During my high school years, the most important thing was what I was wearing to the Friday night
dance and who I was taking.Although college was talked about, it was the least of my worries.
     When I was graduating eighth grade and starting high school, my older brother was graduating twelfth
grade and going onto college.For my graduation, he gave me a card in which he wrote, "Enjoy your four
years...They go by fast." I remember not believing him then, but looking back...He was right.Those four
years shaped who I was as a person, pushed me to my limit and encouraged me to become an adult.
     However, I was so completely absorbed in my junior and senior years of high school, that when
someone spoke of college I brushed it off.I wasn't ready to leave my comfort zone of having all of my
closest friends together and knowing what every single day was going to be like.Studying was something
I did only AFTER I nailed my halftime dance performance.I knew my parents wanted me to go to
college, so I told them I would go to community college (社區(qū)學(xué)院) and I didn't worry about my SAT
(美國大學(xué)入學(xué)考試) scores.
     When my senior year passed and everyone graduated and went off to their own colleges, I started to
wish I had done the same.My friends were living away, meeting new people, and discovering new places, while I was living at home and driving to and from class every day.It seemed exactly like high school.I
hated it!I thought college was supposed to be different!Why didn't I take more time to research colleges
and do the same?I ended up loving college and wishing I had four years to enjoy the campus (大學(xué)校
園) atmosphere instead of two.
     My advice to anyone thinking about attending college is to think about it very seriously and look into
all of your choices well ahead of time.Now I have graduated and I am working fulltime and I would do
anything to go back to my high school days for a second chance!

1. Why didn't the author worry about his SAT scores?

A. He wanted to go to community college.
B. He had been admitted for his gift in dance.
C. He was well prepared for the exam.
D. He believed his brother would help him.

2. When in high school, the author________.

A. drove to and from class every day
B. buried himself in his study all the time
C. enjoyed talking about future college life
D. lived in the school except on holidays

3. What did the author's brother mean by "Enjoy your four years...They go by fast."?

A. He wished the author to have more dance.
B. He advised the author to value the years.
C. He encouraged the author to leave his comfort zone.
D. He suggested the author aim at a community college.

4. Talking of his high school years, the author feels________.

A. regretful  
B. lonely
C. angry
D. pleased

                                                         Living an Adventurous Life
     Nearly ten years ago, I was told that I had a brain tumor (瘤), and this experience changed my
attitude about adventure forever. I thought that I was going to die and that all my adventures were over.
I did not have a brain tumor, it turned out, but rather multiple sclerosis (多發(fā)性硬化癥), which meant
that, although they were not over, the nature of my adventures could have to change.
     Each morning that I wake up is a fresh event, something that I might not have had. Each gesture that
I make carries the weight of uncertainty and demands significant attention: buttoning my shirt, changing a
light bulb, walking down stairs. I might not be able to do it this time. If I could not delight in them, they
would likely drown me in anger and in self-pity.
     I admire the grand adventures of others. I read about them with interest. With Peter Matthiessen I
have hiked across the Himalayas to the Crystal Mountain. I have walked with Annie Dillard up, down,
into, and across Tinker Creek in all seasons. David Bain has gone with me along 110 miles of Philippine
coast, and Ed Abbey has rowed me down the Colorado River. I enjoy the adventures of these
courageous figures, who can strike out on difficult trips - 2 miles, 250 miles, 3000 miles - ready to bear
cold and tiredness, indeed not just to bear but to celebrate.
     But as for me, I can no longer walk very far from the armchair in which I read. Some days I don't
even make it to the backyard. And yet I'm unwilling to give up the adventurous life, the difficulty of it,
even the pain, the anxiety and fear, and the sudden brief lift of spirit that makes a hard journey more
attractive.
     I refine adventure, make it smaller and smaller. And now, whether I am moving on my hands and
knees across the dining room to help my cat, lying wide-eyed in the dark battling another period of
sadness, gathering flowers from the garden, meeting a friend for lunch, I am always having the adventures
that are mine to have.

