A

There are many stories which show filial (孝顺的) respect in ancient China. Stories like

“Taste Liquid (液体的) Medicine for Mother” of Emperor Wen of the Western Han dynasty not

only tell us the filial virtue (美德) but also remind us of the greatest love we get from our parents.

The selfless love from a mother is also a popular topic in poetry. The poem Song of the

Parting Son, written by the Tang Dynasty poet Meng Jiao (751–814), is one example.

From the threads a mother’s hand weaves,

A gown for parting son is made.

Sewn stitch by stitch before he leaves,

For fear his return be delayed.

Such kindness as young grass receives,

From the warm sun can’t be repaid.

(Translated by Xu Yuanchong)

The poem shows a situation from everyday life: A mother sewing (缝) clothes for her son.

Here Meng uses two everyday things, the thread (线) and the needle (针), to compare the close

relationship between mother and son. They are always connected to each other. When the son is

traveling far away, the mother is afraid that his return will be delayed. So she carefully sews the

clothes. In the last two lines, the poet uses a metaphor (暗喻). He compares mothers to the warm

sun in spring while children are like grass. It is hard for a child’s love to equal that of a mother’s.

Although this poem is about a mother’s selfless love for her son, we hope you enjoy the deep

feeling behind the lines. Whatever changes take place in society and life, love from parents will

never change. So always remember to show filial respect to your parents for their selfless love and

make efforts to improve virtue in our families.

1. The poem Song of the Parting Son mentioned in this passage may be ________.

A. 《春夜喜雨》 B. 《回乡偶书》 C. 《游子吟》

2. What relationship is described in the poem?

A. Husband and wife.

B. Mother and son.

C. Teacher and student.

3. What does the underlined word “delay” mean in Chinese?

A. 推迟 B. 拒绝 C. 打扰
4. Which of the following sentences can be used to show the meaning of the poem?

A. Like father, like son.

B. Mothers never stop worrying.

C. East or west, home is the best.

10. The main purpose of the passage is to ________ .

A. introduce a famous emperor

B. show mother’s love helps us grow healthily

.
C remind us to show respect to parents

Pinocchio had a fever. The Fairy took a glass of water with medicine and said lovingly to

Pinocchio: “Drink this, you’ll be up and well.”

Pinocchio looked at the glass worriedly and said, “I’d rather die than drink that awful

medicine.”

At that moment, the door of the room flew open and in came four rabbits as black as ink,

carrying a small black coffin(棺材) on their shoulders.

“What do you want?” asked Pinocchio.

“We have come for you,” said the largest rabbit.

“Oh, Fairy, my Fairy,” Pinocchio cried out, “Give me that glass! Quick, please! I don’t want

to die!” And holding the glass with his two hands, he took the medicine quickly. Then the rabbits

had to leave.

After that, the Fairy added, “Pinocchio, tell me how you were in the hands of the robbers(强

盗) last time.”

“I had five gold pieces to give to my father, but on the way I met two robbers. They tied my

neck with a rope and hung me to a tree,” said Pinocchio.

“Where are the gold pieces now?” the Fairy asked.

“I lost them,” answered Pinocchio. As he spoke, his nose became at least two inches(英
寸）longer.

“And where did you lose them?”

“In the wood nearby.” At this second lie, his nose grew a few more inches. “If you lost them

in the near-by wood,” said the Fairy, “we’ll look for them and find them.”

“Ah, now I remember,” replied Pinocchio, “I did not lose the gold pieces, but I took them.”

At this third lie, his nose became longer than ever. The Fairy sat looking at him and laughing.

“Why do you laugh?” Pinocchio asked her, worried now at the sight of his growing nose.

“I am laughing at your lies.”

“How do you know I am lying?”

“Lies, my boy, are known in a moment. There are two kinds of lies, lies with short legs and

lies with long noses. Yours, just now, happen to have long noses.”

(Adapted from The Adventures of Pinocchio)

5.Why did the Fairy give Pinocchio medicine?

