I fell in love with the minister's son the winter I turned fourteen. He was not Chinese. For Christmas  I  prayed for the boy, Robert. When I found out that my parents had invited the minister's family over
for Christmas Eve dinner, I cried in panic. What would Robert think of our shabby Chinese Christmas?
What would he think of our noisy Chinese relatives who lacked proper American manners?
      On Christmas Eve, my mother created abundant Chinese food. And then they arrived-the minister's
family and all my relatives. Robert greeted hello, and I pretended he_was_not_worthy_of_existence. _
      Dinner threw me deeper into disappointment. My relatives licked (舔) the ends of their chopsticks
and reached across the table. Robert and his family waited patiently for a large plate to be passed to them. My relatives murmured with pleasure when my mother brought out the whole steamed fish. Robert made
a face. Then my father reached his chopsticks just below the fish eye and picked out the soft meat.
“Amy, your  favorite.”he said, offering me the tender fish cheek. I wanted to disappear.
      At the end of the meal, my father leaned back and burped(打嗝) loudly, thanking my mother for her
fine cooking. “It's a polite Chinese custom to show you are satisfied.”explained my father to our
astonished guests. Robert was looking down at his plate with a reddish face. The minister managed to
bring up a quiet burp. I was shocked into silence for the rest of the night.
      After everyone had gone，my mother said to me，“You want to be the same as American girls
on the outside.”She handed me an early gift.It was a miniskirt.“But inside you must always be Chinese.
You must be proud that you are different.Your only shame is to have shame.”
      It was not until years later that I was able to fully appreciate her lesson and the purpose behind her
particular menu. For Christmas Eve that year, she had chosen excellent Chinese food.

1. When the writer found out the minister's family    would come for Christmas Eve dinner, she cried   
     mainly because ________.

A. she worried about their shabby Chinese Christmas
B. she worried about their Chinese relatives lacking American manners
C. she worried about meeting the minister's family
D. she worried about being laughed at

2. What does “he was not worthy of existence” probably mean? It means________.

A. the writer was not interested in his existence
B. he was worthless
C. he should not exist
D. the writer expected his coming

3. The dinner threw the writer deeper into disappointment mainly because________.

A. her relatives licked the ends of their chopsticks
B. her father reached his chopsticks to pick fish for her
C. her father leaned back and burped loudly
D. she childishly expected all of them to act in the same way as Americans at table

4. We can infer from the passage that ________.

A. the writer appreciated her mother's lesson years later
B. the writer must be proud that she is different
C. the mother prepared to show Chinese different food culture
D. the minister's family really enjoyed the food

1. We know from the second paragraph that ________.  

A. the author cried while driving that afternoon      
B. a girl picked up an earring before getting off
C. there was only one passenger on the bus        
D. the girl gave the author an earning as a gift

2. The author decided to have a change in life because ________.  

A. what the earring owner said moved him        
B. he didn't want to be a driver any more
C. his friends helped him become positive         
D. he was offered a better job in a hospital

3. When the author got a call from the manager of the hospital, he felt ________.

A. annoyed(生氣的)      
B. disappointed      
C. shocked    
D. delighted(高興的)

4. What does the author want to show in this passage?

A. Lost things should be returned to the owner.    
B. Life is usually hard for the young at the beginning.
C. One should hold a positive attitude towards life.    
D. It is not easy to find a good job nowadays.

     My wife Julie and I were out on the road that runs around where we live. Two dog walkers passed
by and we heard one of them say, "Never seen that dog around here before."
     We looked down the hill and saw an old black dog stumbling(蹣跚) painfully up the hill. We bent
down, talked gently to the dog and patted it. I checked and there was a collar. There was a phone
number on the collar, but no one answered.
     The dog was painfully thin. It didn't have many teeth left and, well, it just seemed done.
     Julie ran home to get some of our dog's food while I tried to encourage the dog to come along with
me. Julie got home and back again when I was only half way there. So, we sat down on the sidewalk
while our new friend made short work of the food.
     Eventually we got her home. We gave her a blanket, more food, kept her warm and wondered what
to do next.
     After trying for many times we got a response from the number. A lady came around with a bunch
of flowers for us. She explained that Tara had been her father's dog. She was very old and should
probably be put to sleep, but the lady just couldn't bring herself to do it. So, Tara was safely returned
home.
     Here is the truth of the story:
     Actually Julie and I were out that morning because I was leaving. She was trying to persuade me to
come back, but I wasn't hearing anything that made that sound likely.
     I was about to turn and go when an old, worn out dog walked between us and collapsed. Suddenly
we had something more important than our problem to worry about. There was a creature in need right
before us and we had to work together to help it.
     We did help it. And here am I writing the story in my own home, in my own family.
     In the song "Love Is Not a Fight" Warren Barfield talks about marriage. At one point he sings, "And
if we try to leave, may God send angels to guard the door."
     Sometimes angels come disguised (偽裝) as dogs.

