．Mr. and Mrs Scott prefer a trip in a small town to _____in so large a city as New York.

A．this B．one C．it D．that

Faced with trouble or difficulty，a person takes _______help that is available．

A．whatever B．whenever

C．wherever D．however

I’m not a little tired today after giving the room a thorough cleaning and I have never had ____ today.

A. as tiring a day as B. as a tiring day

C. tiring as a day as D. day as a tiring as

一My cousin would like to risk the weight-loss pills rather than in a gym．

—Really? She must be mad．

A．to take；work out B．to take；working out

C．taking；working out D．taking；work out

When first _______ to the market, the products didn’t attract much attention.

A. introducing B. introduced

C. was introduced D. being introduced

It was too hard for the firefighters to get close to the burning building. All their attempts to rescue the people trapped were ______.

A. in place B. in return

C. in vain D. in danger

—Tom, you are smoking again?

—______? It’s none of your business.

A. So what B. How come

C. Why not D. What for

Every time I passed boys who were playing basketball, I stopped to silently watch them. I really envied them. But as a girl, I once thought that I could play basketball.

I like playing basketball though I'm not good at it. I've had a basketball I was a child. At first, I could play freely because no one when I was just a kid. But as I grew up it seemed harder and harder for me to enjoy basketball.

At school, it was always the boys who played basketball during PE classes. The girls were allowed to play volleyball or badminton.

My parents did not me play basketball at home. "Basketball is not fit for girls," they said. I went to play basketball with my friends, boys at me on the court as if I were an alien.

I was feeling and had lost hope of playing basketball. , something changed the first day of high school. I made some friends who also enjoyed playing basketball. They me to get back on the court.

One of them told me with a smile, "Go your own , let others talk." This girl would always play basketball with me. Even the boy who sat next to me in class talked about with me almost every day.

I was inspired by them. Confidence and passion to my heart. I am ready to stand up and play. I will play as well as I can, for me, even the sky is boundless（無垠的）.

Basketball has become an important part of my . I am interested in it. I watch matches and enjoy playing almost every day. Through basketball, not only do I feel happy and confident, but also a lot.

I've heard the NBA star Tracy McGrady say, "Nothing is impossible." It is from an advertisement on TV. I have to realize that life is just like playing basketball. You should have an . After that, just be confident and going. Never give up and you'll make it sooner or later.

I love the motto of the NBA. It can my strong feelings for basketball, "I love this game!"

1.A. ever B. often C. never D. always

2.A. when B. before C. after D. since

3.A. struggled B. cared C. enjoyed D. joined

4.A. only B. almost C. hardly D. not

5.A. encourage B. agree C. let D. permit

6.A. Still B. Yet C. Just D. Even

7.A. looked B. glared C. glanced D. stared

8.A. up B. down C. excited D. satisfied

9.A. Unluckily B. Naturally C. Unexpectedly D. Clearly

10.A. encouraged B. forbade C. ensured D. explored

11.A. effort B. way C. business D. direction

12.A. basketball B. sports C. interests D. dreams

13.A. stuck B. referred C. turned D. returned

14.A. but B. though C. and D. however

15.A. wish B. life C. work D. study

16.A. experience B. grow C. learn D. play

17.A. come B. turned C. refused D. happened

18.A. idea B. aim C. opinion D. effort

19.A. insist B. remain C. keep D. last

20.A. inform B. express C. ignore D. connect

Compared to the other parts of the body, our ears don’t ask for much. They don't need to be brushed once a day like your teeth. But they need some special care, especially if you like listening to music with earphones.

Maybe your mum or dad has told you, "Turn that down before you go deaf!" Well, they are quite right. Loud noise might cause hearing loss for a short time or even forever. Think that earphones are a good way to escape from tour parents’ eyes? Well. It may not be as good a way as you expect. American doctors have studied a group of 44,000 people who used earphones more than 15 hours per week. The doctors found that 37,000 of them were getting hearing problems.

If you use earphones for too long a time, your ears might feel painful. You could also lose your hearing for the rest of your life. So don’t wear your earphones too long. Use them less than one hour a day. Want sharp hearing? Don’t forget to do the following: Try to stay away from places where there is too much noise, like a disco. If you have to go, wear earplugs. When swimming, remember to put earplugs into your ears to stop water from getting in. Never put anything sharp into your ears. If you think you have too much earwax, ask your mum or dad to help you clean it out.

Keep these things in mind! Then you won't be saying "WHAT???" when you are older.

1.Using earphones "may not be as good a way as you expect" because _______.

A. your parents know what you're doing

B. it can cause hearing problems

C. it makes your parents angry

D. most of you use them improperly

2.If you want sharp hearing, you should _____.

A. have your ears specially trained

B. often wear earplugs and clean out the earwax

C. take good care of your ears

D. choose what you listen to carefully

3."WHAT???" in the last sentence is an expression showing that the speaker____.

A. has become impatient

B. speaks in a loud voice

C. is slow in understanding

D. asks for a lot of repetition

If you are hungry, what will you do? Grab a piece of your favorite meal and stay quiet after that? Just like stomach, even your mind will be hungry. But it never lets you know, because you keep it busy thinking about your dream lover, favorite star and many such absurd things. So it silently begins to hide your needs and never lets itself grow. When mind loses its freedom to grow, creativity gets its full stop. This might be the reason why we all sometimes think “What happens next?”, “Why can’t I think?”, “Why am I always given the difficult problems?” Well, this is the after-effect of using our brain for thinking of not-so-worthy things.

Hunger of the mind can be actually satisfied through extensive reading. But why is it reading but not watching TV? Because reading has been the most educational tool used by us right from the childhood. Just like that to develop other aspects of our life, we have to turn to reading for help. You have a number of books in the world which will answer all your “how-to” questions. Once you read a book, you just don’t run your eyes through the lines, but your mind decodes (譯解) it and explains it to you. The interesting part of the book is stored in your mind as a seed. Now this seed is unknowingly used by you in your future to develop new ideas. The same seed, if used many times, can help you link and relate a lot of things, which you would never thought of in your wildest dreams! This is nothing but creativity. The more books you read, the wider your mind will become. Also this improves your oratorical (speech-making) skills to a large extent and also makes a significant contribution to your vocabulary. When you start speaking English or any other language fluently with your friends or other people, you never seem to run out of the right words at the right time.

Actually, I had a problem in speaking English fluently, but as I read, I could improve significantly. So guys, do join me and give food for your thoughts by reading, reading and more reading. Now what are you waiting for? Go, grab a book and let me know!

1. What’s the best title of the passage?

A. Hunger of the mind

B. Stomach and Mind

C. Feed your Mind by reading

D. Reading or Watching TV

2.You don’t know your mind is in hunger because _____.

A. you are not hungry

B. you keep it thinking of silly things

C. your creativity gets a full stop

D. you always meet with difficult problems

3. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as the advantage of reading?

A. Reading can make your dream come true.

B. Reading can contribute to your vocabulary.

C. Reading can improve your spoken ability.

D. Reading can make people creative.

4.The purpose of the author in writing this passage is to _______.

A. comment and blame B. introduce and describe

C. explain and persuade D. advise and inform