A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had loved a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s showroom, and knowing his father could well   16   it, he told him that was all he wanted.
As   17   drew near, the young man expected   18   that his father had bought the car. Finally, on the morning of the special day, his father called him into his study. His father told him how   19   he was to have such a fine son, and how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped (包裝好的) gift box. Curious, but a little bit   20  , the young man opened the box and found a lovely Bible (圣經(jīng)).
Angrily, he raised his   21   to his father and said, “Is a Bible   22   you can give me with all your money?” He then stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.
Many years   23   and the young man was very successful in business, but   24   his father was very old, he thought perhaps he   25   go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day.   26   he could make the arrangements (安排), he received a telegram which   27   him of his father’s death, and all the possessions (財產(chǎn)) willed (立遺囑) to him.
  28   arriving at his father’s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to   29   through his father’s important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had   30   it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to   31  . As he was reading, a car   32   dropped from the back of the Bible.
How many times do we   33   blessings (祝福) because they are not wrapped as we expected? Do not spoil (搞糟) what you have by desiring (渴求) what you have not; but remember what you now have was once   34   the things you hoped for. What may appear as bad fortune (運氣) may   35   be the door that is just waiting to be opened.

小題1:	A．offer B．pay C．buy D．a(chǎn)fford

小題2:	A．his birthday B．graduation day C．sports meet D．examination day

小題3:	A．signs B．notes C．warnings D．marks

小題4:	A．upset B．crazy C．comfortable D．proud

小題5:	A．excited B．disappointed C．worried D．satisfied

小題6:	A．hand B．head C．voice D．sound

小題7:	A．a(chǎn)ll B．that C．a(chǎn)ll what D．that all

小題8:	A．past B．gone C．passed D．spent

小題9:	A．learning B．realizing C．hearing D．understanding

小題10:

A．could B．would C．should D．ought

小題11:

A．After B．Before C．Since D．Until

小題12:

A．informed B．required C．reported D．introduced

小題13:

A．By B．On C．As D．At

小題14:

A．put B．push C．search D．pass

小題15:

A．kept B．bought C．left D．expected

小題16:

A．turn over B．turn on C．turn up D．turn down

小題17:

A．picture B．model C．key D．toy

小題18:

A．miss B．get C．forget D．a(chǎn)void

小題19:

A．of B．a(chǎn)mong C．between D．a(chǎn)long

小題20:

A．surely B．a(chǎn)ctually C．mainly D．naturally

The back door of the ambulance(救護車) was suddenly shut and the driver ran to the front, jumped into his seat, and started the engine. Inside were the  36 parents, Mr and Mrs Green, the mother holding their baby daughter Ally. The little girl had  37 food stuck in her throat and could hardly breathe.
The driver, Mr white, 38  his siren (報警器) and flashing light, and started speeding towards the nearest hospital, fighting against _39 _. The cars ahead of him pulled out of the way as he drove through the  40.  From the back of the 41 the parents were shouting at him to 42 , since Ally had almost stopped  43 . In front of him he saw some traffic lights, with the red “STOP” light shining. Mr White knew that he had no time to 44 , so he drove straight past the traffic lights, looking  45  his left and right as he did so.
Coming towards him from his right was a taxi. The driver had the windows  46 , since the car was air-conditioned, and he was playing his radio. He did not  47  the ambulance. The lights were green, so he drove straight  48  into the path of the ambulance.
Mr White tried to stop his ambulance but it was too late. It hit the taxi. Everybody was shaken but no one was hurt. Mr White looked to see  49 little Ally was. He was astonished to see relief (寬慰) instead of  50  on the faces of the parents.
“Look!” cried Mrs Green. “She is  51  again.”
“It must have been the  52 .” said her husband. “It  53  the food out of her throat.” The baby’s color was turning to normal, and she was crying in a loud but healthy  54 .
They were all joyful, and quite forgot about the accident, the taxi, and the lines of 55  all around them.