1. Which of the following statements is true?

A. The two dog walkers didn't like the dog.
B. The old black dog was sick and weak and couldn't walk.
C. After finding the dog, the writer phoned its owners.
D. Most of the dog's teeth had been pulled out by someone.

2. We can infer from Paragraph 4 that ________.

A. Julie bought some food for the dog
B. the writer had his own pet dog
C. the dog didn't go with the writer
D. the dog didn't eat any of the food

3. After they got the dog home, the couple ________.

A. decided to raise the dog
B. took good care of the dog
C. found out that its owner was a lady
D. found it hard to get to sleep

4. The underlined part "our problem" in the passage refers to the fact that ________.

A. the writer didn't want to take Julie's advice
B. Julie disagreed with the writer's travel on business
C. an old and worn out dog appeared in front of them
D. the couple had some trouble with their marriage

5. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. A Helpful Couple.
B. An Angel Dog.
C. Saving the Dog.
D. A Famous Song.

     Sam and Joe were astronauts. There was once a very dangerous trip and the more experienced astronauts
knew there was only a small chance of coming back alive. Sam and Joe, however, thought it would be exciting
though a little dangerous. "We're the best men for the job," they said to the boss. "There may be problems, but
we can find the answers." "They're the last people I'd trust," thought the boss. "But all the other astronauts have
refused to go."
     Once they were in space, Joe had to go outside to make some repairs. When the repairs were done, he tried
to get back inside the spaceship. But the door was locked. He knocked but there was no answer. He knocked
again, louder this time, and again no answer came. Then he hit the door as hard as he could and finally a voice
said, "Who's there?" "It's me! Who else could it be?" shouted Joe. Sam let him in all right but you can imagine
that Joe never asked to go on a trip with Sam again!

1. Most of the astronauts were unwilling to go on a trip because _____.

A. there was little chance of being selected
B. they weren't experienced enough
C. they thought they might get killed
D. it wasn't exciting enough

2. Why were Sam and Joe chosen?  

A. The boss wanted them to get more experience.
B. The boss trusted them more than anyone else.
C. They were the last people who wanted to go.
D. They were the only men who offered to go.

3. Joe didn't want to work with Sam again probably because he thought Sam _____.

A. was very slow and possibly deaf
B. didn't know how to operate the door
C. was less experienced than he was
D. didn't know how to do repairs

4. The writer tells this story to _____.

A. show the dangerous side of the astronauts' life
B. make people laugh
C. show the funny side of the astronauts' life
D. make people think

     Jim Madison was walking through the American Cemetery (公墓) at Normandy one day in 2001
 when his eyes fell on a grave marker that caught him by surprise, "Elizabeth A. Richardson, American
 Red Cross, Indiana July 25, 1945".The chance discovery led to his new book-- An American Woman 
in World War Two, which tells about the war through the eyes of Richardson.
     Richardson joined the Red Cross in 1944 and worked on a Clubmobile- a converted bus from which 
she and other women served coffee and chatted to American soldiers scattered across England and 
France. More important than the food, they were a reminder of home for lonely and miserable soldiers.
She died at 27 in a crash of a two-seater L-5 Sentinel aircraft. She was one of four women buried at the
 American Cemetery at Normandy.    
     Madison said the present understanding of World War Two just focused on the experiences of male 
soldiers, but women were also important to the war effort and brought their own views to the conflict.
 "The point I try to make in the book is how close Richardson came to understanding war," he said. "She
 saw the effects of it, and she grieved (感到悲痛)."
     When Madison returned from Normandy in 2001, he managed to contact Richardson's younger
 brother, Charles Richardson Jr. It was her family's keeping of her letters and diaries that made possible 
the book, which quoted from them extensively.     
     Madison believes America's fascination with World War Two will outlive those who fought it and the 
generations that follow them. Since the late 1980s, he has taught undergraduate courses on the war at 
Indiana University, and he said students obviously warm up to the subject. He said he sometimes talked
 to World War Two soldiers who "have a sense that young people don't know and they don't care".  "I 
tell them it's the opposite", he said.

1. How did Jim Madison get the idea of writing a book about World War Two?

A. His friends suggested it.  
B. He got it quite by accident
C. It was requested by Richardson's brother.
D. It was arranged by his university.