Terry, who failed again and again in career (事业), often complained that he had been cheated by others. One day he told his wife he was so disappointed with the city  16  he had to leave.

It was the evening of  17  weekend when they moved to another city. Terry and his wife  18  (tidy) up their new home busily when the light suddenly went out. Terry was regretful to have forgotten bringing along candles and had to wait   19  (help) in a low mood. Just then he heard knocks on his door. Wondering who  20  was, Terry, a newcomer to this city, went to the door and opened it impatiently.  21  the door was a little girl, shyly asking whether he had candles. “No” Terry answered in anger and shut the door violently.

After a while, the girl knocked again.  22  this time she was holding two candles, saying, “My grandma told me the new neighbour downstairs might need candles. She sent me here to give you these.” Terry was very surprised by  23  he saw.

At that moment he suddenly realized what caused his  24   (repeat) failure in life. The person who had cheated him in life was really nobody else but  25  .

Children find meanings in their old family tales.     

When Stephen Guyer’s three children were growing up, he told them stories about how his grandfather, a banker,    26    all in the 1930s, but did not lose sight of what he valued most. In one of the darkest times when his strong-minded grandfather was nearly    27   , he loaded his family into the car and    28    them to see family members in Canada with a    29   , “There are more important things in life than money.”

The    30    took on a new meaning recently when Mr. Guyer downsized to a    31    house from a more expensive and comfortable one. He was    32    that his children, a daughter, 15, and twins, 22, would be upset. To his surprise, they weren’t. Instead, their reaction echoed (重复) their great-grandfather’s. What they    33    about was how warm the people were in the house and how much of their heart was accessible.

Many parents are finding family stories have surprising power to help children through     34    times. Storytelling experts say the phenomenon (现象) reflects a growing    35   in telling tales, evidenced (证明) by a rise in storytelling events and festivals.

A university    36    of 65 families with children aged from 14 to 16 found kids’ ability to    37    parents’ stories was linked to a lower rate of anger and anxiety.

The    38    is telling the stories in a way children can hear. We’re not talking here about the kind of story that    39   , “When I was a kid, I walked to school every day uphill both ways, barefoot in the snow.” Instead, we should choose a story suited (适合) to the child’s    40   , and make eye contact to create “a personal experience”. We don’t have to tell children what they should take from the story and what the moral is.

【小题1】A. missed      B. lost                    C. forgot               D. ignored

【小题2】A. friendless  B. worthless          C. penniless          D. homeless

【小题3】A. fetched    B. allowed            C. expected        D. took

【小题4】A. hope        B. promise            C. suggestion       D. belief

【小题5】A. tale           B. agreement      C. arrangement  D. report

【小题6】A. large         B. small                 C. new                  D. grand

【小题7】A. surprised   B. annoyed          C. disappointed  D. worried

【小题8】A. talked       B. cared               C. wrote               D. heard

【小题9】A. good        B. hard                 C. old                    D. modern

【小题10】A. argument                            B. skill                     C. interest    D. anxiety

【小题11】A. study      B. design              C. party                D. staff

【小题12】A. provide  B. retell                 C. support            D. refuse

【小题13】A. trouble   B. gift                    C. fact                  D. trick

【小题14】A. means    B. ends                 C. begins              D. proves

【小题15】A. needs     B. activities           C. hobbies           D. habits

【小题1】You can’t enter the teachers’ office without __________ (permit).

【小题2】So far, more and more ____________ (agriculture) achievements have been made in China.

【小题3】In spite of my __________ (curious), I knew I had to say no.

【小题4】You should know what your __________ (strong) and weaknesses are.

【小题5】_________ (fool), I didn’t write the phone number down.

【小题6】 You can still eat breakfast when you are ___________ (slim).

【小题7】The number of passengers is __________ (limit) to fifteen.

【小题8】The family ___________ (origin) came from France.

【小题9】Cycling is highly __________ (benefit) to health and the environment.

【小题10】I don’t think she’s ever __________ (forgive) me for getting her name wrong that time.

There are quite a few advantages of wearing school uniforms. The idea may seem disagreeable at first, but considering all the positive effects coming from wearing uniforms you would be more likely to enjoy them.