1. Which of the following is TRUE about the author's reaction after the illness?

A. The author is drowned in anger and self-pity.
B. The author travels to places he/she has dreamed of.
C. The author can't take care of himself/herself any longer.
D. The author adapts to the condition successfully.

2. Why does the author admire the people mentioned in Paragraph 3?

A. Because they write popular novels.
B. Because they are great adventurers.
C. Because they are famous geographers.
D. Because they fight with hardship in life.

3.Which of the following shows the author's strong love for adventures?

A. The author spends almost every day looking for adventures.
B. The author works hard to make more money for adventures.
C. The author imagines having adventures while reading.
D. The author expects to recover only to continue adventures.

1. Why was the writer dumbfounded when he opened his suitcase?

A. Because he was now searching a different suitcase.
B. His own blood test report has changed into an old woman's.
C. An old woman had put her savings into his suitcase.
D. He was facing things that did not belong to himself.

2. What was one of the reasons for the young man to steal in the writer's opinion?

A. The young man was a born thief.
B .The young man couldn't afford to pay for his old mother's medical treatment.
C. The young man's mother asked him to do so.
D. Young people are likely to steal when they are poor.

3. What does the writer really mean by "hate and love are very close"?

A. Sometimes you hate a person but soon the feeling completely changes.
B. People easily love and hate others.
C. Human beings are always a mixture of different feeling.
D. Don't always hate others.

4. The major purpose for the writer to write this passage is ______.

A. to describe what hate and love are like
B. to entertain the readers with an interesting story
C. to impress the readers with an interesting story
D. to encourage the readers to help him find the thief

     I consider myself one of the luckiest people I know.
     I lost my biological mother when I was 9 and when she was alive she was not much of a mother to
me.
     I met my step-mom for the first time when I moved to America to be reunited with my father. From
the beginning she made sure to let me know that I was safe and welcome.
     I remember when I first saw her at the airport. It was different but not uncomfortable. After I was
picked up from the airport we went home and she unpacked my luggage. Then she took me shopping
for new clothes since the ones I had brought with me from Africa were a bit worn.
     That night before I went to bed she came to my room, which was the first room I had ever had for
my own, with the first bed I didn't have to share. She told me she was glad to have me and that she
would take good care of me.
     Before she walked out of my new room, she asked me for a hug. I had no idea what she was talking
about. I did not know what the word hug meant, not because I didn't speak English, but I had just never
heard the word before, let alone knew what it meant. So, I just looked at her with a questioning
expression on my face.
     But she didn't give up. She called my father into the room and asked him to explain to me what she
meant. When my father was explaining I looked at her and wondered why she wanted to hug me. She
then told me it was because she loved me and opened her arms wide. Shyly I opened mine and we
hugged.
     That was my very first hug and I was 11 at that time. I'm 23 now and, thankfully, I have received
many hugs since then.
     I consider her my birth mother because life began when I came to stay with her. For the first time
there were no kids for me to take care of and I became a child for the first time. There was no work
waiting for me every day other than the occasional chores that she gave me to teach me responsibility. 
     Today I say thank-you to my mother; thank you for giving me my childhood back after it had been
taken away from me. I am who I am today because of your love!

1. What was the author's life in Africa?

A. Difficult.
B. Amusing.  
C. Challenging.
D. Satisfactory.

2. The author was puzzled at her new mom's request for a hug because _______ .

A. her new mom didn't open her arms wide in time
B. the word" hug" made no sense to her at that time
C. her English wasn't good enough to understand it
D. she didn't hear what her new mom was talking about

3.  We may learn from the passage that the author _________.

A. didn't need to do any work in her second home
B. met her new mom when she was nine years old
C. felt safe and loved by what her new mom did
D. had a very big family to support in Africa

