My 10-year-old granddaughter was happy the day before yesterday because her mother took her and her friend to a park to celebrate Children’s Day. For a whole day, the two girls played heartily---no homework, no extra-curricular (課外) skills training. The happy life lasted only for one day. Yesterday, everything returned to normal: doing homework till late at night and going over lessons learned at last weekend’s English and “Olympic maths” courses.

Every time I went to my daughter’s house in the evening, I saw her sitting by the small desk in the room doing her homework. On the wall behind the desk are some words she wrote. One sentence reads: “Why is the exercise endless?” Poor girl!

Although teachers have stopped giving after-school homework to primary school children, parents have been forcing their kids to attend different courses-learning English, painting, “Olympic maths” and so on, every Saturday and Sunday.

Are these extra-curricular courses really necessary in children’s education? The answer is certainly “No”. Take the so-called “Olympic maths” for example. These courses are very difficult for the children to understand. Often, they are difficult even for adults.

1.The writer’s granddaughter celebrated her Children’s Day by ________.

A. playing all day B. doing nothing

C. having a party D. going over lessons

2.Usually at weekends the girl will ________.

A. stay at home B. play with their classmates

C. do whatever she likes D. go to different kinds of training courses

3.The writer thinks that her granddaughter ________.

A. lives a happy life B. goes to bed early at weekend

C. has too much homework D. likes to do more exercises

4.Which is true according to the passage?

A. The “Olympic Maths” is too difficult for kids.

B. The grandfather thinks playing is more important than learning.

C. Teachers often give students useless homework.

D. The parents don’t want their kids to do lots of homework.

The robin (知更鳥) stood on an old climbing plant, and sang his most beautiful song. Suddenly the wind made the plant move, and Mary saw something under the dark green leaves. The thick, heavy plant was covering a door. Mary’s heart was beating fast and her hands were shaking as she pushed the leaves away and found the keyhole. She took the key out of her pocket, and it fit the hole. Using both hands, she managed to unlock the door. Then she turned round to see if anyone was watching. But there was no one, so she pushed the door, which opened, slowly, for the first time in ten years. She walked quickly in and closed the door behind her. At last she was inside the secret garden!

It was the loveliest, most exciting place she had ever seen. There were old rose trees everywhere, and the walls were covered with climbing roses. She looked carefully at the grey branches (枝條). Were the roses still alive? Ben would know. She hoped they weren’t all dead. But she was inside the wonderful garden, in a world of her own. It seemed very strange and silent, but she did not feel lonely at all. Then she noticed some small green shoots coming up through the grass. So something was growing in the garden after all! When she found a lot more shoots in different places, she decided they needed more air and light, so she began to pull out the thick grass around them. She worked away, clearing the ground, for two or three hours, and had to take her coat off because she got so hot. The robin hopped around, pleased to see someone gardening.

1.What did Mary see under dark green leaves?

A. a robin B. a door C. a key D. rose trees

2.How did Mary feel after walking in the secret garden?

A. excited B. sad C. angry D. calm

3.How many years has the garden been empty?

A. Never B. 10 C. 5 D. 1

4.Why did Mary pull out the thick grass around the shoots?

A. Because the thick grass was ugly.

B. Because she wanted to plant more rose trees.

C. Because she wanted to give shoots more air and light.

D. Because she felt hot in this secret garden.

Music and Art will enter the Entrance Exam for the high school in Jiangsu. Without music, life would be a mistake. Music is a big part of our lives. But in recent years, some US schools have cut music classes to control budgets (預算).

For example, Chicago public schools hurt arts education when it fired (解雇) over 1,000 teachers. Among them, 10 percent of the teachers taught art or music, according to The Washington Times. In fact, this is not just a problem in the US. In other countries, such as China and the UK, music classes are not thought to be as important as ones like science, math and history. That’s partly because music is not seen as a very important life skill, and it isn’t tested. Many students are busy with schoolwork, so parents and students choose to focus on subjects that are tested more often.

However, learning music is beneficial (有益的) in many ways.

(4) When playing music, you need different abilities to work together. It is not as simple as it looks, according to Kenneth Guilmartin of Music Together, an early childhood music development program. For example, when playing the piano, people see music notes and decode (解碼) them in their brains. They also use their fingers to make sounds. You need to deal with all these things at the same time.

Music has a special connection with science as well. You can see that many scientists are good at playing music: Einstein played the violin, and German physicist Max Planck was talented in playing the piano.

1.Some schools in the US cut music classes, because ________.