小題1:	A．worried B．a(chǎn)ngry C．happy D．surprised

小題2:	A．little B．some C．no D．few

小題3:	A．opened on B．turned on C．turned off D．sped up

小題4:	A．police B．enemy C．lights D．time

小題5:	A．empty street B．busy traffic C．crowds D．deserted place

小題6:	A．street B．cars C．traffic D．a(chǎn)mbulance

小題7:	A．hurry B．be careful C．stop D．drive

小題8:	A．breathing B．seeing C．saying D．talking

小題9:	A．think B．look about C．lose D．miss

小題10:

A．a(chǎn)t B．from C．forward D．to

小題11:

A．open B．clean C．up D．down

小題12:

A．hear B．see C．find D．notice

小題13:

A．a(chǎn)way B．on C．off D．out

小題14:

A．how B．what C．where D．who

小題15:

A．pleasure B．a(chǎn)nger C．fear D．surprise

小題16:

A．crying B．breathing C．smiling D．speaking

小題17:

A．light B．policeman C．car D．crash

小題18:

A．took B．picked C．knocked D．made

小題19:

A．sound B．voice C．tone D．noise

小題20:

A．people B．policemen C．lights D．cars

“I Went Skydiving at 84!”
As a young girl growing up in the 1930s, I always wanted to fly a plane, but back then it was almost unheard of for a woman to do that. I got a taste of that dream in 2001,when my husband arranged for me to ride in a hot air balloon for my birthday. But the experience turned out to be very dull. Around that time, I told my husband that I wanted to skydive. So when our retirement community（社區(qū)）announced that they were having an essay competition and the topic was an experience of a lifetime that you wanted to have, I decided to write about my dream.
In the essay, I wrote about my desire to skydive, stating George Brush Sr. did it at age 80. Why not me? I was just 84 and in pretty good health. A year went by and I heard nothing. But then at a community party in late April 2009, they announced that I was one of the winners. I just couldn’t believe it. Inspired by this， I decided to realize my dream, even though some of my family members and my doctor were against it.
On June 11, 2009, nearly 40 of my family and friends gathered in the area close to where I would land while I headed up in the airplane. My instructor, Jay, guided me through the experience. The plane was the noisiest one I had ever been in, but I wasn’t frightened—I was really just looking forward to the experience. When we reached 13,000 feet, Jay instructed me to throw myself out of the plane. When we first hit the air, the wind was so strong that I could hardly breathe. For a second I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?” But then everything got calmer. We were in a free fall for about a minute before Jay opened the parachute（降落傘）, then we just floated downward for about five minutes. Being up in the clouds and looking at the view below was unlike anything I have ever felt—much better than the hot air balloon. I was just enjoying it.
Skydiving was really one of the greatest experiences of my life. I hope other people will look at me and realize that you don’t stop living just because you are 84 years old. If there’s something you want to experience, look into it. If it’s something that is possible, make it happen.
小題1:What happened to the author in 2001?

A．She flew an airplane	B．She entered a competition
C．She went on a hot air balloon ride	D．She moved into a retirement community

小題2:The author mentioned George Bush Sr. in her essay to       .

A．build up her own reputation	B．show her admiration for him
C．compare their health condition	D．make her argument persuasive

小題3:How did the author feel immediately after she jumped out of the plane?

A．Excited

B．Scared

C．Nervous

D．Regretful

小題4:What did the author enjoy most when she was skydiving?

A．The beautiful clouds	B．The wonderful view
C．The company of Jay	D．The one-minute free fall

小題5:Which word could be used to replace the word “instructor,” in Paragraph 3?

A．doctor

B．conductor

C．pilot

D．trainer

In the fall of 1985. I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later , I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college an the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to withdraw from college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopt(收養(yǎng)) and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic---and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed son No. 3.  In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.
You can imagine how fully occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 8. Our home was a complete zoo---a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant taking as few as one class each semester.
The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to quit, But I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree！
I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the midst of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process. Remember；little steps add up to big dreams.
小題1:When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be_____________

A．a(chǎn) writer	B．a(chǎn) teacher
C．a(chǎn) judge	D．a(chǎn) doctor

小題2:Why did the author quit school in her second year of college?

A．She wanted to study by herself.

B．She fell in love and got married.

C．She suffered from a serious illness.

D．She decided to look after her grandma.

小題3:What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?

A．She was busy yet happy with her family life.

B．She ignored her guilty feeling for her sons.

C．She wanted to remain a full-time housewife.

D．She was too confused to make a correct choice.

小題4:What doses the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A．Failure is the mother of success.

B．Little by little, one goes far.

C．Every coin has two sides.

D．Well begun, half done.

小題5:Which of the following can best describe the author?
A. Caring and determine.      
B. Honest and responsible.
C. Ambitious and sensitive.
Innocent and single-minded.

