Mr. Hall takes his students to the 1______ (動物園) every year. Last week, on 2______ (七月) 2nd,
they went there by 3______ (公共汽車). It was very 4______ (熱的), but they all had a pleasant day out.
Many students fell in love with the 5______ (六) baby pandas when they saw them. Some students loved
the monkeys. The monkeys 6______ (跳) up and down the trees. How funny they were!Some boys liked
the lions. The lions were very 7______ (強壯的) and smart. The trip was also for study. It was one of
their 8______ (美術(shù)) lessons. "It's good for the dtudents to get out of the 9______ (教室) to learn drawing."
Mr. Hall said. "They feel 10______ (興奮) to see all kinds of animals. Many of them do their best work on
the trip."

     I felt very sad because I was not able to get the ticket to the film Hero last Friday. I learned from the
newspaper that tickets could be bought at the cinema box office in Richland Hills any day between 10:00 a.m.
and 4:00 p. m. Since I work from 9:00 a. m. to 5:30 p. m., the only time I could go to the cinema was during
my 45 minutes' lunchtime. It is a pity that the cinema is on the other side of the town and the bus service
between my company and Richland Hills is not very good. But if you are lucky, you can make the round trip
in 45 minutes.
     Last Monday, I stood at the bus stop for 15 minutes waiting for a bus. By the time I saw one come round
the corner, there was not enough time left to make the trip, so I had to go back. The same thing happened on
Tuesday, and again on Wednesday. On Thursday my luck changed. I got on a bus right away and arrived at
the cinema in twenty minutes. But when I got there, I found a long line of people at the box office. I heard
one man said he had been waiting in line for over an hour. I found I would not have enough time to wait in line.
I caught the next bus and went back across the town.
     By Friday I understood my only hope was to make the trip by car. It was expensive, but I felt it would be
worth it to see the film. The trip by car only took 10 minutes, but it felt like an hour to me. When I reached
the cinema, I was delighted to see that nobody was waiting in line. But I quickly found out that it was because
they had already sold out all the tickets.

1. It seems that the writer of the story works ______.

A. in a small town
B. in Richland Hills
C. on a farm near the town
D. at a bus service Center

2. He tried to go to the cinema to buy a ticket but really got there ______.

A. five times
B. four times
C. three times
D. twice

3. The underlined word "delighted" means ______.

A. sure
B. sorry
C. surprised
D. pleased

4. Which of the following is true according to the story?

A. The writer was too busy to have time for a rest during the day.
B. The buses running between his office and Richland Hills were always on time on Thursday.
C. He could buy the tickets neither before nor after work hours.
D. It always took him about twenty minutes to get to the cinema by bus.

5. What's the title of the story?

A. How to Get a Ticket
B. Tickets Sold out
C. A Wonderful Film
D. The Way to the Cinema

     Sally was a student in a small town. It was going to her mother's birthday. She wanted to buy her a
present that would be nice and useful but not (1)e______.
     She went (2)s______ after a quick and simple lunch. After she looked for about forty minutes, she found
a shop that was selling cheap umbrellas, and she (3)d______ to take a black one. She thought, "Mom can
carry it when she is wearing clothes of (4)a______ color." So she bought a lovely black umbrella and took it
to school with her until her class finished. On her way home on the train she felt (5)h______. So she went to
the buffet car (餐車). She left the umbrella on her (6)s______. But when she returned, it had gone. Sally
began to cry. The other passengers felt very sorry for her and asked what the matter was. She told them the
black umbrella she bought for her mother had gone, and she had to get off at the next station. After the three
passengers (7)h______ this , they asked her for her mother's (8)a______so that they could send the umbrella
to her if someone took it by mistake (弄錯) and brought it (9)b______.
     And now a week passed. Sally got a letter from her mother. It said, "Thank you very much for your lovely
 (10)g______, but why do you send me three black umbrellas?"

     Many years ago, there was an old man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge
(判斷) things too quickly. So he told them to go and look at a pear tree. It was far away from his home.
The first son went in winter, the second in spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in autumn.
     When the sons came back, the old man asked them to say what they had seen.
     The first son complained the tree was ugly. The second son said the tree was covered with buds and
full of hope. The third son said the tree was full of green leaves. They looked so beautiful, and it was the
most wonderful thing he had ever seen. The youngest son said that the tree was bowed down with heavy
fruits. It was full of life and fulfillment (收獲).
     The man explained that all of his sons were right, but each of them had seen just one season of the tree.
He told them that they couldn't judge a tree or a person by only one season."If you give up when it's winter,
you will miss the hope of your spring, the beauty of your summer, and the fulfillment of your autumn." said
the old man
     It is true that we shouldn't let the hard season break the happiness of the other seasons. Never give up
during the difficult days and better times are sure to come some day.

