic                        B．grows fast

C．learns quickly                          D．makes progress

3.Which of the following best describes Kenny’s cooking?

A．Traditional.                            B．Creative.

C．Simple.                               D．Strange.

4.We can conclude from the article that ______.

A．Kenny proved himself by catering his uncle’s wedding alone

B．Kenny likes to follow his mother’s recipe when cooking

C．Kenny was able to cook his first dish in primary school

D．Kenny’s success in cooking has a lot to do with his family