When he took office, George W. Bush, son of former president George Herbert Walker Bush, became the first son to follow his father into the White House since John Quiney Adams followed John Adams in the early 19th century.
Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, the first child of George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush. Although George Herbert Walker Bush began his career in the oil industry, he finally served as a congressman(國會議員), and vice(副) president and president of the United States.
At the age of two,Bush moved with his parents from Connecticut to Odessa, Texas, where his father took up the oil business. After a year in Texas, the family moved to California for business reasons. A year later, the family returned to Texas and settled in Midland, where Bush lived from 1950 to 1959.
In 1959, again for business reasons, the family moved to Houston, Texas. In 1961 Bush left Texas and went to Andover, Massachusetts, to attend Phillips Academy, aboarding school(寄宿學校) that his father had also attended.
At Phillips, Bush played basketball, baseball, and football. He was best known for being head cheerleader. In 1964 he enrolled at Yale University in Connecticut.His father and grandfather had also attended Yale. At Yale, Bush was considered an average student, but he was popular with his classmates.
Bush graduated from Yale with a bachelor’s degree in history in 1968. Then he joined the Air National Guard and remained in the Guard until 1973. After earning his MBA from Harvard in 1975, Bush returned to Midland. Like his father, he first entered the oil industry as a “l(fā)andsman(新手)”. However, Bush’s oil companies never enjoyed great success. He took more interest in politics. He helped his father to become president and in 1994 he himself was elected governor of Texas.
In the summer of 1999, Bush began to run for the president of the USA and on January 20, 2001, George W. Bush, hand raised, took the oath(宣誓) of office to become the 43rd president of the US.
小題1:What does the writer intend to tell us in the first paragraph?

A．George W. Bush is the first son in American history to follow his father into the White House.

B．George W. Bush is the first son of former president George Herbert Walker Bush.

C．John Quincy Adams and his father were both former American presidents.

D．George W. Bush is the second one in American history to follow his father into the White House.

小題2:We may learn from the text that young Bush ______.

A．got on very well at the universities

B．was very good at basketball, baseball and football

C．did everything as his father had done

D．was a very successful politician like his father

小題3:Which of the following is NOT true about George W. Bush?

A．Young Bush lived with his family in Texas from 1948 to 1961.

B．He once studied at a university that his father and grandfather had also attended.

C．He once ruled over an American state before he entered the White House.

D．He once served at the Air National Guard for about five years.

Kerry and Alice were both artists in Britain. They taught drawing and painting at Cambridge University. Although they were friends, each thought oneself to be the better painter.
One day, Kerry promised marriage to Alice. Surprised and pleased by the offer, the girl was not sure whether she would spend her future as a wife or a painter. After a moment she replied as follows, "Each of us must paint a picture. If yours is superior to mine, you can make me your wife. If not, please drop the question." Then it was decided to give it the following day.
The next morning. Alice hung her picture on the gate. It showed a bunch of flowers and won high praise from everyone who passed by. In fact, a crowd collected in front of her masterpiece and fixed eyes on it.
Several hours passed. Then Kerry was seen coming along to the gate with what appeared to be a beautiful leather suitcase in his hand. When he finally stopped before Alice, the girl artist brushed like a rose and agreed to marry him without any hesitation. Why?
小題1:What did Alice think Kerry's offer?

A．She liked Kerry, but she didn't expect him to promise marriage to her.

B．She didn't want to marry anybody.

C．She didn't like it at all.

D．She thought the offer wasn't polite.

小題2:In the sentence "If yours is superior to mine, you can make me your wife"。 "superior to" here means ____.

A．not so better than	B．better than
C．so good as	D．a(chǎn)s good as

小題3:Which of the following is true?

A．Kerry didn't accept Alice's suggestion.

B．Kerry wasn't sure of his painting so he dropped his offer.

C．Kerry did go the next day, but he failed to take a picture

D．Kerry agreed to Alice's suggestion.

小題4:Alice's picture won high praise because ____.

A．it was true to nature	B．the flowers were red
C．it showed so large a bunch of flowers	D．people felt it strange to hang it on the gate

小題5:The "leather suitcase" was in fact ____.

