In many big cities, a lot of old people keep birds, cats, dogs and other animals in their houses. These animals are friendly to the old people and never leave them. So the old people love them and see them as their good friends or families.

It’s not difficult to keep these lovely animals at home. But you have to take them to animal hospitals to give them needles (注射), so they won’t get ill or they will make people ill. Now there are lots of animal food stores here and there. People can buy good animal food for their animals there. Old people can buy animal food on the phone or on the Internet. But it’s a little more expensive.

Sometimes it’s kind of dirty and dangerous to keep animals. They sometimes look dirty and smell terrible and can be dangerous. For example, an old woman in Shanghai lost her life on the street for her pet dog.  

  Maybe old people in big cities have many reasons to keep these nice and clever animals. They may feel lonely when their children leave. And these pets can be their great helpers. They are their good friends and help them in many things.

1. Old people love these animals because they are _________.

A. nice and lovely                     B. can be great helpers

C. are not difficult to keep            D. are friendly to them

2. If people don’t give the animals needles, the animals may ________.

A. be ill        B. run away          C. not eat food     D. make people unhappy

3. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. How to keep pets.                     B. Pet animals in big cities.

C. Old people and their pet animals.    D. Friendly and nice pet animals.

From: Wendy and Jack Brown

Date: September 22, 2014

To: 8th and 9th graders at R.L.S. Junior School

Subject: Bonjour!

Bonjour! (That means hello in French.)

We hope you all had a great summer. Ours was a lot of fun. We have seen so many new things and met so many wonderful people. The French gave us a warm welcome and helped us get used to living here soon. We have so many things to share with all of you. We are going to send you more emails, but here are the best parts of our holiday in France so far.

We had a fantastic time seeing the Tour de France this summer. It is the most famous bicycle race in the world. The riders travel more than two thousand miles in about a month! We got a quick look at the riders as they sped past! After the race, our family rented bikes, and rode along part of the route that the cyclists used.

A few of you asked whether the French really eat snails(蜗牛). The answer is yes. We went out to dinner the other day, and our parents ordered some. We each tried one and it didn’t taste too bad. The snails, called escargots, are served with lots of butter. They feel a little rubbery when you bite into them, but they don’t really have much taste. Mum’s favourite food here is the French pastries. Dad loves the red wine. Our favourite is the fresh bread from the shop down the street.

We went to visit the Eiffel Tower a few weeks ago. We went all the way to the top. It was a sunny day, so we could see for miles and miles into the distance. Dad doesn’t like heights, so he stayed at the bottom of the tower and took pictures from the ground.

We miss all of you a lot. Write back to us and let us know what is new at home.

Au revoir! (Can you guess what that means in French?)

Wendy and Jack Brown

4. What do the Browns think of French people?

   A. Friendly.            B. Funny.                           C. Welcome.               D. Popular.

5. Jack’s favourite food in France is       .

   A. tasty snails        B. French pastries             C. fresh bread                   D. red wine

6. Which of the following is NOT true according to the email?

   A. Wendy and Jack got used to the life in France soon.

   B. Tour de France is the best-known bicycle race in the world.

   C. The Browns have seen many wonderful things in France.

D. The Browns went to the top of the Eiffel Tower together.

7. Wendy and Jack wrote this email to       .

A. tell a story about riding bicycles in France

B. tell a story about their experiences in France

C. advise the readers to try escargots in France

D. advise the readers to visit France in summer

Everybody in this world is different from one another. But do you know that understanding differences can help you better manage your money?

As we grow up, we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs. These are influenced by society, our family, the education we receive and so on. Once this value system is set up, it’s not easy to change later in life.

Financial (金融) experts say that everyone also has their own belief of how to manage their finances. This is part of our value system and it has a great impact on the way we look after our money.

According to our different values, experts put us in three categories. They are: the ant, the cricket and the snail.

The ant—works first

Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter, these people don’t care about enjoying the moment. They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire. The ant loves to save but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest(投资) in some funds and stocks with low risk.

The cricket—fun first

    The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn’t think too much about the future. They even borrow money when they really want something. Many young people now belong to this group. These people have little savings. When they get old, they might have problems. They should learn to save and buy insurance(保险).

The snail—lives under pressure(压力)

The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves. They take big long-term loans (贷款)from the bank in order to buy things such as luxury(奢华的) houses. They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure they can afford it. This can cause problems in the future. They should plan more carefully.