Teachers love school uniforms because it helps provide an orderly learning environment. Having students dressed in uniforms may teach them how to present themselves in a neat and professional manner. It gives students the opportunity to learn how to dress like young ladies and gentleman. And they can focus their attention on academics rather than style.

Purchasing (购买) school uniforms is easy and needs less hesitation and consideration. No matter what the school’s policy is, there are only specific essential (基本的) pieces to the wardrobe (服装) that are necessary, so it won’t break the bank. A few wardrobe items can last a long time. Parents could also enjoy an easy morning, as it will take less time to choose a set of clothes for the school day.

Students wearing uniforms will feel less pressure about what to wear or not to wear when their classmates are dressed similarly. Getting dressed before school becomes less of a chore(琐事) when students are limited in their choices, so there shouldn’t be any trouble about choosing an outfit for the day and getting ready quickly. Some students may not like the lack of individuality(个性) with a uniform, but some school dress code policies may offer them the opportunities to show their unique styles.

Uniforms today are also becoming trendier and can be seen in many areas of pop culture. Celebrities(名人)and fashion designers are using uniforms as inspiration for new looks which also appeal to students.

【小题1】 What would be the best title for the text?

A. How to dress properly.        

B. The history of school uniforms.

C. The advantages of school uniforms.       

D. How to deal with pressure in school.

【小题2】Teachers think that wearing school uniforms ________________.

A. is just a tradition that students should follow

B. makes students feel less pressure in study

C. helps students put more effort into their studies

D. makes students lose their independence and identity

【小题3】The underlined part “it won’t break the bank” in Paragraph 3 probably means “__________”.

A. a school uniform doesn’t cost a lot of money

B. a school uniform should be worn every day

C. parents will have to go to the bank many times

D. parents who work in a bank can afford the uniform

【小题4】We can infer from the text that school uniforms _________.

A. are not popular with fashion designers

B. were not accepted by parents in the past

C. will be designed by students themselves

D. will be more fashionable in the future

【小题5】The author’s attitude towards students’ wearing school uniforms is ___________.

A. negative               B. supportive            C. doubtful               D. unclear

Do you ever wonder why the English have one word for some animals and a different one for their meat? Why do they use pig and pork, cow and beef, and sheep and mutton? To find it out, we have to go back to 1066, when the Norman French invaded England and put a French king on the English throne (王位), which not only changed the government but also changed the language. French became the language of the upper classes of society. And it remained that way for 300 years. Only these high society people could afford to eat meat. As a result, French words like porc (pork) and beouf (beef) came into the English language. However, poor English farmers raised the animals. So the English language retained the words pig and cow from the Native Anglo-Saxon.

The Norman French added about 10,000 French words to the English language. Seventy-five percent of them are still in use today.

In French grammar, nouns have either a male or female gender (性别), so adjectives (形容词) take different forms for each. English has only one adjective that does this, and it came from French. The word “blond” describes someone with light-colored hair. “Blond” is used for men, and “blonde” describes women. And they are also nouns.

Some French words that entered the English language have taken on completely different meanings. The French phrase “a la mode” means “in style”. In English, the phrase means “with the ice cream”. Someone must have decided something eaten with ice cream was in style!

Now, as you learn English, you’re on your way to learning French!

【小题1】French was once popular among the upper classes of the UK because_____.

    A. too many French moved to Britain

    B. French brought animals with them    

  C. the king and his officials spoke French

  D. the king allowed French to be spoken

【小题2】 Which word can replace the word “retained” in Paragraph 1?

    A. Chose         B. Kept            C. Introduced      D. Give up

【小题3】 Why does an English speaker find French easy to learn?

  A. Because English and French share similar pronunciations.

    B. Because English grammar and French grammar are similar.

    C. Because a large number of English words have French origins.

  D. Because English has great influences on the French language.

【小题4】French grammar is very different from English grammar because ______.

    A. no words have the same pronunciation

   B. all words have the same pronunciation

    C. English nouns have a male or female gender

    D. French nouns have different adjective forms

【小题5】What conclusion can we draw from the text?

  A. Language is closely related to history and culture.

  B. French and English words have nothing in common.

  C. Language is controlled by the upper classes of society.

  D. English combines French and the Native Anglo-Saxon.