4. What can be the best title for the passage?

A. My New Home                  
B. My First Hug
C. My Childhood            
D. My African Memory

     Every day has just 24 hours - and this applies to all people. Some people are constantly pushed for
time. This article is about how we can learn to manage our valuable time more effectively.
     In reality we cannot manage time. We can only manage ourselves and our relationship with time.   1   
And habits are not that easy to changes.
     Below here are tips that can help you manage your time better.
     Organize your goals.
     Organize your goals based on two criteria: degree of urgency and importance: a. Should be done
today, tomorrow, etc. b. Should be done at "that date". c. Can be put off for so many days. d. Can ask
someone else to do it.    2  
     Clean up your list.
     Make a list of everything you think that is not helping or benefiting you and do not do them!
     Focus on one goal.
     Concentrate only on one goal at a time. Otherwise, if while dealing with something you think about
everything you can do later, most likely you will get bored and disappointed.    3   The boredom (厭倦)
is guaranteed with this way of thinking.
     Identify your deadlines.
        4   Divide the activities per day / week and long-term goals to get a clear
picture of what you have to do and when.
     Find suitable work environment.
        5  
     Be realistic.
     Make sure that your goals are realistic and do not try for the impossible.
     Say "NO".
     Learn to say "no" to other activities, requests and people who eat your time
     (unless indeed at that very moment it is necessary for you to help them).

A. Allow time to adjust your list if necessary.
B. After all, how we use our time is largely a matter of habit.
C. Create a suitable environment to work, one that fits your style.
D. Check the list of what you should do and when it must be completed.
E. After organizing your goals, start with the most important and urgent.
F. It is like every time you eat you think all the meals you must eat in your life.
G. Do not let boredom discourage you if what you have to complete is boring.

     Last year my wife and I spent a most interesting month in Turkey. Before we left, we were reminded of
the difficulties of driving in Turkey. We certainly did not find this to be the case and, except for a few places
in faraway mountain areas, the roads were wide, and well-paved (鋪設(shè)). We drove for 12 days along the
Western Coast of Turkey and had no problems at all. We found the Turkish drivers to be very polite and well
educated. We also found that eating lunch in the smaller towns was difficult, so we picnicked almost every
day.
     The following day after our arrival was Turkey's Children's Day, started by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Ataturk loved children and he often said:"Children are a new beginning of tomorrow." He even dedicated (奉
獻) the day 23rd of April to the children which today is celebrated as Children's Day as well as the date when
the Republic of Turkey was founded.
     On that day certain children are picked to take over the places of the government, and a lucky kid will be
the president of Turkey for a whole day. He can decide what's going to happen and whether or not he is going
to have the president next to him. There are a very large number of possibilities of things he can do but some
shops aren't open because they are celebrating the day as well.
     All in all, it was a more enjoyable trip. I would recommend (推薦) a trip to Turkey to anyone with an
adventurous (冒險的) spirit!

1. Before the author and his wife went on a trip to Turkey, they were told that _____.

A. it was difficult to travel in Turkey
B. it was not easy to drive in Turkey
C. the streets in Turkey were dangerous
D. there were many mountainous roads

2. Which of the following is TRUE, according to the first paragraph?

A. Places in mountain areas were difficult to reach.
B. The couple drove for 12 days during their journey.
C. The Turkish drivers had good manners.
D. It was difficult to eat meals in Turkey.

3. The underlined word "He" in Paragraph 3 refers to _____.

A. every one of us
B. the government
C. the president of Turkey
D. the lucky child

4. What can be inferred from the passage?

A. The couple had no difficulty making their way in Turkey.
B. Turkey's National Day falls on the 22nd of April.
C. The author joined in celebrating Children's Day.
D. On Turkey's Children's Day everyone had holidays.

5. What does the author think of the trip to Turkey?

A. Interesting and dangerous.
B. Difficult and expensive.
C. Enjoyable and exciting.
D. Boring and adventurous.