I entered high school having read hundreds of books. But I was not a good reader. Merely bookish,
I lacked a point of view when I read. Rather, I read in order to get a point of view. I searched books for
good expressions and sayings, pieces of information, ideas, themes-anything to enrich my thought and
make me feel educated. When one of my teachers suggested to his sleepy tenth-grade English class that
a person could not have a "complicated idea" until he had read at least two thousand books, I heard the
words without recognizing either its irony(嘲諷)or its very complicated truth. I merely determined to
make a list of all the books I had ever read. Strict with myself, I included only once a title I might have
read several times.(How, after all, could one read a book more than once?)And I included only those
books over a hundred pages in length.(Could anything shorter be a book?)
     There was yet another high school list I made. One day I came across a newspaper article about an
English professor at a nearby state college. The article had a list of the "hundred most important books
of Western Civilization." "More than anything else in my life," the professor told the reporter with finality
(firmly), "these books have made me all that I am." That was the kind of words I couldn't ignore. I kept
the list for the several months it took me to read all of the titles. Most books, of course, I hardly
understood. While reading Plato's The Republic, for example, I needed to keep looking at the
introduction of the book to remind myself what the text was about. However, with the special patience
and superstition(迷信)of a schoolboy, I looked at every word of the text. And by the time I reached the
last word, pleased, I persuaded myself that I had read The Republic, and seriously crossed Plato off my
list

1. On hearing the teacher's suggestion of reading, the writer thought _______.

A. one must read as many books as possible
B. a student should not have a complicated idea
C. it was impossible for one to read two thousand books
D. students ought to make a list of the books they had read

2. While at high school, the writer _______.

A. had plans for reading    
B. learned to educate himself
C. only read books over 100 pages    
D. read only one book several times

3. The writer's purpose in mentioning The Republic is to _______.

A. explain why it was included in the list
B. describe why he seriously crossed it off the list
C. show that he read the books blindly though they were hard to understand
D. prove that he understood most of it because he had looked at every word

4. The writer provides two book lists to _______.

A. show how he developed his point of view
B. tell his reading experience at high school
C. introduce the two persons' reading methods
D. explain that he read many books at high school

     It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was
beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently.
     My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was
only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I'm so glad I did.
     On the road to the harbor we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbor itself was
in fairly good shape. After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the
sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big humps(脊背) in the distance.
     On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn't believe it-there
aren't any whales along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean in the bay, in
which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.
     The little baby whale-actually as big as our boat-was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools(漩渦) and waves. "She's trying to
help her baby, but on the wrong side," my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a
semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat toward the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our
several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right
beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started
heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay
channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe-and
to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight
form the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.
     In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonder animals for
almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Nearly four decades later, I
still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.       

1. The author says "I'm so glad I did." (in Para.2) because ________________.

A. he witnessed the whole process of fishing  
B. he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea
C. he experienced the rescue of the whales  
D. he spent the weekend with his family

2. The harbor survived the storm due to ______________.

A. the shaped of the harbor  
B. the arms of the bay
C. the still water in the channel  
D. the long coast line

3. The mother whale failed to help her baby because _______________.

A. she had stayed in the polluted water for too long
B. the whirlpools she had made were not big enough
C. she had no other whales around to turn to for help
D. the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction

4. What is the story mainly about?

A. Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness.
B. Fishing provides excitement for children.
C. It's necessary to live in harmony with animals.
D. It's important to protect the environment.

     My mother through her fine example instilled (慢慢灌輸)within me the desire to help others. She
taught me to notice those whom others ignore.
     The railroad tracks (軌道) were within a mile of our house. Beggars frequently would knock at the
doors in our neighbourhood in summer asking for food. They were often turned away. Others simply
ignored the knocks.
     My mum always went to the door smiling. She would invite them to stay and have something to eat.
She would have me open up the card table and carry a chair out onto the covered side porch (走廊).
There was a nice view into the flower gardens, and it was cool even on the hottest days.
     She would bring a red and white tablecloth and set the table as carefully as she did for any company.
She would pour their coffee and pile their plates with food and dessert. Usually she sent a packed lunch
with them when they were ready to go, too.Sometimes she would take the newspapers to those who
asked about work.
     She listened to those who wanted to talk.She never asked what would lead them to be in this difficult
situation. It did not matter. She saw only the need. Some thought she should not extend this courtesy (禮貌). She would say, "In the depression (蕭條時(shí)期) when my father was searching around for any work to
feed us, thoughtful people fed him. I am just repaying their kindness. I cannot offer them money, but I can
see they do not leave hungry and discouraged." My mum was quite a lady.

1. The writer's house was frequently visited by beggars because________.

A. they seemed to be very rich
B. his mother was known to be generous
C. they lived near a railway station
D. there was a railway near their house

2. How did the writer's mother treat beggars?

A. She was on guard against them.
B. She looked down upon them.
C. She respected them equally.
D. She took pride in them.

