初中英语阅读短篇文章

1.Once Einstein gave a lecture in many places in America． His driver always listened to him and knew the lecture so well that he was sure be could give it himself． So Einstein agreed that the driver gave the lecture him．

As nobody knew Einstein there, the driver gave the lecture for Einstein that evening． At first he was a bit afraid, but Einstein's smile made him feel better． He gave a good lecture and the people were quite pleased．

Then the driver started to leave and Einstein followed him without a word． When they got to the door, a man asked the driver a difficult question．

The driver said that the question was very easy, and told the man to ask his driver behind to answer it．
2.Ali,who was working a long way from home wanted to send a letter to his wife,but he could neither read nor write, and he had to work all day,so he could only look for somebody to write his letter late atnight .At last he found the house of a letter writer whose name was Nasreddin.
Nasreddin was already in bed.It is late,he said. What do you want? I want you to write a letter to my wife , said Ali , Nasreddin wasnot pleased. He thought for a few seconds and then said, Has theletter got to go far? What does that matter? answered Ali.
Well, my writing is so strange that only I can read it, and if I have to travel a long way to read your letter to your wife, it will cost you a lot of money. Ali went away quickly.
Multiple choice 。
3.An old man died and left his son a lot of money. But the son was a foolish young man,and he quickly spent all the money, so that soon hehad nothing left.Of course ,when that happened, all his friends lefthim.When he was quite poor and alone, he went to see Nasreddin, who was a kind, clever old man and often helped people when they had troubles.
My money has finished and my friends have gone,said the young man. What will happen to me now?
Don't worry , young man,answered Nasreddin.Everything will soon be all right again.Wait ,and you will soon feel much happier.
The young man was very glad.Am I going to get rich again then? heasked Nasreddin.
No, I didn't mean that, said the old man.I meant that you would soon get used to being poor and to having no friends.
Multiple choice .
4.The English people like take-away food． The most popular food is fish and chips．They usually go to a fish and chip shop．They put the food in paper bags, and take it home, or to their work place． At lunch time, many people eat take-away food in the park． Chinese takeaways are also very popular in England． People in the USA and Australia like Chinese take-away food, too． But the most popular food in the USA is fried chicken．
5.The Komodo lizard is the world's largest lizard(蜥蜴). It was not discovered until this century and was named only in 1921. It was formerly found on three Indonesian islands: Komodo, Rintja and Flores. By the 1930's, in spite of government protection, the population of this great lizard had been reduced to a few hundred. It was, however, still found on the three main islands and there were still lizards of over 4 metres in length. By 1963, after a period of only fifty years since its discovery, the entire population was based on Komodo. It is now unusual to see one as long as 3 metres. The lizard's normal food consists mainly of wild goats and pigs, animals which the islanders also hunt. This, of course, means that the lizard often gets too little to eat. It will certainly die out soon its hunting and breeding(繁殖) grounds are protected more effectively.
6.At the Barber's Shop(理发店)
Jack went to a barber's shop and had his hair cut, but when he came out, he
was not happy with the result(结果). When his friend Bob saw him, he laughed
and said, What has happened to your hair,Jack?
Jack said, I tried a new barber's shop today, because I wasn't quite satisfied
with my old one, but this one seems even worse.
Bob agreed(同意). Yes, I think you're right, Jack. Now I'll tell you what
to do when you go into a barber's shop next time: look at all the barber's hair,
find out whose hair looks worst, and then go straight to him.
Why shall I go to him? Jack asked. But that would be foolish!
Oh, no, it wouldn't, answered Bob. Who cut that man's hair? Just think
it. He couldn't cut it himself, could he? Another of the barbers cut it. So
you know he can't be the worst barber.
7.Mr Perkin's New Car
Mr Perkin stood at the bus-stop and watched the cars go by. Many of the cars
were new Beta 400s, and most of them were yellow. Mr Perkin always wore the
same clothes as other men, ate the same food as other people, and did the same
things after work, and at the end of the week, Mr Perkin did not like to be
different.
The following week, Mr Perkin bought a new, bright yellow Beta 400s. He was
satisfied with it, and drove to work in it the very next day. He was even more
satisfied with his new car, when he saw all the other Beta 400s, in front, behind,
and on both sides of him.
Mr Perkin parked(停车) his car in a big car-park(停车场) near his office,
and walked the rest of the way. But when he came back at five o'clock, there
were so many bright yellow Beta 400s in the car-park that he did not know which
car was his. He tried his key in some of the cars, but people passing by gave
him a look he didn't like. So he stopped.
Poor Mr Perkin had to wait nearly two hours until his was the only yellow
Beta 400s in the car-park.
8.A long time ago people thought that the sun went round the earth. In some
countries people even said that the sun was a god(神). They thought the god
drove across the sky each day on a golden horse. Now we know the earth goes
round the sun. It takes the earth a year to go all way round the sun. Today
men even know how far it is for the earth to go round the sun. They tell us
that the earth travels over a thousand miles a minute on its journey round the
sun.$
The sun is really a star. It is much bigger than the earth and it is very
hot. Some people have been to the moon but we know that no one can ever go to
the sun. It is far too hot for people to live anywhere near it. The sun is three
hundred thousand times heavier than the earth and more than million times larger.$
9.The Farmer, His Horse, and His son
Once there was an old farmer, with a horse which was almost as old as himself.
He set out one morning with his son to sell the horse before it died. Father
and son walked, because the farmer did not want the horse to be too tired.
They met two men on the road who said, Why are you walking, farmer? You have
a horse, It's a long way to market(市场). The farmer know that this was true,
so he rode on the horse, while his son walked.
Then they met two old women, What are you doing up there, farmer? Can't you
see how tired boy is? So the farmer got down, and his son rode instead.$
Next, three old men stopped them, one said, Why are you walking, farmer?
Get up, It's too hot for an old man like you to walk today, So the farmer got
up behind his son, and they rode on.
Some time later, a young woman passed them, Why aren't you walking? she
asked, It isn't far to the market. Give your poor horse a rest.
So the farmer, and his son, got down once again. It is a fact that you cannot
please all the people all the time.
10.I Want to Be a Dustman
Tom was ten years old, and he was a very lazy boy, He didn't like doing any
work. He had to go to school of course, but he didn't study hard there and tried
to do as little work as possible. His father and mother were both doctors and they
hoped that their son would become one, too, when he grew up. But one day Tom
said to his mother, When I finish school, I want to be a dustman.
A dustman? his mother asked, she was very surprised. That's not a very
pleasant job, why do you