A．a(chǎn) real one	B．a(chǎn) painting drawn by Kerry
C．a(chǎn) box with a picture in it	D．made up of leather

As a boy, Charles Robert Darwin collected anything that caught his interest: insects, coins and interesting stones. He was not very clever, but Darwin was good at doing the things that interested him.
His father was a doctor, so Darwin was sent to Edinburgh to study medicine, and was planned to follow a medical career. But Charles found the lectures boring. Then his father sent him to Cambridge University to study to be a priest. While at Cambridge, Darwin’s interest in zoology and geography grew. Later he got a letter from Robert Fitzroy who was planning to make a voyage around the world on a ship, the Beagle. He wanted a naturalist to join the ship, and Darwin was recommended(推薦). That voyage was the start of Darwin’s great life.
As the Beagle sailed around the world, Darwin began to wonder how life had developed on earth. He began to observe everything. After he was home, he set to work, getting his collection in order. His first great work The Zoology of the Beagle was well received, but he was slow to make public his ideas on the origin of life.
Later Darwin and Wallace, another naturalist who had the same opinions as Darwin, produced a paper together. Darwin’s great book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (《物種起源》) appeared. It attracted a storm. People thought that Darwin was saying they were descended from monkeys. What a shameful idea! Although most scientists agreed that Darwin was right, the Church was still so strong that Darwin never received any honors for his work.
Afterwards, he published another great work, The Descent of Man. His health grew worse, but he still worked. “When I have to give up observation, I shall die,” he said. He was still working on 17, April, 1882. He was dead two days later.
小題1:Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．Charles Darwin’s ideas

B．Charles Darwin’s works

C．Father of modern biology: Charles Darwin

D．The greatest scientist: Charles Darwin

小題2:Darwin’s father sent him to Edinburgh to _____.

A．make him like natural history

B．make him become a doctor

C．let him change his hobbies

D．have him give up his collection

小題3:According to the passage, Charles Darwin’s whole life was changed by _____.

A．his study at Cambridge University

B．his collection of coins

C．the naturalists at Cambridge

D．the voyage of the Beagle

小題4:The underlined part “they were descended from monkeys” probably means “_____”.

A．they gave monkeys life

B．they were different from monkeys

C．they were developed from monkeys

D．they had to live with monkeys

There is no other five-year –old like him. He has a potato-shaped head , thick eyebrows and a voice that is not easily forgotten. He is not evil, but trouble follows him wherever he goes.
Crayon Shinchan（蠟筆小新）enjoys great popularity in China. He has many fans in Hong Kong , Taiwan and on the mainland. And he is one of the hottest cartoon characters in his home country, Japan.
But, the trouble-maker’s show was ranked the No. 1 most unwanted cartoon program by Japan’s Parents’ Association on April 18.
More than half the parents who took part in the study thought Shinchan was a negative role model for children. They believed his actions and speech were adult in nature and not suitable for kids.
Many parents and education experts in China agree with them. Shinchan, they say, is really offensive. He looks out for pretty ladies on the street; at the bookstore he reads magazines full of sexy women; he pretends to be kidnapped by his teacher when he sees a police car; and he raises his mum’s skirt and shouts out the color of her underpants if she doesn’t buy him what he wants.
“Crayon Shimchan is full of dirty humor. The boy shows some terrible adult mentality(心態(tài)),which doesn’t match his age,” said Pang Lijuan, professor of the Education Department at Beijing Normal University. Pang further pointed out that Shinchan destroys the traditional image of a polite, hard-working boy. She fears that some teens may copy his behavior and harm their psychological development. Pang and many others in China think that Shinchan is a cartoon for adults-----not for children.
But some kids disagree. Jiangxin, a senior 2 student in Luhe Middle School in Beijing, became a fan of Shinchan after he first saw the cartoon two years ago. He said it is Shinchan’s humor , courage, and cleverness that makes him and his friends love the little cartoon character . “Shinchan looks at the adults’ world with kid’s eyes. He uncovers the hypocrisy(虛偽) and selfishness in a childish way,” explained Jiang. “We watch it just for fun.” But Jiang also admitted that Shinchan is not good for all ages. “It may not be suitable for primary school kids. They may try to blindly copy him.”
Shinchan’s “father ”, Japan’s popular cartoonist, Yoshito Ushi, never thought Shinchan would cause such a heated discussion. He argued that Shinchan is a childish copy of Japan’s middle-aged men. The boy does everything adults would like, but don’t dare to do. “People can easily forgive him because he’s only five years old,” said Yoshito.
小題1: Teachers and parents dislikes Crayon Shinchan because         .

A．he looks very ugly

B．he caused a heated discussion

C．the character was created by an adult cartoonist

D．he was regarded as a negative role model for children to follow

小題2:Many children are crazy about Shinchan mainly because       .

A．he looks very funny

B．the cartoon character is suitable for all ages

C．they think he is humorous, clever and brave

D．he is a childish copy of Japan’s middle-aged men

小題3:The underlined word “offensive” in Paragraph 5 probably means       .