3. The writer's mother sometimes took out newspapers________.

A. for the beggars to kill time
B. to teach the beggars how to read
C. to help the beggars who asked about work
D. to help the beggars to find their families

4. Which of the following can make an explanation for the mother's attitude to beggars?

A. Her father was once helped by others.
B. Her father liked to help beggars.
C. She was once a beggar herself.
D. Her mother taught her to help beggars.

     Our daughter Megan is severely disabled.My wife and I cared for her over twenty years at
home.Two years ago, we sent Megan to a nearby nursing home where we thought she could be
taken care of and become happier.
     A few weeks after Megan left home, I went to the nursing home to see her.I came across a
bicycle attached to the back of a wheelchair rolling out of the front entrance of the nursing home.The bike's unique design and the delight on the faces of the rider and the passenger stopped me.
Megan cried when she saw me.She said she didn't want to stay in the nursing home any more
and that she wanted to live with us at home.I took Megan out of the nursing home and bought
one the very next day.How happy she was to be with us again! We could now get outside for
fresh air, exercise and have a chance to be more involved in neighbourhood and community
activities.
     I invested (投資) all my money in buying this kind of wheelchair bike for the people who
needed them most.I call the wheelchair bike CAREBIKE.My aim is to permit people who have
disabilities and can't walk, as well as the people who care for them to have the chance to enjoy
the pleasure of a bike ride.
I'm extremely proud of what I've done.All my investment has its true reward when I hear a 100
yearold woman ending her CAREBIKE ride, laughing, or see a disabled man rolling down the
road with a smile on his face.Moments like these make it all worthwhile.
     My job now is to make the world aware of the CAREBIKE.My website provides pictures,
videos and the details about the bike.I will provide a CAREBIKE for anyone who really needs it.

1. Why did the author send his daughter to the nursing home?

A. Because the family was too poor to treat her.
B. Because he thought she would be cheered up there.
C. Because the nursing home could cure her illness.
D. Because he was tired of taking care of her at home.

2. The author stopped near the entrance of the nursing home for ________.

A. he saw an unusual wheelchair bike
B. he found his daughter was around there
C. he was stopped by a rider and a passenger
D. he recognized the passenger who was his friend

3. What was the purpose of the author investing his money in buying wheelchair bikes?

A. To earn money by selling them to the disabled people.
B. To hold a wheelchair bike race for the disabled in his community.
C. To offer a chance to disabled people to enjoy the pleasure of a bike ride.
D. To provide every disabled person in the nursing home with a wheelchair bike.

4. The underlined word "one" in Paragraph 3 refers to ______.

A. a CAREBIKE  
B. a bicycle
C. a wheelchair  
D. a gift

      The elephant was lying heavily on its side, fast asleep.A few dogs started barking at it.The
elephant woke up in a terrible anger: it chased the dogs into the village where they ran for
safety.That didn't stop the elephant.It destroyed a dozen houses and injured several people.The villagers were scared and angry.Then someone suggested calling Parbati, the elephant princess.
Parbati Barua's father was a hunter of tigers and an elephant tamer.He taught Parbati to ride
an elephant before she could even walk.He also taught her the dangerous art of the elephant
roundup--how to catch wild elephants.
     Parbati hasn't always lived in the jungle.After a happy childhood hunting with her father, she was sent to boarding school in the city.But Parbati never got used to being there and many years later she went back to her old life."Life in the city is too dull.Catching elephants is an adventure and the excitement lasts for days after the chase," she says.
     But Parbati doesn't catch elephants just for fun."My work," she says, "is to rescue man from the elephants, and to keep the elephants safe from man." And this is exactly what Parbati has
been doing for many years.Increasingly, the Indian elephant is angry: for many years, illegal
hunters have attacked it and its home in the jungle has been reduced to small pieces of land.It is now fighting back.Whenever wild elephants enter a tea garden or a village, Parbati is called to
guide the animals back to the jungle before they can kill.
     The work of an elephant tamer also involves love and devotion.A good elephant tamer will
spend hours a day singing love songs to a newly captured elephant."Eventually they grow to love their tamers and never forget them.They are also more loyal than humans." she said, as she
climbed up one of her elephants and sat on the giant, happy animal.An elephant princess indeed!

1. For Parbati, catching elephants is mainly to ________.

A. get long lasting excitement
B. keep both man and elephants safe
C. send them back to the jungle
D. make the angry elephants tame

2. Before Parbati studied in a boarding school,________.

A. she spent her time hunting with her father
B. she learned how to sing love songs
C. she had already been called an elephant princess
D. she was taught how to hunt tigers

3. Indian elephants are getting increasingly angry and they revenge because ________.

A. they are caught and sent for heavy work
B. illegal hunters capture them and kill them
C. they are attacked and their land gets limited
D. dogs often bark at them and chase them

4. The passage starts with an elephant story in order to explain that in India ________.

A. people easily fall victim to elephants' attacks
B. the manelephant relationship is getting worse
C. elephant tamers are in short supply
D. dogs are as powerful as elephants