A. Because he was ill.

B. Because he told a lie.

C. Because he was hurt.

6.What is the correct order of the following events?

①Pinocchio took the medicine.

②Pinocchio was afraid of death.

③Pinocchio told lies to the Fairy.

A. ①-③-② B. ②-①-③ C. ③-①-②

7.How many times did Pinocchio lie to the Fairy?

A. Once. B. Twice. C. Three times.

8.Which of the following words can best describe Pinocchio according to the passage?

A. Impolite and friendly.

B. Smart and kind.

C. Fearful and dishonest.

9.What can we learn from the passage?

A. It is necessary to tell lies often.

B. People should tell the truth.

C. Keeping money is important.

in farm trucks or on bikes. Some rode in school buses called “kid hacks.” Kid hacks were wooden

horse-drawn carriages( 马车). It had two long bench seats( 长椅) with little space in the middle for

people to pass. The carriages had a cover on the top to keep people from the strong sunshine. But

they were open on the sides, so kids might still get wet on rainy days!

By the mid-1920s, more cars were on the roads, and some transport companies started to

make buses out of steel. But buses still looked different from place to place.

That changed in 1939, when transportation officials( 官员 ) from around the country met to

come up with a set of standards for school buses. They wanted to make buses safer. Besides, if all

school buses looked alike( 相像 ), it would be easier for factories to build them quickly and more

conveniently.

During the seven-day meeting, they also discussed about the color of the school bus. After

trying 50 kinds of color on the wall, they settled on the orange-yellow. And that’s still what you

see on buses today. National School Bus Glossy Yellow, as the color is officially( 官方地 ) called,

has advantages. The color was chosen because studies had shown yellow was the most eye-

catching to human beings. What’s more, this kind of color could be seen clearly in the morning

and evening light when school buses usually worked.

So the next time you step onto a school bus, you can feel good knowing that your ride now is

much safer and drier than it would have been 100 years ago!

10.What was the “kid hack” like?

A. B. C.

11.The transportation officials made standards for school buses in 1939 to _______.

A. ask more people to take the school buses

C. keep people from getting wet on rainy days

12.What does “that” in paragraph 3 refer to(指代)?

A. Buses looked different in different places.

B. People never built buses made of steel.

C. There were more cars than buses on the roads.

13.Which one is NOT the reason why school buses were yellow?

A. Yellow could be clearly seen in evening light.

B. Yellow could catch people’s eye most easily.

C. Yellow was like the color of the sun in the morning.

14. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. The introduction of ancient American school buses.

B. The difference between kid hacks and school buses.

C. The development of school buses in the United States.

Someone may be born smart but weak at sports. But everyone can study to become smarter

and train to get better at sports. Science shows that anyone can get better skills.

Your brain is made up of billions of neurons(神经元)—a cell(细胞) that carries information

within the brain. They are all connected and send messages to each other. Scientists have found

that when we learn, neurons make new connections and old connections grow stronger. But if

connections aren’t used, they will break down. It’s just like the English saying “use it or lose it”.

So, learning is like exercise for your brain.

A mindset(思维方式) is a way of thinking. Some people have a fixed mindset. They think

they are either smart or stupid and they will stay that way forever. Other people have a growth

mindset and they think they can learn and get better.

According to Dr. Carol Dweck’s studies, people with a fixed mindset worry about grades.

They’re afraid of looking stupid when they make mistakes. People with a growth mindset care
about learning, not grades. They learn from their mistakes and try to find different ways of solving

problems. They ask for help when necessary. In only two years, babies learn to walk, talk and feed

themselves. They never worry about looking stupid when learning. If they make mistakes, they

just try again.

Dweck’s team discovered that kids can choose to have a growth mindset. They can do better

in school. So notice what mindset you have. If you ever think yourself stupid, it’s not true. You

just have not learned how to do something yet.

15.According to paragraph one, how can we get better at playing tennis?

A. By practicing tennis hard. B. By watching sports games. C. By studying our

brains.

16.What are your neurons busy doing when you learn?