8. People with the character of the snail would like to _______.

A. enjoy life at the moment without thinking much about the future

B. live a luxury life at all costs

C. put work before everything else.

D. take the risk of investing a large sum of money

9. Our beliefs and values are affected by the following except ______.

A. society               B. money          C. education         D. our family

10. This passage mainly talks about _______.

A. the reaction between man and insects

B. the problems with dealing with money

C. the insects in nature

D. the spending nature of people

 11. Which of the following has the character that the author prefers?

A. The ants          B. The cricket       C. The snail         D. None of the above

My students often tell me they don’t have “enough time” to do all their schoolwork. My reply is often brief—You have as much time as the president. I usually carry on a bit about there being 24 hours in the day for everyone, and suggest that “not enough time” is not an acceptable explanation of not getting something done.

Once in graduate school, I tried to excuse myself to one of my professors by saying that I was working hard. His answer to me was, “That’s irrelevant. What’s important is the quality of your work.” Since then I have had time to think about the “hard worker” dodge (伎俩), and I have come to some conclusions — all relevant to the issue of how much time we have.

If you analyze(分析) the matter, you can identify(确定) two parts of the problem: There is, of course, the matter of “time”, which we can think of as fixed. Then there is the problem of “work” during that time. But, as my professor suggested, it’s not how hard one works but the quality of the product that is important.

That led me to a new idea: the quality of the work. That concept is perhaps best explained by a sign I once saw on the wall in someone’s office---Don’t work harder but work smarter. There’s a lot of sense in that idea.

If you can’t get more time, and few of us can, the only solution(解决方法) is to improve the quality of the work. That means thinking of ways to get more out of the same time than we might otherwise get. That should lead us to an analysis of our work habits. Since “work” for students usually means “homework”, the expression “work habits” should be read as “study habits”.

Then, as a smart student, you will seek to improve those skills that you use in study, chiefly reading and writing. If you learn to read better and write better, there are big benefits that pay off in all your studies.

12. From the passage, we know that the author is ______ .

   A. a poet           B.  a editor          C.  an educator       D. an director

13. We can infer from the first two paragraph that we students _____ .

   A. have enough time                      B. can meet the president

C. get something done well              D. should accept the explanation

14. The underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 means_________.

   A. That is impossible            B. That is not acceptable

   C. That is unbearable            D. That is not important

15. The main purpose of writing the passage is to give_______.

   A. advice         B. encouragement         C. criticism         D. information

One evening, Mr. Green was driving in his car along a lonely country road. He had  16   to a bank where he had drawn $ 50. At the loneliest part of the road a man in  17  clothes stopped him and asked for a lift. Mr. Green allowed him  18  and drove on. As he talked to the man, he 19  that the man had been in  20  for robbery(抢劫) and had broken out of prison that very evening. Mr. Green was very  21  about his 50 dollars.

   Suddenly he saw a police car and had a  22  idea. He had just reached a small town where the speed limit was 30 miles per hour. He drove the car as  23  as possible. A moment later, the police car overtook(超过) him and  24  him to stop. Mr. Green  25  to tell the policeman about the escaped robber, but the man put a gun to his  26 . The policeman took out a  27  and demanded Mr. Green’s name and  28 . Mr. Green asked to be taken to the police station but was  29  .

   Mr. Green started up his  30  again. As he drove out of the town, the man wanted to  31. “ Thank you for the lift. You’ve been so  32   to me. This is the least I can do for you in  33.” The man handed Mr. Green the  34  , which he stole from the  35  pocket while Mr. Green was being criticized(批评).

16. A. driven            B. been          C. gone            D. visited

17. A. dirty             B. good          C. warm           D. beautiful

18. A. out              B. off            C. down           D. in

19. A. told             B. said            C. learnt           D. remembered

20. A. school           B. prison          C. office           D. forest

21. A. happy           B. pleased         C. excited          D. worried

22. A. strange          B. bright          C. foolish          D. sad

23. A. fast             B. slowly          C. carefully        D. soon

24. A. begged          B. invited          C. ordered         D. advised

25. A. hoped           B. agreed          C. decided         D. thought

26. A. face            B. head            C. pocket          D. back

27. A. notebook        B. gun             C. wallet          D. menu

28. A. age             B. address          C. birth date       D. birth place

29. A. refused          B. invited          C. welcome        D. accepted

30. A. idea             B. plan            C. gun            D. car

31. A. get on           B. get down         C. get out         D. get up

32. A. kind            B. well             C. polite          D. bad

33. A. turn            B. time             C. return          D. surprise

34. A. money          B. pen             C. notebook        D. gun

35. A. policeman’s      B. driver’s          C. prisoner’s       D. robber’s