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New York is one of the last large American cities to have some of its policemen on horseback. The New York police have 170 horses working in certain parts of the city. The horses are expensive to feed, but it is even more expensive to look after them. Because the horses must walk on the streets, they need special horseshoes. In fact , they need more than 8,000 of them each year. Every police horse in New York gets new shoes every month. Keeping these shoes in good repair is the job of six blacksmiths. There are only about thirty-five of these blacksmiths in the whole United States.

The cost of shoing a horse is between twenty dollars and thirty-five dollars, and it takes a good blacksmith two or three hours to do the job.

A blacksmith’s job is not an easy one. He must be able to shape a shoe from a piece of metal and then fit it to the horse’s foot. The blacksmith must bend over all the time when he is fitting the shoe and must hold the weight of the horse’s leg while he works. Clearly, a blacksmith must be very storng. But even more important, he must be able to deal with horses---for before the blacksmith can begin his work, he has to get the horse to lift its leg.

One of the blacksmiths in New York is James Corbin. He came to the country from Ireland in 1948. He not only makes horseshoes for the police but also works for a group of horse owners near the city. Corbin became interested in blacksmithing because his father did it, and,as the puts it, “It’s a good way to make a living.”

1.According to the reading passage, a blacksmith must be likely a______ man.

A. clever       B. rich        C. strong       D. lucky

2.James Corbin became a blacksmith because he__________.

A. was interested in horses        B. was needed by the policemen

C. drew a picture of the horseshoe  D. had a make a living

3.In the reading passage “to shape a shoe” is to__________.

A. fit it on the horse’s foot

B. use it for two or three hours

C. make the from of a horseshoe from a piece of metal

D. draw a picture of the shoe

4.The best title for the passage is “__________”.

A. Policemen on Horseback      B. Blacksmiths and Horseshoeing

C. James Corbin, a Blacksmith    D. Horseshoeing is a Good Way to Make a Living

5.Which of the following is true?

A. Only a few large American cities have some policemen on horseback. 

B. New York is the only city in America to have some policemen on horseback. 

C. Policemen on horseback enjoy travelling around the United States. 

D. Policemen on horseback are less expensive than those in cars.

 

A man and his friend were walking through the deser（沙漠）. During the trip they had a ___and the man hit his friend in the face. His friend was hurt, but without saying ____, he wrote in the sand, “Today my best friend hit me in the face.”

They ____ on walking until they found a lake, where they decided to take a bath. The man’s friend fell into the lake and was in danger, but the man saved him. After he came back to life, he wrtoe on a ______ : “Today my best friend saved my life.”

 The man who had hit and ___his best friend asked, “______ I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now , you wrote on a stone. Why?” His friend _____, “When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where wind can ____ it away. ___, when someone does something good for us, we must write it down in stone where it can ______ for ever.”

1.A. talk             B. joke             C. fight              D. picnic

2.A. something       B. nothing             C. anything           D. everything

3.A. kept            B. continued           C. turned             D. tried

4.A. sand            B. stone               C. tree               D. wall

5.A. killed           B. hurt                C. saved             D. made

6.A. Before          B. While              C. Until              D. After

7.A. replied         B. asked               C. questioned         D. required

8.A. blow            B. send               C. fly                D. put

9.A. Although        B. But                C. However           D. If

10.A. last             B. keep               C. be stayed           D. be laid

 

A blind schoolgirl has become the youngest interpreter (口譯員) when she is only ten years
Alexia Sloane is from Cambridge. She was told by the doctor she had a brain tumour (腦癌) when she was on holiday "with her parents in France. After that the two-year-old girl became blind.
Though the little girl can't see anything, she has great talent for languages and at the age of 10 she is already fluent (流利的) in English, French, Spanish and Chinese-and is learning German.
Now her dream of working as an interpreter has come true. East of England MEP (歐盟議員) Robert Sturdy invited her to the European Parliament (議會(huì)). "Usually a person who enters the European Parliament should be 14 at least. So it was amazing for Alexia to work there at the age of 10. " said Alexia's mother Isabelle. Alexia can speak three languages since birth. As her mum is hah" French and half Spanish and her dad Richard is English. " She has always been very good at languages and shown an interest from a very young age. " added Isabelle, who also has a four-year-old daughter Melissa.
Alexia has dreamed of becoming an interpreter since she was six and chose to go to the European Parliament as her prize when she won the Young Achiever Community Award of the Year (年度青年成就獎(jiǎng)). She asked if she could learn from the interpreters and HEP Robert Sturdy agreed to take her along as his guest. " It was fantastic and I decided to become an interpreter, "said Alexia. "Nothing can stop me. "
【小題1】How old is the youngest interpreter according to the passage?

