When I was a kid in Minnesota, watermelon was expensive. One of my father’s friends, Bernie, was a rich businessman, who owned a large store in St. Paul.

　　Every summer, when the first watermelons arrived, Bernie would call. Dad and I would go to Bernie’s place. We’d sit on the edge of the dock(码头), feet dangling(摇晃), and got ready for a big meal.

　　Bernie would take his knife, cut our first watermelon, hand us both a big piece and sit down next to us. Then we’d bury our faces in watermelon, eating only the heart—the reddest, juiciest, firmest, sweetest, most seed-free part—and throw away the rest.

　　Bernie was my father’s idea of a rich man. I always thought it was because he was such a successful businessman. Years later, I realized that it was not Bernie’s wealth itself but his way of dealing with it that my father liked. Bernie knew how to stop working, get together with friends and eat only the heart of the watermelon.

　　What I learned from Bernie is that being rich is a state of mind. Some of us, no matter how much money we have, will never be free enough to eat only the heart of the watermelon. If you don’t take the time to dangle your feet over the dock and enjoy life’s small pleasure, your work is probably hurting your life.

　　For many years, I forgot that lesson I’d learned as a kid on the loading dock. I was too busy making all the money I could.

　　Well, I’ve relearned it. I hope I have time left to enjoy the success of others and to take pleasure in the day. That’s the heart of the watermelon. I have learned again to throw t he rest away.

　　1. We learned from the second paragraph that the writer and his father were feeling ______.

　　A. relaxed B. worried C. hungry D. proud

　　2. How did the writer and his father eat the watermelon?

　　A. They ate it in a polite way. B. They only ate its best part.

　　C. They ate every part of it. D. They shared only one piece.

　　3. In the eyes of the writer’s father, Bernie ______.

　　A. was just a rich businessman B. worked hard all the time

　　C. lived a rich but healthy life D. knew how to make money

　　4. The underlined part “the heart of the watermelon” in the last paragraph refers to ______.

　　A. the best part of the watermelon B. the writer’s busy life

　　C. the writer’s decision of making money D. the writer’s hope of enjoying life

　　5. It can be learne d from the passage that ______.

　　A. one has to work hard to reach his goal B. a friend in need is a friend in deed

　　C. watermelon is the healthiest fruit D. one should keep work-life balance

答案与解析：

    1.A 主旨大意题。根据第二段整体意思，可看得出来作者和他的父亲是很放松的心情，故选C。

　　2. B细节理解题。根据第三段的第二句话中“eating only the heart----the reddest, juiciest, firmest, sweetest, most seed-free part-----and throw away the rest.”可判断选B。

　　3. C细节理解题。根据第四段第一句和第三句，可判断选C。

　　4. D主旨大意题。根据最后两段，可判断选D。

　　5. D主旨大意题。根据整篇文章的意思，可判断选D。

     My class will put on a short play in English at the end of the year. Yesterday our English teacher gave us copies of the play.

　　“Choose a character in the play whom you’d like to be, ”she told us. “This afternoon learn a few lines of this part for homework. Then tomorrow you can say those lines in front of the class. I’ll decide who play each part.”

　　I wanted to have one of the bigger parts in the play, so I choose the part of the king. He has a lot of lines to say. I learned them by heart.

　　This morning in our English lesson we had to say our lines. I acted the part of the king. When I said my lines, I put a lot of expression into my acting. I thought I acted really well.

　　Everyone in the class read a part and then the teacher who would play each part.

　　Many of the students in my class couldn’t act at all. They couldn’t even read without making lots of mistakes. I was sure that I would get a big part in the play.

　　However, the teacher gave me the part of a soldier. He has only one line. It is, “Yes, sir!”

　　I was very disappointed. At the end of the lesson I went up to her and asked her why I had such a small part.

　　“You put too much expression in your acting,” she said. “Good acting is not big acting. It is acting the audience can believe in.”

　　I think I know what she means.

　　1. What did the boy want to do in the play?

　　A. To get an important part

　　B. To organize the play

　　C. To get a large acting part. D. To work the lights.

　　2. How did the boy feel when the teacher told the class they would put on a play?

　　A. Bored. B. Sad. C. Excited. D. Unhappy.

　　3. Why didn’t the teacher give him the part of the kings?

　　A. He did not act correctly. B. He did not know the lines.

　　C. He was not handsome. D. He was too short.

　　4. What does the underlined word “expression” in the passage mean?

　　A. 表情 B.建议 C. 模仿 D. 服饰

答案与解析：

    1. C【解析】由第三段第一句I wanted to have one of the bigger parts in the play.可知答案为C。

　　2. C【解析】由第三、四段作者的表现可知，他感到很兴奋。

　　3. A【解析】由倒数第二段可知，作者没被选中扮演国王的原因是他表演的不恰当。

　　4. A【解析】由上文可知，作者在表演中加入了过多的表情。