The Mayan（瑪雅的）Indians lived in Mexico for thousands of years before the Spanish arrived in the 1500s. The Mayan achievements were many. They had farms, beautiful palaces, and cities with many buildings. The Mayan people knew a lot about nature and the world around them. This knowledge helped them to live a better life than most people of that time, because they could use it to make their lives more comfortable and rewarding（值得的）. Knowledge about tools and farming, for example, made their work easier and more productive.

    The Maya believed in many gods, including rain gods, sun gods, and corn gods. The people built large temples to honor the Mayan gods. Skillful workers built cities around these temples. It was difficult for them to build these cities, because they had no horses to carry the heavy stone they used to build with. Workers had to carry all of the building materials themselves. Today, many of these ancient Mayan cities and temples are still standing.

    Although the cities that the Maya built were beautiful, and the people worked hard to build them, very few of the people lived in them. Usually, only the priests（牧師）lived in the cities.

    The other people lived in small villages in the forests. Their houses were much simpler than the elaborate buildings in the cities. They lived in small huts（小屋）with no windows. The walls were made of poles covered with dried mud, and the roof was made of grass or leaves. Most Maya lived a simple life close to nature.

    The Mayan priests studied the Sun, the Moon, stars, and planets. They made a calendar from what they learned. The year was divided into 18 months of 20 days each with five days left over. The Mayan calendar was far more exact than the European calendars of the time.

    Around the year 800, the Maya left their villages and beautiful cities, never to return. No one knows why this happened. They may have died from some disease. They may have left because the soil could no longer grow crops. Archaeologists（考古學(xué)家）are still trying to find the lost secrets of the Maya.

1.What does the underlined word “elaborate’’ mean?

    A. easily built    B. carefully made    C. slowly fixed    D. quickly designed

2.From the passage we can infer（推理）that    .

    A. most Maya lived in beautiful cities

    B. many Mayan cities and temples are still standing

    C. the Maya were intelligent and culturally rich people

    D. the Mayan calendar was the same as European calendars

3.Why it is said that the Mayan people lived a better life than most people of that time?

    A. They had better building skills and housing conditions.

    B. They believed in many gods, and honored the Mayan gods.

    C. They had knowledge about tools and faming.

    D. They studied about nature and the world around them.

4.What can be the best title for this article?

    A. Mayan Gods       B. Mayan Buildings

    C. Productive Maya D. Mysterious（神秘的）Maya

My grandfather is eighty years old．He always complains about how fast things have changed，and he often says that life used to be better．

  “Families aren’t  the ones the way they used to be．A lot of families have broken up．If husband and wife have problems with their marriage，they no longer stay together．And mothers used to stay at home and take care of their children，but now everyone is busy working．No one has time to look after children at home．

    And the cars! No one walks anymore；more and more people drive．We used to walk five miles to school on schooldays，even in winter．But now we don’t．And in school，children don’t  have to think anymore．In math class，for example，we used to add，subtract，multiply and divide(加減乘除)using our heads．But now kids don’t use their heads anymore；instead，they use calculators(計(jì)算器)．

    Most families have computers now．In the past we didn’t have computers．We didn’t even have lights．My mother used to spend all day cooking in the kitchen．But now we don’t' often eat home cooked food．

  And people talk less to each other than before．They m too busy to talk，too busy to eat，too busy to think…

    Life used to be simple．but it isn’t  anymore．”

1．What does my，grandfather think of the fife now?

    A．He thinks the life now is very good．

    B．He thinks the life now is worse than it used to be．

    C．He thinks the life now is better than it used to be．

    D．He thinks the life flow is the same as it used to be．

2．What does the underlined word“marriage”mean in Chinese ?

A．生活    B．工作    C．婚姻    D．家庭

3．What has happened these years according to the passage?

    A．Children don’t  have to think anymore in school．

    B．Students use calculators in math class．

    C．Students used to walk to school，but now they don’t ．

    D．All of the above．

4．What changes have happened to families?