A. students in the US weren’t interested in music

B. they were too difficult to learn

C. there weren’t enough music teachers in the US

D. the schools wanted to control budgets

2.In Paragraph 2, what does the underlined word “them” refer to (指代)？

A. Public schools. B. Fired teachers.

C. Parents in Chicago. D. Students in Chicago.

3.What’s the main idea of Paragraph 4?

A. Different abilities are needed to work together while we are playing music.

B. Playing the piano needs people to use fingers to make sounds.

C. Decoding music notes is needed while we are playing music.

D. Playing the piano needs people to see music notes.

4.What’s the writer’s opinion according to this passage?

A. Music is as simple as it looks.

B. Music classes should be cut in some schools.

C. Music is a big part of our lives.

D. Music isn’t a very important life skill for us.

C）用括號中所給動詞的適當形式填空，使短文完整。

Alice and her sister want to make the Earth a better place for people. They did a lot of things.

One day, while they 1. (walk) in their hometown, they saw hundreds of cigarette butts (煙頭) on the ground. The cigarette butts made the town 2. (look) so ugly that they decided to start a group. They wanted to make people stop 3. (drop) butts. The group 4. (call) “No Butts About It” Many people 5. (start) to join their group after they heard of their stories.

At the moment, they 6. (try) to get cigarette companies to put an ashtray (煙灰缸) in each pack of cigarette. Today there are also other “No butts About It” groups in America.

Running two miles on the playground isn’t a fun thing to do for most students. But students in Miss Brown’s class at Mark Twain School in the USA gladly put on their running shoes. They wanted to raise money to help a dog in need.

Miss Brown told her students about Peter, a dog who had a hard start in life. At less than a year old, Peter’s owners found out that he was not healthy. Something was wrong with his body. Medicine could help but it was very expensive. For Peter to have a better life, he needed surgery (外科手術). But his owners couldn’t afford that. Finally, they had to leave Peter at the animal hospital.

“I love dogs and when I hear about Peter, I felt so sad for him,” says student Tony.

Miss Brown’s class decided to hold a Jog-a-Thon to raise money for Peter’s surgery.

“At first I felt like the Jog-a-Thon was just to get us to exercise,” says Mike “but then I wanted to help this dog.”

“I just wanted to make a difference in Peter’s life,” adds student Chance Wood.

News of the Jog-a-Thon spread throughout the school. Before long, five other classes also took part in the event. “I started receiving money from all kinds of people in our school community,” says Miss Brown. “We raised $3,180.64 in all.”

A young man entered the last interview of a company. The director learnt that the young man’s academic (學業(yè)的) grades were very good. “Did you get any scholarships (獎學金) in school?” the director asked. “None.” The young man answered. “Did your father pay for your school fees?” the director asked. “My father died when I was one year old, so my mother paid my school fees.” The young man answered.

“Where did your mother work?” the director asked. “My mother washed clothes.” The young man said. The director looked at the young man’s hands. He had a pair of smooth and perfect hands.

“Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?” the director asked. “Never.” The young man answered. “I have a request,” the director said. When you go back today, wash your mother’s hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.”

The young man felt that his chance of getting the job was high. When he went back. He happily asked his mother to let him wash her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings. She showed her hands to the kid. The young man washed his mother’s hands slowly. His tears fell when he did that. It was the first time he had noticed that his mother’s hands were so wrinkled (有皺紋的).He realized it was this pair of hands that helped him pay the fees.

The next morning, the young man went to the director’s office. “I washed my mother’s hands, and I know that without my mother, I would not be the person I am today.” He said.

“This is what I am looking for,” the director said. “I want a person who can appreciate (感激) the help of others to get things done. You will be a member of our company.

1.Did the young man get any scholarships in school?

_________________________________________________________

2.Who paid for the young man’s school fees?

________________________________________________________

3.How did the young man’s mother make money?

________________________________________________________

4.What did the director ask the young man to do when he went back?

________________________________________________________

5.What’s the best title of this passage?

________________________________________________________

幸福的人生應該是讀書和運動的張弛有度。假如你是Tom,請根據(jù)下列信息給陽光編輯部的編輯寫一篇90詞左右的信，談談你對這句話的看法和愿望。

要求：1. 開頭結尾已給出，不計入總詞數(shù)；

2. 不得出現(xiàn)真實的人名、校名、地名等相關信息。

Dear Editor,

Everyone wants to live a happy life. As students we should enjoy reading and take an active part in different kinds of sports.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I hope my advice is worth taking.