.
A They are losing messages.

B. They are breaking down.

C. They are making new connections.

17. What’s the Chinese meaning of the underlined word “fixed”?

A. 修复的 B. 固定的 C. 消极的

18.What can you infer from paragraph four?

A. A student worrying about his math grades has a growth mindset.

B. A boy with a fixed mindset is ready to try to solve his problems.

C. Baby tries walking again when falling for its growth mindset.

19.The writer’s purpose of writing the passage is to _______.

A. introduce Dr. Carol Dweck’s studies

B. encourage kids to have a growth mindset

C. discuss ways to make brains work better

E
 A few years ago, my husband and I were on an island for a weekend with our daughters. As

we were wondering what to do next, our girls jumped in, telling us that the butterfly museum was

the very place they wanted to go to.

As soon as we walked into the museum, we saw thousands of beautiful butterflies, all

flapping ( 拍 打 ) their colorful wings. My girls were jumping up and down, and I knew we had

made the right decision. They were having so much fun.

I turned to the tour guide of the museum and asked, “How long do butterflies live?”

“About ten days on average (平均),” answered she.

“What can butterflies do in ten days?” I continued.

,
The guide stopped looked at me, and replied, “They make the world a more beautiful place.”

“Wow,” I said. “I never thought about butterflies like that. Thanks.”

After we said goodbye, I couldn’t stop thinking about what the guide had said. She was right.

We all have something to offer the world. When we focus ( 专注 ) our gifts on caring about each

other every day, we can make a difference.

Appreciate ( 欣赏 ) the influence you can have on your family, friends and neighbors. Like a

butterfly, you have your own way of making the world a little better for everyone.

20. Where did the family finally decide to go?

A. To a history museum. B. To a butterfly museum. C. To an art museum.

21.The girls felt _______ when they were at the museum.

A. excited B. tired C. worried

22.How long does a butterfly live on average?

A. For about ten days. B. For several months. C. For a few years.

23.What did the guide think of butterflies?

A. She felt pity for butterflies that live such a short life.

B. She really appreciated what butterflies did for the world.

C. She didn’t think butterflies could do anything for the world.

24. From the story, the writer tries to _______.

B. advise people to visit the butterfly museum

C. encourage people to make a difference to the world

What are “good boys” and “good girls”? According to most teachers at school, they should be

active, positive, honest and study hard. But do the kids think the same as their teachers? Students

of Class 123, Xinhua High School is holding a class meeting on the question to search for “good

kids” in their class. Many students are excited to express their different ideas.

Liu Ping thinks his classmate Wang Jia is a good boy because Wang is very responsible. As

the monitor, Wang takes care of everybody. Once Liu broke his leg and didn’t go to school for a

week. It was Wang who brought him class notes every day. “I was deeply moved.” said Liu. “If he

is not a good boy, then who can be?”

Li Hong, a 14-year-old girl used to be crazy about playing computer games until she met her

new deskmate Zhang Hao. Zhang is quiet and likes reading. He often shares good books with Li

and helps her study. Now she has stopped playing computer games and has decided to become a

top student like Zhang.

In Lin Li’s mind, however, she herself is a good girl. She said she didn’t always get good

marks in tests. But her parents seldom blamed her. “I told them I had tried my best and they

believed me,” she said. “Everyone has weak points in different aspects(方面). Those who make

every effort whether in study or life should be regarded as ‘good’.” added she.

What do you think a “good” student is?

25.Why did Wang Jia bring Liu Ping class notes?

A. Liu was lazy. B. Liu broke his leg. C. Liu was disabled.

26.How does Zhang Hao help his classmate Li Hong?

A. By playing computers games with her.

B. By having competitions with her.

27. Lin Li thinks _______ is a good student.

A. Liu Ping B. herself C. Li Hong

28.What does the underlined word “blamed” mean in this passage?

.
A 责怪 B. 鼓励 C. 关心

29.What does the passage mainly tell us?

A. How to be good kids. B. Where to find good kids. C. What good kids are.