   ①There are lights at home．

  ②People often eat home-cooked food．

  ③lots of families have computers．

  ④More couples(夫婦)live apart because of unhappy problems．

  A．①②④    B．②③④    C．①②③    D．①③④

5．Which is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Life now is much simpler．

B．People have more time to talk with each other now．

C．The grandfather only complains and pays no attention to the better life now．

D．Lots of mothers stay at home and look after their children．

1 

A farmer had some little dogs to sell. As he was putting up an advertisement on the fence of his yard, a __1__ happened to pass by.

“I want to __2__ one of your dogs, sir.”

“Well,” said the farmer, “these dogs come from fine parents and cost a lot of __3__.”

The boy __4__ his head for a moment. Then he reached deep into his __5__ and pulled out some change. “I’ve got thirty-nine cents(美分). Is that __6__ to take a look? ”

“­­__7__,”said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle(口哨),“Here, Dolly!”

Dolly ran out of the doghouse ___8___ by four little dogs. The boy’s eyes danced with joy.

As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else moving inside the __9__.Slowly another little dog __10__; this one much smaller. It was doing its best to __11__...

“I want that one,” the little boy said.

The farmer said, “Son, don’t want that dog. He will __12__ be able to run and play with you like the other dogs would.”

The boy rolled up(卷起) one leg of his pants and showed a steel(鋼) __13__.Looking back up at the farmer, he said, “You see, sir ,I don’t __14__ too well myself ,and he will need someone who __15__.”

1.A. boy              B. dog               C. farmer           D. son

2.A .sell             B. see               C. buy              D. feed

3.A. time             B. money             C. work             D. study

4.A. shook            B. covered           C. knocked          D. dropped

5.A. pocket           B. yard              C. heart            D. mouth

6.A. enough           B. easy              C. necessary        D. simple

7.A. No               B. Sure              C. Sorry            D. Thanks

8.A. sent             B. driven            C. followed         D. taught

9.A. farm             B. fence             C. advertisement    D. doghouse

10.A. died             B. shouted           C. appeared         D. watched

11.A. catch up         B. go away           C. give up          D. look out

12.A. sometimes        B. always            C. often            D. never

13.A. hand             B. back              C. arm              D. leg

14.A. speak            B. run               C. walk             D. swim

15.A. asks             B. understands       C. thinks           D. succeeds

There are so many reasons for remembering our favorite teachers forever and thanking them. Here are some good teachers

Mr Livingstone :Ms Livingstone had the same last name as me and I often spoke with her since we worked in the same building. When my students got her for 7th grade, I was very concerned .I thought her class would be very boring. But my students loved her class and I never forgot her.

Jack:I went to Mrs Mcquillan’s class completely by accident at the start of my 10th grade year, and I am so lucky that I did. She brought the literature(文學(xué)) to life right before my eyes. She loves her job so much. If every teacher could do what she does in the classroom, every class would be wonderful. I was so happy to meet a teacher who cared so much. That’s the reason why I want to be an English teacher. And if I could be half as helpful as she is, I would be happy.

Mr Smith: Mrs McClure always went above and beyond for the children in her classroom. Thanks to Mrs McClure, my son loves school. He even got to eat a special lunch with her recently and it made his week ! One family will forever be grateful for the wonderful experience she provided for our son during his first year in school.

Mary: “How are you feeling today? ”Mr Funk asks every day. “Thirsty for knowledge!” all the students answer immediately .Mr Funk is an amazing history teacher? and an amazing all-round person; he never lets class get boring .When mistakes are made ,he corrects them so that you actually understand what you did wrong. Mr Funk is a great teacher.

1. What does the word “concerned” in paragraph2 probably mean?

A.Excited????? B Relaxed.???? ????????????? C. Worried???? ????????????? D. Interested

2.What do we learn about Jack?

A. He knew a lot about Mrs Mcquillan before going to her class

B. He is sure he will be a better teacher than Mrs Mcquillan.

C. He wants to teach Mrs Mcquillan.

D. He loved Mrs Mcquillan’s literature class very much.

3.Which of the following persons also works at school?

A. Mr Livingstone?? B. Mr Smith??? C. Mary?? ????????????? D. Jack

4.What is Mr Funk’s class most probably like?

A. Long ????????????? B. Boring??? ????????????? C . Simple?? ????????????? D. Lively