Best wishes

Tom

In 2014, when I was well again after a serious illness, a friend invited me to a writer's meeting in Orlando, Florida. My family thought that a _______ might be just what the doctor suggested, so I went off．

I was tired when I arrived in the Sunshine State. I caught a taxi to my hotel. The next morning, I took_______ taxi to the shopping centre to buy something, later after shopping I went to a lovely restaurant _______ lunch,_______there were no more tables. Then I heard a friendly voice, “You can _______ my table.” I thankfully sat down with the_______lady. We had a happy lunch together. At the end of the _______she asked me how I would plan the holiday in Orlando．I_______her that I didn't have a car. I would take taxis to go out though it was a bit _______. Hearing that she said, “My dear, don't use any more taxis. I'm retired (退休) and free. I am glad to________ you to any place you wish.” I told her that I couldn't put her into that________, but she didn't agree. She asked me where I was________ and the next morning, she came to my hotel and took me to Disney World. She stayed with me for some time and then ________me alone. At the end of the day, she returned to take me back to my hotel. I gave her money but she didn't take any.________ the help of her, I enjoyed my trip there. I'll never forget ________ she did for me．She made my short holiday in Florida such a wonderful memory.

1.A. holiday B. meeting C. research D. conversation

2.A. any B. other C. another D. the other

3.A. at B. to C. of D. for

4.A. so B. and C. but D. though

5.A. use B. make C. pass D. share

6.A. old B. poor C. clever D. strict

7.A. day B. meal C. talk D. table

8.A. said B. told C. talked D. showed

9.A. pleased B. harmful C. excellent D. expensive

10.A. call B. find C. drive D. guide

11.A. place B. danger C. trouble D. situation

12.A. staying B. working C. visiting D. shopping

13.A. left B. sent C. asked D. helped

14.A. In B. With C. Under D. Because

15.A. it B. this C. that D. what

What do you think will happen when the traditional culture meet modern technology? Yes, the words become lively characters at once. How happy it is to enjoy these Chinese cartoons!

Ma Liang is a poor boy who loves painting. He always uses his magic brush to fight against the bad people in the village. The cartoon The Magic Brush came out in 1955．

A group of tadpoles（蝌蚪）are born. They try to find their mother that they have never seen．The story is very easy，but it needs complex technology to show the artistic style of ink（水墨）painting．Little Tadpole Looking for Mom was watched in 1961 first．

The Monkey King：Uproar in Heaven（1961-1964）is China's first color cartoon. It is from the Chinese novel Journey to the West. It's successful. Not only we but also many westerners like the monkey Sun Wukong．

To beat two bad persons, an old man grows 7 calabashes（葫蘆）, and they change into 7 boys. They try their best to beat the bad. Calabash Brothers（1986）is a masterpiece（杰作）of Chinese paper-cutting art．

1._______shows the artistic style of ink painting．

A. The Magic Brush B. Little Tadpole looking for Mom

C. Calabash Brothers D. The Monkey King：Uproar in Heaven

2.The underlined word“complex”in the passage means“_________”in Chinese .

A. 重復的 B. 復雜的 C. 雜亂的 D. 冗長的

3.Which is true according to the passage?

A. The Monkey King is from a Chinese novel．

B. Ma Liang punished the villagers with his brush．

C. Calabash Brothers is from Chinese painting art．

D. Little Tadpole Looking for Mom came out in 1964．

Long long ago, there was a blacksmith(鐵匠). He was always unhappy with his life. “ I’m always hot as a blacksmith. I want to be a stone on the mountain. There it must be cool.” A wise man could change everything. The blacksmith went to the wise man. The wise man said, “Be a stone!” The blacksmith became a stone. A moment later, a stonemason(石匠) came and saw the stone. “It’s what I want,” he said and began to cut it. The stone cried, “Ouch! I don’t want to be a stone. I want to be the sun. That would be great.” The wise man said, “Be the sun!” And he became the sun. But the sun was much hotter, so he said, “ I don’t like this. I’d like to be the moon. It looks cool!” The wise man said again, “Be the moon!” And he became the moon. “This is hotter than being the sun, because the light from the sun shines（照射）on me” he said, “ I don’t want to be the moon. I want to be a blacksmith again. That’s the best life.”

But the wise man said, “ I’m tired of your changing. You want to be the moon, now you are the moon, and you’ll be the moon in the future.”

1.Why did the blacksmith want to be a stone on the mountain?

A. Because he didn’t like working.

B. Because he thought a stone was very happy.

C. Because he thought being a stone was cool.

D. Because a stone on the mountain could see everything.

2.What’s the right order that the blacksmith changed?

A. the sun----the moon----the stone B. the stone----the moon----the sun

C. the moon----the sun----the stone D. the stone----the sun----the moon

3.What’s the best title for this text?

A. The Hottest Work B. A Poor Blacksmith

C. Enjoy Your Present (目前的)Life D. Different kinds of life