1. Why did the old man ask his sons to look at the pear tree? 

A. Because he liked. eating pears.
B. Because the tree was important to his family.
C. Because he wanted to teach them not to judge things too quickly.
D. Because his sons didn't judge things quickly.

2. The fourth son went to see the tree in ______.

A. Spring
B. Summer
C. Autumn
D. Winter

3. The underlined word "buds" probably means ______ in Chinese.

A. 葉子
B. 枝條
C. 果實
D. 花蕾

4. Which of the following is true? 

A. The pear tree was near his home.
B. The third son said the tree was beautiful.
C. The four sons all liked the tree.
D. Even you give up in winter, you can still get hope in other seasons.

5. What's the main idea of this passage?

A. Don't judge a life by one difficult season.
B. Father's love is great.
C. Every tree has four seasons.
D. Life is different for everyone.

     Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and
all of the others, including Love. One day the feelings were told that the island would sink, so all built boats
and left, except Love. Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out (堅持) until the last
possible moment.
     When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.
     Richness was passing by Love in a big boat. Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?"
     Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for
you."
     Love decided to ask Vanity (虛榮心) who was also passing by in a beautiful ship. "Vanity, please help
me!"
     "I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage (破壞) my boat," Vanity answered.
     Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."
     "Oh…Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"
     Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.
     Suddenly, there was a voice,"Come, Love, I will take you." It was an elder. So thankful and happy, Love
even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own
way. Realizing how much was owed (欠) the elder, Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who helped me?"
     "It was Time, "Knowledge answered.
     "Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"
     Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom (智慧) and answered, "Because only Time is able to understand how
valuable (珍貴的) Love is."

1. How did the feelings go away from the island?

A. By water.
B. By swimming.
C. On foot.
D. By flying

2. How many feelings did Love ask for help but failed?

A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5

3. Which of the following is true?

A. Happiness was blind.
B. Richness had a small boat.
C. Vanity's ship was damaged.
D. Sadness wanted to stay alone.

4. Who saved Love?

A. Time.
B. Knowledge.
C. Richness.
D. Happiness.

5. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A. Love and Time
B. An Accident
C. A sinking island
D. Different Feelings

     Here's an interview to a pilot about his life.
     (R=Reporter; P= Pilot)
R: How much time do pilots actually spend flying a plane?
P: It varies (WES'J) from about 20 minutes on some domestic (區(qū)別) flights to as much as 18 hours on
    international flights. It all depends on if the flight is a short- or long-haul flight.
R: Do pilots take breaks during flights or do they fly the whole time?
P: Yes, we take breaks during long-haul flights. Airlines assign (指派) three or four pilots to long flights.
    We take turns flying the plane.
R: If pilots are traveling all the time, how do they deal with jet lag (時差)?
P: Jet lag is annoying for almost all pilots. I try to go to sleep as I would at home.
R: How important is it to know the weight and size of the plane you are flying?
P: It is very important. We weigh almost everything put into the airplane and make estimates (估計) according
    to the number of people on each flight.
R: Do pilots eat the airplane food?
P: Yes, we eat business class food! Airplane food changes every season and is very delicious if you don't hate
    eating lobster (龍蝦) every day! The pilots on the same plane are supposed to make different meal choices
    so that if one of the dishes causes food poisoning, only one of them will be sick. That way, at least one
    pilot will always be well enough to fly the plane!

1. The number of pilots depends on _____.

A. how many hours a plane flies
B. what kind of planes they are
C. the airline companies assign
D. what the pilot likes

2. In order to know the weight of the airplane, the pilots must know _____.

A. the weight of everything put into the plane
B. the number of people on the plane
C. the weight of the things and people on the plane
D. the importance of the weight

3. What's the Chinese meaning of the word "poisoning" in the passage?

A. 中毒
B. 難吃
C. 缺少
D. 浪費

4. What does the pilot think of the airplane food?

A. Airplane food is more delicious than lobster.
B. The pilot suggests having airplane food instead of lobster.
C. The pilot doesn't like the airplane food at all.
D. Airplane food is as delicious as lobster.

5. What question doesn't the reporter ask in the interview?

A. How to keep passengers safe?
B. How long do pilots actually spend flying a plane?
C. How to deal with jet lag?
D. How to take breaks during flying.