A．humorous

B．ugly-looking

C．funny

D．unpleasant

小題4:What is Yoshito Ushi’s explanation of Shinchan’s behaviour?

A．Shinchan is such a naughty boy that he can’t behave himself.

B．Shinchan is trying to draw people’s attention by doing some offensive things.

C．Shinchan wants to set a role model in a different way.

D．Shinchan’ s behaviour is just a childish copy of Japan’s middle-aged men.

Mrs Keller had a big family. Her husband had a factory in the town. One of her sons was a lawyers and the other two were drivers. And her two daughters worked in the post office. The old woman stayed at home and could do all housework and wouldn’t employ anybody.
One evening, the telephone rang while the old woman was preparing supper. She went to answer it. She was told that one of her sons died in a traffic accident. She heard this and fell in a faint. When she came back to life, she was in hospital. And she needed to be helped after that.
Several months later she was told on the telephone her daughter died while she was being operated on. The old woman was so sad that she had to be in hospital again. From then on she was afraid to answer any telephones and sometimes she was afraid hear the bell. Of course it brought them some trouble and some important business was held up. So her husband advised her to see a psychiatrist. The man examined her carefully and then asked her some questions.
“You will soon be all right if you follow my advice, Mrs Keller.” said the psychiatrist.
The old woman took the medicine the doctor gave on time and tried to forget her dead son and daughter. And two months later she went to see the psychiatrist again.
“You have saved me, Doctor,” the old woman said, as soon as she saw him.
“Are you afraid to answer the telephone now?”
“No,” answered Keller.
“I dare answer it whether it rings or not.”
小題1:Mrs Keller could do all housework because ______.

A．she had no money to employ a helper.

B．she was strong enough to do all at home

C．she didn’t believe anybody

D．only she was free at home

小題2:The old woman fell in a faint because _____

A．she went to answer the telephone.

B．she was very ill that evening

C．she walked in the room carelessly

D．she heard the news about her son’s death.

小題3:After she came out of hospital, Mrs Keller wasn’t _________as before.

A．strong

B．a(chǎn)ble

C．clever

D．sad

小題4:______made the old woman not answer the telephone.

A．The doctor’s advice	B．Her husband’s suggestion
C．Her poor health	D．The two pieces of bad news

I recall my mother’s voice which called me to order, and often ended with some strong proverb to express the gravity of the wrong done. It was common practice for my mother to send me off soul-searching with a proverb.
Of the many interactions I had with my mother those many years ago, one stands out with clarity. I remember the occasion when Mother sent me to the main road, about twenty yards away from the farmhouse, to invite a passing group of seasonal work-seekers home for a meal. She instructed me to take a container along and collect dry cow dung (牛糞) for making a fire. I was then to prepare the meal for the group of work-seekers.       
The thought of making an open fire outside at midday, cooking in a large three-legged pot in that high heat, was enough to upset even an angel. I did not manage to hide my feelings from my mother, and after serving the group, she called me to the balcony, where she usually sat to attend to her sewing (縫紉).
Looking straight into my eyes, she said, “Tsholofelo, why were you so unhappy when I requested you to prepare a meal for those poor people?” Despite my attempt to deny her allegation (斷言), and using the heat of the fire and the sun as an excuse for my alleged behavior, Mother, giving me a firm look, said, “A foot has no nose.” It means, “You can’t detect what trouble may lie ahead of you.” Had I denied the group of people a meal, it may have happened that, in my travels some time in the future, I found myself at the mercy of those very individuals. As if that was not enough to shame me, Mother continued, “A person is a person because of another person.”   
小題1:We learn from the passage that Tsholofelo’s mother often _____.   

A．quoted proverbs when she was talking with others

B．a(chǎn)sked Tsholofelo to read more proverbs

C．collected proverbs in her spare time

D．used proverbs to teach Tsholofelo

小題2:What was Tsholofelo’s attitude towards the meal?

A．Unwilling.

B．Interested.

C．Critical.

D．Unconcerned.

小題3:The atmosphere on the balcony was probably _____.

A．very strange

B．a(chǎn) bit tense

C．quite lively

D．pretty relaxed

小題4:According to the passage, Tsholofelo’s mother seemed to hope Tsholofelo could be _____.    

A．flexible and creative	B．sincere and honest
C．a(chǎn)ctive and confident	D．sympathetic and helpful