A．4.

B．6.

C．10.

D．14.

【小題2】When did Alexia Sloane become blind?

A．When she was born.

B．After she had a brain tumour.

C．After she became an interpreter.

D．When she was on holiday with her parents.

【小題3】Who offered Alexia the chance of working as an interpreter?

A．Richard.

B．Isabelle.

C．Melissa.

D．Robert Sturdy.

【小題4】What is right about Alexia Sloane?

A．She can speak five language fluently.

B．She is a talented language learner.

C．She is the only child in the family.

D． She went to France on holiday after she won the award.

【小題5】What do you think is the meaning of the sentence "Nothing can stop me. "?

A．Never give up.	B．Believe in yourself.
C．Nothing is impossible.	D．Failure is the mother of success.

Richard found work in a big office after he had finished college. He liked to use his (1)____and was good (2)_____ his work. So he was often paid more than his workmates and he worked (3)______. But something was wrong with the young man one month. He couldn't fall (4)____ at night. So he was always (5)____ in the daytime and often made mistakes. He had to go to a hospital. The (6)______ looked him over and (7)_____ him to buy some highly effective sleeping pills(高效安眠藥). He took them (8)_______ the went to bed. Soon after that he went to (9)_____.   Richard (10)_______ in the morning, he had a look at the (11)_____ on the wall. It was a quarter to seven. He got up and went to work after (12)____ . As soon as he went in the office, he said to the head of the office, "Good morning, Mr. Clarke! I've(13)_______  had a good sleep like last night's. And I'm feeling (14)_______better now!"   "Skunk(混蛋)!"the head (15)_____ loudly.”We've looked for you for two days! I wanted you to do something important, but it's too late now!"

1.	A．hand B．head C．ear D．nose

 

2.	A．for B．in C．with D．a(chǎn)t

 

3.	A．hard B．fast C．harder D．faster

 

4.	A．a(chǎn)sleep B．a(chǎn)lone C．a(chǎn)fraid D．behind

 

5.	A．well B．hungry C．thirsty D．tired

 

6.	A．doctor B．policeman C．driver D．nurse

 

7.	A．tell B．say C．a(chǎn)sk D．told

 

8.	A．a(chǎn)fter B．since C．before D．because

 

9.	A．a(chǎn)sleep B．sleeping C．sleep D．slept

 

10.	A．stood up B．woke up C．a(chǎn)t down D．lay down

 

11.	A．o’clock B．map C．picture D．clock

 

12.	A．meal B．dinner C．party D．breakfast

 

13.	A．a(chǎn)lways B．usually C．never D．often

 

14.	A．much B．more C．most D．than

 

15.	A．laughed B．shouted C．smiled D．a(chǎn)sked

 

For years I wanted a garden. I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together.
But then we had Matthew, and Marvin, and the twins Alisa and Alan, and then Helen. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.
Money was not enough. Neither was time. Often when my children were little,one of them would want something that cost too much, and I’d have to say, “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know.”
Finally, all the children got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about a garden.
Then, one spring morning, on Mother’s Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I looked out of the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard. There were things blowing around on it. Then I put my glasses on—and I couldn’t believe what I saw.
There was a money tree in my yard!
I went outside to look. It was true! There were dollar bills*, one hundred of them, hanging all over that tree. There was also a note among them, “Thank you for your time, Mom. We love you!”
Later, my children bought me tools, ornaments, a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books. A new page started in my life.
That was three years ago. My garden’s now very pretty, just like I wanted. When I go out and take care of my flowers, I don’t seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they’re right there with me. Now every year when winter comes, I look out of my window and think of the flowers I’ll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me, and I get tears in my eyes—every time.
I’m still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!
【小題1】How many children did the writer have?

A．Three

B．Four

C．Five

D．Six

【小題2】 What did the mother mean when she said “Money doesn’t grow on trees”?

A．She was too busy to plant a money tree at that time.

B．She had to save money so that she could have a garden.

C．It wasn’t easy for her to make money to raise all the children.

D．They didn’t have much money because the mother lost her job.

【小題3】 The “money tree” appeared in the writer’s yard _________.

A．before her children were born

B．one spring morning when the children were little

C．a(chǎn)fter the children went to school

D．on a Mother’s Day after the children left her

【小題4】 The children planted a money tree in their mother’s yard because _________.

A．their mother needed money badly

B．they wanted to show their love to their mother

C．it was time for them to give the money back to her

D．they wanted to live together with their mother forever