Issue440  For Junior 3

大连五十五中学 宋文静

Where do English nicknames come from? P(4)

I. Pre-reading

1. Have you got a nickname?

2. What’s your nickname?

II. While reading

Choose the correct answer

1. Where do most nicknames come from?

A. Holiday events.       B. Traditions.

C. Teachers.            D. Real names.

2. Why was William shortened to Bill?

A. Because people called King William “King Billy”.

B. Because a soft consonant was clearer than hard ones.

C. Because people wanted to make it easier to pronounce.

D. Because Bill is more popular than Will.

3. Why did people like to change the letters of their nicknames?

A. Because they wanted their nicknames to be pronounced more easily.           

B. Because they wanted their nicknames to sound more beautiful.

C. Because they wanted their nicknames to sound like a king’s name.

D. Because their nicknames were too difficult to pronounce without changing a letter.

4. People choose Dick as a nickname of Richard because________.

A. it can save time 

B. it sounds wonderful

C. it is pronounced clearer

D. it is very popular

5. What has been the most popular name for English kings?

A. Tom.  B. Dick.

C. Rick.    D. Henry.

Key: DCACD

 Fill in the blanks according to the passage.

     Many English people have _________. They mostly come from their real names. Some of them are obvious like Tom and Sam, but some of them are more _______such as Bill, _____ and _____. They are _______ for William, Richard and Harry.

III. Post-reading

1. How popular are nicknames in China?

2. What are the most common nicknames?

Make a survey about your classmates’ nicknames?

Are we close to becoming invisible? P(5)

I. Pre-reading

1. How can Harry Potter make himself invisible?

2. Do you dream about being invisible? What would you do?

II. While reading

Choose the best answer

1. Which of the following about the Rochester Cloak is TRUE?

A. It is a real cloak.

B. It is just like Harry Potter’s cloak.

C. It is mainly made of lenses.

D. It provides four-dimensional cloaking.

2. How special is the cloak compared with previous cloaks?

It can hide objects in three dimensions.

It is smarter than previous cloaks.

It is unable to hide objects in four dimensions.

It takes up no space when people don’t use it.

3. 4. Which of the following is the practical usage of the new technology?

A. It can help policemen catch thieves.

B. It can help the traffic police check the highway road conditions. 

C. It can help doctors perform operations.

D. It can help soldiers protect their country.

4. From the story, we learn that the Rochester Cloak is _____.
A. complicated but cheap
B. expensive but simple
C. simple and cheap
D. complicated and expensive

5. This story mainly talks about ____. 
A. Harry Potter, a popular movie
B. a new invention: the Rochester Cloak
C. how to make a Rochester Cloak
D. the light which makes things invisible
Key: CACCB

III. Post-reading

Try to list as many usages of the new technology as possible.

What should we do to use the Rochester Cloak properly?

Precious gifts never age P(6)

I. Pre-reading

1. Do your parents give you birthday presents every year?

2. Which birthday present do you think is the most precious? Why?

II. While reading

1. Who was Joyce?

A. Amy’s daughter.     B. Amy’s mother.

C. The grandma doll.   D. Angel of Joy.

2. Why did Amy enter a store of dolls at first?

A. To find a grandma doll for her mother.

B. To get a gift for her daughter.

C. To choose a doll for herself.

D. To choose a doll for her grandma.

3. Why did Joyce think that a doll was the best birthday gift for Amy?

A. Amy dreamed of having all kinds of lovely dolls.

B. Amy looked like a doll when she was a little girl.

C. Joyce received lots of lovely dolls from her parents.

D. Joyce had never got her dream doll from her parents.

4. What does the underlined word clasped most likely mean in the passage?

A. Held.

B. Threw.

C. Made.

D. Bought.

5. What can we learn from the story?

A. Dolls are every little girl’s dream toys.

B. Grandma dolls are the best gifts for parents.

C. Parents’ birthdays are very important.

D. Parents sometimes need their “Angel of Joy”.

Key: BBDAD

III. Post-reading

1. Do you give birthday presents to your parents?

2. What presents have you ever given to them?